The Bolivar bulletin. [volume] (Bolivar, Hardeman County, Tenn.) 1865-1888, 1882-03-30
DE LONG's PROBABLE FATE.

ana the prOeab3e late OF DE Long and his
missing comrades:
A letter Was received to-day by Mrs. Mel
vile, residing at tSharonsville, short distance
outside of PhiladelI hia, from her husband,
Lieutenant George w. Melville, of the United
States Navy, who went out as chief engineer
of the exploring party, and was in command
of the boat containing the survivors which
landed on the northern coast of Siberia Sep
tember 29 In this brief letter the hero of the
latest, and, as all the accounts have shown,
the most perilous attempt to explore the un-
known Polar seas, speaks Of De Long and the
others with him as having persisted, and indi-
Gates that when Chief Engineer Melville set
out upon the search in which he is now en-
gagged In the regions of eternal ice and snow
it was without hope of finding his comrades
alive, but simply to perform the melancholy
duty of discovering, If possible, their dead
bodies and whatever traces of their hard
ships and adventures they had left behind
them. In all the accounts that have been re-
ceiyed from Lieutenant John Danenhauer,
who was one of those saved with Melville,
there has been hopeful tone concerning the
possibility of De Longs safety; but in such
kilograms contained facts alone there was
not much room for encouragement. In the
last and most important communication from
| Danenhauer, received at Paris February 3,
of De Long found by Melville, at one of those
polar milestones, such as all Arctic explorers
have erected along their way. On this De
Long wrote: Fourteen of the officers and
men of the Jeanette reached this hut on
| Wednesday, September 28g and, having been
| forced to wait for the river to freeze over, are
| proceeding to cross to the west side this
morning, on their journey to reach some
settlement on the Lena River. have two
days provisions, but, having been fortunate
enough thus far to get game in our pressing
needs, We had no fear for the future. Our
party are all well except Hans ErikseD, whose
toes have besn ampubated in consequence
! of frost-bite. Other records will be found
in several huts on the east side of the river
along which we have come from the mouth. "
After quoting this, Danenlfauer says: Three
other records were found y but he gives moth
ing of their contents further than to say:
| "Eriksen died October ~ The party was in
great distress for want of food. Noros and
| Windeman, two of De Longs companions,
were sent ahead for relief on October 9.
They marched south for fifteen days, and were
found in starving condition on October "A,
by three natives, who took them to a settle
ment.
Evidently there was some reason for not
! giving the other records entire. Nine days
/ dlbCA1 bAC pdTbN u LOuFbGSn uau lOSL Two Gays
provisions, and after Eriksen's toes hld been
ampUtateI, they were in great distress for
want of food, AMI then Eriksen and two men,
| probably the only two who were able to walk,
went ahead and reached a settlement in
! starving condition. Exactly five months have
passed since De Long and twelve men (the
thirteenth having just died) were in great
| distress for want OF food, and no tidings Of
| them to give ray of hope have been received
! in that time. In that condition, they
| about five thousand miles from ST. Peters
! burg, in a region where there is scarcely any
| game, just at the beginning of most rigor-
Gus winter, when everyone, even the hardest
natives, flee hundreds of miles inland, and do
not return until March or April. Under such
circumstances Melville's letter to his wife is
| consistent with all the known facts Since he
| was chosen by the authorities at Washington,
| out of all the competent men in the navy, to
accompany the Jeanette expedition just four
| years ago, and set sail from San Francisco in
| July, 1878, few months after receiving his
! order, Melville has had no opportunity to
communicate with his family. The anxious
mother and the three little girls have been
awaiting "a letter from papa" In their
! cluded little cottage at Sharon Hill, in Della
ware County, the fond mother and childish
trio have looked out daily from the window
adorned with an anchor as an emblem of hope
| of the fathers safe return, and wondered
again and again, with the smoke and whistle of
| every mail train, if their long-looked-for mes
| sage was coming. Atl last, when three years had
passed, little Meta-who was babe Just born
when he went away ON a dark, stormy night,
and having kissed it and the lips that were
above it, said: "Wife, 1t is possible / will
never know these joys again''--was able to
talk, and she expressed the thoughts of ali four
when one day she said Mamma, think
papa must be dead - but they never took
down from the nail the hat which he hung up
when he changed it for his naval cap, and his
favorite cup and saucer were never stirred
from their place in the cupboard There was
JOY in the household when some friend sent
the newspaper containing the Telegram signed
with her husbands name giving the
first news of the safe arrival of himself
and crew, and the joy was not lessened
by reading after the name Gin command"
Every telegram since signed Mel
vile" has been meat and drink to the news
famished little household, and although the
mother kept telling the children continually
"that it was duty and duty to God and coun-
try must always go ahead of duty to family"
the little folks could not understand q why
papa did not send some messages home"
Yesterday, Maud, beautiful child about
fifteen years of age, went, she has thou
sands Of times in over three years, to the post
office, to know if there was letter. Mrs.
Melville was seated at home sewing Istless-
", and the other two little girls were
playing with their dolls Suddenly one of the
little ones said: - Why, ma, something's the
matter with Maud. l actually believe there is a
letter from papa" Maud's feet did not appear
to touch the ground. She ran through
the gate. With tears of Joy streaming down
her face, and choking with sobs, she threw
herself at her mothers feet dropping the
letter and crying out: "Oh, mamma, at last !
1t is from paPal Oh, it is from papar" The
mother tore it open, read it at a glance, and
read it several times over. All the afternoon,
and up to going to bed last night, the children
were doing nothing else but reading over
papas letter. With the intelligence that It
contained of the fate of others, and the
knowledge that just now he himself, with the
search party, is facing similar dangers, there
was little in the letter to give hope of the re-
turn Of the husband and father. Written on a |
single sheet Of tough, heavy note paper, the
letter read as follows:
" "IRKOUTzK, Russian Siberia,
January l, 1882
"DEAR HETTIE: After many trials and |
trbuiatiOns / arrived here Yesterday. Wecan /
muster but thirteen people all told out Of the |
original thirty-three persons / am pretty /
well, and will be home this summer or next |
MlhIeT, according as may De instructed Dy /
the Navy Department. I have telegraphed. |
asking to remain and search for De Long and /
the others who perished at the mouth Of the /
Lena River. Love to the children. Yours /
faithfully, GEORGE w. MELVILLE"
The taken-for- granted way in which Mel |
Vile refers to the death Of De Long indicated /
that he supposed Mrs. Melville must have /
heard all about It. 'sdy husband" said Mrs. /
Melville, sis a man who has great regard /
for the significance and value Of words. He /
is man who is very particular about what he /
says, and especially about what he writes.
This makes his letter very significant. He
says he has asked to go In search of De Long