BOW OF THE SHIP SPLIT. 11,5 



carried even to the goal of our wishes without 

 any effort of our own. One fact, at all events, 

 was incontrovertible, that, now the ice, though 

 heavy enough to do great injury, was not exten- 

 sive enough to shelter us as I had designed, and 

 that there was nothing left but to drift with it 

 until Nature in her own good time should 

 release us. 



The ice remained unusually tranquil the 

 whole of the afternoon ; but as the night ad- 

 vanced the north-east wind increased, and at 

 ll h p.m., when the flood-tide made, the ship 

 became sharply nipped : fortunately it did not 

 last long, and on Sept. 27th she was free again. 

 The effect of the breeze which still continued, 

 accompanied with snow, had been to drive us 

 nearer to the land, but without any inconvenience 

 from pressure ; and we were congratulating our- 

 selves on this, when, at ll h a.m., the creaking 

 of the beams and sides abaft the main-mast inti- 

 mated that the ice was in motion. On looking 

 over the stern, a heavy piece, driven on by 

 several others, was seen crashing or sinking 

 everything before it, and being now checked by 

 the ship, which it struck under the quarter, 

 raised her at once several feet out of the water, 

 the bow at the same time being pressed with 

 such force against a mass ahead as to split it in 

 two or three directions, the whole going bodily 



i 2 



