71 
face, and opaque ; if the frost be not in¬ 
terrupted by a swell of the sea, or storm* 
the salt-water ice often extends to an 
immense distance. It is by the Green¬ 
land sailors termed a field when of such 
extent that the eye cannot reach its 
bounds. The smaller fragments of salt¬ 
water ice are called seal meadows , and on 
them these animals often sport by hun¬ 
dreds. 
In storms, large masses of ice are fre¬ 
quently piled on each other, to a consi¬ 
derable height; these are called packs , 
and often assume a very fantastic ap¬ 
pearance. The grinding noise occasion¬ 
ed by the collision of those huge masses 
of ice against each other, and against 
the ship, not only fill the mind of the 
auditor with a degree of horror, but for 
a considerable time deprives him of the 
sense of hearing. 
Storms in those seas are so extremely 
dangerous, that the most powerful pens 
