THE JOURNEY SOUTHWARD 557 



from wliat we saw in tlie course of the winter and 

 spring, as the wind swept the ice unliindered away 

 from the land, so that there can scarcely be any 

 extensive and continuous mass of land to the north or 

 northwest to keep it back. 



It is, perhaps, even more difficult to determine how 

 far the Franz Josef Land archipelago stretches to the 

 eastward. From all we saw, I should judge that 

 Wilczek Land cannot be of any great extent; but 

 there may nevertheless be new islands farther to the 

 east. This seems probable, indeed, from the fact that 

 in June and July, 1895, we remained almost motionless 

 at about .S2 5' north latitude, in spite of a long con- 

 tinuance of northerly winds ; whence it seemed that 

 there must be a stretch of land south of us obstructing, 

 like a long wall, the farther drift of the ice to the south- 

 ward. But it is useless to discuss this question minutely 

 here, as it, too, will doubtless be answered authoritative- 

 ly by the English expedition. 



Another feature of Northbrook Island which greatly 

 interested me was the evidence it presented of changes 

 in the level of the sea. I have already mentioned that 

 Jackson's hut lay on an old strand-line or terrace about 

 from 40 to 50 feet high, but there were also several 

 other strand-lines, both lower and higher. Thus I found 

 that Leigh Smith, who also had wintered on this head- 

 land, had built his hut upon an old strand-line 17 feet 

 above the sea-level, while at other places I found strand- 



