Labyrinth of Ice: The Triumphant and Tragic Greeley Polar Expedition

Levy (River of Darkness) recounts the story of the 1881–1884 Lady Franklin Bay Expedition in this evocative, deeply researched account. Led by Lt. Adolphus W. Greeley, the U.S. Army Signal Corps expedition sought to establish a research station in the Canadian Arctic; collect “magnetic, astronomical, and meteorological data”; search for the lost crew of the USS Jeannette; and reach “farthest north,” the highest northern latitude achieved by explorers. Greeley and his men built Fort Conger on the northeast coast of Ellesmere Island and survived wolf attacks, temperatures approaching minus-100°F, and “months of total darkness.” Relief ships, hindered by bad weather and ice floes, failed to reach the fort, however, and in August 1883 the group set out on a 200-mile journey south from Fort Conger to Cape Sabine, where Greeley was under orders to take his men if two consecutive resupply efforts failed. But only a small cache of emergency rations had been left by the relief ships, and 18 members of the 25-man crew died before rescuers arrived in June 1884. Levy meticulously documents the expedition’s scientific achievements and praises Greeley’s leadership skills. He also gives credit to Greeley’s wife, Henrietta, for lobbying President Chester A. Arthur and other U.S. government officials to keep up rescue efforts. The result is an intense historical adventure with modern-day relevance for the climate change debate. Agent: Scott Waxman, Waxman Literary. (Dec.)