240 LANES CLOSED. [CHAP.V. 



Pleasant, had for the. whole winter, served as a 

 look-out station, was another lane ; and this again 

 was bisected by a third, that cut in two the snow 

 hut first made, the two parts of which were, on a 

 shifting of the lane, carried different ways. A 

 larger and more distant hut was already partly 

 crushed, and only awaited the advancing roll of 

 the rampart, now within a few feet of it, for its 

 final downfal. Between the hours of 6 h and 8 h 

 p. m. the rushing 'bore,'* was faintly audible to 

 the westward, and after various checks seemed 

 to resume its course with increased violence, 

 setting in motion whatever impeded its progress. 

 The lanes adjacent were all closed, and began 

 Grinding down their edees, which were speedily 

 thrown up into bordering mounds. The cracked 

 ice on either side was also agitated, and saved us 

 considerably by affording a channel for the bore. 

 Our anxiety indeed was not of long duration, for 

 the ice immediately adjoining the stern was more 

 pounded and the ship less affected than on any 

 of the recent assaults. The sky was clear over- 

 head, and almost calm, and midnight came with- 

 out any more disturbance than an occasional 

 rustling at the extreme barriers. This tran- 

 quillity remained until about 6 h a. m. of the 23d, 

 when a remote sound indicated another commo- 



* The bore is a sort of rampart or wall of water, thrown 

 up by the opposition of the current and the set of the tide. 



