St. Landry democrat. (Opelousas, La.) 1878-1894, 1882-02-18
The Missing Crew Of the Jeanette,
NEW YORK, February

NEW YORK, FehruaryS.
The following dispatch from Lieutenant
Danenhauer, dated lrkoutsk, February l. ta>
Just been received here:
"Dc Longs party is between the station.
of Bueur (BolinOiD and Sisterouck (Usto,
leonsk.), in narrow wilderness eighty 1nilrs
long devoid OF habitatons and game. jerome
j. Collins volunteered to stand by the diving
seaman, Hans Erickson, and let others of De
Longs party push south.
1.-The new search builds huts, and goes over
every inch of the region, which is plowed by
heavy drift-ice every spring.
We visited Noriensl jold's winter quar-
tiers, ard found he was safe before we entered
the ice ne II Herald Island.
The general health Of the crew during the
twcnty-onc months drift was excellent Nc
scurvv appeared We used dist He'd water and
hear and sea-mcat twice week. No rum was
served out. Divine service WAS regularly held.
We took plenty Of exercise. Everybody
hunted. Game was scarce. We got about
thirty bears, two hundred and fifty seals, and
| six warls. No fish or whales were seen.
s. All possible observations were made dur
ing the drift, the result showing, a northwest
course. The ship was keelcu over, and heavi-
" pressed by ice most Of the time. The men
tai strain was heavy on all Of the ships CON
panv. The result of the drift for the first tivc
months was forty miles. There was cycloil-
al movement of the ice. The drift the last
six months was very rapid. Soundings We're
pretty even. The were eighteen tathoms
near WraHgcll Land. which was often visible
scventy-fiyc miles distant. The greatest depth
found was eighty tathoms, and tie average
thirty-tiye. The bottom was blue mud
Shrinps and plenty Of alg geological specimens
were brought up from the bottom. The sur
face water had a temperature of twenty de
greeS above zero.
THE extremes of temperature of air were:
Greatest cold IS below zero and greatest heat
"A above zero. The first winter the mean
temperature was 33 below zero; the sec
ona winter 80 below zero. The first
summer the mean temperature was 40 degrees
above zero The heaviest gale showed a
velocity Of about fifty miles Fer hour Such
gales were not frequent. The baromct!'ic and
thermomctrc fluctuations were not great.
There We're disturbances of the needle CO.
incident with the aurOraS. The winters
growth % ice was eight feet; heaviest ice seen
twenty-threc feet. The engineer states that
a heavy truss saved the ship, Novembcr2l, from
being crushed The telephone wires were
broken by the movement of the ice. The
Photographic collection was lost with the ship
Lieutenant Chips 1000 auroral observations
were also lost The naturalst's notes were
saved.
..Jeannette Island was discovered. May 16
| in latitude IS degrees a minutes north, longi
tude los degrees 81 minutes east 1t was small
and rocky and we did not visit it.
Henrietta Island was discovered and Wis
tied, May "A, iii latitude u degrees s minutes
north, longitude 157 degrees 81 minutes east.
1t is an extensive island. Animals are scarce,
but glaciers are plenty.
Bennett Island lies in latitude Is degrees
50 minutes north, longitude AS degrees 70
minutes east. 1t is very large. On it we
found many BIRDS old horns, drftwood and
coal, but no seal or walrus. A great tidal ac
ton was observed. The coast is bold and
rocky. The cape on the south coast was named
Cape Emma
1--WE dritted back the first week of the re-
treat tWentv-scven miles more than we could
advance. The snow was knee deep. We had
| to go thirteen times over and over the track,
seven times with loads.
Lieutenant Chipp's boat did better than
ours (Melville's) during the afternoon OF Sep
| TENDER II, the three boats having got clear OF
the ice off Seminovsky Island at noon that
day. About dusk he was 100 yaris off our
weather quarter, and lowered sail as if round
ing to- We lay for twenty-four hours under
triangular drag. Nothing seen of
Lieutenant Chips boat at daylight. He
| colld not get back to theisland in a northeast
gale. He was unable to carry his share OF the
| provisions.
~ observed strong easterly current near
| the Lena delta. There were masses of drift
| wood between the Siberian Islands
''Jack Coles mind is not wholly alienated.
| He has not been violent for twelve days, but
| is happy and harmless. Getting home may
| restore him.