810 THE VOYAGE OF THE JE ANNETTE. 



When morning came it was still blowing hard from 

 the southward, and though they made a start, they 

 found it impossible to make any headway, nor could 

 they see their way through the driving snow, so they 

 turned back to the little hut and stayed there an- 

 other twenty-four hours, eating what scraps they could 

 gather, and carefully husbanding the little wood which 

 remained to them. 



When they looked out Saturday morning, the 15th, 

 the wind was still blowing from the southeast, but the 

 snow had stopped drifting. They made a start along 

 the river bank to the southward and eastward, looking 

 for the main river. They crossed an island and saw 

 signs of natives having been there, and coming upon 

 the river again they struggled over the ice, facing the 

 wind, which was now rising and increasing in strength. 

 About five o'clock in the afternoon they discovered an 

 opening in the river bank, and since the moving was 

 now very hard they thought to make a halt there, but 

 the wind drew through the crack and so they kept on 

 by the bank, hoping for better shelter. They found 

 nothing and had finally to turn back and put up with 

 this fissure. It was a kind of cave extending into the 

 bank, and having another opening at the top. They 

 gathered wood enough to last for the night. One 

 would get into the crack while the other passed in the 

 wood to him. 



They found some Arctic willow, but they had noth- 

 ing to eat, and so Nindemann, who wore a pair of seal- 

 skin pantaloons, cut off a piece, which they soaked in 

 water and then burned to a crust. From this they 

 made out their supper, but though they had a good 

 fire they shivered with the draught which the wind 

 made through the funnel-shaped cave. They tried to 



