The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1907-02-11
Captain Tyson of Popular
q. Officers Death Recalls
d11kC Awful Arctic Voyage.

the foe, which had wasted so that it
was no longer safe. The small boat was
made ready, but as il was only intended
TO carry eight men, with all the MEM
bers on board, it was difficult to han
Ole the oars, and still more difficult 10
launch it.
Once the party would land on a foe.
only to abandon it. The men were gen
orally half-drowned, cold and without
shelter Another bear was shot, and
his blood was acceptable. for they werc
suffering from extreme thirst. But for
the rifles the party could not have
existed
Another seal was secured on the
morning of April is and eaten raw
Carefully dividing il into sixteen parts,
nothing but the gall being rejected, one
man turned his back and called the
others in succession, each taking his
snare. Then a general contribution
was made of blubber and rags for a
fire. and soup was cooked. Toward
evening Of the 10th the sky was threat
enlng, and the swells became heavy.
About O'Clock a sea struck the noe,
and. washing over il, carried away
everything that was loose. There was
barely time TO put the women and chill
dren and some few things into the boat
before 2 succession of seas followed
a
carried away the tents, the skins. and
most of the bed clothing. To add 70
the sufferings of the night the water
was filled with blocks OF ice, which,
continually flying about. inflicted
| bruises. In this situation the party re-
! manned from 9 o'clock in the evening
until Z o'clock the next morning.
Toward the close Of April provisions
were almost exhausted, and Cnce they
| xt-or 20
apiece and a mouthful of pemmican,
when bear, seeming them. approached
and was shot, thus saving them from
| starvation.
A steamship appeared on April IS. but
| Captain Tyson's Inflated party was not
noticed, and she disappeared i'm the
night. Fires were lighted on the ice,
and at daylight the ship was again
seen, but changed her course and vau-
ished This vessel afterward proved to
be the Eagle. a whaler whose captain
was noted for his humanity. Early n
the morning of the 30th another ship
was sighted. the Tigress of NevfOund-
| land. AS the sealer came nearer the
PARTY launched their boat and were Ia
ken on board This happened off Grady
IarbOr. Labrador and the rescueTs
were just i'm time, for the foe could
hardly have survived the gale whiol
arose on May and lasted until noon
OF May f.
Afterward. although enfcebed by
scanty diet and long exposure. ana
mentally depressed the general health
of the party remained good. They were
landed at st. Johns on May u. and Ia
ken to Washington on the Frolic. where
Captain Tyson's fortitude and brave
leadership were recognized. When the
Tigress was fitted out to find the Po-
laris. Tyson went along as ice-master
and was appointed an acting lieutenant
i'm the navy. The Tigress returned 10
New York in November, 1873 having
been unsuccessful
| Nothing more was known OF the fac
of the Polaris until September 49, 1873
when the sealing steamship Arctic ar
: rived at Dundee, Scotland. with siS
of the officers and three Of the crew OF
: board. All hands had been picked III
by the whaling steamer Ravencraig on
f. June %, off the Greenland coast, while
on their way in boats to the southwark
the Polaris having been nipped in tht
! ice and abandoned. Some of the crew
! had been transferred TO other whalers
} Notwithstanding his terrible exper
: fences Captain Tyson again visited tn
: polar seas in 1877. This time Re was
a member Of the party commanded
by Captain Henry F. Howgate of tn,
? United States signal corps. Captain Ty-
$ son was appointed master of the whal
Y ing schooner Florence and il as in
: tended to establish a temporary colonl
f at a point near the shore O. Lady
Franklin Straits. The expedition. how
n ever, was forced to return to Province
= town, Mass, in October. 1878 Tyson no
e finding supplies at Disco. On this tril
n the expedition often despaired of thei
e lives because of furious storms. Dur
D ing a mutiny Captain Tyson wa
j wounded, and this wound is supposed Il
:, have caused heart trouble, from whicl
h he suffered until his death Since 1877
I he had been lieutenant Of the watc
n in the treasury department.