The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1882-07-13
THE ronns IN rIrE DELTA.
Food Close ut Hsnd-Twcnty Rein
deer Carcasses Hanging In
Native Hut.


jackson, the Herald correspondent who
crossed Liberia to meet the Jeanette sur
yivors, and subsequently followed Melville
10 the place where DE Long and his Inflated
companions are buried, sends the following
interesting incidents concerning the close
OF the expedition:
The place where the bodies OF De Longs
party were found, which have visited, Is
fifteen miles northeast Of the Island OF Stoi-
boy, the prominent pillar-likc rock In the
Lena, where the river branches east to ID.
koff. De Long had all along imagined
that Stolboy was myth, and supposed he
had passed it long before, and two weeks
before his death he said in his notebook
s.Ouite believe we are on the island OF Tiiary
and TWENTY-FIVE miles from Kumak-Surka."
lie was hewildered by the maze OF rivers
flowing aud intormingling on the delta
nroner. and in his own weak condition had
mt the distances accomplished longer than
they really were. When he reached the
biniT on which were the Doctor and All
sam and under the shelter which was lit
lie way of, most of the others expired.
Then he must have seen clearly that he had
miscalculated, and that he was at least a
hundred miles from the Kumak-SurSa,
which few DAYS before he had imagined
only twenty-five miles away.
HARD FATE.
Fate seemed against him. Had he landed
( thirty miles further west he would nave
struck a village OF natives who reside
north of Bulun all winter. He also passed
nv within twenty versts OF hut where
twenty reindeer carcasses were hanging
for the winter food. He had unfortunately
no shotgun from It's having been lett by
his order, on the ice when the Jeanette
went down, and though deer were rare
there was no lack OF ptarmlgan. DE
Long is constantly recording here Gnu
merous ptarmigan tracks. but for their
capture AleXia had only rifle, and
though 4 good shot only succeeded III
obtaining yerv few" On the day NoroS
and Ninderman were sent away by De
Long a large flock of 200 ptarmigan settled
within 4 quarter Of a mile OF the party, but
none were shot. With single shotgun in
Alexia'S hands all might have been saved.
The season was too late Tor deer.
strange incident. also, came to my know
ledge at Gcm0yialck. 1t seems that some
! Tonguse natives, travelling from the north
II Bikoh. saw The footprints OF the party
two days old and picked up the Reming-
ton which De Long mad lett III hut half
Wav from the lAnding-place TO the bun.
The natives were frightened, and thought
that the footprints were those OF smug-
glcr, or robbers and left the ground with
out following. On arriving at Gemoyialck
they heard OF the presence OF the Melville
party of three, and the loss Of the Captains
Darly. and they. fearing 10 be punished Tor
not following the footsteps, kept their in
formation 10 themselves for some weeks
until too late.
THE RECORDS.
DE Long made mistakes in endeayoring
to secure the safety OF his own private logs,
which were bulky, as well Is the scientific
instruments and other Useless impede
mcnts-a heavy burden for the men. These
could have been left in the cache near the
place where they landed, but they had to
be borne bv the men through all the DAYS
OF their weary march. These things flied
one entire dog-sled when found near The
bluff. After NorOs and Nindcrman left
the party did not make more than
eighteen miles from October 9th TO the 30th
Dc Longs last effort was 10 carry his pri-
vate logs and charts up from the place
under the bluff, where Mr.. Collins and the
others died, and where they would have
been swept away by the spring floods to
the ton of the bluff where the Doctor and
All sam persisted. But he only succeeded
in carrying the chart case up. Even be-
fore Noros and Nindcrman left De Long
was very weak. He used to walk ten
minutes and then lie down to rest, say
inc 10 the men, Don't mind me: 90 on
rs iar as YOU can. will follow" During
his wanderings on the delta De Long built
a large bonfire rs high as thirty feet every
night, the last one being few hundred
wards from the bluff where they all per-
ished. in the hopes OF attracting the atten-
ton OF parties who, he kept saying. would
! certainly be out looking for him. But the
fires blazed in vain. There was not hu-
man being at the time OF their death with
| in a hundred miles. Mevillc's party ut
Gemovialck were about this distance away.
TIE CAMPFIRE.
The blaze from such a large bonfire on
the plains of the delta should have been
seen in that frosty air from forty to fifty
ycrsts away, and had the search parties
been out the probabilities are that De Long
would have been rescued. The river was
opened till October jth as De Long says in
his notebook. The Lena's mouth near
Gomovialck is very wide and very shallow.
II was frozen over and broken up repeat
cdly from the time Melville and his party
landed to October 9Th.
TIE TOME.
The tomb and the large cross over the
grave on the mountain, near the hut OF
Mutock, may be seen at distance OF
twenty or thirty ycrsts. Arrangements
have been made by Governor Tchcrnaietf,
OF Yakut,k, to have the entire cairn CO.
vercd with a deep LAYER OF earth tC
prevent the possibility of the sun
thawing the bodies in the tomb. II
this be done promptly doubtless the
, bodies will remain untouched by de-
cay forever, as the ground remains
frozen on the delta all the year round at q
depth OF two feet. The bodies can there
. fore be removed at later date if desired.
, General Tchernaieii has also caused a Rus
sian inscription TO be prepared to be placed
, on the tomb, and has given orders TO the olll-
| Gals north that every care shall be taken tC
preserve the tomb and the monument in
good condition. Captain Jurgens, chief OF {;
Russian meteorological expedition to the
Lena delta, who leaves for the north il
ten days and will reside on the delti
for eighteen months, has consented to keel
a lookout for relics of Chipps boats during
/ his Journeys. and will urge the natives a
well 10 keep lookout, and reward then
G il they find anything. Captain Jurgcn:
c has built o wooden house here, in which
a he takes up his residence, and it is TO b,
u iloated down on flat boat to the delta
where he will establish his headquarters
d probably near Barkin.
A Bank Thief's Mechanism.
2 An INGENIOUS CONTINUANCE By WHICH