PERILOUS SITUATION. 441 



those by sea, are no child's play. When, for instance, 

 there is a shift of wind, and, as a consequence, a sudden 

 separation of the ice on which they are embarked from 

 the shore, the peril is great in the extreme. Even should 

 the men have previously succeeded in making large cap- 

 tures, they are instantly obliged to relinquish the fruits 

 of their labours, and to flee for their lives ; and if it does 

 so chance that the "floe" on which the poor fellows are 

 located is driven into the wide open ocean, as too frequently 

 happens, few situations can be conceived more terrible ; 

 for thinly clad, and ill provisioned, they have little other 

 to anticipate than death by cold or starvation, or a 

 watery grave ! At the present moment there are 

 two pictures in the church of Faro, the island where our 

 fleet " coaled," when in the Baltic during the late Russian 

 war, portraying the perilous situation in which the poor 

 seal-hunters are at times placed. One of these pictures, 

 Linnseus tells us, " is descriptive of the adventures of 

 fifteen men belonging to the island of Waro, who, in the 

 spring of 1603, went on an expedition on the ice to cap- 

 ture seals. Whilst thus engaged the ice separated near 

 the shore, and the whole of them were carried out to sea 

 on the detached ' floe.' When passing Sando, three of 

 the number leaped on to another ' floe,' and fortunately 

 succeeded in reaching that place. The other men were 

 compelled to follow the ice and the wind into the wild 

 sea ; but through the protection of the Almighty the 

 whole of them, after a voyage of fourteen days on the 

 ' floe,' came to the Stockholm ' Skargard,' although during 

 the time they had no other provisions than raw seal 

 flesh. The other picture represents two Islanders on a 

 ' floe,' who were also driven out to sea, but on the 

 third day were rescued from their terrible position." 



Although the sealing expeditions, whether by land or 

 sea, described in these pages, are attended by almost 



