We thought that we had known what cold was when the winter first began;
but when a strong northerly wind commenced, having passed over either a
frozen sea or sheet of snow, then we really felt how hard it could
freeze. Even the Esquimaux kept within their snow-huts, and we could
not venture beyond the shelter of our snow-wall, without instantly
having our faces frost-bitten.
It was not till the last day of November that we entirely lost sight of
the sun, and the long arctic night commenced. But the night of that
region cannot be compared to the dark, gloomy nights of more southern
climes. Overhead the sky was generally beautifully clear, and the moon
and stars shining on the snow gave a light scarcely less bright than
that of day.
About noon, also, there was always a twilight, and in clear weather a
beautiful arch of bright red light was seen over the southern horizon.
Besides this, the aurora borealis frequently lighted up the sky with its
brilliant hues, like some magnificent firework on a grand scale. I
watched a very beautiful aurora one night in the south-west, which
extended its glowing radiance as far as the zenith.
Fancy a bright arch suddenly bursting forth in the dark-blue sky,
sending up streamers of many hues--orange, crimson, and purple--while
bright coruscations were emitted from it, completely obscuring the stars
in the neighbourhood! Two bright nebulae afterwards appeared beneath
it: and about two o'clock it broke up into fragments, the coruscations
becoming more frequent and irregular till it vanished entirely.
Even during the coldest weather, provided there was no wind, we could
enjoy ourselves in the open air; but the slightest wind made us feel a
smarting sensation all over the face, with a considerable pain in the
forehead. We could not touch our guns in the open air without our
mittens; and when by accident one of us put his hand to anything iron,
it felt as if it was red-hot, and took off the flesh exactly in the same
manner.
We were very comfortable in our house, but we had to make some
alterations. We found it better to stop up the chimney of our stove,
and to use the same sort of lamp as the natives, which we were able to
do, as we were well supplied with seals and walrus. The Esquimaux used
to hunt the walrus throughout the winter, and would frequently venture
out to sea on floating masses of ice to attack them, trusting to the
wind to bring them back again with their prize.
When a walrus is struck near the edge of a floe, the hunter fastens the
line of his harpoon round his body and places his feet firmly against a
hummock of ice, in which position he can withstand the very heavy strain
of the struggling animal.
Seals are taken in a less dangerous way, but one which requires very
great perseverance. As seals require to breathe, they have to make
holes in the ice for this purpose, and the Esquimaux watch for them as
they are thus employed. Immediately that a man discovers by listening
that a seal is working beneath the ice, he builds a snow-wall about four
feet in height to shelter him from the wind, and seating himself under
the lee of it, deposits his spear-lines and other implements upon
several little forked sticks inserted into the snow, to prevent the
slightest noise being made in moving them when wanted. He also ties his
own knees together with a thong, to prevent any rustling of his clothes.
To ascertain if the seal is still at work, he pierces through the ice
with a slender rod of bone with a knob at the end of it. If this is
moved, he knows that the animal is at work; if it remains quiet, he
knows that he has deserted the spot.
When the hole is nearly completed, the hunter lifts his spear with its
line attached; and as soon as the blowing of the seal is distinctly
heard, and the ice consequently very thin, he drives it into him with
the force of both arms, and then cuts away the remaining crust of ice to
enable him to repeat the wounds and to get him out. A man will thus
watch for hours together, with a temperature of 30 degrees below zero.
We were able to kill a good many with our guns at a distance as they lay
on the ice, when no one could have approached near them. Our sporting,
on the whole, was tolerably successful, for we killed a quantity of
ptarmigan, grouse, and other birds, besides several white hares. We
also killed several foxes and a quantity of wolves which came prowling
round our house, and would, I doubt not, have carried off any of our
dogs or provisions they could have got at.
Thus the winter passed away without any adventures particularly worth
recording. The sun was below the horizon for about six weeks; and
though only for a short period at a time, we gladly once more welcomed
the sight of his beams.
Our Esquimaux friends continued on very good terms with us; and with our
assistance they were always well supplied with food. Andrew took great
precautions about our health, and advised us to take daily some of the
pickles and preserved fruits we had discovered, to assist in keeping off
the scurvy,--as also a daily supply of fresh meat, whether of fish or
flesh; and we very soon got over any objection we might have had to
seal's blubber dressed in Esquimaux fashion.
During calm weather we paid numerous visits to the ship, to bring away
things we might require; and we were able to afford our friends what was
to them an almost inexhaustible supply of wood. Without the aid of our
saws and hatchets they could not cut away the stout timbers and planks;
and as we had removed the bulkheads and lining of the ship, with the
remaining spars, their honesty was not as much tempted as it otherwise
might have been.
Our time did not hang on our hands nearly as heavily as might be
supposed. We in the first place employed ourselves in manufacturing the
skins of the animals we killed into garments of all sorts,--mittens,
hoots, jackets, and caps,--so that we were all of us clothed from head
to foot very much in the fashion of the Esquimaux.
We took some trouble to trim our jackets and caps with fur of different
colours as they do, and the effect produced was very good. We also made
models of sledges and canoes, and of all the articles used by our
friends, which seemed to please them very much, though I confess they
were not more neatly made than theirs, in spite of our superior tools.
When tired of work we used to sit round our lamp at night, and narrate
our past adventures, or invent stories, some of which were very
ingenious and amusing, and were well worth writing down; indeed, I
regret that my space will not allow me to give some which I remember
very well, for I took pains to impress them on my memory, thinking them
worth preserving. If my young friends express any wish to hear them, I
shall be very glad at some future time to write them down for their
amusement.
But the subject which naturally occupied our chief attention was the
means we should take to regain our native land. We could not hope that
any whalers would visit the coast till August at the soonest, and even
then it was not certain that they would come at all. David, who was our
authority on such matters, said that he had known some years when the
ships could not pass the middle ice through Baffin's Bay to Pond's Bay;
and that, consequently, we might have to pass another year in that
place, unless we could escape through our own exertions.
On this the idea was started of building a vessel, and attempting to
reach Newfoundland in her, or to try and fall in with some whaler at the
entrance of Davis' Straits.
I cannot say that I very much approved of this plan. I had great
confidence in Andrew's discretion, and I knew both him and David to be
experienced seamen, but neither of them knew anything about navigation--
indeed David could neither read nor write; and though we might possibly
be able to find our way through the ice, when once we got clear we might
lose it, and be wrecked on a worse coast than the one we were desirous
of quitting. How also could such a vessel as we had the means of
building be expected to withstand the slightest pressure of the ice?
and, from the experience we had had, I did not think it likely we should
be able to get to the south without encountering some of those fearful
contests in which we had seen other vessels destroyed.
However, day after day we talked about it; and at least it served to
beguile the time, though nothing definite was determined on. We had
unfortunately no books, for those we found in the ship we could not
read. I had, however, a small note-book in my pocket, and with my
pencil, which I used very carefully, I kept a sort of journal across the
leaves of the foreign books, thus turning them to some account.
Had it not been for Andrew, I am afraid that few of us would have shown
any attention to our religious duties; but he by degrees drew the minds
even of the most thoughtless to the subject of religion, till all
acknowledged its importance and beauty. He explained to us, to the best
of his power, the truths of Christianity, of which most of us had before
a very slight and imperfect knowledge. He also proposed that we should
unitedly offer up our prayers to Heaven every morning and evening; and
from that time we never failed in that important duty.
As I think over the prayers used by that good man, although the words
and sentences might have been somewhat unpolished, I feel that the
sentiments could not have been surpassed by the most highly educated
clergyman--for this reason, that they came from an enlightened mind with
an earnest spirit. No words, indeed, could be more appropriate to our
condition than those he used.
Early in February the sun again made his appearance, and the day,
including twilight, might be said to last from eight o'clock to four, so
that we had not a very much shorter day than people in London. The
weather, however, was colder than ever, and we were less able to be
exposed to the air for any length of time than during the dark months.
About the middle of March there were slight signs of a thaw, the snow
being glazed over in the evening, as if the sun had had some effect on
it. We also felt a sensible improvement in the temperature, and were
soon able not only to wash our clothes, but to dry them in the open air,
an operation which rather astonished our Esquimaux friends.
Early in May there was a perceptible twilight at midnight, so that we
felt the summer had once more begun.
A little later, ptarmigan, grouse, and other birds made their
appearance, and the Esquimaux reported that they had seen the tracks of
deer and musk-oxen. Still, far out to sea there was the same dreary
flat expanse of ice, covered with a sheet of snow.
I ought to have mentioned that for the sake of being nearer the edge of
the ice, where seals could be caught, some of our friends had built for
themselves snow-huts on the ice. For this purpose they completely swept
away the snow, leaving a flooring of clear ice, which was of the richest
and most splendid blue that nature affords. I thought to myself, with
these simple materials what a magnificent palace might be built, far
surpassing any other style of edifice!
The increasing warmth of the weather now enabling us to work out of
doors for several hours together, it was once more seriously proposed
that we should begin to build a boat, or, as some insisted on calling
her, a vessel, to carry us home. I asked Andrew what he thought on the
subject, for he had not expressed any very strong opinion either one way
or the other. He replied that he thought there could be no harm in
trying to build a small vessel; that we had an abundance of materials
and tools, with provisions; and that if we could contrive to make her
seaworthy, we might manage to reach one of the places to the south
constantly visited by whalers; but if not, we must be content to wait
till some ship might pass in the autumn.
He owned that he, for one, should not be inclined to venture out of
sight of land; and that, provided we took a good supply of provisions
with us, our firearms and powder, our harpoons and lances, after the
experience we had had, we could not come to much harm, even if we were
compelled to weather out another winter in the arctic regions.