56 THE JEANNETTE EXPEDITION. 



labors, the gold medal of the Roquette Foundation. But 

 Francis Hall, like his fellow countryman Kane, seven- 

 teen years before him, has fallen a victim to his suffer- 

 ings, and it is on a tomb that we must once more deposit a 

 crown. If we are denied the gratification of giving to 

 Francis Hall the medal which we have awarded him, we will 

 have at least the consolation of transmitting it to his family. 

 It will bear witness across the seas that death itself cannot 

 prevent the just tribute of your gratitude for services ren- 

 dered to geographical science. The Prize Commission 

 awards this year the gold medal of the Roquette Founda- 

 tion to the Arctic Explorer, Francis Hall, a medal which will 

 be sent to the family of the unfortunate explorer." 



The Jeannette Expedition, — On July 8, 1879, about ten 

 years after Capt. Hall started out on his voyage of discovery 

 with the Polaris, Mr. James Gordon Bennett sent out an 

 Arctic expedition from San Francisco, commanded by Lieu- 

 tenant De Long, U. S. N. The details respecting route and 

 purpose were withheld from the public. The Jeannette was 

 early caught in the ice drift, and having no volition of her 

 own, was driven hither and thither by the mechanical impulses 

 of the pack for nearly two years. Thus day after day she 

 drifted like Coleridge's ancient mariner. In this manner 

 passed the year 1880 and the following spring, in monotony 

 and hopelessness, when she was finally overwhelmed, and 

 went down, June 11, 1881. Before she sank, provisions and 

 boats were transferred to the ice, and the crew camped on 

 an ice floe for four days, while preparations were being made 

 for a retreat southward. Provisions were abundant, and the 

 party, so long accustomed to danger, faced the perilous 

 situation with courage, each trying to improvise amusement 

 to raise the spirits of the party and make them forget for a 

 time the anxiety caused by the loss of tlie ship. 



On June ITth, the entire party moved southward, hoping 

 to reach the New Siberian Islands, and from there by boat 



