The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1898-10-10
FROM BEHRlNG SEA.
1t. John G. Berry Tells His Experiences
ia the Arctic Ocean.

Lieut.. John q. Berry of the United
States revenue marine service IS WISHING
his father, MIR. Stephen Berry OF this clty.
LIEUT.. Berry is enjoying weli-earhea
rest after q long cruise in the waters Oh
the NorUh, for be was a member OF Tine
expedition sent out to rescue the whalers
imprisoned off Point Barrow. 10
PRESS man, Lieut.. Berry last evening
told many interesting things about his
long voyage.
"We arrived at Point Barrow July
S9th," he said, land had clear water ior
two or three days. after which the Ice
came sitting in, and in about "A hours
we were banked in solid. We were
anchored on the outside of the heavy
ground ice with clear water between the
ice and the shore. The ice stretched along
the coast for about ten miles and was
about half mile broad and from 20 to
60 feet thick. AS wa lay there we realized
that IL the ice pack of the arctic ocean
set in, the old Bear would be crushed to
an egg shell. We had the provisions on
deck all ready to shove on the ice. There
even if the vessel had been crushed. The
ice pack broke but once and we were
crushed slightly. No serious damage was
done, but all the time we had the feeling
that the vessel was going out from undeT
US. We were in the ice for 10 days anu
finally came away with 100 shipwrenkeo
sailors of the whaling fleet. One interest
Of no bol industry
fact that it depends almost entirely upon
milliners and dressmakers, as whalebone
is used so extensively in their business.
The whalers keep very little of the oil,
nearly everything being sacrificed for the
bone. A splendid imitation of whale
bone is made out of goose quills A
whaling captain, who has been dealing
in whalebone all his life, was shown two
fine pieces, one the real whalebone and
the other the imitation, and he could not
tell the difference.
"I met Capt. George Leavitt ct the
Newport, who is a Portland boy. at Point
Barrow. His vessel was saved, and he
had shown such good Judgment In all
his dealings up there that as soon as he
got his ship down to Port Clarence, about
August 18th, he was given command of
the Thrasher, the best steamer OF the en-
tire whaling fieet,and started to the west
ward on another whaling voyage. Capt.
Leayitt is very well liked in the Arctic
ocean, and the Newport, under his COM
1nand, has been very successful as COM
pared with the others. He may lie expect.
ed to reach San Francisco toward the end
of this month or the beginning of No
vember. We left Point Barrow August
10th for St. Michaels. We left the latter
place about the last of August and
stopped over in Eunalaska to get COAL
The distance across is about 1910 miles,
in an almost due east course, and we had
head wind all the time.
"We reached Seattle, Septem Der 18th,
and the Pacific Steam Whaling company
sent few of their best men down to San
Francisco, but the rest were put ashore
at Seattle. We kept most of them on the
Bear until they could get work. On the
way down several of them considered
themselves guests Of the government, and
as we had assigned them to watches, as
is customary with shipwrecked sailors,
their ideas could not be acquiesced in by
tie officers of the Bear. They refused to
work and we had to punish them mildly
before they could be brought to realiz-
ing sense of: their duty. When we got
down to Seattle two or three of them told
the reporters of the Seattle Times tales
Of great hardships and cruelty, but, as a
matter Of fact, nothing was done to them
but what was permitted by the regula-
tions in the UNITED States revenue SER
vice, and really, their punishment depend
ed entirely upon themselves. for all they
had to do to be released from punish
Inent was to express their willingness
to do their share of work.
Sin the song. Jack is every inch q
xailor, five and twenty years whaler,
there is more euphony than truth. On
the way down, when it came to work
aloft in heavy weather, and we had heavy
weather all the way down, our own men
had to do the heavy work because the
whalers were not good enough seamen to
dc it.
fWe reached Seattle September 18th,
and 1 had not heard from my family
since July 18th. We had not heard a word
of the Santiago fight and the subsequent
victory until August 18th. when we were
at Sea Horse islands, and met the whal-
ing feet coming up. We were literally
frozen out of the war, but we were not
alone in that, because the army officers
at ST. Michaels, who had volunteered for
that duty long before there was a shadow
of war, were with US, also the officers of
the Wheeling, who were sent on patrol
duty in the Behring sea after war was
declared
s'Behriug sea to say nothing of tine
Arctic ocean. is farther away from civil.
lization than any other spot on the
GLOBE
VACCINATION IN THE SCHOOLS.
This has been a busy week for two