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[[left margin boxed]] 1860 Wedne. Oct. 24th [[/left margin boxed]] This has been the coldest day yet. This Morn 14 hours 16 1/2[[degree symbol]] night 14[[degree symbol]] yet it has indeed been fine. The Sun-Set was glorious - the night ^[[(IX)]] so far do [[ditto for "glorious"]]. The [[symbol for moon]] & * * [[symbols for stars]] are out in all their beauty & clearness. The moon is so bright that no Aurora can be seen Oo-soo-car-lo, an Esquimaux of "Rescue Harbor" (Knenyummiuke) has been detected in a white man's trick! While visiting over to [[strikethrough]] h [[/strikethrough]] Parker's vessel he drew out of Kai-ack a slab of whalebone, offering to sell it to [[strikethrough]] him [[/strikethrough]] ^[[Capt. Parker]]. Capt. Parker noticed, at once that Oo-soo-car-lo's bone was quite fresh, & came to the conclusion [[strikethrough]] at [[/strikethrough]] that he had stolen it, [[strikethrough]] a [[/strikethrough]] therefore he declined purchasing. Capt. P. asked him where he obtained ^it?^. Oo-soo-car-lo replied that "Mgar" ^[[a well known Esquimaux here]] had given it him to trade. The truth is this Bone was a portion left in the head of the last Whale Capt. B. captured & that when he (Capt. B.) had the ^[[Whale]]^ carcass towed to the Island this went with it. Of course anything so precious as Whale bone worth 95 cts to $1. per ft is cared for. Still Capt. B. left a portion of the bone stowed on the Island during the storm of 26th, 27th & 28th Sept. last. It was at this time that the Esquimaux took some of it into his [[strikethrough]] ych [[/strikethrough]] Kai-ack & made off with it. This is ^[[only]] the 2nd case of theft I have noticed as occuring among the Esquimaux since coming to the North. The Auroria is at its fantastic tricks tonight - Long streamers are shooting up in the E. However, from the brightning of the moon, the phenomenon is faint. I took a book upon deck " a few minutes ago & found that ^[[I]] could read ordinary print ^[[though]] slowly. How strange the idea - [[underline]] the fact: [[/underline]] - that the Aurora makes its appearance uniformly Easterly & Southernly from this point. Gardiner, 2nd officer of the George Henry ^[[who has spent many years up here]] says it is always so in this & more northerly Latitudes! Larch for the first time learns of the Sex & Killing joke of Holotemburg Greenland when ^[[our]] Smith & Sterry got did-dled out of 4 lbs tabacco for 3 cents! Capt. B asked me if I took notice, of the apparent clearing of the Heavens just about Sun-Set. I replied, I certainly did. 'Well,' continued he,' Did you notice [[strikethrough]] noticed [[/strikethrough]] the small number of [[strikethrough]] stat [[/strikethrough]] stars out ^[[especially]] down near the horizon? I replied, While observing the rising of Aldeburus ^[[to night]] - even after it had ascended 10[[degree symbol]], I was struck with surprise that this star of the 1st Magnitude was only to be seen, now & then, when the Heavens offered to be ^[[so]] very [[strikethrough]] clear [[/strikethrough]] clear. Capt. B. says: 'whenever you see the like, you may depend upon it something is soon coming - Wait & see - signs do sometimes fail - but not always! I shall be glad when the ice makes so that I can build a snow Observatory where on the firm rocks I can make observations. On a vessel continually moving it is impossible to made such observations as I wish to make with any degree of correctness. XI O'Clock night. The Heavens are thickly curtained - but a doz. stars are to be seen. But a 1/2 hour ago hardly a cloud to be seen. The "Something coming" that Capt B. predicted seems to be here. Where have all these clouds come from so quickly? Seemingly, they have bursted to view simultaneously over the whole ^[[vault above!]]
