A FROZEN SUMMER. 389 



tissue, for toward midnight the lane commenced to 

 close, and I had the melancholy satisfaction of realiz- 

 ing that had the ship been there she would in all prob- 

 ability have had a fine squeezing. 



We find that the amount of water coming into the 

 ship forward is decreasing quite sensibly, for we do not 

 have to run our windmill nearly as much as formerly. 

 The leak, or supposed leak aft, has stopped altogether. 

 The ice right around us is wasting very fast, and we 

 still continue to rise, bringing our cradle with us. To- 

 day the water-line is at nine feet four inches on our 

 stem. We are heeling 4° to starboard (3° all winter), 

 and our doubling on the starboard side is about four 

 inches above the water. The surface of our floe is 

 dotted here and there with small lakes, which enable 

 us to get water readily for our tank, and present so 

 many excellent laundries for washing clothes. How 

 disgusting it is to see ice form on the surface of our 

 little lakes at the end of June. 



June 2dth, Tuesday. — An uneventful day. We have 

 drifted since yesterday three miles to S. 31° E. Not 

 very encouraging, but still I hope on, hope ever. The 

 lane of open water which Mr. Dunbar followed up for 

 fifteen miles yesterday has closed again to-day, its gen- 

 eral direction being indicated by disconnected small 

 ponds here and there. The ship is still rising, the 

 water-level being now at nine feet on the stem. 



June SOth, Wednesday. — The month of June comes 

 to an end, and leaves us, I am sorry to say, fifty miles 

 S. 9° E. of where we were at its commencement. We 

 are, in fact, no further north than we were between May 

 16th and 17th, and may be said to have accomplished 

 nothing in six weeks — both cheerful and encouraging ! 

 Our position to-day is in 72° 19'4r N., and 178° 27' 30" 



