The Vermont watchman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1883-1911, 1883-11-28
A Notable Book.

The Voyage of the Jeanette: Journals of
Lieutenant Commander George w. De Long
Edited by his wife, Two volumes octave Bos-
ton: Houghton, Mifflin e. Co. This story at
once enists the sympathy of the reader. end it
will be hard for anv one who begins it to lay
down these two handsome volumes unit he has
devOured their contents. The spirit Of adven
ture that runs through them, the spirit, too. of
a company Of men who are full OF hope and
make the b'st of everything. engages the at
tention and leads one on. 1t ia a sad story, but
the sadness IL so intensely human. the disaster
OF the voyage Ia met with such manly energy,
and the whole company, from Commander De
Long down to the humblest seaman, became so
impressed with their leaders purpose that
somehow the work has the romance of Arctic
adventure In spite OF the perls encountered.
The interest begins with the sketch OF De Longs
career, in which his antecedents fully Justify
what Ia now known OF his subsequent career
His dauntless energy, his fertility Of resources,
his resoute spirit. his recognition OF religious
duty come out again and again in his daily jour-
nal and in the few letters that could be sent home
after he embarked In the voyage of the jean
nette, and 1t is the combination of these quail
ties which gives a rare maDliness Of tone to his
modest and brave story. Not peevsh word
was spoken when he saw that the object Of the
expedition could not be gained. He simply
made the best OF everything to the bitter end
The results were far less than had been aimed
at but were not Insignificant Something was
AuuNn TO Luo btOCk Oh tn0 WOIlu HDOWleOgp,
a slight gain was made In the solution Of the
Arctic problem; but the personal lesson was
higher than any scientific result, the lesson
that sacrifice is nobler than ease, and that a
high ideal of life can be reached through the
individual sufferers. even to the extinguish-
ment of life itself. The account OF the suffer-
ngs endured by the commander and crew #
the Jeanette Is too familiar to be repeated but
not too we'll known tn be carefully read. Hard
ly any polar expedition has ever suffered more
| In the way of privation and confinement and
| achieved 30 few results. The Jeanette left
| San Francisco on the 9th OF July 1879 With
| In less than two months (September CHI che
| was caught In the ice, off Herald Island, where
she remained frozen, drifting here and there
| with the foe for nearly two years. Under the
date OF September 9th, 1880. Commander
De Long makes this entry In his journal: a" One
| year in the ice and we are only one hundred
| and fifty miles to the north ward and westward
| OF where we entered it," Two weeks later he
acknowledges the hopelessness OF his under
taking: Alas! alas! the North Pole and the
Northwest passage are as far from our reaiza-
ton as they were the day the ship left England
| and my pleasant hope to add something to the
history OF Arctic discovery and exploration has
been as ruthlessly shattered and as thoroughly
| killed as my greatest enemy could desire.
Eight months afterward, when the vessel was
nearing the destruction which he had alread v
apprehended hundred times, he writes:
| frequently wonder how long n body Of m n
| could stand this enforced monot ny Of OK st.
| ence without giving up altogether. There IL
| no way of solving the problem except by our
| own experience, for we have had a greater
amount OF 1t thus far than any others on rec
ord" The forced inaction, however, came e.