New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1884-04-17
SOME NORTHERN PARALLELS.

ne 1ulnOf IclcplapHcu lIOHl OF JOiiI . III 10
latiOn to Lieutenant Greely's rescue has been
speedily contradicted. 1t was only an idle
Renaissance of the POlars expedition. While
grossly improbable, it was not incredible. The
possibility of another party of Arctic explorers
drifting down Baiiin's Bay to Labrador is one
of the contingencies which the relief expedition
is forced to keep in mind Captain Tyson and
his eighteen companions were separated from
the Polaris near the 18th parallel OF latitude
about the middle of October They dnfted
with the ice over 1,200 miles in 100 days and
were rescued by the Tigress on April 30. Lieu
tenant Greedy, if he succeeded in reaching Cape
Sabine last fall, would have crossed Smith
Sound about the same time of the year and in a
corresponding latitude What happened once
may have happened second time. The mill
tary party may have been unable to reach the
east shore They may have been carried with
the foe into Bafins Bay precisely as the Polaris
castaways were before them. Captain McClin-
tocks Fox was released from the lee on April
%, 1853, after drifting 1874 miles in 80 days
from Melville Bay. The foes formed there and
in Smith Sound during the autumn are due oil
the coast of Labrador in April and May.
The records of Arctic exploration in the
upper waters of West Greenland have an i'm
portant bearing upon Lieutenant GIeely's fate
Dr. Hayes, for example, wintcrcd Mt Llttieton
Island, where the military party expected to
find relief station last fall. His main sledge
Journey was from the ship to Cape Licber, the
southern headland of Lady Franklin Bay. di-
racty opposite the harbor where Lieutenant
Grcclv has been stationed. He crossed Smith
Sound and followed the west shore, his journey
nOrthward occupying forty-four days. The re-
turn trip was made in better time, the con-
ditious of ice travel being more favorable.
Lieutenant Greedy, startingon September l and
walking every inch of the way, would have
reached Littleton Island by October 10, if he
had cqualled Dr. Hayes northward rate Of
nrogress. Az his retreat occurred in the autumn
instead of the early spring he would have many
advantages over Dr. Hayes. 1t was his inten-
ton to start with two boats and to follow the
open water near the shore, using runners wher-
ever it should be necessary to cross the ice.
With the conditions Of ice which prevailed
during the cruises of the Polars and the Alert
and tho Discovery, he would make a rapid pas
sage of Kennedy Channel and reach LittletOn
Island by the third or fourth week in Septem
Der. The Polaris passed the mouth of Lady
Franklin Bay on August %, and after making
the northernmOst limit, driftcd back with the
ice distance of forty -eiSht miles early in Sep
tcmber The Alert left her consort in Lady
Franklin Bay on August %, and reached
her highest point on September |. In returning
the next year she crossed Lady Franklin Bay on
August 20 and passed Cape Sabine on September
8. These dates show that Lieutenant Greedy had
an excellent chance of finding open water along
the shore the greater part OF the way.
The sledge work in these waters has been
done mainly in the spring, and on that'account
does not offer a close parallel for Lieutenant
Greeys retreat. Morton in reaching Cape
Constitution and returning to DR.. Kane's head
quarters, had IA longer journey than the military
party were called upon to make in their retreat
The Alerts two sledge parties in the spring
made each over 600 miles in seventy-two and
eighty four days. DR.. Kane in his retreat started
late in May, walked 316 miles in thirty
DAYS, and by means Of his whaebOats and
dingy reached Upernavik on August 6-eighty-
three days from Rensselaer, HarbOr. The
Alert's autumn parties were out twenty
days, from September % to October 10, making
165 miles, with the thermometer ranging be-
tween 80 above zero and 90 below. This is
lower temperature than that to which Lieuten-
ant Greedy would be exposed, since he was
pushing southwark, while the Alert's men were
near the SD parallel. One other autumn jour
ney remains to be mentioned On August %,
1854, Dr. Hayes left DR.. Kane at Rensselaer,
Bay and travelled south beyond Littleton
Island to Booth Bay, 800 miles from the ship.
There his progress was completely blocked and
he was forced to return to the ship, after living
three months in an Eskimo hut with little food
and almost without fire. The return journey
was made in December with the mercury never
less than 70' below tho freezing point. All
these citations from Arctic history show that
Lieutenant Greedy has many chances in his
favor In his desperate fight for life.