Behind every article of furniture near the outer wall the ice would form, and we used to chop it out from under our bunks by the pailful.
The books were always placed far forward on the shelves, because if a book were pushed back it would freeze solid to the wall.

Then, if a warmer day came, or a fire was built in the cabin, the ice would melt, the water would run down and the leaves of the book would mold.
The sailors amused themselves after the manner of sailors everywhere, playing dominoes, cards and checkers, boxing and telling stories.

They used to play at feats of strength, such as finger-pulling, with the Eskimos.

One of the men had an accordion, another a banjo, and as I sat working in my cabin I used often to hear them singing "Annie Rooney," "McGinty," "The Spanish Cavalier," and sometimes "Home, Sweet Home." Nobody seemed to be bored.

Percy, who had special charge of the phonograph, often treated the men to a concert, and all through the winter I heard nobody complain of monotony or homesickness..