Daily independent. [volume] (Elko, Nev.) 188?-1915, 1893-06-06
ELKO, NEVADA, TUESDAY, JUNE 6. 1898
4 POLAR PHANTOM.
The Grewsone Mystery OF a Wan
derinR Iceberg.
An Unknown Ship Incased In . Mountain
OF Ice Discovercd In the Neigh
borhoea Of Cape
Born.

1T was teorSonc craft. verita bic
ancient mariner 'of a ship that was
sighted by Capt Squirting, of the Brit
ish ship Drumcraig, down at the Horn,
fcy months ago. The story of this
weird wanderer of the seas is, accord
ing to the San Francisco Examiner,
brSught here by Capt. Atkinson, who
recently arrived by rail to take charge
OF the British ship SGoodrich. He saw
Capt. Squirting at Queenstown, and had
the tale direct from him.
The Drumcraig loft here six months
ago and had a speedy run rs far as
Cape Horn. There the usual westerly
winds shifted to dead ahead and sea
full Of broken ice, many of the bergs
being very large, made navigation
troublesome and perilous. One stormy
morning just at daybreak, when the
snow was failing so thickly that it
was not possible TO see more than a
ships length ahead, q mountain-like
berg drifted past the vessel. 1t was SO
near, scarcely cables length away,
that but dor slight mishap, which had
gust made it necessary to heave to the
Drumcraig, the vessel would have col
Hdcd with the berg. AS it was, the ice
mountain came so near that officers
and crew oil saw the grewsomc burden
that it:bore-s full-rigged bark, with
sail oil set, frozen into the berg and
shrouded in ice from mainmast top TO
copper bottom.
The berg and it's ice-bound prison
er were fully fifteen minutes drifting
past the Drnmcraig, and during that
time nn hands were closely studying
the weird apparition. The vessel rest
cd highron the berg, ten or twelve feet
1F0R the water line, and was buried in
6he ice'ns fnr up rs her rail-. The ice
that was frozen oven the vessel ap-
pcarsd to be two or three feet thick on
the side next the observers Capt. Spur
Fdng thought it could not be more than
that, because with his glasses he could
easily make out the outlines through
the ice and could see that she was of
wood and had aeoppered bottom.
From the dim outlines he guessed
that she was sailing bark of ancient
pattern of about the size and appear
nnce of New Bedford whaler. But
there were left no boats, NC davits and
not enough of the rigging to decide the
question.
The three masts, the sails, the sDnrs
and gear were all shrouded with a
thick casing of ice, through whicl1onfS
Choir dark outlines could be seen. Some
of the crew imagined they could see
bodies OF men In the rigging, but Capt.
Squirting was doubtful, for his glasses
did not increase:the resemblance.
His explanation of the ice-loeled
mystery is that the vessel must a1ave
grounded on projecting edge OF the
berg, toppled over against the wsN
and there rested until 1t was frozen so
fast that no movement OF the ice noun
tain could dislodgc it. Then the ice
had gradually grown up around it un-
til its imprisonment was complete.
The neighborhood was suggestive of
danger, and the Drumcraig was headed
IN another directionns quickly as pos
sible, and in a few minutes the uncan-
ny phantom had drifted away toward
the southeast into the storm that was.
Strengthening it's fekters of iee-