Bismarck daily tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, Dakota [N.D.]) 1881-1916, 1907-10-24
BOLDLY DEF|E:DDEi
When Petty Officer Willis Went
AIoft In an Arctic Gale.

Aloft L, an Arctic Gale.
RlskED LIFE FOR HIS MATES
A. Modest Naval Hero who Accom-
plished a Feat That Seemed Utterly
Impossible and Saved His Ship and
the Lives Of Forty Men.
The barkentine rugged steamer III
gress was a British sealer before our
government bought her, a stanch, stout
ship having record of many hum
dreds of miles In dangerous arctic
seas. In 1873 the Tigress was fitted
and equipped at the Brooklyn navy
yard and dispatched to Baf1in bay on
an unusual and hazardous mission.
| Some of the members Of the tragic
Polaris expedition were believed to be
alive and .adrift on the floating ice.
Commander Greer of the Mgress was
ordered to cruise In the ice pack
| throughout the summer and as late as
| possible In the autumn to search every
bay and inlet along the coast Of Baffin
Land for the survivors and the wreck
| ed vessel. With him were Lieutenant
Commander Henry @. White and Engi-
neer George Wallace Melville, the last
named becoming known subsequently
as one of the heroes of the Jeanette
| expedition and as rear admiral.
| Before the mast was a petty officer
named willis, veteran Of the rebel
| lion, SCARED, weather beaten, pow
erfully built fellow, possessing the
savage pluck which makes the true
seaman. Had Willis not bunked In the
Tigress' forecastle or had he been less
than the man ne was It Is scarcely
probable that q single one Of the forty
| four men on board would ever have
come back. s5 #f3 i
After renting at Disko late id An
gust the Tigress turned her bluff bows
to the northeast, crossed Davis strait
and. pushing her way into every lead
or river of blue water which afforded
a passage, made a persistent but UNI
successful search for the castaways.
This continued for several weeks q
strange cruise, but uneyentfuI, save
when occasionally there. came q terrific
crash from crumb1ing berg quite
near at hand or the danger Of collision
with the towering ice wall sent the
crew rushing to their stations.
/ One afternoon this strange existence
came to an end with suddenness. The
8. horizon thickened, q fresh wind sprang
4 up, followed by q smashing sea and
growing fog The violent wind and
mighty currents joined forces In q
way that caused the Tigress to drift in
calculably. 1T was discovered that her
engines were not working satisfactory,
/ ". When, the next morning, it was
seen that the gale was increasing, the
choppy waves frothing wickedly under
/ a sky dark as cinders, the commander
at once turned southwark His stanch
vessel driven and blown, he forced his
way into Cumberland gulf, which af.
forded meager shelter. s
As soon as the gale lessened a trife
the engineer made ready to repair his
machinery and boilers Accordingly
the heavy weather anchor was sunk
and with the vessel facing the winds
teye and behaving quietly the engine
room force got the forge in place BY
! the fire room hatch. However, as the
sky was still ugly, they did not imme
diately bank the fires. The wisdom OF
this precautfon was soon proved. Dur
ing the night 1t began to snow. The
snow fell fine and dry, and it seemed
4 to grow much colder AT the same
time the wind renewed the shrill pip
] ing in all the ropes, and the vessel LAID
down her nose to the gale, which was
blowing again, more violent than be
fore. Daylight revealed only too plain
i " what a wild and terrible storm wa,
raging the swift lowering clouds, th,
snarling. abrupt seas, which shook TIL,
vessel in all her timbers. u
The Tigress tugged heavily at he
chain, now diving, now springing t,
the top OF wave. which student.
4 followed out, causing her to thrasl
4 down again, as IL she would knock he
4 head against the bottom. All at ono
a q loud, sharp clang resounded through
the ship. The anchor chain had parted
= With kissing roar the wind caugh
g her. and the Tigress rose on the foam
s. to leeward and soon after began to rol
j broadside on.
4 The rolling brought every one Of
3 deck. The engines were started. Il
4 time, after wallowing fearfully, th
81 grooming ship was brought round
! her old position, facing the seas. Sh
q lay as close to the wind as possible
& with reefed stayBaii forward and th
Z spanker halfway brailed up, the er
q tgines being kept going to hold her al
q might have been well enough then Ii
8 to the dismay Of Oil, the foretopgalian
# sail had not blown adrift. The hi
: fanyas, fhrashing fin the northeas
: gusts, endangered the mast. Ever
4 bound OF the sail shook the mast like
g whip All, hands watched II. hopin
feryently 10 see 1t blow away from th
q yard for good and all