THE ARCTIC EXPEDITION.

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume XI, Issue 269, 11 December 1876, Page 4

THE ARCTIC EXPEDITION.

The narrative of the Arctic expedition is published. It relates that on the first encounter with the ice the expedition was detained for seven days at Port Payer. It started thence on Bth August, but before reaching the shore of Grinnell Land the vessels were caught in ice pack. After this progress northward was incessant struggle through chance openings made in the ice by the wind and currents, through which the ships moved, and which were constantly closed closed beyond them. The Discovery wintered in a well sheltered harbor ou the west side of Hall's Basin, a few miles north of Polaris Bay, The Alert pushed forward and rounded the north-east point of Grant's Land, but instead of finding, as expected, a continuous coast a hundred miles toward the north, she found herself on the border of au extensive sea, with impenetrable ice on every side, and no harbor. The ships wintered behind a harrier of grounded ice close to land. The floating masses of thick polar ice bad, in meeting, pressed up large quantities of intermediate blocks frequently a. mile iu diameter, and varying in height from 10 to 50 feet, obstacles of this kind destroyed all hope of reaching the pole by sledges. Before an attempt was made the sledge party were obliged to make a road with pickaxes nearly half the distance it travelled . It was always necessary to drag the sledge loads by instalments. The party really travelled 276 miles though they only proceeded 73. All the cairns erected by the Polaris expedition were visited. At a boat depot in New Map Bay the chronometer was found in as perfect order as when left by the Polaris. When at Polaris Bay the party discovered and hoisted an American flag and fired a salute. A brazen tablet with the following inscription was placed on the grave of Captain Hall : — " Sacred to the memory of Captain Hall, of the Polaris, who sacrificed his life iu the advancement of science. This tablet is errected by the British Polar Expedition, who, following his footsteps have profited by his experience." Two sailors of a Greenland sledge party were buried near Captain Hall's grave. The sufferings of the sledge party from scurvy were frightful. An expedition under Marks wain and Farr, which endeavored to reach the pole consisted of 17 persons. Nine became utterly helpless and had to be carried on sledges. Three could barely walk and were unable to render any assistance.