438 Account 
111 large Lakes and Rivers the Ice is fometimes broken 
by imprifoned Vapours, and the Rocks, Trees, Joifts, 
and Rafters of our Buildings, are burft, with a Noife 
not lefs terrible than the firing off a great many Guns to- 
gether. The Rocks which are fplit by the Froft, are 
heaved up in great Heaps, leaving large Cavities behind, 
which I take to be caufed by imprifoned watery Vapours 
that require more room when frozen, than they occupy in 
their fluid State. Neither do I think it unaccountable, 
that the Frofl; fhould be able to tear up Rocks and Trees, 
and fplit the Beams of our Houfes, when I confider the 
great Force and Elafticity thereof. If Beer or Water is 
left in Mugs, Cans, Bottles, nay, in Copper Pots, though 
they were put by our Bed-fides in a fevere Night, they 
were furely fplit to Pieces before Morning, not being able 
to withftand the expanfive Force of the inclofed Ice. 
The Air is filled with innumerable Particles of Ice, very 
fharp and angular, and plainly perceptible to the naked 
Eye. I have feveral times tried this Winter, to rhake 
Obfervations of feme celeftial Bodies, particularly the 
Emerfions of the Satellites of Jupiter.^ with reflecting 
andrefradling Telefcopes *, but the Metals and Glaffes, 
by that Time I could fix them to the Objedt, were cover- 
ed a quarter of an Inch thick with Ice, and thereby the 
Objedl rendered indiftin' 61 ; fo that it is not without great 
Difficulties that any Obfervations can be taken. 
Bottles of Strong-Beer, Brandy, ftrong Brine, Spirits 
of Wine, fet out in the open Air for three or four Hours, 
freeze to folid Ice. I have tried to get the Sun’s Refrac- 
tion here, to every Degree above the Horizon, with El- 
Quadrant, but to no Purpofe, for the Spirits freeze 
almofl: as foon as brought into open Air. 
The Frofl: is never out of the Ground, how deep we 
cannot be certain. We have dug down ten or twelve 
Feet, and found the Earth hard frozen in the two Summer 
Months ; and what Moifture we find five or fix Feet 
down, is white like Ice. The Waters, or Rivers, near the 
Sea, where the Current of the Tides flow ftrong, do not 
freeze above nine or ten Feet deep. 
All the Water we ufe for Cooking, Brewing, is 
melted Snow and Ice. No Spring is yet found free from 
freezing, though dug never fo deep down. All Waters 
on Land are frozen fail by the Beginning of OSioheVy and 
continue fo till the Middle of May. 
The Walls of the Houfe we live in are of Stone, two 
Feet thick *, the Windows very fmall, with thick wooden 
Shutters, which are clofe fhut eighteen Hours every Day 
in Winter. 
There are Cellars under the Houfe, wherein we put our 
W'ines, Brandy, Strong-Beer, Butter, Cheefe, Cfc. Four 
large Fires are made in great Stoves, built on purpofe *, 
every Day, as foon as the Wood is burnt down to a Coal, 
the Tops of the Chimnies are clofe ftopt with an Iron 
Cover. This keeps the Heat within the Houfe (though 
at the fame Time the Smoak makes our Heads ach, and 
is very offenfive and unwholfome.) Notwithftanding 
which, in four or five Hours after the Fire is out, the in- 
fide of the Walls of our Houfe and Bed-Places will be 
two or three Inches thick with Ice, which is every Morn- 
ing cut away with a Hatchet. Three or four times a Day 
we make Iron-Shot, of twenty-four Pounds weight, red 
hot, and hang them up in the Windows of our Apart- 
ments. I have a good Fire in my Room the major Part 
of the twenty-four Hours ; yet all this will not preferve 
my Beer, Wine, Ink, iEc. from freezing. 
For our Winter-Drefs we make ufe of three Pair of 
Socks, of coarfe Blanketting, or Duffel for the Feet, with 
a Pair of Deer-Skin Shoes over them ; two Pair of thick 
Englijh Stockings, and a Pair of Cloth Stockings upon 
them j Breeches lined with Flannel ; two or three Englifi 
Jackets, and a Fufr Coat, or rather Gown, over them ; a 
large Beaver Cap, double, to come over the Face and 
Shoulders, and a Cloth of Blanketting under the Chin ; 
with Yarn Gloves, and a large Pair of Beaver Mittens, 
hanging down from the Shoulder before, to put our 
Hands in, which reach up as high as our Elbows. Yet 
notwithftanding this warm Cloathing, almoft every Day, 
fome of the Men that ftir abroad, if any Wind blows from 
tile Northward, are dreadfully ftozen. Some have their 
of later Attempts, Book II. 
Arms, Hands, and Face, bliftered and frozen in a terrible 
Manner, the Skin coming off foon after they enter the 
warm Houfe, and fome have loft their Toes. Now their 
lying indoors for the Cure of thefe frozen Parts, brings on 
the Scurvy in a very lamentable Manner ; Many have died 
of it, and, few are free from that Diftemper. I have pro- 
cured’ them all the Help I could, from the Diet this Coun- 
try affords in Winter •, fuch as frefli Fifli, Partridges, 
Broths, and the Dodlors have ufed their utmoft Skill 
in vain ; for I find nothing will prevent that Diftemper 
from being mortal, but Exercife and ftirring abroad. 
Coronee and Parhelia, commonly called Halos and 
Mock-Suns, appear frequently about the Sun and Moon 
here. They are feen once or twice a Week about the 
Sun, and once or twice a Month about the Moon, for 
four or five Months in the Winter feveral Cor ones of dif- , 
ferent Diameters appearing at the fame Time. 
I have feen five or fix Parallel Corona concentric with 
the Sun, feVeral times in the Winter, being for the moft 
Part very bright, and always attended with Parhelia or 
Mock-Suns. The Parhelia are always accompanied with 
Corona, if the Weather is clear, and continue for feveral 
Days together, from the Sun’s rifing to his fetting. Thefe 
Rings are of various Colours, and about 40 or 50 De- 
grees in Diameter. 
The frequent Appearance of thefe Phanomena, in this 
frozen Clime, feems to confirm Defcartes^s Hypothefis,who 
fuppofes them to proceed from Ice fufpended in the Air. 
The Aurora Borealis is much oftner feen here than in 
Etigland-, feldom a Night paffes in the Winter free from 
its Appearance ; they fliine with a furprizing Bright- 
nefs, extinguifhing all the Stars and Planets, and cover- 
ing the whole Hemifphere. Their tremulous Motion 
from all Parts j their Beauty and Luftre are much the 
fame as in the Northern Parts of Scotland, Denmark, &c. 
The dreadful long Winters here, may almoft be com- 
pared to the Polar Parts, where the Abfence of the Sun 
continues for fix Months; the Air being perpetually 
chilled and frozen by the Northerly Winds in Winter, 
and the cold Fogs and Mifts obftrufting the Sun’s Beams 
in the fhort Summer we have here ; for notwithftanding 
the Snow and Ice is then diffolved in the Lowlands and 
Plains, yet the Mountains are perpetually covered with 
Snow, and incredible large Bodies of Ice, continue in the 
adjacent Seas. If the Wind blows from the Southern 
Parts, the Air is tolerably warm, but infufferable cold 
when it comes from the Northward ; and it feldom blows 
any other wife, than between the North-eaft and the 
North-weft, except in the two Summer Months, when 
we have for the major part light Gales, between the 
Eaft and the North, and Calms. The Northerly Winds 
being fo extremely cold, is owing to the Neighbourhood 
of high Mountains, whofe Tops are perpetually covered 
with Snow, which exceedingly chills the Air paffing over 
them. The Fogs and Mifts that are brought here from 
the Polar Parts in Winter, appear vifible to the naked 
Eye, in Ificles innumerable, as fmall as fine Hairs or 
Threads, and pointed as fharp as Needles. Thefe Ificles 
lodge in our Cloaths, and if our Faces or Hands are un- 
covered, they prefently raife Blifters as white as a Linnen 
Cloth, and as hard as Horn : Yet if we immediately tura 
our Backs to the Weather, and can bear our Hand out of 
the Mitten, and with it rub the bliftered Part for a fmall 
Time, we fometimes bring the Skin to its former State, 
if not, we make the beft of our Way to a Fire, and 
get warm Water, wherewith we bathe it, and thereby dif- 
fipate the Humours raifed by the frozen Air, other wife 
the Skin would be off in a Ihort Time, with much hot 
ferous watery Matter, coming from under it along with 
the Skin ; and this happens to fome almoft every time 
they go abroad, for five , or fix Months in the Winter ; 
fb extreme cold is the Air when the W^ind blows any 
thing ftrong. 
Now I have obferved, that when it has been extreme 
hard Froft, by the Thermometer, and little or no Wind 
that Day, the Cold has not near fo fenfibly affeded us, as 
when the Thermometer has fhewed much lefs freezing, 
having a brifk Gale of Northerly Y ind at the fame 
Time, This Difference, perhaps, may be occafioned by 
thofe 
