THE RETURN TO COLD AND DARKNESS. 449 



have had, I am surprised to find we have made so little 

 easting. x 



September litJi, Tuesday. — The arrival and depar- 

 ture of one more day to record, and that is about all. 



At eight p. m. the moon was rising on the southern 

 horizon, and very much distorted by refraction. It 

 seemed of immense size four days before full moon, and 

 reminded one of a large city burning. Auroral flashes 

 shot up from the eastern horizon toward the zenith, 

 and, with the many stars visible, made a beautiful scene. 

 At midnight, on going out to make the meteorological 

 observation, I was considerably startled. South south- 

 east of the ship, right ahead, the sky at the horizon was 

 lighted up as by a coming daylight, the clear bright light 

 being very marked. I knew, of course, it must be an 

 auroral display, but while I looked a brilliant green, and 

 then a brilliant red color spread all over it, very much as 

 different colored lights are made to shine on a stage in 

 spectacular pieces. As a scenic effect it was grand in- 

 deed. The changes were vivid and instantaneous, and 

 had we been in open water I should have declared that 

 the occurrence was due to signal lights from a ship. 

 But alas ! open water, if any such thing exists, must be 

 many miles to the southward of us. I say "If any such 

 thing exists," because I should not be very much sur- 

 prised if the ocean had frozen over during the summer 

 down to the equator. 



Sweetman and Nindemann having finished the deck- 

 house commenced to-day the erection of an inclosing 

 porch around the cook-house, while the crew nailed 

 canvas on the outside of the deck-house and the bows. 



September 15th, Wednesday. — A regular stormy day 

 of wind and snow. Until about five p. m. such clouds 

 of snow were whirled through the air that our sur- 



29 



