The herald., 1913-06-12
LOST EXPLORERS.
Pathos and Tragedy Fill the
Pages of Their Diaries.
SOME FAMOUS LAST RECORDS.
The Journals Of Captain Scott, De
Long, Livingstone, Franklin and 9th
ers Are Mute Testimonials Of Their
Heroic Sacrifices For Science.


Long, Livingstone, Franklin and 9th
ers Are Mute Testimonials Of Their
Heroic Sacrifices For Science.
A peculiar and pathetic interest at
taches to the last records of lost ex-
Icy wildernesseS or in the steaming
depths of tropical jungles.
The diary kept by the gallant Cap
tain Scott teens with tragic touches.
but it also has its beautiful and its
heroic side. No more splendid instance
Of magnificent self sacrifice has been
recorded than the action of the dis
abled Captain Oates in seeking volun-
tary death in the blizzard so as not to
be burden on his surviving compan-
! ions.
The world is richer in the possession
of facts such as these. which is why
the last diaries of men dying in similar
circumstances have always been ar
IDENTIFY sought and carefully treasured
1t was. for example in order to try
to recover the papers belonging to
the lost arctic explorer Myths Erich
sen that Captain Mikkelsen recently
| spent two awful years among the Icy
solitudes Of northeast Greenland. He
failed in his quest. and he and his
solitary companion came near to losing
their own lives.
These journals of poor Erickson, il
they are ever found. will doubtless tell
a similarly stirring story to that left
behind by Scott. Until then there Is
only one record that closely parallels
1t. and that is the diary left by the
American. De Long who. with other
survivors from the arctic exploring
ship Jeanette. persisted amid the fro
zen wastes of northeastern Siberia in
the winter Of 1881.
De Longs diary. which was recov-
cred and has been published. might
almost be duplicate in parts of that
kept by poor Scott,
Only in De Longs case the tragedy
was even more appalling than in
Scott's. for his party consisted Of no
fewer than thirteen men. and these all
died from starvation and exposure.
The last entry reads as follows: "One
hundred and forueth day-Boyd and
GortZ died during the night Mr. Col
Inns dying"
The gallant De Long was then left
with but one companion. Dr. Amber.
the medical officer to the expedition,
for the deaths Of the other men had
been previously recorded. and doubt
less the two last of the survivors died
that day or the next At all events,
the journal ended abruptly at this
point.
By far the most dreadful tragedy of
arctic exploration was the loss of the
Franklin expedition. when the Ill fated
officers and men of the two explor-
ing ships. Erebus and Terror. 100
In all. persisted. Curiously enough.
though many relics Of the Ill fated
commander Sir John Franklin were
recovered by search parties and are
now preserved in the museum attach
ed to the Greenwich hospital. none Of
bis diaries or personal papers were
ever found.
One single written record of the lost
expedition remains to us. 1t Is in the
form of sheet torn from a small
pocket diary. and these are the words
1t contains: April q. 1S4S.-Terror
and Erebus were abandoned. Sir John
Franklin died on June II. 1S47. and
the total loss by deaths up to this date
nine officers and fifteen men,"
This precious scrap of paper was dis.
covered In cairn on King Williams
island in the year 1858. There was no.
signature. but the handwriting was
afterward identified as that of Cap
tain Fitzjames. one of Sir Johns Of
fcers.
In the tragic history Of exploration
no briefer record than this exists Of
disaster SO appalling In its magnitude.
although Burke and Wills. who first
crossed Australia. left behind them
only few tattered leaves from an old
pocketbook to tell the story of how
they and their companions had lain
down In the desert to die.
OF all the many valuable and inter
esting documents left behind by lost
explorers. however. none can vie in
Importance with the last journals of
David Livingstone. who died. worn out
by hunger and privation. at Ilala. in
central Africa. May 1. 1873. These
were brought down to the coast, to-
gether with his body. by his faithful
black boys" and were published in
December. 1874
They told Of vast and farreaching
discoveries and explorations undertak-
en- under almost inconceivable condi-
tons Of hardship and privation. In
fact, Livingstone literally laid down
bis life for his country since to his pio-
neer enterprise is largely due the fact
that so great part of Africa is today
colored red upon the map.-London An
gwors