Wednesday 24th.—At six a. m. of this day, after all night working to windward, we had to make fast to the floe, there being no more open water for us ahead. At noon, however, the ice broke away again, and we began our usual tracking and heaving the ship through into clear water. The weather was beautiful, a light breeze and cloudless sky, until one p. m.; when symptoms of a fog presented themselves, and we hove to, for the “Felix” to come up to us. It cleared again, and away we went through the remainder of the day, tracking, towing, and beating to windward, gaining, perhaps, in a direct course some five or six miles out of the twenty or thirty we run over; so many turnings and twistings had we to take to get along at all. We forced through some narrow passages, and then came into a “hole” of water of some extent, but from the reappearance of fog to windward we thought it unadvisable to keep too far ahead of our consort, and accordingly up helm and run back to her. Afterwards we kept close together until midnight, when, the ice being unbroken any further, we made fast again.

Thursday 25th.—This was a perfectly warm day, indeed too warm. The thermometer in the sun at three p. m. was 72°, and the glare and heat together made it anything but pleasant on the ice.