ACCOUNT OF THE "TERROR." 145 



being turned out of our ship. From the time the 

 first nip took her, until her disappearance, did not 

 occupy more than fifteen minutes." 



Such is the account of the fate of the Breadal- 

 bane. While we read it, we cannot help feeling 

 that many arctic ships must have perished in a simi- 

 lar manner. It is wonderful, nevertheless, how 

 many of those that dare the dangers of the ice sur- 

 vive the conflict. Undoubtedly this is owing, to a 

 large extent, to the fact that ships' bottoms are 

 rounded ; so that when a severe nip takes place, 

 there is a tendency in the ice to slip under their 

 rounded bottoms, and squeeze the vessels up out of 

 the water. Were it not for this, few ships that 

 have gone to those seas would ever have returned. 



A catastrophe such as that which befell the Bread- 

 albane shows the immense power of field-ice. Hun- 

 dreds of somewhat similar incidents might be cited 

 to illustrate this power ; but we content ourselves 

 with the selection of one instance, which exhibits 

 it in a remarkable manner, and at the same time 

 shows the way in which heavy vessels are some- 

 times forced out of the water. 



In the year 1836, Captain Back commanded the 

 Terror, which was sent out to make geographical 

 discoveries in the polar regions, and spent the win- 

 ter of that year in the ice. Few ships have under- 

 gone severer tests than did the Terror on that 

 voyage. The severest treatment she experienced 

 was in the spring, when the disruption of the win- 



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