, from the timber of her cargo shifting, that he was forced to break
through the sky-light to save himself. Their small stock of provisions
was now put into the binnacle, as a secure place. It had been there but
a few minutes, when a tremendous sea struck them, and carried away the
binnacle.

They had now little hope left--the wheel was broken, and they proceeded
to secure themselves as well as they could, some in the fore-top, and
the rest were lashing themselves to the taffrail; before they could
accomplish the latter plan, another sea, if possible, more heavy than
the former, hurried them all from their places, and washed two of the
men overboard; they were seen swimming for the ship, a short time, when
a wave hurried them from the sight of their lamenting comrades.

They now endeavored to keep the ship before the wind, which they were
partially enabled to do through the night. The next day another man died
from cold and hunger.

The deck was now blown up, and her side stove in, all hands had given
themselves up, when, on the 30th at noon, they were roused by the cry
of "a sail!" and they had the satisfaction to see her bear down for
them. She was the brig George, of Portland; and Captain Wildridge sent
his long-boat to take them from the wreck.

DANGERS OF WHALING SHIPS AMONG ICE BERGS.

The masses of ice by which the ocean is traversed assume a vast variety
of shapes, but may be comprehended in two general classes. The first
consists of sheets of ice, analogous to those which annually cover the
the lakes and rivers of northern lands. They present a surface which is
generally level, but here and there diversified by projections, called
_hummocks_, which arise from the ice having been thrown up by some
pressure or force to which it has been subject. Sheets of ice, which are
so large that their whole extent of surface cannot be seen from the
masthead of a vessel, are called _fields_. They have sometimes an area
of more than a hundred square miles, and rise above the level of the sea
from two to eight feet. When a piece of ice, though of a considerable
size, can be distinguished in its extent, it is termed a _floe_. A
number of sheets, large or small, joining each other, and stretching out
in any particular direction, constitute a _stream_. Captain Cook found a
stream extending across Behring's Straits, connecting eastern Asia with
the western extremity of North America. Owing to the vast extent of some
fi