Abandoning the Arctic exploration ship Jeanette on June 12th 1891.
Illustration by James Gale Tyler.
Leading cartographer August Petermann from Germany was a firm believer in the Open Polar Sea theory.
However, when these expeditions were unable to penetrate the ice barrier as envisaged, Petermann’s optimism waned.
Bennett thought Petermanns theory was sound enough to attempt a new American polar venture.
An early 17th century map showing an ice-free ocean surrounding the North Pole.
De Long went to England and bought a 142-feet, 570-ton Royal Navy gunboat calledPandoraand renamed it toUSS Jeannette.
Jeannettedeparted from San Francisco, on July 8, 1879.
Three days later, Jeannette became trapped in ice.
The Jeannette trapped in the ice, off Herald Island.
Throughout that winter, Jeannette drifted back and forth along with the ice pack.
Summer came and went, but Jeannette never budged an inch.
The arrival of the second Arctic summer brought renewed optimism that Jeannette would finally break free from the ice.
On June 11, she briefly floated in a small pool, raising hopes of liberation.
Jeannettes party drag the boats over the ice after abandoning ship.
The expedition then began the long trek to the Siberian coast, hauling their sledges with boats and supplies.
By August, the ice began to break up and so the party transferred to the boats.
Portrait of George DeLong.
But progress was extremely slow due to the poor conditions of the men.
Eventually they reached an abandoned hunting camp, where the party rested for several days.
The shooting of a deer afforded fresh meat that raised the spirits of the men.
They eventually found a settlement and survived.
Meanwhile, De Longs party struggled on, sometimes making barely a mile a day.
The men were starving and exhausted.
His entry for October 10 recorded that there was nothing for supper but a spoonful of glycerine.
The last page of Lieutenant Commander George DeLong’s journal.
Melville persuaded a group of locals to help him search for his commander.
Melville’s party wrapped all the bodies in canvas and placed them in makeshift coffin crafted from driftwood.
This theory was the basis of Nansen’sFramexpedition of 18931896.
Although theJeannetteexpedition failed to find an ice-free route to the Arctic, it did contribute much to science.
As a December 2019, theJeanetteis still untraceable.
