The times., 1901-06-02
FLOATING ON AN ICE CAKE.
WoefuI Experience of n Party in the
Arctic Country.
tFrom the Nome Gold Digger. }

Aiihul Ait -NH4ilG bt2id DlEEeIl
Evelyn Buss, one of the victims car
ried out on the ice off Bluff City on the
10Th instant, has kindly consented TO give
her impressions of the terrible experience
for the Cold Digger" She is a frail
little woman, who looks incapable of en-
during such privations and hardships as
she was called upon to endure, but like
the rest Of the party she faced the dan
ger with the utmost cooiness and courage.
1t was four nights before Christmas
Eve that Audrey Bell. Charles Hagelin.
Eric Johnston, and myself rounded the
point at Bluff City and found open wa
ter barring the trail Miss Bell and I
were tied to the Sleds. for the way was
rough. and we did not pay much atten-
tiOn te the water the men telling us
there was often a crack at that point.
Eric Johnston jumped across and ran up
town for ropes and then we realized that
we were gradually drifting away from
the shore. People in Nome seem to think
that we were carried away on little
patch of ice, but our floating prison was
many miles in extent.
As the crack grew wider Eric john
ston and W +. Austin, the man he had
asked to assist at Bluff City. rowed out
to US in boat. They succeeded in scram-
bling on the ice. but Austin was drenched,
for it was a wild and stormy night. We
had q robe and two pieces Of canvas, and
we wrapped him in one of the Sleds, and
let the dogs lie around him TO keep him
from freezing. He had no hat and his
garments were vet through, 50 l opened
my trunk and got out an eiderdown mat
inee for his head and tore up flannel
skirt for his feet; the. Sest of the things
in the trunk We used to keep ourselves
warm.
Every one in the party seemed anxious
to pretend that there was no danger, the
boys made light of everything, and Mr.
Austin was full of fun. ! did not real
lie it till the next morning that we might
drift out on the ice till we were starved
or frozen. and then ] did not see any use
making a fuss about it
THAT day we kept travelling to keep
land in sight, as the position OF the ice
was continually shifting. All the time
we were afioat we must have gone over
twenty or thirty miles. l had been i'll and
could not walk fast enough to keep warm,
so they let me lie in one Of the Sleds with
dogs around me Miss Bell Johnston and
Hagelin kept walking all the time to pre-
vent them from freezing. AS the DAYS
went on they sometimes fell asleep on
their feet.
An our provisions consisted of some
fish for dog food. and a little cornmeaI,
but we had no salt. On the second day
when we began TO travel strange thing
happened We found some wood that
Austin had thrown from his sled few
days before. With this the boys were
able TO light a fire and cook but il was
not till the third day out that could eat
little cornmeal mush, and ii revived me
wonderfully.
we saw a bonfire on the coast the third
night, one Of those, we afterward heard
lAiAl Ntit 44SHltD dS SlEAdiS 10 US. Inc
fourth night it showed. and we were
soaked through If we had been forced
10 stay on the ice another night we should
probably have frozen, for we were very
wet and exhausted.
But on the morning of the fourth day
our ice-field drifted in shore. and we were
only separated from the beach by six
miles Of rubber ice. This was our one
chance, and We determined to risk it,
The sieds were put side by side and with
a rush we started, the ice cracking and
breaking all the way. The fourteen dogs
dashed on. urged by the men. / did not
dare 10 look, nut covered my head, ex-
pecting every moment to go through till
some one called out. We are on the
beachH and then 1 threw off the wrap
and saw one Of the boys break down and
sob with joy, and Mr.. Chrisman with an
indian. was standing on the shore well
coming US"