1 42 Hall Returns to NoO-lVOOJi. [February, 1S65. 



On the lOtli of February he began his return journey to Noo- 

 icooJ:, leaving' behind him, as he had unwillingly anticipated, the larger 

 number of the natives. They had made themselves very useful in 

 1 muting for the crews the seal, the fox, and the bear, with the usual 

 varied success and excitement of the chase. Ar-mou at one time going 

 alone in pursuit of a large polar, harpooned him, but, in his determi- 

 nation to secure the animal, he was himself fairly dragged over the 

 thin ice to the sea and nearly drowned. Ou-e-la and Ar-mou, before 

 going down in December, had agreed that they would early return. 

 But now, with their wives and friends, they were not unwillingly 

 detained by the cajotains. On bidding the whalers good-bye, Hall 

 was furnished with some substantial and even delicacies ; for he was 

 unable to conceal the fact that he considered some "civilization food" 

 as almost a necessity. After the play of Damon and Pythias, given in 

 his honor on the previous evening, he made a speech to 140 seamen 

 gathered on one of the ships, complimenting the courage and hardi- 

 hood of the American whalers who succeeded in finding harbors in a 



that had been adjusted to Greenwich or to any other time in making his lunar observations. 

 Indeed, it may be supposed that he knows nothing of time save the year. By the observed alti- 

 tude and variation of declination of the snn or one of the i)lanets, he can determine the month of 

 the year, and by the lunar distance the day of the month, and by repeated workings of the lunar 

 observations can determine Greenwich mean time as a]>proximately as lunars will admit. 

 Having Greenwich mean time by it, one easily gets Greenwich apparent time. The party now at 

 the Pole, we will say, is desirous to i^roceed toward Greenwich. He consults his watch, which is 

 now at band and in running order. A good time-pieee should, however, 1)e in hand at the time 

 the angular distance of the moon from the sun, or the moon from such other heavenly body as 

 may be used in the lunar observations is observed, and the exact moment noted. No matter what 

 hour this instrument is set to before commencing the observation, the result of the lunar obser- 

 vations will show how much too fast or slow the chronometer is on Greenwich time ; and thus 

 one has in hand the instrument to tell him at any moment, therefore, the Greenwich mean time. 



When the time-piece indicates the apparent time of Greenwich of Oh. Om. Os., the sun (we 

 will suppose it to be summer in north latitude) is, on the meridian of Greenwich, exactly in the 

 direction of Greemcxch. 



The observer at this moment directs his compass-sight and takes a bearing. He proceeds, 

 as he lifaves the Pole, not only south (there is only one cardinal point at the North Pole, Avhich 

 is south), but on the meridian of Greenivich. 



Greenwich mean time may be determined by an occnltation of a stai or of a planet; also, 

 by the eclipses of .Jupiter's satellites. Jupiter, liowever, is alternately in sight and out of sight 

 for six years at a time at the Pol.-s of the earth. (Journal on board the whaler at Depot Island.) 



