eat and dreary strokes of the ice; some with
capstan bars, some fending off with oars, some with planks of two inches
thick, which were broken immediately with the force of the ice, some
going out upon the ice, to bear it off with their shoulders from the
ships. But the rigorousness of the tempest was such, and the force of
the ice so great, that not only they burst and spoiled the foresaid
provision, but likewise so raised the sides of the ships that it was
pitiful to behold, and caused the hearts of many to faint.

Thus continued we all that dismal and lamentable night, plunged in this
perplexity, looking for instant death; but our God (who never leaveth
them destitute which faithfully call upon Him), although He often
punisheth for amendment's sake, in the morning caused the winds to cease,
and the fog, which all that night lay on the face of the water, to clear,
so that we might perceive about a mile from us a certain place clear from
any ice, to the which with an easy breath of wind, which our God sent us,
we bent ourselves, and furthermore He provided better for us than we
deserved, or hoped for; for when we were in the foresaid clear place, He
sent us a fresh gale at west, or at west-south-west, which set us clear
without all the ice. And further He added more, for He sent us so
pleasant a day, as the like we had not of a long time before, as after
punishment consolation.

Thus we joyful whites, being at liberty, took in all our sails, and lay a
hull, praising God for our deliverance, and stayed to gather together our
fleet; which once being done, we seeing that none of them had any great
hurt, neither any of them wanted, saving only they of whom I spake
before, and the ship which was lost, then at the last we hoisted our
sails, and lay bulting off and on, till such time as it would please God
to take away the ice, that we might get into the straits.

As we thus lay off and on, we came by a marvellous huge mountain of ice,
which surpassed all the rest that ever we saw, for we judged it to be
near four score fathoms above water, and we thought it to be aground for
anything that we could perceive, being there nine score fathoms deep, and
of compass about half a mile.

Also the fifth of July there fell a hideous fog and mist, that continued
till the nineteenth of the same, so that one ship could not see another.
Therefore we were fain to bear a small sail, and to observe the time, but
there ran such a current o