The spirit of democracy. [volume] (Woodsfield, Ohio) 1844-1994, 1851-01-22
THE FROZEN SHIP.
One serene evening In the middle o. Az

THE FhOZEN
One serene evening In the middle Of Az.
gust, it's, Capt Warrens, the master Of
the Greenland. whaleship. found himself
becalmed among an immense number Of
icebergs in about II degrees Of north iati:
tude. On one side, and within mile of
his We. .. i, these were closely wedged ID:
pether, and a succession Of snow-colored
peaks appeared behind each other Is far ~
the eye could reach, showing thatthe ocesn
was completely blocked up in that quarter,
and that it had probably been 50 for Z
long period OF time. Capt. Warrens did
not feel altogether satisfied with his sitaa-
ton; but there being no wind he could not
move one way or the other. and ne there
fore kept strict watch, knowing that bs
would be safe as long as the icebergs cohf
tinued in their respective places.
About midnight the wind rose 10 gale,
accompanied by thick showers Of sn0ws
while a succession OF tremendous thun-
dering, grinding, and crashing h5issS.
gave fearful evidence that the ice was In
motion. The vessel received violent shocks
every moment; for the haziness of the a.
mosphere prevented those on board from
discovering in what direction the open
water lay, or if there actually was any At
all on either side Of them. The night was
spent in tacking as often as any cause Of
danger happened to present itself. and IN
the morning the storm abated, and Capt.
Warrens found to his great Joy, thai lis
ship had not sustained any serious injdfyri
He remarked with surprise that the accu-
mulated icebergs. which had on the proceed.
ing evening formed an impenetrable bar
rier, had been separated and disarransed
by the wind, and in one place, canal Of
open sea wound its course among them a.
far as the eye could discern.
II was two miles beyond the entrance Of
this canal that ship made its appearance
about noon. The sun shone brightly at
the time, and gentle breeze blew from
the north. At first some intervening ics-
bergs prevented Capt. Warrens from dis
tinctly seeing anything but her masts; but
he was struck with the strange manner in
which her sails we're disposed, and with
the dismantled aspect OF her yards and
rigging. She continued to 60 before the
wind for a few furlongs, and then, ground
ing upon the low icsbergs, remained mo.
tionless. s I
Capt. Warrens' curiosity Was sd mueli
excited, that he Immediately leaped into
his boat with several seamen, and rowsd
towards her. On approaching. he OBJ
served that her hull was miserably wealth
er.beaten, and not soul appeared on the
deck, which was covered with snow to
considerable depth. He hailed her crew
several times, but no answer was returned.
Previous to stepping on board, an open
port hole near the main chains caught his
eye, and on looking into it, he perceived
a man reeling back on chair, with writ
ing materials on table before him, but the
feebleness of the light made everything
indistinct. The party went upon deck,
and having removed the hatchway, which
they found closed, they descended to the
cabin. They first came to the apartment
which Captain Warrens viewed through
the port-hole. A iremor seized him as hs
entered It. Its inmate retained his former
position, and seemed to be insensible 10
strangers. He was found to be corpse,
and green damp mould had covered bic
cheeks and forehead and veiled his open
eye.ball. He had pen in his hand, md
log-book lay before him, the last SEN
tence in whose unfinished page ran thus:
'sNov A, 1899. We have now been en-
closed in the ice seventeen days. The
fire went out yesterday, and our master
has been trying ever since to kindle il
again without success. His wife died fliis
morning. There is no relief"
Captain Warrens and his seamen hur.
ried from the spot without uttering word.
On entering the principal cabin, the first
object that attracted their attention was lsS
dead body Of female reclining on bed
in attitude Of deep interest and attention.
Her countenance retained the freshness Of
life, and contraction of the limbs showed
that her form was inanimate. Seated on
the floor was the corpse Of an apparently
young man, holding steel in ono hand,
and flint in the other, as If in the act OF
striking fire upon some tinder which lay
beside him. In the fore part Of the vessel
several sailors were found lying dead In
their berths, and the body Of boy Was
crouched at the bottom Of the gangway
stairs. Neither provisions nor fuel could
be discovered any where, but Capt. War
rens was prevented by the superstifious
prejudices Of his seamen, from exsmiEina
the vessel as nfinutely as he wished to have
done. He therefore carried away the ioe
book, already mentioned, and returned %
his own ship, and Immediately stesSsd 70
the southward deeply impressed with he
awful example which he had just withsss
sed of the danger Of navigating the Polar
seas in his nothern latitudes.
On returning to England he made VI.
rious inquiries respecting vessels that ksd
disappeared in an unknown way, and W