Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1910-05-03
DYNAMITE AND ICE.
A Strenuous Day In the Arctic With
Peary on the Roosevelt.

| think that none of the members OF
the Peary expedition will ever forget
the goth Of August. The Roosevelt was
kicked about the foes as if she had
been football. The game began about
4 o'clock in the morning. | was in my
cabin trying to get little sleep with
my clothes on. for I had not dared to
remove them for a week. My rest was
cut short by shock so violent that be-
bore | realized that anything had hap
pened | found myself on deck-a deck
that inclined to starbOard some II to Ia
degrees. | ran, or, rather climbed, the
deck to the port side and saw what had
happened. A big foe rushing past
with the current mad picked up the
grounded berg to which we were at
tached by the hawsers and dashed II
against the Roosevelt and clear along
her port side as if that thousand tor
berg had been a toy. The berg brought
up against another one just aft of us
and the Roosevelt slipped from be-
tween the two like a CREASED pig.
AS soon as the pressure was relaxed
and the snip resained an even keel we
discovered that the cable which had
been attached to the tlOe berg at the
stern had become entangled with the
propeller. 1t was time for lightning
thought and action. but by attaching a
heavier cable to the parted one and
taking Il hitch around the steam cap
stan we finally disentangled it.
This excitement was no sooner over
than great berg that was passing
near us split in two of its own accord
cube of some twenty-five or thirty
feet Just missing our quarter by only
a foot or two. "BersS 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 mira
culous 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 Oh to the shore we
would have to discharge a large part
of the coal in order to Tighten her suf-
ficiently to get her off again. 50 | de-
cided to dynamite the ice.
| told Bartlett to get out his bitter
les and dynamite and To smash the ice
between the Roosevelt and the heavy
foes outside, making soft cushion for
the shin to rest on. The batteries were
brought up from the lazaret, one of the
dynamite boxes lifted out with eau
ton. and Bartlett and | looked for the
best places in the ice for the charges.
Several sticks of dynamite were wrap
ped i'm pieces of old bagging and fas-
tened on the end of long spruce poles,
which we had brought along specially
for this purpose. 4 wire from the bat
terry had. of course, been connected
with one of the primers buried in the
dynamite. Pole. wire and dynamite
were thrust down through crack i'm
the ice at several places in the adja-
cent foe. The other end of each wire
was then connected with the battery,
every one got away To a respectful dis
tancc on the far side of the deck. and
quick. sharp push on the plunger of
the battery sent the electric current
along the wires.
Rip Bang. Boom, The ship shook
like I dish of jelly. and Il column of
water and pieces of ice went flying Il
hundred feet into the air. gcyser fash
ion. The pressure Of the ice against
the ship being thus removed. she right
ed herself and lay quietly on her cush-
ion of crushed ice. waiting for what
ever might happen neXt.-Commander
r. f. Peary in Hampton's Magazine.