The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1881-12-23
TELEGRAPHIC
TIL e JEANETTE.
Additional News from the
ShipWrecked crew.
Suggestions as &c. Their Home.
ward Journey.

ward Journey.
Washington, 2I.-George Keensss, @
this city, who has had experience as s
Traveller snd explorer in northeast Asia
sent 10 the secretary OF state to-day, the
following letter, with regard to measures
for the relief of the survivors Of the
Jeanette:
| Mr.. secretary - AS I Travelled
some years ago over each # the
alternative routes which may be taken
by the Survivors of the Jeanette
in making their way back from Lens
River, eastern Siberia, to America,
beg leave respectfully to offer for your
consideration the following suggestion
with regard to the return of Lieutenant
Commander belong and his men to
their homes. The board Of naval officers
have, am told, had under discussion,
to-day, the question of sending vessel
around through Behring's Straits to the
mouth of the Lena, to bring back tn
survivors OF the Jeanette by sea. /
would respectfully urge that this plan is
| utterly impracticable; first, because it i;
! by no means certain that the vessel could
reach the mouth of the Lena eithar east
or west, on account of the ice; and Sec
ond, because if vessel should succeed in
dong so, it would not arrive at
its destination until late next summer
or early In the fall, and would
almost certainly fail to get back that
yegr. In the meantime the survivors
Of the Jeanette would DO compelled to
to live at the mouth of the Lena, and en-
dure eight or nine months more of hard
ship &nd prlvatioD. 1t seems to me
clear beyond even the necessity of dis
cussien that the survivors OF the jean
nette must be brought up the Lena river
this winter on dog sIedge, 10 the city Of
YakOutzks. 1t Is IN toe highest degree
probable that that the Russian governor
|of PremLvski Ablast, on the sea coast
provinces, within whose Jurisdiction
Lieut.. Commander belong and his men
now are, will make or has already made
arrangements for their transportation to
Yakoutzka, without any instructions
from the home government, but IS a
measure of precautjon necessary orders
should be telegTaphed from ST. Peters
burg to the governor general OF Eastern
Siberia ana money to detray the ex
penses Of carrying them into. execution,
sent by teiegraphlc trsnsfer,to JOkoutski.
The survivors Of the JeL7lHette ought TO
be able TO reach JOkoutski from the
mouth OF the Lena in M nth or SIX
eeks, If they are physically bic to eu-
dure he hardships Of al Arctic sledge
journey from YakoutZta Amenia. They
may lake any one Of three different
routes. First. tkey may 60 overland to
st. Petersburg by the Imperial Ru:sion
post, ola irkoutsk, Tomsk, Omsk, Ekat-
lreneburg and Moscow; second, they may
be sent eastward across StanVoi noun
tains, on reindeer sledges, to the seaport of
y hOtsk, and there be called for next
summer, by q vessel from America or,
third, they may go up the L ma
by post this winter, or by steamer in the
spring, aud thence by post or steamer
down the AmOor to Nikoloevsk, where
they may be called for as som as na7i-
cation opens In the summer, by one Of
our ships from Asiatic stations. The
irst Of these routes, taking them in The
order mentioned, is the lon est and in
wolves the most expesse for Transports
tion, but on the other hand it is By far
most expeditions in point Of time. If
Lieutenant Com mander De org and his
men, OF any part of them, should be
brought up the Lens river tins winter in
first Of February, they could reach ST.
Petersburg before the end Of March, and
be in America before the end of Apri,.
There Is no other route by which they
could reach this country earlier than
mld-summer. l came by pos! from va
kOUtsk 10 ct. Peters burg, in ia winter of
'67-0 in forty-fve travelling days, and
Lieutenant Commander belong and
his men, If not broken down in health,
could do the same. The Imp9risl Rus
sian post has stations and relays of fresh
horses every twenty or thirty miles
the entire distance, between
\ akoutsk and the eastern railway termi-
nus of European Russia, and travellers
have no difficulty in making from 100 to
l75 miles every twenty-fopr hours. The
cost of transportation from Yakoutsk 10
st. Petersburg by this route I estimate
st 50, 900 for each man, including susten-
ance. The second route mentioned,
from YakoHtsk to Okhotok sea, across
Stanvoi mountains, is the shortest IS re-
CARDS distance, but travel over it involves
6 great deal OF hardships, and [ am not
sure that the transportation facilities
which 1t affords would meet the
requirements or as large party as
that OF Lieutenant Commander belong.
The Russian Government relies for the
of mail over this route
upon wandering bands of Tongoose, who
inhabiL the mountains. and who carry
ceuriers and travellers from one Of their
to another on reindeer
sledges. The distance from Yakoutsk TO
the Okotsk sea coast is about 6O0 miles,
and l made the trip in 1857, with very
bad roads, in twenty-ene days. The
third alternative route. viz, up the Lena
to lrkeutsk AID down the Ameor to Mix
olautsk, Is entirely prActicA BILE, both win
ter and summer, by sleighs or in steam
era. he distance, following the wind
lngs OF the rivers. Is $500 miles or more,
but four-tttfs OF II can be made in the
summer by stesEn6rs OF the Lena and
Am0or river navigation companies.
Taking into consideration the ad-
vsntsges and disad vantsges above out
lined, the routes, al of which
have travelled wh,l lily, or in part, it
seems to me the frat and last are those
from which The choice should be made,
II the survivors of the Jeanette arrive
at Yakoutsk early enough in the winter,
If they are in physically fit condition
to undertake the overland journey, and
il this government or Mr.. Bennett. will
furnish the necessary means, it is my
judgement that Lieutenant Commander
belong and his men should come home
through Asia by the imperial Russian
post. If on the other hand, thew do dot