On the supposition, however, that Mr. Fisher and his party had perished by the way, as reported by the natives, and lest those who might follow should meet with the same calamity, and thus party after party be lost in those trackless wastes of the arctic, it was thought advisable, if possible, before any more of us followed, to send word by the traveling natives to all the settlements, both near and more remote, whether five seamen had arrived at any one of them, or whether they had been discovered frozen to death. Word was sent to Mr. Fisher from Captain Norton by means of pieces of copper written upon with lead, and forwarded by the natives. Mr. Fisher also sent word to Captain Norton in the same manner after his arrival at the settlement; but neither heard from the other, and therefore both parties were left in painful suspense, and especially those who were left behind. In this instance we discovered another treachery of the natives towards us, and which we found it impossible to account for, considering their kindness towards us in many other respects. Since nothing had been heard from Mr. Fisher for many days, the captain stated to his men, that he had made up his mind to leave the settlement, and ascertain if possible the fate of Mr. Fisher, and find better quarters. One thing was certain; he assured them he could not live there; that was out of the question. He was greatly debilitated, had scarcely any thing to eat, and for three days past had not eaten a piece of blubber larger than his three fingers. Accordingly, on the last day of February, the captain left with a company of three besides himself. We took our departure at sundown, or late in the afternoon, in order to avoid the effect of sunlight upon our eyes. We learned from the experience of the natives to avoid, if possible, this evil; and hence we took the latter part of the day to commence our perilous journey, and chose darkness rather than light. Our intentions were to travel until we should find more comfortable quarters, or perish in the attempt. We were sensible that from the severity of the cold, we must travel all the time, night and day; there could be no rest or respite for us, with safety, out of doors. If we should stop for any length of time, or sit down, death would be inevitable. It was intensely cold when we left--such an air as is felt only in the arctic. The northern lights shone very brightly that night; wind quite high; occasionally the snow flying in dense masses around us; and besides, slumping into the snow from six inches to two feet at almost every step.