The Savannah morning news., 1901-05-14
AT SEA ON AN ICE CAKE.
4 Terrible Experience i'm the Far
North Told by One of Two Women
in the PnrfN.
From the Nome Gold Digger.

From the Nome Gold Digger.
Evelyn Buss, one of the victims carried
out on the ice off Bluff City on the 10Th
inst, has kindly consented to give her
Impressions of the terrible experience for
the Gold Digger. She is a frail little wo-
man, who looks incapable of enduring
such privations and hardships as she was
called upon to endure but like the rest
of the party she faced the danger with
the utmost GOODNESS and courage.
1T was four nights before Christmas
Eve that Audrey Bell. Charles Hagelln'
Eric Johnston and myself rounded the
point at Bluff City and found open water
barring the trail. Miss Bell and l were
tied to the sleds, for the way was rough
and we did not pay much attention 10
the water the men telling us there was
often a crack at that point. Eric John-
ston jumped across and ran uptown tor
ropes and then we realized that we were
gradually drifting away from the shore'
People in Nome seem 10 think that we
were carried away on little patch oil
ice. but our floating prison was many
miles i'm extent.
LAS the crack grew wider Eric John,
ston and w. F. Austin. the man ne hai
asked 10 ASSIST at dun Wy
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 a robe and two piece of canvas anu
we wrapped him in one of the sleds, aid
let the dogs lie around him to Keep nun
from freezing He had no hat ana MS
muclucs were wet through, so l ope"e'
my trunk and got out an eidergoWh MAJ
inee for his head and tore up naiue.
skirt for his feet; the rest of the thilss
in the trunk we used to keep ourselves
warm.
Every one in the party seemed anxious
TO pretend that there was no danger ~. w
boys made light of everything, ana VT,
Austin was full of fun. l did not real
ize till the next morning that we ulsns
drift out on the ice till we were starNeu
or frozen, and then ! did not see a"'
use making "A fuss about 1t.
THAT day we kept travelling 10 KEY
land in .sisht. as the position OF inc -
was continually shifting. All the ~
we were afioat we must have gone o' sn
twenty or thirty miles. l had oeen -
and could not walk fast enough u ~
warm. so they let me lie in one u ,.n
sleds with dogs around me. MISS ~
Johnston and Hagelin kpt watkins az AZ
time to prevent them from freezine, ,.u
the DAYS went on LhSy
asleep on their feet. - .o-ne
"All our provisions consisted oil so'n1
fish for dog feed, and a little coIuii Nv
but we had no salt. On the secohu tlng
when we began to travel strahse .hat
happpened. We found some Woou fa,y
Austin had thrown from his slen are
DAYS before. with this the poSs las
able 10 light "A fire and COOK. pu' ND
not till the third day out tha' / - -.
eat q little cornmeal mush, anu -
vived me wonderfully. et the
1--WE saw..a bonfire on the COTS.
third night, one Of those we d, 80 ms.
heard. that were lighted as sSndls n,ore
The fourth night It showed ana W 10
soaked through II we had been lo' mid
stav on the ice another night We ,,srv
,rohahlv have frozen, for we were
wet and exhausted e-.,rtb day
But on Nhe morning OF the w. uere
our ice-neld drifted in shore anu w.. ak
only separated from the pea'n ~ one
miles of rubber ice. This was w. The
chance. and we determined TO rlsN I'm
sleds were put side by side ana w, and
rush we started, the ice crachlus logs
breaking all the way. The toul ,t1 not
dashed on. urged by the men, cx-
80 40 look but covered my heat I'M
,,,ctin,, every moment TO go throu7" ne
son,e one called out we are ." ,yrip
ho.,chr and then / threw OF lH' and
"a sav- one of tn boys break gov" the
eoh with 10Y. and Mr. Chish'un an
rosdho,,se k.cper at Chookook' VIZ s,d.
indIan. was standing Oh the sh0ls