The spirit of democracy. [volume] (Woodsfield, Ohio) 1844-1994, 1879-10-28
The SP lRIT OF DEMOCRACY,
Tuesday, October 2s. 1879.
A STRANGE COUNTRY.
Islands Heaped with Fossil Re.
mains--NativeS Naked In the Ice.


New York Tribune, Oct. f.
II may he some time yet before the
full significance Of the daring voyage Of
the Vega along the north coast of Asia,
with reference To navigation, is fully
known. Prof, Nordenskjold has not yet
reported his views upon this point. He
has merely told US few facts For ia.
stance. he says that be has discovered
that the coast of Siberia west of the
Lena is vast plain, devoid of trees, in
the navigation 10 which an encounter
with. .impenetrable ic,f res is generally
to be feared There are no great is-
lands out to sea to prevent the wind
from driving the ice down toward the
land; and there are vast distances where
few rivers empty into the Polar Ocean,
and, by their warm current. preserve
space of open water along the sbsre -
For several hundred miles in the vicin-
ity of the Lena; however. great rivers
pour into the ocean and large islands lie
of to the northward, and there is almost
no ice along the shore East Of the Ko.
lima, toward Behring Strait, there are
no great rivers, and although the eli
mate is milder and the woodlands creep
down almost to the sea, the frozen foes
crowd closer to the shore. East of the
Kolima, toward Behring Strait, there are
no great rivers, and although the cli-
mate is milder and the woodlands creep
down almost to the sea, the frozen foes
crowd closer to the shore, aud in the
fall and winter they are liable to bar the
way to shipping. They gave Nordensk
joid great trouble, and on the 9Th ot
September they left him enchanted in
solid ice few miles from the open wa.
ter north of Behring Strait, and only
lS0 miles from the strait itself. They
kept him there eight weary months -
While communicating these facts, the
daring Swede has not vet published his
conclusions thereupon.
II he has left MS in the dark in regard
to the commercial navigation of the 81:
berian coast, however, he has at least
taken the pains to reveal the interesting
nature OF the region he has just passed
through. When the ice closed in upon
the Vega and left the stout ship enslaved
in those northern solitudes Professor
Nordenskjold wrote letter to Dr.. Os.
car Dickson. the main contributor to-
ward the fitting out Of the expedition.
describing the scenes along the coast
The letter, dispatched on the 10Th Of
February has at last reached its desti.
nation and is now published in the Lon
don Standard The letter calls attention
In the first place, to group of islands
which are very remarkable from scien-
tiGc point OF view. These islands, the
New Siberian, open the book OF the his
TORY Of the world at new place. The
ground there is strewn with wonderful
FOSSILS Whole bills are covered with
the bones of the mammoth, rhinocercs,
horses, uri, bison. oxen, sheep, ect The
sea washes up lvory upon the shores
In this group is possibly to be found the
solution of the question of the ancestry
OF the Indian elephant, and important
facts with regard to the vertebrates which
existed at the time OF mans fret ap-
pearance upon earth. How came horses
and sheep in region now located in the
letters Of an eternal winter, uninhabited
by man, not now supporting animal life
In any form, and almost impossible Of
accesss Professor Nordenstjold was
unable to solve the question himself, and
be suggests that 1t Is Of the utmost i'm.
portance to science to send light
draught steel steamer to those islandt
for . thorough exploration
AT Cape Schelagskoff the Vega passed
the point where the Siberian merchan,
Schalawroff ended his persistent and in
trepid attempts to reach Behring Strait
from the River Lena by lonely death
with bis whole company OF men in a hui
on the snow-cIad shore. Upon round
ing this cape Nordenskjold met the frs
native seen along that whole coast
They spoke a tongue utterly unknown
Not q comprehensive sentence coul'
they utter in any European language :
They lived in tents pitched on the SAM
banks separating the lagoons peculiar tt
this eoaet from the sea. A hardy, 10
vial, handsome race, fur-clad, keen q
barter, ignorant of the value Of money
and preferring red flannel shit. fev
brass buttons and the piece of tin fol
on cake of soap to golden rubles ant
silver coins, they live an active ant
healthy life, use stone and bone imple
ments, and are without trace of relig
ion in their customs. Their tents ar
double, one within the other. The chill
dren are totally naked within the inne
tent, and were often seen outside, run
ming about on the frozen ground, witt
the temperature down helow 80 degrees
The women wear nothing when Withil
the tents except girdle, and the mel
have shaven heads A remarkable sim
ilariiy was noticed between the imple
ments, dresses and customs Of thes
people and those of the Esquimaux an,
North American Indians. These pee
pie are the Tschuklscherc. Thoug
armed with stone and bone weapons, an
though wild and ,itinerant. they evident
ly have history. They drove off th
original inhabitants of the region tw
hundred years ago, The Ookilons, who's
houses. places of sacrifice, circles o
moss-grown bear skulls and weapon
ere still to he found almost everywher
on the coast. Lieutenant Nordqvist de
voted himself to learning their language
These Indians are on the original hief
way between the cradle of the huma
race and the home of the aborigines i
the Northern part of Nnr,h Americ.
and It is not thought that the resem
blance between them and the Greenland
ers is accidental The arrival Of tn
Vega on the Tschultscber coast was q
event like the landing Of Columbus
the new world. 1t was an unprecedel
ted occurrence, and made sensatio
throughout the region
East Of the Lena Professor Nordensl
fold found on shore no scattered hlocl
OF stone, such as are distributed over
continent hy glaciers and such as q
found elsewhere in Siberia. This fa
was held to point to the absence Of Ian
out to sea. north of that coast, and
excites anticipaiions as to the possb
dicoveries which are 10 be made by Il
Ioouatf.. Not tho laaaf 0f tho naanl