EXPLANATION OF TECHNICAL TERMS 
MADE USE OP IN THE COURSE OP THE 
FOLLOWING NARRATIVE. 
Bay-Ice. — Ice newly formed upon the surface. 
Beset. — The situation of a ship, when so closely surrounded by ice, as to prevent her 
sailing about. 
Bight. — An indentation in a floe of ice, like a bay, by which name it is sometimes called. 
Blink. — A peculiar brightness in the atmosphere which is almost always perceptible in 
approaching ice, or land covered with snow. — Land-blink is usually more yellow' 
than that of ice. 
Bo s E% — The operation of “ boring” through loose ice consists in entering it under a press 
of sail, and forcing the ship through by separating the masses. 
Clear Water. — The sea unincumbered with ice. 
Crow’s-Nest. — A circular house, like a cask, fixed at the mast-head, in which the look- 
out man sits, either to guide the ship through the ice, or to give notice of 
whales. 
Dock. — An artificial dock is formed by cutting out with saws a square space in a thick 
floe, in which a ship is placed, in order to secure her from the pressure of other 
masses which are seen to be approaching, and which might otherwise endanger 
her being “ nipped.” — A “ natural dock” is simply a small bight, accidentally 
found under similar circumstances. 
Field. — A sheet of ice, generally of great thickness, and of such extent that its limits 
cannot be seen from a ship’s mast-head. 
Flo e . — The same as a field, except that its extent can be distinguished from a ship’s mast- 
head. — A “ bay-floe” is a floe of ice newly formed upon the surface. 
A Hole , or Pool of Water. — A small space of clear water, surrounded by ice on 
every side. 
Land Ice. — Ice attached to the land, either in floes, or in heavy grounded masses, forced 
up near the shore by external pressure. 
