Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1881-11-12
A Battle with Ice, =

THE CORwNS HARD STRUGGLE IN REACHING
THE BEACH OF wRANGEL LAND.
John Muir in the San Francisco Bulletin.
After cruising along the Siberian coast for a
few days and calling at the Cape Wankern vii
lage to procure as many as possible of the arti-
Giles taken by the natives from the wreck of one
of the lost whalers. we found ourselves once
more on the edge of Wrangel ice. and once more
in dense fog on the morning Of August g. Ahugh
white bear came swimming through the driZZle
and gloom and black heaying waves toward the
ship as we lay at anchor, guided, doubtless. by
scent. He was greeted by volcy of rifle balls,
no one of which injured him. however, and for
tunately he could not be pursued. The fog
lasted in dismal thickness until 1 o'clock in the
morning of the 18th, when We once more saw
the hills and dales of Wrangel land hopefully
near. We discovered a lead that enabled us to
approach within perhaps fifteen miles of the
nearest portion Of the coast. At times we
thought ourselves much nearer, when the
light falling IavOrably would bring out many
OF the smaller features, such as the subOr-
dlnate ridges on the faces Of the noun
tains and hills and the small dimpling hollows
with their different shades of color burrows that
seemed the channels of small streams and the
peculiar rounded outlines due to glacial action
Then pushing eagerly through the huge drifting
masses toward the nearest cape, judging by the
distinctnesS of its features. it would suddenly
seem to retreat again into the blue distance, and
some other point catching the sunlight would be
seen rising grandiy across the jagged hummOcky
ice plain, relieved against the blue shadowy pOr-
tons to right and left as a background. It was
not long, however, after tracing one lead after
another. and coming always to stand-still
with the ships PROV against ice of enormous
thickness, before we were forced to the concltl-
clusiOn that all efforts made hereabout would
now be vain. The ice did not seem to have been
broken or moved in any way for years. We
turned, therefore, and made our way back to
open water with difficulty and steamed along
the edge of the pack to the northeastward.
After few hours run we found the ice more
promising. showing traces of having been well
crushed and pounded, enabling US to bear grad
ually in toward the land through aWedge-shape
ledge about twenty miles in length.
Next morning, steaming ahead once more to
the end of our water lane, we were rejOiced to
find that though there was now about eight or
ten miles of ice separating US from the shore it
was less firmly packed, and our little vessel made
way through it without difficulty until we were
within two miles OF the shore, when we found
the craggy blocks extremely hard and wedged
closely. but patch of open water near the beach,
now plainly in sight, tempted us to continue the
struggle, and with the throttle thrown wide open
the barrier was forced and by 10 o'clock am.
the COrwln was riding at anchor less than a
cables length from dry gravel bar, stretching
In front OF the mouth of a river. The long bat
tie we had fought with the ice was now fairly
won, and neither the engine nor hull of the ship
seemed to have suffered any appreciable damage
from the terrible shocks and strains they had
undergone. Going inland, along the left bank of
the river, we found it much larger than it at first
appeared to be. There was no snow left on the
lOwlands or any of the hills or mountains in
sight. excepting the remnants of heavy drifts;
nevertheless it was still about seventy five yards
wide, twelve feet deep and was flowing on with
clear, stately current at speed Of about three
miles an hour While the snow is melting it
must be at least two hundred yards wide and
twenty feet deep, and its sources must lie well
back IN the interior Of the country Not the
slightest trace, however. could we find along
the river, along the shore or on the bluff to the
northeastward ofthe Jeanette party or Of any
human inhabitants a land more severely soil
lary coGid hardly be found anywhere on the face
OF the globe.
"MR- BLANK" began citizen as ne entered
an office near the City Hail. lust one year ago
,o,aay | came IN here and called you liar. ]
believed what said. and for a wear we have not
spoken to each other. Within week pest
have found out that was mistaken. and now
apologize Ter my harsh woftis and express my
sorrow that was ever led TO indulge in sucl
language" "Mr. g., replied the other, as he
extended ms hand, YOU'RE frankness begets
fIankness. During the last year but one you
and were friends. You borrowed upward OF
seventy dollars of me in small sums, and never
paid dollar. This last yeaHWe have been enc
mics. and am ahead financially. While tmay
long to forgive You, must fQok out for the in
terests Of my growing family Let us compr0-
mise BY nodding to each othefin Sunday school,
paying cur own way outside" Sir, l shall
never nod to you in Sunday-school or else
Wherei" said Mr.. e., and he walked ont as stiff
as q raaaIud and left the door wide open.--De-
hoit Free Press.
sffnesnects,l theological STUDENT in Shiloh
Bansst seininary wrote an essay on s'rae Knicary