366 ARCTIC VOYAGES. Chap. X. 



more than once that we heard a rustling noise, 

 like that of autumnal leaves stirred by the wind ; 

 but after two hours of attentive listening we were 

 not entirely convinced of the fact." They all agree 

 as to its influence over the magnetic needle. By a 

 number of experiments it was found that, in certain 

 positions of the beams and arches, the needle was 

 considerably drawn aside, and more particularly 

 when the flashes were between the clouds and the 

 earth ; for it was also ascertained that the height 

 of the aurora, instead of being, as supposed by 

 Mr. Dalton and others, beyond the region of the 

 atmosphere, is usually not more than six or seven 

 miles from the earth. " We have sometimes seen," 

 Mr. Hood says, " an attenuated aurora flashing 

 across a hundred degrees of the sky in a single 

 second ; a quickness of motion inconsistent with the 

 heioht of sixty or seventy miles, the least which 

 has hitherto been ascribed to it." 



The 1st of January, 1821, the usual festivities of 

 the new year were held ; but the only treat the 

 people could receive was a little flour and fat, both 

 luxuries, but the feast languished for want of spirits. 

 The whole month was cold and foggy, yet the 

 Indians declared it was the warmest they had 

 known; the thermometer, however, towards the 

 latter part, descended to 49°, and the mean tem- 

 perature of the month was 15°*6. On the 15th 

 large supplies were received from Fort Providence, 



