One day Buchan and Franklin were in a small boat at the foot of a glacier. Suddenly they heard a noise like the report of a great cannon, and looking up, they saw a portion of the glacier sliding down the mountain side. This great mass of ice made a grinding noise as it went, and streams of water flowed after it. At length it plunged into the sea and disappeared from view. The water was greatly disturbed and covered with foam. In a few moments the huge piece of ice rose to the surface and surged up to a great height above the sea. Then Franklin and his companion knew how icebergs are formed. This one was a quarter of a mile around, and rose sixty feet above the water. It must have weighed millions of tons. [Illustration: ICEBERGS IN THE POLAR SEA.] Franklin was now more anxious than ever to get to the pole. He knew that thousands of years ago a part of America and Europe was covered with ice just as the Arctic regions now are, and he felt sure that if he remained long enough in this land he would be able to explain many things heretofore unknown, in regard to climate, soil, tides, and winds. Soon the ships, headed toward the north, put to sea again, but a furious gale arose, and they were once more caught in the ice pack. When the wind went down, the _Dorothea_ was so badly damaged as to be almost unseaworthy, and Captain Buchan decided to turn back. The _Trent_ also had been injured, but Franklin tried hard to induce Captain Buchan to allow him to go northward alone. Captain Buchan refused, and both vessels accordingly returned to England, where they arrived safely on October 12, 1818. We must not regard this expedition as a failure, even though the pole remained undiscovered, for Franklin had gained the experience which later enabled him to accomplish valuable geographical work in the Arctic regions. III. FRANKLIN’S FIRST LAND JOURNEY 1819–1821 The next year the British government again decided to send two ships northward. One of these ships was put in command of Lieutenant Parry and was ordered to Lancaster sound. From this place Parry was told to sail westward and seek the northwest passage. He did not find the northwest passage, but he succeeded in sailing inside of the Arctic circle farther west than any one had gone before. For this achievement he received a prize of £5000 from the government and on his return to England was highly honored. The other expedition was put in command of Sir John Franklin, who, together with four companions, was to proceed to Hudson bay on one of the ships belonging to the Hudson Bay Company. From Hudson bay, Franklin was to make a land journey by means of sledges and canoes across the northern part of North America, to the mouth of the Coppermine river. From this point, he was to turn and follow the coast of North America east. The latitude and longitude of various places were to be noted, maps to be drawn, and capes, bays, and rivers located and surveyed.