When Christmas came, some of the whites persuaded the Tchuktches to bring them a load of willows from the valleys in the south. They took a piece of wood for the stem and, tying on the willow bushes for branches, called it a Christmas tree, and decorated it with flags, colored papers, and wax lights. A box of Christmas presents had been placed on board by their friends at home; this was opened and the presents distributed. Then the men danced a polka around the tree and drank the good health of all their friends. The spring came slowly, and time dragged, though the men were very busy collecting specimens and noting the curious changes in the atmosphere and vegetation. It seemed as if the ice would never break up. On July 18, 1879, Nordenskjöld and his companions sat down to dinner as usual. During the meal the vessel, which had been motionless for months, moved slightly. It was a moment of intense excitement, and everybody rushed on deck. The ice was moving! It did not take long for the engineer to light the boiler fires, and in two hours the _Vega_ was free and on her way to Bering strait. There was not much time to say farewell to the Tchuktches, who gathered on the shore and watched the departure of their white friends. The _Vega_ encountered but little ice, and at 11 o’clock on the morning of July 20, 1879, she sailed into the middle of the strait that connects the Arctic and Pacific oceans. Salutes were fired and flags raised. The northeastern passage was accomplished. In a single voyage Nordenskjöld had succeeded in doing what Arctic explorers had been trying to achieve for three hundred years. On his way home Nordenskjöld visited Japan. He remained there two weeks, collecting facts which contributed a great deal to our knowledge of that country. When Nordenskjöld reached home, King Oscar made him a baron, and commander of the Order of the North Star. The remainder of his life was spent in scientific work. In August, 1901, this great man passed away, leaving behind him a lasting fame. XII. VOYAGE OF THE _JEANNETTE_ 1879–1881 During the same month, July, 1879, that Nordenskjöld completed the northeast passage by sailing through Bering strait into the Pacific ocean, an expedition sailed from San Francisco northward through Bering sea on a voyage of discovery in Arctic regions. This expedition was sent out by Mr. James Gordon Bennett, the owner of the _New York Herald_. Mr. Bennett bought and equipped a vessel, which he called the _Jeannette_. By special act of Congress, the _Jeannette_ was conducted by the United States Navy, with the rights and privileges of a government vessel. The command was offered to Lieutenant George W. De Long and he accepted, after the expedition was made national. De Long, it is said, believed that an expedition might reach the North Pole by following a branch of the Japan Current through Bering strait and into the Arctic ocean, a route which had never been attempted.