A FROZEN SUMMER. 427 



until, judging they meant him no good, he turned and 

 ran, so fast that before the men and dogs could get on 

 his trail he was out of range. 



Lesson for me : " Never go away from the ship with- 

 out a rifle." 



Usual Sunday inspection followed by divine service. 



August 23c?, Monday. — It is now ten days since I 

 have obtained sights, and by a singular circumstance 

 they have been days of unusually high temperature ; I 

 say unusually high advisedly, because we have become 

 so accustomed to experience a temperature of 32°, or 

 under, that any excess is worthy of notice. 



August 2ith, Tuesday. — But a short time since and 

 we were reveling in the enjoyment of a sun above the 

 horizon the whole twenty-four hours ; and to-night at 

 midnight a lantern was necessary to read the anemom- 

 eter. The thermometers having bright metallic sur- 

 faces are easily read without artificial light. For about 

 two weeks we have had the cabin lamp lighted every 

 evening at nine o'clock, the dark and gloomy weather 

 we have had making it necessary. Alas, alas ! a sec- 

 ond winter before us and nothing done. Our daily 

 hunting parties are coming back empty-handed. Seals 

 enough are seen and shot, but they sink almost at once 

 and are lost. This is their season for shedding their 

 coats, and there seems to be a connection between that 

 episode and the fatness of the seal (or the thickness of 

 his blubber). Under ordinary circumstances a seal, 

 when shot, seems buoyant enough to float until his car- 

 cass can be reached by a kyack, or by traveling on a 

 cake of ice. But now the moment his skin is punc- 

 tured down he goes. To-day Chipp and Dunbar saw 

 four oogooks (or one oogook four times), but at too 

 long range for a shot. 



