The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1893-02-19

1 from laundering she bad to be brought
| head 10 the north. The fierce gusts seemed
10 dig great holes In the water, and we
/ dropped from one into another in a way TO
startle everybody. The bark was due west
/ Of US and a mile away when the squat
struck. Even IL she could have he'd her
/ position we could not have reached
her. Had the light craft been brought
/ broadslie 20 the gusts she would
/ have been upset in trice A sailor is
always proud OF his officers when they prove
| themselves sAilorly men. l have always
remembered with pride how quickly Mr..
| Davis grasoed the situation. We were pull
/ ing four oars. Under his order they we're
dashed together and flung overheard for a
drag inside OF two minutes. Almost any
other mate would have made a push for the
/ bark aud thereby met with disaster. With
her head to the wind the boat rode like a
duck, but while the sea was struggling to
| get up it did seem as IL she would be
knocked TO pieces in the turmoil. II you
we're TO be seated in a box and
drawn over the surface OF a mount
ain you would find it pretty fair COM
parison. Ii you were standing on the walk
aud man were cleaning house roof Of
snow you would get no more OF it than fell
upon US. We had TO throw the water out
with the bailers and the snow with our
hands or find the boat sinking under US.
'Is's not 30 bad as it looks" said Mr..
Davis to Us as the sea began TO get up and
the boat rode easier, THE chances are that
the squall won't last long and We shall find
the old bsrkie in sight when the sun comes
out again"
| We felt that we might almost count on
| that, and yet we were doomed to disappoint-
ment There wasn't over an hour of day.
light left US when the squall came down,
and when night fell the gusts had settled
down into a steady gale. The snow storm
naaaph a nil fha rAt,ffs
then, OF course, we looked for the lights of
the ships. No one was more than tenn
porarily disappointed that we could not
make them out. We would drive much
faster than the bark or brig if
they lay to, aud IL they had to run
before it they were miles ahead Of
US to the south. At about O'Clock
each man snugRed down to make himself as
comfortable as possible, and it was an hour
later when the roar Of breakers came to
! our ears. Every one instantly OWNED that
we were drifting down upon an iceberg, and
that we were also perfectly helpless la the
matter. To have pulled in that drag would
have been fatal Before the oars could
have been detached and flung ous the boat
would have been in the trough of the sea.
Perhaps every man was praying to God as
the roaring drew nearer and the ghostly
glare Of the berg came to us through the
darkness We missed the northwest corner
OF the berg by not more than twenty feet
and thesspray Of breaking wave half filed
our craft.
We drifted along in sight OF the great
! Island OF ice for ten minutes before reach
ing its southern face, and then a current
drew US into the lee OF il, aud we knew that
we we're temporarily saved. Now we got In
our drag and put out our oars, and after
rowing ID the east for about a ntle we
found en- inlet or bay and ran in and made
fast. This bay extended back into the berg
quarter of mile and was about 100 feet
In wi1tn. lL was like a river flowing
d1wn to the sea through great
here, and by the light Of the boats lantern
we made hearty meal Off our provisions
and then turned in for an all nights sleep.
The weather had become frsszllL cold. but
all were warmly clad, and We had ths sail
OF the boat 60 cover US in. We could hear
tbs wind bowling above as aud feel the
! berg tremble as the great waves flung them
selves against tho opposite face, but every
man slept till daylight without q break.
have called the Innss OF Ice an iceberg Per-
haps "ice island" would be- a better term for
| it, os when we came to inspect 1t BY day
light we found 1t to be over a mile
long on each face. IL was as If two bergs
had stood still witaia mile Of each other
until field ice had wedged between and
frozen solid. TIE bergs were two noun
tains, and the field les was the plain be-
tween, only the plain was great cakes Of ice
hesped up in the grandest confusion.
| Tae gale was sill piping away aud tree
mendous sea running when we awoke, and
Of course. We had no thought OF leaving the
shelter We had so luckily discovered. The
| hrst move after breakfast was to get to the
top Of the nearest mountain and have look
| for the ships. MIR. Davis took this task upon
| himself, but he made no discovery TO re-
ward his efforts. lie. however, got good
! idea Of the size and lay of our island and Sc
lected place for landing. When he re-
turned We left the bay and pulled along to
the east and landed upon a sort of shelf.
! We had the material at hand TO builda hut,
and before noon we had an ice cabin big
enough to comfortably hold the five Of US
and the stores from our boat.
While the stores were being unloaded Mr.
| Davis and made our way over the huns
mocks to the north to heap OF driftwood be
| had caught sight OF when on the mountain
We found three or four dwarf pines, a leg.
| two planks from q ships bottom portions OF
a cooks gallery, two wood bottomed chairs
and broken cabin table. These things told
of wreck, but we did not extend our search
until three DAYS later. The temperature be-
gan 70 fall, the wind to veer 20 the north
| west, and by tue time we had made two
! trips for fuel we we're driven to the hut for
snSiLeT. w started Hre ana blocked tie
entrance, tut 80 intense was the cold when
night came that not man could have lived
outdoors for five minutes. Next day il
grew somewhat warmer, but the gale in
creased to hurricane, and it was impos j.
bic TO move out. On the next the gale blew
itself out, and we had rain, which froze as
/ it fell.
When we finally got out to make fur
Their search of the Island for wreckage we
| solved the fate Of the ship Golden Horn of
| New London, which had been missing for
! five years, and was thought to be frozen up
! in the polar sea. We found one of her
STAYED boats, the mates chest, her main top
| mast, two cabin chairs, and, strhngest of
all fluids, a mirror 3 feet long by 20 inches
wide, which had hung in her cabin. The
name of the ship was painted on the frame
Of the mirror. How a thing Of that sort
could have knocked about the ice fields with
out the glass being even cracked is matter
to excite wonder, but that same glass is
hanging to-day in the office of fish ware
house in Eastport, Me.
When the weather finally cleared away
our chances of rescue by either one Of the
ships had become almost hopeless II not
| badly damaged themselves, they would
certainly look for us but we were now so
far south that the whole sea was covered
with floating Ice and icebergs we're TO be
seen in every direction. 1t would be almost
suicidal to follow us into the icefields. and