By that time the whales were gone, and the vessel was full, and they were really on the point of departure, when, unfortunately, there came upon them a few days of excessively cold weather that was very unusual so early in the season. In a short time the bay was frozen, and the vessel tightly enclosed in the ice. The sailors now began seriously to fear that they would have to winter in that dreadful climate, when, to their joy, the weather moderated somewhat, and the ice broke up. They soon found, however, that this condition of things was worse than the other, for there was great danger of the ship being crushed by the huge masses of loose ice that pressed upon it on every side. The crew worked hard to save the ship, but it is doubtful whether they would have succeeded had it not been for the help of the friendly Esquimaux, who did everything in their power for their visitors. At one time, they all gave up the ship as lost. The ice closed around them with such a crushing force, that the captain and crew fled to the shelter of the Esquimaux snow houses, where they were most hospitably received, and preparations were made to entertain them all winter. But the vessel escaped, it seemed, almost by a miracle, and the crew returned to it very soon. Then the ice broke up into smaller pieces and drifted away towards the open sea, and the ship prepared to follow as soon as the channel should be sufficiently open. The Esquimaux bade farewell to the whalers, and went off on an expedition, partly for hunting, but chiefly to gather in their dogs and reindeer under shelter for the winter, leaving a few old men and boys to guard the settlement. Polargno happened to be one of the boys left behind. The day after the expedition started he walked down to the shore to see if the bay was sufficiently open for the ship to start on its voyage. He found that the vessel was enclosed in thin ice which extended for quite a distance beyond in a solid sheet. But, as the weather was still moderating, this ice would probably break up in a few hours. Some sailors were packing up their things in a tent they had occupied on the shore. They evidently expected certainly to get away this time. But, before Polargno reached the place, they ran out of the tent, and down towards the beach with exclamations of horror. Polargno ran after them, and soon discovered the cause of their excitement.