New-York tribune., 1908-02-24
TALES FROM FAR NORTH
4 C4ROUSAL ICEBERG.
Also Dead Polar Bear When II ait
but Refused the HooE.

When the halibut refused to snap up the oalt
on his long trawl lines, Captain Albert Fiygone'
Scandinavian master mariner, deep sea hsher-
man and sharpshooter, melted chunks OIL praS'
on deck and that explains partly why he had an
offer Of $500 from a HUDSON Bay company Tor
the skin of polar bear.
Captain Flygone commands the fishing boat
Oregon. which in the summer sails the waters OIL
the Arctic in search of halibut. He put into
Gloucester where he halls from, severa! weeks
ago with a cargo of frosted herring, and after
doGging Cane Brenton's Reef ghtship managed
to bring the Oregon safely to this port yester-
day.
The captain said he always had story of the
sea to hand out gratis to the inquisitiVe' ana as
the reporters OF Gloucester never bother MN he
Invariably stored it up for the press gang OIL
New York.
Rather an odd gun you have there said a
reporter pointing to old single -oarreled snot-
gun hanging in the skppers cabin
KILLED polar bear with that gun IN one
shot at 100 yards" observed the skipper.
Tell US about it," came in chorus from the
reporters who we're more anxious to bite than
the halibut.
well. we were up in Baffn Bay. near cape
York when the man on watch said he saw a
polar bear on an iceberg off the port bow. If
that is the case said l, we must get hiin oe-
cause our supply of meat was pretty low.
Never get him in the world said the mate
You see he didn't know about my brass bullets.
1 make 'em myself when we are after hallout'
and L never knew to miss the mark wen,
we ran in close and 1 hit that bear amidshlps'
lust abaft the shoulder, and he dropped like a
pigeon full of bird shot.
Sent boat out and got him, and when we
hauled him aboard 1 found that brass ball had
l,;c in, tuo bOyS wanted to
cut him up as he was, but 1 made EN- hold OH
a bit until got that fine white pelt off,
Did you find the brass ball?" was asked
You bet 1 did, and I'm going to send it out TO
get that bears mate when we go back there
next summer. A company up at Nansueiu
Island offered me $500 for it. but it was worth
that to me. and I refused the offer"
The skipper had the pelt packed away. and
when doubling member of the press gang
said he was from Missouri the skipper proouceu
as evidence of The killing the blood stained brass
ball and the single barrel shotgun that hung Oh
the wall.
The mate of the oregon, who had kept quiet
during the skipper's yarn. picked up the con-
,ersation and told how he ran five times around
a revolving iceberg when in search of fresh
water for the crew.
Ran short of water said the mate ana
told the skipper that there was enough preclpi-
tation on the top of an iceberg to supply war
feet with fresh water. Maybe you're right
said the skipper go ahead and get some we
ran close up and all hands put out in the small
boat for the berg. We loaded several casks
from the ice on the top. and everybody got away
but me- went on top to make an observation
Suddenly a great wall of ice broke of on the
sta rboard side and the berg began to revolve to
port / saw that 1 was going under If did
not keep moving so | kept walking TO starboard
as fast as that berg revoved to port until the
machinery below the waterline stopped short and
1 got away in boat. I'm sorry L can't show
the revolving iceberg.
The mate looked at the skipper, and both
looked at the reporters, and then every one
laughed and wondered why the halibut refused
to bite