POST NUBILA THCEBUS. 145 



itself, wliicli formerly stood in a valley, was now upon a 

 liill ! We were obliged to prop it up. From the con- 

 tinued thaw a heap of things came to light which we 

 thought were lost. Among them was the carpenter's 

 chest. 



Even on the Gth of May we had no idea that we 

 should be able to leave our floe on the following day, 

 much less meet with all sorts of provisions, which would 

 be useful to our frail settlement destined to destruction. 

 After the continued rain of the last few days, we broke up 

 the remainder of the snow-path round the house entirely, 

 and tried to give additional firmness to our falling 

 dwelling with the laths and supports which were thereby 

 set at liberty. These we drove into the floe on the 

 outer side of the house, and bound together high above 

 it with ropes, so that it was thoroughly laced in. Be- 

 tween these supports and the house wall we stuffed sail- 

 cloth to keep out the draught and rain. The galley, 

 which was fastened to the flagstaff, had lost its bottom 

 through the thaw, and slanted sideways in the air. We 

 loosened it from this aimless connexion and stood it 

 once more on the snow. 



On the morning of the 7th we were agreeably surprised 

 to see open water in the direction of land. A sti:ff south- 

 easter had cleared the sky during the night, and in the 

 grey morning the watch heard through the fog a rushing 

 and roaring sound, which could be nothing but the sea. The 

 thought had now to be seriously entertained as to whether 

 the time had not come for our release from the floe. And 

 it had come. Wind and weather remained favourable. The 

 strip of water in the south-west came nearer and nearer, 

 the wind separating masses of small floes and driving 



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