New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1883-09-14
rup ESCAPE AND THE RETREAT,

f.e of the Greely party.
TIE ESCAPE AND THE RETREAT
rur DISASTER occURED-HAHDsHIPsE ENDURED
-rooKrSG FOR THE YANTIC IN VAIN.
SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT OF THE TRIBuNE'i
c. Iouy's. N. f., Sept. 13.-The steamer Proteus'
..rrvipg the expedition sent out last summer ior
,sl,et of Lieutenant Greedy and his fellow-colo-
.,.,s At Fort Conger, Lady Franklin Bay, was
..,shsd in the ice on the evening OF July 23' DO
,.,.so Cane Sabine aud Cape Aberti Smith Sound,
and her crew and the members of the rellef party
have returned to this port on the companion
s,s.mer Yantic, of the United States Navy. The
.s..,e from the wrecked vessel and retreat south
yard we're accomplished without loss of life
THE DISASTER
While endeayoring to force her way through 10
clear water, the Proteus was caught between '"o
immense foes. These. pressing on at botn sides'
mi,kly crushed in her stout walls. Her hold niieu
with water, and it was evident that no enor''
xoud avail to keep her from sinking. Inc ha'cues
were then broken open, aud all hands set 10 "orA
throwing clothing, provisions and other stores OUT
Of the doomed ship upon the ice. The greater part
Of the cargo which thus unloaded fell into inc
water and was lost but enough was saved to insure
the comfort of the party during their retreat south
ward and also to mako not inconsiderable cache
for the Greedy party should it, seems inevlt
ahle. be forced to make its own way southward'
I,sutenant Colwell, u. S. n. also succeeded ana
most fortunately. in saving three boats from the
wreck.
REACHING THE SHORE.
A. nckly as possible Lieutenant Colwell loaded
oue of the boats with stores and, with crew OF
four men, set out for the shore. The trip was
made with great difficulty on account of the Ice;
but by perseverance and unsparing exertlons ne
forced passage through. Several successive trips
we're thus made and large quantity of clot hing
and provisions safely landed and placed in cache
The last trip made ON the morning of July "a. and
.s the ice had closed lu rapidly, the boat and its
load had to be dragged across the ice two miles
before il could be launched in clear water Even
then then the floating masses of Ice closed in 50
rapidly and so angrily that the boat escaped being
stove in only by the narrowest possible chance.
The goods placed IN the cache were rendered as
secure as possible and the spot marked so as to De
readily discovered by the party from Fort Con-
ger.
WORKING DOWN THE GREENLAND COAST.
Having thus done all in their power to carry out
lhe design of the expedition, the party. on the al
ternoon of July 25, set out to cross Smith Sound
and after spending a weary night amid the ice
landed safely on the morning of the 2eth at cove
near Life Boat Cove.
The crew of the Proteus had gone on to Life Boat
Cove in tEer own boats in advance OF the smaller
relief party, and now, on the latters safe landing
on the east shore of the sound, all started forward
again for Pandora Harbor which they reached on
tbe following morning. The journey during the
night was a most unpleasant one, hard rain storm
raging nearly all the time. Thinking that either
tae Yantic or the Swedish steamer Sophia might be
At Cape York the party next directed its way
thither The coast was hugged as closely as posSi-
BE all the way, the boats being too heavily laden
to venture far from shore. Every nlght a landing
made for the sake of safety, and further delay
was caused by several days of bad weather. during
which il was impossible to make any progress
tbs ice was troublesome. and on August z, as the
the party was passing concal rock, the boats had
to be hauled up on foe to avoid total destruction
After waiting an hour the Ice opened sufficiently to
allow the boats to be launched again, but 1t con-
toued to block the way so much that the boats had
most of the time to be pushed and dragged along by
the crews, who found footing on the ice alongside
PICKED UP AT UPERNAvIK.
Cape York was at last reached without serious
accident but there was no sign there of any vessel
Do on August 16 the weary voyagers set out again
for the SOUTH making Upernavik their next OBJ
ective point. Lieutenant Colweil, with one boat,
set out boldly across Melville Bay, intending to
1 keep on direct course southward until he should
hnd the Yantic But Lieutenant Darlington, with
the other boat and the crew of the Proteus, chose
the more crcuitous but safe route along the shore
Aheayy snow storm set in on August H. which
was hidden ont by the boats at anchor to the Ice
The storm was severe. and many OF the iceberg
foundered so that the party had to change its an
ehorage several times.
upernavik was reached on August "a, and Their
The Yantic picked up the shipwrecked men ant
brought them on to st. Johns
PARTICULARS IN OFFICIAL REPORTS.
LIEUTENANT GARLINGToN's sToRY-THE sEARcl
OF THE YANTIC.