The Return Home
The expedition attempted to return, but the weather turned against them and they were stranded in the region for the next four years.
In December 1914, MacMillan and Tanquary set off for Etah with the intention of sending a message to the outside world that a rescue was needed the following summer. They quickly ran into trouble with the weather and MacMillan turned back. Tanquary pressed on and eventually reached Etah in mid-March 1915.
Word reached the American Museum of Natural History and the George H. Cluett, a three-masted schooner completely unsuitable for Arctic waters, was sent that summer, captained by George Comer. The vessel never reached them. It ended up trapped in ice and did not return for two years.
In 1916, a second relief ship was sent and ran into similar problems. By this time Tanquary, Green and Allen had already made their own way back to the US by dog-sled.
The rest of the expedition was eventually rescued in 1917 by the ship Neptune, commanded by Captain Robert Bartlett.
Read more about this topic: Crocker Land
Famous quotes containing the words return and/or home:
“The soul establishes itself.
But how far can it swim out through the eyes
And still return safely to its nest?”
—John Ashbery (b. 1927)
“The test of an adventure is that when you’re in the middle of it, you say to yourself, “Oh, now I’ve got myself into an awful mess; I wish I were sitting quietly at home.” And the sign that something’s wrong with you is when you sit quietly at home wishing you were out having lots of adventure.”
—Thornton Wilder (1897–1975)