CHAPTER II. 
“ Dispecta est et Thule.” 
Tacitus. 
Our boats, to be used by-and-by, are now being 
overhauled, all hands being busy with their fitting. 
They are lightly constructed of pinewood, and are 
carvel-built. Their smooth sides make but little noise 
as they rise to the waves; for they are coated with 
zinc on the outer sides, to fend off the ice, which w’ould 
otherwise injure the wood by its constant grinding. 
Each extremity is built whale-boat fashion, fine at the 
end. They are fitted to pull either four or four pair 
of oars; each oar has a grummet, which to the un¬ 
initiated means a pin and a ring. They are steered 
with an oar instead of the ordinary rudder; they have 
a mast and sail, and each thwart or bench has its use. 
These boats offer no accommodation for an idle visitor, 
and they seem to say in reply to a close inspection, 
“No admittance here except on business.” 
There are four whale-lines on board, each equal to 
960 yards ; these fill the spaces between the thwarts ; 
