Mexico weekly ledger., 1876-11-02
ARCTIC PERILS.

ARCTIC PERILS.
Terrible Disaster to the Arctic Whaling
F~leet-Twelve Vessels Abandoned to
their Fate-Many Lives Probably Lost
A Story OF Suffering and FrtvatiOn.
SAN FRANCISCO, Oct. 21.-The whal-
ing bark Florence arrived this after
noon from the Arctic Ocean with 100
men on board, being part of the crews
of the Arctic whaling fleet, - of which
she reports lost in the ice with a por-
ton of their crews. The remaining
survivors have gone to Honolulu on the
eark "Three Brothers" The follow
ing is a synopsis of the written reports
of the Master of the Fleet:
On arrival in Behrings's Sea found
plenty of ice and extreme weather, and
but few whales were taken in the first
part of the season. Commenced taking
walruses on June 1; the ships engaged
soon got all they had casks for. Be-
tween the goth of July and the LIST Of
August the ships worked I'VE to the
east shore, and so north toward Point
Barrow as fast as the ice opened. The
bark Arctic was crushed by the ice
July 7th, off the Sea Horse Islands, Is
miles from land. The crew escaped to
shore, and finally were taken on board
by the bark Onward, and subsequently
distributed among the fleet, Capt. Whit
ney going on board the bark Rainbow.
About the LIST of August the fleet, four
teen in number, reached Point Barrow.
The Northern Light and Norman staid
at South, walrusing, and
ESCAPED THE DISASTER.
Those that followed had to stand
from Point Barrow several times, ow-
ing t 0 the ice standing on shore. On
August IA a breeze from the north and
northwest broke up the ice. Whales
made their appearance, and soon all
the ships were actively engaged north
east of Point Barrow; wind half from
west to northeast, until the night of
August Is, when it began blowing fresh
from the east-northeast. All the ships
stood in shore and anchored to avoid
drifting ice. On the afternoon of the
18th the wind increased and hauled to
the north, bringing the ice on shore,
Point Barrow, where we found a lee for
four hours, but the lex morning were
obliged to run south as far as Cape
Smith. The Rainbow" and "Three
Brothers remained at Point Barrow
for the next three days. Whales were
numerous off Cape Smith, and the ships
were busy taking some. Meantime the
wind set from the west, causing an
UNEASY FEELING.
The space occupied by the ships ex-
tended seven or eight miles off shore,
running along by land south. This
kept steadily closing. On the 23d, the
| wind freshened from west-northwest,
and all the ships, except the Rainbow
and the Three Brothers, which were
still anchored at Point Barrow, sur
rounded by drift ice, peat to the south
west. In the afternoon the wind be-
gan hauling south of west, but still we
hoped before the ice closed on us to
reach the open sea, or at least the Sea
Horse Islands,, where We could find
shelter. At sunset the ice stopped our
progress. On the morning of the oath
thick fog set in. At this time the heavy
ice packed and reached along the whole
coast about two miles to leeward. The
ships were all lying with open strips OF
water between that and shore. The
Clara Bell lost her rudder, ran near
shore and anchored. The ice closed
around her, and a large berg grounded
south of her and formed a breakwater,
behind which she lay. The bark Flor.
ence drifted up to Cape Smith and got
under the lee of a grounded iceberg,
which
PROVED f SALVATION.
The ships Josephine, st. George, Cor
,o,lI,,. LI,uyl,a c,I barly1 10 yrn;lla
( James AIleA and Onward were inclosed
by pack ice, during the afternoon, and
drilted rapidly to the northeast between
Woody aud Refuge Inlets. The ship
Marengo, under all sail, got within
three or four ship-lengths of open wa.
ter, and then the ice closed on her. AS
we neared Point Barrow the current
slackened, and for two days we drifted
slowly. The Rainbow and Three
Brothers, under Point Barrow, lay in
comparative safety, witnesses of our
distress, but unable to render assist
ance. The Marengo, st. George, and
bark Ace~s Barnes, each sent a boat
ashore, intending to follow with others
containing provisions and supplies in
case of disaster, but, owing to the
1SE SIAhIlNU Ar hES1s
were unable to do so. On the 26th the
first officer of the Three Brothers, with
a boats crew, took the wife of Capt
Hackmott off the bark Acers Barnes tt
his ship for safety. The next day The
St. Georges men attempted to haul the
boat ashore over the ice, but they wer.
caught in a fog. Thirteen of them GO
on board the Rainbow and Thre,
Brothers. The others gained the ship
except one, who persisted on the ice
The next day the thirteen tried to ge
back to the St. George, but neve.
reached her. Eleven were rescued b,
Capt. Owen, of the Three Brothers
The other two were frozen to death OF
the ice. The prospect is now yer,
gloomy. The ships were held help
lessly in the ice and drifting rapid.
northeast.
On August % we reached the end O
III