The Portland daily press., 1882-02-09
THE JEANNETTE.

Outline of the Experiences of the Crew
NEW YORK, Feb. S.-The Herald has the
following despatch from Lieut.. DanenhoWer,
dated Irkutsk, Feb. 4th
belongs party is between stations Bueur
tBolinoi) and Sisterouck (Ustolousk) in mar
row wilderness, eighty miles long, devoid OF
habitation and game. Jerome j. Collins vol
unteered to stand by the dying seaman (hans
Erickson) and let others of Belongs party
push south. The new search builds huts and
goes over every inch of the region. which is
ploughed by heavy drift ice every spring. We
visited Nordenskiold's winter quarters and
found he was safe before we entered the ice
near Herald Island. The general health of the
crew during the twenty-one months drift was
excellent Game was scarce and no fish or
whales were seen. All possible observations
were made during the drift the result showing
a northwest course. The ship was keeled over
and heavily pressed by ice most of the time.
The mental strain was heavy on some of the
ships company. The result OF the drift for
first five months was forty miles, cycloldal
movement of ice The drift during the last
six months was very rapid. Soundings were
pretty even. The greatest depth was eighty
fathoms and the average thirty-fve The bot
ton was blue mud. Shrimps and plenty of al
geological specimens were brought up from the
bottom. The surface water had q temperature
of 200 above zero. The extremes of tempera-
ture of the air were:-Greatest cold, $50 below
Zero and greatest heat 44o above zero. The
first winter the mean temperature was 330 be-
low zero; second winter, 39o below; the first
summer the mean temperature was 400 above
zero. Fhe heaviest gale showed velocity of
about fifty miles an hour. Such gales were
not frequent. The barometeric and thermom-
etric fluctuations were not great. There were
disturbances of the needle coincident with au-
roras. The winters growth of ice was eight
feet The heaviest ice seen was twenty-three
feet. Engineer Schock's heavy truss saved the
ship Nov. 2lst from being crushed. Telephone
wires were broken by the movement OF the
ice The Photographic collection waslost with
the ship. Lieut.. Chipp's 1000 auroral observa-
been saved. Jeanette Island was discovered
May 10th, lat. 100 At North, lon. 1889 &C. East.
1t was small and rocky and we did not visit 1t.
Henrietta Island was discovered and visited
May oath, in lat. ITO s. North, long. 1879 49,
East 1t is an extensive island Animals are
scarce and glaciers plenty. Bennett Island lies
in lat. 76o So North, Ion. 1889 90 East. 1t is
very large. On it we found many birds, old
horns, drift wood and COAL but no seal or wal
rus. Great tidal action was observed. The
coast is bold and rocky The cape on the south
coast was named Cape Emma. We drifted
back during the first week of the retreat twen-
ty-seven miles more than we could advance.
Snow was knee deep. Lieut. Chipp's boat did
better than ours (Melvilles). During the af-
ternoon of Sept. 18th the three boats having
got clear of the ice off Seminovshy Island at
noon that day about dusk he was thousand
and lowered sail as if rounding to
We lay to for "A hours under triangular drag.
Nothing was seen of Lieut.. Ch1pps' boat at
daylight. He could not get back to the island
in the northeast gale and was unable to carry
his share of the provisions. observed strong
easterly current near Lena delta.