The home journal. (Winchester, Tenn.) 1858-188?, 1873-06-12
POLAR BEARS ON THE WARPATH.

preached their encampment and COM
menced eating their seal skins lying
about. The natives were directed to
initiate the seals, lying prostrate on the
ice, in order to entice the monster with
in convenient shooting distance; but
they were all afraid, whites and all, and
fled. Tyson fired one shot, which
wounded the bear, who thereupon faced
and attacked him. Tyson had to re-
treat to get more ammunition, and, re-
turning, dispatched him. This was n
welcome addition to their scanty store
house, so they took the precaution to
save up bears flesh, seals skin, entrails,
etc, and in this way collected enough
food to last them to the middle of May,
should they not by that time reach some
land or vessel.
But n greater misfortune, perhaps,
tLan any overlook the heroic little band
of settlers on the ocean. About the
end of March a heavy gale drove them
out to sea,
BROKE UP THE FLoE
On which they had lived so many
months, and on which stood their homes
of snow and newly stored stock Of food.
The foe, which had been nearly five
miles in circumference, was by this un-
toward calamity reduced to a pan of ice
no more twenty yards in diameter. The
consequence was that they concluded,
by the advice of Captain Tyson, and
after much alteration and difference of
opinion, to abandon their late home
and endeavor to regain the main pack.
This was done on the 1st of April, and,
with the foe and huts, they also aban-
donod all their stock Of meat, large
quantity of ammunition, clothing,
skins and other articles. A small por-
ton of the meat was put into the boat,
in which they now again took to the
water; but, owing to tho boat being too
heavily laden, it became necessary to
throw that overheard. On the Sd and
4th of April the outer edge of
THE MAIN BODY OF ICE WAS RECLAIMED,
And some progress made inwards. The
elements still adverse, tremendous
gale and heavy sea breaking the ice
into yet smaller pieces, continuously
hindercd and threatened them with de-
so that they were obliged to
confine themselves to small pars,
changing their positions from time to
time as danger necessitated. 1t was
impossible to launch the boat, no seals
could be taken, and actual starvation
was inevitable. 1t was at this crisis
that, on the Dist of April, fortune sent
the Polar bear, which they happily OBJ
tanned possession Of as above described.
The boat was afterward got into the
water, and they worked their way west
and southwest every day in the hope of
reaching some part of the Labrador
coast. The only then remaining shelter
was a canvass tent, erected after tho
Of the winter camp. On
the 22d of April the boat happened to
become separated from this tent some
soven or eight feet. Tho weather,
which had been fine for some days pre-
viously, with hardly any wind, sudden
ly shifted, and
A TERRIFIC STORM.
Accompanied with sleet and snow,
sprang up. More suddenly still, and
without any warning scenes whatever,
the ice between the boat and tent burst
asunder with loud and deafening ex
plosion. A cry was at once raised to
" stand by the boat" Fred Myer, in
the darkness for it was night managel
to reach it, though in attempting to do
so he narrowly escaped being swept
into the chasm caused by the separation
of the ice foe, and in which the mad
dened sea was seething and the shatter-
ed and scattered fragments of the ice
were tossing wildly against each other.
Having reached the boat in safety his
first act was to look round for his COM
panions. None were to be seen and no
thing heard, save the roaring of the
tempest and the grinding and crunching
of the clumpers as they were driven
with terrific violence by the sea. To
remain where he was would be, he
knew, to court immediate destruction.
The pan upon which he tottered was be-
coming smaller and smaller every mo-
ment, and, great as was the hazard, he
determined, if possible, to launch the
boat again, and, though desperate the
attempt, to cross the chasm that divid-
ed him from his companions. But this
was no easy task. The sea was break
ing wildly over the pan. The boat was
heavily laden, and it seemed as ii his
remaining strength, though doubled by
that desperate situation, was unequal
to the required task. Several times
did he make the attempt, and twice
was he
WASHED FROM THE PAN INTO THE SEA
By the violence of the waves that dash
ed over and overwhelmed it. The cold
was intense, terribly augmented by the
chilling and freezing water with which
he was covered and saturated. In this
awful situation but little hope ren aimed