DANGEROUS GAI.E. 
303 
and being fortunately kept from close contact 
aloft, by a tongue projecting from its base, it clear¬ 
ed all our boats, and occasioned only a trifling in¬ 
jury to some of tlie skeeds in its progress. At this 
juncture, when the ship was so much involved 
with icebergs as to render casting off impracti¬ 
cable, had the state of the weather permitted it, 
two floes came in sight from different quarters. 
One of these appeared to be rapidly closing upon 
us from the west, and the other from the south, 
which, with the 1 floe that we were moored to, oc¬ 
cupying the eastern quarter, almost completely 
locked us in. To secure ourselves as far as possi¬ 
ble against the crush, which now appeared cer¬ 
tain, we fastened, by a hawser, a large heavy piece 
of ice ahead of the ship, where the floes threatened 
the first contact; with the view of subjecting the 
interposed mass to the pressure, and with the 
hope of being then defended from partaking of it. 
The last iceberg that passed yet annoying us, we 
slacked the ship astern until it was quite clear 
ahead, and had placed itself across the bows, 
with the deceitful appearance of affording an ad¬ 
ditional safeguard. As we became more and 
more exposed to danger from the floe setting up 
from the southward, as we slacked the ship down, 
and at the same time retreated from the protec¬ 
tion'the pieces of ice ahead seemed to promise,—it 
