Il8 THE FUR COUNTRY. unfamiliar with those terrible winds which move at the rate of forty miles an hour, and overturn twenty-four pounders. Here, however, the darkness and the snow aggravated the dread might of the storm ; that which was not crushed was buried and smothered, and, probably twelve hours after the commencement of the tempest, house, kennel, shed, and enceinte would have disappeared beneath a bed of snow of uniform thickness. The time was not wasted during this long imprisonment. All these good people agreed together perfectly, and neither ill-humour nor ennui marred the contentment of the little party shut up in such a narrow space. They were used to life under similar conditions at Forts Enterprise and Reliance, and there was nothing to excite Mrs Barnett's surprise in their ready accommodation of themselves to circumstances. Part of the day was occupied with work, part with reading and games. Garments had to be made and mended, arms to be kept bright and in good repair, boots to be manufactured, and the daily journal to be issued in which Lieutenant Hobson recorded the slightest events of this northern wintering — the weather, the tempera- ture, the direction of the wind, the appearance of meteors so fre- quent in the Polar regions, &c., <fec. Then the house had to be kept in order, the rooms must be swept, and the stores of furs must be visited every day to see if they were free from damp ; the fires and stoves, too, required constant superintendence, and perpetual vigil- ance was necessary to prevent the accumulation of particles of mois- ture in the corners. To each one was assigned a task, the duty of each one was laid down in rules fixed up in the large room, so that without being overworked, the occupants of the fort were never without something to do. Thomas Black screwed and unscrewed his instruments, and looked over his astronomical calculations, remaining almost always shut up in his cabin, fretting and fuming at the storm which pre- vented him from making nocturnal observations. The three married women had also plenty to see to : Mrs Mac-Nab busied herself with her baby who got on wonderfully, whilst Mrs Joliffe, assisted by Mrs Rae, and with the Corporal always at her heels, presided in the kitchen. When work was done the entire party assembled in the large room, spending the wliole of Sunday together. Reading was the chief amusement. The Bible and some books of travels were the whole^
