Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1884-03-03
LIFE IN THE ARCTICs.
Lieut.. Darlington Describes the Region
of Eternal Ice-No Doubt that the
Greedy Party is Safe.

OFSeIy Farty Is Sa1c.
Lieut.. Darlington, of the United States
army, now stationed at Fort Buford, in
Dakota Territory, who had charge of the
government relief steamer Proteus that
was sent to the Arctic regions last sum-
mer in search OF the Greely party, says
the Pittsburg Dispatch, was in town last
night, stopping at the MOnongahela
House. "There is no doubt in my mind,"
said he, ''that the Greely party is alive.
don't see how it can be otherwise. If
they are at Lady Franklin Bay. which be-
yond doubt they are, they are certainly
alive and well. Greedy had plenty of pro-
visions to last him through the winter
and he was stationed where he could Get
plenty OF fuel, and ! see no reason for his
not being alive. don't see how be could
well get away from the bay. The only
season YOU can sled up there is in the
spring, and that is the only WaV he cOuId
move. | don't think he would attempt to
move further north under the circum-
stances, and if he had started south |
would have met him when on that eXpe-
dltlOn last sumner.
lit is not so dreadfully hard to live up
there as some suppose, provided YOU have
plenty to live on. 1t is certainly very
cold, but one becomes in a measure
adapted to it and does not mind it. We
were within in two degrees of Greelv sta
tiOn when our vessel was crushed by the
ice. 1t was rather a trying position to be
III. Thousands of miles from any succOr
and no means Of getting out except by a
small boat. But my men did not lose
courage. They kept in good spirits,
althOugh'Our provisions were limited and
we had to use them sparingly. You can
well imagine mans feelings placed in
such position and knowing that when
the supply of provisions is exhausted
there is No possibility of securing any
more.
But, Notwithstanding what | have
come through, l would like to go back
again, | intend to make application.
when l get to Washington, to Join the
present expedition that is now being fitted
out. l have not seen as much of that re-
giOn as | would like to. There is moth
ing so exceedingly charming about it, but
there is strange fascination seizes one
when he has taste Of it to see more of it.
When you get up among the glaciers and
rocks, the scene is one of terrific grandeur
and picturesque beauty, but the acme of
dreariness. No sound or stir except now
and then the terrific crash of a huge hya-
line boulder, as it CRATES on the bottom Of
the ocean and crushes to pieces. There is
dreary silence that courts loneliness.
and one feels such a dull dread all the
time that it approaches misery.
I'm the summer time you can occasion
ally hear the piping Of seagulls, the chat
ter of ducks, and the grOwl of walrus, but
you only meet these occasionally. If YOU
can describe Il vast sea of ice and snow.
which is as irregular as anything YOU can
imagine, you know what appearance that
country has. The nearest comparison l
can make to the appearance of one of
those icebergs is looking down on a city
from the top of a mountain. The high
and low houses, with an occasional church
steeple. resemble very much one of those
floating icebergs. The wind has no effect
on them whatever. 1t is not an uncOm-
mon thing to see the foe or soft ice going
in one direction driven by the wind. and
an iceberg moving in an opposite direc-
ton, carried by the current. There is
always seven times the bulk of ice under
the water than is seen above, and one ac-
quainted with the Polar re-
gion can always tell by the color.
rigidity and appearance of an iceberg
whether it comes from the North sea or
not. You viii sometimes see boulder
three or four times as high out of the
water as this hotel, and probably ten
times as large, carried along by the cur
rent, and wnen two OF them come together
the force is sufficient to crush the less
-iN Ollts LOu Ccll IIu9G Nudl Il steamer
would be like when caught between two
such icebergs. No boat can ever be built
that could Withstand the pressure. AL
though they seem to move slowly, thev
have a terrific force and are often crushed
by their own weight.
''Walrus are very plenty up there in
some places. At the mouth of Melville
bay, / believe | saw thousand at one
time, They crawl up on the ice and lie
there apparently asleep, but on the ap-
prOach OF a hunter they drop into the
water in lubberly, awkward manner
which is amusing. AT times they sport
and play in the water and out and keep
the sea in constant confusion. They are
an interesting study, especially when
they are the only animated creatures that
can be seen. While watching them
one fOrgets that he is out Of
the habitable world. The only land
tO be seen is an aluyial depOsit
thrown up by the waves near the north
shore of Greenland. There is a kind of
moss growing on the rocks, but from what
it draws the substance of life | know not.
One of the most interesting sights in the
whole northern region is the falling into
the ocean of huge fields OF ice. You will
see thousands of acres of ice and snow
that extend high in the air. The
water wears this away on the
under side, and when the point
projecting into the water becomes
so heavy as to force itself off it breaks
with a loud report and falls into the water.
The travelling is all done up there with
dogs in sledges. The dogs are almost as
large as Indian dogs, and are able to 1raw
about their own weight. They usually
harness from eight to twelve dogs to a
sledge, and under favorable circumstances
and smooth ice can go about sixty miles a
day. If the surface is uneven and soft
the animals are worthless, and the sledge
has to be drawn by hand.