The Warner weekly sun. (Warner, Brown Co., Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1885, 1884-01-25

oftwO days, during Wlllcn lihie Wy p"t
ty put into many little coVes . lnlesS
in quest Of the treasures oil the eaItt'
thew started back. A storm caule. up
and a terrible gale blew the Nei'ic upoLl
9 sraaken rock just opposite S:.elr P''vII
Of habitation. She went 10 pieces nv
The MGR had great difficulty IN gettthg
ash IRE. Brown was taken sick. OCTOBER
IS. and one of the Cinnamon became IL!
two or three days alter.
Matters began to hook very gloomy Tor
the little partv and a few days aiterward
lscOm, who was feeling in much better
health than any Of the others, went IN a
~whale.boat, which was thrown. 0
shore after the wreck, to get assistance
and 0btg1n medicines tUr his comrades.
He was caught in q sever storm ana, III
smile of his most strenuous efforts, was
blown ont TO sea. For days he was
tossed about in his little boat and a.
! though be ate very sparingIy his small
simply of pro- isions 20 gave out. Al
ter he had been without food for three
DAYS and was about to give up in despair,
Bascom saw a sail. With desperate et-
fort he attracted the attention OF the yes
Sc. and was taken on board. lt was
native Chinese craft, on a hShlng cruise,
and it was many weary weeks helnfe ne
was landed at Hong Kong, During al
this time he had. Of course, heard moth
inc Of his comrades and was extremely
anxious to render some assistance 10
them. For a long time no Opportunity
offered until finally one day he succeed
| ed in finding a vessel bound for the Ok
| hotsk Sen and secured passage on her.
HIS supply Of money contributed by
his fellow explorers had dwindled pretty
low. bat was replenished to some extent
by charitable people to whom he had
told his story. The vessel in which
b. 3comb secured passage vas the
schooner Hannah Rice, owned by q firm
of traders, Dinholm d Co, OF Wadln~
stock, and was on her way with supplies
for a new station just established at
| Mungur or Shanta Bay. Wheathe party
under BasCOmb's lead reached the spot
here his party had set up its cabin
they were startled to &nd lying a few
va! us from the door the detached bones
of a nsan. Pushing open the door an
overpowering stencil greeted them.
They fell back preCipitately, brt finally
mastering courage again advanced. A
horrible sight met their eyes. Just over
the threshold lay a docOmposed body
and in a bunk built in the
side was another. They were
entirely nnrecognizable. There was
a small store of salt beef nard bread,
tea, molasses, tobacco and two rifles,
three old rusty sabres m some ammu'
milton. In the bunk with the body was
the log. Parts had been torn out, pre-
sumably to preserve some secret. Near
ly all the entries were made In the
hands Of Captain Thompson and many
OF them bore his signature.
The story told by the log is one of ter
rible suffering. Although the log was In
| q delapidated condition Bascom secured
Nbat remaInSd intact of it and recently
permitted YOUR correspondence insnect
il. The entries for January, 1877,
showed that heavy snow and intense
cold was experienced. Both Brown and
the Chinaman got much hotter until tie
latter part of the month, when Browns
leg began TO swell badly and he was con.
fined to his bed. In February there
were very heavy falls of snow.
On March 9Captain Thompson's entry
says: This month brings sickness and
misery into this house.
march 81 was compel ed to lie
down, with my legs swollen and turn
ing black which | put down to scurvy.
March 20-One OF the Chi iamen on
his back with the same disease. Brown
still getting worse and complaining that
he cannot live.
"March 30-This month ends with
the sickness of our other Chinaman,
who is just able to walk. My God! when
will this end?
April 5-This month brings the great
est misery / have ever experienced.
Brown is MT able to turn on his blanket
q nh nfann IF TIC opo nh a ~ nfxyA him a
helping hand. The poor Chinaman is
only able to give him cup of tea once
in a while.
april 8-Poor old Brown died and
not one of us able to close his eyes.
April l0-One ofthe Cinnamon gone.
We bad an awful time getting the body
into the snow.
April 12-This aight / feel more like a
dying man than ever.
April 16-ihere is absolute miseIy in.
the ranch, One Chinanan died during
the nights This morning I tried to get
up, but tainted. Wetri ID to get the dead
Chinaman outside, but all efforts failed.
/ feel that we are all doomed
The next and last entry has no date
and is written in a very feeble, shaky
hand, 1t reads:
"How long i have laid here I don't
know. ALI is a blank / am alone. Tn
able to move. The others are dead.
Oh, what agony I am in i feel il eat
ing at my yitals. This must be death.e
Here the logabrnhtlY andsd GRE re
was dug by the party and the remains
we're laid in as best they could be. Ihe
door of the cabin was strongly fastened
to keep out the bears. Two years after
Bascom visited the same spot. He says:
The cabin still stood above the COM
mon grave and / could not look upon it
without q shudder passing over me to
think OF the terrible tragic months
these men had passed, dying one by
one of that slow, certain dis
ease, far from home, he b
and civilization. The shores of this
wild, desolafe country are the silent
custodians of many a tragedy. The