4-0 FARTHEST NORTH 



"Wednesday, March 21st. At length a reaction has 

 set in : the wind is S.E. and there is a strong drift north- 

 ward again. The equinox is past, and we are not one 

 degree farther north since the last equinox. I wonder 

 where the next will find us. Should it be more to the 

 south, then victory is uncertain ; if more to the north, the 

 battle is won, though it may last long. I am looking 

 forward to the summer; it must bring a change with it. 

 The open water we sailed in up here cannot possibly be 

 produced by the melting of the ice alone ; it must be also 

 due to the winds and current. And if the ice in w^hich 

 we are now drifts so far to the north as to make room 

 for all this open water, we shall have covered a good 

 bit on our way. It would seem, indeed, as if summer 

 must bring northerly winds, with the cold Arctic Sea in 

 the north and warm Siberia in the south. This makes 

 me somewhat dubious ; but, on the other hand, we have 

 warm seas in the west : they may be stronger ; and the 

 Jeaimcttc, moreover, drifted northwest. 



" It is strange that, notwithstanding these westerly 

 winds, we do not drift eastward. The last longitude was 

 only 135° east longitude. 



" Maundy Thursday, March 2 2d. A strong south- 

 easterly wind still, and a good drift northward. Our 

 spirits are rising. The wind whistles through the rigging 

 overhead, and sounds like the sough of victory through 

 the air. In the forenoon one of the puppies had a severe 

 attack of convulsions; it foamed at the mouth and bit 



