New-York tribune., 1896-10-25
HEMMED IN BY ICE.
sEALERS HAD A HARD TINE THIS SEA
SON IN THE PACIFIC.
CAPTAIN RICHARDSON TELLS OF THE DANCERS
OF NAVIGATION IN THE FAR NORTH


OF NAVIGATION IN THE FAR NORTH
NOW IN sENEY HOSPITAL.
Captain Richardson. OF the Esqulmau ''ao''s
schooner Jessie, of SO TONS is to-day an ihh'a'e VI
the Seney Hospital a result Of his harcships III
the Behring Sea and Arctic Ocean THIS summer
He is a Nova Scotan shipbuilder. who has been OF
the Pacific Coast for seven years. having setteo
at Port Angelise eighty miles below Seattle He
built the little schooner there and last year made
his first trip The weather was fine little or no
ice being met with except occasional grounded
bergs. This year he left Seattle on June 8 with a
cargo OF drygoods, groceries hardware. traps.
guns. ammunition. fou. and hard bread Inc ere"
consisted of three men besides himself
From the start almost the weather was oao'
much ice being encountered He said last night:
I'VE covered about 1000 miles In the round trip
OF three months After touching at Cape Flattery
we went 10 Cnalaska in the Aleutan Islands. ana
rerorte1 at the Custom House. where we got a
trading permit We were to trade our goods among
the Esoumaux for ivory. furs and whaebone. Al
Kings Island at the head Of Behrins Sea. we met
200 natives. who off to us in skin kayaks we
sell our furs at Seattle and the whalebone In New
York. Fur scalskns worth from IS to So
whalcbone SIS pound and walrus ivory, 10 my
surprise. only 81 cents pound.
I'VE found great deal of ice in the Behrins Sea-
and met there the steamer Bertha OF cape Nome
cruising In search of sailing vessel she had hao
In tow and had been obliged to abandon IN the Ice
We We're caught in a field of ice. and had to WORK
our way sometimes beating other times running
for one hundred miles TO get outside 1t TO the 81
Lawrence Islands. We worked north 10 hins
Island and found solid ice TO Port Clarence Where
the Governm ment reindeer station is. flh3ily We
reached Cape Prince o. Wales in the BenrinS
Straits. in the Arctic Ocean we found Ice al
around when sixteen miles from Cape Thompson
worked through narrow pasSiSes ana ditSI d
terrible time TO anchor Ihe Wlnd ndm!ed 10
the westward, driving the ice down on us. Inc Ice
forced 10 run for the mouth OF river LOT shei'er
and 1t five days before there was enough cleaI
water for us to return We sold everything and
took on four whaers and an Episcopal minister rs
passenger1 for Unaask1 One whaler had 3rN
pounds of whalebono. the others about 1000 each,
and the schooner had about 2.OO0 pounds. The nrsl
man had been up there Dine years.
'The risks were fearful. and at tunes you
would not insure the schooner for 4 dime inclosed
as she was i'll hundreds OF miles of ice
When asked about the seal question. Captain
Richardson sad -
The fur seal cannot exist much longer The
company on the Pribyloff Islands are allowed to
kill COCOA annually and 10000 more for the indians
for food. There are two fleets cruising around these
caugh; within the limits. There are probably
twenty sealing vessels which averaged abor
100 seals each this year. and IL must bc borne
in mind that amos' every seal killed is hearing
one at a birtn !. myself killed 40 seals OF thesc
fourteen were males. Each sealer has crew OF
twentyeight or thirty men. and they slaughter
there were fully 1900 seals killed this season
which really means double that number"
Captain Richardson brOugh. with him a larGf
collection Of Indian and EsGumau curos He ex
10 return TO his adventurous life in the Arctic
Ocean next summer