Once a Week (magazine)/Series 1/Volume 2/An ice storm
AN ICE STORM.
COMMUNICATED BY THE CAPTAIN OF H.M.S. SIMOON.
At 11 a.m., on January 14th, in latitude 38° 0′ 50″ S., longitude 20° 0′ 45″ E., we were steering south, with the wind E.S.E. It had been looking dirty and rainy to the northward for an hour or so, and it gradually approached us. We commenced to take in some of the sails, and in a few minutes, with the wind changing to the N.N.E. it broke upon us with a pretty sharp squall and some rain; but all of a sudden down fell large lumps of ice, not at all resembling hailstones, but rough ragged pieces of clear ice as big as a breakfast-cup or a soap-dish. It only lasted about one minute or so, which was fortunate, or we should have had our sails knocked to pieces, and really, I think, loss of life. One piece, after passing from hand to hand, weighed three ounces, and I should imagine they were of six ounces weight when they fell. Some few men got hit—one on the foot, and he was laid up a week from the effects of the blow. I got a hit on two fingers, and the marks remained for ten days, and at first I thought I should lose a nail; and another on my japanned hat, which chipped it. The binnacle glass (plate) was broken, and the sails were riddled as if with small shot from the sharp points. Had I not been on deck for two hours previously I should have fancied we were under an iceberg, and the ice blowing off it on the top of us. It resembled half bricks falling on your head from a high wall: down below, the noise was that of 32-pound shot being thrown about the decks; and, indeed, both those on deck and below were much astonished. I never saw, nor did I ever hear of such a storm as this, although I have heard many strange stories.
The barometer remained steady at 29.86, and the thermometer at 70°. It cleared up afterwards, and gave us plenty to talk about for the rest of the day.