OCTODKR 1!). ISSi.) 



SCIENCE. 



o41 





disresiK'cl, it miiv be snicl, lliat, with llie possi- 

 ble exception of two civiliims, there w:is no 

 one on board wliose scientific acquirements 

 rose above tiie daily needs of the intelligent 

 practice of his profession. The object of the 

 expedition, as far as may be surmised from 

 the circumstances made public, seems to have 

 been to determine what would be the result 

 of a set-to between the arctic pack, cold and 

 starvation on the one hand, and a slii|)ful of 

 inexperience and ' piu'c grit ' on the other. 

 The result is now known ; and the innocent 

 confidence with which both promoter and ex- 

 plorer undertook the task is one of the extraor- 

 dinary features of this melanchol^v history. 

 Under the circumstances, it is well tiiat ]\Irs. 

 De Long lias made i>ul)lic 

 her husband's records of 

 the story, already twice 

 told el.sewhere. The ac- 

 count of the voyage is 

 preceded by some details 

 of the previous life of 

 De Long, wlio, from an 

 early age, showed evi- 

 dence of great force of 

 will and audacity, and 

 who preserved until his 

 death the religious con- 

 victions instilled by a 

 fond and pious mother. 

 There seems to have been 

 no special tiu'n for study 

 in the lad, whose energy, 

 nevertheless, carried him 

 through the Naval acad- 

 emy with credit. The in- 

 troduction to that friend- 

 ship with Mr. Bennett 

 which finally led to De 



Long's selection as commander of the arctic 

 expedition, is left untold. It is evident that 

 these two had a strong and well-founded 

 friendship, and perfect mutual confidence. 

 The voyage once determined npon, Mr. Ben- 

 nett providing the vessel and the means, the 

 government lending its naval organization and 

 prestige, Dc Long had only to choose his 

 party, and organize his plans. Tlie first was 

 soon, and, all must admit, remarkably well 

 done. Certainly, no body of men ever stood 

 harder test of fidelity to tlieir commander than 

 that little party, and with less flinching. 



The vessel, it is now generally admitted, was 

 tolerably- well adapted to her purpose, and en- 

 dured from the ice all that could be expected 

 in like circumstances. The provisions, on the 

 whole, turned out well ; and the equipment, in 



the course of tlie expedition, showed no serious 

 deficiencies. On tlie whole, then, well provided, 

 and with much poiiular approbation and s^'in- 

 l)athy. tlie expedition departed on the 8tli of 

 •lul}-, 1879, from San Fi'ancisco. A rendez- 

 vous was had Aug. 2, at Uiialaska, — that cosey 

 little harbor which has received so many ex- 

 peditions, and bravely borne up the barks of 

 Kotzebue, of Liilke. of Levaslietf, of Kruzen- 

 stern, of Sarycheff, and many more masters of 

 exploration. Ten days afterward they an- 

 chored at St. Michael's, Norton Sound. Here 

 dogs, furs, and coal were shipped ; and then 

 the Asiatic coast of Bering Strait was I'eachcd, 

 and some time spent in endeavoring to deter- 

 mine the fate of Nordenskiiild. Here several 



t 1 



curious bone implements were collected, which 

 are figured, but not referred to in the test. 

 One of these we reproduce. 



Pushing into the Arctic on Sept. 6, the vessel 

 was beset in the pack north-eastward of Herald 

 Island. From its rigid embrace she was never 

 released, except to sink, a shattered wreck, 

 beneath its surface, nearly two j-ears later. 



On Jan. 19, 1880, she received a wrench from 

 an under-running tongue of ice, creating a leak, 

 whi('h remained a more or less constartt source of 

 anxiety. From tljis time until the ICtli of ]May, 

 ISSl, the time passed uneventfully; the ship 

 fast in the ice, which occasionally groaned, 

 shrieked, crunched, or thundered, with the vari- 

 ous motions imparted to it by wind and tide, 

 threatening instant destruction to ship and 

 party. A few bear and seal hunts, ordinary 



