During October the land to the south-west of Herald Island was frequently seen, and De Long came to the conclusion that it was Wrangel Land, and must either be an island or an archipelago. Before the sun disappeared on the 16th November a considerable number of seals, several bears, and some walruses had been shot, and served as an important addition to the stock of food for both men and dogs. During November ice pressures became severe. On the 24th, the floe in which the _Jeannette_ had been fixed was split, and the ship was once more afloat, but in a most dangerous position. On the 25th, it was driven by the ice about a mile from its previous position, until it held fast in some young ice. At this time considerable difficulty was experienced in obtaining water of proper purity. There was little snow on the ice, and what there was contained a large quantity of salt, due to the wind drifting it and mixing it with the salt on the surface of the ice. It was therefore necessary to commence distilling. The ice pressure was much less severe during December. From the 2nd to the 18th the change of position was only 8 miles towards the west. Christmas was passed merrily. About the end of December, Danenhower, the navigator of the ship, began to suffer from an inflammatory trouble in one of his eyes, from which he did not recover during the remainder of the cruise. The year 1880 was ushered in by a minstrel entertainment given by the crew. On the 19th January the disagreeable discovery was made that the ship was leaking seriously. The ice pressure had evidently caused serious injury. On examination it was found that the water already stood 3 ft. in the forehold. The deck-pumps were at once manned, and fortunately were able to keep the water in check until steam could be raised to work the steam-pump. This was a serious drain on the small supply of coal, but Melville was equal to every emergency. He ultimately succeeded in pumping by means of a windmill. Every effort was made to stop the leak, and although partly successful, pumping had to be resorted to more or less continuously throughout the remainder of the cruise. Nindemann and Sweetman took turns about in standing in the water in the forepeak building a bulkhead across it. For this work they received high commendation from De Long. On the 26th January they had the pleasure of welcoming the reappearance of the sun. On the 1st of February a bear was killed, and as no fresh meat had been available for some time, this was a welcome addition to the stock of food. Another bear was killed on the 2nd, and when the stomach was examined it was found to contain only a few small stones.