The Hawaiian star. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu]) 1893-1912, 1902-07-23

to the Water.
PORT TOWNSEND CWash), July
15.-The steamer Portland, Captain
Lindquist for which fears were en-
tertained in the ice foes of the Arctic
seas, came into port this afternoon
looking none the worse for her expe-
riences in the north. While conceding
that the vessel had a very narrow es-
cape, Captain Lindquist asserts that
ne felt throughout the trying days of
her Imprisonment that she would come
cut all right His principal fear CEN
tered about the time the jam would
take place and the events at that mo-
mentous time showed that he had good
cause for fear
When the Smash-up occurred the
stanch Portland was lifted like a cork
high out of the water, held a few mo-
ments, which seemed centuries, on
top of the quivering mass, and then
the ice settled out from under her and
the vessel was dropped violently back
into the water, churning up a mighty
wave that drenched the packet from
stem to stern.
From May 9TH until June 9th the
Portland was at the mercy of the ice
foes, and in that time was carried
from latitude SO deg. 10 min. north and
16S deg. min. west to SO deg. s min.
north and 1853 deg. min. west, every
passing day having it's terror concern
ing the final dissolution of the foe.
The calm determination Of Captain
Lindquiet and his officers went for to-
ward convincing the passengers and
few gave utterance to their fears.
When the pack passed Cape Prince
o. Wales, four venturesome passen-
gers left the Portland to make their
way ashore. After proceeding forty
miles, the party returned bearing w.
s. Bliss of San Francisco with both
feet frozen. This was the only acct
dent marking the entire trip of the
! Portland.
Captain Lindquist ascribes his YES
sells predicament to overenthusiasm in
| the race to reach Nome first with It'd
| ings from the outside to the people
! who had been isolated for many
! months. The Portland being in ad-
vance of the procession, was more
firmly caught than were the other veg
! sells, which met only the slush ice and
| were enabled to back out when the
| pack came down on them. May 10th
the heavy pack came down and the
| Portland was cut off from all possible
chance of escape.
Several days later the Jeanae APP
peared on the scene and owas soon a
| prisoner, and the two vessels remained
in the ice until June 9th, escaping
within a few hours of each other, On
June 5th the Portland was carried
! through Behring straits at a high
| speed on the floating field of ice, inn
| PEELED by a strong nOrtherly current.
| Twenty days later the highest point
| was reached, the vessel being then 69.0S
degrees north and 1895 degrees west.
! Two days later the watch from the
| forepeak shouted Clear ahead!' and
after that the beak-up occurred.
After being raised high and then
! plunged back again into the icy water
! Captain Lindquist knew that the long
! iooked-for opportunity had arrived,
and soon had the Portland bucking
with all her weight and the full
| strength of her engines against the
apparently insurmountable barriers of
| the ice between her and freedom. Time
after time the plucky vessel bounded
| back like a ball from the wall of ice,
but, nothing daunted, Captain Lind
gust persevered and, after six hours
| of the hardest sailing ever done by the
! Portland, she forced the ice apart and
went scudding out into her native ele-
| ment
The rejoicing on board was some
| thing indescribable, tears and cheers
| intermingling with the shrill screech
| of the whistle signalling victory to the
/ Jeanne.
With this vessel the same course was
pursued. Six hours after the Portland
was free the stanch old Jeanne, Cap
tain Mason, came steaming out to join
her and both proceeded to Nome,
where they were received with great
enthusiasm. The Portland had sus~
tanned no injury whatever in the rough
experience among the icebergs. The
Jeanne had her propeller broken and
had to be assisted to Nome, where she
still was when the Portland left.
In the cargo discharged at Nome
were several large and finely con-
structed dories not on the manifest.
! These were the result of the care and
foresight of Captain Lindquist, who
had them constructed from the lumber
aboard to be used if an emergency re-
quired the passengers and the crew to
take to the boats.
The Portland sailed from Nome on
July 4th, at which time the cutter
| Thetis had not returned. She should
have been back several days before,
and some uneasiness was felt for her.
il being the intention when the Port
land sailed to send out other ships in
search Of the Thetis at once, to re-
! lieve her If in distress and to COM
municate the news of the safety of the
Portland and Jeanne, for which she
/ had been prosecuting such a logged
though unsuccessful search. The
Thetis Is a stanch craft, built espe-
cially for the ice sea work, and little
fear is manifested except that her
machinery may have become disabled,
| in which event assistance would be
! necessary to bring her back to port,
The Portland left here tonight, bound
| Tor Ladysmith to coal prior to sailing
tor San Francisco to make her second
| trip to Nome.