River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1882-09-14
A BLEAK REGION.
4 sailors account OF wrangel Land

There are in all probability not more
than about twenty white people living
who have ever set foot on Wrangel
land or Plover island, two names by
which the maps of the day distinguish
an incompletely traced shore line in
the Arctic ocean from the black dot
further to to the south named Herald
Island. The youngest person who ever
roamed over the insular waste Is I'M
questionably Frank Smith, of the
American ship Alfred d. Snow, now
lying at Vallejo street wharf. Young
Smith was one Of the crew of the steam
whaler Belvidere on her last years
whaling cruise in the Arctic, under
command of Captain l.. c. Owens, who
has penetrated the frozen regions of
the north for successive seasons for
over quarter of century. The Bel
videre had spoken the revenue cutter
Thomas HI. Corwin in August, 1881. in
the Arctic, and learned of Capt. Hoop
er's purpose to take possession of
Wrangel land, which, until the boating
party of Lieut.. Reynolds, of the Cor
win, had always been supposed to be
vast continent, ne being recorded as
the first to land there. One week after
the Corwin had left the Belvidere made
for the southeast end Of the island.
Two boats were sent out from the Bel
videre, and she cruised about for two
days. Smith was one of the party, and
his impressions, as narrated to a re-
porter, were as follows:
As soon as we got ashore, we saw the
signal planted by Lieutenant Reynolds,
a small American ensign fastened to a
slender piece of driftwood, driven into
the soil, such as it is. The island rises
abruptly from the ocean, though not
precipitously. There is no beach to
speak of, the land having an average
elevation of ten feet above the surface
deep water, and from soundings
that our party made we found an aver
age depth of ten to twelve fathoms at
distance of ten feet from the shore"
"What is the nature of the soil?'
asked the reporter.
"There is no earth to speak of, re-
piled the youthful mariner, laughingly.
"The soil is formed almost entirely, of
what seemed to be large black pebbles
of sandy nature. Between these
grew green and thin three bladed
grass, resembling very much the wood
| tick grass of the eastern states
"What was the size of the island?"
81 should Judge it had circumfer-
ence of about $50 miles. The island
is fat table land. AS you go toward
the center you come across numerous
ponds and marshes of brackish water.
The only vegetation you see there is q
small pinkish, odorless flower with
| four petals and the familiar rock moss.
The soil is what you might call peat.
1t is not mushy, but elastic, reminding
you when you walk on it of the give"
in cork. Everything is black just as
| if it had been smeared with coal-tar.
You find piles of driftwood every
where"
washed up by the waves?"
"They would have been," was the
reply, "but the fact is that the island
during some seasons is entirely sub
merged under the ice. 1t is we'll
known fact that in some seasons the
island is lost to sight, and that is I'M
doubtedly the reason why Capt. De
Long, of the Jeanette, did not, as he
was instructed 10 40, leave any account
of himself. There is no animal life on
the island. was told that they were
squirrels, but what would they find to
feed on? l did not see anything. Ducks
and birds make resting place on the
island, and in open seasons the
Mesinker natives come from the Ameri-
can shores to fish and to hunt walrus.
These are the natives from which relics
of the lost whalers Vigilant and Mount
Wollaston were obtained. Lesolate and
uninviting as the island is, it was sort
of a two days picnic for us; our party
was glad to get an opportunity to
stretch our legs little. The Belvidere
was the last to see the crew of the
! Arctic relief ship Rodgers On the 18th
of last October, the crew being then at
st. Lawrence bay building their winter
quarters. "-San Francisco Chronicle.