SEALS SHOT. 53 



wondered at, as the tliermometer 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 11th 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. 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 



s 3 



