568 THE VOYAGE OF THE JEANNETTE. 



Soundings in thirty-eight fathoms, muddy bottom. 

 Drift moderate to S. W. ; N. E. to E. winds, nine to 

 twelve miles an hour. Barometer 30.16 to 30.20. 

 Our observation of the rate at which we were drifting 

 was prevented by a dense fog, which hid the island 

 completely after three p. m. Of course I was more or 

 less anxious, not being sure that w r e were not sweeping 

 down on the island instead of going by it; but as noth- 

 ing could be clone, we were forced to fall back upon 

 our long and too uncomfortably familiar resort, waiting 

 in blindness until we could see. 



June 7th, Tuesday. — At ten a. m. the fog cleared 

 away for the first time since five p. M. yesterday, and 

 we saw the island right ahead (S. 80° W. true), and 

 about four miles distant. We were clearly in transit 

 across the north face of the island, and so steadily did 

 we move that it was easy to check our flying-jib stay 

 as it passed slowly from point to point. The confu- 

 sion worse confounded of yesterday was tranquillized, 

 though many ridges of piled up floe pieces between us 

 and Henrietta Island showed that the fight must have 

 gone on all night, as our fields ground and ploughed 

 their way along. Many of the large water spaces had 

 closed tightly, and the very large one which was on 

 the west side of our ice-island had disappeared. A 

 Ions; ridy^e of ice-slabs and blocks six and seven feet 

 thick had fenced us in on that side, showing where a 

 meeting had taken place and a crush had occurred, of 

 which w T e had been quite unconscious, though it was 

 only one hundred and fifty yards distant Consider- 

 able water-sky was visible to the southward and south- 

 west, and several unconnected lanes were to be seen in 

 those directions. The ice having passed the obstruction 

 caused by Henrietta Island had seemingly closed up 



