234 THE VOYAGE OF THE JEANNETTE. 



Melville, upon calculating the work done by this pump, 

 showed that it was pumping out of the ship 2,250 gal- 

 lons per hour, and holding the water in check. This 

 may be taken, therefore, as the amount of the leak to- 

 day, which, compared with the amount pumped out 

 per hour on the 23d, 3,363 gallons, shows that we have 

 diminished the leak over one third. We are still at 

 work at the spaces, and cannot hope to get the work 

 completed so as to try the Baxter combination bilge- 

 pump before Friday or Saturday night. 



January 2Sth, Wednesday. — The success achieved 

 by the filling in spaces holds good to-day, for all the 

 pumping has been done by the Sewell-pump, running 

 fifty strokes per minute, at which rate the water is pre- 

 vented from gaining on us. Water in fire-room bilge, 

 eighteen inches at eight a. m., seventeen and one half 

 inches at four p. m., and sixteen inches at midnight. 

 Nindemann and Sweetman worked all day from nine 

 A. M. to eleven p. m. in filling up spaces, etc., and they 

 are doing a marvelous amount of work. We cut holes 

 through the ceiling to-day above the berth deck to get 

 spaces filled in above the water line, if possible ; and we 

 are slowly but surely advancing to the time w^ien we 

 can try if the Baxter can keep us dry to the great sav- 

 ing of our coal pile. 



The ice moved at 6.15 A. m., and 6.50 p. m., in the 

 S. W. near the ship, and caused us to experience a 

 moderate nip. Except from the snapping and crack- 

 ing of our bolts and timbers, we are not disturbed. 

 When soundings were taken to-day, new ice to the 

 depth of eight inches had to be cut away, the result of 

 twenty-four hours direct freezing. The floe, through 

 which the hole was cut originally, had a thickness of 

 twenty-four inches direct freezing since January 19th, 



