Idaho news. (Blackfoot, Idaho) 1887-1891, 1891-08-15

! and that our foe was no longer drift
ing. This signifed that the southern
edge of it rested against the shore ice,
| and that we were in for it, unless some
unlocked for streak OF luck came TO
our aid.
Next day there were heavy wind
! squalls, but the ice did not break nor
did the ship move. That settled it.
| For the next week we had calms
| and squalls, with the Temperature
| ranging from 279 to 3Se below, but
the pack was as solid as arocky ledge
| We were housed in by this time, and
| had established the winter routine,
| and the Arctic night had come. For
| the next month, not 10 worry the
reader with details, our life was that
| so often described in the books. Then
| a sudden and terrible interruption
| came. The bark began TO heave out
| The first movement occurred at about
| 10 O'Clock in the forenoon, and filled
| everybody with dire alarm. After five
| minutes she heaved again, lifting right
out OF the solid field, with great cakes
| clingIng to her, as ii machinery was at
work. As she lifted she canted to
starboard, and at noon her decks
were at an angle of 45 degrees. 1t has
| always seemed to me that powder
| ought to have been used to blow up
| the ice around her and let her back.
| Indeed had not our Captain got so
| badly ratified we could have cut and
| sawed and dragged away half an acre
\ of ice in half day. The carpenter,
who had a little plan OF his own, re
! ported that the heave had shattered
1 1,s- ,s.tl L., I. 4
/ that she would till if She was Grad
led back. She took one more
heave, canting over until almost on
her beam ends, and then We got the
order to abandon her. We got cut
clothing, bedding, provisions, com
\ pass, and four boats, and at midnight
headed away in four gangs for Smiths
Bay, each gang having boat, which
was dragged and lifted over the ice.
The order to abandon ship has the
same effect on the sailor that the or
! der to retreat does on the soldier. Ii
creates panicky feeling, and he loses
\ his judgment. We had not gone five
miles before some OF the men began to
! curse the Captains stupidity in leay-
/ ing the neighborhood of the bark, and
| Others expressed their doubts OF the
carpenters reports. However, all
! pressed forward, and, after making
ten miles, we went into camp. Fort
| untely for us, there was no wind, while
| the thermometer was only about 15e
| below. After a rest OF six hours we
! pushed on again, and now our march
| es and rests were marked by hours.
1t was terrible hard work crossing
! those ice fields. and five hours OF pull
ling, hauling, climbing and sliding were
enough TO wear out the best MANN the
crew.
| We had made forty miles or more
and We're strung out on the pack for
mile or more, when man named
| Tlnkerson and myself, who were ahead
! to pick the route, turned large hum
| mock or hill OF ice to find ourselves
humping up against three-masted
ship. There she lay, broadside to us
and not over fifty feet away, looming
up in the darkness like a mountain.
| We rubbed our eyes and looked again,
| but it was not deception. We sent
( the news back and waited until all
I had come up, and then Capt. Tree
/ went forward with his mates arid
hailed her. There was no response,
and, after mailing again, the first mate
/ climbed in over the bows. In three or
| four minutes he reported her aban-
| doned, and we all went on board. We
soon found her to be the Bristol ship
/ Endurance, a whaler, OF course, and
two thirds full OF blubber and oil. She
/ had q slight list to port and after
| looking her over, the officers said that
she had hove out, the same as our
I I'll lIrF ha1
| She had also been abandoned in a
\ hurry, as there We're many evidences,
bat an inspection showed plenty of
/ provisions aboard, and proved her
| perfectly sound. We had our bedding
and clothing, and when it was decided
to take possession of her the crew
! we're pleased. In three hours after
first sighting her we were as much at
home aboard as il we had formed the
original crew. She was larger craft
than ours, and also better found, and
we profited by the change.
We had been aboard OF the Fndur-
ance about a month when the carpen-
ter fell sick. In his case it was pure
inconsistencies and nothing else. He
was moody and taciturn, refused to
make any effort to throw off the feel
ing, and at length took to his bed.
There was really no medicine to touch
his case. He was slowly dying be-
cause Of his desire to get home to wife
and BARNS. All of us had touch of
his malady, but we shook it off by
hunting, trapping, indulging IN games,
and keeping our thoughts with the
ship. Lord! man, but have often
wondered why half the crew did not
go dead crazy. 1t was endless night.
In was ice-ice--ice. 1t was like being
shut up in q dungeon, with the addi-
ton that when night came and all was
still, the ship was full OF groans and
signs from stem to stern-noises
caused by the ice heaving and settling.
1 was appointed to nurse the carpen.
ter, and when he had been brought
very low and knew that he must 20,
he told me secret. He said he had
made a false report to the Captain
| a fha a rnuf,a 70 fha ha 5,, IaA