Fatal North

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Fatal North Page 29

by Bruce Henderson


  erratic course for Polaris, 139–143

  food ration discrepancy, 67–68

  gluttony of supplies, 115–117

  Hall’s distrust of, 54–56, 70–71

  insistence on going south, 61–64, 126–135

  left Polaris to Eskimo chief, 250

  pilfering food, 40, 45, 70

  plan to scuttle Polaris, 110–112

  Polaris winter quarters, 61–63, 101, 104–105

  rescue of Polaris party, 252

  small boat scouting trip north, 118–119, 120–121

  statements at expedition inquiry, 255–263

  stranding crew on ice, 131–135

  suspected drinking, 70, 71, 74, 76, 89

  Bylot, Arctic explorer, 19

  Campbell, Walter, 267

  cannibalism in Greely expedition, 3

  Joe’s concern for his family, 208–210

  Joe’s concern for his family on ice floe, 169–171

  Tyson’s hint at expedition inquiry, 237

  Chester, Hubbard C, 27, 49, 62, 64, 260, 262

  failure of small boat scouting party, 125–132

  during Hall’s illness and death, 73, 79–87

  sledge trip during winter season, 109

  small boat trip north, 118–119, 120–121

  statement at expedition inquiry, 263–266

  surviving on the Polaris, 265

  City of Antwerp, transport of Polaris survivors to New York, 252

  Civil War

  Battle of Mobile Bay, 228

  Hall’s second expedition during, 14

  reconstruction of the South, 19

  Washington Navy Yard, 228

  coffee, Hall’s cup of, 76, 81, 90, 267

  Coffin, Nathaniel, 33, 95, 142

  Coleman, Patrick, 43–44

  Colfax, Schuyler, 15, 19

  Commagere, Frank Y., 250–251

  Conception Bay, Newfoundland, 219

  Congress, USS, supplies for Polaris, 44–16

  Constitution, Cape, 50, 119

  Cumberland Gulf, 196

  Daly, Charles P., 22

  Davenport, H. K., captain of the Congress, 44–46

  Davis, John, 19

  Davis Strait, 249

  Dease, Arctic explorer, 19

  Denmark, Greenland territory, 4

  diet. See Food

  Disco, Greenland, 40–42, 111, 178, 179

  dogs/sled dogs on the Polaris, 14, 22, 49, 80, 96, 98, 103–104, 119, 123, 146

  supplied in St. Johns, 39–40

  on Tyson party ice floe, 158, 162, 177, 184

  Ebierbing “Joe,” 49, 97, 139, 268, 269, 290

  appearance at fundraising, 15–16

  Arctic experiences with Hall, 31–32, 93

  during Hall’s illness and death, 81

  Hall’s sledge trip, 73

  ice-floe survivor, 146

  promise to stay with Tyson, 128

  return search for Polaris survivors, 246–251

  sledge trip south with Bessels, 117, 119–120

  Tyson party reliance on hunting for food, 79, 153–222

  Ellesmere Island, 54, 168

  England, polar expeditions, 17

  Erie, 231

  Eskimos, 83, 182

  accompanying Hall, 31–32

  appearance at fundraising, 14–16

  Arctic abilities, 14

  capote, 188

  concept of food rationing, 157–158

  dividing a seal properly, 173–174

  partnership for survival, 165

  Tyson party reliance on hunting for food, 79, 153–222

  See also Hendrik, Hans

  See also Tookoolito “Hannah”

  See also Ebierbing “Joe”

  execution, in Greely expedition, 3

  Farragut, David, 228–229

  Fenton, Reuben, 19

  food rations for dogs, 103–104

  rations for Polaris crew, 67–68, 106–107, 115–116

  rations for Tyson party on ice floe, 153–222

  “Fowler’s Solution,” 284–285

  Fox, Arctic explorer, 19

  Franco-German War, 25

  Franklin, John, 43–44, 52 1845 expedition, 14

  expeditions to find survivors, 18, 28

  Frazier, Cape, 139, 234–235

  Frobisher, Martin, 19

  Frolic, USS, retrieval of Tyson party, 227, 229

  George Back, Cape, 56

  Georgiana, 231

  German crew members, control over expedition, 48, 179, 182

  Germany, 24, 25

  Gignoux, Tom, 5

  global warming effects at North Pole, 293

  Godhavn Harbor, 41

  Grady Harbor, Labrador, 222

  Grant, Ulysses S., 20, 28–31, 230, 287

  American attempt for North Pole discovery, 3, 14–20

  Black Friday in first term, 254

  return search for Polaris survivors, 245–251

  Greely Expedition of 1881, 3

  Greenland, 3–9, 41

  Greer, James A., command of Tigress search for Polaris survivors, 246–249

  Hall, Charles Francis, 16, 23–25

  American flag shroud, 6–7

  autopsy of remains, 3–9

  Buddington’s conduct questioned, 40–41

  burial of, 92–93

  cause of death, results of expedition inquiry, 280–282

  choice of Polaris, 28–31

  confiding trust concerns to Tyson, 70–71

  determining location of North Pole, 22–23

  dislike of Bessels, 26, 47–51, 71, 85

  expedition during Civil War, 14

  experience with insubordination, 43–44

  fascination with Arctic north, 13–17, 23–24

  fundraising for expedition, 13–20

  German crew members’ disrespect, 48

  hallowed ground of, 4, 9, 92, 93

  health during sledge trip, 80

  illness and death of, 76–87, 92–93, 266–269

  last message to Secretary of the Navy, 75

  missing journals and papers, 52, 241, 250, 261–263

  mistaken Polar Sea, 56–57

  Polaris winter quarters, 61–72

  resignation of command during illness, 83

  shooting of Patrick Coleman, 43–44

  sledge trip from Thank God Harbor, 69–87

  suspected poisoning of, 4, 82–87

  travel with Eskimos, 14–16

  troubles with Bessels, 47–51

  Hall, Mary, 14

  government stops payment, 227

  request for Hall’s body, 246–247

  “Hall’s Land,” 102

  Hannah. S^Tookoolito “Hannah”

  Hans. See Hendrik, Hans

  Hansa, party compensation, 168–169

  Hayes, Isaac, 49

  threat to Hall’s funding, 17–19

  winter quarters, 54

  Hayes, Noah, 51, 82, 93–94, 262, 278

  Hayes, Rutherford B., 292

  Heidelberg, University of, 24

  Hendrik, Augustina, 49, 142, 146

  Hendrik, Charlie Polaris, 135, 146, 174, 188

  Hendrik, Hans, 96, 97, 247

  family on Tyson party ice floe, 146

  Hall’s sledge trip, 73

  joins the Polaris, 49–50, 56–57

  kayak to Tigress for rescue, 219

  promise to stay with Tyson, 128

  sledge trip south with Bessels, 117, 120

  Tyson party reliance on hunting for food, 79, 153–222

  Hendrik, Merkut, 49–50, 135, 146, 162

  Hendrik, Succi, 49, 146, 188

  Hendrik, Tobias, 49, 146, 187–188

  Henry, John, 25

  Henson, Matthew, 293

  “Hero of the Arctic, George E. Tyson’s Career of Adventure Ended,” 292

  Herron, John, 117, 146, 178, 208, 261, 267

  Hobby, Henry, 88, 260, 277–278

  Holsteinborg, 179


  Horn, Cape, 27

  Howgate, H. W., 228

  Hudson, Henry, 19

  Humboldt Glacier, 28

  humpback whales, 52

  hunger. See Food

  icebergs, activity of, 185–186

  ice-floe survivors. See Tyson party igloos, 14, 155–157

  Inuit Eskimos, 15–16

  Isloolik, 14

  Jackson, William, 117, 152, 155, 208, 267

  cooking abilities, 33, 88–89

  ice floe survivor, 146

  James, Arctic explorer, 19

  Jamka, Frederick, ice-floe survivor, 146

  Joe. See Ebierbing “Joe”

  Johnson, Peter, ice-floe survivor, 146

  journals and logs during expedition, 42–46, 261–262

  Juniata, 246, 248

  Kane, Elisha Kent, 19, 28, 49, 54

  kayak, on Tyson party ice floe, 155–220

  Kennedy Channel, 56, 139

  King William Island, 14

  Knuth, Eigel, 4

  Kruger, John W. C, 146, 176, 181, 206, 247

  Lieber, Cape, 56

  Life with the Esquimaux (Hall), 52

  Lincoln, Abraham, 228

  Lindquist, Gustavus W., 146, 247

  Lipton, Cape, 125–126

  Littleton Island, 248–249

  Lloyds Steamship Company, 32

  Loomis, Chauncey, autopsy of Hall’s remains, 3–9, 282, 284–285

  Lucas, Douglas, mystery of Captain Hall’s poisoning, 283–286

  Lupton, Cape, 109

  Mauch, Joseph, 51, 84, 261, 262, 278, 280

  Maximilian, 32–33

  McCarthy, James, 293

  McClintock, Leopold, 19

  McRitchie, D. G., 253

  Merchant Marine, recruiting immigrants, 32

  Meyer, Frederick, 62, 248

  Buddington confides about Hall’s death, 89

  frostbite, 96

  ice-floe survivor, 146, 162, 200, 205–207, 209, 210, 214, 220–221

  navigational readings on ice floe, 167–168, 178

  science/journal duties questioned, 32–33, 39–16, 261

  sledge expedition to Newman Bay, 121

  statements at expedition inquiry, 243–244

  “the Count” on ice floe, 162

  Monarch, HMS, 228–229

  Monitor, 228

  Morton, William, 27–28, 49–50, 261–262

  during Hall’s illness and death, 76–87, 89–90

  Polar Sea mistaken identification, 56–57

  statement at expedition inquiry, 266–269

  mutiny, in Greely expedition, 3

  Myers, Mrs., second wife of George Tyson, 292

  National Academy of Sciences, 24–25, 228

  Newman, J. P., 45–46

  Newman Bay, 79, 121, 129–132, 135

  New York Stock Exchange, Panic of 1873, 253–254

  Nindemann, William, 97–98, 127, 155

  ice-floe survivor, 146

  return search for Polaris survivors, 247

  “northern lights,” 53

  Northern Territories, 1

  North Pole, Peary’s expedition, 293

  North Star, 23

  Northumberland Island, 248

  Nova Zembla, 24

  Observatory science station, 66–67, 93, 96, 100, 105, 115, 271

  Odell, Alvin, assistant engineer of Polaris, 32, 80

  Orra Taft, 231

  Osborn, Arctic explorer, 19

  Paddock, Frank, 5, 282

  paraselene, 102

  Parry, Cape, 248

  Parry, Edward, 19, 70

  Patterson, J. W, 19

  Peary, Robert E., 3, 4

  pemmican, 103–104

  See also Food

  Periwinkle, USS, 29–30

  Perkons, Auseklis, analysis of samples from Hall’s remains, 282–283

  permafrost, 5, 92

  Piankatank River, 29

  poisoning of Charles F. Hall, suspicion of, 82–87, 270–277

  Polaris, the North Star, 67

  Polaris, USS

  abandoned by surviving crew, 249–250

  alcohol consumption by Buddington, 70, 71, 89, 91, 116–117, 120

  Buddington’s plan to scuttle, 110–112, 240

  command transfer to Buddington, 98–112

  crew’s rapid consumption of supplies, 115–117, 129, 132–133

  damage from winter storm, 107–108

  death of Captain Hall, 86–87

  departure from the Brooklyn Navy Yard, 30–31

  discipline of crew, 39–16, 100

  expedition journals and logs, 42–46, 52, 241, 250, 261–263

  holiday celebrations, 101–102, 106–108

  ice-floe survivors abandoned by Buddington, 144–149, 239–241

  inquiry of failed expedition, 225–281

  nationalities of crew, 33

  previous history and renaming of, 28–30

  selection of officers, crew, engineers, 32, 33

  supplies thrown overboard, 144–149

  turning south from winter quarters, 135–144

  winter camp and rescue of remaining crew, 249–250

  winter storm damage of, 97–112, 124–135, 143–149

  Polaris Bay, 57

  Polaris Promontory, 1, 4, 9

  Polar Sea, mistaken location, 28, 50, 56–57, 293

  Port Foulke, 54, 110, 111

  Providence Berg, 97, 98, 100–101

  “Providence Berg,” 65

  Punny “Sylvia,” 146, 165, 193

  Rae, lohn, 19

  Rappahannock River, 29

  Ravenscraig, rescue of Polaris party, 252

  Repulse Bay, 14, 43

  Repulse Harbor, 64

  Resolute Bay, 1

  Reynolds, William, 228

  Robeson, George M., 27, 35, 228, 287–288

  Hall’s last message to, 75

  inquiry of failed Polaris expedition, 225–281

  search for Polaris survivors, 245–251

  visit to Polaris survivors prior to inquiry, 253

  Robeson Channel, 57, 80, 102

  Robeson Strait, 102

  Roosevelt, USS, 3

  Ross, James, 19

  sailing vessels, restructuring for Arctic exploration, 29–31

  Sandwich Island, 27

  Sangus, 228

  Schoonmaker, C. M., 229

  Schuman, Emil, 32, 117, 124, 140, 143, 144

  scientific corps of expedition, 24, 66–67, 93, 96, 100, 105, 115, 271

  scurvy, 3, 67, 114, 132

  seals, 14, 67, 69, 153–222

  Shackleton, Ernest, 293

  Sherman, lohn, 19

  Sieman, Herman, 96, 262

  Signal Service Corps, 228

  Simpson, Arctic explorer, 19

  Smithsonian Institute, 18

  Smith Sound, 50, 53–54, 139, 141

  snow blindness, 129, 130–131

  South Pole, 293

  St. Johns, Newfoundland, Polaris acquires supplies, 39

  starvation

  in Greely expedition, 3

  of Tyson party, 163–222

  See also Food

  Sumner, Charles, 19

  “Sylvia.” See Punny “Sylvia”

  Talapoosa, USS, site of Polaris inquiry, 228–244, 252–281, 288

  Thank God Harbor, as Polaris winter quarters, 65

  Tigress, 240, 288

  rescue of Tyson party, 216–222, 225, 226

  search for Polaris survivors, 245–251

  Tookoolito “Hannah,” 32, 49, 139, 268, 269

  appearance at fundraising, 15–16, 31–32

  Arctic experiences with Hall, 77, 81, 82, 93

  ice-floe survivor, 146

  Tyson, Emmaline (mother of Tyson), 292

  Tyson, Emmaline (wife of Tyson), 38, 292

  Tyson, George account of Hall’s death at inquiry, 230–243

  Arctic background, 27

  attempts to hunt with Joe and Hans, 193–196

 
chief engineer answers to Tyson only, 140–141

  commission paperwork, 37, 48

  concern with Buddington’s conduct, 39–41, 54–56, 110–112, 117–118, 142, 259

  confides to Chester of Buddington’s plans, 122

  fear of expedition failure, 102–103, 121, 122, 141–142

  during Hall’s illness and death, 77–87, 89–90

  Hall’s selection of, 26–27

  ice-floe survivor, 146, 162, 165, 175

  life after expedition, 290–293

  Polaris winter quarters, 61–72

  pressing farther north, 61–63

  sledge expedition to Newman Bay, 121–123

  small boat scouting party, 118–119, 120–121, 125–132, 234

  statements at expedition inquiry, 229–243

  Tigress search for Polaris survivors, 245–251

  time in crow’s nest, 55, 62, 63

  Tyson, George E., Ir., 292

  Tyson party

  abandonment of disintegrating ice floe, 197–222

  armed survivors, 156

  attempts to reach Ellesmere Island, 154–155

  attempts to reach the Polaris, 148–149, 150–153

  blubber lamps, 156

  death of last dog, 184

  dividing seal meat, 173–174

  German crew plans for Greenland, 175–176

  Joe’s concern of cannibalism, 169–171, 208–210

  lack of freshwater, 208, 215

  members of, 146

  reliance on Joe and Hans for hunting food, 153–222

  rescue by sealer Tigress, 216–222

  shelters and encampment on ice floe, 155–157

  site of separation from Polaris, 248–249

  survival on ice floe, 150–222

  Thanksgiving and Christmas, 166–167, 172

  tidiness of encampment, 183, 220

  uncooperative German crew, 151–152, 162, 163–164, 168–169, 176, 213

  U. S. Coast Survey Office, 18

  United States Navy

  recruiting immigrants, 32

  split-command orders if death of commander, 35–37

  United States Signal Corps, 42

  Upernavik, 49, 50, 110–111

  Virginia, CSS, 228

  Walrus, whaling ship, 225

  walruses, 52–53

  Washington Navy Yard, 29, 227–229, 253

  whaling, 16

  wildlife in Arctic. See Animals in Arctic/wildlife

  York, Cape, 248, 252, 256, 260

 

 

 


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