The Stark County Democrat. [volume] (Canton, Ohio) 1833-1912, 1881-11-10
ARCTIC NEWS.
Late Explorations by the Steamer
Rodgers.

LdIc EApIOrdOlOhS Dy Cho SOchucT
Rodgers.
The following is from the special cor
respondent of the New York Herald on
the steamer Rodgers. which is in search
of the Jeanette, under date of NOvem-
ber 18th, 1881:
The steam Whaling bark BelvideTe
arrived at San Francisco to-day, bring
ing a mail from the Arctic search steam
er Rodgers, the latest from the Arctic.
Your correspondent on board in tracing
the cruise of this relief ship and the in
cidents attending the exploration of
what has heretofore been regarded as
Wrangell Land says it is now proved to
be an island. The breyity of all the news
collected to-day is that the Rodgers,
after leaving st. Lawrence Bay, passing
through Behring Strait, effecting land
ing on Herald Island on August "a. No
traces of the Jeanette were seen at the
northwestern extremity of the island,
and the Rodgers left it's own record Of
visitation on the cliff. The next day the
Rodgers steamed for Wrangell Land
and, after passing through dozen
miles of loose ice, effected a landing ON
the southern side of Wrangell Land. in
the evening of the, next day they
entered fine harbor where the Rodgers
could remain with safety, while eXpedi-
tiOns were sent off to explore the inte-
riOr and the eastern and western coasts
to look for cairns or traces of the
Jeanette.
EXPLORING wRANGELL ISLAND. 90
Captain Berry commanded the land
party, accompanied by DR.. M. d. Jones
and four men. They reached noun
tain $500 feet high, from which they
tor Il In i1Io
where except between the west and
sOuth-sOuthwest, where high range of
mountains seemed to terminate the
land. Master H. S. WaTing went around
the eastern coast and northern side, un-
til blocked by ice, which was packed in
by the nOrtherly wind. He had to aban-
don his boat, and made his way over
land to the ship. Ensign H. Hunt went
by the western coast and reached the ice
that blocked Waring, finding it impos-
sible to penetrate it. He had passed
most of the northern point of the island
and could see Warnings position, so that
the entire island has been skirted and
its insUlar character fully established
NO TRACES OF THE JEANETTE.
No traces of the Jeanette were found
nor any traces that any human being
had ever been there except the record
left by the COrwin on August 18th. The
harbOr where the Rodgers last anchored
for this land exploration was in lOngi-
tude 178 deg. 10 min. west, latitude 7C
deg. 80 min. north, south and west Of
HOOper's landing at Clark's river. En-.
sign Hunts party were provided with
fifteen days provisions and instructed
to encircle the island if possible, for he
felt pretty certain of its insular charac,
favr - OH
Herald Island Of the variable change Of
currents and ice, which shows this to bC
a remarkable season in the Arctic.
CONFUSING OCEAN CURRENTS.
Your correspondent says 1T was sur.
prising to see the ice moving constantly
to westward along the shore when ac-
cOrding to natural SuppositiOn the
wind would blow it off. Sometimes
,ehen he went to bed he would see pack
ice filing the sea as far as the eye could
reach, and next morning when he went
on deck he would behold vast eXpanse
of open water, with merely here and
there a large cake of ice floating on the
surface. Quite as often he would find a
solid pack when awakening, where the
night before scarcely any was to be
seen. These rapid changes are most
confusing to mariners and have given a
rest to the theory often mentioned by
whalers, who frequent these waters
that the ice sinks and rises in obedience
to some as yet unknown law of nature
AS result of their observations the Off
GERS remaining with the ship during the
explorations found the magnetic dip to
be deg. Is min and variation of Is
deg. 40 min. The detective force of the
magnet was found to be very weak and
at times erratic.
PRAISEwoRTHY FEAT.
The circumstantial narration of the
cruise of the Rodgers registers the
efforts of her officers and crew to
make in boats an unbrOken tOuI
around what may now be properly
termed Wrangell Land, as in
every sense highly cTeditable to this
relief ship expedition. There was
no prolonged suffering Some little
cold and hunger, but the pluck of tht
entire voyage will doubtless be read
with admiration by Americans every
where. On September 10 the Rodgers
reached latitude 70 deg. A, min, north
the highest point yet attained by an ex
| plOring vessel as far as known. rs
! "ObservatiOns," f." says your correspond
| ent, with the deep sea lead, which
have been made hourly since we entered
this sea, seem to indicate reeeding from
rather than an approach to land as WI
| go north. The water continually deep
ems as we advance until at our highes
point 83 A north latitude, III 48 ives
| longitude, we found eighty-two fathOms
The character of the bottom is very ir
regular = sometimes hard, at other
there is black sand and in many places
blue mud, which was at the deepes
soundings." r31
The captain of the Belvidere, whC
spoke the Rodgers and brought her mai
reports that Lieutenant Berry will
probably seek anchorage in st. Lawrenc,
Bay for the winter, off Kotzebu,
Sound, on the Alaska coast north o
Behring's Straits. Though his shil
could not possibly sail or, steam arounI
IWrangel Land he has at least prOveI
by his officers in boats that it is al
island, ana inferentially that the Jean
nette has had an opportunity of gOinj
northwest toward the pole, and that tn
chances of De Longs success and of hi
returning to civilization freighted witt
| invaluable information of discovery ar
brighter than ever before. ii M
ANOTHER ACCOUNT. t
| SAN FRANCISCO, November 7.-Th
Rodgers, after having established Wran
gell Land to be an island, steamed II
odd miles north and northwest in seaTcl
| of further land. but failed To find any