The New York herald., 1873-09-22

both whaler and explorer 60 Keep sharp lookout
while, should the wind bring the ice dowl
upon them from the westward, the "fast" ic
afIords them security for they can always cut
dock for their vessels In the solid ice or discover
blight or indentatiOn In which to moor the ship.
A NARROW ESCAPE.
Anchored to another iceberg thank heaven, some
body with keen eye saw cracks In 1t, though how
the iceberg could be discovered In tho fog with
out humping against 1t was a wonder. And wher
that somebody hinted that the hoary looking
mountain might crumble and crush the party nc
time was lost in giving 1t wide berth, and so the
anchor was shifted to o small Ice cake hundred
yards OF. Suddenly there Is crash-a small
piece of the berg has broken off, and then follows
sound like thunder clap, and huge block comes
tumbling down, bounding in the water as II
reJoiced at Its liberty. The spectacle
was witnessed with grim qualification.
Had the launch been hardly there is no knowing
what the fate Of all hands would have been. AT
this stage the fuel was nearly half consumed. Up
TO the present nothing but the prospect OF being
firmly imbedded in the Ice had suggested any real
danger. Cape York, the point OF destination, was
only fcrty miles of. Might not some definite In
formation be obtained Of the missing vessel and
crew. Burning coal in dense fog, where speed
was fraught with danger, was worse than waste.
What was to be doneS
A PLUCKY DECISION.
Actuated by motives OF humanity and withal de-
sirous OF carrying out his wisely worded instruc-
tions to the letter, Lieutenant De Long determined
to make Cape York under sail alone. He had yet
to return to the ship and answer for all the lives
entrusted to his care. SO out went the nres and.
under jib and mainsa the gallant little boat
headed on her course the position being lat. 1852
n. Ion "a w nv nand reel
bearing taken in the neighborhood of the Peaked
Hill. The launch was now fairly in that region OF
terrors known as
MELVILLE BAY,
notorious In the annals OF whalers for its many
dreul catastrOphes The shores or this ill-starred
place appear as curved line upon the Greenland
coast but, as understood by the experienced mari
ner comprehend mucn more. AS a general thing
the whalers call by that name the expanse OF Baf
fms Bay which begins at the south with the middle
ice and terminates at the north with the 'nOrth
water" 1t is by the "north water" that vessels
have generally approached the highway OF Arctic
search which of course necessitates the crossing
Of the mysterious bay, where, as related,
in one year thousand human beings
were cast shelterless upon the ice. their
vessels ground to atoms before their eyes.
The statistics of the whalers are something
fearful and scarcely season goes by in which
the passage is attempted without disaster. When
the steam launch was well under way the ice
pack came In sight again, when the boat was
hauled up to the northward ard westward. A
'Head' was subsequently discovered, and the boat
stood boldly into it for about five miles, until the
Ice pilot pronounced 1t
FALSE LEAD,
the Ice closing in ahead. She was compelled to
beat out Of the lead ana, the wind freshening, at
eight P. M. she commenced to work to the west
ward, endeavoring as much as possible to keep
clear Of the Ice. At midnight she hauled alongside
an iceberg to Ill up with fresh water ice for drink
ing and cooking, the sea meanwhile being some
what moderate.
CAPE YORK IN SIGHT.
Up to the present the Little Juniata had
worked wonders, and despite many discourasing
elements the cheerful spirits of both officers and
men spoke volumes for their courage and conf
dence, At 1 80 A. NJ, August 18, highland was
sighted, bearing northwest by north and trending
to the northward in an apparently low neck. This
the ice pilot declared to be the long looked for
Cape York. Having worked pretty clear Of de-
tached pieces OF foe Ice, the boat stood in toward
the land, which was calculated to be about eight
miles distant At 8 A. M. o dense fog shut In and
Cape York was lost sight Of Meanwhile the
wind had freshened considerably from the
southeast and toward A. M. 1t In
creased to gale. The little craft was at once
brought by the wind and reefed down as snug as
possible. Had she been in open water Cape York
could have been reached Without danger or difl-
Guilty, but as lar as the eye could stretch to the
northward the ice was In solid pack from four to
six feet thick and she was struggling along the
edge Of 1t searching for lead, but none could be
discovered. To the northeast the ice was also In o
frm pack with icebergs and hummocks so closely
wedged together as to prevent the possibility Of
an entrance. At noon the position OF the vessel
was latitude Is deg. As min. north, longitude SO
deg. 50 min. west.
IN THE JAWS OF DEATH.
The sea literally boiled with fury and the frail
little launch-irail for such MISUNDERSTANDING on
the edge of the ice pack, the situation became
of imminent danger The wind mad started the
great Melville Bay pack out from the land, making
q regular indentatiOn, into which the launch was
blown by the violence Of the storm. The carrying
OF sail saved the boat. Steam would have been
useless, since she could not for moment have
steamed against the gale Lest she might DRIFT to
the pack and be ground to pieces lying to was not
to be thought Of Altogether the prospect was ter
rible one. The sea rose to an enormous height,
sending the spray over cebergs 100 1eet in height.
The spectacle presented on approaching the pack
ice rightful to look at First the bordering ice
would be broken orin large pieces and then hurled
with terrific force upon the more solid mass, TO be
displaced in turn by other blocks torn adrilt by
the gale and rolled over like barrels
upon the face OF the pack. At one period In the
fearful interval the loss of the Little Juniata and
of course, all hands, seemed certainty. She was
half buried In the seas; besides this 1t rained in
torrents. Had she split or the mast gone she must
have been swept to destruction. 1t was difficult,
moreover, to see the ice pack until the launch was
fairly alongside OF it, in which case we imme-
diatey wore her around to save her from being
crushed. Providentialy everything held fast and,
after being thirty hours In the gae the succeeding
change In the weather found all hands drenched
and exhausted. The boat was so full OF water that
1t was feared she had sprung aleak but 1t was
only the seas she had shipped, and, under oil the
circumstances, she behaved nobly and far beyond
the expectations which such o small craft might
create.
AFTER THE TEMPEST.