The Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1877-1885, 1885-01-02


Arctic colony, covering holiday week and
View Years day, spent at Cape Sabine.
these extracts give a continuation of the
tory OF the starvation of the party, and tell
,f various devices resorted to by them to
overcome the pangs of hunger and to while
away the tedium of their existence Begin-
ling with Dec 26, the day after Christmas.
when they breakfasted "late" on SCUM made
If seal blubber AMI supped on English
meat the record is carried down to the
light of Jan. l.
On Dec. IS the thermometer w"s at minus
% ana some rope was brought in and cut
lp tof fuel. He says in his entry: "The
house was exceedingly quiet, today. and
most OF the forenoon passed with everyone
fown In the sleeping bags; little or nothing
said; no particular reason for this quiet
For breakfast they hal chocolate, bread and
butter, and for supper fox stew. In the
evening they talked about the quantity
d fuel left them, and found they
had sixteen hardwood barrels on hand.
Long said If the wood did not last they
could cook with seal blubber. Here Lieut..
Lockwood writes: "Lieul Greedy seemed
obliged to look on the dark side of things,
and directed Sergt. Brainerd to issue ten
pounds of blubber for experiment This is
unfortunate, as it will diminish our food by
that much blubber" He writes also: "I am
eking out my tobacco with tea, to-day.
found two or three small pieces of raw fox,
mere scrap' on the floor, and, crushing the
1ampness off, ate them with great satsfac
ton. Ohio was discussed this evening"
On Dec. 20 the Thermometer was minus 81
and his memorandum says: "The food topic
of the party is cold breast of veal, stuffed
In his entry he speaks of trading between
members of the party of one article of food
Tor another, and of portion of another
lays He closes the paragraph with: "a
good deal OF talking was DONE but not many
solid trades were made.h He writes also:
There is now a Rerceptible difference in the
amount of light; only two more days of this
year, thank God" With respect to the pro-
posal to experiment with seal blubber for
fuel, he says Lieut. Kislingbury protested,
and that he LOCKWOOD also took occasion to
express his disapproval of the proposition.
On the next day, Dec. So he writes that
trading in food continued until late hour,
and that one bargain was struck at 3o'clock
in the morning. He writes: Morning came
At last Some lin consequence of trading
the day before had great deal more than
they could eat with comfort, and some had
much less. One result of my bargaining was
that had something more than one-third of
my plate Of son Of a gum la bread
stew which seems to have been
in great favorl and one-fourth of my
coffee, but then 1 had almost twelve ounces
If bread AM one ounce of butter"
10 he af ayin IF oil
for New Years Day and days ration Of
rum for the night before New Years, SO as
to drink the old year out. He writes also on
this day: "Very little conversation to-day.
Full meals seem to have the effect OF in
iucing silence, the party lying down and en-
joying comfortable repose. 1t is singular
how warm. a good meal makes me-"
"Cracked wheat with honey and milk, was
the food topic of the day.
On Dec. 81 he writes that the thermometer
is minus 81 but that before it vas minus "a
in the house. Breakfast this day was ox-tail
SOUP and supper of English meat. Party
suffered from cold feet He closes the entry
for this day with these words: "How glad we
are that the end of the year has been reached
again can hardly be explained. Rice expects
to start across about the end of January"
The entry for New Years day is as fol-
lows "Jan. l, Tuesday-Day passed in bags
Lieut. Greely came over and paid me visit
shortly after breakfast. He told me that
the doctor had made overtures to make al
lowance flor offensive remarks made some
time agol ami that he had declined He told
lie, also, ehet ,oI.Ie GTme ago he felt certain
the doctor was eating up, during the night,
Corp. Ellison's allowance Of bread. Was
within two and one half feet of the doctor at
the time, and would swear to the fact before
court He thought it right to mention the
fact to Brainerd, but had said nothing to
any one else about 1t. This, as
we'll as former matters, he should
make the subject of a report to the
proper authorities. He told me that Ellison's
hands and feet were suppurating fast; hat
amputation would have to be performed,
but that nothing would be attempted here,
but at Lttleton island We have all been
feeling remarkably high-spirited to-day, on
the coming of the new year, and this even
ing all seemed hopeful. We now speak fire.
quently of getting home this year. The con-
dition of the party is far superior to any
thing l expected, and the future bids vol to
come out all right" "How my thoughts
| wander homeward to dear ones there-are Q
they thinking of mel"