November, 1865.] Refruction. 207 



ivcord. Too-koo-li-too expressed a wish that the lady wlio told her 

 at the Brooklyn fair in New York that Iiinuits ought to dress like 

 ladies in the States, could herself take a minute's walk only at this 

 time over the hill near by, when she would be very glad to change 

 her fine hat and hoop-skirts for any one of an Innuit's rough 

 dresses. 



The journals of November 29 and 30 have interesting notes of 

 refraction and of a parhelion. The 29th was a gloriously fine day, 

 although rather cold, the mean of four observations of Hall's ther- 

 mometer No. 5 being 65°. 4 below freezing-point. From midday till 

 evening the sky was cloudless and the air calm. At 10^' 12"^- 4P^''' 

 mean time of Fort Hope, the lower limb of the sun was half a degree 

 above the sea-horizon. The place of Hall's observation was on the 

 crest of the hill back of his igloo, directly opposite Beacon Hill ; the 

 igloo and the hill being on opposite sides of the small stream known 

 as North Pole River. 



At sunrise and for a half hour later, the refraction south and east 

 was very great ; for Southampton Island loomed up from ten to thirty 

 minutes of arc above the sea-horizon. The island is never visible 

 from the place of observation named, except by refraction ; and Hall 

 had frequently looked in vain for it from elevated points in the neigh- 

 borhood. Cape Frigid, the most northerly point of Southampton, lies 

 in about lat. 6(y° N., long. 85° 25' W., by Parry's chart; and by the 

 same chart, the junction of the river with the headwaters of Gibson's 

 Cove is in lat. 66° 32' N., long. 86° 50' W., the last of which positions, 

 however, Hall believed, involves an eiTor in the chart, of seven miles. 

 The cape was forty-seven geographical miles distant, but the refraction 

 was so great that Hall saw not only that point, but the coast on both 



