As quickly as possible we cleaned
them, and placed them in casks with salt, first a layer of salt, and
then a layer of herrings, and so on, until we had ready many casks of
pickled fish.
As the barrels were filled, we closed them carefully, and rolled them
away to the cool vaults at the back of our cave. Our good fortune,
however, was not to end here. A day after the herring fishery was over,
and the shoal had left our bay, a great number of seals appeared,
attracted by the refuse of the herrings which we had thrown into the
sea.
Though I feared they would not be suitable for our table, we yet
secured a score or two for the sake of their skins and fat. The skins
we drew carefully off for harness and clothing, and the fat we boiled
down for oil, which we put aside in casks for tanning, soap-making, and
burning in lamps.
These occupations interfered for some time with our work at Rock
House; but as soon as possible we again returned to our labour with
renewed vigour. I had noticed that the salt crystals had for their base
a species of gypsum, which I knew might be made of great service to us
in our building operations as plaster.
As an experiment, I broke off some pieces, and, after subjecting them
to great heat, reduced them to powder. The plaster this formed with
water was smooth and white, and as I had then no particular use to
which I might put it, I plastered over some of the herring casks, that
I might be perfectly certain that all air was excluded.
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