&50 SLABS OF SNOW. [CHAP.V. 



now completely changed. The identical pieces, 

 with the marks of the ship's side, were still 

 within a few paces of us ; and some of them 

 were fractured sufficiently, to show that a very 

 great reduction in thickness had taken place 

 upon the under surface. In every direction 

 where huge masses were upturned, or ridges 

 and barriers thrown up, it was observed by the 

 ice mate, and those who had had most expe- 

 rience in the Greenland seas, that there was 

 comparatively little solid ice, and that mostly 

 of this winter's formation. It was slabs of 

 frozen snow adhering to and covering most of 

 these masses, which gave them the formidable 

 appearance they assumed. It may, therefore, be 

 inferred that the rushing of currents and tides, 

 the sounds of which were distinctly heard under- 

 neath our floe, even when to the westward of 

 Cape Comfort, had the beneficial effect of grinding 

 down or wearing away the irregular under-surfaces 

 of the ice, as they chafed against any obstructions 

 to their course. This, if, as seems probable, a 

 correct explanation, will, in connexion with othe r 

 ascertained facts to some of which I have before 

 adverted, aid in accounting for the occasional 

 disappearance of ice, and consequent facility of 

 navigating these seas during particular seasons. 



The crew were kept employed, and one of 

 them had a narrow escape from drowning, from 



