THE WIIALF. FISHERY. 81 



that narrowed to a strip from 200 yards to half a mile iu width, and extending from Point JJelehcr 

 to 2 or 3 miles south of "Wainwright Inlet. The southeast and southwest winds still continued, 

 light from the former and fresh from the latter direction, and every day the ice packed more and 

 more closely around the doomed vessels. 



"On the 7th of September the bark Roman, while cutting in a whale, was caught between 

 two immense floes of ice off (Sea Horse Islands, whence she had helplessly drifted, and crushed to 

 atoms, the officers and crew escaping over the ice, saving .scarcely anything but their lives. 



" The next day beheld the bark Awashonks meet a similar fate, and a third fugitive crew 

 was distributed among the remaining ships. The peril was now apparent to all; the season was 

 rapidly approaching the end; the ice showed no signs of starting, but on the contrary the little 

 clear water that remained was rapidly filling with ice and closing around them. Frequent and 

 serious were the consultations held by the, captains of the beleaguered vessels. One thing at 

 least was evident without discussion; if the vessels could not be extricated, the crews must be 

 got away before winter set in, or the scanty stock of provisions they had could only postpone an 

 inevitable starvation. As a precautionary measure, pending a decision on the best course to 

 adopt, men were set to work to build up the boats, that is, to raise the gunwales so as to enable 

 them the better to surmount the waves. Shoes* were also put on them, to prevent, as far as pos- 

 sible, injury from the ice. The brig Kohola was lightened in order to get her over the bar at 

 Waiuwright Inlet, upon which there were only 5 or 6 feet of water. Her oil and stores were 

 transferred to the deck of the Charlotte, of San Francisco, but when discharged it was found that 

 she still drew 9 feet of water, and the attempt to get her over the shoal water was abandoned.! 

 An expedition of three boats, under the command of Capt. D. R. Frazer, was now sent down the 

 coast to ascertain how far the ice extended; what chances there were of getting through the 

 barrier; what vessels, if any, were outside, and what relief could be relied upon. Captain 

 Frazer returned on the 12th, and reported that it was utterly impracticable to get any of the 

 main body of the fleet out ; that the Arctic and another vessel were in clear water below the 

 field, which extended to the south of Blossom Shoals, 80 miles from the imprisoned crafts ; and 

 that five more vessels, then fast in the lower edge of the ice, were likely to get out soon. He also 

 reported, what every man then probably took for granted, that these free vessels would lay by to 

 aid their distressed comrades. It is a part of the whaleman's creed to stand by his mates. On 

 hearing this reported, it was decided to abandon the fleet, and make the best of their way, while 

 they could, to the rescuing vessels. It was merely a question whether they should leave their 

 ships and save their lives, or stand by their ships and perish with them. 



"The morning of the 14th of September came, and a sad day it was to the crews of the ice- 

 bound crafts. At noon the signals, flags at the mast heads, union down, were set, which told 

 them the time had come when they must sever themselves from their vessels.f As a stricken family 



"A sheathing in tliis ease copper being used. 



tTlui same experiment, with the same result, was tried by Captain Kedlield, of the brig Victoria. 

 t The following protest was written on the 12th of September, and signed by all the captains on the following day 

 before abandoning tlieir vessels: 



"POINT BELCHER, Arctic Ocean, Septnuln-r 12, 1871. 



"Know all men by these presents, that we, the undersigned, masters of whale-ships now lying at Point Beleher, 

 alter holding a meeting concerning our dreadful situation, have all come to the conclusion that our ships cannot be 

 got our this year, and there lieing no harbor that, we can get our vessels into, and not having provisions enough to 

 teed our crews to exeeed three months, and being in a barren country, where there is neither food nor fuel to be 

 "hiained, we leel ourselves under the painful necessity of abandoning our vessels, and trying to work our way south 

 with our boats, and, it' possible, get on board of ships that are .south of the ice. We think it would not be prudent to 

 e a single soul to look alter our vessels, as the first westerly gale will crowd the ice ashore, and either crush the 

 C. V, VOL. II 



