Page:Life with the Esquimaux - 1864 - Volume 1.djvu/37

16 My outfit for this voyage, and for the whole of my expedition, consisted of—

This list, with a few sundries, constituted all the means and material I had to carry out the great undertaking my mind had led me to embark in. How far I accomplished aught commensurate with the ideas I had formed, let the sequel show; but, even had I wholly failed, assuredly it would have been excusable under such circumstances.

With regard to myself personally, now that the excitement of preparation was over, and I had time to think more and more of my task, a reaction took place, which produced that depression of mind always to be found in similar cases. This was soon increased by the horrible sensation of sea-sickness which I experienced for several days after our departure. What my feelings were may be judged by the following extracts from an irregular diary, the only work I could at that time perform. Writing on the fifth day out, I find myself saying,

"More miserable days than these past few have been to me it would be difficult to imagine. And why? Because of sickness—sea sickness. And what is sea-sickness? Can any one tell unless they have experienced it? I imagine not; nor, perhaps, can many describe it who have come under its infliction. I know that I can not well do so. I have felt myself swung, tumbled, jammed, knocked, struck, rocked,