THE AURORA'S DRIFT 
" April 17, 1 a.m. — Pressure increased and wind shifted to 
north-west. Ice continued to override and press into shore 
until 5 o'clock ; during this time pressure into bay was very 
heavy ; movement of ice in straits causing noise like heavy 
surf. Ship took ground gently at rudder-post during pressure ; 
bottom under stern shallows very quickly. 10 p.m. — Ice mov- 
ing out of bay to westward ; heavy strain on after moorings 
and cables, which are cutting the floe." 
Stenhouse continued to nurse his moorings against the on- 
slaughts of the ice during the rest of April and the early days 
of May. The break-away from the shore came suddenly and 
unexpectedly on the evening of May 6 : 
" May 6, 1915. — Fine morning with light breezes from east- 
south-east. . . . 3.30 p.m.— Ice nearly finished. Sent hands 
ashore for sledge-load. 4 p.m.—Wind freshening with bliz- 
zardy appearance of sky. 8 p.m.—. . . Heavy stram on after- 
moorings. 9.45 p.m.— The ice parted from the shore; all 
moorings parted. Most fascinating to listen to waves and 
chain breaking. In the thick haze I saw the ice astern breaking 
up and the shore receding. I called all hands and clapped 
reheving tackles (4-in. Manila luff tackles) on to the cables 
on the fore part of the windlass. The bos'n had rushed 
along with his hurricane lamp, and shouted, ' She's away wi' 
it ! ' He is a good fellow and very conscientious. I ordered 
steam on main engines, and the engine-room staff, with Hooke 
and Ninnis, turned to. Urady, fireman, was laid up with a 
broken rib. As the ship, in the solid floe, set to the north- 
west, the cables rattled and tore at the hawse-pipes ; luckily 
the anchors, lying as they were on a strip-sloping bottom, came 
away easily, without damage to windlass or hawse-pipes. Slowly 
as we disappeared into Sound, the light in the hut died away. At 
11.30 p.m. the ice around us started to break up, the floes playing 
tattoo on the ship's sides. We were out in the Sound and catching 
the full force of the wind. The moon broke through the clouds 
after midnight and showed us the pack, stretching continuously 
to northward, and about one mile to the south. As the pack 
from the southward came up and closed in on the ship, the swell 
lessened and the banging of floes alongside eased a little. 
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