A LONG JUMP . 
113 
moment grow worse, so without further delay wc 
divest ourself of our heavy hoots, examine the edge 
of the ice for a good take off, and with a run and 
n jump, which seemed almost impossible, we just 
•catch the edge of another island of ice, and though 
we wet our feet in the attempt, are thankful for our 
success. Wet feet up here is a matter of serious con¬ 
sequence, however. Our difficulty is now overcome, 
sm d after some hard tugging we haul our boat along¬ 
side, stow away our prize, and make for the next 
batch of floating seals. We gain experience as we 
go; we find that a single seal resting upon the ice is 
far easier to approach than a small herd, for the party, 
no matter how small, seems to appoint one of their 
number as a watcher, whose nervous trepidation in 
Ms position of responsibility always communicates 
itself to his companions, and the possibility of ap¬ 
proaching near enough for our purpose is reduced to 
the smallest odds. 
We did not leave off the pursuit until the boat 
began to settle rather low down in the water, owing 
to a heavy cargo of blubber attached to the skins of 
the seals we had killed. 
Eight hours of seal-hunting is fatiguing work for 
the keenest sportsman, and although we return to our 
ship in broad daylight, we turn in for a few hours' 
