148 
VOYAGE FOR THE DISCOVERY 
1820. the weather was fine and clear, and though the thermometer 
continued from — 34° to — 36° in the shade, and only rose to — 23|° in the 
Tues. 22. sun at two P.M., the walking was unusually pleasant to our feelings. With 
our present temperature, the breath of a person, at a little distance, looked 
exactly like the smoke of a musket just fired, and that of a party of men 
employed upon the ice to-day resembled a thick white cloud. 
Thur. 24 . The weather was still fine and clear overhead on the 24th, but there being 
a moderate breeze from the northward which raised a little snow-drift, with 
the thermometer from — 43° to — 44° during the day, it was very severe in 
the open air. At a quarter past ten, while the men were running round the 
decks for exercise, and were on that account fortunately well-clothed, the 
house on shore was discovered to be on fire. All the officers, and men of 
both ships, instantly ran up to extinguish it ; and having, by great exertion, 
pulled off the roof with ropes, and knocked down a part of the sides, so as 
to allow snow to be thrown upon the flames, we succeeded in getting it 
under, after three quarters of an hour, and fortunately before the fire had 
reached that end of the house where the two clocks, together with the transit, 
and other valuable instruments, were standing in their cases. Having removed 
these, and covered the ruins with snow, to prevent any remains of fire from 
breaking out again, we returned on board till more temperate weather should 
enable us to dig out the rest of the things, among which nothing of any 
material consequence was subsequently found to have suffered injury ; and, 
having mustered the ships’ companies to see that they had put on dry clothes 
before going to dinner, they were employed during the rest of the day in 
drying those which had been wet. The appearance which our faces pre- 
sented at the fire was a curious one, almost every nose and cheek having 
become quite white with frost-bites in five minutes after being exposed to the 
weather; so that it was deemed necessary for the medical gentlemen, together 
with some others appointed to assist them, to go constantly round, while the 
men were working at the fire, and to rub with snow the parts affected, in 
order to restore animation. Notwithstanding this precaution, which, how- 
ever, saved many frost-bites, we had an addition of no less than sixteen 
men to the sick-lists of both ships in consequence of this accident. Among 
these there were four or five cases which kept the patients confined for 
several weeks; but John Smith, of the artillery, who was Captain Sabine’s 
servant, and who, together with Serjeant Martin, happened to be in the house 
at the time the fire broke out, was unfortunate enough to suffer much more 
