96 FISHERMEN'S OWN BOOK. 



west. The afternoon was fine, with a moderate and decreasing northeast 

 wind, and current setting to the northwest or north-northwest. Knowing 

 full well that the first vessel arriving home with a trip would be likely to 

 strike a high market, and of course wishing to be the first, we set twenty 

 skates of trawl — the whole string— in the evening, not dreaming that there 

 was any ice in a southerly direction from us. 



The next morning was fine and calm, but cool. We had our breakfast 

 before daylight, and just as day was breaking an ice "glin" was noticed in 

 the southern board, and when it grew lighter an immense field of ice could 

 be seen drifting toward us with the current, which still ran north-northwest. 

 Of course, the first thing to be thought of was to get our gear, if possible, or, 

 at least, as much of it as we could. We hoisted the dories out and started 

 at once. One of the crew had had a fainting fit the evening before, which 

 made him quite ill, and I was therefore obliged to go in a dory in his stead. 

 Before leaving the vessel I gave the men orders to get all the gear they 

 could, and if the ice came on them to cut and go aboard. The trawl that 

 we went to haul was off the starboard quarter, four points abaft the beam. 

 We pulled for the outer end, and, on reaching it, began to haul as though 

 our lives depended on our efforts. 



We succeeded in getting a skate and a half of trawl — about 500 fathoms — 

 in the boat, when we saw the flag in the rigging of our schooner, which we 

 knew was a signal for us to return to the vessel, as the ice was nearing her 

 fast. We instantly cut the trawl, took our oars, and pulled with all our 

 might to reach the vessel before the ice did. Another dory which was near 

 us started about the same time, and we both met the ice about six hundred 

 feet astern of our schooner. When the ice passed the vessel the men on 

 board had the presence of mind to throw a buoy, to which a line was fast- 

 ened, on one of the leeward cakes of the floe. This buoy we got hold of 

 and made it fast to the bow of the head dory, securing the bow of the other 

 boat close to the stern of the front one. The current was running at least 

 two knots, and the buoy line being under the ice near the buoy, we had a 

 hard struggle for some time to make any progress toward the vessel, and to 

 get the line on top of the ice. The men on the vessel held a strain on the 

 line, while we jumped out of the head dory onto the ice, sometimes hauling 

 the boats over the larger cakes, and again siioving the smaller pieces clear 

 of the dories and line. The ice was broken into sections of all sizes, from 

 a piece of a few pounds weight to one fifty feet in diameter and six to ten 

 feet thick. In this manner we worked, tugged and pulled, never resting for 

 a moment, until at last we had the line clear and above the ice, when it 

 became a comparatively easy matter to reach the vessel. 



After getting on deck we found one of the George Peabodys and one of 



