The Few Cheerless Gleams On The Third Day Revealed A Most
Awe-Inspiring View.
Far as the eye could see in every direction
the ocean was torn into snowy foam by the raging wind.
After the
storm we had but five of the original ten ships left in the
fleet. Several were disabled and three of the other boats towed
them to near ports.
"After the fourth day out we had fine weather for several days.
On Christmas morn we ran into a heavy fog. We could not see from
one end of the boat to the other, but no accidents befell us.
This day brought many thoughts of home, especially at dinner
time, for our menu was simply beans and nothing more, our
supplies of other edibles being exhausted. We each received a
cigar as a present. At eight o'clock on Christmas eve I went on
lifeboat watch. The relieved watch all went below and crawled up
in their hammocks for the night. The lights from the boat showed
she was groping her way through fantastic wreaths of fog, whose
dense white masses enclosed us like a wall. We were unable to
see the lights of the other ships, and when at one end of ours
we could not distinguish the lights at the other.
"'An ominous stillness seemed to pervade the atmosphere - a
stillness which was oppressive and awesome like that which
reigns in the home where death is.' Only the dull rumbling sound
of the engines broke the silence.
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