U. S. ARCTIC COLONIZATION AND EXPLORATION IN 1881. 219 



ing, will land all her supplies and a party at Littleton Island, which party will be 

 prepared for a winter's stay, and will be instructed to send sledge parties up the 

 east side of Grinnell Land to meet the party. If not visited in 1882, Lieutenant 

 Greely will abandon his station not later than September i, 1883, and will retreat 

 southward by boat, following closely the east- coast of Grinnell Land until the re- 

 lieving vessel is met or Littleton Island is reached. A special copy of all reports 

 will be made each day, which will be sent home each year by the returning ves- 

 sel. The full narrative of the several branches will be prepared with accuracy, 

 leaving the least possible amount of work afterward to prepare them for publica- 

 tion. The greatest caution will be taken at the station against fire, and daily in- 

 spections made of every spot where fire can communicate. In case of any fatal 

 accident or permanent disability happening to Lieutenant Greely, the command 

 will devolve on the officer next in seniority, who will be governed by these in- 

 structions. 



The Lady Franklin Bay Station will form the initial one of the International 

 series, in which the future cooperation of the principal European nations is ex- 

 pected. 



THE POINT BARROW EXPEDITION. 



This Expedition, like the one to Lady Franklin Bay, is sent out by the War 

 Department, and is under the supervision of the Signal Office. It is designed for 

 permanent work and forms one of the International series of Arctic Stations es- 

 tablished by the United States. 



A schooner, named the "Golden Fleece," has been chartered in San Fran- 

 cisco to transport the party and supplies to Point Barrow, and then return to the 

 United States. 



The following instructions to the commanding officer, give the personnel of 

 of the expedition, and the nature of the proposed work : 



War Department, 

 Office of the Chief Signal Officer, 



Washington, D. C., June 24, 1881. 



By direction of the Secretary of War, the following named officers, civilians 

 and enlisted men, are assigned to duty as the expeditionary force to Point Bar- 

 row, Alaska Territory, viz : First-Lieutenant P. Henry Ray, Eighth Infantry, 

 acting Signal Officer; Acting Assistant-Surgeon George Scott Oldmixon, U. S. 

 Army ; Sergeant James Cassidy, Signal Corps, U. S. Army, Observer ; Sergeant 

 James Murdock, Signal Corps, U. S. Army ; A. M. Harvard, Naturalist and 

 Observer ; Sergeant Middleton Smith, Signal Corps, U. S. Army, Naturalist and 

 Observer; Captain E. P. Herendeen, Interpreter, storekeeper, etc.; Mr. A. C. 

 Dark, Astronomer and Magnetic Observer (coast survey) ; carpenter, cook and 

 laborer. 



First-Lieutenant P. H. Ray, Eighth Infantry, acting Signal Officer, is hereby 

 assigned to the command of the expedition, and is charged with the execution of 



