626 



HISTORY OF THE SEA. 



"December 2d. No open water has been seen for several days. 

 Cannot catch anything. Land has been seen for several days ; 

 cannot determine which shore it is, east or west. It has been 

 so cloudy we cannot select a star to go by. Some think it is the 

 east land ; I think it is the west. Boiled some sealskin to-day 

 and ate it — blubber, hair, and tough skin. The men ate it; I 

 could not; the hair is too thick, and we have no means of get- 

 ting it off. 8th. All in good health. The only thing that 

 troubles us is hunger; that is very severe. We feel sometimes 

 as though we could eat each other. Very weak, but, please 

 God, we will weather it all. 24th. Christmas Eve. We are 

 longing for to-morrow, ^hen we shall have quite a feast : 'half a 

 pound each of raw ham, which we have been saving nearly a 

 month for Christmas. A month ago our ham gave out, so we 

 saved this for the feast. Yesterday 9 degrees below zero ; 

 to-day 4 degrees above. 25£A. Christmas Bay. This is a day 

 of jubilee at home, and certainly here for us; for beside the 

 approaching daylight, we have quite a feast to-day. One ounce 

 of bread extra per man, which made our soup for breakfast a 

 little thicker than for dinner. We had soup made from a 

 pound of seal blood, which we had saved for a month ; a two 

 pound can of sausage meat, the last of our canned meat ; a few 

 ounces of seal, which we saved with the blood, all cut up fine; 

 last of our can of apples, which we saved also for Christmas. 

 The whole was boiled to a thick soup, which I think was the 

 sweetest meal I ever ate. This, with half a pound of ham and 

 two ounces of bread, gave us our Christmas dinner. Then in 

 the evening we had our usual thin soup. 



"January 1st, 1873. — Poor dinner for New Year's Day; 

 mouldy bread and short allowance. 2d. Mr. Meyer took an 

 observation last night: latitude 72° 10', longitude 60° 40'. 

 The news was so good that I treated myself to an extra pipe of 

 tobacco. We are obliged to cook our' meals over the lamp; 

 slow work. Thermometer 31 degrees below zero. 19th. Clear; 



