On the 3d of September, while in the floe below Cape Hawks, Lieutenant Greely held a consultation with Lockwood, Kislingbury, Pavy, and Brainard, expressing the opinion that their situation was critical, and that they were really working for their lives. One of the suggestions was that the launch should be abandoned, and further progress made in the smaller boats along the western shore of the strait; but to this, Greely and the majority objected, still hoping that they might yet be able to reach Littleton Island through a lead or over the young ice. On the 6th the hunter Jans killed his fourth seal, and was rewarded by a drink of rum. After five more days of travel, and while approaching Cocked-Hat Island, there was a great excitement caused by the report that one of the men had heard the barking of dogs, whereupon guns were fired and a flag displayed; but all the commotion ended in nothing. The tides were contrary, the small boat was abandoned, and the outlook was very gloomy. The faithful Esquimaux, Frederick, who had latterly been somewhat unlucky as a hunter, now came to the front by killing a seal that weighed six hundred pounds, receiving the usual drink of rum. On this occasion Lockwood mentioned that he swallowed a cupful of the seal’s blood, and found it somewhat tasteless. On the 5th of September, the party after great labor came abreast of Victoria Head and Cape Albert, and while drifting along on the floe the American flag was hoisted over the launch, and the fire under the engine was put out to save coal, Lockwood enjoying a little needed sleep. On the 7th they came in sight of the coast extending from Alexander Harbor to Cape Sabine, and the impossibility of proceeding in the launch becoming apparent, it was decided to resort to sledge-travel, two of the sledges to carry a boat each, and both of them to be drawn by the men. When they were fully prepared for moving, it was found that one of them weighed 1,700 pounds and the other 2,100 pounds. Owing to the various difficulties which soon beset the travelers, they were obliged to abandon one of the boats, whereby it became necessary to retrace several sections of the journey for the purpose of bringing on the extra supplies, thus adding greatly to the fatigue of the men. Lockwood now expressed his doubts as to whether he would live to write out his notes, and also his fears that the floe upon which the party then were, might take them down into Baffin’s Bay. Not only were they at the mercy of the floe, but the currents were contrary, sludge-ice abundant, and their supply of food reduced to seal-blubber, bread, and tea. At one time, strange to say, their position in the straits was directly north of Littleton Island, and nearer the Greenland coast than that of Grinnell Land. It now seemed to Lockwood that there was nothing ahead of them but starvation and death, and yet the men kept up their spirits in a manner that greatly surprised him. One of the floes upon which they had drifted for many days, when found to be cracking in one or two places, caused the party to move upon another nearer the shore, and in a short time the floe previously occupied was entirely broken up. On the 29th of September, the floe on which they were floating, finally touched another toward the west, and that another connected with the shore, by which means they were enabled to reach the land, very thankful to be in a place of security once more. The locality was really a rock forming a promontory between two glaciers, and thought to be about thirteen miles directly south of Cape Sabine. To that place a reconnoitring party was at once sent, but the cape could not be reached on account of open water near it, and the party was compelled to return. In the mean time, arrangements were made for building out of stones and ice the necessary huts for protection during the coming winter, should it be their fate to remain there. While this work was progressing, it was decided that the daily rations would have to be reduced. Lockwood expressed the opinion that they had only three chances for their lives: first, the chance of finding an American cache at Cape Sabine; secondly, a chance of crossing the straits, here thirty-five miles wide, when their provisions were gone; thirdly, the chance of being able to kill enough game for their support during the winter. A second effort was made by Rice and a party to reach Cape Sabine, which was successful. They not only brought news about the wreck of the Proteus, but also a copy of the Army Register for 1883, in which appeared Lockwood’s name as a first lieutenant. Rice also succeeded in discovering the English cache with two hundred and forty rations, the cache left by the Neptune in 1882, and the stores brought from the wreck of the Proteus in 1883, all of which information was hailed with delight by the party. Among the stores left by the Proteus, a newspaper slip was picked up, from which was gathered the news that President Garfield had died; that the Jeannette had been lost; and that serious apprehensions were felt in the United States about the fate of the Greely Expedition. This latter intelligence gave Lockwood great pain, seeming almost prophetic, except in the remark “lying down under the great stars to die!” and induced him to make this record: “This article gives me great pain, because of the alarm and sorrow which must be felt by my dear father and mother and sisters on my behalf. Should my ambitious hopes be disappointed, and these lines only, meet the eyes of those so dear, may they not in thought add to my many faults and failings that of ingratitude or want of affection in not recording more frequently my thoughts regarding them!”
One of the results of the trip made by Rice to Cape Sabine was the selection of a spot, between the cape and Cocked-Hat Island, for a home during the approaching winter. Here, officers and men alike laboring, a new hut was built, which was forthwith occupied by the party, all the supplies being at once brought from the camp south of Cape Sabine. The place where they now found themselves established, Lieutenant Greely called Camp Clay, in honor of one of the party—a grandson of Henry Clay—who had been attached to the expedition until it reached Lady Franklin Bay, whence he returned home on account of his health. As soon as the new hut was occupied, the announcement was made that six of the party were on the sick list; but shortly afterward, and notwithstanding the deplorable condition of affairs, Lockwood recorded the following in his journal: “We are all now in comparatively high spirits, and look forward to getting back to the United States with a great deal of certainty. We shall have to live on half-rations or less until April, and there will be shortness of fuel. Many hardships are obvious, but we all feel sound again.”
On the 23d of October, twelve of the party went from Camp Clay upon a visit to Cape Sabine, and, while some of them opened the English cache at the south side of Payer Harbor, Lockwood built a cairn there and deposited under it, among other things, the records of the expedition, with a note in lead-pencil to the following effect:
“October 23, 1883.—This cairn contains the original records of the Lady Franklin Bay Expedition, the private journal of Lieutenant Lockwood, and a set of photographic negatives. The party is permanently encamped at a point midway between Cape Sabine and Cocked-Hat Island. All well.
“J. B. Lockwood,
“First Lieutenant Twenty-third Infantry.”
On their way back to Camp Clay, Dr. Pavy met with an accident to one of his feet, and, while most of the party went on, Lockwood and Ellison remained behind to look after him. When night came on, they lost their way, stumbling and floundering over the rubble-ice until overcome by fatigue and hunger; but were revived by a limited mutton stew on their arrival at the camp. One of the results to Lockwood of his Samaritan conduct was an accident to one of his knees, which gave him trouble for several days, and prevented his being as useful as he desired in contributing to the comfort of the party. It was about this time that Lieutenant Greely declared his intention of reducing the rations, all assenting, so that they might last until the 1st of March; and this fact, added to the discovery that some of their meat was far more bony than it should have been, caused some consternation. Cold, dampness, darkness, and hunger continued to be their hourly and daily portion, the allowance of food being only about one fourth of what they actually needed.
XVIII.
THE FINAL CATASTROPHE.
While the following pages will contain necessarily brief notices of the life of the party during an entire winter, they must conclude with the record of the great calamity which befell the band of heroes. Shortly after they found themselves settled for a campaign of idleness, as they expected it to be, Lockwood was again confined to his sleeping-bag on account of an injury to his feet which had not been properly protected; his discomforts being aggravated by the reflection that both provisions and fuel were beginning to reach a low-tide level. The constant hunger which was experienced by all hands went far to make their circumstances dismal and depressing; while the only entertainment that could be provided was the reading aloud, by one of the men, of a story and some newspaper scraps which Rice had picked up at Cape Sabine. A little excitement was afforded by a lottery for the distribution of some clothing and two mattresses which had been brought ashore from the Proteus, one of the latter falling to the lot of Lockwood. And now came a proposition for a sledge expedition, not to discover islands, glaciers, fiords, and prominent capes, but to go after the abandoned whale-boat which had floated down with the floe. This must be broken up and used for fuel. Then followed another expedition, occupying not less than eight days, to Cape Isabella, to obtain one hundred pounds of preserved meat left there by the English. Feeling the want of exercise, Lockwood occasionally took a long walk, and on one occasion was so hungry when he returned, that he could not wait for the regular evening meal, but fastened upon a lot of moldy potatoes which had been abandoned, and with these filled his stomach, almost expecting that the feast would cause his death. Some of the men went still further, for, when a blue or a white fox was killed, even the entrails of the animal were devoured. Food was the constant subject of conversation with all of the party—what they would be able to get, what they had enjoyed in former years at their distant homes, and what they expected to enjoy after their return from the North. Not only were their supplies getting lower day by day, but the only warm thing they could now afford was a cup of tea, excepting on Sunday, when they had a little rum with a bit of lemon.
On the 25th of November, the sun disappeared from view, not to be seen again until the following February, and now the gloom of the time and place was greatly increased. On that day Lockwood recorded in his journal the following: “I have intended writing a letter home recounting my experiences since leaving Fort Conger, but so far the discomforts of this life have prevented me. It is difficult to get the blubber-lamp for more than a few minutes during the day, and sometimes it can not be had at all. The lamp is blown out every evening when we are ready to retire, which is generally about eight o’clock.”
Nor were their troubles in any way alleviated by the discovery that one of the men had been seen, or was suspected of, visiting the store-room to fill himself with food—especially despicable thieving. The expedition to Cape Isabella resulted in finding the food which, however, was abandoned in returning, as one of the men, Ellison, became very sick, and had his hands, feet, and nose frozen. He was brought home by a relief party in a helpless condition, Lockwood and the other men of the party having completely worn themselves out by exposure to the cold and hard work. As it was feared that the men would become insane if they did not stop talking about food, Lieutenant Greely began to deliver some lectures on the geography of the United States and their natural productions; and this was followed by miscellaneous discussions in regard to places for business. Whistler, for example, praised the city of Independence, in Kansas, as a splendid place; Long said he was going to set up a restaurant at Ann Arbor in Michigan; Fredericks would follow suit at Minneapolis in Minnesota; while Jewell counted upon a grocery-store in Kansas.
After commenting upon the terrible weather, Lockwood gave expression to the following: “These short rations make me feel the cold dreadfully. It is a constant effort to keep one’s hands and feet comfortable, or even comparatively so. I find my spirits first up and then down. Sometimes, when I think of the months before us of this life of misery and suffering, I do not see how we can possibly pull through. At other times I feel much more hopeful; but this is a life of inexpressible misery.”