The Corvallis times. (Corvallis, Or.) 1888-1909, 1903-08-12
IN AN ICE PACK.
In the Frozen Arctic-Corv valllsite
was There and Writes About it.

In the Frozen Arctic-Cor valllsite
was There and Writes About it.
Mrs. Jefreys, formerly of Cor
wallis recently Joined her husband,
Thomas Jefreys, at Cape Nome,
arriving there the 18th ofJune last.
She sailed on the steamer Senator
from Seattle, and enroute, the ship
with 900 souls on board was for
some time in the perilous embrace
of an Arctic ice pack. In letter
to Corvallis friends, Mrs. JeHreys
tells the story of the ships exper-
ience, in part, as follows:
I'VE heard the cry that the
dreaded ice pack was ahead, and
sure enough within few minutes
the good ship was up against it.
Captain Patterson climbed to the
sscrow's nest'' and took long look
over the great ice sea, and signalled
to the men below to go ahead. We
made fairly good progress that af-
ternoon so every one was encour-
aged. We were confident that a
few more hours would take US out
in'o the open sea. How little do
We know what really is ahead
OF US in this life. So it was in
this case; for on Thursday morn
ins the great ship began to culver
and rattle. Her great iron heart
commenced TO throb and pulsate
like that of a strong man on the
brink of danger. The bells rang
out to slow down. and we were
fast in the great sea of ice. with
dreadful uncertainty of what the
consequence might be. Many a
good ship in similar circumstances
has been crushed as an egg shell,
and her precious cargo dropped
into the bosom of the icy deep.
Again and again the great steel
vessel backed off and rushed at
full speed against the icy barrier,
sometimes gaining short distance,
sometimes apparently making no
headway whatever. Friday the
old ship made by inch and foot its
way through the great ice cake. but
so slow was her progress that from
four o'clock in the morning to four
in the afternoon, we made but four
miles.
cat last, apparently FIVE miles
ahead, was the open sea, and its
from the deadly perils
that constantly hovered about US.
But the ice seemed to be thicken-
ing, and the battle the gallant
vessel was fighting got more
intense. Still we were gaining
headway slowly. Off ahead of us
the ice seemed to be more craggy
and rougher. Was this the shore
ice, was the question. If so. our
situation would be worse still.
When we reached a point about
half a mile from the open sea,
another culver of the great hull
told that once more we were locked
in the grasp of the icy monster.
This time, we seemed to be doomed
to wait until kind Providence
should by His wind and sun, sepa-
rate and melt the ice, and give Us a
way to the open sea; for all the
force the vessel had could not move
the monster ice cakes in front of us.
Here we lay helpless, moving by
the ocean current at the rate of
miles an hour toward the Arctic
At this juncture Scotch sailor pas
'enger said that if he were given
the coil of the big rope and the
steam machine on board the ship,
ne would clear the way. His ex-
pertinent was success, and in less
han thirty minutes the huge ice
berg was moving away from the
'front.' of the vessel, giving her a
chance to move ahead. Five hun
lred and sixty throats were scream
ng. The consciousness of impen-
ling danger was lifted, for within
lorty minutes the scream of the
ships whistle announced that we
we're once more in the open sea.
eve landed at Nome, Thursday 7.
June 18TH
Not Over Wise. :