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The ship being now ready , we covered the bottom of the hold over , fore and aft , with dried brush for dunnage , and having levelled everything away , we were ready to take in our cargo . Between daylight and dark - that is , between nine o'clock and three - we saw thirty-four ice islands , of various sizes ; some no bigger than the hull of our vessel , and others apparently nearly as large as the one that we first saw ; though , as we went on , the islands became smaller and more numerous ; and , at sundown of this day , a man at the mast-head saw large fields of floating ice called " field-ice " at the south-east . We had now a fair wind , daylight , and comparatively clear weather ; yet , to the surprise of every one , the ship continued hove-to . Each of us had made for himself a suit of oil-cloth or tarpaulin , and these we got out , and gave thorough coatings of oil or tar , and hung upon the stays to dry . Before stowing the hides , as I have said , the ballast is levelled off , just above the keelson , and then loose dunnage placed upon it , on which the hides rest . By a constant look-out , and a quick shifting of the helm , as the islands and pieces came in sight , the ship went clear of everything but a few small pieces , though daylight showed the ocean covered for miles . Thick stockings and drawers were darned and patched ; mittens dragged from the bottom of the chest and mended ; comforters made for the neck and ears ; old flannel shirts cut up to line monkey jackets ; southwesters lined with flannel , and a pot of paint smuggled forward to give them a coat on the outside ; and everything turned to hand ; so that , although two years had left us but a scanty wardrobe , yet the economy and invention which necessity teaches a sailor , soon put each of us in pretty good trim for bad weather , even before we had seen the last of the fine . Still , however , we had a fine , strong breeze , and kept on our way , under as much sail as our ship would bear . When the daylight was so short , it was too bad to lose it , and a fair wind , too , which every one had been praying for. Those who had no south-wester caps , made them , and several of the crew made themselves tarpaulin jackets and trowsers , lined on the inside with flannel . I also sewed and covered a tarpaulin hat , thick and strong enough to sit down upon , and made myself a complete suit of flannel under-clothing , for bad weather .