SEALS SHOT. 53 



wondered at, as the thermometer in our cabin 

 ranges between 36 and 44, and we sit in our 

 fur great- coats and fur boots in order to avoid 

 having the stove lighted, for we both think 

 that in such a small confined place any cold 

 is preferable to the heat and unwholesome 

 closeness of a stove. 



The llth was just such another day, and 

 we did not see twenty yards from the deck all 

 day : in the evening a big seal was observed 

 looming through the fog, and looking as large 

 as a walrus in the haze. Lord David shot him 

 dead. &quot;When a single animal is observed from 

 the ship, we take it in turns to go after him, 

 and as we always sleep in our clothes, we are 

 ready at a moment s notice, at any hour of 

 the day or night, whenever the watch on deck 

 report anything in sight. Our crew are di 

 vided into three watches, of four hours each, 

 but all hands are summoned on deck when 

 ever a herd of walruses is seen, and in case 

 of both boats leaving the vessel, Isaac the 

 skyppar and the ship s cook take charge on 

 deck. Isaac himself is a renowned harpooner, 

 and a first-rate man altogether, but unfor 

 tunately he broke his left arm a few weeks 

 before we sailed, so that he is unable to use 



E 3 



