. Narrative of discovery and adventure in the polar seas and regions [microform] : with illustrations of their climate, geology, and natural history ; and an account of the whale-fishery. Natural history; Sciences naturelles. CLIMATE. 19 forward in consequence of its adoption. The Honour- able Daines Harrington, a man of learning and some ingenuity, embrace^ with ardour the opinion of those who believed that it was possible to reach the Pole. In successive papers, communicated to the Royal Society of London, he not only condensed the information fur- nished by the older voyagers, but exhibited
. Narrative of discovery and adventure in the polar seas and regions [microform] : with illustrations of their climate, geology, and natural history ; and an account of the whale-fishery. Natural history; Sciences naturelles. CLIMATE. 19 forward in consequence of its adoption. The Honour- able Daines Harrington, a man of learning and some ingenuity, embrace^ with ardour the opinion of those who believed that it was possible to reach the Pole. In successive papers, communicated to the Royal Society of London, he not only condensed the information fur- nished by the older voyagers, but exhibited the results of the numerous queries relating to the same object, which he had circulated among persons engaged in the Greenland fishery. He thence proved, that, in certain favourable seasons, the Arctic Seas are for several weeks so open that intrepid navigators might safely penetrate to a very high latitude. In compliance with his san- guine representations, the Admiralty in 1773 despatched Captain Fhipps to explore those regions; but this com- mander was unsuccessful in the attempt, having reached only the latitude of 801 degrees, when his ship got surrounded by a body of ice near Spitzbergen, and escaped with extreme difficulty, though many of the whalers had in that summer advanced farther. Mr Barrington did not, however, despair; and, following out his views, he induced Mr Nairne and Dr Higgins to make experiments on the congelation of sea-water. The various facts were collected in a small volume, to which Colonel Beaufoy subjoined an appendix contain- ing the answers made to his queries by Russian hunters (who are accustomed to spend the whole year in Spitz- bergen), relative to the probability of travelling from that island to the Pole during winter, in sledges drawn by rein-deer. The reports of these hardy men were sufficiently discouraging. They pictured the winter at Spitzbergen as not only severe but extremely bois- terous, the snow falling to the depth of three or
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1800, bookdecade1840, books, booksubjectnaturalhistory
