Letter from John Muir to Mother [Ann Gilrye Muir], 1881 Jul 4.
78St Michaels Alaska July 4th 1881 –My dear Mother. Since I wrote you before from this place we have been again in the Arctic Ocean in search of the land party that we sent out from near Kol[illegible]chin Island to explore the Asiatic Coast to the westward, in search of tidings of the Jeanette &...
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| Format: | Text |
| Language: | English |
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Scholarly Commons
1881
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| Online Access: | https://scholarlycommons.pacific.edu/muir-correspondence/660 https://scholarlycommons.pacific.edu/context/muir-correspondence/article/1659/viewcontent/muir04_0641_md_1.pdf |
| Summary: | 78St Michaels Alaska July 4th 1881 –My dear Mother. Since I wrote you before from this place we have been again in the Arctic Ocean in search of the land party that we sent out from near Kol[illegible]chin Island to explore the Asiatic Coast to the westward, in search of tidings of the Jeanette & the two lost whalers Vigilant & [Mr Wolastan?]. We found our party near Cape Serdze waiting our arrival & succeeded in getting them safely on board after much difficulty on account of the ice that was packed a mile or two wide along the shore, & beaten by a heavy sea that kept the loose blocks on the [Page 2]edge of the pack in violent motion They found difficulty in obtaining food for their 25 dogs, & also from the rough condition of the ice & depth of soft snow making travel very laborious. They were successful however in getting sure intelligence of one of the whalers at Cape Wankerem. The men here told them that they had found a wrecked whale ship drifting in the pack about five miles from shore when they were hunting seals last fall & that they went aboard & found everybody dead & the hold full of water. They brought off a great number of articles from the wreck which they showed to our party, thus placing the fate of one of the missing ships beyond doubt[Page 3][18?] 2After taking our men aboard we made haste southward before a rising north gale, & stopped at anchor at East Cape a day & a half, where we had to land one of the native dog drivers who had been with the party. Here I climbed the mountains, & had very telling evidence of the grand ice-sheet that once flowed over them all on its way south & also obtained a few specimens of flowers. The sun does not set at all now, & it has been light enough to read the finest print at midnight for more than a month, wh is very convenient for making long excursions, but tedious & confusing in the matter of bed time & in keeping trace of the dogs. The last month has been one big eternal day. From E. Cape we ... |
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