The Ottawa free trader. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1843-1916, 1857-02-14
Anchored to the Berg.

DIR. kane's journal Of Arctic voyaging,
while II abounds in strange and perilous in
cident and in valuable observation and dis
covery in the regions of night and cold, is
also fruitful in the suggestion of moral truth
and principle, and the illustration of our
life-voyage CT faith Without once philoso-
phizing moraiizing, the author uncon-
sciously sets before US in his own heroic
tale, the philosophy of courage, enterprise,
and endurance, and the morality of uniiinch-
ing devotion to noble cause While such
are the more obvious lessons Of his unaffect-
ed story, the rejecting reader will find on
almost every page some new aspect of moral
power, some suggestion of faith, some ex-
ample OF duty. One Of these now rises be-
fore US.
The last few days of the northwarl voy-
age of the " Advance" before She made her
harbor for the winter, were days of extreme
peril from d, ifling ice. The pack" which
consists of floating ice driven together in
large masses, was fast becoming consolidated
by the newly formed ice Of the cold August
nights. The " foes" detached portions Of
these great ice-ti.lds, were running furiously
with the tides. The shore-ice was too broken
and rotten 10 allow the men to drag, the brig
along its margin by tracking and the only
recourse was to take advantag. of the
"leads" or navigable openings in the ice,
when wind and ice favored, and by boring
through the foe from one lead to the other.
Sometimes, however, Just as the staunch
little vessel had entered a lead, it would sud
denly become entangled in the drifting foe,
or huge pack would bear her down upon it
with ominous grinding. Then all the vig.
lance, experience, courage, and decision OF
the Commander were put to the test.
In his former voyage, DIR. Kane had OBJ
served that since the greater bulk of an ice-
berg is below the water line, 1.-the depth to
which these bergs sink when floating sub
jects them to the action of the deeper sea
currents, while their broad surface above
the water is of course acted upon by the
wind. 1t happens, therefore, that they are
found not unfrequently moving in different
directions from the foes around them, and
preventing them for time from freezing into
a united mass"
In critical moment this experience OF
her Commander saved the vessel and her
gallant crew. The foes were drifting might
lily to the south, dragging the entangled YES
sci with them. Huge masses of ice threat
ened to inyulf her. Suddenly berg came
driving up from the South, and as it moved
majestically through the drift, the brig was
made fast to its huge bulk by well-fitted an
chors. On moved this strange ship Of the
arctic, p'owing up the furrows Of that icy
sea, till it came to anchor in an open pool
beside lofty cape, having borne the brig
against the running ice, full ten miles toward
the Pole. Then it became a shelter from
the storm that it had faced; and when at
length the fierce gale swept against the yes
sci foe twenty feet in thickness, the smooth
slope of The iceberg served as an inclined
plane up which the brig was driven, "as II
some great steam screw-power had forced
her into dry dock" When the pulses Of
the ice and storm had subsided, the vessel
lay in the gigantic embrace of the berg that
had buckled her to its side, and had borne
her on her poleward course against wind.
ice, and wave
Even so it is in the voyage of life Pole
ward, Heaven-warG. Uft-times amid the
darkness and the storm, our frall bark en-
counters the drifting foes of worldly schemes
that would drag it hopelessly from its haven.
Oft-times it is well-nigh borne down by the
accumulated pack Of worldly tempters and
worldly foes, that rush tumultuously upon
it. But graphing to some huge berg of
Principle that feels the deeper current Of
the sea, and catches the winds of ther upper
ether, 1t is borne along secure and triumph
ant toward the Pole of its Faith. And when
the gale is fierce and its foes crowd hard
upon ii, our bark but makes its pilot t-princi-
pie itself the lrarbor Of its refuge, tho rock
of its defense. Principle moves ever Tor.
ward with unchanging majesty, though all
around, with noisy rage, the world Is nur-
Iying and drifting away.--N T. Independent.
The following is said by the Cambridge
Chronicle to be true copy Of bill rendered
to gentleman in Boston.-It is calculated
to establish new style of compound double
entry: ,--.,.5, o1r1 1s'
"Mr. Patrick Dsaly has worked for Mr..
Samule Byde four Days sitting some trees