The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1890-10-07
ABANDONED IN THE ICE.

| was hale and hearty young fellow OF
% when made the harpOoner of boat No. 3
on board the English whaler Search. She
was stout built and well manned ship.
and this was her second voyage to the north
after whales. Our luck as we proceeded
up the Greenland coast was all that could
be hoped for, and there seemed no doubt
that we would I'LL the ship and be out of
those seas before a sailors ear was frost
bitten. On the day that the cooper an
nOunced Us two-thirds full we had two
dead whales dashed alongside, and a large
school Of living ones were playing within a
| mile Of us. In one hour our luck changed
completely about
First, and seemingly without reason, the
lashings of the big whale on the port side
suddenly gave way, and the fish sank like
a stone. There was considerable sea at the
time, and as this fellow let go the weight Of
the other rolled the ship almost on her beam
ends and the lashings had to be cast off to
right her The rattle on deck fetched away
as she rolled, and one man was killed and
! two badly hurt. We were laborinp TO Sc
cure the whale again when a sauall came
up and popped at Us as you might fire a
! guC. No one had noticed It's coming. and
! though it was over in ten minutes it
| damaged US more than a three DAYS gale
might have DONE We had to let go the
whale, and it took US fully day to make
repairs.
That day was the turning point in the
| history of the voyage. 1t seemed as if the
whales had fled from those waters in ter
ror, for we did not see another until the
ninth day. Then it would have been bet
ter had we given him a wide berth Two
boats were lowered to give him chase, and
after leading them a lohg distance and
finally being struck he turned and
smashed one of them and killed two of
her crew outright.
On this same day we met a Yankee
whsler coming down from the north. She
was chock full and running over with oil
and bone, and reported whales as plenty
hundred miles further up. Her captain
cautioned US, however, that the short arc
tic summer was on its last legs, and that
we must hurry our business to get out be-
fore the ice began to make. AS for the
old ice drifting down with the currents
into the Atlantic, there was never an hour
that bergs or foes were not in sight. Capt
Lord was neither conceited nor pig headed.
Every man aboard was pecuniarily inter
ested in the voyage, and he called us aft
and put it to vote whether we should go
further north and take our chances or
cruise to the southwark and hope for luck,
while sure to be clear of the ice. The crew
voted to go north. We only wanted four
or five big fish 10 fill our last barrel and
square away for home, and il was now only
the first days of September.
In the succeeding ten days we captured
but one whale, and that a small one. We
raised plenty Of them, but they were ex-
ceedingly wild, giving the boats many a
long and fruitless pull. We were now off
Upernavik, on the west coast of Greenland,
and there was every sign of a change of
seasons Once more the men were called
aft, and it was voted to hang on for four
days longer and then square away for
home. In less than two hours a gale
breezed up from the northeast, the air was
filed with snowtiakes, and we were living
to and drifting up the Arctic ocean. 1t
was twenty-four hours before the gale
broke, and then the mercury went down
below freezing point, and we had TO get
out our winter clothing. We still had
plenty Of time, providing everything work |
ed well, but everything seemed to work /
against us. The weather came off thick /
and squally, contrary winds prevailed, and /
when we had worked down almost TO |.
Upernavik we got rousing old tempest, I
which lost US all we had gained
On the afternoon Of the 25th day of /
September the wind died entirely away, |
the mercury began to fail, and that night .
as the ship drifted about we felt that we
had taken the chances and lost Next .
morning we were lying frozen in. The ice /
stretched away as far as we could see, and .
was strong enough to bear a mans weight. \
A smart sea would have broken it up in no
time, but for the next twenty hours there
was hardly puff of wind. When it did
come it headed US off again, and it was no
surprise to the men TO be told one morning
that the ship would have to winter in the
ice. We drifted slowly toward the Green
land coast with great mass Of ice, and
when the shore ice was reached we cut a
slip, warped the ship into il, and had then
done all we could toward making her safe.
Look in any direction you might, the sight
was the same-ice in heaps and ridges and
hummOcks, with never a sight Of water or
a level spot.
Next day, after getting the ship into her
dock, we got out landing plank on each
side, hoisted out lot of spare lumber from
I -4I LSA-f anu fiAONrcAG~ - I-AA4A . EuOe, ]
stout roof over most Of the decks Every
.hiDg aloft was made secure. and every
c1evice and Granny which could be stopped
against the cold was made secure In those
days arctic whalers went provided for such
8 mischsuCe as this. We had lots Of lurn-
Der, false doors and window sashes. plenty
Of fuel and provisions. and there vas no
reason 70 believe that we should suffer
either mentally or physically. On the fifth
day l went Of with M Lampson. the first
mate, on hunting expedition. Foxes had
already been seen. and the sight Of some
hing we believed 70 be bear was what
started Is of. Daylight now lasted but a
lew brief hours. but the weather was calm /
md the cold had relaxed several degrees I
within few hours We did Tot intend % /
20 over a mile or two. and We slipped
away 50 quietly that only few knew Of our
departure.
We shot FOX within half = mile o. the
hip, and soon after thai reused ID half /
--o~n bear. which fed before Is don't
rflk W. we're ever 9vo mics from TIE |
mp in straight line, and We had not |
zen sbseat over two hours when we EearL
= signal for Us 20 rec1rn- This va done
1IscnaryinZ three nuskets II RAPID sue
non. We knew thai there must q
~ ToAson for giving this sigma, sad -
g one pushed for TIE ship. We w4fe
.sr..r-- .trti s..rArE e tu4- ovr- LIE hur--DcE-
hen 7 st a h-d tzIl s.-fktrs G. Nv bssd