The Pulaski citizen. [volume] (Pulaski, Tenn.) 1866-current, 1884-11-13
HOW eREE1Y WAS RESCUED.
The Interesting Story Told by a
Member Of the Relief Party.


and west side dime museums never
enjoyed such extensive patronage
as they do this week. On the side
the jam is produced by the exhibit
tion of the three Greely rescuers,
Quartermaster Jas. +. Burke, of
Salem, Mass, Quartermaster John
Clark, of Boston, and foretop Capt.
L. G. Smith of Providence, belong
ing to the crew of the Bear They
have on the platform with them
the furs and sleeping bags which
they used in the Arctic region, and
crouched at their feet is "Dime, !"
the Esquimaux dog which they
brought with them on their return.
A map of the voyage hangs behind
them, and they delight in explain
ing to visitors the nature and events
of the expedition. A conversation
with Quartermaster Burke threw a
good deal of light on the subject.
''Some people WONDER" he said,
chow the expedition could ever
have any hope of finding handful
of men who might be anywhere
along an Arctic coast, thousands of
miles in extent. But it is not so
difficult after you know a thing or
two. For a great many years there
have existed all along the coasts of
the sea between Greenland on the
east and Grinnel Land on the west,
a number of stations at which Arc
tic explorers deposit records and
directions for each other The
southernmost one is Duck Island,
then comes Chemical Island, then
Carey Island, Cape York, then Lit
tleton Island, all on the Greenland
side, and then Cape Sabin on the
Grinnel Land side. At each of those
places explorers have erected a huge
mound of rocks, and inserted in a
cavity in the mound a tin box,
which serves postoffice for the
explorers. When any of them pass
one of these places, they put letters
there describing their condition,
and telling which way they went.
There are no mail robbers up there,
and the letters will lie there for fif
ty years, unless the right party calls
for them. At these stations the ex-
plorers leave large stores of proVis-
ions, which are safe from decay.
At Carey Island we found splendid
canned beef and barrels of Jamaica
rum in excellent order, left there
nine years before by Captain Mares.
1 partook of both and they are
prime. So, when we started to look
for Greely, all we had to do was to
visit these stations, and that was
what we did. We then took them
just in the order that / have named
them, and found the Greeley party,
not exactly in Cape Sabine, but at
Cooked Hat Cove, five miles further
north"
Chow did it happen?'
'Well, the Bear cast anchor
about two miles north of the cove,
and sent four of US off in the steam
whaleboat to see what we could
see. When we got within quarter
of mile of the shore of the cove,
Sergeant Long, of the Greeley par
ty, who happened to be on a high
point of ice, 100 yards inland,
sighted us, and soon after we sight
ed him waving a black flag, which
is the only signal that can be seen
where there is nothing but snow.
We thought at first that he was a
bear, but when we saw that it was
man, we steamed right in, and a
man named Crowsburg jumped
ashore, held the boat to the shore by
a rope, and l ran towards Long,
who ran to meet me. The first
thing l said to him was, How many
of you are deadP The rest of the
party were in an old soldiers tent
in hollow between the shore and
the hill on which we first spied
Long. But we didn't go near him.
We put Long on the boat and took
him to the Bear, and then returned,
bringing Captain Emery and boat
from the Thetis. This time we
hunted up the tent. took the
first look into it, though L stood
back to let the captain enter frs t..
Five of the men were asleep in their
sleeping bags, and Greeley was en-
his knees in prayer, with his open
bible before him. We gave them
all some milk punch, and they
begged us to take them straight
home, without any forms or prelim-
inaries whatever"
eff Greeley had not been found
there what would have been done
nextY"
eve were to try to reach Fort
Conger, in Lady Franklin bay.
Fort Conger two hundred miles or
so farther north on the Grinnell
Land coast is where Greeley was
left 1881 to establish the signal ser
vice station, and from which he de-
SPARED of being visited, he had
made his way, partly by water and
partly by land, to Cape Sabine.
But we found the sea full of foe
ice north of Cooked Hat Cove, and
would never have undertaken to
sail any farther north. We intended
to make the other two hundred
miles in sledges."
'Had the Greeley party any
fuelp'
"Yes. At the cove they discover
ed the hulk of ship, which served
them fortfuel as long as they were
there. But if they had known
enough they would have rugged it
up and sailed in it across to Little
ton Island, only thirty miles away,
where was an abundance of choice
stores, left there years ago for lost
explorers"