Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1884-07-23


us left yet'-sad news, and sudden
reverse to our cheerful spirits of quar-
ter of an hour before. But it was
no time to reflect. We set to work to
save the living. I jumped into the
launch at once and passed some of the
food that we were provided with, and
we Immediately started for the camp.
1t was blowinga strong gale at the time.
The camp was blown down, except O.
short prop under one end, and the poor
fellows had not strength enough to put
it up. What sight to look at !! six men
lying there starving, and not able to
help themselves! Pointing to one, they
said he was dying, but he rallied, and
is doing we'll now. We cut a hole IN
the canvas to give us room, and COM
menced to feed them, serving them all
round gradually, not letting them have
as much as they wanted. In the mean
time the launch was sent off to the
Bear, which was coming near, and the
Thetis was also close at hand to report
and bring assistance. Capt. Emery
and DIR. Ames and crew came on shore
and a fire was made. The sufferers
were attended to by DR.. Ames, who
served them with plenty of warm milk
and other nourishment, and some of the
party were soon able to stand up and stag
ger about In the meantime Com
mander Schley and some of his officers
had arrived on the scene, and he began
to superintend the removal of the party
to the ships. Stretchers we're brought
on shore and the men carried to the
boats by the blue-iackets. Two men
only were strong enough to be led
down with the assistance of man on
either side of them to the boats. It was
then near midnight. The sun was shin
ing and the wind blowing fierce gale
fortunately off the shore, which kept
the ice, now not far away, from coming
in upon us. We then proceeded with
a good crew from each ship to unearth
the dead bodies and wrap them in blan-
kets over their clothes and take them
to the ships. Ten were buried on
ridge of level ground side by side,
about three hundred yards from camp,
with very high mountain just on the
back. Two others were lying a
little distance below the camp,
the survivors not having strength
enough to bury them with the
rest, making twelve bodies taken
on board the ships. -Four others we're
buried on the ice-pack, near the winter
house, but the ice had broken off and
taken them with it. Edwards, an Es-
quimaux, was drowned while out hunt
ing. It was supposed piece of ice had
cut a hole through his kayak, and it
filled. There were $50 rations left there
by Beebe in 1882. The total number
of deaths since the party reached Cape
Sabine last fall was eighteen. Ellison
was badly frostbitten. Both feet
dropped off at the ankles, and all his
fingers dried up. l saw the doctors
take them off on board the Bear. he
also lost the top of his nose. After he
had been on ship-board few days he
seemed to improve, but in little while
he took another change and went wrong
in the head, finally going to his long
home on the 9Th of June, leaving now
six survivors of the twenty-five that
started out"
AN OLD ExPLoRER's VIEWS.
WASHINGTON, D. c., July 17.-George
KEENAN,, of this city, well-known Arc
tic traveller and author, who has taken
an active interest in the recent attempts
to relieve Lieut.. Greely's party, and
who went before the Arctic Relief
Board last spring to urge the offering
of such a reward as would secure the
cooperation of whalers in the search,
in an interview this evening, said the
disaster to the Greedy party was due to
incompetence at Washington. Il Gree
II had found at the mouth of Smiths
Sound, the shelter and food which he
had right to expect there, he would
probably have brought his entire party
back to the United States in perfect
health after three winters in the
highest northern ATTITUDES that
have ever been reached, and after q
series of sledging campaigns which for
boldness and skillful execution have
rarely if ever been surpassed. It
doubles the grief which must be felt in
the face of such catastrophe to think
that two ships on successive years, and
probably third, were in position to
land stores which would have saved the
lives of those eighteen dead men.
Beebe in 1882 anchored in Payer Har-
Dor just north of Cape Sabine with a
ship full of stores; Darlington the next
summer anchored in the same place,
also with ship full of stores; and a
few days later the Yantic, with four
months provisions on board, was only
thirty miles away. Any one of these
three ships might have landed stores
enough exactly where Greedy
afterward made his winter camp
to have carried that brave party
through; but their commanding officers
were not ordered to do SO and they did
not think of it. It was, of course, 9
terrible shock and disappointment to
him when he failed to find the shelter
and food which he expected; but the
party seems to have faced the terrors OF
an Arctic winter without shelter, fire, OF
adequate food in most heroic way, and
TO have held out to the last with un-
finching courage and tenacity. If q
few hundred more rations could have
been saved from the wreck of the Pro
I, cd %Io -1,,1r