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    Adolphus Washington Greely

    Encyclopedia Arctica 15: Biographies




    Unpaginated      |      Vol_XV-0330                                                                                                                  
    EA-Biography

    (John J. Teal, Jr.)


    A(DOLPHUS) W(ASHINGTON) GREELY

    Contents

    Page
    U.S. Expedition to Lady Franklin Bay 2
    International Polar Conference and its Objective 2
    Expedition Plans and Organization 3
    Trip to Lady Franklin Bay 6
    Organization of Camp Life at Fort Conger 10
    Scientific Work of the Expedition 14
    Geographical Explorations 17
    "Farthest North" of Lockwood and Brainard 19
    Greely's Trips to the Interior of Grinnell Land 22
    Lockwood's Second Attempt at "Farthest North" 26
    Lockwood-Brainard Trip Across Grinnell Land 27
    Conclusion of Work at Fort Conger 29
    Preparations for Retreat 30
    Retreat Southward 32
    "The End - by Death and by Rescue" 37
    Subsequent Career 39
    Greely's Work in Alaska 39
    Greely as an Arctic Scholar 42



    001      |      Vol_XV-0331                                                                                                                  
    EA-Biography

    (John J. Teal Jr.)


           

    A (DOLPHUS) W(ASHINGTON) GREELY

            Major General A (dolphus) W(ashington) Greely (1844-1935). Leader

    of successful, though tragic, International Circumpolar Expedition to Lady

    Franklin Bay, (1881-1884), builder of Alaska telegraphic communications,

    and accomplished scholar of arctic affairs.

            A.W. Greely was born in Newburyport, Massachusetts, March 27, 1844,

    the son of John Balch and Frances (Cobb) Greely, each a lineal descendant

    of the earliest settlers of Plymouth Colony. Raised by hard-working and

    enlightened parents in the classical tradition of a New England whaling town,

    and educated in the public schools, Greely early acquired a foundation in

    such stern Yankee virtues as honor, piety, industry, and love of country.

    At the outbreak of the Civil War he was too young for service, but by chalk–

    ing the number "18" on the soles of his shoes he could truthfully say that

    he was "over eighteen," and was sworn in as a private foot soldier. Serving

    with gallantry amid great hardships, and several times wounded, he rose

    through the ranks to a commission. He saw final war service in command of

    Negro troops in New Orleans where, following the surrender, he remained for

    the early years of the Reconstruction.

            In 1867 Greely was commissioned in the infantry of the regular army

    assigned to the new-born Signal Corps, and was sent to the West to guard the

    mail routes and pioneer families from marauding Indians. Later he was given

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    EA-Biog. Teal: A.W. Greely

    the task of building the first telegraph lines through the Southwest and

    Northwest, and frequently found himself detailed to the organization and

    development of the Weather Service. It was while performing these duties

    that Greely acquired two advantages which later had a direct bearing upon

    his career as an arctic explorer: first, a reputation for resourcefully

    drawing success form the failure of others in field work (the Dakotas were

    then considered the training ground for American arctic explorers); and

    second, a wife, the beautiful and intelligent Henrietta Nesmith.

    U.S. EXPEDITION TO LADY FRANKLIN BAY



    International Polar Conference and its Objectives

            In 1879, acting upon the suggestion of a lieutenant in the Austrian

    Navy, and former explorer of Franz Josef Land, Charles Weyprecht, the Inter–

    national Polar Conference meeting in Hamsburg, Germany, agreed that scien–

    tific investigations of the Arctic, rather than geographical discovery, were

    of primary importance. In a romantic period in which the attainment of either

    the North Pole or the Northwest Passage was popularly deemed the most valid

    excuse for arctic exploration, the decision represented a marked scientific

    advance. Accordingly, the participating nations committed themselves to

    establishing a series of circumpolar stations to carry out a certain minimum

    set of simultaneous meteorological, magnetic, and other observations.

            To the United States fell the task of outfitting two stations, one at

    Point Barrow, Alaska, and the other in Lady Franklin Bay, Grinnel Land,

    Ellesmere Island. Lady Franklin Bay was the most northerly post in the

    program, but possessed no special characteristics which gave it an advantage

    over other more easily accessible locations in the general area. It was

    chosen because several years previously Capt. Howgate, U.S. Army, had

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    EA-Biog. Teal: A.W. Greely

    attempted to persuade Congress to establish a "polar colony" there,

    later to be used as a base for reaching the North Pole. Failing in this

    plan, he succeeded in having it designated as a circumpolar station.

           

    Expedition Plans and Organization

            The expedition was authorized by Congress in 1880, and the command

    was offered to Lt. Greely, who declined it, however, when the Navy refused

    to accept the ship Gulnare for the work. Sailing without him, the expedition

    got as far as Disko Island where the Gulnare became disabled and returned home,

    leaving the surgeon, Dr. Octave Pavy, in Greenland.

            On March 3, 1881, Congress appropriated $25,000 for the station which

    it had already authorized, and the command was again offered to Greely. How–

    ever, due to the avowed hostility to the work of Secretary of War Lincoln,

    the whole matter was held in abeyance until April 1st, over the protestations

    of Senator Conger and General Hazen, new Signal Corps head. With scarcely

    two months before the scheduled departure, with no board of arctic experts to

    advise him, and with only seventy-two hours to make out his full requisitions

    for supplies, the whole work of organizing and outfitting the expedition fell

    upon Greely. Secretary Lincoln would not even facilitate the requisition for

    the appropriation, which was not available until July 1st, and it was neces–

    sary to have many bills privately guaranteed. Over three-quarters of the

    scanty appropriation went for the charter of the seven-year-old Newfoundland

    steam sealer Proteus, especially fitted for ice navigation, leaving less

    than one-quarter for the equipment and provisioning of twenty-six men for

    a two-year period. In spite of these obstacles, it was remarkable that

    Greely forgot no article of serious importance and, indeed, thought of

    many considerate luxuries.



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            With the exception of Dr. Octave Pavy, Mr. Henry Clay, and two

    Eskimo hunt o e rs, the members of the expedition were volunteers from the

    U.S. Army. They were Lieutenants Kislingbury and Lockwood, each with con–

    siderable frontier service and highly recommended; Sergeants Israel and Rice,

    each of whom accepted service as an enlisted man in order to accompany the

    expedition; Sergeants Jewell, Ralston, Gardiner, Cross, Brainard, and Lynn;

    Corporals Schneider, Starr, Salor, and Elison; Privates Henry, Connell, Bender,

    Long, Whisler, Biederbick, Frederick, Ryan, and Ellis. Israel and Rice were

    astronomer and photographer, respectively, while Jew e ll, Ralston, and Gardiner

    were experienced meteorological observers. According to Greely, "long and

    hazardous duty on the Western frontier had inured the greater part of the

    men to dangers, hardships, and exposure, and developed in them that quality

    of helpfulness so essential in Arctic service." But none had had arctic

    experience.

            Greely's orders for the expedition were signed by Brigadier General

    W. B. Hazen, Chief Signal Officer, U.S.A., and, in view of their later

    significance, are worth examining in detail. They specified that a perma–

    nent station should be established "at the most suitable point north of the

    eighty-first parallel, and contiguous to the coal seam discovered near Lady

    Franklin Bay by the English expedition (Nares) of 1875." After departure

    from St. John's, Newfoundland, the Proteus was to proceed northward without

    other delay than those necessitated by stops in Greenland to pick up

    Dr. Pavy, the Eskimos, and dogs, by ice conditions, and by examinations

    and supplements of old depots and caches. Upon arrival at the permanent station,

    the Proteus was to be unloaded as quickly as possible, leave behind a coal

    supply if needed, and be sent back to St. John's.

            The orders further stated that sledge parties from the permanent station

    005      |      Vol_XV-0335                                                                                                                  
    EA-Biog. Teal: A.W. Greely

    should actively engage in accurate geographical exploration, that animal,

    plant, and mine e ral collections should be made, and that the procedures

    outlined by the Hambur International Polar Conference should be followed.

    It was then stated how connections with the outside world would be carried

    out.

            "It is contemplated that the permanent station shall be visited in

    1882 and in 1883 by a steam, sailing, or other vessel, by which supplies

    for and such additions to the present party as are deemed needful will be

    sent.

            "In case the vessel is unable to reach there in 1882, she will cache

    a portion of her supplies and all of her letters and dispatches at the most

    northerly point she attains on the east coast of Grinnell Land , and estab–

    lish a small depot at Littleton Island. Notices of the locality of such

    depots will be left at one or all of the following places, viz., Cape Hawks,

    Cape Sabine, and Cape Isabella.

            "In case no vessel reaches the permanent station in 1882, the vessel

    sent in 1883 will remain in Smith Sound until there is danger of its closing

    in by ice, and, on leaving, will land all her supplies and a party at Littleton

    Island, which party will be prepared for a winter's stay, and will be in–

    structed to send sledge parties up the east side of Grinnell Land to meet

    this party. If not visited in 1883, Lieutenant Greely will abandon his

    station not later than September 1, 1883, and will retreat southward by boat,

    following closely the east coast of Grinnell Land until the relieving vessel

    is met or Littleton Island is reached.

            "In view of the familiarity of Lieutenant Greely with the methods

    pursued by previous expeditions, and of the confidence reposed in his judge–

    ment and discretion, it is not thought necessary to furnish him more definite

    006      |      Vol_XV-0336                                                                                                                  
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    instructions...While he is at full liberty to vary the details accord–

    ing to circumstances, yet the main points here given should be held in

    view as of predominant importance."

            With these orders in hand Greely reported to his waiting ship in

    Newfoundland. The expedition itself, hurriedly prepared in the face of

    opposition and scant appropriation, composed of men inexperienced in the

    ways of the arctic, was the most important which had been sent out form the

    United States up to that time. For a leader it had a man who had been

    educated and had spent his entire mature life in the military, who gave

    unswerving and literal interpretation to all orders, inclined to be somewhat

    pompous and stubborn, but nevertheless efficient almost to a fault.

           

    Trip to Lady Franklin Bay

            At noon on July 7th, 1881, the Proteus steamed out from Newfoundland

    bound for Disko Island. Northwesterly gales, fog, and occasional streams

    of drift ice made the passage unpleasant, but on the 15th the ship dropped

    anchor in Godhavn. There Greely and his men were sumptuously entertained

    by Herr Krarup Smith, the Royal Inspector of North Greenland, and visited the

    various local Eskimos. The house originally intended for the abortive

    Howgate expedition of 1880 was loaded on board along with twelve dogs, dog

    food, and pemmicans. While at Godhavn the expedition was joined by Dr. Pavy

    who had spent the previous year at Ritenbenk as naturalist for Howgate.

            On the 21st the Proteus sailed to Ritenbenk where Henry Clay, grandson

    [ ?] of the great commoner and "a cultivated, refined gentleman, an ardent

    sportsman...thoroughly imbued with a longing for Arctic experiences," joined

    the expedition. Parties were sent to the great guillemot loomeries to collect

    eggs, which proved to be a "great addition to our table the following spring."

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    Ritenbenk, hidden deep in Vaigat Strait amid snowy mountains, was for Greely

    the most idyllic of his arctic experiences, and in 1885 he advises his

    readers, "If you go to Ritenbenk, you must see the garden."

            At Upernivik the expedition was entertained by Gov. Elberg, who had

    been unable to provide two local Eskimos as dog drivers. However, he knew

    of two at Proven, fifty miles to the south, and went in the launch Lady Breely ,

    with Lockwood, to pick them up. While they were gone Greely and his men

    busied themselves by filling out their provisions, buying fur clothing, and

    shooting more auks and guillemots for their larder. Two days later the launch

    returned, bringing the Greenlanders Thorlip Christiansen and Jens Edward,

    together with their kayaks and hunting equipment.

            Before leaving, Greely settled his accounts with Gov. Elberg, whom he

    describes as a man whose "greed for gain appeared to have overcome the sense

    of honesty which is so general in Danish Greenland. His prices for supplies

    were very high, and his sale of infected dogs caused the loss of the greater

    part of my draught animals, and later seriously affected our geographical

    success. I suspected disease from a dog hung up by the neck, but its existence

    was denied by him."

            Proceeding northward, the Proteus encountered no sea ice. Therefore

    Captain Pike chose the "middle passage" across Melville Bay to Cape York,

    making the trip in thirty-six hours.

            On August 1st the Proteus dropped anchor off the southeast island of the Cary

    group, and the cairn and depot left by Sir George Nares in 1875 was inspected.

    Its thirty-six hundred rations and whale boat were found to be in good condition,

    although bread in casks which were left standing was mouldy whereas that in

    casks lying i o n their sides was in good condition. The quantity of driftwood

    located here indicated the extent of a possible northwest current in Baffin Bay.



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    EA-Biog. Teal: A.W. Greely

            Efforts were made, but in no significant manner, to locate the natives

    of Etah as the party sailed north from Cape Chalon. However, they were un–

    successful. To the serious negligence of not contacting these Eskimos, and

    informing them of the expedition's plans, must be attributed in large part

    the eventual fate of Greely and his men.

            At Littleton Island, Lockwood landed a small supply of coal, while

    Greely searched for Nares' mail. While there it was noted that walrus were

    abundant, along with eider ducks.

            Northward the sea was open for at least forty miles. "Aware of the

    extreme rapidity with which ice conditions change in that sea, I decided not

    to touch at Cape Sabine to examine the sledging depot at that point
    , but to

    shape a direct course for Cape Hawks."

            At Cape Hawks Greely inspected the English depot at Dobbin Bay, finding

    it generally in good condition, and took away the cached jolly boat with him.

    From that point northward, with the exception of a miniature depot placed in

    Carl Ritter Bay, no effort was made to look for other caches, or to establish

    depots. The Proteus sailed along unhindered, while its passengers noted with

    amazement the prevalence of land and sea animals, until when within two miles

    of Cape Baird it was halted for the first time by sea ice. After a week of

    waiting and drifting the ice conditions permitted the ship to enter Lady

    Franklin Bay and tie up to the pack in ice-clogged Discovery Harbor.

            No sooner had the ship tied up that a black speck was discovered to be

    a musk-ox, and a wild scramble was made to get him. During the next four days

    fifteen musk-oxen were killed, so that finally Greely was compelled to order

    that, in the interests of conserving game for the station, no more were to be shot.

            Meanwhile Lockwood was sent to examine the proposed location near the coal

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    EA-Biog. Teal: A.W. Greely

    seam on Watercourse Bay. He reported the coal seam to be of excellent quality

    and easily accessible, but that the harbor was ice-jammed and provided no

    sheltered anchorage.

            Therefore it was decided to land where t hey were, at the former winter

    quarters of the Discovery , [ ?] which offered the further attraction of enabling

    comparative records to be obtained. Captain Pike immediately set about break–

    ing up the ice in Discovery Harbor, and within seven hours was anchored off the

    English post-office cairn. The men were divided into two parties and a site

    for the main building was chosen and named Fort Conger, in honor of the senator

    who had played a significant role in out sending the expedition.

            This work was completed by the 18th, and the Proteus was discharged

    although unable to leave because of ice. But by that time Corporal Starr and

    private Ryan were found to be physically unfit for the expedition; Mr. Clay

    requested his return to the States due to his inability to get along with

    Dr. Pavy (Greely said of this, "I could not but concur in his opinion, as the

    surgeon of the expedition had shown a marked disposition to extreme measures

    if Mr. Clay remained."); and Lt. Kislingbury, unable to get along with Greely,

    requested his release. However, this was on the 20th and Kislingbury stood on

    the shore watching the Proteus steam away unable to hear his calls. He remained

    with the expedition until the end, required to perform no duty.

            Aboard the Proteum were Greely's final instructions to his chiefs in

    Washington. He requested that seven additional men be sent as replacements

    the next year, and outlined a procedure to be followed in the event a relief

    vessel could not get through. This consisted of establishing depots (the

    provisions for which were given in detail), one on the east coast of Grinneell

    Land as far north as possible, and another on Littleton Island. Boats were

    to be left at the northernmost depot and at Cape Prescott, but not at Littleston

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    Island. If a relief party did not arrive in 1883, it should establish two more

    big depots between Cape Sabine and Bache Island. Thus the Grinnell Land coast

    would be covered with eight depots. The relief party should then winter in

    Life Boat Cove with telescopes trained on Cape Sabine and the country north,

    and send out sledge parties as far as Cape Sollinson to locate Greely.

           

    Organization of Camp Life at Fort Conger

            With the departure of the Proteus the expedition settled down to its

    scheduled observations and the preparations for its geographical field work.

    The first job was to move into their house, a building 60 by 17 feet, well

    insulated and warm, divided into three rooms. There was one large room for

    the enlisted men, a kitchen, and a room for the officers and Dr. Pavy. The

    building was erected on about the only level ground in the neighborhood.

            A military camp, Fort Conger was governed by a rigid schedule and dis–

    cipline which by present-day standards seems bizarre in such isolation. At

    the permanent station it was generally effective in maintaining a high morale.

    The men were required to retire at eleven each night, and breakfast was at

    seven. There was a general inclination on the part of the men to sleep long

    hours daily, especially during the winter, and it became necessary to forbid

    any person to be in bed between eight and three, except on Sundays. The working

    day for each man was eight hours on duty, sixteen off. A minimum of one bath

    a week was taken by every man. Bed and blankets were aired daily, and the

    quarters thoroughly swept out. On Saturdays there was a complete overhauling,

    followed by a stiff Sunday inspection.

            Exercise was encouraged, but not enforced. "My personal distaste to

    exercise for its own sake was so marked, that I hesitated to insist on it

    for others." Instead, ingenious details were devised to provide the men with

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    vigorous outdoor activity. Instruments were placed at a distance from the

    house, and ice needed to be hauled from the harbor.

            Greenly himself took personal supervision of the diet, and his success

    is attested by the fact that during the entire stay at Fort Conger there were

    no ailment which could be traced to food, such as dysentery, or scurvy.

    Since this was a rather remarkable achievement in the days when the English

    expeditions (but not the American) were suffering a heavy toll from scurvy,

    his methods are worth examining.

            Greely had prepared himself by reading widely in dietetics and by

    studying the recommendations of other explorers. In drawing up his menus

    attention was paid as well to the morale factors as to the nutritional values

    of food, and variety was made more effective by not allowing any men to know

    what the next day's meals would consist of. The average daily ration was

    about seventy ounces, of which 26.8 ounces were fresh meats, fish, dairy

    products, etc.; 10 were canned vegetables; 5.3 saccharine; 13.6 farinaceous

    foods; 4.7 fresh fruits; and the rest made up of preserves, coffee, tea,

    chocolate, dried fruits, etc. For eighteen of the twenty-four months at

    Fort Conger drinking water was obtained by melting paleocrystic ice from the

    harbor. (This water was used for all camp purposes except photography, for

    which it contained too much saline.) In the beginning water was obtained

    from shallow ponds, and although the considerable quantities of animalculae

    were strained out, the men suffered headaches from drinking it. This free

    use of paleocrystic ice (without scurvy) for drinking it. This free

    use of palecocrystic ice (without scurvy) for drinking purposes contrasts

    notably with De Long's labored efforts to boil all water obtained form ice.

            Greely later said: "My dietary list was shaped on the assumption that

    scurvy is a disease resulting from malnutrition, which would be fostered by

    dampness, uncleanliness, mental ennui, too strict discipline, excessive

    exercise or labor, and by regular and systematic use of alchoholic beverages.

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    I by no means assume that our exemption from this disease resulted from my

    dietary list and hybiene rules, but let who will pass on the question. I

    believe, however, that our large supply of fresh meat played a most important

    role in our freedom from scurvy.
    " During the first autumn over six thousand

    pounds of ovibos and other fresh meats were secured by hunting near Fort

    Conger, with an equal weight of offal going to the dogs.

            Liquor was considered by Greely to have a deleterious effect on health

    in general and immunity from scurvy in particular. This idea he derived from

    reasoning that the Americans, a relatively non-drinking nation, had not suffered

    from scurvy in the Arctic. A ration of one and one-half gills of rum weekly

    was allowed each man, but was not served regularly either in quarters or on

    sledge journeys. However, Greely recommended that future expeditions supple–

    ment this ration by one-half pint of light wine weekly.

            The amusements of the party were well diversified. A library of over

    one thousand volumes was brought along, comprising books on the Arctic,

    scientific, historical, and other works. Games were in good supply, but no

    gambling, except for tobacco, was allowed. A semi-monthly newspaper was

    published for a short while, and hunting was followed assiduously. Musical

    entertainments, lectures, and dramatic programs were often held, and the men

    even went skating on the harbor ice. On Sundays, however, no games were

    allowed, and all were required to attend a Sabbath service which consisted

    of a Psalm, read without comment by Greely. The doctor made regular examina–

    tions, reporting in writing at each Sunday's inspection on the expedition's

    health. Holidays, such as Christmas, and all birthdays were celebrated by

    a banquet, special entertainment, and gifts from home which Greely had

    collected beforehand.

            Peary and other explorers have since criticized the Greely expedition

    for failing to utilize the natural resources in the area of Fort Conger.

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    Actually, however, in view of the adequate supplies, such resources as were

    obtained to supplement the stores make an impressive list. Over seventy

    ovibos were killed along with seals, ptarmigans, ducks, geese, bears, foxes,

    hares, etc. Native coal was used, as was local driftwood. Berries, shrimps,

    fish, etc., were also put to good use. Several of the men became good hunters,

    particularly Sergeant Long, who often stayed out for several days under severe

    conditions, and who had a dressed meat per dartridge ratio which appears to

    be superior to Peary's best efforts. The two Eskimos also proved to be

    efficient and indefatigable hunters.

            Members of the expedition acquired many pets, including owls and foxes.

    The latter became quite tame, afraid only of the dogs, but snapping at the

    men's faces when they were bent over. The most interesting pets were obtained

    on June 10th, 1882, when a hunting party captured alive four young musk-ox

    calves, "which soon became tame and tractable. They ate mail, corn-meal,

    and almost any food that was given them. They grew finely, except one whose

    th r oat was torn open by the dogs. In a short time they became very fond of

    Long and Frederik, who generally cared for them, and would follow them around

    and put their noses into the men's pockets for food...when the long nights

    came it was impracticable to give them exercise, and probably form this cause,

    despite our care, they died."

            Actually, the weakest was killed for food, another died, and on October

    6th: "...I sent the others to Bellot Island today on dog-sledge. We tried,

    first, driving them over the ice, but were unable to do so. When they reached

    the island and one was untied, he died immediately. The other was taken up

    into the ravine, following Long like a dog, but, despite all efforts, the men

    were unable to leave him there; he ran after the sledge and returned to the

    station. After arriving near the house, he followed Long everywhere, and

    was finally carried to his old pen. He died the next day, from what cause we

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    could not ascertain." These comments from Greely are further evidence that

    should the domestication of the ovibos ever be attempted, the experimenters

    need anticipate no trouble in taming the animals.

            The clothing of the men was standard U.S. Army woolen winter issue,

    occasionally supplemented by homemade blanket clothes, and in 1881 and 1882

    was thought to be thoroughly adequate.

            The first year the approach of the long winter night, sunless from

    October 16th through February 28th, was viewed with considerable anxiety.

    Tales of "Arctic madness" were familiar to all the men. It was soon discovered,

    t h ough, that not darkness but monotony of routine had the adverse affect on

    morale. Gloom, irritation, and depression were evidenced, but to a more

    marked extent by the Eskimos than by the other men. Indeed, Jens Edward

    once wandered off in the darkness in a seemingly dazed state of mind, and

    was rescued only after great excitement. An increase of duties, variety in

    schedules, and entertainments reduced this condition to a minimu m The appear–

    ance of a band of wolves, aurora displays, and the discovery of a petrified

    forest nine hundred feet above sea level helped to stimulate interest and

    actual enjoyment of the night. The second year, no ill effects were noted.

           

    Scientific Work of the Expedition

            The program of observations by the Lady Franklin Bay Expedition were

    commenced as soon as the party landed, and very soon thereafter was proceeding

    on a full scale. These were divided as follows: meteorological, 234; tidal,

    28; magnetical, 264-aggregating 526 daily. Twice each month magnetic observa–

    tions were made every five minutes a day, increasing the number to over

    twelve hundred. These observations were continued until within forty-eight

    hours before the rescue at Cape Sabine in June, 1884.

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    Temperature was recorded in a shelter of the Louvre pattern by ther–

    mometers mounted on a revolving sheet-iron drum. February and July were

    found to be the coldest and warmest months, respectively. The anmometer

    and wind vane were mounted on the ridge pole of the main building. The

    barometers were located in several places with the admonition to the ob–

    server that a change of over .03 inches an hour was to be reported to Greely,

    either day or night. Over a two-year period the total precipitation was but

    7.77 inches, and the sky but 28 per cent clouded. Solar and terrestrial

    radiation thermometers supplied to the expedition were found to have such

    limited range as to be useless between October and March. Maximum and minimum

    thermometers were also placed at frequent interval e s in the territory of the

    expedition.

            The magnetic observatory, a wooden structure built entirely without metal,

    was located two hundred yards north of the main building. The magnetometer

    was mounted on a tripod frozen in the earth, and ten readings of the declination

    of the magnetic needle were made hourly. In 1882 this declination was found

    to

    average about 100° 13′ W. However, magnetically there was never a "calm" day.

    Also in this building was a dip-circle to measure the inclination of the

    magnetic needle, found to be in the neighborhood of 85°.

            The expedition took two years' unbroken tidal observations form a fixed

    gauge located in the harbor. In winter the tidal hole was covered by a snow

    house, but the ice within, which grew eight feet thick, and moving of the

    harbor floe made for great difficulties. These readings, supplemented by

    simultaneous recordings at Black Horn Cliffs, Rynke Harbor, Capes Sumner,

    Baird, Beechey, Cracroft, and Distant, made it possible to work out a cotidal

    curve for Robeson and Kennedy channels.



    016      |      Vol_XV-0346                                                                                                                  
    EA-Biog. Teal: A.W. Greely

            Time observations were made regularly, and a special house was built for

    a pendulum. This latter was an extremely intricate and bulky affair, the

    success of which depended upon uniformity of temperature and solid mounting.

    Forty-eight successful swings of the pendulum were made which later proved

    of great value to geodesy.

            Air samples and astronomical readings were also obtained, and many

    comparative experiments were carried out, wuch as measuring the velocity

    of sound at low temperatures, and defining the actual as opposed to the

    theoretical dew point. All of the observations were later worked out in

    detail and published.

            The scientific collections of the expedition were copious, well-annotated,

    and reasonably complete. They were ornithological, zoological, geological,

    ethnological, botanical, and hydrographical. Notes were made concerning the

    habits and seasons of all northern fauna and flor encountered, which, since

    there was no trained naturalist, have since been praised for their scientific

    worth. Many of these observations were precursers to later "discoveries,"

    for example, hares which ran on their hind legs only, and large petrified

    forests high above sea level. These collections, except for botanical, were

    for the most part necessarily abandoned before the retreat and presumably

    remain at Fort Conger to this day. Fortunately complete notes, drawings, and

    photographs were saved.

            In scientific terms, both quantitatively and qualitively, the Lady

    Franklin Bay Expedition more than fulfilled its best expectations. Techniques

    and classes of observation were not then as satisfactory as at present, but

    there can be little doubt that up to its time, in spite of severe hardship,

    it was the most scientifically successful of all expeditions in that wide

    area.



    017      |      Vol_XV-0347                                                                                                                  
    EA-Biog. Teal: A.W. Greely

           

    Geographical Explorations

            Autumn Sledging. A major part of the assignment of Greely's expe–

    dition was the accurate exploration of northern Ellesmere Island and the

    adjoining coasts. Consequently, as soon as the party was settled in Fort

    Conger, preparations began for future field work. Autumn travel in this

    part of the Arctic is both trying and hazardous. The snow so necessary

    for sledgers is absent or inadequate, the new ice is generally too thin

    or broken to support much weight, and sea fogs, abetted by rapidly lengthen–

    ing nights, out down the visibility. Nevertheless, the expedition began a

    program of local exploration, visiting sites occupied by the British expedi–

    tion (Nares), and laying out caches to support the heavy field work of the

    following spring.

            The first such trips, which commenced in late August, were made on

    foot with back packs. Lt. Lockwood explored to St. Patrick Bay; and Dr. Pavy

    and Sergeant Rice were sent northward toward Cape Joseph Henry, with orders

    to look for traces of the missing steamer Jeannette among their assignments,

    Returning from this latter trip, Rice broke through the ice-foot and suffered

    severe frostbite which necessitated a difficult rescue operation. He lost

    twenty-four pounds of weight in his suffering. Other parties, on foot and

    using boats, established a large supply depot at Cape Beechey (later referred

    to as Depot "B"), and examined the area about Cape Murchison, Depot "A."

    During this work they found quantities of driftwood high above sea level,

    and a cart and sledge abandoned by the English. Greely himself led a trip

    to the westward. As soon as the snow and ice were proper, these field parties

    traveled by sledge, gaining valuable experience.

            The result of these first autumn trips, which were temporarily suspended

    018      |      Vol_XV-0348                                                                                                                  
    EA-Biog. Teal: A.W. Greely

    in mid-October pending better traveling conditions, were four depots estab–

    lished to the northward, the stores at Lincoln Bay ascertained, new territory

    discovered in the interior, and three tons of fresh meat added to the larder.

            Winter and Spring Sledging . In early November sledge parties were

    sent out, again under Lt. Lockwood. The first was to add supplies, four

    hundred pounds of coal, a stove, and to build a snowhouse at Depot "B"; and

    to mine a half tone of coal for Depot "A". On other trips attempts were made

    to cross Robeson Channel, but open water and thin ice prevented this. The

    lessons learned are summarized by Greely; "Along such a bold coast no satis–

    factory sledging work can be done until the citter cold of winter has bound

    into a secure and solid mass the sea-floes — the only true Arctic highway."

            In early February preparations started for spring sledging. Of the

    twenty-seven dogs originally brought to Fort Conger but fifteen were living

    at the end of 1881 — thus permitting two teams of seven dogs each. Clothing

    of heavy wool was selected) "fur clothing was not highly valued by the members

    of my party"); and field rations were made up consisting of 22 ounces of meat,

    2 of butter, 4 of vegetables, 10 of bread, 2 of sugar, 1/2 of milk, 1 of tea

    and chocolate, and 6 of fuel alcohol. Efforts were made to reduce the constant

    weights to a minimum by double or triple buffalo sleeping bags, a small collap–

    sible stove which brought a pint of water to a boil on the expenditure of

    1/2 ounce of alcohol.

            For sledges Greely ignored the advice of earlier explorers and adopted

    the Greenland Eskimo sledge, replacing pine slats with ash or hickory.

    Support-party sledges were of the light Hudson Bay pattern, and were to be

    abandoned when their supplies became exhausted. Thus only thirty-five

    pounds of dead-weight was hauled as compared with the one hundred and eighty

    of a McClintock sledge.



    019      |      Vol_XV-0349                                                                                                                  
    EA-Biog. Teal: A.W. Greely

            Even before the return of the sun, sledge parties took the field,

    establishing depots to the eastward, and crossing over to Cape Summer, Thank

    God Harbor, and Hall's grave. On this latter excursion, Lockwood and his

    men, traveling in more extreme conditions, halved the time required for the

    same distance by the experienced Hall.

           

    "Farthest North" of Lockwood and Brainard

            On the 3rd of April, Lt. Lockwood, with Sergeant Brainard, the Eskimo

    Frederik, and four supporting sledges, set out to explore the northern coast

    of Greenland. Traveling amidst great hardships of driving blizzards and

    extreme temperatures, they picked up depots on their way and departed the

    Ellesmere Island coast at Cape Beechey for Greenland and the Polaris Boat

    Camp, arriving on April 9th. During this trip Lockwood several times returned

    to Fort Conger to replace broken equipment needed by the main party. At

    Boat Camp they were held by a storm until April 16th when, with a reduced

    party, they started north.

            The weather was bad and frequently forced them to their sleeping bags

    for hours, during which they shivered from the cold but nevertheless conserved

    rations. On the 24th, while near Black Horn cliffs, Lockwood opened a letter

    from Greely in which rewards above $900 were offered, "oontingent upon making

    a northing surpassing any ever before attained." Lockwood offered to increase

    the amount by half. Their route sometimes led them inland through gorges and

    ravines, deep with snow, whose vertical sides were but a few feet apart; at

    others along the dangerous ice-foot, broken by tides. Occassionally they

    examined cairns left by Lt. Beaumont of the Nares expedition, or placed caches

    for use on their return journey.



    020      |      Vol_XV-0350                                                                                                                  
    EA-Biog. Teal: A.W. Greely

            On April 20th the party was at Cape Bryant, from which could be seen

    Cape Britannia, the farthest land sighted by Beaumont, lying far to the

    northeast. At this point the supporting party turned back, leaving Lockwood,

    Sergeant Brainard, and the Eskimo Frederik to continue. Its accomplishments

    were remarkable, compared with the records of McClintock and Beaumont.

            Those who were to proceed northward made up a supply of seventy-five

    rations, sufficient for twenty-five days' absence from Cape Bryant, and took

    a course for Cape May. The snow crust was weak and the sledge repeatedly

    broke through, entailing laborious hauling. Beaumont's sketches appeared

    accurate, but could not account for the changing sea ice, which continually

    forced them to alter their direction. In the evening of May 3rd Brainard wrote

    in his diary: "Cape Britannia is now within our grasp...we got into our damp,

    cheerless sleeping bag with lighter hearts and in a more amiable frame of

    mind than for weeks. Even the dusky Greenlander has imbibed some of our

    spirit [doubtless inspired by Lockwood's recent promise of a hundred crowns

    if he reached Cape Britannia], and, sitting up in his dog-skin bag, takes

    mental note of everything which passes, with a delighted grin overspreading

    his shining, good-natured countenance...The remainder of the coast to Britannia

    is broken and mountainous, with two or three glaciers."

            May 7th brought them to Low point, 83° 07′, N., the equal latitude of

    the previous farthest land northing — Lt. Archer at Cape Columbia in 1876.

    From that point onward every step forward was setting a record. However,

    the weather was bad and travel conditions were rendered difficult by the

    approach of summer. They became worried that too long a delay would out

    off their retreat across Robeson Channel. On May 13th they arrived at a

    large island, later named Lockwood Island, and determined themselves to be

    at 83° 23.8′ N Brainard wrote in his journal: "We have reached a higher

    021      |      Vol_XV-0351                                                                                                                  
    EA-Biog. Teal: A.W. Greely

    latitude than ever before reached by mortal man, and on a land further

    north than was supposed by many to exist. We unfurled the glorious Stars

    and Stripes to the exhilarating northern breezes with an exultation impos–

    sible to describe." They had surpassed even Markham's record on sea.

            Their rations being almost exhausted, they decided to make this their

    last camp. There they remained until the 15th, making sketches of the

    surrounding land and sea, scientific observations, and peering to the north–

    east where they distinguished a headland which they named Cape Washington.

    Unknown to them this was but a few short miles from Cape Morris Jesup the

    most northerly land in the world.

            Then the three men turned about and made a dash for home, wallowing in

    soft snow, being continually robbed by the starving dogs. On the way they

    picked up the depot at Cape Bryant and then swung around to Beaumont's ill–

    fated and scurvy-ridden camp at Repulse Harbor, finding notes which described

    the suffering. At Polaris Boat Camp they rejoined their supporting party,

    left seven hundred pounds of rations for the next year's work and returned

    June 1st to Fort Conger in the face of a driving snow storm after an absence

    of sixty days.

            This explicit exploit of Lo k c kwood, Brainard, and Frederick ranks with

    the greatest of all sledge journeys in which provisions were hauled and no

    reliance was placed on hunting or natural resources. Lockwood had covered

    1,070 statute miles in forty-six marches, attaining the farthest north and

    extending the Greenland coast for ninety-five miles. If he had had snow–

    shoes and steel-runnered sledges, he thought he might have got farther, and

    arrangements were made for the following year based on these experiences.

    However, the vital matter of rations was not considered from the point of

    view of living by hunting. By such a method Lockwood could have gone on

    indefinitely.



    022      |      Vol_XV-0352                                                                                                                  
    EA-Biog. Teal: A.W. Greely

            Besides establishing Lockwood as an exceptional sledge traveler, and

    Brainard as the best of the expedition's enlisted men, the journey produced

    several important scientific results. Among these is Greely's accurate

    conjecture that the condition of tides and sea ice at Lockwood Island estab–

    lished both the insularity of Greenland and the unlikelihood of land beyond

    85° N. in that region.

           

    Greely's Trips to the Interior of Grinnell Land

            While Lockwood was attaining his "farthest north," other field parties

    were being sent out from Fort Conger. In mid-March Dr. Pavy, with Sgt. Rice

    and the Eskimo Jens Edward, left by sledge in an attempt to find land to the

    northward of Cape Joseph Henry. Proceeding by way of the Alert's winter

    quarters, they arrived at Cape Joseph Henry and, despite Edward's warnings

    of disintegrating ice and open water, went north on the ice to 82° 56′. Then

    they were cut adrift, regaining land only after a long and difficult struggle.

            Greely had been especially eager to explore the interior of Grinnell

    Land, believing the distance to the opposite coast of but limited extent.

    Therefore, on April 26th he set off with Bender, Connell, and Whisler. Taking

    a route across Basil Norris Bay and over the divide to Sun Bay, they saw a

    wolf, an event which was illustrative of the limiting factors of the Lady

    Franklin Bay expedition, both in field work and in the fateful retreat.

    Greely writes: " The gun had been left behind , but we had two revolvers, with

    one of which Private Connell fired at the wolf without success." Later on

    Connell saw four more wolves together with a musk-ox calf; and in one valley

    a musk-os trail which appeared to be similar to the "buffalo trails" of

    the West.

            Sun Bay, which was first sighted by Archer in 1876, was found to be

    023      |      Vol_XV-0353                                                                                                                  
    EA-Biog. Teal: A.W. Greely

    the mouth of a large fjord, later named Chandler. As the party followed

    it to the west, "the deep interest with which we had hitherto pursued our

    journey was not greatly intensified. The eye of civilized man had not seen,

    nor his foot trodden, the ground over which we were travelling." In order

    to expedite the trip of the main party, Greely frequently set off in one

    direction or another at a dog-trot to determine the best routes. By this

    method he was able to cover 5 to 6 miles an hour, and add many details to

    the surroundings.

            After turning northward they came to the end of Chandler Fjord and a

    glacier. The best route before them lay up a river to the west which drained

    through a valley about a mile wide. The ice was level and smooth, enabling

    rapid progress. Shallow pools of fresh water were found on the ice, and on

    the banks were many signs of musk-oxen. On the evening of April 30th they

    were startled to come upon open water, and were forced to follow the thin and

    hazardous ice-foot By this method they struggled along until, "a sharp

    turn brought in sight a scene which we shall all remember to our dying day.

    Before us was an immense ice-bound lake."

            Lake Hazen proved to be an arctic paradise, about 40 miles long to 7 or

    8 at its widest, surrounded by rich vegetation which served as pasturage for

    a large amount of game, and bordered to the west and south by mountains.

    Across from the mouth of Ruggles River, from which point it had been discovered,

    lay a large glacier with a vertical front of 175 feet, and five miles wide.

    Greely names this glacier for his wife, Henrietta Nesmith.

            The next few days were spent in sketching, taking notes, and collecting

    specimens. At one time a beautiful parhelion, or mock sun, appeared; and at

    another great fun was had potting away at rabbits with the revolvers. Then

    the party returned to Fort Conger, arriving on May 7th after twelve days'

    024      |      Vol_XV-0354                                                                                                                  
    EA-Biog. Teal: A. W. Greely

    absence and 250 miles of travel, an average of over twenty miles a day or

    the equvalent of McClintock's best journeys.

            Encouraged by the results of this excursion and the ease with which it

    had been made, Greely determined to renew his explorations of the interior

    during the summer. On June 24th he left by sledge with Lynn, Bierderbick,

    Salor, and Whisler, bound for the already established depot at Basil Norris

    Bay. There the sledge was sent back and the party proceeded with back-packs

    and pulling a heavy cart. Their route to Lake Hazen was up Black Rock Valley.

    Not much ground had been covered when a musk-ox was seen, but not pursued.

    Greely remakrs, "hunting was quite apart from the object of the journey, as

    fresh meat in great quantity was yet on hand at our home station".

            By June 28th they were on the shores of Lake Hazen after having passed

    large numbers of grazing musk-oxen, some foxes, geese, ducks, the trunks of

    pine trees, and reindeer antlers. Only birds were shot. The wagon proved to

    be a "man-killer," but was hauled along anyway. Once while collecting driftwood

    on the shores of Lake Hazen six musk-oxen were seen, but were ignored in

    preference for two ptarmigan which were shot. Also on the shores Greely dis–

    covered the site of an old Eskimo summer encampment with four tent rings, and

    the whalebone runners of a sledge. On the bank facing Ruggles River he found

    three abandoned Eskimo houses, made of slate and sod, which evidently had been

    permanent abodes. They were three feet high, six by ten in area, and contained

    an abundance of bones and other relics. These included carved walrus combs,

    a needle, fishhooks, and wood carvings.

            Continuing westward along the shores, a herd of thirty musk-oxen was

    seen, containing many calves, but was untouched. Another Eskimo house was

    discovered, this one seventeen feet by nine, with a long entrance way, a store–

    house, two fireplaces, and Greenland-type sleeping platforms. Nearby was

    025      |      Vol_XV-0355                                                                                                                  
    EA-Biog. Teal: A.W. Greely

    another but smaller one. Among the relics found were narwhal horns, ivory

    toggles for dog traces, and a skinning knife with bone handle and iron blade .

            On June 30th the wagon was left behind, and Greely went on with Lynn

    and Bierderbick. They carried knapsacks and accordingly out down their

    rations to a minimum. At the western end of Lake Hazen they turned south,

    traveling in warm weather among bees and flowers. Bierderbick, however, became

    sick and was sent back alone to the wagon. Greely and Lynn continuing south

    entered a mountainous region and discovered a large glacial cap which stretched

    as far as they could see. Then Lynn was injured crossing a stream, and Greely

    went on alone to climb a mountain, Mount Arthur, about 4,500 feet high, from

    which he could view the country. As far as he could see in every direction

    were mountains, rounded hills, lush valleys, and glaciers — none of which had

    been seen before by white man. After drawing sketches and maps he returned to

    Lynn, and the two turned back toward Fort Conger because their supplies were

    running low.
    Had any of the hundred or more musk-oxen seen on the journey

    been killed, the party could have stayed in the field an unlimited amount of

    time, continuing its valuable and excellent exploration of unknown country.

    As it was, it returned to Fort Conger July 10th after having covered 352 miles

    in nineteen marches.

            The results of these trips to the interior by Greely were the observation

    and mapping of about five thousand square miles of territory, the confirmation

    of Nordenskjöld's guess that the interior of Grinnell Land held verdant valleys,

    the finding of huge ovibos herds, and the important evidence of former Eskimo

    habitation. However, Greely, like Nordenskjöld, erroneously reasoned that

    the interior of Grinnell Land and Greenland must be similar.



    026      |      Vol_XV-0356                                                                                                                  
    EA-Biog. Teal: A.W. Greely

           

    Lockwood's Second Attempt at "Farthest North"

            The end of that second summer was utilized by making loca l explora–

    tion trips, hunting and fishing. The winter passed more monotonously than

    the first, but was enlivened by the discovery by Brainard of a petrified

    forest and more Eskimo ruins, by the first case of serious discipline breach

    (Cross stealing alcohol and getting drunk), preparations for the spring sledge

    work, and, towards the end, by the laying out of depots as far as Greenland.

            On March 10th Lockwood set out to better his previous northing on the

    Greenland coast. Accompanied by Brainard, Jewell, Elison, and the two

    Eskimos, he moved rapidly to the Polaris Boat Camp, there accumulating sizable

    stores. A new batch of dogs, born at Fort Conger, facilitated the work. The

    field plan called for Jewell's supporting sledge to return by April 23rd, and

    that of Lockwood by June 1st.

            This was an extremely bad year for ice travel. "On our arrival at

    Drift Point," writes Lockwood, "there was a continuous belt of young ice a

    hundred yards or more wide between the polar pack and the shore, with many

    water holes and small cracks in it. Thick water clouds were visible to the

    north." Nevertheless the party struggled to move on. But a stone would go

    through the ice almost anywhere, and the sea ice was in violent motion,

    moving away from the shore. Finding it impossible to get around Black Horn

    Cliffs, Lockwood decided to turn back before it was too late to cross Robeson

    Channel, and arrived home on April 12th.

            This trip to Black Horn Cliffs had been made in the swift time of six

    days, as compared with twenty-two the year before. Even if they had traveled

    thereafter at the former rate, they would have had seventeen days beyond

    Lockwood Island and good reason to believe it possible to reach 85° N.

            Accurate tidal readings and the recovery of instruments left at Repulse

    027      |      Vol_XV-0357                                                                                                                  
    EA-Biog. Teal: A.W. Greely

    Harbor by Beaumont in 1876 rendered the journey partially fruitful. Com–

    menting on the direction of ice drift observed by Lockwood, Greely formed

    the opinion of a moderately open polar sea, surrounded by a one hundred–

    mile-wide ice belt, and surrounding a small polar land, glacier covered.

    Navigation in such a sea could be carried out only, and but rarely, north

    from Svalbard.

           

    Lockwood-Brainard Trip across Grinnell Land

            Disappointed at the failure of his second Greenland attempt, Lockwood

    requested permission to try again, but instead was ordered by Greely to cross

    Grinnell Land to the western sea, by way of Archer Fjord, if possible. Lock–

    wood was pessimistic about both the feasibility and the route, but set out

    with Brainard, Christiansen, and ten good dogs on April 25th. Nine hundred

    and fifty pounds were on the sledge when it left Depot Point, three marches

    out.

            At the end of the fourth march they were at the end of Ella Bay, having

    covered in that time with dogs a distance which had taken Archer fourteen days

    by man-hauling. The country around Ella Bay was found to contain numerous

    tracks of large and small game, and was walled in by mountains and cliffs.

    Traveling south through a river valley, the snow and projecting stones made

    the going difficult. Finally they came to a 200-foot-high glacier across

    the valley, and there camped for two days.

            To the east of the glacier was a high peak, Mount Difficult, which

    Lockwood and Brainard climbed to get a wider view. It proved to be 4,444 feet

    high. To the south were cone-shaped mountain peaks, covered with ice and snow,

    and several glaciers. To the west and southwest were isolated peaks and vast

    expanses of glacial ice.



    028      |      Vol_XV-0358                                                                                                                  
    EA-Biog. Teal: A.W. Greely

            Their route then led them westward until they reached a point where

    they discovered an extraordinary physical condition of the country. A

    vertical wall, up to 200 feet high, of solid ice extended across the land.

    They christened it wi the "Chinese Wall." but it was later named Mer De

    Glace Agassiz. On mountaintops or in valleys it seemed to run with unvarying

    height. Along its front were many lakes and rivers.

            Following the face of the wall through ravines and over ridges, their

    sixth march brought them to salt water and the head of a fjord, later named

    Greely Fjord. They knew they had successfully crossed Grinnell Land and

    that their mission was complete. However, they continued down the fjord for

    about 26 miles and made camp in a snowstorm. Confined in their fed-rolls

    they fasted for nineteen hours and reduced dog rations to permit further

    investigation. By climbing a high cliff they determined that Greely Fjord is

    between 60 and 80 miles long, "the south shore being considerably longer than

    the north. Whether the furthest cape [Lockwood] on the south side was on the

    same or another land could not be determined." From the ice with a telescope

    Lockwood thought he discerned an even farther cape, but was undertain of it.

            On May 16th, with rations running low, they started home, arriving May

    26th in a state of great exhaustion and near starvation. Had this party,

    traveling through country heavy with game, relied on hunting, it could have

    remained in the field longer and continued its exploration of land which has

    never since been trod by man.

            As it was, the trip was a fitting conclusion to the brilliant sledging

    careers of Lockwood and Brainard, and the excellent field work of the expedi–

    tion. Grinnell Land had been crossed, a whole new swath of territory explored,

    and an amazing glacier, running from coast to coast, discovered. Like the

    other journeys of the expedition, it was carried out by men inexperienced in

    029      |      Vol_XV-0359                                                                                                                  
    EA-Biog. Teal: A.W. Greely

    in arctic travel before arriving at Fort Conger, but who bettered the times

    and distances of their predecessors. It is only to be regretted that these

    men did not shoot the many animals they saw in the field and thus extend the

    work. Much of our present knowledge of these regions, sixty-five years later,

    is based solely upon the work of these soldiers.

           

    Conclusion of Work at Fort Conger

            The last days at Fort Conger in the summer of 1883 were spent in

    preparing the scientific notes and collections of the expedition for trans–

    portation to the United States. Greely reduced all the observations and had

    several copies made. The collections of rocks, plants, animals, and other

    natural phenomena were packed in watertight boxes, and completely annotated.

    However, this latter task was not achieved without difficulty.

            Greely wrote, "The Lady Franklin Bay Expedition was not happy in its

    surgeon; Dr. Pavy was an excellent physician, but his prebious Bohemian life

    made restraint irksome and subordination to military authority obnoxious...

    his lack of any order or system proved most injurious to the natural history

    interest, which were in his charge." On June 1st it became necessary to

    transfer the natural history work to Lt. Lockwood. It was then found that

    complete chaos reigned, and every man on the station was pressed into service

    to complete the work.

            In July Dr. Pavy refused to renew his contract or to turn over his

    diary for transmission to the chief signal officer, falsely claiming that

    it contained private letters. It was necessary to arrest hime and limit his

    wanderings to within a mile of the post, but he broke his parole.

            The work of the expedition at Fort Conger was then concluded. It had

    030      |      Vol_XV-0360                                                                                                                  
    EA-Biog. Teal: A.W. Greely

    been remarkably successful. No case of scurvy or other illness had occurred,

    and every man was in fine health. Over 500 observations a day had been

    recorded in accordance with the International Polar Conference requirements.

    Geographical exploration had covered 3 1/2° of latitude and 45° of longitude,

    a large piece of the unknown Arctic. Ethnological, fossil, and natural

    history discoveries had gained a large new body of knowledge for science.

    It had also demonstrated the great latent abilities of several men, especially

    Brainard's

           

    Preparation for Retreat

            When a relief ship had not arrived in the summer of 1882, Greely

    naturally turned his energies to preparing for the eventuality that no ship

    would get through in 1883 either. What he did not know, of course was that

    the summer before, in accordance with his instructions, the sealing vessel,

    Neptune , under the command of a U.S. Army private, William M. Beebe, Jr.,

    had attempted to get through to him.

            The ship got as far as Cape Hawks after a two months' fight with the

    ice in Kane Basin, and was there beset. Breaking loose after a week, the

    ship went to Cape Sabine where Beebe examined the small English cache of 1876,

    but added nothing to it. More fruitfuless attempts were made to get north,

    but finally a retreat was made to Littleton Island where the presence of

    Etah Eskimos prevented him from landing his stores. He then went back to

    Cape Sabine and placed a depot of 250 rations, one eighth cord of birch wood,

    and a whaleboat. Returning to Littleton Island he established another 250–

    ration depot, concealing it from the Eskimos and not telling them about

    Greely's expedition to the north. Then he returned to St. John's with his

    shipload of supplies. Unable to land the northern depots requested by Greely,

    031      |      Vol_XV-0361                                                                                                                  
    EA-Biog. Teal: A.W. Greely

    he should have placed his supplies at Cape Sabine — the only intelligent

    course of action.

            As early as January 1883, Greely began the establishment of a large

    depot at Cape Baird which would permit the party retreating by boat to leave

    that point with as many rations as it had upon leaving Fort Conger. Dr.Pavy

    opposed this work on the ground that it would be injurious to health, but really

    only to be a nuisance. Five thousand pounds of bagged coal were also trans–

    ported to Dutch Island where the launch lay. Twelve men were sent over to

    Thank God Harbor to bring back the ice boat left by Beaumont in 1876.

            All notes, records, the 48 photographic negatives, the botanical collection,

    the diaries of all the men were placed in watertight boxes. The valuable hundred–

    pound pendulum was also crated, and four rifles with a thousand rounds, two

    shotguns with "ample" ammunition were selected. The personal baggage of every

    man was reduced to eight pounds, but such articles as needles and yarn were

    packed for possible trade with the Etah Eskimos. Greely also arranged to carry

    his sword and epaulets.

            The plan was to abandon Fort Conger by August 8th if no ship arrived.

    Although supplies were adequate for another year's stay, and the local hunting

    was good enough to support the party indefinitely, there was no question about

    leaving. Greely had specific orders to do so, and presumed that arrangements

    were being actively pursued to intercept his party to the south. Even so,

    Greely did not kill his dogs because he deemed that, if any contingency forced

    them back to Fort Conger, they would be invaluable for hauling in game and

    fuel. Peary's later criticisms in this regard were entirely inapplicable

    to the circumstances.



    032      |      Vol_XV-0362                                                                                                                  
    EA-Biog. Teal: A.W. Greely

           

    Retreat Southward

            August 9th, 1883, the Lady Franklin Bay Expedition abandoned Fort

    Conger, leaving behind such equipment and collections as could not be safely

    transported, and several open barrels of food for the dogs. The bay was

    clogged with ice in violent motion, but by weaving a perilous course the launch,

    towing the whaleboat, iceboat, and jolly boat, made its way to Cape Baird,

    arriving the next day. The party, provisions, and fuel were divided between

    the boats to provide against the loss of any one of them. At Cape Baird the

    depot was taken up and a cairn erected in which a record of the expedition's

    past work and future plans were placed.

            The party then steamed out into the stormy waters of Kennedy Channel,

    with 40 days' full rations and 20 days' more rations cached between them and

    Cape Collinson — enough to reach Cape Hawks with the same amount of supplies

    as on leaving Cape Baird. "We then knew not that one relief steamer was on

    the bottom of the sea, and that its consort, its commander 'convinced that

    this frozen region is not to be trifled with,' was that very day steaming

    safely southward, with undiminished stores, into the harbor of Upernivik."

            At first they traveled in open water, but soon a stiff gale and snowstorm

    drove them to shelter near Cape Lieber. The next day they went to Cape Cracroft,

    where one hundred pounds of cached meat was picked up. Since open water then

    extended to the Greenland shore, the party again set off immediately, but before

    long they were enveloped off Cape Defosse in a dense fog. Slowing to half-speed

    and threading through grounded floebergs, "we kept a couple of horns in service,

    with which we hope to notify any passing vessel of our presence." Camp was made

    in a safe harbor at midnight. The next morning, however, it was found that

    the engineer aboard the launch, detailed as sentinal, had allowed her to ground.

    Sgt. Cross had gotten drunk on fuel alcohol, endangering the whole party and

    forcing the loss of several hours to free the boat. During the day, still

    033      |      Vol_XV-0363                                                                                                                  
    EA-Biog. Teal: A.W. Greely

    under the influence of liquor, he allowed the towed boats to be nipped

    several times, after which they had to be drawn up on the ice.

            Greely's 1881 cache in Carl Ritter Bay was taken, and the party proceeded

    in foul weather. On the 13th they were stopped by inpenstrable ice. From a

    cliff they found that a narrow lead extended southward from which they were

    barred by a big floeberg. Unable to delay, they found a split in the ice and

    entered. "The narrow cleft presented to our fiew afforded perhaps the most

    wonderful passage ever traversed by voyageurs. Scarcely a dozen feet wide,

    it was over a hundred yards long, and its perpendicular walls of opaque ice

    on each side reached full fifty feet skyward above our passing boats."

            Thus did the party struggle south, amid snowstorms and crushing ice,

    picking up one or two small depots, contending with a drunken engineer, be–

    coming nipped in the day, shivering in wet sleeping bags at night, until on

    August 26th they arrived at the Cape Hawks depot. No ship had visited it as

    they had hoped, and on leaving they had but 60 days' provisions. "Beyond

    that time we must depend upon the resources of the country...we may succeed in

    reaching the Cary Islands...our situation is indeed dangerous." After a 300–

    mile voyage, they could see Cape Sabine fifty miles farther to the south.

    A foot of new snow covered the ground, obliterating many landmarks.

            New ice was forming and the temperature had permanently fallen below

    freezing. Losing no time, the party made a course directly toward Bache Island,

    but seventeen miles off Victoria Head and a mile from a large southward lead

    they were beset by ice and were forced to haul out the smaller boats. And there

    they were trapped for fifteen days, drifting helplessly in every direction with

    the ice, shooting seals for food, putting up with the mutinous actions of

    Kislingbury and Pavy, buffeted by ice, storm, and blizzard. At time they

    would drift near the Greenland coast, at others near Grinnell Land, their hopes

    034      |      Vol_XV-0364                                                                                                                  
    EA-Biog. Teal: A.W. Greely

    and plans rising and falling accordingly. They made but twenty- five two miles

    southward. These hardships, however, "had no power to dishearten or dis–

    courage them [the men], and even failed to quench their exuberant spirits."

            On September 10th they lay but a few miles from Bache Island and eleven

    from Cocked Hat Island. It was therefore decided to try crossing the ice to

    Cocked Hat Island by dragging the sledge, ice boat and whale boat. After an

    all-day battle with tons of weight and many doubtle trips, they had made

    good a mile and a quarter. This went on for days, with the ice drifting

    them back twice the distance they had traveled on its surface, until the

    whaleboat was necessarily abandoned. To add to their troubles, Dr. Pavy

    sent about contradicting orders, claiming that Greely was determined to des–

    troy the party and that he had advocated staying at Fort Conger.

            Finally the northward drift forced them to built a semipermanent camp

    on the ice in which to repair their equipment and decide on new plans. Some–

    times during storms the men stayed in their sleeping bags 40 hours or more,

    fasting. On September 26th a gale arose which "increased in violence, causing

    such conflict between the heavy floes as it is beyond the power of language

    to describe. Our own floe was from forty to fifty feet in thickness, and yet it

    trembled and cracked like chalk under the tremendous pressure... Just as the

    whale-boat party quitted their snow-house, one of these repeated shocks split

    our floe again, opening a wide crack, which soon swallowed up a portion of the

    abandoned house." The storm and blizzard continued unabated for two days,

    after which they found themselves embayed in Baird Inlet. There was nothing

    to do but make a valiant continuous effort to reach Cape Sabine over the

    tossed-up ice and open leads. This was accomplished by dint of a perseverance

    characterized by the men's refusal to leave behind the pendulum, as an action

    unsuited to men. In the leads they had seen walrus, but they sank when shot.

    035      |      Vol_XV-0365                                                                                                                  
    EA-Biog. Teal: A.W. Greely

    Thus after over five hundred miles of travel, (fully a hundred was by sledge),

    and fifty-one days, shore was reached with all records, instruments, baggage,

    and health intact.

            When Greely landed on Cape Sabine he fully expected to fine either

    adequate depots or news of where rescue would be had. However, such was not

    to be the case. After the miserable failure of the Beebe relief expedition

    some concern was felt in Washington as to Greely's fate. It was tempered

    by the false impression created by the ease with which the Proteus had gotten

    through to Lady Franklin Bay in 1881. In 1883, Lt. Garlington, an infantry

    officer from the Dakotas, volunteered to lead the relief party on the Proteus ,

    again under Captain Pike, The Navy ship Yantic, was to accompany them as a

    tender as far as Littleton or the Cary Islands. If Garlington was unable to

    get through to Greely he was to leave caches on the east coast of Grinnel Land

    and winter in Life Boat Cove — all in accordance with Greely's instructions

    and expectations.

            The Proteus was nipped and sank in the ice off Cape Sabine and, in spite

    of the lives dependent upon them, says Sch l ey, "the crew of the 'Proteus', freed

    from the restraints of discipline, with one or two exceptions, lent no assist–

    ance in saving the stores, and after securing their bags, spent their time in

    plundering the property of the expedition." A cache of 500 rations was taken

    ashore and left for Greely with a note that everything humanly possible would

    be done to rescue him. Then the entire party set off for the Yantic . A

    merry game of missed rendezvous was played in and about Littleton and the

    Cary Islands until Commander Wildes, who had adequate provisions aboard to

    supply a winter's party, learned of the fate of the Proteus and decided him–

    self to turn south - leaving nothing behind for Greely. This whole expedition

    was an inglorious chapter of our military and naval history, dedicated to

    cupidity and cowardice.



    036      |      Vol_XV-0366                                                                                                                  
    EA-Biog. Teal: A.W. Greely

            The forbidding condition of the ice in Smith Sound and the failure of

    relief parties to reach him placed Greely in a critical position. Although

    but about 25 miles separated him from Littleton Island, where chances for

    supplies or meeting the Etah Eskimos were much greater, he felt that at the

    time he had no alternative but to make camp near the Alfred Newton Glacier.

    They started building winter quarters in a region which seemed to be fairly

    well stocked with seals and walrus. Two walrus were shot, enough with other

    supplies to have provided food for the year - but, like most of the seals, they

    sank out of sight. The majority of cached supplies were nearer the promontory

    of Cape Sabine, and since they were too difficult to haul, Greely decided to

    move to them. This meant abandoning a hunting region for one more strategic

    in terms of rescue.

            A site was selected for a winter house, and in freezing weather with

    poor tools a hut of stone and sod, with the whaleboat and tarpaulins for a

    roof, was built. It was cramped to the extent that a man could not stand

    upright and every sleeping bag touched another. A storehouse was outside

    the entrance, and a stove without a chimney was in the center of the room.

    Cold and damp, it leaked and formed frost on the inside.

            While this hut, known as Camp Clay, was being built the hunters, (Lone,

    Kislingbury, Christiansen, and Edward), were kept in the field - but without

    luck. October 19th, with a week of sunlight left, the party moved into its

    winter quarters, thankful at least to be out of the wind and blizzard. Food

    was the most critical problem, and parties were sent out to pick up the various

    caches. These were harrowing experiences, for the weather and traveling con–

    ditions proved so arduous that even the best men became exhausted, and several

    were severely frostbitten. Sgt. Elison lost both hands as a result of one

    such journey.



    037      |      Vol_XV-0367                                                                                                                  
    EA-Biog. Teal: A.W. Greely

            Rations were reduced to near starvation point [?] to last until the

    early spring, with everything depending upon shooting some large animals.

    As time went on the sufferings increased, and the rations were further cut.

    Those not hunters spent most of their days in their sleeping bags. In order

    to conserve fuel the only light was during cooking time. To divert the men,

    Greely lectured on the 48 states and other subjects, or spoke of projected

    geographical exploration in the neighborhood. Some of the men, Lockwood

    included, seemed to become effected mentally with a depression which might

    be interpreted as an early symptom of scurvy. But while Dr. Pavy continued

    to incite trouble, and others stole food or fought, Sgt. Long on his hunting

    trips extended the knowledge of Hayes Sound by 30 miles. On January 18th,

    Sgt. Cross, the engineer who had been so often intoxicated, died.

           

    "The End - by Death and by Rescue"

            It was Greely's plan to make an attempt at crossing Smith Sound on

    March 1st, and for this purpose rations were husbanded. Nevertheless hunters

    constantly in the field were allowed more, usually over their own protest.

    However, when the day arrived conditions in Smith Sound did not permit crossing.

    On the 13th Greely wrote, "The fates seem to be against us - an open channel,

    no game, no food, and apparently no hopes from Littleton Island. We have been

    lured here to our destruction. If we were now the strong, active men of last

    autumn, we could cross Smith Sound where there is much open water; but we are

    a party of twenty-four starved men, of whom two cannot walk and half a dozen

    cannot haul a pound."

            From then on their doom was certain. The party was being supported by a

    few exceptional men especially Brainard, Long, and the two Eskimos. The

    latter, incidentally, were no more successful at hunting than the others.

    038      |      Vol_XV-0368                                                                                                                  
    EA-Biog. Teal: A. W. Greely

    Soon starvation began taking its toll, and the men began to die. Some

    formed cliques and squabbled endlessly about food. Private Henry stole

    food regularly from the commissary so that his comparative strength became

    a serious threat to the safety of the other members of the party. He was,

    therefore, after repeated warnings, shot. Dr. Pavy continued his insolence

    and undermining of morale — in his case, unlike that of the other men, not

    attributable to starvation and suffering. The inval i d Elison survived, with

    spoons tied to his arm stumps, due to the generosity of the other men.

            Toward the end of June the diet consisted of a few shrimps, a stew of

    lichens and leather clothing. By June 22nd Greely, Brainard, Bierderbick,

    Long, Connell, Elison, and Frederik were the only survivors. They had moved

    out of the hut to a tent on dryer ground, and had been too weak to right it

    when it blew over. About them lay the bodies of their comrades, buried

    either shallow in the gravel or in the tidal cracks. Until that day the

    survivors had maintained their meteorological observations and diaries, but

    now they were too weak. Near midnight they heard a steamer's whistle echoing

    over the hill from Payer Harbor.

            The next day they were rescued by Commander Schley, leading a capable

    and swift-moving rescue squadron. By skill and sheer determination he had

    gotten farther north at that early date than was thought possible. Another

    twenty-four-hour delay and he would probably have found only the dead awaiting

    him. The Schley Relief Expedition cost about half a million dollars, (as

    compared with the $25,000 of the Greely expedition), a sum appropriated

    largely because of the national indignation which Greely's wife and others

    were able to arouse over the negligence and inefficiency which had already

    been shown. Unlike Lady Franklin, she was able to save her husband.

            On the trip home Elison died of his wounds, but the others gradually

    039      |      Vol_XV-0369                                                                                                                  
    EA-Biog. Teal: A.W. Greely

    regained their health. When they arrived in the States great parades and

    banquets were held, and Greely became an international here. At this time

    many sensational pamphlets were written, some charging cannibalism to the

    survivors. Certainly there was evidence that some of the bodies in the

    graveyard had been fed upon; but if a starving man can maintain hislife by

    means of his dead companion he would be a sentimental fool not to avail

    himself. It has happened on many expeditions, and has no conceivable moral

    connotations.

            Thus the Lady Franklin Bay Expedition came to an end. In its assigned

    work it had been eminently successful. Its failures were due to the c oward–

    ice and apathy of others, and an inability to support itself by hunting.

           

    SUBSEQUENT CAREER

           

    Greely's Work in Alaska

            Following the purchase of Alaska from Russia in 1867, an even dictated

    by expediency and opportunism, the territory was abandoned to neglect. For

    years only the most sporadic interest was shown in its gold, whales, and furs;

    and that handful of soldiers which was sent as a token force to "protect"

    Alaskan interests devoted itself almost exclusively to the manufacture and

    sale of "hootchanoo" to the addicted natives. Nothing was done in the way

    of establishing communications, facilities for settlers, in disease control,

    education, or the establishment of law and order. When George Karluk dis–

    covered rich colors in the Klondike in 1896, and a stampede of adventurous,

    rough and inexperienced men from all over the world descended upon Alaskan

    shores, the explosive situation forced immediate action upon the United

    States Government.



    040      |      Vol_XV-0370                                                                                                                  
    EA-Biog. Teal: A.W. Greely

            As in all such crises, the Government had recourse to the U.S. Army,

    which was ordered to look to the needs and emergencies of the thousands

    of new immigrants in a completely undeveloped land. Military districts

    were established throughout the territory which, in the interest of speed

    and efficiency, demanded telegraphic communications.

            Upon his return from Lady Franklin Bay, Greely had been widely feted

    and decorated in America and abroad. In 1886 he had been promoted to

    captain and the following year (no doubt due to his wife's intimacy with

    the Clevelands) he was appointed a brigadier general and Chief of the Sign a l

    Corps - the first volunteer private to become a general officer in United

    States history. In that new office he had resumed his former brilliant

    work of constructing telegraph lines in the West, had laid oceanic cables

    to the Philippines and the Caribbean countries, had developed the weather

    service, and expanded his reputation as an arctic scholar. It was to Greely

    and his department that the Army looked for a solution to its Alaskan problems.

            With remarkable dispatch Greely set about the task of connecting the

    seven military districts of Alaska by telegraph lines. Not in the least

    discouraged by the failure of the Western Union Telegraph Company to build

    lines connecting America and Europe across Bering Strait, he surveyed and

    constructed in short order communications from the Panhandle to Nome. The

    enormity of this task is realized only when one considers that in all Alaska there

    were no roads over ten miles in length, and the main highways were the Copper,

    Tanana, and Yukon rivers. To connect Nome with his system he had a wireless

    set constructed which transmitted one hundred miles to St. Michael, the first

    long-distance wireless section in the world that was operated as a regular

    commercial line. The whole project was completed within its budget and the

    time promised.



    041      |      Vol_XV-0371                                                                                                                  
    EA-Biog. Teal: A.W. Greely

            However, these communications connected only Alaskan bases. Con–

    nection with the United States was still carried on by slow steamers on

    irregular schedules. The Canadians had built a telegraph line to Dawson,

    but intense friction between the two countries over the Alaska boundary

    made cooperation impossible. President McKinley then gave Greely unofficial

    permission to see what could be done. Using his personal friendship with

    Sir Wilfred Laurier, and placing the project on a basis of mutual financial

    benefit to the two countries, Greely succeeded in persuading the Canadians

    to extend their lines north from Dawson while he extended his south from

    Eagle. Later, as the boundary controversy continued, and United States

    officials objected to their communications passing through Canadian hands,

    Greely laid an oceanic cable through unknown waters from Seattle to the

    Panhandle, thus connecting Alaska directly with Washington.

            From 1900 to 1908 Greely made six trips through Alaska, covering the

    Cook Inlet and Lynn Canal regions, the valleys of the Yukon and Tanana, and

    Seward Peninsula. (In 1907 the territory came under his command as a major

    general.) On these trips he made it his special concern to investigate the

    condition of the native population. Finding it disease-ridden, prone to

    intoxication, and with a generally shattered morals due to white contact,

    he took steps to establish hospitals, schools, and local industries. It

    takes more than one man, however, to stem the devastating effects of white

    civilization on primitive societies.

            While in Alaska Greely made the acquaintance of many prospectors,

    fishermen, and soldiers. One of these was the later famed Billy Mitchell,

    whom Greely adopted as a protege, and who wrote a biography of Greely years

    later. The book, however, was little more than an idolizing rewrite of

    Greely's own Reminsicences of Adventure and Service.



    042      |      Vol_XV-0372                                                                                                                  
    EA-Biog. Teal: A.W. Greely

           

    Greely as an Arctic Scholar

            Greely's accomplishments were so many and varied that it would be

    patently impossible to discuss them all. He was the motivating force in

    Langley's experiments to develop a flying machine, he was the general in

    charge during the San Francisco earthquake, he was largely responsible

    for the capture of the Spanish fleet in Cuba, he was Taft's right-hand

    man in the Philippines, and he was a founder of the National Geographic

    Society.

            Before Greely's famous expedition he had read widely of arctic

    exploration and personally knew many of the great arctic explorers. It

    was for this reason he was considered by the Army as an arctic expert.

    After the expedition he naturally got to know and to be known by all the

    prominent arctic specialists. Thus he rapidly grew in stature as the

    foremost authority on arctic matters in the United States, and later as

    America's "elder statesman" of the Arctic.

            This reputation was fortified by Greely's assiduous research and

    scholarship in arctic affairs. This scholarship took outward form in a

    number of books and magazine articles on the Arctic in both English and

    French, and the many translations of foreign scientific works which he made.

    Three Years of Arctic Service he wrote in 1885 to describe his Lady Franklin

    Bay Expedition. Two volumes, it was a fascinating record which, Greely

    took price in noting, was read through at one sitting by Gladstone. American

    Explorers and Travellers
    and True Tales of Arctic Heroism were popular

    books in which Greely sought to stimulate interest in the North. Each had

    big sales, but managed to make the North seem a forbidding place to the

    average man.



    043      |      Vol_XV-0373                                                                                                                  
    EA-Biog. Teal: A.W. Greely

            Perhaps his most important contributions to scholarship were his

    Handbook of Alaska and Handbook of Arctic [enlarged to Polar] Discoveries .

    This latter volume progressed through five editions in which Greely summar–

    ized and assessed polar problems. It is still invaluable to the scholar

    as a source book. Greely said, "I have invariably confined my writings to

    subjects with which I am thoroughly familiar," and his books invariably had

    his own picture as a frontispiece. His arctic library was one of the

    largest and best of its day, and is now the property of the National Geo–

    raphic Society.

            As a result of Greely's stature as "elder statesman" in arctic affairs

    he often felt called upon to pontificate or give the last judgment in

    arctic disputes. These occasions often proved extremely embarrassing to

    him. For example, when the young Fridtjof Nansen proposed to cross Greenland

    by skis, Greely said that it was an irresponsible and impossible project,

    Nansen's success was disconcerting to Greely, and he therefore opposed

    Nansen's next project, the b v oyage in the Fram . When this, too, proved

    successful, Greely appraised the results in a popular magazine article by

    saying that Nansen, in leaving his ship to attain a new "farthest north,"

    had deserted the expedition and that the major credit should be given to

    Otto Sverdrup for staying with the ship. Nansen retaliated by publishing these

    words of Greely, without comment, in the opening paragraphs of his account

    of the expedition. Greely then recognized his mistake and was big enough

    to say later, "Of all Arctic explorers Nansen is especially noted, not only

    for the variety, unique experiences and success of his explorations, but also

    for his distinction in other lines..."

            Not so amicable were his relations with Peary. Greely had encouraged

    the young Peary and given him advice for his first attempts at the North

    044      |      Vol_XV-0374                                                                                                                  
    EA-Biog. Teal: A.W. Greely

    Pole. When Peary went north he often used Greely's camp at Fort Conger

    as one of his bases. However, Peary was injudicious enough (basing his

    statements on his own experiences under different conditions, with different

    techniques and purposes) to criticize publicly the Lady Franklin Bay Expedi–

    tion as a needless waste of life. This criticism was as inapplicable as

    it was unkind, and the sensitive Greely smarted under the abuse. Conse–

    quently, a bitter enmity arose between the two men, in the course of which

    Greely at one time supported Cook's claims over Peary's on the basis of

    Peary's inaccuracies and congenital exaggeration, documenting his case.

    Later Greely gave credit for first at the Pole to Byrd. It was altogether

    an unfortunate situation to have two such excellent men at loggerheads. At

    one time Stefansson was able to bring the two inadvertently together and

    exchange pleasantries, an action which Gilbert Grosvenor characterized as

    one of Stefansson's greater accomplishments. In his final writings Greely

    did ameliorate his bitterness toward Peary by saying, "Pole or no Pole,

    Robert E. Peary stands first in the prolonged siege for the conquest of the

    North Pole."

            On his ninety-first birthday, March 27, 1935, half a century after

    his famous expedition, Greely was awarded the Medal of Honor from Congress

    "for his life of splendid public service." Before the year was over he had

    died.

           

    John J. Teale, Jr.


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