Gulf Coast breeze. [volume] (Crawfordville, Fla.) 1897-19??, 1898-12-30

BanBWay, coming tho snip, Wnen
no saw the ice closing in on rs, he or
dered every stitch Of canvas the ship
could carry to DO set on her, in the
forlorn hope of carrying her ont be-
fore the catastrophe should happen.
II was chance whether or not we
should be caught and our good ship
pulverized between those vast masses
Of relentless ice. However, / was
not so much occupied with our own
danger as to be unable to keep an eye
on the stranger, and to feel deep in
terest in her fate.
was in the mizzen top, and as 1
possessed spy glass, / could see clear
ly all that occurred. The water on
which the doomed vessel iloated was
nearly smooth, though covered with
foam, caused by tho colossal masses of
Toe as they approached each other.
looked, and saw that as the stranger
had but few fathoms Of water on
either side OF her as yet, she floated
unframed. The peril was terrifying,
but the direction OF the ice might
change, and she might yet be free.
Still, on came the cruel masses with
terrific force; and I fancied that I
could hear the edges grinding and
crushing together with q reverberat-
ing roar.
The Joe closed pitilessly on the i'll
fated vessel. She was probably as to.
tally unprepared to resist its pressure
as We were. AT first I thought that
IL lifted her bodily up, but 1t was not
80. She was too deep in the water for
that, Her sides were crushed in like
egg-shells; her stout timbers were rent
into thousand fragments; her tell
masts tottered and fell, though still
attached to the hull. For an instant
1 concluded that the ice must have
separated, or perhaps the edges broke
with the force of the concussion, for,
as / gazed, the wrecked masses of
hull, and spars, and canvases seemed
drawn suddenly downward, with ire
sistible force, and few fragments,
which had been hurled by the force of
the conoussion to q distance were all
that remained of the hapless vessel.
Not FOUL of her crew could have had
time to escape on the ice. I looked
apxiously, but not speck could be
seen stirring near the spot. Such,
thought I, may be the fate of the 440
human beings on board the very ship
o on which o1SSl "nd' ere many minutes
1 believe I was the only person on
board who witnessed that appalling
catastrophe. Most of, tho emigrants
were below, and the few who were on
deck were with the crew watching our
own progress pretty anxiously. Still
narrower grew the passage. Some of
the ice ports we had passed through
were already closed. The wind, for
tunately, held firm, and though IL con-
tributed to drive the ice faster in upon
us, il yet favored our escape. The
ship dew through the water at great
rate, heeling over to her ports, and
although at times it seemed as II the
masts would so over the sides, still
the captain held on. A minutes de-
lay might prove our destruction.
Everyone held his breath as the width
of the passage decreased, though we
had but short distance more to make
good before we should be free.
Unjust confess that all the time did
not myself feel any sense Of fear.
though it was danger moro to be APP
pretended for others than myself. AT
length shout from the deck reached
my ears, and, looking round, I saw
that we were-a last on the outer side
of the foe. We were just in time, for
the instant after--the ice met, and
the passage through which we had
como was completely closed up.
The order was now given to keep the
helm up, and to square away the yards,
aud with flowing sheet we ran down
the edge Of the ice upwards OF three
miles, before we were quite clear oft.
Only then did the people begin to
inquire what had become Of the ship
we had lately seen. I gave my 40.
count, but few expressed any great
commiserationI for the fate Of those
who were lost. Our captain had had
enough Of ice, 20 no steered course
to get as fast as possible into more
southern latitude. Wide World Maya
zine.