Voyage Jeannette Expedition

1 voyage

1.1 towards arctic
1.2 icebound
1.3 drifting
1.4 crushed
1.5 ice journey

voyage
towards arctic

jeannette s departure san francisco, on july 8, 1879, popular spectacle, witnessed large crowds came quarters of city. army @ fort point provided eleven-gun salute; in contrast, de long noted none of naval vessels in , around san francisco made formal acknowledgement of sister-ship s departure, [not even] blast of steam whistle . bennett, absent in europe, cabled hoped present when jeannette made triumphant return.

the first weeks on journey northwards uneventful. on august 3 jeannette reached unalaska in aleutian islands, de long sought information on nordenskiöld crew of revenue cutter, newly returned bering strait. cutter had no news of him. on august 12, jeannette reached st. michael, small port on alaskan mainland, , waited francis hyde arrive provisions , coal.

at st michael, de long hired 2 experienced inuit dog drivers, , took on board number of sled dogs. on august 21, after transferring provisions , fuel, francis hyde departed; jeannette set out chukchi peninsula on siberian coast, enquire after nordenskiöld. @ saint lawrence bay chukchi people reported unidentified steamer had passed by, going south. de long headed through bering strait towards cape dezhnev, learned locals ship had called @ cape serdtse-kamen, further along coast. here, shore party jeannette established artifacts left behind villagers ship vega , nordenskiöld s expedition had therefore safely completed northeast passage. de long left note of findings transmission washington. on august 31 jeannette left, in assumed direction of wrangel s land, de long hoped establish winter quarters.

icebound

jeannette made speed northward; on september 2 100 nautical miles (190 km; 120 mi) charted position of wrangel s land, ice thickening around, movement became slow , erratic. on september 4, crow s nest, dunbar sighted known landmark of herald island, ice presented insuperable obstacle progress. de long raised steam , repeatedly charged pack, seeking batter way forward. thick plume of smoke jeannette s stack, observed whalers, final sighting of jeannette outside world.

herald island, sketched in 1881 usrc corwin

the next day, september 5, crew caught brief glimpse of wrangel s land—or perhaps, de long surmised, mirage. ice conditions made impossible move closer tantalizing shore, , de long made herald island new objective. shortly afterwards, jeannette sealed within pack, tightly fly in amber according historian leonard guttridge. herald island still 15 nautical miles (28 km; 17 mi) away; sled party under chipp set off across ice, investigate possibility of winter harbor should ship regain maneuverability. chipp s party unable closer island 6 nautical miles (11 km), before volatile ice conditions forced return ship. de long still hoped change in weather release them ice, writing in journal: told in later part of september , part of october there experienced in these latitudes quite indian summer . following weeks brought no increase in temperature, , de long reluctantly accepted jeannette trapped winter.

drifting

jeannette trapped in ice off herald island

the initial direction of ship s drift haphazard, , forth—on october 3, month after jeannette first trapped, herald island still in sight. october developed, direction of drift shifted northwest, , became apparent de long wrangel s land not after land mass, relatively small island. @ same time, analyses of sea currents, salinity , temperature provided data confirming geodetic survey s findings, known in washington, kuro siwo had no effect north of bering strait. vista of endless ice surrounding ship raised profound doubts entire concept of open polar sea.

amid boredom of largely eventless drift, crew ate well; ship s stores boosted regular hunting parties brought harvest of seal , polar bear meat. in late october, winter approached, de long ordered edison arc lighting system erected, generating mechanism failed produce dimmest of lights, , apparatus swiftly abandoned, along equally ineffective telephone system. christmas 1879, , start of new year, celebrated without great joy; de long wrote of christmas dreariest day of life, , dreariest part of world .

on january 19, 1880, jeannette s hull breached ice, , began take in water rapidly. de long prepared abandon ship, saved actions of nindemann , sweetman, waded freezing water in hold , staunched inflow stuffing whatever materials available breaches. melville used elements of discarded edison apparatus build mechanical pumping system, , problem largely resolved construction of new watertight bulkhead. de long noted in journal efforts of nindemann , sweetman @ least worthy of recommendation medal of honor.

for months on end jeannette hardly moved @ all; de long recorded on march 2 position precisely had been 3 months earlier. on may 5, ship passed west of 180° meridian, 2 months later had retreated other side of line. summer brought no relief; although briefly seemed possible in august jeannette might break free , find open water, proved false hope. condition of danenhower further source of anxiety. syphilis began take toll of body, particularly left eye which, despite ambler s repeated operations—stoically endured, given lack of anesthetic—left navigator largely incapacitated , unable perform duties. on last day of 1880 de long wrote in journal: begin new year turning on new leaf, , hope god turning on new leaf in our book of luck .

crushed

map showing progress of jeannette crew after leaving ship. dotted lines indicate routes taken de long, chipp, , melville after separation storm.

at beginning of 1881 de long noted that, after 16 months, jeannette still 220 nautical miles (410 km; 250 mi) point had been trapped. wrote: drifting modern flying dutchman ... thirty-three people wearing out lives , souls . on may 16 island sighted, followed another—the first land seen on year. there beside ice in world! , wrote de long. in uncharted seas, these islands discoveries. de long named first henrietta island , after bennett s mother, , second jeannette island . sled party under melville despatched henrietta island, claim territories united states.

at around time, revenue cutter thomas l. corwin in alaskan waters, seeking news of de long s expedition. corwin s captain, calvin hooper, heard stories of shipwreck in far north, , set off investigate. 5 weeks circled bering sea; encounters locals convinced him wreck not of jeannette. on june 16, 1881, relief vessel, uss rodgers left san francisco, destroyed fire in saint lawrence bay in november.

on board jeannette, discovery of islands had raised de long s spirits—the expedition would, wherever drift took it, have concrete geographical achievement credit. onset of brief arctic summer brought fresh hopes jeannette @ last released ice, , on june 11 briefly free, afloat in small pool. however, next day ice returned renewed force, battered ship , penetrated hull beyond repair. de long supervised orderly evacuation of men, dogs, equipment , provisions. on evening of june 12, 1881, jeannette sank, final recorded position being 77°15n, 155°e, around 300 nautical miles (560 km; 350 mi) siberian coast.

ice journey

the entire crew of 33 still together. de long s general plan march dogs , sleds new siberian islands, somewhere south, , use boats carry party siberian mainland. according petermann s maps intended landfall, lena delta, studded settlements provide them shelter , safety. june 25, after week s hard traveling on ice, northward drift had nullified progress; further land had been when set out. when direction of ice shifted, party able advance in right direction, going slow , difficult. part of problem lay dogs who, after 2 years of relative idleness, either lethargic or quarrelsome, unable work in harness. of worst offenders shot food. on july 12, land appeared south; fleetingly, de long thought part of new siberian islands, uncharted island. when party reached on july 29, de long named bennett island, , called point of landing cape emma , after wife. meanwhile, hundreds of miles east, corwin had given on rescue mission. after months of searching vainly definite news or traces of jeannette, hooper had concluded vessel lost, , headed san francisco.

after week s rest, party departed bennett island on august 6, leaving message in rock cairn. ice loose sled travel, party transferred boats. having no further use dogs, de long ordered them shot. general direction of ice flow carried party south-west, , on august 20 easterly of new siberian islands, novaya sibir, in sight. first time since moving away herald island 2 years previously, in charted world. de long steered boats through channel between novaya sibir , faddeyesvsky island, before skirting southern coast of kotelny island , beginning final stage of journey, across open sea lena delta. last halt, on september 10, on tiny semyonovsky island, less 100 nautical miles (190 km; 120 mi) siberian coast.

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