ANTARCTIC CRUISE. 333 



passing a bowline around his body and dragging him into the top. 

 He was almost frozen to death. Several of the best men were com- 

 pletely exhausted with cold, fatigue, and excitement, and were sent 

 below. This added to our anxieties, and but little hope remained to 

 me of escaping : I felt that neither prudence nor foresight could avail 

 in protecting the ship and crew. All that could be done, was to be 

 prepared for any emergency, by keeping every one at his station. 



We were swiftly dashing on, for I felt it necessary to keep the ship 

 under rapid way through the water, to enable her to steer and work 

 quickly. Suddenly many voices cried out, " Ice ahead !" then, " On 

 the weather bow !" and again, "On the lee bow and abeam !" All 

 hope of escape seemed in a moment to vanish ; return w T e could not, as 

 large ice-islands had just been passed to leeward : so we dashed on, 

 expecting every moment the crash ; the ship in an instant, from having 

 her lee guns under water, rose upright ; and so close were we passing 

 to leeward of one of these huge islands, that our trysails were almost 

 thrown aback by the eddy wind ; the helm was put up to pay the 

 ship off, but the proximity of those under our lee bade me keep my 

 course. All was now still except the distant roar of the wild storm, 

 that was raging behind, before, and above us ; the sea was in great 

 agitation, and both officers and men were in the highest degree 

 excited. The ship continued her way, and as we proceeded, a glim- 

 mering of hope arose, for we accidentally had hit upon a clear passage 

 between two large ice-islands, which in fine weather we should not 

 dare to have ventured through. The suspense endured while making 

 our way between them was intense, but of short duration ; and my 

 spirits rose as I heard the whistling of the gale grow louder and 

 louder before us, as we emerged from the passage. We had escaped 

 an awful death, and were again tempest-tost. 



We encountered many similar dangers that night ; at half-past 4, 

 a. m., I found we had reached the small open space laid down on my 

 chart, and at five o'clock I hove-to the ship. I had been under 

 intense excitement, and had not been off the deck for nine hours, and 

 was now thankful to the Providence that had guided, watched over, 

 and preserved us. Until 7 a. m., all hands were on deck : when there 

 was some appearance of the weather moderating, they were piped 

 down. 



The barometer was marked at intervals, for which the reader is 

 referred to Appendix XXVI. 



This gale was from the southeast, from which quarter it blew 



vol. 11. 84 



