264 THE JEANNETTE ARCTIC EXPEDITION. 



THURSDAY, May 19, 1881. Latitude 76 deg. 44 min. 50 

 sec. north, longitude 161 deg. 30 min. 45 sec. east. 



Crew engaged in digging down through the ice on the port 

 side of the stem in an effort to reach the forefoot. The ice 

 was first bored to a depth of ten feet two inches without 

 getting to the bottom of it; next a hole was dug four feet in 

 depth and from the bottom of this hole a drilling was made 

 to a depth of ten feet two inches ; still not reaching the bot- 

 tom of the ice at fourteen feet two inches ; but water now 

 came oozing in to fill up the space dug, and further effort 

 was not made. It is fair to assume that the thickness is of 

 more than one floe, and that the water flows in between the 

 blocks as they lie one above the other. 



An opening occurred in the ice about five hundred yards 

 to the eastward of the ship and partially closed at ten P. M., 

 the ship receiving several slight shocks as the edges of the 

 ice came together. 



The island remains in plain view all day, and at times, 

 after six P. M., a very strong appearance of higher land be- 

 yond and to the westward is seen, seemingly connected by a 

 snowy slope with what we have called an island. 



FRIDAY, May 20. The island remains in plain view all 

 day, though nothing can be seen of the high land beyond, 

 the strong appearance of which is noted in yesterday's log. 



The center of the island now bears west (true), but as no 

 observations could be obtained to-day its position and dis- 

 tance cannot be determined by the change of bearing. 



SATURDAY, May 21. Latitude north 76 deg. 52 min. 22 

 sec., longitude east 161 deg. 7 min. 45 sec. The point of the 

 island which on the 16th inst. bore north 83 deg. 15 min. 

 west (true) to-day bears south 78 deg. 30 min. west (true), 

 from which change of bearing it is computed that the island 

 is now twenty-four and three-fifths miles distant. The posi- 

 tion of the observed point is therefore latitude 76 deg. 47 

 min. 28 sec. north, longitude 159 deg. 20 min. 45 sec. 



From measurement made by a sextant it is found that the 

 island as seen to-day subtends an angle of 2 deg. 10 min. 



