Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1883-09-20
THE LOST PROTEUS.
Another Arctic Expedition a Failure
and Grave Approximations Felt for
the Safety of the Crew.

and Grave Approximations Felt for
the Safety of the Crew.
4 From st. Johns, N. T. comes the
I following:
I The United States steamer Yantic
has arrived here with the officers and
crew of the Proteus, lost in the Arctic
regions while searching for the Greedy
/ expedition.
/ The first officer of the Proteus brief
I " summarizes the Inflated Proteus
expedition as follows:
The Yantic and Proteus left st.
Johns at 4 p. M. June %. The Prote-
us arrived at Good Haven Bay, Tisco
Island, July 6, and the Yantic reach
/ ed the same place the 18th. The ne
/ cessary preparations were made and
the Proteus sailed for Cory Island.
arriving the 10th and left the 21st.
and two days afterward was crushed
sinking at p. IN. July %. Twenty
nine days were spent in boats. Sever
al storms were encountered, from
which the boats took refuge under
the lee of icebergs Lieut.. Calwell
and six of the crew parted company
with the others at Cape York, We
found the 4antic July 81 We re
ported that Capt. Pike and the re
mainder of the crew were moving
southwark The Yantic reached Cory
Island Aug. 2. The same night she
proceeded to Pandora harbor, where
/ records from Pike and Darlington
were found. She next proceeded
south along the Greenland coast, send
ing boats all round the islands in
search Of the missing crew, A storm
and heavy pack-ice Aug forced the
Yantic to anchor to the leeward of
Northumberland Island. Next day
she bore away for Upernavik, arriv-
ing there Aug. IL The 9th shestart-
ed for the Walgate coal mines. and
returned to Upernavik Sept. 2. Capt.
Pike and crew were found and taken
on board the Yantic.
1t seems the first intimatiOn of the
Proteus disaster was found Aug. at
LittletOn Island by the Yantic. Lieut..
Darlington left q record there, coming
south, describing the shipwreck, and
indicating the general movements of
Capt. Pike and the ships company.
On the 4th search was instituted along
the Greenland coast from Cape Alex
ander to Cape Robertson. Every point
Llkel y to bring up the retreating party
was searched till Sept 2, when Uper-
navik was reached and the whole
PrOteuS party found in good health
and tOlerable spirits. They were ex-
posed during the thirty-One days and
nights in their boats, making some
stOppages at intermediate harbOrs
THhn pn0to,1c,.
at 3 o'clock on the evening of the 23d
of July, and sank within four hours,
as the closed foes parted company.
Fortunately sufficient time was given
to save clothing, provisions, the com
pass, and other neceSSarieS to meet
what might prove protracted voyage.
The 25th, the boats being equipped,
provisiOned, and manned, a start was
made. The scene Of the disaster was
eight miles north of Northwest Cape
Sabine, latitude SO, 81 north. Over 600
miles of ice and frigid sea were passed
before Upernavik was reached.
The worst feature in the unfOrtun-
ate Proteus expedition is that no pro
visions were landed and no caches
made and all the stores intended for
the Arctic colony's relief went down
in the steamer. While at anchor in
Danish Harbor, the 18th of August
Gov. Elburg came on board the Yam
tic and reported the Danish steamer
Sophia had arrived there from . har-
Dor thirty miles north of Cape York,
and the Captain said a native Eski-
mau told him two natives with the
Greeley expedition had arrived on
sledges last winter and reported the
party all well except Dr.. Pavy, who
had died. These natives went back to
Lady Franklin Bay.
Another Eskimau arriving from the
Greeley camp reported all the officers
murdered by the men. Neither of
these reports is reliable, as the fond
ness of the Eskimau for lying and
sensationalism places them in the cat
egory of fiction. Capt. Sinke says
that as far north as Cape Sabine there
was no trace of Greeley or his party,
and his failure to come south to Little
ton Island to meet the relief steamer
this summer evokes grave apprehen-
sion as to their probable fate.
The Proteus was retreating home
when the ice nip overwhelmed her
She got barely fifteen miles north of
the scene of the shipwreck. The pros
poets of the Greeley Colony encoun-
tering the rigors of fourth winter
beneath the Arctic Circle are mourn
full to contemplate. The crews of
both ships the Yantic and Proteus-
are in excellent health. One death
only occurred during the expedition
that of Henry Wilson, gunner's
mate of the Yantic, of apoplexy.
An Indian Fight.
We clip the following from The
Chronicles of the Yellowstone now