St. Landry democrat. (Opelousas, La.) 1878-1894, 1885-03-21
a PERILoUs TRIP.
Across Northumberland Straits in an
Ice-Boat.

three lce-b0atS which came so near be-
ing lost in their trip across Northum-
berland Straits between Cape Traverse,
Prince Edward Island, and Cape Tor
mentine, New Brunswick, has been
very general topic of conversation in
this city, and many stories have been
related by those who have at some time
or other passed through similar dangers.
One of the most interesting of these was
told in a casual conversation with
Globe reporter by Quartermaster James
C. Laughton, of the Boston Light In
fantry Veteran corps, and relates to
like trip across these same straits which
Mr.. Laughton took thirty years ago.
That no erroneous idea of the technical
transmission in this ice-mail service
may be entertained, and of the almost
inconceiyable hardships which these
trips sometimes force upon the men
who make them, Mr.. Laughton's story
is published, not only as a sort of ex-,
PLANTATION, but as a deeply interesting
narrative.
SIN 1856" sad that gentleman, 81
was in the employ of a Boston firm,
and in January they sent me on bust
ness trip to Prince Edward Island. At
that time the railroad ran only to Wa
terville, Me-, and from there staged it
and roughed it generally to Cape Tor
mentine, New Brunswick. From this
cape to Cape Traverse, Prince Edward
Island, is q distance of only nine miles,
but on either side the distance between
the shores varies to width of thirty or
forty miles. Now every one seems to
have wrong idea in regard to these
ice-boats, and how they are run. They
are not triangular craft, with shoes at
the corners. and propelled by sails. In
fact there are no sails about them. They
are much like common yawl, fifteen
to twenty feet long. The keel is shod
with steel. and on either side and quite
near it are two steel runners. The out
side is cased in light metal sheathing.
and the inside is open. In the bottom
of the boat the mail-bags are placed,
and this is the only load that is carried,
no trunks being taken. A sachel will
be taken, however. The crew usually
consists of four men, and each passen-
ger has not only to pay his fare but
work his passage, and work like thunder.
too, let ME tell you. No more than two
are taken ia each boat !"
eff sails are not used, as so many
think, what is the propelling power2"
That is the point The men do not
ride in the boat on the ice, but walk
alongside and drag it. A strong strap is
fastened to the gunwale of the boat and
passed around each man, so that if the
ice breaks and let's him in this strap
will catch him and hold him up"
''Does the ice break often?"
''Break! We were getting ducked all
the time And every time it gave way
we would go in up to our waists, and
jump in and row till we struck ice
again. !"
my first trip across the ice to Prince
Edward Island was uneyentful, and we
made it in eight or nine hours. Once
there, | transacted my business and |
started to return. 1t was on Satur-
day morning in January, 1856. We left |
Cape Traverse at daylight, the crew. my
self and another passenger, six in all. |
Now the current runs through this place
with tremendous velocity, and we had |
to steer in diagonal direction or there
was danger of being carried either one
way or the other to a point anywhere
from five to twenty miles away from the |
shores. For an hour and half we
tramped, dragging the boat after us. 1t
was warm, and SO foggy we had to pick
our way by compass. We would be
walking along when all of sudden the
ice would break and a man would go in
up to his waist. When we struck water
we would row until we came to ice,
then the men in the front of the boat
would break away the ice with poles
till safe point was reached and we
could start on foot again. When we
came to place where the ice and snow
We're piled up only a couple of feet or so
we could get over it quite easily; if it
was q little higher we would send a man
!ip to see if there was a way on the
other side, and then sling the mail bags
over and drag the boat up after. Often
we would come to q place too high to
get over, and sometimes we would have
to 90 two miles out of our course to
find an opening, Then again we would
strike patch Of ice smooth enough for
skating, and perhaps half "a mile long.
We would be going along at good.
pace over this, where everything looked
firm, when, without any warning, it
would give way, and in we would go
again. At last we came to a large open
space of what they call Jolly, that is,
water with snow perhaps foot deep
floating on it 1t was still foggy, and we
pulled away for several hours without
striking place to set foot on. Then
it commenced to freeze. Now, if we
didn't get out some way, this snow
would cling to the bottom of the boat,
and she would sink. We couldn't step