Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1884-08-02
AMONG THE FLOES.
R1cEs ARCTIC sLEDoE JOURNEY.
A Thrilling Tale Dih1enit Marches over
ttu,omcrk. and ON the Frozen Sea.

RICES ARCTIC SLEDGE JOURNEY.
A Thrilling Tsie-DiHienIt Marches over
Hannnccks and ON the Frozen Sea.
Three memorable expeditions were I'M
| icrtaken by the Greedy party rom their
station NJ Fort Conger. on Lady FRANKLIN
bay. one was 10 the north, along the
coast ~ Grinnell Land, by DR.. Pavy and
Sergeant Rice. The second was also 10 inc
north. along the coast Of Greenland, by
! Iienienant Lockwood, in which the point
/ furyfest north was reached. The third
WIS 10 the west, into the interior OF Grin
nell Land, by Lieutenant Greely. In
the first expedition, which consisted
OF Sergeant Rice. DIR. Payy, and Esqni-
msu Jens, the party. after visiting a
/ couple OF caches that bsd been previously
deposit.d along the shore, left the land,
| and travelled in slcdges over the frozen
/ ocean, with theobicct OF getting as Tar north
AS possjbe. The New York Herald saws
| The thrilling incidents OF the journey were
/ carefully noted and most graphically
! described ty Sergeant Rice In his diary.
Nothing can more clearly portray the did,
cUlties and dangers that beset Arctic
travellers. The narrative is here given as
found in the diary taken from the unfor-
tunate explorers dead body:
A DIFFICULT JOURNEY.
We travelled from foe TO foe. through
the bursting walls Of ice, Slip ing and fall
ing on the slippery and uneven footing ~
times and struggling in soft snow at
others oX;ricating the dogs that got
caught up IN the hummock,, and cutting
with axe through the most difficult passa-
res: raising the loaded sledge over icy OBJ
staclcs and lowering it-with insecure foot
ing-on the other side. Then again we
would stumble into treacherous snow
which had creyices and assures, and from
which. standing thigh deep, we had the
greatest difficulty in eXtricatlng the sledec
and landing II again on hard ice We ira
yelled over all the ground twice, 1t being
impossible 10 move at all with more than
bali our load; and the hopeful anticipation
Of reaching at lat the ci-biy-iourth pa
rallcl, that buoyed Us up when Cape Sheri-
dan was left behind, had given way t.
keen appreciation Of the fact that il four
miles per day could be made it would be
all we could expect. This would place uS
at the highest latitude ever attaincd-ior
only twenty-five miles Of ice lay between
us and MaTkham'S firtheSt-au1 we had
twenty DAYS rstionS still uncOnSumed;
but the value Of our trip was fast dcpre-
ciating when we reflected that the differ
encc between the highest point we could
reach and that already attained could give
us little expectation or hope u unlocking
any additional secrets OF tins mysterious
sea.
AMONG THE HUMIOCES.
We were at all times 50 bcsc: and sur
rounded ly hummocks that view OF even
the shortest distance could only be attained
Nv sealing a paleocrvstic berg. After every
short advance Of perhaps fifty or seventy
five yards We world seek IN elevation 10
ascertain where next an opening occurred.
Often Jtns, descending from an lev pima
Gle. would turn 10 IL, and, Withdrawing
his hand from the mittcn and holding II
palm upward, would extend his separated
fingers and shake his head in a hopeless
manner. Never i'm All his existence i'm the
land of desOiation had his eyes met Such a
view. Our observations from different
points soon convinced Us that advance di-
rectly north from Cape Henry was impo1-
siblc, but The route across James Ross bay
toward Cape lIccia appeared 10 be better.
"WATER AHEAD"
At \. VI. April 22d. after drcary
night. during which our sleep was dis
tuIlcd bv the bowling Of the dogs as they
crowded against the tent FOR shelter from q
strong southeast wind that was blowing,
we aroused md prepared 10 start. The
high wind Of the night was followed by
strange, bCwlldcring morning, the atlnos-
phere in an indoiinable condition, which
DESTROYED shadows and distorted heights
and distance, in a strange manner. The
way appeared smooth until our stumbling,
uncertain movements and false estimates Of
distance proved that our eyes could not
be trusted. We carefully advanced, the
conditions gradually becoming more favor
able. until. rs Wc ncared The shore nc Cape
Hoca, Rms cried out, Emerk!" or.
water ahead We paid no attention to his
remark, winch we supposed referred only
TO some tidal crack or local affair. and
were soon astOundcd TO see before Us 4 belt /
81 oEen water extending the whole line OF /
coast from Hecla 10 Henry, and also as far
~ we could see toward Cape Columbia.
TO the north also there was an open space /
Of water indicated by the heavy water
clouds that hung over the place. the /
water in front Of us was at least half a mile /
wide. and ice Of considerable weight and F.
drau.bt was sailing toward CIpc Henry
with the tide. The Doctor. by planting /
sticks and tsking bearings on the land, /
soon proved that the foe was piyo,ing and /
swinging from the shore.
SEEKING ESCAPE.
As usual. we had only h1lf orr effects
on the Sledge. We deposited these aud re-
turned to our camp for the others. Rolch-
ing the open water again, we found il hal
widenod. After watching for some time
i'm hopes Of q favorable change in the move
meut OF The ice. we decided that our only
chance Of ccttir of the foc was at Cape
Joseph Henry, where, from our distant
view, tie ice appeared TO touch the land.
With light slcdge, selecting only our most
valuable effects or rather those most neces-
SaTy TO our prcseryation-wc started for
the CAPE. and 10y very forced march AZ
rived near there at halfpa,t p.
NJ, 20 find the water extending
around Cape Joseph Henry, and also
to the northeast o. lar a. we could see. We
could DO nothing more in any direction,
end. This part Of the Hoe Appearing most
Likely to connect Itself with the lanl, We
concluded to make it our headquarters AMI
keep in readiness 10 fake advantage OF The
iir,t chance for landing. We melt some
ice to quonch our thirst, feel the dogs, and
th,n select Tie most substantial loo King part
Of The iloe-near The cdgc-whcrc we can
he close enough for a dash ashore should
Offer, and at the same time siic
from The possible breaking up Of the mar
cln Of the ice. IL next occurred TO Us
that our near future might be stay
Of months on the foe, in which
case ali cur provisions would not be too
much The Doctor and JonS then started
to return 10 the northern end OF our trick
ht Cape llocla to bring that which We had
al anGoncd. Two only were required 70
90 over the broken road; in fact, for all 81
us 20 20 would reduce the chances for IN
OCCASIONAL ride on the empty slcdge going
out. The writer was at the time rather
heavily handicapped with a hand which
lad received a recent severe cut, and
stayed behind. As il was necessary tina.
lookout should he kept. | was to get some
rest. 50 rs 20 20 on watch on the return Of
my companions. They left me at : =.
NJ The weather was then calm and plea
sant. / had no shelter tne tent was par:
of The load Tor which they had returned,
tut rs soon as | could give up the con-
temptation Of our wiHcr UuprOmising sur
roupdings ! crawlcd into my sleeping-bag,
which | aid on the ice under the lee OF 4
han mock.
~ ARCTIC STORM,
When I turned in tie .ky Was fair, with
he exception oi the heavy whereabouts
BAT hung 30 the north and west. | do not
know how long slept, but was awakened