156 THE VOYAGE OF THE JEAXNETTE. 



ing in the rigging, wliicli will in turn serve for as many 

 dinners, wliile their own blubber may serve to cook 

 them. 



October ISth, Saturday. — To our surprise, the cook, 

 Ah Sam, came to-day and asked for a gun to "go shoot 

 a seal." He was furnished with a Snyder rifle and 

 ammunition, and he started off quite gayly. In about 

 an hour he returned, the most astonished and startled 

 Chinaman out of China. At his first shot the gun had 

 burst, tearing up the barrel, fortunately near the muz- 

 zle, so that he received no harm ; but his mental de- 

 moralization was complete. The probability is he let 

 the muzzle slip in the snow at some time, and the end 

 of the bore got choked ; hence the bursting. 



October 20th, Monday. — Highest temperature, 16° ; 

 lowest, 3i°, — the lowest recorded thus far. 



October 21st, Tuesday. — The thermometer com- 

 menced at 4i°, and at noon had fallen to zero for the 

 first time this cruise. It continued to drop, however, 

 at eight p. M. standing at minus lOF (light W. wind), 

 whence it commenced to rise, ending the day at minus 

 4°. For the first time since the 10th, we have clear and 

 pleasant weather with bright sunshine. Our days have 

 become painfully shorter, the sun setting to-day at 3.45 

 p. M. Our views of him have been so rare that we 

 missed him greatly, and even when he does come now 

 his stay is short. Between noon and three p. m. we had a 

 pleasant treat, thanks to the clear atmosphere and the 

 sun's low altitude. We distinctly saw land again, and 

 unlike any we had seen before. From the deck it ap- 

 peared like three islands, but on going aloft we were 

 able to discover connecting land. The whole may be 

 one large island with three peaks. The highest and 

 clearest defined peak bore S. 28° W. (true), and may 



