The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1881-12-23

The news from the steamer Jeannette ex-
cites peculiar interest, both for the reason that
the vessel bore the American flag and because
it announces the defeat of one more attempt TO
reach the North pole. The circumstance that
it is a topic Of learned speculation and COM
ment in all parts of the civilized world reached
by telegraph wires also invites the general at
tention. The vessel was originally built by the
British government to serve as a-lespatch-boat
for the Mediterranean squadron. Afterwards
she was bought by an Englishman, who used
her for one trip as steam yacht, and then
sold her to Mr.. James Gordon Bennett OF New
York. He secured her for an American regis
ter as the Jeanette, and, though she was
strongly built, had her further strengthened to
the point, it was hoped, of inyulnerability
against the action Of the ice, his purpose being
to fit her for Polar expedition. By an act OF
Congress of February 27, 1879, the Secretary of
the Navy was authorized to accept and take
charge of the vessel for the purposes OF this
expedition, on condition that no expense in
fitting her out should be borne by the govern
ment By the Secretary she was placed in
command of Lieutenant-Commander George
w. De Long, and Lieutenants Charles w.
Chipp and John w. Danenhauer were detailed
as assistants. Her crew, including officers,
numbered 81 men, and she sailed from San
Francisco July 8, 1879, bound for Behring's
Strait and the Arctic sea- When next heard
from she was at Oonalaslsa, port in one of the
Fox islands, part of the Alaska possessions
of the United States. The next and last re-
port from her Was from ST. Lawrence bay, st.
Lawrence island, which is about 200 miles
south of Behring's strait The island is part
of the Russian possessions. This date was
August 26, 1879. Lieutenant De Long had al
ready seen service in the Arctic in the expedi-
tion made in 1878 in the Junata to search for the
survivors of the lost Polaris. He went in the
Juniata to Upernavik, the most northern set
tlement in Greenland, and finding he could
get no further with that vessel organized and
commanded an expedition still further north
| in steam launch, and reached Melville bay.
This enterprise gained for him just renown,
and he was regarded in every way a most COM
petent man to command the expedition of the
Jeannette. There are three entrances to the
Arctic ocean: First, as being nearest to us,
that by the way Of Bafin's Bay and Smiths
Sound second, to the west and north of Nor
way; and third by Behring's Strait The sec
ond OF these passages leads the explorer through
the wide open sea between the northern coast
| Of Norway and the island of Spitzbergen, and
| thence moving eastward he passes still through
| a wide open space north OF Nova Iembla and
south Of Franz-Josef land, whence this is
| called the "Franz-Jesef route" Lieutenant
| De Long had personally investigated the Bat
| fin's-bay route, and was informed through
! conversation with leaders of exploring expedl-
| tions which had followed the FranE-J 9sef
| route of its advantages and disadvantages. He
! preferred to reach that magnetic spot, towards
| which so many men of iron will and fortitude
! have been drawn, the North pole, by an un-
| tried way, and so selected the route via Beh-
| rings strait. There was no bravado IN tins,
| however. He had reason which at the time
seemed sound and sufficient The experience
| of all Arctic explorers has shown that the east
| ern coasts of Arctic continents and islands are
| much more encumbered by ice than the west
| ern exposures. In this respect Greenland and
! Spitzbergen are examples. While the east
| coast of Spitzbergen is seldom even aecess-
| BILE, the western coast may easily be reached
almost up to latitude S0o In any favorable yesr
\ This condition seems to prevail to still great
| er extent in Greenland the east coast OF which
| has rarely been visited, while every year the
| northernmost settlements of west Greenland
| are easily reached by sailing vessels of the
| Royal Danish Company. At the time that the
| Jeanette sailed geographers all supposed that
| across the water north and east OF the Russian
| country there extended northerly toward the
/ pole and easterly to Greenland vast tract
| which was called Wrangeps land, which Tor
! descriptive purposes had been happily charac-
acterized as ''pole-encumberlng continent
| Assuming such a continental tract TO exist,
| the lieutenant reasoned that by cruising along
! its western shore he should find a favorable
| opening towards the extreme north. The ex-
| pedition Of the United States steamer Rodgers,
| which last year was sent out in search OF the
Jeannette, while it resulted IN hnding no trace
| of her, had an important result in the discov-
/ cry that Wrangels land was no contine MT,
| but an island Of no very great magni-
| tude. Lieutenant De Long had undoubt-
| edly already ascertained the same fact,
and, although the discovery upset MS theory
as to favorable passage along westerly
shore, he had pushed on to the north and
west through the open waters. For clear
| er presentation of the cruise and the
| fate OF the Jeanette it may re-
marked that in following a geographical
sciously, pictures in bis imagination map OF
| the region referred to. Although the JEAN
nette departed from, and sailed up, the shores
! of the American continent, passing through
| Behring's strait, the student of her fate should
dismiss from his mind, as confusing, all
| thought of the map of North America, and
| substituting therefor the map Of northern Asia
and Europe, conceive of her as entering the
| Arctic sea at the northeastern extremity OF
| Asia, thence moving northerly and westerly.
| This locates her throughout all this long expe-
| rience since she was last heard from at st.
| Lawrence bay as north of the Siberian coun-
| try. Siberia is perhaps generally underestI-
mated as to its geographical proportions. Its
northern coast extends from Behring's strait
/ nearly 5000 miles westward. Thus it is true
| that when heard from at st. Lawrence island
the Jeanette was on the Siberian coast, and
now, having moved thousand miles westward
| a part of her crew land at the mouth of the
| Iona river, still on the Siberian coast. 1t was
| the lieutenants original intention to pass the
| first Winter-that of 1879-80-at Wrangel land.
| Though the meagre dispatches from him just
| received say nothing on this point, experts who
have studied the matter say that undoubtedly
| he did not stop when he found the tract to be
| only an island, but kept on and passed the
| Winter in the open, or rather the frozen sea,
| which is technically termed "the open pack." )"
| The Winter of 1SS0-S1 appears to have been
passed in the same way, since she was
| crushed on June % last, $50 miles from the
| nearest land, and she could hardly have got out
| of any Winter harbor as early as that in the
season. The loss Of the Polaris in 1872 was oc-
| casioned in the same way, in being crushed in
| the ice. The Jeanette was purchased on ac-
| count not only of her thorough construction
| under the British admiralty, but because OF
| the form of her hull below water, which was
"wedge-shaped." 1t was supposed that If
| caught in the ice she would be raised by the
| pressure OF Ice luSt6au OI D5luS OhuoH0us 40 10
| common with f1at-foored or wall-sided ships.
| As measured in an air line on the map the
distance from Behring's strait to the place
| where the Jeanette was crushed Is about 800
miles; the mouth of the Lena is by the course
which they were compelled to take in the open
boats 300 or 400 hundred miles further, though
less than that in q direct line from the strait,
| When she met this disaster the vessel was 100
| miles north of the island of New Siberia, which
| is uninhabited; and 800 miles from the nearest
part of the Siberian main. The Lena is the
| principal river of northern Russia, which
| probably accounts for the existence of per-
manent settlement near its mouth. A gentle
man in New York city who has travelled a
thousand miles or more up that river, says:
| "The retreat of these boats across 800 miles OF
| ice-encnmbered Arctic sea is remarkable
achievement, and one which is paralleled in
| Arctic history only by the retreat of Barents
and his men from the northern extremity OF
Novaya Zemlya, and OF the crew OF the Te-
| gethoff from Franz Josef land. The fact that
| De Long and his men were three months at
sea and on the ice in open boats tells mourn
full story of hardship and suffering, and one
| which more than accounts for the 'pitiable