70 THE VOYAGE OF THE JEANNETTE. 



Baffin's Bay. He thought the route would be an ex- 

 cellent one for a large freight business during the 

 summer, and only required to be well surveyed and 

 supplied with buoys and light-houses. A well-wisher of 

 the expedition disclosed the valuable properties of cat- 

 tails, which, when packed as a wadding between two 

 cloths, made the most perfect non-conductor of heat 

 possible. 



A light-hearted friend of Captain De Long, and 

 former messmate, had only one request to make, that 

 the captain would carry a flute, very precious to the 

 owner, 'as far as he should go. It was a flute, as the 

 owner wrote, which, in the hands of Captain De Long, 

 had once given exquisite gratification. "lam sure," 

 he adds, " it only requires another course under you to 

 become one of the most remarkable of instruments. If 

 you play it anywhere near Ounalaska's shore, I am sure 

 the wolves will all come down to howl, and thereby 

 serve a good purpose if it should happen to be thick 

 weather. Then, in the periods when the spirits of your 

 men need rousing, what would be more appropriate 

 than for their commander to appear at the mast and 

 discourse those selections from ' Pinafore ' upon the in- 

 strument of which he is a master?" Still another sent 

 the captain a likeness of Captain Hall and a bit of the 

 Polaris' flag to be carried to the North Pole. 



The Jeannette was put in commission June 28, 1879, 

 when the silk flag which his wife had made for Captain 

 De Long was used. This flag was to be used in taking 

 possession of any new found land in the name of the 

 United States, and to be unfurled when the highest 

 latitude was reached. The orders for the expedition 

 were given by the Secretary of the Navy in a letter 

 dated Washington, June 18, 1879, which, after reciting 



