The National tribune. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1877-1917, 1889-11-28


sor, with rank of Commodore in the Navy, and
| | had known the young man from his early
! boyhood. In this way have been enabled to
obtain the copy of the transcribed diary that |
speak of, and from the pages Of which / shall
draw as literally rs space will allow, to let the
/ dead hand tell its own ptiful story.
Friday, Aug. 3, 1SS3.-Still no ship" He
writes at Fort Conger. Kennedy Channel is
reported rs having good deal of loose ice
| drifting south"
This drift was important to the oe-belea-
guered explorers. for it gave hopes that relief
could reach aud rescue them
ave ate the last of the -four this morning at
| breakfast" he continues, "and now have only
| hard bread and cornmeal. The fresh meat has
| been gone some time, and now pork and canned
corncd beef comprise the meat. The latter is
| not good, being dry and tasteless, aud the
| former worse than tho latter. We have n little
canned roast beef In few cans), which will be
used going south, with pcmmieau, pork" etc.
This is the first he writes of the gradual
| diminishing of the food supply of the expedi-
| ton, and slightingly as he writes here OF the
| food on hand, how much he aud all his com
| rades would have given of this worlds goods
| only brief three months later for few more
| cans of the despsed corn beef, or even pork !;
| while only six months later even half a dozen
of the cans or half hundred pounds OF tho
| pork would have saved half at least, IL not all,
| of the lives that were lost.
| The next day he writes: "No ship and no
chance OF a ship as things are now, nor any
| chance of our leaving, though | think Lieut..
/ now Brig. Gen. Greedy will make the attempt
even with very poor prospect. Personally |
| would rather take almost any chance that offer
| cd than stay here another long Winter night.
| "The ship is the only subject of discussion
now among the men. / say little or nothing.
| being satisfied TO wait | think that if we had
| lots of fresh meat and few hundred good
| books could survive another Winter here; un-
der the circumstances do not"
| I'll OF the books in the library, secular aud
scientific, had been read and Fe.read. and even
/ the men not versed in natural philosophy
or mathematics, had taken up these studies
under the instruction of Gen. Greedy aud
| Lieut.. Lock wood, to kill time.
august ga very heavy gale from the south
| Ioosened aud broke up the pack ice To such
| an extent that Kennedy Channel was cleared,
| aud immediate preparations were made TO leave,
1 aud the next day tho whole party set out on
the retreat 10 the soutward to Try and reach the
| Danish settlements in Greenland or meet a
| coming vessel"
Thence onward the pages tell Of tho daily
| battle with ice aud cold aud storm; of crushing
| mountains OF glacial. resistiessly forcing
| their way through fields of huge hummocks;
| of paleocrystic foes that Invited the escaping
boats into wide seams OF open water only To
| close in threatened destruction by nipping the
| fral craft like eggshells beneath mighty
| sledge.
Al last, when the struggling party had reach
| ell Cape Sabine. ut point on the west shore Of
| Smiths Sound nearly opposite Cape Lyttletou
/ twhere they expected to find stores of pro-
| visions aud clothing), q landing Was made, and
/ very the landing point the hut was built
| that was called Camp Clay, where most of the
! gallant members of the expedition ended their
| lives as this one did from whose lines | write.
This landing was made Sept 90 1888. and
| tho survivors OF the party, nine in all, We're
| rescued June % in the following year by the
| relief expedition commanded by Commander
/ Winfield Scott Sohey, u. s. Navy, who is now
| a Captain. Eighteen men had persisted from
starvation. and OF the nine rescued two died on
| board the rescuiug vessels day or two after.
| Had tho gallant Schlcy been man Of less en-
crgy, pluck and determination in forcing his
| way through the hindering aud dangerous ice,
or had he been less ably supported by his subor-
| dmate commanders aud other officers, so that
| his arrival ut tho camp had been delayed only
/ three days later, il is improbable that single
| man would have been found alive TO tell the
| story.
! oh tho dreadful bitterness of that long,
| Arctic night of Winter. with Its daily tale OF
| hopeless suffering! No tongue or pen eau tell
| tho awful story, nor can the imagination even
cope with its horror, yet the pathOs Of the lines
1 my brave dead friend has left will thrill every
] heart that has the least sympathy for human
| suffering, aud l doubt if any man lives who
| could read these pages before me without a
deeper feeling of gratitude for tho blessings no
| is enjoying on tile day this paper starts ON its
way to its many thousand homes all over this
| beloved land.
| Lockwood's daily story tells of the dangers
in reaching shore, and the severe labor involved
| in landing the boats and the remaining stores
OF food, and OF how the party set TO work at
| once to build hut to shelter them from the
| piercing blasts and biting cold of Winter in the
far North. This work was completed Oct 20.
and on tho same day the p officers and men
moved into what was TO most of them their Inst
1 home in life.
As early ms this date. the diminishing rations,
| which had already been reduced in the daily
allowances, began to trouble the minds of the
party, and on Oct. 10 Lockwood significantly
writes:
"All complain of being chilled through. We
are unable TO stand the cold by reason of short
| Iations"
The next day tOct. 2l) he says of the ration
allowance: "The rations arc now one pound OF
| eorned beef eight ounces of hard bread, and one
aud IA half ounces potatoes. Our constant talk is
about something to eat and the different dishes
| we have enjoyed or hope to enjoy, when we
1 get back To civilization. How often our
thoughts turn toward home and the dear ones
there"
Think of that heart.moan, you who have
your dear ones with you this Thanksgiving
Day" We are hungry all the time"
or course the little band could not know off,
| cialiy of the day President Arthur had set that
year for Thanksgiving Day, but they naturally
| nxpected 1t to DO the last Thursday in Noyem-
Der, according to the unwrittea law of custom,
and so fixed upon Nov. 30 as the date on which
they would, IN manner, observe that peculiarly
American holiday.
The first mention Lockwood makes of the
coming holiday is in the entry of Oct. 80,
| when he gives the schedule of the further re.
duced daily rations to make them last until
March !, 1884, and says: Twelve pounds (of
meat food) are kept over for Thanksgiving and
Christmas. Extra allowance for Thanksgiving
and Christmas" At that date no death had
occurred. so the reader will readily sue what a
grand feast that IL pounds Of extra meat was to
provide for two festive days for % men, who
were already hungry all the time"
The daily ration allowance that he gives
was Fourand one. half ounces of meat (roast