, 1892-10-20
THE N. W. PASSAGE.
Striking Incidents of the Mary ID.
Humess whaling Voyage.

AunAe7s W mining hoyaEes
SAN Francisco, October 2O.-Accounts O
the arrival of the steam whaler Mary D
Hume, after two years stay in the Arcti,
have appeared and crowds of people visi
the dock where she is lying. No one, tC
look at the dirty, ill-used looking steamel
of lightweight tons would imagine that she
had made the greatest whaling voyage OF
record, penetrated into hitherto unknown
whaling grounds in the Arctic ocean, tax
ing altogether thirty-eight whales, which
yielded 104 600 pounds of Whalebone valued
at $500, ,000 brought down the last 40,O0l
pounds of her catch and 400 white anC
blue and gray fox skins, and came very
nearly making the northwest passage with
out trying to do it.
The Hume left here on April 10, 1890. Or
the way north, while stopping at Ouna
laska, two of the crew, George Paul and
John Driscoll. were capsized and rescued
but died of exhaustion. During the first
winter John Meyers. a colored man, about
60 years old, died from inhammatory rheu-
matism. 1t is claimed that he traded the
ships stores to native women, who went
on board the whaler while in winter
quarters at the lagoon on Herschel island
and was triced up and given the ropes end
for his thieving.
He was then disrated and sent into the
forecastle, while Herman Vogel, one Of the
fremen, was advanced to steward. Several
of the crew say that Meyers was made to
go three miles with a bucket after fresh
water ice, and that on one of these trips
with the mercury over 40 degrees below
zero, the mans toes on both feet werC
fros bitten. Instead of getting better they
grew worse, until the souls of both feet
we're a bleeding mass. Then rheumatism
set in, and in time the colored man died
and was buried.
The others are in good health and have
no complaint to make against the captain
The quarters which the crew occupied on
the whaler are little better than pigpen
while the officers accommodations are OF
the plainest kind. While wintering north
the vessel was completely housed in, which
gave more room to move about.
The natives at the mouth of the McKen-
zie river proved very friendly to the whalers
and many made long visits on board. The
race is copper-cOlored, while a few Of
the tribe are nearly white. Some Of the
younger women are said to be quite good
looking. As a rule they have round, fat
faces, very small and sharp eyes, and are
inclined to be stout.
Several Of those who came down on the
Hume are suffering from scurvy. Ray.
mond Lapierre, the cabid boy, lad of Is
years, whose delicate look would hardly
incline one to believe that he had endured
the rigidness of two Arctic winters, has
scurvy and sores on his face and legs. He
says that there was plenty of canned vege
tables, timed meat and lime juice in the
stores, but that the captain refused to give
them to the foremast hands except at
times, and made them live on raw frozen
deer meat, of which there was plenty and
flour bread.
The foremast hands will not have as
much coming to them as they expected
having signed on "a layp of $1.75 pound
for bone. The lowest man on the list has
about $3.50 coming 70 him, from which he
is to deduct 500 advance, $50 insurance
and 500 for the slop chest, which leaves
about 1920 as net result of the voyage
ton that will net the projectors $500,00O
Other on board will fare better, while the
captain will get something like 5000