The Minneapolis journal. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn.) 1888-1939, 1904-03-29
MELVILLE ONLY
SURVIVOR LEFT.
DEATH OF MANSON OF THE ILL
FATED BENNETT EXPEDITION.
How His Life Was Saved by Shift
from One Boat to Another Because
OF OvercroWding-His Death Trace.
able to Hardships Encountered
After the Loss of the Jeanette-A
Pensioner of the Government.
Special to. The Journal.

Special to The Journal.
Gladstone, Mich, March 29.-With the
death of Frank q. Manson at Manistique,
where he had made his home for many
ing survivor of the ill-fated arctic expe-.
dition commanded by belong. This is
Rear Admiral George w. Melville. Man
sons death was directly due to his har-
rowing experiences In the arctic. Long
crippled with rheumatism since five years
ago. when he, was stricken with paralysis,
he had been practically helpless. Aside
from medal of honor. congress some
years ago granted him a pension Of $780,,
which only few weeks ago was increased
to $72 a. month. & l3as,s .,ss
Lieutenant Belongs expedition sailed
from San Francisco on July S, 1879 In
the steamer Jeanette, formerly the Pan.
purchased and placed at the disposal Of
the explorers. The crew was selected
from the navy, which Manson had Joined
year or two before. The steamer passed
thru Boring straits the last Of August
headed for Wrangel land. Two months
later she was caught in an ice pack near
Herald island On Jan. 10 the boat was
so badly squeezed that her timbers were
sprung, and for the purpose Of saving fuel
Admiral Melville, at that time engineer,
constructed q windmill to operate the
pumps. During the whole Of that sum-!
mer Q880) the Jeanette was held tightly
in the ice, and on June H. 1881, the craft
was broken In two by the pressure and
went down.
Turn to the south.
Prior to that time all Of the provisions
and some other supplies had been moved
to foe, and the expedition started for
the south with the hope Of reaching the
Siberian coast. The party suffered great
privations but finally, reached an: island
which was christened Bennett island, fn
honor OF the sponsor Of the expedition.
Open water having been discovered to the
southwark, the three boats were launched
various published accounts Of the expedi-
ton, Manson's name appears among the
crew of the second cutter, which crew was
never heard of after the boats separated.
However, after Manson had taken his
place in the boat it was noticed that the
cutter was overcrowded, and Manson was
ordered into the whaleboat. This shift
saved his life. With but two exceptions,
the members OF the crews Of the other
boats persisted. T.. s1..1z%.g z5.,
Owing to the Ice conditions, the boats
made barely forty miles the first week
after leaving Bennett island. Provisions
were running low when good fortune
brought the expedition to the Siberian
islands, where a small amount Of game
was secured. -
Perlshed One by Ono.
On Sept, 12..frafter another start had
been made, thet boats were caught In q
terrific storm and became separated, not
one Of them ever again sighting the 9TH
ers. belongs boat reached the Lena
delta on Sept. 10, with scarcely two days
provisions left, and set out to find a Rus
sian settlement ninety five miles up the
Lena river. On the way the entire com
pany died except two men named Noros
and Nindeman, who reached a village and
there were overjoyed to find the party OF
which Manson was a member.
This party was commanded by Melville.
It had had thrilling experience and had
faced death in several forms when it for
tunately met a party of natives and was
supplied with food. Several weeks were
spent In vain endeavor to find belong
and his companions, and finally the sur
vivors set out for Yakutsk, where they
arrived Dec. II, and by easy stages made
| their way back to the United States Mel
VILE set out again in March, 1882, to find
| the bodies of belong and companions, and
was rewarded by locating the objects 81
his search; no trace, however, was ever
toundeof the crew Of the second cutter, OF
which Manson at first was a member: -