The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1898-09-13

July Is we steamed through light scat
tering ice, pretty well softened py the
fairly warm weather Gao to so degrees)
in which 1t fioated At 1880 p. M we
| got into clear water, which EXTENDED
clear along the coast as far as Icy
Cape. On the morning of July IL we
picked up a native boat containing
Captain A. c. Sherman of the wrecked
steamer Orca, ]. Drynen of the Pa
cific Steam Whaling Company, ]. Clark,
second mate Of the Jessie II. Freeman,
Fred Hobson of Cape Smyth, Oscar
Thompson, Anton Roderick, Pc
ter Nelson and Ivan Eli, starving
whalers," and two natives. They had
come down to get the mail from the
ships, but the mail was on the Thrasher
and she has not got here yet, although
Captain Snow confidently predicted
that he would be at least one of the
first to arrive at Cape Smyth. The
whalers now on board say Snow will,
in all probability, be the very last to
arrive. Sherman reported all we'll at
Point Barrow.
Finding the ice packed on Blossom
Shoals off Icy Cape we anchored to the
of the 10TH This is one of the last
places south of Point Barrow for the
ice to leave in the summer. Extending
off shore from Icy Cape &c about eight
miles is this patch of shoals, worked up
into ridges with less than three faith
oms of water on them, while there may
be seven or nine fathoms between the
ridges. But since the ice probably
changes the position of these ridges
from year to year it is almost always
necessary to go out around the whole
shoal. Sailing vessels have gone
through because they got caught in the
shoals and could not beat out of dan
ger. The heavy ice grounds here and
other Ice gets damned in between it,
sea of ice extending sometimes from
one shore to the sea horizon. Once past
the shoals at this season of the year
the probability is that fairly clear wa
ter will be found as far as the Sea
Horse Islands. Nature makes that an
other stopping place along the north
| ward road. The islands and shoal
around them stop the ice just as Bios
som Shoals do, and it fills up Pearl
Bay to the northward of the Sea Horse
but generally leaves some kind of a
harbor in behind the islands. 1t was
this harborage that sheltered the Bel
vedere last winter and it was toward
that place that the Freeman and Orca
were heading when the ice nipped
| them.
On the goth we tried to get around
outside Blossom Shoals, but cot too far
to the westward and probably
w 70
we could not distinguish the pack from
the vessel. 1t is possible that we
might have found a PASSAGE in close to
the shore. But out there the ice be-
came more and more thickly packed
until we turned back and anchored of
Point Lay, about fifteen miles to the
southwark of Ic-- Cape.
On the 22d we moved up to Icy Cape
again. On the 23d Lieutenant Hamlet
A. Svendson, one of the Bears crew
with ]. A Clark, Oscar Thompson anC
the two natives who came down will
Sherman, left in the native boat t.
take on a case of evaporated potatoe,
and one case Of evaporated onions t
Lieutenant Jarvis and incidentally t.
give a few bags of i-our to the Belve
dere at Sea Horse Islands. Finally, OF
the 26th, we went out around the shoals
We did not go far enough to the west
ward this time, as we got, into three
fathoms of water Eve must hav.
| scraped the bottom at that depthy. anc
had to go out still farther, Yet thai
made very little difference, as even the
shoals were practically clear of ice by
this time.
At 8 a. m. on the 2Sth we anchored
off the deserted village of Attanka
south of Sea Horse, having tried to ge
to the northward inside of the shore
ice. That night we steamed all AROUND
the outside of the ridge of shore ic,
and went merrily northward. We passed
the Sea Horse and saw the Belveder
in there, but she appeared to be al
right, and there was considerable ic
between US, so we went on and emerged
into clear water as far as the eye coult
reach. This was about IL p. m. TIL
next morning at we made fast to tn
outside of the shore ice off Cape Smytl
and had reached the northern limit 0
our cruise.
Lieutenant Jarvis came on board a
soon as we reached here. Both he an,
DR.. Call were in excellent condition
Inere was scarcely any SICKNESS on IN
beach, the food was holding out we
with the exception of butter, which ha
been exhausted over a week before.
The herd Of reindeer was as large a
when 1t reached here. The births ha
equaled the killings.
Mr.. Brewer sent over to the shi
hundreds Of ducks that he could spare
and the whole ships company, star
wing whalers" and all, have lived O
wild duck ever since.
What the people needed here las
winter was somebody who had til
authority to take charge of them an
their affairs and who at the same tim
would exercise that authority Neithe
of the masters of the wrecked vessel
would take charge even of his ow
crew. Neither Brewer nor McIlhenny
though either one was competent t
handle the situation, had the authorit
to govern the men. The two captain
claimed that they were wrecked an