FURTHER VOYAGE OF THE HANSA. OO 



We now made a second attempt at following tlie 

 instructions to penetrate to the coast in latitude 75°. 



From the 5th to the 11th of August we had, with the 

 exception of slight fogs, good weather, the reading of 

 the thermometer ranging from 27° to 36° F. 



We sailed northwards along the ice boundary with a 

 good southerly wind, until the 10th of August. Seals 

 were numerous, swimming in troops of from ten to 

 twenty. They were very lively, often springing with the 

 whole of their body out of the water, a sign that it was 

 pairing time. At eight o'clock we fancied we saw a 

 vessel, and the hope of finding the Germania once more 

 arose within us, but a thick fog set in, and our signal- 

 gun remained unanswered. 



9th August : in 74° 14-6' N.L. and 11° 2' W.L. Froze 

 in the night, between the 10th and 11th, the ice being an 

 inch and a half thick. We steered in a north-westerly 

 direction, and at seven in the morning were twenty-five 

 nautical miles nearer the coast, in 74° 58 1^' N.L. and 

 11° 16-5' W.L., the thickness of the ice preventing us from 

 making further use of the favourable south-west wind. 



For the next few days our task was an unusually heavy 

 one. The wind was unfavourable, so the attempt to sail 

 through the opposing ice was impracticable. But twelve 

 hours' work of dragging the ship along by means of a 

 small anchor fastened to a rope, through the icy barrier, 

 resulted in our reaching navigable water on the 13th. 



But we were again disappointed ! After sailing west- 

 ward one night, we saw ourselves, on the morning of 

 the 14th, hemmed in once more on all sides ; fresh ice 

 formed between the floes, besides filling up every passage, 

 so that the Hansa was fast ao^ain. From this time 



