New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1884-03-27
PPEPARLyG FoR THE ARCTIC.

! Good Judgment and intelligence are dis
| PLAYED in the preparations for the Greedy
| search. The expedition being under the con-
troll of the Navy Department, there is unity OF
direction with q thorough supervision OF de-
| tails One of the three ships is nearly ready
| for sea, having been Overhauled in dry dock
| and materially strengthened The survivors
| of the Jeanette have made many practical sug-
| gestions and the Bear has been braCed and pro-
tected in various parts where the strain OF the
| ice will be likely to be most severe. The iron
| forefoot, in particular, has been strcng thened,
and iron bands have been riyeted over the stem,
| this having been a weak place in the jean
nettes armor. Painstaking care has also been
! taken in making the deck house where the crew
will eat and sleep warm and comfortable. The
Bear will go North thoroughly equipped for
| the arduOus and dangerous service upon which
| she is about to enter. The Thetis and the Alert
will be fitted out with equal diligence and
sagacity. The expedition is expected TO COM
| plete its work in q single season, returning to
| New-York early in the autumn The cOntin
| gencies of Greclys fate require, however,
preparations for cruise of two years. a
| Journey in open boats or sledges from the ice
barrier in Smith Sound to Lady Franklin Sound
may be necessary and this may put two OF the
three ships in winter quarters.
| The small boats and sledges carried on the
Bear are especially designed for this journey
I'D Smith Sound There are five whale-bOats
and three dories. OF the three boats which
| were dragged across the ice from the wreck of
| the Jeanette the whale-boat proved the most
serviccable. 1t was drawn most readily in
| "a f,,rbn A,I HNtoc
| more easily managed than the two cutters in
| the storm off the Lena Delta. That whale
| boat was about twenty five feet in length, had
one mast and carried a dipping lug sail. The
Bears whale boats are modelled closely after 1t,
| two of them being three feet longer and the
| others foot shorter. The runners made for
| these boats and for the dOries are lighter and
| stronger than those previously used i'll the
| Arctic The slcdges are also malkable Ior
| simplicity and lightness. In these respects the
| outfit of the Bear is as complete aud ingenious
as the most experienced explorer could desire.
The English expedition of 1875 was the last
one which was exposed to the ravages of scuryy,
the old time Arctic scourge. Baron Nordcns-
| ki0ld took great pains in selecting the stores
for the Vega and in varying the diet of the
officers and crew, aud had the satisfaction Of
carrying the ships company through tedious
| wintering near the pole of Siberian cold with
clean bill Of health. The Ezra, under Leigh
Smith, had similar good fortune, and with the
execution of a few cases of sickness caused by
improperly canned meats and vegetables, the
lamented De Long had the satisfaction of re-
cording uniform health and vigor on board ship
during his prOtracted cruise. The stores pur-
chased for the present expedition not only in
clude all the best known preventves of scurvy
and the most nutritious elements OF diet for
high latitudes, but also "a large assortment of
what Sir John Fr,nklns companions would
have considered tropical Injuries. The ex-
tension of the canning and preserving trades
fupplies an Arctic table with varied diet
which ought TO have most beneficial effect
upon the health of officers and men. Penn
mcan remains, however, the standard food.
Lieutenant Colwell says that last year he could
not learn to like it. no matter how it might be
| cooked. 1t is probable that single wintering
would have developed strong taste for It,.
| The Jeannotte's men landing Oh Bennett Island
during the retreat across the ice, found the
| birds so thick and tame that they could fairly
| knock them down with stick. For day or
two they toasted their dry bread and rejoiced in
| savory messes of game and then they went
, back greedily TO their pemmicun. The quantity
| of pemmican ordered for the expedition is
] smaller in proportion TO other st9Iea than II