The Redwood gazette. [volume] (Redwood Falls, Minn.) 1873-1940, 1882-06-29
The Remains Of De Long and His Com.
''7 panions.

a tf'hffs LONDON, June 10.
VII. Glider, the New York Herald CORE
spondent with Rodgers, sends the following
dispatch:
'H za &"t- LENA DELTA, April II, 1889.
Melville found the bodies of De Longs party
on March %. They were in two places, five
hundred and one thousand yards from the
first started from the supply depot, (here
two words are unintelligiblel, to follow;
Ninderman's route from Yesterday to NAL
vey, and afterward from Malvey back to-
ward Yesterday. The following sentence
is again unintelligfble.) He stopped at a
place which Ninderman and Noros passed
the first day after they left Lieutenant De
Long, feeling sure that the others had not
got much further. They found the wreck,
and following along the bank, they came
upon rifle barrel hung upon four sticks.
Here six words are unintelligible.) They set
natives to digging on each side of the sticks,
and they soon came upon two bodies under
eight feet of snow. While these men were
digging toward the east, Melville went on
along the bank, twenty feet above the river, to
find place to take bearings. He then saw a
camp kettle and the remains of fire, about
thousand yards from the tent, and approached.
He nearly stumbled upon De Longs hand
sticking out of the snow, about thirty feet
from the edge of the bank. Here, under about
foot of snow, they found the bodies of De
Long and Amber, about three feet apart, All
Sein lying at their feet, all partially covered
by pieces of tent and a few pieces of blanket.
All the others, except Alexia, they found at
the place where the tent was pitched. Lee and
Knock were close by in a cleft in the bank, to
ward the west. Two boxes of records with a
medicine chest and flag on a staff
were beside the tent. None of the
dead had boots. Their feet were covered
with rags tied on. In the pockets of all wore
pieces of burnt skin and of clothing, which
they had eaten. The hands of all were more
or less burnt. and it looked as if, when dying,
they had crawled into the fire. Boyd was ly-
ing over the fire, his clothing being burnt
through to the skin, which was not burned.
Collins face was covered with cloth. All the
bodies were carried to the top of hill three
hundred feet high, about fifty versts to the
southwest from where they were found, and
there inferred in a mausoleum constructed of
wood from the scow, built in the form of a
pyramid, twenty-five feet long and seven feet
high, surmounted by across twenty-five feet
high and foot square hewn out of driftwood
and conspicuous at distance OF twenty versts.
The mausOleum was covered with stones and
is to be sodded in the spring. The cross is in
scribed with the record and names of the
dead, cut in by the search party.
THE SEARCH FOR CHIPS PARTY.
After completing the tomb, the party sepa-
rated to search the delta for traces of Chips
people. Melville went to the northwest part
of the delta and west as far as the Olensk
River. Ninderman took the center and Bart
lett the northeast. Ninderman and Bartlett
found nothing, and Melville has not yet re-
turned. The search is to be extended to Cape
Borchaye and the bay of that name. They ex-
pect to finish in time to reach Yakutsk or
Verkhazausk before the rivers break up. If
they do not finish before that time. they will
have to remain at the foot of the hills and
mountains with the natives until the water
falls The whole of the delta is covered with
water in the spring to the height of a foot and
in some places to twenty feet above the level
of the rivers. Otherwise they would have
buried the dead where they found them.
There were fourteen occupants of the first
cutter under Lieutenant De Long. OF these
Ninderman and Noros left their comrades to
obtain assistance and were cared for by the
natives. Erickson, a seaman, died October I,
as appears from De Longs record subsequent
ly discovered. The following are the eleven
men remaining, whose bodies were discovered
by Melville, as related: Lieutenant George w.
De Long, DR.. James, M. Amber, Jerome ].
Collins Henry Knock, Adolf Dressler, Carl
CARTE, Walter Lee, Neils Iustsen, George
Boyd, Alexin and All Seim. The following
were the occupants of the second cutter, the
search for which is being continued: Lieuten-
ant Charles W. Chips, Captain William Dun
bar, Alfred Sweetman, Henry Warren, Peter
Johnson, Edward Star and Albert Kaihue.