Staunton vindicator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1860-1896, 1890-11-28
IN THE ICE.

james W hltcomb Riley in Phlladelpnla inquirer.
| ABANDONED IN THE ICE.
was hale and hearty young fellow of
90 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 fill 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 U.S. 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 laboring to Sc
cure the whale again when a squall came
up and popped at us as you might fire a
guc. No one had noticed its 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 fed 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 wide berth. Two
boats were lowered to give him chase, and
after leading them a long 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 Yankee
whaler 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 it's 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
lIUO UiiO AOldHUfC, GLCIC w do uCfSI oil uOul
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 OF
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 to fill our last barrel and
square away for home, and it was now only
the first days of September.
In the succeeding ten days we captured
but one whale, and that 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
filled with snowfakes, and we were lying
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 a rousing old tempest,
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 fall, 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 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 nc
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 a great mass of ice, and
when the shore ice was reached we cut a
slip, warped the ship into it, 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 sight of water or
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
the hold, and proceeded to build rude,
stout roof over most Of the decks. Every
thing aloft was made secure, and every
crevice and Granny which could be stopped
against the cold was made secure In those
days arctic whalers went provided for such
mischance as this. We had lots of lum-
Der, false doors and window sashes, plenty
of fuel and provisions, and there was no
reason to believe that we should suffer
either mentally or physically. On the fifth
day | went off with Mr.. Lampson, the first
mate, on hunting expedition. Foxes had
already been seen, and the sight of some
thing we believed to be bear was what
started us off. Daylight now lasted but a
few brief hours, but the weather was calm
| and the cold had relaxed several degrees
| within few hours We did not intend to
go over mile or two, and we slipped
away so quietly that only few knew of our
| departure.
| We shot a fox within half mile of the
| ship, and soon after that reused up a half
| grown bear, which fed before us. don't
| think we were over two miles from the
| ship in a straight line, and we had not
been absent over two houra when we heard
her signal for us to return. This was done
/ by discharging three muskets in rapid sue
cession We knew that there must be
great reason for giving this signal, and we
at once pushed for the ship. We were
leaping and scrambling over the humnocks
when got bad fall. striking on my head
and shoulder. and lying unconscious for
perhaps half an hour. When ! came to
night had set In; there was great grind
ing and crashing among the ice, showing
that it was in motion, and l had no idea
which way to go. If the mate had seen me
fall he had notstopped to ascertain whether
| was hurt or not. I made q guess as to
which way the ship lay, and STARTED out,
| but soon found lane of water to cut me
off. l tried another direction with the
same result Then knew for certain that
| [ Was af1nat on a foe