Morris tribune., 1901-07-13
|. THE DERELICT
A Weird Story Of the
Polar Sea.
BY A. G.. PE A r s. e.

| we were about $50 miles to the south
| ward of Cape Horn, that we fell in
with the derelict ship. Her name, still
family to be read on the SCARED tim
bers, was Resolution. That is all we
learned about her from personal OBJ
servation, for the fact that her hold
was half full of water precluded the
possibility of careful examination.
But ON board Of her we discovered a
human derelict. He was lying in a
heap in the galley, and at first we
thought it was mere bundle of furs
and rags. Closer scrutiny, however,
revealed the fact that the bundle was
man. There was a flicker of life in
him-nO more. ...
"Pull him around If you cam" said
the skipper to the ships doctor. Il
should like to hear how it was that he
was drifting around in that old hulk,
which, by the way, Is danger to navi-
CATION"
My one fellow passenger, a man NAM
ed Holroyd, and myself hailed with
satisfaction the Doctors announcement
a couple Of days later that the patient
was sufficiently recovered to come up
on deck and spend an hour with us in
the saloon. We half led, half carried,
him from his berth and sat him down
on the after lockers.
The stranger looked from one to the
other of us with an expression that
was pitiful in his eager longing to give
utterance to some half formed ideas.
Then suddenly he turned to me and
asked:
"What year is this?'' I told him.
II thought perhaps 1t was frightful
dream" he murmured, ''but 1t was real
ity. Six years! My God, six yearsw
He stopped abruptly and covered his
face with his hands. Holroyd poured
out glass Of wine and gave it to him.
This frightened him up a bit, and he
slowly began again:
ION the Goth Of December, six years
ago, we sailed from Adelaide in the
ship Enterprise on an exploring expedi-
ton in the antarctic regions. The cap
tain's name was Cleveland.
wye steered for Kerguelan island,
where we landed some seal fishers, and
then proceeded on our voyage. On the
9th Of January we made out some
high land on the port bow. To the west
the water was full Of summer ice, but
the water was clear to the southwark,
and we pushed on until the 23d Of
March, when we were bNset in the ice
pack. and it was only with the greatest
difficulty that we warped the ship into
small inlet which the captain deter
mined to make his winter quarters.
"As soon as the ship was safely
moored we started to explore this DESC
late land. which no living man had ever
set foot upon or even seen. It was evil
IDENTIFY part Of great southern CONT
nent which stretched beyond the pole
itself. And over those frightful and
voiceless solitudes Of snow Cleveland
determined to force his way as soon as
spring rendered travelling possible.
"With the first traces of returning
hight we made preparations for an ex-
petition to the south, and on the Gath
of September we started. For month
we Travelled under sky as blue as
1taly's. and then the weather changed
Fogs. snowstorms and gales succeeded
each other. rendering travelling a work
of such difficulty and danger that we
had to make the best Of our way back
to the ship. which we reached in Janu-
airy, only to find that the ice had forced
her high up on the shore amid mass
of debris She was still habitable,
though she would never float again.
"Six more weary months dragged by.
Escape to the north being cut of by a
barrier Of ice mountains, Captain Cleve-
land determined to make another at
tempt to cross the polar sea, or CONT
nent, whichever it was. and reach era
ham Land, where he might be picked
up by whaler.
"Our original crew of 35 was now re-
duced by sickness and accident to about
20. We carried quantity of provisions,
hotsted the ensign at the peak and babe
goodby to the Enterprise on Oct. %.
"As we advanced farther the peaks
and rough ground fell away until an
1nbroken sheet Of snow stretched away
before us. Nowhere else on earth would
it be possible to find such utter desola- |
tion.
"The crew held consultation. and |
even the boldest Of them, being dis
mayed by the gloomy prospect, sd.
dressed a request to Captain Cleveland
to return to the Enterprise. This he re-
fused to do, but eight men determined |
to go back alone, and SO, giving them
one Of the Sledges and their provisions,
we parted company. Whether they ey-
err reached the ship know not.
I'VE kept on and on, forever toward
the south, and one by one my compan
ons died along the road until there
we've only four ofdIs left-the captain,
myself and two searnen. It was about
his time thaE / fell into q sort of
rance. How long continued in this
laEed state / do not know. but when
recovered consciousness found my
,eIf nnding on rocky headland gar
ng down upon q ship which was Inn
oedded IN the center OF field Of rough