New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1883-03-08
LIEUTENANT HARBER's LETTER

~ 4
YAKUrsK North Siberia. Dec. \, 1882
Wa returned to this place from the Leua delta on
November 20 having been ab''nt IN our search for
The missing men Of the JeGnnette since midnight OF
June % Daring that time we have searched
throu IN he Lena delta and along the coast from
the Oienek e. the Yana without finding a trace OF
Lieutenant Chipp hls men or his boat We COM
municated. | think. with every native TO be found
in The Lena delta and near the coast. hat none o.
them could give MS any information concerning the
missing explorers. On our return 20 fakutsS we
received orders 10 take home the bodies or captain
DE Long and his men. but g neral Ichernaelu tho
Governor informed me chat must wait for pernIs-
SION from the Minister of the Interior This per
MISSION is expected by mail from lrkutsk, but
n month may pass before it arrives Acting upon
dispatch from Lieutenant Danenhower, | had di-
sected before leaving MOI Val with the schooner IA
September. that the body of Mr. Collins be taken
home, and Il was removed from the tomb by
Ensign Hunt. Ii is now here and Will
be taken home with the others. OF our
work during the past live months l can
now only give a summary. leaving the details
for some future time. / may say here, however,
that have wIthstOod the cold much better than l
expected and. while not quite mp to my usual WIN
ter weight am and have been perfectly we'll Ny
feet only have given me trouble. OF course my nose
has been nipped frequently but IL has as often beau
thawod out by applying my hand, which got dreal-
fully cold in the operation. Daring the trip with
Mr. Schuetze down from the delta last month we
travelled on deersleds for several days in succession
when the Thermometer was at no time above co..
We expect TO find the weather colder when we 90
over the same road later TO remove the bodies of De
Long and his men. Ensign Hunt and the Jeanette
men have been delayed here by the illness OF Ano-
gum. but they will start hOmeward rs soon as the
latter is able to travel.
Leaving Yakutsk in our schooner At midnight OF
June 20. we passed down the Lena between t he
unnumbered islands and shoals that fill the river
and arrived off Schgansk at p. III. Of the 2Sth.
This village seemed almost if not quite deserted
and we passed ON without landing. Beyond Schi-
cansk a number of summer fishing vessels were
seen but nothing of interest occurred until Bllun
was reached. Arriving there early in the morning
of July 9. we stopped to take or board the stores
left by Chef Engineer Melville and made certain
inquiries was informed that wa would have no
trouble in obtaining native guides and boats near
Mot Val where the river begins to branch OIL
in all directions. but on reaching KIT
max surka. where we took a guide for Ii
rnovielach we were told by the StarOsas thead-
menl of the Western Delta and the Olenek River
that no mattress would be found near Mot Al at that
season.. Aftsf making our final arrangements at
Bulun we continued our journey northward without
interruption until had sailed about forty versts,
when I stopped TO communicate with the Russian
exile in whose care MIR. Melville had left the jean
nette,s whale-boat From him we learned that the
boat was still at Bukotf on the southeastern mouth
of the Lena. the branch of the river Melville and
party entered on first making land after the retreat
from the New Siberia Islands. After leaving
Kumaksurka we were caught in the shoals, and.
in consequence of the bad weather, we were two
days IN getting clear.
FROM THE LENA DELTA TO THE YANA.
When we reached Bukof we at once calked and
PATCHED the whale boat, In which we proceeded 10
ZjmOvielach, arriving there 1t n. IN OF july D.
We found the island deserted and at p we start
ed ont in the whale-boat in search OF natives VINO
eould act as guides At midnight of the 10Th we
returned to the village with the Starosta. having
succeeded in occurring one guide Until the 18th we
were delayed by continuous bad weather. On that
day started in the whale-tOat, with Ensign Hunt,
Seaman Manson. Fireman Bartlett and Anegnin'
the hunter TO search tho coast eastward 10 the
Yana delta The weather was bad and we did
not reach Bukof until the evening OfJuly ~. FROM
Rukoff TO the Yana we carefully searched the ell
tire coast with the exception of small portion TO
the south ward of the Omolo River where the water
WAS so shallow that we could not get nearer the
shore than mile or half a mile. Whenever IT was
possb bic. AZ least one man walked along tho beach,
examining the drift-wood, etc. On both sides OF
BorchaIa Bay natives were met at intervals. hut
,hev could give us no information Of Lieutenant
Chip and his men. They knew that some OF the
Jeannette's crew were still missing, but had heard
nothing more of them. Along the shore between
Cape Borchala and the Yana delta were several
deserted hurs These were examined, but nothing
of interest 70 us was found. Only two
natives were met the Yana, out
they could not understand us. In the
evening of July 81 we entered the northwest mouth
of the Yana The following day was stormy one
and we did not break camp. Ensign HUNT ana
BARTLETT however were sent out TO search the coast
on foot but the other mouths OF the river prevented
them from going further than about Tour miles.
Early on August 2, the wind having moderated We
started again and worked our way TO the north
ward and eastward all day. All this time we were
in search Of a landing place or a channel into the
delta. but although the water was only from foot
and half to two feet Deep land could only be seen
now and then by standing up in the boat stnmps
and other large pieces of drIft-wood were found
grounded out OF sight Of land. During the ent tire
day we could not get close enough to distinguish a
continuous mile of the shore. AT 8. D. the last
.hoal Wis BILE bore southeast then judged our po-
stion 70 be about five miles n n. w. of what is
marked on the chart as the mouth of the Kecelara
branch of the Yana and about a mile and half
northwest of the most easterly shoal visible. SEQ
ing no way of getting ashore and being convinced
that search along that part of the coast conld not
he performed satisfactorily in boat drawing SIX
teen inches, was at this point forced to abandon
the search TO the eastward.
Nothing of interest occurred on the return Jour
ney until we drew near Cape Borchaia' iheie VIC
found that the channel between the SHOALS 'nrougn
xvti oh dad fha
ward, had become too shallow TO permit return
passage. We therefore stood TO the eastward and
found series of shoals and an island not marked
Oh the chart and, believe, heretofore unknown.
After thirty hours of continuous work we lett the
boat at 2 q. m. of August and waded to the island