33 8 HORRORS OF THE "JEANNETTE" EXPEDITION 



mican. They left the island on August 6th and on the 2Oth reached 

 Thaddeus Island, one of the New Siberian group, among which 

 they were imprisoned by the ice for nearly ten days. 



Navigable water was found at the end of this time and the 

 party distributed themselves among the three boats, Captain De- 

 Long taking command of the first cutter, Lieutenant Chipp of the 

 second, and Engineer Melville of the whale boat. The second 

 cutter was a bad sea-boat and had little room for provisions, the 

 first cutter having the greatest capacity of the three and being an 

 excellent sea-boat. The whale boat was also well built and strong. 



Onward with hope the castaways now went, knowing that the 

 coast of Asia was not far distant. On the loth of September it 

 came in sight, about twenty miles away, and on the nth a landing 

 was made on the small Semenovski Island and hunting parties sent 

 out. An old hut was found there and footprints made by a white 

 man's boot a very encouraging indication. 



But their good fortune was quickly at an end. Leaving the 

 island on the I2th, they soon found themselves in the clasp of a gale, 

 which grew so severe as to set all hands in the whale-boat to pump- 

 ing and baling out water. The boats kept close together until about 

 7 P. M._, when the gale increased in force and they were separated, 

 never to meet again. Their destiny differed. The first cutter 

 reached land, but only to leave its party to the sad fate of death by 

 cold and starvation. The second cutter vanished, leaving no record 

 of its fate, it having probably swamped in the stormy sea. Those 

 in the whale-boat alone escaped death, reaching shore by the suc- 

 cessful use of a drag or sea-anchor and keeping the boat afloat until 

 land was reached by incessant baling. 



We shall end here this chapter of the adventures of the hapless 

 ship's company of the "Jeannette," leaving the record of the adven- 

 tures of those who reached shore for the following chapter, in which 

 the story of the escape of Melville and his boat's crew will be 

 described, with his subsequent search for the fated DeLong and his 

 companions. 



