The New York herald., 1874-01-12
A THRILLING EXPERIENCE,

A THRILLING EXPERIENCE.
Seven Days Adrift ON an Ice Floe I'm
saginaw Bay-The Story OF the Casta-
ways as Told by Them After Their
Rescue.
We condense from the Bay City Chronicle Of the
7th Inst, the following account Of the terrible ex.
pertences Of McEwan and Smith, the two men
who were nearly seven days adrift on the ice In
Saginaw Bay:-
William McEwan and George Smith went out on
ST. 1873, to sh they took with them to the shore
sundry supplies OF provisions. &C., intending to be
absent from home several days. They took with
fish spears, two hand sleighs, tools for cut,
ting holes In the ice, and some other nshermen's
six inches thick, and the weather was steadily
but not severely cold. They spent the after.
c1red three ss soasnr ne wnS was asq bo~
ing, and at about nalf-past four O'Clock McEwan
Seen he rnnnna naa
At the same instant McEwan saw that the ice had
tracxed ina. IN long line about SIX rods from them
ran toward the crack for the purpose of escaping
to the snore but before they reached 1t the crack,
f1s a It sS' Mas Tds e
jump across It,
getting across the crack otherwise McEwan and
Smith set about chopptng out q cake OF ice large
enough to hold them, which they proposed to pole
across the open water with their spear poles Be-
fore they had half cut out the cake, however they
saw that they were drifting into deeper water, and
trial proved that they were already beyond reach
OF bottom with their spear poles.
The castaways then abandoned all hope OF get
ting to shore at that point and started over the
ice to the west In the belief that 1t had not yet
separated rom fae shore along the west. The ice
many pieces, some large AN and r''s some eA' .mai
va was - dVs e T.. six acres S. T. extent Pass
cakes sometimes not over six or eight feet square.
Finally the Ice became so much broken up that
pole cake toward the shore, using their spear
poles for the purpose, when the water was so
arms into the water up to the elbows s But
after half an hour OF this desperate work
they compelled to al efforts and
cakes of Ice In the main body. This attempt was
continued into the night OF Wednesday, which was
found q secure piece OF Ice and lay down for the
night putting their hand sleghs on the wlndward
side, and so making tolerably comfortable night
with the aid OF their blankets
During Wednesday night and Thursday the wind
blew steadily from the sSH,h southwest. This was In
ana still they were drifting toward the Charity
Islands, as nesrly as they could judge. The ice did
not seem to waste any on Thursday, but Ii was
evident that it was not strengthening. Neither
Of tine men had eaten anything since coming on
three raw ish which they had caught before the
ice broke away, but they had no craving for food.
get as near the west shore possible in the hope
that the ice would ultimately DRIFT that way. On
frloas afternoon THE ru,nn nav
while moving towards the north shore across the
drifting cakes Of ice, McEwan's hand sleigh, which
he was using to cross from one cake to another.
went down between two cakes. and he was IN
stantly in the water. Smith, however, was secure
comrade and helped him out t. pretty y thor tSorongSiy
wet The DRIFT was still eastward, and on Satur-
day,
they had drfted SO far In that direction that they
came in sight Of Fish Point. Except that Of We'd:
nesday. the nights had not been very cold, and
Saturday night was not uncOmiOrtably 80.
SUNDAY, THE FIFTH DAY,
was the worst they had experienced, The
was violent. and the warm rain cut holes In
the ice all about the castaways as large as .
had weakened until 1t was only about three inches
in thickness. The heavy gale made considerable
edges Of the great aeld. ard mnst soon nave done
the same to the piece on which the men were ead
the gale continued suddenly however the e. wind ind
up closer together. There was steady wind after
the storm, and they found pieces breaking OF from
the cake on which they were noating.
THE SIXTH DAY,
Monday they started for the east shore Of the bay
rsS So M IN n esa ss sop sas
there. Alter going about three miles they came
across small ducktng boat fast IN the ace Ins tus
wind had parted the body OF ice, ana mrtner
prog ress in that direction was barred. They re-
turned to the westward, and, taking up the duck
ing boat on their way, endeavored to break their
way through In 1t to the west shore, towards
which they were then drifting. one OF them,
however, got into the water, and finally tney were
obliged to give 1t up again. Then they resigned
themselves to wait for weather cold enough 10
stifen up the ice or to make lew ice between them
On Sunday they saw in the direction Of the
Saginaw lighthouse the smoke of steam YES
SELL and thought then that their friends were
at last apprised OF their situation and were
making an efrort to save them. This was the
smoke Of the tug Mcdonald, which went out
some miles beyond the lighthouse ana re-
turned when. the storm came on, having dis'
| culiar, aud they recognized 1t at once as the
first sign they had received that anything OF their
| fate was known at home. The hope which tnla
| sight inspired OF course died away during Monuay
| when nothing more OF the kind was seen.
| Monday night brought the cold, freezing temper.
ature which the castaways had been looking anC
hoping for, and on the morning OF Tuesday, which
| would have been their
terially strengthened and frozen together, but tina
| n sheet of new Ice had been formed stretching oi
| to the west shore. Here was deliverance, and non
TOO soon. Though the night before had beel
friendly In its freezing, 1t had also been fullc
| of perl than the others. There must hav
been q storm outside; for, during the night
the cakes OF ice were constantly cracking an
hreakinQ Once the cake upon which they wer
| broke within two feet OF them as they lay upon
in their blankets They were compelled to NOV
three times during this night IN consequence Of th