282 THE GERMAN ARCTIC EXrEDITION. 



finished by the 10th of August; the instruments brought 

 on board, and all made ready to sail, which we did after 

 piling a heap of stones on the eastern point of land, 

 and, about 100 to 104 feet to the north of it, depositing 

 a document containing the chief dates of our voyage. 



At six on the following morning we weighed anchor, 

 and steered out of the harbour, with a light southerly 

 breeze, northwards. We passed the low cliff at eight, 

 and steamed along the firm ice, which at first stretched 

 to the north and afterwards to the north-east. 



The land ice bordered the whole south side of Shannon 

 Island, and also Cape Philip Broke, which was its most 

 south-easterly point. We doubled it at noon, and found 

 to the east of the island along the land ice, which has here 

 an average breadth of from three to four nautical miles 

 from the coast, a channel of from two to three miles broad, 

 though in some places so blocked with ice that only by the 

 help of both steam and sail could we make way through. 

 The border of the land ice was pretty high ; in many 

 places the blocks lay piled up from forty to fifty feet high. 



At three p.m. we broke through a chain of brashes, on 

 the other side of which was again open water. Here the 

 pack-ice had retreated quite four nautical miles. As the 

 wind was still south, steam was let off, and we set all sail 

 to save our coals. 



At six p.m. we sighted more ice to the north, which 

 seemed very thick. The wind shifted to the west and a 

 dense fog came up, hiding everything from our sight; 

 we therefore halted until the morning. 



We were now upon the most northerly point reached by 

 Captain Clavering, but still Shannon Island stretched 

 further to the north — much further than is given on the 



