Lexington weekly intelligencer. (Lexington, Mo.) 1871-1887, 1884-05-10
TO THE RESCUE
THE EXPEDITION FOR RELIEF
OF THE GREELY PARTY.
HOW THE ARTIO COLONY WAS ES-
TABLISHED IN THE 10Y NORTH.
SCIENCE NEAR THE POLE.
PROSPECTS FOR ITS SUCCESS.


HOW THE ARTIO COLONY WAS Es-
TABLIsHED IN THE 10Y NORTH.
SCIENCE NEAR THE POLE.
Stations and the Valuable
Work They Have Done.
Two Former Failures.
Fruitless Efforts to succor Greedy
Loss of the Proteus.
Observations at Point Barrow.
From the New York Herald.
CContiaued from last areek.)
SAILING OF THE EXPEDITION.
In pursuance OF arrangements made by the |
United States government, the screw steam
ship Proteus. with the Greely Arctic colony
the 7th Of July, 1881, bound to Lady Frank
lin Bay. Five days after leaving the expedi |
ton encountered vast bodies Of ice. which
necessitated the navigation of the ship from |
head. Passing safely through the pack no
obstacle was mel with until the coast OF
Greenland, desolate, dark and dreary, loom |
ed up ahead. The harb0r Of Godharn, with |
its calm surface thronged with the kyaks OF
the Es9uimaux, was reached, and the inhab- |
itants fOcked to the shore to obtain a closer |
view of the vessel. At Godhavn fourteen
dogs and two sedges were taken ON board. as
we'll rs several tons Of walrus flesh and dried
fish to feed them on. Several hundred
pounds of white whale skin, famous: as All
antiscorbutic, were added to the stores. In it,
dried state 1t resembles All inferior quality Of
glue, but when cooked it Is said to possess
the flavor Of tripe. Sailing from Godhavn,
the Proteus reached Upernavik on the Oath
of July, after having stopped day ut Kitten
w r.
taken on board as members of the expedition.
Upernavik was left behind on July %. The
PrOteus was put at full speed, with her
head pointing to the north. The white top Of
Melville Bay was entered. Here the party
expected to meet with blockade of ice, but
| although numerous berSs, some of them OF
immense Size, were encountered there was
no pack Ice to obstruct the ship IN her on,
ward path. On the second day out they fell
In with the first bear, resting contentedly on
floating ice pack, and in front of him the
fragments of half devOured seal. He was
shot and taken on board. On the lst of Au-
gust Cape Dudley Digges was sighted, and
then the POtOric glacier loomed in sight.
Soon afterward the Carey Islands were made,
and party landed on the s0utheastermost
of the group, where they examined the cairn
erected by Capt. Allen Young His records
left in their place record of his own voyage.
A letter to Sir George Mares was found in the
cairn, as we'll as y copy of the New York
Herald. The cache of provisions LETT by
Captain Mares was also found, the puncheOh
of rum being sampled and pronounced excel
lent. The stores were in fair condition,
though the biscuit was rather 'mouldy. The
boat which formed part Of the depot seemed
also to be seawOrthy.
ENTERING SMITH SOUND.
On the following day Cape Alexander, the
key to Smith Sound. was sighted. Passing
the Crystal Palace cliff, and glacier and the
crimson of Sir John Ross, Port Follke, DR.
Hayes headquarters. was reached. The
PrOteus then anchored at LittletOn Island
. where Captain Allen Young, of the Pandor
, deposited his papers and letters for tht
Mares party, and where also the wrecked PO'
laris party passed their second winter aftel
Q Captain Halls death. Landing in Life Boat
Cove demolished cairn was discovered
also the debris of the camp of the Polari
party. On the way back TO the ship two wal
l ruses were shot, but could not be reeovere,
3 as they sank. The Proteus left Littletol
Island the same night and next day got as ia
as Cape Hanks and Washington Irwin
Island, passing on the way the famous Hum
bOldt glacier, which Ia said to be the larges
+. iceberg ''manufactory'' in the world. Anotf
- er cache of stores was found at Cape Hank
and also q boat, which was taken on board
e according to the instructions of the Britis
8 commander. Cape Hanks, which has bee
q called not inaptly the Gibraltar of the Arctic
was then left behind. The voyage up Smit
;. Sound had been SO far most successful an
i encouraging. The navigation of the channe
# since its discovery in 1916 was, until com
paratively recent date, considered impracti
u cable on account Of the vast quantities of ic
disgorged through it. 1t remains frOzel
p nearly all the year, the Ice breaking up an
], being carried south for short time only
Kane and Hayes did much to make the geOg
y raphy of the strait known. Captain Hall il
1 his daring voyage reached the highest lati
- tude that up to his time had been made. Th
~ y Mares expedition of 1875 made the passag
II with great difficulty, battling with the ic
e continually and nearly losing their ship.
O They were twenty-one days in reaching Cap
Frazier from LittletOn Island, but the Pro
IL teus made the same distance in sixteen hour.
e After stopping short time in Coal Rive
t. Bay; where they landed some stores TO y
used in case of u retreat. they resumed til
voyage, They passed Cape Constitution
It kaue's highest point. and there they met wit
the first obstruction. On the 4th they steam
h ell up TO the solid main pack, extending rigt
across the channel and appearing to be
o then reached the southwest part of Lad
-. Franklin Bay and was within ten miles
her destination. For seven days the yess!
u was mOOred to the ice. and Lieutenant Greel
II almost despaircd OF attaining his object Bt
the ice moved to the eastward and the shi
N was forced at full speed until Discovery Han
'e Dor was reached, and there Lieutenar
l. Greedy determined to locate his camp.
S. ESTABLISHING THE STATION.
The anchor WAS dropped and the work q
unloading the stores began. The carpenter
y set to work at building the house and all pr
ii gressed merrily. On the same day they al
I rived fourteen musk oxen were killed, an
-. they averaged when dressed fully three hur
u dred pounds each. Stores of provisions sui
" cient 10 last the party for fully two yea
ut were landed. The house erected had double
frames and measured sixty feet by twei
y. ty-one feet In addition to the stores M
lg supplies about one hundred and forty tons
l. coal were landed at the station, which ",
"a christened Fort Conger. in honor of Senate
Conger, of Michigan, who had been instrt
. mental in passing the bill through Congre
lr Which authorized the expedition.
ne DIR. Octave Pavy, the surgeon of the exp
a. diti)n, has quite remarkable history. I
was born in Havre, France, and after lber
e. and scientific education took part in
al Arctic expedition sent out by France.
IN spent several Years among the Esquimaux
T. lerward he formed one of tue members OF Il
e. Howgate expedition, and when this faile
er DR.. Pavy remained at Disco, and afterwal
In Joined the Greedy party. =.
:" The Proteus left the party on August
ke and arrived safely at st. Johns, N. F., after
IL voyage in which no disturbing incident o
ar CURED.
80 DIsQUIETING RUMORS.
IT, Since August, 1881, nothing definite h
been heard from the Greely party. Rumol
=. ces, but as they have all been traced to I
-. Esqulmaux 1t is needless to say that little
OF no reliance should be placed on them.
he few months ago Baron NOrdenskjold. in
-, despatch from Thurso, stated that DIR. Nat
no Orts's party had heard from some Esquimal
near Cape York that two members of the e
eft pedition to Lady Franklin Bay had die
be while the others had returned to Littlet
- Island. A Copenhagen paper subsequent
he stated, on the authority of its Upernavik C,
r- respondent, that Lieutenant Greely had be
AS murdered by his mutinOus crew. This sta
go, ment was made on the authority OF IIa
.'' Hendrix, the EsqulmauX who accompani
Ter DIR. NathOrst to Cape York, and who, it
said, got it from some Esquimau whom
h- met in that locality. This statement >ee
incredible on the face of it, rs it is am,
certain that Or. Nathorst would have hea
he OF it as we'll as Hendrix, and il so it is safe
presume that he would have mentioned
The rumOr that the expedition has reach
l.ittleton Island seems far more pr0bab
and with tie experience of the party i'm hi
latitudes and their skill in shooting and tis
ing 1t is not too much to presume that til
N. might winter on l.ttleton Island in safe
The Schwatka search party availed the
selves of the resources of the country. and
their prolonged stay north depended on gal
they shot and the fish they caught. III
, >. Greely position has been one of grave dams
'nh is recognized by geographical authOrt
g" both in this country and abroad.
SUPPLIES FOR GREELY-THE. NEPTUNl
STRENUOUS BUT VAIN EFFORTS TO RE
LIEvE THE COLONY.