The World of Ice

able change in the men's appearance-Mossing,

red the sides of the rocks with bright crystals. All the feathered tribes took their departure for less rigorous climes, with the exception of a small white bird about the size of a sparrow, called the snow-bird, which is the last to leave the icy North. Then a tremendous storm arose, and the sea became choked up with icebergs and floes, which the frost soon locked together into a solid mass. Towards

bjects visible in the landscape were those precipices which were too steep for the snow to lie on, the towering form of the giant flagstaff, and

e sun was just struggling with the last of the clouds, Captain Guy remarked to his friends

two in the hard work of chewing a piece of hard salt junk; "why, wh

r hands in, before setting to work in earnest!--Wh

ospital will soon fill if you carry

more work the better health is my experi

mate, bolting a large mouthful of po

inst you, doctor,"

; "for I quite agree with Tom, and with that excellent prove

ith in a ship a semi-passenger is the worst. I think, Fred, I must get yo

speak, unless at work. He was able to do almost anything after a fashion, and was never idle for a mome

superintend the unloading.-Then, Mr. Saunders, do you go and set a gang of men to cut a canal through the young ice from the ship to the island. Fortunately the floes there are wide enough apart to let our quarter-boats float between them. The unshipping won't take long. Tell Buzzby to take a dozen men with him and collect moss; we'll need a

he latter duty, the more willingly that I wish to ha

to do, captain?

ou plea

of Meetuck; he's apt to ge

long continued, came from the deck, and a sound

ar bears had boarded the vessel, and were executing a dance of triumph before proceeding to make a meal of the crew; but on closer inspection it became apparent that the men had undergone a strange transformat

in he drew from a bundle which he had brought with him a dress made of the fur of the Arctic fox, some of the skins being white and the others blue. It consisted of a loose coat, somewhat in the form of a shirt, with a large hood to it, and a short elongation behind like the commencement of a tail. The boots were made of white bear-skin, which, at the end of the foot, were made to terminate with the claws of the animal; and they were so long that t

could look at him without laughing, and the shout with which he was received on deck the first time he made his appearance in his new costume was loud and prolonged. But Meetuck w

a rough kind. Meetuck showed them how to set about their work. Each man made his own garments, and in less than a week they were completed. It is true, the boots perplexed them a little, and the less ingenious among the men made very rare and curious-looking foot-gear for themselves; but they succeeded after a

gasped Mivins, after dancing round the

d to say whether his breadth or length was greater-"heavy, d'ye say? It must

he carpenter's mate, and throwing a mass of snow in his face. The frost rendered it impossible to form the

e that!" said Peter Grim, giving the Iris

'Riley, as he rose and ran away; "why

's not one o' my own size to hit," rem

ons of two large men rolled into one. But O'Riley was not to be overturned with impunity. Skulking round behind the crew, who were laug

led in all directions while their victim regained his feet, and rushed wildly after them. At last he caught O'Riley, and grasping him by the two shoulders gave him a heave that was intended and "calc'lated," as Amos Parr afterwards remarked, "to pitch him over the foretop-sail-yard!" But an Irishman is not easi

aptain deemed it pr

find that your new dresses," he added with a significant smile, "make you fond of rough work in th

gave a final cheer, and in ten minutes they we

be cut out from the beds of the snow streams with comparative ease; but now the mixed turf of willows, heaths, grasses, and moss was frozen solid, and had to be quarried with crowbars and carried to the ship like so much stone. However, it was prosecuted vigorously, and a sufficient quantity w

is ice became several feet thick; and the snow drifted up her hull so much that it seemed as if she were resting on the land, and had taken final leave of her native element. Strong hawsers were then secured to Store Island, in order to guard against the possibility of her being carried away by any sudden disruption of the ice. The disposition of the masts, yards, and sails was next determined on. The top-gallant-masts were s

f the lower deck and in the cabin near the hatchway. It was therefore resolved to convert some sheet-iron, which they fortunately possessed, into pipes, which, being conducted from the cooking-stove through the length of the ship, served in some degree to raise the temperature and ventilate the cabins. A regular daily allowance of coal was served out, and four steady men appointed to attend to the fire in regular watches, for the double purpose of seeing that none of the fuel should be w

her. Afterwards, when the dark season set in, and the crew were confined by the intense cold more than formerly within the ship, various schemes were set afoot for passing the time profitably and agreeably. Among others, a school was started by the captain for instructing such of the crew as chose to attend in reading, writing, and arithmetic, and in this hyperborean academy Fred Ellice acted as the writing master, and Tom Singleton as the accountant. The men were much amused at first at the idea of "goin' to school," and some of them looked rather shy at it; but O'Riley, after some consideration, came boldly forward and said, "Well, boys, bad luck to me if I don't

Fred started an illustrated newspaper once a-week, which was named the Arctic Sun, and which was in great favour during the whole course of its brief existence. It is true, only one copy was issued each morning of publication, because, besides supplying the greater proportion of the material himself, and executing the illustrations in a style that would have made Mr. Leech of the present day envious, he had to transcribe the various con

end and object of their life in those regions. But we must remind him that though many more pages might be filled in recounting all the particulars, but a small portion of their time was, after all, taken up in this way; and it would have been well for them had they been able

inches deep, over which a carpet of canvas was spread. Every opening in the deck was fastened down and covered deeply over with moss, with the exception of one hatch, which was their only entrance, and this was kept constantly closed except when it

elped to keep up the temperature within. A staircase of snow was built up to the bulwarks on the larboard quarter, and on the starboard

turers for spending the winter; but although we have described them at this p