180	JEANNETTE INQUIRY.
tress; she was stove in, and had to be hauled out for repairs; lost three hours; much troubled by moving ice; finally got away, and made considerable distance until the wind went into east with southing; when, after supper, hauled out on floe and camped; we are now in the open water, and preparations made for boat voyage to the nearest coast; everything extra thrown away; ammunition and guns distributed; don't think our position is known; my gun went wholly out of commission on 17th; Used Chipp's since ; can't shoot it well, as not used to it; Erichsen sick to-day; everything and everybody cold and miserable; hauled out on floe; strong wind from SSE. abeam; saw low land abeam, but no one would admit it was land; called it open water.
20 to 29. Camped on floe within sight of low land to S. and W.; captain said we were to N. of New Siberia; but on 28th land sighted to southeast, and we found we were N. of Thaddeus Island instead, and drifting through the channel between the two islands; this shows our position, by observations, to be 70 to 80 miles out; during our 9 days in camp I shot three seals, got one ; Dunbar 2 ; Nindemann 1 ; Bartlett 1; I made two bad misses.
29th.-After dinner Chipp reported a lead opening to S.; moved boats over floe piece and got under way about 1 p. m. ; kept on for amile or two, when tied up waiting for an opening; on Chipp's report of a practicable opening under way again, and kept going until about 8.30, through fair, open ice; camped.
301h.-Out at 4 a. m. and away at 5; kept on all day; saw E. point of Thaddeus Island in a. in. and SE. point at noon; went for it, and landed after much effort by transferring people and stuff boat to boat; camped on bluff; after supper Alexy and I out for reindeer; found lots of tracks but saw no deer; long tramps over tundras; very tired.
31st.-Left at 7 a. m., coasting to the N.SW.; saw winter huts marked on chart; reached most southerly point Thaddeus Island at 4 p. m. ; could not land ; too shoal ; put out for next small island; water very shoal; scarcely enough to float the first cutter; spent a miserable night in the shoals, tacking, backing and filling to clear the long, low bank that seemed to go on our starboard side parallel to the course; chilled through and sick from motion of boat ; incident, anchoring with a keg of alcohol and pemmican cans ; simply awful muddle, tied up at 4 a. m., Sept. 1st, to piece of grounded ice until second critter came up, had breakfast and brief rest ; then off before fine strong wind to SSW. ; going sometimes six knots; lost second cutter about 3 p. m ; tied up to a floating floe piece at 5 p. in.; had supper and camped to wait for second cutter; I don't believe she will turn up until we reach the Lena, as wind is so strong and drift so rapid that she can't find us; the real value of black boats and tanned sails apparent now.
2nd Sep.—Wind blowing gale from S. E. ; still camped; commanding officer " played out."
3rd September.—Camped ; Anegnin reported second cutter after dinner ; she came to at the floe edge, one mile away, and Chipp, with Kubne, crossed men to camp to re-port. They got to us at 6 p. m.; we had ducks for dinner; excellent.
4th Sept.—After breakfast hauled boats and stuff to the floe edge in towards land lead; after dinner got afloat and ran along floe edge until brought up by ice; ran through heavy sea towards land; finally got ashore on low land of Koltenoi island and camped close to beach ; coin. off. got overboard as we started ; in afternoon built big fire and tried to dry our clothes.
Fifth day.—Foggy, but calm; parties went out hunting, but got nothing; I found hut and made sketches; Alexy found Russian coin, 1840; I found many small things; all brought in; wind changed to N. W.
6th.—Started along beach; after a short row in boats, we made about five miles, where we had dinner; we then hauled out our boats and stuff and carried them about a quarter of a mile, and got within five miles of Sledge island, where we hauled out and camped.
7th.-Up at 5 a. m. ; after, breakfast, and got under way at 6.30 ; cleared island Spt. at 9 and away S. SW. to SW. ; wind freshened and we had to go about on account of ice ; finally got through, and had a strong beam wind, which raised the sea so as to make our overloaded boats take in water at every roll ; run before it a day and night.
8th.-Morning; we hauled under shelter of floe piece a little and then got away; everybody wet and miserable; worked along through ice and smoother water all day until 4 p.m., when we hauled out and camped on a floe-piece, very tired and exhausted.
9th.—Sea nearly calm all day; saw Stolbar Island E. SE., way and under oars made fair way; I raised the Sumivawoki Island about 3 p. m.; started for it and nearly reached it when fog "shut" in and we had to camp on a floe piece about one mile from beach. Regular hitch business; young ice making.
10th.—Under way ; rounded north end of island and came along west side ; landed for dinner, found tracks of deer; after dinner hunting party followed deer tracks; they got one doe; missed a fawn; then hauled $n and eomm@nced to dress and cook