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
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.
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