34 
IN THE ICE-BEARS. 
began to dot the water like the first drops of a sum¬ 
mer shower. The indications were too plain : we had 
barely time to cast off before the face of the berg fell 
in ruins, crashing like near artillery. 
FASTENED TO AN ICEBERG. 
“ Our position in the mean time had been critical, a 
gale blowing off the shore, and the floes closing and 
scudding rapidly. We lost some three hundred and 
sixty fathoms of whale line, which were caught in the 
does and had to be cut away to release us from the 
drift. It was a hard night for boatwork, particularly 
