GREENLAND OR POLAR ICE. $23 



thousands of pieces ; and ice of only a few weeks 

 growth, on being assailed by a turbulent sea, i» 

 broken and annihilated with incredible celerity. 

 Ice, which for weeks has been an increasing pest 

 to the whale-fisher, is sometimes removed in the 

 space of a few hours. The destruction is in many 

 cases so rapid, that to an inexperienced observer, 

 the occurrence seems incredible, and rather an il- 

 lusion of fancy, than a matter of fact. Suppose a 

 ship immoveably fixed in bay ice, and not the 

 smallest opening to be seen : after a lapse of time 

 sufficient only for a moderate repose, imagine a 

 person rising from his bed, — when, behold, the in- 

 surmountable obstacle has vanished ! Instead of 

 a sheet of ice expanding unbroken to the verge of 

 the horizon on every side, an undulating sea re- 

 lieves the prospect, wherein floats, the w^reck of 

 the ice, reduced apparently to a small fraction of 

 its original bulk I This singular occurrence, I 

 have more than once been a witness to. 



That ice should be forming or increasing, when 

 exposed to the swells of the ocean, while the an- 

 nihilation of bay ice is so sudden and complete, 

 might seem an anomaly or impossibility, were the 

 circumstances passed over in silence. It must be 

 observed, that the operation of a swell is (Uv rely 

 to rend the bay ice in pieces, while its "ruc- 

 tion is principally effected, by the atv .^on of 

 those pieces against each other, and the wash- 



