THE FIRST WINTERING 21 



For fuel they knocked to pieces seven old boats left 

 ashore by the ships, storing the wood over the beams 

 of the tent so as to make a sort of floor protecting the 

 interior from snow driven in under the tiles, and, in 

 addition, they broke up a number of empty casks. To 

 make the wood last as long as possible they hit upon a 

 device for keeping the fire in " when we raked up our 

 fire at night, with a good quantity of ashes and of 

 embers, we put into the midst of it a piece of elm 

 wood, where, after it had lain sixteen hours, we at our 

 opening of it found great store of fire upon it, whereupon 

 we made a common practice of it ever after : it never 

 went out in eight months together, or thereabouts." 



Upon the 12th of September a small quantity of 

 drift ice came into the sound, on a piece of which they 

 found two walruses asleep, when " William Fakely 

 being ready with his harping iron, heaved it so strongly 

 into the old one that he quite disturbed her of her rest : 

 after which, she, receiving five or six thrusts with our 

 lances, fell into a sounder sleep of death." The young 

 one, refusing to leave her mother, was also killed ; and 

 a week afterwards another walrus fell a victim ; but 

 even with these the store of provisions was inadequate. 

 To make the food last, they put themselves on an 

 allowance of one good meal a day, except on Wednes- 

 days and Fridays which were fasting days devoted to 

 whale sundries "a very loathsome meat," says Pell- 

 ham, in brackets later on, for four days in the week 

 they fed upon " the unsavoury and mouldy fritters, and 

 the other three we feasted it with bear and venison." 

 " But," continues the narrative, " as if it were not 

 enough for us to want meat, we now began to want 



