APPENDIX. 897 



ger and cold, all but two — Seamen Nindemann and Noros, whom the 

 commander had previously sent on in advance for assistance, and who, 

 after great hardships, were found and rescued by the natives. These 

 two men did their utmost to make the natives understand the condition 

 of the commander's party, and to induce them to go to its relief, but 

 without success. It seems that there was some confusion in the minds 

 of these people between the commander's party and that under Mr. 

 Melville at Geeomovialocke, but the two seamen knew nothing of the 

 whaleboat's fate, and could not therefore guess at the mistake ; nor is 

 it probable that if they had returned they would have found any of the 

 commander's party alive. 



Meanwhile the whaleboat's party .remained five weeks at Geeomo- 

 vialocke, living upon the limited hospitality of a few poor natives, who 

 saw their winter supplies rapidly disappearing before the hunger of 

 this large party. They, like the first cutter's crew, had landed frost- 

 bitten and exhausted, and being ill-fed, and badly clothed and lodged, 

 they were many days in regaining their strength. 



Efforts were made from the first, but without avail, to get transpor- 

 tation for the party to a place of permanent safety, and also to insti- 

 tute a search for the other parties, which nevertheless they believed to 

 have been lost in the gale. 



Lieutenant Danenhower started on the 17th of October, with a dog* 

 team, to explore the coast for the missing boats, but was unable, from 

 the condition of the ice, to proceed far in any direction, and returned 

 without results. The wide river, or rather bay, which separated Gee- 

 omovialocke from the mainland, was sometimes covered with young 

 ice, too thick for the passage of boats, and too thin for the passage of 

 sledges, and at times was filled with floating masses of old ice ; while 

 their ignorance of the language left them unable to express their wants, 

 or to discover the resources of the vicinity in respect to reindeer or 

 dog teams. 



It was not until October 29 that Chief-Engineer Melville learned 

 that the first cutter had survived the gale, when he at once started, 

 and, meeting and consulting with Seamen Nindemann and Noros, did 

 all in his power to find and succor his missing comrades. He succeeded 

 in recovering a portion of the records left behind by the commander, 

 but after nearly sacrificing his life from hunger and cold, and feeling 

 assured that the remainder of the first cutter's party had undoubtedly 

 perished, he returned southward to Bulun, and then went to Yakutsk, 

 where he at once commenced preparations for a more extended search 

 when the season would permit, in the mean time forwarding to Irkutsk 

 the members of his party not needed or unfitted for the search. 



