Death on the Ice

Just finished Death on the Ice by Cassie Brown and Harold Horwood. The blurb below from the book says it all. A gripping and moving tale. The image of the father wrapping his arms around his two sons trying to keep them warm as they together died of the cold, frozen together in death, is one that is hard to dislodge among the many displays of heroism, resoluteness, and humanity. Regrettably out of print but good for anyone interested in adventure, disaster stories, or maritime tales. Probably 10th grade and up.

From the blurb:

Each year for generations, poor ill-clad Nefoundland fishermen sailed out "to the ice" to hunt seals in the hope of a few pennies in wages from the prosperous merchants of St. John's. The year 1914 witnessed the worst in the long line of tragedies that were part of their harsh way of life.

For two long, freezing days and nights a party of seal hunters - one hundred thirty-two men - were left stranded on an icefield floating in the North Atlantic in winter. They were thinly dressed, with almost no food, and with no hope of shelter on the ice against the snow or the constant, bitter winds. To survive they had to keep moving, always moving. Those who lay down to rest died.

Heroes emerged - one man froze his lips badly, biting off the icicles that were blinding his comrades. Other men froze in their tracks, or went mad with pain and walked off the edge of the icefield. All the while, ships steamed about nearby, unnoticing. And by the time help arrived, two thirds of the men were dead.