J. Ross' had thrown
the care of another crew upon them, and yet they could find plenty to
add to the comfort of those who have another season in this climate and
a long and severe journey before them. Captain Sinclair, though himself
so great a sufferer by the loss of a vessel in which nearly his whole
means were invested, had been a large contributor toward the search
party. They expected to be frozen in here till about the 1st of June,
when they could saw a channel through the ice to the clear water beyond
Deadmen's Island. Marble Island has been the winter quarters of whaling
vessels for many years, though not altogether a safe harbor. In the
winter of 1872 two vessels were wrecked here, the 'Ansel Gibbs'
and the 'Oray Taft'. The hulk of the latter still lay upon the
shore of the inner harbor, but the 'Ansel Gibbs' broke up outside
and had long since gone to pieces. The graves of a number of their
crews are in the graveyard by the sea. Upon the bald face of a rock
near the outside harbor is a list of names written in red paint nearly
a century ago; but whether a visitor's list or a gigantic tombstone to
record those who perished here long ago by shipwreck is unknown. Upon
the north-east end of the island, partly hidden by moss, is a quantity
of soft coal, which was probably left here by one of the early Arctic
explorers.
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