The Middlebury register. [volume] (Middlebury, Vt.) 1850-1882, 1867-02-12
AN ARCTIC ApvEsruRE-Dr. Have,

AN ARCTIC ADVENTURE DR.. Hayes,
in hi, new work, 1.-The Open Polar
Sea-" thus relates dangerous encounter
with an iceberg;- -
Giving too little heed to the currents,
we were eagerly watching the indications
Of wind which appeared at the south and
hoping for breeze, when it was discovered
that the tide had changed and was
stealthiy setting in upon nest Of beres
which lay to leeward. One of them was
OF that description known among the crew
by the significant title of touch me not
and presented that jagged, honey ycombed
appearance indicative Of great age. They
are unpleasant neighbors. The least di4
turbancc of their equilibrium may Gauss
the whole mass TO crumblc t. pieces, 40 |
woe be unto the unucky vessel that il
caught in the dissolution.
/" In such a trap it seemed, however,
thnt we stood fair chance of being en-
shared. The current was carrying us
along at an uncomtortably rapid rate. A
boat was lowered as quickly as possible,
to run out line to Il berg which lay
grounded about hundred yards from u..
While this was bling done, we grazed the
side Of berg which rose hundred feet
above our topmasis, then slipped pact
another OF smaller dimensions by push.
ing against them with our ice poles VIZ
changed somewhat the course of tho
9 :hooner; but when we thought that We
were steering clear Of the mass which We
t,l oil ~, a.
direction of our drift, and carried Us almos.
broadside upon it.
1.-The schooner struck on the starboard
quarter, and the shock, slight though it
wa', disengaged some fragments Of ice
that were large enough to have crushed
the vessel had they struck her, and also
many little Jumps which ratified about u*
but fortunately no one was hit. The quar-
ter-deck was quickly cleared, and all
hanls, crowding forward, ,anxiously watcli-
ed the boat. The berg now began to
rcvolve, and was settling slowly over US
the little Jumps fell thicker and faster upon
the after-deck, and the f)recastle was the
only place where there was the least
chance Of safety.
Al length the berg itself saved US from
destruction. An immense mass broke off
from that part which was beneath tho
surface Of the sea, and this, dozen times
larger than the schooner, came rushing
up within II few yards of us, sending
vast volume Of foam and water flying
from its sides. This rupture arrested tho
revolution, and the bers began 10 settle III
the opposite direction. And now cam,
another danger. A long tongnc was pro.
trudins Immediately underneath the
schooner; already the keel was slipping
and grinding upon it, and it seemed pro-
bable that we should be knocked up into
the air like foot ball, or at least cap
sized. The side Of our enemy soon leaned
from US, and we were in no danger from
the worse than hail storm showers which
had driven us forward 80 VIC sprang 10
the ce-poles and cxcried our strength in
endeavorng to push the vessel off. 1heru
were no idle hands. Danger respects not
the dignity of the quarterback.
AFTER we had fatlgued ourselves at
this hard labor without any useful result.
report first startled us; another and
another followed in quick succession, until
the noise grew deatcning and the wholo
air seemed a reservoir Of frightful sound.
The opposite side of the berg had split oil,
| piece after piece, tumbling a vast volume
Of ice into the sea, and sending the berg
revolving back upon us. This time thu
movement was quicker !. fragments began
again to fall, and, already sufficiently
startled by the alarming dissolution which
had taken place, we were in momcntary
expectation Of seeing the whole side near
est to us break loose and crash bodily upon
/ the schooner, in which event she would
inevitably be carried down beneath it. as
hopelcssly doomed as u shepherds hut
beneath an Alpine avalanche.
"By this time Dodge, who had charge
of the boat, had succee ed in planting an
ice anchor and attaching his rope. and
greeted us with tue welcome signal, Haul
in We pulled for our lives, long and
steadily. Seconds seemed minGtes and
minutes hours. At length NO began e.
move of slowly. Slowly and tfeaddy sank
tho berg behind us. carrying away the
main boom and grazing hard against tho
quarter. But we were safe. Twenty
yards away and tho disruption occurred
which We had all 30 much dreaded. The
side nearest to us now split off, and came
plupging wildly down into the sea, send
ing over us shower of spray, raising
swell which set us rocking 10 and fro as if
in gale OF wind, and left us grinding in
the debris of the crumbling ruin.
AT last we succeeded in extricaiing
ourselves, and were tar enough away to
look back calmly upon the object of our
terror 1t was still rocking and rolling
like thing OF life. At each revolution
fresh masses were disengaged and, as its
sides came up in long sweeps, great cas-
cades tumLled and lesped from them hi,f-
ing into the foaming tea. After sever
hours it settled down into quielude, u
mere fragment of It's former greatness,
while the pieces that were broken from it
iloated quietly with the tide"
When may loaf of bread be said TO be
inhabited d! When it has little Indian