Three Voyages for the Discovery of a Northwest Passage from the Atlantic to the Pacific, and Narrative of an Attempt to Reach the North Pole, Volume 1Parry, William Edward, Sir
History
Three Voyages for the Discovery of a Northwest Passage from the Atlantic to the Pacific, and Narrative of an Attempt to Reach the North Pole, Volume 1
Parry, William Edward, Sir
Arctic regions; Northwest Passage; Parry, William Edward, Sir, 1790-1855
congealing into that form the vapour which floated in its
immediate neighbourhood.
The 4th of November being the last day that the sun would,
independently of the effects of refraction, be seen above our
horizon till the 8th of February, an interval of ninety-six days,
it was a matter of considerable regret to us that the weather
about this time was not sufficiently clear to allow us to see and
make observations on the disappearance of that luminary, in order
that something might be attempted towards determining the amount
of the atmospheric refraction at a low temperature. But though we
were not permitted to take a last farewell, for at least three
months, of that cheering orb, "of this great world both eye and
soul," we nevertheless felt that this day constituted an important
and memorable epoch in our voyage. We had some time before set
about the preparations for our winter's amusements; and the
theatre being ready, we opened on the 5th November, with the
representation of _Miss in her Teens_, which afforded to the men
such a fund of amusement as fully to justify the expectations we
had formed of the utility of theatrical entertainments under our
present circumstances, and to determine me to follow them up at
stated periods. I found, indeed, that even the occupation of
fitting up the theatre and taking it to pieces again, which
employed a number of the men for a day or two before and after
each performance, was a matter of no little importance, when the
immediate duties of the ship appeared by no means sufficient for
that purpose; for I dreaded the want of employment as one of the
worst evils that was likely to befall us.
About the time of the sun's leaving us, the wolves began to
approach the ships more boldly, howling most piteously on the
beach near us, sometimes for hours together, and on one or two
occasions coming alongside the ships, when everything was quiet at
night; but we seldom saw more than one or two together, and
therefore could form no idea of their number. These animals were
always very shy of coming near our people; and though evidently
suffering much from hunger, never attempted to attack any of them.
The white foxes used also to visit the ships at night, and one of
these was caught in a trap set under the Griper's bows. The
uneasiness displayed by this beautiful little animal during the
time of his confinement, whenever he heard the howling of a wolf
near the ships, impressed us with the opinion that the latter is
in the habit of hunting the fox as his prey.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account