106 FRIGHTFUL INCREASE OF PRESSURE. 



were taken to have everything in readiness for 

 hoisting ont the barge, and without creating un- 

 necessary alarm, the officers and men were called 

 on the quarter-deck, and desired, in case of 

 emergency, to be active in the performance of 

 their duties at the respective stations then notified 

 to them. It was a serious moment for all, as the 

 pressure still continued, nor could we expect 

 much, if any, abatement until the wind changed. 

 At noon the weather and our prospects re- 

 mained the same. The barometer was falling, and 

 the temperature was 26° + , with unceasing snow. 

 Much ice had been sunk under the bottom, and 

 a doubt existed whether it was not finding its 

 way beneath the lee floe also ; for the uplifted 

 ruins, within fifty paces of the weather beam, 

 were advancing slowly towards us like an im- 

 mense wave fraught with destruction. Resist- 

 ance would not, could not have been effectual 

 beyond a few seconds ; for what, of human con- 

 struction, could withstand the impact of an icy 

 continent, driven onward by a furious storm ? 

 In the mean time symptoms too unequivocal to 

 be misunderstood demonstrated the intensity of 

 the pressure. The butt-ends began to start, and 

 the copper, in which the galley apparatus was 

 fixed, became creased, sliding doors refused to 

 shut, and leaks found access through the bolt- 

 heads and bulls-eyes. On sounding the well too, 



