The Kimball graphic. (Kimball, Brule County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1905, 1885-01-16
GREELY,s RESCUE.
Commodore sch1sy's Report Of the Arctic
Keller Expedition.

N0SASAO oSiAOy A0o W
the secretary of the navy his report up
the Greedy relief expedition. Much
OF the information contained therein
has already been published, but many
interesting details are given. Commo-
dore Schley graphically describes the
yoyageo Of the three vessels composing
the expedition, and the circumstances
attending the finding of the surviving
members of Greely's party. Lieut..
Greedy was found in his sleeping bag.
his body inclined forward, and heau
resting upon his left hand. The book
Of Common Prayer was open and held
IN his right hand. He appeared
to be reading prayers to Private Con
nell, whose condition vas most desperate
and critical. The latter was cold to the
waist; all sensation of hunger gone;
was speeches. and breathless; his eyes
were fixed and CLASSY. Indeed. the
commodore says his weakness was such
that it was with diff guilty he swallowed
the stimulants given him by DR.. Green
and Ames. His Jaws had dropped; his
heart was barely pulsating, and his bod
lily temperature was very low. This
tender scene of a helpless, almost fam
ished officer ~consoling a dying compan-
ion was IN itself one that broug hit tears
to the eyes of the strongest and stout
est of those who stood about them on
the merciful errand Of relief. Sergts.
Brainard and Frelricks and Hospital
Steward Bierderbeck were extremely
weak, and hardly able to stand. They
were no longer able to venture away
from their camp to seek food, not to
prepare their simple diet of boiled seal
skin, nor to collect lichens, nor to catch
Hhrimps, upon which they bad to de-
pend to a great extent to sustain life,
Their faces, hands and limbs weres wol-
len to such an extent that they, could not
be recognized. This indicated that the
entire party had but q short life prob
ably not more than 4S hours at most
This fact was recognized by them all,
and had como to them from their ex-
perience, during that long and desolate
winter, in watching their dying com
panions, as one after another passed
away from among them forever
Poor Sergt. Ellison was found il
his sleeping bag, where he had lar
helpless and hopeless for months, will
hands and feet frozen off. Strapped
to n OF the stumps was found a spoon.
which some companion had secured
there to enable him to feed himself
His physical condition otherwise ap
peared to be the best Of any of the sur
vivors. and this may be attributed tt
the fact that each of his companion:
had doled out to him from their small
allowance of food something to hell
him, on account of his complete help
lessness. Lieut.. Greedy was PHYSICAL.
the weakest, but mentally the most Wig
orous, of his party. He had lain in hi
sleeping bag for weeks, on account o
his gradually failing strength. He wa
unable to stand alone for any length O
time, and wal almost helpless, ex
cept at a sitting posture. All pang
of hunger had ceased: his appear
ance was wild; his hair was long and un
kept; his face and hands were covere
with sooty black dirt; his body wa
scantily covered with WORKOUT clothes
his form was wasted, his joints wer
swollen and his eyes were sunken. Ii
first inquiry was if they were not En-
glishmen, but, when he was told tina
We We're his own countrymen he pause
for q moment, as if rejecting, then said
"And I am glad to see you" The cor
dition of his camp was in keeping wit
the scenes inside his tsnt-despernt
and desolate. The bleak baroness {
the spot, over which the wild Arcti
birds would not fly; the row Of grave
on a little ridge 100 feet away, with th
. protxuding heads and feet OF those late
ly bHried, a sad, but silent, witness t
the daily increasing weakness of the littl
band of survivors: the deserted winte
quarters in the hollow below, with il
broken wall, invaded by the water frol
the melting snow and ice above it; th
dead bodies of two companions street.-the
on the ice foot that remained; the scat
tered and worn-out clothes and sleepin
bags OF the dead: the absence of a
food save a few cupfuls of boile
sealskin scraps; the wild and weir
scene Of snow, ice and glaciers, owe,
looking and exchanging this domest;
camp, completed a picture rs ~startlin
as it was impressive. The report d.
scribes the exhuming of the bodies of IL
dead, and the method OF their indent
ication and preparation for transport:
ton to St. Johns. While preparin
the bodies, it was found that six
them-Lieut. Kislingbury, Sergts. Je1
ell land Ralstan, Privates Whistler, Hei
-. - Lt11,, Lnl l,,a~ ant n,,1 ~
Heshy parts removed, to a greater
less extent. All the other bodies We
found intact. When the bodies of Il
dead were exposed in preparing ther
the identification wa found to be con
plete. "Some of them," the comm
dore continues, ''could be recognize
by the aid of pictures taken with
from home. Others, whose featur
had decayed, were identified by 9th
characteristics. [ am therefore SAT-
fed that no mistake was made in til
important matter, which SO Impress
us from the beginning" Commodo
Schley speaks highly of the Dund
whalers, to whom he was indebted f
much valuable information. The of
GERS and crews of the expedition a
greatly praised, Lieut. Emory, cor
mander of the Bear, being special
mentioned. The success of the expeG
ton, the commodore says in conclusio
was made possible by the munificen
of Congress and the ~uneeasing ener'
of the secretaries of war and the nav
The total cost Of the expedition W
$750,000.