The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1883-01-09
Z .E1sEGRAPHIC
The Boston story Doubted.

bO-OnJs
ST. PETERSBURG, Jan. Z, 1888.
CHANDLER, Secretary:
have just received from Ensign Hunt
the following telegram:-Plesse inform
the secretary IS follows:
KIRNsK. Dec. 81, 1882.
Aheguin is seriously i'll in the hospitsl
with Inflammation of the lungs. Myself,
Manson, and Bartlett will remain here
probably two weeks. Leach, LRuter-
bach and Thomas proceed to await me
at Irkutsk. The Russisn government
has not yet ordered its authorities to per
NIT any one 10 assist in removing the
bodies.
(SIgned,) HUNT, Minister.
Washington, 7.-George Kennan, of
this city, who has travelled extensively |
in Siberia and who is, perhaps, the best
authority in this country upon the geo.
graphy of Arctic Asia, speaking of the
statement telegraphed from Boston. that
the bodies Of the crew of the Jeanette |
second cutter had been found by al
American artist or the Gulf of Khatangs,
q long, narrow arm of the Arctic Ocean,
south and east of Tanner peninsula,
says the story strikes him as a very
clumsy invention. Kennan aide; The
mouth Of the Gulf of Khatanga is more
than 800 miles in an air line and more
than 500 following the coast from the
place where the boats separated. LIEUT.
Chipp knew very well that Capt. De-
Long intended to land ct the mouth of
the Lena, and it is hardly to besupposed
that he would deliberately and purposely
go 800 or 400 miles farther westward
and laRd on the edge OF Taimur PENN
sula, the dreariest, most desoIate and least
known part of the entire North Siberia
coast. OF course he might have been
bleWn against his will, but in high sea
if yon should lose sight of small boat
ten miles off Sandy Hook, with gale
blowing on shore, you would hardly ex-
pect that boat on the coast Of South Caro-
lima. But this perhaps is not the worst
of the story's improbabilties, The
artist said to, have discovered Lieu
tenant Chipp's party on the coast Of
| KhRtsnga, went here, according to his
letter, for the purpose Of finding broth
er-in-law exiled to the Szerma mines. I
do not think there is nine or Russian
settlement of any kind with 400 miles OF
Khstanga Calf, in any direction. The
nearest inhabited places are Yesaisk and
| Khatangsk, both four hundred miles in
land. A few Samogades wander in the
the summer over Toondia, which lies
along the Arctic Ocean, in that vicinity
| but in winter even they retire to the in
! terror, and leave the whole region unin-
! habitaied. The mouth of Khatanga lies
in latitude rs degrees, almost as far
north as the winter quarters DR.. Kane,
and it could be reached at sea when
| West said he went only by well equip
| ped Arctic expedition. The letter tele-
| graphed from Boston, besides being sus-
piciously vague in Its geographical de-
| tails is full of absurdities and inaccurs-
cies. TIE presence of q man in the
north cannot be detected at distance of
half mile or go, by a peculiar odor;
neither do men at the north inhsbit
cairns, Chookchies,s Of wtom West is re-
presented as being afraid, don't live
| within 500 miles Khstanga Gulf, and it
is next 10 impossible that a traveller in
that region should even learn their name.
! The details OF finding the supposed sur
vivors Of the second cutter struck me as
as simply preposterous. According to
the alleged record found in bible, sup
posed to belong to Kuchne, one, at least,
of the crew lived until the I'd Of March,
1872. In other words, an inexperienced
sailor thrown on the uninhabted
Tanner Peninsulsr in lStitude rs,
without food, proper clothing or shelter
lived through an entire Attic winter in 8
course in which the sun is continuously
below the horizon, nearly q hundred
days. If Capt. Belongs party could
not keep themselves alive longer than Q
month at the Lena Delta, at the begin
ming Of autumn, it is hardly reasonable
to suppose any Of Lieut.. Uhipp's crew
lived through winter of six months on
q still more barren coast, and at point
two OF three degrees farther north. Fin
ally, if the story contained in this letter
had any foundation, in fact the finding
Of the men would have coDle through
regular Russian channels of communica.
ton The loss of the Jeanette has been
known months N every Russian settle.
ment of Northern Siberia. If the bodies
of white men were found on the gulf Of
Khatanga last spring. IS represented IL
the letter, the Russian authorities a
Yeaisoisk would have been informed o
the fact before midsummer, and VIZ
should have had the news promptly By
telegraph.
Neither Secretary Frelinghuysen mol
Chandler have received information il
regard to the alleged finding of the DO
dies of the Jeannette'S second cutter.
The report circulated by telegraph las
night, purporting to give an account o
the discovery in Siberia, by one 3. Z
West, of the bodies Of some of the crew
Of the second cutter at the time of th
loss Of the Jeanette, lad previousl,
been offered to at least one Boston pape
for consideration. The manager
: thought the whole story utterly unwor
thy ofcredit. No such man as West
known in art circles.
: New York, 1.-THE Sun has this:
Boston special says letter has bee
received from man in Pittsfeld, VIII
is said to be perfectly trustworthy, trans
: hitting o letter from an American i
Siberia to friend in that city. TIL
Siberian letter is signed David L. Yves
He said he married in Paris Russia
lady, whose brother was convicted on Il
charge of nihilism, and that he, Yves
obtained 9 pardon and went after b
broiher-in-law in Siberia. while eesrcl
ing for him he got lost, and found q sno
hut with one man dead and another WI
soon died. He buried them, and {
searching the hut he found an Engli:
Bible with the name "a. Knehnen in
He also found records of the deaths
Sharvell, Star, Peter, and a man who
name began with W. The names We
ter Sharvell, Henry D. Warren, al
y Peter E. johnson appear in Preside
Arthur's message as among the missil