El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1916-04-03
BAT TIES WITH
ICE SIX WEEKS
Passengers in Launch Reach
Land But Captain Re
fuses to Leave Boat.

Seward, Alaska, April "A thrill
ing recital Of the experiences Of the
captain OF the power launch Onward
during the nearly six weeks the On
ward was held captive in the ice were
given here when the Onward was
toWed in by the cannery tender, Lit
tie Tom, which had picked up the cap
tive and badly damaged vessel
Centering around the experiences OF
the Onward" was the refusal Of Capt.
spark Plug" Schaeffer to leave his
boat. When Schaeffer was rescued by
Capt I. D. Nordyke, Of the Little Tom,
his supplies were reduced to few
flour cakes and he had been forced
to drink much Of his cargo Of beer in
lieu Of water. His boat was leaking
so badly that the cabin planking was
aWash and was being driven before
gale toward the open sea.
With T. l. Nehf, Joe Woitik. A. W.
Brown and Jack Wilkinson as passen-
gers, the Onward left SeldOvia Janu-
ary Il for Anchorage, the headQuar-
tiers OF the Alaska Railroad commits
sion. In summer the trip takes Is
hours
Three days out found the Onward on
the edge Of the ice pack off her desti-
nation. For two days attempts were
made to ferret a path through the fog
covered water lanes between the ice
foes.
The passengers thought Of trying to
reach land afoot. but the shore ice was
broken and ridged. 1t was fearfully
cold and the stove was too small to
warm the cabin. Icebergs lowered
above the little boat, threatening to
crush it. The men went on half ra-
lions and their tobacco gave out When
the gasoline was gone they tried 20
snub ahead with the anchor but the
strain broke the wire cable.
Passengers Rench Laad.
Finally when the water supply was
exhausted, the four passengers de-
cided to try to cross the ice TO the
settlement OF Tynek. which they could
see on the shore, apparently two miles
off. They armed themselves with
sticks to test the ice and started, on
the afternoon OF February z. The
beach proved seven miles away. When
they we're almost ashore the tide
turned and forced the ice field away
from the land. Each man leaped to a
small cake of ice and began to paddle,
but they soon discovered they were
making no Roadway. Then Brown dis
covered they were over a mud flat.
with the water waist deep. They
leaped in and waded ashore.
Schaeffer chose to remain with his
boat. He kept a log OF his experiences
and in it is written his own story of
his fight against the ice for his life
and his launch.
Several times the ice cakes forced
the Onward high up out OF the water.
once the boat drifted so close shore
ward that Schaeffer saw the lights in
the cabins on the beach. He brought
his mattress on deck, burned IL and
watched all night The signal was not
seen.
The ice opened several seams IN the
hull, but it was so cold the leaks froze
up and no water came in while the
boat was locked in the pack.
A bowling "northwesterner" then
came with sleet and snow and ragged
for Sc hours, finally driving the on
ward TO the edge Of the ice fields.
When the gale cleared the boat was
off Chinina bay. The seams opened
and Schaeffer found he. had to handle
ITO five-gallon oil cans each hour TO
keep the water down.
Finally AbnndOns Hope.
February % found the Onward near
Port Graham. On the day before Capt.
Nordyke, with the tender Little Tom,