I again suggested my "pet hobby" as it was called, of organizing the crew into a school and devoting a few hours each day to educational purposes. But I was alone in the recommendation, and it was not acted on, but the library was free to all who cared to read. I noticed, however, that Paul Huston, Pat O'Brien and Mike Gallagher, were the only ones who ever called for books, and Huston was the only one who seemed to know just what he wanted. Lief and Eric had some Norwegian books and writings which they often consulted, but all the others, when not at work, spent their time in playing games, spinning yarns and fishing. As predicted by Battell, the enclosure in which the ship floated, seemed to attract the finny denizens of the deep, supplying fresh food for the crew and our dog teams, as well as oil which we used for fuel. The library was the favorite resort of those who cared to read and discuss topics of general interest. Here we spent our leisure hours, reading, conversing upon subjects of every description and devising amusements that would enable us to pass the time pleasantly. When tired of these things we joined the working force in the tunnel and exercised our muscles. This was a work of necessity, as well as a healthful recreation, and we went into it with the utmost enthusiasm. We managed to get comfortably tired every day, and enjoyed excellent appetites and most refreshing sleep, in consequence. Altogether the winter passed very agreeably. It was well on toward spring before the tunnel was completed. We now had access to the surface, up an easy incline, and beheld the uninterrupted beauties of an Arctic night. The scene which greeted us defies description. The sky was cloudless, and the Northern Lights, with their brilliant corruscations, nature's compensation for the long polar night, presented a pyrotechnic display, the grandeur and beauty of which are indelibly impressed on my memory. We took our bearings and found we were in latitude 84° N. longitude 170° W. We were seven degrees farther north than when we were caught in the ice, and ten degrees farther west. We were plainly in the grasp of north-bound currents, while our motion toward the west was uncertain. Subsequent observations revealed the fact that at times our longitude was stationary, or drifting somewhat toward the east. On the whole, our westerly motion exceeded any opposite tendency, but our progress northward was considerable though not regular, as if we were retarded by obstructions which were being overcome at intervals by the force of northerly currents.