had been swept bare by blizzards, and ravines which held deep
snowdrifts, had to be crossed. The icy waters of mountain torrents had
to be forded; sometimes a way had to be cut with axes through tangled
undergrowth. The cold was intense, sometimes 73° below zero."

Though reindeer moss was found in sufficient quantities throughout the
entire trip, at one time the party was storm-bound on the mountains, and
the animals were thirty-six hours without food.

The hardy creatures suffered no permanent injury from this long fast,
and their skins, thickly covered with long hair, were sufficient to
protect them from the icy blasts.

With servants such as these to do its bidding, there is every hope that
the Government may be able to send provisions to the unfortunate whalers
before they begin to suffer the pangs of hunger.

Cheering news has been received from the captain of the whaling-steamer
_Devall_ and the captain of the revenue-cutter _Bear_, who state that
there are between three hundred and four hundred barrels of flour at the
Point Barrow refuge-station, probably within reach of the men.

The _Bear_, which is now at Seattle, has been ordered to prepare for
another Arctic trip, and be ready to push on through the Straits as soon
as the spring conies, and go round to Point Barrow to rescue the
whalers, in case the packing of the ice has crushed and wrecked their
vessels.

The _Bear_ has a noteworthy Arctic record. It was this vessel which was
sent in search of, and was successful in finding, the Greely