THE JOURNEY OVER THE PACK ICE 241 



slowly, then faster; crushing the ice it went over, hitting the floe 

 hard, tottered backwards and forwards, and then tumbled over 

 with an awful crash. Now and then a noise like that of a big 

 gun was heard close at hand the floe was cracked and com- 

 menced to pile itself up in another direction. Slowly and 

 majestically the two rival floes slid along each other's edge, 



CRACKED UP IN DEEP AND RATHER WIDE FISSURES. 



grinding, crushing, and piling up ice to a height of about 15 feet. 

 It is a grand sight to see the blocks of ice moving up and down, 

 piling themselves up, one upon the top of the other, breaking 

 to pieces, rolling down the side of the ridge, dripping with the 

 water in which some few minutes ago it had been submerged, 

 while the continual grinding noise of the crushing ice is inter- 

 rupted by the deep boom following the forming of a new crack. 

 The floes moved by each other with a relative motion of one foot 

 in twenty seconds. The pressure ceased about twenty minutes 

 later, as suddenly and with as little warning as it had com- 

 menced, and we had to do all the work of breaking a road over 

 again, chopping and shovelling to make a passable crossing. 

 From 10.30 A.M. to 1.30 P.M. we hardly made a mile, but after 

 that we had comparatively good going, and camped at 4 P.M., 

 at a respectful distance from some very evil-looking pressure- 

 ridges. I have got a small attack of snow-blindness, although 

 A.I. R 



