More temperate Weather.--House rebuilt.--Quantity of Ice collected
on the Hecla's lower Deck.--Meteorological Phenomena.--Conclusion
of Theatrical Entertainments.--Increased Sickness on board the
Griper.--Clothes first dried in the open Air.--Remarkable Halos
and Parhelia.--Snow Blindness.--Cutting the Ice round the Ships,
and other Occurrences to the Close of May.
Before sunrise on the morning of the 1st of March, Lieutenant
Beechey remarked so much bright red light near the southeastern
horizon, that he constantly thought the sun was rising nearly half
an hour before it actually appeared; there was a column of light
above the sun similar to those which we had before seen. The day
being clear and moderate, a party of men were employed in digging
out the things which were buried in the ruins; the clocks were
removed on board for examination, and preparations were made to
rebuild the house for their reception.
The 5th of March was the most mild and pleasant day we had
experienced for several weeks, and after divine service had been
performed, almost all the officers and men in both ships were glad
to take advantage of it, by enjoying a long walk upon the
neighbouring hills. The weather had been hazy, with light snow and
some clouds in the morning; but the latter gradually dispersed
after noon, affording us the first day to which we could attach
the idea of spring.
We continued to enjoy the same temperature and enlivening weather
on the 7th, and now began to flatter ourselves in earnest that the
season had taken that favourable change for which we had so long
been looking with extreme anxiety and impatience. This hope was
much strengthened by a circumstance which occurred to-day, and
which, trifling as it would have appeared in any other situation
than ours, was to us a matter of no small interest and satisfaction.
This was no other than the thawing of a small quantity of snow in
a favourable situation upon the black paintwork of the ship's stern,
which exactly faced the south; being the first time that such an
event had occurred for more than five months.
The severe weather which, until the last two or three days, we had
experienced, had been the means of keeping in a solid state all
the vapour which had accumulated and frozen upon the ship's sides
on the lower deck. As long as it continued in this state, it did
not prove a source of annoyance, especially as it had no
communication with the bed-places. The late mildness of the
weather, however, having caused a thaw to take place below, it now
became necessary immediately to scrape off the coating of ice, and
it will, perhaps, be scarcely credited, that we this day removed
about one hundred buckets full, each containing from five to six
gallons, being the accumulation which had taken place in an
interval of less than four weeks. It may be observed, that this
vapour must principally have been produced from the men's breath,
and from the steam of their victuals during meals, that from the
coppers being effectually carried on deck by the screen which I
have before mentioned.
On the 9th it blew a hard gale from the northward and westward,
raising a snowdrift, which made the day almost as inclement as in
the midst of winter. The wind very suddenly ceased in the evening,
and while the atmosphere near the ships was so serene and
undisturbed that the smoke rose quite perpendicularly, we saw the
snowdrift on the hills, at one or two miles' distance, whirled up
into the air, in columns several hundred feet high, and carried
along by the wind, sometimes to the north, and at others in the
opposite direction. The snow thus raised at times resembled
waterspouts, but more frequently appeared like smoke issuing from
the tops of the hills, and as such was at first represented to me.
It blew a strong breeze from the N.b.W., with a heavy snowdrift,
on the 12th, which continued, with little intermission, till near
noon on the 14th; affording us a convincing proof that the hopes
with which we had flattered ourselves of the speedy return of
spring were not yet to be accomplished.
On the 16th, there being little wind, the weather was again
pleasant and comfortable, though the thermometer remained very
low.
This evening the officers performed the farces of the _Citizen_
and the _Mayor of Garratt_, being the last of our theatrical
amusements for this winter, the season having now arrived when
there would no longer be a want of occupation for the men, and
when it became necessary also to remove a part of the roofing to
admit light to the officers' cabins. Our poets were again set to
work on this occasion, and an appropriate address was spoken on
the closing of the North Georgia Theatre, than which we may,
without vanity, be permitted to say, none had ever done more real
service to the community for whose benefit it was intended.
On the 23d we found, by digging a hole in the ice, in the middle
of the harbour, where the depth of water was four fathoms and a
quarter, that its thickness was six feet and a half, and the snow
on the surface of it eight inches deep. This may be considered a
fair specimen of the average formation of ice in this neighbourhood
since the middle of the preceding September: and as the freezing
process did not stop for six weeks after this, the produce of the
whole winter may, perhaps, be reasonably taken at seven, or seven
and a half feet. In chopping this ice with an axe the men found it
very hard and brittle, till they arrived within a foot of the lower
surface, where it became soft and spongy.
Being extremely anxious to get rid, as early as possible, of the
drying of our washed clothes upon the lower deck, I had to-day a
silk handkerchief washed and hung up under the stern, in order to
try the effect of the sun's rays upon it. In four hours it became
thoroughly dry, the thermometer in the shade being from -18° to
-6° at the time. This was the first article that had been dried
without artificial heat for six months, and it was yet another
month before flannel could be dried in the open air. When this is
considered, as well as that, during the same period, the airing of
the bedding, the drying of the bed-places, and the ventilation of
the inhabited parts of the ship, were wholly dependant on the same
means, and this with a very limited supply of fuel, it may,
perhaps be conceived, in some degree, what unremitting attention
was necessary to the preservation of health, under circumstances
so unfavourable and even prejudicial.
The morning of April 27th being very fine, and the thermometer at
+6°, the ship's company's bedding was hung up to air, between the
fore and main rigging, being the first time we had ventured to
bring it from the lower deck for nearly eight months. While it was
out, the berths and bed-places were fumigated with a composition
of gunpowder mixed with vinegar, and known familiarly by the name
of _devils_; an operation which had been regularly gone through
once a week during the winter.
For the last three or four days of April the snow on the black
cloth of our housing had begun to thaw a little during a few hours
in the middle of the day, and on the 30th so rapid a change took
place in the temperature of the atmosphere, that the thermometer
stood at the freezing, or, as it may more properly be termed in
this climate, the thawing point, being the first time that such an
event had occurred for nearly eight months, or since the 9th of
the preceding September. This temperature was to our feelings, so
much like that of summer, that I was under the necessity of using
my authority to prevent the men from making such an alteration in
their clothing as might have been attended with very dangerous
consequences. The thermometer had ranged from -32° to +32° in the
course of twenty days. There was, at this period, more snow upon
the ground than at any other time of the year, the average depth
on the lower parts of the land being four or five inches, but much
less upon the hills; while in the ravines a very large quantity
had been collected. The snow at this time became so soft, from the
influence of the sun upon it, as to make walking very laborious
and unpleasant.
The fine and temperate weather with which the month of April had
concluded, induced Captain Sabine to set the clocks going, in
order to commence his observations for the pendulum, and he now
took up his quarters entirely on shore for that purpose. On the
first of May, however, it blew a strong gale from the northward,
which made it impossible to keep up the desired temperature in the
house: and so heavy was the snowdrift, that in a few hours the
house was nearly covered, and we were obliged to communicate with
Captain Sabine and his attendants through a small window, from
which the snow was, with much labour, cleared away, the door being
quite inaccessible. We saw the sun at midnight for the first time
this season.
The gale and snowdrift continued on the following day, when we had
literally to dig out the sentries, who attended the fire at the
house, in order to have them relieved.
On the 6th, the thermometer rose no higher than +8½° during the
day; but, as the wind was moderate, and it was high time to
endeavour to get the ships once more fairly afloat, we commenced
the operation of cutting the ice about them. In order to prevent
the men suffering from wet and cold feet, a pair of strong boots
and boot-stockings were on this occasion served to each.
On the 15th, two or three coveys of ptarmigan were seen, after
which they became more and more numerous, and a brace or two were
almost daily procured for the sick, for whose use they were
exclusively reserved. As it was of the utmost importance, under
our present circumstances, that every ounce of game which we might
thus procure should be served in lieu of other meat, I now renewed
the orders formerly given, that every animal killed was to be
considered as public property; and, as such, to be regularly
issued like any other kind of provision, without the slightest
distinction between the messes of the officers and those of the
ships' companies.
Some of our men having, in the course of their shooting
excursions, been exposed for several hours to the glare of the sun
and snow, returned at night much affected with that painful
inflammation in the eyes occasioned by the reflection of intense
light from the snow, aided by the warmth of the sun, and called in
America "snow blindness." This complaint, of which the sensation
exactly resembles that produced by large particles of sand or dust
in the eyes, is cured by some tribes of American Indians by
holding them over the steam of warm water; but we found a cooling
wash, made by a small quantity of acetate of lead mixed with cold
water, more efficacious in relieving the irritation, which was
always done in three or four days, even in the most severe cases,
provided the eyes were carefully guarded from the light. As a
preventive of this complaint, a piece of black crape was given to
each man, to be worn as a kind of short veil attached to the hat,
which we found to be very serviceable. A still more convenient
mode, adopted by some of the officers, was found equally
efficacious; this consisted in taking the glasses out of a pair of
spectacles, and substituting black or green crape, the glass
having been found to heat the eyes and increase the irritation.
On the 17th we completed the operation of cutting the ice round
the Hecla, which was performed in the following manner. We began
by digging a large hole under the stern, being the same as that in
which the tide-pole was placed, in order to enter the saw, which
occupied us nearly two days, only a small number of men being able
to work at it. In the mean time, all the snow and rubbish was
cleared away from the ship's side, leaving only the solid ice to
work upon; and a trench, two feet wide, was cut the whole length
of the starboard side, from the stem to the rudder, keeping within
an inch or two of the bends; and taking care here and there to
leave a dike, to prevent the water which might ooze into one part
from filling up the others in which the men were working. In this
manner was the trench cut with axes to the depth of about four
feet and a half, leaving only eighteen inches for the saws to cut,
except in those places where the dikes remained. The saw, being
then entered in the hole under the stern, was worked in the usual
manner, being suspended by a triangle made of three spars: one cut
being made on the outer part of the trench, and a second within an
inch or two of the bends, in order to avoid injuring the planks. A
small portion of ice being broken off now and then by bars,
handspikes, and ice-chisels, floated, to the surface, and was
hooked out by piecemeal. This operation was a cold and tedious one
and required nine days to complete it. When the workmen had this
morning completed the trench within ten or twelve feet of the
stern, the ship suddenly disengaged herself from the ice, to which
she had before been firmly adhering on the larboard side, and rose
in the water about ten inches abaft, and nearly eighteen inches
forward, with a considerable surge. This circumstance it was not
difficult to explain. In the course of the winter, the strong
eddy-winds about the ships had formed round them a drift of snow
seven or eight feet deep in some parts, and perhaps weighing a
hundred tons; by which the ice, and the ships with it, were
carried down much below the natural level at which they would
otherwise have floated. In the mean time the ships had become
considerably lighter, from expenditure of several months'
provisions: so that, on both these accounts, they had naturally a
tendency to rise in the water as soon as they were set at liberty.
A party of hands were occupied in breaking and weighing the stones
for ballast, while others were getting out the sails and boats; and
our carpenters, armourers, coopers, and sailmakers having each
their respective employments, our little colony now presented the
most busy and bustling scene that can be imagined. It was found
necessary to caulk every part of the upper works, as well as all
the decks, the seams having been so much opened by the frost as to
require at least one, and in many parts two threads of oakum,
though the ship had scarcely ever laboured at all since she was
last caulked. I also at this time laid out a small garden, planting
it with radishes, onions, mustard, and cress; and a similar attempt
was made by Lieutenant Liddon; but, notwithstanding every care and
attention which could be paid to it, this experiment may be said to
have wholly failed, the radishes not exceeding an inch in length by
the latter end of July, and the other seeds being altogether thrown
away. I may remark, however, that some common ships' peas, which
were sown by our people for their amusement, were found to thrive
so well, that, had I been sooner aware of it, a great quantity of
the leaves at least of this vegetable might have been grown, which,
when boiled and eaten as greens, would have been no small treat to
persons deprived of fresh vegetable substance for more than ten
months.
Having considered that an examination of the extent and
productions of the island might be conducive to the improvement of
the geography and natural history of these regions, and the good
state of health enjoyed by the crews permitting a certain number
of men to be spared from each ship during their equipment for sea,
I now determined to undertake a journey into the interior for this
purpose, accompanied by a certain number of officers and men who
volunteered their services on the occasion; and the 1st of June
was fixed for our departure.
Early on the morning of the 24th Mr. Allison reported that he had
felt a few drops of rain fall upon his face, an event which we had
scarcely dared to anticipate so soon, but which was hailed with
much satisfaction, as nothing appears to be so effectual as rain
in producing the dissolution of the ice. The clouds had a watery
appearance throughout the day, and at half past eight in the
evening we were agreeably surprised by a smart shower of rain,
which was shortly after succeeded by several others.
Early on the morning of the 29th the wind increased to a fresh
gale from the northward and westward, which continued during the
day, with a heavy fall of snow and a tremendous drift, that
prevented our seeing to the distance of more than twenty yards
around the ships. The following day being fine, I took my
travelling party to the top of the northeast hill, in order to try
the cart which had been constructed for carrying the tents and
baggage, and which appeared to answer very well. The view from
this hill was not such as to offer much encouragement to our hopes
of future advancement to the westward. The sea still presented the
same unbroken and continuous surface of solid and impenetrable
ice, and this ice could not be less than from six to seven feet in
thickness, as we knew it to be about the ships. When to this
circumstance was added the consideration that scarcely the
slightest symptoms of thawing had yet appeared, and that in three
weeks from this period the sun would again begin to decline to the
southward, it must be confessed that the most sanguine and
enthusiastic among us had some reason to be staggered in the
expectations they had formed of the complete accomplishment of our
enterprise.