Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1873-06-06
NUMBER 40.
The Poiaris Expedition.

h"' LAptultiOu.
STATEMENTS OF THE SURVIVORS.
The details of the Polaris expedition, de
rived from the survivors, are published in
the New York papers. The prevailing i'm
preston of these nineteen unfortunates,
when left on the ice, was that Lieutenant
Buddington had wilfully abandoned them.
They also believe that Captain Hall was
poisoned. They lived principally upon seal-.
occasionally indulging in roasted dog.
They attribute their wonderful preservation
to the sagacity and perseverance Of Captain
Tyson, while the latter says that the
scientific results amount to nothing. The
expedition demonstrated that it is possible
to penetrate farther into the mysterious
regions of the sea and lee than Franklin
Hayes or any other explorer proceeded, and
furnished evidences of the probable exist
ence ola Polar sea.
STATEMENT OF THE STEWARD.
John Heron, steward of the Polaris,
makes the following statement regard
ing the sickness and death of Captain
Hall Captain Hall had good health up to
the time of returning from the sledge expe-
dltlOn. lie was not sick when he came on
board, but complained soon afterwards,
and said that the heat Of the cabin affected
him. He got water To wash, and put on
clean Undertaking. | asked what he
would have; was anxious to get him some
thing nice. He didn't care about anything
but cup of coffee, and didn't drink even
that. had no conversation with Captain
HAL when he was sick, except to ask him
II he was better occasionally, or how he
was, and such like. He was sick a fort
night, and talked very little. He was per
tectly delirlous for the last few DAYS.
think he was paralyzed on one side; heard
no one say 50; 1t was my own opinion.
There was nothing sudden about his death
he was attended by Dr. BesSel and Mr.
Morton, who did everything in their power
to alleviate his suilerings. but without effect.
His illness cast gloom over the entire COM
pany, and was the first di,couraging cir
cumstance which had occurred in c0nnec-
ton with the expedition. His death made
Us all feel very sad.
CAPT. TYsoN's ACCOUNT.
Capt Tyson. speaking Of Capt. Halls
death, says Capt. Hall was sick fifteen
days. At first he was paralyzed and then
| deliriOus: he was in.ensible when he Gied.
He started from the ship on a sled expedi-
tion northward ON the 10th of October He
| was absent fourteen days and returned on
| the 2lth of October TO the ship. On the ,th
| Of November he died and was bJriei. His
| grave bore south southeast and ab0ut 500
PAGES distant from the Observatory in Pola-
| ris Bay, which was in lat 81 5. long
81 : II, on the shore. We erected board
! over his grave with an inscription cut Civ
ing his name. age $50 years., date of death
and command of North Polar Expedition.
All hands except the cook attended his fune-
raj. 1t was dark. dismal, cold, windy and
disagreeable day the wind was mournfully
bowling and the hearts of all were envelop-
ed in the deepest sadness. | held a lantern
and by the light Of it the beautiful service
| of the Episcopal Church was read by Mr.
! Bryant. As the soothing words. - am the
| resurrection and the life. saith the Lord
/ fell upon the ears Of the auditors, there
were few dry eyes, and there. amid savage
| desOlatiOn Of nature most rugged, the power
l Of Christianity made itself felt By those who
/ had never before Acknowledged its influence
/ Few of those who We're present at the burial
[ will forget the deeply affecting scene. Old
sailors, whose faces had been bronzed by
summer suns and frozen in Arctic seas. .wept
aloud. Capt. Hall was universally beloved
and his death. at the time when the enter
I
survivors 70 be an irretrievable loss. Those
| thoughts We're uppermost in the midst of
/ all, and when the funeral party returned 10
the ship there was hushei silence at
tending the performance Of every duty.
OTHER STATEMENTS.
Esquimaux Joe says that Captain Bad
dingt0n was qdarreling all the time, and
speaks in general disapprOhatiOn Of him
lie says also that Captain Hall was poisoned,
and that the latter 81 expressed himself to
him. The prevailing expression among the
unfortunate 10 who were left behind was
that Buddington had wilfully abandoned
them to their fate lie had been anticipa-
ting the breaking up of the ice for some
time, and if he had wished to have Tyson
and his companions on board, he could
easily have represented matters to them in
such a light that they would not have ven
tured To be absent at 30 critical 4 iuncture
But no such intimati0n was given To the
the men on the ice The vessel did not
drift away 50 suddenly that the men could
not have been rescued from their perilous
position. Mr.. Heron says - made a rush
for the vessel and sung out for a line, but
they would not give me one. Chester and
Buddingt0n were standing on the gangway
and could have thrown me one; | was with
four Others on a piece Of ice that had pro-
visions on 1t ; it cracked off and went adriit.
we got back to the main foe in a scow OF
boat which sunk under one of the men. but
We all got safely back"
TYsoN's OPINION OF mDDINcToN
Tyson says: &" could have got aboard
the vessel that night and been there now.
but would not leave the women and chill
dren. My duty was on the ice. | thought
he would get back to Us next day, which he
could have done. The breaking away was
caused by the hoe TO which the ship was
fastened. drifting in between the land and
some icebergs that were iammed. The Jam
broke up the foe and the vessel broke away
Ii was about 9 or 10 O'Clock in the night
The temperature was about zero.
That morning it had been 10 above. We
did not save more than oue-tenth Of the pro-
visions that were on the ice. Capt. Tyson
thinks the ill-feeling and bad designs of
BuddingtOn and n few others. who were his
accOmpliceS, had continued from the first
on account of Captain Halls determina-
tiou TO 20 As far north as possible, and Bud
dingtOn' determination, from fear or what
ever cause. that he should not. After Halls
death, most of the others We're in favor of con-
tinuing and pushing north, and Tyson says
that Buddington several times expressed
his determination to send them Tyson and
y
opportunity offered. lie characterizes Bud
dington as a great Sc0undrel, and declares
that he purposely abandoned them to de-
Structi0n. lie gives Myers the character of
being energetic and qualified in his depart
ment, but thinks he was not sufficiently
aware of the condition of affairs at the time
of the separation, and the possibility of
getting rescued then to be able to give any
opinion upon it. The Germans, according
to his account, ruled the ship after Captain
Halls death, and there was neither law nor
system on board. every one working entire
IL on his own account. Bessel and Bryant
were anxious to 90 a. far north as possible
Myers had worked hard and lost all his
labor.
The Iowa Hurricane.
Fuller reports of the hurricane which
passed over central and eastern Iowa.
Thursday. show that it was one Of the most
violent storms on record At Des Moines
it was the severest thunderstorm known |