Belmont chronicle. [volume] (St. Clairsville, Ohio) 1855-1973, 1884-07-24
Rescue of the Greeley Party

Rescue OF the Greeley Party.
News was received Thursday at the
Navy Department, Washington. from
st. Johns, New Brunswick. that the Iast
Greeley relief expedition had reached
there Cd their return with the survivors
iCf the Greeley party. six out of the orig
linal twenty-five, including the comman-
der of the expedition. OF the other
nineteen, one was drowned while seek
ing food. one died from a surgical oper
atiOn which was performed immediately
after his Rescue, aud seveHLeen died from
starvation. Those who survived were
in the last stages of exhaustion, and
would have died within forty eight hours
had they not been discovered.
The Greeley expedition was authorized
by Congress IN 1880 aud was sent out in
the Summer of 1881. 1t was commanded
by First Lieutenant A. w. GreeIey, of
the Signal Service, his assistants being
! Second Lieutenants Fred'k f. Kisllng
bury and James b. Lock " ood, of the
same service. Five sergeants from the
| Signal Service and three sergearts four
corporals and nine privates of the Reg
ular Army formed the party as it left
! this country. At Disco, Greenland, DIR.
I Octave Pavy, who had considerable ex-
perience in Arctic exploration, was en-
I gagged To- join The expedition as surgeon,
thus making up the party of TWENTY-FIVE.
The expedition was taken by the steamer
! Proteus to the site selected for the sta
tion, in Discovery HaI Dor, Lady Frank
lin Bay, latitude 81 degrees a minutes
nOltb, and longitude 81 degrees 45 min
N ft9S baH HotE
cause Of the reported discovery there by
the Mares expedition of seam of coal.
me instructions were to build houses
and ooservatorleS, make scientific obser-
vatl1nS during two years, and within |
that time sledge party Was to visit the
elevated land near Cape Joseph Henry.
The party was landed in Discovery
Harbor. August /, 1881, and the steamer
returned. In January, 1882, letters were
received from DR.. Pavy, dated the Sep
temher previous, and these contained |
the last tldIngS from the expedition. In |
the instructions sent with the eXpedi
.tlon, 1t was stated that relief expeditions
would endeayOr to visit Discovery Har+
Dor In the summers of 1887 and 1888, and
in case Of failure to reach them in 1882.
then the Greeley party was to leave the
station ard push southwark not later
than September.
The failures of the relief expeditions
of 1882 and 1888 are matters of history.
Lieutenant Beebe, in the Neptune, was
unable to get beVOnd latitude II degrees.
20 minutes, and after months struggle
in the ice returned, leaving some stores
at Litleton Island and Cape Sabine. Thei 1
second relief expedition, that of 1888,
under command of Lieutenant CARING
ton, met with greater misfortune, the 4
IroteuS having been sunk before the
work of depositing supplies had been
performed, and the party escaping only J
after serious peril.
During the two years, Lieutenant
Lockwood and Sergeant Brainard of the 4
party, reached the most northerly point I
ever reached by an Arctic explorer, being /
latitude SO degrees % minutes, longitude 1
j4 degrees minutes, and from an eieVa- +
tlOn three Thousand feet high looked 8
upon an open polar sea to the north and s
t,and to the northeast the coast 2
Of Greenland stretched as far as the eye
could reach. 3
Not only was the existence of an open
polar sea cOnclusively demonstrated, but
meteorological. tidal and mag e
1etIc observations we're made.
Not hearing of any relief parties, 1t. a
Greeley on August 8. 1888, broke up his X
station which he had named Fort Con- Y
ger and pushed south on the west side
channel. reaching Baird Inlet, south of a
cape Sabine, September 29, 0ceupyiDgI
ifty-one days in the journey. and thirty A
lays Of the time being spent on an ice u
Ice, because of the Necessary abandon
nent of the boats.
Three weeks later the party moved .
'ack to Cape Sabine, because it was more
likely that they would be reached there
" ID searching party. Up to this time
he health OF the party was good, but
low the long battle with hunger and
leath began. Supplies left by an Eng
ish expedition, though little old, we Q
united up and used. For months the
arty subs'Sted on nothing but seaweed
kins and small shrimps. At last, in
april the starvation point was reached,
nd one by one the gallant crew died,
ntil only seven were left, and these
'ere in the last stages of exhaustion +
,hen Capt. Schiey, with the third relief ]
xpedition, after desperate struggle,
ought his way through with the steam
RS Bear and Thetis, and on June 22, res
ued the survivors !