352 CAPTAIN BACK IN THE " TEEIiOIi"—182G-B7. 



merely cracked it, and sank deep into the ice, without causing any disrup- 

 tion. One of the shot was next day recovered. It had been discharged at 

 the distance of twenty-one yards, with a charge of sixteen ounces of powder, 

 and had penetrated a yard and a half, sphtting the mass in various direc- 

 tions. Early in July the ice-saws were got out, and considerable progress 

 was made in cutting across the masses of over twenty feet in thickness. 

 On the 11th, while the ci-ew were engaged sawing the ice, so as to free the 

 stern-post, a succession of unusual cracking noises from below seemed to 

 warn them that something was about to happen. The captain was called, 

 and after inspecting the works and giving directions, he returned again on 

 board the ship. But scarcely had he regained his cabin, when a loud 

 rumbling notified that the ship had broken her icy bonds, and was sliding 

 gently down into her own element. " I ran instantly on deck," writes Back, 

 " and joined in the cheers of the officers and men, who, dispersed on different 

 pieces of ice, took this significant method of expressing their feelings. It 

 was a sight not to be forgotten. Standing on the tafirail, I saw the dark 

 bubbling water below, and enormous masses of ice gently vibrating and 

 springing to the surface. The first lieutenant was just climbing over the 

 stern, while other groups were standing apart, separated by this new gulf; 

 and the spars, together with working implements, were resting half in the 

 water, half on the ice, whilst the saw, the instrument whereby this effect 

 was produced, was bent double, and in that position forcibly detained by 

 the body it had severed." Fortunately, all the men on the detached pieces 

 were got off the floating masses without accident.. 



The ice around the vessel was now seen in fragments floating away and 

 mixing with other loose pieces. But Back had still to get rid of the ice 

 under the vessel, and recourse was had to every known expedient to get 

 free of this huge encumbrance. The ice-saw was repaired, and though this 

 remaining mass was found to be twenty-four feet thick, the crew, among 

 whom the officers laboured like ordinary shipmates, commenced the arduous 

 work with the greatest spirit on the 13th, and worked incessantly during 

 that day and the following night. At two o'clock on- the morning of the 

 14th, while the exhausted crew were still languidly at work, the grating 

 sound of breaking ice was suddenly heard, and before a word could be 

 spoken, the liberated ship righted, and floated in free water, while broken 

 spars, the bent saw, and the massive berg were all in confusion together. 

 " Quick as they could spring, the crew jumped on deck ; and I know not," 

 says Back, "how many cheers commemorated the joyful occasion." 



Sail was now set, but in the teeth of an adverse easterly wind progress 

 was slow. It was not till the 5th August that the battered, strained, and 

 leaky ship reached Button Isles, at the entrance to Hudson Strait. On the 

 following day Back entered Davis Strait. But now the shattered condition 



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