CHAPTER X.
The Dip of the Needle .-- The North Magnetic Pole .-- A _Kayak_ Bottom up, with its Owner Head down .-- Ice-Patches .-- Anchoring to an Ice-floe .-- A Bear-hunt in the Fog .-- Bruin charges his Enemies .-- Soundings .-- The Depth of the Straits.
Before we were up next morning "The Curlew" was on her way.
A great number of small islands, not even indicated on our chart, compelled us to veer to the southward during the forenoon.
For several days the needle of our compass had been giving us some trouble by its strong inclination to _dip_.

Three times, since starting, we had been obliged to move the sliding weight out a little on the bar.

The farther north we got, the stronger was the tendency of the north pole, or end of the needle, to point downward, and the south pole to rise up correspondingly.

By running the sliding weight out a little toward the south pole, its leverage was increased, and the parallel position restored.

This was what Capt.