ro8 THE SIEGE OF THE NORTH POLE 



30 miles away to the south could be seen, and soon 

 afterwards every trace of land disappeared. As winter 

 approached, the ice pressures began, and during the next 

 few months the crew were kept in a state of terror. 

 Preparations were made to abandon the ship if necessary, 

 and for long periods the crew did not undress. Nightly 

 they rushed on deck, more than once believing that at 

 last the ship was doomed. Floes were crushed and piled 

 around the ship high above the level of the deck, and 

 noise and confusion reigned supreme. They lived as if 

 they constantly expected an earthquake. This condition 

 of affairs continued in greater or lesser measure for 

 130 days. Some of the crew must have been very 

 superstitious, as indicated by the fact that the antlers of 

 a reindeer which were on board were suspected of having 

 something to do with the ice pressure, and were thrown 

 overboard. This not having the desired effect, the skull 

 of a bear was treated likewise. It may be mentioned 

 here that during this expedition no fewer than sixty-seven 

 polar bears were killed. 



The Tegetthoff still slowly drifted to the north, and on the 

 19th February 1873 had reached latitude 78° 15'. Payer 

 formed the opinion that wind was the main cause of the 

 drifting, and that sea-currents were only of secondary 

 importance. De Long and Nansen in later years were to 

 prove that Payer's opinion was true. 



Life on board the Tegetthoff was, extremely monotonous, 

 especially during the darkness of winter. With the arrival 

 of summer in 1873, they had great hope of deliverance 

 from the ice, but this hope was not realised. 



The second summer was drawing to a close when the 

 most remarkable event of the voyage occurred. It was on 

 the 30th August, in latitude 79° 43' and longitude 59° 33' E., 

 that the startling discovery was made that land could be 

 seen in the distance. This discovery, totally unexpected, 



