July 28th 
July 29 th 
stirred our zeal but the more. Once we made two knots an 
hour, and we tied to the next ice floe, jubilant. Again we 
drifted to the southeast, a knot to a knot and a half an hour, 
undaunted. 
Finally the truth would not be downed—we would prob¬ 
ably not get to Greenland! Discouragement was to be read 
on every face. Expectation was spelled a-p-p-r-e-h-e-n-s-i-o-n. 
The monotone of waiting was broken by watching bear or 
seal, and sometimes by a chase or pursuit. All in all, three 
bear were taken. 
Then, one memorable hour, we got to a point within 
twenty odd miles of the coast. This was near Shannon 
Island. 
Another time we reached a point near Franz Josef Fjord, 
thirty miles from the goal, when the ice-pack again blocked 
the way. 
Finally the Laura got into uncharted currents, possibly 
the Gulf Stream, and they helped decide her fate. These cur¬ 
rents ran in the pack at Latitude 72 0 25' north, Longitude 
14 0 39 / 3 q// west, and their waters lay in a strata of light-green 
—different from the rest of the sea—about two feet from its 
surface. Down in these the sea was from a degree to a de¬ 
gree and a half warmer than in the darker ocean below. 
We were still in season for bear to be out with their cubs, 
and on July 28th another mother and her babes were seen, 
only to be lost in fog. 
The next day slight swells underneath revealed to us the 
proximity of the open sea, though the mist would not allow 
our seeing it. Heavy floes in the currents forced the Laura 
from her place, and again we drifted slowly. 
Bear at times would be seen, vanishing in the mists. 
Fogs came down, vanished into space, and then, hardly 
were we aware of their passing, before others hemmed us in. 
This July end was a most discouraging period. That 
night, for the first time on the cruise, the lamp was lit in 
the salon. Darkness was unusual in this latitude at that time 
of year, and was caused by the fog-laden air. Rain fell sev¬ 
eral hours this evening, making the night most dismal. 
It is very hard for any one who has not had any actual 
experience in Arctic work to fully realize just what the fog- 
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