THE SPRING AND SUMMER OF iS<p4 445 



drifted backward, thereby putting Amundsen into a very 

 bad temper. It was a remarkable fact that during the 

 whole time the Frauis bow turned towards the south, 

 generally S. \ W., and shifted but very little during the 

 whole drift. As I say on May 14th: "She went back- 

 ward towards her goal in the north, with her nose ever 

 turned to the south. It is as though she shrank from 

 increasing her distance from the world ; as though she 

 were longing for southern shores, while some invisible 

 power is drawing her on towards the unknown. Can it 

 be an ill omen, this backward advance towards the inte- 

 rior of the Polar Sea .^ I cannot think it; even the crab 

 ultimately reaches its goal." 



A statement of our latitude and longitude on different 

 days will best indicate the general course of our drift : 



May ist, 80' 46' N. lat. ; May 4th, 80° 50'; May 6th, 

 80° 49'; May 8th, 80° 55' N. lat, 129° 58' E. long.; May 

 12th, 80° 52' N. lat.; May 15th, 129" 20' E. long.; May 

 2ist, 81° 20' N. lat., 125° 45' E. long.; May 23d, 81° 26' 

 N. lat.; May 27th, 81° 31'; June 2d, 81° 31' N. lat., 121° 

 47' E. long. ; June 13th, 81° 46'; June i8th,8i°52'. Up 

 to this we had made fairly satisfactory progress towards 

 the north, but now came the reaction: June 24th, 81° 

 42'; July ist, 81^ 11 \ July loth, 81" 20'; July 14th, 81° 

 32'; July i8th, 81° 26'; July 31st, 81' 2 N. lat., 126° 

 5' 5'' E. long.; August 8th, 81° 8'; August 14th, 81° 

 5' N. lat., 127° 38' E. long. ; August 26th, 81° \' \ Sep- 

 tember 5th, 81° 14' N. lat., 123° 36' E. long. 



