eight o'clock in the morning
Repeated soundings had revealed that under the ice there was a swift current running toward Franklin 's Strait , that is to say toward the south ; he told himself that some effort might suffice to break up the ice , and he resolved to attempt it . For the length of seven marine miles he had hollowed in the ice a series of chambers , and in each of them was placed a kilogramme of dynamite . These were connected by a copper wire inclosed in gutta percha . On the 30th of June , at eight o'clock in the morning , Erik from the deck of the `` Alaska '' pressed the button of the electrical machine , and a formidable explosion took place . The field of ice shook and trembled , and clouds of frightened sea-birds hovered around uttering discordant cries . When silence was restored , a long black train cut into innumerable fissures met their anxious gaze . The explosion of the terrible agent had broken up the ice field .