398 FARTHEST NORTH 



servation just taken seems to indicate a drift of 3' 

 south. 



" 1 1 P.M. Pressure in the opening astern. The ice 

 is cracking and squeezing against the ship, making it 

 shake. 



" Monday, February 19th. Once more it may be said 

 that the night is darkest just before the dawn. Wind 

 began to blow from the south to-day, and has reached a 

 velocity of 13 feet per second. We did some ice-boring 

 this morning, and found that the ice to port is 5 feet 

 I If inches (1.875 metres) thick, with a layer of about 

 li inches of snow over it. The ice forward was 6 feet 

 71 inches (2.08 metres) thick, but a couple of inches of 

 this was snow. This cannot be called much growth for 

 quite a month, when one thinks that the temperature has 

 been down to 58 ' Fahr. below zero. 



" Both to-day and yesterday we have seen the mirage 

 of the sun again ; to-day it was high above the horizon, 

 and almost seemed to assume a round, disk-like form. 

 Some of the others maintain that they have seen the 

 upper edge of the sun itself; Peter and Bentzen, that 

 they have seen at least half of the disk, and Juell and 

 Hansen declare that the whole of it was above the 

 horizon. I am afraid it is so long since they saw it 

 that they have forgotten what it is like. 



" Tuesday, February 20th. Great sun festival to-day 

 without any sun. We felt certain we should see it, but 

 there were clouds on the horizon. However, we were 



