PBS Show about the Greeley Expedition

Christ. The Army sends these guys out to the Arctic, and if it weren’t for the wife of the head of the expedition, they would have just left them there. But she got all this publicity and so they had to make an effort to rescue them. The Army was mad about how they had been embarrassed by the whole thing, for abandoning the men, and so they took it out on the men, taking years to pay them, etc. This kills me. They’re the bad guys, but they punish the men.

The documentary also showed how Greeley, who had been a bit of a jerk, and had crumpled under the adversity at first, hiding in his sleeping bag, etc., eventually rose to the challenge. He became strong, and compassionate, and the men who had said terrible things about him in their diaries came to love and respect him.

Don’t you wonder what you’re made of? I do. I’ve never been tested like that. The relatively minor tests I’ve gone through in life have brought mixed results. Sometimes I’m strong. Sometimes I’m a whiner. Oh! Oh! That reminds me, in a recent Bones episode Caroline said to Sweets, “We’re all just people, cherie.” It brought tears to my eyes. I watched that scene three times. I always think I have to be super-human and I loved the idea of letting go of all of that and allowing myself to just be a person.

Buddy yawning. Every time I try to catch the cats mid-yawn it comes out slightly out of focus. I think because I get so excited and I only have a split second and I never manage to calm down and focus before shooting.

yawn

Stacy Horn

I've written six non-fiction books, the most recent is Damnation Island: Poor, Sick, Mad, and Criminal in 19th-Century New York.

View all posts by Stacy Horn →

2 thoughts on “PBS Show about the Greeley Expedition

  1. I saw that film the other night. I couldn’t believe what those guys went through. I don’t think I would have made it. I think the additudes about cannalbalism in these types of situations has changed. People are much more practical annd less moralistic today. If not, I would sure hope so.

  2. Yea, I was shocked that they would give the men a hard time about it. I felt so terrible for them. All during the show I kept yelling at my tv, “don’t bury him, eat him!”

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