70 CRUISE OF STEAMER OORWIN IN THE ARCTIC OCEAN. 



from tbe information gained by the Herald, Blossom, Plover, and others, upon which this laud 

 appeared under tbe name of " Kellett Land," by which name it has since been known upon tbe 

 British Admiralty charts. Iu 18G7 this land was seen by the American whaling fleet. That sea- 

 sou was a remarkably opeu one, probably as much so as. that of 1881, and Captain Long, in tbe 

 bark Nile, sailed past its southern limit, and a sketch, purporting to have been made by bim, is 

 now shown upon the American Hydrographic chart. Captain Loug gave to this land tbe name of 

 Wrangel Laud. Tbe strait through which be sailed, between tbe island and the mainland, bas 

 been given the name of Long's Strait in honor of that navigator. The land, as already shown, 

 had been discovered and named for its discoverer fourteen years previously. It is presumed that 

 Captain Long w T as not aware of this fact, or that this sound, upon which was bestowed his own 

 name, bad been navigated at intervals by tbe Russians since 1648, when Deschueo sailed from 

 the Kolyma River through this and Bering Straits to the Anadyr, or he would have conferred 

 that honor upon one of his many predecessors. A mountain included in Captain Long's sketch, 

 the height of which he seems to have approximated very closely, was very appropriately named 

 or bim, but singular as it may appear this nanie, to which Captain Long was justly entitled, has, 

 notwithstanding, our pretended custom of adhering to original names, been set aside on a recent 

 issue of American charts. Subsequent to the discoveries of Kellett and the American whalemen, 

 Commodore John Rodgers visited the Arctic Ocean in tbe Viuceunes as late as 1855. He spent 

 twenty days in the Arctic, and went some miles north of Herald Island, but did not see tbe laud 

 under discussion. The following note, which appears upon the American Hydrographic chart, 

 compiled from the surveys of that expedition, and from Russian and English authorities, implies 

 a doubt of its existence : 



Captain Kellett, of H. B; M. ship Herald, discovered and landed on Herald Island in 1849. Another island, and 

 high land which he thought he saw, were not under more favorable circumstances of weather and position seen by the 

 United States ship Vincennes. 



Thus it will be seen that Kellett was the actual discoverer, and that Wrangel's name only 

 became associated with it through tbe report of Captain Long, who was apparently unaware of the 

 fact that it already bore the name of Kellett by right of actiuil discovery. But notwithstanding 

 the slight ground upon which Wrangel's name has been associated with this land, had his been 

 the only name connected with it, the thought of changing it would not have been entertained for 

 a moment; and in provisionally applying a new name I disclaim any thought or wish to throw 

 discredit upon the praiseworthy labors of Wrangel or Kellett. But as bearing two names was 

 calculated to create great confusion, it was believed that as the island had become, by our act of 

 landing upon it and taking possession of it, a part of the territory of the United States, by 

 selecting a name of a national character, no disrespect would be shown to the memory or offeuse 

 given to the friends of the gallant officers whose names it bore, and that the name given would be 

 adopted by all nations. The name New Columbia was suggested by the name which had been 

 given to tbe islands farther west, New Siberia. It is probable that the name Wrangel Laud will 

 continue in use upon American charts, but its justice, in view of all the facts, is not so apparent. 

 In my opinion the adoption by us of the name given by the English would be appropriate, and 

 avoid tbe confusiou which is sure to follow iu consequence of its having two names. Headlands 

 and other geogr phical features of the island were named by us, but as the names which were 

 applied to features actually discovered by the Corwiu and heretofore unnamed have been ignored, 

 it is possible that a desire to do honor to the memory of Wrangel is not the only consideration. 

 To avoid the complications which would result from duplicating geographical names I have 

 dropped all bestowed by the Corwiu and adopted the more recent ones applied by the Hydro- 

 graphic Office. I have also adopted the plan of the island, as shown on the small chart accom- 

 panying Hydrographic Notice No. 84, although the trend of the coast and the geographical posi- 

 tion of the mouth of the river where we first planted the flag do not agree with tbe result of 

 the observations and triangulations made by the Corwiu. From the foregoing facts, which are 

 derived from the voyages of early navigators, as compiled by Wrangel and Nordenskjold, and 

 other sources, the following summary may be deduced: The first reports of land existing to the 

 north of tbe coast of Siberia were made by the early Russian travelers ; unfortunately the names 



