THE COMMANDER OF THE EXPEDITION. 25 



morning of Saturday, August 9tli, at which time there came 

 a hill. We had then been in this heavy gale thirty hours, and 

 were in a very cold and exhausted state. Everything was 

 completely saturated with water, and we had so much water 

 in the boat that I feared she had sprung a leak. The Little 

 Juniata behaved wonderfully well, and did more than such a 

 small craft could have been expected to do. With our fire 

 room flooring covered with water, the coal bunkers half full of 

 the same, every locker in the boat afloat, all our bailing must 

 have made little impression on this bulk of water which was 

 constantly increased by the seas shipped at every one of the 

 fearful j)lunges of the boat and the showers of spray thrown 

 over us. 



" We hailed with great relief the lull in the wind which 

 gave promise of a breaking up of the gale, and fearing for the 

 safety of the boat should the wind subside leaving this fearful 

 sea running, we attempted to get a fire lighted under the boiler. 

 This was no easy matter, and for a while seemed impossible. 

 The matches we had taken with us were wet and useless. The 

 tinder was likewise saturated and of no avail. After several 

 hours' work we succeeded in getting a friction match dry 

 enough to ignite, — Ensign May having warmed and dried it 

 by keeping it next his body for that purpose, — and with this 

 match we lighted a candle in a lantern, which was almost im- 

 mediately extinguished by a gust of wind. By a repetition of 

 the same process Mr. May secured another lighted match, and 

 this time we succeeded in keeping our candle alight. We at- 

 tempted then to build a fire, but every stick of wood was soak- 

 ing wet. By taking cotton waste and punk, wet as they were, 

 and pouring oil plentifully over them, we succeeded at last in 

 lighting our fire. 



" During this time the wind had moderated and hauled to 

 the S. W. I calculated the boat to have been in lat. 75° 48' 

 N., long. 68° 30' W. on the port tack (wind at S. E. true), and 

 long. 67° 10' N. on the end of each starboard tack. We had 

 been running on a line nearly east and west during the gale, 

 making about twenty-five miles on each tack before wearing 

 ship, and obliged to go over nearly the same ground on ac- 



