PARRY'S EXPEDITION (1827) 5 



of course, constant daylight in these regions during the 

 summer season. The advantages of this plan, which was 

 occasionally deranged by circumstances, consisted first, in 

 our avoiding the intense and oppressive glare from the 

 snow during the time of the sun's greatest altitude, so 

 as to prevent, in some degree, the painful inflammation 

 in the eyes, called ' snow-blindness,'' which is common 

 in all snowy countries. We also thus enjoyed greater 

 warmth during the hours of rest, and had a better chance 

 of drying our clothes ; besides which, no small advantage 

 was derived from the snow being harder at night for 

 travelling. The only disadvantage of this plan was, that 

 the fogs were somewhat more frequent and more thick 

 by night than by day, though even in this respect there 

 was less difference than might have been supposed, the 

 temperature during the twenty-four hours undergoing 

 but little variation. This travelling by night and 

 sleeping by day so completely inverted the natural order 

 of things, that it was difficult to persuade ourselves of the 

 reality. Even the officers and myself, who were all 

 furnished with pocket chronometers, could not always 

 bear in mind at what part of the twenty-four hours we 

 had arrived ; and there were several of the men who 

 declared, and I believe truly, that they never knew night 

 from day during the whole excursion. 



"When we rose in the evening, we commenced our 

 day by prayers, after which we took off our fur sleeping - 

 dresses, and put on those for travelling ; the former being 

 made of camblet, lined with racoon-skin, and the latter 

 of strong blue box-cloth. We made a point of always 

 putting on the same stockings and boots for travelling 

 in, whether they had dried during, the day or not ; and 

 I believe it was only in five or six instances, at the most, 

 that they were not either still wet or hard-frozen. This, 

 indeed, was of no consequence beyond the discomfort of 



