Scientific American Supplement, No. 460, October 25, 1884Various
Science
Scientific American Supplement, No. 460, October 25, 1884
Various
Science -- Periodicals
Some account has been given of the American Meteorological Expedition,
commanded by Lieutenant, now Major, Greely, of the United States Army, in
the farthest north channels, beyond Smith Sound, that part of the Arctic
regions where the British Polar expedition, in May, 1876, penetrated to
within four hundred geographical miles of the North Pole. The American
expedition, in 1883, succeeded in getting four miles beyond, this being
effected by a sledge party traveling over the snow from Fort Conger, the
name they had given to their huts erected on the western shore near
Discovery Cove, in Lady Franklin Sound. The farthest point reached, on May
18, was in latitude 83 deg. 24 min. N.; longitude 40 deg. 46 min. W., on
the Greenland coast. The sledge party was commanded by Lieutenant Lockwood,
and the following particulars are supplied by Sergeant Brainerd, who
accompanied Lieutenant Lockwood on the expedition. During their sojourn in
the Arctic regions the men were allowed to grow the full beard, except
under the mouth, where it was clipped short. They wore knitted mittens, and
over these heavy seal-skin mittens were drawn, connected by a tanned
seal-skin string that passed over the neck, to hold them when the hands
were slipped out. Large tanned leather pockets were fastened outside the
jackets, and in very severe weather jerseys were sometimes worn over the
jackets for greater protection against the intense cold. On the sledge
journeys the dogs were harnessed in a fan-shaped group to the traces, and
were never run tandem. In traveling, the men were accustomed to hold on to
the back of the sledge, never going in front of the team, and often took
off their heavy overcoats and threw them on the load. When taking
observations with the sextant, Lieutenant Lockwood generally reclined on
the snow, while Sergeant Brainerd called time and made notes, as shown in
our illustration. When further progress northward was barred by open water,
and the party almost miraculously escaped drifting into the Polar sea,
Lieutenant Lockwood erected, at the highest point of latitude reached by
civilized man, a pyramidal-shaped cache of stones, six feet square at the
base, and eight or nine feet high. In a little chamber about a foot square
half-way to the apex, and extending to the center of the pile, he placed a
self-recording spirit thermometer, a small tin cylinder containing records
of the expedition, and then sealed up the aperture with a closely fitting
stone. The cache was surmounted with a small American flag made by Mrs.
Greely, but there were only thirteen stars, the number of the old
revolutionary flag. From the summit of Lockwood Island, the scene presented
in our illustration, 2,000 feet above the sea, Lieutenant Lockwood was
unable to make out any land to the north or the northwest. "The awful
panorama of the Arctic which their elevation spread out before them made a
profound impression upon the explorers. The exultation which was natural to
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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