Another circumstance also occurred to-day,
which may perhaps be considered as worthy of notice. Lieutenant
Beechey, and Messrs. Beverly and Fisher, in the course of a walk
which led them to a part of the harbour, about two miles directly
to leeward of the ships, were surprised by suddenly perceiving a
smell of smoke, so strong as even to impede their breathing, till,
by walking on a little farther, they got rid of it. This
circumstance shows to what a distance the smoke from the ships was
carried horizontally, owing to the difficulty with which it rises
at a very low temperature of the atmosphere.
From four P.M. on the 14th till half past seven on the following
morning, being an interval of fifteen hours and a half, during
which time the weather was clear and nearly calm, a thermometer,
fixed on a pole between the ships and the shore, never rose above
-54 deg., and was once during that interval, namely, at six in the
morning, as low as -55 deg. During the lowest temperature above
mentioned, which was the most intense degree of cold marked by the
spirit-thermometer during our stay in Winter Harbour, not the
slightest inconvenience was suffered from exposure to the open air
by a person well clothed, as long as the weather was perfectly
calm; but, in walking against a very light air of wind, a smart
sensation was experienced all over the face, accompanied by a pain
in the middle of the forehead, which soon became rather severe.
Pages:
96
97
98
99
100
101
102
103
104
105
106
107
108
109
110
111
112
113
114
115
116
117
118
119
120