The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1897-02-18
YARNS BY AN OLD WHALER.
WHO TELLS OF HIS TRIP TO THE
FROZEN SEAS.
Twelve Hundred Men Race with an
Ice Field-NarrOw Escape From
Death.
From the Chicago Dispatch.

Death.
From the Chicago Dispatch.
Chicago is neither so dry nor SO remote
from salt water that the uncertain tides
of immigration and commerce have not
deposited among it's population an occa-
sional sad sea dog" whose past is frag
rant with memories of the saline deep, of
Arctic whaling voyages, of trading cruises
among outlandish islands, and of inter-
course with strange and savage peoples.
! But of all these eXiles from ocean brine
who have drifted inland to the metropolis
| of the prairies it is TO be doubted if any
is more thoroughly typical of the whaling
master of the old days than Capt. e. c.
| Remington, chief janitor of the Chicago
| Title and Trust building.
Capt. Remington began his career as
a follower of the sea when he was years
of age, and for 30 years he sailed on every
ocean of the globe. He was one of the
shipwrecked marines who were caught in
the ice on the Alaskan coast and was pick
ed up and carried to safety by the famous
old whaler Progress in the year 1871. To
no human being was the sight of this cele-
brated New Bedford craft when she was
| brought TO the worlds fair bring more
| joy than to the old captain.
Sitting in his snug office on the second
| floor of the Title and Trust building, the
old whaler said:
Yes, sir, 1 can take you aboard the
| Progress and point out the very spot in
| her sallpen where l bunked on that voy-
| age of Jhirty-tive days from the ice fields
| OF the Alaska coast to the Sandwich
Islands. Back in those days whaling was
a big industry, and the northwestern wa
| tiers fairly swarmed with Ships-and they
made good money, too.
| When we reached the Alaskan coast we
| - vessels there. That
| OF 40 tull-rlgged whalers was an handsome
| a signt as any man could wish to see,
| and L tell you that it would do my eyes
| good to look on scene like that again. Be
| tween the place where we were congre-
| gated and Point Barrows was a long chan
| mel, about four miles wide, with huge
fields of ice on one side and the Alaskan
| coast on the other.
''tor years the prevailing winds had al
| ways been from the northeast, thus pre-
| venting the ice from encroaching upon the
| shore, and keeping a safe and open pass
| age. This channel was regarded as excel
| lent whaling ground, ana Tor that reason
| ali were anxious to cruise the length of IT.
| The officers of 80 OF the ships decided
| to thread the channel. There was little
| or no talk of danger from the ice, for the
| reason that the season had never been
| known in which the wind was not relia-
bly, from the northeast, making 1t a safe
| path. Something, however, influenced sew
en- of the officers to hold their ships where
| they were.
| '''The weather was very decent, and for
| 90 miles we had fine time beating up be-
| tween the ice and the shore. BY the time
| we reached the vicinity of the Blossom
| Shoals every boat was we'll stored with
oil and bone, and the whalers were con-
| graduating themselves upon the success
| of the cruise, when something occurred TO
| freeze the blood of the most reckless and
| hardened salt among us. can never for
| get the date-Sept. p, 1871.
| "Hemmed in by ice fields. The cause
| of our terror was the sudden and I'M
| precedented shifting of the wind into the
| southwest, which set the whole ice field
| moving slowly down upon us. Don't un-
| derstand that it was any terrific gale.
| Nothing of the sort! The very silence
| which accompanied the whole phenome-
non was one of its most impressive fea-
lures. l say the ice moved slowly. That
is the way it would have appeared to a
| landsman; but the sailors knew that its
progress, although gradual and unaccom-
panied by any sensational features, was
so rapid that the ships must be instantly
! abandoned. All we could hope for was the
possibility of pulling the small boats back
| through the ninety miles of channel which
| we had covered into the open sea-
| LAS soon as the ice began TO close IN on
| heard. In some instances, however the
! ice would get under a ship and keel her
almost on end. The small boats were
| loaded nearly to their gunWaleS with can
| ned goods, and the men were not allowed
| to take even a bundle of extra clothing,
as every inch of room was demanded for
| food. Even in the hurry of leaving under
these conditions, the sailors found time
to put on two, and in some instances three,
! suits of clothes each. This was some
| what clumsy, of course, but 1t was wise
| provision, tor there was a strong posi-
billty that we might be forced to take
| a long overland foot journey with the Their
| mometer 60 to so degrees below zero.
| mo sooner did We begin preparations to
| abandon the ships than the natives along
shore put out and came aboard. After the
| small boats had been loaded there was no
| object in hindering the natives taking any
| thing they desired 10 make way with
| Everything on board those 80 whale YES
| 81 xrroe 1aft fn ha "
| ages. 1t was a windfal richer than they
| had ever dreamed of, for the ships were
not only stocked with provisions for long
| voyages but the whaling had been good,
| and big cargOes of oil, bone and Skins
! had been collected. 1t was simply fortune
| without limit to every native who could
| get 10 the coast The unsigned were hoist
| ed to halfmast, and we began our long pun
| for open water. In these small boats were
| 1900 men, and they were engaged in a
| rowing match for dear life. AS we progress
| ed the space between the ice field and the
! shore grew narrower ana narrower. IN
| some places the width OF the open channel
| was barely sufficient to allow our small
| boats to get through.
| Finally, however, we reached point at
| which we could see the open ahead, ana
you may depend upon it that didn't take
| the ships glass from my eye until slght-
ed one of the seven vessels Which had
| been left behind by the fleet.
1T was the old Progress, and we pulled
| for her with as strong and steady strokes
as the oarsmen were capable OF. Not Iar
| tains had, of course, understood exactly
| what the shift of the wind meant and had
| waited three days for u.s. There were
rousing cheers of welcome for us as our
| fleet Of $50 small boats came in sight, 1t
| was Just o'clock in the morning when
we pulled out of the jaws of the ice hoe
| without the loss of a single man, although
| 81 100000 of property had been abandoned.
| ''The Progress took care of 2S5 OF us
| Ton first oficers and one captain were
given quarters IN the sail pen. In those
| DAYS an officer at sea was small KING,
| and IL was a novel sight TO see II or them
| sleeping head TO feet as we called ~ on
| the floor of a sail pen. Another captain
| took up his quarters under the CABIN table
| lie had always been very partle ular ABOUT
| his tea. and when he made this selection
of a bunk it fastened upon MIN the NICK
name OF Grandma Tea Knowles.
| 'tFrom the abandoned ships were the
wives of three captains and five children
| one OF the latter was the paps OF SaPt;;
| whitney IL was six months oiu ana nad
| been horn on the voyage. But that BABY
| was hardy little thing and made no more
fuss during the ride OF 80 miles along the
| na61nered youngster does in It's nurse
! arms All the women were as brave ana
| a. ms had followed the