The river press. [volume] (Fort Benton, Mont.) 1880-current, 1880-12-01

ing our hOmeWard course the thick atmos'
phere to the northWard lifted, when the is.
land that we had been trying to reach fol- the
last two days could be seen through a rift 10
the clouds some forty miles distant over the
Intervening ice-pack. 1t was covered with
recent snow, and stood boldly out on the hor-
lion, bleak, inaccessible, God-forsaken. SO
ends the search. Although glad to escape
the rigor of an Arctic winter. it was not
without 3 tinge Of regret that we took . last
lingering look at the ice-bound and inexplor-
able land, fully realizing at the time the joy
Gus satisfaction that must animate the discoV-
erer and explorer Of an unknown country.
But a matter Of more painful regret is the
failure to get any tidings Of the Inflated
whalemen or Of the Jeanette. From what
we can conjecture regarding the Whalers not
the slightest hopes are entertained, the his
tory of previous losses showing not a trace
or clue of any vessel unfortunate enough to
get imprisoned in the %ice-pack, and Captain
Jernigan, Of the Tropic Bird, tells your cor
respondent that on the occasion Of the loss OF
his ship in the ice she was crushed in such q
manner that twenty-five minutes after her
desertion nc part vas visible except a small
| piece Of timber from the stern. Admitting
the survival Of any Of these r~esolute and
hardy men, it seems reasonable to infer that
some of them would have reached the Whal-
ing feet or the CorWin, whose latitude was
at times sixty and a hundred miles northWard
of last years position of the fleet.
WHERE rs Fl JEANNETTE?
As to Jeanette, nothing has been learned
that can in any way cause the slightest ap-
prehension for the safety Of her officers and
crew. SO far as it is possible to ascertain,
she has never been seen BY any Of the whale
men at any time since entering the Arctic,
and the fact of the Corwin's not falling in
with her implies only that a revenue cutter is
unable to go as far in one season as another
vessel starting nearly a twelve month ahead
Of her. It is possible that Captain De Long
may have followed up to its termination the
pocket in the ice which late in the season
makes to the northward of Herald Island,
and that his vessel is embayed in the ice q
considerable distance north of any point
reached by the CorWin or he may, in the
event Of having found the ice navigation to
to the eastward too difficult and dangerous,
have gone to the west of Wrangell Land and
Wintered. Another hypothesis is that on en-
countering the heavy ice-field that makes
down to the southwark and eastward from
Wrangell Land to below latitude sixty-nine,
the Jeanette may have been stopped, just as
the CorWin was on two occasions, and, be-
ing obliged to keep near the Asiatic coast,
may by this route have reached either Wran-
CELL Land, the New Siberian Islands, or the
Polynia, an open sea, thus prolonging her
voyage to a very high latitude.
ssTHAR' SHE BLoWs!"
The past summer has been an exceptional
season for the Whalemen, and having seen a
great deal Of them during our search unusual
opportunities have offered to study the whale
fishery, so called, in all its different phases.
How strange that this mammoth animal-not
q fish in any sense Of the term, but q fshlike
animal with completely aquatic habits
should still be classed in the popular mind as
acteristics of the mammalia, a four-cham-
bered heart pumping thirty-six gallons Of
hot blood at each pulsati0n through an enor-
NOUS aorta Of one foot il diameter; its ex-
nervous system, SO great that when
struck near the tail by a harpoon two seconds
must elapse before the sensation is conveyed
to and reflected from the nerve centres, or in
other words it is two seconds before the
whale feels that be is struck its manner OF
the young from 9 pair Of teats stu
ated on the labin Of the vagina, all charac-
terize it as possessing an organization of the
highest interest to naturalists.
Among the men engaged in whaling are
many shrewd, intelligent, energetic fellows
Whosd rough exterior often conceals some
good andsterling qualities. We have always
found shem generous, prompt, and obliging,
especially when asked for information. An
interesting study it is to see some old whale
man il the distance, a great cloud Of smoke
issuing from her try works, and to go on
board, when the first thing noticeable among
the men and running about the deck is a
large numper Of pigs, who are usually feed
c~oconauts, large supplies Of which are US
nally III at the South Sea Island. Being
shown into the cabin, and while partaking Of
its Inequalities, the skipper IN real Bunsby
style producing his chart in order to desig-
nate q particular locality, puts his broad
@ = .- 49,. rr,Lsaf, Eron, tbo crno,