THE BREAK-UP OF THE ICE. 285 tion. Strong struts were fixed against the outside walls, vertical props were placed inside the rooms to afford additional support to the beams of the ceiling, and the roof was strengthened so that it could bear a considerable weight. These various works were com- pleted early in April, and their utility, or rather their vital import- ance, was very soon manifested. Each day brought fresh symptoms of returning spring, which seemed likely to set in early after this strangely mild Polar winter. A few tender shoots appeared upon the trees, and the newly-thawed sap swelled the bark of beeches, willows, and arbutus. Tiny mosses tinged with pale green the slopes under the direct influence of the sunbeams ] but they were not likely to spread much, as the greedy rodents collected about the fort pounced upon and devoured them almost before they were above the ground. Great were the sufferings of Corporal Joliffe at this time. We know that he had undertaken to protect the plot of ground culti- vated by his wife. Under ordinary circumstances he would merely have had to drive away feathered pilferers, such as guillemots or puffins, from his sorrel and scurvy-grass. A scarecrow would have been enough to get rid of them, still more the Corporal in person. But now all the rodents and ruminants of the Arctic fauna con- bined to lay siege to his territory ; reindeer, Polar hares, musk-rats, shrews, martens, »fec., braved all the threatening gestures of the Cor- poral, and the poor man was in despair, for whilst he was defending one end of his field the enemy was preying upon the other. It would certainly have been wiser to let the poor creatures enjoy unmolested the crops which could be of no use to the colonists, as the fort was to be so soon abandoned, and Mrs Barnett tried to per- suade the angry Corporal to do so, when he came to her twenty times a day with the same wearisome tale, but he would not listen to her : " To lose the fruit of all our trouble ! " he repeated; " to leave an establishment which was prospering so well ! To give up the plants Mrs Joliffe and I sowed so carefully ! . . . O madam, sometimes I feel disposed to let you all go, and stay here with my wife ! I am sure the Company would give up all claim on the island to us" Mrs Barnett could not help laughing at this absurd speech, and sent the Corporal to his little wife, who had long ago resigned herself to the loss of her sorrel, scurvy-grass, and other medicinal herbs.
