80 THE SIEGE OF THE NORTH POLE 



By the '3rd of November it had passed the Liverpool 

 coast, and had reached Seoresby's Sound. A walrus and 

 several bears were shot, and supplied the party with fresh 

 meat. November and December passed, and nothing 



particular happened. Christmas was spent in quite an 

 enjoyable manner, after the German fashion. On the 

 2nd of January 1870 a storm arose, and when it was over 

 it was discovered that half of the floe had been destroyed. 

 On the 11th another storm did great damage, and greatly 

 reduced the size of the floe. A huge gap opened in the 

 ice near to the house, and all the firewood drifted into 

 the raging sea. The floe was now only 150 feet in 

 diameter, but during the night the masses of ice became 

 closely packed again. On the 14th another frightful 

 storm was experienced : a fissure opened in the ice under 

 the house and the roof fell in, but fortunately the 

 inmates all escaped. Some shelter was obtained in the 

 boats during the next five nights, until a new house half 

 the size of the old one was built. This house had sleep- 

 ing-room for only six men, so that from this time the 

 remainder had to sleep in the boats. It was not until 

 the 7th of May that the opportunity came to leave the 

 floe in their boats. They had spent 200 days on the ice. 

 On the 4th of June they succeeded in reaching the island of 

 Illuidlek. They left the island on the 6th and made 'for 

 Friedrichsthal, the nearest colony on the south-west coast 

 of Greenland, which was reached on the 13th of June, and 

 where they received a hearty welcome. After a few days 

 here, they journeyed to Julianashaab, about 80 miles 

 distant, from which they obtained a boat for Europe. 



After parting Avith the Hansa on the 20th of July, the 

 Germama battled with the ice in various latitudes, and 

 after great difficulties succeeded in reaching Sabine Island 

 on the 5th of August. 



