Centre Democrat. [volume] (Bellefonte, Pa.) 1848-1989, 1882-07-20


BonfreS Blaze in Vdin.
Yakutsk Cor. of the New York Herald.
The place where the bodies of De
Longs party were found, which | have
visited, is fifteen miles northeast of the
island of Stolboy, the prominent pillar.
like rock in the Lena, where the river
branches east to Dikotf. De Long had
all along imagined that Stolboy was a
myth, and supposed he had passed it
long before, and two weeks before his
death he said in his note. book "Quite
believe we are on the island of Titary
and twenty-five miles from Kumak.
Surka." He was bewildered by the
maze of rivers flowing and interming,
ling on the delta proper, and in his own
weak condition had put the distances
accomplished longer than they really
were. When he reached the bluff on
which were the doctor and All Sam and
under the shelter which was a little way
off, 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-Sur.
ka, which n few days before he had
imagined only twenty-five miles away.
Fate seemed against nim. Had he land.
ed thirty miles further west he would
have struck village of natives who re-
side north of Bulun all winter. He also
passed by within twenty versts OF hut
where twenty reindeer carcasses were
hanging for the winter food. lie had
unfortunately no shotgun from its hav.
ing been left by his orders on the ice
when the Jeanettee went down, and
though deer were rare there was no
lack of ptarmigan, On the day Noros
and Ninderman were sent away by De
Long large flock of 200 ptarmigan
settled within quarter of mile o! the
party, but none were shot. With a
single shotgun in Alexia's hands all
might have been saved. The season
was too late for deer. A strange Incl
dent, also, came to my knowledge at
Gemovialck. 1t seems that some Ton
guse natives, travelling from the north
of Bikoff, saw the footprints of the par
ty two days old and picked up the
Remington which DeLong had left in
hut half way from the landing place TO
the bluff. The natives were trlghten-
ed and thought that the footprints were
those of smugglers or robbers, and left
the ground without following. On ar
irving at Gemovialck they heard OF the
presence of the Melville party OF three,
and the loss of the captains party, and
they, fearing to be punished for not fol-
lowing the footsteps, kept their iniorma.
ton to themselves for some weeks unit!
too late.
Noros and Ninderman left the party
4: 4 Iu, ~, mi los
from October 9 to the Both. belongs
last effort was to carry his private 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
top of the bluff where the doctor and
All Sam perished. But he only succeed.
ed in carrying the chart case up. Even
before Noros and Ninderman left De
Long was very weak. He used to walk
ten minutes and then lie down to rest,
saying to the men, "Don't mind me;
go on as far as you can. | will follow
During his wanderings on the delta De
Long built large bonfire as high as
thirty feet every night, the last one be-
ing few hundred yards from the bluff
where they all perished, in the hopes OF
attracting the attention of parties who,
he kept saying, would certainly be out
looking for him. But the fires blazed
in vain. There was not human being
at the time of their death within hun.
dred miles. Melville's party at Gemo.
vialck were about this distance away
The tomb and the large cross over the
grave on the mountain, near the hut of
Mutock, may be seen at a distance OF
twenty or thirty versts. Arrangements
have been made by Gov. Tchernieff, of
Yakutsk, TO have the entire cairn COW
cred with deep layer of earth to pre-.
vent the possibility of the sun thawing
the bodies in the tomb. If this be done
promptly doubtless the bodies will re.
main untouched by decay forever, as
the ground remains frozen on the delta
all the year round at a depth of two feet.
The bodies can therefore be removed at
later date if desired. Gen. Tchernaief
has also caused Russian inscription to
be prepared to be placed on the tomb,
and has given orders to the officials
north that every care shall be taken to
preserce the tomb and the monument
in good condition.