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.

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 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.

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.

and San Francisco that ours must be exhaust-harbor for Plover Bay. This was her last 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 BORDER REMINISCENCES. little other food, we managed to exist until our parties had all been collected. All the property on the Myan had to be abandoned. put in charge of Ivan Ermechkoff, with instructions to deliver it up if called for by any

It was

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

XVIII.-LIEUTENANT DERBY.

of the company from Ghijigha; if not called ALAS, poor Derby! Verily, it must be ad

We have not heard that any demand was ever made, and trust that that good fellow is by so much the richer.

for it was to be his own.

Three

Meanwhile, every thing portable at the station was transferred to the Clara Bell. 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

mitted that he was one of the most clever, genial, 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, If and in other publications; but some of his happiest hits are only known to his associates. 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 | plished in the dental line, he should no longer 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.

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."

66

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 campaign. He replied that he was not just 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 fraternity; to which Derby, with the most bland politeness, 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. Morediscussion 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 Uff'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.

BORDER REMINISCENCES.

XX.-MARTIAL WOOING.

As may be imagined, he was not only great- | devilish sight, Sir! And you can tell him, furly amazed, but immensely enraged, when the thermore, Sir, that my opinion of him is that aspiring tyro who had followed him addressed he had better attend to his own business, a him as "General Up-to-snuff," and at the same devilish sight, Sir! Tell him that, Sir!" And time expressed a desire to enlist for the Nica- away he stalked, soliloquizing and gesticulating ragua war; and he turned suddenly around most vehemently. upon the innocent victim with a most diabolical expression of countenance, and in a thunA second-lieutenant, by the name of W——, dering tone of voice said, "What do you mean, you scoundrel, by calling me General Up-to- was once assigned to our regiment, who was Not born and "raised" in the wilds of Indiana; snuff? What do you mean, I say, Sir?" receiving any answer, he continued, "I believe and although he possessed, naturally, fair inyou have been put up to this thing. Who told tellectual faculties, yet he had received no eduyou that I was General Up-to-snuff? I'd like cation save what had been imparted to him in the rudimentary schools of the rural districts to know, Sir?" along the Wabash Valley. His vernacular was redundant with the patois of his nativity, and widely divergent from the acceptation of our standard lexicographers. He did not, however, seem at all conscious of his scholastic deficiencies, and for a good while continued to make use of his anomalous idioms, the oddity of which afforded us no little amusement. The young man evinced no spirit of segregation, but was disposed to be quite social with his brother officers, and was especially fond of la

The young man, trembling with apprehension at the infuriated manner of the lieutenant, very timidly replied, "That man over there told me so, Sir," pointing at the same time to Derby, who was still in sight, and very likely waiting to witness the result of the interview.

"He did, did he, Sir! Very well, Sir; you can give my compliments to 'that man over there,' and inform him from me, Sir, that he is laboring under a slight hallucination; that I am not General Up-to-snuff; no, Sir, not by a