216 A YEAR WITH A WHALER, 



hulks on those desolate shores. The polar pack 

 rested solidly against the island's western end 

 and curved in a great half-moon to the north 

 and east. The pocket thus formed between the 

 island and the ice looked good for whales and 

 the ships hunted it out carefully. 



Far to the eastward, a long arm of ice reached 

 out from the pack and grasped the island's east- 

 ern end. This arm was perhaps a mile wide. 

 It barred our passage back to the open sea. The 

 ships had been caught in a trap. They were 

 bottled up in a hole of water perhaps a hundred 

 square miles in extent. Busy on the lookout for 

 whales, the captains of the fleet did not realize 

 the situation for several hours. When they dis- 

 covered their predicament, they hurried to the 

 crow's-nests with glasses to try to spy out an 

 avenue of escape. Sail was cracked on. The 

 ships began to fly about like panic-stricken living 

 creatures. 



The great polar pack was pressing rapidly 

 toward the island. Unless the ships escaped, it 

 seemed likely they would be securely hemmed in 

 before night. In this event, if they escaped 



