XV 

 IN THE LATER DAYS 



WE never tire of telling the story of Cap- 

 tain George Fred Tilton," said Zephe- 

 niah W. Pease in his Pen Pictures of 

 Typical Whalemen, printed in the one hundredth 

 anniversary number of the New Bedford Mercury. 

 In 1898 the Bering Strait whaling fleet of eight 

 vessels was caught in the ice off Point Barrow. 

 The Belvedere was one of the. fleet and Tilton 

 was her mate. The month of October found 

 the vessels still in the ice. The westerly wind 

 blew steadily and the vessels were lying close 

 together on the east shore. They were short of 

 supplies, and the whalemen foresaw that unless 

 they obtained help in some way before the arrival 

 of the fleet of the next summer all were likely to 

 perish. Every day was an anxious one. Finally 

 the crew of the Bessie H. Freeman were awakened 

 one night by the crushing of the ship, and the 



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