The Superior times. [volume] (Superior, Wis.) 1870-1912, 1883-01-13


report, found beside his body has been
made public. 1t makes $4,000 words
and details incidents Of the cruise from
his departure from San Francisco in
1879 to January, 1881. Its principal
feature Is an elaborate account of De
Longs views in regard to the expedi
, ton. He considered il good judgment
to head for Wrangell Land His idea
was to adopt that land as his support
for the first winters campaign. He
embodies the story # how land was
sighted, and how he expected to reach
it. He graphically describe how, on
the next day, the Janette became be-
set in the ice, never again to be re-
levcd, and says the party was COM
PEELED to make virtue Of a necessity
and stay where they were.
Sometimes all night and sometimes
day and night, from Januaay 10 to
February 4, Sweetman and Ninder-
man stood down in the forepeak, with
| icy water flowing around them nearly
to their knees, working faithfully un-
til their work was accomplished, and
the good result Of that work was evi-
denced in the gradually reduced
amount OF water coming into the ship
and our ability to control the leak
without such ruinous expenditure OF
fuel rs had been necessary therefor.
| 1t Is for these reasons that | have had
the honor to recommend these two
men for medals Of honor, as recogni-
ton OF heroic conduct under the most
trying circumstances. Capt. Belongs
record for the remainder OF the winter
and summer Of 1880 is for the must
part m0notonous record Of storms,
| Ice movements, constant anxiety and
unbroken disappointment. As the
short Arctic summer drew to close
without setting the Janette free anoth-
er dreary winter approached. Capt
De Long evidently began to reyolve
in his mind the question whether it
would net be better to abandon the
snip and make f,r tie northern coast
OF Siberia over the ice than to run the
risk of q second winter in the pack.
Under the date Of Sept. 20, 1880, he
says:
Il dislike, naturally, to dwell on
| the idea of the abandonment Of the
ship. We have come through 50
much, it gives me hopes Of surviving
more. As long as enough of the ship
remains to shelter US, sticking to that
fras nent is preferable 10 camping on
ice, and | can conceive Of no other
'forlorn hope than to reach Siberia,
(say 2l0 miles distant), over Ice that
surrounds Us, and with winters cold
sapping ones life at every step, OF
course, if We were to lose our ship, we
woull make an effort to get there, but
our chances Of success would be ex-
tremely problematical." "
Tne last entry in the record is dated
December /, 1880, and is as follows:
"Minstrels and ringing in New
Years in latitude 70 degrees, As min
ures north, longitude III degrees, 81
minutes east. During the past sixteen
months we have driited 1900 miles,
far enough if it had been in straight
line, to carry US to and beyond the
pole, but we are yet only 220 miles
mort west Of where we first beset. We
have suffered injury, and danger has
often confronted US. We have been
squeezed and jammed, tossed and
tumbled. We have pumped the
leaking ship for a year, bat we are
not yet dauntei, and are as ready to
dare anything as we ever were; aud
we face the New Year firmly, hoping
to do something wort ~ Of ourselves
e. Benefits enterprise and Of the fla
above u"
In less than ten months after these
words were written the Janette was at
the bottom OF the Arctic Ocean and
De Long lay dead in Lena Delta.