344 MM. C. Borgen and R. Copeland's Short Account of the 



These precautions proved to be extraordinarily beneficial to 

 the health of the wintering party. The sick-list of the surgeon, 

 Dr. Edwards, usually bore only one, or at the utmost two names 

 of people who had slight attacks of scurvy ; and these were cured 

 in a few weeks by the administration of an extra dose of lemon- 

 juice with sugar. On one occasion, however, when a fire 

 broke out in the observatory, a considerable number (sixteen) 

 of the people suffered a good deal from frost, as in their ex- 

 citement they had neglected the necessary precautions ; and 

 this led in some cases even to the amputation of fingers. 

 The expedition had only one death to lament ; and this was 

 caused by disease of the lungs, which became combined with 

 scurvy. The sanitary condition of this wintering was there- 

 fore excellent, thanks to Parry's indefatigable care and its ad- 

 mirable equipment. 



The ships were laid up for wintering in the following man- 

 ner ; but it is to be observed that in subsequent winterings these 

 arrangements were altered and improved in some few particulars, 

 which will be noticed hereafter. The moveable ropes and yards 

 were taken down. The former were left lying in the open, where 

 they froze quite hard, and in this state were completely protected 

 from rotting, to which they would have been exposed in the 

 moist air between decks. 



The entire deck was then provided with a high-pitched roof 

 of oil-cloth, and served during the winter, in bad weather, as an 

 exercise-ground and promenade for the officers and men. At 

 first Parry had the water kept open around the ships, until he 

 found that this would be too troublesome. Then he allowed the 

 ships to be frozen in, and had snow shovelled up against their 

 sides in order to keep in the heat ; and this at the same time had 

 the great advantage that the ice round the ship did not become 

 so thick as where no snow covered it. 



The greatest evil that Parry had to contend against was the 

 great amount of moisture in the cabins, which in some cases 

 reached such a pitch that the beds were one half frozen, and one 

 half completely wet through. At first the ice condensed on the 

 walls was removed daily ; and once when this had been omitted 

 for some weeks, no less than 5000 or 6000 pounds of ice were 

 taken out of the cabins. Twice a day, when the crew were abroad, 

 their quarters were examined by the commander and the surgeon ; 

 and in general the actual observance of the precautions was most 

 rigidly watched by the officers : thus, for example, the people 

 were obliged every day to take the prescribed quantity of lemon- 

 juice and sugar in the presence of one of the officers. The damp- 

 ness was very much increased by the circumstance that Parry 

 was obliged to have all the clothes washed during winter dried 



