486 THE VOYAGE OF THE JEANNETTE. 



fraction continued to-day, and even greater in amount. 

 The sun was well above the horizon at noon, and some 

 portion of his disc showed from eleven to one, at which 

 last named hour he sunk out of sight. For how long ? 



Mr. Dunbar and Alexey on going out to the bear- 

 trap to-day saw fresh tracks near it, and setting 

 Alexey 's clogs on the scent a chase was inaugurated. 

 The dogs came up with Bruin several times and got 

 him at bay, but as the traveling was " fearful bad " the 

 hunters could make no headway, and the dogs were 

 forced to give in at last. When Dunbar and Alexey 

 finally came up with the dogs the poor brutes lay ex- 

 tended on their sides exhausted, but the bear had gone 

 on. 



November 11th, Thursday. — The general monotony 

 was somewhat varied to-day by Aneguin sighting a 

 bear from the deck-house, and though he started with 

 some dogs in chase failed to come up with it. Even 

 the failure was a change to the monotony. 



Bright, cloudless Arctic night in all its beauty of 

 moonlight and starlight. A magnificent lunar halo at 

 six p. M., something grand beyond description. Sur- 

 rounding the moon were sharply defined circles of deep 

 prismatic colors, making one think of a large colored 

 glass dial strongly illuminated. The whole, 5° in di- 

 ameter. Sounds of grinding ice to southward at three 

 A. M. 



November 12th, Friday. — Another day easily re- 

 corded by a few lines and the greater part of those 

 lines devoted to mentioning the demise of another dog, 

 a victim to a cross-lodged mutton bone. The thirty- 

 four survivors of the canine family do not seem over- 

 come by grief, — the advent of the steward with dish- 

 water and dinner bones admonishes them of the greater 

 importance of the reality of life. 



