Tribune and telegraph. [volume] (Kenosha, Wis.) 1855-1856, 1855-10-25
DIR. KANE'S RETURN.
Incidents and Details of the Expedition.
rom The \. Y. Papers of Oct. 1atb

|
lease, in company with the propeller Arctic, hove
to off the quarantine, where they were boarded
by the Health Officer and permitted to pass UP to
the city The appearance of the vessels caused
considerable excitement on shore, & on the decks
| of those ships which they passed-the news hav
ing got out that Dr. Kane was on board. Many
of the steamers plying across the harbor steamed
close to them in order to allow the passengers to
cheer the returning wanderers; and from the decks
& rigging of ships from the forts and in fact from
every available position, cheers were swelled and
prolonged until the vessel nearcd the Battery, a.
breast of which they moored and now remain
/ The reporters now boarded the vessels and found
Dr. Kane and most of his company on board the
Release in excellent health and spirits.
| Highly interesting account Of the ErpeaitioR as
related by Dr. Kane to Hr. Henry GriaaeH.
AS soon as the vessel came to anchor OFF the
Battery, Dir. Kane hurried ashore, and proceeded
at once to the Astor House, where he was warmly
welcomed by a host of friends and acquaintances
Every one crowded to see him, and for few min
utes he was so completely surrounded and beset
| by eager nquirers that it was with the greatest
difficulty he could make his escape When he at
last succeeded iii gaining The street he in compa-
ny with friend. got into carriage and drove mp
! to the residence of Mr. Henry Grinnell, in Bond
st. His arrival had been expectedby Mr.. Grnnell
who received him with such welcome as only
comes from the very depths of the heart.
! Il have 10 Advance with me- eaid Dr. Kane, al
luding to the loss of his vessel which as we have
stated, he was obliged to abandon in the ice.
"Never mind that" replied Mr.. Grinnel $50
long as you are SAFE that is all we care about.
Come into the paror," he added, land lc. us hear
the whole story"
And DR.. Kane proceeded at once to relate the
story of his second voyage to the Arctic regions,
the pers and dangers to which he was exposed,
his wonderful adventures, and still more wonder
full escape. We give it in nearly his own words
as possible stating, however at his request, that
his official account will be published as early as
practicable, and that any errors or inaccuracies
will be corrected in it. lie was obliged, lie said,
to abandon the Advance in latitude 7S : 49, after
having penetrated as far as @ 30 which was fur
Their than any other navigator had gone, with the
exception of Captain Parry, who reached tho lat
itude of 1918. While here he saw the Polar or
open sea, stretching away of to the north farther
than the eye could reach. This point he had reach
ed after travelling eighty ninety miles over the
ice in sedgcs; but as all immense zone Off inter
vened between him and his vessel, it was inpos-
sibe for him to prosecute his investigations far
Their northward. For two winters the advance
was completely hemmed in; and ii became evil
dent to him, from the condition of his men, that
they could not survive another winter, he deter
mined to leave her and make the best of his way
to the nearest settlement. He discovered about
eighty new capes and twenty bays and found land
up as far as he was enabled to penetrate. The ex-
treme northern boundary of this he named Grin
nell's Land in honor of Mr.. Henry Grirncll.-
The hardships they endured were of fearful char
acter, and at time SHOUT of their party of 10,
were so low that it tho't they could not sur
vive. OF these three died, and the rest were sa-
ved otter the mos. nremitting and attention.
One of these was Mr.. Oisten, the carpenter, who
died while crossing over the ice, of lockiaw, SUI
pcrinduced by the intense cold The other two
were frost-bittcn. The lockjaw, Dr. Kane said,
was very prevalent.
The party, after making their way over 1890
miles of ice, arrived at Lcviely Godheaven, and
had taken passage in Danish brig, named the
Maria. when the Release made her appearance.
Their joy at meeting their countrymen here can
better be imagined than described.
They lost no time, it is almost needless to state,
i'll taking their departure, and after a favorable
voyage arrived within sight of our shores where
they were hailed by the steamship Union about
sixty miles east Of Sandy Hook.
ADDITIONAL STATEMENT BY DIR. KANE.
The expedition succeeded in crossing Melville
Bay and reaching the hcadands of Smith Sound
as early as the 9th of August, 1853. Finding the
ice to the north completely impcnetrable, they
were forced TO attempt a temporary passage along
the coast, where the rapid tides-running at the
rate of four knots hour, with rise and fall of
sixteen feet--had worn temporary opening. Pre-
vious to taking this step, which involved great
responsibility, and which was in fact, equivalent
to sacrificing the vessel, q Francis metallic boat,
with canoe of provisions, was conceded rs a
means of retreat.
The penetration Of the pack ice was attended
by many obstacles. The vessel grounded with ev-
cry tide, and but for her extreme strength would
not have been able to sustain the shocks of the ice.
She was twice on her beam ends, and once on fire
from the upsetting of tie stoves. Some idea Of
Al: 10 tIn "a
her losing her jibboom, best bower anchor and bull
warks, besides about $50 fathoms ofwarpimg line.
They were checred, however, by small daily
progress and by the 10th of Sept, 1858, bad sue
ceeded III gaining the northern face ofGrcenland
at point never reached before. Here the young
ice froze around the vessel, and compelled them
to seek a winter asylum.
The winter gave them 4 degree of cold much
below any previous registration ON record. Wits
kew frozc in November, and for four months III the
year mercury was solid daily. The mean animal
temperature was five degrees below zero, summer
and winter included. This, without doubt, was
the greatest cold ever experienced by man. as the
scat of their winter quarters was nearest the pole.
I The scurvv was readily controlled, but the most
novel feature of this winter tetanus, or lock-
Jaw, which defied all treatment 1t carried away
tifty-sevcn of their best slcdge dogs and was al:
/ together a frightful scourge.
/ The operations of search commenced rs early
rs March The first parties, under the personal
charge Of DR.. Kane, crossing the ice at tempera
lures of minus 81 below zero. The loss Of thei,
dogs obliged them, as only alternative, to adopt
this early travel Many of the party were frost
bitten and underwent amputation OF the toes. II
was bv means of these efforts that the expedition
succeeded in bringing back their important re-
suits. The parties were in the field as late as the
10Th of July, only -ceasing from labor when the
winter darkness made it impossible to travel.
Greenland has been followed and surveyed by
I DR. Kane towards the Atlantic, with a coast line
fronting Inc North, until s:upendous glacier alb
soIutei2 checked their progress. This mass of ice
rinse in n lofty precipce, o0a feet high, abuttinf
/ into the sen. 1t undoubtedly is the only barriel
between Greenland and the Atlantic-itis an Of
fcrtuaI barrier TO all future operations.
/ This glacier in spite of the difficulty of fall
inc. hergs. was followed out TO sea by means o
sIed@es. the party rafting themselves across OpeI
water spaces on masses ~ ice. In this way tbs
marty srcceed in travelling 81 miles aiongits base
and Traced II into a new Northern land. This gla
cer is we believe, the largest ever discovered by
anv previous navigator
/ ) This new land thus eemented to Greenland
nv nrotrndipr ice, was named Washington Th,
Iarre hav which intervenes betweenit and Green
land hears we believe. the name of Nr. Peabody
Of Baltinere. one OF the projectors of the expedi
tiop This lev connection of the old and new
worlds seems 10 us feature of peculiar interest
Of the SledVe IOIlrupys may be I'M