610 



THE WORLD S WONDERS. 



an attempt to penetrate any part of the great Polar pack. The 

 experienced Arctic navigator, Leigh Smith, on his last voyage to 

 Franz Josef Land, took the precaution to put a large part of his 

 provisions ashore at the very earliest possible moment, so as not 

 to be entirely at the mercy of the ice. The wisdom of this course 

 was demonstrated only a few days later by the crushing and 

 sinking of his ship. If the bulk of the Proteus' stores and the 

 ready-made house which she had on board had been landed in 



SINKING OF CAPT. LEIGH SMITH'S SHIP. 



this way on Littleton Island or on Cape Sabine as soon as the 

 ship reached either of these points, it would not have been neces- 

 sary for Lieut. Garlington to seek safety at Upernavik, 800 miles 

 away, and the lives of Lieut. Greely's party would not have been 

 sacrificed after their arrival where they had a right to expect to 

 find food and shelter. 



It has been frequently asserted that Commander Garlington 

 did not have the thorough confidence of his crew, in consequence 

 of which there were serious dissensions on shipboard, amounting 



