OF THE POLAR SEA. 



185 



or going for meat ; but on the next day the 

 weather was fine, and they renewed their 

 labours. The thermometer that day did 

 not rise higher than 42°, and it fell to 31° 

 before midnight. On the morning of the 

 25th, we were surprised by some early 

 symptoms of the approach of winter; the 

 small pools were frozen over, and a flock of 

 of geese passed to the southward. In the 

 afternoon, however, a fog came on, which 

 afterwards changed into rain, and the ice 

 quickly disappeared. We suffered great 

 anxiety all the next day respecting John 

 Hepburn, who had gone to hunt before sun- 

 rise on the 25th, and had been absent ever 

 since. About four hours after his departure 

 the wind changed, and a dense fog obscured 

 every mark by which his course to the 

 tents could be directed, and we thought it 

 probable he had been wandering in an op- 

 posite direction to our situation, as the two 

 hunters who had been sent to look for him, 

 returned at sunset without having seen him. 

 Akaitcho arrived with his party, and we 

 were greatly disappointed at finding they 



