298 HUNTING IN THE JUNGLE. 



Switzerland of icy peaks and crystal ravines, clothed, in 

 place of forests, with stalactites and stalagmites, firm as 

 marble and glittering like diamonds. By aid of our con- 

 veyances, half-sled and half-boat, we could travel among 

 these wonders, hunting and fishing, and there was not 

 a man on board but enjoyed the life, which we made as 

 like that of tlie Esquimaux as possible. Out of three 

 white bear-skins I had made myself a suit, perfectly 

 impervious to wind and weather, giving me much the 

 appearance of the animals from which they were taken. 

 Only my eyes were visible, and even they were pro- 

 tected from the cold by a veil. 



'' More trying b}- far to a traveller than the cold is the 

 darkness. Those long nights, during which all Nature 

 seems dead, are so wearisome, and fill the mind with 

 ennui, and the body with lassitude. 



" One day the doctor came to pay me one of the long 

 visits which rendered life endurable during these hours 

 of darkness. His cabin was next to mine, — for we had 

 built huts and dug out caves in the ice, instead of re- 

 maining on board in the discomfort caused by the angle 

 at which the vessel lay, — and he suggested our tunnel- 

 ling the partition of ice between, that we might have a 

 covered gallery connecting our rooms. I agreed, and we 

 set to work instantly, hoping to grow warm during the 

 exercise. We were nearly done, and were beginning to 

 congratulate ourselves on the rapidity of our work, when, 

 in reply to a vigorous blow of the hatchet, we heard dis- 



