The Cambria freeman. [volume] (Ebensburg, Pa.) 1867-1938, 1873-05-02
EBENSBURG, PA, FRIDAY, MAY 2, 1873

and as soon as Scotty claps his eyes
on that, he says:
My lads, there's plenty of good
| drinkin' water on that berg and like
wise birds. | don't like the look of
the weather to the southwark, and |
think we'll be safer on that there is
land than in the boat, if it comes on
to blow
'Well, Ned and me hadn't neither
of us been much among ice, and so we
said we'd go anywheres that Scottv
thought best, and 50 l says to him,
/ 'ScOtty, you shall have charge of this
expedition, and Ned and me will do
whatever you think best
80 Ned and me pulled the boat and
Scotty steered. l suppose we was
well nigh an hour afore we reached the
/ berg, cause we had to pull round to
/ leeward of it, and then pull along till
we found good place to land We
come to place at last where the sea
! had worn away place about twenty
/ foot across and made i little bay like
and we pulled the boat in here and
/ landed. 1t was a pretty good tug to
/ IISiu1 GlIC bOlG u buG SliC hCItll Il
very large boat, and we managed at
last to get her up on a little ledge
where we thought she would be safe
Then we started for water, and sure
enough, as Scotty had said, we come
to a little pond of as good water as
ever was drank
''Scotty had gone off himself to see
what he could find, and by and by he
came back and said he'd found place
! over on the south side of the island.
| where the sun or the waves or some
thing or other had made a kind of a
cave that would be good place for us
| to sleep. So we takes everything out
| of the boat that we could unship, the
! rudder, thwarts, stern-sheets, bottom
| board, oars, etc, and carries them
over to where Scotty had found this
cave. Sure enough when we got there
we found the most complete place you
can imagine; if we had made it our
| selves, we couldn't have made it any
better; it wasn't very large, that's a
fact, but it was big enough for us three,
and it was a good protection from the
rain, which was q comm down pretty
| IIN u IIItA 1ICIlI JIlC VIII, WHICH hdNl
been a-breezin' on steady all day, and
was now blowin' half gale. We laid
all the boards we had brought over
onto the oars and made kind of a
| platform, and laid dozen on the boards,
and lCas more comfortable than lcc'd
! been any time since We left the old
ship. ScOtty said as how the berg was
| aground he thought, else there'd a
! been more motion to it, for the sea had
got up by this time, and was break
in with great force on the weather
side Of the berg, sending the spray
sometimes nearly up to where we was,
and We was pretty high up too. Scotty
said as how he was sure we'd get out
of this scrape, cause, says he, it stands
to reason if this berg hadn't a been
here we'd a-had to stay in the boat,
and in the gale that's a comm on, we'd
a most likely got swamped; but here
| is this berg all ready for us to land on,
and now we are landed, here is this
little house for us to live in, and as
soon as ever it is dark we'll catch some
birds for our supper; we've got no end
of water, and tObacker enough for
some days, and if we hadn't a-been a
goin' to be took off by and by, all
these here things wouldn't a been per-
| vided for us
"Well, Ned and me, was glad to hear
him talk that way, cause we knew he'd
| been up the Arctic a-whalin', and
know'd more'n we did ; but we wished
it would come dark, cause We was
blessed hungry. I'd put whole plug
of terbacker in my pocket that after
noon when | went overheard, and
though twas pretty salt it was a great
comfort to me just then. | didn't like
to ask either Of the other chaps for
any, cause, you see, L didn't know
how long this voyage was a-goin' to
last, and | know'd they'd want all their
supplies. At last it come dark, ana
! then we welt for the birds. We had
, to climb away up to the top of the
berg, and it was hard work, cause the
rain made it very slippery. Only me
and Scotty went up, cause Scotty said
| Ned must stay to answer our hail so
we could find the way back, cause,
you know, there want no street-lights
there, and one part looked pretty much
| 1lhe dhoIHeI III GIlS udIh we u SeSL
where the birds had lighted, and We
scrambled up to them afore it got pitch
dark, and had no difficulty i'll catching
'em. We each got couple, and then
we started down again, shOutin' out to
Ned once in a while SO that we might
not lose our way.
Il don't think, sir, you'd make
very hearty meal off of them raw sea-
gulls, if you had 'em here tonight, but
if you'd been four-and-twenty hours
without food, and knocked about as
we'd been, you'd be glad of nything.
They was pretty strong and fishy,
there's no denyin' it, but We felt aheap
sight better arter we'd done supper
! than we did before.
| ..If | only had q null at q nine