Edgefield advertiser. [volume] (Edgefield, S.C.) 1836-current, 1908-11-04


but the swinging of the berg had
brought us fair in its lee. The littls
Nancy stood there, stark still and
straight as an arrow, her sails limp
and empty, as if she was like all
hands, dumfounded.
Il ran round to the port side, then
fcr'ard, >and as far OFF as I could sec
in any direction lay great white fiat
Of ice. / ran aft again, and looking
off astern, could see that the only
way off was the way we came on
And while 1 stood, there was thun.
derous report beside US, followed by
long, tremulous vibration, as though
the whole earth was in upheaval
round US, and with a shrieking roar.
ton upon ton of ice crashed down or
our deck for'ard.
"Timoers crunched and cracked
beneath it, and the little schooner
shook and trembled until I felt as il
my own life was being crushed out
with her. The crew broke in con.
fusion for the first time and made sft
from where they stood amidships, but
not a man spoke.
Il felt the wind beginning to
squeeze round behind us again, and
the whole mountain Of ice seemed tc
be revolving as on pivot by the
force of the wind and tide.
"''Tis the way of these blasted
bergs to turn turtle at times, cap'n!
some one said; ard as he spoke, q
blast of wind struck our mainsail, and
over the Nancy went on her beams,
sending us headlong down against
the wheel cover in bunch.
"A dsafening series Of swapping
reports Travelled from beneath us.
Everything solid round us seemed
to shake and tremble for a second;
then down she went, straight down
through that honeycombed ice, until
it seemed as though we were going
under altogether. The tons of the
schooner's weight in capsizing had
smashed through the ice that held
her!
"Ice and sea rolled over the rail
as we went down into it, and there we
lay on our beam-ends, and spars and
sail stretched fat out upon the ice.
l could not move. I hung on to the
wheel, my eyes and teeth shut tight
as wise
"Then I felt her beginning to right
as the broken cakes Of the ice parted
round her, and rising slow but sure,
and coming up to her bilge, with a
lurch she stood up straight again, and
I could feel that we lay in good brine
once more.
THE big main-boom swung out
with bang; the mainsail filled, and
starting off before the wind, she bid
up with a glancing blow against the
edge of ice in that little bay broken
round her. Then turning a half-cir-
Gle along its edge, she shot up dead
into the wind, out into clear water,
and off to starboard of her own will,
straight away from that monster,
"''Twas more than our own hands
did that!' I heard old Barnacle Gran
nett say, as those thirteen men, one
after another, let go their holds and
breathed deep again as she gathered
way.
I'VE found our rudder hanging
loose and wrenched from the steer
ing-gear. Tons of ice lay piled for
ward on our deck, the flying jib-boomc
was gone altogether, the nartingaleI
was forced into the stem, opening the
seams in the peak, her bulwarks and
stanclIions were cleaved off flush with
the deck on the starboard bow and aft
to amidships, and the fore chain-plate
was bent and twisted like tin. II
glanced at the clock again as 1 ran
below for an AK. But twenty minutes
had gone from the time we struck,
yet in those twenty minutes seemed
to have lived longer than in all my
twenty odd years at sea.
Daylight opened at last, and found
us running wild, with the rudder
rigged in 'berther,' and water MAX
ing fast through the peak into the.
mold. The compass had shaken out
OF the gimbal and was useless, but
we felt round in all directions for
soundings until we caught the ringing
OF bell-buoy up to windward, and
we knew we had Point Rich and
landing at hand, and we made it, fast
and hard.
"But We got the market first for all
of that. After all Nancy's frolic, and
the scrape she led us into, we were
only steering clear Of worse things
on the outside course. We were the
last men to see the Prindall af1oat.
And except a few timbers and one
man, we landed home with our trip,
and as fit as when we started.
"That man was Toby Snow, our
colored cook. 'Cap'n,' said he from
the shore where we beached her that
morning at Point Rich, deep to the
scuppers with water in the hold and
all hands tuckered out with the
pumps, give my share to some needy
family If you ever gets home again.
Fishin' is likely all right 'nough, but
I is dat sure I amt cut out for no
fisherman dat / prefer to go home
along de shore And he did.
"Many's the infidel has sailed out
OF Gloucester harbor and come back
a God-fearing man. There were two
on that trip-Dan Neal over there
drinking coffee with the chaplain was
one of them. youths Companion.