GREELY'S ARCTIC WINTER OF STARVATION 359 



1876. The present hope of the wanderers was to reach this point 

 before the winter night set in. 



Meanwhile, what had become of the government relief expedi- 

 tion? Two ships had been sent out, the "Proteus" and the "Yantic," 

 well laden with supplies, but they had experienced much difficulty 

 with the ice. The "Proteus" finally succeeded in reaching Cape 

 Sabine, but for some reason unexplained it left there without depos- 

 iting a supply of provisions, despite the fact that Greely would be 

 almost certain to reach that point if forced to retreat from Lady 

 Franklin Bay. Whatever the cause of thi remissness, it proved 

 fatal to most of the retreating party and nearly to all. 



The "Proteus" left Cape Sabine after a short stay, but ice was 

 soon again encountered, and on the 23d of July the vessel was sur- 

 rounded by heavy floes. In the afternoon the ice closed in upon her 

 in immense masses, crushing in the ship's sides. In the early 

 evening a change in the tide opened the ice and set her free, but the 

 "Proteus" was incurably injured and at once went down. Recog- 

 nizing their peril, the crew had taken to the ship's boats, with what 

 provisions they could save. A month was spent in reaching Uper- 

 navik, where the "Yantic" soon arrived and took them on board. 

 This was a small and weak craft and at once sailed south with the 

 rescued crew of the "Proteus," Greely and his party being aban- 

 doned to their fate. 



When the "Yantic" reached St. John's it was the I3th of Sep- 

 tember, too late to make a further effort to reach the ice-bound 

 explorers. The best that could be done was to prepare a relief 

 expedition for the following summer, this consisting of the "Thetis" 

 and the "Bear," two ships purchased for the purpose and put under 

 the command of Commander W. S. Schley, of the American Navy. 

 The British government also donated for the same purpose the 

 "Alert," one of the two ships of the Nares expedition. These set 

 out in April and May, 1884, reaching Littleton Island near the end 

 of June. 



