Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1874-01-15
A MIRACULOUS ESCAPE.
six Days on Thin Cake OF Ies-A Remapka-
BILE sail and still More Remarkable Deliver.
ance-Exsraordina9y Endurance Under III.
posuFo
toorr.spo ndsnes Of the DstrOI, Post.)

Correspondence Of the Detroit PostJ
BAY CITY, January z. 1874.-Con-
trary to all expectations and nearly
all hope, news was received yester-
day afternoon, as telegraphed to the
Post, announcing the safety of Nc
EVAN and Smith. Almost all hope
OF ever seeing them alive again had
been abandoned, and the intelligence
that they were safe was received
with glad surprise by everybody
This was first communicated in
telegram from VIM. McEwan to his
father, announcing his'and his COM
rade's safety, and that they would
be home on the evening train. They
arrived in this city at $50 o'clock
from Pinconning, and were met at
the depot by large crowd of friends.
Both men appeared in better condi-
ton than was expected, considering
their exposure and abstinence from
food. The feet of both was badly
frostrbitten and swollen, but other
wise the men seemed to be 10 good
condition. They were, of course,
somewhat exhausted, having eaten
nothing but little fish for six days,
but were not 80 much 80 as might
naturally have been expected. The
accounts which were given OF their
adventures and hardships are decid-
eddy exciting, and the wonder is that
they escaped alive to tell the tale.
They were carried out Wednesday
afternoon, as has been previolsly
stated. They had been fishing assost
of the afternoon, and had secured
few fish, which, with their spears,
blankets and handsled, was all
they had with them. They first
noticed their danger about $50
o'clock, and their attention was at
tracted to it by seeing man who
had been fishing near them run TO
the shore. They then discovered
that large crack had formed in the
ice between them and the shore, and
that it was growing larger. They
dropped everything and made dash
for shore, but before they reached
the crack it had widened to such an
extent that TO jump it was impossi.
BILE. They then called to the man
who had just gone ashore, Randall.
by name, but he neither made an eff.
fort to save them, nor did he give an
alarm. These meu might easily
have been rescued at that time by
proper exertion of the men on shore,
but no such exertion was made.
McEwan and Smith, seeing that
they must depend upon their own
exertions alone, then endeavored to
cut off piece of ice large enough to
hold them, and pole this ashore with
their spear poles. But before they
could accomplish this they had drift
ed into such depth of water that
they found it impossible to reach
bottom, and so abandoned the pro.
ject. They then started for the
west shore, hoping that the ice had
not become separated from the shore
there, but the ice soon become 80
broken that they could proceed no
further, and they made their way
back to the large cake where they
were at first. Thursday and Friday
were spent in wandering back and
fourth in one direction or another in
the vain hope of finding somewhere
connection with the shore. At
night they would lie down on the
ice, sheltering themselves as well as
they could with their sled and blan-
kets. Monday night the ice troke
up very much, compelling them to
shift about several times, and once
it broke within two feet of where
they were lying. At this time it
was only some three inches in thick
ness, and the situation of the men
was precarious in the extreme.
The gate ofSunday broke up the
ice rapidly, and had it continued
much longer than it did, the men
would probably never have told
their tale. But after blowing a
short time the wind changed about
to the northwest, drifting the brok-
en- pieces of ice together, and these
began to adhere together under the
influence of the cold weather of Sun
day night. Ga Monday the men
started for the east shore again, the
ice having drifted in that direction,
but after travelling several miles
they found further progress barred
by open water, and they were COM
PEELED to return. During this ex-
cursion they found small boat, and
with it endeavored to force their
way through the ice. But after one
of them had got into the water this
project was given up, and they re-
solved to wait for new ice to form
between them and the shore. On
Sunday they saw the smoke of the
tug Mcdonald, which had gone out
to their rescue, and this revived their
dropping hopes, as it told them that
their friends were searching for them.
But the tug did not accomplish any.
thing, being obliged to run back on
account of the gale.
Monday night was clear and cold,
and the new leo that the men had
been hoping for, and which was to
be their deliverance, formed and the
broken fragments of old ice were
firmly cemented together. Early
Tuesday morning they started for
shore on the new ice bridge, dis
lance of six miles. The ice was only
three>quarters of an inch in thick
ness. and bent and cracked fearfully
under their weight. Smith went
through once, but was helped out by
his comrade. and no further mishap
occurred. When near Pinconning
they met some Indians, and were by
them taken to shore. During the
six days that they had been adrift
they had eaten nothing but small
piece OF fish. The excitement Incl.
dent to their precarious condition
had taken away all craving.for food,
and for the same reason they did not