The record-union., 1897-08-20
FOUND IN THE ICE.

On the 9TH day of October, 1852, the
ship Princess left Australia for Lon
don with cargo of wool and other
articles valued at S2jOOOO. She mad
in her treasure room gold in dust, bars
and coin aggregating S1,3OO,OOO AS
she was one Of the largest and finest
of the Australian liners she was crowd
ed with passengers, the list counting up
over 200 Six days after sailing the
Princess was spoken by craft bound
to the east, but that was the last
heard of her for many long years
When she did not reach the Cape Oh
Good Hope vessels were sent out to
search for her but though this search
continued for a year and hundreds OF
other craft kept watch as they Voy-
aged to and fro, not the slightest trace
Of the lost ship was discovered.
1t was finally concluded that she had
struck a floating wreck in mid-ocean
and gone down so suddenly that no one
could escape. Had she sprung a leak
or caught fire part Of her people must
have got away in the boats, and IL could
be figured on that at least one would
have reached some island or been
picked up. Aside from the money loss
there were many prominent people
the passengers, and there was mourn
ing in England and Australia for many
a month after the ship was posted as
lost.
In June, 1868. sixteen years after the
loss OF the Princess, I was one of the
crew of the Boston whaler Talisman,
which was trying the cruising ground to
the south of Cape Horn. We had had
a fair run of luck, when we got a gale
from the north which lasted for four
days and nights without a break. This
drove US away south among the ice
and on a dozen different occasions the
ship was within a hairs breadth Of be-
ing cast away or overwhelmed. After
the fourth day of the gale there was u
calm lasting thirty hours. During this
interval the Talisman lay between two
monster icebergs, with her boats down
and ready to tow her out of the way
should they close in on her. Then we
got strong breeze from the east, which
lasted for a day and went clear around
the compass to the west.
Sometimes we lay moored to a berg
FOR several hours; again We were
pounding among the great cakes of ice,
which threatened every moment to
crush in her sides. We had been driv-
ing to the southeast for three days
when the breeze fell and left US on a
heaving sea, with a monster iceberg
about two miles away to the south.
The ship had thus far sustained little
damage but the crew We're exhausted
With the hard work and given an all
days rest, and no incident occurred un-
of ice had a front a mile long on our
side, with an average hight of 300 feet
What its width was we could not say
over it was floating a quantity OF
smoke. The smoke did not rise from
its crest. but from the far side. No
one doubted that it came from fire
lighted by shipwrecked sailors, who had
caught sight of the Talisman and
We're making her signal
The third mate and three men were
ordered off in one Of the whaleboats to
investigate and 1 was one of the three
selected. We took with US a breaker
Of fresh water, bottle of rum, bread,
meat blankets, a boat compass and a
lantern, and darkness fell as We pulled
away from the ship.
We pulled to pass the western face OF
the berg and found it to be about half
a mile long. As We reached its south
ern limit and turned to the east we
caught sight OF a small fire on a ledge
about a hundred feet above the water
As soon as We got up to it the mate
hailed and was promptly answered that
there We're two men on the ledge. one
of whom had a broken leg. Thereupon
was ordered TO remain by the boat
and hold on While the mate and the
TWO men landed on the berg and began
making their way uD to the ledge.
The evening was perfectly quiet and
there was no surf on the south side Of
the berg, but the tragedy that followed
was brought about from causes far
down in the depths of the sea. The
men had not reached the land when the
great berg suddenly cated to the
north. and TO prevent the boat being
lifted out of the water I had to let go
of the painter which had turn around
q lump of ice. AS I did so l was shot
away to a distance Of POO feet and
flung down on the thwarts I had Just
got an oar in my hands when the berg
came back at me and there was such
a cracking, crashing and groaning that
I was frightened almost to death. Hun
dre2s of pieces of ice fell into the sea
around me and I heard cries of terror
from the men who had landed
In my fright I may have pulled the
boat some distance away or the send
of the waves may have carried her
beyond danger. Be that as it may, the
berg split fair in half with a report
like that of a dozen cannons fired at
once. and each half turned bottom side
up. This movement kicked up a tre-
mendoussea for a few minutes and any
thing but a whaleboat would have been
swamped out of hand I must have
been driven a mile or more to the south
by the waves.
The mate had taken the bearings of
the ship by compass when we turned
the corner Of the berg. and I knew that
She would also run a lantern alOft as a
guide. but when the sea quieted down
looked for her in vain As a matter
Of fact I was so confused and fright
ened thatI might not have seen the light
had she been only a quarter of a mile
away.
Twenty minutes after the berg split
a fog settled down and with it came
a breeze I did not know what to do.
and so laid in my car. wrapped myself
in a blanket and sat down on the bot
tom Of the boat You viii think it
queer that I fell asleep under such cir
cunlstances, but that is exactly what
happened, nor did I awake until day
light came again Then I found my
self on an ice foe extended to the east
and south as far as I could see, but
only mile TO the north.