Temperature of the air minus 35 degrees, a light air from the westward, very clear.

The extreme coldness of the weather rendered these operations difficult and dangerous; yet I think the observations may be depended upon within 30 seconds, as will appear by their approximate results in calculating the horizontal refraction, for it must be considered that an error of 30 seconds in the refraction in altitude would make a difference of several minutes in the horizontal refraction.  Mr. Hood’s Journal.)

The Aurora Borealis appeared with more or less brilliancy on twenty-eight nights of this month and we were also gratified by the resplendent beauty of the moon which for many days together performed its circle round the heavens, shining with undiminished lustre and scarcely disappearing below the horizon during the twenty-four hours.

During many nights there was a halo round the moon although the stars shone brightly and the atmosphere appeared otherwise clear.  The same phenomenon was observed round the candles even in our bedrooms, the diameter of the halo increasing as the observer receded from the light.  These halos, both round the moon and candles, occasionally exhibited faintly some of the prismatic colours.

As it may be interesting to the reader to know how we passed our time at this season of the year I shall mention briefly that a considerable portion of it was occupied in writing up our journals.  Some newspapers and magazines that we had received from England with our letters were read again and again and commented upon at our meals; and we often exercised ourselves with conjecturing the changes that might take place in the world before we could hear from it again.  The probability of our receiving letters and the period of their arrival were calculated to a nicety.  We occasionally paid the woodmen a visit or took a walk for a mile or two on the river.

In the evenings we joined the men in the hall and took part in their games which generally continued to a late hour; in short we never found the time to hang heavy upon our hands; and the peculiar occupations of each of the officers afforded them more employment than might at first be supposed.  I recalculated the observations made on our route; Mr. Hood protracted the charts, and made those drawings of birds, plants and fishes, which cannot appear in this work but which have been the admiration of everyone who has seen them.  Each of the party sedulously and separately recorded their observations on the Aurora Borealis; and Dr. Richardson contrived to obtain from under the snow specimens of most of the lichens in the neighbourhood, and to make himself acquainted with the mineralogy of the surrounding country.

The Sabbath was always a day of rest with us; the woodmen were required to provide for the exigencies of that day on Saturday and the party were dressed in their best attire.  Divine service was regularly performed and the Canadians attended and behaved with great decorum although they were all Roman Catholics and but little acquainted with the language in which the prayers were read.  I regretted much that we had not a French Prayer-Book but the Lord’s Prayer and Creed were always read to them in their own language.