The Emporia news. [volume] (Emporia, Kan.) 1859-1881, 1873-05-23

t. tempted to go north with two
: boats. We hauled our other boat
on shore and returned overland on
h the Sth of July.
We started forhome on the 18th
of August. and on the 18th we
5 we're beset with ice in latitude so
!: degrees. We drifted from there
) to latitude a degrees, 35 minutes,
t when we encountered n heavy
!. southwest gale, the ship being I'M
! der heavy pressure. On the night
r of the 18th we commenced land
: ing provisions, DC, on the ice, the
. vessel being reported as leaking
) badly, at times, we continued land
: ing provisions for two or three
hours; when the pressure ceased.
! went eon board the vessel and
c asked the sailing master if the
vessel was making any more water
than usual; he reported she was
not. L then went to the pumps
and ascertaiued that she was not
making more than she was during
ing the summer; went on the ice
and shortly it began to crack, and
q few minutes afterwards broke in
many pieces; the vessel broke
from her fastenings and was soon
lost sight of in the darkness; on the
broken ice were most of our pro-
visions to sustain the party
through The winter, and seeing
nothing of the vessel we attempt
ed to reach the shore in hopes Of
finding natives to assist us in liv- !
ing through the winter; getting
about half way to shore with our
heavy laden boats our progress
became retarded by drifting ice
and | was compelled to haul on
the ice again; Ut this time we sue I
ceeded in saving IL cans of prem /
mican, IL bags of bread. 10 dozen
one and two pound cans Of meat
and soup, L hams, l small bag of
chocolate weighing twenty pounds, I
some musk OK skins, few blank /
cts a number of rifles and abund- !
ant ammunition.
In the morning, knowing that I
had not provisions enough or other
1
abatement of the gale we endeayored .
| to shoot as many seals as possible .
both for food, light and fuel, but
could only get three owing TO bad .
| weather having set in. | supposed .
| the wind to be about south west.
| On its clearing found myself with
in about eight miles of what l sup
posed 10 be the east coast and about
thirty or forty miles below the ship.
The ice being weak l could not
transport boats and provisions to
the land until it grew stronger,
while l discovered my other boat
with bread &c, and saved il all.
AS the ice grew firm l made anoth-
er attempt to reach the shore, car
rying everything III boats and drag
cling them on their keels. The ice
being exceedingly rough we stove
both boats. We succeeded on the
Ist of November in getting about
half way to shore when night came
upon us with very stormy weather.
In the morning the ice was broken
and we were drifting southwark
very fast.
We saw no more laud for many
days. Bad weather continuing
through the month of November,
we built a snow house and made
ourselves as comfortable as VIC
could. We were ten whites and
two EsquimauN, two women and
five children, i'll all nineteen. We
succeeded in killing seals, which
furnished us with light and fuel (
with which 10 warm our scanty al
loWance of food through the dark
ness of the arctic winter. In the
larger part of February we lived
principally upon birds, aud in March
commenced to catch seals. Through
that month We supported ourselves
on bears and seals wasting neither I
skin or entrals. We caught enough ,
food in this way to last till the mid
die of May had we not been driven
by gale.
In The latter part of March, our
foe piece being then reduced from
five miles in circumfeI encc TO about
twenty yards in diameter, we left ,
the piece the lst of April, and aban-
doned nearly all our meat, Il lage
amount of ammunition, of clothing,
skins, and other articles, taking a
portion of meat in the boat, which
we were obliged to throw overheard
on account of being heavily laden. T.:
| regained the outer edge Of the
pack of ice on the Sd OF April. |
succeeded in getting further in Oh
the pack on the 9Th of April. A
northeast gale set in, heavy sea
running under the ice, which broke
it in small pieces. We could not
find seals for food, and we were re-
decd almost to starvation. On the
2lst of April we sighted polar
bear. Every person was ordered
to lie down and initiate the seal,
while the TWO EsquimauX secreted
themselves behind q piece of ice, to
entice the bear near enough TO kill
him.
a few days after this we got our
boat in the water, and worked our
way west and southwest, and con-t4
tinued ut every opportunity TO work
to the westward in hopes of reach
ing the Labrador coas. and getting
temporary relief. a few ofus were
picked up by the steamship TfgreSS,
Captain Bartlett, on the Both day OF
Apsil, in latitude 53 degrees 81 min
utes north, longitude ID degrees
west, or near Wolf Island. and about
40 miles from land The POI0Eis
is now without boats.
The TigresS fell in with the party
in a dense fog aud providential
lv struck the very foe on which
/ they were, otherwise they must
have persisted. They all seemed
! tolerably well; Capt. Tyson COM
pIained of swelled legs and feet, but
nothing serious was the matter with
| him. When they left the POi0Fis all
on board were in good health. In
reference to the way in which the
/ Potdfis got away from tAe party
which was rescued from the ice,
Capt. Tyson states:
/ felt little anxiety at first, think
ing she would come TO their relief. .
. I set my coIofs as she steamed down .
along the shore, but the vessel was
soon lost to sight in bend of land,
and behind what | took to be Nor /
thumterland Island. We COM ,
menced drifting southwark as the
wind hauled to the northeast, open
ing a little way TO the northeast of
Northumberland Island. ] saw the
vessel in the harbor. Her sails were
furled, and no smoke was Issuing
from her stack that | could see. |
then attempted TO bring TIE boat
across The foe in an easterly direc- /
ton, hoping to find water and reach /
; the shore. 1 succeeded in dragging |
one boat across. took to the water, |
land attempted TO reach the shore
some distance below the vessel. We
were drifting fast and a gale was
blowing fresh with great violence
from the northeast, and showing |
! very fast sud drifting. l was driv-l
en- back on the ice again and coV-
PEELED TO haul my boat cut. Night
closed on me ami we were carried
Il liz aor,fhwasf In The Itlnrnina /.