The sun., 1908-07-26
ICE BUCKING IN NORTHERN SEA.
How the First Boat In Annual Race for
Land OF Gold Got Into Nome.

ICE BUCKING IN NORTHERN SEA.
How the First Boat in Annual Race for
Land OF Gold Got Into Nome.
Iarrived here via the steamer Victoria,
Monday, June rs, after most exciting
as well as dangerous trip. writes CORE
spondent Of the Laurence Wnrlr from Nome
Our passage from Seattle to beyond Uniwak
Pass was tame enough. the weather being
ideal and the ocean almost as calm as mill
pond. After reaching Bering Sea We bed
the same kind Of weather and 1t looked
as though we were going to make
record run, many feeling confident that We
would find that all the ice had already
gone north and that Bering Sea would be
cleared. Instead Of this being the case
we found that there was more ice In it than
had ever before been encountered at this
time Of the year.
We>first ran into the ice Monday morning
at about O'Clock and from then on we had
to steer slowly for fear Of springing the
steel plates Of which our boat is made
We kept this up until late the following
afternoon, when heavy fog settled down
and We had to anchor to an ice foe until IL
cleared again. This fog continued. never !
u1tlnR IOT H1OIt tItdh u iCV hoeAos eAAsAt
Thursday, June II. after which we oon-'
tinued to creep along.
Friday morning we ran into an almost abb ,
solutely solid pack, and after steaming up
and down on the outside OF the pack for
a day Capt. Porter Of our ship decided
that the only feasible thing for us to DO
was to lay to outside Of this pack until II
should break up and give US chance to get
through. By this time the steamer Olympia
had come up to us. and together we anchored
outside OF this pack. We had only been
anchored a short time when the steamer
Senator came into sight. and having
captain aboard with more nerve than 1udg-
ment the Senator was headed right into
this ice pack After once starting there was
no turning back. even though he wanted to.
Perhaps you think that Capt. Porter
wasn't mad, when he saw what Capt. Reilly
of the Senator was doing. There was
the double risk to be encountered. namely:
That OF sirkirg the boat by too hard buck
ing cf the ice. and that Of being caught
in the ice as il broke up and carried north
Tito the Arctic Ocean. This last danger
wesn't imaginary. for two boats were
caught a few years ago in just this way
and did not get out Of the Arctic until
late in the summer.
Such is the rivalry to get into Nome first
that our captain was forced to follow. for
IL he didn't and the Senator got into Nome
safe the Alaskan Steamship Company.
con trolling the victoria. would never have
forgiven Porter for stopping outside the
pack More than that: the r, passeneess 6ysr
nervous and urged him on. BY noon o.
tho next day the Senator was entirely OUT
Of sight and even Capt. Porter was OF
the opinion that she had struck clear water
on the other side.
BY this time he began to think that the
Senator had really stolen march on nun
and that feeling, together with the naggng
Of the passengers. made him feel pretty
sore, and he decided to strike out aftei
the Senator. He was more than aroused
and went after that ice pack three times
as hard as the Senator ever dared TO; ~
seemed as though he only knew three
signals-one was to back up, another 70
stop and the third to go at full speed
The Victoria is big boat for the Pacific
being $50 feet long and having twenty -one
feet under water when she Is loaded WIN
as much more above. We had about slx
hundred passengers and i.Soo tons q
monster monster hit the ioe something had 70 give.
and II was often question as to whether"
would be the Ice or the boat. ,.s
Before night we had nearly overhauieo
the Senator but had broken our steerIMhs teerMs
gear. smashed one blade OF our propeMssI
and had loosened several plates on ns
aide OF the boat. We were leaking hke
sieve. Often when we would hit the loe
the boat would quiver from stem TO sternii
After breaking the steering gear they ngso"
up a hand rudder and kept right on. 49,.
Toward night q fog settled down, ous
We couldn't stop for that. as the water
might beat us TO the shore. We never
knew either at what moment the lesis
might get larger or more numerous.
vas a very nervous tine ,,o9,, On smp1i1i nsppIiy Is
O'Clock, and then it took mo nearly two
Although most Of us had confidence in
our captain and his ability TO pun Ts "a
through, there were few who were scared
nearly to death. One fellow rushed "
on deck from the steerage almost franuo
and wanted to know II Capt. Porter ddne
Of steel between his bunk and the eea.
When / awoke in the morning the log
had cleared away and We were two mlles
ahead Of the Senator. We ploughed aions,
buoking the ice. sometimes taking han an
hour TO get by an unusually sohd pleeS
and sometimes shooting ahead for as muoi' l0Ss
as half q mile without stopping was
toklsh business. By 8 o'clock IN the eyen- r
ing We got out Of the ice and into cleada d
water, 30 we were able to sail along at gooo
speed for the last 25 miles.
1t was just little before 1880 money!
evening that We dropped anchor N W, W.
roadsteed, just six days late. l thougns
the town would 60 Wild cheering as we
came in on the launches. As usual, Nolh0
did things up brown, sending large aeS lie
SSkt. .~,,.,,t. ss, "a 49,. r,,t 10 t,,eet us.