Memphis daily appeal. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1847-1886, 1882-06-04

the crew, and that We never had scurvy. Our
record is unprecedented in the history of
Arctic expeditions. Captain belong and
the doctor regulated the diet very carefully
and the result shows how we'll they did it.
and is greatly to their credit"
But how was 1t that the canned tomatoes
poisoned scmef"
1--WE took them in tins supposed 10 be of
the best quality; but the very first winter
they became frozen, then thaweS, froZe again !
the second winter, and the cans turned black
inside from the acid of the lead in the tin,
which Is poisonous. Gil ass jars for the to- :
matoes would have been better in that re-
spect, but they were much dearer and liable ,
| 10 break
Would you change the stock OF provisions
il You went another expedition"
Yes, | think We have learned some things
in this expedition. 4 would take plenty of |
potatoes cut up in barrels and mixed with
molasses, sauerkraut and dried fish, as well
as dried meat, of which the men were very
fond. They particularly enjoyed the pork
and beans which they had once a week. Salt
beef they also had once week, and twice a !
week fresh meat-seal or bear. Three bar 4
rels of salt salmon which we got as present
in Alaska were greatly appreciated"
"How did the temperance regime on board
the Jeanette work."
Every well, indeed. The remarkabl,
health OF the men proves that. By the way
there nothing in the way of drink /
loDged for as much glass OF beer"
"You had to wait long to crafty it?"
81 got n bottle of Basis ale in Yakutsk,
for which l had TO pay three rubles Isl 50).
The first lager beer got in Irkoutsk."
"You drank no snow-water?"
"No; only distilled water, and it agreed
with us very well"
"Were you badly frozen"
| "No; if man takes care of himself in
those regions he will get on all right. / had
my feet frozen once in Chicago, and, strange
to say, never did during this expedition.
My cneeks and nose, though, were frozen"
What was your preventive against hav-
ing your feet frozen?"
Rubbing my feet continually and keep
ing them moving. As long as l could run
behind dog-teams l was all rightw the lieu
tenant exclaimed with rather a pleased
look, though there grateful remem-
brance te him in his triumphs over the ice
fend,
"What did the physical qualities of the
party prove themselves to beY"
"They were almost incredible in their
powers OF endurance. 1 have seen men
with fearful bood-blisters marching on
steadily-they never would give up. We
had Englismen, Irishmen, Germans, Swedes, |
Russians, and Norwegians-they all proved |
themselves men of extraordinary endurance" |
"And the Chinamen-how did they stand |
the cod?"
"Excellently. In the retreat they worked |
|
Chinese cook followed besr for twelve |
miles. He often went so far that we had to
get up expedition to hunt for him."
| "Did he kill the bear?"
''No; the bear got away, nut he secured |
the remnant of a seal which the bear was
| just devouriDg. The first time We gave him
gun he got snow into the muzze, and the
gun burst, which frightened him awfully."
! did the clothing prove itself sufficiently |
| warm and comfortable"
| Eyes; the men made themselves very nice,
warm clothing. OF course, we had to stand |
an extremely low temperature-300 below |
zero-but were. generally speaking, quite
| comfortable. Two hours outdoor exercise
was enforced upon everyone very good
rule-which contributed much to the health |
of the crew"
"Was there much suffering from snow
| blindness?"
Captain DeLong ordered everybody to
wear glasses, which was very disagreeable to
the eyes, but had the desired effect. Occa-
sioDally there was a case which would last
four or five days, but COMPRISES of snow or
cold water always effected a cure"
"And to sleeplessnessp
"DeLopg suffered for weeks during the
! last winter from that. The doctor, who
watched the state of his health very care
fully, finally recommended him to quit |
smoking, which he did, and that gave him
relief"
Eyes, good deal. l, Dunbar and Mel
Vile did not smoke, but all the others did"
| "AmoDg all the privations of your Arctic |
sojourn, which seemed 10 be felt the most?"
81 think we were more worried and de-
pressed by the sameness and dreariness Of
the scene-the utter solitude-than anything
| else. To go upon deck every day and look
out upon the same vast, endless waste of ice
it was that which we appeared TO feel the
| most. the utter monotony and dreariness,
after a while, affected the spirits of some,
and they would go aside SO not to infect
the others with their momentary depression.
| Wher the Indian came one day and an
nounced Me found woman house, the |
| excitement caused by the novelty OF the an
| ticipation something tremendous"
"And how did this depressing life affect
the appearance of the men-did it blanch |
their hair, reduce their flesh, or we're its
| effects otherwise percepubleW
| "Collins's hair turned very gray before
the retreat, but DeLong, strange to say,
grew quite stout; Collins also became stouter
for time, l think"
"Wss everybody weighed?"
"Yes, every month, and also physically
| examined by the doctor. In the second |
winter everybody's weight ran down very
| much Collins and Melville were the two |
heaviest men, weighing about 200 pounds
EACH"
Had you many daily games and diver
| sions?'
"During the first fall we u.ed to play a
good deal of football on the ice when not too
rough, and we also had little skating. We
| enjoyed occasionally good foot-race on the
| ice. Collins was at his best in rihe-matches.
| During the retreat he rendered admirable
service by shooting number of seals. We
| did not play much at cards, but read good
| deal, sometimes novels, sometimes scientific |
works, and between long chats would in
| dulge in a game of checkers or chess. De |
Long often played chess with Chip. Chip /
| was the better chess-p player of the two, and |
generally won the game. Then at other |
| times we would go out for long walks on the |
ice TO exercise and watch the movements OF |
the ice-a source OF exhaustless interest to |
| US. Captain belong would sometimes har- |
ness ten or fifteen dogs 10 sled for a drive, |
| putting an Indian runner ahead. And thus |
the time wore on. The men were generally |
| comfortable while in their gu arters, and they |
almost imperceptibly fell into regular rou- |
| tine OF daily occupation, as though they had |
been used to it all their lives"
"And during the twenty critical months
d, while you were every day exposed 10 dis
aster-n
"Twenty-one months" Lieutenant Danen-
hover broke in, correcting.
"Did you ever talk about the end? Was
there any shadow or premonltIon OF death
among your
1--WE talked about it good deal, but gen.
orally in jocular way. When things began
! TO Il OK their worst, an expression frequently
heard among Us Was There's chance for
even Sherman's bummers TO get through
place like this" DeLong was always cheer
ful, aanguine-never alluded TO such thing
as death. Apparently The thought never en-
| tered his head"
"And CollinsP
81 used to see great deal of Collins. He
often would come 10 my room, and was al
ways particularly jolly at cards. He was
noted for his cheerful, gay demeanor, which
put every one who was with him in good
| spirits"
"Do you think any Of the wly-di,coV-
! cred islands might serve A. a starting point
| for : polar expedition
Bennett Island might possibly afford q
good basis OF operations. The great tidal
action there is very much in favor Of break
ing up the ice"
why did you not use your dynamite to
free yourself from the ice. Was 1t impracti-
cable"
"Ertirely 50. A whole cargo Of dynamite
would not have saved Us. To accomplish
anything with explosives you would have to
blast for miles and miles, and while you we're
preparing your blasts the ship would be
crushed By the ice. The greatest safety lies
in drifting along while the ship Is solidiy
frozen in"