Speaking of Johnson, his aide: "One day--it was November 24--he came in to supper a little after six o'clock, quite alarmed, and said: 'There has just been a singular inclination of the needle in twenty-four degrees.

And remarkably enough, its northern extremity pointed to the east.'" We again find in Peary's first voyage--page 67,--the following: "It had been observed that from the moment they had entered Lancaster Sound, the motion of the compass needle was very sluggish, and both this and its deviation increased as they progressed to the westward, and continued to do so in descending this inlet.

Having reached latitude 73 degrees, they witnessed for the first time the curious phenomenon of the directive power of the needle becoming so weak as to be completely overcome by the attraction of the ship, so that the needle might now be said to point to the north pole of the ship.") The sea was serenely smooth, with hardly a choppy wave, and the wind brisk and exhilarating.

The sun's rays, while striking us aslant, furnished tranquil warmth.

And thus time wore on day after day, and we found from the record in our logbook, we had been sailing eleven days since the storm in the open sea.
By strictest economy, our food was holding out fairly well, but beginning to run low.