p from the United States
and determined to start for home as soon as his surroundings would
permit. His plan was to proceed to Littleton Island, where it was
possible they might find a vessel that would take them to Newfoundland.
The explorers, twenty-five in all, made their start southward, August 9,
1883. Their boats were the steam launch referred to, a whale boat, an
English boat, and a smaller one, which it was thought would prove useful
in the event of an accident.

For a time the progress was encouraging. The water was quite open, but
ice soon appeared. They saved their boats from being nipped by drawing
them up on a floe. When open water again showed, they took to the boats
and reached Sun Bay without mishap. Then they made their way to Cape
Lieber, twenty miles south from Fort Conger, where they were almost
overwhelmed in a blinding snowstorm. There they landed and waited for
the ice to move and open the way for them along the western shore of the
strait. A fog kept them there several days, and when they started again
it was in the midst of another blinding snowstorm. One of the incidents
of the struggle against ice and tempest was the falling overboard of
Lieutenant Greely and an accident to the launch. Scoresby Bay was
reached on the 22d of August, and found to be full of floating ice. It
was necessary again to save the boats by drawing them up on the floe. By
that time, too, the supply of coal had become so low that Greely held a
consultation with his officers over their situation, which was not only
dangerous but rapidly becoming more so. He proposed to abandon the
launch, and use the other boats with which to push along the western
shore, but the majority believed they had a chance of making Littleton
Island. Ere long it was found necessary to leave behind the smallest
boat, and when that was done most of the party believed all were doomed.
The elements and even the tides were against them.

The launch soon became useless and was abandoned. Resort was then had to
sledge travel, two carrying a boat between them, and all pulled by the
men. They had not gone far in this toilsome manner when another of the
boats had to be left behind, giving them only one. Even the courageous
Lockwood now expressed his belief that none of the party would escape
alive. Still it was better to die struggling than to sit down and fold
their hands.

Misfortunes crowded upon them. The current continued the wrong way and
the floe u