292 THE VOYAGE OF THE JEANNETTE. 



We have now got down to the eight foot mark, and 

 have such a thin layer of ice between the hole and the 

 water that digging lias to cease. If we let the water 

 through it will flow up and freeze, and we shall have a 

 mess again up to the original level ; but if we let the 

 freezing go on downward for some time we may be able 

 to dig deeper. In connection with this freezing down- 

 ward, it is a subject of inquiry as to what depth this 

 freezing can take place. We have not seen any single 

 floe of greater thickness than seven feet, ten inches, 

 and I suppose that eight feet may be assumed as the 

 maximum tliickness of floe ice by direct freezing, as 

 stated by Dr. Kane. Dr. Walker says that the floe ice 

 in which the Fox drifted had only five feet of thick- 

 ness. The floe which we saw and measured as having 

 seven feet ten inches thickness was a portion of floe 

 hove up in the great pressures in November; but 

 whether it was direct freezing, or a series of two or 

 more floes overlying each other, I cannot say. When 

 we floated out to open water on November 28th, I com- 

 menced the regular measurement of the ice as it froze 

 by measuring in the fire-hole. The last measurement 

 made was on the 17th January, when the direct freez- 

 ing was forty-six inches since November 28th. This 

 was a piece of ice formed around us, and which had 

 been up-ended in pressure. Measurements in the fire- 

 hole had become unsatisfactory, because of the ten- 

 dency of the ice to assume the sides of an inverted 

 funnel, and lead to grave doubts as to the position of 

 our measuring-rod. On the 4th March a crack in the 

 floe enabled us to get a thickness of four feet, direct 

 freezing of thirty days, the freezing having commenced 

 when we had a temperature of minus 36.5°, and con- 

 tinued while the highest temjDcrature recorded was 



