De Long prepared to abandon ship, but she was saved by the actions of Nindemann and Sweetman, who waded into the freezing water in the hold and staunched the inflow by stuffing whatever materials were available into the breaches.
De Long var villig til at opgive skibet, men hun blev reddet af hurtige reaktioner fra Nindemann og Sweetman, som vadede ind i det frosne vand og stoppede tilstrømningen af ​​indstrømmende vand ved at fylde det med materiale, der var tilgængeligt for formålet.