The new North-west. [volume] (Deer Lodge, Mont.) 1869-1897, 1886-07-30
ARCTIC EXPERIENCES.
SOME or THE HORRORS ENDURED
BY GREELY'S EXPEDITION.

The despair That OvertaIkes Men In the
Regions of Everlasting Ice-Loss of
Hope-A Signal from the Sea-Tkrough
Long and Weary Waiting
Lieut.. Greely rarely speaks of his Arctic
experiences, But when he does plain
statement of facts is the only eloquence re-
quired to convey an impression of the full
ness of the horrors endured by his party.
They lay herded together beneath
canvas stretched but three feet above the
skin bags containing them. Night, starva-
ton, and cold kept them company all that
long winter. Three men occupied each
bag. One could not turn over without the
other two shifting places also. The bags
were all frozen to the ground. Fifteen de-
grees below freezing point was the maxi
mum temperature for many months
Lieut.. Lockwood should share with Greely
the glory of the expedition. Obedient to
command, the former was sent forward
against his own advice. He returned a
hero, having reached the point farthest to
the north ever attained. A frozen sea
stretched beyond to the ice-bound horizon.
Lieut.. Harber, of another expedition,
gives an idea of the despair that attends
men in those regions of everlasting ice. On
one occasion his party had moored their
boat to the shore. They remained in this
position for several days, hoping thus to
escape unusual seventies. On making OBJ
servations at the end of this waiting they
found that they had been carried five
miles to the north. Their moorage was
floating ice instead of terra firma.
THE PRECURSOR OF DEATH.
"In situation like ours loss of hope
means loss of life," says Lieut.. Greely.
"When poor Lockwood crawled to my bag
and whispered his despair knew it to be
the precursor of death. 1t was invariably
So" One by one they dropped off. The
end seemed to be at hand for all of them.
Provisions were exhausted. They ate
their boots and devoured the filthy skins
that had covered them during the winter
The Arctic spring had brought them sea-
weed and dirninutive shrilnps, but no
strength. The survivors lay beneath their
covering, with frightful hurricane shak-
ing the canvas like a death-rattle.
All hope was gone. No! "That Is sig
nal from the sea-" whispered Greely. Each
one heard it, but all save he doubted The
others declared family that it was only the
call of a sea-llon. The least exhausted
crawled to reconnoiter. He never re-
turned. The wind howled savagely,
louder and louder, and finally tore down
the canvas, covering the unconscious bod
les as if with a shroud Their comrade.
overcome with joy at finding the rescuers
had refused to stir from their boat. Leav-
ing him there, they made the search alone,
thus causing hours of suspense for the dy-
ing men.
Though weary waiting, Mrs. Greely
never despaired of her husbands return
Like poor Lady Franklin, her great devo-
ton sustained her. The love for and of
woman like her might well support man
through desperate trials Beautiful chill
dren, too, one stranger to the father,
aatt aaettr tss bS tbeif getaaaEas aaas sdee sdeentNy Yrs 81
character. These constitute her great
charm. The sight of this young couple in
their happy home is most eloquent i'll
bringing to ones imagination the full
pathos and JOY of their reunion after the
agonizing separation of years. @I would
not endure the misery of that period
again" says Mrs. Greely, @for all the fame
and glory that man ever enjoyed. Wash
ington Cor Chicago Tribune