Orleans County monitor. [volume] (Barton, Vt.) 1872-1953, 1884-08-04
GREELY's PARTY FOUND.

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18th ult:
ST. JOINS, N. F., July 17-9 a. M.
To Wm. e. Chandler, Secretary of
the Macy, .JVashington:,
The Thetis, Bear, and Lock Gar
ry arrived here to-day from West
Greenland. All are we'll. We sepa-
rated from the Alert $50 miles north
during gale. At 9 p. m. on June
%, five miles off Cape Sabine, in
Smiths Sound, the Thetis and Bear
rescued the following alive: Lieuten-
ant A. w. Greedy, Sergeant Brain
ard, Sergeant Fredericks, Sergeant
Long, Hospital Steward Beiderback,
Private Connell, Sergeant Ellison.
These are the only survivors of
the Lady Franklin Bay expedition.
Sergeant Ellison had lost both hands
and feet by frost bite, and died July
6, at Godhaven, three days after am
putation, which had become impera-
tive. Seventeen of the twenty
five persons composing this expedi-
ton perished by starvation at the
point where found. One was drowned
while sealing to procure food.
Twelve bodies of the dead were res
cued and are now on board the The
tis and Bear. One Eskimo, Turnevik,
was buried at Disco in accordance
with the desire of the inspector of
western Greenland. Five bodies,
buried in the ice at a fort near the
camps were swept away to the sea
by the winds and currents before my
arrival, and could not be recovered.
Greely abandoned Fort Conger on
August 8, 1888, and reached Baird
Inlet on September 29th following,
with the entire party well. He aban-
doned all his boats and was adrift
for thirty days on an ice-foe in
Smiths Sound. His permanent camp
was established on October 21, 1882.
at the point where he was found.
During nine months his party had to
live upon scant allowance of food
brought from Fort Conger, that
cached at Payer Harbor and Cape
Isabella by Sir George Mares in 1875,
but found much damaged by lapse of
time; that cached by Beebe at Cape
Sabine in 1888, and small amount
saved from the wreck of the Proteus
in 1888, and landed by Lleutenants
Darlington and Colwell on the beach
where Greely's party were found
camped. When these provisions
were consumed the party were forced
to live upon boiled sealskin strips
from their seaiskin clothing, lichens
and shrlmps, preserved in gooC
weather when they were strong enough
to make exertion. AS 1900 shrimps
were required to fill gallon measure,
the labor was too exhausting to de.
pend upon them to sustain life entire.
ly. All Greely's record and all in
struments brought by him from For
Conger are recovered and are OF
board. The Greely party are very
much improved since the rescue, bu
were critical in the extreme whe1
found, and for several days after
Forty-eight hours delay in reaching
them would have been fatal to al
now living. The season north is late
and the closest for years.
w. S. SCHLEY, Commander.
Lieutenant Greely's party having
arrived at Baird Inlet in boats, the,
had to abandon them and foate(
northward, landing at Cape Sabine
where they camped with but a rem
nant of provisions. Here, on Janua
ry l, 1884, Sergeant Cross was tn
first to die. By April the allowance
of rations was so limited that th,
men began to fall off rapidly, ant
but for timely arrival of the ship no
man of them would have survived
On May 4, the winter hut, whicl
was only six feet above high waite
mark, was abandoned, and the part,
moved up the hill on account of tn
dampness from melting snow, ant
lived in wall tent; and here the,
were found on the day of the rescue
which they little thought was so nea
al hand.
While lying in their tent, too ex
hausted to go out in the southwes
gale which was raging, at nine o'clocl
in the evening of June %, something
very like the sound of a steam whis
tie was heard, and Long and Brain
ard were sent to the rocks, where
signal of distress was flying, to Sc
if there was anything in sight. In
tervening hills hid the ships from
view, and they returned disappointed
with their melancholy report. Brain
ard says that this was the bitteres
moment of his life, and that he the
gave up all as lost. Long, not ye
fully satisfied, went out again, AM
climbing to the hill top saw the Bear
steam launch approaching, with tt
ships in the distance. Too overjoye,
to control himself, almost too weal
to stand, he tumbled rather than ra
down the bill to meet his rescuers
and was the first of the party to al
rive on board the ship.
At two a. M, on June IS, W
passed into open water off Cape York
the Aurora leading, the Wolf next
and then the Thetis and Bear. Be
;no rov in q roUion yvhora uo ruiUh