BY SLEDGE AND KAYAK 309 



" Wednesday, July lotli. It is a curious thing that now, 

 when I really have something of a little more interest 

 than usual to relate, I have less inclination to write than 

 ever. Everything seems to become mere and more in- 

 different. One longs only for one single thing, and still 

 the ice is lying out there covered with impassable snow. 



"But what was it I had to say .^ Oh yes, that we 

 made ourselves such a good bed yesterday with bear- 

 skins under the bag; that we slept the clock round with- 

 out knowing it, and I thought it was six in the morn- 

 ing when I turned out. When I came out of the tent I 

 thought there was something remarkable about the posi- 

 tion of the sun, and pondered over it for a little while, 

 until I came to the conclusion that it was six in the 

 evening, and that we had slumbered for twenty-tw^o hours. 

 We have not slept much of late, as we have been broken 

 on the wheel, so to speak, by the snow-shoes we had 

 to place under the bag, in order to keep it clear of the 

 pools of water under us. The apologies for hair still ex- 

 isting here and there on the skin at the bottom of the 

 bag do not afford much protection against the sharp 

 edges of the snow-shoes. 



" This beneficent rain continued the whole day on 

 Saturday, doing away with a fair amount of snow, and we 

 rejoice to hear it. To celebrate the good weather we 

 determined to have chocolate for supper; otherwise we 

 live entirely on our catch. We had the chocolate ac- 

 cordingly, and served with raw blubber it tasted quite 



