First Appearance of Scurvy.--The Aurora Borealis and other
Meteorological Phenomena.--Visits of the Wolves.--Reappearance of
the Sun.--Extreme low Temperature.--Destruction of the House on
Shore by Fire.--Severe Frostbites occasioned by this Accident.
January 1, 1820.--I received this morning the first unpleasant
report of the scurvy having made its appearance among us: Mr.
Scallon, the gunner of the Hecla, had for some days past been
complaining of pains in his legs, which Mr. Edwards at first took
to be rheumatic, but which, together with the appearance of his
gums, now left no doubt of the symptoms being scorbutic. It is so
uncommon a thing for this disease to make its first appearance
among the officers, that Mr. Edwards was naturally curious to
inquire into the cause of it; and at length discovered that Mr.
Scallon's bedding was in so damp a state, in consequence of the
deposite of moisture in his bed-place, which I have before
mentioned, as to leave no doubt that to this circumstance, as the
immediate exciting cause, his illness might justly be attributed.
The difficulty of preventing this deposite of moisture, and the
consequent accumulation of ice, was much greater in the officers'
bed-places than in those of the men, in consequence of the former
being necessarily placed in close contact with the ship's sides,
and forming an immediate communication, as it were, with the
external atmosphere; whereas in the latter there was a vacant
interval of eighteen inches in width interposed between them. To
prevent as much as possible, therefore, the injurious effects of
this evil upon the health of the officers, I appointed certain
days for the airing of their bedding by the fires, as well as for
that of the ships' companies. Every attention was paid to Mr.
Scallon's case by the medical gentlemen, and all our anti-scorbutics
were put in requisition for his recovery: these consisted
principally of preserved vegetable soups, lemon-juice, and sugar,
pickles, preserved currants and gooseberries, and spruce beer. I
began also, about this time, to raise a small quantity of mustard
and cress in my cabin, in small shallow boxes filled with mould,
and placed along the stovepipe; by these means, even in the severity
of winter, we could generally ensure a crop at the end of the sixth
or seventh day after sowing the seed, which, by keeping several
boxes at work, would give to two or three scorbutic patients nearly
an ounce of salad each daily, even though the necessary economy in
our coals did not allow of the fire being kept in at night. The
mustard and cress thus raised were necessarily colourless, from the
privation of light; but, as far as we could judge, they possessed
the same pungent aromatic taste as if grown under ordinary
circumstances. So effectual were these remedies in Mr. Scallon's
case, that, on the ninth evening from the attack, he was able to
walk about on the lower deck for some time, and he assured me that
he could then "run a race."
At noon on the 7th, the temperature of the atmosphere had got down
to 49° below zero, being the greatest degree of cold which we had
yet experienced; but the weather being quite calm, we walked on
shore for an hour without inconvenience, the sensation of cold
depending much more on the degree of wind at the time than on the
absolute temperature of the atmosphere as indicated by the
thermometer. In several of the accounts given of those countries
in which an intense degree of natural cold is experienced, some
effects are attributed to it which certainly did not come under
our observation in the course of this winter. The first of these
is the dreadful sensation said to be produced on the lungs,
causing them to feel as if torn asunder when the air is inhaled at
a very low temperature. No such sensation was ever experienced by
us, though in going from the cabins into the open air, and _vice
versâ_, we were constantly in the habit for some months of
undergoing a change of from 80° to 100°, and, in several
instances, 120° of temperature in less than one minute; and, what
is still more extraordinary, not a single inflammatory complaint,
beyond a slight cold, which was cured by common care in a day or
two, occurred during this particular period. The second is, the
vapour with which the air of an inhabited room is charged,
condensing into a shower of snow immediately on the opening of a
door or window communicating with the external atmosphere. This
goes much beyond anything that we had an opportunity of observing.
What happened with us was simply this: on the opening of the doors
at the top and bottom of our hatchway ladders, the vapour was
immediately condensed, by the sudden admission of the cold air,
into a visible form, exactly resembling a very thick smoke, which
settled on all the panels of the doors and bulkheads, and
immediately froze, by which means the latter were covered with a
thick coating of ice, which it was necessary frequently to scrape
off; but we never, to my knowledge, saw the conversion of the
vapour into snow during its fall.
On the evening of the 15th, the atmosphere being clear and serene,
we were gratified by a sight of the only very brilliant and
diversified display of Aurora Borealis which occurred during the
whole winter. I believe it to be almost impossible for words to
give an idea of the beauty and variety which this magnificent
phenomenon displayed.
About this time it had been remarked, that a white setter dog had
left the Griper for several nights past at the same time, and had
regularly returned after some hours' absence. As the daylight
increased, we had frequent opportunities of seeing him in company
with a she-wolf, with which he kept up an almost daily intercourse
for several weeks, till at length he returned no more to the
ships; having either lost his way by rambling to too great a
distance, or, what is more likely, perhaps, been destroyed by the
male wolves. Some time after, a large dog of mine, which was also
getting into the habit of occasionally remaining absent for some
time, returned on board a good deal lacerated and covered with
blood, having no doubt maintained a severe encounter with a male
wolf, which we traced to a considerable distance by the tracks on
the snow. An old dog, of the Newfoundland breed, that we had on
board the Hecla, was also in the habit of remaining out with the
wolves for a day or two together; and we frequently watched them
keeping company on the most friendly terms.
A wolf, which crossed the harbour close to the ships on the 25th,
was observed to be almost entirely white, his body long and
extremely lean, standing higher on his legs than any of the
Esquimaux dogs, but otherwise much resembling them; his tail was
long and bushy, and always hanging between his legs, and he kept
his head very low in running. It is extraordinary that we could
never succeed in killing or catching one of these animals, though
we were for months almost constantly endeavouring to do so.
On the 1st and 2d of February the weather was rather hazy, so that
the sun could not have been seen had it been above the horizon;
but the 3d was a beautifully clear and calm day. At eight A.M. a
cross, consisting of the usual vertical and horizontal rays, was
seen about the moon. At twenty minutes before apparent noon, the
sun was seen from the Hecla's main-top, at the height of fifty-one
feet above the sea, being the first time that this luminary had
been visible to us since the 11th of November, a period of
eighty-four days, being twelve days less than the time of its
remaining actually beneath the horizon, independently of the
effects of atmospherical refraction. On ascending the main-top, I
found the sun to be plainly visible over the land to the south;
but at noon there was a dusky sort of cloud hanging about the
horizon, which prevented our seeing anything like a defined limb,
so as to measure or estimate its altitude correctly.
At noon on the 7th we had the first clear view of the sun which we
had yet enjoyed since its reappearance above our horizon, and an
indistinct parhelion, or mock sun, slightly prismatic, was seen on
the eastern side of it, at the distance of 22°.
There was now sufficient daylight, from eight o'clock till four,
to enable us to perform with great facility any work outside the
ships. I was not sorry to commence upon some of the occupations
more immediately connected with the equipment of the ships for sea
than those to which we had hitherto been obliged to have recourse
as mere employment. We therefore began this day to collect stones
for ballast, of which it was calculated that the Hecla would
require in the spring nearly seventy tons, besides twenty tons of
additional water, to make up for the loss of weight by the
expenditure of provisions and stores. These stones were brought
down on sledges about half a mile to the beach, where they were
broken into a convenient size for stowage, and then weighed in
scales erected on the beach for the purpose; thus affording to the
men a considerable quantity of bodily exercise whenever the
weather would permit them to be so employed.
The distance at which sounds were heard in the open air, during
the continuance of intense cold, was so great as constantly to
afford matter of surprise to us, notwithstanding the frequency
with which we had occasion to remark it. We have, for instance,
often heard people distinctly conversing, in a common tone of
voice, at the distance of a mile; and to-day I heard a man singing
to himself as he walked along the beach, at even a greater
distance than this. Another circumstance also occurred to-day,
which may perhaps be considered as worthy of notice. Lieutenant
Beechey, and Messrs. Beverly and Fisher, in the course of a walk
which led them to a part of the harbour, about two miles directly
to leeward of the ships, were surprised by suddenly perceiving a
smell of smoke, so strong as even to impede their breathing, till,
by walking on a little farther, they got rid of it. This
circumstance shows to what a distance the smoke from the ships was
carried horizontally, owing to the difficulty with which it rises
at a very low temperature of the atmosphere.
From four P.M. on the 14th till half past seven on the following
morning, being an interval of fifteen hours and a half, during
which time the weather was clear and nearly calm, a thermometer,
fixed on a pole between the ships and the shore, never rose above
-54°, and was once during that interval, namely, at six in the
morning, as low as -55°. During the lowest temperature above
mentioned, which was the most intense degree of cold marked by the
spirit-thermometer during our stay in Winter Harbour, not the
slightest inconvenience was suffered from exposure to the open air
by a person well clothed, as long as the weather was perfectly
calm; but, in walking against a very light air of wind, a smart
sensation was experienced all over the face, accompanied by a pain
in the middle of the forehead, which soon became rather severe. We
amused ourselves in freezing some mercury during the continuance
of this cold weather, and by beating it out on an anvil previously
reduced to the temperature of the atmosphere; it did not appear to
be very malleable when in this state, usually breaking after two
or three blows from the hammer.
The increased length of the day, and the cheering presence of the
sun for several hours above the horizon, induced me, notwithstanding
the severity of the weather, to open the dead-lights of my
stern windows, in order to admit the daylight, of which, in our
occupations below, we had entirely been deprived for more than four
months. I had soon, however, occasion to find that this change was
rather premature, and that I had not rightly calculated on the length
of the winter in Melville Island. The Hecla was fitted with double
windows in her stern, the interval between the two sashes being about
two feet; and within these some curtains of baize had been nailed
close in the early part of the winter. On endeavouring now to remove
the curtains, they were found to be so strongly cemented to the
windows by the frozen vapour collected between them, that it was
necessary to cut them off in order to open the windows; and from the
space between the double sashes we removed more than twelve large
buckets full of ice or frozen vapour, which had accumulated in the
same manner.
About noon on the 16th, a parhelion, faintly prismatic, appeared
on each side of the sun, continuing only for half an hour.
Notwithstanding the low temperature of the external atmosphere,
the officers contrived to act, as usual, the play announced for
this evening; but it must be confessed that it was almost too cold
for either the actors or the audience to enjoy it, especially for
those of the former who undertook to appear in female dresses.
In the constant hope that each succeeding day would produce some
amendment in the weather, we endeavoured contentedly to put up
with the cold, which, however, continued to be so intense in the
cabin for several weeks after this, that it was impossible to sit
there without being warmly wrapped up; and it was not uncommon for
us, at this period, to reverse the usual order of things, by
throwing off our great coats when we went on deck to warm
ourselves by exercise (the only mode we had of doing so), and
immediately resuming them on coming below.
With our present temperature, the breath of a person at a little
distance looked exactly like the smoke of a musket just fired, and
that of a party of men employed upon the ice to-day resembled a
thick white cloud.
At a quarter past ten on Thursday, the 24th, while the men were
running round the decks for exercise, and were on that account
fortunately well clothed, the house on shore was discovered to be
on fire. All the officers and men of both ships instantly ran up
to extinguish it; and having, by great exertion, pulled off the
roof with ropes, and knocked down a part of the sides, so as to
allow snow to be thrown upon the flames, we succeeded in getting
it under after three quarters of an hour, and fortunately before
the fire had reached that end of the house where the two clocks,
together with the transit and other valuable instruments, were
standing in their cases. Having removed these, and covered the
ruins with snow, to prevent any remains of fire from breaking out
again, we returned on board till more temperate weather should
enable us to dig out the rest of the things, among which nothing
of any material consequence was subsequently found to have
suffered injury; and, having mustered the ships' companies to see
that they had put on dry clothes before going to dinner, they were
employed daring the rest of the day in drying those which had been
wet. The appearance which our faces presented at the fire was a
curious one, almost every nose and cheek having become quite white
with frostbites in five minutes after being exposed to the
weather; so that it was deemed necessary for the medical
gentlemen, together with some others appointed to assist them, to
go constantly round while the men were working at the fire, and to
rub with snow the parts affected, in order to restore animation.
Notwithstanding this precaution, which, however, saved many
frostbites, we had an addition of no less than sixteen men to the
sick lists of both ships in consequence of this accident. Among
these there were four or five cases which kept the patients
confined for several weeks; but John Smith, of the artillery, who
was Captain Sabine's servant, and who, together with Sergeant
Martin, happened to be in the house at the time the fire broke
out, was unfortunate enough to suffer much more severely. In their
anxiety to save the dipping-needle, which was standing close to
the stove, and of which they knew the value, they immediately ran
out with it; and Smith, not having time to put on his gloves, had
his fingers in half an hour so benumbed and the animation so
completely suspended, that on his being taken on board by Mr.
Edwards, and having his hands plunged into a basin of cold water,
the surface of the water was immediately frozen by the intense
cold thus suddenly communicated to it; and, notwithstanding the
most humane and unremitting attention paid to them by the medical
gentlemen, it was found necessary, some time after, to resort to
the amputation of a part of four fingers on one hand and three on
the other.