Year: 1873

For the true story of the Arctic expedition
of the Polaris it is manifest we shall have to
wait until the return of all the survivors, in
Gliding those who remained with Capt. Bud
dington on the steamer. There are some
Inconsistencies not to say improbabities, in
the accounts that come to us from Tyson and
his party, who were rescued by the Tigress on
the 2sth of April, though there is as yet
nothing to throw any doubt upon the most
marvellous feature Of the whole story, to wit ::
the wonderful voyage of nineteen persons, one
babe of eight months old, two thousand
miles upon an ice foe, through Arctic night
and over o stormy sea. Whatever else may be
said of the expedition and Of the somewhat
varying statements of the survivors, this voy-
age remains without q parallel in the history
of discovery and adventure. Beside it the
widest fancies of the writer of fiction and
romance are tame and commonplace.


But there is over the inner history Of the
expedition, the death of Capt. Hall, the rela-
tions of the sailing master, Buddington, and
the next in command, Tyson, with each other
and with the crew, the facts connected with
the abandonment of the Polaris by Tyson and
his nineteen companions, and the subsequent
apparent abandonment of the latter by Capt.
Buddington-over all these things there is n
vail of mystery which, as we have said, will
hardly be lifted until the stories of Tyson and
his company can be heard more fully, and the
return Of Capt Buddington with the vessel
puts us in possession of his version of the
story. The story which represents Capt. Bud
dington as deser;ing Tyson and company and
deliberately abandoning them to their fate on
the ice foe, when he might easily have forced
his way to them and taken them of, lacks the
element of plausbility. For though it is
probable that after the death of Hall
disagreements arose between BuddingtOn
and Tyson, there is nothing that we
can learn in the character or previous history


of the former to warrant the belief that he
would be guilty of such cruel and dastardy
act. Tyson is represented by those who know
him best to be headstrong and venturous
man, but habitually reticent to strangers and
careful in his statements, SO that it is hardly
likely that he has indulged in any such sweep
ing charges as are attributed to him in some
of the reports. lie and Buddington had sailed
together before, and entered upon the voyage
with the intimate knowledge of each others
habits and characters which is begotten by
long sea voyages. Still it is not improbable


they may have fallen out upon this voyage


though strong personal friends before. The
two men had entirely opposite characteristics,
but this fact was rather an advantage than q
drawback, as they operated as checks upon each
other. Capt. Buddington has the reputation of
being a very careful, prudent sailor; 80 that it


was the common remark in New-London and
~ h.. - 4baN


would,be no foolbardy risks run in the Po-


laris, but that he would bring vessel and
crew homo safe. That he was prudent also
In money matters. to the verge of what one
report calls meanness," is probably also
true. Tyson, on the other hand, was courage


Gus TO rashness, and disposed to take large risks
and run narrow chances to secure the objects
of the expedition. Both had been successful


whaling captains, and were familiar with nav
igaton in tho high latitudes and amid the