610 



HISTORY OF THE SEA. 



be folded up, packed on a sledge, and transported over the ice, 

 and easily shipped again in clear water. Every appliance was 

 also provided for the safety, the comfort, and the sanitary con- 

 dition of her crew. 



Hall had prepared himself for such an undertaking by pre- 

 vious Arctic expeditions. In one of these he had remained four 

 years among the Esquimaux, living entirely among them, 

 learning their language, and becoming so habituated to their 

 method and mode of living that, after his return, he confessed to 

 a liking for whale oil as a beverage, and that he considered a 

 piece of whale blubber one of the chief of luxuries. As a dis- 

 ciplinarian his reputation was certainly good, and unquestionably 

 he had the faculty of attaching to himself the men under his 

 command. 



The rest of the crew for the Polaris was carefully selected. 

 The post of sailing-master was given to Sydney O. Buddington, 

 who had commanded the vessel in which Hall had made his 

 previous expedition. For the position of assistant navigator 

 George E. Tyson was selected. The first mate was Hubbard 

 C. Chester, and the second mate William Morton, who had 

 been with Kane. The scientific portion of the expedition con- 

 sisted of Emil Bessels as chief; Emil Schuman, chief engineer; 

 Frederick Meyer, meteorologist; and R. D. W. Bryan, as 

 astronomer and chaplain. Bessels had before taken part in an 

 Arctic expedition sent out by the Prussian government. An 

 Esquimaux, Ebierbing, who had returned with Hall from his 

 previous expedition, went with the expedition as interpreter. 

 He was accompanied by his wife and their little child. The 

 crew consisted of seventeen men, of whom about one-half were 

 Germans, or Scandinavians. At Greenland another Esquimaux, 

 Hans Christian, was taken aboard, to serve as dog-driver. 

 With him came his wife and three children, so that the entire 

 Company consisted of forty persons. 



On the 24th of August, 1871, a dispatch was sent by Hall 



