The Marietta journal. (Marietta, Ga.) 1918-1944, 1920-08-27
Desperate Battle Fought by Ice
breaker With Great FIoeS
in Kara Sea.
SHIP DRIFTS FOR MONTHS
Captain Gives a Plain but Graphic
Account of PeriIous voyage-Ex.
citing Race In Ice-Laden Sea
joy Hard to Describe.

London.-Capt. Otto Sverdrup's mar
rative of the rescue of crew and pas
sengers from the Russian steamship
Solovei Boudimirovitch, which drift
ed helplessly for months in the Kara
sea, is thrilling tale of Arctic adj
venture. Captain Sverdrup's story,
as printed in the London Times, fol-
lows:
1t was in April last that l was en-
trusted with the task of planning,
equipping and leading relief ex-
pedition to the Kara sea In order to
search for and if possible to rescue
the crew and passengers on board
the steamship Solovei Boudimirovitch,
which at the end of January had be-
come damned In the ice outside the
White sea and afterward was carried
in the Ice through the Kara straits
drifted dangerously about She had
left Archangel provisioned for only
two months, and food. coal and fuel
were falling short.
The big, powerful icebreaker Svia-
togor was placed at the disposal of
the expedition by the British govern
ment and sent over to Bergen. Here
she was quickly manned, equipped and
provisioned for six months. We left
Bergen on May IS and arrived at
Tromso on the 18th. There we lay
until June IA very painful period
Of waiting for us and doubly painful
for the Russians hungry and cold on
board the Solovei, who had been In
formed by wireless that we had
started.
At Vardo we shipped so tons Of sup
plies more, and having left on the
evening of June 9 anchored on the
morning of June Il in Bielushya bay.
Novava Zemlya, where we took on
board 500 tons of coal from the steam
ship Harde. which had been dis
patched direct from Tromso.
Up Against 3trone Ice Barrier.
We passed through Kara straits
practically untroubled by ice until the
morning of the 10th, when we en-
countered large mass of old close.
packed polar ice. 1t was clearly nc
use trying to force a passage through
this; we had to try to find the newer
AID more penetrable ice which had
sea through the strait. We steamed
therefore, In a northwesterly direction
| but as there appeared no improvement
In the conditions we turned about and
went in southeasterly direction until
the polar ice was passed.
Then, fortunately, breeze sprang
up from the northeast and made con
siderable improvement in the Ice con
ditions. Then we steered north in the
direction of the Solovei, and about
$50 in the evening, according to the
last position received from her by
wireless, we reckoned that we were
within about eight or ten minutes dis
lance.
On the 18th the weather cleared, ant
having taken the necessary observa
tons in the morning and at noon we
continued our voyage at p. m. A
the same time we received a wireless
giving the position of the Solovei
which was considerably further NORTH
than before.
A little later we suddenly caught
sight of the Russian icebreaker Kama
da, steaming after US. She had ha(
the advantage of the strong northeast
wind. which had parted the ice. ant
our long wait for the purpose of tai;
ing observations had also helped hel
| to overtake us. On June II our wire
less had picked up call from the
Kanada to the Solovei, which con
| frmed the rumor we had heard al