^. IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) // /. U.A 1.0 I.I 1.25 lA^IZB |2.5 ■ 50 "'^" !■■■ ■^ 1^ ill 2.2 2: lis IIIIIM 18 1.4 m V] /2 'W /a ^, ^>' .^ >> y # Photographic Sciences Corporation 23 WEST MAIN STREET WEBSTER, N.Y. 14580 (716) 872-4503 A^ ,v r\^^ m c\ \ .^^K .•A # V ^o ;\ ^" M^ l/u CIHM/ICMH Microfiche Series. CIHM/ICMH Collection de microfiches. Canadian Institute for Historical Microreproductions / Institut Canadian de microreproductions historiques Technical and Bibliographic Notes/Notes techniques et bibliographiques The Institute has attempted to obtain the best original copy available for filming. Features of this copy which may be bibliographically unique, which may alter any of the images in the reproduction, or which may significantly change the usual method of filming, are checked below. n Coloured covers/ Couverture de couleur 1 I Covers damaged/ D Couverture endommagee Covers restored and/or laminated/ Couverture restaur6e et/ou pellicul^e □ Cover title missing/ Le n D D D titre de couverture manque Coloured maps/ Cartes g^ographiques en couleur Coloured ink (i.e. other than blue or black)/ Encre de couleur (i.e. autre que bleue ou noire) Coloured plates and/or illustrations/ Planches et/ou illustrations en couleur Bound with other material/ Relid avec d'autres documents □ Tight binding may cause shadows or distortion along interior margin/ La reliure serree peut causer de I'ombre ou de la distortion le long de la marge intirieure D Blank leaves added during restoration may appear within the text. Whenever possible, these have been omitted from filming/ II se peut que certaines pages blanches ajout6es lors d'une restauralion apparaissent dans le texte, mais, lorsque cela 6tait possible, ces pages n'ont pas 6X6 filmdes. Additional com^ments:/ Commentaires supplAmentaires, L'Institut a mici^filmd le meilleur exemplaire qu'il lui a 6X6 possible de se procurer. Les details de cet exemplaire qui sont peut-dtre uniques du point de vue bibliographique, qui peuvent modifier une image reproduite. ou qui peuvent exiger une modification dans la mithode normale de filmage sont indiqu6s ci-dessous. I I Coloured pages/ D Pages de couleur Pages damaged/ Pages endommagdes Pages restored and/oi Pages restaurdes et/ou pelliculdes Pages discoloured, stained or foxe< Pages d6color6es, tachet^es ou piqu^es Pages detached/ Pages d6tach6es Showthroughy Transparence Quality of prir Quality indgale de Timpression Includes supplementary materii Comprend du materiel supplementaire Only edition available/ Seule Edition disponible I — I Pages damaged/ I — I Pages restored and/or laminated/ rTyK" Pages discoloured, stained or foxed/ I I Pages detached/ r~r| Showthrough/ I I Quality of print varies/ I I Includes supplementary material/ I — I Only edition available/ Pages wholly or partially obscured by errata slips, tissues, etc., have been refilmed to ensure the best possible image/ Les pages totalement ou partiellement obscurcies par un feuillet d'errata, une pelure, etc., ont 6X6 filmdes 6 nouveau de facon d obtenir la meilleure image possible. This item is filmed at the reduction ratio checked below/ Ce document est f\\vn6 au taux de reduction indiqu6 ci-dessous. 10X 14X 18X 22X 26X 30X y 1 i 12X 16X 20X 24X 28X 32X Th« copy filmsd h«r« has b««n r«produc«d thank* to tho gonorosity of: Library Division Provincial Archives of British Columbia L'oxomploiro filnv ^ fut roproduit grico A la gAnArosit* do: Library Division Provincial Archives of British Columbia Tho imagot appaarntg haro ara tha bast quality possiblo considorirog tho condition and lagibility of tho original copy and in kaaping with tha filming contract spacifications. Laa imagas suh^antaa ont At* raproduitos avac la plus grand soin, eompta tonu da la condition at da la nattatA da I'axamplaira film*, at an conformity avac las conditions du contrat da filmaga. Original copias in printad papar covars ara filmad baginning with tha front covar and anding on tha last paga with a printad or illustra<:ad impras- sion. or tha back covar whan appropriata. All othor original copias ara filmad baginning on tho first paga with a printad or illustratad impras- sion. and anding on tha last paga with a printad or illustratad imprassion. Las axamplairas originaux dont la couvartura mn papiar ast ImprimAa sont filmAs an commandant par la pramiar plat at an tarminant soit par la darnlAra paga qui comporta una amprainta d'imprassion ou d'iliustration, soit par la sacond plat, salon la cas. Tous las autras axamplairas originaux sont filmte an commandant par la pramiAra paga qui comporta una amprainta d'imprassion ou d'iliustration at an tarminant par la darniAra paga qui comporta una talla amprainta. Tha last rscorded frama on aach microf icha shall contain tha symbol ^»' (moaning "CON- TINUED"), or tha symbol V (moaning "END"), whichavar applian. Un das svmbolas suivants apparattra sur la darniAra imaga da chaqua microficho. salon la cas: la symbols — ^ signifia "A SUiVRE". la symbola V signifio "FIN". Maps, platas, charts, ate, may be filmad at diffarant reduction ratios. Those too large to be entirely included in one exposure are filmed beginning in the upper left hand corner, left to right and top to bottom, as many frames as required. The following diagrams illustrate the method: Les cartes, planches, tableaux, etc.. peuvent Atre filmAs A dos taux do reduction diffArents. Lorsque le document est trop grand pour Atre reproduet en un soul clichA, il est filmA A partir da Tangle supArieur gauche, de gauche A droite, et de haut en bas. en prenant le nombre d'images nAcessaire. Les diagramrrtes suivants iliustrent la mAthode. 1 2 3 1 2 1 3 4 5 6 ^■■# ^%f^, V ,% A ^v^ •"""•^* ■v., -'*lil(l »* L ^y * ^8&. \ *. -*^' .•^ I V5 H X \ 1 // / '-A « ^ 'V #- ^:% PJ 7/. - --^^ -^/^ y /^ THE .y ^. y ^ - /^> a^js*^ NORTH-WEST MSSAGE AND THE FATE OF SIR JOHN FRANKLIN. BY « , JAMES A. BROWNE. " Miserable they. ^ ^* •;/ '^ .^< r .. , s. 7 t-*^c-C // -"*~^ -^. ; Hudson was turned adrift by Iiib crew, in KJll, and uever afterwards heard of; and IJadinwaa killed at the siejijc of Kismis, in Persia, in 1(122. The IHth century is not remarkable for any parti- cular voya«?es, made by order of tlie IJritish Govern- ment, to discover the North- IVast Passage. The only one was that commanded by Caj)tain Phipp» (afterwards Lord Mul^ravc), in 1773, whicli pene- trated to between 80' and 81 ', beyond Spitzbergcn. Nelson, then a midshipman, took part in this expedi- tion. The Russians at various times attempted the pas- sage of the Polar Seas- -Dcshncw, IJehring, Tchits- chagorf, and Von Wranj.;el, being the commanders ; but, excepting Bchrinr^ Strait (and that was first navigated by Captain Cook), they made no discoveries of consequence. I 4 At tlio tornunation ol' tlu! groat Kiiro|)oan war, in lSir>, i\\v attention of wicntific men in England waH ouco n\()n' drawn to tlio qncstic^n of the poswlulity of a Nnrth-JFest n)»;tr to (^.hina and Japan, and cn(|nirie8 were sot on ioot. Mr. Sooivshy, and other wlmlers, well (|nali(ied fmni e\|Kn'ience to speak anthorita- tively, rei>orted that during the years 181(5-17, the Aretio Seas w^ere, eoniparatively speaking, so singu- larly unoneini\l>ered, as to be ahs(Uutely navigable in many parts hitherto oonipletely ioe-bound. They also n»jH)rted that whales of the North Paeifio had Ikh^u found in the North Atlantie, whereas the whales indigenoiis to those seas are of n diflcrent speeies and quality. Moreover, whales had been captured in the Pacific which had oscai^cd the hunters of the Atlantie, with broken harixxins sticking in their flesh, and it was hanlly i>os8ible to conceive that they liad swam round Caixj Horn, crossing and ixj-crossing the Equinoctial Line. Accordingly, in 1818, at the instigation of Sir John Barrow and others, the Prince llegcnt signified his pleasure that an attempt should be made to find a passage by sea between the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, and the Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty weix; pleased to fit oiii four vessels to proceed towards the North Pole: two, the IsaMla and Alexander, under the command of Captain Ross and Licntcnant Parry, to proceed up Davis* Strait and Baffin's Bay, and then to turn to the westward, in the hope of 5 ])v\\\i^ al)I(' to rcucli Hcliriii^'w Strait ; tlir (»tlirr two, tlio Dnrothva and Trcfit, uiidrr thr coniinarul of dapt. Htu'lian and Tjicut. Franklin, to procccMl hctwcon (Jrrcnland and Spitzbcrgrn, and Hcck a j)aHHjij^c thr()u«;]i an open polar Hca, if Huch could be found in that direction. Captain lloss' expedition, aH far aw the prof^rcHs of discovery is concerned, was a failure. TIk; latittule of various points erroneously marked liy HafHn, was, lu)wever, corrected ; sonic very valuable magnetic observations were made ])y (yaptain Sabin(?, Royal Artillery (who accompanied the expedition as astro- nomer) ; and a few new specimens in natural history were collected. They sailed round Haflin^s liay, and penetrated for a few miles into Lancaster Sonnd, when the commander (Ross) imaji^ncd he saw a range of mountains stretching from north to south ; tlicsc he named the Croker Mountains, and returned home, and reported that " Lancaster Sound was a bay, affording no entrance into any western sea." This assertion was greatly doubted by Lieutenant Parry, and other officers of the ex) -edition, and the Admiralty determining to continue the progress of discovery appointed him to the command of a new expedition, consisting of the Hecla and Griper, which sailed in the following year. They left the Thames on the 11th May, and on the 4th August following, sailed through the imaginary Croker Mountains, Parry naming the water Barrow Strait, after Mr. Barrow of the Admiralty. And here let me mention that to the late Sir John Barrow, F.R.S., we are mainly indebted for the advocacy and promotion of the several expeditions, and the investigations and enquiries set on foot in the present century. He, himself, in early life, visited the Spitzbergen seas as high as the 80th parallel, and he also travelled in China and the Cape of Good Hope with Lord Macartney. He published his " Travels IN China," which, at the time, was considered the most valuable account which had appeared of the Chinese. He also published a volume of his " Travels IN South Africa.'* In 1814 he received the appoint- ment of second secretary to the Admiralty, when his ardour in the pursuit of geographical knowledge and scientific discovery was soon evinced by the manner in which he endeavoured to serve his country in bringing before various governments the desirability of prosecuting voyages to the Arctic regions. These services were honourably noticed in various ways; and in 1835 he T/as created a baronet. He died in 1848, at the age of 76 years. But to return to our narrative. Parry persevered in his course as far as Leopold Island, when he found the ice extended in a com- pact body to the north, and therefore turned his vessels southward into the magnificent inlet now named Regent's Inlet. They sailed as far down as Cape Kater, and then returned to the north, this time discovering a narrow channel between the ice and the 4 i i land. On tlic 22nd August they discovered Bccchy Island/ Wellington Channel,'- and Corn wallis Island;^ and on the 1st September reached the large and fine island which Parry named Melville Island, after the then First Lord of the Admiralty, having discovered and passed a number of smaller islands to which he gave the names of Griffith,* Lowther,^ Young," Davy,^ Garrett,^ Bathurst,' and ^yaro Martin.^^ On the 5th September Parry announced to his crews that they had passed 110° W. longitude, by which they became entitled to a reward of ^5,000 granted by Order in Council to the first ship's com- pany wT^o should reach that meridian. To celebrate the event, they named a cape in sight Bounty Cape. Parry called the group of islands he had discovered, the North Georgian Islands, after the King, (Geo. Ill,) but this has since been changed to the Parry Islands. On Sunday, 26th September, they were comfortably frozen in, in a harbour which Parry named Winter Harbour, on the south coast of Melville Island, with little chance of escape for at least eight* or nine months, during three of which the sun would be absent from them. Parry imm^^diately attended to the necessary 1. Named after Sir William Beechy, the celebrated portrait painter, and his son Lieut. F. W. Beechy, who discovered it to be an island. 2. Named after the Duke of Wellington. 3. Admiral the Hon. Sir William Cornwallis. 4. Rear Admiral Edward Griffiths, 5. Viscount Lowther. 6. Dr. Thomas Young, Secretary to the Board of Longi- tude. 7. Sir Humphrey Davy. 8. Captain Henry Garrett, R.N. 9, Earl of Bathurst. 10. Sir Thomas Martin, Admiral of the Fleet. arrangements for the continuance of good health and good spirits among the crews. TIic following is a short sketch of dicir winter life : On Sundays, Divine service was regularly performed twice, and Captain Parry says : — " The attention paid by the men to the observance of their religious duties, was such as to reflect upon them the highest credit, and tended in no small degree to the preservation of that regularity and good conduct for which, with very few exceptions, they were invariably distinguished." In these regions the worship of God has always been cheerfully attended to by the sailors engaged in the various expeditions ; the great and magnificent works they behold — in the sky, in the sea, and on the ice, causing them to feel how near they are to the presence of their Creator. Mr. Snow, in his voyage of the Prince Albert, says : " Prayer — honest prayer — is beyond everything invaluable to a seaman, especially to one engaged in the dangerous duties which he has to perform in the Arctic seas. That we should go out with a due regard to this important obligation to prayer and humble dependance upon God, was what every one might consider as a matter of course; but I am pleased to say that, in our case, the of course was never needed. Spontaneously our men called for prayer and a proper service." Captain Parry and Lieutenant Liddon (the com- .1 I a: 9 mander of the Griper) set up schools for the instruc- tion of the seamen — and in those days poor men could seldom read or write — and on their arrival in England there was not one man, of either ships, who could not read well. A newspaper was also got up, entitled the " Winter Chronicle and North Georgian Gazette/' of which Captain Sabine was the editor. They also had theatrical performances once a fortnight, the first of which took pkce on the 5th November,'1819, " Miss in her teens " being the farce performed. It was something very unusual for performances to take place on a stage with the thermometer standing 27^ below zero, as also it was for actresses to have beards and whiskers. On the 23rd December they per- foniied " The Mayor of Garratt" and an after-piece by Captain Parry, entitled, "The North- West Pas- sage ; or, The Voyage Finished J* In the summer of 1820 they travelled about various parts of Melville Island, and on the 7th June dis- covered a small island to the north-east which Parry named after his companion Captain Sabine; this, however, in 1851, was proved to be a part of Melville Island, and is therefore now called Sabine Peninsula. On their return journey to the ship the wheels of the cart were broken, which greatly increased the diffi- culties of travelling, as the provisions, &c., had to be divided among the men. These cart wheels were found by Commander McClintock in 1851, precisely as they were left by Parry in 1820 ; and being greatly 10 in need of fire-wood, he used them for that purpose, bringing, however, the iron home as a trophy. Mr. Fislier, the surgeon of the Hecla, recorded the visit of tlie expedition to Melville Island on a sandstone rock in Winter Harbour, and the inscription was found to be quite legible when Captain Austin visited that bpoi in 1851. The ships left their winter quarters on the 1st August, but were not able to force a passage westward, and after sighting " Banks's Land," the expedition returned home, entering Baf- fin's Bay on the 5th September, and arriving in Ihigland on the 30th October. At his own desire, a few months after his return, the Admiralty gave Parry the command of another expedition, with instructions to proceed through Hudson's Strait, and try and find an outlet from the bay into the Polar Sea. The ships engaged in this expedition were the Fury * and Hecla, Commander Lyon having charge of the latter. They sailed in May, 1821, and by October had proceeded no further than a small island in Fox Channel, where they were obliged to select winter quarters, and to which Parry gave the name of " Winter Isle." An arctic winter was, by this time, no novelty to the crews of the Fury and Hecla, (most of whom had belonged to the Hecla and Griper, 1819-20) and the experience of Melville Island had taught Captain * On the 17th April, 1821, previous to the departure of this expe- dition, a ball was given on board the Fury i the music being per- formed by the Royal Artillery Band. 11 Parry tlic best means to be employed for the preser- vation of licalth and comfort. The theatrical performances of the last voyage were greatly improved upon, and occasionally varied by the exhibition of an excellent magic lantern, presented to the expedition by an unknown lady. Concerts were also added to the entertainments, and Parry, writing on the subject, says : — " More skilful amateurs might have smiled at these our humble concerts ; but it will not incline them to think less of the science they admire, to be assured that, in these remote and desolate regions of the globe, it has often furnished us with the most plea- surable sensations which our situation was capable of affording. Independently of the mere gratification to the ear, there is, perhaps, scarcely a person in the world really fond of music, in whose mind its sound is not, more or less, connected with his far distant home." During this winter they were visited by a tribe of Esquimaux, who, in intellect, honesty, and appearance, were far superior to any of the tribes previously visited by Europeans. Among other accomplishments, they were tolerable musicians, all things being considered. Captain Parry paid particular attention to their abilities in this branch of science, and noted down two of the songs he had the inexpressible pleasure of listening to. He says, " the women will go on singing for nearly half r I |! ! 'I 12 an hour, and then leave off one hy one, not with tlicir story, but their breath exhausted." Tlie following are the songs imported from Winter Isle by Captain Parry : — f^^i i:^iuuMrim3 i m3 1 rrrt j gi The seeond is far more melodious; indeed Bee- thoven was not above writing a phrase in his Overture to Leonora whieh corresponds with four bars of it : — ^ ll^lVHtUJ I fiul^ajjtt^ ^ I'Cli^iri iTu-n l l \2^\rinii,il \ hM While on the subject of Esquimaux music, I will give one more specimen, which was heard in Smith's Sound, by Dr. Kane, in 1854 : — I '' It N'tJ\^ \ ^ As this is the music of that family of mankind resi- ding nearest to the Pole, we must prize it accordingly. Among the Esquimaux who visited the Fury and Heclttj was an interesting female, by name Iligliuk, who possessed a large fund of useful information. She had a good ear for music, a ready eye for every- 13 resi- agly. and liuk, ,tion. very- tliiii}?, was an excellent sempstress, and had sueli a good idea of the hydrography and bearings of tlie nciglibonring coasts as to draw cliarts which guided Parry in his future operations, and which he proved to be in the main correct. Tlie first land they approached after leaving Win- ter Isle (in the summer of 1822), was a small island that had been accurately described by the fair Es- quimaux, and named by her Igloolik, which name it still rctiiius. This year they only advanced forty miles westward of Igloolik, when they were frozen in for the second winter. The strait in which they were situated was named after the ships, the " Fury and Hecla Strait." The following summer (1823), gave them no ad- vantage, so on the 1st August, Captain Parry reluc- tantly gave orders for the return of the expedition. In 1823, Captain Sabine, ll.A., who had been for some time engaged in magnetic observations, and also in experiments to determine the configuration of the earth, by means of pendulum vibrations in different latitudes, having perfected his observations at dif- ferent points, from the Equator to the Arctic Circle, suggested to the Royal Society, through Sir Hum- phrey Davy, the importance of extending similar experiments into higher latitudes towards the Pole. Accordingly, the Government placed at his disposal H.M.S. Griper i 123 tons, Commander Clavering, which was to convey him to Spitzbergen, and thence to the east coast of Greenland. 14 .1 > ' They sailed from the Thames on tlic 11th May, and in about three weeks reaehed Whale Island, near the North Cape, Norway. After staying here from the 4th to the 23rd June, they proeecded on th?ir voyage, arriving at Spitzbergen in a few days. Capt. Sabine made his observations on one of the small islands round Hakluyt's Headland, Clavering, mean- while, sailing due north, reaehed Lat. 80" 20', where he was stopped by an impenetrable barrier of ice, and compelled to return. By the 24th July all were on board again, and the vessel's course was directed for the east coast of Greenland ; and after some valuable observations were made by Sabine, they returned to England, arriving at Deptford on the 19tli December. The Griper had not been home many months when she was again commissioned for the purpose of Arctic discovery, and sailed for Melville Peninsula on the 20tli June, 1824, under the command of Captain Lyon. She made but slow progress, and it was not until the end of August that she rounded the southern head of Southampton Island, and stood up towards Sir Thomas Roe's Welcome. On reaching the en- trance of this channel they encountered a terrific gale, which for a long time threatened the destruction of both ship and crew. Drifting with this, they brought up the ship with four anchors, in a bay with five fathoms and a half water, in the momentary expectation that with the ebb tide the ship wo^ Id take the grouiidj|.l» the sea broke fearfully on a low sandy 15 idy beach just astern, and had the ancliors parted nothin<5 couhl have saved the vessel. Neither commander nor crew had been in bed for tlirec nights, and althougli little hope was entertained of surviving the gale, and no boat could live in such a sea, the otticers and crew performed their several duties with their accustomed coolness. Each man was ordered to put on liis warmest clothing, and to take charge of some useful instrument. The scene is best described in the words of the gallant commander : — "Each, therefore, brought his bag on deck and dressed himself; and in the fine athletic forms which stowl exposed before me, I did not see one muscle quiver, nor the slightest sign of alarm. Prayers were read, and they then all sat down in groups, sheltered from the wash of the sea by whatever they could find, and some endeavoured to obtain a little sleep. Never pe:"haps was witnessed a finer scene than on the deck of my little ship, when all hope of life had left us. Noble as the character of the British sailor is always allowed to be in cases of danger, yet I did not believe it to be possible that among forty-one persons not one repining word should have been uttered. Each was at peace with his neighbour and all the world ; and I am firmly persuaded that the resignation which was then shown to the will of the Almighty, was the means of obtaining His mercy. God was merciful to us, and the tide, almost miraculously, fell no lower." The appropriate name of the Bay of God's Mercy !{ r (»{« IG was j^ivcn to this spot by Cajitain Lyon. A montli l;it{M' they encountered anotL.r fearful storin, -wliicli so dreadfully crippled the ship, that it was unani- mously resolved by the officers that it Avould be madness to continue the voyage, and aceordingly tlieir course was shaped for England. In 182 i", a bold and v'^ombined attempt was made to discover the North-West Passage, three expeditions b( ing siundtaneously engaged in various directions. (^iptain Parry, with the Hecla and Furii, went the old I'oute, by Lancaster Sound ; Captain Tiecehcy, in the B/ossom, by Behring's Strait, and Captain Frank- lin, by land, from Hudson's Bay to the shores of the Polar vSea.* It is needless to state that notwith- standing the untiring efforts of these bold cxplorators, tlioy were unsuccessful. Parry proceeded no further than tlu; eastern side of North Somerset, in Regent's Ldet, Avhere, on a spot since called Fury Beach, the Fury was totally wrecked. The whole of her stores and provisions, however, were saved, and deposited on the spot ; and they have proved of great value to subsequent expeditions. This is one of the many proofs that " all things work together for good, M'itli them that love the Lord," for had not the Furij been Avrookcd in 1825, the crew of the Victory would have })erishcd in 1831 ; and the crew of the Foa: would have suHored for the want of sugar (an absolute necessity in these regions), in 1859. * A short account of Franklin's first land expedition will be found at p.ige 33. 17 Captain Becclicy reacliod Point Barrow, where he was to have co-operated with Franklin, but they n(?ver met, though at one time Franklin's boats were only 100 miles from a party of the Blossom who was waitinj^ for them. Parry made a voyage in 1827 to try and reaeh the Pole, and though he did not aceomplish his object, he " unfurled his country's flag at a higher 1 . itudc than any, before or since, have been able to reach." ^ '^ No successor on the path of Arctic adventure h^^ yet snatched the chaplet from the brow of this great navigator. Parry is still the champion of the north." '^ As this was his last effort in the Arctic regions, it were indeed ungraceful to close the account of the deeds without passing a tribute to the character of this great Christian hero. Few names are entitled to higher honour in tlie history of English seamanship, or of English Chris- tianity, than that of Sir W. Edward Parry. As a seaman, he was bold, enterprising, and skilful ; as a Christian, he was enlightened, devout, and active, without affectation and without gloom." ^ He disliked public balls, and held theatres in abhorrence, and yet he was fond of danciiig and partial to plays. He knew, as an old writer quaintly observes : — " That as an art teaching mankind to move agreeably to tlie cadence of music, dancing is lawful and commendable ; 1. Rev. E. Parry. 2. The Times, ISofi. ;J. IJiographical Tract. ; found M 11 • f i I 4 18 but the practice of it in a mixed company, which exposes the dancers to a thousand disorders, is the only thing to blame, where it can only serve to corrupt the heart, and make a dangerous attack upon chastity." * He also knew that a good moral play not only afforded innocent amusement, but was often the means of improvement, and he frequently, even when an old man, took part in private theatricals ; but the " habits of dissipation, and craving for excite- ment " produced by the regular attendance at a theatre, he knew was good for neither body nor soul, lie was born at Bath in 1790, and died at Ems, in (icrmany, in July, 1855. His remains, however, wore brought to England and interred in Greenwich Hospital. Parry and Franklin were inseparable friends, and each was a true type of the other, both in public and private life. Both were engaged in boat service during the American War of 1814; both started on their first Arctic voyage in 1818 (it was then their acquaintance commenced, which ripened into the unbroken friendship of kindred natures for nearly 40 years) ; they were both married twice ; both resided for some years at the antipodes, Pairy being Commissioner of Port Stephens (Australia), and Franklin, Governor '^^ Tasmania ; they were knighted together in 1829, and received an Oxford degree in 4. Universal Magazine, 1753. 3 fiii 19 the same year. On the latter occasion a prize poem, containing the following verse, was -written : — " But fairer England greets the wanderer now, Unfading laurels shade her Parry's brow 5 And on the proud memorials of her fame Lives, linked with deathless glory, Franklin's r me." Sir Edward used to say " his dear friend was in his sleeping as well as his waking thoughts," and among his most treasured memorials was found a paper with the following touching endorsement — " Dear Franklin's last letter to me, July 10th, 1845." The next expedition was that of Sir John Ross, who, in 1829, went at the expense of Mr. Felix Booth, an eminent distiller, who nobly contributed £1,700 for that object which the Government had determined to spend no more money upon, viz., the solution of the long-agitated problem of the North-West Pas- sage. They sailed from Woolwich in the Victor ij^ on the 23rd May, 1829, and on the 18th June passed Malin Head, on the north-west coast of Ireland. Three years elapsed and this expedition had not returned, neither had any accounts of it been received. The friends of the missing navigators naturally became anxious for their safety, and in August, 1832, Mr. George Ross (brother of Sir John, and father of Commander, now Sir James Ross) presented a peti- tion to the King, praying his Majesty's gracious sanction to the immediate dispatch of an expedition for rescuing, or, at leasts ascertaining the fate of his 20 t:;i i ♦ S(>n nud l)r<)tI»(M', and llir|mrly under ilnMr (M)nmmud , iuul Ciipiiiin \\i\v\< \\i\H pntposrd a»lhr Irjulor. TIu' sand ion huvinj; Iummi obtaiiird, and all tin* ananp'nuMils niado (or this n^liuf rxjKMliii (1819-20), he was a*', onipanioil by a sorgrant and a ^unnrr. Sn^cant Martin, wlio vrrvoil in ranv's first voyajjc, was »>( sonio scrvioc lo l\u- oxpodilion A-i a naturalist ; and lioth l\o and (i miner Smith (Captain Sabine's servant) aro I'n'qvuMitly bondiirahly nionlioncd by Captain I*arry. (In the '2Vth Wbrnary, 18'20, while they were in the Observatory at Milville Island, a lire broke out whieh d(v*troyej;;rtlier with Sergeant Martin, happened to be in the house at tiie linu' the fire broke out, sntlered most ."wvereiy. In their anxiety io s.ue the dipping needle, which was standing close to the ntovc, and of which they knew the value, they immediately ran out with it; und Smith \\o\ having time to put ou his glovea, had his fingers in halt an hour so benuuibed, and the animation so completely suspendc7.en by the intense cold thus suddenly communicated to ,t ; and not withstanding the mosthnmatw and unremitting attention p.»;d him by the medical gentlemen, it was found nccessiiry, some time atur to resort to the amputation of a part of four fingers ou the one hand and three on the other." The men who accompanied this exjx'ditii^n of Sir George Back, wrro John Ka^s, lf'il!it died : the following extracts will show Captain Back's anxiety cou. I -I I '4 \t ' 31 MuU'd, Moinn of tli(^ IIiuI^oii'h I Jay sailors, and a party (»!' CanadiaiiH, in all 27 pcrHons. 'VUv. cxpoditiofi, which was to priMMMul ovTrlaiul to ilu! I'olar Him, (•o»rirrj(>iic((l (•(■niiny; liiin ;— "Tlin «rii(»ii» n|)|>rplirtiBion rniMfd in my iti'mhI nitotit. Ilip lalo of David Willimimdii, iho ftrliilcryinaii, who had i»crti so Inlfly dim-liar^rrd, wnH iiirmilcly worso. It apprnrcd that lio hnri If It tlic (isht'iy with his rompanions, niid fwo Indians n<« j^iiidrs ; Imt, bring a hIow walker and inut'li cncurnhcrrd with iiscIcms ha^j^^n^c i}( his own, he had onr tlay Hi'f nut firHf, ihn ronto brinj^ (jiiitf fitraij^ht ; while tlic olhcift, knowinjr that thry could f the day ; but nn the evening drew in, their feari were excited, and one of the IndiaiiH retraeed bin way, in order to hr quite Riire that he wan not behind among the iRiand.t. IIIh fUMrrli was fruit le«H, and lie very properly returned with the infor?t»atifjn to the tlshery. Mr. McLeod lost ?iot a. innnient in wiecting another Indian to aecomj)any the same person, directing tbcm to r.se the iitntost vigilance, and holding «»ut the promise of aconsifFenbhf reward to whoever should tind him. With sueli ati inducement, it was tiot likely they would leave any part, unexamined; ;ind accordingly, after an absence of tl)ree or four days, they returned to the fishery with the assunmoe that lie had m»t stopped between their last encampment, and the islajids, from which the traverse is made to the south »horc ; on the contrary, lliey concluded that be had crofwed over and made the best of his way to Fort llesolution. For my own part f much doubted this; but, at all events, it was consolatory to know that he had a compass, and was not destitute of provisions. '•On the ;Jrd June, the whole of the men came in from the fishery and brouf^bt with them the melancholy tidings ihit the Indians >iad been at Fort llesolution without hearing anything about poor Wil- liamson, who, it was now conjectured, must have got bewildered among the islands away from the track, or met with some accident Ro as to incapacitate him from making a fire, and thereby indicating his Hituatiun. • ••••••••••••, " The faint hope I had entertained of poor Williamson being alive, was extin^n^is]lcd by the intelligence that his body had been found and interred by Mr. McLcod. The unhappy man was discovered I! ^Ai-^PCl II ^ >vtv iU jounicv on llu' \\H\h .luiic. In April (ullowin^, nn llu\v >vtMV nvakiii}; pri'juirations it) nsccnd llic " TIiIcmv- (M'-choh," or (irrai KImIi Hivcr, wliicli (Im'v IukI iWn- Ivmn on the giiMii\tl, with a lew sticks di-hv liim, not Inr Inim lii<) llrr. !((< hail )Ii( iiuiilih> to (UsiMtvcr ; hut so n\oInt\»'holy wns \n\ that in the atituiiiit hi-lorr Ihi" lioiui' was huilt, niMl whrn wo wrvo all oi\oain|trd aroinid it, iiiHloadol' asHiK-ialiiij^ with hin oontrndon, ho huilt hiiunoU'a hut with |iiuc< hrnuohox, in wliioli ho Ate hi!< Nolitaiy itioal ; and tV(M|iiontl,v in tho HiillnosH of Iho ni)j[hl, whow most othovs wovo at lost, thinoMiaordinary man would ho I'oiiud .sitting hot'oro his dwolliit^;, with his* oyoit intoi\lly (ixod on llw dyiii^ rtuhors of Ilia tiro, llo ditl littlo duty of any kiuil, and was li-ontcd with unil'onu kiudiu'ss hy tho wholo of tho pooplo, who oallod hint jMior David, aooiuinjj to regard hiin as ono in th'op distros^i of mind, whom thoy woro hound to pity. As it oltou happous to thoso who go astray, ho was hut a short distanoo iVoin tho tishory ho had loft, and to whioh, B8 was oonjooturoit hy his havii\^i; followed a traok nuido hy some of our uu'u hut two days hoforo tho ice hroko up, ho was en- deavouring to return." M alloy, nt one timo lost himself aiuong tho iwaiups and rooks, and was absent for several hours. A party was sent in sonroh of him, h\it he ohauoed to liud his own way haok to tho nuiin Imdy, who had just jiooomplishod tho perilous task of dosooitding a rapid. " Suoh ineidents (among voyagrnrs)," says Captain Haok, generally allbrd u nanu' to tho spot where thoy happen ; so, to oonform to l' o u»ugc, 1 culled this • Malley's Rapid.' " TheOrdnauee Corps, whose motto is justly " UIUQUK," has also been represented in these regions in later years. A party of ilfloon nuMi, selected from a number of volunteers of tho Royal Sappers and Miners, accompanied the expedition under tho orders of Sir John Richardson, in IS-tS, which searched the shores of tho Polar sca.s from tlie Mackenzie to the Coppermine, for tmcos of the Franklin expedition. Spirited accounts of the individual exertions aiul suf- ferings of this party are given in Sir John Richardson's ' Journal of « Ro."it Voyage through Rupert's Land and the Arctic,' and are more especially brought to notice in Mr. Connolly's excellent ' Ilis- ■y of the Royal Sappers and Miners." 28 «'()V('i('(l ill An^n^f, iiitclli^^ciirc iirrivcd of ilw Hufctv nf'Captaiii Uosh iukI IiIh cirvv. itiick tliiiH domTilx'H tli(* tiiimncf in vvliicli hv n?<'('iv('(l ilic iiif,clli(^(Mi('(! : - " VV«' ucrr tiilkiiiLC lot' uliout ilic liiiiKlicdtli time of tlioHc kind |»('!'Mr)iiH who liiul coiim' ho far to hcc iis away, when wi^ wrrv iutcrriipicd hy a Mliarp niid Ifnid knock at the door. Tli(^ |)cnni.HKioii to coimr in was nnncrcssary, lor the pcrHon followi'd the annoiincc- nicnt Ix^lon^ tlic vvonU conld Im; uttered, ami with th«! Maine dinpati^it thrust into my handH a packet, which a ^hince Hiillieed to tell ni(^ waw from Mn{^hind. ' \lv. is n'turned, Sir! ' said th(^ mirHHcn^er, as we. h)okcd at liini with Hnrprise. 'What! An«5UstiiH? thank (lod!* I replicMl (piiekly. ' (yaptain Ross, Sir; Captain IIohh is n^tnrned.' ' ICh ! an; you (piite Hure y is there no error ? wh(!rc \n the aeeonnt from ? ' The, man paused, h)oked at me, and pointing with his Knji:;er said, ' You have; it in your hand, Sir. * It was 80 ; but the paeket had been forgotten in the excite- ment and hurry of my feelings. Two Oj)en extraetn from the Times and the Morning Iftrald confirmed the tidings ; and my ofHcial letter, with others from the long-lost adventurers themselves, removed all possible doubt. In the fulness of our hearts we assembled together, and humbly offered up our thf nks to that merciful Providence, who, in the beau- tiful language of scripture, hath said, ' Mine own will I bring again, as I did sometime from the deep of the sea.* The thought of so wcuderful a preserva- • Psalm 68. m I \i i i ! f ■ t L 24 turn overpowered for a time tlic common occurrences of lift;. We hud just sat down to breakfast ; but our appetite was }?on(^, aiul tlie day was passed in a feverisli state of excitement. Seldom, indeed, did my friend Mr. Ivinj^ or I indulge in a lil)ati()n, but on this joyful occasion economy was forgotten ; a treat was given to tlie men, and for ourselves the social sympathies were (juickened by a generous bowl of punch." As the preparations were comi)lctcd, however. Back did not return, but pushed on his discoveries ; navi- gated the whole of the Fish lliver (since called after liim, " Hack's Fish River") and discovered Montreal Island, Adelaide Peninsula, &c. They suffered greatly from cold and hunger during part of this journey ; Back writing in January, 1831<, says: "A few days exhausted our small stock of meat, and I reluctantly opened another bag of pemraican, our stoi'c of which was now reduced to less than one half of the quantity originally put aside for sea service. Mr. King and I contented ourselves with lialf-a- pound each a day ; but the labouring men whom we retained with us could not do with less than a pound and three-quarters. Even this was but scanty rations ; nevertheless, the fine fellows (principally artillerymen), far from being moody or sullen, were always cheerful and in good spirits." And on the 4th February fol- lowing : — " Such was the abstraction of heat, that, with eight large logs of wood in the fire-place of a small room, I could not get the thermometer higher ■I ■A I 25 than 13' plus. Ink and paint froze. The sextant cases, and boxes of seasoned wood, principally fir, all split. Nor was the sensation particularly ngreeable to our persons; the skin of the hands especially became dry, cracked, and opened into unsightly and smarting gashes, which we were o})liged to anoint with grease. On one occasion, after washing my face within three feet of the fire, my hair wasaetuiilly clotted M'ith ice before 1 had time to dry it. From these facts some idea may perhaps be formed of tiie excessive cold." They all, however, with one exception, returned \ safe to Fort Reliance (a post of the Hudson's iiay Comj)any), from whence Captain Back started for Canada, and from thence proceeded home, arriving in Liverpool on the 8th September, 183.5. Dr. King, with the remainder of the party, reached England in October. Captain lloss and his crew had been frozen in in the Gulf of Boothia, from October, 1829, until August, 1833, subsisting, during the two latter winters, on the provisions which Parry left at Fury Beach. During this period many discoveries were made. Felix Harbour, in the Gulf of Boothia (which is a continuation of Regent's Inlet), where they passed their first winter, was 300 miles south of Parry's farthest, and much of the coast, in all directions from pp III lilf 26 this point, wan rxplorrd l)y land parties. In May, IS.'U), Coinniandor Janios lloss, witli Mr. lUanky, and two KiSipiinianx {guides, crossod the Istlmms ol Uoothia and discovorcd Matty I«Uind, and King Wil- liam's Land, which was supposed to be the mainland of America. From the northermost point of Kin<; William's Tmnd, which they named Cape Felix, they proceeded in a south-westerly direction, a distanet! of twenty miles, but anxious as they were to proceed, thev were witlumt the means of subsistence for doiu"; so. As this spot in after years bccanu^ a place of interest, I will «iive Commander lloss' account of liis ' isit to it : — " AVe now therefore unfurled our flaj; for the usual ceremony, and took possession of what >ve saw as far as the distant point, while that on which wc stood was named Victory Point, being the ric plua ultra of our labour, as it afterwards proved, while it will remain a standing record of the exertions of that ship's crew. The point to the south-west was named Cape Franklin, and if tliat be a name which has now been conferred on more places than one, these honours — not in fact very solid when so widely shared — are, beyond all thought, less than the merits which that officer deserves.* On Victory Point we erected a cairn of stones six feet high, and we enclosed in it a canister containing a brief account of the proceedings of the expedition • It was almost within sight of this spot tlie gallant Franklin bioathed his last. II 27 jsincc its departure from England. Such has been the eustoni, and to that it was our business to ron- tbrui ; tliou;^h I must say that we did not entertain tlie most remote h()i)e that our little history woidd ever meet an I'^uroix'an's eye, even had it eseaped the uecident of fallinj^ into the hands of the Esquimaux." On the 1st June, IH.'Jl, Captain Ross diseovered the position of the " Maynelic. Pole," wliieh, for ecnturics, had been an objeet of ungri'itified euriosity to the eivili/ed world. In Lat. 70' 5' 17" N., and Lon{^. 9G' IG' 45 W., Uoss plaeed a British flag, and took possession of the Maj^nctic Pole and its adjoining territory, in the name of Great Britain and King William the Fourth. But as " Nature had liere erected no monument to denote the spot which slie liad chosen as tlie centre of one of her great and dark powers," they erected a cairn of some magnitude, and plaeed in it a record of the fact.* On the 29th May, 1832, the Victory was abandoned, being tlic first vessel Sir John Ross liad ever been obliged to leave, after having served in thirty-six, during a period of forty-two years. The crew proceeded to Fury Beach, where they built a hut, wliich they named " Somerset House;" here they remained until July, 1833, when they took their departure in boats, being fortunate • This is not the precise position of the Magnetic Pole, for the dip was 89° 59', which is one minute of the vertical position ; but as, with the instruments they had, they could approach no nearer to 90°, Capt. Ross felt himself justified in marking this spot as the " throne of magnetism." 28 rnough (on tlic SGtli Aujijiist) to fall in with the Isabella, whaler, which waa the first ship lloss sailed in to the Arctic regions. Captain Ross was told circnmstantially of his own death, &c., two years previously, and he had some difficulty in convincin;; them that it was really he and his party who now stood before them. So great was the joy with which they were received, that the Isabella manned her yards, and her former commander and his gallant band of adventurers were saluted with three heartv cheers. The scene on board can scarcely be de- scribed; each of the crew vied with the other in assisting and comforting the party, and it cannot better be told than in Ross' own words : — " The ludicrous soon took place of all other feelings ; in such a crowd, and such confusion, all serious thought was impossible, while the new buoyancy of our spirits made us abundantly willing to be amused by the scene which now opened. Every man was hungry, and was to be fed ; all were ragged, and were to be clothed ; there was not one to whom washing was not indispensable, nor one whom his beard did not deprive of all human semblance. All, evcvythiug too, was to be done at once : it was washing, dressing, shaving, eating, all intermingled ; it was all the materials of each jumbled together, while in the midst of all there were interminable questions to be asked and answered on both sides ; the adventures of the Victory, our own escapes, the politics of England, and the news which was now four years old. 29 " But all subsided into peace at last. The sick were aecommodated, the seamen disposed of, and all was done for iis whieh care and kindness could perform. " Night at Icngtli brought quiet and serious thoughts, — and I trust there was not a man among us Mho did not then express, where it was due, his gratitude for that interposition which had raised us all from a despair which none could now forget, and had brought us from the very borders of a most distant grave, to life, and friends, and civilization. Long e jcustomed, however, to a cold bed on the hard snow or the bare rock, few could sleep amid the com- fort of our new accommodations. I was myself com- pelled to leave the bed which had been kindly assigned me, and take my abode in a chair for the night ; nor did it fare much better with the rest. It was for time to reconcile us to this sudden and violent change, to break through what had become habit, and to inure us once more to the usages of our former days." They arrived at home on the 18th September. The bold explorers were looked upon as men risen from the dead, and met and escorted by crowds of sym- pathisers. The crew received double pay from the government for the time they had been absent; Captain John Ross received the honour of knighthood and had a gratuity of £5,000 granted him ; while a baronetcy was conferred on Mr. Felix Booth.* * Sir Felix Booth died at Brighton in 1850, aged 95 yean. i III ' ' ;i This was tljc last attempt to iHscovor the Nortli- Wost Passajijc until the drpartiire of the Ercf/ns and 'J'crror. Captain IJack made a voyajjein tlic Terror in IHUd, with the intention of reacliin}:^ Wager River, via lludson^s Strait: lie only reaelied the Frozen Strait, liowcvcr, where the ship was so dreadfully shattered by the ice that it was with dilfieulty he was able to return. In 1837-8 Messrs. Thomas Simpson and Peter Warren Dease (officers of the Hudson's JJay Comp.), traced all the northern coast of America from Frank- lin's Farthest, at the mouth of the Coppermine, to Hack's Farthest, at Point Ogle, and discovered Vic- toria Land and the southern shore of King William's Land, where, on the 25th August, 1839, they erected a cairn on a spot named Cape Ilcrschel. I ' 'M rAKT II. •' Whither am I (joiny ? Into ctcmitv ! that houiidlcss sea, Fast OS tlic Htreams of timo cim glide away. Oh! thou eternity ! thou awful sound, Thou searehlcss ocean, and thou deep profound, 'Midst thine infinitudes my thoughts arc drown'd Compared with thee, how scanty Time appears; I low mere a nothing is our three-score years ! Yet for this short duration I've no lease ; ♦Tenant at will/ and 'quit' when God shall please; Ilowe'er protracted, l;*b is but * a span,' Short the existence of the oldest man. — Taurant." A Brief Sketch of Franklin's History — His Departure in 1815 — Prolonyed AbsencQ and Various Sear r hint/ Expeditio7is — Discovery of the North-) Vest Passaf/r Dr. Hue — Relics and Information obtained from (he Esquimaux — The Resolute. In 1845, the Lords Commissioners of tlie Admi- ralty, at the instigation of Sir John Barrow, deter- mined on sending out one more expedition, on a lar^<;r sp^le than any previous ones, to solve the problem of tlie North-West Passage. Accordingly the command was given to Sir John Franklin, who commissioned the Erebus and Terror^ two vessels which liad but lately returned from a successful voyage in tlie South ili'i 32 Polar Seas. The entire crews, consisting of 137 men, w(;re volunteers, and, — though it was known that none but unexceptionable characters would be accepted, — the applications for appointments were so numerous, that, liad the Lords of the Admiralty chosen, tliey could have manned the ships with petty officers. The brave Sir John himself, afraid they would not allow him to go if they knew he was 60 years old, took advantage of the three weeks he was short of that age to enter himself as 59. Lord Haddington, who was the First Lord of the Admiralty, sent for Sir Edward Parry, and said : " I sec by looking at the Navy List that Franklin is 60 years old : do you think we ought to let him go ? " The answer of that great man was : " He is a fitter man than any I know ; and if you don't let him go he will die of disappointment." Sir John Franklin was born at Spilsby, in Lincoln- shire, in 1786. He entered the Navy in 1800, and served as a midshipman in the action off:' Copenhagen, in the following year. He next sailed on a voyage of discovery to New Holland, during which he suffered shipwreck — on a coral reef near Cato Bank — August 1/ih, 1803. Here he spent nearly two months, with liis fellow sufferers, on a narrow sand-bank, only a few feet above +he sea level, whilst Capt. Flinders (the commander of the wrecked vessel) proceeded to Port Jackson for relief. They were taken up by the Por- poise, Capt. Fowler, and conveyed to Canton, where m 83 igcn, ce of with a. few (the Port Por- k^here they embarked in the Earl Camden, commanded by Sir Nathaniel Dance, for England. This vessel was attacked bv the French in the Straits of Malacca, bnt Sir Nathaniel, with the brave seamen under his com- mand, gallantly defeated his antagonist. The next gi'cat affair we find Franklin engaged in, was '^he ever memorable Battle of Trafalgar, in 1805, where he served on board the BeUerophon. He afterwards served in the Channel Fleet, and at the blockade of Flushing; and in 1808, being then lieutenant, escorted the lloyal Family of Portugal from Lisbon to Brazil. He y as engaged in very arduous services during the AiKiers i War of 1814, and was wounded in a ])oat engagement before New Orleans. In 1818 lie commanded the Trerit on the perilous voyage of discovery in the neighbourhood of Spitzbcrgen, which has before been mentioned. In April, 1819, he was invested with the command of an expedition to pro- ceed overland from Hudson's Bay to the Coppermiiu' River, where he endured sufferings unparalleled in Iiistory. He effected a journey of 5,550 miles, under- going the grea tosf possible hardships and privations, during whicii *■;. . iuced the whole of the Coppermine River, and some n ics of the shores of the Polar Sea. To give an idea of what he and his party* suffered • Franklin's party in this expedition consisted of Dr. Ilicliardson, Mr. Hood, and Mr. (now Sir (-urge) Back, midsliipnien ; a seaman named Ilcphurn, IG Canadians, Mr. r.Wentzell, and 3 Indians. Mr. Hood and two of the Canadians were murdered by an Iroqmis named "Miclie!," who, in turn, was shot by Dr. Richardson. Three other Canad-a, also perished — two from want, the otlier was frozen to death. £ 'I'l 1 34 during this expedition, a few extracts from his nar- rative are here introduced : — " Having walked twelve miles and a half, we en- camped at 7 P.M., and distributed our last piece of pemmican and a little arrowroot for supper, which afforded but a scanty meal. As we had nothing to eat, and were destitute of the means of making a fire, we remained in our beds all the day ; but the covering of our blankets was insufficient to prevent us from feeling the severity of the frost, and suffering incon- venience from the drifting >^ the snow into our tents. There was no abatement of t. orm next day ; our tents were completely frozen, and the snow had drifted around them to a depth of three feet, and even in the inside there was a covering of several inches on our blankets. " Our suffering from cold, in a comfortless canvass tent in such weather, with the temperature at 20°, and without fire, will easily be imagined; it was, however, less than that which we felt from hunger." " Occasionally they picked up pieces of skin, and a few bones of deer which had been devoured by the wolves in the previous spring The bones were ren- dered friable by burning, and now and then their old shoes were added to the repast. — Simmonds." " After halting an hour, during which we refreshed ourselves with eating our old shoes and a few scraps of leather, &c. — Franklin/ }i 33 Dr. Richardson was for a time separated from Franklin, and he thus describes their re-union : — " Upon entering the desolate dwelling, we had tlir satisfaction of embracing Captain Franklin, but no words can convey an idea of the filth and wretched- ness that met our eyes on looking around. Our own misery had stolen upon us by degrees, and we were accustomed to the contemplation of each othcr^s emaciated figures; but the ghastly countenances, dilated eye-balls, and sepulchral voices of Captain Franklin and those with him were more than we could at first bear." " Hepburn having shot a partridge, which was brought to the house, the doctor tore out the feathers, and having held it to the fire a few minutes, divided it into six portions. I and my three companions ravenously devoured our shares, as it was the first morsel of flesh any of us had tasted for thirty-one days. — Franklin." On the 16th of February, 1825, this energetic officer again left England on another expedition to the Frozen Regions, having for its object a co-operation with Captains F. W. Beechey and W. E. Parry, in ascer- taining from opposite quarters the existence of a north-west passage. The result of this mission will be found in detail in Captain Franklin's " Narrative of a Second Expedition to the Shores of the Polar Sea in 1825-7." ' !l i 30 On Ills return to T!np;ljiTKl, wlicro lio arrived oti the 2C}t\i of September, 18'i7, Fninklin was preHeuted by the (ieofj^rapliieal Society of Paris with a ^oUl ine(hil vabied at 1,20() francs, for havinj^ made the most im- portant ac(piisitions to jjjeographical knowledfjfc (hiring the preccdinj^ year, and on tlic 21)th of April, 1HI2!), he received the honour of knighthood, besides being awarded in July following the Oxford degree of a D.C.L. From 1830 to 183 1< he was in active service in com- mand of II.M.S. Rainbow on the INfeditcrranean station, and for liis exertions during tliat period as connected with tlie troul)lcs in Greece, was presented Avith the order of the llodeemcr, of Greece. Sir John was created a K.C.II. on tlie 2.jth of January, 183G, and was for some time Governor of Van Bicman^s Land. He married, on the IGth of August, 1823, Eleanor Anne,* youngest daughter of \V. Pordcn, Esq., • Mrs. Eleanor Anne Franklin, better u.iow by her maiden name, Miss Pordcn, was a poetess of no mean pretensions. Her acquaintance r ..h Captain Franklin originated at the commencement of that Arctic Expedition (1818), in which, as is proved by a poem of he/s published at the time, her sympaties were warmly engaged. Her liist publication was a poem dedicated to the Countess Spencer, entitled " The Veils, or the Trials of Constancy," which ap. pcarcd in 181.5; her greatest work, however, was eii epic puem on the third crusade, entitled " C(Eur de Lion," which was dedi- cated (by permission) to the King (1822). She was married to Capt. Franklin on the 23rd .^ug'ust, 1823, and, in the follo\ving June, gave birth to a daughter, now the wife of the Rev. Philip Gell, of Tasmania. She died on the 22nd February, 1825, six days after Franklin took his departure for North America. 37 arcliitcct, of liorncrs Street, London ; and srcondly, on the r)th of November, 1H2H, Jane, second daiij^litcr of Jolin (Iriffin, I'iSq., of Bedford IMaec. Sir .lolin Franklin was a man beloved by all classes, at all times. Sir l^dward Parry, in a speech made at a dinner fj;iven to Lieut. Crcswell, at Lynn, in 18515, said : — " In tlic whole course of my experience I have never known a man like Fraiddin. J do not say it because he is dead — upon the [irinciplc de iittn'tuis nil nisi bonum ; but I never knew a man in m liom dif- ferent qualities were so remarkably combined. In my dear friend Franklin, with all the tenderness of licart of a simple child, there was all the greatness and magnanimity of a hero." Captain ]3aek relates the following anecdote : — '^ It was the custom of Sir John Franklin never to kill a fly ; and, though teased by them beyond ex- pression, especially when engaged in taking observa- tions, he would quietly desist from his work, and patiently blow the half-gorged intruders from his hands — ' The a\ orld was wide enough for both.' " Captain Fitzjames, writing from the Orkneys, in June, 1845, says : — " Sir John Franklin is delightful, active, energetic, and evidently even now persevering. What he has been wc all know. I think it will turn out that he is no>vise altered. He is full of conversation and interesting anecdotes of his former voyages. I would i l 38 not lose him for the command of tlio expedition, for 1 have a real regard — I may say, aftection — for him, and I helieve tliis is felt by all of us." And a letter from Lieutenant Fairholme contains the following : — " On hoard, we are as comfortable as it is possible to be. I need hardly tell you how much we are all delighted with our captain. He has, I am sure, won not oidy the respect but the love of every person on board, by his amiable maimer and kindness to all ; and his influence is always employed for some good purpose, both among the officers and men. He has been most successful in his selection of officers, and a more agreeable set could hardly be found." That he was not only beloved by officers, is proved by the fact that, when in command in the Mediter- ranean (1834), his ship (the Rainbow) y was called by all the sailors of the fleet, the " Celestial Rainbow" and " Franklin's Paradise" " Captain Crozier was in all Parry^s expeditions, having been midshipman in the Fury in 1821, and in the Hecla in 1824 ; he went out as a lieutenant in the Hecla with Parry on his boat expedition to the Pole in 1827 ; volunteered in 1836 to go out in search of the missing whalers and their crews to Davis Straits ; was made a captain in 1841 ; and was second in command of the Antarctic expedition under Sir James Ross, and on his return was appointed to the Terror as second in command under Franklin." 39 Captain Fitzjames, an officer j^reatly beloved in the scrviee, who distingnished himself on the Eu- phrates expedition and in Syria, and had been severely wounded in China, was appointed as seeond to Sir John Franklin, and to conduet the magnetic obser- vations. With such men as leaders, it is not to be wondered at if the choicest spirits in the service sought to be followers, and if among the crews of the Erebus and Terror mustering a band of 137 persons, were found to be officers as good, and seamen as stout and brave, as ever trod the deck of a man-of-war. On Monday, 19th of May, 1815, the Erebus and Tetror sailed from Greenhithe on this gallant enter- prize. Their last anchorage in sight of Britain was at the Long Hope, Orkneys, from whence they departed on the 8th June, full of hope. " A desert waste of waters lies before— Behind, the anxious hospitable shore, Which like a parent bird sees ye depart, Bold winged messengers of daring Art ! We know that sunshine always 'round your path Cannot attend ; that rain and tempest's wrath Will be your portion ; but our pray'r shall be you live their fury out right gallantly. And after years you have perchance to roam That science crown'd you safely seek your home !— W."» A month later they were at the Whale Fish Islands, loading from the Baretto transport, which parted from them on the 13th July. A fortnight after, they were • Illuttrated London News, May, 1845. 40 seen by Capt. Dannet, of the Prince of Wales, whaler, who was visited by seven of the officers. These reported that " all were well, in excellent spirits, and confident of success/' That same evening (July 26th), the ice opened out, and the Erebus and Terror made direct for Lancaster Sound. The masts of the vessels soon lessened in the horizon, and were hidden from the sight of the whalers, never again to be seen bv tlie civilized world. Towards the end of 1847, nothing having been heard of Sir John Franklin's expedition, various pro- posals Avere made by different persons as to the mode, time, and place of sending relief to them. Among these, — alas ! now seen too late — was one from Dr. King, the companion of Back in 1833, who proposed, and also volunteered, to go by way of the Great Fish River to the Arctic Seas. This was dated February, 1848, and we know now that had an expedition gone by that route — at that time — they would, in all pro- bability, have saved 105 of those gallant men. But many other propositions were submitted, and by far more experienced Arctic travellers than Dr. King, and it is but natural to suppose they would receive the earliest attention. In the early part of 1848, however, three expedi- tions were sent in quest, and for the aid of Sir John and his crews. The first, the Plover, under the command of Captain Moore, sailed in January, for Behring's Strait ; the second, under Sir John Richard- 11 III son, searclicd the nortlirm coast of America, from the Mackenzie to the Coppermine; and tlie third, the Enterprise and Investigator, Sir James Ross, started in June for Lancaster Sound, which was reached by the 26th August. This expedition carefully searched the western coast of North Somerset and Prince of Wales' Land, and wintering at Port Leopold, returned in 1819, unsuccessful. Sir John Ricluirdson also returned in 1849, having gained no tidings of Sir John Franklin ; and the Plover, which did not reach its destination until after the arrival of the others in England, returned in 1852. In 1850, a determined and combined attempt was made to discover and relieve the missing navigators, and, in the same year, the following rewards were offered by Government : — *' To any party or person who, in the judgment of the Board of Admiralty, shall discover and effectually relieve the crews of H. M. Ships Erebus and Terror, the sum of £20,000. " To any party or parties, &c., who shaU discover and effectually relieve any portion of the crews, or shall convey such intelligence as shall lead to the relief of any of the crew, the sum of .€10,000. " To any party or parties who shall, by his or their efforts, first succeed in ascertaining their fate, jeio,ooo." In 1848, 100 guineas had been offered to any whaler who might bring information of the missing r i\ 42 expedition; and at tlic same time Lady Franklin oftered rewards of j€2,00(), and i:;3,000 to any crew bringing them to England. The Enterprise, Captain Collinson, and the Inves* tigator, Captain M'Clure, started in January to pursue the search, by way of Behring's Strait ; and in May following, the Resolute, Captain Austin, the Assistance, Captain Ommaney, the Intrepid, Lieut. Cator, the Pioneer, Lieutenant Osborn, the Lady Franklin, Captain Penny,* and the Sophia, Captain Stewart,* left the Thames en route to Lancaster Sound. In addition to these Government expeditions, Lady Franklin despatched the Prince Albert, Captain Forsyth ; Sir John Ross, aided by the Hudson's Bay Company, went in his own yatcht, the Felix ; and our Transatlantic brethren sent two ships, which were presented for the purpose by Mr. Grinnel, of New York — the Advance, Lieutenant De Haven, and Rescue, Lieutenant Griffin, — making a total of twelve vessels, all engaged in the one great object : that of seeking and assisting the lost loved ones. Much geographical knowledge was acquired by these search- ing expeditions, indeed Capt. Stewart, of the Sophia, to his great astonishment, found himself on the verge of the open Polar Sea, the existence of which had long been a theoretical question, and where it was believed by many Sir John Franklin had penetrated. • Officers of the Merchant Service. I a Having no boats, however, Captain Stewart coiilil not sail upon tliis newly discovered sea. Notwithstanding the liundreds of miles travelled by sea and land, the daring, energy, and endurance displayed by our countrymen in these expeditions, all the information thcv could obtain of the lost ones was that they had wintered at Beechey Island in 1845-6; three graves, with head-boards,* and va- rious articles strewed about, being found there by Captain Penny. On the shore of North Devon, the east side of Wellington Channel, Captain Penny also picked up a piece of paper, having on it (in the writing of Capt. Fitzjames) the following words : — " Call me at four ci'cl^ to-morrowJ* i - ^^ Cape Spenser, where this paper was picked up, the Americans traced the trail of a sledge beyond Cape Innis, where it suddenly ceased. Here was found a bottle and a piece of the Times newspaper. During the winter of 1850-1 (which was unusually severe) the commanders of the different vessels outvied each other in providing recreation and amusements for the men under their command. The crew of one ship frequently invited that of another to a ball, a concert, or perhaps an evening party ; and the guests, so as not to miss their way returning, generally placed finger-posts at intervals between their own vessel and that of their entertainers. • Sec Appendix No. 5. < {| waesmm mm ranwi 9 If. (( In going from one ship to another during the night, there was a danger of being attacked by bears, so that, instead of dining yourself, you ran the risk of serving as a dinner for one of these disagreeable animals."* On one occasion a masquerade ball was given on board the Assistance, and a number of each ship's crew were invited : they kept it up with a good grace, and their enjoyment was quite as genuine (if not more so), as that of guests at the finest ball in ""'""•^fland. Thev separated earlv, or rather late, in tLd morning, after a deal of parley and ordering on the part of the officers : one sailor so enjoyed himself that he continued to sing, in a most lusty manner, " He wouldnH go home till morning till daylight did appear," an assertion which, if persevered in, would have necessitated his staying some six weeks, if not for a longer period. On board the Assistance they had first-rate theatrical performances ; a pantomime, (iiititlcd Zero, written on the subject of their situation, Avas produced on boxing day. They also got up a newspaper entitled the " Illustrated Arctic Newsj' ' the illustrations of which consisted of pencil sketches and water-colour drawings, executed by themselves. The paper was circulated from ship to ship. All the vessels which entered the Arctic seas by I^affin's Bav returned home in 1851, none of them having fell in with those which went by Behring's. Strait. • Arctic Miscellanies. II 4,-) in In 1851, Lady Frnnklin again sent out the Prince Albert, in cliari^e of Captain Kennedy, and Lieut. Bellot, an officer of the French Navy. It returned in 1852, however, after a fruitless search in Regent's Inlet. A strait connecting this inlet and the waters on the west side of Boothia, was discovered hy Capt. Kennedy, who named it after his companion, " Bellot Strait." In 1852, Captain Inglefield searched the head of Baffin's Bay, and examined its large sounds and straits. lie penetrated into Whale Sound for a number of miles, but was driven back by continued heavy gales. In the same year another expedition, under the command of Sir Edward Belcher, consisting of the Assistance (Belcher\ the Pioneer, (Osbom), the Re- solute (Kellett), the Intrepid, (MeClintock), and the North Star (Mr. PuUen), was sent, not only to con- tinue the search for Sir John Franklin, but also to try and obtain some tidings of the Investigator and Enterprise, which left England in January, 1850, and were seen for the last time in August of the same year. This fleet reached Melville Sound, from whence sledge parties were dispatched in every possible direction. In the summer of 1853, Captain Kellett, of the Resolute (who was the officer commanding the Herald, when that vessel parted with the Investigator at the Sandwich Islands in 1850), found in Winter if >: P 11 \ " p! m Id lliirhour, INlolvilU' Islnml, a diNpnlcIi IVoni Cnpliiiii M'CMuiv, which rontniucd the IbUowiii^ inhninatioii : "On iho 7(l» SrptcinluM', isr>0, h«^ (li»i\ Ind cr P re ar a large stream, which can be no otlicr than JJack's Great Fish lliver, (named by the Esquimaux Doot- ko-hi-calik) as its description, and that of the low shore in the neighbourhood of Point Ogle and Mon- treal Island agree exactly with that of Sir George Back. Some of the bodies had been buried (probably those of the first victims of famine), some were in a tent or tents, others under the boat which had been turned over to form a shelter, and several lay scat- tered about in dift'erent directions. Of those found on the island one was supposed to have been an officer, as he had a telescope strapped over his shoulders, and liis double-barrelled gun lay underneath him. " From the mutilated state of many of the corpses, and the contents of the kettles, it is evident that our wretched countrymen had been driven to the last resource — cannibalism — as a means of prolonging existence. "Inere appeared to have been an abundant stock of ammunition, as the powder was emptied in a heap on the ground by the natives out of tlie kegs or cases containing it ; and a quantity of ball and shot was found below high- water mark, having probably been left on the ice close to the beach. There must have been a number of watches, compasses, telescopes, guns (several double-barrelled), &e., all of which appear to have been broken up, as I saw pieces of those different articles with the Esquimaux, together with some silver spoons and forks. I purchased as many as I 54 could get. A list of tlie most important of these 1 enclose, with a rongh sketch of the crests and initials of the forks and spoons. The articles themselves shall be handed over to the Secretary of the Hudson's Bay Company on my arrival in London. " None of the Esquimaux with whom I conversed liad seen the " whites," nor had they ever been at the place where the bodies were found, but had their information from those who had been there, and who had seen the party when travelling. " I offer no apology for taking the liberty of addres- sing you, as I do so from a belief that their Lord- ships would be desirous of being put in possession, at as early a date as possible, of any tidings, however meagre and unexpectedly obtained, regarding this painfully interesting subject. " I may add that, by means of our guns and nets, we obtained an ample supply of provisions last autumn, and my small party passed the winter in snow houses in comparative comfort, the skins of the deer shot affording abundant warm clothing and bed- ding. My spring journey was a failure, in con- sequence of an accumulation of obstacles, several of which my former experience in Arctic travelling had not taught me to expect. " I have, &c., "JOHN llAE, C.F., " Commanding Hudson's Bay Comp's. ^' Arctic Expedition.' }} 55 IS. " List of articles purchased from tlie Esquimaux, said to have becu obtained at the place where tlie bodies of the ijcrsons reported to have died of famine were found, viz. :— 1 silver table fork* . . Crest No. 1 1 silv.t able 1 ^ork ,inth 3 „ i» >» »» „ 2 1 »i >i >> >> 1 ,. „ spoon . >» „ 3 1 >i It i> »» 1 ., »» If • M .. 4 1 j> i> >> »» Motto : " Spero Meliora.'' u M lorK . . ,, ff Motto: "%ro Meliora." „ dessert fork . . „ „ „ table spoon . . ,, i, I, tea ,1 • A. Mil), i: G. A. M.;J I. T. 1 ,, dessert spoon,, J. S, V. i 1 round silver plate, eiijrravod, "Sir John Franklin, K.C.IJ." 1 star or order, with motto, " Nee aspera terrejtt," on one side, and on the reverse 'g.k. mdcccxv.'5 " Also a number of other articles with no marks by which they could be recognised ; but which will be handed over, with those above-named, to the Secretary of the Hon. Hudson's Bay Company. "JOHN RAE, C.F. Repulse Bay, July, 1854." ec Immediately upon the receipt of this news, the Hudson's Bay Company dispatched q, boat party up the Great F'^h River, commanded by Messrs. Ander- * Crest No, 1 — A Dolphin's head between wings. — R. O. Sergeant. „ No. 2— A Bird with wings extended. — „ No. 3 — A Griffin's head betwee :;n wings ( F. R. M. C). — Captain Crozier. „ No. 4— A Dove with the olive branch, (motto: "Spero Meliora." J-J. W. Fairholme. „ No. 5 — A Fish's head between sprigs. — Franklin family. 1. Harry D. S. Goodsir (Surgeon, Erebus) ; 2. Alex. McDonald (Surgeon, Terror); 3. Gillies A. Macbean (Master, Terror); 4. John S. Peddie (Surgeon, Terror) ; 5, Sir John Franklin, ipp 50 8011 and Stewart. They found traces proving that sonic of the expedition liad been on Montreal Island, Point Ogle, and different parts of the coast at the mouth of the I'ish River, but no records or bodies were discovered. They wished to reach King Wil- liam's Land, but their boats were proved to be unequal to tlie task. Tliere was still one expedition searching the dreary regions of the north ; — a second American one, under Dr. Kane, which left New York on the 30th May, 1853. These enterprising mariners forced a passage from Baffin's Bay, directly northward (through Smith's Sound), into the open Polar Sea. Tlicir grv^at exertions, however, together with the hardships they had endured, compelled them, on reaching the shore of that great sea which has never yet been sailed upon, to return. This expedition encountered the greatest perils and privations the human frame is capable of sus- taining. Their ship, the Advance, was frozen up for twenty months before it was decided to abandon her. At this time they were almost without food, and with a sledge and boat journey of 1,300 miles before them. During the first thirty days of this terrible journey, which they accomplished in eighty-four days, their daily provision consisted of six ounces of bread dust, and a piece of frozen tallow, the size of a walnut, per man ; during the latter part they were enabled to kill seals, birds, &c. for their sustenance. Only one man was lost however, and he by accident. 57 It was on tlic 0th Anj^ust, 1855, tlicy saw a solitary l)oatnicii of Upernavik, the first civilized being they met with for upwards of two years, and from liim they got a cloudy idea of what had been passing in tlie biy world during their absence. " What of America ? " was naturally our first ques- tion, says Dr. Kane, to which the Greenlander could give no satisfactory answer, but seemed very anxious to ejaculate the words " Sebastopol aint taken." Where and vhat was Sebastopol? tlicy knew nothing of such a place ; and the man proceeded to inform them (to their surprise) that France and England were leagued with the Mussulman against the llussians. "But what of Sir John Franklin?" There we were at home jjj^ain; and we then heard the conflict- ing statement tliat traces of the crews of the Erebus and Terror had been found by Dr. llae, nearly 1,000 miles south of where we had been searching for them." This chapter wciuld be incomplete were I to omit the history of the Resolute, one of the vessels aban- doned by Sir E. Belcher in Melville Sound, in May, 1854. She escaped her ice-bound fetters, and on the lOtli September, 1855, (sixteen months after she was abandoned) was picked up by an American M'haler in Davis' Strait, having drifted about 1,200 miles through Barrow Strait and Baffin Sea. Captain Buddington, who discovered the Resolute, boarded her with eleven men, leaving his own bark in charge }i 58 of tlio second mate, and mado the best of liis wav towards New York with his prize. About the middle of October, having just cleared the ice, the British bark Albert hove ^.n siglic, and on being signalled came alongside the Resolute. The news of the re- covery was communicated to Captain Stuart of the British bark, and a pair of Captain Kellet's epau- lettes, found on board the abandoned vessel, were in- trusted to him by Captain Buddington, Avith instruc- tions to forward them to tlie owner. The appearance of things on board, as represented by Captain Buddington, Avhen he had leisure to ex- amine the vessel, was doleful in tlie extreme. The cabin was strewed with books, clothing, preserved meats interspersed here and there with lumps of ice. There \, as one thing, however, which struck Captain Buddington as being very remarkable, and for which probably no satisfactory explanation can be given ; and this was the presence of ice for several feet iii thickness on the larboard side, while there was not a particle on the starboard. The only argument that can be presented to explain this curious freak of the elements is, that the Resolute, lying with her head to the eastward for probably more than a month, received the direct rays of the sun on the starboard quarter, and nowhere else, and thus a daily warmth was imparted to this side of the ship, while the other side, being without this heat, became as solidified with ice as thougli the sun never slione on it. There was 59 a great lack of fuel on boards although, in the course of the search throughout the vessel, a little coal was discovered in the hold, but the ((uantity Avas very small and entirely inadequate to supply the vessel more than a week. Of provisions there was enough perhaps to last a crew of seventy-five men (the number originally carried by the Resolute) for nine months. The salt meats were the onlv articles that were at all in a state of preservation. Everything had gone to decay. Even the ship's sails found between decks were so rotten that the sailors could thnist their fingers through them like so much brown paper. An attempt was subsequently made to rig a topmast studding sail out of some of the canvas found saturated with water; but it blew out of the gearing, and was scattered to the winds like chaff. The lower hold Avas found to contain the library of one of the officers of the expe- dition, valued at more than .€200. The books were entirely valueless when discovered by Captain Bud- dington, and subsequently thrown overboard as Avorth- less rubbish. Short handed, poorly rigged, and unfitted for the voyage as the Resolute Avas, Captain Buddington found it no easy task to bring the ship into port. He termi- nated his ditticult voyage, hoAvever, on the 21th December. On the part of the American Congress, a very graceful act followed. It Avas resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives to appropriate a sum of 40,000 dollars to the purchase of the Resolute, Avith all mi J'. I'i IS 1 ri r k t II (•)() th(* .MnniinuMit, (^luipmcut, and ])!'()|»(M'tv on bo.'inl. rv riiis {\o]u\ ihr sliip >vms nuncd info one of (lie tuivv vsn'ds ol' \\\c I'nilcd SlnfcN, nnd there rnlly rcpiiircd nnd (M]ui|)|)(Ml, nnd \\\c\\ despniclied lo !'lni!;];ind ns an otVerini!; of iroodwill nnd iVic^ndship fntni (he I'nited Stntes t() ( I rent Hritnin. On (h(» ]'Mh of Nov(Mnher, ll»e AV.vt;////r. mnnnnnfh'd Ivy Cnptnin llnrtstein, eoni- nieneed her lionnnvnrd vovn^c, nnd on the l!:.Mli of |)eeeniher slie renehed Spithi^id. Slie nrrived nnih't* Anierienn rohvnrs, ])n( ns sooti as she h't p) her nnehors. tlie l\!ti;lisl> >vns run np alongside of tlie? AniiM'ienn ensitnin llartstciu nchhessed her ns follows: — "Allow me to vveleomo vonr Mniestv on board the /?<'.w//r//', and, in obedieneo to the will of niv eonutrvmen and of the l^rsideut of the Ignited States, to restore her to yon, not only as an evidenee of a friendly feelinij to yonr sovorei«>nty, but as a token of love, admiration, and i*cspcct to vour Maiestv pei*sonallv.'* The Queen seemed touehed by the manly simplicity of this frank and sailor-like address, and replied, with a y-raeious smile, " I thank von, sir." 01 Tho royal parlv tlicii went over tlic sliip iiiid rxaiiiiiUMi licr witli inanifcst, inicrcHt. Ill the <'()iirHr of rxplainiii}; iUr. cliart to I'riiicd Albert, tlici latt(>r rcinarkcd iliat jjady hVaiikliii waH very dcHirous of another cxiu'ditioii ^oiiij^out, to vvliicrli ('aptaiti Ilartsteiii replied, "That it did not Hurprise liiiii, lor he tlion};ht it very poHsibh; that Kranklin or .some of liiHeonipanions iiii}>;ht Htill Ih; aliv(r ainoii(^ the l']s(piiinaux/' ('ai)tain llartstein was invited by tlu; (iiieeri to dine and to s|>end the ni^lit at Osborne ; and all the odieerH wer(^ permitted to visit tin; jialaee and {^rounds, a privilep". of which iUvy availed themselves. Amonpj i\w stores found in the Hrsolufa v ere several puneheons of fine old nun, vvhieh had been put on board in prime condition on her leavinj^ Woohvieh for the Arctic re<^i(ms. Oiur of these puneheons was s(;nt by ('aptain llartstein to Prince Albert as a relic. The Resolute was visited dnriiif; Ikt stay at Ports- mouth l)y Lady Franklin and her Jiiece, and by (>a])t. M'Clintoek, C.^ipt. Sadler, Capt. lli(di/irds, Ijicnit. Pirn, and other Arctic explorers. On Christmas-day the whole of the crew who lirouj^lit her over wen; regaled -with an excellent dinn(!r at the (Jleorg(; Hotel, at the expense of tlic Britisli (iovcrnmcnt. Having fulfilled the kindly mission on which they had been sent. Captain llartstein, his oflicers, and crew, left on their return for the United States, in the American steamer ^Fa*/«'w/7/o?i, from Southampton, highly delighted with their reception. (I'J PART III. I : i ! *' After the nation's treasure failed, Tlie widoAv's mite prevailed." Capt. Collinson. Lady Franklin — Voyage of the "Fox'' — Discovery of tJ e Record and Relics — Conclusion. All ideas of a further search were now given up ; but there was still one who " hoped against hope/' who knew that the great tidal line which separates the waters of the Atlantic from those of the Pacific had not been searched, and who, therefore, in 1857, dis- patched Captain M'Clintock in the Fox^ with every convenience for that purpose. "All, I am sure, must have felt the deepest sympathy and admiration of the zeal, perseverance, and conjugal affection displayed in the noble and untiring efforts of Lady Franklin to relieve or discover the fate of her distinguished husband and the gallant party under his command. "The name of the present Lady Franklin is as ' familiar as a household word ' in every bosom in England ; she is alike the object of our admiration, our sympathy, our hopes, and our prayers. Nay, her name and that of her husband is breathed in prayer I G3 in many lands— and, oh ' how earnest, how zealons, liow couragcons, have ])cen her efforts to find and relieve her husband, for, like Desdemona, " She loved him for the danj?ers he had passed, And he loved her that she did pity them." •' How has*slie traversed from port to port, bidding 'God speed their mission' to each publie and private ship going forth on the noble errand of mercy —how freely and promptly has she contriljutcd to their comforts. IIow has she watched each arrival from the north, scanned each stray paragraph of news, hurried to the Admiralty on each rumour, and kept up with unremitting labour a voluminous corres- pondence with aU the quarters of the globe, fondly wishing that she had the wings of the dove, that she might flee away, and be with him from whom Heaven has seen fit to separate her so long/'* The following is a portion of the letter of instruc- tions Lady Franklin delivered to M'Clintock on his departure :—" As to the objects of the expedition and their relative importance, I am sure you know that the rescue of any possible survivor of the Erebus and Terror would be to me, as it would be to you, the noblest result of our efl"orts. To this object I wish every other to be subordinate; and next to it in importance is the recovery of the unspeakably pre- cious d,v,uments of the expedition, public and private, and the personal relics of my dear husband and his • Siminonds, (;i. companions. And lastly, 1 trnst it will be in yonr ])o>v(M' to oonlirni, dirortly or inliUTntially, the claims of my linsband's expedition to the earliest discovery of the North-West Passafjfe, which, if Dr. Rae's report be tnie, (and the (lovcrnment of our country has accej)t(Ml and rewarded it as siu'li) these martyrs in a n()i)le cause achieved, at their last extremity, after five lon|jj years of labour and suiferinj^, if not at an earlier period," Noble-minded woman ! next to her husband's personal safety, his fame Avas the object she specially wished to declare; and in this she was well rewarded, for Franklin and his followers were "Thk Fiust BiscoviniERs OK TUE NORTll-WKST PASSAGE.^' The F(),v sailed from Aberdeen on the 1st of July, 1857, and arrived off Cape Farewell, on the south coast of Greenland, on the l!2th. They had a favourable ])assa«j;e alonjij the coast of Greeidand, until they arrived in Melville 15ay, where, on the 17tli Aujjjust, they were beset in the ice. The ice in which the Fo.r was beset, is called a floe, that is, an immense field of ice, the extent of which can be distinguished ; it docs not join the laud, and consequently docs not remain stationary. The floe in which they were imprisoned made a most extraordinary drift, for when it broke up, and the vessel was released (on the 23rd April, 1858), they found themselves in the southern part of Davis Strait, — not a fortnight's voyage from home. In escaping from the drift their preservation 05 was very rniiaculoiis : tho little Fox was drivnii Iiclj)- Ics.sly about, and Hustaiiiod tlin most violniit yhockn from tlu! broken floe and loose icebergs. IJut, in the words of J)ibdin, " They say fhero'K a Proviilencc sitH up aloft, To keep watch lor the life of I'oor Jiick." "The ark, whieh bore the hopes of a loving wif(;, and the prayers of so many friends, was not to be swallowed up in the wreck-strewn depths of Bafhn's ]Jay."* During this long winter, while being carried a distance of 1,200 miles, without light or natural licat, their life must have been very dreary. (Japtain Allen Young, writing in tlie " (Johnhill," says : " If any one doubt how necessary light is for our existence, just let him shut himself up for three months in the coal-cellar, with an underground passage into the ice-liouse, where he may go for change of air, and see if he will be in as good health and spirits at the end of the experiment as before. At all events, he will have obtained the best idea one can form at home of « an arctic winter in a small vessel, save that the tem- perature of the Arctic ice-house is —40° instead of +32° as at home ; only 72° difference ! " A school was established by Dr. Walker for the in- struction of the men. Captain M^Clintock himself often superintending, and teaching the sailors the art of navigation. Nor were they lost for amusements. On the 5th November they made a Guy Fawkes, carried him in procession round the ship, and after- \rnrds burnt him on the floe. * Sherard Osborn. (>() At Clivistmas tlioy were very merry. They liad hams, plum-puddings, preserved gooseberries and apples, nuts, sweetmeats, and Burton Ale. They decorated the decks with flags, and ornamental devices of all descriptions, and at night invited Capt. M'Clin- tock and the officers to join them in singing songs, drinking liealths, &c., and that gallant officer writes that though they were not restricted in their allowance of spirits, "amid this festivity, all were perfectly sober." New Year's Day was also observed. Capt. IM'Clintock writes in his journal : " Exactly at mid- night, on the 31st December, the arrival of the New Year was announced to me by our band — two flutes and an accordion — striking up at my door. There was also a procession, or perhaps I should say, a con- tinuation of the band, these performers were gro- tesquely attired, and armed with frying-pans, grid- irons, kettles, pots, and pans, with which to join in and add to the effect of the other music." Wlicn they were released from the ice in April they made for Holsteinborg, in Greenland, where they had a refit, despatched letters to England, and received some luxuries by the way of late news- papers. They started once more, but in June had a narrow escape of being wrecked, the vessel running on a reef of unknown rocks at a spot called Buchan Island. She floated, however, with the arrival of the liigh tide, and got off^ safe. They first made for Pond's Inlet, where Captain ]\rClintock had communication with the natives; H-i^. 07 but lie obtained no intbrmiition relative to those he sought. They then sailed into Barrow Strait, arriving at Beeehey Island in August; here they ereeted a tablet, sent out by Lady Franklin, to the memory of the martyrs of the ErcJms and Terror. Capt. M'(vlin- toek also took the letters whieh liad been left for Sir John Franklin and Capt. Collinson. B(!eehey Island has now quite the appearance of a colony. There is a large store-house containing all kinds of clothing, provisions, &c. ; a great quantity of coal, and a number of boats. There is also a pillar, called a post ofRee, where most of the officers visiting these regions deposit a record of their proceedings ; IJellot's and Franklin's monuments, and a number of seamen's graves and liead-stones or boards.* Leaving Beeehey Island they proceeded a short distance down Peel Sound, when they were obliged to return, the ice being in one solid body from shore to shore. They then made for Kegcnt's Inlet, whieh fortunately was clear of ice, and steaming down it, arrived in a very short time in Brentford Bay. They then steamed through Bellot Strait, the Fox being the first vessel to accomplish that feat, it having been discovered and traversed by Mr. Kennedy and Lieut. Bellot in sledges. Finding no good shelter on the western side of the strait, they returned to the east, and took up their quarters for the winter in a snug harbour, named by M'Clintock Port Kennedy* In February, 1859, parties were dispatched to the • See Appendix No. 5. •» i (IS western coast of Itootliiii, and other p.-irts, lo drjioKit provisions tor i\\o coniin;:; spring journics. During; oiic of Ihcso cxcnrsions, ('apt. M'C'lintock fell in with a party ol' Kscpiinwuix who j»avr him th« int'onuation that " s(»veral years a|j;o a whip wan crnshed hy the ire oil' the north shore ol* Kinj< Wil- liant*s Ijand, bnt that all her peoph* landed safely, and went awav to the (Ireat Fish Hiver, where thevdied.'* This trilu' had been visited hv Sir John Ross, in IS.'U), and many of them remembered him. Captaiu iSrClintoek incpiin^d after an individnal (nuieh spoken of in Koss' narrative) by name " Tnllnaehin," who liavinji lost bis lej; in an cneonnter with a bear, was snpplied with a wooden one by Hoss' carpenter. We are told h(* was not lonjjj in maki»»^ ^ood nse of his new mcMnber, aiid the rest of the tribe were so delighted w ith it that many of them eame to Ross l)ep;fifin}T for tlie same privile};(\ The danijbter of Tnlluaebiu was pointed out to ^I'Clintoek, tbat beinjj; the only answer be received to bis inqniry, and Mr. Petersen, the interpreter, explained tbat tbe interestinj;- individual in question must have left tbis world, as they never like to speak of tbe dead. In April tbe real seareliing; commenced. Captain IM'C'lintoek and liis party of five men were absent from tbe sbip 79 days, during wbieb tbey travelled a distance of 010 miles, closely examining tbe sbores of King William's Island, JNIontreal Island, and tbe nioutli of tbe Great Fisli River. By tbe 8tb May r ! ill \l ■ ■5 ■ m tlu'v III"! (»l)tJiiii(Ml numy mtcn'Ktinj^ rrlics (iT our lost (louiitrvincii,— nix nilvcr Hpoons mikI forks, tlur pro- pcrty of Sir .lolm l^'rimklin Jind otlicr olliccrs,* a iiicdiil, portion of a ;^ol(l wiitcli (^liain, niwl u ;i;r('nt .» It. is jjImo .s'ii^iumI ill i\\c Ii'IY-IuiimI roi'ucr l)y ('ii|)l We st.irl, Cro/icr. who adds lliis inlonnation :— to-niorrow, iJdlli, lor Hack's Kisli Hivci-." In llic sliort space ol' twelve moiitlis liow eliaii^^cd lind l)iM'(Mue llie liistory of th(^ Kraiikliii I'Apedilioii, how elianiretl ivxn theeheerinl "All well " ol'dpaliain (lore^ kSi' ,N'!ir(l fo luiaiunul his rrimic nIiiiII liisl. Tlii>u};li rnipiirs tliuiif^o, till limr ami liilc Im* jxinI.'' lSI()NTss litteil than they were to end lire, t " " Tu the «;lorious list of England's heroes the name of Sir Jehu Fniiikliu must ever hold a e()iis[)ieiious p( itioii. It was not for him to die, like VVoHe or Ts'elson, with the Aveleome sliout of victory ringing in his ears, lie had not gone forth at the head of a British fleet to win a eoiupieror's fame in battle a;:ainst England's foes. But the errand on which he went required all the daring, all the skill, and all tlu^ * M'Clintock. f Simmoiuls. p!iti('!icc wliicli arc cvor round iiiiitod in ;i '^wni (•;ii)i,ain. Il(> wcul, out to seek wliiit manv hrihiv, liiin had Hoiill w'^'no Kiiipjf ^^'illitnl^s isk', Wlioro f'l'racious sinnnicr iic'cr was known to smile; "W'hcvr nanj^ht is hoard, uionjj: the mournful shore, Save ' kSt'ck not to know wliat 1 will not luivo known; lU'tirc in peace ; resj)ec-t my mystery ; The lives ve cherish are at rest with Me ! ' — So spoke the tacit consciem r.— ami the heart Instinctive answer' d — it had done its part ; -Man acqniesccd from effort and from prayer ; All had been done thnt man might do, or dare — And the two worlds desisted in despair. Who then, in sorrow's lasi extremity, When man's stronjj; heart had fairdlum,and eiulieye 'J'urn'd from the task away — when l-'ranklin's name Had i)assed from liviiifj;' lips to hist'ry's fame — Wlio. then, when nau<,'ht remained save to pluck forth ]''rom Time's grim jaws the sc cret of the North, Force from the gi'ave the all that she could say, The when, the how, his si)irit pass'd away." (London Journal, No. 769) " The survivors, 105 in number, under tlic com- mand of Captains Crozier and Fitzjames, started on the 20th April, 1818, for Back's Fish lliver.'' On their maps, Point Victory, the spot wliere tliey hmded, and also Cape Herschcl and the Fisii River, Avcre designated, but the intervening]^ territory was to them entirely iniknown. Such Averc the eireumstanees under Avhich they started on their death-march, a distance of 220 miles, in utter i<]jnorance, not only of precise . geographical details, but also of tlie general character of the country. Only one person of the entire company iuid any previous knowledge of the locality upon which they were thrown ; that was Mr. Blanky, the ice-master of the Terror, who, with Sir James lloss, had dis- covered it ; but as there were nine officers dead, it is ,, 76 i.ji P I ' i ■< 111 quite possible! lie was one of tlicm, and if so, tliey were all total strangers on King William's Land. In addition to this rceord, Lieutenant Hobsou found at Point Vietory a number of relics, including a sextant (Frederick Hornby, R.N.), the top of a gun case (C. H. Osmer, ll.N.), four seta of boat cooking apparatus complete, and a medicine chest, containing the following : — " One Ijottle labelled zinzib li. pulv., full ; do. spirit rect., empty; do. mur. hydrarg, seven-eighths full ; do. ol. cary-phyll., one-fiftli full ; do. ipec. P. CO., full ; do. ol. menth. pip., empty ; do. liq. ammon. fort., three-quarters full ; do. ol. oliv., full ; do. tinct. opii. camph., three-quarters full ; do. vin. sem. colch., full ; do. do. quarter full ; do. calomel, full (broken) ; do. hydrarg. nit. oxyd., full ; do. ])ulv. Gregor, full (broken) ; do. magnes. carb., full ; do. camphor, full ; two bottles tinct. tolu. (each) quarter full ; one bottle ipec. II. pulv. full; do. jalap R. pulv. full; do. scam- mon pulv., full ; do. quina. bisulph., empty ; do. (not labelled) tinct. opii, three-quarters full ; one box (apparently) purgative pills, full ; do. ointment, shrunk ; do. omp. adhesiv., full ; one probang, one pen wrapped up in lint, one lead pencil, one pewter syringe, two small tube.i (lest) wrapped up in lint, one farthing, bandages, oil silk, lint, and thread." Proceeding in a south-westerly direction, in Lat. 69° 09' N., and Long. 99° 27' W., Hobson discovered a piece of wood sticking out of the snow, and on dig- 1 I -V, ill Ih:*; I I do. ging round it a boat was discovered. In tliis boat were two liunmn skeletons : one, apparently a young man of slender proportions, and, ])y some fragments of elotliing, supposed to be an officer ; the other a large and strong man. One, in the bottom of the stern sheets, was covered with a great quantity of thrown- off clothing; the other, in the bows, appeared to have been that of some poor fellow who had crept there to look out, and, in that position, fallen into his long last sleep. In this boat Mas found the chronometers of both ships ; five watches ; twenty-six pieces of silver piate (all bearing the names of some of the lost officers) ; a small prayer-book ; cover of a small book of " Family Prayers -, " " Cliristian Melodies, " an inscription within the cover to " G. G." (G raham Gore ?) ; " The Vicar of Wakefield ; " a New Testament in the French language ; and a small Bible, interlined in many places, and with numerous references written in the margin. ** Most wondrous book ! l)ri{,'ht candle of the Lord ! Star of etornitv I the only star Ey which the bark of man could navigate The sea of life, and gain the coast of bliss securely." What wonderful mystery hangs over the few volumes which .ere thus found with the lost mariners ! They being, with one exception, all of a religious cV -"icter, intimate from what source the abandoned heroes sought for comfort and siipi)ort mm n w ! i it 1 78 ■when every prospect of success was shut out. As in death one might turn towards a friend's face to seek in its expression some sympathy or comfort, so these perislnng and forlorn men souglit in the pages of their treasured volumes a ray of hope and happiness beyond the world of snow and ice in which they were im- prisoned. " And though all this he come upon us, yet do we not forget thee : nor hehave ourselves frowardh in thy covenant. " No, not when thou hast smitten us, and covered us with the shadow of death." (Psalm xliv.) In this hoat was also found a quantity of ammuni- tion, tea, and chocolate, and a number of articles required for common use. Two doublc-harrelled guns — one barrel in each being loaded — stood upright against the side of the boat, precisely as they had been placed eleven years previously. All these relics are now to be seen in the United Service Institution, grouped in a most beautiful yet melancholy manner. The Bible lies open at that most beautiful 15th chapter of St. Paul's Corinthians, in w^hich doubtless these brave men read that their failing, perishing bodies, together with their immortal souls, should survive that terrible ordeal, and rise again in glorious incorruption. The two guns lie on the table marked " headed," by the fingers which were soon to be rigid with a yet more frozen coldness than that of the icy seas. I would entreat everyone to visit these memorials ; 79 h were tlian for wliile, perhaps, the sij^lit of them "would rui?c a sad feeling in their breasts, they would experience a sensation of happiness at having seen all that remains of their dear lost countrymen, and of having paid the only possible tribute to their memory. The discovery of the skeletons by Capt. ]\rClintoek verifies the assertion of the Esquimaux : — that ex- hausted by scurvy and starvation, they " dropped as they walked along." One old woman told Dr. Rae that a party of her tribe arrived at Montreal Island, while one of the white men remained alive, but they were too late to render any assistance. Her speech was : — " I saw him die; he was large and strong; he sat on the sandy beach, his face rested on his hands." Let us for a moment picture to ourselves the despair and misery of this poor soul when the fearful truth flashed upon him that he was alone in the awful solitude. Doubtless he called wildly on God to restore to him the dead, or to take his life : it is easy to conjecture that reason would forsake him, that he would rave of home, and people the horrid waste with familiar faces ; that the scene would change, and he would behold his beloved commander and his lost comrades, that he would utter a cry which might bring pity into the heart of a savage beast ; and, at last, faint and broken- hearted, he would sink and die : but " though his body was a frozen corpse his spirit was in Paradise." T ^^mmm mm \\ 80 I '\i " AliiH ! Nor wife, nor children, more shall he htliold ; Nor friends, nor sacred home. On every nerve The deadly Winter seizes ; shuts up sense ; And, o'er his inmost vitals creepinfj; cold. Lays him along the snows, a stiff'en'd corse ! Stretch'd out, and bleaching in the northern blast." Thomson. " I looked on my right hand, and beheld, but there was no man that would know me : refuge failed me." (PsALM CXLII.) " Our bones are scattered at the grave's mouth, like as Avhen one cutreth and cleaveth wood upon the earth. " IJut mine eyes are unto thee, O God the Lord : in thee is my trust ; leave not my soul destitute." (PsALM CXLI.) " They all perished, and in dying in the cause of their country, their dearest consolation must have been to feel that Englishmen would not rest until they had followed up their footsteps, and had given to the world what they could not then give — the grand result of their dreadful voyage — their discovery of the NORTH-WEST PASSAGE. They had sailed down Peel and Victoria Straits, now appro- priately named Franklin Straits, and the poor human skeletons lying upon the shores of the waters in which Dease and Simpson had sailed from the west- ward, bore melancholy evidence of their success.* " By the end of June, all the searching parties were again safe on board the Fox. Captain Allen Young, though he was not fortunate enough to find any traces of our countrymen, filled up the coast lines of North Somerset and Prince of Wales Land, proving the * Coinhill Mapazine. SI (vns no JXLII.) i wlieii thcc is ,use of ; have ; until given e— the covery had appro- mman ers in e west- ess.* " es were Young, y traces North iing the latter to be an island, lie was absent from tlie sliip twice — the first time travelling 030 miles in 62 days ; and the second, 310 miles in 19 days, and during part of this time had but one man for a companion. Mr. Brand, the engineer, and Scott, the engine driver, both died during the voyage, so Captain M'Clintock, with the assistance of the stokers, got the engines in order, and drove them himself. They left Port Kennedy on the 8th August, and on the 20th September arrived in England. Before concluding, I must not omit to say a few words about Captain Sir Leopold M'Clintock. A man better fitted for the errand on Avhieh he was sent did not exist. It is not a great navigator who is required in these ^eas so much as a kind, patient, and generous man ; one who will exert himself to the utmost to cheer his men, and by his example cause them to tliink lightly of the great hardships they have to endure. M'Clintock is one of these. lie had served in three previous searching expeditions — Sir James Ross*, in ISI-Q ; Admiral Austin's, in 1851 ; and Sir Edward Belcher's, in 1853-4, and had alwavs made it his study to endeavour to lighten the loads of sledge-parties, and to promote the comfort of his men in every possible manner. It is not well known (indeed M^Clintoek's foot- note at page 403 of his work is even calculated to mislead) that he and Captain Allen Young refused to accept of any pay from Lady Franklin for their ■■ I ' \ I ijti 83 services, and that Youn^ in addition contributed j£500 from his private resources towards the outfit of the expedition. Francis Leopold M'Clintoek was born at Dundalk, in Ireland, in 1819, and entered the Navy in June, 1831. Note. — Mrs. Gell, the only child of the late Sir John Franklin, died during the first week in Sep- tember, 1860 (since the note at page 36 of this work was printed.) The Rev. Mr. Gell is, at present, incumbent of St. John's, Notting Hill. |i 83 III CONCLUSION. " This is a sad but glorious talc. It is sad to think tliat we liave lost so many brave men ; that far away, amid frost and snow, in the dark inhospitable north, heroic Englishmen have given up their precious lives —a costly sacrifice to science. And yet a gleam of pride lights up our sorrow, for all England delights to hold in honour the memory of those who have given to the world such an example of energy and enterprise. It is not without a sense of relief that we welcome back Captain M'Clintock and his gallant companions. We now feel that our duty in this matter is accomplished— that the truth is known, and the last sacrifice made.*" " Very little more will probably have to be added to the scroll of Arctic discovery.— The chart of the Arctic regions is no longer a blank ; we have at least filled up the coast outlines of the American continent and its adjacent straits and bays ; and thus much has been gained for Science, ,i!t]iough at a heavy outlay and fearful risk. * The Tinas, lj5t'. IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-S) m A /^A^^ .V .«0 (716)«72-4S03 i/j ,i: ij iii 11 hi "1 84 "The cost of the various Government Arctic Expeditions up to the time of the outfit of Sir John Franklin's vessels, amounted to jg336,317. The outlay since incurred for the various searching expe- ditions by land and sea has been about .£900,000. " The sad fate of Sir John Franklin and his gallant companions lias thrown a gloom on the subject, but it ought to be remembered that, up to the present period, our successive Polar voyages have, without exception, given occupation to the energies and gal- lantry of British seamen, and have extended the realms of magnetic and general science, at an expense of lives and money quite insignificant, compared with the ordinary dangers and casualties of such expedi- tions, and that it must be a very narrow spirit and view of the subject which can raise the cry of " Cui bono" r.nd counsel us to relinquish the honour and peril of such enterprises to llussia and the United States of America.* " *' One touch of Nature makes the whole world kin." During the last twelve years, the civilized, and even some of the barbarous, nations have deeply sym- pathised in our great bereavement, and many have stretched out a helping hand in the attempts to recover the lost. Political and national divergences were made of no account. Over against them stood the telling fact that a portion of God's family, astray upon the earth, • Simmonds f;Ji 85 was to be sought out and rescued. The call came in that "powerful language, to no realm or region confined; N«iture's voice, and understood Alike bj all mankind." " From the east and from the west, from the north and from the south," came in affectionate responses to the silent appeal of Britain, and her noble widowed daughter. Our inland German cousins were necessarily unable to offer active service in a nautical expedition, — yet they too came forward, — the illustrious Humboldt in their van, — with sentiments expressive of their hearts' interest in the scheme, and propositions as to its conduct which proved of great value. France contri- buted Debrae, and Bellot, a martyr to the cause. Russia left unexplored no part of the Polar Sea adjoining her own vast territory; while the Danes not only dispatched Petersen, who acted as interpreter to nearly all the expeditions, from Austin's to M'Clintoek's, inclusive ; but at all times manifested the greatest possible kindness to any of our mariners who approached their colony. Of our noble kinsmen beyond the Atlantic, it is impossible to say too much. They not only expended considerable sums of money, but engaged themselves, in their own vessels, in an anxious and laborious search. The issue has been already told : — Of all that left us fifteen vears ago, with brave hearts and gallant fef 80 liopcSj there remains but whitened hones upon tlic desolate ice-plains of tlie Nortli. And yet, not alto- gether thus ; — for there rests in our memory the proof of the existence of a bond of brotherhood soon admitted when much demanded. And while many have contributed their gallant efforts in the cause of God, of humanity, and of the noblest and most devoted of British women, con- si)icuous on the rolls of this memorable history of the ill-fated expe-lition, as greater among lesser stars, are the names of Bellot, of Kane, and of Grinnel ; while tlie whole history of gallant enterprise and touching self-denial furnishes irresistible evidence of the truth of the poet's sentiment, that there is " No land but listens to the common call. The genial intercourse, and mutual aid, Cheer what were else a universal shade." 87 m Pi H u en • Q o ^ H X U Pi M <«1 P A ;?; w < PS o H 0} M M P4 M k O o en CO M ?; o Is CO >o _ •-• 2 cjj '3 ^ »' CO »o 08 ■"-) r/i CO "1 "^ "* u ^ be t» 2 CO ^ {■4 S 4* t< ft IS ^ ^ I* .2 1:^ p •a o O CO •< es -3 f § "r^ JO O ", ed PmWw P3 93 M O t, g jg S o C T< H eg 0^ c .a. a ^ »o ko i^ 1- I'' CO OS »— I i-H c^ 1- 1— I i-H i—t CO * they directed their course into tlie expanse of the German Sea. In the following year, the Edward Bonaventura, commanded by Richard Chancellor, returned alone to England, having been separated from the other vessels, by a gale, in the preceding July. Chancellor had discovered the White Sea, and wintered in it, and was there very kindly treated by the Russians, who, at that time, were but imperfectly known. He eflfected a treaty of commerce with Ivan Valisovitch, the potentate of Archangel ; and, through him, with the Muscovite sovereign. This treaty was warmly welcomed in England, and a numljcr of traders were collected in a very short time, who assumed the title of the " Muscovy Company." In 1557 Stephen Burrough was dispatched in search of Sir Hugh Willoughby, and the two vessels under his command. At Kegor, he learned from a Dron- theim skipper that the Bona Confidentia was lost, and he had bought her sails for his ship, but of the other vessel he could obtain no intelligence. , It was after- wards ascertained, from a party of Russians, that the Bona Speranza had been discovered frozen in a bay in the north of Lapland, in the spring of 1551; and the frozen bodies of the crew were all on board. The Russians also delivered up all the papers belonging to the vessel, by which it was ascertained they entered this " harbour of death " on the 18th September, and 02 remained a week before resolving to winter there; and they sent out three exploring parties, two of which appear to have been absent from the ship, at least, six, and one, eight days. This brings tliem to the middle of October, where the journal suddenly ceased ; but another paper proves that some of the party were alive in January, 1554. Chancellor was again sent to Eussia by the jNIus- covy Company; but on returning, his vessel was wrecked off the coast of Scotland, and he, with the greater part of his crew, perished. The Dutch, in 1594, dispatched an expedition to the North, under the command of William Barcntz, a nautical man of no ordinary ability. He made two subsequent voyages, in the last, discovering Spitz- bergen, wt le died. The cor.- atlines of Northern Asia were filled up by the Russians, in the early part of the last century. JKi APPENDIX No. 3. List of the Officers of the Erebus and Terror^ WITH their previous SERVICES. EREBUS. Captain Sir John Franklin.— Sec page 32. Commander James Fitzjames. — Fiiitercd the Navy on the 25th of August, 1825. Served in the Gulf of Mexico ; Me- diterranean (during the Greek Revolution) ; Col. Chesney's Euphrates Expedition (where he was taken prisoner by a tribe of Bedouin Arabs); Syrian \Var (1840); China War (wounded) ; Coast of Africa. Lieutenant Graham Gore. — Entered the Navy on the 27th April, 1820. Served at the Battle of Navarino; Capture of Aden ; Back's voyage in the Terror ; China ; East Indies. Lieutenant Henry Thomas Dundas Le Vesconte. — Entered thcNavy on the 19th May, 1829. Served in the China War (greatly distinguished himself on three occasions, his name each time being honorably mentioned) ; East Indies ; Coast of Africa; Channel. Lieutenant James Walter Fairbolme.— Entered the Navy on the 12th March, 1834. Served in the West Indies ; Coast of Africa (where he was wiecked and taken prisoner by the Moors) ; Syrian War ; Niger Expedition. Lieutenant Charles P\ des V.kux.— Fiist Voyage. Lieutenant Robert Okme Seroeant.— First Voyage. i 7 f^ ' LlEl'TKNAM E. t'oiClI. Mastir Uknry V. Collins. Ici>-Ma»tcT- James Keid. I'ursir ClLXULES II. OSMKU. Suiffcon— STrviiEN S. Stanley. „ —Harry D. Goodsir. CU'lk— G. F. PlNHORN. TEKROR. Captain Francis Rawdon Moira Cro/.irr.— Itoni at Ban- bridge, Ireland. Entered the Navy on the lOtli Jniic, IHU). Served in the Pacific ; CViih; of Good IIoiic ; Aivtic (with Pam- in 1821-24-27) ; Spain and Portugal ; IJuffin's Bay (in search of some missing vhalers) ; Antarctic Expedition (1839-43). Lieutenant Edward LirrLE. — McditenwK'ttn ; South America. Lieutenant George Henry Hodgson. -Entered the Xavy on the 14th Juno, 1832. Sened on the Coast of Portugal; South America ; Mediten-anean ; Cliina War (particularly distinguished himself); Engagement vrith l^iratcs on tlic Pedir Coast ; Cluinncl. Lieutenant John Irving. — ^Entered the Nav;^- on the 25th June, 1828. Served in the East Indies; North America; West Indies. Lieutenant Frederick J. Hornby. — Mcditenanean ; West Indies. Lieutenant Robert Thomas. — First Voyage. Master— Gillies A. Macbean. Ice-Master — Thomas Blanky. Siu'geon— John Smart Peddie. „ --Alexander McDonald. Clerk— Edwin J. Heli'Max. 95 APPENDIX No. 4. List op Individuals or thk Franklin Exi'kdition OP WHOM SATISl'ACTOllY ACCOUNTS IIAVK HKEN RECEIVED; ALSO OP THOSE OP WHOM RELICS U WE . HEEN POUND. Sir Jl>jin Fravkus (ErebusJ.—Dkd 11th June, 1S47. Commander Okviiam Gore (£rebua).-~mcd between June, 1H47, and April, 1848. Seamen— John Hartnell rJEVeJa*;.— Died January 4th, 1840. John Torrington ( Terror J.—Dicd Jan. Ist, 1846. James Elliott (Terror) Thomas Birt (Erebus) Robert Carb. (Terror) William Brown (Terror) Marino— William Aitken (Terror) AViLLlAM Braine (JErebu8)—T>icd April 3rd, 1846. >» fi II II i» II Invalided home from Greenland, 1845. RELICS FOUND. A quantity of Plate, and Guelphic Order, belonging to Sir John Franklin. On one of Sir John Franklin's Si»oons is scratched " W\ G." (William Goddnrd, Ihror) : and on another *' M'. W." (William A>'ent/ell, Terror). \H\ \ nMiwhn or Silvor Miv)onmir(v i«l (•uplnin V. U. M. Cro/irv. I,ir\i1(>n«n1 (Svuhum (lovr, Urntrnimi lli'Hi y l'«" Vohii1«', l.tiMitonunt .InmoH I'luvholmc, Mustrv (JillioH Miu'Immui, SnvfftMMi llrnvv (JoiHlmr, S^^^•ool\ John IVtMio. A Sihov TVIotlul lu'lon^jiu};- \o Suifft'oti Aloxiindrv McDnniiM. A So\1m»1 bolonninn to l.ioulrniinl I'Vodt'vic Unrnlty. Top of n i\\\\\ Cnso Iw^lonj^inn; 1o Vuvhim- Chavlcf Ohihov. iMivo of I'lunnol Shirt, murkod " F. 1>. V.", IHIA (LU'ut.'nimt t\ V. do8 Viuix). Tin Cnso. miwkinl *• I'owlor," {Frehu.n). Mont Tin. mnrkiHl " \V. Miwk." (/r,'frft««). Knifo Uundlo. muvkotl •' llirkoy," {'IWivr). Cixwiocw, ininkVm. Hot hor," ,, ,. .. ,, „ , ....,,..( (William Hhodod!') 7'mw. Kmlo Handle, markod \> . U. J \yy.^^.^^^^^ ,j,,.,, p) ;..,,,,„,. ^ ,, , . , , / (William Smith P) /vV«ftfw. ruH^^ of htookmff, nuukod J^^..,,.^^^^^ ^^^,,^^. 5,^ y^,^.^.^,^. '*'^^'- ^•' ( (William Sinclair 1') 2mw. I i« 07 AIM'I:M)IX No. 5. Akount or Tiin Moni^mknts, (iRavks, &c., at HlCKCIIKV Iklano. 1. Siii'n'd to IIm' riu'inoiy nf hnis ToHUfNOTfm, who flqmrt^ d HiiM lilr .lunuiiiy iHt, ^.l^. IMWJ, on liourrl of Mm Miij»Mty\ ship Tt'tntr, iiffj-rl 20 yi-arH. 2. Sicird lo Mh! fiMMMory of JoHN llyiRTNFJ.f,, A.H,, of Her Mdji'Hfy'H Hhip 7i^reA«Mr ; {\m\ Jjirmury I, IHIfJ, a^fd 'lit V'diH. "ThiiM HuiUi tfio Jif»rd of iloHt>«, coriHidcr your vviiyH." IIao(MI, Cliaj). r., V. 7. .1 » Siii'itM) lo the iiH'iiiory of W. HuAiNE, R.M., of Ilcr Mujfsty's ship Jirehun, who di«>d April .'ird, IMIO, uj^cd .'{2 y«urs. " ChooHc you thJH dtiy whom you will Hcrvf." JosiH A, (.'hup. Jl., Ith part of the i'Ah vtrso. Sfurcd to llu" memory f)f Moiih. liKLLOT, Lieut(rri ♦ heir roHp(>(;t,iv»« visilx to tho Arctio Itcjfions. WliiU- ulhu.'lu'd to Ilcr MajoHty'H Hteum-vcsscl I'hcenix, utidcr <.'u])laiu Iiiffh'ficid, ho f^ullantly voluntfcrtd to forivoy dpNputchos to (/'a])tain Sir E. Belcher, with a sltdgf- crew from Jlcr Majesty's ship North Star. In a heavy ^jaio ul' wiud, on tho IHth Auf^ust, IH.j.'J, ho was drowned by tlu.' diHiuption of the lee, near Cape Orinnell, muf h luuu'uted by the Aretic Squadron, and all who had tlie pleasure of knowiufj his value and noble spirit. N i 98 rt. — Sacred to the memory of William Cutbush, Private, Royal Marines, of Her Majesty's ship Assistance^ a native of Northiam, Sussex, who died on board, 27th February, 1853, after a protracted illness from disease of the lun^ -, aged 24 years. He 8er^'ed with credit in his Corps i'or upwards of 16 years and 4 months, gaining by his gotnl conduct two badges of merit, in addition to the Syrian Medal. During 12 months of the above period he served in Her Majesty's ship Assistance, gaining the respect oi' captain and officers, and beloved by all who knew him, and died deeply lamented by his shipmates. — "Happy are they who die in the Lord." He lies interred in Northumberland Sound. (i. — Sacred to the memory of Isaac Barnett, Captain of the Maintop, and George Harris, A.B., ^aman of Her Majesty's ship Assistance — the latter attached to Her Majesty's ship tender Pioneer. Isaac Barnett departed this life on 28th January, 1854, aged 28 years. George Harris departed this life on 9th January, 1854, aged 30 i years. Both fell victims to scur\'y, although the former laboured primarily under scorbutic affection of the ankle. Their remains lie interred on shore at Disaster Bay, where Her Majesty's ship Assistance and Tender win- tered in 1853-54. — "Blessed are they that die in the , Lord." 7.— Sacred to the memory of John Ames, A.B., who died on board Her Majesty's ship Investigator, at Baring Island, April lltlv 1853, aged 29 years. 8. — Sacred to the memory of John Boyle, A.B., who died on board Her Majesty's ship Investigator, at Baring Island, April 6th, 1853, aged 29 years. 99 9.— Sacred to the memory of Thomas Morgan, A.B., of Her Majesty's ship Investigator, who died on board Her Majesty's ship North Star, at Beechey Island, May 22nd, 1854, aged 34 years. 10. — Sacred to the mcmorj' of Mr. H. H. Sainsbury, Mute, late of Her Majesty's ship Investigator, who died on board Her Majesty's ship Resolute, off Cape Cockbum, November 14th, 1853, aged 26 years. Beliered from earthly sorrows, which on my heart hath press'd, I thank the geutle hand Divine which lays this heart to rest. 11. — Sacred to the memory of Thomas Mobley, Private, Royal Marines, who died suddenly on board Her Majesty's ship Resolute, at Dealy Island, October 19th, 1852, aged 40 years. Also to the memory of George Drover, Captain of the Forecastle, who died on board Her Majesty's snip tender Intrepid, at Dealy Island, December 12th, 1852, aged 28 years. 12. — Sacred to the memory of JoHN CooMBES, Stoker, of Her Majesty's ship tender Intrepid, who died suddenly while travelling near Point Nias, Meh-ille Island, May 12th, 1853, aged 34 years. Also to the memory of Thomas Hood, Private, Royal Marines, who died on board Her Majesty's ship Intrepid, off Cape Cockbum, January 2nd, 1854, aged 36 years. 13. — Sacred to the memory of John Kerr, Gunner's Mate, who died on board Her Majesty's ship Investigator, at Baring Island, April 13th, 1853, aged 34 years. Also to the memory of James Wilkie, Ice-Quartermaster, who died on board Her Majesty's ship tender Intrepid, off Cape Cockbum, February 2nd, 1854, aged 38 yeai-s. 100 TO THE MEMORY OF FRANKLIN, CROZIER, FITZJAMES, AND ALL THEIR GALLANT BROTHER OFFICERS AND FAITHFUL COMPANIONS WHO HAVE SUFFERED AND PERISHED IN THE CAUSE OF SCIENCE AND THE SERVICE OF THEIR COUNTRY. THIS TABLET IS ERECTED NEAR THE SPOT WHERE THEY PASSED THEIR FIRST ARCTIC WINTER, AND WHENCE THEY ISSUED FORTH TO CONQUER DIFFICULTIES OR TO DIE. IT COMMEMORATES THE GRIEF OF THEIR ADMIRING COUNTRYMEN AND FRIENDS, AND THE ANGUISH SUBDUED BY FAITH, OF HER WHO HAS LOST, IN THE HEROIC LEADER OF THE EXPEDITION, THE MOST DEVOTED AND AFECTIONATB OF HUSBANDS. it And so HE bringeth them unto the Haven where they would he." 1855. This Stone hag been intrusted to be affixed in its place by the Officera and Crew of the American Expedition, Commanded by Lieut. H. J. HartBtein, in search of Dr. Kane and his Companions. This Tablet having been left at Eisco by the American Expedition, which -was unable to reach Beechey Island, in 1856, was put on board the Discovery Yacht " Fox," and is now set up here by Captain M'Ciintock, R.N., commanding the tinal expedition of search for ascertaining th« fate of Sir Jobn Franklin and his Companions. 1858. 101 i APPENDIX No. 6. List of the Ships Engaged during the Present Century in Searching out the North-West Passage ; also those Engaged in Searching for Sir John Franklin. Isabella. — Ross. Alexander. — Parry. Dorothea. — Buchan. Trent. — Franklin. Hecla. — Parry — Thi-ee voyages; sold into the Merchant Service. Griper. — Liddon, Lyon, and Clavcring — Three voyages; re- mained many years as a hulk in Chichester Uarboui*; broken up in 1859. Fury. — Parry and Hoppner — Two voyages; wrecked in Re- gent's Inlet. Blossom. — Beechey. Victory. — Ross — Abandoned in the Gulf of Boothia. Ere '"". — Franklin — Abandoned in Franklin Strait. Terror. — Back and Crozier — Two voyages ; abandoned in Franklin Strait. Enterprise. — Sir James Ross and Collinson — Two voyages ; laid up in ordinary, Chatham. :. ^ . l.W. History Dopt. PROVINCSAL LIBRARY ViCTOillA, B. Q. , Investigator.— 102 and M'Clurc - Two voyu^fes ; aban- doned in Mercy Bay. liESOLUTK. — Austin and Kellett — Two voyages ; abandoned and recovered ; laid up in ordinary, Sheerness. Assistance. — Ommaney and Belcher — Two voyages ; aban- doned in Melville Sound. Intrepid. — Cator and M'Clintock — ^Two voyages ; abandoned in Melville Sound. Pioneer. — Osborn — Two voyages ; abandoned in Melville Sound ; the wreck of this vessel, or of the " Intrepid," was seen by M'Clintock in Baffin Sea. Advance. — De Haven and Kane — ^Two voyages; abandoned in Smith's Sea. Fox.— M'Clintock— Presented to Sir L. M'Clintock by Lady Franklin, 1859. Plover. — I^loore and Maguire — Two voyages. Prince Albert. — Forsj-th and Kennedy — Two voyages j the property of Lady Franklin. Felix. — Ross — The property of the late Sir John Ross. North Star, Lady Franklin, PlICENIX, Sophia, "J Talbot, I Breadalbane, (wrecked) '^ These vessels have been frequently engaged under difiFerent cii'cumstances. Printed by W. P. Jacksox, Thomas Street, Woolwich. i msm. # ^ '9*- ^ /^C^ ^ > jC^i. y ^^e--^-Y<_ y - i^ j£f^ . . . > t^ -^ -/>- 'J^-^ r" .^ z' •» f ^ w. --*— » ■^ » -^ «: ^ ^ X' V- ^ V r >- ^ ■ '- ? * /* (-^^ 4 ^ ^- <- /' / /^ /^tc ' ; ^ / *s^e— n .>>^^^-r Z*^ ^ ^ / ^ ' « t-.„«_-^ , c j^ ^- ^^' /.- 1-^ - ^'£^r ^ ^ <• ^. ^ ^Z-^ r. -»_ ^-t^- <:-j X — r ' "* * ^- r i- • * * ^-^ i t , I .^ /"/ /^ ^ . I ' ( < .-• c ^7 , i ^ t <. / ^ — '^^ ' * ' *:. ^ ^'-r- ' V-^* r /".^ V x^ ^x if r / *:^> y / 7 ^7^ ,1^^ /^ 7 /^C .y-f / \ .■^■y y ^-- e-^^ ^ «■- c /■ ^ / -^^ //^^^S- ^' ^ tr_ #: ^ .-t'-f c- K^it £^'iC ■/i?^i i /^ f^XJ- i r / *t- v/ ?. '^' \ f' *r- c 7 c c /^ r X '^.^ A /" --V ^ e f r. .^.. ^V f> /-^i rV"' r 6 0-^ w ' c ^ C^' f I • t / / . r e (L *^ ^.. «■ « • .- .^ ,/ ^ k ^? t •^^ i i- ■ I c I K. ( /-? / f L ^' •' f • >" ^ '^ y / /^ ^ ^ -^ ' ^ ^ «-•..» 6' *"«_- / L^ f <"^ » /. — ^- -^ • <• < r i<' *:,-•. /• -^r- ^ / r' /'^ ^r, , ^ C * "If r. ^ ' ^ :. r' ;- > ^ ^ <: ^ .'fc ,-, y f- w ■'^ »• -.,^ ^-^+ C. i -tj.. ^ <:. X ^/ ^ '< ^< c- '^ri .^ C-^. .y i>- ^r'^^y' ^ ^^^ X /" t- « — • « t .•^ 1-^^.^ -e" /^>^ ■- <: -^ .^ ^_ ' r y r.: .^'-,1 «. •'' . ,< y ^' / ». ' • ) r" *C .'<<•" /C y t-^C '^ *-v , , '- ' f f < ^ . >i t . Y '»-A ^ <-_^ I I ^ r / ^ .'9 r f ( ( '< . -^ •' ' t < , « -^ v<*^ r* 1 , ^ .'V -*^ .i' '.^ ^-^^ /' ,' r << ^ / ^ r< ; . -/ -•^^ <- /^ -i-< . ^ i /r r ^ t r /» '^ <- V C ~ /^ ^^ X -^^ -' /r it ^j- :1 r7 ,,^^ . 1 t^ C_ ■«^ ',.<^ ^; A I*-* 1