122 THE GERMAN ARCTIC EXPEDITION. 



further protection for the still sometimes leaking roof. 

 Some days later we had another visit from master 

 " Bruin." As we left the house on the 2ord of November, 

 we noticed several traces of his presence ; he had been 

 at the boat Bismarck, and standing on his hind feet had 

 sniffed the provisions lying there, when he had met 

 with the misfortune of falling through the tightly-spread, 

 stiffly-frozen sail-cloth. Terrified by this from the inves- 

 tigation of the contents of the boat, he had turned to the 

 house, at the entrance of which we found his marks. The 

 brightness of the lamp, always burning in the snow path, 

 had then (we supposed) Mghtened him. 



In the beginning of November our drifting was con- 

 siderable; from the 5th to the 13th of November it 

 amounted daily to eight nautical miles; from 70° N.L. 

 and 21° W.L. to 69° 4-5' N.L. and 22° W W.L. 

 At this time the bright northern lights afforded us daily 

 an agreeable matter for conversation. The dazzling- 

 coloured rays stretched perpendicularly over the whole 

 horizon, sometimes undulating like the folds of a giant 

 curtain set in motion by the wind. The down-shooting 

 colours seemed to touch our field, emitting such a blind- 

 ing light that our shadows were sharply defined, and the 

 light of the stars greatly weakened. When, as was often- 

 times the case, the beautiful appearance was suddenly 

 manifested, it went slowly through different forms to the 

 height of its glory. 



The rotatory motion of our field was, up to the 22nd 

 of November, rather slow, as from the 10th it had only 

 turned once round. The quicker drift-current had been 

 more effectual in its working, and had brought about 

 this revolution in the short space of four days. 



