The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1855-10-15
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ARCTIC EXPEDITIONS.
Details Of DR.. Kane's Perilous Voyage.

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Details Of DR.. Kane's Perilous Voyage.
We announced yesterday the arrival at New
York Of the propeller Arctic and the barque Re
lease. sent TO the Arctic region in search Of DR.
Kane bringing back that gentleman and his long
missing companions with the exception of three
who had died DR. Kane sailed from New YORK IN
the brganiine Advance on the 3lst Of May, Is,S,
for the Polar Seas, in search Of Sir Johh -
and his COMPANIONS taking with him a variety "
;n.,ruments for scientific purposes. and supply
Of provisions sufficient for three YEAR
His entire ships company consisteo VI 'e'
persons 49,, p,,o.se.--pr
u.na ITn;,ed states Navy; John w. WILSON, Amos
Ronsau. DIR. J. J. Haynes, Augustus Soil,ag, hehIs
Cnoifellow. George Stephenson, VIM Morton ana
Thomas Hickey In the are,e-ii raa a'i n;n,,
boatswain u. s. n; Jas. Mctiarry. George Rhe!'
YIN Godfrey. Chas Blake and Goo. White
Lieut. Harfstene command ID the expedition htted
ont for the relief of DIR. Kane, pursuant 10 an
act of Congress- which sailed from New aaaS ." ~
the al, of June last The expedition consisted o'
two vessels the propeller Arctic and the parq"c nc
lease which were Differed as follows ;o,,,
O6oe,s Of lle Release-Henry j. Hartstene' Lieu,
commanding; VIM. l.; Loyen, ac pishn r. Kane as
si<,ant surgeon Van Rensselaer, Hale boatsWaii.
osctys Of The Arc,ic-Charles e. Semms. Lieut..
commanding; Watson Smith, acting master; mar
man Newell, engineer; samuei hnhs' "e'i's
boatswalu ~, -,
The arrival of the expedition at New iork on
THURSDAY created intense excitement, and hundreds
socked down to the wharf. DIR. Kane, as soon as
nossib,e Jumped into a carriage and proceeded 10
the residence of Henry Grinneli, Esq, through
whose munifcence his expedition was htted out
He met with most hearty reception from MI. U.
81 have no advance with me" said Dr. Kane, al
IudjnQ to the loss of his vessel, which as we nave
stated he was obliged to abandon in the ice
Never mind that replied Mr. Grinneli; so long
"a YOU are safe, that is all we care about. Come
into the parlor," he added land let us hear the
whole story" -,
And DIR. Kane proceeded at once to relate the
story Of his second voyage to the Arctic regions
the perls and dangers to which he was exposed MS
wonderful adventures and still more wonderful es-
cane He was obliged, no said, to abandon the
Advance in latitude 1915 after having penetrated
as far rs 81 30, which was further than any other
navigator had gone, with the exception OF captain
Parry who reached the latitude of s3l5. While
here he sav the Polynva open sea, stretching
away loft to the north farthar than the eye could
reach.
ADDITIONAL STATEMENT BY DR. KANE.
The expedition succeeded in crossing Melville
Bay and reaching the headands off Smith Sound as
early as the 9th of August, 1853. Finding the ice
10 the north completely impenetrable they were
forced to attempt temporary passage along the
coast where the rapid tdes-running at the rate of
four knots an hour with rise and fall of sixteen
feet-had worn temporary opening. Previous to
taking this step, which involved great responsible
ty and which was, in fact, equivalent to sacrificing
tho vessel, French metallic boat, with canoe OF
provisions, was concealed means of retreat.
The penetration of the pack ice was attended by
many obstacles The vessel grounded with every
tide and but for her extreme strength would no
have been able to sustain the shocks of the ice Sh
was twice on her beam ends, and once on fire from
tho upsetting of the stoves. Some idea of this nav
CATION may be formed, from the fact of her losin
her jibboOn, best bower anchor and bulwarks be
sides about GOO fathoms Of warping line. The
were cheered, however by small daily progress
and by the 10th of September, 1853, had succeeded
in gaining the northern face of Greenland-at
point never reached before. Here the young ice
froze around the vessel and compelled them to seeI
winter asylum.
The winter gave them degree of cold much be
low any previous registration record Whiske,
froze In November and for four months in the
year mercury was solid daily. The mean anirna
temperature was five degrees below zero, summer
and winter included This, without a doubt was
the greatest cold ever experienced by man. as the
seat Of their winter quarters was nearest the
pole. -.
novel feature of this winter tetanus, or lock
Jaw which defed all treatment. 1t carried away
fifty seven of their best sledge dogs and was alto
Eether frightfu scOurge III
The operations of search commenced early
March. The first parties under the personal
charge DIR. Kane crossing the ice at temperatures
of minus 81 below zero The loss of their dogs
obliged them, as only alternative. to alopt this
early travel Many of the party were frost bitten
and underwent ampuation of the toes. Ii was bv
of these efforts that the expedition succeeded
in bringing back their important results. The par
ties in the field late as the 10th of July on
ly eeasing from labor when the winter darkness
made ii impossible to travel.
Greenland has been followed and SURVEYED bv
DIR. Kane towards the Atlantic, with a coast line
fronting the North until a supendous placier ahso
luely checked their progress This mass of ice
In lofty precpice, 500 feet high AUDITING into
the 1t undoubtedly is the only barrier be-
tween Greenland and the Atlantc-itis an effectual
barrier TO all future explorations
This glacier in of tho ,ff Col
berSs, was followed out to by means of sledges
the party rafting themselves across open water
space on masses of ice. In this way they succeeded
in travelling eighty miles along its base and traced
it into Northern land This glacier is we
believe, the largest ever discovered by anv preyi
GUS navigator 0'
g. This new land thus cemented to Greenland nv
protrud1ng ice, was named "Washington The
large bay which interviews between il and Green
land bears, we believe the name of Mr. Peabody
OF Baltimore, one of the projectors of the cxpe
dition This icy connection of the old and new
worlds seems to us a feature of peculiar Interest,"
3 The range of the sledge JOURNEYS NAV bo ~,
aefslood from the fact that the entire circuit of
Smiths Sound has been effected and its Shore
completely charted '
H. But the real discovery of the expedition is tho
open Polar sea. The channel leading 10 those ,vo
ters was entirely free from ice and this mysterons
feature was rendered more remarkable by tho q ~
istence OF belt of solid ice extending one bindred
"u;eou wy heS 10 the southwark This sea
Derines the views OF DIR. Kane, expressed to the
Geographical Society before his departure tn
flashing OF the surf against this frozen beach of TO-
was impressive beyond description Several row
tieinen with whom we have conversed snas2 IS
this rs one of the most remark able sicbt vi
they observed during the expedition, An area 81
three thousand square miles has been seen .ntiro,,
free from ice, and was named after the Hon !,
Kennedy late Secretary of the Navy. under wboso
a'ispicies the expedition was undertaken N'''
The land to the north and west of this cbanno,to.
been charted las high as 50 30 This il the
land to tho Pole yet known. 1t bears the name 81
Henry Grinnell, the founder of the enterpisc u
THE WINTER OF 1875
The extreme severity of the previous oo,.o,,
made II evident that the brig could not be Tharat
before the winter set in. She was fast inno,,5 !,
IN the centre of large field of lee Tho nro,;n;
although abundant, were calculated IN rn.;
seurvy, and the fuel owing to the emerrepc, ~
The previous winter, was deficient in onantity u
Under these circumstances DR.. Kane with mart.
OF volunteers-on an attempt to reach the month .,
Lancaster Sound, in hopes of meeting the EncI;sb
expedition, and thus giving relief to his assocjates
passed in an open boat over the track of Raf;n,o
rava, riding out heavy gale They found an
uninterrupted barrier of ice extending in one prc,t
horseshoe from Jones TO Murchison's Sound and
@ ioreed after various escapes return to the