Louisiana capitolian. (Baton Rouge, La.) 1879-1881, 1881-08-20
dead SEA FRUIT.
The Mystery of the Missing Whaler
vigiiante Solved by the Grew Of
The Steamer st. Paul.
Wrecked in the Arctic Regions and
Frozen to Death.
The Scene of the Famine in an In.
dian village.
New Orleans Times.

Alaska Commercial Company's steam
or st. Paul, which arrived this morn
ing, brings the following advices from
Alaska: Capt. Hooper, of the revenue
cutter Corwin, received Intelligence
of the discovery Of some wrecked
whalers by Indians on May 20, and
he at once sent out stage party, I'M
der Lieut.. Herring, to investigate the
party landed on Laluchinin Island on
June 2, and made their way over the
ice westward to the mouth of the
Waukeerem river, about one hundred
miles from Cape Serdze, where
they fell in with a party of natives,
in whose possession were found ar
ticles taken from the wreck. The
Corwin's party also saw and talked
with the natives, who had boarded
the wreck, and exhibited two piles
of articles which they said they had
taken from her. They consisted prin-
cipally of carpenters tools, etc. The
following articles were recovered and
have been brought to San Francisco
to be forwarded to the United States
treasury department: One whaling
iron, marked Blank, possibly initials
OF the owner of the Vigilante, with
five dots, supposed to mean boat No.
5; one pair of silver bowed specta-
cles and cases; one pair of marine
glasses, and one knife, marked V on
the handle. The natives said that
the wrecked vessel carried pair of
reindeer horns on the end of the lib
boom.
The Vigilante is known to have car
ried such ornaments and is said to
have been the only vessel in the sail
ing feet having such, which leads to
the conclusion that it was her that
was wrecked. Her cabin was full of
water, her masts were gone and four
dead bodies were found in her, one
of them in a berth, the others on the
floor. The natives said the bodies
looked as if they had been dead many
months, that the skin of their faces
was withered and drawn tight. From
this description it it is surmised that
the vessel was wrecked as far back
as the winter of 1879, the first winter
ont, and that the wreck subsequently
dTifted out to sea and was lost SIGHT
OF. The sledge party being unable
to 60 further was withdrawn on ac-
count of the melting OF snow, proceed
ed to Cape Serdze, and we're picked |
up by Corwin on June Doth. They !
travelled in all 1870 or l40 miles. The
cutter had her rudder carried away
by ice on June lst, but the damage
was repaired in st. Lawrence bay, |
with material obtained from the
wreck Of an old whisky smuggler
ashore there. Later, she made a
round, landing on that island, and |
sent parties ashore to visit the scene
OF the destructive famine of lS7s-'79.
in Indian villages. Few changes
were discovered, dead bodies were
still lying about in numbers. The
natives appeared to be in
no want; they were abundantly sup
piled with arms and ammunition,
and also with goods plundered from
The wreck of the schooner Laleta.
The last intelligence cutters govern
ment is up to July 9, when she sailed
from Norton Sound to Govulovil Bay,
thence to proceed northward to Kotz-
ebue Sound and Point Barrow to look
litter revenue matters, and then west
ward to Wranggelland, before the ice
,losed, in search for the Jeanette.
The mildness of the previous winter
md the thinness of the ice encounter
I'd by the Corwin gave Capt. Hooper
strong hopes of being able to reach {
md explore that land. Whalers, who
we're interviewed, considered the {
favorable. Fears are enter
aimed that some whalers have been i
Ost, as early in July large quantities S
# whale oil were reported seen by i
atives and other hunters on the near t
'uak Island. Four casks of whale oil t
.rifted ashore there about the same i
ime. These signs give rise to the t
pprehensiOn that some remaining a
'haler was wrecked in the fog on the t