Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1873-05-29
Captain Halls Arctic Expedition.

seal fishery at the port of St Johns May g.,
bringing the news that the steamer Iigress
had come into Roberts Bay, eighteen
miles from there, having on board nine
teen survivors of Halls Arctic cXpe-
ditiOn.
The following are the names of the res
cued: H. c. Tyson, assistant navigator;
| Frederick Myer, meteorologist; John
Heron, steward; w. G. Kruger, sea-
man; Frederick Jamka, seaman; William
| Nindeman, seaman; Frederick Anting,
seaman; Gustavus F. Singuist, seaman;
Peter Johnson, seaman; William Jack
son, cook; Esquimaux Joe, Interpreter,
with Hannah and child, Esquimaux; Hans
| Christian, of Kane's expedition, and Hans
Christians wife and four children, the
| youngest only eight months old.
| CAPTAIN TYsON's NARRATIVE.
The following statement is furnished by
| Captain Tyson:
'EOn the cath of August, 1871, we left
| Tessinask and went through Smiths
Sound. We succeeded in getting as far
north as latitude 50 degrees Is minutes,
when We returned and Wintered at POlaris
| Bay, latitude 81 degrees 80 minutes, longi-
| tudc 81 degrees A minutes. We were
frozen up until the 9Th of September. On
the 10th of October Captain Hall started
on a sledge journey north, and returned
| on the Gath, when he was taken sick and
| died on the Sth of November. He was
buried on the 18th. The attack that car
ried him off was said to be apoplexy. We
passed the winter at Polaris Bay. On the
Sth Of June, 1872, we attempted to go
north with two boats. We hauled our
other boat on shore and returned overland
| ha IF InIX We Ct
on the 18th of August, and on the 18th
were beset with ice in latitude SO degrees
2 minutes. We drifted from there down to
! latitude II degrees 30 minutes, when we
encountered a heavy southwest gale, the
ship being under heavy pressure. On the
night of the 18th we commenced landing
| provisions, etc, on the ice, the vessel be
ing reported as leaking very badly at
| times. We continued landing provisions
for two or three hours, when the pressure
ceased. | went on board and asked the
sailing master if the vessel was making
any more water than usual. He reported
| that she was not. | then went to the
pumps and ascertained that she was not
making any more water than she was
| doing in the summer. | went on the ice
again, and shortly after it began to crack,
| and in a few minutes attcrward broke in
many pieces. The vessel broke from her
| tastenings, and was soon lost to sight in
the darkness and storm. On the broken
| ice were most Of our provisions to sustain
the party through the winter, and, seeing
nothing of the vessel, we attempted to
reach the shore in hopes of finding ma
| tives to assist us in living through the
winter Getting about halfway to shore
with our heavily-laden boats, our progress
| became hard by the drifting ice, and | was
compelled to haul on the ice again. At
this time | succeeded in saving fourteen
cans of pcmmican, eleven and a half bags
| OF bread, ten dozen one and twO-pOund
cans of meat and soap, fourteen hams, one
small bag of chocolate weighing twenty
pounds, some musk-ox SIX rs, few blan-
kets, a number of rifles, and abundant
ammunition. In the morning, knowing
that [ had not provisions enough, and
other articles of food, clothing com
passes, etc. on an abatement of the gale |
| tried to shoot as many seals as possible,
both for food, light and fuel but could only
get three, owing to the bad weather hay
| ing set in. / supposed the wind to be
about southwest. On its clearing up
| found myself within about eight miles
of what | supposed to be the east coast,
and about thirty or forty miles below the
ship. The ice being weak, | could not
transport the boat and provisions to land
until it grew stronger While here | dis
covered my other boat, bread, etc, and
saved all. The ice grew firm, and | made
another attempt to reach the shore, carry
ing everything in boats, and dragging
them on their keels The ice being ex-
ceedingly rough, we stove both boats. We
succeeded on the list of November in get
ting about half way to the shore. Night
came on us and very stormy weather. In
the morning the ice was broken, and we
were drifting southwark very fast We
saw no more land for many days, the bad
weather continuing all through the month
| of November. We built a snow house and
made ourselves as comfortable as we
could. We were ten white men, two Es-
| quimauX, two women and five children
in all We succeeded in killing few
seals, which furnished us with light and
| fuel with which to warm our scanty al
| lOwance of food through the darkness Of
the arctic winter In the latter part of
February we lived principally upon birds,
and in March commenced to catch seals.
| Through that month we supported our
selves on bears and seals flesh, wasting
neither skin nor entrails We collected
enough food in this way to last until the
middle of May, had we not been driven to
sea by a strong westerly gale IN the latter
part of March, our floe-piece being then
reduced from five miles in circumference
to about twenty yards in diameter.
ave left the place on the 1st of April
and abandoned nearly all our meat, large
amount of ammunition, clothing, skins and
other articles, taking a portion of meat in
a boat, which we were obliged to throw
overheard on account of the boat being so
deeply laden. l regained the outer edge
of the pack of ice on tie Sd Of April, and
succeeded in getting little further in on
the pack. On the 4th heavy northeast
gale set in, heavy sea running under the
| ice, which broke it in small pieces, so that
we had to live on small scale, as we
could not put our boat out; neither could
we find seals for food, and we were reduc
ed almost to starvation. On the 21st OF
April we sighted polar bear. Every per
son was ordered to lie down and initiate
the seal. while two Esquimaux, secreting
themselves behind piece OF ice, enticcd
the bear near enough to us to Kill him. A
| few DAYS after this we got our boat IN the
water and worked ourW way west and south