CHAPTER XVI. 
PREPARATION-TEMPERATURES-ADVENTURE-AN ALARM-PARTY 
ON THE FLOES-RESCUE PARTY-LOST ON TnE FLOES-PARTY 
FOUND-RETURN-FREEZING-RETURNING CAMP-A BIVOUAC 
-EXHAUSTED-ESCAPE-CONSEQUENCES. 
“March 21, Tuesday.—All hands at work house¬ 
cleaning. Thermometer —48°. Visited the fox-traps 
with Hans in the afternoon, and found one poor ani¬ 
mal frozen dead. He was coiled up, with his nose 
buried in his bushy tail, like a fancy foot-muff or the 
prie-dieu of a royal sinner. A hard thing about his 
fate was that he had succeeded in effecting his escape 
from the trap; but, while working his way under¬ 
neath, had been frozen fast to a smooth stone by the 
moisture of his own breath. He was not probably 
aware of it before the moment when he sought to 
avail himself of his hard-gained liberty. These sad¬ 
dening thoughts did not impair my appetite at supper, 
where the little creature looked handsomer than ever. 
“March 22, Wednesday.—We took down the for¬ 
ward bulkhead to-day, and moved the men aft, to save 
fuel. All hands are still at work clearing up the 
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