It
may well be imagined that, at this period, there was but little to
be met with in our walks on shore which could either amuse or
interest us. The necessity of not exceeding the limited distance
of one or two miles, lest a snowdrift, which often rises very
suddenly, should prevent our return, added considerably to the
dull and tedious monotony which day after day presented itself. To
the southward was the sea, covered with one unbroken surface of
ice, uniform in its dazzling whiteness, except that, in some
parts, a few hummocks were seen thrown up somewhat above the
general level. Nor did the land offer much greater variety, being
almost entirely covered with snow, except here and there a brown
patch of bare ground in some exposed situations, where the wind
had not allowed the snow to remain. When viewed from the summit of
the neighbouring hills, on one of those calm and clear days which
not unfrequently occurred during the winter, the scene was such as
to induce contemplations which had, perhaps, more of melancholy
than of any other feeling. Not an object was to be seen on which
the eye could long rest with pleasure, unless when directed to the
spot where our ships lay and where our little colony was planted.
The smoke which there issued from the several fires, affording a
certain indication of the presence of man, gave a partial
cheerfulness to this part of the prospect; and the sound of
voices, which, during the cold weather, could be heard at a much
greater distance than usual, served now and then to break the
silence which reigned around us; a silence far different from that
peaceable composure which characterizes the landscape of a
cultivated country; it was the deathlike stillness of the most
dreary desolation, and the total absence of animated existence.
Such, indeed, was the want of objects to afford relief to the eye
or amusement to the mind, that a stone of more than usual size
appearing above the snow in the direction in which we were going,
immediately became a mark on which our eyes were unconsciously
fixed, and towards which we mechanically advanced.

We had frequent occasion, in our walks on shore, to remark the
deception which takes place in estimating the distance and
magnitude of objects when viewed over an unvaried surface of snow.
It was not uncommon for us to direct our steps towards what we
took for a large mass of stone at the distance of half a mile from
us, but which we were able to take u