138 THE JEANNETTE ARCTIC EXPEDITION. 



after leaving the captain they crossed the Lena to the east 

 side, in the hope of finding game in the mountains, and it 

 took them a very long time to cross the ice at that point. 



The following is a copy of a letter written by Seaman 

 Leach to his mother at Penobscot, Maine, after his arrival 

 at Irkutsk : 



MY DEAR MOTHER, Your welcome letter came to hand 

 last night. I was at a party, enjoying myself as well as 

 possible for me to do here, when one of the boys came 

 running in and gave me nine letters from home. Oh, 

 mother, you should have seen me dance around the room. 

 The young ladies all thought I was crazy. They were about 

 right. After nearly three years without hearing a single 

 word from home, the news, when it did come, quite upset 

 me. Well, I will try to give an account of myself. I will 

 begin at the beginning. 



After passing through Bering's Strait we stood north 

 until we struck the ice. We ran into it and it closed around 

 us. We had thirty-three of the best boys on board that ever 

 walked a ship's deck. Poor fellows ! only thirteen are left 

 to tell the sad tale. After getting into the ice we made 

 preparations to spend the winter, expecting to get out the 

 following summer. We spent the winter very pleasantly 

 had theatricals Christmas and New Year. It was very cold, 

 but we all enjoyed it tip-top. The winter passed, and so did 

 the summer, without any signs of our being released ; so we 

 made up our minds to stay another winter. It passed quite 

 pleasantly, although three months of the time we did not 

 see the sun. It looked good when it did come up : I think 

 it was worth waiting for. 



We laid in the ice until June, when our ship (our home) 

 was taken from us. Then our hardships began. Oh, mother, 

 you can have no idea of what we went through. When I 

 look back it seems more like a strange dream than a reality. 

 But it is over now, and we that pulled through are safe. 

 About eight days before we reached the coast we encountered 

 a heavy gale, which nearly put an end to our sufferings. 



