Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1871-11-17

our fishermen are noted. When those ships
were reached a strong northwest galessprane
up, which drove the ships and ice on shore.
One of the fleet which left for Honolulu, the
barque Chance of Sidney, had not arrived
when the Moses Taylor left. She had on
board the crew of the Oliver Croker and
men from other vessels. She was in sight for
five days, but before reaching Behring Straits
she disappeared. The men are at loss to ac-
count for her absence. She was slow SAIL
er, but they are of opinion that she would
have arrived in Honolulu before they left, II
all went well with her.
Nearly abreast of the fleet. and not lar
distant from Point Belcher, are several huts
and underground recesses occupied by ma
tiyes. Esouimaux, and there are several lit
tie villages along the line occupied by the
fleet. In the interior the natives are quite nu-
merous. The masters of the vessels report
that theyyyill experience great distress this
winter, as they spent most of their time visit
ing the fleet to obtain trinkets and other ar
tces. They had but little slowed away for
the winter supply. They gave the men very
useful assistance in removing their provisions
and supplies from the wrecked fleet. Captain
Kelly says the chiefs wife made for him a
sleeping-bag of fox skins, also moccasins and
deerskin mats to sleep on. They gave them
all the assistance in their power, but they had
not quite disappeared from the scene of the
wreck until the obliging natives had boarded
the ships and commenced plundering them.
They were seen passing bone over the sides
of the vessels into their canoes and carrying
off everything portable. When the feet first
arrived in the strait the natives told the mas
tiers that they would fare badly; that the
wind, which was sure to Gomez woald drive
the ice against the vessels and wreck them.
No notice was taken fthissfriendly warning,
of course, but the prediction of the natives
was carried out to the letter.
In the case of the Roman the sight must
have been fearfully interesting The foe
caught the ship on each side, and lifted her
bodily, keel out. Relaxing its grip for an
instant, the ship settled between the icy jaws
of the flow, when coming together again, she
was crushed like an eggshell into atoms, and
as the spasmodic relaxation again occurred,
she disappeared, leaving not vestige of the
lately noble vessel in sight, forty-tive min
utes from the time the ice first closed upon
her.
1t is an open question as to whether any OF
these ships will be found on the return of
Spring in a condition to be saved. 1t was
considered probable that in the first northerly
gale they would all be destroyed by the NOV
ing heavy ice. Besides, the natives, who are
numerous in the neighborhood, would, without
delay. strip them of everything movable.
About the last of May, 1871, the whale
ships began to arrive at the ice south of
Cape Thaddeus, and between the 18th and
30th of June passed through Behring Straits.
Not seeing any whales, and finding large
quantities of ice, the whole fleet engaged in
catching walrus. There was a good deal of
fog and also large bodies of ice, the east shore
III, LoLt 81. Lat IS
July. The latter part of July they had some
strong winds from southeast and northeast.
This broke up the warus catching and the
fleet now pushed northeast for Icy Cape, and
then eastward, the main body of ice being in
about the latitude of 69 degrees 10 or Is min
utes. They followed the ice into the east
shore. They found clear strip of water
running to northeast along the land. In this
clear water they worked up to within few
miles of Icy Cape, and some of them anchor
ed, not being able to proceed any farther on
account of the ice lying on Blossom Shoals.
At the same time the wind was blowing
strong from the northeast for several days.
On the 9th of August the wind moderated
and the ice started off the shoals, Several
ships got underway and passed the shoals,
and in a few days most fthe fleet were north
of Blossom Shoals. They worked to the
northeast as far as Wainwright Inlet. Here
they found whales, but the ice being heavy
and Closely packed, great many were lost.
Still the prospect looked very favorable, and
hopes were entertained of making large
seasons catch. All the ships either anchored
or made fast to the heavy ground ice. Whaling
was now carried on briskly for several days,
the boats cruising among open ice, but on the
18th of August large number of boats were
caught in the ice by the wind shifting and
setting the ice on shore. The ships were
obliged to get under way to keep. from being
jammed in the ice, and work in shore under
the lee of the ground ice. With consider
able difficulty they succeeded in saving their
boats by hauling them long distance over
the ice, some of them being badly stove by
so doing, but they were all saved finally.
The ice kept setting on shore steadily, and
the ships kept fleeing into shoal water to
avoid being stove. On the 18th the ice
stopped, having grounded, leaving an open
strip of water. Boats were kept off whaling
every day. All this time the ships were ly-
ing safely anchored and tied up to the ice.
In the mean time, reports were brought of
plenty of whales being seen of Sea Horse
Islands, and several ships sent boats up there
with orders to catch and cut the whales on
the ice and tow the blubber to the ships.
great deal of trouble and hardship in Sleep
ing out on the cold shore and among the ice.
On the 25th of August it blew strong north
east gale and the ice opened and went off
shore. On the 9th had good weather. On
the Goth, light southwest winds, which fresh
ened toward the latter end of the day, setting
the ice in shore so fast that some of the ships,
which had got under way in the meantime,
were caught in the pack. The rest retreated
in shore ahead of the ice. Here they anchor
ed in from three to four fathoms of water, the
ice coming in and the small ice packing
around the ships. BY the strong current
running to the northeast, the large, heavy
foe ice grounded in the shoal water. Inside
OF this the ships lay, or at least the most OF
them, and those who did not get in kept
working in, as they had chance to keep
from being stove. At this time it began to
snow, and they had several storms and winds
from south to northwest. q
On the LIST of September the barque Ro-
man was crushed by the ice, she having got
caught while cutting whale. She drifted
helplessly with the ice as far as the Sea Horse
Islands, and was there caught between two
heavy foes of ice. One Of the foes was