TIIK ICE-PACK OPENING. MARCH 21, 
CHAPTER XXXVII. 
March 20. T-hursday, the 20th of March, opens 
with a gale, a regular gale. On reaching deck after 
breakfast, I found the wind from the southeast, the 
thermometer at zero, and rising. These southeast 
storms are looked upon as having an important influ- 
ence on the ice. They are always warm, and hy the 
sea which they excite at the southern margin of the 
pack, have a great effect in breaking the floes. Mr. 
Olrik told me that they were anxiously looked for on 
the Greenland coast as precursors of open water. The 
date of the soirtheast gale last year, at Uppernavik,* 
was April 25th. Our thermometer gave +5° at noon- 
day, + 7° at one, and +8° at three o’clock!! 
“ This is the heaviest storm we have had since en- 
tering Lancaster Sound, exactly seven months and a 
day ago. The snow is whirled in such quantities, 
that our thick felt housing seems as if of gauze: it 
