New Britain herald. [microfilm reel] (New Britain, Conn.) 1890-1976, 1917-08-27
BACK FROM ARCTIC
AFTER TWO YEARS
DR.. Hoyey Reports Discoveries
Of Valuable Minerals

New York, Aug. 27.-Dr. Edmund
Otis, Hovey, curator Of geology at the
Americn Museum of Natural History.
returned yesterday from an Atlantic
port after an absence of two years
| and two months with the Croker Re-
lief Expedition. on which he started
in June, 1915, on the American mo-
| tor schooner George B. Cluett.
During his long exile in the arctic
regions DR.. Hovey conducted im2or-
tant investigations. He was surpriser
to learn on arrival that Donald B.
Macmillan, the leader of the party,
had landed at St. Johns bay. as he
had left them to hurry back to Amer
lea on account of personal affairs.
Although DR.. Hovey said no had
used all possible speed it took him
five months and two days to come
from Etan, Greenland, to his home In
New York.
Five vessels were required to get
the scientists to Greenland and back
again to America, and the cost of the
Masmillan expedition and the relief
expeditions amounted to 100000. DR..
Hovey said that Mr.. Macmillan told
him that Croker Land was a mirage
The party had made important dis
coveries of min erals which we're con-
sidered of no value before the war,
but had since been found to be of
great value for the manufacture of
chemicals.
In giving a summary of his exper-
fences DR.. Hovey said:
II reached Etan on Sept. 15, 1915,
making the last two days by motor
boat, and then went to North Star
Bay, where I found the Macmillan
party engaged in scientific research.
1 went back to Etah and remained all
winter on the Cluett and continued
my scientific observations through
1915, and in December Of that year
I discovered that a relief steamship,
the Danemark, had come out to find
us in September, and had been frozen
in.
when I reached the Danemark in
North Star Bay I found Knud Ras-
mussen, the Danish explorer. and DR..
Thorild Wulff, who were on their way
to Peary Land to make observations
for the Cape York Committee Scien-
tific Station. I decided to return to
America, and started to cross the ice
to Godhaven, a distance of LOO
miles, with four sleds, thirty -nine
dogs and three Eskimos. The pas
sage across Melville Bay was 200
miles, and occupied twenty-one days,
or twenty sleeps, as the Eskimos call
it.
There were stretches of black ice,
so called because it is SO thin the
blue water can be seen through 1t,
and on two occasions it gave way, and
the Eskimo got a ducking. 1 ar
rived at Godhaven on May 20, hav-
ing made the LOO miles in sixty-six
days, and embarked for Copenhagen
on the steamship Hans Egede. and
T arrived on July 26."
When he reached Godhaven, DR..
Hovey received the first newspapers
he had seen for more than a year.
and learned that the United States
was at war with Germany.
The failure of the Croker Lana
Expendttion, which was sent nortn In
July. 1913, to explore a large BODY
of land which Peary thought he had
seen. was the cause of two relief ex-
peditions being sent out from THIS
country to find Macmillan and his
nartv. The first one was stopped by
ice in Melville Bay, and the second
the steamship Neptune, reached the
oxn1orers and returned in safety.