The Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1837-1867, 1849-12-15
A Winter within the Arctic Circle,

The expedition OF Sir James Ross, which
has recently returned from an unsuccessful
search for Sir John Franklin, winicrcd in
Port Leopold, a spacious harbor; with excel
liant eroundings and deep water. They en-.
tered the hnrbor on the lllh of September
.Qsisl ut which timo it was perfectly clear
of zee. An interesting account ofthc man
ner in which the long and drcnry winter OF
six months was passed. we COPY from an
English paper
"Thc provisions wcrc deposited with all
despatch, under the impression that the cN-
petition would start The next morning; hut,
on the l2lh,thc significant appearance ofthc
young ice setting Ia very sharp, and the
probability of being frozen in NJ n moro dis
advantageous position, Sir James Ross was
induced 10 delay hs dcpnrlurc,nud ultimate
~ To make this anchorage his winter quar-
teFS, Tins hring The most eligible point OF, lie.
pnrinre ~ the ensuing spring. Ia the course
oi iew dayA 81 JaIEGSS FTrrtrrrrurI5 WITT
verified; the harbor continued 10 freeze over,
alternately freezing and clearing until about
the 9th, when the ice became settled.
The crew were now employed TO cut ca
nal forty feet wide, leading in towards the
northeast side OF the harhor, and projected
hy Mhuler,s Point. from any heavy pressure
ol ice setting in from the inlet, or Barrow's
Strnils. This hnrhor was found TO he most
runmudiuus aud safe, with goud depth of
nuter aud sandy bottom. The icG was per.
frcIIy flat and frozen over with ms plain n
surfHce Us the Serpeutluc in January The
ships were moored Hbrrnst each other, about
200 yarls apart As soon ms they were froz-
en- in, they were housed over from the fore
castle to the mizenmas' aud the anchors
were weighed and slowed.
The crews then commenced building a
wall Of snow seven feet higlfIrom one ship
to the other, to facilitate cOmmuncntion,nnd
the next Thing was the erecting of mn obsery-
ntory for each ship Tor mngnettc observations.
They were composed entirely OF snow, with
plates OF ice for the windows. They were q
feet high INSIDE, and butt OF snow bricks one
foot thick aud two feet long, cut OUT witt q
cutlnss, and well squared and trimmed, these
,,ti- trt,ttsr,, displaying tasteful, varied, andn
some instances, fantastic inrms OF architcc-
lure. Thu wall of Communication required
prent attention, from the accumulation of
snow. The sun was not seen from the oh
of November Until the 0th-of February from
the ship, but from the top OF tho hlll n. H.
Cape Leopold, sight WINS caught OF hun so
early us the ooh of January. During the
long evenings, from October tiltAlny,schnols
were formed along the midsh'p part at the
lower decks winch were well attended 10y
the Young men, who were instructed in rrnd-
Iuu XxIAinn Ann arithmetic, on board the tu-
terprise, by the clerk, aud n younsster from
Greenwich school, named Gnnscll, FUcuUu
class volunteer, taught the pupils navigation.
Many OF the scholars made grent prngre''a IN
their studies during the six monIhs. Ample
time was allowed 10 the crews of both ships
to meet each other,nnd games of football aud
other exercises relieved the mouutony which
surrounded them,
During the whole ofthnl dreary wtutur,the