New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1904-03-12
GOLD SEEKING.
THE Adventures of PrOspectoT
an Siberia.

IN SEARCH OF A SIBERIAN KLzoNDIIE[lE- a. As
chief Actor and Herein set forth by hoLner ai x
HurIbert Illustrated. octave PIP. AIN' 'o
The Century Company.
The region traversed by Mr. Vanderlip IN
the vain search for gold which this volume COM
,,en,orates was that bleak portion Of Siberia
living north Of the Sea Of Okhotsk and extending
10 the shores Of Behring Sea For fourteen
months the prospector was lost TO civilizatloh'
and while he failed TO find a "Iklondike' MS
tourney was fruitful I'm adding TO his and our
knowledge Of the country and its peculiar peo-
ples. the Koraks. Tunguses and Tchucktes. we
are also given some interesting ghHIses aI
Russian policies and methods in this remote
part OF the world. As an euploye OF a Russian
mining firm the traveller enjoyed unusual facil-
ities for observation. The first stage OF ms
Journey included a visit 10 the penal settle
ment on the island OF Saghalien. about which
rnucb has been written. but of which our know
ledge cannot be said TO be complete. Mr.. Van
derlip points out that contrary to a belief pre-
vaflinC I'm many quarters, there are no 'polltlcal
prisoners" on the island. the convicts immureo
there being Of the most vicious type Of criminals
the majority Of whom viii only be released by
death LAS there IS no such thing as capllaI
punishment in Siberia, Saghalien Is the terres-
trial VaIhaIla Of these doomed men-a sort OF
ante-mortem purgatory."
After q sbipwrecl he reached Pet7opaulovitch-
whence he started for the interior He secured
as a guide a venerable but remarkably active
yative balf-caste. who ruled as a patriarch over
a small village. and before their departure In
sisted on entertaining his employer IN regal
fashion:
For dinner. the first course was starting ..r;
one. It consisted Of a huge bowl OF boiled ish
ewes This is considered a great dehcacy og
the natives Of the Far North. Mheh N1e ulsI
was set before me. and / saw a huhdLel go ri
-larinr- al me from all directions and al an
angles cross. sQuint, and wall, IL slmph! lOoA
my annette away. I had 20 turn them down,
50 that the pupil was NOT visible, 10y , ta
attack them. The old gentleman ana ale
alone the rest of the family not belng tIloWeu
10 sit down with This was efnlnehu! s s.S
factory to me. we ate from the Same ISL
a. fact 7 could have dispensed with my most zoo.
The second dish consisted or nsh heaps.
found on these a sort Of gelatin, OF cafuase,
that was very good eating Then came a hli.5
80 cal-a fried in seal oil. OF which the less said
The better For dessert we had dish OF va
gada which is much like our raspberry except
that it is yellow and rather acid
He made the acquaintance OF numerous other
weird deIicacies before his wanderings came to
an END. and does not hesitate TO infiict on
his readers long descriptions OF them. OF the
peoples anorg whom he wandered he was most
favorably impressed by the Tchucktes. These
race whom the Russians have not been able 20
subdue Mr. Vanderlip had been warned 70
give them a wide berth. but he discovered that
while they hated the Russians they entertained
the kindliest feelings toward Americans. They
were 1.-THE only people in Siberia with whom
we could not bargain for meat or transport.
on the whole. they are the finest race Of savages
that Il has ever been my lot 10 meet"
Although he was unrennitting in his quest for
gold and found traces Of the metal, there were
no indications that It existed IN paying quaint
ties. His was indeed a wild goose chase"
Based on the not illogical assumption that the
gold-bearing belt Of the KlOndike extended
across Behring Sea into Asia, It also rested
largely on the rurnor that an American schooner
had taken two fun cargoes Of gold ore TO San
Francisco from point on the Behring coast.
Mr. Vanderlip eventually reached this place.
AID then learned that the "ore' was I'm reality
sandstone shipped as ballast. It is not difficult
TO perceive why he says little possible
about his prospecting, and prefers to give US
The results OF his chronological observations, with
studies and anecdotes Of the animal life common
TO the country. one Of the best passages in
his book is this description Of the pursuit of a
reindeer team by his sledge dogs:
At 4 o'clock in the afternoon the dogs sud
denly broke into a swift run. and We knew
they had scented something NldL interested
them. We soon perceived that We had struck
q deer trail, and that we were nearing an en-
campnent. We turned bend In the road and
there, hundred yards ahead Of US. saw the
cause Of the dogs excitement. a team Of
reindeer were running for their lives. Their
Tunguse driver was lashing them with the
whip and urging them on with al his might.
Tor he knew well that II dogs
overlook them before the camp was reached we
seven men would be utterly powerless 10 pre-
vent the dogs from tearing the deer TO pieces.
Chrisonsky put the brake with all his might,
but Il had not the least effect. our fourteen
dogs had become wolves IL the turn OF hand
and no brake could stop them While we
were still at some distance the people Of the
village. warned by the cries of dogs com
pretended what the matter, and. arming
themselves with sticks and spears, came run
ming toward Us. As they came on they spread
out IN a fanlike formation across the trail.
When the terrified deer reached them they
opened and let the team through, and instantly
closed again 10 dispute the passage OF our dogs.
ChrisoffsSy was in wise minded to let these
natives club his dogs and perhaps injure the
valuable animals so he resOrted to the last
eXpedient Giving a shout of warning to me. he
suddenly. by a def motion. turned our sledge
my head In this position the sledEe was all
brake and the dogs were forced 10 stop. leaping
in their harness and yelling like iends incar-
nate.
Mr.. Hurlbert has cast Mr.. Vanderlip's narra-
tive IN attractive form, writing with ease, di-
4 rectness and vivacity. The Illustrations add
considerably 20 the interest Of the book
NOUNS OF MULTITUDE.