First Sledge:

Second Sledge:

Third Sledge:

To Mamen I gave a brief letter of instructions, concluding with this paragraph: “Should you miss the trail and fail to connect with our camp, after a reasonable time has been spent in looking it up, you will go back to Wrangell Island and await my arriving there.”

The party got away at 9.30 A. M., accompanied for about five miles by other members of the expedition to give them a good start. There was a strong east wind, with drifting snow, but the weather cleared later in the day and it grew calm in the evening. There was about four hours’ light a day now good for travelling.

Beyond its representation on our charts, we knew little about Wrangell Island, the chief source of our information being a short section in the American “Coast Pilot,” which read as follows: “This island was first seen by the exploring party under the Russian Admiral Wrangell and named after the leader, though he himself doubted its existence; its southwestern point lies due North (true) 109 miles from Cape North. It must have been known to the whalers, who, about the year 1849, commenced to visit this sea, and did so for many years in great numbers. The Jeannette’s people also saw it for many days in their memorable drift northwestward; but the first person to land on it, of which we have any authentic information, was Lieut. Hooper of the U. S. S. Corwin in 1881, and later in the same year it was explored by parties from the U. S. S. Rodgers, these two vessels having been sent to search for or obtain information concerning the Jeannette, the remnant of whose crew were perishing in the delta of the Lena at the very time this island was being explored.

“Wrangell Island is about 75 miles long E. N. W. and W. S. W., and from 25 to 30 miles wide, not including the large bare sandspits which extend a long way from the shore, as much as 12 miles in one place from the northern side, and rather more near the southwestern corner of the island. A range of hills extends completely round the coast, and a lower range traverses the centre of the island from east to west, the whole island in fact being a succession of hills, peaks and valleys. The highest point appeared to be Berry peak, near the centre of the island, about 2500 feet in height by barometric measurement.”