4 24 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



\b& . 38. 188ft. 



Hamtnonds or a bfcneh ixi s good beech region, EavOTatoTe 



lor bears and fleer 



We saw no bear sign of any account as the mast was n..i 

 there to brine them, but deer seemed to be in fair numbers. 

 As we nearer! the forks of the stream we creased over the 

 point of the mountain where it, descends to the junction, bo 



as to teach a new camp Hani had built on the upper 



prong the -winter before. We reached this at ten o'clock, 

 :mh! i determined to stay until next day so we <•< »ui<l enjoy o 

 pleasant afternoon and evening in camp with plenty of vcut- 

 - and a scientifically built bed of boughs to rest on. 

 About two hundred yard- below this eump is a beautiful 

 spot. The two prongs of the creek unite on a broad table 

 Of solid roek. and just below the junction plunge over a 

 ledge some ten or fifteen feet high, into a lovely pool below. 

 The ridge between the two streams is narrow and entirely 

 covered with tall spruces. Rv going below the fall one gets 

 a fine view of the fail witli the dark, spruOe-COVered ridge 

 above and behind il. and a vista of tumbling water and 

 picturesque rocks scattered through it up the course of each 

 branch. T wished that I could sketch even as well as 1 used 

 to do. or lhat 1 had a tourogra'ph to catch the view ami 

 carry it away w ith me. 



1 divided the afternoon between putting the shanty in 

 comfortable order and looking at the falls. We passed a 

 comfortable night, with a tight roof over us. a capita] bed 

 under os. ami plenty to cat when we tell disposed that way. 

 The next morning we staled a! 7: Ml. and for a while fol- 

 lowed the dividing ridge between the two prongs of the 

 South Fork, then crossed thttone to our right as we ascended, 

 and turning our backs on (hi- South Pork water- -truck 

 across toward the North Prong of another river. Quite a 

 mountain separates the two streams, ami as it is in a very 

 wild part of the country we looked for beat and other track's, 

 or signs, but saw few." Quite a good many signs of deer, 

 but only a feu beat tracks. The mast was not good for 

 anything, and the only bear tracks were those of bears on 

 their way out to the chestnut and red oak country. When 

 the beech mast is good in this region there are always bears 

 t6 be found, bill when it tails, as it is apt to do. tile bears 

 go out to the chestnut country and red oak region, where 

 they stay until near holing time, when they come back to 

 this wild district to winter. 



[was down at the forks ol the river toward the north 

 prong of which we wen; traveling at the time at, which I 

 w rite, last June, trout fishing, and was also on I he mountains 

 between the two prongs thi.- "October. ha\iug gone out there 

 on the supposition thai the beech-mast was. good, but two 

 days spent in goiusr down one side of ihe mountain next the 

 Glade Prong and back up the oilier on the North Prong 

 showed no beech-mast at all. In our two days' tramp we 

 saw but one bear track, only three turkeys and no ,], [: . 

 Last winter Harmon got four bears in one tree on this 

 mountain, and also missed a large panther, two fair shots, 

 at, about forty yards, Lest he should do such athingagain, 

 £ took him down a rifle this fall and hope to hear of his 

 Rilling something with it. lie is a fair shot, but generally 

 when I have seen liim. has had such an Outlandish apologV 

 for a gun that 1 wonder at his ever killing anything, Last 

 fall by a happy accident he killed a buck, tiw horns of 

 which were no large that two men. one of whom is quite 

 fat. stood inside of them with tin- horns about their wa'ists. 

 Not thinking of meat the momcnl, he gave the horns to a 

 man who was hunting with him. 



This fall when 1 was there, lie tried to buy them bad for 

 me, but the man refused to sell at any price 



I enjoyed Ihe tramp across the mountains very much on 

 aoconnt'of the real wildnessof the place. T like to roam 

 about where 1 know there is not a house nor clearing [or 

 .miles. We got down to the North Prone about lt:::o and 



ate our bincji sitting on a big roek in mid si ream. 



The first part of the afternoon journey was interesting 

 because when we topped the mountain between the North 

 and Glade Prongs, we traveled for some lime among im- 

 mense rocks piled aboul in e\cry conceivable manner, 

 cOTered with moss, shaded by a dark forest, of spruce and full 

 of queer dens and caves — a delightful winter camp for bears, 

 panthers and wildcat-. The latter part of our day's journey 

 as pleasant: we started down toward the Olade 

 Prong, after keeping along the mountain on the side next 

 it, although pretty well up to make crossing the v rioits 

 runs easier, about two miles from where we expected to 

 ■ unpat a clearing where they summer cattle, and most of 

 Ihe descent, was in open backings where Ihe wind and rain 

 bad full play on us and could not be avoided. When we 

 reached the clearing it was nearly dark. The house was 

 locked up and there was no place where we could have put 

 up a camp had we had tine I. 



The only resource was to trythe boiling shed in the 

 sugar camp. This was a large open shed set on posts about 

 eight or ten feet high, Ml sided, and through which the 

 wind swept furiously. Harmon looked rather blue at the 

 prospect, but upon my assuring him that it, was u delightful 

 place to camp, Ibal he knew well that each ot us had more, 

 I ban once camped in worse places, he brightened up a little 

 and shouldering his axe started after wood. \\ bile he was 

 gone 1 discovered a pile of spru< eelap-boards stuck up to dry 

 and Intended probably to roof a shed or addition to the log 

 siable. With these, which were three feet long, I built a 

 long wall or windbreak from one corner post of the shed to 

 the end of the wall on which the kettles sat. spread a lot 

 more for a floor and to sleep on, and, then hunting up Har- 

 mon, found he had cut a dry maple stub and helped him 

 carry up some of il. When h,- got it, eul up we started an 

 excellent tire, and ihe woo. I lasted well all night. Although 

 we had no blanket with us we slept soundly notwithstand- 

 ing the roaring wind and driving rain, with plenty of veni- 

 son inside us and a good fire out: we were quite comfort- 

 able, or, at least, thought we were, which was about the 

 same thing; The morning showed no improvement in the 

 weather, which continued cold and cloudy, but the rain de- 



fmerated to a soil of drizzle We followed (lie. Olade 

 rorig for several miles up stream, then took to the moun- 

 tain on our left, traveled on it to iis junction into the BlacR 

 Mountain, crossed that, went down to our own river, crossed 

 ii. climbed up lbs other sidotptbfi Spruce Knot, ami at 

 dark reached M'Oov'b bouse, w hence we bad set out six 

 days before. We saw two gangs of turkey- this last day, 

 but got no shot. The result- of my search after fresh air 

 and exercise was tb.-d, I g.-iin.-d iwelve or thirteen pound-' 

 Weight by my trip, and recuperated enough lo cairj me 

 over to the next spring quite comfortably. 



The first season the beech mast hits I shall \ is.il that 

 region and kill another hear or two. 



Q. Clay. 



CRUSOES OF THE ANTARCTIC 



Being an Account of the Voyage and Shipwreck of 



the Bark Trinity and Hardships of her Crew. 



e.-, JOHN EA.SMOND sioooxn okkickh 



BORN in 1835 at St. Johns, Newfoundland, where the 

 inhabitants are supported by the gaff and gun, and 

 the hook and line. I have been tw'cnly one voyages to the 



seal fisheries on the coasts of Newfoundland and Labrador. 



and six voyages to the whale fisheries of Davis- Strait, 

 Therefore 1 am well acquainted with the legends and regions 

 ol the frozen North In 1870 1 came with my family to 

 Boston to live, and have since then sailed many vovti 

 under the American flag, until there was a chance for 

 lo have a look , at Ihe stormy South. This chance was 

 Other than the hark Trinity, and a strange chance it 

 surely. 



June ly, 1880, the bark Trinity, 311 ton-, belonging io 

 Lawrence & Co.. and manned by a crew of fifteen hands all 

 told, sailed from New- London.' Conn., bound for Heard's 

 Island in the South Seas, after sea-elephant oil. After a 

 passage of twenty-five days we arrive;! at Togo, one of the 

 Cape Verd Islands, where we shipped nineteen Portuguese 

 negroes: and on June 28 sailed thence toward the place of 

 our destination. The wind being fair and the sea. smooth. 

 the ship's company were variously employed; the coopers 

 making baskets and trimming casks, the carpenters making 

 lance polos and doing sundry other jobs, the sailors scraping 

 and greasing and painting spars, and others repairing and 

 fitting rigging. The Portuguese, shipped at Fogo, were 

 regular land-lubbers, having never been to sea before. They 

 came aboard stark naked, and were supplied by the ship 

 with three shiftiiurs each. The first few davs after leaving 

 poll tle-v scoffed* so much bread and drank' so much water 

 that they swelled up. and would come to me complaining 

 of their sickness, but I soon discovered a wav to cure them. 

 and that was by cutting down their prog. 



We went on wiili fail weather throughout, and nothing 

 remarkable happened until we arrived at, Lat. 4(1 S: then we 

 found the- elements to be of another cast and cold air along 

 with it. In Lat 42' S. we turned the meridian of the Cape 

 of flood Hepe,. and then we had to encounter hurricanes, 

 heavy gales and strong storms of sleet, bail and rain at 

 times, with sea according, but the old Trinity braved it 

 well. 



As we made more to the south, we found the weather more 

 severe. When it, w T ould not be blowing hard, we could see 

 penguins in great quantities iu the water, going after the 

 fashion of leap-frog, and at night, in fair weather, their 

 splashing could be heard at, the distance of half a mile. 



After living under water like the fish of the sea, and lay- 

 ing to occasionally on board the old Trinity, we arrived lit 



Kergnelen Land, or Island of Desolation ; hut before We could 

 make a harbor a hurricane bore down tin us and drove' the 

 ship about seventy miles to the southeast of the Island. 

 Laying to all the time while the storm lasted, we arrived on 

 Sept. 4. 1880, at Po1 Harbor, Island of Desolation, and 

 moored ship in safety in five fathoms water. Around this 

 harbor t lure are rabbits in abundance, coming from .some 

 that, were left there many years ago. Two of these rabbits 

 we captured alive and took aboard the Trinity to put out on 

 Heard* Island. Some sea-leopards would land on the island 

 at high water, and if not captured would go off again on the 

 next' high water, A few penguins inhabited here, with many 

 sea-hens; ami ice -partridges spend all their time and breed 

 on this island. I saw a few (hicks there, and shot twenty, 



While lying at, anchor in this harbor we sent down to' gap 

 lant yards and spars fore and aft. and made our ship fight 

 for anchorage. All our provisions being packed in casks 

 for rafting, we lauded three months' prog, then awaited a 

 favorable time to sail for Hoard's Island. We called at 

 Three Island Harbor and left some letters there for Capt. 

 Puller, of the shoouer Pilot's Bride: and on Sept. 88] we 

 sidled for Heard's Island, the place of our destination. We 

 had a favorable passage, ami nothing serious occurred, only 

 thai one man fell from the forcvard on deck, but was not 

 much injured. We arrived on Oct, 2 at Crinton Bay, 

 Heard's Island. Here we landed four men, with three 

 months' prog. They were to kill what elephants they could 

 find, and pack the blubber in casks, and we were t'o come 

 and lake I'bem oil' on or about the first of January, 1881. 



After leaving these men in Crinton Bay. we sailed down 

 the coast to the southeast end of the island, and anchored 

 ship oil' the main beach, The sea ran loo high to laud our 

 boats, and each day the weather was no better, nor the 



October 113, P, SL, there was e\ cry indication of a Storm 

 at hand by the appearance of the horizon, with a thick set 

 P. the eastward, a heavy swell from northeast, and a 

 light breeze northward, 'At midnight the ship was lying 

 about, three-quarters of a mile off shore, in ten fathoms 

 water. At 9 o'clock A. M., of the 17th, the wind increased, 

 and we veered out cable on anchors: and again at 4 A. M., 

 the gale still increasing to a hurricane, we veered out all the 

 cable on both anchors. The ship now began to drive and 

 drag her anchors toward a dangerous reef. She was ship 

 ping much water and was leaking; pumps duly attended. 



At 7 A. M. the Trinity laj ill live fathoms water, the not- 

 ion! sand and stones, and a heavy sea on; the ship labored 

 heavily, leaked much water, and was still dragging anchors 



At it o'clock A. ML. the Captain called a council iu the 

 cabin, with his officers and crew, to know what was l«-s r to 

 be done. We soon brought out a verdict, which was to slip 

 the cables and run the ship on shore to. save our lives. The 

 nearest breakers bearing S. W. by S., about sixty fathoms 

 distant, and a strong gale blowing from N. E., (he 8. E. 

 point of the island bearing E. S. E. two and one-half points, 

 the outer breaker bearing E, by N. about three miles dis- 

 tant, and a rocky bench and iceberg bearing N. N. W., 

 about four nnles distant— the ship could not clear the land 

 on any tack, and there was too much wind and too heavy a 

 sea on to fly to windward. At 9h. 30m. A. M. we slipped 

 Ihe cable and ran the ship for the beach. 



We were then a bard crew to look at— with a wild sheet of 

 water on the starboard bow , iee-h luud cliffs and iceberg- en 

 the port bow and before u- a w i Id bench to make, withdeath 

 staring w in the race. At 9h. 40m, A. M. the ship grounded 

 about fifty yards from I he- beach. The sea v, as very rough, 

 and we could not lower the boats. Antono. one of the 

 Portuguese, volunteered to go ashore, and acooydifiglj 

 jumped overboard with the [ap.ee warp, and made his way 

 to land with the rope. Then. By hauling the main yards 

 a back, the ship wore around and brought her side to the 

 beach, which made tin: water smooth enough to lower a 



* Ate, 



boat, in which many handslanded. Then we began to haul 

 ashore what provisions we could get n-hold of." Some lost 

 all their clothes, and all bauds lost some, more or lesi i bill 



we all landed safe, and go) out abOUl two months' prog 

 with four casks of coal None of us suffered severely, 

 though seven of the negrdBswero frost-bitten. At about 9 



P. M all bauds went to a shanty, where we made a lire. 

 dried our clothes, and then lay down to rest. 



At miduight I got up and walked out to see if our pro- 

 vision was -ate from the water. The, wiudhad hauled around 

 to the weal ward, and now blew a hard breeze off -bore. When 

 1 came opposite the ship, -die gave a roll to windward, and a 

 heavy sea coming in at the lime, she floated and went off 

 from' the beach. I watched her for about half an hour, and 

 never saw her afterward. Her yards Were clewed down, 

 but sails not furled, her canvas adrift, gangways open and 

 hatches off. She had eighty casks of coal aboard, and must 

 have sunk soon. The two rabbits went down with the 

 Trinity, nude and female, and two cats which we -lei! on 

 board shared the same fate. Then 1 Went back and told 

 the captain that the ship was gone off. All hands felt sorry 

 for her going, but there was one consolation for us, which 

 was that Captain Puller would come in the Pilot's Bride, 

 on or about January 1. For Captain Puller, bound for Deso- 

 lation, and Captain Williams, bound for Heard's, had prom 

 ised to look out for one another. 



At sunrise the next morning. Oct. IS, we all assembled 

 to see what we had saved from ihe wreck, We found thai 

 we had taken from the ship six casks of bread, four cask- 

 coal. One barrel molasses, one barrel sugar, eight barrels 

 pork, coffee, live pounds powder, a small bag of snot, with 

 eight months' supply of tobacco, in addition to which some 

 Of the men had ten 'or twelve pounds of their own. Then 

 o«r trouble appeared in its proper shape, with two months' 

 prog for thirty-one men to look at. and we 9. .100 miles from 

 New London. But we had no time to think about this, for 

 we had lo go to work to secure our provisions and then to 

 fix our shanties. And now I must, tell something about this 

 Heard's Island, where we were cast away for. as it proved 

 Afterward, fifteen long months. 



Heard's Island is a barren land in the Indian Ocean, 

 some you miles south of Kergnelen Land, or Desolation, anil 

 about 3,000 miles from (lie Cape of Good Hope, the nearest 

 land. The part of the island where I lived is in 58 8' S. 

 ,'(i 30' B,-i being 312 miles from Christmas Harbor, Island 

 of Desolation. The island is thirty-five miles long, and 

 from three tp five miles, wide, narrowing to a sandy point on 

 the southeast, Across the whole breadth of the island, -ix 

 miles from tls southeast point, extends a range of ice moun- 

 tains, with a volcano mountain im the center. 6,000 feet 

 high. This range completely cut us off from all communi- 

 cation with the gang we bad left at Crinton Bay. "In sum- 

 mer there would show cracks in the ice from ten lo twenty 

 Feel wide, andwecould nol see the bottoms of, them; so it 



was no use lo try to cross in summer, and in winter wi- 

 could not depend on the weather. The cliffs and peaks of 

 ice extended out over the sea, and huge masses of this ice 

 would from time to time tumble down into the water, All • 

 about under Volcano Mountain, as we called it, there n 

 great masses of black and burnt rock mingled with the ici 

 fields. We called them the Black Hills, In Summer time 

 the ice would melt around the blocks of rock, some of them 

 weighing many Ions, which would thus be left suspended 

 high in the air' on their pinnacles of ice. We saw th. rock 

 this way in December. 1880, and the follow ing December we 

 noticed' the same lining, Altera while the rocks would fall 

 down, and again the ice and snow would accumulate around 

 them. 



There are no frees nor bushes on the island. Ihe only 

 vegetation thai grows there being a coarse tussock of 

 tangled briers and grass, no S00i \ f or tire, and what we 

 called wild cabbage and ate as such. This begins to grow 

 about the first of September and matures in April. We 

 found it best for earing j u December. 



On the island there were four shanties, which had been 

 built some fifteen years before by the crews of Williams & 

 Haven, of New London. In each shanty was a stove, and 

 there were also on the island two sets of try works, having 

 tWO pots apiece, of one hundred gallons capacity each, wil.ii 

 several hundred casks. In these we used coal so lone- as ii 

 lasted and the scrunchins of the blubber. 



We divided up the crew into four gangs, one for each shanty, 

 myself, with two of the Portuguese, taking possession of a 



shanty on the northeast side of the island, some dj • 



away' from the rest. 



Then we went tO work to kill sea elephants and barrel up 

 the oil for shipping whenever Capt. Puller should come. 



frost nor snow- before, but 

 I were a match for me. ami 



who know John l-'a- 

 wore nothing but canvas 



■den soles and skin upper 



■ong fellows and good wo 



i i. lubber, weiehin 



three feet long on their I 



• than the- average of the 



150 



The Portuguese had 



they stood The cold very well 8 

 when f say that, all ieagoin^ a 



know what it means. Tie 

 to rheir skins, shoes with v 

 no stockings. Thev w ere 

 would lug six or 'eight 

 pounds, suspended on a pof 

 They stood hardship belt 

 men. 



The sea elephants are a kind of seal, and are from fifteen 

 to twenty-two feet in length. They have a trunk something 

 like an elephant's from eia;ht to fourteen inches in length, 

 which tb&y extend when smelling of anything or when 

 em-aged. They shed their hair between November I and 

 December 1. They pup the frrst of October; the young al 

 birth have beautiful black hair, which is changed to gray 

 when thev are three days old, and is shed altogether at the 

 end of ten days or a fortnight, by which time they re ready 

 to leave the island. These elephauts. like the seals. can live 

 a long time on suction, and it is well that thev can. for thev 



could getnothl i j i eal in this land except' cabbage, and 



such rish don't eat cabbage. Nor yet had they time to -eel- 

 anythingto eat, for they would not be long out, of the water 

 before some of our party would have a lance stuck in them, 

 I have never seen animals better hunted and worse fed than 

 they wore. The lances which we used were wooden staves 

 ■i- i, eight Eeelia length, with Iron points two feet long, so 

 that the whole would be eight and ten ieei in length. The 



elephants, when attacked, rear up about eight feet in the 

 air, and then th« lance is stuck into their heart, 



We had many a bard tight with the hull elephants when 

 thev would be near the w ater bul When bout tifty or sixty 

 yards from the water, and over the crap of the beach, we 

 would soon capture them with lances, as there would gen 

 erally be two or three of us together. 



Being busy w ilh our work of killing the elephant I We gOl 



altogether before leaving the island 500 barrels of oil) (he 



,-ed away and il came time to expect Ctt] 

 in the Pilot's Bride, Then 1 remembered the words ol the 



