June 4th. Wednesday. The morning was fine, and many ships were in sight. During the night we had passed Cape Shackleton. To the south we saw the Thetis, evidently in the rips off Horse Heade, with the Bear astern of her. The Nova Zembla and Triune were several miles to the west, and caught in the pack, while all the other ships were together. During the morning the Thetis, Bear and Polynia came up and joined us in our feeble attempt to push along.
Later in the day the weather turned cold and cloudy, but no storm came, and the ice was very tight at bedtime.
June 5th. Thursday. A beautiful day with sunshine and blue sky. Nearly all the ships were anchored to the ice or stuck in our immediate vicinity. We were hooked on in a large lake and close to us there were a number of great bergs. During the morning I took the dingey and rowed amongst them, as there was no floe ice near.
The silence was very impressive, the only sound being that made by the splashing of water as it trickled down the icy sides of the bergs, or the cry of some seabird. I traced the base of one of these hoary giants a long way into the depths, but the water of the Arctic sea is by no means clear, owing to the vast numbers of animalculae which inhabit it.
I shot a big bag of little auks here, but was careful not to do any shooting whilst close to the bergs, as the concussion might have brought down ice. During the afternoon the floe opened a little, and the expedition ships came close to us, but the Nova Zembla and Triune still appeared to be held in the pack. We all watched like hawks for a chance to reach the Duck Islands, now only a few miles ahead. Greely might have been there.
June 6th. Friday. This was one of the most exciting days we had—eight of us all on edge and each trying to get ahead of his neighbor. This friendly rivalry added zest to the trip. We were quite close to the Duck Islands, which made the starting point of the Melville Bay passage.
The day was glorious and we spent most of it fast to a floe. The exciting thing was when late in the evening a crack occurred near the Arctic. It was not more than a mile or two across the floe to the open water at the Duck Islands, and this crack appeared to extend the whole way. When it was wide enough the Arctic and Aurora immediately entered, but before we had gone any distance, the ice closed astern of us, preventing any of the others entering. For a short time we were caught, and it looked like the nips, then the floe seemed to swing, closing behind us and opening in front, so that we steamed away with a cheer, leaving the others barred out. The Bear, after a short time, succeeded in breaking a way for herself and the Thetis, and all the rest followed like ducks.