The true northerner. [volume] (Paw Paw, Mich.) 1855-1920, 1884-07-24
RESCUED JUST IN TIME.
Lieut. Greeley and Six Of His Party
Found or Cape Sabine, In
Smiths Sound.
The Remainder Of the Party Killed BY
Cold and Starvation-Terrible
Tales of Suffering

Schley TO the Secretary of the Navy tells
the story of the rescue of Lieut.. Greeley
and his six surviving comrades:
Or JOINS, N. r.. July II.
The Hon. william f. Chandler. Secretary OF the
TSet.s. near, aud Lock Garry arrived here to-
day from West Gre niand. All well. They
a yale. Az D. m, June q, five miles oil Cape
Sabine, In smiths Sound, the ! he IL and Bear
rescue alive Lieut. A. w; cree oergJ braln,
ard Sergt. Fredero k, Sergt Long. III spitat
steward Beiderba X, Phi, ate O nneil, AMI Sergt
Ellison, the only Survivors ol the Lazy . rankin
Bay expedition. Sc Ct. Ellison had lost 10Th
hands and feet by frost- bite, a a ell July at
Godhay EN-, three das 8 ate ampulatloii, whlch
had become imperaClve. Sevent en- OF twenty
five persons composing the exledition p.rlshed
by starvation at TIE point WHERE found
One was drown a while sealing 20
pro ure food. Twelve boles OF the dead
were rescued and are now on BOARD the 1 hetls
and Bear Esquimau Turnevlk was buried at
Disco in accordance w Tn the desire or the ln-
spector of Western Greenland. FIVE bodies
buried in ice near the carp wee swept away 70
sea by winds and currents before my arrival and
could not be covered. h names Of the dead
recov red, with dates of deafh. are as follows:
S'rgt. Cross died JAN J, lsS.: Wederick RS lui-
maui, April 8: Sergt Linn, April q; Lieut. Lock-
wood, April o; Sergt Jev ell, April "; Prlvae
Ellis, MAY 10; Sc 1t Raston y %; Private
Henry, June 8: Private Schneider, June IL The
names of the deal AID buried in the ice fort,
with the date Of death OF those whose bodies
were not recovered, are as follows Sergeant
Rice April9, l,si; CORPORAL saien, June 3; Pm
vat Bender, June 6; Assistant Surgeon Pavey.
June T.; Sergeant Gardner. jane IL. owned by
breaking through newly formed ice while seal
ing; Jens Edwards tEs4uimau). April "a.
would urgently suggest that the bodies now
on board be placed I'm metallic casts here for
safer and belt tri importation in sea way.
Greely abandoned Fort Conger Aug. y, 1893, and
reached Baird Inlet Sept % following, with the
entire party well. lie abandoned all his boats,
and was adrit thirty DAYS on an ice foe in
Smiths Sound. His permanent camp was
established Oct. p. 1885, at the point
where he was found. During nine months
his party had t. live uron scant all vance OF
food brought from ort Cong r; that cached at
Payer Harbor and Cape lsa bella BY Sir George
Mares I'm 1873 but found much dam Re by lapse
OF time; that cached by Beebe at Cape Sabine
in 1882 and small amount saved from he wreck
of the Iroteus In 1888 and landed by Lieuts.
Ga lngton ard Colw III on the beach near where
Greely's party WAS found. wheu these proyis-
ions were consumed ths arty was forced 10 live
upon boiled seal-skln striI ped from the seal
skin clothing, and lchens nd snrimpe procured
in good weather, VIII n they were strong enough
to make exertonS. AS Il took 1870 shrimps to
fill a gallon measure, the labor WAS too exhaust
Ing TO depend upon them TO sustain life entir iy.
The channel between c. pc sabine AMI Lttleton
Island did not j g. ON ac cunt OF violent gales
all winter. so that $40 ratons at the latter point
could not be reached.
From Hare Island to Smiths Sound / had q
constant and furious struggle with the ice In
impossible foes. Solid b rgiers were overcome
by watchfulness and pa ience. No opportunity
TO advance a mile capped me, and for several
hundred miles the ships were forced 10 ram
TIER wav from lead TO lead through ice VARYING
In thickness from three t. Fix feet. snd when
RATED much greater. The Thetis and the Bear
reached Cape York June -, after a passage OF
twenty-one days in Melville Bay, VITA two ad-
vance ships OF the Dundee whaling fleet, and
continued on TO Cape Sabine. Returning seven
days later, we fel in with seven others of this
feet OF Wostenbolm Island and announced
Gre .ly's rescue to them that they might not be
delayed from their fishing grounds nor be
tempted into the dangers OF Smiths Sound in.
view OF the reward OF $4,000 offered by Con-
Rress. Returning across Melville Bay, We fell in
with the Alert AMI Lock Garry Oft Devils
Thumb, struggling through the heavy ice.
Commander Coffin did admirably TO get along
80 Tar With the transport 80 eply in the season
.ore the opening had o Cured. Lieut.. In
DRY, with the Bear, has su, ported me through
out with great slxlfulne-s and untiinchlng
readiness in accomplishing the gre ' dusy OF re-
ieving Greedy. TIE Greedy party are We much
improved since the rescue, but their stir alton
was critical inthc extreme when found and for
several days after. Forty eight hours' delay in
reaching them would have been fatal To all who
are now living. The season in the nor II IL late,
and has been the closest for years. Smiths
Sound was not u VIII N i left Cape Sabine
The whit r about Melville Bay was the most
w. >. ScHLEY, Commander.
The Greedy party reached the highest lati-
tude ever attained by polar explorers, name
ly, SO deg. $50 min. The coast of Green
---N
Interviews with Lieut. Greedy and other
survivors of the unfortunate arctic colony
elected the following facts
After passing two winters at Fort Conper I'm
scientific research, Lieut.. Grey, with his
whole party intact, broke up the encampment
and commenced southwark descent. This
was acc mpllshed amid great peiils from lies
OF wind, ice niDs, and other casualties. Cape
sabine having been reached, temporary
home was built o. stones and covered by
lVnv
party On the 29th CT Septembtr winter
quarters were estab ish az Cape Sabine
The commi sariat had be ONO verv meager.
and the cache of provisions left by the
Protens last year but 10 rry supplemented
IL. The steam launch had he, ONE ia Z i'm the
Ice few weeks pre-, ious and had to be aban-
uoned during the whole winter. The first havoc
IN me ank was early in January, when one OF
the men dropped of with scuIvy. On the 9TH
OF April Lieut. Lockwood AMI Mr.. Rice. the
photographer, succumbed after a heroic at
Tempt had been made to secure about two hum
dred pounds OF meat supposed to be cached
at place named Bad Creek, distant
about fifteen miles from the encamr ment.
Israel, the asst onomer, persisted May 81
Lieut. kislingbury died June l, and DIR. Pavy,
the naturalist, slep in Ceath June &c. Not one
of the victims realized that death was near
They all d ed IA Tranquil, painless death The
two Esquimaux also persisted. one of starvation.
by some newly foymed lie Ap il IL, thus cutting
OIL all hope o. getting any supply OF seal meat
for he starving explorers The Esquimaux
helpers of LIEUT.. Greedy
Elhsoa was rescued and safely brought ON
board the steamship Bear, where he died a few
days subsequently. His il an OK raorJintry in
stance or human endu ance. While away some
ten miles ffon bis hut enc day last winter the
tempera ure suddenly fell to ~ degrees below
zero. His hands aud feet w re frozen TO the
very booe, anu he was dragg by his comrades
in an almost dying nditIon 10 his hut His
feet and hands W re literally amputatei bv the
incisive frost. and in tnis terrible state he lived
through the dismal months that interven a be-
tween that time and the rescue.
A Washington dispatch states that Presi-
dent Arthur, in conversation with some
friends. said he was very much grsifified at
the finding of Lieut. Greely and the rem
nant of his party. He added:
This is the last of arctic ex editions "a far as
can prevent hem. None of them has ever
paid for the extreme. suffering and loss of vain
able lives they have oceash ned, and j ink T. is
about time that some othlr ma. ion try them for
awhile.
President Arthur, in previous eonversa-
tons, has characterized the whole business
as species of arctic INSANITY"
There is gsnerd recognition of the fact
that some one is responsible for the de ,th
of the members OF the Gree,y expedi ion
who died from cold and hunger, and g,n-