GREELY RELIEF EXPEDITION, THE. 



421 



In case it should be found impracticable 

 for the Proteus to make its way up Smith's 

 sound, Garlington was instructed to retreat 

 from his advanced position, land his party and 

 stores at Life-boat Cove, discharge the relief- 

 vessel with orders to return to St. John's, and 

 prepare to remain until relieved the following 

 summer. He was then as speedily as possible 

 to endeavor to communicate with Lieut. Greely 

 by means of a sledge expedition under his own 

 personal charge. Such stores were to be left 

 at Cape Sabine as it was practicable to leave 

 there, and thence a smaller party, still under 

 Garlington's personal charge, was to push on 

 as far as possible, or until Greely was met. 

 With regard to the Yantic, it was stated in the 

 instructions that it would accompany the ex- 

 pedition to Littleton island, rendering such 

 aid as might become necessary and as might 

 be " determined by the captain of that ship " 

 and Lieut. Garlington when on the spot. 



The Proteus left St. John's on the 29th of 

 June. On the 13th of September the Secre- 

 tary of the Navy received a dispatch from the 

 same place, signed by Commander Wildes, and 

 announcing the return there of the Yantic, 

 bringing Capt. Pike and crew of the Proteus 

 and Lieut. Garlington and the Greely relief 

 party, with a brief statement of the failure of 

 the expedition. The facts, as subsequently 

 brought out, showed that the Proteus had 

 arrived at Godhaven, Greenland, on the 6th 

 of July. The Yantic did not reach the latter 

 point until the 12th. Lieut. Garlington found 

 that the Danish authorities there had received 

 no instructions in regard to assistance for the 

 expedition, and the skin - clothing and dog- 

 drivers expected were not in readiness. Pro- 

 curing such supplies as could be obtained on 

 short notice, and taking on board the stores 

 left at Godhaven the previous summer, the 

 Proteus proceeded on the 16th to Disco Fiord, 

 where an Esquimau driver was expected. 

 Near that place the vessel ran aground, but 

 was got off without serious injury. On the 

 19th she brought up against a solid ice-floe, 

 beyond which one of the islands of the Bel- 

 gone group was sighted. On the 20th Cape 

 York came in view, and the day following the 

 ship passed to leeward of D. E. Carey island 

 and lay there while Lieut. Garlington landed 

 and examined the depot of provisions left by 

 the Nares expedition in 1875, which he found 

 in fairly good condition. Taking copies of the 

 records found there, he proceeded and rounded 

 Cape Alexander and entered Pandora harbor 

 on the morning of the 22d. The weather was 

 delightful, and no ice was to be seen to the 

 northwest. Garlington therefore decided to 

 push on without stopping at Littleton island, 

 and to make his first cache of provisions at 

 Cape Prescott. Before noon, however, he 

 encountered the edge of a pack of ice appar- 

 ently extending across the sound. While wait- 

 ing for an opening, he landed and examined 

 the cache of provisions at Cape Sabine, which 



he found in good condition, except that the 

 tarpaulin covering had been torn by bears, 

 and the boats were badly scratched. Later in 

 the afternoon narrow lanes opened in the ice 

 on the western side of the sound, and the Pro- 

 teus worked her way slowly and with frequent 

 ramming, until the morning of the 23d, when 

 she was within four miles of Cape Albert. 

 The pack had then closed, and an effort was 

 made to work the vessel back to open water 

 in the vicinity of Cape Sabine. At 2.45 p. M. 

 the vessel came to a stand-still within 400 feet 

 of open water, and the ice-pack closed heavily 

 in upon her, smashing the starboard rail, forc- 

 ing up the deck-planks, and breaking through 

 into the starboard coal-bunkers. The stores 

 on deck and near at hand were hastily thrown 

 over on the ice, but the vessel filled and threat- 

 ened to sink before the task of getting out her 

 supplies was nearly completed. Two vrhale- 

 boats and a dinghy were got out, the chro- 

 nometers, sextants, and records were secured, 

 and at 6.50 P. M. the vessel was abandoned, 

 Lieut. Col well being the last to leave her, and 

 twenty-five minutes later she sank. A part of 

 the stores were with great difficulty trans- 

 ported to Cape Sabine, and a deposit of 500 

 rations for Lieut. Greely was made three miles 

 west of that point. Before the stores were all 

 secured, the floe had moved off, so that the 

 remainder could not be obtained. 



Lieut. Garlington then decided that it would 

 be impossible to proceed northward with the 

 small boats. He did not believe the Yantic 

 would attempt to cross' Melville bay, but, in 

 case she did so, she would find a record of the 

 disaster at Littleton island, and know what 

 course to take. Garlington therefore deter- 

 mined to cross Smith's sound and make his 

 way down the Greenland coast to Upernavik. 

 At Cape York he opened communication with 

 a party of Esquimaux, and learned that nothing 

 had been seen of the Swedish vessel Sophia, 

 which he somewhat expected to encounter. 

 He sent Lieut. Col well with a lightly loaded 

 boat directly across the bay to Upernavik, 

 while with the rest of the party he made his 

 way around by the trend of the coast. At 

 Browne's island he picked up a record left 

 there in a cairn thirty-five years before by Sir 

 John Ross, and on the 23d of August reached 

 CapeShackleton, where he met a party of Esqui- 

 maux sent to his relief by Commander Wildes, 

 of the Yantic. Ten days later all the survi- 

 vors of the expedition were gathered upon the 

 Yantic at Upernavik, whence the return was 

 made to St. John's. The Yantic had reached 

 Littleton island on the 3d of August, and, find- 

 ing Garlington's records, had proceeded south- 

 ward again, searching the coast" and islands un- 

 til Saunders islands were reached. There the 

 ice-pack closed about the vessel, and it was 

 forced to retreat under the lee of Northum- 

 berland island. On August 9th the pack had 

 loosened, and the vessel made its way through, 

 but could not get near the coast. It therefore 



