In chopping this ice with an axe the men found it
very hard and brittle, till they arrived within a foot of the lower
surface, where it became soft and spongy.
Being extremely anxious to get rid, as early as possible, of the
drying of our washed clothes upon the lower deck, I had to-day a
silk handkerchief washed and hung up under the stern, in order to
try the effect of the sun's rays upon it. In four hours it became
thoroughly dry, the thermometer in the shade being from -18 deg. to
-6 deg. at the time. This was the first article that had been dried
without artificial heat for six months, and it was yet another
month before flannel could be dried in the open air. When this is
considered, as well as that, during the same period, the airing of
the bedding, the drying of the bed-places, and the ventilation of
the inhabited parts of the ship, were wholly dependant on the same
means, and this with a very limited supply of fuel, it may,
perhaps be conceived, in some degree, what unremitting attention
was necessary to the preservation of health, under circumstances
so unfavourable and even prejudicial.
The morning of April 27th being very fine, and the thermometer at
+6 deg., the ship's company's bedding was hung up to air, between the
fore and main rigging, being the first time we had ventured to
bring it from the lower deck for nearly eight months.
Pages:
105
106
107
108
109
110
111
112
113
114
115
116
117
118
119
120
121
122
123
124
125
126
127
128
129