bove the deck
over its whole length; the canvas was low enough to cover the sides of
the ship. The deck, being protected from all outside impressions,
became their walk; it was covered with two and a half feet of snow;
this snow was crowded and beaten down so as to become very hard; so it
resisted the radiation of the internal heat; above it was placed a
layer of sand, which as it solidified became a sort of macadamized
cover of great hardness.

"A little more," said the doctor, "and with a few trees I might
imagine myself at Hyde Park, or even in the hanging-gardens at
Babylon."

A trench was dug tolerably near the brig; this was a circular space in
the ice, a real pit, which had to be kept always open. Every morning
the ice formed overnight was broken; this was to secure water in case
of fire or for the baths which were ordered the crew by the doctor; in
order to spare the fuel, the water was drawn from some distance below
the ice, where it was less cold. This was done by means of an
instrument devised by a French physicist (Francois Arago); this
apparatus, lowered for some distance into the water, brought it up to
the surface through a cylinder.

[Illustration]

Generally in winter everything which encumbers the ship is removed,
and stored on land. But what was practicable near land is impossible
for a ship anchored on the ice.

Every preparation was made to fight the two great enemies of this
latitude, cold and dampness; the first produces the second, which is
far more dangerous. The cold may be resisted by one who succumbs to
dampness; hence it was necessary to guard against it.

The _Forward_, being destined to a journey in arctic seas, contained
the best arrangements for winter-quarters: the large room for the crew
was well provided for; the corners, where dampness first forms, were
shut off; in fact, when the temperature is very low, a film of ice
forms on the walls, especially in the corners, and when it melts it
keeps up a perpetual dampness. If it had been round, the room would
have been more convenient; but, being heated by a large stove, and
properly ventilated, it was very comfortable; the walls were lined
with deerskins, not with wool, for wool absorbs the condensed moisture
and keeps the air full of dampness.

Farther aft the walls of the quarter were taken down, and the officers
had a larger common-room, better ventilated, and heated by a stove.
This room, like that of the crew, had a sort of