

206 VOYAGE TO THE POLAR SEA. December 



the lower-deck was not much affected, although every 

 door was freely open. 



4 'Jth. — A calm day, with misty weather, temperature 

 about zero, everyone complaining of the warmth. The 

 men working outside the ship and the officers walking 

 on the ice were obliged to take off their seal-skin coats, 

 even feeling warm and uncomfortable after doing so. 

 During very cold weather seal-skin dresses, invaluable 

 for common wear, cannot be used by anyone engaged 

 in hard manual labour. When taking violent exer- 

 cise, or undergoing hard work and perspiring freely, 

 the warm emanations from the body, being unable to 

 pass through the skin-dress, collect inside, wetting all 

 garments alike, the seal-skin amongst the number. 

 When resting, the then damp outer skin-dress becomes 

 frozen, hardening like a board, in which it is impossible 

 to move. 



' 13th. — Temperature minus 28° and calm weather. 

 A glorious day, or I suppose we ought now to say night, 

 for were it not for the full moon shining brightly in a 

 clear sky we should be in total darkness. The floe is 

 lightened up considerably, and the shadows thrown by 

 the ice hummocks and snow-ridges permit us to walk 

 forward with confidence. The lumps which we have 

 been stumbling against during the absence of the 

 moon are being smoothed down. The temperature of 

 the beef-house on the ice has remained steady at 12° 

 for some days. Owing to the brine dripping from the 

 unfrozen beef on to the ice below, the surface of the 

 ice has itself become sufficiently salt to thaw at that 

 temperature ; consequently, under the grating on which 

 the beef is placed there is a pool of water — a very 



