Page 16

[verso]
I did not bring Hans back with me but gave him orders
My orders to Hans had been to been to go to
Peteravik and invite Kalutanek to the
brig. I sent by him a present of a
Capstain bar - valued on account of the
excellent adaptation of the wood for har-
poon shafts. Morton scrubbed me in
a tub of hot water for I was lice from head
to foot - but mercurial ointment gave me
some relief and I succeeded at last
in sleeping.

All things else were doing well,
and the sick steadily advancing towards
health [and] strength.

Wednes.
Cont^d.

The open water has not advanced from the
south more than four miles within the past
three weeks. It is still barely within
Cape Alexander. This water is a source
of serious anxiety to me for the South
Easters seem to have hardly affected it.
Our experience has taught us that the
swell created by South winds rapidly
breaks up the ice, now there can be no
swell to the S^o. or these heavy gales would
have done the same. I argue from this
two unfortunate conditions one the pre-
sence of of [?] pack in the North Water of
the whalers and the other a melancholy correspon-
ding tardiness in the approach of water
- upon this water depends the liberation
of our brig, as well as the transit of
our boats crew [and] [?] should we be
obliged to forsake her.
Last year (as by 1^st ice inspection, of her
[?] [and] [?] Sea note book) we found
on the 10. May, the water already
surrounding Littleton I^d and rising
to within two miles of Refuge Inlet.

[recto]
It is now 40 miles further off!!

Thursd.
Apr. 19.

Petersen and Ohlsen work by short spells
getting ready for the load of carpentering
duties necessary for boats sledges [etc.]
Every thought is turned by me to the contingen-
cy of a forced departure. I will not leave
the brig until it is absolutely certain that
she cannot thaw out this season but I will
have every thing matured for our instant
departure as soon as her fate is decided.

We are still without workers, and the
pressure of things to be done most alarming
but every detail is arranged, and if the
sick go on as they have done I do not
doubt but that we can carry our boats
some thirty or 40 miles over the ice be-
fore a decision as to the advance of the
waters enables me to remain with or
desert the brig.

Friday
Apr. 20

Started a relief watch of
Reilley Bonsall and Morton to saw out
sledge runners from our cross beams.
They can only manage 1/2 hour per [?] as
they are very weak and the terms. at
night descent to -26^o. Nearly all our
beams are consumed for fuelt, butI have
have saved enough to construct two long sledges runners
of 17. [?] each. I could not permit Mr.
Ohlsen to use short sledges, made up from
the [?] 11 feet sledge of Hardwicke (D. Raes[?]
pattern[?[) I want a sledge sufficiently
long to bring the weight of the whale boat
and her stowage within the line base of the
runner, that will prevent warbling and
pitching (or rocking fore [and] aft) in crossing
hummocked ice, and enable us to cra-
dle the boat so firmly to the sledge as
to give neither an undue strain.
Ohlsen sees the force of this view [and] we are