The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1906-08-19
Was NARROWED, 50 he SUES.
LOSS or THE ERA RECALLS HER
FIRST MATES EXPERIENCE.
He says He was Abandoned in the Arctic
n Spent Years Among Esauimau X
Before o scotch whaling Ship Rescued
Him-POrgOt the English Tongue.

hfo bayb ESQ was ADenuo7ICu II thc NFctic
and Spent Years Among Esquimau X
Before o scotch Whaling Ship Rescued
Him-Forgot the Engiish Tongue.
New LONDON, Aug. ls.-The loss OF the
whaling schooner Era, which went ashore
OF st. Pierre q few days ago, recalls a
curious suit at law which involves this boat
and which will be threshed out in the Massa-
chusetts courts soon. This Ia the suit OF
George c. Cleveland Of Vineyard Haven,
Martha's Vineyard, against Thomas Luce
q Son OF New Bedford. The point at issue
Ii whether a vessels owners can with i'm
punity leave a member OF the crew In the
Arctic regions and fail to call for him.
In 1899 the Era, with George Cleveland
as second mate, sailed for a cruise in Hud-
son Bay. According to Cleveland he went
out on the boat with the understanding
that he was to establish a whaling station
up there and with a companion was TO re-
main over q year, the boat to return for him
in the second season.
When the Era reached her destination
his companions courage failed and he
sailed home with the boat, leaving Cleve-
land alone. According to the story OF the
second mate, he would still be up there In
the Joe II he had waited for Thomas Luce
4 Son to send after him.
As It was, he stayed until last spring wait
ing for q chance to get back to civilization
and during that time forgot even his native
tongue. Now he proposes to make the
former owners OF the Era, who he says
marooned him up there, pay him $4,000
for his hardships.
According to Ceveland's story he was
abandoned 1,50O miles from the nearest
white settlement at Wager River, the north
end OF Hudson Bay. He built himself a
,abin IL by "a feet and during the first year
or more he did not mind the experience,
although his provisions ran short and he
frequently had to live on one meal a day.
When the first spring came he did con-
siderable trading with the natives in whale
bone. At the end OF the second summer
the Era had not appeared to take him back
home and he began to get discouraged and
long for a sight Of New England. He
weathered the second winter and when
spring appeared he looked ev cry day for
some sign Of the Era.
Then as the summer passed and winter
began to settle down again, to use Cleve-
lands words, 1T was a case Of either get
hIirohB ~ u tttt ~ oaN 4 tlid1O
for the Iwilliets tribe
They received him cordially and viz
tually made him one Of their number.
In speaking Of this experience to his friends
here Cleveland said:
-Tbe tribe consisted Of about 800 persons
and. like others OF the race, was nomadio,
seeking places where the game was most
plentiful. During the summer we went to
the coast after walrus and seal, which we
usually found In fair numbers.
AT that season when moss and heather
were abundant we could oook our food;
but in winter cooking was out of the ques-
ton and the flesh, which was often in a
ran cid state, had TO be eaten raw. When
ever billiards swept down on us we began
building our snow huts and I became quite
an expert
He had a thrilling experience on an ice
foe for five days without provisions and he
and some Esquimau companions had a
narrow escape from being carried out to
sea. This happened on a New Years hunt
for gam, in 1902, and the American with
his two companions and dogs had crossed
the ice some distance when they looked
back and saw hat the cake of les on which
they were standing had broken away from
the mainland and was drifting out to sea.
They made an attempt to get back to the
mainland, but were unsuccessful. Then
q blizzard came up and for five days they
they had almost abandoned hope when the
Toe o grounded at Beach Point and they
had Just strength enough to crawl Jack
to the tribe.
He had spent four years with the Esqui-
maux when n day a Scotch whaling boat
couldn't speak a word of English and it
took him a month to learn to talk again.