64 FARTHEST NORTH 



we should not have been sitting here now. Not a drop of 

 water is to be found in her anywhere. Strangely enough, 

 the ice has not given us another such squeeze since then; 

 perhaps it was its expiring grip we felt on Saturday. 



" It is hard to tell, but it was terrific enough. This 

 morning Sverdrup and I went for a walk on the ice, 

 but when we got a little way from the ship we found no 

 sign of any new packing ; the ice was smooth and un- 

 broken as before. The packing has been limited to a 

 certain stretch from east to west, and the Fram has been 

 lying at the very worst point of it. 



" This afternoon Hansen has worked out yesterday "s 

 observations, the result being S3' 34.2' north latitude 

 and 102° 51' east longitude. We have therefore drifted 

 north and westward; 15 miles west, indeed, and only 

 13.5 north since New-year's-eve, while the wind has 

 been mostly from the southwest. It seems as if the ice 

 has taken a more decided course towards the northwest 

 than ever, and therefore it is not to be wondered at 

 that there is some pressure when the wind blows athwart 

 the course of the ice. However, I hardly think we need 

 any particular explanation of the pressure, as we ha\'e 

 evidently again got into a packing-centre with cracks, 

 lanes, and ridges, where the pressure is maintained for 

 some time, such as we were in during the first winter. 

 We have constantly met with several similar stretches 

 on the surrounding ice, even when it has been most 

 quiet. 



