492 THE WELLMAN POLAR EXPEDITION 



ing at the apex of the roof we built another shell around the 

 whole, walled it up with blocks of snow and stretched a third roof 

 over it in the shape of an old discarded mainsail from the Wind- 

 ward which we had picked up at Cape Flora. When the winter 

 came on in earnest the snow drifted over the house, fairly bury- 

 ing it, as well as the store-shed which we had built at one side of 

 Russian timber. The little windows were buried under walls of 

 snow six or eight feet in thickness, and about this house there 

 were in the Arctic darkness just two signs that it was actually used 

 as a human habitation — the little stovepipe at the apex of the 

 roof, pouring forth its cherry sparks, and a small, black hole at 

 the entrance to the shed, through which we crawled in making 

 ingress or egress. 



We built an observatory of snow-blocks, too, for protecting 

 the meteorological and magnetic instruments from the fury of 

 storms, and within this enclosure (it had no roof) Mr Baldwin, 

 the meteorologist from the U. S. Weather Bureau, and Mr Harlan, 

 the physicist, carried on a series of observations throughout the 

 dark season. Mr Baldwin secured continuous thermograph, 

 barograph, and anemometer records during our entire sojourn 

 in the Arctics, and also made a most painstaking study of the 

 aurora borealis, comparing the manifestations here with a similar 

 study which he had made in Greenland some years before. His 

 observations and conclusions in this important field of scientific 

 inquiry, when elaborated and published, as I understand they 

 are to be by the government, will, in my opinion, form a valu- 

 able contribution to the literature of that topic. Mr Harlan also 

 studied the aurora, particularly from the point of view of its 

 effect upon the magnetic needle, and his report thereon, as well 

 as his general study of the physical conditions of Franz Josef 

 Land, I intend to publish in proper form and place as soon as 

 possible. Dr Edward Hofma, medical officer and naturalist of 

 the expedition, has a most interesting report concerning the fauna 

 and flora of that region. 



Within our hut we passed a very comfortable winter. It is 

 true that at times the thermometer, hanging upon the wall 10 

 feet from the diminutive stove, had hard work keeping its head 

 above the zero mark, and where we sat upon our packing boxes, 

 each in his own " corner," hoar-frost was constantly hanging upon 

 the wall ; but all this was reckoned as nothing ; nor did we suffer 

 from the effects of the long night. If there was any melancholia 

 its victim managed to keep his sufferings pretty well concealed. 



