THE DEAD OF WINTER. 225 



board. I am a little afraid that there may be some 

 accident to the stern-post and rudder-post from this ex- 

 cessive longitudinal pressure, although the fullness of 

 the ship's counters may receive and take up a great 

 deal of the strain. 



Much hard work falls upon two men, Nindemann and 

 Sweetman. These two have to take turns about in 

 standing in the water in the fore peak, building the 

 bvdkhead across it. Nindemann seems strong enough 

 for everything, but this kind of work tells on Sweet- 

 man, and I have once or twice feared that he would 

 break down. Whiskey is served out to them once 

 every four hours, and a generous supply of food and 

 coffee is made for such other men as have night work, 

 and I thus try to keep everybody up to his strength. 

 Chipp and myself take twelve hours' watch, each, look- 

 ing out generally for work, and watching the ice care- 

 fully for emergencies. This is like living over a pow- , 

 der magazine with a train laid ready for firing. Mel- 

 ville, when he does go below, instead of sleeping, lies 

 awake planning some new means of pumping a ship by 

 steam, which will be more economical than the main 

 boilers. Danenhower is, of course, out of the case alto- 

 gether. 



January 22c/, Thursday. — As the water was becom- 

 ing low^ enough in the fore peak to work to advan- 

 tage, connnenced cutting and fitting planking for the 

 erection of water-tight bulkhead across the fore peak 

 twenty inches forward of the foremost side of the fore- 

 mast, at the step. We also cut holes in the ceiling 

 above the berth deck on each side, and shoved down be- 

 tween the frames as much ashes and picked felt as the 

 spaces would hold. These things filled up all spaces 

 down to the filling between the cant frames, say two 



