TOWARDS THE NORTH POLE. 161 



months earlier in the season the voyagers might have waited 

 for a change of wind and the breaking up of the ice ; but 

 in the middle of September this would have been very 

 dangerous. The temperature was already sixteen degrees 

 below the freezing-point, and there was every prospect that 

 in a few weeks, or even days, the seas over which they had 

 reached their present position would be icebound. They 

 turned back from that advanced position ; but, with courage 

 worthy of the old Vikings, they made another attack a 

 fortnight later. They were foiled again, as was to be ex- 

 pected, for by this time the sun was already on the wintry 

 side of the equator. They had, indeed, a narrow escape 

 from destruction. "An ice-block with which they came 

 into collision opened a large leak in the ship's side, and 

 when, after great exertions, they reached the land, the water 

 already stood two feet over the cabin floor."* 



On the western side of the North Atlantic Channel- 

 so to term the part lying between Greenland and Spitz- 

 bergen the nearest approach towards the Pole was made 

 by the Dutch in 1670, nearly all the more recent attempts 

 to reach high northern latitudes in this direction having 

 hitherto ended in failure more or less complete. 



We have already seen that Captain Koldewey was 

 charged to explore the eastern coast of Greenland in the 

 Germania in 1868. In 1869 the Germania was again 

 despatched under his command from Bremerhaven, in 

 company with the ffansa, a sailing vessel. Lieutenant 

 Payer and other Austrian savants accompanied Captain 

 Koldewey. The attack was again made along the eastern 

 shores of Greenland. As far as the 74th degree the two 

 vessels kept company ; but at this stage it happened unfor- 

 tunately that a signal from the Germania was misinterpreted, 



* During these journeys the Atlantic was sounded, and Scoresby's 

 estimate of the enormous depth of the Atlantic to the north-west of 

 Spitzbergen was fully confirmed, the line indicating a depth of more 

 than two miles. It was found also that Spitzbergen is connected with 

 Norway by a submarine bank. 



M 



