CHAPTER XIX
International circumpolar stations.—Failure of Dutch expedition.—Greely expedition reaches Lady Franklin Bay.—Life at Fort Conger.—Sledge journey of Brainard and Lockwood.—Farthest north.—Greely’s journey to interior of Grinnell Land.—Lake Hazen.—Failure of relief ship Neptune to reach Conger in 1882.—Official plans for Greely’s relief in 1883.—Proteus crushed in ice.—Garlington’s retreat.—Greely’s abandonment of Fort Conger.—Greely reaches Cape Sabine.—The beginning of a hard winter.—Death of members of the party from starvation and cold.—Schley’s brilliant rescue of the remnant of the Lady Franklin Bay expedition in 1884.
The plan for establishing International Circumpolar Stations within or near the Arctic Circle, for the purpose of recording a complete series of synchronous meteorological and magnetic observations, was outlined in a well-thought-out paper delivered by Lieutenant Karl Weyprecht, A. H. Navy, before the German Scientific and Medical Association of Gratz in September, 1875, soon after the return from his remarkable journey in the Tegetthof.
Though Lieutenant Weyprecht did not live to see his splendid scheme carried into effect, the coöperation of Prince Bismarck and the hearty indorsement of the plan by a commission of eminent scientists, as well as the decision of the International Meteorological Congress, which reported “that these observations will be of the highest importance in developing meteorology and in extending our knowledge of terrestrial magnetism,” resulted in the International Polar Conference, at Hamburg, October 1, 1879, in which eleven nations were represented, and a second conference at Berne, August 7, 1880, at which it was decided that each nation should establish one or more stations where synchronous observations should be taken from August, 1882.
With the exception of the Dutch expedition, the scheme was successfully carried out and the stations established without accident.
| Norwegians— | Bosekof, Allen Fjord, Norway, under direction of M. Aksel S. Steen. |
| Swedes— | Ice Fjord, Spitzbergen, under direction of Mr. Ekholm. |
| Russians— | Sagastyr Island, mouth of Lena, Siberia, under Lieutenant Jürgens. |
| Möller Bay, Nova Zembla, under Lieutenant Andreief. | |
| Americans— | Point Barrow, North America, under Lieutenant Ray, U. S. A. |
| Lady Franklin Bay, 81° 44´ N., under Lieutenant A. W. Greely, U. S. A. | |
| English— | Great Slave Lake, Dominion of Canada, under Lieutenant Dawson. |
| German— | Cumberland Bay—west side of Davis Strait, under Dr. Giese. |
| Danes— | Godthaab, Greenland, under A. Paulsen. |
| Austrian— | Jan Mayen, North Atlantic, 71° N., under Lieutenant Wohlgemuth, A. H. Navy. |
FAILURE OF DUTCH EXPEDITION
As to the unsuccessful Dutch expedition, the Varna sailed from Amsterdam July 5, 1882, bound for Dickson Harbor, but was beset in the Kara Sea in September; she was crushed in December, 1882, when the crew took refuge on board Lieutenant Hovgaard’s vessel, the Dymphna, which had also been forced to winter in the pack. Nevertheless, Dr. Snellen did his utmost to procure regular observations from their besetment until the following August, when they started by boat and sledge for the coast of Nova Zembla. By August 25, they reached the south point of Waigat Island, where they met the Nordenskjöld and were safely landed in Hammerfest, September 1, 1883.
The inestimable value of the combined and systematic record of the scientific observations secured by the International Circumpolar Stations is a matter of public record. The success was complete, and all but the American nation might well be proud of the management and protection offered to the fearless men detailed to the splendid work.
The unparalleled disaster which overtook the Lady Franklin Bay expedition under Lieutenant Greely and his brave companions, through no fault of their own, but by a series of mismanaged accidents for which there was neither excuse nor condonation, leaves a blot upon the American records which the centuries cannot obliterate.