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 2Parry, 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 2
Parry, William Edward, Sir
Arctic regions; Northwest Passage; Parry, William Edward, Sir, 1790-1855
When we rose in the evening, we commenced our day by prayers, after
which we took off our fur sleeping-dresses and put on those for
travelling; the former being made of camlet, lined with racoon-skin, and
the latter of strong blue box-cloth. We made a point of always putting
on the same stockings and boots for travelling in, whether they dried
during the day or not; and I believe it was only in five or six
instances, at the most, that they were not either wet or hard-frozen.
This, indeed, was of no consequence, beyond the discomforture of first
putting them on in this state, as they were sure to be thoroughly wet in
a quarter of an hour after commencing our journey; while, on the other
hand, it was of vital importance to keep dry things for sleeping in.
Being "rigged" for travelling, we breakfasted upon warm cocoa and
biscuit, and, after stowing the things in the boats and on the sledges,
so as to secure them as much as possible from wet, we set off on our
day's journey, and usually travelled from five to five and a half hours,
then stopped an hour to dine, and again travelled four, five, or even
six hours, according to circumstances. After this we halted for the
night, as we called it, though it was usually early in the morning,
selecting the largest surface of ice we happened to be near for hauling
the boats on, in order to avoid the danger of its breaking up by coming
in contact with other masses, and also to prevent drift as much as
possible. The boats were placed close alongside each other, with their
sterns to the wind, the snow or wet cleared out of them, and the sails,
supported by the bamboo masts and three paddles, placed over them as
awnings, an entrance being left at the bow. Every man then immediately
put on dry stockings and fur boots, after which we set about the
necessary repairs of boats, sledges, or clothes; and, after serving the
provisions for the succeeding day, we went to supper. Most of the
officers and men then smoked their pipes, which served to dry the boats
and awnings very much, and usually raised the temperature of our
lodgings 10° or 15°. This part of the twenty-four hours was often a
time, and the only one, of real enjoyment to us; the men told their
stories and "fought all their battles o'er again," and the labours of
the day, unsuccessful as they too often were, were forgotten. A regular
watch was set during our resting-time, to look out for bears or for the
ice breaking up round us, as well as to attend to the drying of the
clothes, each man alternately, taking this duty for one hour. We then
concluded our day with prayers, and, having put on our fur-dresses, lay
down to sleep with a degree of comfort, which perhaps few persons would
imagine possible under such circumstances; our chief inconvenience being
that we were somewhat pinched for room, and therefore obliged to stow
rather closer than was quite agreeable. The temperature, while we
slept, was usually from 36° to 45°, according to the state of the
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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