842 THE VOYAGE OF THE JEANNETTE. 



upon it, and he could have no knowledge that there 

 were natives thirty miles or so to the westward. Mr. 

 Melville, on the morning of the 14th, turned his dogs 

 to the north and followed the east bank of the river 

 until he came to the Arctic Ocean. Then he kept along 

 the shore to the eastward until he came up with the 

 flagstaff which marked the place where the articles of 

 the boat had been cached. Upon digging he found the 

 log books, the chronometer, the navigation box, a lot 

 of pots and pans and kettles, two fire pots, a number of 

 old sleeping-bags and old clothing which had been used 

 to cover the instruments. He loaded his sled with 

 everything, carrying away much that was worthless, in 

 order to avoid misleading any one who might go there 

 afterward on a similar search. 



He returned that night to Balloch, and the next day 

 he proposed going to Osoktok, the second hut at which 

 records had been found. It lay twenty-five miles or so 

 to the southward, but there were no provisions either 

 at Balloch or Osoktok, and he was compelled to return 

 to North Bulun to make a fresh start. There he se- 

 lected from the material which he had brought away 

 from the cache whatever was of value, and gave the 

 rest to the natives. He procured two good teams of 

 dogs and a short team of seven dogs, and set out again 

 on the 17th, as soon as a raging storm would permit 

 him, for Osoktok. He found nothing there, and pushed 

 on to the next hut where Captain De Long and his 

 party had stopped and left a record. In this record 

 Captain De Long had expressed his intention of cross- 

 ing the river to the westward, and following down the 

 west bank to a settlement. Mr. Melville, therefore, 

 after spending the night at a more habitable hut not 

 far away, took the same course the next day. He 



