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Lieutenant Delong's Perilous Journey Over the Ice
(131) the only signs of life. To reach the land, the ship's party of thirty-three made their the party left their boat and supplies, and camp on the floe in six tents, but within carrying only one day's provisions and an hour were compelled to move still their instruments, went through the further from its edge by the breaking up frightful. ice mass at the risk of life, of the floe in their camp. dragging the dogs, which, through fear, refused to follow.
A Sudden Shipwreck.
At four o'clock in the morning the cry of the watch was heard: "There she goes; hurry up and look, the last sight Toilsome Journey.
On the very day last-named, the ice you will have of the old Jeannette!" around the ship was broken down in im. While the ice had held together, it had mense masses, the whole pack being alive, held her broken timbers. When it opened and had the ship been within one of the - with her colors flying at the masthead fast-closing leads she would have been she sank in thirty-eight fathoms of ground to powder. Embedded in a small water, stripping her yards upwards as she island of ice, she was as yet protected passed through the floe. Daylight found from the direct crushing on her sides, but the party encamped on the ice, about four felt a continual hammering and thumping hundred yards from where the ship went of the ice under her bottom. On the down. There were three ship-made sleds, twelfth of June, at midnight, in a few with oak runners shod with whalebone. moments' time, she was set free by the split of the floe on a line with her keel, The grand total weight of sleds and and suddenly righting, started all hands provisions was about fifteen thousand from their beds to the deck. By morning pounds. To draw these the party had a the ice had commenced coming in on her working force, when the retreat comside; a heavy floe was hauled ahead into menced, of twenty-four men. Each man a hole where it was supposed the ice had a knapsack; each knapsack contained coming together would impinge on itself one change of underclothing, one package instead of on the ship. The pressure was of matches, one plug of tobacco, one spare very heavy and gave forth a hissing, pair of snow-goggles, and one spare pair crunching sound, and in the afternoon of moccasins. The progress of the party the ice was reported coming through the toward the land was very slow, but finally starboard coal bunkers. Melville went glaciers and water-courses became visible. on the floe to take her photograph, but The party at length reached a point not on returning to the ship heard the order more than two miles distant from the to prepare to leave the vessel by getting land, but the men were so exhausted that out the chronometers, rifles, ammunition, they had to camp. Next day Captain Deand other articles to the floe. When the Long mustered everybody on the island, order was given for all hands to leave the unfurled a silk flag, took possession of the ship at about eleven at night, her water- island in the name of the President of ways had been broken in, the iron-work the United States, and called it Bennett around the smoke-pipe buckled up, the Island. The south cape was named Cape rivets sheared off, and the smoke-stack Emma, after the captain's wife. left supported only by the guys. Three After incredible hardships DeLong and boats were lowered, the first and the sec- his party were reduced to the very verge ond cutter, and the first whale-boat; and of starvation, being compelled for some time to subsist on dried deer-skins, and another chapter in the pathetic history barely enough of these to preserve life. of suffering and death attending Arctic The story of this expedition is only exploration.
