THE COMMANDER OF THE EXPEDITION. 37 



^vithollt having gained any further intelHgence of the 

 Polaris, and although it was September, Caj^tain Braine 

 received orders to return to Greenland, on the same 

 errand. The ship had just started when a telegram 

 reached the United States consul, countermanding the 

 Juniata's sailing orders, since the Polaris' crew had been 

 picked up and rescued by the whaler Arctic, Captain 

 Adams, and had been taken to Scotland. The consul 

 hired a tug, steamed after the Juniata, overtook her, 

 and communicated the pleasant tidings. The vessel 

 shortly after returned to New York, and Lieutenant 

 De Long wrote to the Department tendering his ser- 

 vices in event of another Arctic expedition. His in- 

 domitable energy, strong will, and passion for overcom- 

 ing obstacles, all tended to develop in him that Arctic 

 fever, which so often fastens upon one who has once 

 known the excitement, difficulty, and peril of northern 

 exploration. 



The courage and persistence which he showed upon 

 the boat journey were credentials of great value, and 

 the personal attraction which he exerted was to be a 

 powerful aid in overcoming obstacles. These qualities 

 will appear in the fuller narrative of his experience in 

 his great voyage, although, since the narrative is from 

 his own hand, the reader may sometimes fail to meas- 

 ure the degree of his heroism. Something of his 

 power of endurance may be learned from a little in- 

 cident which befell him a few years after the events 

 just related. 



It was when he was executive officer of the School 

 Ship St. Mary's, and was working the ship up the Tagus 

 River, Portugal. He was standing on a horse-block 

 (a slight elevation on each side of the deck) when a 

 rope fell from aloft. Fearing it might injure a stand- 



