Connecticut western news., 1873-05-23
The North Pole Expedition.
Return of Part or the PolarIs Crew.. What tho Survivors Say--Story of Captain.

Return of Part or the Polaris Crevv--
 What tho Survivors say--Story of a
 Captain.
 The following statement was fur nlshed correspondent by Capt. Tyson of the Polaris Expedition :-
 On the 24th of August, 1871, we left Tessinsack and went through Smiths Sound. We succeeded in getting as far north as latitude S2 Is, when we re- turned and wintered at Polaris Bay. lat itude 81 38, longitude 61 A. We were l frozen up until the 9th of September. On the 10th of October Captain Hall started on a sledge journey north, and returned on the 24th, when he was taken sick, and died on the 8th of November. He was buried on the 11th. The attack that carried him off was said to be apo plexy. We passed the winter at Polaris Bay. On the 8th of June, 1872, we at tempted to reach the north with two boats. We hauled our other boat on shore and returned overland on the 9th of July. We started for home on the l2th of August, and on the 18th were beset with ice in latitude 80 O2. We drifted from there down to latitude " 35, when we encountered & heavy southwest gale, the ship being under heavy pressure. On the night of the 10th we commenced landing provisions, &c., on the ice, the vessel being report ed leaking very badly at times. We con- tlnued landing provisions for two or three hours, when the pressure ceased. went on board the vessel and asked the sailing master if the vessel was mak- ing any more water than usual. He re- ported that she was not. I then went to the pumps and ascertained that she was not making any more than, she was doing all summer.
 I went on the ice again and shortly after 1t began to crack, and in a few minutes afterwards broke in many pieces. The vessel broke from her fast en1ngs and was soon lost to sight in the darkness and storm. On the broken ice were most of our provisions to sus- tain the party through the winter, and seeing nothing of the vessel, we at- tempted to reach the shore, in hopes of finding natives to assist us in living through the winter. Getting about half way to the shore with our heavily laden boats, our progress became hard by the drifting ice and I was compelled tohaul on the ice again.
 At this time I succeeded in saving fourteen cans af pemmican, eleven and half bags of bread, ten dozen one and two pound cans of meat and soup, four teen hams, one small bag of chocolate, Welghlng twenty pounds ; some musk OK skins, few blankets, 8 number of rifles and abundant ammunition. In the morning, knowing that I had not provisions enough and other articles of food, clothing, compasses, &c., on the | abatement of the gale I endeavored to shoot as many seals as possible, both for food, light and fuel, but could only get three, owing to bad weather having set in. supposed the wind to be about southwest. On its clearing up found myself within about eight miles of what l supposed to be the east coast, and about thirty or forty miles below the ship. The ice being weak, could not transport boats and provisions to land until It grew stronger. While here discovered my other boat, bread, &c.,. and saved all. The ice grew firm. i made another attempt to reach the shore, carrying everything in the boats and dragging them on their keel. The ice being exteedingly rough we stove both boats. We succeeded on the 1st ot November in getting about half way to shore. Night came on us and very stormy weather. In the morning the ice was broken and we were drifting southward very fast. We saw no more land for many days, bad weather con- tlnulng all through the month of Mo- vember. We built snow houses and made ourselves as comfortable as we could. We were ten white men, two Esquimaux, two women and five chil- dren 1n all. We succeeded in killing 8 few seals, which furnished us with light and fuel with which to warm our seanty allowance of food through the darkness of the Arctic winter. In the latter part of February we lived princi- pally upon birds, and in March com menced to catch seals. Through that month we supported ourselves on bears and seals, flesh, wasting neither skin nor entrails. We collected enough food Tn this way to last us until the middle of May, had we not been driven to sea by strong westerly gale in the latter part of March, our foe piece being then reduced from five miles in circumfer- ence to about twenty yards in diameter.
 We left the piece on the first of April, and abandoned nearly all of our meat. a large amount of ammunition cloth Ing, skins and other articles, taking 8 portion of the meat in the boat. which we were obliged to throw overheard on account of the boats being so deeply laden. regained the outer edge of the pack of ice on the Sd of April, and succeeded in getting a little farther in on the pack. Onthe 4th heavy north east gale set in, a heavy sea running under the ice, which broke it in small pieces, so that we had to live on small pans, as we could not put the boat out, neither could we find seals for food, and we were reduced almost to starvation.
 On the 21st of April we sighted 8 polar bear. Every person was ordered to lie down and initiate the seal. while the two Esquimaux secreted themselves behind piece of ice, enticing the bear near enough to us to kill him. A few days after this we got our boat in the water and worked our way west and southwest, and continued to work every opportunity to the westward, in hopes ot reaching the Labrador coast and get ting temporary relief. We were picked up by the steamship tigress, Captain Bartlett, on the 3Oth of April, in lati- tude B 35 north, longitude 55 west, or near Wolf Island, and about forty miles from land. The Polaris is now without boats, having lost two in trying to get North in the spring of 1872.
 The Tigress fell in with the party in dense fog and providentially struck the very foe on which they were, other wise they must have perished. They all seem tolerably well. Captain Tyson complained of swelled legs and feet, but nothing serious is the matter with him. When they left the Polaris all on board were in good health.
 In reference to the way in which the Polaris got away from the party which was rescued from off the iceberg, Cap tain Tyson states that he felt little