THE WORLD'S WONDERS. 7fl3 



endured by himself and his men after parting from DeLong ant! 

 Chipp. He reached the Lena Delta after several narrow escapes 

 from being swamped, and proceeded up one of the river's 

 mouths. He had been lucky in meeting natives just as his pro- 

 visions were exhausted, and these supplied him and his party 

 with food, and piloted him to the village of Bulem, where he 

 was stopping when the writing of Noros reached him. 



The terrible condition of DeLong was soon told to Melville, 

 who, without a moment's delay, prepared to go to his relief. He 

 could speak the Russian language sufficiently to make himself 

 readily understood, and he was thereby enabled to enlist such 

 assistance as was necessary. Melville took with him Nindemann 

 and two exiles, with provisions for a ten days' journey, while 

 Noros, Danenhower, and the other survivors, were sent on to 

 Yakoutsk, where they arrived December 17th. 



Snoiv -storms, which had prevailed nearly every day since 

 October, had so completely covered up all traces of Noros and 

 Nindemann's trail, that Melville had nothing to guide him in his 

 search for DeLong, who, with his comrades, now lay dead beneath 

 a deep winding-sheet of snow. For twenty-three days, however, 

 he continued the search, going on reduced rations until he was in 

 the greatest danger of starvation, but still refusing to abandon 

 his efforts to find his former comrades until the exiles refused to 

 go any further, and the dogs which drew his sledge were famish- 

 ing. In this time Melville had traveled six hundred and sixty- 

 three miles, and passed almost within a stone's throw of the 

 place where DeLong lay dead, but without finding the bodies, or 

 any signs of Lie 't. Chipp and his party. He could do nothing 

 more, except to send a dispatch to St. Petersburg, and inform 

 the Russians in the district that two parties of his countrymen 

 had been lost about the Lena Delta, and ask them to search for 

 their bodies. This he did, and then proceeded on to Yakoutsk, 

 where he arrived December 30th. 



Melville put himself in communication with the American Min- 

 ister in St. Petersburg, giving a full account, by telegram, of the 

 misfortunes of the expedition. Determined to leave nothing 



