The 27 of Nouember it was faire cleare weather, the wind south-west; and then we made more springes to get foxs; for it stood vs vpon to doe it,[297] because they served vs for meat, as if God had sent them purposely for vs, for wee had not much meate. [[127]]
The 28 of Nouember it was foule stormie weather, and the wind blew hard out of the north, and it snew hard, whereby we were shut vp againe in our house, the snow lay so closed before the doores.[298]
The 29 of Nouember it was faire cleare wether and a good aire,[299] ye wind northerly; and we found meanes to open our doore by shoueling away the snowe, whereby we got one of our dores open; and going out we found al our traps and springes cleane[300] couered ouer with snow, which we made cleane, and set them vp again to take foxes; and that day we tooke one, which as then serued vs not onely for meat, but of the skins we made caps to were[301] vpon our heads, therewith to keep them warm from the extreame cold.
The 30 of Nouember it was faire cleare weather, the wind west, and [when the watchers[302] were about south-west, which according to our calculation was about midday,] sixe of vs went to the ship, all wel prouided of arms, to see how it lay; and when we went vnder the fore decke,[303] we tooke a foxe aliue in the ship.
The 1 of December it was foule weather, with a south-west wind and great stoare of snow, whereby we were once againe stopt vp in the house, and by that meanes there was so great a smoke in the house that we could hardly make fire, and so were forced to lye all day in our cabens, but the cooke was forced to make fire to dresse our meat.
The 2 of December it was still foule weather, whereby we were forced to keep stil in the house, and yet we could hardly sit by the fire because of the smoake, and therefore stayed still [for the most part] in our cabens; and then we heated stones, which we put into our cabens to warm our feet, for that both the cold and the smoke were vnsupportable. [[128]]
The 3 of December we had the like weather, at which times as we lay in our cabans we might heare the ice crack in the sea, and yet it was at the least halfe a mile [two miles] from vs, which made a hugh noyse [of bursting and cracking], and we were of oppinion that as then the great hils of ice[304] which wee had seene in the sea in summer time [lying so many fathoms thick] brake one from the other.[305] And for that during those 2 or 3 days, because of the extream smoake, we made not so much fire as we commonly vsed to doe, it froze so sore within the house that the wals and the roofe thereof were frozen two fingers thicke with ice, and also in our cabans[306] where we lay. All those three daies, while we could not go out by reason of the foule weather, we set vp the [sand-]glas of 12 houres, and when it was run out we set it vp againe, stil watching it lest we should misse our time. For the cold was so great that our clock was frozen, and might[307] not goe although we hung more waight on it then before.
The exact manner of the house wherein we wintered.
The 4 of December it was faire cleare weather, the wind north,[308] and then we began euery man by turne to dig open our dores that were closed vp with snow; for we saw that it would be often to doe, and therefore we agreed to work by turns, no man excepted but the maister and the pilot.