water through the thick snow; and before steam was raised, and while
the view was still obscured, the pack closed again. The northerly gale
had given place to light westerly breezes on the 6th. The pack seemed
to be more solid than ever. It stretched almost unbroken to the
horizon in every direction, and the situation was made worse by very
low temperatures in succeeding days. The temperature was down to zero
on the night of the 7th and was two degrees below zero on the 8th. This
cold spell in midsummer was most unfortunate from our point of view,
since it cemented the pack and tightened the grip of the ice upon the
ship. The slow drift to the south-west continued, and we caught
occasional glimpses of distant uplands on the eastern horizon. The
position on the 7th was lat. 76° 57´ S., long. 35° 7´ W. Soundings on
the 6th and 8th found glacial mud at 630 and 529 fathoms.

The 'Endurance' was lying in a pool covered by young ice on the 9th.
The solid floes had loosened their grip on the ship itself, but they
were packed tightly all around. The weather was foggy. We felt a
slight northerly swell coming through the pack, and the movement gave
rise to hope that there was open water near to us. At 11 a.m. a long
crack developed in the pack, running east and west as far as we could
see through the fog, and I ordered steam to be raised in the hope of
being able to break away into this lead. The effort failed. We could
break the young ice in the pool, but the pack defied us. The attempt
was renewed on the 11th, a fine clear day with blue sky. The
temperature was still low, -2° Fahr. at midnight. After breaking
through some young ice the 'Endurance' became jammed against soft floe.
The engines running full speed astern produced no effect until all
hands joined in "sallying" ship. The dog-kennels amidships made it
necessary for the people to gather aft, where they rushed from side to
side in a mass in the confined space around the wheel. This was a