Daily globe. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1878-1884, 1882-09-21
A BLEAK REGION,
Il Sailors -4ccOunt Of WrangeJ Land.
San Francisco Chronicle

Il sailors 1ccOunt OF Wr0nget Land.
San Francisco Chronicle.
There are in all probability not more
than about twenty white people living who
have ever set foot on Wrangel land or
Flowers island, two names by which the
maps of the day distinguish an incom-
pletely traced shore line in the Arctic
ocean from the black dot further to the
south named Herald island. The Youngest
person who ever roamed over the insular
waste is unquestionably Frank Smith, of
the American ship Alfred D. Snow, now
lying at Vallejo street wharf. Young
Smith. was one of the crew of the steam
whaler Beividere on her last years whaling
cruise in the Arctic, under command of
Capt. L. @. Owens, who has penetrated the
frozen regions of the north for successive
seasons FOR over quarter of century.
The Belvidere had spoken the revenue
cutter Thomas Fl. Corwin in August, 1881,
in the Arctic, and learned of Capt. Hoop
er's purpose to take possession of Wrangel
land, which, until the boating party of
Lieut.. Reynolds, of the Corwin, had al
ways been supposed to be vast continent,
he being recorded as the first to land
there. One week after the Corwin had left
the Belvldere made for the southeast end
Of the island. Two boats were sent out
from the Belvidere, and she cruised about
for two days. Smith was one of the party.
and his impressions, as narrated to re-
porter were as follows:
las soon as we got ashore, we saw the
signal planted by Lieut.. Reynolds, small
American ensign fastened to a slender
piece of driftwood, driven int tho soil,
such as it is. The island rises abruptly
from the ocean, though not precipitously.
There is no beach to speak of, the land
having an average elevation of ten feet
above the surface of the water. 1t is sur
rounded by deep water, and from sound
lngs that our party made we found an av-
erage depth of ten to twelve fathoms at
distance of ten feet from the shore"
"What is the nature of the soil?" asked
the reporter.
There is NO earth to speak Of" replied
the youthful mariner, laughingly. 1.-THE
soil IS formed. almost entirely, of what
seemed to be large black pebbles of
sandy nature. Between these grew green
and thin three-bladed grass, resembling
very much the wood-tick grass of the east
ern states"
what was the size of the island?'
Il should judge it had circumference
of about $50 miles. The island is a flat
table land. AS you GO toward the center
you come across numerous ponds and
marshes of bracklsh water. The only yeget-
alton you see there is a small pinkish.
odorless flower with four petals and the
familiar rock-moss. The soil is what You
might call peat. 1t is not mushy, but
elastic, reminding you when you walk on it
OF the give" IN cork. Everything is black,
just as IT 1t had been smeared with coal
tar. You find piles of driftwood every
where
washed up by the waves?"
They would have been" was the reply.
but the factis that the island during some
seasons is entirely submerged under the
ice. 1t is well-known fact that in some
seasons the island is lost to sight, and that
is undoubtedly the reason why Capt. De
Long, of the Jeanette. did not as he was
instructed to do, leave any account of him
self. There is no animal life on the island.
was told that there were squirrels, but
what would they find to feed on? 1 did not
see anything. Ducks and birds make a
resting place ON the island, and in open
seasons the Mesinker natives come from
the American shore to fish and to hunt
walrus. These are the natives from which
relics of the lost whalers Vigilant and
Mount Wollaston were obtained. Desolate
and uninviting as the island is, it was a
sort of two-days' picnic for us; and our
party was glad to get an opportunity to
stretch our legs a little. The Belvidere
was the last to see the crew of the Arctic
relief ship Rodgers on the 28th of last
October, the crew being then at st. Law
renee bay building their winter quarters"
There is large amount of corruption,
no doubt, in politics, but small amount
of the artic is left outside. Here is an in
stance: William Young, aged ninety
three, won wrestling match and run a
mile in five minutes at an Illinois fair. 1t
is charged that the other wrestler was
bribeds and the timekeeper for the race
also aceuSad of corr,,pf;or. b,,t 81