DOROTHEA TAKES REFUGE IN THE ICE. 119 



amongst the large pieces of ice, which in windy 

 weather skirt the edge of the pack. These 

 pieces consist of the heaviest ice, or that which 

 has the greatest hold in the water, and remain 

 at the edge in consequence of their being less 

 operated upon by the wind. As we could not 

 afford to lose an inch of ground by bearing up 

 to avoid these masses, we received many very 

 heavy concussions in turning them out of our 



course. 



The Dorothea, having been more to leeward 

 than the Trent when the gale sprung up, was 

 so close to the ice at half past nine o'clock 

 in the forenoon that, in order to escape imme- 

 diate shipwreck, it became necessary for her to 

 take refuge amongst it, — a practice which has 

 been resorted to by whalers in extreme cases, 

 as their only chance of escaping destruction. 

 As she bore away, we watched the result of 

 the evolution with the greatest anxiety, — since, 

 from the formidable aspect of the ice under our 

 lee, it did not appear possible for any ship to sur- 

 vive an encounter with it, and we could not but 

 be aware that the fate of our own vessel might 

 soon be connected with the issue of her daring 

 exploit. We were, however, left in the most dis- 

 tressing uncertainty as to both, for the Dorothea 

 was almost immediately obscured by the foam 



