The Project Gutenberg eBook, The World of Ice, by Robert Michael Ballantyne

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Title: The World of Ice

Author: Robert Michael Ballantyne

Release Date: March 16, 2004 [eBook #11602]

Language: English

Character set encoding: US-ASCII

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THE WORLD OF ICE

OR

The Whaling Cruise of "The Dolphin"

AND

The Adventures of Her Crew in the Polar Regions

By

Robert Michael Ballantyne

Author of "The Dog Crusoe and his Master," "The Young Fur-Traders,"
"The Gorilla-Hunters," "Ungava," "The Coral Island," &c.

1893

PREFACE

Dear Reader, most people prefer a short to a long preface. Permit me,
therefore, to cut this one short, by simply expressing an earnest hope
that my book may afford you much profit and amusement.

R.M. BALLANTYNE.

CONTENTS.

CHAPTER I.
Some of the "dramatis personae" introduced--Retrospective
glances--Causes of future effects--Our hero's early life at sea--A
pirate--A terrible fight and its consequences--Buzzby's helm lashed
amidships--A whaling-cruise begun.

CHAPTER II.
Departure of the "Pole Star" for the Frozen Seas--Sage reflections of
Mrs. Bright, and sagacious remarks of Buzzby--Anxieties, fears,
surmises, and resolutions--Isobel--A search proposed--Departure of the
"Dolphin" for the Far North.

CHAPTER III.
The voyage--The "Dolphin" and her crew--Ice ahead--Polar
scenes--Masthead observations--The first whale--Great excitement.

CHAPTER IV.
The chase and the battle--The chances and dangers of whaling
war--Buzzby dives for his life and saves it--So does the whale and loses
it--An anxious night, which terminates happily, though with a heavy
loss.

CHAPTER V.
Miscellaneous reflections--The coast of Greenland--Upernavik--News of
the "Pole Star"--Midnight-day--Scientific facts and fairy-like
scenes--Tom Singleton's opinion of poor old women--In danger of a
squeeze--Escape.

CHAPTER VI.
The gale--Anchored to a berg which proves to be a treacherous
one--Dangers of the "pack"--Beset in the ice--Mivins shows an inquiring
mind--Walruses-