ADRIFT ON AN ICE-RAFT. 609 



her crew were sent upon the ice, together with Joe and 

 Hans ; how, while they were still busy getting the pro- 

 visions, etc., to the centre of the field, into comparative 

 safety, a huge berg struck the field, breaking it into many 

 fragments and liberating the Polaris; how she was im- 

 mediately lost to the sight of those upon the ice. 



We must now undertake to tell the almost incredibly 

 wonderful story of the unparalleled experiences of the 

 nineteen thus adrift on an ice-raft, from the time of the 

 Polaris' passing from view October 15th, 1872, to the 

 happy hour when the Tigress landed the entire party at 

 St. Johns, Newfoundland. The simple story, without em- 

 bellishment it needs and will admit of none surpasses 

 in thrilling interest and fascinating romance any work of 

 fiction that the most gifted of writers has ever produced. 

 Some of the events are almost incredible, and require the 

 entire force of the indubitable evidence by which they are 

 supported to establish their claims to belief; indeed, were 

 any writer of fiction to narrate such incidents as abound 

 in this wonderful history, he would be laughed to scorn for 

 inventing absurdities. 



We realize the difficulties we shall encounter in depict- 

 ing the soul-stirring scenes, and in stating, in the most 

 simple terms, the authenticated facts, of this history ; but 

 if we err at all, it will not be hi exaggerating hi the small- 

 est degree. 



The company upon the ice-field, or rather upon the frag- 

 ments of the field, comprised Captain George E. Tyson, 

 Mr. Frederick Meyer (of the scientific staff of the Polaris), 

 Joe and his wife Hannah and their child, Hans Christian 

 and his wife, also named Hannah, and their four children, 

 and eight men of the Polaris crew in all nineteen, men, 

 women and children. Among the eight last mentioned 

 was the steward of the Polaris, John Herron, from whose 

 testimony at Washington we quoted in the preceding 

 chapter. Herron began, on the first day of their reniark- 



39 



