CLOSED IK AND SHUT OUT. 



321 



Middagskollen, and at two o'clock on Sunday morning we made 

 another attempt. As we could not make our way along the east 

 shore, we tried what we could do in mid-channel, where the 

 current from the river had thinned the ice. For the time being 

 we steered on a point on the east side, a little farther south. If we 

 should find it necessary, we meant to blast the strip of ice, and we 

 hoped that then wind and rising tide would drive the ice inwards. 



AT JABIMEliBUGTEN (THE BAY OF WOE). NO CATCH. 



Things went well, beyond our expectations, considering that the 

 ice was as much as a yard in thickness ; but we used the engines 

 nearly all the time as a compound, and put the vessel full speed 

 every time we bored. Later in the evening, however, we were 

 obliged to stop; the ice became too thick. 



Baumann, who was chief of our mines, had prepared them 

 in readiness. Fosheim had made rubber props for them, and 

 we started to blast. But it had marvellously little effect on the 

 tough autumn tee. We then made the mines a little stronger, 

 and arrived at the right size, but could not lay them very deep 



VOL. II. Y 



