SUNSHINE AND STORM II3 



piteously to be let in, something I have never known him to 

 do before. Now at 10.45 it is raining hard. 



Monday, February 15. What a \vretched twenty-four hours 

 the past have been ! All night the wind blew in violent gusts, 

 sometimes accompanied by wet snow and sometimes by rain. 

 This morning the whole place appears in a dilapidated condi- 

 tion. A thaw has set in, and the water is running in every 

 direction. The inmates of the snow-igloo were forced to leave 

 it, and to-night one could read through its walls, the action of 

 the wind, water, and temperature has worn them so thin. Part 

 of our snow- wall has fallen, or rather melted down, and the 

 water is pouring down the sides of the house into the canvas- 

 covered passages, soaking everything. The thermometer reads 

 38°, and the wind still blows, while it continues to rain and 

 snow. With Matt's assistance I have moved everything out 

 of the lean-to back of the house, and have had all the cutlery 

 brought in, some of which was already covered with rust. At 

 two o'clock the water began to come in under my back door, 

 and then Gibson, who has the night-watch, and therefore the 

 right to sleep during the day, got up, and with Matt went on 

 the roof and shoveled the snow off to prevent the water from 

 leaking into the house. It was all they could do to keep from 

 being blown down, and in ten minutes both were drenched to 

 the skin. If our little party on the ice have this wind and 

 rain, I do not see what they can do. Their snow-hut will 

 melt over them, and they will be w^et and cold, while in such 

 a wind it will be impossible to venture down the cliffs. To- 



