Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1873-08-13
No. A..
A THRILLING NARRATIVE.
Seventeen Whalers Perish in the Ice

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Writing from Stockholm on July
II, the correspondent of the London
Standard says: The sad news of the
death of the seventeen Norwegian wha-
lers, frozen in at Spitzberg Islands,
has now been confirmed beyond a
doubt.
On the 10th of September last year,
SIX Norwegian ships, with their crews
OF together fftyseven men, were frozen
in on the northeastern coast of the
Spitzbergs, at Gray Hook and Welcome
Point eighteen and twenty four Eng
lish miles respectively from the winter
quarters of the Swedish polar expedi-
tion at Mosel Bay. Their provisions
being calculated to last only up to the
first of December, they applied to the
Professor Nordenskiold for assistance
and were allowed by him to dispose of
the house and stores accumulated at
lsford. Consequently seventeen men,
with two small open boats, left Gray
Hook on the 7th of October, crossing
the ice westward until they found open
water, and finally reached Isfjord in
their boats on the 18th of Octobes.
The remaining forty one men prepared
themselves to pass the winter either in
their own ships at Gray Hook, or with
the Swedish expedition at Mosel Bay,
when, happily, in the first days of
November heavy storm broke the
ice and made their escape possible.
Thirty nine men were thus able to
reach the Norwegian port of from
soc; only two, the old captain, Matthias,
and his cook, would abandon their
ship, which was not insured, and have
now been found dead in boat proba-
bly, on their way to Mosel Bay. The
ship was totally crushed by the ice
The entries of the journal found at
lsfjord begin with the 7th of October.
1872, and are regularly continued
everv day until the Sd Of March, this
year. No kind of occupation, nor any
undertaking on the part of the men,
is reported, except a few hunting par
ties, by whom two bears, two foxes,
and few reindeers were brought bome..
Darkness, however, soon prevented all
further hunting expeditions, and on
the 7th OF November the journal re-
ports: Hunting totally abandoned
by cause of the darkness"
No mention is made Of sickness or
disease before the 9th of December,
when it is said: "One of the crew
sick since eight days." but from this
the same complaint repeats itself with
sad monotony: "No Improvement in
the state of SICK" On the 10Th it
is said: 1.-TWO men constantly in bed;
nearly all suffer Of the disease" Though
no indication is given what kind Of
sickness here is meant, there Is ro
doubt that it was scorbut. The first
death is recorded on the 10Th of JAN
uary in the following words: "Ton-
nes Henderson, who was taken i'll 9th
OF this month, was called to the Lord
this morning, at $3.50 after painful
illness; this afternoon died also Hen
dirk Hcndrlckson, who was taken Ill
on the 10Th December The Sd of
February only three men were in good
health, and the journal repeats every
day, "no improvement" The Goth
of February we read: "To-day we
have seen the sun for the first time
in the year 1878" A new death is
recorded the following day: To-day
the Lord again called to Heaven one
of our comrades, Niles Larson, after
an illness of 80 days." Two days later
the entries are made by another hand,
who writes on the 25th: 81 have
now only one man in good health to
look after the whole house. O Lord,
help US in our distress!" And on the
18th he continues: This evening
another Of our men died; the Lord
called him home from this place, SO
rich IN suffering" From this day the
journal contains nothing but annota-
tons of deaths until the 10Th of April,
when the last regular entry is made
thus: "Martla Hansen, died the 10Th
April, at 6 a. m.' Then begins an
other hand, who writes; ssPeter An
dreas Nilsson, of Batsfjord, red bonnet.
Har. [. Mitterhuk.o What these
words, which have apparently been
written under the influence Of delirium,
are meant to express, will never be
known, and the horrible fate of the
poor sufferer who traced them can only
be guessed. Did he struggle hours, days
or weeks among the sixteen corpses of
his comrades, or did the deliverer
come as he dropped his pen? Nobody
knows, nor will ever know.
luoap Nioror;o