The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1856-1888, 1873-06-21
Fate of Captain Hall and why he Failed.


By the arrival of Captain Tyson and bis COM
panions of the Polaris crew at New York we have
fuller accounts of the unfortunate expedition. 1t
was from the 10th to the oath of October that Hall
was gone on his northern sledge expedition. He
got back to the ship on the Path, took sick after
drinking a cup of coffee. and, after an illness Of
fifteen days. died. He was buried on shore in lati-
tude 81 degrees SO minutes. longitude 81 degrees
81 minutes. He appears ts have had the love and
confidence of all the men and all the officers save
the sailing-naster, Buddington. He disliked the
captain because, from what seems at this distance
Il craven spirit, BuddingtOn wanted to put the ship
back 24O miles to winter, while Hall was resolute
in the purpose of remaining TO prosecute his ex-
plOratiOns early the next open season toward the
Polar sea. the existence OF which he had assurance
on his sledge journey.
On the death Of the captain, Tyson says, most Of
the crew and officers were in favor of carrying out
his purposes. but the aailing-master was still set
against it. There was, too, Il prevailing suspicion
that the death Of the captain was caused by poison,
and as the guilty party vas not known, everybody
was put by everybody else under the ban of dis
trust. One night, while Tyson and eighteen others
were out upon the ice where duty called them, and
BHddington in command of the ship, the ice foe to
which the POtGTiS was attached dTitted and broke
up. and BuddlngtOn carried the ship away out Of
sight. The testimony Of Tyson is TO the effect that
he and his party we're not left on the ice by acct
dent, but either by the design or cruel neglect of
the sailing-master. The breaking up Of The doe was
a thing looked for by all, and not 80 sudden but
that Buddington might have sent out and rescued
Tyson and his party before the ship drilted away.
For his own part, Tyson says he could have saved
himself the night on which the foe broke up. but
he would not leave the women and children who
were with hun on the ice, with no shelter save Il
boat turned bottom up to break off the wind and
waves Of the sea, which washed over the ice occa-
sionally. 1t was between 9 and 10 at night, tenn
perature about zero, having been as low a. 10 de-
grees below zero in the evening. Tyson was in
formed that BuddingtOn had roughly told some one
of the party, when he found out the intention after
Halls death was still TO push northward before
Winter, that he (Buddington) would send Tyson
and his party on the road TO hi" Tyson speaks
Teservedly of the cause of Captain Halls death
(Which. II by poison. can hardly be proved), but
he don't hesitate TO say that Buddington had ." &C
completes " in his characterization. and he leaves
no doubt that in his own opinion the POldris was
taken away that night by the ~sailing-master's order
with the intention of abandoning the party on the
ice, and for the purpose of preventing the POldris
from going any farther north that season. There
was a general spirit of characterization after Hall
died. and the absence Of Tyson lett Buddington
and bis accOmplices masters of the situation. and
enabled them to give the Ill turn to the fortunes Of
the expedition. Hans Christian and the Esquimaux,
Joe, who appears to have been the only personal
attendant of Captain Hall in his illness, leave
and gives rise to a very strong suspicion that the
sailing-master or on ~ccomplic may have adminis-
tered it in the coffee taken by Hall directly after
his return 70 the ship on the oath of October. Joe's
testimony credits Hall with the idea that he was
poisoned by the coffee, and all the symptoms were
of poison. The symptoms continued from the Path
of October to the 9th of November, when Hall
died.
But for this traitor Buddington, there is reason to
believe that Captain Hall might have found the
open polar sea OF which fifty years ago the Russian
explorer Wrangell caught a glimpse from his
sledges. and which DR.. Kane thought be saw in
1854, mistaking an open strait that probably leads
to the open sea for it. This error of Kane is the
one established important fact of the Hall expedi-
ton. The sea itself is still unexplored. but the old
theory of its existence is confirmed by Hall in like
discoveries noted by Kane when he gazed from the
headland out upon that open strait which be mis-
took for the polar sea. Captain Hall attests to the
existence OF " mild weather" late in October, 10
e mists and fogs brought down By the north winds"
when at the latitude of 81 degrees and 80 minute(
The mercnrv ransed from zero down 20 ~ degyFe-