Evening journal., 1905-04-25
a TRAGEDY
OF THE ICE
fcopyrleht. 1so4 hy n. {. Mcclure I


OF the berg and sent four OF us Off
in the yawl to inspect and report when
the berg was reached the mate and
two men scrambled on to the ice FOR
a closer look, leaving the boat in my
charge. They had reached shelf
above me and 200 feet 10 the east
when, without the slightest warning,
the great lump OF ice began to split
and quake, and down came thousands
OF tons into the sea. The three men
must have met instant death, while
the boat was shot TO a distance Of half
a mile as IL moved by steam.
Then a fog came up. That was the
last saw Of the Talisman.
The weather was not severe. and
was warmly clad and did not suffer
much during the night In fact l
slept most of the time, leaving the
boat to take care Of herself. There
were food and water and blankets. and
unless the little craft should get into
a squeeze l 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 I was
within half a mile OF one Of the big
| gest bergs that ever drlfted up from
the frozen south. IL was mile OF
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 we're great rocks showing,
and the confguration Of the berg hint
ed that what was now out Of water
had once been fatboms deep beneath
the surface.
/ hauled my boat on 70 the ice and
set out to reach the berg and see what
sort Of shelter il afforded. The pack
ice had piled up ten feet high around
it, and l was all Of an hour making
that half mile. When / finally reached
the berg and made my way up its
jagged eastern side it was TO End q
great hollow in its center like the
mouth Of volcano. In the center OF
this hollow lay a great mass Of wreck.
age, mostly covered with snow. and
after a long stare / slid down and be
gan an investigation. No one viii
ever behold a more curious sight A
space several hundred feet square VIVA
covered with broken masts, yards
beams. planks. ropes and other debris
Amid this heap were hundreds Of ar
ticles belonging to the interior Of q
ship, such as tables, chairs, crocker.
and bedding. A few articles had no
been damaged, but the greater mum
Der had been quite destroyed for fur
ther usefulness. There was sort ol
mildew covering everything, and sucl
articles Of clothing as l held up wer'
quite rotten. A large ship had suffer
the berg. 1t looked to me as If sh'
! might have been whole when she FRS
rested in the crater, but had beeI
crushed later on by a fall OF ice. M
other forcc except dynamite could havi
so wrecked and scattered her about
Sailorlike. my first thought was L
identify the wreck. This did by flnd
ing a life preserver with the NAM
Princess on it. I had not then hear
, of the loss OF the Australian packet
but knew from the fittings that th
/ wreck must have been a fine passenge
ship. There were no bodies under o
, ! about the wreckage. and during m.
search OF half day / did not hn'
any money or jewelry or other articl
Of value. or her cargo only a smal
portion was at hand, and that wa
bales OF wool. black with mildew
J carried the life preserver and some o
5 the leaves OF her rotten log book bac
= TO my boat to corrobOrate the story
! should tell IL ever rescued, and ! de
, bated long whether or not to set fir
? to the wrecllage. / finally decided {
+, do so, that l might get the advantag
Of the smoke as signal, and when
finally quit the berg there was a CO
umn Of black smoke rising straight II
70 the air that could be seen for fft
I miles away.
4 The weather had grown warmer, an
! as evening came the pack ice began
/ separate and long lanes OF water
I show themselves. l took one of thes
lanes and worked at the oars unit
finally clear Of the field. and then L
y the boat slowly drift 10 the north. b.
l. lieving that some OF the whalers crui
J. ing in that direction would sooner {
e later come down I'm answer to the sil
e nal. There were food and water to lal
It me for four days, and the supply {
l. blankets kept me warm. and but Il
N the worry and anxiety I should haN
: almost called it a picnic. Among ii
whalers OF the north and south seas \
boat IS allowed to leave the ship. eve
to go half a mile. without food an
blankets, and in many cases an alcoh
s stove is added. Il was to this infiexlb
l. rule that owed my life.
@ On the afternoon OF the fourth da
= after / had been watching the antics
q a school Of young whales for an hour.
Scotch whaler hove in sight and can
down and picked me up. She had sec
the smoke forty-five miles away an
J. taken II for ship on fire. but could n
:, get down sooner on account OF the &c
b She had just reached the cruisir
ground, and as It so happened that v
did not meet with an American era
r / was compelled to serve in her 4
, thirteen months before making n POI
1t was from her captain that Learnt
Of the loss Of the Princess, which b,
~ taken place quite four years before.
AS for my own craft. she gave me I
as lost with the three others. and
reported TO owner and friends. ~
a when / finally made the home pc