The Romance of Polar Exploration

Expedition-The Second Winter-Preparations for Departure-They leave Fort Conger-A Remarkable Ice Passage-They fail to make Cape Sabine

ng been passed by Congress for the purpose, Lieutenant Adolphus Washington Greely was appointed to the command. Lieutenant Greely, who w

ey were to form a dep?t on Grinnel Land, and, using it as a base, push forward, by means of dog-sl

their journey in fairly open water. The season was especially mild, and they were able to make excellent travelling through the unimpeded water. On the way they stopped at Cary Islands and examined the records left there by Sir George Nares in 1875, and which had been examined once before by Sir Allen Young, in 1876. The s

y moderately thin ice which was yet thick enough to stop her ordinary progress, was to steam astern for a couple of hundred yards and then rush full speed at the ice. The strength of the iron prow and the force of her powerful engines drove her into the floe, but the operation was one that required great care. As she approached the floe, the crew, running from one

nded, and proceeded to the cairn which had been erected by the Nares expedition. Here he found two copper cases labelled "Reports and G

ted, a suitable situation was marked out for "Fort Conger," which was to form the base of th

OXEN IN THE

ome addition to the larde

n, arranging the heavy casks and cases of imperishable provisions near the house, and exploring and hunting over the surrounding country. The hunting was a necessary part of the business, for wint

heir house built, the recording instruments erected in proper localities, the provisions stacked, and everything in order sufficiently early to permit them to carry out some surveys while the weather was yet mild enough for sledge travelling. Attention was also given to obtaining as much game as possible, and by the time that

dogs, as well as provisions, a hunting party went out to shoot them. But the wolves were too cunning, keeping out of range until the men were tired out. They were frequently fired at, but none fell, a

ts feet and made off, bleeding profusely. The trail left by the blood was distinctly visible on the snow, although the wolf itself, being covered with pure white fur, was quite invisible. For over an hour the trail was followed, and when at last

The poisoned baits were then taken up, and only good meat put down, the wolves always taking it until, their confidence being aroused, a few poisoned baits were mixed with the oth

ditions being one of the objects of the expedition, great attention was paid to these displays, and some excellent descriptions

m of a delicate convoluted ribbon of colourless light. On the 24th there was another halo. This was a double one, there being two perfect concentric half-circles, distant 23° and 46° from the sun, each half-circle having a contact arch of magn

id, at one time, with a wide sweep of red, yellow, and blue, marked by bars of white light r

ght proceeded from the moon vertically, reaching downwards to the horizon, and upwards to the outer circle. In addition to these, a brilliant streak of white clear light extended from the moon, horizontally, on both sides, completely round the horizon, and now and again a faint mock moon of rainbow col

later on, in saving the house from being blown away in a terrific hurricane which occurred. But even with the protection of the frozen snow outside, and the constant burning of fires and lamps inside, the temperature of the house was, in midwinter, so cold that any water accidentally spilled on the floor turned to ice, and unless the ink-bottle was kept near a burning lamp, the ink froze at once. O

sed so much that he could not face it alone, and two men had to go. The air was soon filled with driving snow, and the rate of the wind reached fifty miles an hour. It was now only possible for six men, supporting one another, to stand against the dense volumes of snow which the wind carried. When the velocity attained to sixty-five miles an hour, fears were entertained as to the safety of the house. But still the wind increase

nough natural light existed for the men to see one another, they were amused at the appearance of their faces. The prolonged absence of sunlight had entirely robbed their cheeks of any semblance of ruddiness, their complexions having changed to a ghastly yellowy green tint, as though each one was suffering fr

us. Directly spring set in sledge parties were despatched in all directions to survey and spy out the country. One was led by

avelling was made, the men and sledges frequently being able to slide for a hundred yards at a time. At the head of the river they found an enormous glacier completely blocking up the valley, extending five miles from side to side, and 175 feet

erdure-clad slopes, with sturdy heath blooms, daisies, and other blossoms mingling, and over them were flitting innumerable white and yellow butterflies. Humble bees droned, and flies, including the familiar daddy-long-legs, were everywhere present, as well as their arch-enemies, the spiders. Ptarmigan, their white plumage somewhat speckled with dark feathers, plovers, and birds of smaller size, were seen on the wing; while

e of them being implements which were quite unintelligible to the Greenland Eskimos who were with the party. The remains of the houses showed

but the ice was too rough for them. They passed beyond Cape Sheridan and set out towards the North, but turned back, finding "nothing but an inextricable mass of huge bergs, and enormous hummocks piled up in a similar manner as when journeyed over by Commander Markham." The scientific instruments they had with them had to be abandoned at one place

to Greenland. This was over a similar route to that taken by Lieutenant Beaumont of the Discovery; but the later expedition, not having t

, not only on the coast of Greenland, but also in the Arctic regions. The latitude recorded was 83° 23' 8" N., and thus the honour, which for three hundred years had been th

relief parties all along the route. Several of the former had been placed in position during the early spring, and there is no doubt that this arrangement contributed very materially to the success of the enterprise. The last dep?t was formed when nearly in sight of Cape Britannia, and from thence the small party of three pushed forward. The dog team saved them an enormous amount of labour by dragging the sledge for them, but even then they found the travelling exceedingly difficult. Their sleeping-bags were damp, and consequently they were always compelled to rest in great discomfort. As the

Beaumont's party, including a British ensign, which were faithfully preserved throughout the terrible privations the expedition was fated to undergo. These relics were subsequently forwarded by the United States Government to the British and are now in the Greenwich

ad its full details. To the men of the Lady Franklin Bay Expedition, who justly appreciated the terrible contingencies of the

mmemoration of American heroes, and on that day throughout the United States all the graves of their heroes are decorated. Here on the bleak, barren Greenland coast they remember

et in, and it had not arrived. There was still an abundant supply of food, and no alarm was felt on that score; but the novelty of the surroundings having worn off, the prospect of the long, weary stretch of darkness had a depressing influence. It, however, passed without any untoward incident, and with the return of the sun field work was resumed. The most notable journey was that of Lieutenant Lockwood and his companion on the "farthest North" trip, Sergeant Brainard, who, in one month, covered 437 miles of the

e in the spring, and a plan was arranged for a retreat to the south being carried out, if no relief ship came, in the boats the expedition possessed. These consisted of a steam launch 27 feet long, an iceboat which had been abandoned by Lieutenant Beaumont in 1876, and two whale-boats. A dep?t of forty days' f

hich would have offered no obstacle to a big steamer. They had scarcely got out of sight of the house where they had passed the two long dark winters before they were so beset with loose ice that progress was almost impossible. Then new ice formed round them, and they were hard and fast. The fact that they only carried a limited supply of fuel made their position more serious, and when, on August 18, a temporary bre

ough the mass, and they turned into it. The enormous berg had grounded and had split asunder, leaving a passage a hundred yards long and barely twelve feet wide, the sides

e boats, but the ice had closed too firmly to allow of any hopes of their being able to force their way through. A strong wind from the north, in spite of the snow and cold it would have brought, would have been welcome; but the days were provokingly calm, and the ice only moved south at its ordinary slow rate. By August 26 they had travelled 300 miles from Fort Conger and were within fifty miles of Cape Sabine, a headland where there was a large supply of stores left by Sir George Nares in 1876. If they were able to reach there before the winter night set in, there was some chance of their existing through the

Cape Sabine, or to take to the sledges and push on over the rough ice to the shore. They had been drifting for thirty miles, and only twenty now lay between them and the cape with its store of provisions. The leader was ave

nd filled with drifting snow so that they were able to obtain but little rest when they halted, and when they were moving they were always cold and miserable. Until September 28 they were struggling over the rough, difficult ice, and then their trials were further increased. They were nearing t

heavy storms. It was therefore decided to form a camp where they were, while the snow had not frozen too hard for them to get some stones for a shelter. They had been compelled, on their journ

exterior. Across the top of the walls the boat they had dragged with them over the ice was laid keel uppermost, the oars being laid under it so as to maintain it in position, the open spaces between the sides of the boat and the walls being covered with such canvas as they had. Around the stone walls and over the top, snow was piled, and their living hou

ves into messes for the purpose of feeding, and two cooks prepared the food, an operation that was always difficult and unpleasant. It had, of necessity, to be carried on inside the hut, and when the two men were kneeling in a cramped-up position over the make-shift for a stove in the middle of the floor, there was no room for any one else to stretch his legs. Every one had to huddle up

news that despatches had been found, stating the Proteus had foundered in the ice on July 24 just off the cape, and that the crew and relief party had started to

eviously abandoned on the ice, which had drifted ashore near the cape.

y who had visited the cape on their way from the wreck of the Proteus had very considerably reduced the stores which the Greely party counted on finding, and when they obtained the remnants which were left, part of the bread was found to be a mass of green slimy mildew. The men had now been on reduced

sun sank beneath the horizon, and in the ensuing darkness, which lasted for 110 days, there would be no chance of obtaining any game. A few blue foxes had been killed sinc

alculated that the party could exist until March 1, when the available supplies would amount to ten days' rations. But no relief could possibly rea

rteen ounces, given out every twenty-four hours, and on March 1, as soon as there was light, they would take their remaining ten days

meal, and now that amount was to be decreased to less than a pound of food a day and in a climate where the cold was so intense that water could not be kept from freezing inside the hut excepting it was over the stove. For four months they w

o devour them at once, and so still for a time the ceaseless gnawing of their hunger; but to do so meant that in an hour's time the pain would be back again with no means of staying it until twenty-three hours had passed. Calmly and bravely they faced the ordeal, dividing their scanty store into regular meals, and wh

hopes of securing it. For a week before they started they were allowed an extra ration in order to strengthen them for the trial o

for they had no means of heating more. One of the four was badly bitten by the frost, and was soon so stricken that he could not even stagger along. A piercing wind was blowing, and to save their comrade's life, the others abandoned the sledge and tried to support him. Soon two of them bec

lying under the sleeping-bag with the sick man between them, and the bag frozen so hard over them that it had to be cut open before they could b

ll to survive as long as possible that he was tended with all the care they could command. He was kept alive in spite of his su

nomy compelled them to use it only for cooking-men crept to the stove and devoured any rancid fat left in the lamp. But still discipline held them together, and they made no mention of their

ment that it was of an effusion of water at the heart that the man had died. His end made a deep impression on the gallant little band, all the same, and by the beginning of

ade on the first day of March, and as February slowly passed away, the emaciated creatures grew enthusiastic as they sought to cheer one another up by detailing the tremendous feasts they would have when they returned to civilisation. At length the first of March dawned, and the brave hearts, which had kept up so long against star

so weak that they could barely turn over in their sleeping-bags. The Eskimo Frederick was found dead in his bag, and another of the little party followed the next day. Then Sergeants Rice and Fredericks insisted on making an effort to r

irst to feel it. A strong wind was blowing, bringing down heavy snow squalls. Suddenly Rice began to talk wildly and then staggered. Fredericks grasped him by the arm and tried to keep him up, but the cold

o lay upon the other, sitting the while, holding his hands, and exposed to all the biting fury of the Arctic wind, in his shirt sleeves. But e

little coffee and spirits of ammonia to revive his own drooping vitality. Yet he would not leave his dead comrade until he

brought plunged every one into the lowest depths of sorrow, for Rice had always been one of the b

one of whom was the intrepid Lockwood. A very few more days and all would have gone but for a gleam of good fo

ly striving to obtain fresh supplies for the larder. Eskimo Jens, who hunted assiduously, succeeded in

ich to subsist. Even this fare was carefully divided and measured out, so that life might be maintained as long as possible in case a relief vessel came. One day it was found that somebody was ste

more than living skeletons, lay in their sleeping-bags looking at one another with hollow eyes, w

atch again the sound which had so moved them, but the minutes passed on in silence. The man who had gone out did not come back, and their hopes fell. No one spoke, for it was too plain they had been deceived, and a prof

States Navy, had reached them, and so, on June 23, 18