Omaha daily bee., 1900-12-16
RELlCSOF ANARCTIC TRAGEDY
Packets Of the Gresly Expedition Brought
to This Country and Opened.
PATHos OF THE HARSH lCEBoUND uF
Personal Effects Found by Lieutenant
Peary Eight Degrees from tho
POle-Letters Telling How
Greely's Men Lived There.
Copyright, 1900. by r. 8. Bakery

Copyright, 1900 by r. 8. Bakery
Last winter there came to New York q
number Of heavy wooden boxes, iron bound
and water proof They were directed to
the secretary of the Peary Arctic club, Fl.
l.. Bridgman. and they had come direct from
an icy hillside only little more than eight
degrees from the north pole For many
miles they had been drawn on dog sedges
over vast desert-like stretches OF ice pack;
they had been loaded In Pearys ship, the
Windward, then frozen fast in the ice, and
nnally, after weeks OF sailing, they had
reached New York City. In February, 1900.
they were opened In Mr.. Bridgman's home
In Brooklyn in the presence Of small
company Of whom the writer was one
The matter has been kept private up to the
present.
In the course Of Lieutenant Peary's dash
TO the pole he had reached, In 1899, a point
IN latitude S1:111 north marked on the
maps Fort Conger. Here In 1881 the IA
nous but ill-fated Lady Franklin Bay
expedition, under Lieutenant A. w. Greedy.
(now General Greedy, chief Of the United
States Signal service). had made its head
quarters, and from this camp Lieutenant
j. b. Lockwood had made dash for
the pole. attaining point which for some
time was the "farthest north" In this
far north camp Greedy and his men re-
mained until 1889, waiting and longing for
the expected relief. and finally from its pro-
lection the little party set out southwark
In despair over the ice fields, hoping ia
meet the relief ship which was to have
come long before, The horror Of that
Journey and the desperate wait which fol-
lowed at Cape Sabine is familiar Arctic
history. The winter deepened, the pro-
visions OF the little party slowly disap-
peared the men began to fall sick and
month after month OF terrible cold and
loneliness added to their hopelessness
Finally the men began to die, One was
shot for stealing provisions. There were
horrible stories of meals made on human
flesh, and finally just as the life was flick
ering from those who still lived, the rescue
party appeared in June. 1884 One mar
died after he reached the relief ship. ant
Of all the expedition only its commander
Lieutenant Greely. and six men lived Il
reach civilization.
Finding of the Relics.
when Lieutenant Peary and his part.
reached Fort Conger, in 1899. they found
II Just as Lieutenant .Greely had left 4
sixteen years before. Here Peary fount
al the personal effects Of the men as they
had left them when they set out to seel
the relief ship. Some OF the boxes Dor,
Inscriptions. often sadly humorous In the
light of what followed.
M Connell, International Polar expedi
tion. Latitude Sl;44:1l. Longitude 64; As
Effects not very valuable. 'Tis distance
lends enchantment to the view"
On the trunk Of Sergeant Israel Of Michi
gan. university man, by the way, and Al
able fellow. who died Of starvation In hi
sleeping bag, was written:
ANY party visiting this station in tn
future IL welcome to the clothing. etc. Il
the two trunks In the west leanto. shoul