The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1904-11-28

The calamity was observed aboard
the ship, and they were lowering an
other boat when a fine rain began to
| fall, and within ten minutes such a
| fog rolled up that one could hardly
! see his hand before his face. This
| had not lasted above a quarter of an
hour when the breeze strengthened,
and I knew that it was one chance in
a million of the "Talisman' picking
me UP. AS a matter of fact, as I
afterwards came to know, she did not
spend a minute looking for me, but
set sail to get clear of the ice as soon
as possible She ran to the north un-
til clear of the field and then short
| ened sail and planned to return next
day and make a search. This she did
do, but meanwhile L had drifted a long
way to the south with the ice pack
and she gave me up as lost.
The weather was not severe. and I
was warmly clad and did not suffer
much during the night. In fact, I
boat to take care of herself. There
was food and water and blankets, and
unless the little craft should get into
squeeze I might drift for several
days and not be much the worse for
it. I awoke at daylight next morning
to find the fog still holding and the
pack still drifting, and it was not until
afternoon that the weather cleared.
When the fog rolled away 1 was
within half a mile of one of the big
gest bergs that ever drifted I'D from
the frozen south 1t was a mile or
more in length, but not over forty
feet high-a mighty mass of ice, as
blue and as hard as steel itself. Here
and there were great rocks showing,
and the configuration of the berg
limited that what was now out of
beneath the surface. In other words.
the monster had turned turtle in some
tremendous gale.
I hauled my boat on to the ice and
set out to reach the berg and see what
sort of shelter it afforded. The pack
ice had piled up ten feet high around
it, and I was all of an hour making
that half mile. When I finally reached
the berg and made my way up its Jag
ged eastern side it was to find a great
hollow in its center like the mouth of
a volcano. In the center of this hollow
lay a great mass of wreckage, mostly
covered with snow, and after a long
stare slid down and began an 1nVeStf-
cation. No one will ever behold more
curious sight. A space several hundred
feet square was covered with broken
other debris. Amidst this heap were
hundreds of articles belonging to the
interior of ship, such as tables,
chairs, crockery and bedding. A few
articles had not been damaged, but the
greater number had been quite destroy
ed for further usefulness. There was a
sort of mildew covering everything,
and such articles of clothing as 1 held
up were quite rotten "A large snip nau
suffered destruction by smashing
against the berg. 1t looked to me as if
she might have been whole when she
first rested in the crater, but had
been crushed later on by a fall of ice.
No other force, except dynamite, could
have so wrecked and scattered her
about
Sailor1ike, my first thought was to
identify the wreck. This I did by find
ing life preserver with the name
Princess on it. I had not then heard
of the loss of the Australian packet,
but knew from the fittings that the
wreck must have been a fine passenger
Ship There were no bodies under or
about the wreckage, and during my
search of half a day did not find any
money or jewelry or other article of
value. OF her cargo only small por-
ton was at hand, and that was bales
of wool, black and mildew. 1 carried
the life preserver and some of the
leaves of her rotten log-book back to