60 MUSK OXEN IN LA T. 8o D N Chap. V. 



horizontal band of pale light that encompassed the heavens ; 

 above the moon appeared the segments of two other halos, 

 and there were also mock moons or paraselenae to the 

 number of six. The misty atmosphere lent a very ghastly 

 hue to this singular display, which lasted for rather more 

 than an hour. 



Scarcely had the Burial Service been completed, when our 

 poor dogs, discovering that the ship was deserted, set up a 

 most dismal unearthly moaning, continuing it until we 

 returned on board. Coming to us from a distance across 

 the ice, at such a solemn moment, this most strange and 

 mournful sound was both startling and impressive. 



Poor Scott fell down a hatchway two days only before his 

 death, which was occasioned by the internal injuries then 

 received ; he was a steady serious man \ a widow and family 

 will mourn his loss. He was our engine-driver ; we cannot 

 replace him, therefore the whole duty of working the 

 engines will devolve upon the engineer, Mr. Brand. 



nth— Position, 7 4° 31' N., 68° 21' W. Calm, clear 

 weather, pleasant for exercise, but steadily cold; thermometer 

 varies between — 2o°and — 30 . At noon the blush of dawn 

 tints the southern horizon, to the north the sky remains 

 inky blue, whilst overhead it is bright and clear, the stars 

 shining, and the pole-star near the zenith very distinct. 

 Although there is a light north wind, thin mackerel-clouds 

 are passing from south to north, and the temperature has 

 risen io°. 



I have been questioning Petersen about the bones of the 

 musk oxen found in Smith's Sound by Dr. Kane's expedi- 

 tion ; he says the decayed skulls of about twenty were 

 found, all of them to the north of the 79th parallel. As they 

 were all without lower jaws, he says they were killed by 

 Esquimaux, who leave upon the spot the skulls of large 

 animals, but the weight of the lower jaw being so trifling it is 



