Year: 1873

| WarQ IL DoSan TO CRACK, duu III d lew hILh


utes more it broke in many pieces. The


vessel broke from her fastenings, and was


soon lost to sight in the darkness and
storm.


WASHINGTON, May 1O.-Forty hours
| later dispatches confirm the death OF capt.


Hall, but discredit the loss of the Polaris.
| AS far as known no lives were lost.
Detailed Particulars.


On the broken ice were most of our pro-


visions to sustain the party through the


winter, and seeing nothing of the vessel
| we attempted to reach the shore, In the
| hope of finding natives, to assist us IN llv-
| ing through the winter. Getting about
half to the shore, with our heavily laden


boats, our progress became barred by drift
ing ice, and was compelled to haul them
on the ice again. At this time succeeded
in saving fourteen cans of pemmican, elev-
en- and half bags of bread, ten dozen one


and two-pound cans of meat and soup,


fourteen hams, one small bag of chocolate,


weighing. twenty pounds some musk OK


stains, few blankets, rifles and abundant


ammunition. In the morning, knowing


that | had not provisions enough, and the


other articles of food, clothing, compass,


&C., having been lost, on the abatement of
gale, [ endeavored to shoot as many seals
as possible, both for food, light and fuel,
but we could only get three, owing to the
bad weather having set in. [ supposed the
wind to be about southwest. Upon its
clearing up, 1 found myself within about
eight miles of what / supposed to be the
east coast, and about thirty or forty miles
below the ship.


Efforts to Reach Land


The .icebergs being weak, could not
transport my boats and provisions to the
land until it grew stronger. While here
r Iiconuarod nf
&c. and saved it all. The ice grew firm and
[ made another attempt to reach the shore,
carrying every thing in the boats and drag
ging them on their keels, but the ice being |
exceedingly rough, we stove both of our |
boats. We succeeded, on the first of No
vember in getting about half way to the
shore when night came on us and very |
stormy weather. In the morning the ice
was broken and we were drifting south
ward very fast and we saw no more land
for many days and bad weather continu-
ing all through the month of November,
we built snow houses and made our
selves as comfortable as we could. We
were ten white men, two .EsquimauX, two
women and five children in all. We sue
ceeded in killing few seals which fur
nished us with light and fuel with which
to warm our scanty allowance of food,
through the darkness of an Arctic winter.
In the latter part of February we lived par
TALLY on birds, and in March commenced
to catch seals through that month and
supported ourselves on bears and seals
flesh, wasting neither skin nor entrails.
We collected enough food in this way to
last us until the middle of May, and had
we not been driven to sea by strong wester-
ly gales in the latter part of March, our floe
piece being then returned from five miles
in circumference to about twenty yards in
diameter.


Provisions Abandoned.


We left the piece on the first of April and
abandoned nearly all our meat, a large
amountOf ammunition clothing shoes and
other articles, taking portion of the meat
in the boat, which we were obliged to throw
overheard on account of the boats being
so deeply laden. Iregained the outer edge
succeeded in getting little farther in on
the pack. On the fourth heavy northeast
gale set in, the heavy sea running under the
ice, which broke il in small pieces, SO we
had to live OH short ratiOns. We could not
put our boat out neither could we find
seals for food, and we were reduced almost
to starvation. On the 21st of April we
sighted polar bear. Every person was
ordered to lie down and initiate seal, ]
while two Esquimaux seated themselves y.
behind piece of ice in order to get the :
bear near enough to us to kill him. A few
days after we got our boat in the water and
worked our way west and southwest and
continued to work every opportunity to
westward in hopes of reaching the Labrador
coast and getting temporary relief. We
were picked up by the steamship Tigress I
on the 3Oth Of April in latitude $50 So north,
longitude $50 west or near Wolf Island and
about forty miles from land.


The Rescue Almost PrOvidentiaI.


The Polaris is now without boats. hav-
ing lost two in trying to get north in the {
spring of 1872. The Tigress fell in with
the party in dense fog and providentially
struck the very foe on which they were, :
otherwise they must have perished. They $
all seem tolerably well. Capt. Tyson COM
planned of swelled legs and feet but moth
ing serious is the matter with them
When they left the Polaris all on board
were in good health.


In reference to the way in which the
Polaris got away from the party which
was rescued from off the iceberg, Capt.
Tyson states that he felt little anxiety at
first, thinking she would soon come to
heir relief. " set my colors," he said,
. rs she stood down along shore, but the 1
vessel was soon lost to sight in the bend of
5he land, being what took to be North
Island. The piece I was on
drifting southwark as the
winds hastened to the northeast, opening
4 little bay to the northeast of Northum-
oerland Island.


Close of the Narrative.


81 saw the vessel in the harbor there
Her sails We're furled. No smoke
vas issuing from her smokes stack
hat I could see. 1 then attempted to
,ring my boats across the foe, in an east
,rly direction, hoping to find water and
each the shore. L succeeded in dragging
me boat across, took water and attempted
o reach the shore some distance below the
7essel. We were then drifting very fast
md the gale was blowing fresh with great
Violence from the northwest and showing
yery fast and drifting. was driven back
N the ice again and compelled to pull my
,oat out. Night closed in on me and car {
led us to the southwest. In the morning
We were about thirty miles southwest of
where the ship went in harbor. A heavy
ca was running, which broke my foe in
cix 6 a.