88 THE LAST VOYAGE OF THE KARLUK 
chanced to be standing near the engine-room door. 
The lamps were lighted. The labors of the day 
were over and now, after dinner, the men were 
playing cards or reading or sewing, as usual. All 
at once I heard a splitting, crashing sound below. 
I went down into the engine-room and found the 
chief engineer there. We could hear water rush¬ 
ing into the hold and by lantern-light could see it 
pouring in at different places for a distance of ten 
feet along the port side. As I had feared, the ice 
astern had broken or worn off and the sheet mov¬ 
ing along the starboard side had swung in against 
the ship, heeling her over three or four feet to port; 
a point of ice on the port side had pierced the 
planking and timbers of the engine-room for ten 
feet or more, ripping off all the pump fixtures and 
putting the pump out of commission. It was 
obvious that it would be useless to attempt to rig a 
temporary pump; the break was beyond repair. 
I went on deck again and gave the order, 44 All 
hands abandon ship.” We had all the fires except 
that in the galley extinguished at once and all the 
lamps, using hurricane lanterns to see our way 
around. There was no confusion. The men 
worked with a will, putting the emergency supplies 
overboard on the ice, some ten thousand pounds of 
pemmican, furs, clothing, rifles and cartridges. 
The Eskimo woman, with her children, I sent to the 
