For centuries mariners tried to find a deepwater route called the Northwest Passage. A northern lane between the Atlantic and Pacific would be shorter than the dangerous voyage rounding Cape Horn at the tip of South America. But ships anished and men died. With its cold, blizzards. and ice. the Arctic defeated the searchers. On the morning of August II. 1775, the whaleship Herald lay becalmed west of Greenland, at latitude 76° north. near a vast sea of ice. By early afternoon she was run- ning southeast in a gale. icebergs driving after her. Her night lasted until dawn, when the weather cleared..Looking to the west. Captain Warren saw that the gale had opened channels in the ice. He changed to a southwest course and headed for the nearest channel. about three miles distant. Suddenly the lookout shouted "Ahoy! A ship! West ahead!" Captain Warren stared in astonishment. The masts of a vessel were showing above the top of an iceberg. As the captain watched, the ship came into view from behind the berg. She passed the last of the .ice along the channel and drifted into the open water. Her ice-covered spars. sails. and rigging glistened in the sunlight. She looked like a ghost as she approached the whaler.