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311

Friday
Feb. 23

Hans began this morning to follow the
trail of the wounded deer. Rhina
the least barbarous of our sledge dogs
assisted him. By noon day he returned
with the joyful news of the [Tukkuk?]
dead only two miles up big Fiord."

This cry found its way through
the hatch and came back in a broken
huzza from our sick.

So badly off were we for men,
– well men – that the Reindeer threatened
to be as great an embarrasment to us
as the auction drawn elephant to his
London prize master. [Kane Godfrey
Hans and] But with the Dogs we conveyed him though
with excessive labour, to the brig.
When there we also got [load to table] him over
the ships sides, and below; then
were in the worst of [?] dilemmas.
Skin him in the hold we could not;
it would freeze us and our fingers; get
him inside of [Ben??derback] we could
not for his dimensions were actually
greater than our little entrance. Finally
we disjointed him like the executions
of R Jacques Clenent! and dragged him
into our dormitory. It was late at
night before the carcass was butchered and
the oderiferous offal cleared away.
but at last all our little party ate and
were filled, and leaving their Captain
to the peculiar honour of an eight hours
vigil retired to rest — sleeping with loud fat even breath that it did
my heart good to hear. This deer was among the
largest of the Northern specimens I had ever
seen. he measured 51 in in girth and
six feet two inches in length and stood
as large as a [200?] two years heifer. His
estimated weight was 300 gross, 180 [?]