296 THE VOYAGE OF THE JEANNETTE. 



brought in the remainmg half of the walrus shot yes- 

 terday, and by great good luck Alexey shot another 

 one, and secured him ready for dragging in to-morrow. 

 This sets us at ease for dog food, for we have now two 

 walruses and one bear as a stock on hand. The last 

 bear killed (a nursing she-bear) does not seem in good 

 condition fey: our eating, and we shall turn her over to 

 the dogs. 



March 23c?, Tuesday. — The crew were engaged in 

 digging away the ice under the bows. We got down to 

 a point on the stem where the draught would be six and 

 one half feet, and not caring to dig any deeper, lest we 

 should break throuo;h the remaining; ice and admit the 

 water, the digging was discontinued. At that depth no 

 injury could be detected, although diligent search was 

 made. The whole bow was dug out to that depth, as 

 far aft as the line of the bulkhead which we built across 

 the fore peak, and not a sign of an injury could be 

 found. I am more than ever of the opinion that our 

 forefoot is the seat of the damas:e. At midnig-ht, how- 

 ever, all our labor was in one sense lost, for the pres- 

 sure of the water underneath was too much for the thin 

 layer of remaining ice, and holes were broken through 

 sufficient to flood the large pit under the bow. 



The only thing worthy of note to-day was a parhelion 

 at noon, consisting of a circle of faint prismatic colors 

 and 35° in diameter around the sun, with a mock sun 

 on either side, and an inverted arch 2° above it show- 

 ing strong prismatic colors. Our days are lengthening 

 in the most comfortable manner, although the temper- 

 ature still keeps low. Broad daylight until 7.30 p. m. 

 is something^ worth having;. A light is needed to read 

 the instruments at eight p. m., and for that only, for 

 there is light enough for all other practical purposes. 



