VOYAGE OF THE JEANNETTE (1879) 147 



season was drawing to a close. The lateness of the date 

 when the Jeannette left San Francisco, her want of speed, 

 and the delay caused by her search for Nordenskjold 

 placed De Long at a great disadvantage. 



Pack-ice was met as early as the 2nd September. 

 Herald Island was sighted on the 4th, and on the same 

 date land was seen away to the south-west. 



On the 6th September the Jeannette was beset, within 

 a week after leaving the Siberian coast, and was never 

 afterwards released. On the 9th September the position 

 by observation was found to be 71° 35' N., 175° 5' 48" W. 



On the 13th September, De Long sent four men with a 

 sledge to make an attempt to reach Herald Island. They 

 returned next day and reported that they had been forced 

 to return when about 5 miles from the island. Broad 

 leads and rotten ice had been met, and it was evidently 

 impossible to sledge to the island. 



By this time it was observed that the Jeannette was 

 being slowly drifted in the ice towards the north-west. 

 On the 15th September the position was 71° 46' N., 

 175° 36' W., or about 15 miles to the north-west of the 

 position on the 9th. All hope of getting out of the ice 

 before next summer was now almost given up, and the 

 best that could be expected was that the Jeannette might 

 drift to Wrangel Land before spring. However, after 

 drifting some distance to the north-west, the Jeannette 

 was drifted to the east, and then to the south-west, thus 

 forming a triangle, and after a month's drift she reached 

 a point near where she began. 



On the 21st October the thermometer fell to zero for 

 the first time. Preparations were made for the winter, 

 and De Long took great precautions to see that every- 

 thing possible was done to insure the health of the party. 

 Special attention was paid to the proper ventilation of 

 the ship and the avoidance of damp. The surgeon, 



