Russian tallow. If not sweet in
savour, it was strong in nourishment, and after six table-spoonfuls,
the most ravenous feeder might have cried, hold! enough!

Frozen pork, which had been boiled on board the ship, was quite a
treat, and decidedly better than cold, thawed pork could have been;
this, with plenty of biscuit and a "jolly hot" basin of tea, and, as
one of the seamen observed, "an invitation to Windsor would have been
declined." The meal done, the tent was carefully swept out, the last
careful arrangement of the pebbles, termed "picking the feathers," was
made, and then a water-proof sheet spread, to prevent our warm bodies,
during the night, melting the frozen ground and wetting us through.
Then every man his blanket bag, a general popping thereinto of the legs
and body, in order that the operation of undressing might be decently
performed, the jacket and wet boots carefully arranged for a pillow;
the wolf-skin robes,--Oh, that the contractor may be haunted by the
aroma of the said robes for his life-time!--brought along both over and
under the party, who lie down alternately, head and feet in a row,
across the tent. Pipes are lighted, the evening's glass of grog served
out; and whilst the cook is washing up, and preparing his things ready
for the morning meal, as well as securing the food on the sledges from
foxes, or a hungry bear, many a tough yarn is told, or joke made, which
keep all hands laughing until the cook reports all right, comes in,
hooks up the door, tucks in the fur robe; and seven jolly mortals, with
a brown-holland tent over their heads, and a winter's gale without, try
to nestle their sides amongst the softest stones, and at last drop into
such a sleep as those only enjoy who drag a sledge all day, with the
temperature 30 deg. below freezing point.

[Headnote: _AUTUMNAL TRAVELLING._]

Friday morning, at seven o'clock, we rolled up our beds, or rather
sleeping-bags, stowed the sledge, drank boiling hot chocolate, and
gnawed cheerily at frozen pork and biscuit; the weather beautiful,
calm, and very cold, below zero, we started, skirting round the bay. By
noon a gale sprung up, sending a body of icy spiculae against our faces,
causing both pain and annoyance. Two mock suns for the first time were
seen to-day. At noon we sat down under the lee of our sledge, and
partook of a mouthful of grog and biscuit, and again marched rapidly
towards "Cape No Name!" By the evening we had marched fourteen