The Redwood gazette. [volume] (Redwood Falls, Minn.) 1873-1940, 1894-11-08

whaling guns. We gave three cheers fOI
Captain Bottelfsen and his crew, which
they returned as we took our sledges and
our long string of dogs and started away.
In half an hour we were tugging with
might and main at the boats and sleds.
the first stage of an OnerOus summers
campaign.
An Undreamed Of Misfortune.
When we left the ship, che was believed
to be in q perfectly safe position. Perhaps
no other arctic expedition had as much
actual experience in ice navigation as that
which we have at command Captain
Bottelfsen is noted as one of the best icc
pilots in Norway. His crew are men to
whom ice dangers are an old story. OF
our own party Captain Petersen, the ex-
petitions executive officer and navigator,
has been a seal hunter for "a years, ever
since he was lad Of II. Boervig, Iver-
sen and Others of our party have been IN
the ice year after year all their lives. Ev
cry one of these men thought the Jarl safe
from harm in the harbor which her cap
tain had found for her, behind a tongue
of heavy shore ice, 20 feet or more in thick
ness. No one dreamed that this massive
breakwater could be broken into frac
ments by the pressure of the pack outside.
If experience counts for anything, these
men were right in saying the ship was Sc
cure and that in leaving her we could do
SO in confidence that our line of retreat
was secure.
Three days and a half had we journeyed
to the eastward before the sad news over
took us. We travelled at night, when the
sun is lower and the surface of the snow
little harder. Novel indeed were our cx-
periences during those first few days Of
the sledge journey. But before giving ex
tracts from the journal descriptive of them
it is we'll to hasten on to the greater event.
the wreck of the steamer. All night the
28th heavy storm ragged from the north
west. At z O'Clock on the morning Of the
goth we saw two men approaching us from
the direction of Walden island. Instinc-
lively we knew that they brought us bad
news. The two men advanced so slowly
that we set out to meet them. They We're
staggering along, snow blind, nearly fam
ished for water and so fatigued that only
with great difficulty could they put one
foot before another. They were First Mate
Oien and Sailor Hovde of the Jarl.
1.-The Ragnvald Jarl is a total wreck, +"
was their announcement. "She was
screwed to pieces in the gale yesterday
afternoon We have saved one Of the
boats and some of the stores. Captain
Bottelfsen wants to know if Mr.. Wcllnlan
has any new orders for him."
This disaster was a terrible blow to the
expedition. 1t cut off our line of retreat,
which had been SO carefully arranged. 1t
left us stranded in the sea of ice. Though
prudence perhaps suggested we should
now turn back, probably not man in the
party thought of retreat. All our sorrow
was for the gallant Captain Bottelfsen
who had suffered that greatest grief to q
navigator, the loss of his ship. We made
as good a camp as we could in the howl
ing wind, which made it next to impossi-
BILE to cook meal or keep up our avn
ings. Fortunately the weather was not
cold, only few degrees below freezing.
After supper-at s a. ma ration of
brandy was served, the first which we
have issued. The storm increased in fury
and drove particles of snow under the flaps
of our tents and half buried us in our
Gleeping bags while we slumbered.
At II lest evening four of us-Messrs.
Dodge, Juell and the sailor Ellefsen, with
the writer-set out on skis for Walden is
land. 1t was trying journey, especially
for the writer-20 miles of heavy snow, in
the teeth of the storm, while as yet unac-
customed to the use Of the Norwegian
snowshoe Imagine mln trying to run
so miles straightway on his bicycle the
first day after his initial lesson in the art
of riding, and you may realize the diff
Guilty under which the writer labored. But
we made fairly good progress, stopping at
the Parry island to lie down in the deep
snow and eat lunch. Our little stock OF
water was soon exhausted and we all suf-
fered dreadfully from thirst A few lemons
which the thoughtfulness of DR.. Mohun
had provided were made into lemonade by
the process of sandwiching handful OF
snow between two slices of lemon and
melting in the mouth. When the lemons
were gone, we ate snow alone, and at ev-
cry hourly stop lay down in the snow
drift and resorted to this doubtful method
of relieving thirst.
AS we rose to the hilltop of Walden island
early this morning a sad scene met our
eyes. In the foreground was the tent
camp, made of a few sticks of timber and
some of the sails from the ship, mere hut
upon the rough shore ice, in which the
crew of the Jarl had taken temporary ref
uge. But few yards away was the ter
rible pack ice, even now groaning and
cracking under the tremendous pressure
from without. If the wind increases in
force, the hut will not be safe, for the
pack will climb upon the shore ice, rising
40 or even so feet, and overwhelm the rude
little habitation. 1t is obvious enough to
US that the crew must have been pressed
for time when they made their beds under
the sails SO near the creaking pack
Doubtless they were worn out with their
long struggle to save as much as possible
from the hold of the crushed steamer A
hundred yards farther out we could get a
glimpse of the Ragnvald Jarl, with only
one mast still standing, and that at ar
angle of 80 degrees from the perpendicular
The ice had run over her decks and even
to the top of her upper works, almost hid
ing the hull from our view. Even at this
distance it was easy to see the gallant lit
tie ship had been dealt a deathblow.
AS we approached the tent Captain Bot
telfsen and his men crawled out to greet
us. There were no smiles upon their faces
More detected men than they it would be
difficult to find upon the face of the earth.