136 
AN ESCAPE. 
asylum, had turned in to rest; when, with a crack 
like the snap of a gigantic whip, the ice opened directly 
beneath them. This was, as nearly as they could 
estimate the time, at about one o’clock in the morn¬ 
ing. The darkness was intense; and the cold, about 
10° below zero, was increased by a wind which blew 
from the northeast over the glacier. They gathered 
together their tent and sleeping furs, and lashed them, 
according to the best of their ability, upon the sledge. 
) .iif mi* .* r y 
Repeated intonations warned them that the ice was 
breaking up; a swell, evidently produced by the ava¬ 
lanches from the glacier, caused the platform on which 
they stood to rock to and fro. 
Mr. McCrary derived a hope from the stable charac¬ 
ter of the bergs near them: they were evidently not 
