FRUITLESS ATTEMPT TO RESCUE MATOSCHKIN.
3. The cold set in with great intensity with the month of February and maintained itself throughout it: the mean monthly temperature being -31° F. Repeatedly the quicksilver froze, and in the last eight days it remained solid. Even the petroleum was frozen on the 17th at -49° F. in the globe of the lamp, though it was throwing out a considerable heat. The lowest temperature we experienced was on the last day of the month, -51° F. Notwithstanding the extreme cold, the light had increased so much that a thermometer, in which the degrees were strongly marked, could be read off, even on the 3rd of the month, at ten o’clock in the forenoon without the aid of lamplight; and on the 20th we were able to carry on our meteorological observations, without any artificial light at six o’clock in the evening. The ruddiness we observed at noon in the south grew more and more decided. On clear days we could discern, about seven o’clock in the morning, a faint twilight, and at noon of February 14 the near approach of the sun was distinctly to be traced by a bright cloud that was resting over it, though it was still below the horizon. About the middle of the month there was light enough to cause the different forms and groups of ice to cast shadows. In spite of the low temperature, we remained for hours in the open air, though previously to this period we had ventured on deck for a few minutes only at a time—the watch of course excepted. But as the daylight increased, we saw also what a dark, gloomy grave had been our abode for so long a period. All our thoughts and conversations were concentrated on the returning light of the sun. The movements of the ice ceased to be a source of dread, though for several days during the month they had been exceedingly formidable. In the course of our drifting we had penetrated into a region where never ship had been before. The following table exhibits the course of the Tegetthoff, as she drifted from August 21, 1872, to February 27, 1873:—
| Time. | N. Lat. ° ′ | E. Lon. ° ′ | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aug. | 21 | 1872, | 76·22 | 62·3 |
| day when the ship was beset | ||||
| Sept. | 1 | 1872 | 76·25 | 62·50 |
| ” | 4 | ” | 76·23 | 62·49 |
| ” | 11 | ” | 76·35 | 60·18 |
| ” | 14 | ” | 76·37 | 60·50 |
| ” | 21 | ” | 76·28 | 63·9 |
| ” | 26 | ” | 76·36 | 64·8 |
| ” | 27 | ” | 76·38 | 64·4 |
| ” | 28 | ” | 76·37 | 64·10 |
| Oct. | 1 | ” | 76·50 | 65·22 |
| ” | 2 | ” | 76·59 | 65·48 |
| ” | 3 | ” | 77·4 | 66·1 |
| ” | 17 | ” | 77·50 | 69·22 |
| ” | 18 | ” | 77·48 | 69·8 |
| ” | 22 | ” | 77·46 | 69·26 |
| ” | 31 | ” | 77·53 | 69·12 |
| Nov. | 5 | ” | 77·53 | 69·30 |
| ” | 9 | ” | 78·15 | 69·42 |
| ” | 14 | ” | 78·8 | 71·16 |
| ” | 18 | ” | 78·10 | 70·31 |
| ” | 28 | ” | 78·13 | 69·48 |
| Dec. | 4 | ” | 78·19 | 69·1 |
| ” | 8 | ” | 78·21 | 69·2 |
| ” | 12 | ” | 78·25 | 68·57 |
| ” | 16 | ” | 78·22 | 67·42 |
| ” | 19 | ” | 78·13 | 67·11 |
| ” | 26 | ” | 78·10 | 68·19 |
| Jan. | 2 | 1873 | 78·37 | 66·56 |
| ” | 19 | ” | 78·43 | 69·32 |
| ” | 26 | ” | 78·50 | 71·47 |
| Feb. | 2 | ” | 78·45 | 73·7 |
| ” | 14 | ” | 78·12 | 72·20 |
| ” | 19 | ” | 78·15 | 71·38 |
| ” | 23 | ” | 79·11 | |
| ” | 27 | ” | 79·12 | |
4. The inspection of this table shows that the movement of the ship was retarded as the increasing cold closed the open places of the sea, and when we fell under the influence of the Siberian ice-drift from east to west. It may be remarked, too, that we drifted generally straight before the wind, and that we and our floe during the first four months turned only one degree in azimuth. By the end of January all the open places of the sea were closed; and the masses of ice were thus driven one over the other from their mutual pressure, and pile thus rose upon pile. It seems probable, also, that wind was the main cause of our drifting, while sea currents were only of secondary moment. From the beginning of the month of February we drifted constantly toward the north-west, and from this deviation in our course we indulged in the hope that we were approaching the mysterious Gillis’ Land. But at this time the liberation of the ship in the summer was the sum of our expectations and desires. In fact, there was not one of us who doubted this eventuality. Fully convinced, as we were, that our floes, firmly attached to each other, would ultimately break up and drift southwards, we determined to make them the bearers of the record of what had befallen us. Hence we threw out, February 14th, round the ship a number of bottles, inclosing a narrative of the main events of the expedition from the departure of Count Wilczek up to that date.