The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1897-12-12

The ACCOUNTS recently printed Of ire
eight whaling vessels caught by the Ice in
the Arctic ocean, and the sending OF the
Bear TO their relief. bring wildly TO Hind
the many stories thai each year come 70
as OF the hardshlps and privatsonF endured
by these who venture on that perilous yoy-
az. Ia search Of the great bow-head-
The wreck OF the Mexico not very long
ago recalled stories OF other Wrecks inst
have occurred la Alaskan waters. others
far less fortunate, where all hands nave
been Ioss or where only few nave sur
.ised 10 tell Of the horrors OF n s6ipwrefk
on that cold. inhosaitable coast The in
side passage il strewn with the skeletons
OF ships from the treacheratss Seymour
sasrows 10 Peril straits: ships of all ma
tons tut more especially those nyiHg tue
Stars and Stripes. And when one hears
Of wrecks In this age of scientific nAyiga-
ton. when our ships. pTopeiled bg steam,
are .stsed with ali modern appliances, We
can bat wonder how those early explorers
Vancouver and Cook, and La Perodss
and Gray--fnAnaged TO navigate these
same satsrs II. their old wind TANNERS
and bring their vessels safely home again.
Ent there liz Another part Of Alaska little
known 10 the outside world. that IN me
hidden records Of ita beaches contains the
sEoriee of wrecks. of hardship ard suffer
ing and of cold ard starvation that can
Inative. Eaca year adds sometimes one.
sometimes more 10 the already long liss ar
whaIers lost en- the fog-bound Aisutfan
isiana8. or lamned Ia the Ice on the Are
tic co.Ft. Sometimes "a whole sleet Is lost.
as vas once the Gaze off Point Lay some
times q few vessels viii get ''nlaped" and,
separated from the rest Of the fleet, have
10 be abandoned. and sometimes by skillfui
''bucking', tho ice may he broken and the
tks satz aeh IS
most fortunately happened one year near
Herald island
Already this year we have read of the
il-fated Nasarch and OF the suffering en-
dared b; the crew IN attempting 10 cross
tae Ice 10 safety. and Row comes the news
If the possible loss OF eight vessels and
The probable end of the crew by Ftarya-
ton.
These recent disasters have awakened
public interest In the constant dangers at
tending the Arctic fleet and TO the neces-
Eity Of the government establishing houses
of refuge and supply stations at more
than one point. To further this interest
wish TO recount the stories of two COM
parativeiy recent wrecks. with the facts
Of which : am we'll acquainted, and the
following accounts are taken from my
note book. written while cruising In those
same waters.
The Wreck Of the Little Ohio.
Last year 1sss, two whalers were lost.
One. the Ohio H., on Nunivak island.
when all hands were saved. but the Little
Ohio was less fortunate. aud OF crew OF
twenty-nine. only eight are alive. The
Little Ohio was built In 1880. not as old
as some Of the deathtraps tina. go north.
however: and was owned by the New Bed
ford Whaling Company. In the spring OF
1857 she fitted out for whaling cruise
north, and after that time nothing was
heard OF her until the fleet went north in
1852 In June Of this year while al Port
Clarence. we were told that the Little
Ohio had been wrecked. but could obtain
no particulars except that the u. s. s.
Thetis had been 10 the scene of the wreck
and had brought away all that survived
of the crew. On our arriving at Point
Hope we fell in with the sailing vessels
of the fleet and from them obtained the
particulars OF the wreck.
The bark Little Ohio was lost on the
north aide OF Poin. Hope early In the
evening of October g. ISIS. She, in com
pany with two other whaiers had left
Point Barrow homeward bound The
weather was very had. stormy and thick,
and very cold. On the evening OF the I'd.
Cape Iishonrne was sighted. and taking
his bearings from u Capt. Alien shaped
his course 70 clear Point Hope. as he sup
posed. A regular blizzard was raging
snow fell In binding clouds. and after
leaving Cape i.isbourne nothing more was
seen Of the land.
Two men were on the lookout In the
crows nest. and the captain and second
mate were on deck. The wind, though
"stin,' Was fair and the little vessel was