CHILDREN'S COLUMN.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XLI, Issue 12523, 16 March 1904, Page 1 (Supplement)

CHILDREN'S COLUMN.

IMPRISONED IX AN ICE FLOE. AND THE TIDE FAST ADVANCING. One of those thrilling - experiences which' ..■:;' leave a mark upon a man till his dying day came to an amateur. photographer while . .;■ exploring the banks of a river in Alaska.. The winter ice which for many months had caked the stream had commenced to break up as the spring advanced. : The floe thus formed.surged back and J forth with the tide at every flow a little of the ice ' worked its way out to sea. . ( • , Hardman, the photographer in ; left camp one morning with?the; intention ■ of getting a closer view of the great ice jam, and some pictures of the mounds. ' Pre?:;.. sently he ventured to spring on, to the floe,, V | and so made his way to the -base of an immense white pile of jagged blocks. Not if satisfied, he attempted, to get,* .ifiew, from the, summit.- He was ft third 'of the distance when he came to an enormous cake broken in two at the centre. ~The Jower v half lay at an angle of 45 degrees, the i upper at not mors than 30.- Between the two was. a crack 3ft wide, and beneath it an opening several feet deep." : . ■Resting for. a moment on : the upper eig® '.■;"■';.■ of .the under cake, Hardman -stepped upon: the one above, not noticing:-how insecure was its position. Instantly 1 his "foot eEppedi <>■■. and he fell into the crack between. 'He clutched at the slippery edge as he went down, hung suspended by his arms for a r K\ second, them, his hands losing i their hold, he dropped just in;time to escape being • crushed; for the upper lightly poised ' ragment had lbeen started downward by hia weight and crashed against the lower one • as the man fell in. a heap below. He: was in a narrow irregular space among the blocks, about 3ft wide £ sft long, and bit high. ' ' ■■ He was not alarmed. He said to him. self: "I can easily cut myself out' with . my jack-knife,; and I will set to work; at once." . .

He took out his knife, and then looked at his watch; it was ten o'clock. Suddenly'a thought flashed through' hie brain that made him faint with terror. " The tide was due just two hours later. The flow of the water would set the whole jam iin motion. If he did not escape, he would be ground into pieces, pinched put of shape and semblance. • One movement- of a cake would annihilate him.

With a great effort he v controlled :■ hie I shaken nerve. | "I have got to cut my way out," hie said, I clenching his teeth. He at once began to chip away the ice. When he, had cut steadily upward to a depth of lOfn, he noticed that he was letting the hole get smaller the deeper it went into the ice. If the dimensions were | allowed to decrease any more,: he saw that | the hole would be much too narrow for his j exit by the time the cake was pierced. So, j beginning at the bottom, he enlarged the tunnel until it seemed to him that; its neces- ! sary convergence would still leave a wide i enough opening when' the surface was reached. - • !'.' Then came a maddening delay; he was obliged to stop to cut footholds: that he might raise himself enough to work with advantage. Hardman dared not look at his watch until he judged that his task was half-; completed. To his dismay he then perceived that it had taken him 67 minutes to bora through the ;easier half of his iice. prison. Only 53 minutes remained; it seemed useless to continue. His blistered fingers caused him agony. Then desperation lent him renewed and added strength, and he worked like a madman. Although surrounded with walls :of ice, his whole body dripped witlli perspiration. Every muscle in his arms and shoulders ached intolerably with the strain of clinging to the vertical wall arid picking away the relentless ice overhead, Showers of chips poured down upon his face, half blinding him, and he worked in a great measure by guess. Yet slowly the tunnel was cut upward inch by inch until he estimated there could be no more than 3in left. Suddenly the blade snapped off at the; handle. Hardman uttered a groin. There yet remained the small'blade, but if that went he was doomed to a frightful death. A dozen strokes and the knife pierced clear through the cake. He listened for the roar of the coming tide (he dared not look at his watch); a bird of prey soared! overhead, and uttered a hoarse scream."

When he deemed the opening sufficient to permit his body to pass,. Hardman grasped the edge and raised himself till his head was clear of the ice, . It was of no ■■■■■*; use the breadth of his shoulders stopped him. At that moment a sullen roar, came up : the river. : It was the . tide advancing. Already the great ice blocks began to quiver. It must be now or never. Hardmam dropped back, tore off coat, and " .. waistcoat, and thea, with almost super- , ; : human strength,? Ids muscles and bones ; cracking under the strain, '.forced, himself inch by inch from the grip of the ice. He was free., Sobbing hysterically he clambered over the floe and refined the/ shore. Directly afterwards, with- a grind- ~ ing roar the mass iof ice ■ blocks, .heaving,. and tumbling and crashing themselves to fragments, began to move down the stream.. . • Ht had 'escaped, and barely, from the very jaws at death. l — t ! ' .. - ■ - ■. );'-•■;., • ! - ; ',.,;■ *;|