noon
The sinews were , many of them , a yard in length , and at least the diameter of a large goose-quill . These split readily into threads of any required firmness , and before the party retired , quite a bundle of large and small thread was prepared . For the first time they worked by the glare of their Esquimaux lamp , which , besides its shallow bowl of soapstone , consisted of a top of thin sheet-iron pierced for six wicks , each of which was flat , about one sixteenth of an inch thick , and an inch wide . That evening all six were lighted -- five of them being of cotton thread , and the sixth cut from the brim of an old white felt summer hat , used by Waring instead of his fur cap , when the sun shone too warmly at noon . The top was made loose , so as to rest on the blubber , and the heat tried out the oil as fast as it was wanted . The heat produced was quite sufficient for this narrow room , and the soft light afforded by the seal-oil , lit up the hut with a mild yellow radiance , far more cheerful than the red glare of the wood-fire , and the old stove suspended above the flame carried off the smoke , and refracted the heat more perfectly into the lower part of the hut . The day 's hunt had afforded all the blubber which they could burn in a month ; and their stock of meat , `` cached '' in another hillock of their berg , was nearly sufficient food for the same period .