GREELY'S EXPEDITION (1884) 207 



and everybody began collecting reindeer-moss, tripe de 

 Roche, and saxifrage. On the 11th June the party 

 obtained a guillemot, and a second went to the hunters. 

 Next day the nets for catching shrimps were lost through 

 the floes breaking up. Gardiner appeared to be dead at 

 11 a.m. of this day, and was carried from the tent in 

 which the party had been living for some time ; but later 

 he showed signs of life, and did not die until 5 p.m. 



On 13th June, Greely issued to the party his seal-skin 

 jumper for dinner. He also divided between them the 

 dirty, oil-tanned covering of his sleeping-bag. Schneider 

 died on 18th June. 



Near midnight of the 22nd the whistle of a ship was 

 heard. At first the party could hardly believe their ears. 

 Brainard went to the brow of the hill, but no ship was to 

 be seen. The party had resigned themselves to despair, 

 when suddenly strange voices were heard, and they 

 realised that they were saved. During the forty-two hours 

 prior to their rescue a few square inches of soaked seal-skin 

 was all the nutriment they received. 



No relief or expeditionary vessels ever before ventured 

 at so early a date the dangers of Melville Bay. Congress 

 had offered a reward of 25,000 dollars for the first informa- 

 tion regarding the expedition, and this had an important 

 bearing: on the rescue. The Scotch whalers set forth on 

 their voyage many days earlier than was customary, and 

 there was a friendly rivalry in the search between them 

 and the American vessels in charge of Captain Schley, 

 who, profiting by their experience and advice, won in the 

 race for Cape Sabine. 



Of the twenty-five men of the party eighteen had 

 died. The living were: Greely, Brainard, Long, Frederick, 

 Bierderbick, Connell, and Elison. It was found necessary, 

 however, to perform secondary amputation in the case of 

 Elison, and he died at Godhavn on the 8th of Julv. 



