Mineral Point tribune. (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1869-1938, 1882-02-16
THE SURVIVORS OF TIVE 1p,-
NETTE.

~
Their Prehable Aomeward ...
A Pleasure Trip Tsre.xh . W..
Country. zine
Mr.. Perry NJ. D. Collins, who ia -
in New York, had contraci w;,h NV ~
Russian government in the year 1s s;;o
for building a telegraph line into ~,
through Siberia, down the Amoor s.u
er to the eastern coast, which was af,ar.
wards transferred to the Western Un;on
Company, but the line was constructed
under his direction and that Of NJ
KEENAN,, whose letter to the secretar,
of the navy has lately been publ;shaj
In the course Of his explorations i.
has become familiar with the countrv
so that his observations regarding tba
probable condition of the Jeannetto,s
crew are of interest. Mr.. Collins said
he had little to add TO what Mr.. KEENAN,
had already said, but that he i quite
confident that the missing boat will he
found, and that the hardships of all
the survivors are ended.
al am sure" he said, "that thew ara
now enjoying every comfort and every
luxury of civilized life. The mera
fact that they arr snip wrecked seamen
would guarantee it. Besides, they are
Americans. Moreover, they are naval
men. Rest assured that the Russian
government and people will do their
utmost in their behalf. As to their
journey homeward, the best route is by
way Of Moscow. They will undoubted-
ly take that. So far from its being one
of difficulty or discomfort, it is one of
absolute pleasure. / never enioyed
anything more in my life than nv
ST. dge ride from Irkutsk to Moscow.
The distance is about 8, 800 miles, and /
was twenty-seven days on the journey.
That was about 100 miles per day.
Talk of sleigh ride in Central Park
alongside of a sleigh ride like that !!
Thermometer? Why, sometimes the
mercury was forty degrees below zero,
but the air was still and dry. l was
wrapped up in furs. l had three, four,
five and sometimes six hores to my
sledge, scampering to the music of
bells over the seemingly boundless
plains and through the dense forests.
Almost every night l was quartered at
some nobleman's or gentleman's house
in the towns or in the country, where
the most profuse hospitality was ex-
tended to me, for / was under gov
eminent conduct, as these men will
be-" ft
Being asked about the likelihood of
Capt. Berry Of the Rodgers getting in
formation of the loss of the Jeannette
and the safety OF her creH, Mr.. Collins
said:
"He has heard all about it long ago.
There is an extensive trade all along
the coast in summer carried on in
boats, and in winter on sledges all the
way to Behring's straits. I am sure
that Captain De Long and Captain
Berry have been in communication
with each other, and unless the lat
ter has some further orders to
hunt up that valuable North Pole so
that another expedition will be sent to
find him, he will get back to San Fran
cisco as soon az the breaking up of the
ice will allow him to get through the
straits. don't see any good that will
come out of this whole thing excepting
that our people may learn something
about Siberia. I don't believe there
are ten men in the United States that
know anything about it. Why, sir, it
is one of the finest countries in the
world. The summers are short, il is
true, but you can almost see things
grow-and they do grow away up to
nearly seventy degrees-wheat, barley,
rye, buckwheat, oats, and everything
else in the greatest abundance. There
is territory far larger than ours, with
six millions of inhabitants, territory
Astounding in cereals, minerals, cattle
and sheep, and yet most people think
1t is prison or skating park"