THE RETURN OF DAYLIGHT. 281 



March 12th, Friday. — " Pump, pump, pump with 

 care," etc. The weather to-day is overcast, cloudy, and 

 gloomy. Accustomed as W' e are to bright, pleasant days, 

 the occasional advent of a cloudy one makes us feel the 

 difference keenly. But we have had to-day such a 

 novel experience of mild w^eather that w^e have fairly 

 reveled in it. The day began wnth a temperature of 

 minus 14°, and by noon had risen to minus 1° ; and al- 

 though it got down to minus 7° by nine P. m., it rose 

 again to minus 4° by midnight. Heavy clothing seemed 

 a burden, and fires almost absurd. Had the sun been 

 out it would have made the day perfect. Our men dig- 

 ging under the stern worked barehanded and in their 

 shirt sleeves. I kept my air-port open all day and part 

 of the evening, and in fact made a regular " spring 

 opening" of it. The travelers coming back to-day re- 

 port having seen a track resembling a wolf's, and they 

 bring in a piece of snow-covered ice, bearing the im- 

 pression. It is pronounced by our experts a track of 

 a veritable wolf. About three miles to the southward 

 Alexey says he came across a bit of open water so wide 

 that he could not see to the other side of it. 



March loth, Saturday. — Pumping and distilling as 

 usual, and I suppose such will be the daily record in 

 my journal until the pennant comes down and the ship 

 is placed out of commission. Sounded at noon in thirty- 

 one and a half fathoms, a S. W. drift indicated by the 

 lead line. Ice formed over sounding hole only two 

 inches since yesterday. This is the best evidence we 

 have had of the effect of the present mild temperature. 

 The weather to-day is rather gloomy again. The sky 

 is overcast, and very fine and light snow falls until 

 seven p. m. It can hardly be called a snow fall, for 

 nothing comes of it. So lio;ht is it that as fast as it 



