Eaton weekly Democrat. [volume] (Eaton, Ohio) 1866-1875, 1873-05-22
ARCTIC PERILS.


Disastrous Termination of Capt. Halls
Exploring Expedition-A Voyage of
Seven Months ON the Constantly Melt
ing Ice-The Story of the PeriIous Voy-
age as Told by Capt. Tyson.
The reader has already been informed
of the unfortunate termination of Capt.
Charles F. Halls Arctic expedition, in
the steamer Polaris, which was fitted
out by our Government, and which sail
ed from New York in June, 1871. Cap.
Hall was stricken with apoplexy, and
died in November, 1871. A year later
the main portion of the exploring party
became separated from the Polaris, and,
after great deprivations, sufferings and
narrow escapes on the ice of the Arctic
sea, were finally, after months of peril,
rescued by whaler, and carried into st.
Johns, N. B. Capt. Tyson, assistant
navigator of the expedition, furnishes
the following thrilling narrative of their
sufferings and privations:
On the Oath of August, 1871, we
left Tessinask and went through Smiths
sound. We succeeded in getting as far
north as latitude 80 deglees 16 minutes,
when we returned and wintered at Po-
laris bay, latitude 81 deg1ees 38 minutes,
longitude 81 degrees A minutes. We
were frozen up until the 9th of Sep
tember.
On the 10th of October Capt. Hall
started on sledge journey north, and
returned on the Oath, when he was taken
sick and died on the 9Th of November.
He was buried on the 1ith. The attack
that carried him off was said to be apo
plexy.
We passed the winter at Polaris bay.
On the 9Th of june 1872, we at
tempted to go north with two boats.
We hauled our other boat on shore and
returned overland on the Sth of July.
We started for home on the 18th of Au-
gust, and on the 18th were besct with ice
in latitude 80 degrees 2 minutes. We
drifted from there down to latitude II
degrees 35 minutes, when we encounter
ed a heavy southwest gale, the ship
being under heavy pressure. On the
night of the 18th we commenced land
ing provisions, etc., on the ice, the ves-
sci being reported as leaking very badly
at times. We continued landing pro-
visions for two or three hours, when the
pressure ceased, and shortly after the
ice began to crack, and a few minutes
afterward broke in many pieces. The
vessel broke from her fastenings, 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 natives to assist us in
living through the winter. Getting
about half way 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 L
succeeded in saving fourteen cans of
pemmican, eleven and a half bags of
bread, ten dozen one and two pound
cans of meat and soup, fourteen hams,
| one small bag of chocolate weighing
twenty pounds, some musk-ox skins, a
few blankets, number of rifles and
abundant ammunition.
On its clearing up, / found myself
within about eight miles of what I sup
posed to be the east coast, and about
thirty or forty miles below the ship.
The ice being weak could not trans
port the boat and provisions to land un-
til it grew stronger. While here, I dis
covered my other boat, ETC., and saved
| all. The Ice grew firm, and I made
another attempt to reach the shore, car
rying everything in boats, and dragging
them on their keels. The ice being ex-
ceedingly rough, we stove both boats.
We succeeded on the first of November
in getting half way to the shore. Night
came on us and very stormy weather.
In the morning the ice was broken, and
we were drifting southward very fas t.
We saw no more land for many days,
the bad weather continuing all through
the month of November. We built q
snow house and made ourselves as COM
Portable as we could. We were ten
white men, two Esquimaux, 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 allow
ance of food through the darkness of the
Arctic winter.
In the latter part of February we
lived principally upon birds, and IL
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 of food in this way to last unit
the middle of May, had we not beer
driven to sea by a strong westerly gal,
in the latter part of March, our foe
piece being then reduced from five mile
in circumference to about twenty yard
in diameter.
We left the place on the first of April
and abandoned nearly all our meat,
large amount of ammunition, clothing
, skins and other articles, taking por
blOn Ol ncd6 LII ID UOdb, WHICH, We WSI
obliged to throw overheard on accoun
of the boat being SO deeply laden.
regained the outer edge of the pack @
ice on the Sd of April, and succeeded il
getting little further in on the pack
On the fourth heavy northeast gale Sc
( in, heavy sea running under the ice
which broke it in small pieces, so tina
we had to live on a small scale, as W
could not put our boat out !; neithe
could we find seals for food, and W
were reduced almost to starvation.
:. On the 21st of April we sighted
o polar bear. Every person was ordere
n to lie down and initiate the seal, Will
}. two Esquimaux secreted themselves b.
a hind a piece of ice, enticing the bes
s near enough to us to kill him.
u A few days after this we got our bo,
Il in the water and worked our way we
't and southwest, and continued to wo1
J. every opportunity to the westward,
y the hope of reaching the Labrador Goa
). and getting temporary relief.
|, We were picked up by the steamsh
I, Tigress, Capt. Bartlett, on the 30th
:, April, in latitude 50 degrees 35 minut
a north, longitude 55 degrees west,