to remove into the house,
where they afterwards passed the winter 1596-97 with many
sufferings, dangers, difficulties, and privations which are
described in De Veer's work. The crew, however, never lost courage,
which undoubtedly was a principal cause of most of them being saved.
The house was built on the north-east side of Novaya Zemlya, on the
shore of Barents' Ice Haven. It was situated far to the north of any
other place where men had previously passed the winter. The land and
its animal life was unknown, the hard frozen, almost rock-fast and
yet continually moving ice-covering, with which the sea was bound,
was something quite novel, as also were the effects which long
continued and severe cold exerts on animate and inanimate objects.
Before the attempt was made it was not considered at all certain
that men could actually endure the severe cold of the highest north
and the winter night three or four months long. No wonder therefore
that the skill and undaunted resolution of the Dutch Polar explorers
aroused unmingled admiration among all civilised nations, and that
the narrative of their wintering was received with unbounded
interest and formed the subject of innumerable writings and
reproductions both in prose and verse in almost all civilised
languages. Only a few facts from the journal of the wintering need
therefore be given here.

[Illustration: BARENTS' HOUSE, OUTSIDE. From De Veer. ]

[Illustration: BARENTS' HOUSE, INSIDE. From De Bry. ]

On the 14/4th November the sun disappeared, and was again visible on
the 3rd Feb./24th Jan. These dates have caused scientific men much
perplexity, because in latitude 76 deg. North, the upper edge of
the sun ought to have ceased to be visible when the sun's south
declination in autumn became greater than 13 deg.,[141] and to
have again become visible when the declination again became less
than that figure; that is so say, the sun ought to have been seen
for the last time at Barents' Ice Haven on the 27/17th October, and
it ought to have appeared again there on the 14/4th February. It has
been supposed that the deviation arose from some considerable error
in counting the days, but this was unanimously denied by the crew
who wintered.[142] The bears disappeared and reappeared with the
sun. Instead, foxes came during winter to the building, and were
caught for food in numbers, many on the roof of the house. In order
to pass the time and keep up their courage, the Dutch