OF A NORTH-WEST PASSAGE. 377 



in between, till it reached considerably above the chains, so as to cover ^^^2. 

 nearly the whole of the upper-works. We also laid over the upper-deck fore v^-,-v^ 

 and aft, as well as upon the hatchways and companions, about eight inches 

 depth of snow, and above that a coating of sand cemented by water, so as to 

 form a firm and level covering of these materials. Though there can be 

 little doubt of the efficacy of this plan in preventing the escape of a portion of 

 the warmth from below, it is also to be recommended as of essential service 

 in preventing the planks from rending, and the pitch in the seams from being 

 cracked, effects which the frost is otherwise sure to produce. 



The facility which our people had acquired by our intercourse with the 

 Esquimaux in the application of snow to the use of building, induced me 

 also to surround the Fury with a wall of that plentiful material ; it was twelve 

 feet high, and placed at the distance of twenty or twenty-five yards from the 

 ship, forming a large square like that of a farm-yard. It is probable that 

 such a wall may be favourable, during high winds, for preventing in some 

 degree the rapid abstraction of heat from a ship, while it also serves the 

 purpose of keeping out snow drift, and of affording a comfortable shelter 

 for walking with almost every wind that can blow. 



In housing-in the ships, the " pitch " of the roof was made somewhat less 

 than before, the height of the centre spar being now thirteen feet above the 

 deck; and as the day-light began to return, two or three of the glazed 

 garden frames were fitted into the cloth as skylights, which proved a great 

 convenience. I may here mention that scarcely any snow rested on the 

 housing during the winter, a fresh breeze invariably carrying away that 

 which any preceding light weather had allowed to lodge there. The same 

 remark applies to our tops, masts, yards, and rigging, which were perhaps 

 more clear of snow in April than in October. 



The observatory house on shore was now built rather smaller than before, 

 being thirteen feet by eight, of which the observatory part occupied five 

 feet of one end, leaving a room eight feet square for the instruments and 

 other apparatus. It was also built with a flat instead of a " pitched" roof; 

 and this, as well as the sides, were of single planks, lined on the inside 

 with canvass, and closely covered without, first by turf and then by slabs 

 of snow. It is only necessary to add that, in all these alterations, the ad- 

 vantage was no less felt in the additional warmth, than in the reduction of 

 labour and materials requisite in the construction. 



The distance between the two ships, though not such as to prevent con- 



3 c 



