The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1894-03-26
DRIFTED 70 SEA ON ICE
Serious Disaster to Seal Hunt
ers at St. Johns Two Boys
Perished.

ST. JOHNS, N. F., March 26, 1894 An
other serious marine disaster threatened this
island Saturday night. A large number of
men and boys who had been cal hunting on
the Ice near shore Saturday were carried
out to sea by drifting ice; two of the boys
were frozen to death and the entire party
were very badly frostbitten.
The ice having packed close to the shore
Saturday afternoon, number OF persons
from this neighborhood and from several
outlying settlements seized the opportunity
for seal hunt. The seals were fairly num-
erous and the hunters were tempted
many miles out, killing quite a num-
Der. Towards evening the wind, which
had changed to the southwest, began to
loosen the ice and drive it off the land.
There were two or three hundred men scat
tered about the drifting ice, and all, realiz-
ing their peril, hastened towards the shore,
which a large number succeeded in reaching
in safety. Nightfall, however, found many
of the hunters still adrift and far out. Bea-
con fires were lighted to guide them to a
place of safety, but when the endangered
men reached the inner edge Of the pack the
ice was SO far away from shore that their
efforts to reach land were unsuccessful.
SOME ESCAPED BY SWIMMING.
Messengers were despatched to this place
after midnight for the purpose of obtaining
steamers with which to try and rescue the
unfortunate hunters still on the ice, who, it
was stated, numbered from twenty-five to
thirty. During the night, however, the
greater part of them succeeded in reaching
the land, mostly by swimming when the
currents carried the ice near the shore.
Nine men and boys were still unaccounted
for yesterday morning, and two
steamers were engaged all day Sum
day searching for them. These steamers
unfortunately took a wrong direction at the
start and the party was not sighted until
this morning. They were seen in the north
ward, and had been walking in that direc-
tion all night in order to counteract the
action of the southern currents, which were
carrying the ice still further out to sea. A
boat was sent to the assistance of the nearly
perished hunters, and managed to reach
them after much trouble, as they were
separated by many miles of ice and water.
TWO BOYS DEAD.
Seven men were rescued alive. Two boys
named Parsons were dead however, when
found. The father of these boys, Richard
Parsons, who was also of the party, refused
to leave the body of his younger son, who
rescuing party was sighted. The other son
was still alive at that time and was taken
with the other men in their attempt to reach
safety, but he, too, soon perished
All of the survivors were very badly FROST
bitten They had walked the ice all
night, partly for the purpose of keeping
warm and partly to avoid going to sleep on
the ice, which would have been fatal They
had no food nor stimulants, and suffered in
tensely from cold. They had no protection
whatever and could have survived but very
little longer The fact that the party was
rescued with the loss of only two lives is con-
sidered very fortunate ending to what
might have been fearful disaster.