184 WHALING AND BEAR-HUNTING 



We sight ice in the afternoon, and grey and cold it is 

 alas, that the thrill of the first sight of ice should not repeat 

 itself. My young friends do not seem to be greatly impressed, 

 not so much so as we were years ago, when, after a three 

 months 5 voyage, the mist rose and we had our first vision of 

 the marvellous architecture of Antarctic ice. 



Here it is not so impressive as in the South, but beyond 

 doubt it can show its teeth quite effectively. Curiously it is 

 often the old, experienced deep-sea sailor who feels the greatest 

 sensation on going into the ice for the first time. All his life 

 he has religiously avoided knocking up against anything in 

 the way of ice or rocks, so when he is called to go straight in 

 amongst ice-blocks it affects him more than it would a lands- 

 man. I know of such a captain and his first experience 



up here. When he had brought his ship into the ice, the 

 crashing and thumping got on his nerves so that he retreated 

 to his cabin, and bolted himself in, and had to be fed through 

 the skylight for three days. This is a true bill. 



We have got some sail set to a westerly breeze and go so 

 steadily that we can vary our amusements of lasso-throwing, 

 etc., etc., with fencing. The senors are interested in fencing 

 but are not very good, but they are good shots at clay pigeons ; 

 that is another side-show we have, De Gisbert is quite a show- 

 man at it. With a five-shooter shot-gun he throws three 

 clay pigeons up with the left hand and shoots them all before 

 they reach the water. But at fencing the writer has rather 



