Page:A Voyage of Discovery and Research in the Southern and Antarctic Regions Vol 2.djvu/219

1842

We passed close by several small bergs, and doubtless many others, at no great distance, were concealed from us by the dark night and dense fog that prevailed; but we met with no more streams or loose ice, and soon after midnight the wind abated, leaving a heavy swell from the northward,Feb. 6. before which and the moderate breeze we continued to steer to the S.W., unable to see more than a quarter of a mile before us, and of course uncertain what events the next hour might produce, until at length the wind became so light that our ships no longer had steerage way, and we lost all command over them: they drifted before the long northerly swell, rolling heavily and deeply. We remained in this helpless and anxious state until midnight, when a light southerly wind arose, dispellingFeb. 7. the fog, and showing us how mercifully we had been prevented from running into a heavy pack, and amongst great numbers of bergs, which we assuredly should have done had the northerly wind lasted another hour, for they were at this time not more than four miles from us to the southward.

The breeze increased quickly to a gale by 6 a.m., but, being now under the lee of the pack, the swell which had occasioned us so much discomfort and uneasiness soon subsided, and we carried all sail to maintain our ground, running close along the pack edge, which trended to the westward, in smooth water, and although the sky was overcast, and the weather gloomy and squally, it was sufficiently