The daily Cairo bulletin. (Cairo, Ill.) 1878-1???, 1884-07-20
LIFE UNDER THE POLE.
Another Account Of the Finding
Of tho Stranded Arctic
Explorers.
Thrilling Picture of Their Awful Suffer
ing-How the Brave Men Employed
the Dreary, Hopeless Hours.
The Self Abnegation Of Commissiary
Sergeant Brainard-Vital
Abstcmiousness.

NEW YORK, July l9.-The Times
special correspondent at st. Johns, N. F.,
says son the 22d of June we found all
That remained Of the expedition in com.
lhand OF Lieutenant Greedy. The Bear had
steamed nearly up to the ice, and people
couId be seen running about on shore.
Some one was seen on the ice signaling
with llags. Your correspondent ran for.
ward and took the message as follows:
send Doctor with stretchers and Harlow
with photograph machines seven alive
Boats were lowered and a party of OIL
GERS and men started for the shore 1t
seemed Il long pull. We finally reached the
Ice loot and hurried to the scene of misery.
lew steps from the landing we met
a black face with horried staring eyes
wrapped in clean blanket that con-
tfasJed strangely with the filthy clothes
mat covered the body of one of the sur
ylvoTS' 1t was FredcriCks, who was
strong enough to walk to the boats.
1t was miserable sight, but
Cheerful. compared with the one
mat met our gaze a few steps
further on, slight incline to the left
aud the busy relief parties came in view.
Passing a small fire on which pots of milk
were warming, we came to the tent un-
der which lay four of the poor fellows.
Two lay outside, one with his face
swollen so that he could hardly show by
his eyes the wild excitement that filed
his being. The other was muttering in
voice that could scarcely be heard in the
bowling Of the gale his hungry appeal for
| food.
Pushing aside the flaps Of the tent we
saw sight the like of which we trust
never to see again. Crowded together
! in the little tent that was left standing,
! lay Greedy and three of his men in sleep
| ing bags, their faces black with dirt.
Their hollow cheeks and their cleaning
| eyes made q picture that we will never
| forget and told a story that has
few rivals in the history of miserable
sufferings, The short glance revealed
| four men with the hand of death laid up
on them; one, indeed, was gasping his
! last feeble breath, while food and stimu-
lants were forced between his teeth. The
| fate of the other two was a question Of a
! very few hours. The gale was killing
them in their weak and exhausted condi-
! ton. To move against such a wind was
an impossibility. An abled bodied man
! bent 10 it at tines so there they lay
! waiting for death, unable to cook the
pitlfu ration of tanned oil seal-skinS and
lichens that they called their meal.
our glance was short one; work was
to be done and all turned to it with
hearts and hands, The poor sufferers
were wrapped in blankets, fed with warm
milk, beef tea, and crackers and carried
to the boats.
A photograph was taken of the camp
despite the time, on p. n.y. and the
weather.
The living having been provided for,
our next sad duty lay with the dead.
These were piled on the dory and covered
and we steamed back to Payer harbor.
The next day the Bear revisited the
camps and collected every scrap and
relic appertaining to it, when, our work
being completed, we turned homeward.
Lieutenant -Sreely, in conversation
said: "All during our retreat from Fort
Conger fuel had been very precious.
There was never enough for more than
cooking purposes so that all during the
long bitter cold days we had no source
of warmth except our clothes and Sleep
ing bags. AS matter of economy, cook
ing was done only twice day. Light
was obtained from an EsquimauX lamp
with single wick dipped in seal
oil. Only one man could read at a time
by it, Turns would be taken at reading
aloud. All our literature was read and
re-read, The only news received of the
outside world was obtained from scraps
OF paper from box of lemons landed by
the ProteuS. We dried these carefully
so they could be read over and over again.
Every Sunday | served a quarter of a
lemon to each person. Bread and meat
rations were issued daily; all other
stores were issued on Thursdays. On
Sundays the rations were increased a
little. \ favorite amusement was to
make out bill of fare of what we would
| like when relief came. A series of lee
lures was begun and other intellectual
| amusements. Two hours day could be
filled in by lecturng on various subjects.
| When the lecture was over, general dis
| CusSion would be entered into. Rice,
|
the photographer, would devote an
other hour, either in telling stories
or else would draw from his
general information, of which he
had great deal. The most
trying position of any member of the
party was occupied by Sergeant Brainard
while issuing rations. He found himself
exposed to the temptation of partakina
more than his share of supplies but he
never abused the confidence reposed in
him. Indeed, he must have used less
food than that allotted, as the supplies
turned out two per cent. more than the
most sanguine of the party had dared to
anticipate. In this way the dreary weeks
and months dragged slowly and hopeless
ly along.