The Vancouver independent. (Vancouver, W.T. [Wash.]) 1875-1910, 1876-07-08

ter of the Greenland, whale ship, found
himself becalmed among number OF
icebergs, in about seventy-seven de-
grees of north latitude. On one side,
and within mile of his vessel, these
were of immense hight and closely
wedged together, and succession OF
snow covered peaks appeared behind
each other rs far as the eye could reach,
showing that the ocean was completely
blocked up in that quarter. and that it
had probably been so for long period
of time. Captain Warren did not feel
altogether satisfied with his situation /;
but, there being no wind, he could not
move either one way or the other, and
he therefore kept a strict watch, know
ing that he would be safe as long as the
icebergs continued in their respective
places. About midnight the wind rose
to a gale, accompanied by Il thick shower
of snow. while succession of tremen-
dous laundering, grinding and crash
ing noises gave fearful evidence that the
ice was in motion. The vessel received
violent shocks every moment, for the
haziness of the atmosphere prevented
those on board from discovering in what
direction the open water lay, or If there
was any ut all on either side OF them.
The night was spent in lacking as often
as any cause of danger happened to pre-
sent itself, and in the morning the storm
abated. and Captain Warren found, to
his great Joy, that his ship had not sus-
tanned any serious injury. He remark
ed with surprise that the accumulated
icebergs, which had on the previous
evening formed an impregnable barrier,
had been separated and disarranged by
the wind, and that in one place canal
of open sea wound its course among
them as far as the eye could discern.
It was two miles beyond the entrance to
this canal that ship made its appear
ance about noon. The sun shone
brightly at the time, and gentle breeze
blew from the North. At first some in
tervening iceberg prevented Captain
Warren from distinctly seeing anything
but her masts, but he was struck with
the strange manner in which her masts
were disposed, and with the dismantled
aspect of her yards and rigging. She
continued to go before the wind for n
few furlongs, and then, grounding upon
the low icebergs, remained motionless.
Captain Warren's curiosity was so
much excited that he Immediately
leaped into his boat, with several sea-
men, and rOwed towards her. On APP
preaching, he observed that her hull
was misernbly weather-beaten, and not
soul appeared on deck which was Gov
cred with snow to considerable depth
He hailed her crew several times, but
no answer was returned. Previous to
stepping on board, an open portfolio
near the main chains caught his eye,
and on looking into it he perceived a
man reclining back in chair, with writ
ing materials on table before him, but
the feebleness of the light made every
thing very indistinct. The party went
upon deck, and, having removed the
hatchway, which they found closed,
they descended to the cabin. They first
came to the apartment which Captain
Warren viewed through the portfolio. A
tremOr seized him as he entered it. Its
inmate retained his former position, and
seemed to be insensible to strangers.
He was found to be corpse, and a
green, damp mould had covered his
cheeks and forehead, and yelled his
open eyeballs. He had a pen in his
hand, and log-book lay on the table
before him, the last sentence on whose
unfinished page ran thus: Nov. ii,
1862. We have now been enclosed in
the ice seventeen days. The fire went
out yesterday, and our master has been
irving since to rekindle it without sue
cess. His wife died this morning
There is no relief" Captain Warren
and his men hurried from the spot with
out uttering II word.
On entering the principal cabin, the
first object that attracted their attention
was the dead body of female, reclin-
ing on bed in an attitude of deep in
terest and attention. Her conntenance
retained the freshness of life. and u con-
traction of the limbs showed that the
form was inanimate. Seated on the
floor was the corpse of an apparently
young man. holding n steel in one hand,
and flint in the other, as if i'll the act
of striking fire upon some finder which
lay beside him. In the fore part OF the
vessel several sailors were lying dead in
their berths and the body of boy
was crouched at the bottom of the gang
way stairs. Neither provisions nor fuel
could be discovered anywhere ; but
Captain Warren was prevented, by the
superstitious preiudices of his seamen,
from examining the vessel rs infinitely
as he wished to have done. He, there
fore. carried away the logbook men
toned. and returned to his own ship,
and Immediately steered to the south
ward, deeply impressed with the awful
example which he had just witnessed of
the danger of navigating the Polar seas
in the high northern ATTITUDES. On re-
turning to England, he made various
inquiries respecting vessels that had
disappeared in an unknown way, and,
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