298 FARTHEST NORTH 



after all, it is not much more surprising than my coming 

 upon fox-tracks out on the ice between Jan Mayen and 

 Spitzbergen. 



" Monday, October 30th. To-day the temperature has 

 gone down to 18° below zero ( — 27° C). I took up the 

 dredge I had put out yesterday. It brought up two 

 pails of mud from the bottom, and I have been busy all 

 day washing this out in the saloon in a large bath, to get 

 the many animals contained in it. They were chiefly 

 starfish, waving starfish, medusae {Astrophyton), sea-slugs, 

 coral insects {Alcyonaria), worms, sponges, shell-fish, and 

 crustaceans ; and were, of course, all carefully preserved 

 in spirits. 



"Tuesday, October 31st. Forty-nine fathoms (90 m.) 

 of water to-day, and the current driving us hard to the 

 southwest. We have good wind for the mill now, and 

 the electric lamps burn all day. The arc lamp under the 

 skylight makes us quite forget the want of sun. Oh I 

 light is a glorious thing, and life is fair in spite of all 

 privations ! This is Sverdrup's birthday, and we had 

 revolver practice in the morning. Of course a mag- 

 nificent dinner of five courses — chicken soup, boiled 

 mackerel, reindeer ribs with baked cauliflower and po- 

 tatoes, macaroni pudding, and stewed pears with milk 

 — Rino^nes ale to wash it down. 



" Thursday, November 2d. The temperature keeps 

 at about 22° below zero ( — 30° C.) now; but it does not 

 feel very cold, the air is so still. We can see the aurora 



