126 



SECOND VOYAGE FOR THE DISCOVERY 



Soon after our arrival here, Captain Lyon expressed a wish that his 

 officers and men, with himself, should attend divine service on board the 

 Fury, during the continuance of the ships in winter-quarters. This arrange- 

 ment, which Mr. Fisher concurred with me in thinking in every respect 

 desirable, was accordingly made, and we formed one congregation for the 

 rest of the winter. Our lower-deck afforded abundance of accommodation 

 in this respect ; some psalm tunes, which had been purposely set upon an 

 organ, were played at the proper intervals of the service, and our little 

 church formed a pleasing and interesting scene to such as are disposed to be 

 interested by scenes of this nature. 



Our people were sent out to walk for exercise whenever the weather was 

 favourable, and the duties of the ships did not afford them sufficient em- 

 ployment; care being taken to keep them together, under an officer, and to 

 furnish them with proper arms. Finger-posts were also erected, as before, 

 in various parts of the island near the bay, for the purpose of directing per- 

 sons to the ships if surprised by snow-drifts. 



The weather continued wintery and inclement from the time of our arrival 

 in the bay ; but the rapid equinoctial spring-tides coming on soon after, 

 prevented the permanent freezing of the sea in the offing. The sheet of 

 ice which had formed in the bay was also in part detached by one of the 

 boats having been hauled over it, her keel leaving a score which, like those 

 on glass made by the scratch of a diamond, caused it to separate just in 

 that place : a fresh sheet was however formed in the course of eight and 

 forty hours, which appeared sufficient to secure us from external pressure. 

 The flood-tide was observed to come from the north-east and to set, at 

 spring-tides, at the rate of two miles and a half an hour. The phenomenon 

 called frost smoke, or the " barber," being the vapour arising from the 

 sea, rendered visible by condensation, made its appearance when the ther- 

 mometer sunk to 2° or 3° below zero, but at that temperature of the atmo- 

 sphere it was not very dense. 



Before the ships were permanently frozen in, several black whales came 

 up to blow in the small pools left open by our cutting the ice. As a 

 supply of oil would have been particularly acceptable just at this period, 

 every endeavour was made to strike one of them, but without success ; the 

 young ice preventing the boats from approaching them notwithstanding 

 the ardour of our Greenland sailors in this pursuit. 



I have before mentioned the myriads of small shrimps, ( cancer nugax,) 



