186 WINTER AT SPITZBERGEN. 



spond with the dwellings which are found upon 

 Dane's Island and at Hamburgh Cove. The 

 accounts which have been furnished by these 

 people do not describe the winter as being ex- 

 traordinarily severe ; but they all seem to agree 

 in the very boisterous nature of the weather : 

 in storms being very frequent and terrific, and 

 in the snow being of prodigious depth in places, 

 occasionally burying their houses, so as to oblige 

 them to cut their way out, and frequently falling 

 for many days together, until the general depth 

 upon the plains is from three to five feet. Oc- 

 casionally during the winter, these storms of 

 wind and snow are said to be so severe, that 

 the Russian hunters are obliged to lie flat upon 

 their faces, until their fury is past, and indeed, 

 if it lasts long, these poor wretches often perish. 

 They are careful to carry out with them a supply 

 of salt and cured meats and fish, meal, pease, oil, 

 honey, and some antiscorbutics, of which a rasp- 

 berry, baked with rye flour, and the tops of the 

 spruce fir, are considered the best. They are also 

 careful to provide themselves with a supply of 

 a small herb, probably a species of Cochlearia, 

 wiiich grows upon the island, and of which they 

 either make a salad, or steep it in hot water, and 

 drink the infusion. 



Although thus provided, and from their in- 



