372 THE VOYAGE OF THE JEANXETTE. 



however, very soft and mushy, melting almost as soon 

 as it fell, so our water supply will not be benefited. 



Although the surface of our floe is soft and mushy, 

 and we can see it waste away, and though the water is 

 all around our ditch, we seem to be no nearer libera- 

 tion. The ice at the sounding hole is yet forty-eight 

 inches thick, and the body of the ship seems to be held 

 firmly by ice which does not thaw, with such a layer of 

 water on top of it as our ditch shows. That waste does 

 occur to the surface of the floe is evident, not only 

 from the sinking of ashes and dirt, but from the ap- 

 pearance again on the surface of objects which were 

 long since buried. This seems to afford the dogs great 

 satisfaction, for they occasionally unearth things which 

 they buried months ago, and thus lost, which they now 

 find to enjo}^ to their hearts' content. 



June od, Thursday. — The gale has blown itself out, 

 leaving us generally clear and pleasant weather. Since 

 May 31st we have advanced only nine miles to N. 27° 

 E., or about three miles a day. Evidently the ice to 

 the northward of us has no tendency to give way as 

 yet, and we accordingly have cushioned off to the east- 

 ward. Now it is a very interesting problem (and we 

 may have the good fortune to solve it) which way this 

 ice goes, whether east or west, in the course of its path 

 to an outlet. That it does not steadily set south and 

 find an outlet through Behring Strait is proved by our 

 drift N. W., and the fact that but little ice comparatively 

 is met in Behring Sea in spring and none in summer. 

 That it is not wasted entirely by solar heat is also evi- 

 dent. If it did not go somewhere, the accumulation of 

 years would by this time have closed the Strait alto- 

 gether. That it goes north is doubtful, because, prob- 

 ably, north of the 85th parallel the ice never breaks up 



