45© FARTHEST NORTH 



in all directions. A sledge expedition would make poor 

 enough progress on such ice as this." 



Hitherto, however, progress had always been possible, 

 but now the snow began to melt, and placed almost 

 insuperable difficulties in the way. On June 13th I 

 write : " The ice gets softer and softer every day, and 

 large pools of water are formed on the floes all around 

 us. In short, the surface is abominable. The snow- 

 shoes break through into the water everywhere. Truly 

 one would not be able to get far in a day now should 

 one be obliged to set off towards the south or west. It 

 is as if every outlet were blocked, and here we stick — 

 we stick. Sometimes it strikes me as rather remarka- 

 ble that none of our fellows have become alarmed, even 

 when we are bearing farther and farther northward, far- 

 ther and farther into the unknown ; but there is no sign 

 of fear in any one of them. All look gloomy when 

 we are bearing south or too much to the west, and all 

 are beaming with joy when we are drifting to the north- 

 ward, the farther the better. Yet none of them can be 

 blind to the fact that it is a matter of life and death if 

 anything of what nearly every one prophesied should 

 now occur. Should the ship be crushed in this ice and 

 go to the bottom, like the Jeannette, without our being 

 able to save sufficient supplies to continue our drift on 

 the ice, we should have to turn our course to the south^ 

 and then there would be little doubt as to our fate. 

 The Jeannette people fared badly enough, but their ship 



