422 
WOOD-CUTTING. 
cooking-stove and the lighter impurities of the crowded 
cabin. 
“We burn but seventy pounds of fuel a day, most of 
it in the galley; the fire being allowed to go out be¬ 
tween meals. We go without fire altogether for four 
hours of the night; yet such is the excellence of our 
moss walls, and the air-proof of our, tossut, that the 
thermometer in-doors never indicates less than 45° 
above zero, with the outside air at 30° below. When 
our housing is arranged and the main hatch secured 
with a proper weather-tight screen of canvas, we shall 
be able, I hope, to meet the extreme cold of February 
and March without fear. 
“Darkness is the worst enemy we have to face; but 
we will strive against the scurvy in spite of him, till 
the light days of sun and vegetation. The spring hunt 
will open in March, though it will avail us very little 
till late in April. 
“Wilson and Brooks are my principal subjects of 
anxiety; for, although Morton and Hans are on their 
backs, making four of our ten, I can see strength of 
system in their cheerfulness of heart. The best pro¬ 
phylactic is a hopeful, sanguine temperament; the best 
cure, moral resistance, that spirit of combat against 
every trial which is alone true bravery. 
“October 27, Friday.—The work is going on: we 
are ripping off the extra planking of our deck for fuel 
during the winter. The cold increases fast, verging 
now upon 40° below zero; and in spite of all my efforts 
we will have to burn largely into the brig. I prepared 
