American citizen. [volume] (Canton, Miss.) 1864-1890, 1876-11-04

no way out of the difficulty, it was de
cided the only way to save the lives Of
all was to reach land before escape be
came impossible.
| September 5 was chosen as the day
of starting. The ships were twenty Oh
thirty miles from land abreast of the
west head of Smiths Bay. On Sep
TENDER 3, all being ready on board the
&C. Howland," "St. George" "Ma-
rengo," Desmond" "Jas. Allen,'
"Acers Barnes" and Onward" the
SIGNAL FOR DEPARTURE
was given. The boats had been put in
the best possible condition. The bag
gage consisted of about twenty-five
days. rations, bread and meat, change
of clothing and blanket for each man.
Every thing else but guns and ammu-
milton was left on board. The main
hope was to find open water enough in
side the ground ice to navigate the
I noats oesiward, and so reach the two
ships which are suppo--a-~ ho outside
the pack. We left at p. m. We WouTu
first carry the baggage half a mile or SC
ahead, and then turn and drag the
boats along the ice, which was very
rough in places, and many of the holes
would not bear the weight of a man.
Many of the men fell through and suf-
fered much from cold. The first night
we eamped on the ice about four miles
from the ships, and the next morning
resumed the march in
A BINDING sNow-sTORM
from the northeast. The prospect was
most discouraging. Several men de-
serted and returned toward the ships,
where number of crews remained who
refused to face the hardship and jour
ney toward land of their fate we know
nothing. On September we reached a
strip of open water, launched the boats
and pulled toward land. All that day
and the next we kept working through
and over the ice, and at 8 p. m. made
land two miles west of Point tangent.
We continued working along, and at
noon on the 9th we sighted the Three
Brothers and Rainbow at Point Barrow,
and reached them before night. We
found all solid beyond, and the only
chance of escape was to drag the boats
over the land to the open sea-a dis
lance, as afterward proved, of $50
miles. We made sleds and attempted
the journey; but, on reaching Cape
Smith, we found the bark Florence
there. After consultation it was decid-
ed that any effort to proceed
WOULD BE MADNESS,
and preparations were commenced for
wintering as best we could at Point Bar
row. Boats were prepared for whal-
ing, as that was the only resource for
our food, and work was commenced on
a house. On the night of September Is
the ice began to break up before strong
east wind. The next day the Florence
was able to get under way. All hands
and the baggage were put on board, and
we ran down the coast and found the
Clara Bell frozen fast in the ice. Her
Captain said he would stay by her till
the 18th, when, if there was no prospect
of getting out, he would leave in boats
wait for him. We made Sea Horse
Island that night, and the next night
made Wainwright's Inlet. We waited
there for the crew of the Clara Bell and
to get water. On the afternoon of the
18th the Three Brothers and the Rain
bow, which had
ESCAPED FROM POINT BARROW,
Joined the former, bringing the crew of
the Clara Bell, which remained fast in
the ice, with no hopes of getting out.
Part of the people on the Florence were
then put on board the Three Brothers
and a rendezvous appointed at st. Law
renee Bay, where they would stop for
water. Both arrived there on the 23d,
and left the next day for San Francisco
the Three Brothers for Honolulu.
The following is list of the abandoned
vessels: Banks Onward and Clara Bell,
San Francisco; ships St. George and
Marengo, and banks Cornelius Rowland,
James Allen and Java, of New Bedford;
ships Camilla and barkentine Josephine,
of Boston; bark Acers Barnes, New
London, and Hawaiian banks Desmond
and Arctic. The vessels had on alto
gether 1000 barrels Of oil, besides a
large amount of whalebone and ivory.
It is the undivided opinion of every mas
ter that
NO HOPE
can be entertained of the rescue OF the
ships or those who remained on board
of them. ALI are undoubtedly lost
carried away to the northeast in the i'm
mense ice-pack which closed them in
for miles around. [Signed]
w. H. Kelly, Master Marengo, B. F.
of C. Rowland, F. S. Hick-
worth of Acers Barnes, j. Keenan, of
Jas. Allen, James 81. Knowles of Saint
George, E. A. Ludlow of Camilla, T.
w. Williams of Clara Bell, Geo. Larry
Of Josephine, Ezra B. Lapham of On
ward.
A Bold Dash for Liberty.