CHAP. V.] AGITATION CONTINUES. 309 



interim we continued to drift east, and being 

 almost across Sir J. Gordon's Bay were unques- 

 tionably farther in that direction than at any time 

 before. With the turn of the tide the direction 

 of the drift changed as usual, and until 4 h p. m. 

 we were setting rapidly to the west. 



April 10th. It was too obscure to see what was 

 going on ; but at 4 h 50 m the wind had got to the 

 northward, and the ice commenced setting to the 

 east. The breeze increased rather more than was 

 desirable, and the ice being extremely close packed 

 began about 8 h a. m. to make a grinding noise. 

 This soon became louder as larger masses were 

 thrown up ; and looking towards the tidal edge 

 of the shore ice, we observed an immense piece, 

 many tons in weight, forced up vertically to 

 a height of between twenty and thirty feet. 

 Scarcely had we had time to remark this, when a 

 heavy rush of the seaward ice from the windward 

 called our attention to the opposite side ; and, 

 after watching many piled-up mounds tumbling 

 with a rattle on our starboard floe-piece, we were 

 greatly surprised at seeing the latter slowly 

 assume a convex form, and, after gradually 

 attaining a moderate elevation, splinter into 

 fragments, one-third of the' original piece 

 breaking off and sailing heavily away to the 

 eastward. While this was going on, a similar 

 inroad was made in a line towards the starboard 



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