i9oi] FIRST ENCOUNTER WITH THE ICE 75 



' How ? ' only to find that my informant had fled. As may be 

 imagined, I was not long in getting on the deck, which was very 

 dark and obstructed by numerous other half-clad people, who 

 knew no more than I. Making my way forward I at length 

 found, amidst streams of water and a slight smell of burning, 

 the officer of the watch, who explained that the fire had been 

 under the forecastle, but had been easily extinguished when 

 the hose had been brought to bear on it. It eventually trans- 

 pired that the rolling of the ship had brought some oilskins 

 dangerously close to a police light, and that this had not been 

 discovered until the woodwork round about was blazing 

 merrily. In these days, steel ships and electric lights tend to 

 lessen the fear of fire, but in a wooden vessel the possible 

 consequences are too serious not to make the danger a very 

 real one, nor to allow such a report as was made to me to be 

 received without alarm. The risk of fire was one which was 

 very constantly in my thoughts ; it must always loom large in 

 a wooden ship, and I am not at all sure that it is much 

 lessened in a polar climate, whereas in polar regions the con- 

 sequences may be vastly increased. It can be imagined that 

 after such an experience as this, I was not less likely to realise 

 the peril, but as events turned out, I am happy to say, this was 

 the first and last occasion on which an alarm of fire was 

 raised : we were never again scared with such a report. 



On November 15 we crossed the 60th parallel, and on the 

 following morning much excitement was caused by our first 

 sight of the sea-ice. At first we saw only small pieces, worn 

 into fantastic shape by the action of the waves, but as the 

 afternoon advanced signs of a heavier pack appeared ahead, 

 and soon the loose floes were all about us, and the ' Discovery ' 

 was pushing her way amongst them, receiving her baptism 

 of ice. 



As night closed down on us we became closely surrounded 

 by the pack, which consisted of comparatively small pieces of 

 ice from two to three feet in thickness and much worn at 

 their edges by the constant movement of the swell. The 

 novelty of our surroundings impressed us greatly. The wind 



