Sir James Ross's " House." Ill 



The " Esquimaux *" whaler had meanwhile arrived 

 in Port Leopold, and made fast to the land ice close 

 to the " Arctic/' On the 4th I again went on 

 shore, and had a good look round. The house, of 

 which only the framework is standing, is about 

 thirty-five feet long* by twenty-five feet, and it 

 could easily and expeditiously, by means of a few 

 old sails, be made habitable. The flag-staff had 

 been blown down, and was lying uninjured on the 

 shingle. The launch was a perfect wreck, but the 

 whale boat appeared sound, and could easily be 

 made seaworthy. There were about two hundred 

 and thirty casks of different sizes and descriptions 

 lying* about in all directions, suggesting the idea 

 that they had originally been very carelessly landed. 

 But their positions may probably be attributed to 

 the bears, whose inquisitive habits are well known ; 

 the marks of their teeth and claws being visible on 

 several casks. Much of the biscuit was in a de- 

 cayed state, though some was perfectly good. Tho 

 whole of the tinned meats were in good order, as 

 also were the sugar, chocolate, and tobacco; tea 

 and raisins quite perished ; peas in fair, and flour 

 in a very good state. The blankets were almost as 

 good as new, and I was much astonished at the 

 remarkable state of preservation of the rope, which 

 had been exposed to the weather for twenty-five 

 years. It was bleached perfectly white, resembling- 

 Manilla rope, but on opening the strands the heart 



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