stefansson-wrangel-09-25-006-043

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On November 16th the moving from the old camp to the new
was at last completed except for "some things which will be left until next
summer. The dory is still there. There are a few scraps of skins and bones
which might come in handy later in the winter (for dog feed) which I intend to
gather up and haul to-morrow. There have been no signs of open water for
some time, and unless a bear comes along the dog feed will be getting scarce."

On November 23rd we are told it was "much warmer than it has
been for quite a spell," which is instructive, for when you glance back over
the thermometer readings for the entire fall we find that only one day had
been equally cold and most others conspicuously warmer as recorded instru-
mentally. This is a perhaps unneeded confirmation of the well-known fact
that the impression of cold and real cold as recorded by instruments often
differ widely. The maximum this day was three degrees below zero and the
minimum twenty below. The entries during the latter half of November and early
December are generally repetitions of three items. Trapping was going on
energetically and a fox was caught every now and then, bear tracks were occa-
sionally seen but no bears were secured, the seamstress was "busy making skin
clothing for Crawford and me," evidently for the proposed trip to Siberia and
Nome.

On November 29th Knight ways: "Feeding the dogs bear skin
and blubber," from which it is probable that the people themselves had only
fresh meat ahead for a week or two and were once more beginning to live in
considerable part on groceries - although this is not mentioned. The diary
contains no thermometer records after the beginning of December but we gather
that the weather was warmer with more snow falling. During November Knight
frequently complains of the lack of snow which made sledging difficult, but these
complaints disappear in December. On the 5th it was warm and there was a slight
fall of rain, probably about two or three degrees above freezing, which is