about ten o'clock
But long before that time should elapse the young leader knew that relief must come , or that in some grand convulsion of the warring elements , amid the crash of colliding ice-fields and the sweep of resistless surges , the unequal conflict between human weakness and the tireless forces of nature must end , and to him and his comrades `` life 's fitful dream '' would be over . Therefore , as he made the seventh brief entry in his pocket diary , he watched jealously the faces of his companions , lest they should read in his face the reflection of his misgivings , as he traced these lines , -- `` A week has elapsed since we left St. Pierre 's ; and as yet we have been safe in the centre of the pack . It is scarcely possible that another week will be as favorable to us as this has been , and no risk must prevent us from reaching the first sail in sight . '' Orloff 's final observation , at about ten o'clock on the night of the 19th , judging by the position of the North Star , gave the wind as about west-south-west , blowing pretty sharply , and closing the scattered pack well together . The following morning the wind still remained in the same quarter , and it was generally agreed that they must be somewhere in latitude 48 ° + and longitude 63 ° + , or say about forty miles north-west of Amherst Island , the largest of the Magdalen group . After a breakfast of stewed phalaropes , whose tender , plover-like flesh was a pleasing change from the hitherto almost unvaried roast sea-fowl diet of the last week , the boat was drawn out upon the level platform near the hut , and removing her side and covering boards , the party held a survey of their only resource in case of a breaking up of the ice . After being measured by Peter , who claimed that the upper joint of his thumb was just an inch in length , the following measurements were found to be nearly correct : Length over all , sixteen feet ; extreme breadth of beam , four feet ; length of well , eight feet ; breadth of well , three feet ; depth of boat , fifteen inches .