Mower County transcript. [volume] (Lansing, Minn.) 1868-1915, 1872-02-15
Christmas In the Arctic Seas.

One Of the strangest Christmases on
record was that spent in the Arctic Seas,
Mr.. Haynes, of the franklin Expedi-
ton, in Cimmerian region of six
months night, his ship bound in a sea
Of crystalline ice, speaks thus of the
Christmas they passed: ~ have never
seen the ship so bright and cheerful.
One might think Santa Claus had
charged himself with special mission
to q before lie began to fill the hung
out s{ect;nes ii, the dear old lands
whee he is Patroeot christmas Eve,
wlAs the silver chord, binding the Of
fec 5ns. is freshened once year with
the christmas cfht;ng. The cabin table
g1oans under o nsss of holiday fare, me.
meotoes of tho<e who are talking about
us( tonight around the family fireside
N ;ormack iclaid up with frost-bitten
+fxt. Thj, ships bell was hoisted to
the mast Dead, anu while the bells of
other Muus were pealing through the
sunlight, ours sent it's clear notes
through the darkness and the solitude.
We met in the cabin, and in our modest
way gave thanks for the blessings that
heaven had vouchsafed us. We then
set about our duties-duties for the
preparation and advancement of Christ
mas dinner. The officers dressed
the cabin with flags; sailors brought
out strips of white, red and blue
flannel. The schooner was illuminated
throughout" It must have shone
abroad Us q star in that mysterious
world of solitude and darkness. ''Two
immense chandeliers were constructed
for the dinner tables-gold and silver
paper, strings of spangles, strips of
braid for winter theatricals, covered all
the wood work, and lent quite an air of
splendor. Two dozen spermaceti can
dies were lighted. Before dinner I
visited the mems quarters, and was
much gratified with the taste displayed.
Every nook and corner of the hold was
neat and tidy. Everybody was busy
and delighted. The cook, however,
might be regarded as an exception. to
the latter rule, for all depended on his
skill and was closely watched. L halted
at his red-hot galley-stove, and
wished him merry Christmas.
Tank you, sar,' said he, but
I gets no time to tink about merry
Christmas. De commander see desc
big reindeers2' and he went on vigor-
orsly basting two fine launches of
venison that had been saved for the
occasion, and minding kettle of boil
ing soup. After dinner there was q
ball. No end of oil was blazed away.
Everybody was on deck. Jacob, fat
Jacob, was grinning in a corner.
Charles told me he began grinning
early in the morning, and had kept it
up all day. Out on the ice I found a
boisterous group around two tin ket-
ties. They were stirring something
with wooden sticks, and I found that ut
thirty-four degrees below zero
they were making iced punch.
They needed no chemical COM
pounds for their freezing mixture. At
the ball I found Knorr, wrapped in
furs, seated on key, fiddling away en-.
ergetically, while B. and E. were going
through hornpipe. Then there was
waltz, and finally Charles set the ship
shaking with laughter by attempting q
pas dc dcur with Madam Hans. The
old cook had come up the ladder from
below, and, forgetting his trouble, ap-
plauded vociferously. But he soon
made of; dozen voices called after
him: Halo, cook, have q dance!'
vat for me dance and make nonsense,
ven dere be no yomans9' Aud then
the bell rung again, and the swivel gun
sent out blaze of fire into the weird
darkness, whose sound went echoing
and re-echoing among the ice-gorges
like restless spirits, and some rockets
went fizzing up into the sky and black
night. -