Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1891-08-17

seen Yesterday and Professor Heilorin, the
only man on board without a gun, found
some bear tracks on the foe.
| After turning in last night we had good
old-fashioned Christmas snowstorn that
awoke recollections of yule logs and other
things. We could have played SNOWFALL
this morning. At 10:45 A, NJ. we started
crashing ahead again for some imaginary
clear water to the north. The Kite lurched
and cavorted so that writing was hard work.
Perhaps that is all the better, as it doubt
less saved the public good deal of un.
necessary autobiography. A fisherman
| takes the mail ashore, but we have been cut
off from all communication for two days.
Gibson has fashioned sharp hook with the
engineers blacksmith outfit. Thresher
sharks are said to abound here.
NOT so VERY COLD.
Behind the line of mountains we get an
| occasional glimpse of the huge ice cap
which covers the country. 1t is the weight
| of this mass squeezing itself out between
the mountains that forms the glacier. Lit,
| tie fleets of bergs float slowly from the
| Frederickshaab on their way down to the
| Newfoundland waters to block up the
straits of Belle Isle and get in the way
| of the Atlantic liners When wedged in
| among the ice of Belle Isle it was very
much colder than it is now in latitude
GA degrees. Overcoats are qnite unneces-
sary. The sun is very warm, although
there are millions of tons of ice piled up on
the land within ten miles of us. Captain
Pie wore straw and little else one summer
and he meant to come up with the same
equipment this trip, but be could find no
straw hat shop in New York, he says
The bug catchers from the Academy have
diverted their thoughts from birds and fish
and are vigorously at work dipping up sea
weed, of which large quantities float past
u.s. 1t looks very much like the ordinary sea
weed of commerce, such as one procures at
Coney Island. DIR. Buck has his microscope
on the tatfrail and each inch of weed is gone
over for sign of animal life DR.. Sharp
makes speciality of tape worms and para
sites and every living thing we get is
yanked open for specimens. When We
were catching Goldfish he was busy with his
dissecting knife. Each cod was alive with
the worms, but they did not seem to dis
turb the serenity of the fsh's life. DIR.
Mepgel has developed wonderful appetite
lately, and this afternoon Prof. Sharp was
detected looking hungrily at him with his
specimen knife ground down to fine point
We are beginning to find certain amount
of sameness in the food. DR.. Keely laid in
a stock of canned tomatoes at Sydney and
are such a welcome addition to the diet list
that the expedition mades pig of itself at
the table when they appear. The culinary
department of the ship, which gets up about
4 o'clock in the morning, is generally
slowed in its bunk by 8 at night and then
three or four festive souls take forcible pos
session of the cooks galley, and hold it
against all comers.
THE LAST SUNSET.
1t is our last sunset tonight. Peary's
party will not see the sun set for three
months. We who stick to the Kite will
have continual daylight until the end of
August. 1t seems strange to go to bed in
broad sunshine and food like Welsh rarebits
feels out of place at that time. Hot toddy
will lose much of its charm.
All the Esquimaux who came aboard
brought with them handkerchiefs or bags
containing articles for sale. These consisted
for the most part of moccasins and tobacco
pouches made out of the skin of the hair
seal. There were also sealskin breeches
and jumpers, but not of first-class kind,
as there have been three whaling steamers
from Dundee here this season which have
taken nearly everything purchasable left by
the Danish officials. Very attractive little
kayaks are made by the Esquimau1 con-
tanning a miniature whaling and sealing
outfit. These retail at about 81 2F in cash,
or about % cents worth of wo1 or linen
shirts. Cash is at discount mere, one of
the few places in the world where it is.
They prefer merchandise.
Trousers are the article in greatest de-
mand. Skin breechcs are too warm for the
summer and the natives don't get very
much cloth. AT first they declined to take
any other currency than trousers, and they
wcnld have nothing with hole or patch in
it. 1t mattered not how old or shabby it
was as long as it was reasonably thick and
Tobacco and knives we had
always understood were invaluable here,
but we could do nothing with them, as this
is trading post and is well supplied