On the 25th of November, the sun disappeared from view, not to be seen again until the following February, and now the gloom of the time and place was greatly increased. On that day Lockwood recorded in his journal the following: “I have intended writing a letter home recounting my experiences since leaving Fort Conger, but so far the discomforts of this life have prevented me. It is difficult to get the blubber-lamp for more than a few minutes during the day, and sometimes it can not be had at all. The lamp is blown out every evening when we are ready to retire, which is generally about eight o’clock.” Nor were their troubles in any way alleviated by the discovery that one of the men had been seen, or was suspected of, visiting the store-room to fill himself with food—especially despicable thieving. The expedition to Cape Isabella resulted in finding the food which, however, was abandoned in returning, as one of the men, Ellison, became very sick, and had his hands, feet, and nose frozen. He was brought home by a relief party in a helpless condition, Lockwood and the other men of the party having completely worn themselves out by exposure to the cold and hard work. As it was feared that the men would become insane if they did not stop talking about food, Lieutenant Greely began to deliver some lectures on the geography of the United States and their natural productions; and this was followed by miscellaneous discussions in regard to places for business. Whistler, for example, praised the city of Independence, in Kansas, as a splendid place; Long said he was going to set up a restaurant at Ann Arbor in Michigan; Fredericks would follow suit at Minneapolis in Minnesota; while Jewell counted upon a grocery-store in Kansas. After commenting upon the terrible weather, Lockwood gave expression to the following: “These short rations make me feel the cold dreadfully. It is a constant effort to keep one’s hands and feet comfortable, or even comparatively so. I find my spirits first up and then down. Sometimes, when I think of the months before us of this life of misery and suffering, I do not see how we can possibly pull through. At other times I feel much more hopeful; but this is a life of inexpressible misery.”