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220 VOYAGE TO THE POLAR SEA. January 



hummocks may frequently be mistaken for water. At 

 noon the lofty nimbus clouds, which are only seen 

 during a gale — evidently driven up here from warmer 

 regions many hundreds of miles away — were passing 

 quickly from the S.W. to N.E. At 6 p.m., when it was 

 calm in the lower regions, their course changed to 

 S.E., heavy masses collecting about the entrance of 

 Eobeson Channel. 



' 12th. — To-day at noon the sky close to the 

 horizon displayed a decided tint of green, the first we 

 have experienced from the returning sun, although we 

 observed a somewhat similar appearance a week ago 

 caused by the moon. At 9 a.m. the temperature was 

 only minus 3°. It may seem strange that we thus 

 complain of a rise in temperature, but such is the fact. 

 Everyone rejoiced when the temperature fell yesterday 

 to minus 20°. The explanation is that a high tem- 

 perature indicates unsettled weather with wind, a low 

 temperature means a calm, when the weather, however 

 cold, is bearable. 



' Walked up to the top of our look-out hill with 

 Feilden. This was the first visit of the year. The 

 outside floes, lit up by a full moon and the slight mid- 

 day twilight, look extremely rough and hummocky. 

 About a mile north of Cape Sheridan was a streak of 

 water-smoke, rising evidently from a tidal crack. My 

 companion, forgetting the cold temperature, longed to 

 be there with a dredge. 



' Owing to the comparatively slight snow-fall 

 during the last few months, there is now far less on 

 the hill-tops than there was last autumn. In fact, on 

 the look-out hill the snow, which had then collected 



