about midnight
And it was just as much as Ishmael could do to keep himself up and avoid succumbing to illness . Those two were the last of the passengers that attempted to keep up . And they were very glad when night came and gave them an excuse for retiring . The predicted snowstorm came on about midnight . When Ishmael dressed and struggled out of his stateroom in the morning , he found it just the nearest thing to an impossibility to go up on deck . The wind was still blowing a hurricane ; the sea leaping in the wildest waves ; the ship pitching , tossing , and jerking as before ; and in addition to all this , the snow was falling thick and fast , and freezing as it fell , and every part of the deck and rigging was covered with a slippery , shining coating of ice . Those who find it dangerous to walk on a motionless pavement in sleety weather may now imagine what is was to climb the ice-sheathed steps of this pitching ship .