ship's progress through the ice. 49 



north, from a conviction that, as we got nearer 

 to the shore, the influence of the tides would be 

 more felt, and more open water thereby created, 

 or at least that the ice would be lighter : for such 

 heavy and extensive masses as we now encoun- 

 tered were contrary to the experience of all who 

 had gone before us, and I could only suppose 

 that the ice had not been broken up at all last 

 year, but, having come down in a body, created 

 our present impediment. At noon the latitude 

 was obtained on a small floe, and made us within 

 a mile of yesterday's situation. The sun shone, 

 brightly through the mist ; and though, owing 

 to the radiation of heat from the decks and bul- 

 warks, there was no perceptible dampness below, 

 yet the rigging aloft was coated with fine icy 

 particles, which, being viewed from the crow's- 

 nest, presented the appearance of a prismatic 

 halo resting in the concavity of the fore-topsail. 

 The wind at length freshened precisely as we 

 wished it, and the ship, with her studding-sails 

 set, bored between masses often more than half 

 a mile in length, resisting the pressure, and 

 driving pieces before her in a manner perfectly 

 surprising, and no sooner had she made a way 

 for herself than the icy portals closed firmly, and, 

 as it seemed, impassably behind her. At length 

 the entire body ahead looked like one compact 

 hummocky field, streaked with a few dark lines 



E 



