“Lieutenant Schwatka has now dissolved the last doubts that could have been felt about the fate of the Franklin expedition. He has traced the one untraced ship to its grave beyond the ocean, and cleared the reputation of a harmless people from an undeserved reproach. He has given to the unburied bones of the crews probably the only safeguard against desecration by wandering wild beasts and heedless Eskimos, which that frozen land allowed. He has brought home for reverent sepulture, in a kindlier soil, the one body which bore transport. Over the rest he has set up monuments to emphasize the undying memory of their sufferings and their exploits. He has gathered tokens by which friends and relatives may identify their dead, and revisit in imagination the spots in which the ashes lie. Lastly, he has carried home with him material evidence to complete the annals of Arctic exploration.” [Illustration: W. H. GILDER _From a portrait in the possession of A. Operti, Esq._] CHAPTER XVIII The _Jeannette_ expedition, 1879-1881.—In command of Captain George W. De Long.—Leaves San Francisco, touches at Ounalaska, August 2, reaches Lawrence Bay, East Siberia, August 15.—Last seen by whale bark _Sea Breeze_ near Herald Island, September 2.—The _Jeannette_ beset in ice-pack, September 5, never again released.—Daily routine of officers and crew.—Ship springs a leak.—A frozen summer.—Sight of new land.—A second winter in the pack.—The _Jeannette_ crushed.—Abandonment.—The retreat.—The fate of the three boats.—Death of De Long’s party.—Melville’s search. The American Arctic expedition of 1879, commanded by Lieutenant George W. De Long of the United States Navy, was equipped and financed by Mr. James Gordon Bennett, proprietor of the _New York Herald_. The object of the expedition was to reach the North Pole by way of Behring Strait. [Sidenote: _THE “JEANNETTE” EXPEDITION, 1879-1881_] The bark-rigged steam yacht of four hundred twenty tons, _Pandora_, which had already seen considerable service in Arctic water, was purchased from Sir Allen Young. By special act of Congress she was allowed to sail under American colours, be navigated by officers of the United States Navy, and to change her name from _Pandora_ to _Jeannette_. The _Jeannette_ was reënforced and refitted for the arduous service expected of her, and her officers and crew, thirty-three in number, carefully selected for their especial fitness for the undertaking. Among the number, Lieutenant De Long and Lieutenant Chipp, the executive officer, had seen Arctic service while attached to the U. S. steamer _Juanita_, which had been sent by the government in search of the _Polaris_ in 1873; Engineer Melville had been attached to the _Tigress_, while that ship had been on the same errand, and Seaman Wm. F. C. Nindemann had sailed on the _Polaris_ and been a member of the ice-drift party.