The Richmond palladium and sun-telegram. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1907-1939, 1910-04-19
DYNAMITE AND ICE.
a Strenuous Day In the Arctic With
Psary on the Roosevelt.

A Strenuous Day In the Arctic With
Psary on the Roosevelt.
think that none Of the members Of
the Peary expedition will ever forget
the 3Oth Of August. The Roosevelt
was kicked about the fioes as II she
had been football. The game began
about o'clock In the morning. was
in my cabin trying to get little sleep
with my clothes on, for had not
dared to remove them for week. My
rest was cut short by a shock SO viO-
lent that before realized that any
thing had happened found myself on
deck-a deck that inclined to starboard
some ~ to 10 degrees. Iran, or, rather,
climbed, the deck to the port side and
saw what had happened. A big foe
rushing past with the current had
picked up the grounded berg to which
we were attached by the hawsers and
dashed 1t against the Roosevelt and
clear along her port side as IL that
thousand ton berg had been q toy.
The berg brought up against another
one just aft OF us, and the Roosevelt
slipped from between the two like a
creased pig.
As soon as the pressure was relaxed
and the ship regained an even keel we
discovered that the cable which had
been attached to the noe berg at the
stern had become entangled with the
propeller. It was time for lightning
thought and action, but by attaching q
heavier cable to the parted one and
- . NJ ,k4
stan we finally disentangled 1t.
This excitement was no sooner over
than q great berg that was passing
near us split In two Of It's own accord,
Z cube Of some twenty-five or thirty
feet just missing our quarter by only
foot or two. "Bergs to the right Of
them, bergs to the left Of them, bergs
on top Of them," / heard somebody
say az we caught our breath at this
miraculous escape. The ship was now
quite at the mercy Of the drifting ice
and with the pressure from the outer
pack the Roosevelt again careened ia
starboard. I knew that IL she were
driven any higher on to the shore we
would have to discharge q large part
Of the coal In order to tighten her sui.
flciently to get her on again, so I de
cided to dynamite the ice.
told Bartlett to get out his batter
les and dynamite and to smash the
Ice between the Roosevelt and the
heavy foes outside, making a sof1
| cushion for the ship to rest on. Thu
batteries were brought up from thu
laxaret, one OF the dynamite boxes lift
ed out with caution, and Bartlett and
| I looked for the best places in the ic,
for the charges. Several sticks o,
dynamite were wrapped i'm pieces Of
old bagging and fastened on the enc
| OF long spruce poles, which we hal
brought along specially for this pur
pose. A wire from the battery had. O.
course. been connected with one o,
l the primers buried In the dynamite
Pole, wire and dynamite were thrus
down through crack In the Ice q
| several places In the adjacent Zoe
The other end OF each wire was theI
connected with the battery, every on,
got away to . respectful distance 81
the far side OF the deck, and quick
sharp push on the plunger Of the bat
terry sent the electric current along tn
wires.
II Rip! Bang. Boom! The ship shool
like . dish Of jelly, and column o
water and pieces Of ice went dying
hundred feet into the air. geyser fash
aon. The pressure Of the Ice agains
the ship being thus removed. she right
81 herself and lay quietly on her cush
Ion OF crushed Ice, waiting for what
ever might happen next.-C Commando
= - Peary In Hampton's Magazine.