360 GREELY'S ARCTIC WINTER OF STARVATION 



Meanwhile Greely and his companions were passing through 

 a terrible experience. We left them in the drift ice near the end of 

 August. When the ist of September came they were still beset, 

 with barely fifty days' rations. They were in doubt what to do, 

 whether to remain in the boats with the chance of drifting nearer 

 to Cape Sabine, lying now about twenty miles away, or to push over 

 the rough ice for the shore. Their commander was in favor of the 

 former alternative, and they kept in the boats until September loth, 

 when it became evident that they would have to make a sledge 

 journey to the shore. 



Unfortunately, severe weather now came upon them and their 

 journey became a struggle. They had tried to drag two of the 

 boats with them, but one had to be abandoned, and on September 

 28th they were still struggling over the rough ice with the other. 

 Only by the most persistent exertion were they able to reach the 

 shore with their stores, this being at a point some distance from 

 Cape Sabine. 



They had now traveled 500 miles since they left Fort Conger, 

 and not only were the men considerably exhausted by their recent 

 struggle, but winter was setting in very rapidly with constant and 

 heavy storms. It was therefore decided to form a camp where they 

 were, while the snow had not frozen too hard for them to get some 

 stones for a shelter. They had been compelled, on their journey 

 over the ice, to abandon everything in the way of covering save 

 their sleeping-bags, and unless they built a hut of some description 

 the rigor of the winter would inevitably be fatal to all. 



Such stones as could be found were collected and built into a 

 low wall forming a square of about sixteen feet. The stones were 

 difficult to obtain, and the wall could only be made three feet high 

 An opening was left in one of the sides of the square and a passage- 

 way constructed, so that the entrance to the interior did not open 

 directly on to the frozen exterior. Across the top of the walls the 

 boat they had dragged with them over the ice was laid keel upper- 



