The Cambria freeman. [volume] (Ebensburg, Pa.) 1867-1938, 1877-11-23
1FOJL or IN ICEBERG,

''IOu had better go below, SIR" said tie
man at The heel. Its "a raw, bad day.
aud you are not used to this 'ere weather"
II am well projected against it," re-
piled II cnuldn't stay below uow. Ii We
have To encounter icebergs, had rather be
up here
lie looked at me moment, and then
mnttervd, With grim smile
1T ma'teIs little where you are, if we do
meet any"
He had scarcely spoken, when the look
OUTS voice rang out, sharply and slHrtlinglS
"lcs Ice dead ahead2 ?"
At the same instant we saw a huge OBJ
ject looming up in the gloom, scarcely two
iathoms' length ahead Of Ills. The wheel
turned ike lightning, aud the vessel swung
suddenly round.
My God - cried, sei.ing the old mans
arm. Are you mad ?''
lie threw me off, tiercely, and held the
wherl down with almost superhuman
strength. Another instant, and we went
crashing into the mountain Of ice, striking
it with our broadsiGe. The ship quivered
Violently, aud groaned like a human being
in mortal agony. The tall mas,s aud yards,
which were Of iron. snapped rs though they
had been reeds, and heavy masses of ice
came crashing down upon the deck. 1t
vas a moment of fearful horror. We had
escaped destruction for the time, but how
long could this last? We Lad scarcely
struck before the captain was at The wheel.
That was we'll done, Ben,' he said,
hoarsely, to tue old steersman. eff we had
struck her bow foremost, we'd have gone
| down at once. Keep her eady as she is,
and we'll forge ahead slowly. With God s
help, we may clear the berg yet" Tie dIsap-
| peaIed i'll the direction of the engiue-room.
Ii was IL fearful situation. We were ly-
| ing heavily against the berg, neither end
l,a fhr.,n nnh ha f,tu
| The dense mass lowered above us as far as
| we could see, and ! am sure dU not exag-
! yerate when | estimate it's hight at five
| hundred feet. The first collision had ill.,
| iured us greatly. The hull Of the ship,
! though made of iron, was bent in several
| places, and the bulwarks on the port side
were almost entirely destroyed. The masts
| were gone, aud, together with the heavy
| wards aud rigging, which were Of iron and
! wire hung over ON the ice, and every mo-
ment dragged off huge blocks of 1t, which
! fell on the deck with d af,ning crashes.
| Had we struck fairly on the bows, instant
! destruction must have been our doom.
| The passengers crowded on deck at the
| shock, but were driven into the saloon and
steerage by the captain; 30 g'ea. was .nelr
| terror that they obeyed without hesitation.
| AS the vessel moved slowly ahead, the
masses of ice, caught by the wreck Of the
| rigging, fell fas ell on the deck.
They'll crush in the decks if they are
not stopped" cried the old steersman.
| "Aioft, there aud clear away that rub
bish ~ be shouted.
Desnerate as was the undertaking, sew
eral men with axes sprang aloft, aud soon
| their energetic blows severed the mass OF
rubbish Fl ON the ship. The vessel rec"v.
cred her equilibrium, and moved FORWARD
more freely.
We could do nothing but forge ahead
/ allow ly. and wal. the turn OF events. lhe
iceberg was fully a mile in length ana As
| vet we could not see end of 1t. Each mo
ment seened al age OF agony, ana we were 2
oonstantIv crashing against the berg, and
at every collision it seemed to me that the
ship would go to pieces
| Forward. there ~ shouted the captain
| to the lookout on the bow.
cay, ay, sir ~ $50,
"What do you see ahead ?"
We held our breath as we waited for the
answer. 1t came slowly and mournfuiiy,
and smote painfully upon our hearts,.
| "Nothing but ice, sill"
Again we went crashing into the berg,
and again the ship quivercd as with vio-
lent snasm. Since the first collision l had
| not moved from my place near the wneei:
SLOW long can we stand this?' asked
of the old steersman.
"(,od knows" said he. 81 am only sur
prised that we are living now"
'sStarboard yoar wheel y cried the look
out, suddenly ''there's crack III the 'ce'
| aud we are going into it.
The vessels head swung around from
| the berv. and we moved slowly by an i'm
mense aperture in the glittering mass. =
| Hare was another danger. Suppose we
| .hould be drawn or should run into one oi
th.se flaws. No human power coulC save
ms then. for we could never sxiricate the