Phillipsburg herald. [volume] (Phillipsburg, Kan.) 1882-1905, 1884-11-08

{ rOF
! the relief OF the Greedy party has been
/ submitted to the Secretary Of the NAVY
/ 1t cites the orders under which the ex-
/ petition was organized, and then enters
/ upon graphic narrative of the events
/ of the voyage. But by far the most in
/ terestlng portion Of the report Is that
/ describing the discovery and rescue of
/ Greedy and his men. SchIey relates as
! follows, an Impressive scene inside of
/ Greely's tent: Lieutenant Greedy was
/ found in his sleeping bag, his BODY in
clined forward and his head resting on
| his left hand, the book of Common
1 Prayer open and in his right hand. He
! appeared to be reading the prayers to
/ Private Council, whose condition
was most desperate and critical
He was cold to the waist. and
all sensation Of hunger gone. He
was specifies and almost breathless,
his eyes were fixed and CLASSY. Indeed,
this weakness was such that it was with
difficulty he swallowed any stimulant
given HIM by Drs. Green and Ames. His
jaws had dropped, his heart was barely
pulsating and his body temperature very
low. This tender scene of q helpless and
almost famished officer cOnsoling dying
companion was IN itself one that brought
tears to the eyes of the strongest and
stOutest Of those who stood about them
on the merciful errand Of relief Ser
geants BTainerd and Fredericks and Hos
pital Steward Briederdeck were extreme
ly weak and hardly able to stand They
were no longer able to venture away
from their camp to seek food nor to
prepare their simple diet of boiled seal
skin, nor to collect liChens, nor to
catch shrimps upon which they
had to depend to q great extent to
sustain life. Their faces, heads and
limbs were swollen to such an extent
that they could not be recognized. This
indicated that the entire party had but
a short lease of life, PROBABLY not more
than fOrty-eight hours at the most. This
fact was recognized by them all and had
ing that long and desOlate winter in
watching their dying companions, as one
after another they passed away from
amongst them forever.
Poor Sergeant Ellison was found in mis-
sleeping bag. where he had lain helpless
and hopeless for months with his hands
and feet frozen off. Strapped to one of
the stumps was found a spoon, which
some companion had strapped there
to enable him to feed himself. His
physical condition otherwise appeared
to be the best Of any of the survivors
and this may be attributed to the fact
that each Of his companions had dOled
out to him from out their small allow
ance, something to help him on account
of his complete helplessness to add any
thing to his own by hunting about the
rocks for Hchen or catching shrImps,
and he suffered no waste OF strength bV
the exertiOn incident thereto. This case
of Ellison was such as only brave and
generous men, suffering with each other
under the most desperate circumstances,
could think Of. Sergeant Long was very
much reduced, though in somewhat bet
/ ter condition than some of the officers.
His office, as hunter for the starving
party, had made 1t necessary to increase
slightly his pittanCe Of food, to sustain
his strength, that he might continue to
battle for food and life to the helpless.
In this case, however, the effect of this
continued effort had told its story in MS
wasted form. Shorter and shorter Jour
neys were made in good weather, while
from the infrequent bad weather IN that
region, his strength was so much impair
ed that when the joyful signal whistle
was heard he had only enough left to
stagger out to the rocks overlooking the
water to see if the signal heard had pro-
ceeded from a ship IN sight. His first
visit was a bitter disappointment, as he
saw nothing. A second visit fifteen
minutes later, brought him within City
yards of the Bears steam cutter, and in
view Of the relief ships coming around
Cape Sabine. When the steam cutter
ran into the beach where belong was
seen, he rolled down the ice covered
cliff, and was taken into the cutter. He
informed Lieut.. COlWeu that the lOCa-
ton Of the camp was just over the cliff.
In the case of Sergeant Ellison, the
medical officers were fearful from the
/ first that his chances for life were
very small. As soon as healthful food
was available and the digestive func-
tons should be Te-established fully,
/ a healthy round of blood in its cirCula-
/ ton would begin its distribution Of new
/ life to the injured part and inhamma-
/ ton would naturally occur. If EilisOn's
/ strength should increase more rapidly
/ than Inflammation, amputatiOn of the
( injured parts would perhaps save his
/ life. Several days after his rescue, June
! q, Doctor Green reported that Ellison
was threatened with congestion Of the
/ brain. The symptoms increased rapidly
until the poor fellow lost his reason. At
/ GOOdhaven his condition was so critical
/ that the surgeons of the expedition, af-
/ ter consultation, determined t9 amputate
the feet above the ankle, as the only
chance to save his life. The sufferers
/ disease, however, triumphed. Amid
/ bleak scenes that had surrounded him
for three years in his heroic sacrifice and
within desolute solitude Of that region
of everlasting ice and snow, surrounded
| by his sOTrOWing comrades he passed
away. Lieutenant Greedy was physically
/ the weakest, but mentally the most Wig
Orous of the party. He had lain in his
! sleeping bag for weeks, on account of his
/ gradually failing strength. He was IN
able to stand alone for any length OF
time, and was almost helpless, except in
a sitting position. All pangs of hunger
/ had ceased, his appearance vas wild, his
hair was long and unkempt, and his
face and hands were covered with sOOty
black dirt, mis- body was scantiIy covered
with worn out clothes, his form was