Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1929-04-21

bravely over icy pinnacles until they
were lost to view over the rim Of the
great Ice Saucer.
WE did not go to our hunks that
w night, but took turns alternately
watching and sleeping on the deck.
The watcher stood over the sleeper to
warn him or throw him over on the
ice and then jump oversize himself If
the schooner began to break up, for
the ice had suddenly begun to move
with mighty cracking and grinding.
At times it sounded like artillery fire
all about us, causing the vessel to rise
and fall by the head and then aStern,
also to tip heavily on one side and then
the other. For some reason she never
broke. The wind had increased, and
was carrying us eastward with the
moving ice. Such were the conditions
until the southerly drift brought us of
the rocky buttes forming Cape Serd.
I am sure few OF US ever expected to
see another morning, yet, when 1t came,
1t was day of sunshine. with crisp blue
skies overhead. The whole world-sky,
sea and rocky snow-clad buttes of the
nearby land-joined to form cold
clean-cut brillance of blue, gold and
white that raised our depressed and
uICOpulS spirits wonderfully.
OF course we were still fast in the
packs grip. but in that new golden
morning light. and feeling the ice NOV
ing at last-which meant that leads
were bound to open before long-no-
body could possibly have continued
to feel blue.
With the moving field. our saucer had
disappeared and the horizon became
normal.
Between us and the distant horizon
line we could make out two other ships,
icebound like ourselves. We knew them
for the Blue Sea and the Eagle, Ameri.
can schooners making their way north
for the same reason we were-to barter
with the natives along and among the
islands of the Siberian Arctic coast, and
above all, to reach the fur mecca known
as "Kolyma"
The drift had brought us within about
10 miles of them, and perhaps that fact
also helped to give us pleasant. COM
panionable feeling. We were not alone
any longer in desolte white bowl of a
world whose edges were raised into
Jagged ice projections shutting of all
familiar or living things.
But by the seventh night turned in
with the heaviest heart had known
since we left Tacoma. We we're not
only far behind in our schedule of sta
tons to be visited (Which meant that
in order to be out of the Arctic before
the Winter night and ice closed in we
must skip some of our calls at the least
important points,, but at the rate of
progress we were making there was no
certainty that we could stop anywhere,
on schedule or off.
It seems we hit a hard old ice season.
The natives asserted it had been the
worst in many years, keeping the seal
and walrus far away, while the alter
nately moving or stationary and broken
ice fields had increased the difficulties
and dangers of hunting polar bear.
Early the following morning We found
to our delight that several wide leads
had opened in the ice overnight. Then
we started, with hope renewed for the
hundredth time. down one of those
trickily promising lanes to freedom and
open water.
This one let us through for quite a
gain, then colsed in ahead. blocking the
way abruptly as if suddenly tired of
playing with us, and left us once more
icebound-tf1is time not 20 miles from
Kaluchin Bay.
DESPERATELY we resolved to aban-
- don the lead running and attempt
a long detour into the Arctic to the
north, hoping to circle the ice field and
so eventually resume our westerly course.
Accordingly. we made what proved a
profitless detour to the northward, driv-
ing the little Iskum ever farther into
the unknown seas at the top of the
world. Several times we saw great mi
grating f1ocks of birds flying north over
the schooner, and specialized consider
ably on the possible presence of land
ahead, or at least some of the high,
rocky buttes that are inaccessible to
humans, but are used by birds as safe
nesting places.
We had hoped, as have explained,
by some lucky chance to swing around
the pack and reach Kolyma. But hav-
ing made our way beyond the 74th par
allel and still finding ice in every direc-
ton except to the southeast and south,
we finally gave it up and turned back to
Cape Serd. Our observations led us
to the discouraging conclusion that the
ice pack we had encountered at our
farthest north was probably the perma-
nent polar field.
The weather being clear, we were
able from the crows nest to see a con-
siderable distance, and that great end
less field of ice with the sun shining on
it was a glorious sight. The edges of
on the horizon toward the Pole and to
the northeast were much broken and
piled up. some of them towering in high,
sharp masses that resembled small
snow-covered mountains.
On the return trip to Cape Serd we
had either wide leads or the open sea