Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1884-07-25
FROM THE ARCTIC REGIONS.

rum IHh 1RCIIC REGIONS.
now GnEELY AND HIS MEN WERE FouND-Ins.
TORY OF THE EXrED1T1oN-How THEIR LAST
DREADFUL WINTER WAS SPENT.
Lieut.. Greedy and his six survivors from
the peris of their arctic expedition, whose
rescue was reported last week, are still at st.
Johns, Newfoundland, in steadily improving
health, and will soon DO brought on the
Ihetis and Bear TO Portsmouth, N. II. where
they will be welcomed by their friends. Some
interesting details in regard to their discove-
ry, their life in the arctic regions, etc., are
given below
SAD CONDITION OF THE STARVING MEN WHEN
FOUND.
When Greedy and men were first found, the
the search party in the launch was obliged to
cut through the tent to reach the starving
men. Lieut.. Greedy was Just able to support
himself on his hands and knees. He was
dressed in fur with red knitted hood, which
added to his haggard appearance. His long
hair and beard his wasted form and deep
sunken eyes, which shono through his glass
es with increased brillancy, his feeble voice,
which he stroVe to control but which plainly
revealed his feelings, brought moisture to the
eyes Of the strongest of the relief party. On
either side OF him lay two of his companions,
both in dying condition-Corporal Joseph
Ellison, with both hands and feet frozen of
and unable to raise his head, and private Maui
rice Council, in his sleeping bag, dying of
starvation. Greedy had been reading the
prayers for the dying when the party arrived.
Four Of the party-Sergeant Branard, pri-
Yates Long and Fredericks, Hospital Steward
Beberbeck, were just able to stagger out of
the tent. small quantity of milk punch and
ammonia strengthened them, and some beef
tea and warm milk was added All were slim
ulated by their rescue, and their pleadings for
food were hoRrtrending. But all solid food
was refused them, and they were carefully
transported to tho Thetis and Bear, and ten
derby cared for.
1t was with the greatest difficulty that they
were quoted Their long fast had left them
like insane men, and had they been allowed
to eat as they desired all would have died. At
the time they were rescued their food consis-
ted of boiled seal skin boots, cut up fine and
mixed with reindeer moss, rock lichens and
small shrimps and boiled into soup. They
had been obliged to burn their boat it being
their only fuel. The wood Of the boat was
carefully weighed to make it last 1t almost
made them insane to see many seal, walrus,
duck and gulls sporting in the sea before
them while they were starving The body Of
the last man who died at camp, private
Schneider, was found just outside the tent
The party was too weak to bury him, and he
was covered only with his sleeping bag.
For some days after their rescue the men
were in precarious condition The great
JOY at their rescue was followed by a depres
sion both mental and physical All their
minds were weak aud their speech, like their
movements, was very feeble and slow The
case of Corporal Joseph Ellison was the most
serious. His hands and feet were gone-hav-
ing been literally frozen off in a brave effort
to secure food for the party six months be.
fore-and his greatly weakened condition
could not Withstand the shock lie became
insane few days after his rescue and died
seventeen days after, on July S, Of mental
and physical exhaustion.
THE HISTORY OF THE EXPEDITION.
Lieut.. Greeley's expedition was undertaken
as part Of the plan adopted by the Iutorna-
tional Geographical Congress ut Hamburg
in 1879, for the establishment Of "a series OF
clrcumpolar stations for scientific observa-
tions. On March 3D. 1881, Congress passed
bill providing an appropriation for the ex
petition, and Lieut.. Greedy was appointed to
take command. The point selected for the
station was the most northerly and difficult
OF access of the whole series Of stations pro.
Jected by the geographical congress Lieut.
Greedy received his instructions in Aprii
1881, and he and his party were carried north
IN the screw steamer Proteus during the fol-
lowing summer, leaving st. Johns July T.
Discovery HarbOr in Smith Sound the loca.
ton OF their station, was gained on August
II, and in the course of week house was
erected, the provisions, stores and iustru-
ments were landed, and the preparations for
the wintering were actively begun. The
post was named Fort Conger. Capt Pike
turned the bow of the Proteus homeward,
leaving Lieut. Greedy and his associates in a
comfortable frame building, equipped with
all necessary supplies to last them until the
summer of 1851
Lieut.. Greedy arranged his own line of re-
treat, anu gave directions for the attempts
that were to be made to communicate with
him. A vessel was to be sent up the second
year Oss2) with supplies, which could be
landed at Cape Sabine or above If the bar
rier of ice should prevent a passage through
smith Sound. similar attempt was to be
made the following year QsS3), and if the
passage OF the sound was again impractical
Lle relief party was to be placed on shore
aud house was to be erected for winter
quarters. II he were not taken of by August
Of that year, Lieut.. Greedy expected to oban-
don his post aud set out for Cape Sabine,
whence he could be rescued from Lttleton
Island. In accordance with this arrange
ment, no help having arrived, Lieut. Greedy
broke camp at Fort Conger and started on
his retreat south August ., 1888.
THE ATTEMPTS AT RESCUE.
The first attempt made by the government
to communicate with the colonists at Fort
Conger was made in 1882. The steam sealer
Neptune WAS cent out from St. John with a
relief party to take the place Of the garrison,
but failed to make its way through the ice
barrier in Smith Sound, was nearly crushed
in the ice and was compelled to return. In
the following year the steam whaler Proteus,
which had carried the Greedy party to their
station, was chartered, and the United States
steam sloop of war Yantic was hastily fitted
out as t,nd,r. The relief party WAS headed
by Lieut. Z. A. darlington, L. S. A, aud
consisted of twelve men, but through misun-
derstanding between Lieut.. Darlington and
the officials at Washington, or because of in.
competency and lack of Judgment the expe-
dition accomplished nothing the Proteus was
crushed in the ice and lost, and the relief party
came home in the Yantic