120 THE SIEGE OF THE NORTH POLE 



of those ships which go there for the salmon fishery. 

 They also had the hope that they might come across a 

 Norwegian seal-hunter farther north. 



The Tegetthoff was left on 20 th May 1874. The 

 first clay's advance amounted to 1 mile. They had 

 to pass three times heavily laden, and twice emptv, 

 over every bit of the road. The snow was deep, and 

 more than half of the expedition was required to move a 

 boat. During the first week Payer and two men returned 

 daily to the ship with the dog-sledge in order to re- 

 plenish the store the party had consumed. A bear was 

 shot on the 23rd, another on the 26th, and a third on 

 the 31st May. At the end of May, when only 5 miles 

 from the ship, they approached a water-space, but found 

 the margins so surrounded with broad barriers of broken 

 ice that the boats could not be launched. They therefore 

 decided to camp, and wait for more favourable conditions. 

 It was not until the 17th June that the ice opened near 

 to them, and the boats were launched on the 18th. 

 They had not proceeded more than 3 miles when they 

 were stopped by ice, and the boats had to be drawn on 

 to it. Next morning there was no water to be seen. 

 On the 20th they crossed a " lead," and then were detained 

 in the same position two days. During the rest of June 

 they had continually to cross " leads " and water-holes. 

 At noon on the 1st July they had only reached 79° 38'. 

 On the 4th the latitude was found to be 79° 43', so that 

 they had drifted north. From the 9th to the 15th July 

 they rested and waited for the ice to open. On the 

 20th July the latitude was 79° 11', so that during two 

 calendar months they had advanced only 47 geographical 

 miles. The water-spaces now became larger, and more 

 satisfactory progress was made. 



On the 7th August they believed they had reached the 

 open sea, as they observed the ice alternately rising and 



