174 THE VOYAGE OF THE JE ANNETTE. 



minus 10°, lowest temperature minus 15" ; sounded at 

 noon in twenty fathoms, blue mud. 



Kept everybody in his clothes ready for a call, piping 

 down after serving out hot coffee forward and hot tea 

 aft. 



JSfovemher 14:th, Friday. — Nothing occurred to dis- 

 turb us during the night, although of course anxiety as 

 to what might occur at any moment did not allow us to 

 get much sleep. I sincerely pray that we are not go- 

 ing to have the experience of the Tegetthof in her long 

 and perilous drift in the pack. This steady strain on 

 one's mind is fearful. Seemingly we are not secure for 

 a moment, and yet we can take no measures for our se- 

 curity. A crisis may occur at any moment, and we can 

 do nothing but be thankful in the morning that it has 

 not come during the night, and at night that it has not 

 come since the morning. Living over a powder-mill 

 waiting for an explosion would be a similar mode of 

 existence. Our nights are beginning to be very long. 

 To-day the sun rose at 10.30 A. M. and set about 1.30 p. m. 

 Twilight on clear days begins about seven a. m. and ends 

 at five p. M., giving us fourteen hours black night. Be- 

 fore many days the sun will leave us altogether, and we 

 shall have a long spell of waiting for his reappearance. 

 Daylight this morning showed us that our port floe with 

 its snow wall was five hundred yards to the northward. 

 It first moved to the eastward, then to the westward, 

 and finally came to a stand opposite its proper place 

 alongside the ship, and five hundred yards distant. Ice 

 formed four inches in thickness in the fire-hole during 

 the night. As the sun came up we again saw our 

 " north side of Wrangel Land," between S. 40'' W. and 

 S. 6° W. bearings. And we again sighted our old friend 

 Herald Island, bearing S. 49° E., all bearings true. 



