ON AN ADMIRALTY STEAMER

Otago Daily Times, Issue 16600, 25 January 1916, Page 9

ON AN ADMIRALTY STEAMER

ROUND NORTH CAPE TO AEGEANGEL. AN INTEESTING TRIP. Writing to his parents at Waimate from Edinburgh under date November 25, Mr Jack Nicol says: — "I am pleased to be able to say I am back from that trip to Archangel I We had very bad weather all the way round the North Cape and it was cold. The ship, the steamship Sproit, was about ICOft long and small in beam, and' 68 tons register. We did get a shaking up, and all hands were sick. Huge seas were breaking right over the ship, and one of our boats was carried away. Water began to rise, through coming in from the top; and we were afraid she would founder. We skipped to get the water out, when the other two boats kept on into it. That was the i last we saw of them. In the cabin we had a small ' bogey,' a kind of Ktovfi, but owing to the ship labouring to heavily it was impossible to kteep the firo on. So everything got damp and very cold. Then we sighted some islands (the Lofoden Islands) off the coast of Norway. They were completely covered with snow, being within the Arctic Circle; the weather became bad again round the North Cape, and I really became uneasy and afraid we would not see the business through, when a great sea struck us and completely knocked in the only remaining lifeboat we had. All hands, including the cook, wens called out to help lash it and save what then was left of it. I was on watch, and the chief came down below. It was an anxious time. "The same Sunday night we were surprised about 6 o'clock to see a huge ship ahead towering over us—a great black mass. It was an auxiliary cruiser, and an officer came on board to examine our papers. They had not' been in port for weeks, and. were eager to hear the news and get old -papers. Along the coast we could see nothing but pure white hills, and it was cold. We had to report to ' examination steamers ' at a ' certain part' of the coast. On reaching this place there was nothing to be seen, so we waited all day, tossing about, up and down the coast. Next morning a tramp steamer came in sight, and she made straight for the land, and we thought she had perhaps been there before, and followed. You could imagine our surprise to see inside about a dozen ships, one a huge liner with her bows severely damaged. In that place we were very pleased indeed to rest for about four days before we were sent on. " Archangel is a few miles up a river, and we had an unusual experience getting up. The ice was very thick—about Bin, — end the weather was very cold indeed. AH the shore was white. People were walking across the river immediately in front of the ship; in fact, running across before we broke the ice. Then that night we reached our destination, and were pleased to see the other boat up and safely tied. The third one, we were told, had returned to Scotland in distress, having been nearly lost. We had a few days there, and had a bit of a look rand. Ice and snow were everywhere, and everybody used sleighs and great furs. I was very glad to use a woollen helmet, which had been sent me, and the other boys wanted to use it. On the 12th we left the ships—all hands, on sleighs, two in each, and all the baggage in larger sleighs—for the railway station. We made a fwr procession—24 man, two in each sleigh—and four baggage sleighs, making 16 sleighs. Right through Archangel, across a river, and over to the station—about two hours' drive. Then began tho lon<r overland journey home, through North Russia to Petrograd, into Finland, up into Sweden, by rail still, across the frontier and down through Sweden into Norway to Christiania, and then across tho famous scenery of Norwav to Bergen, wheTe we got a boat for Newcastle.''