Page:A Voyage of Discovery and Research in the Southern and Antarctic Regions Vol 1.djvu/168

92 The astronomical, tidal, and pendulum observations occupied my attention exclusively; and in these I was also assisted by Commander Crozier, both of us living in one of the compartments of the observatory, only going off to the ships on Sunday to read the church service and inspect the vessels.

The senior lieutenants had charge of the ships, and occupied the crews in refitting the rigging, and the more toilsome operation of frequently resetting the anchors; for although these and the cables were of a weight and size usually supplied to ships of double our tonnage, they were unable to withstand, the almost hurricane violence of the gales that prevail at this season of the year, sometimes laying the ships over nearly on their beam ends, and the sheet anchor was constantly resorted to. On one occasion the whole body of the astronomical observatory was moved nearly a foot; and had not the lower framework fortunately been sunk to a good depth below the level of the ground, it would have doubtless been blown into the sea.

The gusts occur so suddenly that I have frequently been obliged to throw myself down on the beach to prevent being carried into the water, and one of our men, whose duty it was to register the tide-gauge, was actually driven in by one of the squalls, and very nearly drowned.

During forty-five of the sixty-eight days the ships were in Christmas Harbour it blew a gale of wind, and there were only three days on which neither rain nor snow fell.