The Ashland union. [volume] (Ashland, Ashland County, Ohio) 1854-1868, 1857-02-04
From DIR. Kane's ''Acrtic Explorations"
PARTING HAWSERS AMONG THE
b,sa -d ICE BERGS. ya77o.

It blew a perfect hurricane. { We hac
seen it coming, and were ready with
three good hawsers out ahead, and all
things snug on board.
Still it came on heavier and heavier,
and the ice began to drive more wildly
than l thought had ever seen it. ]
had just turned in to warm and dry my.
self during the momentary lull, and was
stretching myself out in my bunk, when
heard the sharp twangipgs snap of q
cord. Our six-inch bawser had parted
and we were swinging by the two others;
the gale like a roaring lion to the south
ward. s5 sz.. < .-45
Halfa minute more, " twang, twangl"
came second report. I knew i5 was
the whale line by the shrillness of the
ring. Our noble ten-inch MANILA still
held on. was hurrying my last sock
into its sealskin boot, when McGary
came waddling down the companion lad
ders: Captain Kane, she won't hold
much longer: it's blowing the devil HIM
self, and Pm afraid to surge
The MANILA cable was proving its ex-
cellence when I reached the deck; and
the crew, as they gathered around me,
were loud in it's praises. We colud
hear its deep Eolian chant swelling
through all the rattle of the running
gear and moaning of the shrouds 1t
roas the death song! The strands gave
way with the noise of a shotted gun
and in the smoke that followed their re-
coil, we were dragged out by the wild
ice, at its mercy. s o1es7
We steadied and did some pretty war
ping, and got the brig a good bed in the
rushing drift; but it all came to nothing.
We then tried to beat back through the
narrow ice clogged water way, that was
driving, quarter of mile wide, be-
tween the shore and the pack. 1t cost
us two hours of hard labor, thought
skilfully bestowed but at the end of
that time, we were at least four miles
off, opposite the great valley in the CEN
tire. of Bedevilled reach. Ahead of US,
farther to the north, we could see the
strait growing still narrower, and the
heavy ice tables grinding up, and clog
gipg it between the shore cliffs on one
side and the ledge on the other. There
was but one thing left for us-to keep
in some sort the command of the helm
by going freely where I'VE must other
wise be driven. We allowed her to
scud under reefed forctopsail; all
hands watching the enemy, as we closed
in silence. At 7 in the morning, we
were close upon the piling masses. We
dropped our heaviest anchor with the
desperate hope of winding the brig, but
there was no withstauding the ice torrent
that followed us. We had only time to
fasten spar as buoy to the chain, and
let her slip. So went our best bower.
Down we went upon the gale again,
hopelessly scraping along lee of ice
seldom less than thirty feet thick; one
loe measured by line as We tried to
fasten to it, more than forty. I had
seen such ice only once before, and new
sr in such rapid motion. One upturned
mass rose above our gunwall, and smash
ing in our bulwarks, and depositing half
) ton of ice in lump upon our decks,
Our staunch little brig bore herself
through all this wild adventure as if she
had charmed life. sa9s5a e
But new enemy came in sight ahead. I
in our way. just beyond the
line of Hoe.ice, against which we were I