122 THE OCEAN. 
ice-islands to moor the ship to them in storms, carry- 
ing an anchor upon the ice, and inserting the fluke 
in a hole made for the purpose. In the state just 
alluded to, such is the brittleness of the substance, 
that one blow with an axe is sometimes sufficient to 
cause the immense mass to rend asunder with fearful 
noise, one part falling one way, and another in the 
opposite, often swallowing up the ill-fated mariner, 
and crushing the gallant bark. 
Suip Beset IN Icr. 
Contact with floating icebergs, when a ship is 
under sail, is highly dangerous. From the coolness 
