So in a

eyen if they saw where the ship was. twinkling I dropped my own skiff on the floe, then with the help of the dogs got it dragged to water. I cast them off, not even taking time to unharness them, took the oars and pulled as hard as I could up tide.

Without the glass I could only see the berg itself. As to anything particular that went on aboard of it, it was too far to make out, but I knew they had timber enough to raft off in a way. Setting aside my signal, they would have to do something of the sort; as the berg was sure to smash into the main field, upon which, whatever happened, woe to any one that stayed till such time. They might as well have tried to land betwixt two batteries pounding at each other-or on a lee shore in a heavy gale-or as you would say now-a-days, young gentlemen, off an express train between stationsas to have tried getting on the ice in that way, quiet as things looked. With the shake the berg had got already, in turning off, it sent up a calf from its foot below water, that came up splashing and bobbing in its wake after it.

I

Hard as I could pull I could not make much of it, but I would have pulled till I dropped. I had little fear but they would manage somehow, from the experience they must have had up north. could not have said at that time but what it might be uncle and his men, notwithstanding the American flag for you must remember I was not aware

as yet how they had got on. Anyhow, there were men without a ship, and here was a ship for them.

There was a hummocky point of the main field, that I had to pull round for open water toward the drifting berg. As soon as I cleared this I could see nothing between, but the ripple of the tide from the berg, as it made for the field a mile up or so. The loose ice began to scatter alongside of it, and on the other side I thought I could see something either rafting, or else swimming to the washpieces. I had then to put in for a rest; where I jumped up on the hummocks, and stepped an oar in as well as I could, with my neckerchief to it for a signal. I could see nothing of them, but I watched the berg. The nearer it got to the field the faster it sucked in, till smash it went at last upon a tongue. The field-ice flashed from it like fire, and you heard the roar like great guns, as crack it went, starring in through the floes, with jags of them tilting against it. The consequence was just what might have been counted on with half an eye, after two years' knowledge of the Polar seas. The berg slued in a moment, then it up-ended altogether, and came bottom first, with a swell that was felt almost as far as my boat, making it dance where it lay.

Still on the berg held, harder than ever, forcing a channel for itself. One time it would come to a stop, heaving and tearing at it, then on again it would work, zigzag; and so it kept going on after

wards more or less, according as the tides and currents were.

The men would have had to make for some distance up, but after that they could get round toward the ship in course of time, by the main ice. I made sure they must have heard my first signals, accordingly I made the best of my way back aboard, and got everything shipshape. Before this my case had begun to look bad-next thing to being fairly beset. But now my spirits went up like a thermometer from freezing to boiling point. All afternoon I was making ready and keeping up all sorts of signals that I could think of. Twenty-four hours did not pass, neither, before I had my wish; though in a way I little expected.

F

ing, as I did, it was a thing that had been done more than once,, either to get to ice after chancing to get lost in chase of a fish, or else to scramble up when their ship had struck on it and gone down. In one case, a number of years before, more than a hundred men out of three Dutch crews were saved for a time in this way, many of them escaping in the end, more especially those who stuck by the berg to the last. Another time, not far back, a sloop of war had struck on one in the open Atlantic, only four or five men being saved, which they were by jumping on the moment they knew what it was, and in the end were taken off by a whaler's boat. I took this to be a case of the sort, only it was clear they belonged to the fishery; and, as I judged, must have been wintered-in, most likely bound home with a full ship when the misfortune took place. The iceberg might have held under them long enough but for the shake it got by the eddy

of the current, and then hitting the main-field., By help of the glass, at all events, I had noticed one of them sufficiently active; and as could be made out before the crash took place, I was confident some way of rafting off had been hit upon. Nothing was now to be seen of them afloat; however, the field-ice in that quarter was safe to reach easily. The worst of it was, the weather inclined to get thick, consequently they might lose themselves on the way round, without provisions either, or much chance of catching anything. The first thing I did was to gather all the stuff I could find for a fire, which I commenced to make as high up as possible on the side of the small berg that was froze near hand in the floe where the main crack was. Right in the crack, among the snow, there was sea-weed here and there that had come up or been blown along; the big leaves commonly giving rise to holes under them that were rather dangerous, although handy for seals to come up in. I got a lot of this; also in one of the biggest holes there was dry krang of a large walrus that had got into it somehow. The bones were fit to burn well with the stuff, making, at all events, a good smoke, only I had to keep helping it with any wood I could spare. Next, I set myself to see if I could manage to shoot a seal or two, which, by a little watching, was easy to do, at least soon as the dogs could be kept tied up quiet aboard. The seals were in great numbers