The Sedalia weekly bazoo. [volume] (Sedalia, Mo.) 187?-1904, 1890-02-18
SOME TIGHT PINCHES.
Stories Of Adventure in the Arctic
Region.
Explorer Schwatka Relates a Few of the
Uncomfortable Experiences He and
His Party Endured While in
the Frozen North.

The tight pinches" cf an exploring
expedition, and especial, those of one
into the Arctic regions, form the most
interesting part of it to most people
The mishaps and misfortuncs of my
party, unfortunately for the literary
part, but fortunately for the physical
comfort of those who composed it, were
not many or very serious. Still we had
few and heard of many others while
living among the strange natives Of that
desolate region.
The first pinch" we had came long
before any difficulty was expected, and
was more literally pinch than we de-
sired it to be. II was pinch of the
ship between two grinding icefOeS, and
for few minutes we thought we would
be sent to the bottom. But. fortunately,
the vise-like pressure was removed.
Our captain had had his attention
withdrawn from the management of the
ship for short while by a visit from the
captain of a whaler near by. Both ships
were waiting to get through the ice Of
6udSOn'S straits.
1t merely happened at that time that
one of the least-skilled seamen was at
the wheel, directing the Ship course.
On account of his lack of marine capa-
bilities he had received the SobriqUet OF
''the farmer" This is no sign that he
had eyer followed tho honorable onnuna-
ton of tilling the soil, for sailors merely
allude to this as one degree of inca
pacity in seamanship, the worst of which,
/ believe, is to be called "a marine"
'sThe farmer" was not one-half as fear
full of the ice as our captain was, and
when he attempted to shoot the E0then
between two great cakes Of ice that
were really small floating fields of that
material, the ship brought up with
thud that nearly upset all the people on
the deck.
Between the two sea captains, how
ever, both of them fine ice-masters with
long experience in the dangerous navi-
cation OF northern waters, we managed
to clear the ship from her perilous pre-
dicament, although at one time the ice
pack set in solidly around US for hun
dred yards.
We could feel the little ship careen,
and the dull grinding of the ice-tongues
Oh her bottom sounded like distant
thunderstorm growing along the hori-
kon.
After the first Arctic tight pinch was
over, and an examination showed that
none of the ships plankS had been
pinched in two, the conversation turned
on ships being caught in the Arctic ice
fields, and their slim chance of escape
under unfayorable circumstances.
Our visiting captain had seen a ship
squeezed so tight that the deck planks
opened wide enough to let the oakum
drop out. But even then the ship was
not lost, for when the pressure was re-
moved the side planks sprung back into
place, and the leakage was not so great
that it could not be controlled until the
ship could be repaired.
Fortunately for US the ice-pack was
an open one. and it was rather an acci-
dent than even bad steering on tho part
of ssthe farmer" that we got into so much
of it, which soon opened and let US out.
Ships have been known TO be caught be-
tween two colliding fields of ice of many
acres in extent, and to be lifted COM
pletely out of the water by the impact,
che unini ured vessel resting on the field
of ice until the change of ice separated
the fields once more and she was
launched into the water again, having
popped up out of the water somewhat
like cherry between the thumb
and forefinger of some urchin trying to
snap it at comrade.
Our second tight pinch was still OF q
marine character, but Of less extensive
nature. 1t occurred through the ig
norance of the white men as to the
sea-going qualities of an Eskimo seal
skin boat, or more properly scow. This
Is but seal-skln hide stretched over I
large wooden frame a little larger thar
the average-sized life-boat and is one o
the most unsteady models Of marin'
architecture that was ever made by man
civilized or savage.
Our objective point was an island
little over two miles from the mainlan'
where we were camped. This was at al
Eskimo village, but as it was summe
the men were all inland reindeer-hunt
ing, and no natives were left but fe,
boys and some decrepit old people. !
was the Enthusiastically younger peopl
who, by their representations, increase