A FROZEN SUMMER. 423 



of with but few words. Cloudy all day, except for a 

 short time in the afternoon, when the sun broke through 

 the clouds too late for a latitude and too early for a 

 time sight. 



August 21st, Saturday. — On pages 192 and 288 I have 

 dwelt at some length on the nature of the water result- 

 ino; from sea-water ice, and I shall add a word or two 

 here on that subject before closing it. There can be no 

 doubt of the importance of this matter in reference to 

 the health of Arctic expeditions, for no man can receive 

 continually or habitually as much salt in his system as 

 we find contained in our ice without speedily becoming 

 scorbutic. Though previous expeditions have asserted 

 that they found and used ice sufficiently pure for con- 

 sumption when melted (and ice formed from the freez- 

 ing of salt-water at that), it is a somewhat singular cir- 

 cumstance that the crews became victims to scorbutic 

 complaints. Dr. Walker mentions the circumstance of 

 the men of the Fox digging too deep into the re-frozen 

 ponds of melted snow, and getting ice too salt for do- 

 mestic use. 



Our experience this summer is as follows : On the 

 7th of July we succeeded in getting enough snow and 

 surface scrapings, that is, broken down ice crystals from 

 tops of hummocks, to fill our tank with water suffi- 

 ciently pure for our use, for the first time since last 

 fall. The steady glare and heat of the sun had melted 

 and honey-combed the mass, and allowed the salt here- 

 tofore contained to filter through and deposit at the 

 bottom. (Not all of the saline ingredients had so de- 

 posited, for a very faint milky tinge would appear in 

 the water when tested with nitrate of silver ; but the 

 water was pronounced sufficiently pure for drinking.) 

 This snow and surface crust were carefully scraped up, 



