The Indiana State sentinel. [volume] (Indianapolis) 1868-1895, 1883-01-03
DE LONGS REPORT.

THE Dead Commander. Record OF the
Cruise and Loss of the Jeannette.
WASHINGTON, Dec Ode Longs report,
foand beside his dead body. has been made
public. Ii makes 80 GOO words, and details
tie incidents OF the cruise from the depsr-
rture at San Francisco in 1879 to January,
1881. Its principal feature is an elaborate
account of De Longs views in regard to the
expedition. He considered it good ;udg
ment to head for Wrangle Land. His idea
was to adopt that land as support for the
first winters campaign. He emeodies
story of how land was sighted, and how he
expected ta reach it; graphically describes
how on the Dext day the Jeannette became
beset in the ice, never again to be relieved,
and says the party was compelled to make
virtue OF necessity and stay where We were,
some times all night and some times day
and night, from January 10 to February 4
Sweetman and NInderman stopd down in
the fore peak, icy water lowing around
them nearly to their knees, working faith
fully until their work was accom- D ished and
the good results of that work were evident
in the gradual reduced amount of water
coming into the ship, and our ability to
control the leak without such ruinouS ex
penditure of fuel as had been necessary
mere ofore. 1t is for these reasons that /
have had the honor to recommend these two
men to you for medals of honor, a. recog
milton of the heroic conduct under the most
irving. circumstances"
Captain De Longs record of the remainder
of the winter and summer of 1880 is for the
most part monotOnous record OF storms,
ice movements, constant anxiety and almost
unbruken disappointment as the short Arc
ticssummer drew to a close without setting
the Jeanette free and another dreary win
ter approached.
Captain De Long evidently began to re-
vOlve in his mind the question whether ii
would not be better To abandon the ship
and make for the northern coast of Siberia
over the ice, than to run The risk of q second
winter in the pack Under date of Sepiem
Der %, 1880 he says: II dislike naturally tn
dwell on the idea of abandonment of the
ship. We have come through SO much II
gives me hopes of surviving now. As long
as enough OF the ship remains
to shelter US, sticking by thab(ragment is
preferable to canning on the ice, and cap
conceive of no greater forlorn hope than
an attempt to reach Siberia (say 240 miles
distant) over the ice that surTouaos US aEd
with the winters cold sappiDg ones life at
every step: OF course, il we were to lose
our ship we would make an Effort to get
there, bat our chances of success would be
extremely problemalicsl."
The last entry in the record is dated De-
cember 81. 1880 and is as follows:
Ministries and ringing in new wear in
latitude 73o 43 north, longitude 1872 81
east. During the past sixteen months we
have dTlfted, 300 miles, far enough, If it
had been in straight line, to
carry us to and beyond the
pole but we are yet only 22O miles
northwest OF where We were flrst beset. We
have suffered injury, and danger has often
confronted us. We have been squeezed and
jammed, tossed and tumbled; we have
pumped leaking ship for year. but We
are not yet daunted, and are AS ready to
dare. every thing ever were. And we
face the new year firmly hoping 10 do some
thing worthy of ourselves OF Bennetts en-
terprise and of the flag above u.s."
In less than ten months after these words
were written the Jeanette was at the bot
tom of the Arctic ocean and De Long dead
in the Lena delta.
COLLINS DEFENSE.
Lieutenant Danenhower, now iii, will as
soon pos ible appear before the Jeanette
Board in behalf of Jerome ]. Collins.