the carpenter flat
down, and obliterating his black beard and his whole visage in a mass of
snow. Several of the wilder spirits among the men leaped on the
prostrate Grim, and nearly smothered him before he could gather himself
up for a struggle; then they fled in all directions while their victim
regained his feet, and rushed wildly after them. At last he caught
O'Riley, and grasping him by the two shoulders gave him a heave that was
intended and "calc'lated," as Amos Parr afterwards remarked, "to pitch
him over the foretop-sail-yard!" But an Irishman is not easily overcome.
O'Riley suddenly straightened himself and held his arms up over his
head, and the violent heave, which, according to Parr, was to have sent
him to such an uncomfortable elevation, only pulled the jumper
completely off his body, and left him free to laugh in the face of his
big friend, and run away.

At this point the captain deemed it prudent to interfere.

"Come, come, my lads!" he cried, "enough o' this. That's not the morning
work, is it? I'm glad to find that your new dresses," he added with a
significant smile, "make you fond of rough work in the snow; there's
plenty of it before us.--Come down below with me, Meetuck; I wish to
talk with you."

As the captain descended to the cabin the men gave a final cheer, and in
ten minutes they were working laboriously at their various duties.

Buzzby and his party were the first ready and off to cut moss. They drew
a sledge after them towards the red-snow valley, which was not more than
two miles distant from the ship. This "mossing," as it was termed, was
by no means a pleasant duty. Before the winter became severe, the moss
could be cut out from the beds of the snow streams with comparative
ease; but now the mixed turf of willows, heaths, grasses, and moss was
frozen solid, and had to be quarried with crowbars and carried to the
ship like so much stone. However, it was prosecuted vigorously, and a
sufficient quantity was soon procured to pack on the deck of the ship,
and around its sides, so as to keep out the cold. At the same time, the
operation of discharging the stores was carried on briskly; and Fred, in
company with Meetuck, O'Riley, and Joseph West, started with the
dog-sledge on a hunting-expedition.

In order to enable the reader better to understand the condition of the
_Dolphin_ and her crew, we will detail the several arrangements that
were made at this time and during the succeeding f