OCCUPATIONS — PRIVATIONS. 1 75 



continued more or less throughout the winter, 

 had a prejudicial effect upon the constitutions 

 of the party, and they very early began to ex- 

 perience giddiness in the head, and other symp- 

 toms of bodily debility. The sun set for the 

 last time that season about the 10th November, 

 and the bears, as appears to be their custom, 

 about this time became extremely numerous, 

 and were so fierce that the party scarcely dared 

 venture outside their abode. The gulls did not 

 quit the island during the winter, but had nests 

 in the mountains, from whence they came in 

 great numbers to fish about the sea-side when- 

 ever the weather was mild, but always returned 

 to the mountains at night ; and in March whales 

 were seen in the bays. The winter, though 

 chequered with thaws and heavy rains even in 

 the coldest months, was occasionally very severe ; 

 and there was such an abundance of snow, that 

 it was often up to their arm-pits, and sometimes 

 wholly prevented their moving out of their house. 

 They amused themselves as well as they could 

 under privations of so unusual a nature, and 

 endeavoured to beguile the time in relating 

 their adventures ; but it was evident that the 

 climate, and the absence of nourishing and ve- 

 getable food, was slowly though surely working 

 their destruction. They appear to have been 



