The Minneapolis journal. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn.) 1888-1939, 1906-11-09
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4 Oonalaska- Guns and provisions await
ed the Juno at Okhotsk. and in less
than week after his arrival Rezanoy
/ was able to start on his long Journey
with g mind at rest. Attic the almost
extravagant delight that his body had
home, after ten weeks on the Juno.
warned him that he might be In q
better condition to start on iourney
Of 10000 versts he hearkened neither
| to the hint nor to the insistence Of his
host. His impatient energy and stern
will. combined with the passionate
wish to accomplish the double object
OF his Journey, returning in the least
possible time to California with his
treaty and the consent Of the pope and
ried him out Of Okhotsk in forty.eisht
hours, had disease declared itself. Nor
were there any Inducements aside from
| comfortable bed and refined fare. in
the fat unhealthy town, with its ever
lasting rattle Of chains, and the hide
GUS physiognomies Of criminals always
at work to the rumbling accompani-
ment Of Cossack oaths.
FOR the, first week the exercise he
lived best and the long days in the crisp
open air renewed his viqor. and he
even looked forward to the four
months Of what was then tho sevorest
travelling in the world, in a boyish
spirit Of adventure. He reflected that
he might as well give his brain a re-
lief from the constant revolving Of
schemes and plans for the advancement
OF Oh ms country, nus company, and him
carnival Of anticipation with the un.
Paralleled happiness and success that
| awaited him in the future. There was
no possible doubt Of the acquiescence
and assistance of the czar, and no man
ever looked down q fairer prospective
than ne, as he galloped over the ugly
country: often far ahead Of his cara
van, splashing thru bogs and streams,
1ord1ng rivers without ferries, camping
never escaped their embrace. muffled
to the eyes In furs as he made his way
past valleys whose eternal icefelds
chilled the country for miles about;
sometimes able to procure little fresh
milk and butter, oftener not, occasion
ally passing, a caravan returning for
furs, generally seeing nothing But
stray, reindeer for hours together, once
meetng the post and finding much for
spirit. ~ '1''
But on the eighth day the rains be-
gan; a fine steady mist, then in tor
rents as endless, Wrapped in bear
| skins at night within the shelter of q
tent or Of some wayside hut, and closely
covered by day, Rezanov at first merely
cursed tho inconvenience Of the rain;
Put While crossing the river Attach
yunt, his guides without consulting him
in order to avoid the hamlet Of the
same name where the smallpox was
raging, but where there was a govern
ment ferry, his horse lost his. footing
IN the rapid swollen current and fell.
Rezanov managed to retain his seat
and pulled the frightened plunginT
beast to his feet while his Oossacks
were still shouting their CONSERVATION.
But he was soaked to the skin, his per-
ton, and they did not reach q hut
where q fire could be made until nine
hours later. It was then that the seeds
Of malaria, accumulated during the last
three years in unsanitary ports and
sown deep by exceptional hardships,
which he believed had taken them
selves off during his SIX weeks in Cal
90T gts. s I'll 9dhd mere Ygorogsy than
next day in burning fever. Jon, mind
ing Langsdorff's Instructions, doctored
him-not without diffculty-from the
medicine chest, and for day OF two
the fever seemed broken. But Jon,
sick with apprehension, implored him to
turn back. he might as well have i'm
plored the sky to turn blue.
"How do you think men accomplish
sngRd tsgT md atb back land and going
graineq" =. 49,.
humS2 but hssth is sa1a ees nf tn
the Accomplishment Of everything, and
If the body is eaten up with fever-'
"What are drugs fors Give me the
whole damned Pharmacopeia If you
f shoeiSss but but a9nt talk to me about
ma. mv Siszh rs sIk;h. s1s''lsn'v'" said the
The next day he and one Of the Co.'S
sack guard caught him as he fell from
his horse unconscious. 4 Yakhut hut,
miserable as it was, offered in the per:
siste MT downpour a better shelter than
the tent. They carried him into it,
AID his bedding at least was almost
! as luxurious as had he been in st.
Petersburg. Jon, at his wit g end, re-
membered the practice Of Langsdorh in
similar cases, and used the lancet,
heroic treatment he would never have
accomplished had his master been con
scious. The fever ebbed, and in
few days Rezanov was able to- con-
tinue the journey by shorter stages,
altho heavy with an intolerable lassi-
tude. But his will sustained him un-
til he reached Yakutsk, not at the end
Of twenty-five days, but Of thirty
| three. Here he succumbed immedi-
ately, and altho his sick bed was in the
comfortable home Of the agent Of the
company, and he had medical attend
ance Of sort, his fever and conva-
| lescence lasted for EIGHT weeks Then.
in spite of the suppications Of bis
friends, chief among whom was his
faithful Jon, and the prohibition Of
the doctor, he began the second stage
Of his journey.
The road from Yakutsk to Irkutsk,
some $500 versts, or 1850 English,
miles, lay for the most part alternately
on and along the river Lena in q
southeasterly direction; there being no
attempt to cross Siberia at any point
in straight line. BY this time the
river was frozen, and the only conces-
! sion Rezanov would make to his enfee-
bled frame was an arrangement to
cover the entire. journey By private
sledge instead Of employing the swifter
course Of post sledge on the long
stretches and horseback on the shorter
cuts.
The weather was now intensely cold,
the river winding, the delays many, but
| there were adequate stations for the
benefit and accommodation Of travellers
| every hundred versts or less. Rezanoy
felt so invigorated by the long hours in
/ the open after the barbarous closeness
/ NJ hia rinLrnnm that AZ tho nnd ~ q