Perrysburg journal. (Perrysburg, Wood Co., O. [Ohio]) 186?-1965, 1874-01-16
A THRILLING EXPERIENCE.
Seven Days Adrift on an Ice Floe In
Saginaw Bay-The story of the Cast
RwRys as Told by Them after Their
Rescue.

aways as Told by Them after Theil
Rescue.
The Detroit Free Press condenses from tn,
Bay City (Mich.) Chronicle the following ac
count of the terrible experiences Of McEwar
and Smith, the two men who were nearly
seven days adrift on the ice in Saginaw Bay
William McEwan and George Smith wen
out on the ice on Saginaw Bay on Wednesday
| December 81, 1873, to fish. They took witt
them to the shore sundry supplies of provis
ions, etc, intending to be absent from home
several days. They took with them on the ice
however, only their blankets, fish spears, two
| hand sleighs, tools for cutting holes In the ice
and some other fishermen's apparatus. The
Ice at this time was from four TO six inches thick
| and the weather was steadily but not severely
| cold They spent the afternoon fishing through
the ice, aud secured three fish. southery
wind was blowing, and about half-past fouI
| O'Clock McEwan looked up and saw man who
had been near them running toward the shore
AT the same instant McEwau saw that the ice
had cracked in long line about six rods from
them, toward shore. McEwan called to Smith,
and both ran toward the crack for the purpose
of escaping to the shore, but before they
| reached it, the crack-at first discovery only
six or eight inches wide-had increased SO
much that 1t was Impossible to jump across it.
When it was evident that there were no
McEwan and Smith set about chopping out a
cake of ice large enough to hold them, which
they proposed to pole across the open water
with their spear poles. Before they had half
cut out the cake, however, they saw that they
were drifting into deeper water, and a trial
proved that they were already beyond reach
Of bottom with their spear poles.
The castaways then abandoned all hope of
getting TO shore at that point and started
over the ice to the west, in the belief that il
had not separated from the shore along the
west. The ice which had been broken loose
had also broken into many pieces, some Lnge
aud some small. The piece upon which the
men were was five or six acies in extent
Passing on to the westward, they went over
cakes sometimes not over six or eight feet
square. Finally the ice became 20 much
broken up that they could no longer proceed.
Then they tried to pole cake toward the
shore, using heir spear poles for the purpose
when the water was so deep that TO reach the
bottom they had to put their arms into the
water up TO the elbows. But after half an
hour of this desperate work they were COM
PEELED to abandon all effort and make their
prccarious way back to the larger cakes of ice
in the main body. This attempt was contin-
ued INTO the night of Wednesday, which was
fortunately a bright moonlight one. The
men found a secure piece of ice and lay down
for the night, putting their hand slcighs on
the windward side, and so making tOlerably
comfortable night with the aid Of their blan-
kets.
During Wednesday night and Thursday the
wind blew steadily from the southwest. This
was in the second day, and still they were
drifting toward the Charity Islands, as nearly
rs they could judge. The ice did not seem to
waste any Thursday, but it was evident that it
was not strengthening. Neither of the men
had eaten anything since coming on the ice on
Wednesday. They had with them the three
raw ii h which they had caught before the ice
broke away, but they had no craving for food
This day they again moved to the westward,
to get as near the west shore as possible, in the
hope that the ice would ultimately drift that
way. On Friday afternoon, the third day,
while moving toward 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 instantly in the water.
Smith, however, was securely on a
cake, and reached the spear-pole TO his
comrade and helped him out, pretty thor
oughly wet. The drift was still eastward, and
ON Saturday, the fourth day, they had drifted
so far in that direction that they came in
sight of Fish Point. Except that Of Wednes-
day the nights had not been very cold, and
Saturday night was not uncomfortably So
Sunday, the fifth day, was the worst they had
experienced. The storm was not of long
continuance, but 1t was violent, and warm
rain cut holes in the ice all about the casta
ways as large as mans head. The cake upon
which they were had weakened until it was
only about three inches in thickness. The
heavy gale made a considerable sea, which
broke and ground up the ice on the edges of
the great field, and must soon have done the
same to the piece on which the men were, had
the gale continued. Suddenly, however, the
wind shifted to the northwest, and
the ice began to join up close together. There
was steady wind after the storm, and they
found pieces breaking off from the cake on
which they were floating.
The sixth day, Monday, they started for the
east shore of the bay, having been drifted so
far in that direction that they thought they
could soonest reach the shore there. After
going three miles they came across small
ducking boat fast in the ice This they did
not try to move, but Travelled on till twelve at
night, when they found that the wind had
parted the body of ice, and further progress
in that direction was barred They returned
to the westward, and taking up the ducking
boat on their way, endedvoTed to break their
way through in it to the west shore, toward
which they were then drifting. One OF Them,
however, got into the wafer, and finally they
were Obliged to give it up again. They they
resigned themselves to wait for weather cold
enough TO stiffen up the ice, or to make new
ice between them aud the shore.
On Sunday they saw in the direction of the
Saginaw lighthouse the smoke of n steam
vessel, and thought then that their friends
were at last apprised of their situation, and
were making an effort to save them. This was
the smoke of the tug Mcdonald, which went
out some miles beyond the light house and
returned when the storm came on, having dis
covered nothing. The tugs smoke was pecu-
liar, and they recognized it at once as the first
sign they had received that anything of their
fate was known at home The hope which
this sight inspired of course died away during
Monday, when nothing more of the kind was
seen.
Monday night brought the cold, freezing
temperature which the castaways had been
looking and hoping for, aud on the morn
ing of Tuesday, which would have
been their seventh day, they found that the
old ice had6nut only been materially strength
ened and frozen together, but that a sheet of
new ice had been formed stretching of TO the
west shore. Here was deliverance, aud none
too soon. Though the night before had been
friendly in its freezing, it had also been fuller
of peril than the others. There must have
been storm outside, for during the night
the cakes of ice were constantly cracking and
breaking. Once the cake upon which they
were broke within two feet of them as they
lay upon it in their blankets. They were com
PEELED to move three times during this night
in consequence of the ice breaking near them.
When at last il broke within two feet of them
as above noted, they got up and did not again
attempt TO lie down to rest The ice was
dflVen inward about mile during this time.
About seven O'Clock Tuesday morning they
were again on the move, and got to the little
boat before mentioned. There they left every.
thing but their sleigh and spear poles. With
these they struck out for the ice bridge for de-
liverance between them and the shore, which
had formed during the night. 1t was six
miles to dry land, and the new ice was only
about three-fourths of an inch in thickness,
but it was very tough. They went in single
file over 1t as rapidly as possible, and 1t bent
and sunk beneath their feet at every step But
II did not break fatally, though Smith went
through once, and was helped out by McEwan
with his spear-pole. When near the Pincon-
Mug bar they deserted some Indians
on the ice near the shore, and soon
one of them skated out to McEwan,
who was ahead of Smith AS
soon us the Indian came up
McEwan got upon his hand sleigh and babe
the Indian push him to the shore. The red
man did so, and McEwan sent him back for
Smith, who was br0nght in the same way on
shore again. The wonderful endurance of the
castaways was suddenly at an end. They had
eaten not mouthful since Wednesday until
Tuesday morning, when they took about one
nal nrfa Of IL -