se it with
dexterity, it was fortunately preserved until the arrival of our men
with others from Fort Providence.

A thermometer, hung in our bed-room at the distance of sixteen feet from
the fire, but exposed to its direct radiation, stood even in the
day-time occasionally at 15 deg. below zero, and was observed more than once
previous to the kindling of the fire in the morning, to be as low as 40 deg.
below zero. On two of these occasions the chronometers 2149 and 2151,
which during the night lay under Mr. Hood's and Dr. Richardson's
pillows, stopped while they were dressing themselves.

The rapid at the commencement of the river remained open in the
severest weather, although it was somewhat contracted in width. Its
temperature was 32 deg., as was the surface of the river opposite the house,
about a quarter of a mile lower down, tried at a hole in the ice,
through which water was drawn for domestic purposes. The river here was
two fathoms and a half deep, and the temperature at its bottom was at
least 42 deg. above zero. This fact was ascertained by a spirit thermometer;
in which, probably, from some irregularity in the tube, a small portion
of the coloured liquor usually remained at 42 deg. when the column was made
to descend rapidly. In the present instance the thermometer standing at
47 deg. below zero, with no portion of the fluid in the upper part of the
tube, was let down slowly into the water, but drawn cautiously and
rapidly up again, when a red drop at +42 deg. indicated that the fluid had
risen to that point or above it. At this period the daily visits of the
sun were very short, and owing to the obliquity of his rays, afforded us
little warmth or light. It is half past eleven before he peeps over a
small ridge of hills opposite to the house, and he sinks in the horizon
at half past two. On the 28th Mr. Hood, in order to attain an
approximation to the quantity of terrestrial refraction, observed the
sun's meridian altitude when the thermometer stood at 46 deg. below zero,
at the imminent hazard of having his fingers frozen.

He found the sextant had changed its error considerably, and that the
glasses had lost their parallelism from the contraction of the brass. In
measuring the error he perceived that the diameter of the sun's image
was considerably short of twice the semi-diameter; a proof of the
uncertainty of celestial observations made during these intense frosts.
The results of this and another simi