The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1891-05-31

SAILING THROUGH ICE
EXPERIENCES or A JOURNEY ACROSS
NORTHUMBERLAND.

Through Miles of Thick Ice-value of
Two Big Water Tight Compartments.
Mr.. L. A. Currey has returned from q
trip 20 Prince Edward island, and accord
ing TO his account, such trip is one of the
most interesting and novel Imaginable.
He is full of it, and TO hear him tell of the
wonderful ice cutting achievements of the
government steamer Stanley would almost
induce one to stars OF az once to enjoy a
trip across Northumberland strait. 1--WE
were about three days going across from
Piceou to Georgetown" said Mr.. Currey,
land we had a splendid opportunity Of see
ing how communication is kept up in win
ter between Prince Edward island andsthe
mainland, as required under the terms of
confederation.
Until about three years ago. as you
know, communication with the island in
winterwas kept up by the steamer Northern
Light. She was built OF greenheart, and
was very strong, but as she could only run
through loose. broken ice and pick her way
among the drifting field ice IN the strait
she was unable TO approach either shore
nearer than the edge of the board ice or
the solid ice along the coasts would per
NIT. This board ice is generally about
the thickness of the ice in the river St.
JohE-probably from foot to three feet
End during the winter months it extends
out about four miles from the Pictou
shore and eight or ten miles from the
shore of the island.
when the Northern Light was run
ming she had to be met at the edge of the
ice on either side of the strait by teams,
L, 81 ~
and freight 10 the shore. and an old res
ident of Pictou, who had great faith in the
achievements of science and the progress Of
the Nineteenth century, was laughed ut
when he prophesied that within few
years steamer would be built that could
make the complete passage from shore TO
shore. The idea seemed well nigh impossi-
bic, but the old mans prophetic dream has
been realized much sooner than even he
could have believed possible, and the same
captain which ran the greenheart North
ern Light from ice TO ice now runs the
steel Stanley from shore to shore.
GREAT SPEED NECESSARY.
'The Stanley was built especially for
this service by the Dominion government.
She is necessarily very strongly constructed
of steel, the plates being of great thickness
She has sharp bow, and is wedge shaped
on the bottom. When you see her lying at
the wharf, surrounded by solid ice, which,
as | said, extends for several miles from
the shores, you would think that there was
no chance for her TO move. But she is ft-
ted with triple expansion engines of great
power, and when these begin to whirl the
heavy screw propeller the ice has TO give
way before her.
in little while she gets up quite speed,
and, cutting, crashing and cronching
through the solid ice, turning burrows
sometimes up and sometimes down, the
steamer proceeds on her voyage, very
quickly working her way out to the clear
water, or to the part of the strait where the
heavy field ice drifts down from the Gulf
Of St. Lawrence. 1t is here that she ex.
periences the most difficulty, or it may be
said the only difficulty in making her regu-
lar trips, for while she cuts through the
solid board ice steadily at the rate OF al
most ten knots an hour, her progress is
often greatly impeded by the heavy drift
ice, which is often fifteen to twenty feet
deep in the water, and which therefore in
terferes with the working OF the propeller
"The Stanley sometimes gets wedged
into field OF this heavy drift ice and has
to drift along with it for some time before
she can force her way out. and it was on
account of trouble of this kind that we had
to spend three days going across. We got
over one Wednesday, and the steamer
made up one of the lost runs by making q
round trip over and back next day.
BREAKING MILES OF ICE.
The distance is about forty miles from
to L.. -, l..
most interesting one under any circum-
stances. for the steamer has splendid pas
senger accommodation, and the way she
cuts her way through the ice is the most
wonderful thing you ever saw. II makes
quite a roaring sound and some little Vi
bration. but not enough to make one feel
uncomfortable.
you can form the best idea OF what she
is capable Of doing in the way Of running
through ice when / tell you that the Stan
ley's captain asserted confidently that he
could run his steamer up the st. John river
in mid winter at the rate Of about ten knots
an hour. A winter steamer service between
St. John and Fredericton would be nov
city, wouldn't itp But there is no necessity
for it as there is in the service supplied by
the Stanley.
Another interesting feature about this
wonderful steamer is the way in which she
is arranged for breaking her way out OF
the heavy field of ice. At the stern OF the
steamer is a large water tight compart-
ment When she gets stuck in ice that is
so thick and strong that she can't cut her
way through it, the water is let into this
compartment, 50 that the stern Of the
steamer sinks enough TO raise her bow out
OF water.
"Then steam is put on, and she runs her
bow right out upon the ice and brushes il
under her. Where the pressure "a not suf-
fcient in this way the powerful pumps are
set at work. and in few hours tons upon
tons of water from the stern eompsrt-
ment are transferred 70 a ike compart-
ment in the bow. aud this pumping kept
up till with the combined weight of the
steamer and the water In the bow com
psrment the ice IL forced 20 give way, and
with the commotion raised in the water By
the big screw the steamer Is enabled 20 free
herself and proceed On her voysge.-SE
John q. b. Gazette
Little Rhody's GFeAtnsaa-