262 THE SEA. 



truth of this intelligence, he ordered the pumping to cease. It was evident that the ship 

 was sinking, and that it must be abandoned. 



"The first thing to be done was to bring all necessary and useful things from the 

 ^tween decks on to the ice bedding, clothing, more provisions, and coal. Silently were 

 all the heavy chests and barrels pushed over the hatchway. First comes the weighty iron 

 galley, then the two stoves are happily hoisted over; their possession ensures us the enjoy- 

 ment of warm food, the heating of our coal-house, and other matters indispensable for a 

 wintering on the floe. At three o'clock the water in the cabin had reached the table, and 

 all movable articles were floating. The fear that we should not have enough fuel made 

 iis grasp at every loose piece of wood and throw it on to the ice. The sinking of the 

 vessel was now almost imperceptible; it must have found support on a tongue of ice or 

 some promontory of our field. There was still a small medicine-chest and a few other 

 things which, in our future position, would be great treasures such as the cabin-lamp, 

 books, cigars, boxes of games, &c. The snow-roof, too, and the sails were brought on to 

 the ice; but still all necessary work was not yet accomplished. Round about the ship lay 

 a chaotic mass of heterogeneous articles, and groups of feeble rats struggling with death, 

 and trembling with the cold ! All articles, for greater safety, must be conveyed over a 

 fissure to about thirty paces farther inland. The galley we at once took on a sledge to 

 the house, as we should want it to give us warm coffee in the evening. We then looked 

 after the sailor Max Schmidt, who .was suffering from frost-bite, and brought him on 

 planks under the fur covering to the coal-house. By 9 A.M. all were in the new asylum, 

 which was lit by the cabin-lamp, and looked like a dreary tomb. Pleased with the 

 completion of our heavy day's work, though full of trouble for the future, we prepared our 

 couch. A number of planks were laid upon the ground, and sail-cloth spread over them. 

 Upon these we lay down, rolled in our furs. A man remained to watch the stove, as the 

 temperature in the room had risen from 2 Fahr. to 27| Fahr. It was a hard, cold bed; 

 but sleep soon fell upon our weary, over-worked limbs. On the morning of the 21st we 

 went again to the ship to get more fuel. The coal-hole was, however, under water. We 

 therefore chopped down the masts, and hauled them with the whole of the tackle on to the 

 ice a work which took us nearly the whole day. At eleven the foremast fell, at three 

 the mainmast followed; and now the Hansa really looked a complete, comfortless wreck. 

 For the last time the captain and steersman went on deck, and about six o'clock loosed 

 the ropes, which, by means of the ice-anchor held the ship to the field, as we feared that 

 our floe, which bore all our treasures, might break/' The scientific collections and photo- 

 graphs had to be utterly abandoned. On the night of the 21st and 22ud the wreck sank, 

 about six miles from the coast of Greenland. The jolly-boat, which stood loose on deck, 

 floated, and was drawn on the ice. 



