moral lesson, I hope it will not be considered an idle or impious thing to quote the sentence that happened to be the subject of experiment. It was the first verse of the forty-sixth Psalm: God is our hope and strength; a very present help in trouble. In addition to what has been said, I ought also to mention that the weather at the time was rather cloudy, so that very few stars could be seen, and the moon's declination was about 1510 S., consequently below the horizon; therefore the twilight was the only source from which we could receive any light at the time. My object in being so minute in detailing this circumstance is simply to give an idea of the degree or quantity of light that we still receive from the

sun."

Although, from the peculiarity of captain Parry's voyage, and the deep interest it has excited, as involving a great and controverted point of geography, which repeated trials during some centuries have not even yet determined, it may be supposed to have been in every body's hands capable of affording the cost, or having access to public libraries,-yet, as a permanent record of the year's transactions, we cannot omit some interesting extracts.

"I must now mention an occurrence which had caused considerable apprehension in our minds for the two last days, and the result of which had nearly proved of very serious importance to the future welfare of the expedition. Early on the morning of the 11th I received a note from lieutenant Liddon, acquainting me that, at day-light the preceding day, Mr. Fife, with a party of six men, had

been despatched from the Griper, with the hope of surprising some rein-deer and musk-oxen, whose tracks had been seen in a ravine to the westward of the ships. As they had not yet returned, in compliance with the instructions given to Mr. Fife, and had only been supplied with a small quantity of provisions, it was natural to apprehend that they had lost their way in pursuit of game, more especially as the night had been too inclement for them to have voluntarily exposed themselves to it. I therefore recommended to lieutenant Liddon to send a party in search of his people, and Messrs. Reid, Beverly, and Wakeham, who immediately volunteered their services on the occasion, were accordingly despatched for this purpose. Soon after their departure, however, it began to snow, which rendered the atmosphere so extremely thick, especially on the hills along which they had to travel, that this party also lost their way in spite of every precaution, but fortunately got sight of our rockets after dark, by which they were directed to the ships, and returned at ten o'clock, almost exhausted with cold and fatigue, without any intelligence of the absentees.

"At day-light on the following morning I sent lieutenant Hoppner, with the Hecla's fore-royalmast rigged as a flag-staff, which he erected on a conspicuous hill four or five miles inland, hoisting upon it a large ensign, which might be seen at a considerable distance in every direction. This expedient occurred to us as a more certain mode of directing our absentees towards the ships than that of sending out a number of

parties,

parties, which I could not, in common prudence, as well as humanity, permit to go to any great distance from the ships; but the snow fell so thick, and the drift was so great, during the whole of the 12th, that no advantage could at that time be expected from it, and another night came without the absent party appearing.

"Our apprehensions on their account had by this time increased to a most painful degree, and I therefore ordered four parties, under the command of careful officers, to be prepared to set out in search of them the following morning. These parties carried with them a number of pikes, having small flags attached to them, which they were directed to plant at regular intervals, and which were intended to answer the double purpose of guiding themselves on their return, and of directing the absent party, should they meet with them, to the ships. For the latter purpose a bottle was fixed to each pike, containing the necessary directions for their guidance, and acquainting them that provisions would be found at the large flag-staff on the hill. Our searching parties left the ships soon after day-light, the wind still blowing hard from the westward, with incessant snow, and the thermometer at 28°. This weather continued without intermission during the day, and our apprehensions for the safety of our people were excited to a most alarming degree, when the sun began to descend behind the western hills, for the third time since they had left the ship; I will not, therefore, attempt to describe the joyful feelings we sud

denly experienced, on the Griper's hoisting the signal appointed, to inform us that her men, or a part of them, were seen on their return. Soon after we observed seven persons coming along the beach from the eastward, who proved to be Mr. Nias and his party, with four out of the seven men belonging to the Griper. From the latter, consisting of the corporal of marines and three seamen, we learned that they had lost their way within a few hours after leaving the ship, and had wandered about without any thing to guide them till about ten o'clock on the following day, when they descried the large flagstaff, at a great distance. At this time the whole party were together; but now, unfortunately, separated, in consequence of a difference of opinion respecting the flag-staff, which Mr. Fife mistook for a smaller one, that had been erected some days before at a considerable distance to the eastward of our present situation; and, with that impression, walked away in a contrary direction, accompanied by two of his men. The other four who had now returned, (of whom two were already much debilitated,) determined to make for the flag-staff. When they had walked some distance and were enabled to ascertain what it was, one of them endeavoured to overtake Mr. Fife, but was too much fatigued, and returned to his comrades. They halted during a part of the night, made a sort of hut of stones and turf to shelter them from the weather, and kindled a little fire with gunpowder and moss to warm their feet: they had never been in actual want of food, having lived upon raw grouse, of

which they were enabled to obtain a quantity sufficient for their subsistence. In the morning they once more set forward towards the flag-staff, which they reached within three or four hours after lieutenant Beechey had left some provisions on the spot: having eaten some bread, and drank a little rum and water, a mixture which they described as appearing to them perfectly tasteless and clammy, they renewed their journey towards the ships, and had not proceeded far when, notwithstanding the snow which was constantly falling, they met with footsteps which directed them to Mr. Nias and his party, by whom they were conducted to the ships.

The account they gave us of Mr. Fife and his two companions, led us to believe that we should find them, if still living, at a considerable distance to the westward, and some parties were just about to set out in that direction, when the trouble and anxiety which this mistake would have occasioned us were prevented by the arrival of another of the searching parties, with the information that Mr. Fife and the two men were on their way to the ships, being about five miles to the eastward. Some fresh hands were immediately sent to bring them in, and they arrived on board at ten P. M., after an absence of ninety-one hours, and having been exposed, during three nights, to the inclemency of the first wintry weather we had experienced. Almost the whole of this party were much exhausted by cold and fatigue, and several of them were severely frost-bitten in their toes and fingers; but, by the skill and unremitted attention of our medical gentlemen, they

1821.

were in a few days enabled to return to their duty.

"Before midnight we had still greater reason than ever to be thankful for the opportune reco very of our people; for the wind increased to a hard gale about halfpast eleven, at which time the thermometer had fallen to 15°; making altogether so inclement a night, as it would have been impossible for them, in their already debilitated state, to have survived. In humble gratitude to God for this signal act of mercy, we distinguished the headland to the westward of the ships, by the name of Cape Providence."

The account of the cold our navigators experienced demands our sympathy.

"The 7th of January was one of the most severe days to the feelings which we experienced during the winter, the wind being strong from the northward with a heavy drift, and the thermometer continuing from-38° to -40°. It is impossible to conceive any thing more inclement than such a day, when we could with difficulty pass and repass between the two ships, and were glad to keep every person closely confined on board.

"At half-past five, P. M., on the 8th, the Aurora Borealis was seen forming a broken and irregular arch of white light, 10° or 12° high in the centre, extending from N. b. W., round by W. to S.S.E., with occasional coruscations proceeding from it towards the zenith. It continued thus for an hour, and re-appeared from eight o'clock till midnight in a similar manner, making, however, but a poor display of this beautiful phenomenon. Neither the magnetic needle, nor the gold-leaf of the electrometer

D

electrometer were, in either instance, in the slightest degree affected by it.

"At eight A. M. on the 11th, faint coruscations of the Aurora Borealis were observed to dart with inconceivable rapidity across the heavens from W.N.W. to E.S.E. from horizon to horizon, and passing about 25° to the south of the zenith. At noon to-day, the temperature of the atmosphere had got down to 499 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 versa, 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 any thing 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 pannels 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, witnessed the conversion of the vapour into snow, during its fall.”

The following statement connected with the subject of cold, is from the appendix:-

"A case occurred on board the Hecla which, as it may serve to illustrate the effects of severe cold, I shall particularize.

"A house erected on shore for scientific purposes, caught fire by accident during the winter. A servant of Captain Sabine, in his endeavours to extinguish it, exposed his hands in the first instance to the operation of considerable heat; he afterwards remained in the open air in much distress of mind, at having been in

some

measure the involuntary cause of the accident, and was almost unconscious of the effects of a temperature of 43° to 44° below zero of Fahrenheit, upon his naked hands. He was at length

noticed

noticed in this situation, and sent on board.

"His hands presented a strange appearance; they were perfectly hard, inflexible, colourless, possessing a degree of translucency, exhibiting more the external character of pieces of sculptured marble, than those of animated matter. They were immediately plunged into the cold bath, where they continued for upwards of two hours ere their flexibility was completely recovered; 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, a considerable degree of re-action took place, attended by acute pain, from which the patient became so faint and exhausted as to necessitate his being conveyed to bed. In less than three hours very active inflammation had supervened, extending high up the arm, and soon afterwards each hand, from the wrist downward, was enclosed in a bladder, containing upward of a pint of viscid serous fluid. There were, how. ever, three of the fingers of one hand, and two of the other, in which this vesication did not form; they continued cold, and perfectly insensible; and whilst arterial action was powerful, as far as the first joints of these fingers, the vessels of their extremities were in a perfect state of collapsion. During the employment of antiphlogistic remedies to reduce the inflammatory symptoms, various stimuli were used ineffectually, to restore animation to the fingers; when the inflammation began to subside, a separation took place between the dead and the living parts, and

eventually the amputation of them became necessary.

"A private marine of the Griper had also one of his hands frozen in a similar manner, and with a like result. Mr. Beverly had to amputate three or four of the fingers."

Our voyagers observed some beautiful phenomena; for instance:

"On the 8th, at noon, and for half an hour after, an appearance presented itself in the heavens, which we had not before observed. A thin fleecy cloud of a pale-red colour, and shaped like part of an arch, commenced pretty strongly from the top of the land in the N.W., and ran more and more faintly to N.b.W., beyond which it could no longer be traced: it was here fifteen degrees above the northern horizon. On looking for a continuation of it, in the opposite quarter of the heavens, we perceived a larger portion of another and fainter arch, of pale red, or orange, commencing at the horizon in the E.b.N., and extending to 60° of altitude in the N.N.E., so as evidently not to form a part of the western arch. Captain Sabine afterwards observed the whole phenomenon to alter its position, the leg of the eastern arch shifting considerably more to the southward. In the evening the Aurora Borealis was seen, forming a confused and irregular arch of white light, continually varying in brightness, about 8 high in the centre, and extending from S.b.E., round by the west, to N.N.W. From the upper part of this arch, coruscations occasionally shot upwards, and a few streamers now and then burst forth also from the horizon in the S.S.E.; these latter went nearly up to the zenith, while D 2

the