dom rose to the freezing point, the
men complained bitterly of the heat and suffered severely from sun-burn.

[Illustration: DELONG'S MEN DRAGGING THEIR BOATS OVER THE ICE]

At Bennett Island they took to the boats, for now open water was
everywhere visible. DeLong was making for the Lena River in Siberia, where
there were known to be several settlements, but few of his party were
destined to reach it. In a furious storm, on the 12th of September, the
three boats were separated. One, commanded by Lieutenant Chipp, with eight
men, must have foundered, for it was never again heard of. A second,
commanded by George W. Melville, afterward chief engineer of the United
States Navy, found one of the mouths of the Lena River, and ascending it
reached a small Siberian village. Happy would it have been had DeLong and
his men discovered the same pathway to safety, but the Lena is like our
own Mississippi, a river with a broad delta and a multiplicity of mouths.
Into an estuary, the banks of which were untrodden by man, and which
itself was too shallow for navigation for any great distance, remorseless
fate led DeLong. Forced soon to take to their sleds again, his companions
toiled painfully along the river bank, with no known destination, but
bearing ever to the south--the only way in which hope could possibly lie.
Deserted huts and other signs of former human habitation were plenty, but
nothing living crossed their path. At last, the food being at the point of
exhaustion, and the men too weary and weak for rapid travel, DeLong chose
two of the sturdiest, Nindemann and Noros, and sent them ahead in the hope
that they might find and return with succor. The rest stumbled on behind,
well pleased if they could advance three miles daily. Food gave out, then
strength. Resignation took the place of determination. DeLong's journal
for the last week of life is inexpressibly pitiful:

"Sunday, October 23--133d Day: Everybody pretty weak. Slept or rested all
day, and then managed to get in enough wood before dark. Read part of
divine service. Suffering in our feet. No foot-gear.

"Monday, October 24--134th Day: A hard night.

"Tuesday, October 25--135th Day.

"Wednesday, October 26--136th day.

"Thursday, October 27--137th Day: Iverson broken down.

"Friday, October 28--138th Day: Iverson died during early morning.

"Saturday, October 29th--139th Day: Dressier died during the night.

"Sunday, October 30--140th Day: Boyd and Cortz di