Chap. IX. PAKllY'S'POLAK VOYAGE. 293 



their stories, and 'fought all their battles o'er again,' and 

 the labours of the day, unsuccessful as they too often were, 

 were forgotten. A regular watch was set during our resting- 

 time, to look out for bears, or for the ice breaking up round 

 us, as well as to attend to the drying of the clothes, each 

 man alternately taking this duty for one hour. We then 

 concluded our day with prayers, and having put on our fur 

 dresses, lay down to sleep with a degree of comfort which 

 perhaps few persons would imagine possible under such cir- 

 cumstances ; our chief inconvenience being, that we were 

 somewhat pinched for room, and therefore obliged to stow 

 rather closer than was quite agreeable. The temperature, 

 while we slept, was usually from 36° to 45°, according to the 

 state of the external atmosphere ; but on one or two occa- 

 sions, in calm and warm weather, it rose as high as 60° to 

 6Q°, obliging us to throw off a part of our fur dress. After 

 we had slept seven hours, the man appointed to boil the 

 cocoa roused us, when it was ready, by the sound of a 

 bugle, when we commenced our day in the manner before 

 described. 



" Our allowance of provisions for each man per day was 

 as follows : — 



Biscuit .... 10 ounces. 



Pemmican . . . 9 ,, 



Sweetened Cocoa Powder .1 „ to make one pint. 



Rum . . . .1 gill. 



Tobacco . , .3 ounces per week. 



Our fuel consisted entirely of spirits of wine, of which two 

 pints formed our daily allowance, the cocoa being cooked in 

 an iron boiler, over a shallow iron lamp, with seven wicks. 

 We usually found one pint of the spirits of wine sufficient 

 for preparing our breakfast, that is, for heating 28 pints of 

 water, though it always commenced from the temperature 

 of 32°. If the weather was calm and fair, this quantity of 



