CHAPTER VI. 



DRIFTING TO THE SOUTH. CHRISTMAS. A HARD JANUARY. 

 NOVEMBER, 1869, TO THE END OP JANUARY, 1870. 



View of the coast. — Settling the daily order of our life on the floe. — 

 Good health of all. — Revolving of our ice-field. — We come within 

 four miles of the coast (Egede's Land). — Christmas festival. — ■ 

 An iceberg passes us. — Danger of the breaking up of the floe. — 

 Preparations for decamping. — Portions of the floe destroyed. — The 

 dangerous bay. — Coast scenery. — Impossibility of reaching the 

 coast. — The Arctic night. — Catastrophes of the days 11th to 15th 

 of January. — Destruction of the Hansa house. — Escape in the 

 boats, and passing the night in the same. — Comfortless quarters. — 

 Erection of new habitations. — In the channel between Iceland and 

 Greenland. — Snow-wall on the floe. — Hope of reaching the settle- 

 ments of West Greenland. 



Slowly but steadily our ice-field drifted to the south. By 

 the 3rd of November we had passed the Liverpool coast, 

 and had reached Scoresby's Sound, sometimes being 

 near the firm land ice, and sometimes far from it, a 

 movement which would no doubt originate in the ebb 

 and flow off this large, deep sound. We could distinctly 

 see the picturesque formation of the rocky coast ; and in 

 two plains lying between two rugged mountain-tops we 

 thought we could distinguish glaciers covered with snow. 

 Since the ship had sunk fourteen days before, the 

 ice had closed in upon us, and even the blocks which liad 

 broken away from our field had frozen to it again. Our 



