Show n Old Arctic Hero Receives Q a New lew Honor SCOTT WATSON CI Y a new honor was WiS paid to the nations nation's It t living polar explorer by How adventurers adventurers into the thee and Antarctic wilders wilder wilder- ic e c most of whom were still is s s. s rn when he made his first or fame more than half haU a ary ary ary ry ago He lIe is Brig Drig Gen I 1 L. L Brainard U. U S. S A. A An A. d 4 the last survivor of A. A W. W Greely's Lady kiln Gay Day Arctic Of 1881 t On his eight- eight birthday the American society of which he is the thet t active member elect elect- in Ile its first honorary mem mem- in recognition of his con con- tion to polar exploration resented presented him with a scroll of his i this scroll was inscribed showing the route taken up p James D B. B Lockwood Brainard then a sergeant he lie army which enabled 1 i on May 1 13 1882 to reach then farthest point north Ide ude 83 degrees 24 minutes 30 seconds on the north north- coast of Greenland This This This' assed the record which sh explorers had held for years rears and their record i I for 13 years when it was by N Nansen in the theis ic is sea in the Eastern hem hem- re S Seral e eral Brainard who has the ional distinction of being If f the few living retired genIto gento gento gen- gen Ito to have risen from the hum hum- Sri I hh w 1 L I ank of buck private now quietly in Washington af- af years' years service in the army Hirst ten of which he served ie e ranks lie He was born in inay py oay ay N N. Y on December 21 J and when he was nineteen i of age enlisted in the See Sec United sited States cavalry His fighting experience wasat was list at the Indians on the Great Greats Is s of the West and during with the Sioux ay 7 1877 at ot Little Muddy t in Montana he was serious- serious This was the battle Gen Nelson A. A Miles escaped death at the thes the s of the Sioux chieftain e Deer Later in that year I nard and was serving under s when that famous Indian- Indian cr r corralled Chief Joseph his fleeing Nez Perces Forces in I Inear near Bear Paw mountains and Id d their surrender In 1878 in the campaign against Indians and after years with the cavalry to the signal corps lis IS s change led to his assign- assign 4 t as first sergeant in the expedition sent out by the cd d States army as the re- re lof of an international confer- confer at Hamburg Germany in and at Berne Switzerland p. p 30 30 The United States joined Great Britain Norway fen en en the Netherlands Russia Pa any v Denmark and Austria a ring of widely widely- outposts rated outposts all aU within he the ic Circle to record a comP com com- P series of meteorological magnetic observations simul- simul of the Proteus August 1831 the expedition up y v F its base Fort rt Conger on Franklin bay 1000 miles h 11 of the Arctic Circle and miles Ics north of the last Eski- Eski settlement It II was command- command Y First K AdolPhus W. W dv ly ly of the he Fifth cavalry with m nd na nd Lieutenants Frederick F. F Of the Eleventh inand in- in ry and James B B. B Lockwood he Twenty-third Twenty infantry as Ms ads in command These with ye ve Pavy assistant army Bon on eight sergeants rainard CH two Corporals and 3 lens Jens privates sa s and two dog Edward and arid Frederik I r g 4 r t ty y s y R M Ua ff RESCUE OF THE SURVIVORS OF THE TilE GREELY EXPEDITION Thorley comprised the personnel of the tho party On August 23 26 this lilt Hittle tie group of white men and two Eskimos stood on the shore of locked ice-locked Lady Franklin bay and watched a little steamer push its way cautiously through a lead a adark adark dark streak dark streak k of open water which ran irregularly across the surface surface surface sur sur- sur- sur face of the frozen sea The steamer steam steam- er was the Proteus which had been held in the ice there for six days while Captain Pike waited waited wait wait- ed in vain for a chance to cleave a pa path h through the ice so that he could start south towards The departure of the Proteus Proteus Proteus Pro teus marked the beginning of what has been aptly called one of the supreme adventure stories stories stories sto sto- sto- sto ries of the world a story of almost unbelievable human grit and endurance which forms lorms one of the brightest pages Inthe in inthe inthe the annals of 01 the American army For two years this party was as much lost from contact contact contact con con- tact with their fellow men asIf as asIf asif if they bad had been on another planet and when finally the third attempt to rescue Greely succeeded of the original hven- hven ty-five ty there were just seven left alive and one of 01 these died within twenty four hours bours The Theother Theother other eighteen had perished of starvation or accident after a series of adventures marked by Incredible suffering and Incredible incredible incredible ible heroism The official records of the Greely expedition were made public soon after Commander W S. S Schley Admiral Schley of Spanish American war fame had brought its survivors back to the United States on the Thetis Thetis Thetis The but it was not until nearly half a century later that the heroic human side of the story became known For more than forty-five forty years the diary of Sergeant Sergeant Sergeant Ser Ser- geant Brainard one of the seven survivors lay unused in an old trunk About ten years ago it was brought to light and published published published pub pub- by the Merrill Bobbs-Merrill company company company com com- pany under the title of The Outpost Outpost Outpost Out Out- post of the Lost At that time there were but bu t two survivors of the expedition n Its its commander Greely then a s major major general general retired and the theman theman theman man who had served as a sergeant sergeant sergeant ser ser- ser ser- geant under him Brainard a a retired brigadier So i iwas ii it t was especially appropriate that thai t his old commander who once called Brainard the most reo re re- o THE LAST SURVIVORS OF THE GREELY EXPEDITION At th tha th left is U Maj Gen A. A W. W Greely who died in 1935 tt d the age of one ninety and at the right is Brig Gen D D. D L. L Brainard who is II is still living in Washington at the age of eighty of a number of remarkable remarkable remarkable remark remark- able men of that expedition should write for Brainards Brainard's book a salutation to remind the two survivors of how together with our comrades we faced for nine months the prospect of death day by day and were harassed by bythe bythe bythe the sight of our associates perishIng perishing perishing perish perish- ing of starvation or from vicissitudes vicissitudes vicissitudes tudes In the polar field When the Proteus sailed away on August 20 26 1831 1331 it was agreed that the ship was to re- re turn urn the next year if possible to o carry the expedition away But if that were not possible another mother relief expedition would be sent for them in August 1883 1683 In case it should tall fail Greely's orders were to leave Fort Conger Coner Conger Con- Con ger er not later than September 1 1 1333 1883 and retreat southward by boat until the relieving vessel Is met or Little island is reached or until a sledge party from the Little island base was met Relief Ship Fails Falls As a a matter of fact the Proteus Proteus Proteus Pro teus failed tailed to reach them in August 1882 But says Brainards Brainard's Brainard's Brainards Brainards Brainard's Brain- Brain ards ard's book The first year hadnot had hadnot hadnot not passed disagreeably and ItIs Itis it itis is doubtful if anyone regretted the experience future uncertainty uncertain uncertain- ty thrown into the bargain The entire party had had the distinction distinction distinction tion of spending a winter farther north than any Arctic explorers had ever wintered with the exception exception exception ex ex- of an English outfit that had wintered on shipboard Moreover Moreover More More- over two of their number had set a new Farthest North record d in the old centuries-old race to th the e pole That first winter there was wa s weather in which Medford ru rum m froze solid and the kerosene oil of 1 had to be thawed out before belore th the e lamps could be lighted A At t first there had been plenty to doand do and the work was intelligently organized by the commanding officer officer of of- firer and tackled with zeal b by bythe bythe y the men But in a few wee weeks cold and darkness put an end t to o practically all outside work except except except ex ex- the Instrument tending neathe near nea r the station The monotony of th the e Arctic night produces strange effects effects ef of on white men They become becom e melancholy sleepless and very irritable 0 Every diversion n twenty-five twenty minds could think o of nf f was tried out and dropped Checkers all the are rage now wrote Sergeant Brainard th the e faithful diarist But nothing g lasts like long loud arguments However the second winter was harder barder to bear than the first and on June 17 17 1883 Sergeant Brainard wrote that although it is a few weeks too loo early for lor a relief ship we cannot cannot can can- not keep our eyes from wandering wandering wander wander- ing lug hopefully to the south But again they were disappointed and they began their tragic re re- re- re treat On August 9 1883 they set ou out I In small boats boat through a lead which had finally forme forme in th the e U H M i v o Ony O u M ft f d x t t l V t. t i ice ce after they had waited for 1 11 it e for several days Their course tours was through Kennedy channel which was filled with grinding floes of ice upon which Greely's Greely s force camped when there was n no o open water through which to pus push hd h the boats Whenever they could coul d use the boats they hugged th the e coast of 01 Grinnell Land through Kane sea Early in September y they were forced to abandon their r boats and foro thirty tour lour days day s hey they were adrift on floating ice Finally they managed to reach Smith sound and landed south of Cape Sabine north of and opposite op op- osite Littleton island which was two wo hundred and fifty miles away It was near here that the first year relief ship had been forced to turn back and far tar south to Cape Sabine the second year rescue ship had been crushed In the Ice and all provisions lost Their Terrible Suffering The record of their stay at Cape Sabine is one long story of terrible suffering Here for eighteen eighteen eighteen eight eight- een months they lived on two months' months rations The simple record record record rec rec- ord of Sergeant Brainards Brainard's diary reveals the tile horrors of those days as can no extended description On October 2 he writes I took an inventory of the commissary stores last evening and found only 35 days full rations rations ra ra- of bread and meat r re re- e- e These rations can b bo be e extended to 50 days if we subject sub sub- ourselves to a greatly reduced reduced reduced re re- diet but the suffering will be extreme in this low temperature temperature temper temper- where a man requires from two to three times limes the norms normal diet Also we have some ver very y hard labor ahead of us incident t to the building of winter guar tors March 4 1884 Greely reduced th the e bread issue to eight ounces pe per r man Occasionally members of the tin e party were able to td t shoot a fo foto fox x to supplement their rations But Bu Butas Butas t as the weary weeks passed th the inadequate food severe cold an anthe and d the conditions under which the they y lived took their toll One by on one e eighteen of the members of th the e party including Lieutenants Kislingbury Kislingbury Kislingbury Kis Kis- and Lockwood died On the evening of June 22 1884 Sergeant Brainard lay in the e fly Oy tent which had blown do down upon him end and his six comrades Beside them lay the dead bod body y of another But they were to too weak to move it or even try to t raise the pole of the tent Suddenly Suddenly Suddenly Sud Sud- denly a voice called out Greely are you there Brainard raised raise d himself in his sleeping bag li He e knew that voice It was the voice of Norman first officer of th the e Proteus in 1881 Its Norman Normant he shouted t ta in ina ina n a weak voice lie He crawled fro from m beneath the tent and Norman Norma n thrust a hardtack in his hand A moment later Lieutenant Colwell 11 came running over the hill Brainard was sitting on the ground gnawing at the hardtack hardtack hardtack hard hard- tack but as he be saw an officer approaching the old habit of the regular army sergeant asserted asserted asserted as as- itself lie He tottered to his feet and attempted to salute I But Colwell clasped his hand and they went together into the tent there to rouse the dazed daud Greely and to tell teU him that the ship Thetis had bad arrived arrived ar ar- rived with relief at ai list last S eIn e In 1886 1816 two t years after Ms liIs return from the Arctic Brainard was commissioned by President Cleveland as a second lieutenant in the Second cavalry in recognition recognition recognition of his bis distinguished and meritorious services with the Greely expedition lie He was successively successively successively suc suc- promoted to higher ranks and was commissioned a brigadier general in the National army on October 2 2 1917 made madea a brigadier general in the regular army on July luly 25 1918 and retired retired re re- tr tired d from service two days later In 1885 the Royal Roal Geographical society awarded him its its' Back Grant for his bis Arctic work and in 1926 1920 the American Geographical society presented its Charles P. P Daly gold medal to him In 1929 the Explorers club of New York awarded Brainard its Explorers Explorer's Meda and in 1933 he was presented with the Purple Heart Uearl decoration by the secretary of war The honor conferred upon him recently by the American Polar society comes as a climax to the career of one of the most remarkable characters in all American history C Q w Wr l rn Ker Jr so o DT f Union |