Arctic Dreams

by Barry Lopez

The return of the sun was so eagerly anticipated that during the time of day when it might be expected to loom early because of refraction, a continuous watch was kept from the top of the Hecla’s mainmast. On the fated day, February 3, a relay of men watched—ten minutes each—from the crow’s nest. It appeared at 11:40 A.M., Winter Harbor time. On February 13 two sailors received thirty-six lashes for drunkenness. On the 14th it was –55°F and Mr. Fisher poured water through a colander 40 feet up in the Hecla’s mast to see if it would freeze before it hit the deck. On February 24 at 10:15 A.M., clothing hung too near the stove in Mr. Sabine’s observation hut caught fire and set fire to the building. The blaze was quickly put out, but a man who tried to save the instruments subsequently lost fingers on both hands to frostbite. A young pet glaucous gull died in the fire and was remembered in a dignified eulogy in the next issue of the paper.