d often come and eat the
snare by scratching out the snow from under the trap; the doctor wished
them at the devil, as he could not get them himself. On the 25th of
October the thermometer marked more than 4 degrees below zero. A
violent tempest set in; the air was thick with snow, which prevented
a ray of light reaching the _Forward_. During several hours they were
very uneasy about Bell and Simpson, who had gone too far whilst
hunting; they did not reach the ship till the next day, after having
lain for a whole day in their buckskins, whilst the tempest swept
the air about them, and buried them under five feet of snow. They
were nearly frozen, and the doctor had some trouble to restore their
circulation.

The tempest lasted a week without interruption. It was impossible
to stir out. In a single day the temperature varied fifteen and twenty
degrees. During their forced idleness each one lived to himself; some
slept, others smoked, or talked in whispers, stopping when they saw
the doctor or Johnson approach; there was no moral union between the
men; they only met for evening prayers, and on Sunday for Divine
service. Clifton had counted that once the 78th parallel cleared,
his share in the bounty would amount to 375 pounds; he thought that
enough, and his ambition did not go beyond. The others were of the
same opinion, and only thought of enjoying the fortune acquired at
such a price. Hatteras was hardly ever seen. He neither took part
in the hunting nor other excursions. He felt no interest in the
meteorological phenomena which excited the doctor's admiration. He
lived for one idea; it was comprehended in three words--the North
Pole. He was constantly looking forward to the moment when the
_Forward_, once more free, would begin her adventurous voyage again.

In short, it was a melancholy life; the brig, made for movement, seemed
quite out of place as a stationary dwelling; her original form could
not be distinguished amidst the ice and snow that covered her, and
she was anything but a lively spectacle. During these unoccupied hours
the doctor put his travelling notes in order--the notes from which
this history is taken; he was never idle, and the evenness of his
humour remained the same, only he was very glad to see the tempest
clearing off so as to allow him to set off hunting once more. On the
3rd of November, at six in the morning, with a temperature at 5 degrees
below zero, he started, accompanied by Johnson and