80 THE VOYAGE OF THE JEANNETTE. 



ship she was as neat as a j^in? the men nicely dressed, 

 and everything looking more like a man-of-war than it 

 ever had before. 



Danenhower is the same as ever, does his work well, 

 and navigates correctly. Melville is as bright as a dol- 

 lar and as cheerful as possible all the time. He sits on 

 my left at table, and helps me to carve and serve out. 

 We broke a pump-rod two days ago. Some engineers 

 would have wanted to stop the ship a few days for this, 

 or perhaps turn back. Not he ; he says, •' All right ; 

 we will run without a pump -rod, hey brother, and 

 when we get in I will make you a new pump-rod or 

 fifty of them." I believe he could make an engine out 

 of a few barrel hoops if he tried hard. He is one of 

 the strong points in this expedition. He and Dr. Am- 

 bler are much alike in some respects. The doctor is 

 all I would have him, bright and cheerful under all cir- 

 cumstances. During our bad weather he was around 

 all the time, cheering up Collins and Newcomb, hold- 

 ing up the Chinese cook, when necessary, and facing 

 the music like a man. He and Melville have christened 

 Newcomb '• Ninkum," and occasionally I hear one of 

 them sing out on seeing an albatross, " Here, Ninky, 

 quick, come and catch a goose." 



Poor Collins was so sick that he could easily have 

 lost his mother and not have known it. His puns died 

 out for a few days, but he is getting back to them 

 ao-ain. 



o 



Newcomb in his turn deserves mention. He will, I 

 think, come out all right ; he has grit and goes to work 

 like a little man. He was hardly able to stand before 

 he had his lines over the side fishing for albatross, and 

 no sooner had he caught a good one, measuring seven 

 feet across the wings, than he skinned it and got it 



