152 THE GERMAN ARCTIC EXPEDITION. 



morning we boiled a kettle of coffee, and eat a piece of 

 dry bread with it. The mid-day meal consisted of a 

 portion of soup, and the meat boiled in it. In the 

 evening a drink of cocoa refreshed us, of course without 

 either milk or sugar. We had to be economical with our 

 provisions ; for if we had to lie quiet much longer, 

 hunger would knock sharper at the door. Our appetite 

 is extraordinary, but easily accounted for, as the diet of 

 fresh meat and fat, which is indispensable to this climate, 

 had to be sparingly weighed out in scales which we 

 manufactured for the occasion. The store of bacon is 

 reckoned at 6 lbs. per head; besides which, there are 

 two hams. 



At last, on the 14th, the bad weather broke up, the ice 

 opened towards the evening for a short distance south- 

 wards, and we rowed to an iceberg; when, however, 

 close under its walls, the cold was so intense that we 

 tried to row round it. As we could not succeed, we 

 retreated as fast as possible from this uncomfortable 

 neighbour ; and that just at the right time, for the open 

 vv^ater closed behind us once more, and again we saw 

 ourselves condemned .to another five days' existence on 

 the floe. Our latitude was 61° 1'. 



"Up to yesterday morning, 29th of May" (so it runs 

 in the pilot Bade's day-book), " uninterrupted storm 

 from the north with snow; ice dense, land not often 

 discernible, temperature not under 32° Fahr., mostly 

 32.5° to 41° Fahr.; not moved from the spot; very 

 wearisome ; banished to the boat, as we must not 

 got wet. Each one passes tlie time as well as he can. 

 J\lr. Ilildobrandt makes sketches of our boats on and 

 i)ehveen the ice; Fritz, as cook of the large boat, makes 



