The daily banner. (Cambridge, Md.) 1897-2008, 1910-04-23
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 foes as II she
had been football. The game began
about o'clock In the morning, l was
In my cabin trying to get little sleep
with nv clothes on. for had not
dared to remove them for week. My
rest was Cut short by shock so vlo-
lent that before | realized that any
thing had happened found myself on
deck-a deck that inclined to starboard
some IL to Is degrees. l ran, OF, 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 IT against the Roosevelt and
clear along her port side as IL that
thousand ton berg had been a 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 foe berg at the
stern had become entaneIed with the
propeller 1t was time for lightning
thought and action. but by attaching
III he ORIG
taking a hitch around the steam cap
stan We finally disentangied II.
This excitement was no sooner over
than a great berg that was passing
near us split in two Of Its own accord,
q cube Of some twenty-five or thirty
feet just missing our quarter by. only
q foot or two "Bergs to the right OF
them. bergs to the left Of them. bergs
on top Of them" | heard somebody
say as 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 to
starboard | knew that If she were
driven any higher on to the shore we
| would have to discharge a large part
Of the coal in order to tighten her suf
iciently to get her off 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 soft
cushion for the ship to rest on. The
batteries were brought up from the
| lazaret, one Of the dynamite boxes lift
ed out with caution. and Bartlett and
| I looked for the best places in the Ice
for the charges. Several sticks Of
| old bagging and fastened on the end
| Of long spruce poles. which we had
| brought along specially for this pur-
pose A wire from the battery had of
| course. been connected with one of
the primers buried in the dynamite.
Pole, wire and dynamite were thrust
down through a crack in the Ice at
! several places In the adjacent foe.
The other end Of each wire was then
connected with the battery. every one
| got away to a respectful distance on
| the far side of the deck. and a quick.
sharp push on the plunger OF The bat
| terry sent the electric current along the
| wires
Rip! Bang! Boom. The ship shook
like a dish Of Jelly. and a column of
water "a pieces Of ice went flying a
hundred feet into the air. seyser fash
| ion. The pressure Of the ice against
the ship being thus removed. she right
ga neEsen anuIay Qu1erIy on her cush-
ion of crushed ice. waiting for what
ever might happen next.-Commander
R. e. Peary IN Hampton's Magazine.