The Washington herald., 1906-10-19

Tyson's diary: 1T was pitch-darlz
night Suddenly the ice exploded under
our feet and broke in many places: the
ship broke away in the darkness and we
lost sight of her in "a moment. Gone! bat
an ice-bound horror seemed to cling TO the
air
All that night the wretched people
crouched upon the ice. Tyson himself.
with superhuman effort. used one of the
small boats TO bring to the larger foe
many of those who were upon smaller
pieces The cold was intense, and all
would undoubtedly have frozen had it
not been for the snow which fell thicky.
covering them as a blanket He noticed
some musk-ox skins, and pulled them
toward him, and was Mortified to find
within them several Esquimo children,
who so narrowly escaped death by drown
ing or crushing.
HarOOned On FIOe.
They knew not how many of their
comrades We're still upon the ship. or
how many had found watery graves.
Morning came at last. and more men
were found on the ice around. When all
were gathered, the party numbered
nineteen; this left fourteen upon the yes
sci, or lost forever. The Polaris was no
whore in sight
Why does the POlaris not come TO our
rescue?" reads the diary OF October 16.
This is the thought that now fills every
heart since the first dawn of light.
scanned the horizon, but could see moth
ing of the vessel
Only Meager Supplies.
An inventory of supplies revealed four
teen cans of pemmiean, eleven and one
half bags of bread, one can of dried APP
pies. and fourteen hams; that was all
not q drop of water; that was supplied
for the next six months and more by
melted snow.
Finally the Polaris was sighted eight
or ten miles distant. under both steam
and sail New hope awol1e in the breasts
Of the castaways. But it quickly died. The
vessel disappeared and was nevermore
seen by them.
It is impossible, in a brief newspaper
sketch. to even approximately describe
the manifold horrors experienced and the
countless deeds of heroism displayed by
the little band. on October % Tyson
writes we lost sight Of the suns disk
three days ago.
Miserable We
Who here eutaHgled in the gathering ice
Take our last look at the descending sun.
While fun Of death and force with teufold frost.
The long. long night, incumbent Ger cur heads
Fails horrible.
Record of Horrors.
Day by day the awful record proceeds.
fiuts are built of snow and skins Some
tirres "a seal IS killed. sometimes a fox.
ALI hair and tail-not pound Of meat on
its bones" Even in the midst of these
horrors Ire stops Go describe a beautiful
display of the aurora borealis.
On December II he writes of the fear of
cannibalism among The Esqumo-a fear
happily not realized. Christmas dinner
consisted of the last of the ham, the last
Of the seals blood and the last Of the
dried apples. For New Years feast two
feet of frozen entrails and little blub-
Der with a bit of pemmican tea"
Missed Tobacco.
More than once NE bewails the deprivd-
ton Of tobacco. and it is to be noted that
when rescued this is almost the FIRST thing
he asked for There was no food for the
dogs, so the natives killed and ate them,
while the rest dined on seaIskin. once he
writes. THE fear Of death is starved and
frozen out of me-"
Once they shot an oogiook, a monster
SEAL weighing COO pounds or more. then
every one Toasted for several days They
also secured small birds, called dovekies
and ate an but the feathers From the
0Ogjook they also secured about thirty
gallons of OIL and Tyson wrote. Praise
the Lord for all His merciesr'
So passed the days and weeks and
months. and on April y. 1873 their eyes
were greeted with "a joyful sight-that OF
"a steamer. But their joy was of short
duration. for the vessel passed out of
sight without perceiving their frantic sig
mails. Two days later. however. the cast
Iways were rescued by the sealer Tigress
Capt Bartlett, Of Conception Bay New
foundland. after 1876 DAYS on the ice
eighty-three of which the sun remained
below the hcriz0ui
Sailed Again in 1877.
Tn spite of this experience. Capt Tyson
sailed again into the arctic horrors.
the Howgate preliminary ex-
petition in 1877. It was during this trip
that ne received "a terrible wound I'm the
breast while quelling "a mutiny. which re-
suited in his being placed in "a plaster
cast for six months It is believed that
it was this injury which brought about
the heart affection of which he eventually
died.
As to the Polaris it may bc said. en-
PEASANT, that she finally brought up n
Kane's Life Boat Cove. latitude Is degrees
north. where she was given 10 an Esqui-
mo chief only TO sink before his eyes.
The survivors. after wintering at that
spot. We're rescued June 3 by Capt Allen.
of the Raveuscraig, of Dundee. while .9
Melville Bay. about twenty-five miles
from Cape York, news of the rescue
reaching Washington September 70, 1913.
Capt Tyson, after his return home.
served for many years as captain of the
watch i'm the Navy Department. Seven
teen years ago he married the widow of
John a. Myers. He Is survived by his
wife and three stepchiIdren, John f.
Myers, Miss Mamie Myers, and Mrs
r. J. Petit
Funeral Tomorrow.