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see them; and, to the credit of all, there was not a single instance of their infringement during the whole year that ensued.

The main reliance for adding to our supplies was that the Tchuctchus, with their herds of reindeer, would remain in the neighborhood during the winter. But three weeks passed, and none made their appearance. Then a party was fitted out to go in search of them. In a few days they returned with a couple of natives, whom they had persuaded to accompany them. These said they had avoided us, fearing that our intentions were hostile. "If you are not come to make war upon us," they asked, "why did you not bring your women and children ?" We replied that our women were delicate beings, and could not endure the severity of the climate. At this they smiled incredulously; for their women do much of the hardest work, and bear exposure as well as the males. A few presents soon put them in good-humor, and inspired them with confidence. They agreed to come to us with their families. Three days after they came back, bringing eight hundred deer. We agreed upon a price for a hundred and fifty of these, which they were to select and kill for us.

As nothing could be done on the Anadyr until next spring, when poles could be cut and rafted down the Myan, Bush, leaving Macrae in command, set out on the 5th of November for Markova, taking four companions. The journey with dogs occupied twelve days. Every thing looked unfavorable. It had been a hard season. Every few years there is one,

when no salmon enter the river; and this had been one of them. The dogs were almost all starved, and without them there was no way of carrying supplies to the Myan. Bush remained at Markova during the greater part of the winter. Communications were made with Ghijigha, from which supplies were procured; Macrae in the mean while devoting the fair days to dismantling the wreck of the Golden Gate, from which every thing portable was carried off.

The Rus

At Markova the month of December rolled on cold and stormy. The thermometer sank as low as -56°; but our head-quarters were comfortable, and an abundance of fire-wood enabled us to keep comparatively comfortable, though we were sometimes obliged to wear our furs in-doors, and water would freeze within a yard of our blazing fire. Our Christmas-day was not a particularly merry one. sians retain the old calendar, consequently their Christmas falls twelve days later than ours. Notwithstanding their privations, the natives celebrated it with the usual gayety. Dances and masquerading parties were of almost nightly occurrence. Mark Tapley himself would have acknowledged the merit of being jolly under the circumstances.

Bush had supposed that the weather would begin to moderate in February, so that work could be commenced. A part of the men at the camp on the gulf were ordered up to Markova. But this February, 1867, proved by far the coldest month of the year. Between the 7th and the 15th the maximum temperature was -20°, the mean -42°, the minimum

[graphic][merged small]

REINDEER, DOGS, AND SNOW-SHOES.

[graphic]

-68-only one degree above the lowest ex-
perienced by Kane, and within a few degrees
as low as any on record. The extreme tem-
perature on the 18th was -42°; next day it
rose to +21°-a variation of sixty-three de-
During this
grees in twenty-seven hours.

"cold spell" a party sent to the Myan were
Some-
obliged to camp out in the open air
times, when standing so near the fire as to
burn their hands, their noses would be actually
freezing. Another party was at the same time
coming up the Anadyr; but the cold was much
They had,
less intense than farther inland.

however, a very severe journey, losing one of
their number, John Robinson, on the way. He
A
was in perfect health at starting, but died four
days after of inflammation of the bowels.
fierce poorga was raging at the time, driving
the snow through the chinks in the lonely hut.
Late in March, 1867, Bush set out for Ghiji-
The snow was in good
gha over his old route.
condition, and the journey was performed in
thirteen days. Here he found Kennan and a
dozen others who had arrived at Petropaulovski
the preceding fall, and thence made the journey
overland through Kamtchatka. Here also sup-
plies in abundance were to be obtained. Here-
tofore he had been unable to pay the natives in
provisions for their services, and by some mis-
management at head-quarters he had no other
means of payment. He had given them prom-
issory notes payable in provisions at Ghijigha.
Word had been left for them to come on and
get their pay. The overjoyed creditors pressed
everything upon four legs into service, but so
miserable was the condition of their dogs that it
took them twenty-eight days to perform the dis-
tance which Bush had accomplished in thirteen.
It was a lucky thing for them that we had been
without money to pay them, for they could now
start back for home, their sleds loaded with
provisions; whereas, had they been paid in
money, they would have lost it all in gambling
with their priest, a worthy confrère in every
way with Father Ivan, of Ghijigha. Nearly ev-
ery winter these two clerical worthies enter into
partnership for a gambling expedition among
the Koraks, from which they return rich in furs
The reverend pastor now came
and rubles.
to Ghijigha with his flock, and kept himself
drunk during his whole stay.

Returning to Markova, we had supplies suf-
ficient to last until the 15th of July, before which
time stores would certainly reach the mouth
of the river. The men were all in high spirits,
laughing at the recollection of their hardships;
and all whose terms of engagement had expired
renewed them for another year.

The spring of 1867 was a repetition of the
preceding one: long days, beautiful midnight
sunsets, the arrival of water-fowl, and finally
the breaking up of the ice, which occurred sev-
A party was
eral days earlier than last year.
Every thing betokened
sent to the Myan.
abundance of food. Ever and anon as we went
up the river we came upon natives engaged in

IVAN ERMECKOFF

A

spearing deer. At one crossing the banks were
black with drying meat, and fifty carcasses were
lying in the water waiting to be cut up.
hundred and twenty had been killed at this
spot, and some hundreds more in the near vi-
cinity. "Look there, barin" (gentlemen), they
would shout, pointing to the piles of meat;
more starving now!"

66 no

On the 12th of June, Bush and Norton, ac-
companied by several natives, among whom
was Ivan Ermechkoff, a Lamut, set out in a
boat to descend the Anadyr to secure the re-
Ivan had been one of our
mains of Robinson, and have them interred at
the Gulf Station.
On the 26th we entered the
The
raft crew the previous year, and a faithful friend
all the last year.
mouth of the bay, still choked with ice.
wreck of the Golden Gate was still lying there.
Shortly after a boat put off from the shore,
and in a few minutes we were welcomed by as
hearty and jolly a set of men as we ever saw.
They had just launched the little Wade, repair-
There was one melancholy sight-
ed, freshly painted, and in all respects better
than ever.

a low mound, with a neat head-board bearing
an inscription denoting that beneath lay the
remains of Charles E. Geddes, carpenter of the
A few of the others had suffered
Golden Gate, who had died, April 25, after a
long illness.
from frost-bites; one so severely that it was
necessary to amputate two of his fingers. The
only implements for performing this operation
were a handsaw and jackknife, and a pair of
tweezers to pick up the arteries.

The remains of Robinson having been buried, we set out on our return voyage up the rivus to Oochostika, where coal and supplies were er in the little Wade. Three days' run brought landed for the rafting party which was soon expected from the Myan. This was the first steamer that had ever plowed the waters of the Anadyr. It will probably be the last for generations.

The 4th of July was celebrated by a national salute at the station, from a 12-pounder gun which had been brought ashore for the purpose.

[graphic]

A few dainties had been reserved for this | We divined what had happened. The Atlantic great occasion. The Wade made three trips telegraph had succeeded, and there was no need of a telegraphic communication between Europe and America by the long route of Siberia, Behring Strait, and Alaska. Two thousand telegraph poles, now useless even for fire-wood, was the net result of our labor of two years.

as far as Oochostika. On the last trip we met the first raft of poles from the Myan. Two thousand had been cut and formed into two rafts; but the water being too shallow to float them as they were, one raft had been divided into two. As we neared the station upon our return, we saw, to our joy, a bark flying the company's flag. Drawing nearer, our congratulations came to an end. Her copper sheathing was visible high above the water-line, showing that she contained no cargo; and none had been landed, for the beach was perfectly clear. |

She brought

The bark was the Clara Bell. orders to get every thing on board, and proceed to Plover Bay, the general rendezvous of the whole expedition. The Wave was sent to the Myan to bring back the party there. By some strange neglect the bark had brought no supplies, although it was well known at New York

DOWN THE ANADYR

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and San Francisco that ours must be exhaust- | ed; for we had, while at Ghijigha, sent a message to that effect to Nikolayefsk, whence it had been telegraphed by way of St. Petersburg. Economy is a very laudable thing, especially in winding up a losing concern; but it becomes an outrage when it takes the form of sending an empty ship to convey scores of men destitute of supplies a distance of three thousand miles. Our supplies were all but exhausted, but when Bush asked for provisions from the bark he found that there were none to spare. Fortunately the men had caught enough salmon to enable them to salt down three barrels. Upon these, with quarter rations of bread and a very little other food, we managed to exist until our parties had all been collected. All the property on the Myan had to be abandoned. It was put in charge of Ivan Ermechkoff, with instructions to deliver it up if called for by any of the company from Ghijigha; if not called for it was to be his own. We have not heard that any demand was ever made, and trust that that good fellow is by so much the richer.

Meanwhile, every thing portable at the station was transferred to the Clara Bell. Three miles of wire had been laid for experiments. For a considerable part of the time the air was so charged with electricity that messages could be sent over the wire without the use of the battery. This was the sum of telegraph-building in Siberia and Russian America. The sailors put up a sign on their quarters, informing any person able to read who might thereafter come that way that it was "the house that Jack built;" and on a pole near the storehouse was nailed another sign, indicating that the premises were "To Let." The little Wade took the bark in tow, and steamed out of the

harbor for Plover Bay. This was her last service, for she was broken up, and the hulk given to the natives. At Plover Bay the whole expedition remained a month and a half, rather hardly off for food, the commander making a trip in search of whalers, to procure supplies for the homeward voyage. In this he was successful; and on the 6th of September sail was hoisted for San Francisco, which was reached after a quick voyage of twenty-two days. Thus ended, after three years and three months, the attempt at telegraph-building in these arctic regions.

BORDER REMINISCENCES. BY RANDOLPH B. MARCY, U.S.A.

XVIII-LIEUTENANT DERBY.

Litted that he was one of the most clever, LAS, poor Derby! Verily, it must be adgenial, and amusing spirits of his day.

Overflowing with a redundancy of original, pungent wit, and effervescent, spicy humor, and possessing a prurient, constantly teasing, and insatiable penchant for the perpetration of keen, incisive raillery, at the risk even of incurring the displeasure of his best friends, it is not surprising that the memory of this incorrigible humorist should often be revived in the minds of those who entertain a lively appreciation for veracious burlesque and sparkling bonmots.

Many of Derby's droll stories have been told by himself with inimitable gusto in Phenixiana, and in other publications; but some of his happiest hits are only known to his associates. If the following has ever before appeared in print, I have not seen it:

Some years previous to his death this officer

was engaged in improving the navigation of the Mississippi River, with his head-quarters at New Orleans. Shortly after this he visited Nahant for his health, and took lodgings at the principal hotel of that fashionable wateringplace, where he encountered a large number of pleasure and health seekers from various parts of the country, all of whom were strangers to him. It was in vain that he searched the register for familiar names; not a single one could he discover among them all. He wandered about over the grounds by himself during the entire day, and although crowds of people met him at every turn, yet he did not recognize a face.

plished in the dental line, he should no longer feel at liberty to hesitate in complying with their request. They assured him that the gentlemen present were unanimous in the opinion that the value to the dentistic art of such a contribution as he had indicated could not well be overestimated, and they were quite confident the convention would appreciate it accordingly; whereupon he authorized them to communicate to the association they represented the assurances of his most distinguished consideration, with the announcement of the fact that he had but a short time before accomplished the exceedingly difficult operation of extracting the huge snags from the mouth of the great Mississippi."

XIX.-GENERAL UP-TO-SNUFF.

It was while Derby remained in New Orleans that Walker and other filibusters were recruiting men for the Nicaragua war. As the former was walking through Canal Street one day in "undress" uniform, he was accosted by a stranger, evidently from the country, who inquired if he was enlisting soldiers for the Nicaragua

then engaged upon that service, but added, pointing to a portly lieutenant of the regular army who happened to be passing in full uniform, "Do you see that officer across the street?"

"Yes," replied he.

"Very well," said the irrepressible wag; "that man you see over there is the distinguished General Up-to-snuff. He is recruiting for Nicaragua."

Among the guests at the hotel was a convocation of dentists, who had assembled there for the purpose of discussing and deliberating upon matters pertaining to the general interests of their profession. Some of these people, observing Derby continually alone, and apparently without acquaintances, imagined that possibly he might be a brother dentist; but nothing positive was known concerning him until one individual took the responsibility of addressing him, and begged to inquire if he had the honor of speaking to a member of the dental frater- campaign. He replied that he was not just nity; to which Derby, with the most bland po- | liteness, replied that, although he might not be regarded as having been regularly inducted into the profession according to the ordinary acceptation of the term, yet he ventured to assert most emphatically, and without the slightest fear of contradiction, that he had but a short time before, with a steam-engine, performed a dental exploit of greater magnitude than had ever before been achieved. This astounding declaration, announced with so much con- The lieutenant's name was not Up-to-snuff, fidence, was soon bruited about among the but Uff, which really sounded something members of the convention, and intense curi- like the ludicrous metamorphosis that Derby osity was manifested by them to learn who the had applied to it; and with those who knew distinguished stranger was, as well as to ascer- the peculiarities of the man the application tain the character and details of the great oper- might be regarded as appropriate. He was ation he had performed. The application of quite a ponderous individual, with an erect and steam to purposes of their art was novel in the somewhat dignified bearing, but excessively inextreme, and the subject produced an animated flated and pompous in his deportment. Merediscussion among themselves, during which va- over, he had an inexhaustible stock of "modest rious random conjectures were hazarded regard- assurance," and seemed to be fully persuaded ing Derby's identity, nationality, etc. Some that he possessed about all the information that surmised that he might be Dr. Evans, the great was of any value. At all events, if there was Parisian operator, while others thought he look- any thing he did not understand, he was never ed more like an eminent London dental sur- known to admit it. Moreover, he was eminentgeon, but nothing satisfactory was arrived at; ly sensitive upon the subject of practical jokes and they finally resolved to appoint a commit- when there was a personal application to himtee to wait upon him and offer him a seat in self, all of which was fully understood and apthe convention, hoping that he might thereby preciated by Derby. Upon the occasion rebe induced to give an account of the wonderful ferred to U- -ff's coat was buttoned up so achievement he had alluded to. Accordingly close around his short neck that it was with the invitation was extended to him, to which difficulty he could turn his head; his belt was he responded that he entertained a lively ap- drawn so tight around the waist that the adipreciation of the honor they had conferred upon pose tissue was forced out until it almost unithim, but, as he was on the eve of departure, it ed outside; and his huge sabre, dangling from would be impossible to avail himself of it. If, the extremities of the straps, thumped and clathowever, as they stated, the convention deem-tered upon the sidewalk as he, with head erect ed it important to the interests of science, and for the relief of suffering humanity, that he should disclose to them what he had accom

and eyes directed square to the front, strutted along, so that a stranger might easily have mistaken him for a man of some consequence.

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