The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1898-09-18

supplies at that place. All the crews
or the vessels stayed by the ships to
save hauling the supplies ashore, ex-
cept portion of the crew of the Bel
vedere, which was sent up to the sta
ton at Cape Smyth because that YES
sci was much shorter as to provisions
than the other ships Putting aside
the fact that the vessels We're caught
IN the ice, fortune seemed to smile on
the wrecked men. for besides the deer
That were killed in such numbers the
Navarch, which had been caught in the
lcepack and had drifted to the north
west last fall, drifted back four times.
ana each time supplies were taken out
of her to swell the general store. When
she came in the last time and was SO
close In to the beach all the sleds were
repaired and preparations were made
to get a good supply of coal ashore.
Wnen one morning that vessel was dis
covered to be in flames and nearly con-
sumed. Two men of the crew of the
wrecked Orca, who had gone out to her.
were accused Of having done the deed
py some or the natives, who had seen
tnem start the fire, but the men said
they had made a small fire TO keen
warm, and 1T had got beyond their con-
trol, and declared they had not done Ii
Intentionally.
This happened before Lieutenant Jar
Wis arrived at the point, and. as Mr..
brewer did not feel he had authority
TO punish the men, he was Obliged TO
let the incident pass, but he states that
all the circumstances point to an in
tentlon 10 fire the ship, and thinks the
men did 1t to get out of hauling the
coal, and this when the coal was in
tended to keep them warm! OF course
all the coal on the Navarch was burned
In the ship, and there was in conse
quence a scarcity of fuel all the win
ter, out the men managed to keep warm
somehow until the weather moderated
in the spring and fires were needed only
Ior cooking. The food question hay-
ing worked itself out with the helm of
the deer that the Government had sent
ana Jarvis having seen that the men
were as well housed as was possible nm
der the conditions, everything went
along smoothly, and all they could do
was 10 make the best of the situation
ana wait as patiently as they could un-
I'll the Bear could get there in the
spring and release them.
AFTER the Bear had landed the over
land relief expedition on the 18th of la st
December she steamed back to I'm
Alaska, reaching there on the 23d. She
had been ordered to winter at this
place SO as to be all ready to start
north in the spring as soon as Captain
futile thought the ice would be broken
up enough for him to get into the Arc
tic Ocean.
In the spring everything was got in
readiness, and on the 14th Of June the
bear left Unalaska and started on her
way north. On the 18th she reached
st. Lawrence Island. but, although no
ice had been seen up to that time she
was turned back by the ice later in the
day when she tried to reach Indian
Point on the Siberian coast. The next
day ice was encountered again, but she
finally worked through 1t to ST. Law
renee Bay, Siberia, reachin~ there on
steam whaler William Bayless, and
learned from her that Lopp had re-
turned to Cape Prince Of Wales from
Point Barrow. The following day the
Bear steamed over to Cape Prince of
wales and Lopp came off and gave
captain futile all the news of the ex-
petition up to the time he had left
Point Barrow.
Learning that the wrecked men were
badly in need of clothing the Bear
steamed back to st. Michael, where a
supply OF Undertaking was obtained.
and then proceeded on her way fur
Their north. She reached Point Hope
on the 18th Of July, and I came on
board and reported, and, after giving
astonished than I have ever been
In my life before by receiving
In return the news of the war
and the destroying of the Spanish fleet
at Manila, for the Bear was the first
vessel in the Arctic Ocean, and every
thing that had happened since last No
vember was news to US.
On the evening Of the 18th the
Bear steamed away again for
Point Barrow. In answer to sig
nails from the shore we anchored off
Point Lay on the evening of the 18th,
and soon a boat came alongside, and
Cqntqfp Shnry,o ~ he yo5x x,Y,~l H.,