The Bottineau courant. (Bottineau, Bottineau County, N.D.) 1895-1929, 1914-11-27
UNDER sixty
FEET OF ICE
By M. QUAD
Copyright. 1914. by Associated Lit
erary Press.

erary Press.
In the year 1856 an English scien-
tifc society fitted nj what was known
as the Cherry island expedition. 1t
was purely In the interest Of natural
history. Certain fish aud birds which
had become extinct in the south were
still to be found up there. according to
the reports Of whalers. and that was
the object in fitting out the brig Alba
tross for a voyage from London. Aside
from a strong handed crew, three pro-
fessors and four or FIVE students &C.
%companied the expedition, and after a
voyage almost without event we
reached Cherry island soon after the
beginning Of its brief summer.
The island. which is Of volcanic or
igin. is a mere tumble Of rocks. 1t is
eleven miles long by five in breadth
and at the time Of our visit had no
trees higher than ten feet. These grew
between powders and on the slopes.
with patches Of coarse grass all about.
but there was not a level spot half an
acre in extent on the whole island.
We had been on the island about thir-
ty days and had pretty thoroughly ex-
plored it when Professor Saunders and
my humble self met with an accident
one day which led to a most strange
discovery. We had set of together on
a hunt after birds eggs, and in walk
ing along a slope we struck a spot
overgrown with q short green weed.
As we walked over this bed we sud
denly found ourselves slipping. There
was water under it. and the whole
mass gave way and sent us sliding
into a ravine. We went slipping, slid
ing, %clutching and humping a full fifty
feet before we brought up. but mel
Their Of us was hurt beyond a few
bruises. Owing to the wei grass We
could not Chamber out at that spot and
so continued on down the ravine.
It was q toilsome journey we made.
but it ended at last at a wall of ice
within half a mile of the surf. At that
point the depth Of the ravine was
about a hundred feet. and. though the
sun was shining above, it was like
evening down there. A few yards be-
fore we were brought to a standstill We
found the body of a nan lying against
the wall Of a rock on the right hand
side and ten feet above our heads. 1t
was caught and held fast on q point of
rock. We were both a good deal star
tied by the grewsome sight.
AT some time or other" said the
professor as he looked about. this "a
vine had been a creek Of considerable
size flowing down to the sea. This
man came up the creek from the
beach, but we now find a wall of ice
blocking it up. There should be- a
boat frozen up in the wall between US
and the sea-"
We had nothing to make a torch Of.
and. retracing our steps to a point
where we could climb out Of the ra-
vine. we left the mystery to be solved
another day. There was much discus.
sion around the campires that even.
ing. and early next morning we Set out
to see if the ravine had once upon Il
time opened to the sea. We soon found
that 1t had. Its mouth had been on a
small bay. but a storm had filled it
with powders and damned back the
waters flowing down. Between the
sea and the spot where We found the
body the ice was from fifty to seventy
feet thick. II the sun melted it for a
few feet in the summer the rains and
SHOWS Of winter speedily replaced
what had been lost. We found this
ice AS clear as glass and as hard as
Iron. but powder was brought from
the brig and holes were drilled. and in
a couple Of days we had blasted out a
great rift to half It's depth.
Everybody had a suspicion of what
was frozen in down there. but yet the
discovery gave us a shock. When but
thirty feet Of ice lay between us and
the bottom Of the ravine we could see
through it well enough to make out the
hull of a ship standing On an even keel.
It was the hull of a brig. with masts
gone. but otherwise intact VIZ could
even make out the ropes, which had
been frozen sti6 as iron while they
streamed along her decks, but there
were no bodies Of dead men in sight.
To blast out the remaining depths of
ice and clear the ravine was a task
requiring more aid than we could spare
and more powder than we had aboard.
Years before. perhaps half q century.
q merchant vessel had made that little
bay in distress. Wave and tide had
carried her nm the creek. and wavo and
tide had blocked her exit.
II n Of the crew got away up to
the ravine. why not all Of them? And
yet no other body OF remains were to
be found on the island. This man.
who may have been the captain. prob
ably started out by himself to see If
there was a chance of escape. but in
making his way up the ravine he per-
ished of cold and hunger. There was
scarce a hope for the others. If they
left the hulk they were forced to re-
turn to it for shelter and food. There