The Prince George's enquirer and southern Maryland advertiser. (Upper Marlborough, Md.) 1882-1925, 1908-09-04
TALES OF
ICE CRUSHES VESSEL.

ICE CRUSHEs VESSEL.
The crew of the whaler William
Bayliss, which was wrecked by ice
bergs off the Siberian coast, have ar
rived at Seattle, Wash. The thirty
five men have nothing but the clothes
they stand in, and are penniless.
They were brought to Seattle on the
steamship Umatilla. They had
hoped that they would be carried to
San Francisco by the Government
under the law which provides for the
transportation of shipwrecked mar
iners, but at Seattle they have
reached the first American port ex-
cepting Alaska, and the Government
need do no more for them.
Disguised and broke" the men
were at loss where to turn. They
were Informed by Deputy United
States Shipping Commissioner Henry
Peterson that no more Government
aid could be given. Several English
men looked up the British Consul for
assistance, and the rest depended on
the Charity Organization Society and
the Seaman's Mission.
Whalers are hired to work on
'lays," a percentage of the profits of
the ship. For this reason the men
have no wages due them. Technical
ly the deputy shipping commissioner
states they can each claim IS If the
owners cannot show that their "slop"
accounts exceeded this amount.
Henry Kruse, second officer of the
Bayliss, gives graphic account of
the loss of the vessel.
"The Bayliss left San Francisco
last March," says Mr.. Kruse, "for the
summer whaling cruise in the Arc
tic, under command of Captain H. H.
Bodfish, and carrying forty-three
men in all. The run north was made
without incident until the vessel met
the ice in Bering Sea, April 4. For
several weeks the whaler lay sur
rounded by such foes as I, who have
spent fourteen years in those re-
gions on whalers, have never seen
before Finally the Bayliss found a
lead through the foes and escaped
only to be caught in the ice again
on April 25. The Bayliss was then
near the Gulf of Anadir, and the
steam whaler Bowhead lay in the ice
about three miles away.
Surrounded by giant bergs from
the Arctic Ocean, which lowered for
ty feet above her decks, the whaler
seemed to those aboard to be caught
in some deep mountain valley. AS
long as the sea remained calm the
Bayliss was safe in her snug haven,
and until May Is she lay in the ice
with little change. During this time
a sharp watch was kept for any indi-
cations of a lead or lane through
which the ship could escape. but
none was found.
''On May IS a strong northwest
gale sprang up and it was soon ap-
parent to us that the big bergs were
going to make troublesome neigh
bors if they got too close. With
cracks and groaps and occasional re-
ports like the discharge of artillery
the pack ice began to move under
the impetus of the northwest gale.
The bergs closed in against the ship,
and we aboard began TO fear for her
safety. Few turned into their hunks
when night fell.
cat about 10 o'clock it became ap-
parent that the end would come in a
few minutes and all hands were or
dered to abandon the ship. The ice
mountains towering on each side
were grinding inexorably together
and the vessel trembled and quiv-
cred. The stout timbers built to
buck the heaviest ice, cracked and
broke under the pressure.
within twenty minutes after the
order to abandon ship the Bayliss
was crushed like an egg she'll Gath
cred together in the shelter of an ice
hummock we waited for morning,
taking such comfort as we could
from improvised shelter. Many of the
men had nothing but the clothes in
which they stood.
when morning broke we set out
across the rough ice to find the whal-
mountains and ridges of ice, which
must be passed, SO prolonged the
journey that seventeen hours had
elapsed when we reached the whaler.
There we were sheltered and cared
for until on May 81 the Bowhead
found a lead to open water and sailed
for Nome, reaching that port June
21.
''At Nome eight of the crew, in
Guiding Captain Bodfish and the first
| officer, found other employment. The
rest of the men were shipped to Sc
attic on the Umatilla in the hope of
reaching San Francisco at the Gov
ernment's expense and finding en-
: ployment there, and, perhaps, of col
/ lecting a little from the owners OF
| the vessel"