The security of the
ships and the preservation of the various stores were objects of
immediate concern. A regular system to be adopted for the
maintenance of good order and cleanliness, as most conducive to
the health of the crews during the long, dark, and dreary winter,
equally demanded my attention.
Not a moment was lost, therefore, in the commencement of our
operations. The whole of the masts were dismantled except the
lower ones and the Hecla's main-topmast; the lower yards were
lashed fore and aft amidships, to support the planks of the
housing intended to be erected over the ships; and the whole of
this framework was afterward roofed over with a cloth. The boats,
spars, running rigging, and sails were removed on shore; and, as
soon as the ships were secured and housed over, my whole attention
was directed to the health and comfort of the officers and men.
The surgeon reported that not the slightest disposition to scurvy
had shown itself in either ship.
Soon after our arrival in Winter Harbour, when the temperature of
the atmosphere had fallen considerably below zero of Fahrenheit,
we found that the steam from the coppers, as well as the breath
and other vapour generated in the inhabited parts of the ship,
began to condense into drops upon the beams and the sides, to such
a degree as to keep them constantly wet.
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