mild. A mountainous iceberg while drifting slowly with the current

sloughed off so much from one side that its centre of gravity was displaced and the mountain of ice turned a complete somersault before it settled to rest.

There is hardly any limit to the time in which provisions can be preserved in the polar regions. A cache was found among the Gary Islands which had been left by Sir George Nares years before, and nearly all was in as good condition as when placed there. One of the strange phenomena of the Arctic regions is the red snow, mentioned by Sir John Ross, which was seen by the Greely party. This color is found to be due to myriads of tiny plants deposited on the crust. That most eminent botanist, Robert Brown, subjected it to careful examination and pronounced it to be a unicellular plant of the order _Algae_, and Dr. Greville, of Edinburgh, gave it its name (_Protococcus nivalis_), by which it is now known to the scientific world.

The steamer halted at Littleton Island on the 2d of August. A number of articles were found at "Life-Boat Cove," that had been left by the Polaris expedition in 1873. A quantity of coal was unloaded here to be taken aboard on the return.

Steaming up Kennedy Channel, a deposit of provisions was made near Franklin Island and Carl Ritter Bay. A short distance north, an immense ice pack stopped the ship which repeatedly tried in vain to butt its way through. It was compelled to drift with the pack until the 11th of August, when an opening appeared and the _Proteus_ forced a passage to Bellot Island, at the entrance to Discovery Harbor.

AT LADY FRANKLIN BAY.

The steamer had now reached Lady Franklin Bay, which was its destination, and near which Fort Conger, a signal station, was to be established. The ship was unloaded and a house built, the men living in tents the meanwhile, and on the 19th of August, the _Proteus_ bade the explorers good-by and started on her return to Newfoundland.

A number of musk oxen were shot in the vicinity, and now and then a ptarmigan was bagged. The men moved into the house in the latter part of August, and Lockwood directed the laying out of the observatory and the digging of the foundation pier for the transit. The earth was frozen so hard that it was like chipping solid ice. The house gave the men comfortable quarters. On the first Sunday all work was stopped and religious services held. The intention was to send an exploring expedition along the northern coast of Greenland, and it was placed in charge of Lockwood. It would have been given to Kislingbury, the senior officer, but for the fact that he and Greely were not on good terms.

Men were sent to examine St. Patrick's Bay to the northeast, for a site to establish a depot on the channel of exploration. Such a place was found and the exploring parties were continually active, some of them going a good many miles from camp. Game was plentiful, but the wolves were fierce. Numbers were poisoned by means of arsenic mixed with meat thrown in their way. It being the beginning of their Arctic experience, the men enjoyed themselves to an extent that would hardly be supposed. This was mainly because they were kept busy and the novelty of their life had not yet worn off. One pleasant custom was that of celebrating the birthdays of different members of the party, which was done with a vigor that sometimes reached good-natured boisterousness.

When the sun sank far from sight on the 16th of October, every one knew that it would not show itself again for four months. It will be admitted, too, that the weather had become keen, for it registered forty degrees below zero most of the time and the moisture within the house was frozen to the depth of an inch on the window-panes.

With the coming of the long, dismal night the wolves became fiercer, and prowled so closely around the building that no one dared venture far from the door without firearms in his hands, and the men generally went in company, ready for an attack that was liable to be made at any minute.

INTOLERABLE LONELINESS.

Time always hangs heavy when one is forced to remain idle and the dismal night stretches through a third or half of the year. On the 1st of November, Lieutenant Lockwood, accompanied by seven men, left the dwelling to try the passage of the straits, hoping to push his way to the place where Captain Hall made his winter quarters. They dragged a heavily loaded sled after them, upon which rested a boat, which they expected to use in case they reached open water. The men set out bravely and toiled hard, but were compelled to turn back, finding it impossible to make any progress.

No one can describe the horrible loneliness of such a life as the party were now compelled to lead. They played cards and games, told stories, and held discussions until all such things palled on their taste. Then they grew weary of one another's company, and hours would pass without a man speaking a word. Dr. Hayes has related that, when thus placed, he has dashed out of the dwelling in desperation and wandered for miles through the frozen solitudes, for no other reason than that the company of his friends had become unbearable. He stated further that a rooster on his ship deliberately flew overboard and committed suicide out of sheer loneliness.

One means resorted to by the explorers for relieving the frightful monotony was the publication of a paper called the _Arctic Moon_. The contents were written and copies made by the hektograph process. Then Greely formed a class in arithmetic, and Lockwood taught a class in geography and grammar. Matters were quite lively on Thanksgiving Day (the party being careful to note the passage of the regular days), when foot-races were run and shooting matches indulged in, Greely distributing the prizes.

One of the many curious facts regarding life in the Arctic regions is that its rigors are often withstood better by the inexperienced than by the experienced. The two Eskemo guides were the most depressed of the whole party, and one of them wandered off in a dazed condition. When found miles away, he was running as if in fear of his life, and it was with great difficulty he was persuaded to return. The second native would have run off had he not been closely watched.

In the middle of February, the thermometer fell to sixty-five degrees below zero, an intensity of cold which few living men have experienced. At such a terrible temperature pure brandy and glycerine freeze hard, and a man, though heavily clothed, will perish in a few minutes. The Eskemo dogs by choice slept in the snow outside rather than within the building.

THE GRAVE OF DR. HALL.

On the last day of February, Lieutenant Lockwood, accompanied by Brainard, Jewell, Long, the two Eskemos, and a couple of dog teams, started on a journey to Thank God Harbor, seventy-five miles away. The journey was made without accident and the observatory was found still standing, while near at hand was the grave of the Arctic explorer, Captain C.F. Hall. The grave was marked by a metallic headboard, put up by the English and the other by Hall's comrades. On the British board are these words: "To Captain Hall, who sacrificed his life in the advancement of science, November 8, 1871. This tablet has been erected by the British Polar Expedition of 1875, which followed in his footsteps and profited by his experience." The American inscription is as follows:

IN MEMORY OF CHARLES FRANCIS HALL, LATE COMMANDER U.S. STEAMER POLARIS, NORTH POLE EXPEDITION, DIED NOVEMBER 8, 1871. "I AM THE RESURRECTION AND THE LIFE; HE THAT BELIEVETH IN ME, THOUGH HE WERE DEAD, YET SHALL HE LIVE."

The great ambition of Lieutenant Lockwood was to lead an expedition along the northern coast of Greenland, to which Arctic explorers hitherto had paid comparatively slight attention. His intelligence, daring, and skill caused Greely to give him his full confidence and to leave the entire arrangement of the venture in his hands.

Lockwood's intention was to start about the 1st of April. Sergeant Brainard was to go with the supporting parties in advance to Cape Sumner and leave supplies. Then when Lockwood's party reached the same point, with all the provisions they could carry with comfort, the explorers would be well supplied.

LOCKWOOD'S EXPEDITION TO THE FAR NORTH.

Amid the firing of pistols, waving of flags, and cheers, the start was made by Lockwood on the 2d of April. Three days later, the party dragging a sled laden with pemmican reached a snow-house, where they found Brainard and his friends returning. There were thirteen in all, and they were crowded in their close quarters, but the fact gave them additional warmth.

It will be remembered that the long Arctic night was about ended. In the misty light, a dark object was discerned on the top of a neighboring iceberg, which being scrutinized was recognized as an eagle. It was accepted as a good omen by the men, who cheered the noble bird that vividly reminded them of their distant home.

The direction was now to the northeast. They crossed the straits at Cape Beechy, pushing to within a few miles of the eastern shore, whence they were to proceed directly to Fort Sumner. In order to follow the course of the party intelligently the reader needs to keep a reliable map of the Arctic regions before him.

Fort Conger stood close to the intersection of sixty-fifth meridian and the eighty-second parallel, being a little south of the latter and east of the former. From this starting-point, the route of Lockwood was slightly south of northeast to its termination. Almost from the beginning, the traveling was so difficult that the bravest explorers could not have been blamed for turning back.

The ice was tumbled together in irregular masses many feet in thickness, through which they often had to cut the way with axes for their sledges. The wind rose to a hurricane, and was of piercing coldness, and so filled with fine particles that they cut the face like bird-shot. Most of the time they could not see one another when separated by a few feet. Muffled to their eyes, the brave explorers fought their-way onward, often compelled to stop and turn their backs to the gale, which almost swept them off their feet. Frequently they crouched behind the piles of ice to regain their breath while the furious wind roared above their heads.

Toughened, as were all the men, some of them succumbed under the fearful work. These returned to camp, and the party was reduced to nine. This occurred on the 10th of April, very near where the 82d parallel crosses the 60th meridian. There Lieutenant Lockwood came to a halt, and turned back with the dogs to Fort Conger. The round journey was a hundred miles, but it was necessary to get supplies that could be obtained in no other way, and to secure new runners for their sledges, which were battered by their rough usage.

Accompanied by the two Eskemos, Lockwood made a new start on the 14th of April, and averaged two miles an hour until he reached his new camp. From that point the nine men had three sledges, which they dragged, and a fourth that was drawn by the dogs. With indomitable pluck they struggled onward, and all were thrilled on the 25th of the month by the knowledge that they had reached a point further north than had ever been attained by an American, and they hoped to surpass all others.

The heroic explorers had by no means finished their task. At regular points they cached their provisions against the return. If the reader will locate on his map the intersection of the 55th meridian with the parallel of 82 deg. 20', he will have a point close to Cape Bryant, where the supports of the party withdrew and started on their return to camp. All who were now left were Lieutenant Lockwood, Sergeant Brainard, and the Eskemo Frederick.

Lockwood apportioned rations for twenty-five days among the three. Consequently the northward journey and the return must be made within that time, since they believed it impossible to obtain food in that fearful region. Shaking hands with their companions, who wished them good-speed, the little party broke into two divisions, one tramping southward, while the other resumed its laborious journey toward the northeast.

Before Lockwood left Cape Sabine, Lieutenant Greely gave it as his belief that his brave assistant might succeed in reaching Cape Britannia, which lies about 40 deg. east and 82 deg. 45' north. The explorer Beaumont saw this cape, but was unable to reach it. When Lockwood and Brainard arrived there, however, they had no thought of stopping. A cairn was built, a written account of their travels deposited, and five days' rations left. Then the heroes bent to their herculean task again.

The Eskemo was left with the dogs, while the two white men, wrapped in their furs, laboriously climbed an adjoining mountain, half a mile in height. From the crest they scanned the snowy landscape, the very picture of desolation. Twenty miles to the northeast, the direction they were traveling, they made out a dark promontory, terminating in a rocky headland and penetrating the Polar Ocean, while between it and them a number of islands reared their heads and were separated by fiords. Half of the remaining horizon was filled with the dismal ice of the Frozen Sea.

They had no expectation of meeting with animal life in this world of desolation, but they fired several times (and missed) at ptarmigan, and, having wounded a rabbit, succeeded in running it down. It was a mystery to them how this little animal found the means of sustaining life so near the Pole.

It may be wondered how far these three men would have gone had it been possible to travel. They became accustomed to the exhaustive work, but the end of the journey was reached on the 13th of May, when they paused on the edge of an immense fissure in the ice, extending indefinitely to the right and left, and too broad to be crossed. They searched for a long time, only to learn that it was utterly out of their power to go a foot further. Nothing remained but to learn their exact location.

While Lockwood was preparing to take an observation, the sun was obscured by fog. All the next day so furious a storm raged that they could do nothing but huddle in their tent and wait for it to pass. Finally, the conditions became favorable and Lockwood made his observations with the utmost care. When they were completed the astounding truth was revealed that their latitude was 84 deg. 24-1/2' north and 40 deg. 46-1/2' west from Greenwich. This surpassed the achievement of the Nares expedition sent out by England, in 1875-76, for the sole purpose of reaching the furthest northern point possible. Lockwood and Brainard, therefore, had attained the highest point, which up to that time had never been reached by man. On the 7th of April, 1895, however, Dr. Fridtjof Nansen, the Norwegian explorer, penetrated to 86 deg. 15', which surpassed that of Lockwood and Brainard by 200 miles and was within 225 miles of the Pole itself.

The return journey was as exhausting and trying as the outward one, but the little party never lost courage. Fort Conger was reached early in June, and, as may be supposed, the explorers received a royal welcome from their comrades. The three men were suffering from snow blindness, rheumatism, and various ills brought on by their exposure and terrific labors, but all were in high spirits, as they might well be, when they recalled the wonderful achievement they had made.

WEARY WAITING.

The brief summer was at hand. The snow melted during the middle of the day and the first rain they had seen fell. On the 4th of July they had shooting matches and engaged in a game of baseball. It can hardly be said, however, that the American game has gained much of a foothold north of the Arctic Circle.

All suffered from intense depression of spirits which could not be shaken off. Again hours would pass without a man speaking a word. They seemed mutually repellent and miserable. This sad condition resulted from purely physical causes and no one could be blamed for it.

The company were now waiting for the _Proteus_ which was due. Several reports that she was in sight threw all into pleasurable excitement, but it need not be said they were doomed to disappointment, since the relief ship was at the bottom of the Arctic Ocean. The little steam launch had been repaired and enabled the party to explore the neighboring coasts for a distance of several hundred miles. A number of musk oxen were shot, but, except at certain seasons, their flesh is so strongly impregnated with musk that it is unpalatable for food.

As the weary days passed without bringing the wished-for steamer, hope sank. Many were sure some accident had befallen the ship and she would never be seen again. If so (and of course such was the fact), more months must pass before the news could be carried to the United States and a new relief expedition be sent. It was hard thus to be forgotten by their friends at home. As a last resort the party could retreat in their boats, but all dreaded the almost hopeless recourse. Gradually the summer drew to a close and once more they saw the low-sweeping sun dip below the horizon not to appear again for months. The long, horrible Arctic night again enveloped them in misery and gloom.

When the month of January came every member of the party, including Greely himself, were convinced that their country had abandoned them and they must look out for themselves. He announced that if no relief appeared they would start for home not later than the 8th of August.

Lieutenant Lockwood seems to have been about the only member of the party who for a time kept up his high spirits. He was not satisfied with what he had already done, and insisted upon another chance to push northward. He had fixed upon the eighty-fourth parallel as the point to reach, and he urged the matter so strongly that Greely, who greatly admired his courage, gave his consent, though confident that he would find it impossible to do as well as in the former instance.

A FAILURE.

Lockwood made his start on the morning of March 27, 1883, his companions being the same as before. Two weeks later, as Greely was lying in his tent, wondering how his friend was making out, Lockwood walked in with a smile:

"Too much water," he said; "if it had only been ice, we could have managed it, but we had no means of getting across the water. Better luck next time."

The next time, however, never came. Greely, Lockwood, and Brainard always remained on good terms, but it was not the case with some of the others. Companionship, under such conditions, is a bore, and many a time the three gentlemen named went off on explorations that occupied several days, with no other object than to get away from those whose company was distasteful beyond bearing.

THE START HOMEWARD.

Greely had given up all hope of receiving help from the United States and determined to start for home as soon as his surroundings would permit. His plan was to proceed to Littleton Island, where it was possible they might find a vessel that would take them to Newfoundland. The explorers, twenty-five in all, made their start southward, August 9, 1883. Their boats were the steam launch referred to, a whale boat, an English boat, and a smaller one, which it was thought would prove useful in the event of an accident.

For a time the progress was encouraging. The water was quite open, but ice soon appeared. They saved their boats from being nipped by drawing them up on a floe. When open water again showed, they took to the boats and reached Sun Bay without mishap. Then they made their way to Cape Lieber, twenty miles south from Fort Conger, where they were almost overwhelmed in a blinding snowstorm. There they landed and waited for the ice to move and open the way for them along the western shore of the strait. A fog kept them there several days, and when they started again it was in the midst of another blinding snowstorm. One of the incidents of the struggle against ice and tempest was the falling overboard of Lieutenant Greely and an accident to the launch. Scoresby Bay was reached on the 22d of August, and found to be full of floating ice. It was necessary again to save the boats by drawing them up on the floe. By that time, too, the supply of coal had become so low that Greely held a consultation with his officers over their situation, which was not only dangerous but rapidly becoming more so. He proposed to abandon the launch, and use the other boats with which to push along the western shore, but the majority believed they had a chance of making Littleton Island. Ere long it was found necessary to leave behind the smallest boat, and when that was done most of the party believed all were doomed. The elements and even the tides were against them.

The launch soon became useless and was abandoned. Resort was then had to sledge travel, two carrying a boat between them, and all pulled by the men. They had not gone far in this toilsome manner when another of the boats had to be left behind, giving them only one. Even the courageous Lockwood now expressed his belief that none of the party would escape alive. Still it was better to die struggling than to sit down and fold their hands.

Misfortunes crowded upon them. The current continued the wrong way and the floe upon which they were drifting carried them toward Baffin Bay. Sludge ice, the most troublesome of all, abounded, and their poor rations grew scant. In the latter part of September enough of the floes came in contact to permit the men to pass over them to solid land, some twelve miles from Cape Sabine. A reconnoitering party in attempting to reach that point was turned back by the open water. Another company, however, got through and brought back important news. The _Proteus_ had been wrecked and a couple of caches, left by English ships, together with the stores brought from the wreck of the _Proteus_, were discovered. As may be supposed, they formed a welcome addition to the meagre stock of food.

THE LAST EXTREMITY.

It being inevitable that another winter must be passed in the land of desolation, preparations were made for doing so. The spot selected was between Cape Sabine and Cocked Hat Island. A hut was erected and the supplies moved thither. Greely informed the men that he had decided to reduce the rations so that they would last until the coming March. A cairn was built at Cape Sabine in which was placed a record of what had been done by the explorers.

All admitted the necessity of reducing the rations, but it was done to that extent that the men suffered continually from hunger. They were glad to eat mouldy potatoes, and, when, occasionally, a fox was shot, nothing was left but the shining bones. If the preceding period was horrible it was now more so, for all felt they had every reason for depression, gloom, and despair. The meagre food made them more susceptible to cold, and, although Greely strove to awaken an interest in different educational subjects, the conditions were so woeful that he accomplished little. It may seem strange, but it was natural that the men's thoughts should dwell almost continually upon delicacies in the way of eating. They talked about the choicest viands and smacked their lips over tempting feasts which, alas! existed only in imagination.

Every man uttered a prayer of thanks when the 21st of December arrived, for it meant that the appalling polar night was half over, but how endless the other half seemed to them!

In the following month the feet of Corporal Ellison were so badly frozen that they sloughed off, as did several of his fingers. Soon afterward one of the men died. The brave Lockwood felt himself growing so weak that he privately requested Greely to leave him behind, if he should be alive, when the homeward start was made. Greely replied that under no conceivable circumstances would he abandon any one if alive, provided he himself survived the period of waiting.

An attempt was made in February to reach Littleton Island in the hope of finding the relief ship or stores, but the open water compelled the men to turn back. The same cause prevented their getting to the Greenland shore, which could be seen when the weather was clear.

When the middle of March came all were placed on starvation rations. None of the canned vegetables, coffee, or chocolate was left. The straits remained open and shut them off from reaching Greenland, where they might have found game. The bravest of the party lost heart and sank into the apathy of despair. They felt themselves simply waiting for death. Lockwood wrote in his diary: "I am glad that each day comes to an end. It brings us nearer the end of this life, whatever that end may be."

The fuel, which had been carefully husbanded, gave out in the latter part of March. The famishing sufferers gathered their furs more tightly around them and huddled together to secure the mutual warmth of their emaciated bodies. The furs and shoes could be gnawed and eaten when the last extremity arrived. Unexpectedly to all, Sergeant Lynn and one of the Eskemos died at the beginning of April. When there was a chance to shoot game the men were too weak to hunt for it.

Lieutenant Lockwood, the hero of the wonderful achievement narrated, whose high spirits and exalted courage carried him through all manner of perils, died early on the morning of April 9th, his death being due to starvation. When the brave fellow had passed away there had not been a mouthful of food within reach for several days.

Before this, it became evident that some one was stealing from the scanty store. Investigation disclosed the wretched thief to be a man named Henry. Greely warned him, for he was imperiling the lives of all. He stole again, whereupon, by orders of Greely, he was shot. When the final extremity came there is reason to believe that cannibalism was indulged in, though not to much extent. There is no certainty, however, on the matter, and the survivors denied having seen it.

THE RESCUE.

Though it may seem that the Greely party was forgotten at home, yet such was not the fact. The loss of the _Proteus_ caused the gravest fears for their safety, and, in the spring of 1884, the navy department fitted out a new relief expedition, consisting of the _Thetis_, the _Bear_, and the _Alert_, under Commander Winfield S. Schley, who made such a brilliant record in our late war with Spain.

Commander Schley sailed from Brooklyn in May, and lost not an hour. He left St. John's on the 12th, meeting a great deal of ice in Baffin Bay and Smith Sound, but he fought his way through, and sent a strong party ashore June 22d to hunt for signs of the missing explorers. The steam launch of the _Bear_ took the party to Brevoort Island, where Lieutenant Lockwood's letter was found, giving their location and stating that they were nearly out of provisions. Since the letter was dated eight months before, the dismayed commander and his officers believed it hardly possible that any of the men would be found alive.

The _Bear_ was pushed on, and the launch started out again early the next morning. Before sunset Greely's camp was discovered. Making all haste forward, the relief party lifted the flap and breathlessly peered in.

They saw Greely on his knees, muttering the prayers for the dying over one of his comrades. He looked up, dazed, bewildered, and unable to read the full meaning of what met his eyes. Around him, in different postures, were stretched his comrades, some dead and the others close to death. Those still living were Greely, Brainard, Biederbeck, Fredericks, Long, Connell, and Ellison. A few days' later arrival on the part of the _Bear_, and not one would have been breathing. As it was their lives were still in great danger, and it was necessary to nurse them with the utmost care. The remains of all who had died, with the exception of the Eskemo, were brought back to the United States. During the halt in the harbor of Disco, to leave the body of the Eskemo, Corporal Ellison, who had been so badly frozen, died. The relief expedition reached St. John's on July 17th and New York on the 8th of August.

In 1886 the prize of the Royal Geographical Society of Great Britain and the back premium were awarded to Captain Adolphus W. Greely and Sergeant David L. Brainard, for having attained the greatest results for the year in adding to geographical knowledge by examinations or explorations. No one can deny that this recognition and honor were well won.

The Greely expedition possesses so much interest that we have given considerable space to the narration. Among the many explorations of the far North, few or none equal this, not only in heroic daring but in results accomplished. It may be said that the fate of the Sir John Franklin party was made clear in 1880, by Lieutenant Frederick Schwatka, of the United States army, who discovered the skeletons of several of the unfortunate explorers, together with various relics of the expedition.

PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION OF 1884.

In the presidential election of 1884 the Democratic candidates were Grover Cleveland, of New York, and Thomas A. Hendricks, of Indiana. The Republican were James G. Blaine, of Maine, and General John A. Logan, of Illinois. The chief issue with the Republicans was the tariff, while the Democrats put forward that of civil service reform. There was much bitter discussion, some of the leading Republican papers refusing to support Blaine because of charges affecting his personal integrity. On the other hand, Cleveland was attacked with scarcely less bitterness. The quarrel between the leading parties caused some of the weaker ones to put forward candidates, with a result as follows: Grover Cleveland and T.A. Hendricks, 219; James G. Blaine and John A. Logan, 182; John P. St. John and William Daniel, Prohibition, received 151,809 popular votes; and Benjamin F. Butler and A.M. West, People's party, 133,825.