The morning times., 1896-05-03

Having taken the boats fourteen men
with De Long, eleven men with Melville
and eight in the last) the brave sailors
started In the open sea in the direction of
the mouth of Lena; but a storm divided
the companions; the boat with Melville
reached the shore in safety, and entering
one OF the mouths OF the Lena, met some
ToDgouses and was saved; no traces OF the
boat with the eight men have been found
up to the present time; and finally the boat
with De Long, in September, 1881 entered
a part of the Lena which flows through
n barren region where the Tongouses and
Tanoutes fish during short northern
summer.
The coming cold obliged the bold ex-
plorers to move on foot. without food ro
clothes, to the south.
THE journal of De Long shows how Sc
we're were their sufferngs, and how terrible
was his death and that of his companions
AT first they subssted on the dogs
flesh and afterward they were obliged to
gna W the deerskius and finally sustained
life on daily allowance of a spoonful of
glycerinc and an Infusion of some leaves.
THE WORK OF DEATH.
"Death began its work with Erichsen.
who died on the 24th, of September. SS1, Z,
and finished it on the Goth day of October.
On the I 9th therel were alive De Long, Dir.
Amber and the Chinese sailor, Ah Sam.
Being saved from death by hunger, Engi-
neer Melville found the bodies of ten OF his
comrades and buried them.s. In November OF
the present year, 1888, their grave was
opened by Lieuts. Harber and ScheutZe,
who had been sent by the American Gov
ernment. Their bodies were eXhumed and
packed in metallic boxes, and were after
ward, in Orenburg, put in metallic cofflns.
This is brief history of the Jeannette
expedition, of which there are only
few survivors. 1t shows the various events
which led up to the equipment or Lieut..
Harber's expedition. 1t leaves the story
at the time when Lieuts Harber and
Scheutze and their party arrived in Tomsk,
Russia, on their return.
AS told In -Harbers own words, the
story Of the expedition to the Lena Delta,
where the composite grave of the heroes
was found, is as thrilling as the accounts
Of the experiences OF De Long and bis
companions up to the time of their deaths,
Harber and his party probably had better
facilities for fighting the obstacles en-
countered on their trip, but their voyage
was not nn easy one, for they experienced
a host of difficulties.
On February 2, 1882, Lieut.. Harher re-
ccived orders from the Navy Department
detaching him from the torpedo ram Alarm
and directing him to snil for London and
there make preparations for his expedition.
Master William II. ScheutZe, now a lleuten-
ant, was ordered to accompany him. Al
that time Hon. William II. Hunt was See
retary of the Navy. On his return trip from
Russia Lieut.. Harber arrived in Berlin on
February 2, 1884. On the folio wing .norn-
ing he reached Hamburg and departed from
there at noon on February 6, and reached
New York harbor at noon February 20,
and on Friday, February 22, Lieut.. Harber
was relieved from Official custody of the
bodies which he had succeeded in finding
and bringing home.
LIEUT.. HARBERs REPORT.
Lieut.. Harbers report was submitted on
May 1, 1884 Senator Chandler was then
Secretary OF the Navy. The fact that he
at that time that the report was submit
ted, and thus became familiar with the
history of the several expeditions, is the
urinary reason for his introducing the hill
to erect a mofSIInent as a tribute to the
hcroism or De Long and his fellow Arctic
explorers.
The official report Of Lieut.. Harber is
quite voluminous. The extreme cold, the
lack of food and the absence Of proper IA
cilities TO hasten travel were only a few of
the difficulties that hindered in the search
for the bodies of the missing explorers.
Even after the grave was found and il was
determined to dsnter the bodies and make
preparations for the return it was found
that the Russian law forbIds the removal
or transportation of the dead without eX'
press permission from the minister of the
interior. This was finally secured.
I'VE at once commenced work" says
Lieut.. Harher in his report, "ODened the