River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1883-10-25
GOETHE JEANETTE
Mrs. De Longs Account of Her Hus-
bands Adventures.
Irvo,,, tI,a Nau, Vorly u arald

Mrs. De Longs Account of Her Hus-
bands Adventures.
From the New York Herald
Two stout volumes from the press of
Houghton, Mifflin & Co., tell the story
of the voyage of the Jeanette. 1t was
a heroic act on the part of Mrs. De
Long to take upon herself the editing
and compiling of this book. A few
pages Give US the early history of Capt
De long, and we see in the determined
/ boy the promise of the intrepid man.
The only son of fond parents, he was
| reared with the tenderest care, his
mother carrying her solicitude to an ex-
/ treme, not wanting him to join in the
usual sports of boys. and particularly
dreading to have him go near the wafer.
But, as is generally the case, the thing
tabooed is the one most longed for, and
Young De Long made up his mind by
the age of twelve that he was going to
be a sailor He set his heart upon en-
| terinc the naval academy, and, in spite
of unusual dIscouragements, he carried
his point. There were always as many
difficulties in the way of his marrying
as of his entering the navy, but he sur
mounted them with the same readiness.
! His married life was of short duration.
Their wedding day was IN 1871, and IN
1879 Capt De Long said good by to his
| wife for the last time.
Mrs. De Long has made up this book
from her husbands letters and Journals,
and the story is told in mis- own words,
written amid the scenes described. Be-
sides the Ships log he kept full jour
nal during the voyage and continued the
record after the ship was abandoned.
The first entry III Capt. De Longs Jour
nal describes the departure of the jean
nette from the harbor Of San Francisco.
Clear and pleasant weather, smooth
sea-" they began with; but 1t was not
long before the weather changed and
the solid sea closed in around them. 10
Mrs. De Long the commander OF the eX-
pedition writes sHch little particulars as
| a wife likes to read of her husband s
daily life: Sunday, July l3, 1876 43u
miles west of San Francisco" he be gins
the home record. "Here we are, So ial
on our way to the pole and it is he
most natural thing in the world that
should sit down and write to YOU" to'
three days they had pretty comfort
able time; then the sea freshened up.
collins and Newcomb promptly went
under with seasickness, and for three
days they were as miserable looking
men as you ever saw" Then comes q
detailed account of the ship and the
people in her. The ship is, he thinks
all right. 'She is slow now because she
is so deep in the water, running alonG
under steam alone only four or four and
one-half knots, and burning about five
tons of coal day. But ms the breeze
freshened they made better time. The
cabin was very comfortable and very
dry. The forecastle 'as dry as 5on'
and very comfortable, and the mel
seem to appreciate it." The captain
room and the starboard chart room lool
''quite cosey and comfortable"
Then he speaks of his companion
"Chip is as he always was and alwayl
will be-calm and earnest. He has al
ways something to do and is always do
ing it in that quiet, steady and sur
manner of his. He smiles rarely ant
says very little, but | know where he ]
and how reliable and sure he is in ever,
respect" Danenhower is ''the same Al
ever, does his V ork well and navigate
correctly" Melville is "as bright as
dollar and as cheerful as possible all TIN
time. He sits on my left at table an,
helps me to carve and serve out. W,
, broke a pump rod two days ago. Some
engineers would have wanted to sto
+ the ship few days for this, or, perhaps
turn back Not he; he says "all right
, we will run without a pump rod, hey
: brother; and when we get In | WI
, make YOU a new pump rod or fifty {
| them" / believe he could make a
: engine out of few barrel hoops if b
: | tried hard He is one of the stron
, | points of this expedition. He and u
! | Amber are much alike in some respects
: | The doctor is all | would have hin
bright and cheerful under all circun
stances, During our bad weather h
was around all the time, cheering u
Collins and Newcomb, holding u
. the Chinese cook when necessary
and facing the music like MAJ
/. He and Melville have christe1ed New
comb 'Ninkum,' and occasionally l hea
one of them sing out on seeing an alba
tross, Here Milky, quicki Come an
catch a goosep" Mr.. Collins suffered
J good deal from seasickness, but he sool
) got all right collins is the same Collins
[ getting off puns all the time-some
: them good a1d some of them wretched
] ly poor. For while we steadily. re
fused to see his puns, and would all loo
at him as innocently and lnqulringly q
. | babies when he got one off, asking hir
(
! until he finally exclaimed that on
intellects must be weakening /
| promotion as we increased our distanc
from San Francisco. Now, however
we let him pun away, praise the goo
t ones and condemn the bad"
$ During the early part OF the. yoyag
t they had pleasant enough time, be
! tween Melville's high spirits and Col
Inns puns- Singing seemed TO De one Q
the amusements. There were so man,
good voices aboard that Capt. De Lon
proposed getting up choir, with Collin
at the organ.
The Jeanette left San Francisco in
July. In October she was seized blythe
ice and held fast. Here begins thu
TRAGEDY The record Of each d day
The merest straw was clutched at onlI
to break in their hands. There IS {
wonderful sameness in our daily life,
writes the commander, land l can n
vet devise no efficient way of changing
! the monotony" On Christmas eve, ''iI
order that some little conviviality anC
good feeling must be occasioned or en-
couraged." Capt. belong served on
three quarts Of wliskey among the men
and Melville "mixed fine COMPOUND
from Irish whisky presented by paymas
| ter Cochran, anu tDOSe aIb JOineu II
drinking merry Christmas to the alb
sent ones, cat last Christmas day
dawned-the first passed aboard tht
Jeanette" This is the dreariest day
l have ever experienced in my life, y
says the journal, "and it is certainly
past in the dreariest part of the world
And yet he will not complain, for up to
that time they have had nc
serious mishap. They tried to be jolly,
but did not make any success of it until
dinner, when, fore and aft they had
such grand banquet that they were foi
a time lifted out Of and beyond the con-
temptation of their surroundings. Ev-
erything in their rooms was frozen hard
The frost in a lower drawer of Capt. De
| Longs bureau was so solid that he had
10 work with hammer and break tho
ice before he could get pair Of panta-
| looms out. The rooms were often literal
| ly hung with ice, which while it stayed
solid did no harm, but which when il
melted and dripped down on the sleep
ers was as bad for the health as for the
| ol,a of "a haor q fa-