The Shasta courier., 1869-06-12
AN ICEBERG ADVENTURE

S>, anu lucIe was no moon,
so that darkness was on the face of the
deep-not total darkness, it must be un-
derstood, for that is seldom known at sea.
I was in the middle watch-from midnight
to four o'clock-and had been on deck
about half an hour, when the lookout for
ward sang out, 4" Ship ahead starboard
hard a-starboard I'
These words made the second mate, who
had the watch, jump into the weather
rigging GA ship.w he exclaimed. Gan
iceberg it is, irather; and all hands wear
ship" he shouted, in a tone which showed
there was not moment to lose. The
watch sprung to the braces and bow-liues,
while the rest of the crew tumbled up from
below, and the captain and other officers
rushed ou. of their cabins.
The helm was kept up, and the yards
swung round, and the ships head turned
toward the direction whence we had come.
The captain glanced his eye round, and
then ordered the courses to be brailed up,
and the main-top sail to be backed, so as
to lay the ship to.
l soon discovered the cause Of these
maneuvers; for before the ship wore
round, perceived close to us towering
mass, with refulgent appearance, which
the look out man had taken for the white
sails of ship, but which proved in reality
to be vast iceberg; and attached to it,
and extending a considerable distance to
leeward, was ii field, or very extensive foe,
of ice, against which the ship would have
run, had it not been discovered in time,
and would, in all probability, instantly have
gone down, with every one on board.
In consequence Of the extreme darkness,
it was dangerous to sail either way; for it
was impossible to say what other foes or
smaller cakes of ice, might be in the
neighborhood-and we might probably be
on them before they could be seen We,
therefore, remained hove-to. As it was, l
could not see the foe till it was pointed out
to me by one of the crew.
When daylight broke the next morning,
the dangerous position in which the ship
was placed was seen. On every side OF US
appeared large foes of ice, with several
icebergs floating, like mountains on a plain,
among them while the only opening
through which we could escape was a
narrow passage to the north least, through
which we must have come. What made
our position the more perilous was, that
the vast masses of ice were approaching
nearer and nearer to each other; SO that
we had not moment to lose if we would
effect our escape. As the light increased,
we saw, at the distance of three miles to the
westward, another ship, IN a far worse pre-
dlcament then we We're, inasnuch as she
was completely surrounded by ice, though
she still fioated in sort of BASIN
The winds held to the northward, so
that we could stand clear out Of the passage.
should itremain open long enough She,
by this time, had discovered her own peril
Gus condition, as we perceived that she
had hoisted signal of distress, and we
heard the guns she was firing to call our
attention to her; but regard to our own
safety compelled US to disregard them until
we had ourselves got clear of the ice. 1t
was very dreadful to watch the stranger,
and to feel that we could render no assist
ance.
All hands were at the braces, ready to
trim the sails, should the wind head us !;
for, in that case, we should have to beat
out of the channel, which was every instant
growing narrower and narrower
The captain stood at the weather-gang-
way, coming the ship. When he saw the
ice closing in on us, he ordered every stitch
of canvas the ship would carry to be set
on her, in hopes of carrying her out before
this should occur. 1t was chance whether
OR not we should be nipped. However,
was not SO much occupied with our own
danger as not to keep an eye on the stranger,
and to feel deep interest in her fate. 1 was
in the mizzen-top, and, as l possessed
spy glass, | could see clearly all that oc-
CURED. The water on which she foated
was nearly smooth, thong covered with
foam, caused by the masses of ice as they
approached each other. looked she had
but few fathoms of water on either side
OF her. As yet she foated unharmed.
The peril was great; but the direction
of the ice might change, and she might
yet be free. Still, on it came with terrific
force, and l fancied that could hear the
edges grinding and crushingstogether.-
The ice closed on the ill-fated ship. She
was probably as totally unprepared to resist
its pressure as we were At first thought
that it lifted her bodily up; but it was not
so, l suspect; she was too deep in the water
for that.
Her sides were crushed in, her stout
timbers were rent into thousand fragments,
her tall masts tottered and fell, though still
attached to the hull.
For an instant l concluded that the ice
must have separated, or, perhaps, the edges
broken with the force of the concussion /;
for, as gazed, the wrecked mass OF hull
and spars and canvas seemed drawn sud
denly downward with irresistible force, and
few fragments, which had been hurled
by the force of the conclusion to distance,
were all that remained of the hapless vessel.
Not soul of her crew would have had
time to escape to the ice. | looked anx-
iously; not a speck could be seen stirring
near the spot
Such, thought !, might be the fate OF
tna AN L. hoord this chin