350 CAPTAIN BACK IN THE "TERROR"— im^-Z7. 



remains of some floe not yet entirely broken up — such was the picture which 

 saluted us on every side." 



From day to day throughout the whole of the spring and summer — the 

 ship remaining beset in the floe all that time — a monotonous but terrific succes- 

 sion of crushes from the tide-heared and wind-driven ice continued to afflict 

 the "Terror." On the evening of the 7th March, the usual premonitory 

 rushing sounds were heard far off" on the north-east and north-west. These 

 were caused by the approaching tide-flood which advanced either under the 

 compact ice field, or along the cracks and openings. As it passed through 

 the latter, the flood, narrowed and hampered within the confined channels, 

 attained a furious velocity. It happened that on the day named there were 

 a number of these cracks at no great distance from the ship, and when these 

 opened on the " Terror " like so many conduits rushing to a common centre, 

 " the concussion," says Back, " was absolutely appalling — rending the lining 

 and bulkheads in every part, loosening some shores or stanchions, so that 

 the slightest efibrt would have thrown them down, and compressing others 

 with such force as to make the turpentine ooze out of their extremities. 

 One fir plank placed horizontally between the beams and the shores actually 

 glittered with globules. At the same time the pressure was going on 

 from the larboard side, where the three heaviest parts of the ruin of the 

 floe remained, cracked here and there, but yet adhering in firm and solid 

 bodies. These of course were irresistible, and after much groaning, splitting, 

 and cracking, accompanied by sounds like the explosion of cannon, the ship 

 rose fore and aft, and heeled over about 10° to starboard." On the 14th 

 March the wind freshened into a gale, and in the evening the advancing ice 

 began to press hard upon and underneath the stern and quarter, causing the 

 timbers to crack fore and aft. The commotion continued till noon of the 

 next day, when suddenly a loud crack was heard below the mainmast, as if 

 the keel were broken or carried away. Meantime the boats and stores 

 were lowered and placed on the floe, in expectation of the ship itself being 

 buried under the ice. A continually increasing rush was heard at night, 

 and it soon came on with a heavy roar towards the larboard quarter, "up- 

 turning in its progress, and roUing onward with it an immense wall of ice. 

 This advanced so fast," continues Back, " that though all hands were imme- 

 diately called, they had barely time, with the greatest exertion, to extricate 

 three of the boats, one of them in fact being hoisted up when only a few feet 

 from the crest of the sohd wave, which held a steady course directly for the 

 quarter, ahnost overtopping it, and continuing to elevate itself until about 

 twenty-five feet high. A piece had just reached the rudder, and at the 

 moment when to all appearance both that and a portion at least of the 

 framework were expected to be staved in and buried beneath the ruins, the 

 motion ceased, and at the same time the crest of the nearest part of the 



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