PREFACE 



In the preparation of this volume the editor has 

 availed herself first, of the private papers of Lieutenant- 

 Commander De Long, and her own recollection and 

 notes ; and secondly, of the testimony given in public 

 and private by the survivors of the Jeannette. It 

 seemed right, in a work which is essentially a tribute 

 to human worth, to introduce the narrative with a 

 brief biographical sketch of the commander of the ex- 

 pedition up to the inception of the undertaking, with 

 special reference to the qualities of character and edu- 

 cation of circumstances which led directly to his pro- 

 posal of an Arctic expedition. The preparations for 

 the voyage continue this personal sketch, as well as 

 put the reader in possession of all necessary facts re- 

 lating to the plans of the projectors and the measures 

 taken to ensure success. 



So much was requisite as an introduction to the nar- 

 rative itself. For that recourse was had to the letters 

 written by Lieutenant-Commander De Long after leav- 

 ing San Francisco, and before dismissing the consort 

 which accompanied the Jeannette to St. Lawrence Bay; 

 to the private journal which he kept from the begin- 

 ning of the voyage to the sinking of the ship, and to 

 the two small journals in which he recorded the for- 

 tunes of the expedition after the ship was abandoned. 



