Travels in North America, From Modern Writers / With Remarks and Observations; Exhibiting a Connected View of the Geography and Present State of that Quarter of the Globe

by William Bingley

The officers, who dined at two o'clock, were also in the habit of occupying one or two hours, of the middle of the day, in rambling on shore, even in the darkest period; except when a fresh wind or a heavy snow-drift 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 their walks on shore, which could either amuse or interest them. The necessity of not exceeding the limited distance of one or two miles, lest a snow-drift, which often arose very suddenly, should prevent their return, added considerably to the dull and tedious monotony which, day after day, presented itself. Towards the south 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: it was 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, clear days, which not unfrequently occurred during the winter, the scene was such as to induce contemplations, that 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 the ships lay. 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,—a silence far different from that peaceable composure which characterizes the landscape of a cultivated country: it was the death-like stillness of the most dreary desolation, the total absence of animated existence.

The weather became intensely severe; and, during the latter part of November, and the first half of December, Captain Parry's journal presents little more than observations on it; and oh the meteoric appearances and fantastic illusions of light and colour, with which the voyagers were often amused. At one time, the moon appeared to be curiously deformed by refraction; the lower edges of it seeming to be indented with deep notches, and afterwards to be cut off square at the bottom; whilst a single ray or column of light, of the same diameter as the moon, was observed to descend from it to the top of a hill. At another time, several transparent clouds were seen to emit, upward, columns of light, resembling the aurora borealis. The aurora borealis itself appears to have been seldom witnessed, in the splendour with which it occasionally illuminates even the northern parts of Scotland; still it was both frequent and vivid enough to give variety and beauty to the long nights which the voyagers had to endure.

The new year was ushered in by weather comparatively mild; but it soon regained its former severity. Captain Parry and his crews did not, however, experience those effects from the cold, even when 49 degrees below 0, which preceding voyagers have stated; such as a dreadful sensation on the lungs, when the air is inhaled at a very low temperature; or the vapour with which an inhabited room is charged, condensing into a shower of snow, immediately on the opening of a door or window. What they did observe was this: on the opening of the doors, at the top and bottom of the hatch-way ladders, the vapour was condensed, by the sudden admission of the cold air, into a visible form, exactly resembling a very thick smoke. This apparent smoke settled on the pannels of the doors and on the bulk-heads, and immediately froze, by which the latter were covered with a thick coating of ice, which it was necessary frequently to scrape off.

The extreme severity of the cold, which was sometimes prevalent, may be imagined from the following fact:—A house, erected on the shore, for scientific purposes, caught fire; and a servant of Captain Sabine, in his endeavours to extinguish it, exposed his hands, in the first instance, to the operation of considerable heat; and he afterwards, for some time, remained without gloves, in the open air. When taken on board the ship, his hands presented a strange appearance. They were perfectly hard, inflexible, and colourless; possessing a degree of translucency, and exhibiting more the external character of pieces of sculptured marble, than of animated matter. They were immediately plunged into the cold bath, where they were continued more than two hours, before their flexibility could be restored. The abstraction of heat had been so great, that the water, in contact with the fingers, congealed upon them, even half an hour after they had been immersed. During the cold application, the man suffered acute pain, by which he became so faint and exhausted, that it was requisite to put him to bed. In less than three hours, an inflammation came on, which extended high up the arm; and, soon afterwards, each hand, from the wrist downward, was enclosed in a kind of bladder, containing nearly a pint of viscid serous fluid. There were, however, three fingers of one hand, and two of the other, in which this vesication did not form. These fingers continued cold and insensible, nor could the circulation in them be restored; and, eventually, the amputation of them became necessary.

The distance at which sounds were heard in the open air, during the continuance of intense cold, seems almost incredible. Captain Parry says that his people were distinctly heard, conversing in a common tone of voice, at the distance of a mile; and that he heard a man singing to himself, at even a still greater distance. Another circumstance occurred, scarcely less curious than this: the smell of smoke was so strong, two miles leeward of the ships, that it impeded the breathing. This shows to what a distance the smoke was carried horizontally, owing to the difficulty with which it rises, at a very low temperature of the atmosphere.

In the severest weather, the officers sometimes amused themselves by freezing quicksilver, and beating it out on an anvil, so great was the severity of the cold; yet, not the slightest inconvenience was suffered, from exposure to the open air, by persons well clothed, so long as the weather was perfectly calm; but, in walking against even a very light wind, a smarting sensation was experienced all over the face, accompanied by a pain in the middle of the forehead, which soon became severe.

As a specimen of the average proportion of ice formed in the harbour, it is stated that, where the depth of the water was twenty-five feet, the ice was found to be six feet and a half thick; and the snow on the surface was eight inches deep.

Towards the end of January, some of the port-holes of one of the vessels were opened, in order to admit the carpenters and armorers to repair the main-top-sail-yard. On the 3d of February the sun was seen from the main-top of the Hecla, for the first time since the 11th of November. By the 7th, there was sufficient day-light, from eight o'clock till four, to enable the men to perform, with facility, any work on the outside of the ships.

On the 15th, Captain Parry was induced, by the cheering presence of the sun, for several hours above the horizon, to open the dead-lights, or shutters, of his stern-windows, in order to admit the day-light, after a privation of it, for four months, in that part of the ship. The baize curtains, which had been nailed close to the windows, in the beginning of the winter, were, however, so firmly frozen to them, that it was necessary to cut them away; and twelve large buckets full of ice or frozen vapour, were taken from between the double sashes, before they could be got clear. This premature uncovering of the windows, however, caused such a change in the temperature of the Hecla, that, for several weeks afterwards, those on board were sensible of a more intense degree of cold, than they had felt during all the preceding part of the winter.

The months of March and April seem to have passed tediously on, in watching the state of the weather. The crew of the Griper became somewhat sickly, in consequence of the extreme moisture, which it was found impossible to exclude from their bed-places. In May, Captain Parry laid out a small garden, planting it with radishes, onions, mustard, and cress; but the experiment failed, though some common ship-peas, planted by the men, throve extremely well.