240 BACK'S VOYAGE IN THE TERROR. 



apparently by some conflicting action of strong calm 

 currents, she lost the sides of her cradle ; yet even 

 then she retained the base of it, and was borne along 

 on this as on a truck. 



So late as the 20th of June, the ship still lay immov- 

 ably fixed in the middle of a large floe, and, though dis- 

 ruptions and openings then became common, at com- 

 paratively small distances from her, she continued as 

 firm in her cradle as in the beginning of February. No 

 alternative offered but to cut her out with implements ; 

 and this proved an enormous labor, and occupied all the 

 crew till the llth of July. On that day the men had 

 paused to draw breath, when suddenly the ice-rock 

 burst asunder, barely allowing them time to clamber up, 

 in hot haste, for safety. " Scarcely/ 7 says Captain Back, 

 "had I descended to my cabin, when a loud rumbling 

 notified that the ship had broken her ice-bonds, and was 

 sliding gently down into her own element. I ran in- 

 stantly on deck, and joined in the cheers of the officers 

 and men, who, dispersed on different pieces of ice, took 

 this significant method of expressing their feelings. It 

 was a sight not to be forgotten. Standing on the taff- 

 rail, I saw the dark bubbling water below, and enormous 

 masses of ice gently vibrating and springing to the sur- 

 face : the first lieutenant was just climbing over the 

 stern, while other groups were standing apart, separated 

 by this new gulf; and the spars, together with working 

 implements, were resting half in the water, half on the 

 ice, whilst the saw, the instrument whereby this sudden 

 effect had been produced, was bent double, and in that 

 position forcibly detained by the body it had severed." 



A piece of the base of the ship's ice-cradle, however, 

 still clung to her, and continued to do so till the 13th ; 

 and when it did break up, it did not set her free. On 

 the contrary, she slowly rose, heeled over to port, and 



