penters and their assistants were employed, setting 1842. it straight, cutting away the splinters, and replacing the parts that had been torn away, whilst the armourers at the forge were engaged making bolts and hoops to bind all firmly together, and, by the unceasing labour of the officers and artificers, the Erebus's rudder was ready for shipping again before midnight.
The Terror's, as I have before said, was so completely destroyed as to oblige us to resort to her spare rudder, which was put together in less than an hour; but the ice was so closely pressed around us, that we could not see the nature of the damage the gudgeons had sustained, and which, being so far under water, were likely to present the greatest difficulty to getting her rudder so effectually secured as to render it practicable to pursue our way to the southward; and during the whole of the next day, the pressure of the pack stillJan. 22. preventing our making any attempt to ship the rudders we had in readiness, all the artificers of both ships were employed making a spare rudder for the Terror, so as to provide against any future contingency. A cross-beam with two or three oak davits, added to those which the Terror could spare, afforded ample materials for this necessary work, and gave useful occupation to all hands.
The wind from the S.S.W. was all this time driving us with the pack back to the northward,