The Valley Virginian. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1865-1895, 1881-12-29
The Jeanette.


We lated last week that the lost jeanette
had bern crushed by an iceberg in the Polar
sea, ard that survivors Of the wreck had been
heard from The intelligence was officially
convered that the crew escaped in three boats,
two q which were heard from, and of the re-
nlainiag one no tidings have come. About
ilfty niles from the mouth OF the Lena they
werelseparated by violent winds and thick
fogs
Boat No. g. commanded by Engineer Mel
villeiarrived on the Goth of September at the
eastern mouth of the river Lena, where it was
| stopped by blocks of ice near Bolenenga. in
habited by idOlaters. Boat No. reached the
same spot. The occupants ofthese boats state
that Lieutenant D.Long and DR.. Amber, with
twelve others, landed at the northern mouth
OF the Lena, and that they are in fearful
condition, suffering from frost bitten limbs. A
party of inhabitants of Bolenenga started i'm
medately for their assistance Nothing is
known OF No 2.
AS soon as information was received of the
survivors of the wreck, the Secretary of State
telegraphed to the authorities of Russia to
render all assistance possible, without regard
to cost, and the go vernment would settle all
accounts. Mr.. Bennett, who was ia Paris at
the time the news reached him, Immediately
teegraphed large sum OF money on his indi-
vidual account, and gave orders to draw ON
him for whatever amount might be needed, to
make comfortable the men already found, and
to discover the whereabouts of their missing
compan ions. The rescued ones tell a tale of
intense suffering, all of them being badly frost
bitten and nearly star yed.
The jeanette had been given for lost Two
expeditions have been sent out in search of
her, returning without tidings, and the anxi-
ETY. had SO increased concerning her fate, that,
had she not been heard from no less than three
and probably four, searching expeditions would
have been organized by as many different
Governments and set out dur ing the coming
year.
The Lieutenant Governor of Eastern Siberia
became interested in the fate of the Jeanette
and organized searching party to go In quest
of her. It is not stated at what point the
Jeanette was found, though the information
will presently be given, when the fuller details
of the matter are made public.
1t is now sometime over four years, if we
remember, since the expedition QUILTED by
James Gordon Bennett, OF the New York Her.
aid, and commanded by Lieutenant De Long,
set sail from San Francisco on voyage of
discovery to the North Pole. After reaching
Wrangells Land she was not heard from, nor
were any indications found by subsequent
searching parties by which her further course
could be determined. 1t is improbable that
she has spent all the intervening time in cruis-
Ing along the eastern coast of Siberia. She
would have been heard of in that case by
Professor Nordenskjold's expedition which
made successful northeast passage, and must
have crossed her course. The probabilities
are that the Jeanette went far to the north
and was on her return voyage when discover
ed by the Siberian searching party. Whether
she actually reached the pole, or how near she
approached it, are matters only of conjecture;
but that she has added to the sum of informa
ton concerning the frozen regions of the
North is highly probable. She could hardly
spend four or five years IN high northern lati-
tudes without doing So Farther news will
be, therefore, anxiously awaited.