166 JOURNAL OF A GREENLAND VOYAGE. 



minutes, a shivering of the sails was observed, and 

 instantly afterwards they were taken fiat aback ; 

 the wind, whilst blowing a fresh gale, had veered 

 from N N W, to E S E. We steered by the wind 

 NE.ward for an hour and a half, when the snov/ 

 began to abate, and the wind of a sudden so in- 

 creased, that we were obliged again to raise all 

 hands to take in, and still further reduce the sails : 

 with our utmost exertions, we were but just 

 able to save them from blowing away* The wind 

 now blew so furiously, that all sails were furled 

 but a small storm-topsail, and close-reefed main- 

 topsail ; and which, though new sails, we often 

 expected could not withstand the fury of the 

 tempest. Being in the vicinity of the ice to the 

 N.ward, we wore the ship, and lay to under those 

 two small sails for sixty hours. The sea ran tre- 

 mendously high. We carried a boat at each quar- 

 ter of the ship, suspended by the davits, much 

 above the deck ; on the second day of the storm's 

 continuance, a heavy sea struck the ship, and with 

 dreadful violence came on deck, bat happily did 

 no serious damage. It lifted up the weather 

 quarter boat, and had nearly thrown it upon 

 deck ; and the lee boat, with another in the 

 chocks, were completely filled with water. It lift- 

 ed an eighteen pounder caronnade quite out of its 

 place, and washed away or stove in the quartet- 

 and waist-boards, fore and aft. 



" Durmg the whole continuance of this gale, 

 the barometer never varied one- fiftieth of an inch," 



