ning came, and we found to our great joy that the snow had
ceased. We looked eagerly around to see if there were any signs of the
ship. Nothing could be seen of her. Far away on one side rose a peak,
which looked like the place where we had landed. Judging from the
wind, which we still supposed to be southerly, the peak lay toward the
northeast; in which case we had been carried steadily, in spite of all
our efforts, toward the south. About a mile on one side of us the ice
began, and extended far away; while on the other side, at the distance
of some ten miles, there was another line of ice. We seemed to have
been carried in a southwesterly direction along a broad strait that
ran into the vast ice-fields. This discovery showed how utterly
useless our labors had been; for in spite of all, even with the wind
in our favor, we had been drawn steadily in an opposite direction. It
was evident that there was some current here, stronger than all our
strength, which had brought us to this place.

We now determined to land on the ice, and try to cook a portion of our
seals. On approaching it we noticed that there was a current which
tended to draw us past the ice in what I supposed to be a
southwesterly direction. This confirmed my worst fears. But now the
labor of landing and building a fire on the ice served to interest us
for a time and divert our thoughts. We brushed away the snow, and then
broke up a box which was in the boat, and also the stern seats. This
we used very sparingly, reserving the rest for another occasion. Then
we cut portions from one of the seals, and laid them in thin strips on
the flames. The cooking was but slight, for the meat was merely
singed; but we were ravenous, and the contact of the fire was enough
to give it an attractive flavor. With this food we were greatly
refreshed; and as for drink, we had all around us an endless extent of
ice and snow. Then, taking our precious fragments of cooked meat, we
returned to the boat and put off. We could scarcely tell what to do
next, and while debating on this point we fell asleep. We slept far
into the night, then awoke benumbed with cold; then took to the oars
till we were weary; then fell asleep again, to be again awakened by
the cold and again to pull at the oars. So the night passed, and
another day came.

The snow still held off, but the sky was overcast with dark,
leaden-colored clouds, and looked threatening. Ice was all around us
as before; and the