The Dallas daily herald. [volume] (Dallas, Tex.) 1873-1887, 1882-02-02
AN ARCTIC YARN.
Explanation of the st. Petersburg Dispatch
Regarding the Jeannette.

Explanation OF the st. Petersbur. Dispatch
Regarding the Jeannette.
The highly improbable story of the fate
OF the third boat from the lost Jeanette, as
told in dispatch from ST. Petersburg yes
terday, aud subsequently answered in de-
tail by the New York Tribune, is explained,
in subs ,antiation of that journals opinion,
by Captain J, ]. Winant, master of the
American schooner Il. Il. Handy, who
turns out to be one of the charac-
tiers in the narrative. The dispatch
stated that the Russian corvette
Trelock had parted company with the
Rodgers Just as she was beginning to search
upon Information brought by the rescued
master oil q stranded whaler, who WAS on
board an American schooner, and who had
seen boat cast ON Herals Island contain
ing corpses, also silver sp6 A and other arti,
cles marked "Jeannettes The Tribune
says the boat could by no possibility be the
missing one from the Jeanette. The St.
Petersburg dispatch says the Rodgers
steered for Herald Island on August 9th,
consequently it was before that time that
the rescued captain reported his intorma.
ton to the American schooner in Provi-
dence Bay. AT that date the Jeannette's
three boats were in company nearly 500
for the mouth of the Lena. About
the middle of September, when only
fifty miles from land, Il storm arose and the
boats were separated, Two reach land on
the 18Th. The third has not yet been heard
from, and, of course, could not drift upon
Herald Island a month before we knew it
was OF the mouth of the Lena. Further
more, we have news from the Rodgers of
Il late date as September 10, when she was
nt III Il lola "a 1.
mention of such boat as the whaling cap
tain describes, or in fact of finding any
boat at all.
The conclusion drawn is doubtless lust,
that the whole story may be dismissed as of
no significance in connection with the mis-
sing men of the Jeanette. The report,
however, was made to the Russian
officer, as Captain Wnant verites.
His statement is that on the 10Th OF August
of last year, while in command of the
Handy, at st. Lawrence Bay, Siberia and
having on board the captain OF whaling
vessel which was lost in the Arctic, he met
the Russian corvette Trclock, as the dis
patch enormously calls the Strelock. "Thc
Russian officers were anxious to get news
from the Jeannette" says Captain Winant
Having none, we said nothing on that sub
iect, but We did tell them the story OF the
discovery OF wreck supposed to be the
Mount Wollaston or Vigilant, with four
dead bodies on board. This wreck was re.
ported along the northern shore of Siberia,
or between the mainland and Wrangel
Land. We tried 10 tell the story Just as
we had received it from Captain Hooper,
of the Corwin, but, owing to the
fact that the Russian officers could
not speak English, and we could not
understand Russian, we found it difficult TO
convey the matter clearly. left st, Law
renee Bay on the 18th of August, and be-
lieve the Rodgers reached there a day or
two later and found the Trelock awaiting
her. The Russians doubtless conveyed the
information to the Rodgers less clearly than
they got it from us, and perhaps with some
exaggeration. 1t is not strange that il
reaches us now more confused and unintel
ligible, after having passed clear across the
continent of Asia, through Siberia, and
been transmitted from Europe by telegraph.
The statement that the TreloclI accompa-
MED the Rogers in search of the Amer
lean schooner, with the whaling cap.
tain on board, previous to August
g. is certainly mistake Of dates, as the
Trelock was lying in st. Lawrence bay on
tle 18th waiting for the, Rogers to arrive"
Captain Winant explains, however, that
in course OF the conversation with the Rus
sian officers they suggested the possibility
of the wreck spoken of being the Jeanette.
He told them there was no possibility of
this, but 1t is probable that in their anexi-
ETY. to furnish the Rogers with news con-
corning the Jeanette they might have con.
veyed wrong impression 81 am inclined
to believe" he said, THAT the whole story,
as telegraphed from st. Petersburg this
morning, though not entirely out of whole
cloth, 10 merely misstatement and con-
fusion Of the facts which have given you.--
fSan Francisco Chronicle