FAST IN THE ICE. 165 



feet above the surface of the water, which had of course 

 become ice. This is bringing these cracks too near 

 home to be pleasant, and I sincerely hope no nearer 

 openings will cause us to be uneasy in our now^ comfor- 

 table berth, where we seem as steady as in a dry-dock. 

 A faint trembling of the ship in high wind, such as is 

 now blowing (at midnight), is the only unsteadiness 

 which we have. The doctor, in obedience to my order, 

 commenced to-day the (to be) monthly examinations of 

 officers and men, beginning with myself. 



November 4:th, Tuesday. — Carbonic acid test, taken 

 at eleven last night on the berth deck, gave 2.3430 vol- 

 umes per thousand, or 0.23430 per cent. This is the 

 worst we have yet obtained. Medical examination con- 

 tinued and concluded. Until I get the surgeon's de- 

 tailed report I cannot record results. In my own case, 

 the only change I remark is a falling off in weight. My 

 weight on sailing from San Francisco w^as one hundred 

 and ninety-five pounds, now it is but one hundred and 

 eighty pounds. 



November Qth, Thursday. — A day of extraordinary 

 interest and some anxiety. At nine A. M. we were dis- 

 agreeably surprised at finding a large crack in the ice 

 on the starboard quarter about two hundred yards dis- 

 tant, a small crack under and right across the stern, and 

 a small crack leading from the stern for a hundred yards 

 ahead. Although I could not account for them, I saw 

 no reason to be uneasy, for we have had no high winds 

 this month, and no pressure had occurred in our vicin- 

 ity. At four p. M., however, Collins, who had gone on 

 the usual hom4y visit to the observatory and anemome- 

 ter, came running back announcing that an opening 

 had occurred in the ice between the observatory and 

 tripod. We all hurried out and found a large rent, al- 



