THE FROZEN SHIP.
One serene evening, in the middle of August, 1775, Captain Warrens, the master of the ship "Greenland," whale ship, found himself becalmed among an immense number of icebergs, in about 77° of north latitude. On one side, and within a mile of his vessel, these were of immense height and closely wedged together; and a succession of snow-covered peaks appeared behind each other as far as the eye could reach, showing that the ocean was completely blocked up in that quarter, and that it had probably been so for a long period of time. Captain Warrens did not feel satisfied with his situation, but there being no wind, he could not move either one way or the other; and he therefore kept a strict watch, knowing that he would be safe as long as the icebergs continued in their respective places.
About midnight the wind rose to a gale, accompanied by thick showers of snow, while a succession of thundering, grinding, and crashing noises gave fearful evidence that the ice was in motion. The vessel received violent shocks every moment, for the haziness of the atmosphere prevented those on board from discovering in what direction the open water lay, or if there actually was any at all on either side of them. The night was spent in tacking as often as any cause of danger happened to present itself; and in the morning the storm abated, and Captain Warrens found to his great joy that his ship had not sustained any serious injury. He remarked
