CHAP. VI. J CANNONADING FLOE. 381 



the crew in throwing the weight of ice off the 

 floe, was made manifest by the fact of the ship's 

 having risen two inches, her immersion in the 

 water and ice aft being 8 feet 10 inches. In the 

 evening the ice was close, but much to our 

 satisfaction a large piece was separated from the 

 larboard side of the floe ; and, after midnight of 

 June 28th, the wind then blowing fresh in 

 squalls from the south-east, a sudden disruption 

 took place one hundred and fifty yards ahead of 

 the ship, and split the floe right across. We 

 therefore returned to our task with fresh spirits ; 

 and, as a matter of experiment, fired a couple of 

 six-pounder shot at a mound, but without the 

 results expected, as instead of splintering and 

 throwing it down, the shot merely cracked it, 

 and buried themselves deep in the substance 

 without doing further injury. One of the shot 

 was next day recovered from the mound. It had 

 been discharged at the distance of twenty-one 

 yards, with a charge of 16 ounces of powder, and 

 had penetrated one yard and a half, splitting the 

 mass in various directions. The land was seen 

 once, and at noon we had drifted eight miles to 

 the north, being nearly in midchannel ; but the 

 whole body of the ice was very close, infinitely 

 too much so for any vessel to have made way. 

 The temperature varied from 30° to 36°+ ; and 

 ice was formed on all the fresh water pools 



