Perrysburg journal. (Perrysburg, Wood Co., O. [Ohio]) 186?-1965, 1878-11-15

in order TO raise her head as high as
possible out of water. Now, in such
weather, without light, this was no easy
task, but it was finally accomplished. I
had the most of my clothes torn off,
but that was all the damage done to
me. We finally succeeded in keeping
her free by constant pumping day and
night.
The last gale drove us up toward the
coast of Maine, for we could but drift,
keeping her head to the wind. Can
you imagine our situation in SO small a
tubp We have sail.boat on Lake
Koshkonong one-third longer. But the
worst feature remains to be told--we
were seven days without provisions.
AT st. Johns we were equipped Tor
twelve days, calculating it would take
seven days to get home. Of course we
had some little pork and some raw
onions, but ali hands on short allow
ance on that, even, and then pumping
day and night. No one has taken their
clothes off since we left st. Johns till
last night The table was not spread
for five days at stretch-even while
we had rye bread and coffee for every
one took his mug and piece of salt pork
and squatted down in n corner on the
cabin floor, and then sometimes lost the
coffee by an extra roll.
We saw one large brig off Table Head
with windmill pump-going and with a
fearful list to port, her cargo, probably,
having shifted in the hold. She at
tempted to call and speak to us, but
failed. She probably sank, as the gale
ftog pnnJ cCnn oftor op1 " bnr n LOT
up she was not to be seen.
When we got in here, yesterday, the
Captain and went ashore Immediately
and got some grub for the ships COM
pany. Everyone eat so much that they
felt uncomfortable in consequence.
This morning l began to write; but
alas! vain hope. The visitors began to
pour in until we had the decks COM
pletely covered, and the cabin crammed.
| have been answering reporters ques-
tions all day, until feel as if | wished
the whole lot of them in "buggery. "
Everyone must come and see the last
Arctic voyagers and the little schooner
that has withstood the late gales. So
much for this part of the cruise-the
particulars will keep. l might as we'll
work backward, as have begun
From st. Johns to Cumberland Sound
we encountered only four terrific gales,
making the passage in fifteen days-go-
ing over the same distance in thirty
five hours that took us sixteen days last
year, when we were forty-one days to
our first harbor. When we left our
winter harbor duly Z, or more proper
ly the 10Th, as this was the date we
fai, ,.1x fl.o
and worked through 250 miles of it. 1t
was before the schooner got jammed
and sprung a leak that closed after we
got to anchor on the Greenland coast,
and reopened on the 10Th day of Octo-
ber off Sable. AS you know, there was
no expedition to meet us, so we had to
90 back again to Cumberland with our
sixteen EsquimauX and thirty dogs,
with all their accoutrements. We had
but fairly got started when the wind
sprung up from the southeast. 1t soon
increased to living gale, and kept in
creasing. We were in close proximity
to the heavy Bafiin's Bay pack (the
heaviest ever known-no vessel got
through, and drifting right into it.
We lay hove to for four days, and when
it cleared we found ourselves in the
mouth of Exeter Sound, 200 miles to
the westward of our course. We had
drifted all this time among hundreds
of icebergs without getting foul of any,
The poor EsquimauX were battened
down in the hold during all this time,
and thirty wild dogs running the decks.
This was the heaviest gale we have en-
cOuntered, and came within one ace of
tripping the schooner many times. One
sea swept everything off the decks and
on the house, but we only lost four
dogs. So much, briefly, for the passage.
My companion and l lived in the
snow hut eight months, on a small
island. No light but one of your tin
boxes with an oil burner in it, and
burning seal oil. Our allowance of
fuel gave out two months before the
cold weather did. Our greatest cold
was in January. 1t was 80 degrees, or
80 degrees below freezing point The
mercury exposed in a dish froze solid,
so as to be handled like chip, at ~
degrees. The heaviest snow fell June
3, 6, and 7. l walked ashore on the
ice on the 4th of July, and sketched off
the harbor and schooner.
On the last day of April / undertook
long journey with some Esquimaux
with dog teams, and while sleeping
alongside of the sled, thirty-five miles
from land, with forty north wind
blowing and temperature of Al de-
grees, either froze or caught cold in
the first finger of my left hand, which
left me crippled hand until the end of
July, and now have much deformed
and nearly useless finger. | froze my
nose times without number, even after
l made covering Of oome heavy cloth
your mother gave me for the purpose.
| substituted fine reindeer skin while
travelling, which answered better. One
of the sailors froze foot so badly that
he was laid up for seven months. Two
others were less badly frozen. This
was in November, while trying to take
care of whale. l have not been sick
a day since left New London.
OF my work l hardly know what to
say yet. Certain it is have improved
my time and opportunities the best l
could; but my opportunities have been
exceedingly poor, for we were frozen
up in barren waste of snow for eight
months, and under way most of the
time. have perfect specimen of a
white whale, skeletons of seals, 600
papers of pressed flowers, meteoric iron
fossils, and EsquimauX utensils. The
Smithsonian Institute will clean outthe
best of my specimcns-of course have
a good lot of scientifically valuable
specimens for the society and for you,
and others for sale, but not much mar
ketable stuff. All my rare eggs are
few in number. The whale is worth
about $500. l am sure my specimens
have been damaged in the late gale,
which was unavoidable.
My bunk is just six feet long, two
and one-half feet wide, and the same
height. In this space | slept, worked