172 SIEGE OF THE SOUTH POLE 
it getting dark and all hands busy shortening sail, the 
captain conned the vessel, intending to hail the cutter, 
when giving directions to Smith to starboard and port 
the helm as required, desired him to answer that he 
(the captain) might know whether he heard him or not, 
when Smith became exceedingly insolent to the captain, 
and at last let go the tiller, hove the tiller-rope in the 
captain’s face and swore that he would not take the 
tiller any more while he was in the vessel, and was so 
abuseful that the captain was obliged to take him by the 
neck and push him forward and beat him severely.” A 
marginal note on the log, probably in the captain’s hand, 
states that “ the last three words were written many days 
afterwards and in pure malice.” Next day we are 
told that Smith remained below, refusing to do his 
duty, and a day later that he was not well. There 
must have been many rough episodes in the strenuous 
life of those vikings of the south, and the skippers had to 
be men of action ready to repress insubordination by 
methods that their semi-mutinous crews could under- 
stand. 
The course was now altered to a northerly one along 
the 95th meridian of east longitude, and until the ice was 
left behind fine displays of the aurora australis were 
observed every night. On March 24th a gale rose and 
the Sabrina was evidently in distress, burning blue 
lights. At daybreak next morning the cutter was no- 
where to be seen and Balleny, now very anxious for her 
safety, had as much as he could do to enable his own 
ship to weather the storm. A heavy sea broke on board 
staving both boats, sweeping everything from the deck 
and laying the vessel on her beam-ends so that for ten 
minutes she seemed to be settling in the water; but the 
