remarked
Andrew. "Let us skin him and cut him up at once, and then he'll be all
ready to pack if we want to travel from this place."

We soon cut up the bear, very clumsily I will allow, for there was no
butcher among us; and collecting the fattest parts to serve as fuel for
our lamp, we soon had some bear-steaks frying away under our noses. We
took a very little of our biscuit in addition, but Andrew advised us to
economise it to the utmost.

The skin was taken off as neatly as we could manage the work, and then,
having scraped the inside clean, we hung it up in front of our hut to
dry. We spent the whole day anxiously looking out for some sign of the
gale abating, for we knew that every hour of its continuance would send
our ship farther and farther away from us; but in the evening it blew as
hard as it had done at the first.

The wind was too high, and cut us too keenly, to allow us to go from
under shelter of our hut in search of seals; but we were not entirely
idle. In the first place we drew the boat up to it, and secured our
remaining provisions. We also cut up the flesh of the bear into long
strips, that they might more easily dry in the air; besides this, we
heightened the walls of our habitation, and sloped them inward, so as to
enable the sail to cover the hut more completely.

The greater number of the men, however, showed little inclination to
work, preferring to pass the day sitting crowded together in the hut in
a sort of dreamy forgetfulness of the present, without speaking or
moving. I own that few positions could be much more disheartening than
ours; but I saw the necessity of keeping the intellects awake, ready for
active exertion, if we would save our lives.

We cooked some of our bear-steaks for supper, and boiled up a little
cocoa; so that for food we might have been worse off. We found also
that the lamp, small as it was, diffused a warmth throughout the hut,
which enabled us to pass the night much more agreeably than we had the
previous one.

The bears seemed to have been aware of the fate of their brother, for
none came near us. Another morning dawned; and though the gale still
blew strong, it had somewhat abated; but yet it was still necessary to
keep under shelter.

"As soon as the wind drops we must go sealing," remarked Andrew. "If we
could get a good number of seals, or unies, or walrus, we might keep our
lamp burning all night and day through the winter. Their flesh is n