Walker Lake bulletin. (Hawthorne, Nev.) 1883-1926, 1897-08-04
A MlD-OCEAN ADvEN1un.
Two hardy Norwegiaus Mako w
derful Voyage. "oi


On the afternoon of June 1900
Norwegians, George G. Harbo Two
Frank G. Samuelson, set out From, a aN'i
York for Havre in a rowboat nv r,e"
were provisioned for sixty dars ny
though their seafaring friends loo %u1
upon them as crazy, they believed t,,a'
they had taken all necessary nrooa',
lions, and should find themselves oa" "u,
to the work they had undertaken 1a,
so they did, as the event proved fon
In March last they landed again vi ~
New York, having reached Eurono an,
taken passage back in a steamer IT,
experiences, which We're sufficient
exciting and dangerous, are narrstd,
at some length In the New York uon
aid, from which we quote descrntion
of their worst adventure. 1t occnrroa
on the 10th of July, the third dav of =
terrible westerly gale.
One of them had to be ALWAYS ~ a.
oars, not rowing but keeping the boars
head to the storm. 1t was terrih,o
work. The lookout man would sbon.
Here comes onen and the oorsmar
would drop his oars and hug the soota
while the breaker rolled over And
then would come the work of recover
ing the washed-over oars-no small 10
Dor In that tiny boat and that sea MOI
outstanding that the oars were hold
by lines.
Imagine this battle continued for
seventy-two consecutive hoursl
All day through July 10th they waped
this struggle with the elements. Rut
the worst was to come at night, II was
a dry storm. The night was bright
and so, fortunately, the big waves were
readily made out.
1t was quite dark when Samuelson
who was on watch, cried out:
"Oh, here's a big one! Do Won soo
that onew
well never clear itr' gasped Harlo
dropping his oars and clinging fast
In was, indeed, an immense wova
when seen from the tiny boat whose
sides were now scarcely above the
waters edge. 1t lowered black against
the sky, shutting off the horizon
Dreaming at the apex, rushing with the
speed of an express.
The wave struck them on the bort
bow, and upset the boat.
1t was a frightful moment. And how
well the men were repaid for all their
precautions! Each man wore life.
belt made Of reindeer hair, and was
fastened to the gunwale of the boat by
three fathoms Of line. So after men
and boat had tossed and rolled togeth.
err In wild confusion in the waters
each man promptly got back to ship
again by pulling himself In hand over
hand,
They found the boat upside down,
Struggling together on one side, they
tried their best to right her, and for
while in vain. But even this emergen-
cy had not been neglected in the prep.
aratiOn, and the keel of the boat was
provided with hand-rail for just such
q contingency. Working together they
succeeded in laying hold of this, and
then their combined efforts turned the
boat.
One of them now swan to the oppO
site side, and together they climbed
in, and set to bailing with all their
might.
All that night the two bruised, fam.
ished and nearly exhausted men strug.
gled with the sea. They prevailed, and
toward morning the wind abated, and
the next day was pleasant, In Its
noon sunshine each in turn stripped
and wrung his clothes, and dressed
again In the damp garments,
1t was a narrow escape. They could
not have held out much longer. Less
hardy men could not have survived as
1t was. Both were nearly dead. That
afternoon of June IL, beginning at
o'clock, Samuelson took three hours
turn alone, while Harbo, nearly perish
ing, slept, When walked up at A O'Clock,
he could not move. His body was con-
siderably swollen, and his joints were
stiff. Samuelson helped him to the
oars, and himself crawled under the
canvas.
For time 1t was impossible for har
DO to move, but finally he was abe u
row a little, and then literally WORKED
off his stiffness. Samuelson was SILL
ilarly affected when he awoke.
Good weather followed, the men IT,
covered their energies, and after seven
weeks more of varied adventures Tue!
arrived at Havre.