The mirror. (Stillwater, Minn.) 1894-1925, 1909-06-03


iERMS:1 Six Months, so CENTS
Now take this for an example: The
small gasoline sloop Olga vita crew
of eleven men all told, most of whom
was personally acquainted with, with
only nine months provisions aboard
went through lead in the ice and was
forced by large ice foe far to the
north. 1t is claimed by the three sur
vivors whom personally consulted
and received from their own lips the
following terrible story of hardships
and privations. The story is as follows
aud strictly true to the best of my
knowledge: "When the Captain found
he was cut off from the feet he became
very anxious. We tried in every way
to regain the fleet but the great mass
of ice kept pushing us further north.
We passed many points of land and
many places were pointed out to us by
the Captain who ST ed that we were
as far north as any white man ever had
| been and lie sa ID if We kept on drifting
| we would reach the north pole. Soon
all known land marks were left behind
and seeing an open lead towards land
we came close to shore and anchored.
1t being the fall of the yearthe ice soon
formed and we, like you fellows, were
frozen in. We were in strange land
aud cnly nine months provisions on
board and none of us ever expected to
reach the fleet again unless the ice
broke up, which you we'll know does
not happen very ofte n" l will just
state that only at times can the ships
reach Bank Land and they were six
hundred miles beyond this place. swell,
we were at once put on short rations
and they were short, too. We received
about three slices of bre ad in the morn
ing with OF small slice of beef or pork
, and a cup of weak tea. This was the
!, | bill of fare for the first few months. 1t
then was issued 10 US once day. Sour
, w broke out and three died. The Cap
. tain tried to make us get wood and do
other work but we were too weak. The
. Captain went mad and shot the engi-
. neer dead. Four more started out to
. hunt: their dead bodies we're found on
: the ice. For Christmas dinner the
4 Captain, the cook and myself tore the
h walrus hide FROM off the top Of the
. forecaste he ead, cut it in strips and
q boiled it. Then we drank the water it
a was boiled in and ate the skin. never
r. tasted anything better"
4 Poor, poor fellow, it would cause
tears to spring to your eyes to see the
r. once stalwart fellow, now only mere
,s shadow of his former self. May God
- bless and look with loving care upon
;e all those who are Drawing the perils OF
. the Arctic and all it's privations and
10 misery for the sake of enlightenlng
!. mankind. The writer has also seen
), the time when hunger forced him to
- take fox and roast it and with several
: others pick the bones clean. | might
- add that thought the fox was rabbit
- To finish with the Olga: When the sum.
~ mer months came around the Ice broke
:. up and the ship returned to Herschell
. Island with a crew of three. This il
10 the point wish you to get, when the
70 open water appeared where the Olga
= was. 1t is stated that hundreds Of
=. whales could be seen spouting every
where. And down near Banks Lane
:. and all over the Bering and Arctl'
=, Oceans not a whale was to be seen
~ ~ This clearly proves that the whales tint
~ open water further north than whit'
=. man has ever been: Now if person
- could devise some means of going un
~ der the ice and following the track o
~ the whales the north pole could b.
reached. Again it may happen that
,,o party may get on an ice foe that keep
:. drifting around the pole. Still ever
:. one SAYS that the currents near the pol
~ ~ are so strong that they keep the ic
in miles and miles away. As far as M
knowledge of the Arctic is cOncerne
=" I make this statement, after havin
no witnessed the many changeable cul
Do rents and the strange way the ice drift
nd about. that il the north pole is eve
lho lOlScOV0foO Cuo party Will NV UO 0o VI
'n0 pole but miles from it and will stat
alh that they reached such degree bu
md could 90 no farther ON account of To
ali cdfreuts but that they know exactl
,Dn where the north pole is. Peary, Maj
sen, Kane and Amundsen all agree
Oef to the currents and Baldwin expects
og- overcome this by ba:looning it there.
A. F. B.