Three Voyages for the Discovery of a Northwest Passage from the Atlantic to the Pacific, and Narrative of an Attempt to Reach the North Pole, Volume 1

by Sir William Edward Parry

We had now reached the shortest day, Wednesday, the 22d, and such was the occupation which we had hitherto contrived to find during the first half of our long and gloomy winter, that the quickness with which it had come upon us was a subject of general remark. So far, indeed, were we from wanting that occupation of which I had been apprehensive, especially among the men that it accidentally came to my knowledge about this period that they complained of not having time to mend their clothes. This complaint I was as glad to hear as desirous to rectify; and I therefore ordered that, in future, one afternoon in each week should be set aside for that particular purpose.

The circumstances of our situation being such as have never before occurred to the crews of any of his majesty's ships, it may not, perhaps, be considered wholly uninteresting to know in what manner our time was thus so fully occupied throughout the long and severe winter which it was our lot to experience, and particularly during a three months' interval of nearly total darkness.

The officers and quartermasters were divided into four watches, which were regularly kept as at sea, while the remainder of the ships' company were allowed to enjoy their night's rest undisturbed. The hands were turned up at a quarter before six, and both decks were well rubbed with stones and warm sand before eight o'clock, at which time, as usual at sea, both officers and men went to breakfast. Three quarters of an hour being allowed after breakfast for the men to prepare themselves for muster, we then beat to divisions punctually at a quarter past nine, when every person on board attended on the quarter deck, and a strict inspection of the men took place as to their personal cleanliness, and the good condition, as well as sufficient warmth of their clothing. The reports of the officers having been made to me, the people were then allowed to walk about, or, more usually, to run round the upper deck, while I went down to examine the state of that below. The state of this deck may be said, indeed, to have constituted the chief source of our anxiety, and to have occupied by far the greatest share of our attention at this period. Whenever any dampness appeared, or, what more frequently happened, any accumulation of ice had taken place during the preceding night, the necessary means were immediately adopted for removing it; in the former case usually by rubbing the wood with cloths, and then directing the warm airpipe towards the place; and in the latter by scraping off the ice, so as to prevent its wetting the deck by any accidental increase of temperature. In this respect the bed-places were particularly troublesome; the inner partition, or that next the ship's side, being almost invariably covered with more or less dampness or ice, according to the temperature of the deck during the preceding night. This inconvenience might, to a great degree, have been avoided by a sufficient quantity of fuel to keep up two good fires on the lower deck throughout the twenty-four hours; but our stock of coals would by no means permit this, bearing in mind the possibility of our spending a second winter within the Arctic circle; and this comfort could only, therefore, be allowed on a few occasions during the most severe part of the winter.

In the course of my examination of the lower deck I had always an opportunity of seeing those few men who were on the sick list, and of receiving from Mr. Edwards a report of their respective cases; as also of consulting that gentleman as to the means of improving the warmth, ventilation, and general comfort of the inhabited parts of the ship. Having performed this duty, we returned to the upper deck, where I personally inspected the men; after which they were sent out to walk on shore, when the weather would permit, till noon, when they returned on board to their dinner. When the day was too inclement for them to take this exercise, they were ordered to run round and round the deck, keeping step to the tune of an organ, or, not unfrequently, to a song of their own singing. Among the men were a few who did not at first quite like this systematic mode of taking exercise; but when they found that no plea except that of illness was admitted as an excuse, they not only willingly and cheerfully complied, but made it the occasion of much humour and frolic among themselves.

The officers, who dined at two o'clock, were also in the habit of occupying one or two hours in the middle of the day in rambling on shore, even in our darkest period, except when a fresh wind and a heavy snowdrift confined them within the housing of the ships. It may well be imagined that, at this period, there was but little to be met with in our walks on shore which could either amuse or interest us. The necessity of not exceeding the limited distance of one or two miles, lest a snowdrift, which often rises very suddenly, should prevent our return, added considerably to the dull and tedious monotony which day after day presented itself. To the southward was the sea, covered with one unbroken surface of ice, uniform in its dazzling whiteness, except that, in some parts, a few hummocks were seen thrown up somewhat above the general level. Nor did the land offer much greater variety, being almost entirely covered with snow, except here and there a brown patch of bare ground in some exposed situations, where the wind had not allowed the snow to remain. When viewed from the summit of the neighbouring hills, on one of those calm and clear days which not unfrequently occurred during the winter, the scene was such as to induce contemplations which had, perhaps, more of melancholy than of any other feeling. Not an object was to be seen on which the eye could long rest with pleasure, unless when directed to the spot where our ships lay and where our little colony was planted. The smoke which there issued from the several fires, affording a certain indication of the presence of man, gave a partial cheerfulness to this part of the prospect; and the sound of voices, which, during the cold weather, could be heard at a much greater distance than usual, served now and then to break the silence which reigned around us; a silence far different from that peaceable composure which characterizes the landscape of a cultivated country; it was the deathlike stillness of the most dreary desolation, and the total absence of animated existence. Such, indeed, was the want of objects to afford relief to the eye or amusement to the mind, that a stone of more than usual size appearing above the snow in the direction in which we were going, immediately became a mark on which our eyes were unconsciously fixed, and towards which we mechanically advanced.

We had frequent occasion, in our walks on shore, to remark the deception which takes place in estimating the distance and magnitude of objects when viewed over an unvaried surface of snow. It was not uncommon for us to direct our steps towards what we took for a large mass of stone at the distance of half a mile from us, but which we were able to take up in our hands after one minute's walk. This was more particularly the case when ascending the brow of a hill, nor did we find that the deception became less on account of the frequency with which we experienced its effects.

In the afternoon the men were usually occupied in drawing and knotting yarns, and in making points and gaskets; a never-failing resource where mere occupation is required, and which it was necessary to perform entirely on the lower deck, the yarns becoming so hard and brittle, when exposed on deck to the temperature of the atmosphere, as to be too stiff for working, and very easily broken. I may in this place remark, that our lower rigging became extremely slack during the severity of the winter, and gradually tightened again as the spring returned: effects the very reverse of those which we had anticipated, and which I can only account for by the extreme dryness of the atmosphere in the middle of winter, and the subsequent increase of moisture.

At half past five in the evening the decks were cleared up, and at six we again beat to divisions, when the same examination of the men and of their berths and bed-places took place as in the morning; the people then went to their supper, and the officers to tea. After this time the men were permitted to amuse themselves as they pleased, and games of various kinds, as well as dancing and singing occasionally, went on upon the lower deck till nine o'clock, when they went to bed and their lights were extinguished. In order to guard against accidents by fire, where so many fires and lights were necessarily in use, the quartermasters visited the lower deck every half hour during the night, and made their report to the officers of the watches that all was, in this respect, safe below; and to secure a ready supply of water in case of fire, a hole was cut twice a day in the ice, close alongside of each ship. It is scarcely necessary to add, that the evening occupations of the officers were of a more rational kind than those which engaged the attention of the men. Of these, reading and writing were the principal employments, to which were occasionally added a game of chess, or a tune on the flute or violin, till half past ten, about which time we all retired to rest.

Such were the employments which usually occupied us for six days in the week, with such exceptions only as circumstances at the time suggested. On Sundays divine service was invariably performed, and a sermon read on board both ships; the prayer appointed to be daily used at sea being altered, so as to adapt it to the service in which we were engaged, the success which had hitherto attended our efforts, and the peculiar circumstances under which we were at present placed. The attention paid by the men to the observance of their religious duties was such as to reflect upon them the highest credit, and tended in no small degree to the preservation of that regularity and good conduct for which, with very few exceptions, they were invariably distinguished.

Our theatrical entertainments took place regularly once a fortnight, and continued to prove a source of infinite amusement to the men. Our stock of plays was so scanty, consisting of one or two odd volumes, which happened accidentally to be on board, that it was with difficulty we could find the means of varying the performances sufficiently; our authors, therefore, set to work, and produced, as a Christmas piece, a musical entertainment, expressly adapted to our audience, and having such a reference to the service on which we were engaged, and the success we had so far experienced, as at once to afford a high degree of present recreation, and to stimulate, if possible, the sanguine hopes which were entertained by all on board, of the complete accomplishment of our enterprise. We were at one time apprehensive that the severity of the weather would prevent the continuance of this amusement, but the perseverance of the officers overcame every difficulty; and, perhaps for the first time since theatrical entertainments were invented, more than one or two plays were performed on board the Hecla with the thermometer below zero on the stage.