1.In the summer of 1868two German steamers set out to try to reach the North Pole.In the far north，off the coast of Greenland，the ships lost sight of each other in a fog，and one of them was crushed by the ice.Shebegan to leak terribly，and soon filled with water；but the crew had time to save the boats and all their clothes and provisions.
2.The captain then set his men to build a house on the ice-field.The walls of this hut were built of piecesof the steamer‘s coal held together by snow，the roof was made of sails and mats covered with snow，and slabsof coal formed the floor.
3.The little house was made very snug by a high bank of snow built all round to protect it from the cold wind.Into it were carried bread，meat，bacon，coffee，wood⑧and coals，also stores of clothing，chartsand books.
4.All efforts to keep the ship afloat failed，and she sank beneath the ice on the 22nd of October 1868.Everything now depended on the ice-raft.If it held together，the coast of Greenland might be reached in the spring；but there was great danger of its breaking up before it drifted near the shore.
5.At first the field of ice was several miles in extent；but storms soon broke it up so much that at last only a small piece was left round the hut.Then one stormy night the ice cracked under the hut and went to pieces，and the men had to take refuge in the boats.
6.A new hut was built on a smaller piece of ice out of the ruins of the old one；but it was so small that only half the men could find shelter in it，the others had to live in the boats.
7.At one time the raft floated to within eight miles of the mainland of Greenland，and at another to within two miles of an island；but the men could not make their way to land，on account of the great hills of ice all around them.They drifted slowly south for hundreds of miles.
8.The men skated，walked，built snow men，and fished.At Christmas they made a tree of birch twigs，decoratedwith bits of wax tapers.In the spring theywere visited by troops of small birds，snow-linnets and snow-buntings.The seamen threw them some oats，which they ate greedily.The birds were so tame that they allowed themselves to be caught by the hand.
9.A severe storm drove the explorers farther south，and broke up the ice-field.The men left their hut and took to the boats to make for the shore.Often they had to haul their boats on to an ice-floeto pass thenight or to wait for better weather.Once a storm kept them waiting on the ice for six days.
10.Then they set themselves to drag the boats over the ice towards the shore；but fresh snow fell，and they had to stop.They rested and waited for ten days.Then they again set to work，draggling their boats over the ice.At last they reached land，and mooredthe boatsin a small bay.They found their way to a little village on the 13th June 1869，after living for two hundred days on a floating ice-field.
