Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1884-08-19
NEW ARCTIC REGIONS
,xxeLoRED By ohEEErsP AaTr.
xssseA on The Exsedisiea's Work presrs o.

xtsseA on he Exscdisiep's Work Preefs o.
an 0pra Ses BEYOND the Desert Of ice.
A Portsmouth. N. H., Telegram Of the
18th says: For the purpose 81 obtaining
some idea Of the general nature and props.
bic vaiuw cf The scientific obseryaiions
made by Lieutenant Grcely NJ Lazy fssns rams,
lin bsy an Associated Press agent visited
the lieutenant at his cottage, on Seayeys
IsIsnd. SATURDAY afternoon. He was very
cofdfalIv received by Lieutenant 1reely,
ana when he stated the object OF his visit
the lieutenant ri once willingly consented
n civs ali information desired. Lieutenant
(,reely first stated TIE object OF the Lady
Franklin bay cxpcditien--viz.: To estab-
Iieh at Lady Franklin bay polar station,
one az The thirteen suggested by Lieutenant
Weyprechf. 81 Austria, who discovered
Franz josef Land. Simultaneous observa-
tons Of all physical phenomena were
ia he taken. The complete programme
which was 10 be followed was ar
ranged by an international polir con-
gress, IN which representatives Of thirteen
nations took part. The observations In
which The greatest possible accuracy was TO
he had were those Of defamation and deyia-
zion Of the magnetic needle, temperature
Of the air aud sea, height OF barometer, AID
mean and maximum rise and fall OF tides.
Au explorations were Incidental 10 the
main objects Of the expedition. The ex.
pediiion was fitted out under authority OF
an act OF Congress approved May ], 1880.
The marty was composed Of three officers
OF the army, one acting assistant surgeon,
and nineteen enlisted men selected by re-
commcndation from the ranks OF the army.
Stores fer tweniy-seyen months were put
on the Protcus for the pariy. The protens
steamed away from ST. Johns. n. f., July
Z. 1881, with the party on bosrd. She
touched at Disco Island and Upe-nayk to
procure sledges, dogs, SKINS. and dog food.
Two Esqlmaux were added to the party al
Proven. Landing was made at Carey
Island in the north water, and pro-
visions cached by Mares IA 1875 in the
Alert were found In good condition. At Lit
Teton Island Lieutenant Greely personally
recovered the English Arctic mail left by
Sir Allan Young in the Pandora IN 1876.
At Carl Ritter bay. In Kennedy channel.
cache OF provisions for use OF the retreat
was made. II was the original intention 10
establish the Polar station at Water Course
bay. but the heavy masses OF lee which
were encountered rendered Water Course
bay an exceedingly dangerous anchorage.
Moving 20 Discovery Hsrbor the station
was there established on The site occupied
by IN, English expedition OF 1875. The
erection OF house was at once commenced,
and The stores and equipments were landed.
On the 10th OF August came the parting be-
tween the Grecly party and the men OF the
Proieus. The little party gathered on the
frozen shore and watched the Proteus rs
she steam cd slowly down Lady Franklin
bay, leaving them 10 the mcrcies OF the
cruel North. On the evening Of the same
day fle temperature sank below the freeZ-
ing point. and
THE lCY ARCTIC WINTER
was on them IN earnest. Their house was
finished about a week after the Proteus
left. II was named in honor OF Senator
Conger Fort Conger." During the first
month the cold affected the men more than
at any subsequent time at Fort Conger.
Later on, in December, the temperature
sank from 80 70 60 degrees below zero, and
so remained for days at time: but even In
that weather the cooks fuyorite amusement
was dancing bareheaded, barearmed, and
with slppcTed feet on the top OF a snow
drift. During the day the men dressed IN
ordinary outside clothing. but their fan
nes were very heavy. Five OF the men
were generally for part Of the day en-
gagged IN scientific work under Lieutenant
Grcely's direction. and in the duties Of the
camp the rest Of the men were employed
generally about one hour day, and de-
voted the remainder Of the time TO
amusement. All slept in hunks. The
quarters were heated by a large coal
stove. the average heat maintained
being fifty degrees above zero. Playing
checkers. cards. and chess. aud reading were
the amusemeDts Of the evening. The life
was said by Lieutenant Greedy 10 be far
from lonely one, and many 81 the men
sad they bad never passed two happier |
years tbah those spent at Fort Conger. On |
the 18th Of October the sun left them for |
135 days, and twilight, varying from half |
an hour TO twenty-fOur hours, succeeded. |
For TWO months il was so dim that the dial !
Of a watch could not be read by it. on |
April 18th the sun came down above the
horizon aud remained there 1875 days, Civ
ing the party great suilicency OF midnight
SUM-. During three months the stars were
visible constantly. the consultations OF
Orion's Belt and the Great Bear being the
brightest. The north star looked DOWN
from almost overhead. Standing alone !
outside the fort on one OF these nights |
the scene was weirdly grand. TO |
the north famed the aurora borealis
and the bright consultations were set, like
jewels, around the glowing moon. Over
everything was dead silence. so horribly
oppressive that a man alone is almost
tempted TO kill himself. so lonely does lie
feel The astronomer Of the party said
that with the naked eve a star OF one de-
gree smaller magnitude than can be seen
here in the same way might he discerned.
The moon would remain in sight for from
eleven 10 twelve DAYS nj tine. Their.
mometer registered on June so. 1882. the
highest temperature at Lacy Franklin bay
which we knew during our stay. II was
- degrees below zero. The lowest was in
February, 1883. and was sc degrees below
zero. In This February our mercury froze
and reDlaincd solid for S.t(en DAYS, so In
tense was the cold. The mercury IN the
thermometer invariably rose during storms
or high winds. The highest barometer was
slightly above thirty-Onc inches, and the
lowest slightly below twenty nine inches,
showing great range. The greatest
variations were in winter. The electro
meter, an Instrument used TO ascertain the
pressure OF electricity, was set up; but, TO
the establishment Of Lieutenant Grcely. not
the slightest results were obtline'
displays Of aurora were vo- Ibe |
10 te compared ...y good, bet not |
Is,s~" ,, ,hosc 500, a, Disco |
-vr Uperrayik. As far as Lieutenant
Nnfly could observe, no cracking SOUND !
accompanied the displays. and the genera! |
shane was that Of ribbon. The south |
westerly horizon was the quarter in which
the brightest displays were seen. Sir
George Mares reported in 1876 that no
shadow was cast by the aurora. but Lieu
tenant Gr,ely says that he distinctly OBJ
served his shadow cast by II. There were
no electrical disturbances save those mani
sesied by rumbling. OF distant thunder.
heard fwic. far awS to the north. In
tue course OF
TIE TIDAL OBSERVATIONS
made very interesting fact was discover
ed-yiz., that the tides at Lady Franklin
bay come from the north, While those at
Melville bay and Cape Sabine come from
the south. The temperature OF this north
tide is two degrees warmer than that OF the
south THE at Cape Sabine. Why this was
Lieutenant Greely would no. venture 10
state. He used in measuring the ebb and
1ow Of the tides a fixed gauge-an iron rod
planted in the mud. The average rise OF
spring tides at Lady franklin bay was found
TO be eight feet. At Cape Sabine the bigh-
est tides rise twelve feet. Surf was only
observed twice during the two years. AT
Lady Franklin bay the average tempera-
ture o. the water WAS 2eo above zero, or %
below the freezing point. Wolves weigh
ing ninety pounds were killed around Fort
COnger. and there are foxes and other AMI
mails there. OF tish there IL a wonderful scar
city. Perhaps the greatest surprise OF the ex-
petition was the taking from Lake Alex
ander a fresh water lake fifteen feet above