The Ely miner. [volume] (Ely, Minn.) 1895-1986, 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 Perilous 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
SolQvei Boudimirovitch, which drift
ed helplessly for months in the Kara
sea, is a thrilling tale of Arctic adj
venture. Captain Sverdrup's story,
as printed in the London Times. fol-
lows:
1t was in April last that 1 was en-
trusted with the task of planning,
equipping and leading a relief ex-
petition 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 jammed in the ice outside the
White sea and afterward was carried
In the ice through the Kara straits
into the Kara sea-. There the vessel
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 13 and arrived at
Tromso on the 18th. There we lay
until June la 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 80 tons of sup
plies more, and having left on the
evening of June 9 anchored on the
morning of June II in Bielushya bay,
Noyava 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 3trong 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 no
use trying to force passage through
this; we had to try to find the newer
AID more penetrable ice which had
drifted from the west into the Kara
sea through the strait. We steamed,
therefore, in 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, a breeze sprang
up from the northeast and made con-
siderable Improvement in the. ice con-
iitions. 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, and
having taken the necessary observa-
lions in the morning and at noon we
continued our voyage at 1 p. m. At
the same time we received 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 had
the advantage of the strong northeast
wind. which had parted the ice, and
our long wait for the purpose of TAX
ing observations had also helped her
TO overtake us. On June IL our wire
less had picked up a call from the
Kapada to the Solovei, which con-
firIned the rumor we had heard at