The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1899-07-17
BASEBALL ON ARCTIC ICE
Reported by Brig.-Ge Frederick
Funston, q. s. Y.
LFrom Harper's Round Tablet

From HaFperS HOunQ 1aDIe-l
On the 29th day of March, 1894, a
party of eleven Tinneh Indians and my
self, after a twenty days snOwshOe
journey across the bleak tundraS and
mountain ranges of northeastern Alas
ka, reached Herschel Island, in the
Arctic ocean, sixty miles west of the
mouth of the Mackenzie river. Here, in
little cove, locked fast in the ice, were
the steam Whalers Balaena, GrampuS,
Mary D. Hume, Newport, Narwha1,
jeanette and Karluck, all of San Fran
cisco. Some of these vessels had been
out from their home port three years.
The preceding October, after one of the
most successful seasons in the history
of Arctic whaling, all had sought shell
ter in the only harbor afforded by this
desolate coast to lie up for the winter.
The icepacks coming down from the
north had frozen in all about Herschel
Island, so that as far as the eye could
reach was a tumble of bergS and solid
foe, but behind the island where the
ships lay the salt water had frozen as
level as a floor. The nine months that
the whalemen were compelled to lie in
idleness, while not enliVened by social
gayetieS, were far from mOnOtonOuS.
With lumber brought up from San
Francisco there had been built on shore
a cOmmOdiOus One-rOOm house, whose
most conspicuous articles of furniture
were a big stove that rOared day and
night, a billiard tOble and a number of
benches and chairs. This was the club
room of the sixty or seventy officers of
the meet, ana mere they COnSTeBdL6Q TO
play billiards and whist or sit about
through the long Arctic evenings, while
the wind hOwled outside, smoking and
spinning yarns of many seas, or of boy
hood days at New Bedford, New Lon
don and Martha's Vineyard There
were veterans who had Whaled on every
ocean, and had been in nearly every
portion of the globe; men who recol-
lected well the raid of the cruiser Shen-
andOah when she burned the fleet on
the coast of Siberia thirty years before,
and who had been in the Point Barrow
disaster, when nearly a score of ships
were crushed in the ice foe. The sailors
and hremen of the fleet did not have
the privileges of the house, but con-
tented themselves with games and
amusements of their own. They had
an orchestra that played long and voci-
ferOuSly, and there was an amateur
dramatic troupe that gave entertain
ments during the winter. But it was on
the great national game of baseball
that officers and men most depended
to break the tedium of their long i'm
prisOnment and furnish needed ex-
ercise.
A large number of bats and balls
had been brought up from San Fran
cisco by one of last summers arrivals,
and as soon as the ships had gone into
quarters seven clubs were organized
and formed into league to play for
the Arctic Whalemen'S Pennant,"
which was a strip of drilling nailed to
a brOOmhandle. One nine was COM
posed entirely of officers, another of
seamen, a third of f1remen, a fourth of
cooks and walters, and so on-the
seven mines constituting the "Herschel
Island League" A set of written rules
provided that the series of games
should begin after a months practice
and continue throughout the winter,
and that all must be played on schedule
time regardless of weather. Another
provision was that on the diamond all
ship rank was Obliterated, and a sailor
could boss" even venerable Capt.
Murray without fear of reproof No
sooner had the harbOr frozen over than
the diamond was laid out and practice
begun. Salt water ice is not quite so
slippery as that from fresh water, but
great care had to be used by the play
ers.
After a season of practice, during
which there was much speculation as
to the merits of the various mines and
no end of chafT and banter, the first
game of the series was played and in
the brief twilight of an arctic December
day, with the mercury SO degrees below
zero the Roaring Gimlets'' vanuuish-
ed all the Pig Stickers" by a score of
81 to 49. All winter, regardless of biz
yards and of bitter cold, the games went
on, three or four each week. until the
schedule was exhausted and by this
time the rivalry was so intense that
playing was continued, the clubs chal-
hanging each other indiscrirnfna teIy
The provision in the bylaws that club
refusing to play on account of weather
forfeited its position caused one game to
be played at At degrees below zero and
often during billiards. the air was so
full Of flying snow that the outfielders
could not be seen from the homemade
Even after the sun had disappeared for
the last time and the long arctic night
had begun, games were played in the
few hours of twilight at midday, but