Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1905-12-30
ADRIPT ON AN ICEBERG
CREW OF WRECKED SHIP MADE
CAMP.
Not Unpleasant Until the Ice Began
to Melt-Rescued Just
in Time.
From the Seattle rost-rntelligsncer.

tain of the Pioneer Tug Company of Seat
tie, is unique in many respects. Wrecked
in the north, the whole ships company
drifted for three weeks in boats and on an
iceberg, and during that time dainty ro-
nance was developed and later consum-
mated when the castaways were rescued
The experience of the captain differs from
almost any other story of the deep, In that
not one of the many people on board were
lost or even injured
For the last few years the captain has
been on the sound and there are few men
better known in local shipping circles than
he Is.
L was second mate of the British bark
Sunderland, owned by CawIfp, Forbes g.
Co. of London She was chartered by a
Montreal firm to carry a load of cement to
Quebec. Can.
Twenty days from London we struck
a. fog bank. and then our troubles began.
We were anxious to make a quick passage.
tut the fog meant reduced speed. Day
after day went by, and still no sign OF
ietup in the gray mist that enveloped us
like a. pail Twelve days went by, and
curing that time we never caught glimpse
OF the sun nor the stars, and of course
could not get an observation. In the two
weeks that were in the fog the captain
aged ten years, for he was constantly
thinking of his wife and her friend He
seldom left except for an hour or two of
sleep and a bite to eat.
Fog and Ice
''On the morning Of the fifteenth day in
the fog was on the bridge when 1 smelled
Ice. 1 at once sent a boy to call the cap
tain, who had Just turned in, and when he
came on deck he. too, noticed it. That rem
dered our position more perilous than be-
fore, but all we could do was to keep even
better lookout than ever. While we were
on the foc'sle head right before us doomed
a white wall that Sparkled and glimmered
duly in the dim light. Before We could
shout to the man at the wheel to put her
hard down the crash came. We were then
making about eight knots. and the force
of the collision was such that 1t stove In
the vessels bow clear up to the heel of
the foremost. Both the captain and my
self only escaped by sprnging back like a
shot.
THE vessel was a total wreck and had
only a few minutes to live. The scene on
her decks was terrible; the masts had all
fallen. and confusion relgned; Cfles IRON ON
the women, curses and yelis from the
crew, and above all the roar OF the SURF
against the berg made a chaotic scene
never to be forgotten. The , captain was
seemed to have lifted weight from MS
shoulders Men can often face real dan
ger much easier than they can an ahtlci-
.IIe took command of few Of the men
and soon had the long boat, which hao peeh
secretly prepared for any sueh cohtMseh'y,
launched, and the women were Husliet ti "a
like A fash. I was given command ana toio
to shove off but the captains wire WouIo
not leave him, and we had to walt until the
other boats were launched and every one
safe from the vessel before the az
would come In and allow us to shove on.
We were not more than fifty yards from the
vessel when she threw up her stern anu
went down, nose first. -
I'VE were of course, cast down, but soon
started to look ahead and try to figure out
what would become of us. There were ten
Of us in the long boat-two women. the cap
tain. myself and six sailors. We had three
beakers of water and quite large amount
Of food, so had no fear of starving.
Camp on a Berg.
What did hurt US. though, was the fact
that more than three hours after the snip
struck the fog cleared, and from that time
we saw scarcely any. But the sight that
we did see caused US to wonder how we had
escaped so long, for we were in a perfect
field Of ice There were seven large bergs
within the radius of a quarter of a mile,
and we were in the center 1t was mys.
terry how we escaped striking before VI
course, 1t was very cold, so cola, IN 1act'
that we had TO row to keep warm me
little boat seemed awfully cramped after
the big vessel. but We made out as well as
could be expected. The women bore up
Ii, L
captains wife had hard struggle to keep
back the tears We driftsd all that night
and by morning were so cold and stiff that
we were ready for anything.
we try to climb the berg that had sunk our
vessel. The suggestion was no sooner made
than we were all eager to try It. But
climbing it was more difficult than we
thought The sides were almost smooth,
and after seeking in vain for a slOping face
we gave 1t up and pulled to another and
smaller one about two miles off. That one
had long sheer to the water, and We had
no difficulty whatever In getting on board.
We piled all the quilts and blankets on the
Ice and made tent for the women. which
at first they refused to occupy. stating
that they would take their chances with
the rest of US and would not have anything
better than the rest
But few hours in the cold made the
little tent, with its warm blankets, look
more welcome, and they finally crawled in.
We got all the stores up from the boat and
piled them safely on the berg. The top of
the berg was fat and made beautiful roof
garden, If may use that term. Anyway,
1t was a welcome retreat for us, and It
gave US a chance to stretch our legs and
exercise. enough to keep the blood circu-
lating.
I'VE had small alcohol stove, and over
that the women cooked our first supper. 1t
tasted fine. 1t was only fried ham and
biscuit. washed down with a small amount
of black coffee. but never in my life did
anything taste better The hot coffee was
particularly fine. After getting things
Strengthened up We arranged for watches
so as to be sure never to miss any passing
vessel. had the first watch and to tell
you the truth. I enjoyed It, The top OF the
berg was 100 feet above the water, and as
the night was fine and clear a beautiful
view was to be had
I'm the morning breakfast was served as
was supper the previous night, and we all
enjoyed 1t Immensely. As we drifted fur
Their south the Ice gradually melted and be-
came honeycombed until 1t was unsafe
we then had to take to the boats once
again and strike out for the track of the
Atlantic vessels. Two days after leaving
the berg we saw smoke on the horizon
Then We started to pull. We pulled until
our arms We're almost pulled out of the
sockets. but We got close enough to make
ourselves seen. We were picked up by the
steamer Nottingham and taken to Liver
pool