ibe 'fore me
lose arm. Some one must strike for me, an' I turn iron now."

Going out, he brought in several fragments of hard wood, and the spike
or head of the boat-hook. Making a hot fire, he placed the spike
therein, and sinking the edge of an axe in one of the decoys, got Regnar
to strike for him.

"Now no strike hard--strike quick and heasy, right that place every
time;" and taking the glowing iron from the fire, he laid it on the
light anvil.

It was wonderful to see how, like one who uses a trip-hammer, he drew
the iron under the rapidly-plied axe, until the round spike was a
narrow, thin blade about six inches in length. Then shifting the angle
of the iron a little, he directed Regnar how to beat down one side to an
edge, and lastly how to curve the flat of the blade a little at the
point, or rather end. Then, producing several small pieces of lime and
sandstone, found among the earth kept in the boats, for the use of
snow-blind gunners, he proceeded to rub down the edge to something like
fitness for use.

After this he carefully tempered the blade, and with a penknife cut out
a handle, in which he inserted it, lashing the two firmly together with
twine made from one of the cod-lines. Long and patient labor with his
few pebbles, and the leather of his cowhide boots, brought the _waghon_
at length to a keen, smooth edge; and great was Peter's joy when he
again carried at his belt a tool so indispensable to the Indian hunter
and workman.

That day, the fourth of their drift, brought little change in their
position--the icebergs frozen together, were drifting, if at all, in one
vast body. Towards night a north-west wind sprang up, and the
thermometer, had the party possessed such an instrument, would probably
have registered at least -10 deg.. A watch was kept all night to keep the
fire replenished, and all the appliances used to keep out the cold air,
and economize heat, scarcely kept the temperature up as high as +32 deg.,
the freezing point of water.

Waring was kept carefully covered up, and professed to suffer nothing
from cold, having all the extra clothing of the party. It was luckily
the last cold snap of the season, and with the sunrise of the next day,
Sunday, the fifth day of their voyaging, the wind had given place to a
calm, although cold, clear, bracing atmosphere.

After the usual ablutions, which were never neglected by the party,
followed by breakfast, the ice being closely frozen together