VIII.] DIFFICULTIES. 131 



walnut-shell between the drifting ice and the solid belt to 

 leeward ; so sending a steady hand to the helm, — for these 

 unusual phenomena had begun to make some of my people 

 lose their heads a little, no one on board having ever seen a 

 bit of ice before, — I stationed myself in the bows, while Mr. 

 Wyse conned the vessel from the square yard. Then there 

 began one of the prettiest and most exciting pieces of nau- 

 tical manoeuvring that can be imagined. Every single soul 

 on board was summoned upon deck ; to all, their several 

 stations and duties were assigned — always excepting the 

 cook, who was merely directed to make himself generally 

 useful. As soon as everybody was ready, down went the 

 helm, — about came the ship, — and the critical part of the 

 business commenced. Of course, in order to wind and 

 twist the schooner in and out among the devious channels 

 left between the hummocks, it was necessary she should 

 have considerable way on her • at the same time so narrow 

 were some of the passages, and so sharp their turnings, that 

 unless she had been the most handy vessel in the world, she 

 would have had a very narrow squeak for it. I never saw 

 anything so beautiful as her behaviour. Had she been a 

 living creature, she could not have dodged, and wound, and 

 doubled, with more conscious cunning and dexterity ; and 

 it was quite amusing to hear the endearing way in which the 

 people spoke to her, each time the nimble creature contrived 

 to elude some more than usually threatening tongue of ice. 

 Once or twice, in spite of all our exertions, it was impossi- 

 ble to save her from a collision \ all that remained to be 

 done, as soon as it became evident she could not clear some 

 particular floe, or go about in time to^ avoid it, was to haul 

 the staysail sheet a-weather in order to deaden her way as 

 much as possible, and — putting the helm down — let her go 

 right at it, so that she should receive the blow on her stem, 

 and not on the bluff of the bow j while all hands, armed 

 with spars and fenders, rushed forward to ease off the shock. 

 And here I feel it just to pay a tribute of admiration to the 

 cook, who on these occasions never failed to exhibit an im~ 



