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HENRY SKEWES, yicar of Holy 1 rinily, Liverpool, and late President of The Liverpool Mental Science Association I .5 i SECOND EDITION, With Supplement, containing the confirmatory letters of Lady Franklin, her Ladyship's Niece, the " little Child,' &c. 1 I '1 . I I 1 BEMROSE & SONS, 23, Old Bah.ev, LonuOxN ; and Derby, 1890. [Ai/ Rights Reserved.) ,n \i^o I -J kJ > i INTEODUCTION. More than eighteen hundred years since, over the banks of Jordan, the heavens "opened." The world, morally and spiritually, was dark. Human philosophy was powerless to remove the darkness. Meet it was that a new era should be inaugurated by phenomena. In the midst of deepening night, the merciful hand of the Infinite Invisible inter- posed, and through the riven clouds came there a voice, saying as it were, " Let there be Light ! " The darkness of those days shall serve to illus- trate the darkness which, about forty years ago, rested upon England, Europe and America, and that in connection with the fate of Sir John Franklin. " Where is the expedition which, in 1845, went out to discover the North-West Pas- sage ? " is the question agitating the Old World and the New. Search parties are being sent to every supposed quarter, and one after another is re- turning, bringing no message of comfort to the disconsolate and the heart-broken. The darkness is becoming unbearable — " darker and yet darker still." .>H n^ IV Introduction, In the midst of such, Jordan had a no mean parallel in Londonderry. A pathway was opened up into the invisible, and through that pathway there came down light. A little child received a " revelation ! " In a region of snow and ice two ships " appear ! " The names of the ships are also " seen," and a route, new and strange, shows how the ships may be reached. Lady Franklin receives from the father of the child a detailed account of the mysterious chart-like scene and the luminous writing on the wall, including a chart drawn by the hand of his little daughter. All is now clear, and to her Ladyship, the revelation becomes her *' Star of Bethlehem." And no eastern Magi were more correctly guided by their star to the place " where the young child was " than was Lady Franklin to " Point Victory." Apart from the Bible, the author is convinced that amongst all the records of the nations, throughout the ages, and which rest upon reliable data, there can be found nothing so supernaturally marvellous as the case presented in the following pages. Its position is unique. Even the account of the child Samuel, so beautiful In its simplicity^ cannot, in one respect, compare with it. The message which he received told of judgment, making the ears of Israel " tingle." Instead of .*., Introduction. • mean opened athway sceived ce two 3S are shows 'anklin etailed nd the chart All is elation pastern 5tar to n was zinced itions, liable urally owing count licity^ The ment, id of justice, the message from the little child of the Maiden City told of mercy. For sacred family reasons, the " revelation," for forty years, has been kept back from the public. A few only, including Lady Franklin, Miss Cracroft (the niece of Sir John), the Brothers Horsfall of Liverpool, Sir Robert Fergusson, M.P., the Secretary of the Admiralty, the late Charles Dickens, and some of the more immediate actors in the discovery of Sir John's fate, were privy to the startling facts. Now, as a preacher of the things " unseen," and as a public monument of a father's unwavering faith in an overruling Providence, the " revelation " is, herewith, given to the world. As all the children of Captain Coppin are still alive, for purely personal reasons, their names are withheld. But to any one who may seriously question their bond fideSy information, of a most satisfactory nature, will be afforded by the author. This also applies to important original documents, for whose publication, up to the present, permission has not been obtained. These are in the author's pos- session. Lady Franklin and Commander Hobson excepted, the chief of those who took part in the successful discovery of the fate of Sir John Franklin, are still alive. VI Introduction. Chapter VIII. is devoted to a brief life of Captain Coppin, including special reference to his great engineering achievements and his connection with the Mysterious. Disinterested and unstinted labours are not so abundant amongst mankind that no lesson can be learnt from the example of an octogenarian, whose head and heart have ever been devoted to the good of others rather than the gratification of a mere self. As the object of the Franklin Expedition was the discovery of the North-West Passage, and as Sir John succeeded in the work he undertook, and perished in the same, a chapte. is devoted to his predecessors in the sam.e field of discovery, as well as to his previous great efforts in the same direction, not forgetting the noble labours of his compeers to solve the problem of the centuries. At most, however, the limits of this work forbid anything but a mere resume of the many and great undertakings. From the nature of the work, facts ! facts ! many of them startling and mysterious, the author has ever felt that no flights of fancy were permissible. Any temptation in the direction of the sensational has been firmly resisted, and that for the sake of faithful adherence to fact and the more easy con- vincing of the doubting, or the unbelieving. To 1 life of : to his ncction istinted lankind xample t have rather Dn was and as ertook, levoted covery, in the abours )f the this )f the many )r has ssible. tional ke of con- To Introduction, VI I use a classical and a geographical simile, the Arcadian flowers of rhetoric have never been permitted to cover over the Labradorian logic of truth. " Startling episode ; the deeply interesting nar- rative ; facts revealed ; supernatural revelation ; the remarkable circumstances ; your little daughter's revelation ; the wonderful things ; remarkable reve- lation of your child ; mysterious revelation ; " vide Original Letters in the author's possession. The " revelation obtained from the long-sought records," vide Preface to the " Voyage of the Foxl' by Sir Roderick J. Murchison. "To your devotion and self-denial the world is indebted to the deeply interesting revelation unfolded by the Voyage of the Foxl' vide Dedication of the " Voyage of the Fox " to Lady Franklin. " We were approaching a spot where a revelation of intense interest was awaiting me," vide McClintock's " Voyage of the Foxl' p. 282. There is " no hope of the mystery of Franklin's being cleared up in our day, except by some unexpected miracle" Captain Sherard Osborn, re the last Government expedition, in 1854. Liverpool, March, 1889. VI 11 This Map, reduced and prepared by Harrison, wood engraver, Lord Street, Liverpool, has l)een taken from Arrowsmith's (Map I'ubl., London), dated Oct. 21, 1851, and that which is attached to Snow's '* \'oyaii[e t^f llie Prince Albert,^'' Longman & Co., London, 1851. Compared with Mr>p IL, it will be seen that it contains no Be/lot Straity this ])cing left for Kennedy and Bellot to discover in 1852, according to the directions contained in the "revelation" of Captain Coppiii's little child. IX A^' ^f 'tt' graver, (Map :he(l to I, 1851. Bcllot 1852, Japtain This Map, reduced and prepared by Harrison, wood engraver, Lord Street, Liverpool, has been taken from Arrowsmith's (Map I'ubl., London), 1853, and tliose attached to Kennedy's '• Short Voyage of the Prince Albert^'''' 1853, and McChire's " Arctic Despatches," 1853. These all give Bellot Strait, as shown in the above map. This Map also includes, within the area engraven, all the chief subsequent discoveries, down 10^1859-60, as given in the Government chart and the one attached to McClintock's " Voyage of the Fox. Bellot Strait was discovered through the ' revelation" of Captain Coppin's little child. f 4 I CONTENTS. CHAPTER I. The Nortii-West Passage Discoveries, in General, and Sir John Franklin's Great Expedition, in particular. India the El Dorado. England not to be outdone by Turks nor vSpaniards. Sebastian Cabot starts for the North- West. Robert Thome. Mr. Hore. A national effort. The Company of Merchant Adventurers. Sir M. Frobisher, 1576, 1577 and 1578. John Davis, 1585, 1586 and 1587. Weymouth, Hall, Knight and Henry Hudson, 1607 and 1610. William Baffin {'^ Lancaster Sound,''' see "revela- tion"), 1615, 1616. Captain Luke Fox, or " North-West Fox." Samuel Hearne. Captain C J. Phipps. The second national effort and the offer of ;^20,ooo. An Interregnum. The third national effort— Captain Buchan and Lieut. John Franklin for one route, and Sir John Ross and Lieut. Parry for the other route. Lieut. Parry in charge of the Hecia and the Griper. {'^Prince Regent Inlet,'' see " revelation.") Sir John Franklin — first great overland route. Sir W. E. Parry's first and second expeditions. Captain Lyon's expedition. Sir John Franklin's second expedition by land — a great discovery. Dr. Richardson's efforts. Captain F. W. Beechy in the Blossom. Sir W. E. Parry ("Champion of the North ") in the Hecla. Sir John Ross in the Victory -\\iQ discovery of the "magnetic circle." Sir George Back in the search for Sir John Ross. Sir G. Back in the Terror. The Hudson Bay Company and Mr. Simpson— extraordinary labours (" Victoria Channel^''' "see revelation "). The Hudson Bay Company and Dr. Rae — important results. CHAPTER II. Sir John Franklin's Third and Last Expedition. His birth and youth. The sea instead of the Church. Rapid- promotion. His marriage. Honours for Arctic services. Second marriage. Knighted. Governor of Tasmania. Popularity. Return. I ' I ,t ; • •\ ■ \ ! Xll Contents, ^lovernnient and North-West Passage Discovery. Steam. Sir John in command of the Erebus and Terror. Instructions. Sets sail. At Disct). Letters and journal of Commander Fitzjames. Fastened to an iceberg. Disappears. A year gone and no tidings. Symptoms ni anxiety, h^ighteen months gone and still no news. Sir John Ross and the Admiralty — the mouthpiece of the Nation. The (iovernnicnl optimist. The pulse of the nation at 120. Govern- ment forced to action. All Arctic veterans consulted. Definite advice. Advice followed. A sad Christmas. Sir John lost. Where? To the rescue I CHAPTER III. Sir John Franklin Lost! Search Expeditions to Find Him. No tidings. Increasing concern. Sir J. Ross advises. The First Government Expedition. — Threefold. 1. The Behring Strait Expedition.- -The Herald and the Plover. No success. False news. 2. Tin: 0\kri,and Rol ie Expedition.— Sir John Richardson in command. Dr. Rae. Much effort. No success. 3. The Barrow Strait Expedition. — The Eitierprise and the Investigator. Prince Regent Inlet and the Gulf of Boothia decided to be fully examined. Steer for the North. No success. Where is vSir John? The Second Government Expedition. — A whaler versus the Royal Navy. Captain Penny of the Advice. Captain Penny in charge of the Lady Franklin and the Sophia. To W^ellington Channel. First traces of Sir John. Oh, for a boat ! Despair. A tinge of grey on the horizon. The Third Government Expedition. — Austin and Ommanney in command. Steam power. Cape Riley reached. Sledge parties. No iiews. Scpiadron returns. It is midnight now. Where are the Erebus and fcrror ' Earth is dumb. An American Expedition. — Sympathy with Lady Franklin. The Advance and the Rescue in command of De Haven. Reach entrance to Regent Inlet. Search Wellington Channel. Return. No results. The Expedition of Sir John Ross.— No result. %. Contents. xni The Four in Covkknment Expeuition.— Collinson and McClure. Separation of Enterprise and Investigator. McClure acts independently. The North -West Passage discovered ! Still in search for Sir John. Cireat hardships. Rescued. Returns to England. Collinson in the track of McClure. Long searches and researches. Returns. No news. The Fifth Government Expedition.- To Wellington Channel and Me'ville Island. Sir E. Belcher in command. Sledge parties. No results. Belcher's strange behaviour. All ships forsaken. Returns. No results. Belcher tried by court-martial. Captain Sherard Osborn and the miracle to clear up the mystery of Sir John's fate. CHAPTER IV. A "Revelation." Reason for use of the word. Captain William Coppin's little daughter. The death of " Weesy." A ball of bluish light— Weesy always about. The father bewildered. Startling writing on the wall — "Mr. Mackay is dead!" Where is Sir John Franklin? The answer— mysterious and amazing phenomena, viz., an Arctic scene^ — ^a new way to the missing ships— a chart through "revela- tion." The father incredulous. Severe tests. The father convinced. Captain Kennedy convinced. Conviction against strong prejudice. A visit to Lady Franklin. Her Ladyship also convinced. Light come ! A visit to the vSecretary of the Admiralty. Sympathy. Ephphatha. Latly Franklin on Mount Tabor. Five important points. A dream, or a fact ? pney rties. the :lin. 2ach lurn. CHAPTER V. The "Revelation" ijecomes the Basis of a Nkw Line of Action and is Followed 15V Convincinc. Results. A complete new departure. Help from Liver[)ool. The Horsfalls and the supernatural. The Jemima promised. The clinrt of the " revelation " sent to Lady Franklin. The Prince Albert to go south instead of north. Specific instructions to Captain Forsyth and Snow. Unbelief. Lady Franklin visits the Horsfalls. A new era and a new language. A wish to see the child. Strong and jubilant faith. Captain Forsyth disobedient and returns. The Morning Herald. Expedition No. 2. A petition., from Liverpool to the Admiralty. A deaf ear. Lady Franklin's faith. Captair XIV Contents, li .- \. I t I I 1 ! Kennedy in command. Lieut. Bellot to assist. Specific instructions. Discovery of a channel (Bellot Channel). Agreement with the chart. Back turned upon Point Victory and Victoria Channel. The prize lost. Kennedy returns. Lady Franklin disappointed. Letters of Kennedy. Bellot's death. Lady Franklin again at work. Dr. Rae's return to England. Hopes revive. Efforts to raise expedi- tion No. 3. Charles Dickens to see Captain Coppin and make known the "revelation" through Hotisehold Words. Polite refusal. Dr. Rae's account of his discoveries. Appeal to the Admiralty rejected. Lady Franklin seriously ill. Much sympathy. The purchase of the Fox. Belief in the former route. Captain McClintock to command. The Fox leaves. Lancaster Sound. Ke^ent Inlet. Bellot Strait. Doubts removed. Passage through the Strait. The Fox at anchor. Sledge parties. Lieut. Hobson on the west of King William Land. Point Victory reached. A written record ! Sir John's fate ascertained. Erebus and Terror and Victoria Channel. All Government expeditions wrong. Truth of revelation confirmed. Testimony of Captain Kennedy. Sir Roderick Murchison. Lady Franklin. **A little child shall lead them." Prophecy illustrated in present case. Captain Coppin, Lady Franklin, Kennedy, Hobson and McClintock led by the Htile child of Londonderry. CHAPTER VL The Evidence for the "Revelation" Examined. To break the chain difficult. Agreement of the reader with the fact that Sir John was lost, that as against all opinions, Lady Franklin sent an expedition to the south instead of the north, and that the instruction to the commander was specific. A reason for this, and also for Lady Franklin's visit to Liverpool, &c. Agreement also of the reader as to the expedition of Kennedy and the discovery of Bellot Strait. Explanation required. The " revelation " the only explanation. Agreement as to Captain Coppin's efforts, and also his proposed interview with Charles Dickens — such unaccountable, apart from the " revelation." Disappointment, affliction, and long weary years did not blanch Lady Franklin's courage. Explanation required or else evidence unshaken. The chart of 1856 the same as 1850. Why I Only one answer. Faith stronger than ever. Why? Agreement of reader with the fact that Captain McClintock passed through Bellot Strait, and that he and Lieutenant Hobson went *^ Contents. XV th the Lady north, reason &c. ncl the ition " s, and table, weary uired 1850. Yhy? assed went over the same ground as Forsyth and Kennedy were instructed to search. Agreement that within the same area was discovered the fate of Sir John. Also agreement that Point Victory and Victoria Channel were included in the said area, and that both places were the same as "seen" by the little girl, on the wall, and as such were sent to Lady Franklin about eight years and six months before. Only one explanation of this. Resume of evidence. Logical deduction— The "revelation," real or all a delusion. Real I England, Europe and America at the feet of the little child of Londonderry ! CHAPTER VIL What was the Revelation. Scepticism, as to the super-mundane rife. The scientific anvil. The Mundanists. The Super-mundanists versus Providence. Pro- toplasm. Nirwana or Nondescripts. Believers in the super-mundane of former days versus now. "The age of miracles is past." Inconsistency in such belief. The ** cloud of witnesses." The Unseen Universe. Exact meaning of revelation. Subjective revela- tion, (a) Dreams. (3) The law of association, [c) The abnormal in the physical and the mental. {d) Thought-Transference, or Telepathy — " Mr. Mackay is dead." The subjective and the ■objective. The "revelation" of this book examined in the light i)f the foregoing. The \erdict. The explanation only from the super-rnundane standpoint. This n t "Spiritualism." The spirit- world, iic ertheless. Objections — The "revelation" was too late," answered. Why through Derry, Captain Coppin and a child ? Answer. Providence could not have been connected with a ten years' affair, i.e., from 1849-1859 — this replied to. Only a "ghost story." This a cuckoo-cry. The pooh, pooh, not an argument. Conclusion. CHAPTER VHL A Briei^ Biography of Captain Coppin. I. Life in General. — A hero at 15; a shipbuilder at 17; a captain and a trader at 22 ; remarkable efforts in the ship- building line ; the father of the screw-propeller, the Great Northern ; strange conduct at the Admiralty ; the father of the steam -ram ; the Lough Foyle embankment ; the fish-buyers of Liverpool ; helping the widow ; muscular Christianity ; John Elder and Co. ; James Nasmyth ; honours at Londonderry. \iU 1 I^ il; IS! i: ; f I ; I \\ i ■ t si M, < I li I ' I ' If XVI Contents 2. Eni^'inecnng Achievements. Tlic wreck of the Etirydice ; the Alpheta ; the Vani^uard ; the Tri pod' Express \ electric-fish catching; the steamship ^«^///^.f laughed-at bags of clay; the steamship Limerick — destroyers transformed into saviours — raised through corks. 3. The Mysterious. — Seeing across the plicable blow on the shoulder ; the lost unconscious thought-reading — "Woodman, spare that tree;" spirit- vision — a ship, a ship ; if not Providence, what ? a dream — a ship disabled ; was it an answer to prayer ? a strange covering up of documents. the steamship lorva Atlantic ; the inex- hat and ;^3,ooo ; In the preparation of this work, the following public- ations, amongst others, have been consulted : — Captain Back's Expedition along the Shores of the Arctic Ocean. Dr. Kane's United States' Expedition. W. Parker Snow's Voyage in search of Sir John Franklin. Sir John Franklin, by A. H. Beesby, M.A. The Little Fox, by S. T. C. The Sea Fathers, by Markham. Arctic Expeditions, by D. Murray Smith, F.R.G.S. The Voyage of the Fox, by Captain McClintock. McCulloch's Dictionary, Geographical, Historical and Statistical. McClure's Arctic Dispatches. Bohn's Modern Geography. The English Cyclopaedia of Geography. Bryce's Library Gazetteer. A Copy of a Log Book of the Voyage of the Fox, by a Member of one of the Search Parties. The Illustrated London News, 1843- 1859. The Household Words, 1853-5. The Times, 1846-1859. The Morning Herald, 1 850- 185 1. The Liverpool Aloion, 1844-1858. The author also expresses his gratitude to Mr. Marcus Allen, B.A., late Surgeon R.N., and to a Member of the McClintock expedition, for valuable clerical assistance. ii. ill 1 ; ^! M SIR JOHN FRANKLIN'S FATE- A "REVELATION." CHAPTER I. The Nortii-West ditions in Franklin o PARTICULAR. Passage Discovery Expe- general, and sir john Great Expeditions in To the youth of the present generation, the discovery of a North-West Passage, from the At- lantic to the Pacific, can have but little interest. What was the dream and ambition of previous generations has been almost forgotten in the rail- road (the Canadian Pacific), which unites the North Atlantic to the North Pacific, and the proposed Panama Canal, which will unite the South Pacific to the South Atlantic. Great events, without doubt, in the unification of the nations and the brotherhood of the world. Still, in face of such, it is hoped that a brief sketch of labour and success, nay, of heroism, the most daring, and of triumphs, the most imperish- able, will not be unacceptable. Besides, what more befitting the memory of the immortal Franklin than a glance at his pioneers in the path of discovery, i 'p. Sir Jolui Ju'anklin. I ^i) ' :> \\ ,1 * 7 and his compeers in a field of search and research, which demanded, and called into existence, man)- of the noblest principles of which humanity can boast. To the student of the ?' d Scriptures, the connection of Solomon's reign with India opens up a chapter of deeply interesting importance. The " Wealth of the Indies " was amongst the dreams of Alexander, and had not the Indus prevented him, he would have added Ophir, fabulous in wealth, to his conquests. The Crusaders, if gaining nothing else, obtained a knowledge that the Cres- cent was associated with glitter, luxury and riches, such as the East could alone supply. To share in its riches, the Christians of Venice and Genoa became successful rivals to the Mahometans. Mar- tial prowess speedily gave place to trade and commerce. Whether Cross, or Crescent, El Dorado must be reached at any cost, and so, Portugal, taking the lead, sent her merchants to India via the Cape of Good Hope. But whilst Portugal made for India eastward, Spain, through its Columbus, sailed away to the west, via South America, through the Straits of Magellan, and so on to the Pacific. The result of the discoveries, through the eastern and western routes, was an immense accretion of wealth to both countries. ^? KcsHtfu' of Expeditions. d research, ■ncc, mail)' nanity can Dturcs, tlic L opens up mcc. Tlie he dreams prevented ibulous in , iT gaininfT the C res- cind riches, 'o share in nd Genoa ans. Mar- ■ade and ^1 Dorado Portugal, India via eastward, ay to the Straits of result of western ■ivealth to As might be naturally expected, England, to such a harvest of riches, was not an idle spectator. With both of the f( :loscd to her, gomg routes what could she do ? To the enterprise of a (Genoese, Sebastian Cabot by name, England was indebted for an answer. Turning away his eyes from both west and south, he advocated a North- West Passage through the Polar Seas. 15ut as our more immediate object- is to connect tlie North-West Passage expeditions with those of Sir John h^anklin's, it is not possible, any further, to dwell upon a very tempting theme. And even, to notice all the previous expeditions, space will not permit of anything but a glance. As succinctly as possible, the several expeditions arc now given in chronological order. 1496. — Under the patronage of Henry VII., who provided two vessels for the voyage, Sebastian Cabot, in the summer of this year, started for the North-West, reached Plorida, where, finding that his provisions were getting short, he returned to luigland. On account of war between ]{^ngland and Scotland, he accepted an invitation from the King of Spain, under whose auspices he made several voyages to South America, and so, for all practical purposes, became a loss to a country that he could have materially benefited by his valuable discoveries. li 2 \) 1 .( I : •I ilii lij i ■ \ Hi; 4 Sir John Fnviklin, 1527. — Under Henry VIII. the spirit of discovery showed signs of healthy vigour, and so two ships were sent, by the king, to discover, if possible, the " North Pole." The command of the expedition was given to Robert Thorne, of Bristol. Both ships appear to have reached as far north-eastward as the waters separating Greenland from Newfound- land, where one of the ships became a wreck and from whence the second returned to England, being absent about five months. 1536. — Notwithstanding his notorious conduct, as unkingly as it was un-Christian, Henry VIII. was not unfriendly to researches in science and other matters that would conduce to the exaltation of England amongst the nations. It was this spirit that caused him to lend his influence to Mr. Hore, whose love for discovery led him to fit out, for the north-west of America, two ships, TJie Trinitie and The Minion. Mr. Hore was accompanied by about one hundred and twenty persons, thirty of whom were gentlemen. The expedition reached the coast of Newfoundland, where, finding themselves in danger of starvation, some secretly murdered their comrades and devoured them. But just when matters looked hopeless, there appeared on the spot a well-laden French ship, which, by force, they took from the captain and crew, and returned to England — leaving the French to shift for 'n Kcsitmc of lixpciiitiotis. 5 discox'cry two ships ssiblc, the ;xpcdition ± ]^oth -eastward 'ewfoLind- ,'reck and md, being conduct, iry VIII. ;ncc and exaltation his spirit Ir. Hore, , for the litie and hundred ntlemen. jndland, irvation, evoured ss, there , which, ew, and ihift for themselves. No expedition, for crime and disaster, ever disgraced the name of ICngland so much as this. 1553. — Through the successes achieved by the Spanish expeditions, ICngland's merchants had in- fused into them a spirit of emulation and adventure, that brooked no denial. Yielding to the pressure of the merchants, in general, the Government fitted out three ships for the purpose of seeking a x\ox\\\-east passage to India, via Lapland, Norway and Russia. The ships were TJie Bona Espcraiiza, commanded by Sir Hugh Willoughby, captain of the fleet ; The Bona Coiifidcutia^ commanded by Master Cor- nelius Durfourth, and The Echvard Bonaventure, commanded by Captain Richard Chancellor. The former two ships, with all their crews, sadly perished on the shores of Lapland. A better fate awaited Chancellor, who, at all risks, pushed towards the north and reached Russia, where there was '* no night at all." Me then undertook a journey of fifteen hundred miles to Moscow, and eventually reached England, bearing a letter from the Czar to Edward VI. showing the great advan- tages which would accrue from the establishment of trade between the two countries. In seeking to accomplish this. Chancellor, on November loth, 1556, was drowned on the east coast of Scotland. 1556. — Whilst Chancellor was on his second li I Sir John Franklin, .1 \M ■\ V I ;■ ■!!^ ; !i expedition, the "Companie of Merchant Adventurers" resolved on another effort to reach India by the north-east route. For this purpose, the SeavcJithrift^ commanded by Stephen Burrough, set sail on April 29th. The North Cape was reached on May 23rd, but having just passed Nova Zembla and Waigatz, he was, in 1557, stopped by fog and ice, and had to return to England. 1576. — Failing to achieve anything satisfactory in the north-east direction, it was resolved to make another effort in the north-west. For this purpose Sir M. Frobisher, with three vessels, was sent out by the Earl of Warwick and other noblemen. He reached v^ery near the southern extremity of Green- land, proceeded to the north-west and discovered, to the north of Labrador, a strait, which is known, at this present day as Frobisher's Strait, and which was, through subsequent researches, found to be an inlet to Davis Strait. Five of his crew having been murdered, probably in fear of meeting the same fate, he stayed all further explorations, left the treacherous natives and returned to England. 1577. — Frobisher, with laudable ambition, took the command of a second expedition, but achieved nothing of any real value. 1578. — This year found Frobisher in charge of a third expedition, but like his second one, nothing new was discovered. Frobisher now disappeared ^ Resume of Expeditious. from the scene of the North-West Passage dis- coveries. Having taken pan with Drake, in the destruction of the Spanish Armada, the enterprising Yorkshire navigator, was killed, in 1 594, in an assault on a French fort near Brest. 1585. — John Davis. Mainly through the mer- chants of London, he took charge of two ships, and was successful in discovering several coasts and sounds, such as Exeter Sound, Cape Dyer, Cape Walsingham, the Strait that bears his name, and some think Cumberland Island. Failing to proceed further north, and thus enter a great sheet of water, afterwards known as Baffin's Bay, he returned. 1586. — Encouraged by his successes, Davis's former friends sent him on his second expedition of discovery. Unable, the second time, to ascend higher than on the previous }'ear, he spent the available part of the season in coasting along the western shores of the Strait that bore his name wb.cn, compelled b)' bad weather, he returned. 1587. — Under his previous auspices, Davis, with two ships, again tried to penetrate further north, but was less successful than in his former expe- ditions. Touching the extreme south of Greenland, he passed forty leagues to the west of Cape Desolation, situate on the south-west of Greenland, and then returned home. Like his predecessor, Frobisher, the Devonshire navigator, met with an 11 i« I* ■il' ":! M \\ rl < i 1 ^ ii ti ' 8 Sir JoJiu Franklin. untimely end, being killed, in 1605, by Japanese pirates on the v':oasts of Malacca. 1602-1607.— Weymouth, Hall and Knig^ht, in these years, made certain badly-arranged expeditions, but as they accomplished nothing of importance, their labours call for no special remark. 1607. — Henr}' Hudson, in a small ship, resolved to discover a North-West Passage, by going direct to the North l^ole, via the cast coast of Greenland. Here, he coasted along slowly for some time, dis- covered several new places, notably Hudson's Land, but, failing in provisions, he had to return. In the following }'ear, he sought to achieve his original purpose, via Nova Zembla, but was unsuccessful. Reaching first the extreme south of Spitzbcrgen, he was compelled to return. In the following year, he made a third attempt, via the north of Labrador, but only penetrated far enough to discover a river, or strait, which is marked on the maps as Hudson Strait. 1610. — Through some private gentlemen, who were convinced of the possibility of finding a North- West Passage, i\Ir. Hudson was placed in command of a fourth expedition, which was to proceed in the same direction as his last one. He discovered Hudson's Bay, wintered there, and then proceeded homeward. On his return voyage, the majority of his crew mutinied. Sending him, his son, and the I Japanese Iiiii^ht, in pcditions, port a nee, , resolved ng- direct recnland. ime, dis- ii's Land, In the orii^inal iccessful. zbcrgen, ng year, brador, a river, iudson who North- in in and in the overed ceeded rity of id the Resmnt' of Expeditions, 9 j()\'al portion of the crcv adrift in a boat, the mutineers steered for and reached Ireland. As tf) the worthy navigator and his companions, they were lost, being either starved, drowned or murdered. 1615. — Under the auspices of the merchants of London, William Baffin, 7'ia Davis Strait, com- menced his valuable searches. Kcepirig as close iis possible to the western shores of Greenland, he succeedctl in passing through IJavis Strpit, up to the extreme north-west of what appeared to be a •vast sea of ice, and discovered and named Mill Island. Unable to proceed further, he returned. 1616. — Acting as pilot to Commander Bylot, Baffin, this }-ear, tliscovered the Bay or Sea that bears his name, and also Smith Sound. This valuable discovery not only became known ps the ■'■' gate of the North PoiC," but was the basis of several important searchings in after }'ears. Having, if possible, crowned his great labours by the dis- cover)- of Lancaster Sound (see the " revelation "), he returned to England, ending his life in a British expedition to the Persian Gulf to eject the Portuguese. 1631.— Captain Luke Fox (or "North-West-Fox ") made niuch parade about what he was g(Mng to accomplish, but the mountain brought forth less than a mouse. I M "if! 'I :i \i i «^ ■ I k li I )' ■ •(■ :! <' 10 6'//' y^V/// rriDiklin, 1769. — Samuel Hearnc, of the Hudson's l^ay Company, sought to accomplish the object of the ambition of many, but did practically nothing. 1773. — Captain C. J. Phipps, by command of George III., took charge of two of the most suitable ships that could be had, viz., the Racehorse and the Carcass. The attempt was to effect the North-West Passage, via the North Pole, but like Hudson in the same effort, he was unsuccessful — nay, the royal expedition's results were nil. 1776-1779. — The Government, fully aroused on the subject of the discovery of a North-West Passage, offered, as a reward for such, ^20,000. Instead of following the popular route, it was determined to proceed from the Pacific to the Atlantic, via Bchring Strait. P^or this purpose, the Government provided two ships, the Resolution and the Discovery, and gave Captain James Cook the chief command. The intrepid navigator successfully passed through the famous Strait and penetrated to the distant Icy Cape, when he was, through the inclemency of the weather, compelled to return to the Pacific or Sandwich Islands, at one of which, Owhyhee, the celebrated Yorkshire worthy was murdered. Through the American War of Independence, all further discoveries were delayed, something like forty years. Resume of Expeditions. II son's l^ay ;ct of the thing. command the most Racehorse effect the ;, but Hke iccessfiil — il. roused on orth-West ^20,000. e. it was to the rpose, the ntion and ook the .^essfuUy enetrated ough the return to )f which, ^hy was ence, all ing Hke 1817. — Peace being made with America, the Government was again at Hbcrty to pursue its North- West Passage explorations. I'or this purpose, two routes were resolved upon — one via the North Pole, from the Atlantic to the Pacific, and the other through Davis Strait and Baffin l^ay. The Dorothea and Trent, commanded by Captain Buchan and Lieut. John P^-anklin, were appointed for the North Pole route, and the Isabella and Alexander, commanded by Sir John Ross and Lieut. W. PI Parry, for the Baffin l^ay route. The North Pole expedition, having reached as far as Spitzbergcn, met with ice difficulties and so had to return. Its only success was the discovery of Spitzbergcn. The Isabella and Alexander were more successful Passing through Baffin Bay, the expedition discovered another l^ay, which, in honour of the first Lord of the Admiralty, was named Melville l^ay. Concluding, by exploring beyond the Bay, that there was no passage, northward, through Smith's Sound, and that there u'as no opening at the northernmost parts of Baffin Bay, Sir John Ross shaped his course towards Lan- caster Sound, which, in equally emphatic language, he declared to be an "inlet." In his private journal, and before the Admiralty, Lieut. Parry expressed his belief that the Inlet of Sir John Ross was a broad passage into some sea \vestward. The sum I t', .i*. 'I ill! I 1 ; ' I i\ i lii 1 n ^ . ^'^ i I- '\.l\. ij' ! iC i^ f It !! 'I 't. 12 6V> /(V/; Jo/i/i Fia)ikli)i. itablc difficulties, he cd Amid almost insurmountaDic dirncuitics, nc prcs-s on to Fort Enterprise, 553 miles from Fort Chippew- yan, and which he reached August 19th. It was here he spent his first winter. Though making fre- quent excursions to Coppermine River, during the winter months, not very much was accomplished till May, 182], when he left Fort Enterprise, for the Polar Sea, via the Coppermine River, On July the 20th, after encountering serious obstacles, Sir John reached the mouth of the Copper- mine River and entered upon the Polar Sea. Whilst going east, along the north-eastern coasts of America, he discovered and named Beren, Sir G. Moore and Lawford's Islands. Having discovered Jameson's Islands, Cape Barrow, Hood River and Cape Croker, he sailed towards the west, via Parry Bay and Beechy Point. He then sailed around Coronation Gulf and reached the most distant point eastward, which he named Point Turnagain. He now resolved to return to Fort Enterprise, via Hood's River, which river he reached August 25th, having, since July 20th, traversed 650 miles of un- explored regions of the Arctic Sea. On the following day, he commenced his famous inland march to his old winter quarters. P2re he had gone far, the winter suddenly came, in the midst of which, and through unheard of difficulties and hardships, he crossed the Coppermine River and reached P^ort Enterprise, First Great Expedition. 15 e pressed Chippew- It was ikinir fre- uring the >Hshccl till the Polar L^ serious e Copper- ,. Whilst America, [oore and Jameson's le Croker, d Beechy ulf and which he orise, via ust 25th, s of un- 'ollowing :h to his e winter through ssed the iterprise, 1 October 12th. As there were better winter supplies at Fort Providence than at P'ort Enterprise, he left the latter place, but though foiled at first, a second attempt, made desperate through semi-starvation, resulted in success. On December iith, he reached 1^'ort Providence, and on the i8th, he reached the Great Slave Lake. Thus was concluded the great journey, by water and land, of 5,550 miles. For want of sufficient preparations, great privations had been endured and lives lost, but in spite of all, the Lincolnshire middy and prince of navigators accomplished a grand task which, unto his own honour, he realised, when he again placed his feet on English shores. 1821-3. — The Government, being desirous to find a route in some latitude lower than Lancaster Sound and Repulse Bay, arranged that the attempt should be made via Hudson Strait. Sir William Edward Parry was appointed chief in command and left P^ngland April, 1821. Taking the ships into Hudson Strait, he arrived at Southampton Lsland, and pushed west through Frozen Strait. As he found no passage west, via Repulse ]^ay, he turned back, eastward, and spent some two or three months in examining the north coast of F>ozen Strait. By October, the winter set in and so, from this month till the follow- ing July, he stayed at Winter Island. X If, 'i 'i^ fiiii ill I /-. I III II I'll Mil i * 1' i •■: ill I i6 6"//' y1 Sound, discovered and named Hotham Inlet. Ca[)e Thomson and Point Hope. In the middle of Aui,rust, he reached Icy Cape, and immediatch' sent out a party in search of hVanklin. The search was rendered useless by the fact that Sir John, unknown to Caj^tain Beechy, had, on the 16th of Au<]just, leturned to Great Bear Lake. The ship's party havini;- brought no tidings of Sir John's expedition, Captain Beech}- removed back to Kotzebue Sound, and remained there till the middle of October, when, convinced of the impossibility of finding h'ranklin in the winter, he returned to England. 1827-33. — Up to this year, all expeditions had failed to discover the passage from the Atlantic to the Pacific, along the north shores of the American Continent. The Government now resolved to seek for it through another route. Parry was entrusted with the command. His instructions were to pro- ceed to the north shores of Spitzbcrgen, to place his ship {Hcc/a) in a secure place, and, with his speciall)' prepared boats, to proceed direct north- ward, and to return to Spitzbergen and home l)efore prevented by winter. I'^quipped for this particular service, the Hec/a set sail from England, March 25th, 1827. On June lOth, Parry discovered, on the north coast of I'riesland, a body of water which he named Trewrenburg Bay, and in a Cove of which {Heda fi ^1 m I if •-'•' li r? '1. w t i' ' : 22 Sir John Fraiik/iii. Cove) lie secured his ship. On the 20th, he started for the north. IVogrcss was steady. Having passed Low Ishmd and Walden Island, he, on the 23rd, reached Little Table Lsland. On the 24th, he crossed an unknou-n ice-drifting sea and found, on , the 25th, that he was in north lat. 81° 15' N., /.<'., 525 geographical miles, in direct line from the North Pole. On July 23rd, after great hardships, he reached lat. 82^ 45' being, in distance from the Hccla, 172 miles. Me com- menced liis return journey on the 27th, and reached the Hccia on August 21st, havinij^ been absent 61 days, and having travelled 1,127 -statute miles. Thus was achieved the highest of all previous explorations of the Arctic regions. On July 8th, 1855, the Times recorded the death of the " champion of the North." 1829-33. — As the Government expeditions had failed to accomplish an\-thing satisfactory, and as, at this time, there appeared no disposition to follow up the discoveries already made. Sir Felix Booth, Sheriff of London, from liis own private purse, resolved to prosecute further researches, via Prince Regent Inlet. For this purpose, he pur- chased and fully equipped the paddle steamer Victory^ running from Liverpool to the Isle of Man. Sir John Ross was appointed commander and set sail May 20th, 1827. li Resume' of lixpaiitiois. 23 20th, lie steady. Island, ;land. :-d rifting- in north liles, in ily 23rd, .5' being-, ;Ie com- 7tli, and n■! 26 Sir JoJui Franklin. the wilderness and Cana an, pi evented him from he. crossmg over, ne, trom his present Nebo, viewed it, called it King William's Land, unfurled the British flag, and formally took possession ! (For Point Victor}^ King William's Land, see the " revelation "). With no authority to continue his explorations, he now returned to Fort Reliance, where he wintered, till Aiarch 2ist, 1834, when, via Fort Resolution, &c., he reached Fngland on the oth of September. 1836-37. — Probably receiving a renewal of their former zeal, the Government, for the solving of the problem of the North-West Passage, again resolved to send out another expedition. Accordingly, the Terror was fully equipped, and Sir George Back appointed to the command. His instructions were to proceed to Hudson Strait, then to the shores of the American Continent, either via Southampton Island and Frozen Strait, or, from the shores of Southampton Lsland, Rowe's Welcome and Wager Ri^^er, to Repulse Bay. Here, he was to winter the Terror, and by sledges to go to the south shore of Prince Regent Inlet, and so work west to Point Turnagain. Back set St:il June 14th, 1856, and, on August 1st, the Terror entered Hudson Strait. Here, for twelve months, the ship experienced an amount of knocking up and down and a driving forward and backward, such as have no parallel in the North Res u NIC of lixpedjtions. 27 from ,ved it, British Point ticn "). ns, he ntered, )lution, imber. )t" their of the isolved y, the Back s were Dres of impton )res of Wager ter the lore of Point \ugust re, for unt of d and North Pole explorations. On August 5th, 1837, the Terror, by backward movements, got rid of ice packs, floes and storms, but in such a mutilated condition as to render, as an absolute necessity, her immediate return to iMigland. Thus ended, all things considered, the most fruitless expedition of the present centur)'. 1836-9. — Many believing that, between the mouth of Great Fish River and Prince Regent inlet, there was to be found a water communi- cation, it was resolved to test the matter, as well as to make an effort to discover the unknown leijions on the North American Coast. P^or this purpose, the Hudson Bay Company appointed Mr. Simpson, who, on December ist, 1836, left the Red River vSettlement and proceeded to Fort Chippcw}^in, on the Athabasca Lake, which was reached February ist, 1837. Leaving here, on June 1st, he reached Fort Resolution, on the Great Slave Lake, the loth, and Fort Norman, July ist. From here he voyaged down the Mackenzie River towards the Polar Sea. On the 9th, he stood in view of the Arctic Ocean. Proceeding west, he, on the 23rd, reached Return Reef, the limit of Sir John Franklin's explorations. He now aimed to reach Point Barrow, and in doing .-,<:), discovered, about twelve miles from Return Reef, Point Back and Point Beechy. Still I I ¥ }l ,• Ji Mi' '! IK !^5 *'^ \ i ' V ■' 1 i' Jm.! I' I 28 ^^/r /^/r// Fra}ikli)i, pressing forward, he discovered and named several places, and on August 3rd he entered Elson Ba\-, at Point Barrow, and thus connected the discoveries of Sir John Franklin and Rear-Admiral Beech}% via Behring Strait. He now commenced his return journc}' to Fort Norman, which he completed on September 4th. From thence, he set out for his winter quarters, on the Great Slave Lake, which he reached on the 25th and which, as an expression of gratitude,, he named Port Confidence. The spring of 1838 was devoted to the making of excursions in the neighbourhood of Coppermine River. On June 7th he set out for the shores of the Polar Sea, via Dease River, Dismal Lakes and Kendal River. July ist, descending Bloody Fall, Simpson reached the Polar Sea. An openings running to the east, was discovered, and so he com- menced a second voyage along the shores of the Arctic Ocean. Passing Cape Barrow, ]^arry Islands,, the entrance to Melville Sound, and along the east coast, he discovered and named Hargrave Rivp'' and Mount George. Hi- ;red by the ice from proceeding further east^ he ascended a height, from whi:h he saw, extending eastward, almost beyond the reach of vision, a sea, in which were various islands of different shapes and sizes. To the eye a northern land appeared to terminate in Wv^ '---^ Res It NIC of lixpeditions. 29 several )n Ba\-, coveries Beech}% to Fort Der 4tli, [uartcrs, hed on atitude, making permine ores of vcs and y Fall, pening, e com- of the slands, g the rgravc r east, ending sea, in d sizes, late in a lofty cape, F.N.K. To this northern land he gave the name Victoria, and to the cape, Pclly. To the oast of this he discovered a ciiannel, or strait, the Victoria Ckunnel of the " revelation." Now turning south-east, he rounded tlie eastern shores of Kent Peninsula, and discovered and named l^eaufort River. On August 29th he commenced his return journey, via Coppermine River, to the great Bear Lake, and so to his winter quarters at Port Confidence, which he reached on September 14th. Remaining here till June 15th, 1839, Simpson set out for Coppermine River, and leaving its mouth on July 3rd, he commenced an eastward voyage, and on the 1 8th he reached Point Barrow. From here he discovered that Coronation Gulf was open, anr'> so proceeded to Cape Franklin. On the 26th he rejchcd Cape Alexander, rounded Trap Cape, in a sout:h-tast direction, and discovered and named Melbourne Island. He then discovered a r'.ver, leading into the Polar Sea, larger than the Coppermine River, which he named Ell ice River. hMging away southward, as far as Ogden Bay, he found an open sea, leading to the Great Fish River. All Simpson's discoveries, up to this point, meant a settlement of the northern boundary of America west of Great P^ish River. Simpson now resolved to proceed eastward, and so connect Prince Regent Inlet with the Polar Sea. On the journey he dis- H I! i: H ■! il hi: fl II ' ' l! i?i HI i ill < ! I! : I 30 wS'/r Jo/i/i Franklin, covered and named Cape Britannia, and proccedin^^ in a north-east direction to Cape Selkirk, he reached Cape Colborne, the nearest point of the unvisited Victoria Land. He now returned, but on the journey he either committed suicide or was murdered. Thus ended an expedition, undertaken with the greatest enthusiasm, carried on with the most extra- ordinary vigour, and concluded under the most pain- ful circumstances — concluded at the very time when honours for the young intrepid explorer were on the way from the English Government. 1846-7. — The Hudson Bay Company, having resolved to make another effort, to complete the re- searches on the western shores of Prince Regent Inlet, and so connect it with the Polar Sea, fitted out an expedition of two boats, and gave the command to Dr. Rae. His instructions were to proceed along the western shores of the Great Bay, up Rowe's Welcome, and Repulse Bay. He started June 1 3th, 1846. On July 14th he sighted Cape Kendall, on Southampton Island, and entered Repulse Bay on the 24th. Committee Bay, the southern extreme arm of Prince Regent Inlet, was reached, August 1st. Unable to make further progress. Dr. Rae, on the loth, returned to Repulse Bay, where, at P'ort Hope, he spent the winter of 1846-7. Removing from his winter quarters, on April 5, 1847, he set out with renewed determination to accomplish his task. reached mvisited journey v'ith the bt cxtra- Dst pain- ne when e on the , having e the re- Regent ja, fitted ave the were to iat Bay, i started Ccndall, se Bay xtreme August :iae, on at Fort moving set out task. ■A Resunic oj lixpcditioiis. 31 On the Sth of April he passed Cape Pell}-, and on the loth he passed Colville Bay into Keith Bay. He now found that land extended in a continuous course alon^i- the western shores of the Gulf of Boothia. Coming upon Lord Mayor's Bay it was proved that no water communication existed between l^oothia Gulf and the open waters of the Arctic Sea. Having finished, in part, what he sought to rtCcomplish, Dr. Rac set out for Fort Hope, which he reached on May 5th. He now resolved to explore the east of Boothia, and accordingly set out. On the 1 6th he reached Committee Bay, discovered and named Dease Peninsula and Cape Simpson. Round- ing this Cape, he crossed Lefroy Bay to Cape McTavish. Opposite this Cape he discovered and named Prince of Wales' Island, and Selkirk and Smith's Bays. On the 24th, he advanced north, along the east shores of Boothia Gulf Following the coast line, he discovered and named Plnlayson and (iarry Bays, Prince Albert Hills, and Baker's Bay. To the most distant land beyond this bay he gave the name of Cape Ellice. His return journey to Repulse Bay was commenced on May 28th, and finished on June 9th. The total result of this expedition was to establish that there was no outlet from the south of I^oothia Gulf to the Arctic Sea, and thus was cir- cumscribed the area of search for the North-West Passage. jk, i I'i.ii 32 .SW John Franklin. Thus inucli as to an outline of the efforts to discover a North-West I'assaj^e, as well as a fit intro- duction to the last expedition, sent out for this purpose — u'c mean that of Sir John Franklin. Above seventy years ago (\y'j6), the Government had offered, as a reward for the discovery, j/]" 20,000. No one yet could claim the offered pri/e, but another effort is to be made, and that through Sir John Franklin. Will he be successful ? ^V i!^ CHAPTER II. Sir John Franklin's Third and Last Expedition. *' He casteth forth his icelike morsels. Who can stand before his cold? " The discoveries of Sir John Franklin in connection with his overland expeditions have already been referred to, 7'i(/e Cha.p. I., years 1819-22 and 1825-7. Born at Spilsby, April i6th, 1786, Sir John was originally designed for the Church, but at the age of fifteen he was in a midshipman's berth on board the Polyphemus, and, as such, took part in the battle of Copenhagen, his own ship leading the attack. About June, 1801, he was serving in the Investi- gator. The ship being condemned, as unseaworthy, he was transferred to the Porpoise. This ship was wrecked on the Australian coast. On his return, he joined the Bellerophon, in which he engaged in the Battle of Trafalgar. Afterwards he joined the Bedford^ and did much good service on the coasts of Brazil and Portugal, for which he was promoted D h:- I- 3! ( i'l il '% \ii t: i .1 i! ^^ 1:1, ^t 34 5/r y^/r;/ Ft'ankliii. to be lieutenant. For distinguished valour at New Orleans he was appointed to the first lieutenancy of the Forth, In i8i8, he was in the Ross and Buchan expe- ditions to discover the North -West Passage, being a lieutenant in both. For the years 1819-22, see the last chapter. In 1823, he married an authoress — Miss Purden, who, as before mentioned, died during his second overland expedition, in 1825. P^or an account of his second great expe- dition see the last chapter (1825-27). As a recognition of his valuable services in this expedition, Oxford made him a D.C.L., and the Geographical Society of Paris awarded him its gold medal for the year. In 1828, he married Miss Griffen, a descendant of a Huguenot family. In 1829, he received the honour of knighthood. In 1832, he was placed in command of the Rainboiv. In 1836, he was appointed Governor of Tasmania. Here he remained seven years. During this period, aided by his wife, he was instrumental in doing an amount of gc od, which may be best shown by the fact that, when leaving, there were demonstrations of gratitude such as the country had never before witnessed. Besides this, such w^ere the grateful remembrances associated with former days that when Lady P>ankiin, nine years after was in great need of money for her final I V. \ h \ ■- The Fruit of lishcol. 35 expedition to discover her lost husband, the resi- dents sent her ^1,700. l^'ranklin, in his homeward voyage to England had an opportunity of visiting places in which, in his more youthful days, he had acquired some of his most valuable preliminary experiences — experi- ences that proved of good service in his after eventful life. Bidding farewell to Australian scenes, he reached England in 1844. Erom 1837, when Sir George Back returned from his fruitless effort to reach Prince Regent Inlet, until 1844, the Government had taken no direct interest in the cutting of the Gordian knot re the North- West Passage. As already noticed, the Hudson Bay Company had, through Mr. Simpson, obtained valuable results by their overland expe- dition, but such results were, unto the scientific and mercantile community, much like the fruit of l^'.shcol unto the Israelites who, on tasting it, wished to hasten to the land where the fruit luxuriantly grew. To satisfy itself and to meet the general wish of the nation, the Government, in 1844, fitted out, and that with the most complete equipment, two steam ships, the Erebus (370 tons) and the '^^error (340 tons). This was, in reality, the first steam power that was called into requisition for the Xorth-West Passage discoveries, and much confi- D 2 m ^ hi I J it: !::| I j iil viT ' '?;; ■ , i: I ^1 1 1 ■; ! 1 i t f 36 Sir John Franklin. dence was felt as to the results. Hitherto, ships and boats had been but as helpless shuttlecocks in the hands of the battledores of ^olus and Ice. Now, as against both, steam resolved to do battle. Both ships, for seven winters, had done effective service in the Arctic and Antarctic regions. Thus had they proved their claim to all that fitness for ice-navigation which had been prophesied of them. The design of this expedition was to complete the discovery of the North-West Passage. Parry had accomplished very much in the north, and the overland explorers had done the same on the shores of the Polar Sea. Barrow, Beaufort, Parry, Sabine, Ross and Franklin were all anxious that the Government should connect the northern with the more southern coast, and so accomplish the long- worked for object. On his return from Tasmania, Sir John readily offered himself for the important undertaking. Some objection was raised against him on account of his age. Lord Haddington, First Lord of the Admiralty, one day remarked to him, " I might find a good excuse for not letting you go, Sir John, in the rumour that tells me you are sixty years of age." With a soul that felt itself always young. Sir John exclaimed, " No, no, my Lord, / am only fifty-nine^ On May 5th, 1845, Sir John, as chief in command, received from the Admiralty If! ^^. J Sets Sail. 37 to, ships icocks in and Ice. I battle, effective s. Thus tness for of them, plete the arry had and the on the rt, Parry, that the with the he long- readily ertaking. account of the I might go, Sir .re sixty always Lord, / ir John, dmiralty instructions to go with all speed to Lancaster Sound and to push on to the west, so as to examine any openings to the nortJnvard. On reaching Cape Walker, he waj to avoid seeking to pass out through Behring Strait by the south, or west, of Melville Island. Instead of this, he was to seek an outlet through the south or west of Cape Walker, and failing in this, he was, in the second summer, to go northward and seek a passage through Wellington Channel. The ships, thoroughly examined, repaired, refitted rUid abundantly supplied with provisions, medicines and needful comforts, steamed from the Thames, May 19th, 1845. Each vessel had on board, all told, sixty-nine officers and men. In charge of the llrcbus was Sir John Franklin, and in charge of the Terror was Captain Francis R. M. Crozier. The Barrcto Jtinior^ with clothes, provisions and coal, was commissioned to accompany the expedition as far as Baffin Bay. As the expedition, with its transport, sailed slowly down the Thames, it received the best wishes of a nation's heart, and not a few earnest prayers were offered for a successful voyage and a speedy return. Wives had husbands there ; parents, sons of great promise ; widows, the hope and joy of their lives ; and sisters, brothers of whom they were proud. I.: I : J . ■ \- 1: |;'i > -II i; S: ill .1.: )■ '- r . it r;:l' \ f I V i 38 vS/r /o/in Franklin. Concerning the voyage, we have but little in- formation. Through the letters of Franklin, the short journal of Commander Fitzjames of the Erelms, and the letters of Lieut. Fairholme of the same vessel, we have a satisfactory record up to the arrival at Disco, just half way through Baffin Bay. The journal comes down to July nth. The record gives a glowing account of the popu- larity of Sir John, both as to the man and the explorer. The same, with a little playful criticism here and there, applies to the officers in general. With the exception of such, neither journal, nor letters, told anything of much importance. It was from Disco, July 12th, that the transport returned to England, bringing letters and journal to date. On the 26th, moored to an iceberg, near the south entrance to Melville Bay, and bound for Lancaster Sound, the expedition was seen by a whaler {^Prince of Wales). All, at this time, were in the most excellent s;)irits. Captain Dannet, of the whaler, was invited to dine with Sir John on the following day. But the weather, almost imme- diately becoming favourable for return to England, Captain Dannet set sail, and so the pleasure of dining on board the Erebus had to be sacrificed. Month after month passes away but no news arrive concerning the expedition. A year passes away, still no tidings come. Arrivals from Green- ! 51 m Lost ! 39 :tle in- ;in, the of the hne of :ord up through y nth. \ popu- nd the r'ticism general, lal, nor an sport journal •g, near bound 2en by e, were net, of ohn on imme- ngland, ure of ced. news passes Green- i land, from America, and from every conceivable quarter are carefully questioned on the subject, but it is all in vain. Uneasiness is on the increase. Not an item of information can be obtained east, west, north or south. June, 1846, comes and goes, but there cometh not even an echo of good tidings. It is the same with July. It is now August, and surely this month will not end without some sign of hope. Yet expectation is doomed to disappoint- ment. Not a " sound," nor a " voice," is heard. September is come and anxiety is growing apace. Friends of the absent begin to ask the authorities for information, but none can be given. It is now October, and verily before this month expires, some intelligence will arrive. A summer cannot possibly begin and end without some information. True, Parry and Ross had been ice-bound for a long time and nothing was heard from them, nor about them. But they had no screw propellers to weather storms and to brush aside ice-floes. Again there is disappointment. November is come and with it uneasiness becomes universal. Sir John Ross is the mouthpiece of the nation, and accordingly writes to the Admiralty, to the Royal Society and to the Geographical Society. He feels convinced of the probability that the expedition has been driven to the western shores of the cruel Melville Island. It was this locality, of all localities, Sir I » ■Pi iii;|H I iiiln lli IB B \ ; H H Hfl » V IT ii ii ill -it fl f '''Hi ■ m 1; hi I ' I 111 40 Sir JoJin Franklin. John was to avoid and yet, almost to a certainty, he is there, shut in by eternal ramparts of ice. Christmas is come, and more than one hundred homes are less cheerful because of the absent ones ! Gone, but who knows where ? Everywhere, Sir John Ross's letters are being discussed, but the Lords of the Admiralty are speaking of the provisions of the Erebus and Terror as sufficient to last for three years, and that even the second winter of the absence of news is too early to be gravely concerned about the safety of Sir John. But anxiety is becoming more intense. The pulse of the nation is beating at 120. The cry is " Something must be done." This becomes, at length, changed into, " Something siiall be done." The Government is moved at last, and so to obtain opinions as to the probable position of the expedition, and how to reach it, all officers ot experience, in connecLon with the Arctic Regions, are asked to write. The summary of their opinions is as follows : — 1st. The expedition has not been destroyed in Baffin Bay, as some of high position in the naval service suppose. 2nd. That it has not yet passed through Behring Strait. 3rd. That until two winters, without tidings, have passed, there is no need for serious apprehension. To the Rescue ! 41 4th. That, nothwithstancHng this, immediate pre- parations for Sir John's relief should be made. 5th. Should no mtelligencc arrive during the ensuing summer (1847), search expeditions should be sent out. 6th. That the instructions to those search ex- peditions should be based on, and guided by, the instructions given to Sir John. The case can only be fully met by three expeditions, one to w^^'/ Sir John, should he be making for Behring Strait ; the second to folUnv him in the direction of Lancaster Sound, and the third (an Overland one), to aid him should he be icebound, or wrecked on the coasts of the Polar Seas. The summer of 1847 was a summer of increasingly painful silence. And Christmas again came, and more cheerless than last Christmas were the hearths of more than a hundred homes. Expectant and pray- ing wives began to feel alarmed ; widowed mothers had gloomy forebodings, and loving sisters wept. Not a sign of hope ushered in the year of 1848. Sir John Franklin is lost ! The bravest officers that ever sailed the Arctic Seas are lost ! The very pick of men amongst all naval crews are lost ! Where ? This is the question, running to and fro, from Land's End to John o' Groat's House. To the rescue!. This is the watchword of the United Kingdom. To the rescue ! Yes, a thousand times, but where ? W" V ! ! li CHAPTER III. ,W 11, t ! i\ Sir John Frankf.in Lost! Search-Expeditions to kind him. " O, ihe silence that came next, the patience and long aching."' " Master, we have toiled all night." We left a nation, in general, and the relatives of the missing ones, in particular, in the throes of accumula- ting anxieties. And so much did the gloom increase that, before the first expedition was ready, the optimists were becoming less and less. The sages of Arctic explorations shook their heads and spoke with *' 'bated breath." Not upon a few of the loved ones, left behind, came there ominous signs of departing hope. Others prepared themselves for the worst. Still, the nation's advisers threw aside all pessimist theories and suggestions and resolved to make amends for any apparent tardiness by decisive and compre- hensive action. The eirst Government Expedition — A three- fold one. Of the three proposed expeditions, that vir Behring Strait, to 7;ieet Sir John, was the first to get ready. The attempt, through this route, as a first 1. The First Search- Expedition. 43 step, a-osc from a strong belief as to the probability that Sir John was a prisoner in the neighbourhood of Melville Island. If so, the chances of rescuing him, through the Bchring Strait route, were much greater than through any other. The Behriiig Strait Expedition, 1 848. This consists of two vessels, the Herald, commanded by Captain Kcllett, and the Plover, commanded by Commander Moore. Both are to co-operate with each other. On August 14th, Captain Kellett, who had received his orders at Panama, leaves Kamtschatka and enters, September 14th, Kotzebue Sound, where, accoiding to orders, he is to await the arrival of the Plover. The 29th arrives, and as there is no appearance of Commander Moore, and as the open-sea season is drawing to a close, Captain Kellett returns through Behring Strait and resumes his researches in the South Pacific. Engaging in this work, till May 19th, 1849, he sets sail, the second time, for the Arctic regions. He reaches Kotzebue Sound, July 15th, and observes the Plover anchoring off Chamisso Island. P>om Com- mander Moore, he learns that on January ist he had left the Thames to join the Herald ; that, being too late to enter Behring Strait, he had wintered at Anadyr, Eastern Siberia, had left his winter quarters on June 30th, 1849, and ha«.i reached his present anchorage, on July 14th. 5'S' \ '■ i ■': ^*| . t i! i ' 1 '■ 1 i ^' 1 '^'. 1 1 1 || \ i ii ' ! •1 ' ,'1 1 1 .;{ f r- !. 44 Sir John Iranldiii, United and speedy arran^^cmcnts are now made. Cape Lisburne is passed on July 20th. On the 26th, both vessels sail direct northward and reach Wain- wright Inlet on the 30th. They now commence to examine, carefully, this place, but whilst doing so the ships separate. Whilst separated, Captain Kellett dis- covers Herald Island and Plover Island. On September 2nd, both ships are again at anchor in Kotzebue Sound. On the 26th the Herald lea\ es, passes through Behring Strait, and reaches Mexico, November 14th. I'he Flover now gets into winter quarters. It is now November, 1849, when news reaches the vessel that two ships have been seen eastward of Point Barrow. Preparations to investigate the report are made, and so, on March lOth, 1850, an expedition sets out. but finding nothing but rumours, it returns to the Plover^ on April 29th. On July 1 6th, Captain Kellett again joins Com- mander Moore, from whom he receives an account of the rumours about the encampment of white people in the neighbourhood of Point Barrow. In consequence of this, the Plover goes to inquire into the matter, whilst the Herald sets sail for the north to look out for exploring vessels in the Arctic regions. The arrangement, as to the place of the meeting of the two ships, was off Cape Lisburne. Here they meet on August 13th, with no information relative to the reports. .Ha The First SeaycJi-Expedition. 45 < II they 'e to On August 27th, Captain Kellett again sets sail for the south, passes through Behring Strait, and investi- gates some rumours regarding white men being in the vicinity of Norton Sound, on the coast of Russia. He learns nothing from the visit, and again re-enters the Strait on September 5th. The Plover winters at Grantly Harbour, and on the 23rd, the Herald completes its last search for Sir John Franklin. In the meanwhile, whilst both ships are pursuing their conjoint investigations, and one of them is on the way to Mexico, two boats, from the Plover^ in charge of Mr. Pullen, and carrying supplies for Sir John Franklin and his party, are, from the Wainright Inlet, exploring the Mackenzie River. Departing from his ship, on July 20th, 1848, Mr. Pullen com- mences the actual work of his expedition on the 25th. On the 29th, he passes Cape Smyth. Through difficulties, arising from the ice, delays occur, so not till August 2nd does he push eastward, cross Smith's Bay on the 5th, and arrive at Point Berens on the nth. The 1 2th, finds him about the west of Point Beechy. Icy Reef is left on the 22nd, and on the 30th, he enters the Mackenzie, via Peel River. He reaches Point Separation on September 8th, Fort of Good Hope on the 14th, the waters of the Bear Lake River on the 22nd, Fort Norman on the 23rd, and then Fort Simpson, where he meets Dr. Rae. He winters here in 1848-9, and leaves his winter ')!■ * f ^1 i i 46 S/'r John i'^rnnk/iii. fT m ti 1^ ':: quarters, on June 20th, 1849. Unsuccessfully seeking to go up the Mackenzie River, he returns to Fort Simpson. On July iith, he makes a second attempt and reaches Point Separation on the iSth. Passing Garry Island, in the Arctic Sea, on the 20th, he resolves to proceed to Cape Bathurst and then to strike straight acros<» to Banks Land, a distance of 300 miles. He reaches Cape l^athurst, on August 8tli, and seeks to explore the locality, but finds it impossible. He immediately returns to Fort Simpson, which he reaches on October 5th. Here he spends the winter (1850-51), and leaves on June 4th, 1851. He now ascends the Mackenzie River, reaches Fort Resolution on the 20th, York Factory on August 28th, leaves for England on September 9th. Thus, so far as the discovery of the lost Erebus and Terror is concerned, nothing has been achieved. The same remark also applies to the Plover, which returned to England in September, 185 1. Thus ended the* Behring Strait expedition. Amidst the great and growing anxiety, concerning the fate of the missing expedition, no small amount of interest is created by a statement which appears in the Illustrated News, April 17th, 1852. The brig, Renovation, of North Shields, brings information that, in April, 1851, two ships had been seen on an iceberg in Newfoundland. But though the subject creates much excitement, the evidence on which the informa- k. ^ The First Search-Expedition. 47 tion rests is not satisfactory. After very careful examination of the whole question, the unaninii)us conclusion is that no reliance can be placed on tlie report in the Illustrated Neivs. The Overland Route Expedition : — This is in com- mand of Sir John Richardson, a companion of Sir John Franklin in a former expedition. Dr Rae is selected to accompany him. Thinking it possible that some news of the Erebus and Terror maj- reach England before the spring of i84tS, he has been, for several months, delaying his departure. It is now March 25th, and as no information has been received, he sets sail for New York and reaches, June 13th, the Saskatchewan River. On July nth, he and his party reach Fort Chippewyan, and on the 17th they enter the Great Slave Lake. The 22nd finds them on the Mackenzie River, at F'ort Simpson. The search now commences in earnest, and so, on August 3rd, keeping up an incessant out-look, the expedition proceeds eastward. On the 8th, it reaches Cape Brown, and on the 9th, it rests beneath the cliffs of Cape Maitland. Eagerly pressing forward the 13th finds all at Cape Parry, and the 21st sees them gazing, with hopeless vision, on the ice-locked shores of VVollaston Land. Prevented from making a search for the lost ships, on the northern shores, Sir John Richardson proceeds south-east-ward and I li! if. \\:W I ■ II 48 Sif JoJin Franklin. i \* I ' \ . t 'H I I 1 I I reaches Cape Krusenstern on the 29th, and Cape Hearn on the 31st. The ice now stops all further progress, and so, on September 3rd, the expedition starts on its return voyage and reaches Fort Confi- dence on the 17th. Here all winter till June 9th, 1 849. Sir John Richardson now gives instructions to Dr. Rae to descend the Coppermine River, to explore Dolphin and Union Strait and the shores of Wollas- ton and Victoria Lands. He reaches the sea on July 14th, where, through natives from WoUaston Land, he learns that no white men, nor ships, nor boats, have been seen. On the 30th, he reaches Cape Krusenstern and resolves to survey WoUaston Land. He is knocked about here till August 22nd, when, just able to view the shores of WoUaston Land through his telescope, he has to return to Fort Simp- son, which he reaches September 26th. Finding that Sir John Richardson had left Fort Confidence, via Canada, for England, on May 7th, Dr. Rac at once proceeded to the head quarters of the Hudson Bay Company. As to Sir John Richardson, he arrived in Enij^land November 6th, 1849. Thus ended the overland search, but like the Behring Strait one, there is no light 1 Darkness is increasing ! Hopes, however, arc in another direction, and these in connection with the l^arrow Strait expedition. ■ "-i ■ — * The First Search- Expeditio/i. 49 The Barroiu Strait Expedition. — This is com- posed of the Enterprise (530 tons) and the Investigator (538 tons). The chief in command is Sir James Clarke Ross (in the Enterprise^, and the second in command is Captain Edward Bird (in the Investigator). The vessels leave England, June 12th, 1848. Via Lancaster Sound, the expedition pushes west and reaches Cape York, September 1st. Still pressing west, all are stopped by a vast accumulation of ice which extends from the mouth of Wellington Channel to Leopold Island. The ships winter at this place (Port Leopold). At the return of spring, sledge expeditions are sent out. One explores the western shores of Prince Regent Inlet, as far as P^ury Beach. A second crosses liarrow Strait to Cape Hurd, but fails to reach Cape Riley, or Beechy Islr.nd. A third crosses Regent Inlet to Port Barrow. But notwithstanding all, no trace of any ships having passed is found. The whole of the western coast of North Somerset is now surveyed, but without the least discovery of any trace of the Erebus and Terror. On June 23rd, the ships are reached. As the ice is still surrounding the ships, efforts are now made to cut a way through, but not till August 28th are efforts crowned with complete success. The ships now cross, in a north-west direction, towards Wellington Channel, but are stopped by ice, and so E % '!i Wk \ \ 1 w- 11 I: 50 Sir John Franklin. leave for Kngland, September 25th, 1849. Accord- ing to Sir John Richardson's opinion, the sledge excursions, added to the discoveries of Dr, Rae, covered the whole of Prince Regent Inlet and the Gulf of Boothia But so, or not, the Barrow Strait expedition was barren of results. So deeply felt the disconsolate friends of the lost ones. Three expeditions, working together as far as possible, have gone out and returned, and yet not the faintest streak of light has flitted across the deepening darkness. The provisions taken out by the Erebus and Terror were for three years. It is now beyond th^ fourth year, since the expedition sailed out of the Thames, and how could more than 1 30 men, short of food, brave the rigours of an Arctic winter ? True they may, during the summer months, though ice - bound, have added to their dimin- ishing stock, still the probabilities are far from strong. The weaker of the crews may have succumbed, and had probably done so. Thus, the thoughts of the hearts of friends and of the nation troubled them. Where is Sir John ? Echo answers. Where ? The Second Government Expedition. We have noticed that the Barrow Strait search, under Sir James Ross, was, through the ice, brought to an untimely finish. But what appeared strange was the information, in the possession of the Govern- The Second Search- Expedituyji. 51 ment, that all the whalers had escaped the fate which befel the Enterprise and the Investigator. Why was this ? Had the whalers better knowledge of ice navi- gation than the experts of the Royal Navy ? This, at least, was clear, the whalers had done good busi- ness in open seas and had returned, without let or hindrance. Whereas the Barrow Strait expedition, with professedly superior advantages, knew nothing of open seas, and, ice-beaten, had returned. Gradu- ally it dawned upon the nation and upon the Govern- ment that the whalers should have the next oppor- tunity of endeavouring to folloiv in the track of the missing Erebus and Terror. Alternate despair and hope had their effect on the Government, and so it was resolved to get ready another expedition, which should start in the spring of 1850, under the command of an experienced whaler. The choice fell upon Captain William Penny of the Advice^ of Dundee. His connection with this smart whaler had already been associated with a search for the lost expedition, or rather for Surgeon Goodsir, of the Erebus. Mr. R. A. Goodsir, ex- President of the Royal Medical Society of Edinburgh, like many others, was anxious to rescue his relative. Brought in contact with Captain Penny, he, in hopes of doing something towards the saving of the lost, engaged himself as surgeon, and, as soon as pos- E 2 •■5.': i\ \ 52 Sir John Frankliii. ^ ij I > i\^ i' (1! sible, set sail with Captain Penny. The voyage, in addition to a good harvest of blubber, showed what could be done by energy and tact. Starting from Dundee, on March 17th, 1849, Penny, on June 8th, passed the entrance to Lan- caster Sound, and on the 9th was at the northern point of Pond's Bay — a favourite hunting ground of the whalers. In three weeks, the Advice was nearly " a full ship," and so felt free to do some exploration work. On August 5th, Lancaster Sound had been passed through and Leopold Island sighted. A short, quick voyage was made up Barrow Strait ; casks, containing papers, letters, &c., were left at different headlands ; after which Captain Penny, " on business intent," retraced his steps hom*?ward and landed a valuable cargo. Such a man, in a season when the expedition of Sir J. C. Ross had done nothing, was one whom the Government might fully trust. At the request of the Admiralty, Penny purchased two vessels — one of 200 tons register and the other 100 tons — the first he named Lady Franklin, and the second he named Sophia, after Miss Cracroft, Sir John Franklin's niece. Penny's orders are to pay special attention to the shores of Wellington Channel. On August 14th, 1850, the ships pass Melville Bay, and on the 23rd, they get a clear view of Cornwallis Island and Cape Hotham, and on the III: \ T]ie Second S^'^ch- Expedition. 53 25th, they reach Cape Riley and Beechy Island, where are found evidences that Sir John had encamped about six miles from. Cape Spencer. The proofs are pieces of cloth, ropes, soup canisters, and inscriptions on boards in memory of three of Sir John's crew, who had died tl/ere in the winter of 1845-6. Several searches are now made in the same neighbourhood for other evidences of the visit, but without success. Winter now upon them, they enter Assistance Harbour, south of Cornwallis Island, and remain there till the following May, 1851. But as the main object of Penny's expedition was to explore the neighbourhood of Wellington Channel, he, at the commencement of May, arranges accordingly. Six sledges are well equipped, and up to lat. about 75° they go on together. Two now go forward to the North, on the western shores of the Wellington Channel, two are sent to search the eastern shores of the Channel, whilst Penny, with the third party, strikes across in a north-west direction. Here he discovers a bay and gives it the name of Kane ; he also discovers and names Cape de Haven, Point Decision and Hamilton Island. From what he can gather, he infers that the missing ships have gone " viorthland," which he had seen, from Point Decision. Away to the west, he di.scovers two islands, the nearest of which he names Stewart Island. He i' (■if; ! < I ■ i ; ( / I 'I ii 54 Sir John Fraiikiin, passes and names Cape Scoresby and Haddo Ba}-. To the north, several miles distant, is a headland. This is reached, and from its summit is seen a strait of clear water, about eight miles in length. To search this is an impossibility. " Oh, for a boat," was the cry. Proceeding westward, he discovers and names Baring Island and Prince Albert Land, from whose headland he exclaims, " No one will ever reach Sir John Franklin." The view of the open water- leads to a resolve to get back to the ships and bring up a boat. The shipward journey, of much .suffering, is begun on May 17th, and the ships arc reached on the 20th. Sledge, with boat, starts on June 4th, and the boat is launched on the water, on the 17th. But the ice interferes, no ])rogress is made, and so after beating about till July 22nd, the boat is abandoned, and via Cornwallis Island, the return journey of 100 miles commences, and after great labour and much suffering is finished. Feeling convinced that Sir John's expedition had gor.e up Wellington Channel, Captain Penny is strongly tempted to spend another winter at Assistance Harbour and renew the search, but being forbidden by Government orders, he leaves, with a heavy heart, on August 12th, and with the Lady Franklin and the Sophia, reaches Gravesend, September 21st, 1851. ;l Tlie Third Search-Expedition. 55 News, unsatisfactory without doubt, yet news, had come at last. Sir John had, evidently, gone up Wellington Channel. This was some guide for further efforts, and disproved the report and belief of some that all had gone down in Baffin Ba}'. Drooping and almost dead hearts began to look up. Some news is better than no news. And though the night is still dark there appears to be a tinge of grey on the horizon. W^ The Third Government Expedition. This formed a part of the more matured Govern- ment scheme, of which the Lady Franklin and the Sophia were the first instalment. The ships were the Resolute and Assistance with their tenders, the screw steamers. Pioneer and Intrepid, both of 60 horse power. Both commanders, Austin and Om- manney, had done yeoman's service in the Arctic Regions. With provisions for three years, the search journey was commenced. May 3rd, 1850. On June 25th, the ships had passed Disco, and on the 26th the Sophia and Lady Franklin were sighted in their ice-bound quarters. Steam-power was a surprise to the whalers, and, with this and the use of powder in clearing the ice, they reached Melville Bay, August 6th. Lancaster Sound is entered on the 22nd. Sailing west, they, when off Cape Hurd, meet a boat from pi m 56 Sif' Jolin Franklin. \\ ■ I the Sophia^ from which they learn about the dis- covered traces of Sir John Franklin. On the 23rd the Assistance and the Intrepid reach Cape Riley, which, without any fresh result, is examined. Nothing of much importance presenting itself, the squadron is secured to a field of ice, between Cornwallis and Griffiths Island, and so ends the season of mO The ice i.'Cnl :]^ up in April, 185 1, two great sledge parties, undi > '''aptain Ommanney and Lieut. McClintock set out —Captain Ommanney's party, southward, towards Cape Walker, and Lieut. McClintock's towards the west, in the direction of Melville Island. On the 2 1st, Ommanney reaches Cape Walker. The east coast of F.ince of Wales Land is explored, and the west coast, at a point of 300 miles from the ships, is also examined, but though 200 miles of newly-discovered land have been traversed, yet no trace of Sir John is found. After an absence of 60 days he returns. In the meanwhile, Lieut. McClintock is examining Cornwallis and Bathurst Islands. On May loth he lands on the south- cast poiiit of Melville Island, and reaches Cape I^eechy on the 19th. Cape Providence is examined on both sides. He is now, as the crow flies, 300 niiles from the ships, and so returns, via Liddon's Gulf, W^inter Harbour, Cape Bounty, reaching the i., ' The Third Search-Expedition. S7 ships on July 4th, after an absence of 81 days. The news were nil. The squti'iron now returns and reaches England at the end of September. The work accomplished was an examination of Parry Island, from Beechy Island to the extreme west of Melville Island, and 400 miles of the coast to the south of Cape Walker, including both sides of Wellington Channel and Jones Sound. Where are the Erebus and Terror? — is the ever-asked and the ever; .h'"»-e-asked question. The hopes that were revived, a f ' lays since, by the arrival of the Lady Franklin anc the Sophia, and hopes that were, more or less, ^' -Ted in this powerful expedition, now became as those that look for restoration to health when the physician has whispered " there is no cure." If Captam Penny had " slain his thousands " who could but expect that the Royal-Navy-commanded steamers would slay their "tens of thousands?" It is midnight now. The cry, " The morning cometh," has been hushed in the beating hearts and heaving sighs of those that think of the absent as gone " to be no more seen." Where are the Erebus and Terror? is asked at the Club, in the counting-house, on 'Change, and wherever there are minds to think and souls to feel. Where are the Erebus and the Terror? Earth is dumb and I '" i ': m ) ;■ 58 Sir John Franklin. I ! ! •' ■ iii : II iiii Heaven, alone, is speaking. A few only can hear, and fewer still can hear distinctly. An American Exi'K[)ition. We have just noticed how that, through anxiety for his brother. Surgeon Goodsir of the Erebus, Dr. Goodsir had done his best to ascertain the fate of the Franklin expedition. When, therefore, we find, in 1849, that Lady Franklin is concerned about the fate of her noble husband, we cannot be surprised. The first of the threefold-Government expeditions has returned, bringing with it no tidings, and her ladyship could but feel that she, herself, must do something. She accordingly sets about pre- paring an expedition, on her own account, and writes earnestly to America for help. We have before us no details as to the manner she wished America to assist her, but we find that in response to her appeal, Mr. Grinnel, of New York, places at the disposal of the American Government two fully equipped schooners, the Advance and the Rescue. The command is given to Lieutenant De Haven. The instructions are to prosecute a careful search in Wellington Channel and the region about Cape Walker. The ships set sail on May 23rd, 1850, reach Melville Bay on July 7th, but it is late in August before they reach the entrance to Regent Inlet. The AmericaH ami Ross Search-Expediti'^HS. 59 On the 26th, they pass Heechy Island, and so up Wellington Channel. They now stop, turn and shelter at lort Innes, where they find evidence of an encampment of Sir John Franklin, but nothing to fix its date. Wellington Channel is again tried, but with no result. On September 9th, they are going along the south side of Cornwallis Island and so reach Griffiths Island. They are soon caught in the ice- drifts, are driven to Wellington Channel, then to the south-west of Heechy Island, back to Lancaster Sound, and on January 15th are in Baffin Ba)'. Still drifting and drifting, they find an opening to return, which they avail themselves of, reaching New York, September 30th, 185 1. In America, as in England, is ever being asked the question, Where is Sir John Franklin ? This expedition did nothing to solve the problem that was perplexing both worlds. The Expedition of Sir John Ross. Though seventy- three years of age, so anxious is the veteran navigator to solve the mystery sur- rounding the fate of the Erebus and Terror, that he offers his services to the Government. They are declined. Through the aid of the Hudson Bay Company and public subscriptions, he purchases and equips the schooner, Felix. Sailing from Scot- fj I' -if II ( m oo Sir John Iranklm, land, May 23rcl, i«S5o, he reaches Hcechy Island August 27th, inspects the traces of Sir John's landing, and w iters in Assistance Harbour. As soon as possible, he leaves, and reaches Scotland, September 25th, 1X51. This was, in every sense, a barren effort. il' t 1' i! ! 1 / ■ \ ' 1 , 1 ■ . TiiK Fourth Govkrnment ExrEDinoN. Whilst the Government had prepared, through its third expedition, for the exploration of Lan- caster Sound and Wellington Channel route, it resolved also to make another attempt via the Behring Strait route. Accordingly the Enterprise and Investigator were again got ready and pro- visioned for an extended voyage, in all possible directions. The command of the expedition was given to Captain R. Collinson, C.B., and the second in command was Commander R. J. L. M. McClure, the former vessel being in charge of Collinson and the latter in charge of McClure. The vessels left England on January 20th, 1850. After a separation for several weeks, through con- trary winds, both ships rejoined each other at Fortescue Bay, Magellan Strait, on April 17th. On the 19th they again set sail in company, but in the midst of a gale, they again became separ- ated. The Enterprise now almost disappears from the scene. On July 28th, McClure passes through ,1^ I ■ The Fourth Government Search. Gi Hchrin^ Strait. The place of meeting, when both ships parted company, was to be Cape Lisburne. When McClure arrived there, he finds no Enterprise^ ;ind as everything is uncertain, he becomes his own chief, and with full supply of provisions for three )'ears, he boldly pushes forward. On August 5th, Wainright Inlet is sighted, and» with all speed, he hastens to Point Barrow. On the 14th, the ship is amongst- strange seas, pre- \iously supposed to be inaccessible. But the floes soon compel him to make for l^anks Land. And ;is the season is closing, McClure makes for Cape i^athurst, which he reaches on the 31st. On September 6th, he reaches Cape Parry, south of Banks Land. This neighbourhood is most carefully examined. McClure gradually becomes convinced that here are waters that are connected with Barroiv Strait, which can only be about sixty miles distant ! This true, the North-West Passage is discovered. Full of excitement at the prospect of solving the problem of hundreds of years, he pushes forward. Immense difficulties beset him, still he surmounts all, and finds himself at the most advan ed point of Prince of Wales Strait, being thirty miles from Barrow Strait. But an im- passable pack prevents further progress, and so llic winter is spent on the ice. • ■I' ' !l ' \ if ' 3 62 Sir John In-anklin. if ■Ii i Anxious to search the neighbourhood, McClure, on October loth, with a party of seven, explores the east of the strait and discovers Prince Albert Land. On the 21st, a sledge party sets out for Barrow Strait. On the 24th, from an eminence in Prince of Wales Strait, Barrow Strait is seen. The North-West Passage is discovered ! The mystery sought to be explained by Sebastian Cabot, in 1496, is solved ! The prize of ^10,000 is won! A dismal and yet a joyful winter is passed — joyful, because reward awaits the prisoners of the ice. But Sir John l^Vanklin is not forgotten. April i8th, ICS51, three sledge parties leave the ship, each sledge being provisioned for six weeks. On May 20th, Lieut. Cresswell's party, to save the frost-bitten, returns to the ship. On May 29th, Lieut. Haswell returns, but with no news, with the exception of meeting with some ICskimo. On June 7th, the third part)' returns, but without tidings. July lOth, finds the ice breaking up, and so the Investigator leaves its winter cjuartcrs and steers for Melville Sound, but when within twenty-five miles she is driven back. An attempt is now made to reach Melville Sound, b)' a long detour, south- ward, which is so successful that, on September 19th, the I)ivestigator touches the waters of Barrow Strait. Here a bay is found, which, in gratitude, is The FourtJi Govcniment Search. 63 named Mercy Bay. This is the winter quarters until 1852. On April iith, ICS52, McClure, in a sledge, starts across the ice-pack for Melville Island. Winter Harbour is reached on the 2.Sth. A return to the ship now commences, which is reached, May 7th. AuL,aist i6th sees a breaking up of the ice, but hopes are blighted on the 24th. The third winter commences on September 8th. Provisions, already much reduced, arc further reduced. Untold hardships follow. Gloom is coming over all. Whilst becoming more and more gloomy, Lieut. Pirn, of the Resolute, discovers them. Help is given. On June 3rd, 1853, McClure leaves the Investigator for ever, and with it, the dead body of John l^oylc, seaman. On June 17th, they were met, near Dealy Island, by officers from the Resolute and lutrepid, and conducted to their respective ships, to which, until the return to England, the " Investigators " were allotted. But a few days proved that there was no hope of getting to England in 1853, and so, with much disappointment, a fourth winter was spent amongst the ice. As the two ships appeared to be unable to help their own crews, much less the " Investigators," the latter were transferred to the North Star. May 28th witnessed the leaving of both ships' crews for the North Star, the ships being abandoned. i > 'M 1 t 'A «ji i ' D 1 1 ■i I 64 Sir John Franklin. On October 6th, 1854, after an absence of four years and ten months, the " Investigators " reached England, and, for the discovery of the North-West Passage, received ^10,000, being one-half as origin- ally offered by the Government. As to Captain Collinson. He had entered l^ehring Strait and sighted Point Barrow, on August 2 1st, 1850. Further progress towards the east being prevented by ice, he sailed away north but was again stopped b)- the pack. With no chance for the present season, he retreated and wintered at Hong Kong. In July, 185 1, he again passed through Ikhring Strait and reached, on the 31st, Point Tangent. Passing on to Cape Hathurst, by the northern coast of America, he reached that place and Cape Parry, on August 26th. Thus far, he had been following the route of McClure. He also saw the North-West Passage. Proceeding very much in the same track, the Enterprise arrived at Point Kellett to find that the Investigator had left the Prince of Wales Strait thirteen day.s previously. He wintered (185 1-2) at Walker Bay. Two sledge parties were sent out — one to the north of Prince Albert Land and the other to Melville Island. Moving out from his winter quarters on August 5th, he commenced to explore the neighbourhood of Wollaston Land, but so bad was the weather that winter quarters, at M The Last Governuient Expedition. 65 Cainbridj^^c Bay, had to be entered upon on September 26th. In the spring of 1853, an unsuccessful attempt was made, by sledges, to reach the extreme point reached by Sir James Ross in 1849. Ikiffled in this, as well as in his desire to reach Harrow- Strait, he turned south-west, and reached Camden Bay, via Dolphin and Union Strait, Cape Bathmst and llerschel Island. Here Collinson spent his third winter (1853-4). At the end of July, the Enterprise cleared out ijf its winter quarters. Point Barrow was reached on the 8th of August, 1854. On May 6th, 1855, Captain Collinson reached England. Ikit his search, like McClure's, had thrown no light on the question (jf all questions. Where is Sir John I'^anklin ? McClure has given no answer and Collinson is speechless. Tin: FllTII GOVERXMKNT EXI'EDITIOX. The return of the third expedition, i,e., the one commanded by Captain Austin, to investigate the neighbourhood of lieechy Island and Wellington Channel, being a fruitless one, the Government could not remain inactive. Hence, as in the case of the first expedition, it resolved to send out another to co-operate, if possible, with Collinson <\nd .McCIurc's, via Behring Strait. m\ MM '1 Mil i " '3 1 i i . ( jfl h t!l *l i I 66 .SVr /c>//;/ Franklin. I''v)r thiV purpose, the Assistance and t!ic Rcsch'tf . '\itli Iheir respccti\e tenders, the l^iou'rr and the (ntrepid^ were full)- prepared for thci.* second vo\age. The command was i^iven to Sir ICdward l^elcher. 'I'hc search vessels are to work in dif- ferent ch'rections. The Assistance, witli Sir E Helcher, accompanied b)- the Pioneer, ni command of Captain Sherard Osborn, is to search Weih'ngton Cliannel, and the Resolute, with Captain Kellett, accompanied b}' the Intrepid, Commander Leo|)old M (^lintock, is to visit Melville Island and to search in and about Parry Islands. The depot ship is to be the NortJi Star. 'I'he expedition lca\es the Thames, April 2tst, 1S52. The rendezvous is to be Erebus and Terror Hay. On August i ith, Captain Kellett and his tender arrive at the place, but do not find Sir Iv helcher. The Assistance arrived the iicxt da)-„ On the 14th, the ship;: bear Hwa\- to their respec- tive localities. Sir ICdw,'i?ii I clcher moves awa>^ westward from Hecch) i>iand and ascends the Wellington Channel. Still pushing forward, he ascends be)ond the northern entrance to Ouecn's Channel, opening out upon the North Polar Sea, and between which, and Jones Sound, there is a .Strait (Helcher Channelj. Winter ([uarters are taken up and sledge parties «;oinmcncc their operations. But nc>thing is acconi- kA The Last GovcnuHcnt Exf^:diti^n. 67 ;rror his K. ;pcc- wvay the he CCtl'.s Sea, is a irlics :um- plishcd. All appears to be in a state of confusion, and that arising from the unaccountable plans and wishes of Sir Edward. In the meanwhile, Captain Kellctt is at work in his own locality. Melville Island is sighted, September ist, and near Dealy Island the ships enter their ice-harbour, on the loth. On the 22nd, five sledges leave the ship. Melville Island is thoroughK- examined. Operations arc carried on in ever\- direction, but without any sign of Sir John, and so, in August, 1S53, having received hU the accounts from the sledge parties, Captain Kcllett resolved to sail from Beechy Island. Pack- ice intercepts his progress. Further, for two months, he is at the mercy of the elements. On November 12th, he feels that another winter must be spent in the ice, so in a favourable posi- tion for leaving in the following season, all is got ready to make matters as comfortable as possible On April 3rd, Captain Kellett sends a travelling j)art)' to Beechy Island. In the meanwhile, orders have been s at by Sir Edward l^elchcr to abandon all the shi^-s. Repre- sentations are of no avail, and so all four ships are abandoned ! All return. The news create universal astonishment. A court-martial is held. Sir I'xlward Helcher defends himself; his defence is accepted, but his sword is cniiinousl)- handed hack to him, in thi midst of a death-like silence. 1 1 *IaS M ,:|. iiii r "» A 68 Sir John Fiankliii. Where is Sir John l^Vanklin ? The nation is hopelessly sick of the subject, and the Government has written "FINIS" on its efforts to answer the (jucstion. And when men of renown, amon'^st Arctic explorers, to use the words of Captain Sherard Osborn, are saying there is " no hope of the mystery of I^-anklin's fate being cleared up in our time, except by some unexpected miracle'' what shall the rank and file say ? " Man proposes, i)Ut God disposes." li'' 1 ■ I il CHAPTER IV. A " Revelation." " riiou liast hid these things from the wise and prudenl hast revealed Iheni unto balies." nnd Tin: last chapter left the discovery of the missini^ expedition in a scrni-hopele.ss position, and the excite- ment, in connection with the same, of a ver}- feverish kind. We now enter upon a new and mysterious epoch. Human genius has failed to throw light on the unknown, but what such has not succeeded in accomplishing, is effected by another instrumentalit)'. I'he word " Revelation " heads this chapter, and that for two reasons, via. : — First, because the word is used in several letters which were written on the subject, as well as by Capt. McClintock in his valuable- work on the same {vide preface to the vo\'age of the Fox) ; and, secondly, because it was an apokahipsis — i.e., a revealing, or uncovering, of what had been hidden. The place of the " revelation " is Lontlondcrr)-, and the house is the residence of Captain William Coppin. As to the position of Captain Coppin in the maritime i 70 Sir John fyanklin. i:l Ik ill till ^1 world, as well as for a biographical sketch of himself, the reader is referred to the concluding chapter, and also to the Illustrated London Nezvs, January 13th, 1843; Cliantbers' Journal (written by the elder Chambers), April 20th, 187S; Derry Journal, October 6th, 1884; Londonderry Sentinel, July 5th, 1887. Suffice for our present purpose to notice that, at the time referred to, Captain Coppin was about forty-five years of age, matured in rich and varied experience, and a prosperous man in business. Two years before (1847), such was the confidence placed in him by the Government authorities that he received the dual appointment of surveyor for ships and engines under the l^oard of Trade, which appointment he hekl for eighteen )ears. We believe that, in this dual capacity, he stood alone, of all the surveyors in the United Kingdom. In addition to this, he was the surveyor of the l^Lmigration l^oard. Thus the gentleman upon whom was to devolve the honour of shedding new light upon the missing lirebus and Terror was no novice, nor a dreamy, theorizing person. And no one reading the outline 4)f his life can but come to the conclusion that very few, if any, were so well fitted to intelligently take in hand all that was to be involved in the unfolding of the " revelation," and to carry the same to good effect. At the time, when the "appearance" was seen, Captain Coppin's family consisted of the following: — % \\ An '' Appeamnce!' /I The father, Mrs. Coppin, her sister, and four children, aL;ed respectively, nine and alialf years, seven years, six years, and two years. T]>e date is October, 1849. The Behrini,^ Strait expedition, to meet Sir John, has not returned, the Overland Route expedition is on its way back, and the l^arrow Strait expedition, to fo/ioiu Sir John, returned about ;i month since. ,\bout five months previously, " Weesy " Coppin, a^ed four years, had died of gastric fever, since which tiine, in the language of the ciiil'^rcn, " Weesy " was "always about." The first statement made by the children, concerning the "appearance," was that they had seen a ball of bluish light. After the burial of his little daughter, Captain Coppin left his home on some special business, and did not return for three months. On reaching home, Mrs. Coppin informed her husband about the ball of light, and how that all the children united in declaring that ' Weesy " was ever present, going w ith them from room to room, much the same a.s before her death. The mother also remarked that her little son, who was a great favourite of " Weesy," frequently saw his deceased sister standing against or near the walls of the different rooms of the house, and as such, he would run to embrace her, and in doing .so he would strike himself against the wall, and sometimes so injure his face as to make it bleed. i I, ' i- !!■ I t- [i ; ; ■ J 72 Sir John Franklin. Whilst the father was listening to the strange narra- tion, a ring of the bell announced the arrival of a lad}' to see him. The visitor was shown into the drawing room, where, in a few minutes, the Captain joined her, seating himself just opposite to her. It was whilst in this position, it being about twilight, that he saw over against him, in the corner of the room, near the ceiling, a ball of bluish light, similar to the one repre- sented to him as seen by the children. The appear- ance produced upon him such a disturbing influence as to lead the lady to notice it, and to question him as to the cause. He gave a sort of indirect answer and proceeded with the business in hand. The interview lasted about a quarter of an hour, during which time the ball of light was distinctlx' visible. With business finished, he returned to the up-stairs parlour, where, through weakness, Mrs. Coppin was reclining on a sofa. Seating himself on a chair, he immediately, just above his wife's head, near the ceil- ing, saw the same ball of bluish light. Thinking the whole affair to be a delusion, and having to embark at once, he said nothing and left his residence, he only having been at home an hour. At the end of three weeks, with business completed, the Captain was again at his home. Very shortly, the subject of" Weesy " being still about led the mother to remark that had he not left so suddenl)', three weeks since, she could have given him much more " Weesy " and 73 n information relative to what the cliildrcn in general. and in particular, had seen. Much aij^ainst his feelings in the matter, the father had to listen to the simple story, as told by the four children, who all united in declaring that " Weesy " was constantly about, and, when at meals, generally sat with them, i.e.. between the aunt and , where a chair, and a knife and fork, were always placed, as if for her use. Though quite accustomed to hear the statements, and to see the chair and knife and fork arrange- ment, nothing was ever seen b}- Mrs. Coppin or by her sister, the aunt. The age of was seven. Reference has just been made to what Mrs. Coppin said to her husband about additional information she could have given him, had he not left so quick 1)-. This information comprised two very important particulars : one having reference to the death of a banker in Londonderr)-, and the other to the " revelation." As throwing some possible light on the *' revela- tion," the account, concerning the banker, is as follows: — Louisa ("Weesy") died in May, 1849. Since her sister's death had slept with her aunt. ( )nc night, when going to bed, told her aunt that she- saw, written on the wall, these words, " Mr. Macka) is dead." This gentleman was very fond of Captain Coppin's children, and frequentl}', in the evening, when returning from his bank, saw the children pla\- hi ^ .s e> V <^ /; IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) 1.0 |50 "^ I.I >- I. 1.25 ill 1.4 >- ||2£ 1.6 Photographic Sciences Corporation /. & ^ v L1? :\ "% V \ S^ 23 WEST MAIN STREET WEBSTER, NY. 14580 (716) 872-4503 «* \ ^ m 74 Sir John Fyaiikliu. : 4 Ml': . ; \ \\ ' 1. 1 if '! 1 [ ii 1 ■ , ■ \ ' ■{ 1 '■„ . \ . t : ! ■ ,■: ! ' '' ' f ■ ■ 1 ' 1 ^ Vx . \ < i 1 i. 1- t ■ ^1 1 :' j 1 > ' hv^ in the i^ardcn. Wlicn so, he stopped to s[)eak to them. Thou^^h the aunt s' I'^ranklin, who, to prepare one ship, had nearl)- spent her all. This is not the chapter to tell of the " revelation " beconiini^ the basis of definite action in unthouf^ht-of regions, neither to discuss the nature of the " revela- tion," but rather to show that, at a time whrn England and America were groping in the dark, an unseen hand writes on the wall, and from an unseen mirror comes there before mortal eyes a mode by which the darkness may be dispelled. Officialism, prejudice, and faith in pre-conceived notions ma}' refuse to give credence to what may be proposed by those that have beheld the scintillations of the new light, yet the light has shone, in un- expected quarters it may be, still, aforetime had not invisible hands moved at " Derry," and had not brave men seen " visions." It was not all mundane that ensign, " No surrender." " He came not. Conjecture's cheek grew pale. \'ear after year, in no propitious i;ale His banner held its homeward way, And .Science saddened at her martyr's stay," Ves, and whilst .science was sorrowful, sciencrt was helpless, .science was blind, and there was no one amongst the savaus that could say lipJiphntJia I When the seers of old saw not, the child Samuel became the mouthpiece of the Almight}-, and he spake as one that had seen the light of the glory I! Ii'l:| !i ^ \m U''H 'Hi lii il 82 Sir John Franklin. of tlic God of Israel. All the seers of England and the world cannot see. In an unpretentious and yet a no ** mean city ' it is otherwise. The innocent little daughter of a respectable, God- fearing citizen has her eyes opened. Alone, she stands on a Tabor summit and hears voices and sees sights that she cannot understand. Yet, with a con- fidence begotten of simplicity, she speaks as one having authority. And why not ? Have we alto- gether, 'mid the bustle and worry of modern life, forgotten the utterances of Him who said, "of such is the kingdom of God." In presenting the ' revelation " to the public, its only sensationalism will be a faithful record of facts. Strange above measure, yet they are, never- theless, true. Before proceeding further, four or five points in connection with the " revelation " and the general features of this chapter should be noticed. 1st. The "appearances" of "Weesy" and the varied features associated with those appearances lasted about two years, during which time all the children united in saying, as from the first, that " Weesy was always about." 2nd. Whenever the " appearance," or "Weesy" was questioned, and an answer was given to the question, the apparition invariably disappeared. 3rd. The answer, when given in writing, always li i »i I Captaui Coppiii's Little Daui^htcy. ^3 appeared on the wall, in any room of the house, always opposite to the window, and the letters, com- posing the words, resembled reflected liL;ht. 4th. At the end of two years, followin^^ the death of " W'eesy," all " appearances" ceased, and from that (late to the present, apart from the father, nothing" ver)- iK^teworthy has been observed. 5th. So far as is known, up to the time of " Weesy's" death. Captain Coppin excepted, neither side of the family was known to be associated with anythini^ of the mysterious or the supernatural. 6th. As seen in his biography, under Section 3, entitled The Mysterious^ Captain Coppin himself was, and has been, the subject of spirit visions, or super- sensitive impressions or perceptions. Thus, through laws of which we know little or nothing, some of the members of the Coppin family have Ijeen e)i rapport with what savours more of the super-mundane than of its opposite. Ikit more anon. We iiow direct the reader to the following chapter. He will there find, apart from the sacred Scriptures, the most remarkable proof of the truth of a " revela- tion " which the annals of history have ever presented. I.etters i)i extenso, and facts founded on letters and records, written by the chief actors in the mj'sterious drama, will be given. All that Captain Coppin's little daughter " saw " and did in connection with the " revelation " will be seen, year after year, as having a G 2 ll II If t it i i ■i^ ^ 'IS i'll I i 84 Sn' John /''rauklin. most complete fulfilment. The cliain 01 evidence has not a missiiic^ link in it, not a broken one, nor even one with a flaw in it. " Lancaster Sound ! Prince Regent Inlet ! Point X^ictory ! \'ictoria Channel ! — An entirely new spot to he searched, and an entirely new route, through an unknown region, to reach the spot ! Is it a dream or is it a fact? !i- M \y 1 1 ■ I 1 ■ i i i ■: . 1- t ti :\ A> i ■ . ■ 'I CHAPTKR V. Till-: " Re\i:lation " becomes hie Uasis of a New Line of Action, and is FuLi.owEi) HV Con VINCI N(i Results. " No liope of the mystery of Franklin's fate bcint; cleared up in our lime, except by some unexpected miracle." — Captain Shoani Oshorn on the Court Martial on Sir Edicard Belcher. " We see as through a glass darkly." " At eventide there shall be light." '* A little child shall lead them." In entering upon this chapter, the reader is asked to bear in mind one single, leading thought, and that is, Lady Franklin, up to the time of her interview with Captain Coppin, was preparing to send the Prince Albert to the neighbourhood of Wellington Channel, with the full belief that her husband's expedition was somewhere in, or about, that quarter. Further, so convinced was she of the bona fides of everything in connection with the narrator and his narrative that, from that hour, all her arrangements became, ipso facto, a new departure. Unless the present chapter me^iv. this, it means nothing. Besides, it will be see:; ! 86 Sir John franklin. \\ 1. : 1 r 1 « \ . Ill, how stronc,^ is the faith of the father. The " revela- tion " of his daughter became the sheet-anchor of his hope, ever enabh'ni,^ him to weather winds that were " contrar}-,'' and promptings to a zeal, as self- denying as it was great. But these are not all. Miss Cracroft, Sir John 1^'rankh'n's niece, and Captain William Kennedy, of the Hudson Bay Company, are also found with strong faith in the " startling episode." In the previous chapter, we have seen that Lady Franklin had purchased the Prince Albert. This she did with the assistance of kind friends, and with much self-sacrifice on her own part. According to the Times, of 1850, the cost was about ;^4,ooo, ^2,500 of which was given by Lady Franklin. And in the list of subscriptions, as proving the sympathy towards her Ladyship, from all classes, we noticed one sum of five shillings, another of seven shillings and sixpence from " five children," and other sums up to i^ioo. In addition to the list of about two hundred and thirty subscribers to her single-handed cause, many helped in other directions. We have also observed that Caotain Forsyth (with whom was Mr. Snow), was at Aberdeen, pre- paring to set sail to search for the missing expedition, and that, as knowing this, Captain Coppin hastened to London, saw Laciy Franklin, had an interview with Captain Hamilton, R.N., regarding a second Liverpool Helps. 87 lo-S ed th cd shi[) being sent out as a consort to the Prince Albert, and that he promised, on his return, to send her Ladyship the chart, as drawn by his little daughter, and its accompanying statement. He then left for Liverpool. The next day, being Sunda\', the Captain accompanied a friend to the morning service at Christ Church, Great liomcr Street. Whilst there, his e\-es. during the sermon, caught the tablet on which was recorded that the Church had been built by three brothers, named Horsfall. He had heard before of the wealth and beneficence of the llorsfalls, and full as he was about securing a second ship, and knowing, from experience, how much faith to place in statements from Govern- ment officials, no wonder he became oblivious to the words of the })reacher. and arranged to go at once and see the munificent Church builders. The same day, he saw Messrs. William and T. W. Horsfall. An appointment was made for the following morning, when both gentlemen most readily agreed to place at the disposal of Lady Franklin, their brig, the Jeuiima, which was daily expected to enter port, laden with palm oil from Africa. Irrespective of provisions for three )'ears, men and equipments were needed. These would entail a cost of ;^3,ooo. But within a few hours, through the energy of Captain Coppin, this sum was promised, and Lady Franklin, who was at I! ii hi ii i ii ^ 88 Sir John Franklin. Aberdeen with Captain Forsyth, was immediately informed of the cheering news. He now returned to Londonderry, and, according to promise, sent her Ladyship the chart, and its accompanying statement, as taken down in his little daughter's own words. As a postscript to the statement, the Captain wrote as follows : — " 1 beg to call your Ladyship's special attention to the words ' Point Victory, Victoria Channel,' which were brought so often before the child." Simultaneous with the sending of the chart and its accompanying statement to Lady Franklin, Captain Coppin wrote confidential communications to the Messrs. Horsfall, wherein he /nade allusion to the supernatural basis of his operations for the discovery of Sir John. On the receipt of the eagerly-wished for chart. Lady Franklin received an inspiration which bespoke the existence of a ')ower, whose origin was the Unseen. There, on the chart before her, was a reproduc- tion, by the hand of a child, of a scene that had, a few months before, appeared on the carpet of a bedroom. On tne left were the two ships, as if built in for the winter ; these were in a locality to which no one had supposed that the ships of her husband had gone ; then, as if leading down to them, from the right, was a channel, which no To the South ! S9 one knew anything about. Besides tliis, to place the locality beyond all doubt, there had appeared on the wall, " Lancaster Sound, Prince Regent Inlet." From this Regent Inlet, on the right, the channel went away to the left, being guided by Point Victory, as well as the Victoria Channel, in Avhich place the Erebus and Terror were ice- imprisoned. All was plain. The chart-scene before her was a " revelation." A Divine finger had guided the eye and the hand of the child, health grew stronger, and so strong, that all the Arctic authorities combined could not shake it. Preconceived notions about going towards the north were cast aside, and preparations for going to the same quarter were countermanded. To the south and the south only shall the Prinee Albert go. Accordingly she sailed out of Aberdeen on June 5th, 1850. Previous to departing, Lady P^ranklin gave Captain Forsyth very specific and emphatic in- structions on the following points : — 1st. That the new line of search, instead of being towards the north, as first proposed by herself, was to be quite in another direction. 2nd. That such direction was 'o be towards the ihe south., including Regent Inlet, the west ^^i Boothia, through James Ross Strait, into Simpson .Strait — the area, covering all the locality marked 1 !• ' I i 90 Sir JoJin Franklin. itl ;;i) ' 111 -'i 1 ' i i; i 1 'i '■' ^1 1 ! ■ ^ ■ ,• ' 1 ' I out on the chart b)- Captain Copi)in's little daiicfhtcr. rd. That he to be ■ed to ate prepai with another ship which would follow, with all speed. These instructions were given to Captain Forsyth towards evening, and appeared to him to be more " surprising than sensible." Some impression was made, but as he had, with Lady Franklin, com- mitted himself to the north, with less faith than herself, her Ladyship, in the morning, found that he had slept off his impressions. Again he received emphatic instructions, but fearing his predilections for the north might again overcome him, she very carefully instructed the chief officer, Mr. Snow, as to the route to be followed. The facts, anent the rcelation, made a deep impression on Mr. Snow. Concerning T^orsyth's predilections, theories, or anything else in connection with what he heard from Lady Franklin, we know but little, or nothing. All that is reliable in the matter is from the pen of Forsyth's chief officer, Mr. Snow. He, in his " Voyage of the Prince Albert^' at page 6, tells us what Lady l^^ranklin's instructions were. The fol- lowing is an extract : — " The object of the expedition was the thorough scaich r^{ the west coast of Regent Inlet, to the bottom of l^oothia, toircthcr with the western side of Boothia into- Discnssifig- the Siipcniatural. 91 James Ross Strait, and down to Simpson Strait. Need it be remarked that this area included tlic whole of what had been outlined in the child's chart, includinf^ the new, or undiscovered channc' Point Victory, and Victoria Channel. And though, from the high vantage ground of the " authorities." both in the Government and amongst Arctic adepts, such instructions showed more of the Baron Munchausen than the Platonic, )-ct they had been given, and given with an emphasis tliat betokened a simple, unwavering faith. Whilst thus engaged in sending out the Prince Albert, the Messrs. Horsfall were writing to Sir P'rancis Beaufort, Plydrographcr to the Admiralt)-, and Dr. Scoresby, a great whaling authorit)', relative to the new line of search. As soon as l)ossible, Lady Franklin hastened to Liverpool to " see the amiable and sensible brothers." She was most kindly received, and in the office of the matter-of-fact ship-owners she discussed the super- natural aspect of the question, and the desirability of going before the merchants of the c! / with such a case. All agreed to be silent concerning the supernatural, but to act upon the route thus made known. In addition to the kindness and practical sym- pathy shown by the Messrs. Plorsfall, her Ladyship was also much gratified to receive from the pro- 1 i [ 1:1 ::| it ^^1 s 1 V , I ti i .92 Sir John Fyankli)i. prietors of tlic Ouccn's Railway Hotel (now the Washington), where she, her maid, and Captain l-'"'orsyth had sta}'ed, a blank sheet as as a settlement of her account. Iksides this, the railway authorities, as a proof of admiration for one that had spent a fortune in her undertaking, gave her a free pass all over their lines, both to and from Aberdeen and Liverpool. For all such, and specially to Captain Coppin, Lady Franklin could not sufficiently express her thankfulness. A new era has dawned. The life-labours, of the " blessed above women " are, henceforth, to be guided by an unwavering faith in an unseen intelligence. She hears the speech of the many, but as if attuned by seraphic influences, she hears it as a " new language." She, herself, consciously, or unconsciously, speaks as with * other tongues." Anxious to see the child, whose eyes had "seen," Lady h'ranklin, at this time and many times sub- sequently, expressed an ardent desire to visit Londonderry and interview , but for reasons, family and otherwise, the much desired request was not acceded to. Mrs. Coppin was an invalid, the •child was retiring in disposition, and the advent oi her Ladyship to the " Maiden city " would cause no small stir. Even the " 'Prentice Boys " would have been foremost to " open the gates " to a worthy descendant of the Huguenot.s. But the Alwi'e all Hiuuan Voices, 93 pleasure on both sides had to be sacrificed. Still, een, SUD- visit sons, was the vent ause ^ould to a the ^ic faith. was strong m h'orsyth may again be untrue to his impressions and be unheedful to injunctions, and Snow may lose his great influence over his superior officer, but such will not blanch her courage. Whatever Government may do or not do, wherever their expeditions may search or not search, whether shall arrive, in time, the Joninia or not. Lad)- l^'ranklin will not rest until shall be reached, Point X'ictory, Victoria Channel, via Lancaster Sound, Regent Inlet, and the New Path, as revealed and shown on the chart. Officials may seek to dissuade her from, follow- ing her chosen path, and the Solons amongst Arctic explorers may treat her faith as a phantasy cuid her schemes as dreams, but reliance on something be}'ond human ken shall be her Pole Star. " A little child shall lead them,'' shall become a prophec)' fulfilled in herself, and all that ma}" be led to have credence in the spirit that shall be, henceforth, her motor force. In the past efforts, a human voice has spoken, a human voice will continue to speak, in the present, and as in the past and the present, so in the future, it will be a human voice. But above all human voices Lady PVanklin hears another voice. She listens, but the cadences are such as mortal ears arc i !; 1'^ i r:! i ]i ' ,: ^, ;i«< i ;i I i ' I *! •• 111 94 Sir Jolui FnvikliiL strangers to. She thinks of the Batk-Kol^ and in felt satisfaction of a soul fully convinced, she responds by a renewed consecration to the one task of her life. The writing on that wall, in the city of Londonderry, shall not be, as unto l^el- shazzar in the city of Babylon, a MENE, but the beginning of a new kingdom. With an Excelsior, she will climb to " Point Victory ! " It is not of romance we thus write, but of fact ; and as we proceed we shall see how the fact, mysterious as it may have been, became a part of her very being. In thought, if not in action, hereafter all her letters mi^ht be dated from London, but, in invisible ink, it will be a London with a Derrv. As to the case of Captain Forsyth, it is soon told. As we have seen, the Prince Albert left Aberdeen June 5th, 1850. The Lady Franklin, and the Sophia, had left the same place on April 13th, and the Resolute and the Assistance had left England in the following month — both expeditions for the north. The McCIure expedition, for Behring Strait, had left England January 20th, 1850. The Prince Albert reached Lancaster Sound without a hitch, sailed, for a short time, in the company of the Government discovery ships, entered Prince Regent Inlet, proceeded south, as far as Fury Beach, and, within four short months, returned again to Eng- The Forsyth Fiasco. 95 land. Ah ! " the impressions " did not " revive," or if they did, with a strani^e perversity of mind, begotten of self-will, or indifference, no heed was paid to them. So must have felt Lady Franklin, when she heard of the unexpected return of 1^'orsyth, and his fruitless labours. lier journey to Aberdeen, her visit to the Messrs. Horsfall, the conversation with them about the Jcuiinia, all the efforts and expense of Captain Coppin in connection with equipping and sending her out — all had been a beatini* of the air. The " knowing ones " could only liken such an effort to Don Quixote and his tilting at the windmills, rhe " lords of creation " could be heard exclaiming, ''Ila! it is always so with the ladies." Still Lady b^'anklin's head was " due north," and her heart was in the right place. Truly she had parted with almost everything to make the search as thorough as possible, but nothing daunted, she speedily resolved to make another effort. As to the Jeniijna, through " wind and weather," she arrived much too late to be of any service in connection vvith the Forsyth fiasco. We have designated the voyage a fiasco. This v/as hardly the opinion of the reviewer of Snow's publication, in the Morning Herald^ of December 23rd, 25th, and 26th, 1850. In three lengthy articles, the writer shuts his eyes to the neglect Hi' I v\ ■l«. M it!. iiill ■■ ! C !, ji 5 1 1 ' i T? l\ ': ! ' ' ! .1 2 '■ i- Ir 1 s 9C .SV> /^//;/ I'^riDikliii. of I'orsyth to can')- out his instructions. lie tclU his readers how Captain Forsyth "boldly ventured across the Wellinii^ton Channel," but nothing satis- factory as to his failure to search the west of Boothia down ■ Simpson Strait, via James Ross Strait. I'ui on, we read how that "contrar)' to advice (for orders he could have had none), he boldK' ventured as far as I'ury Beach." Whether " boldly ventured " was a verbal attempt to mini- mize an ini^lorious retreat we w^ill not stay to discuss. No impartial reader of the publication can read the instructions, as given at page 6, without feeling that either Snow wished to prove that his late commander was a representative of the policy of " how not to do it," or else Forsyth, a la Xerxes, on his leaving the battlefield, secured a friend (on the staff of the Morning Herald) to speak only of victory. The transparent partizanship of the reviewer ver}' much pained Lad\* Franklin and led her to resolve, at once, to den}' his statements. There is not found in the Herald an\- such denial. Was it declined with thanks ? Did the editor wish to shield his coadjutor? Did the reviewer wish to save from further humiliation an unfortunate friend ? We know not. I'robabl}' a sort of solatinni to Lady P'ranklin's injured feelings was given in the issue of January 2nd, 1851, wherein a hope is expressed L ii 'ci'pool Merchants. 97 that Mr. Snow will aL^aiii ^^o out in the Prince Albert on her second voyai^c. So much for expedition No. i. As to expedition No. 2. This, so far as Captain Coppin was concerned, involved much expense, and a vast amount of time and self-denial — especially when it is remembered that he had, at London- derr}', an important ship-building business, which, from its vcr}- nature, required much direction and oversight. lUit he was convinced that he had a inission to fulfil, and to the best of his abilit)- he did it. And what made this mission a sacred passion was an unwavering faith in the " revelation. " On his wa}' to the Great Exhibition of 1851, he stayed in Liverpool. Whilst here, he became more fully acquainted with the efforts of Lad)' I'^-anklin to send out her second expedition. In the earnest resolve to make another effort to aid her Ladyship, pleasure was sacrificed. Accordingly he waited upon the Ma}'or of Liverpool (Sir John Bent), elicited his sympathy in the good cause, and secured his consent to wait upon the members of the Corporation, merchants, and bankers, in his own name, and secure their signatures to a memorial for presentation to the Admiralty. The purport of the memorial was to get a Government expedition to be sent in the direction marked on the child's chart and given on the wall. In a ■: ■- ) 5 , I 5 ill r i 9S f< Sir jolni hnDiklifi. ifforts, 430 c\v days, after excessive ettorts, 430 names were secured, and, as from the Mayor, Captain Coppin was aulliorised to present the memorial, in person. He accortlinj;!)' set out for London. Throui^h .Sir Kobert T'erijusson, M.l*. for Londonderr)-, he ()l)lained an introduction to Mr. J. Parker (one of the secretaries to the Admiralty) and presented his memorial. The reception was the reverse of .sympathetic. All the ari^niments of the anxious Captain were but paper pellets on the hide of the rhinoceros. Even the language of strong warning, if not denunciation, was of no avail. \\'h\- could not Lady h'ranklin wait for the return of the Hchring Strait expedition, as well as that of Captain Penny's, and the one in charge of Austin and Ommanney ? I^csidcs, the l^ehring Strait expedition (Collinson and McCIure) might return at an)- time. But Achilles was not vul- nerable, no, not even at the heel. " My lords '" would do nothing, and so, as if " old wives' fables," the illuminated memorial, on vellum, was relegated to the archives of the Admiralty. The heart-sorrowing friend of the noble-hearted Lad\- P'ranklin left with gloomy forebodings. Ah, had he thought that '* my Lords " were not, of necessity " spiritually di.sccrned," he would have exi)ccted little, and .so have grieved the less. Be it, however, noted that the memorial was presented a fr d^ L'>ii,'i<«« Captain Kttuicdy and 'JO •III- [ted i\b. ^ive Be Itcd about the miiUllc oi 1S51, juul had it been acted upon at once, lives niij^ht have been saved, as u'cll as have been prevented a vast amount of rackini*^ anxiety to Lad\' I'ranklin. As for the visit to tlie Kxhibition, this was an impossibiUty ; and could he have seen it, what could have been the pleasure to one whose heart was bleedini^? Hut Admiralty, or no Admiralty, Expedition No. 2 must be sent out. The commander selected was Captain William Kennedy, the gentleman referred to in the last chapter as staying three days at Captain Coppin's house that he mi^ht verify, in detail, the circumstances connected with the drawing of the chart and the words which " appeared " on the wall. Captain William Kennedy had been in the service of the Hudson l^ay Company, had spent eight years in Labrador, and so was well qualified for his post. The following letter from him will throw some light on what was being done in Liverpool and else- where, and will also show his intimacy with Captain Coppin : — " East Islington Institute, " London, 25th Apl., '51. " Mv DEAR Mk. COPrix, "Yours of 2 1st came safelv to hand last ni 1 i If 1 ''' . i i 1 1 lo: J>'//' y^/?// Franklin. Honour, the Captain at once comprehended the situation. A few minutes' conversation was enough to prove that in the French officer was the material for efficient service. Handing him a newspaper, Captain Coppin quietly went down to the ship, but found no available space, with the exception of the butler's pantry. Bellot was little of stature ; with shelves removed, a berth would be possible. In a few minutes, the place u'as transformed into a cabin, and the Captain returned with an appetite for an early breakfast, feeling that the chief difficulty now was to obtain the consent of Miss Cracroft. Break- fast finished. Captain Coppin obtained a private inter- view with Lady Franklin, and told her about his plans. Her Ladyship, without consulting her niece, granted his earnest petition, gave him ^15 towards the much-needed outfit, to which the Captain added another £,1^. Noontide, with a gift of £,^ worth of specially selected books, saw the little energetic Frenchman, much to his joy, an officer of the Prince Albert. The " bonnie wee " ship was well supplied with provisions, as well as with various things of a pleasurable kind with which to while away the long winter nights, including the gift of an organ from his late Royal Highness, Albert the Good. As may be supposed, Captain Kennedy, in a more emphatic sense than had Captain Forsyth, received s Kennedy to the Soui/i 103 from Lady Franklin all particulars relating to the " revelation," and the most stringent injunctions to attend to the same. Still, as he had receivetl the ilctails of said " revelation " from the little ijirl her- self, it was almost superfluous to have received them from a third party. Hence, if failure there be. tiie excuse will be the less justifiable. That the readc may fall into no mistake relative to the destination of the Prince Albert, and the instruc- tions to Captain Kennedy, the following appeared in the Morning Herald, April 8, 1851 : " One boat" of the expedition) "to the Western shore at Creswell, or Brentford Bay, in the direction of the magnetic pole. The other Southward, to Felix Harbour, and will cross Boothia Isthmus, and will proceed by James Ross Strait to meet the other boat. After meeting, they will again diverge, and explore westward. T'^en it is intended for one boat to be dispatched in the direction of Simpson's Strait." .Should the reader now turn to the map No. 2, he will find that the above covers the area mentioned in the extract from Snow's voyage of the Prince Albert, at page 6. Thus, whether Kennedy shall fail or succeed, his instructions appeared in the Morning- Herald, as well as John O' Groats Journal and the Inverness Courier of about the same date. In the following month (May 15) also through the Herald, Mr. Snow expressed his belief that in, or about ! i i ! ;!j' i ■< :! ■ III 104 Sir I'^hii Frajiklui. Boothia, was the only hopeful locality to search for Sir John. Amid all ljoocI wishes, and with not a few prayers for her success, the Prince Albert, for the second time, sailed from Aberdeen, on May 22, 185 1. But the earnest wish of Lady Franklin was to have a second vessel, so that simultaneous search on all sides of the area (J-Joothia, &c.), might take place. To accom- plish this, the before-mentioned petition had been for- warded to the Admiralty, and Air. Horsfall, for himself and famil)-, had forwarded to Lady Franklin a contribution (^f " ^-/'5 i is." Knowing;- that Lady Franklin had realised all possible money from her investments in the funds, and that her personal expenses were retrenched to their utmost limit, Captain Coppin spared no oains :to secure a consort for the Prince Albert. Besides, on the return of the ship, ;^ 1,000 were rec^uired to pay the crew. And to make the case more difficult, Lady Franklin, through her untiring labours, had brought upon herself a very serious illness. Again and again, physical and nervous symptoms, almost betokened a premature grave. As the Government would not provide a second ship, appeals, based on the lines revealed in the chart, were made by Captain Coppin through the metro- politan and provincial press. But either too much absorbed in the great exhibition, or else not having A Ni'Il' Channel I 10 = lid |rt, ro- ch ng cnoLigh evidence before it to sliow the reasonableness of going in a direction not accepted by the Govern- ment, or else from a feeling of indifference concern- ing a private expedition, the year 1851 passed away without an\' second ship starting from England. ViWX. what of the departed expedition ? The account, in brief, is this: — In May i (851, the Prince Albert passed safely through Lancaster Sound, down Prince Regent Inlet, and discovered that l^rentford Hay, instead of being a mere inlet was the entrance to a channel, about twenty miles in length. This channel corresponded with what had been marked )ut on the chart by Captain Coppin s little girl, whom Kennedy, as before mentioned, had personally and most carefully examined. Hut instead of following the line of the channel, as well as his instructions, down to Point X^ictory, Victoria Channel, he con- cluded that Sir John could not have gone south from where he stood, i.e.. the actual entrance to Franklin Sound, and thus leading to the veritable place where the ships were lost. Hence, he made for the north, reached the west of Prince of Wales Island, and from thence, made a return journey, I'ia Cape Walker, hoping, in so doing, that he would discover some ,signs of Sir John. In this, he was disappointed, and so, through illness amongst some of his party, as well as shortness of provision'?, he was compelled to hasten to his ship at !' i io6 S/'r Joliu l''rank'liii. I I- II; 1 A ^.- II' c Batty I^ay. From thence, notwithstanding his pro- visions were for five years, he set sail and reached l^ngland, October, 1852, havin<^ been absent about sixteen months. Much was the disappointment of Lady Frankh'n at this, her second fruitless expedition, save and excepting the discover)- of the new channel. The Behring Strait expedition had returned, September, 185 1. On the 21st of the same month, and in the same year, had returned Captain Penny's expedition, and on the 31st of the same month, and also in 185 1, Captains Austin and Ommanney had returned. The same applies to the private expedi- tion of Sir John Ross and the American expedition, under De Haven, the former returning on September 25th, T85i,and the latter on September 30th, 185 1 ; all, as before observed, without any information con- cerning Sir John. The following letter from Kennedy will be of interest as to matters bearing on his own return. " East Islington Institution, " loth Dec, '52. " My dear Sir, " It was my duty to have written you before now but my time has been so taken up one way and another that I have not been able, and now I have much pleasure in being able to reply to your kind favour of the 2nd inst. I rejoice to hear both of your welfare (•■ i Apology for luii/urt 107 i of and that of the family. My narrative is not yet out, but as soon as it comes out I shall have c^^reat pleasure in sending you a number. I do not think it will be ready before three weeks, at least, this is what the publisher says. " I need not now repeat what )'ou may have seen in the public papers about us, but I may say it is a source of much pleasure to me to find that you give us credit for what has been done by the " Alberts ; '"' to me it is certainly as great a reward as I could expect. We had our little hardships, like others engaged in the same work with ourselves, but I believe on the whole we suffered more from scurvy than any of the other expeditions, through much more exposure, and perhaps from the state of our provisions, which were none of the best. Our poor doctor is still suffering from scurvy, and also Mr. Hepburn, the old companion of Sir John Franklin. His, however, is not so much scurvy as general debility. Mr. Bellot; the French officer, whom I think you saw in Aberdeen, has also suffered from rheumatism since we returned. " With these exceptions, 1 believe we are all as well as ever we were and are as ready to begin the same work as ever, if we only had the opportunity. Poor Lady Franklin, I was afraid to meet her when I returned, but I was ti'uly glaci to find her spirits wonderfully supported, notwithstanding her many peculiar trials ; and Miss Cracroft, though she works, Hi Mi 1 'i i ill , r !' n if i.ji . > P I ; 1, I i .^! li I I 08 .SV> /fV/y/ Franklin. iT possible, harder than ever, seems to keep up her spirits. If wc did not bring them news of the missing, it was to them a great consohition to hear tliat the present expedition was so Hkely to get into advanced favourable positions for carrying out a better search than on the previous occasion. The safe return of Inglefield has been a source of much comfort to Lady FrankHn, and he has made the most remarkable voyage of all. Please offer my best wishes to Mrs. Coppin and the family, and believe me to be, " Very truly yours, "W.M. Kkxxkdv." The above letter contains four noticeable points, viz 1st. The narrative spoken of as being in the hands of the publishers, was published by Dalton, Cockspur Street, Trafalgar Square. 2nd. The Inglefield referred to was in charge of the Isabel. See below. 3rd. Judging from a subsequent letter of Captain Kennedy's, his own feelings were not perhaps so calm as here implied ; and as to the thoughts of Lady Franklin and Captain Coppin, they were less of the coiileur de rose than the writer supposed, as his letter, in the succeeding pages, will show he had lost a golden opportunity. l!i: Ikllot's DciXth. 109 her the hear kain so of b of his Host 4th. NcHwitlistandini;' faikire. he speaks of con- solation being- fell because the expedition had made a sort of an advanced position in the rii^ht direction. What did Captain Kenned)- mean by this ? The answer ma)- be found in a subsequent letter, still, to one that can read between the lines, the lanj^uage fairl)' means the Government expeditions are all on the wrong' track. Let me have another chance and I will go south instead of north, and so carry out my instructions as given in the child's chart, as well as received from Lad)- Franklin. Mad I done this, I should have reached '* Point Victory, Victoria Channel." This was the trutli, whether he felt it or not. En passant, it may be remarked that Lieut. Bellot, in connection with Captain Kennedy's call at l^ort Leopold, was instrumental in saving his superior officer and six of his crew from perishing through exposure and star\ation. As a tribute to his services in discovering the hitherto unknown channel, it was named Bellot Strait, or Channel, and is more fre- quentl)- shown, in modern charts, as the Bellot Channel, than, as at first, the Kennedy and Bellot Channel. His career subscquentl)- terminated whilst he was an officer in the NortJi Star. He fell a victim to his zeal and intrepidit)-, by being drowned in the Wellington Channel, where, w^th Captain Inglefield, ! !1; i. (!■: '>\ \ii I !i \i<' U) ■ a ;j I I 91 HI i : ' \'. ) I ■ i Sli :M ; < t I i I' I' I )"1 IBfciiy no S/r Joliu I'raiikliii. he had gone in search of Sir John. This happened August i.Sth, i«S53. His memory is [)erpetuated in the northern regions by a tablet at l^cechy Island, Harrow Strait. The following is a copy of the inscription. " In memory o{ "Lir:aTENANT BKLLOT, '' of the r^rench navy, who lost his life whilst nobly aiding in the search for Sir John l^^ranklin in the Wellington Channel, where he was drowned on the 1 8th of August, 1853. " This tablet, to record the sad event, was erected by a friend, A.D. 1854." As a further recognition t)f his worth, several gentlemen, including Captain Coppin, raised about ;£"2,ooo, a portion of which was spent in the erection of a monument to his memory in Greenwich Hospital Yard, and the remainder was sent to his mother and sisters. As justly remarked in the Morning Herald of April 29th, 1 85 1, Russia, as well as TVance (in Bellot) is showing sympathy in the fate of Sir John Franklin. We now notice Lady I^^'anklin's expedition No 3. In calling it No 3, we do not forget two others with which Lady Franklin, more or less, was associated, but as they call for no special remark and did not accomplish any real service, they are not, in this work, taken into account as bond fide expeditions. .\i/ Dt'spiraiiditui I 1 1 :ion tal and ah^ (in ohn -> ith ted, not his )ns. Captain Kennedy's return, thouijjh a severe blow to Lady Franklin, did not drive her to despair. She could j^et no practical help from the Government, yet was she ever willing to assist any scheme, govern- mental or otherwise, to achieve the great object of her life. For this purpose, she eciuipped, through the aid of sympathetic friends, the /snOel, and provisioned her for five years, so as to assist the Governinent squadron (under 1-^elcher) which was then engaged in the search for Sir John. Previous to her departure. Captain Coppin carefully inspected her engines and general fittings, and in other ways rendered valuable assistance. Captain Inglefield was appointed commander, on two conditions, one of which was, that he should, for his trouble and expense, have the ship as his own, and the other that he should be allowed to search where lie liked. No practical result came of this voyage, though a most remarkable one in its boldness and in its discovery of hitherto unknown open seas. It covered a period of about four months, and was very striking from the fact that almost everywhere, throughout its rapid progress, there was an absence of ice, unprecedented in the records of the North-West Passajre research. This could but cheer the depressed heart of Lady Franklin and lead her to hope that efforts, on her own distinc- tive line, would be more successfully undertaken than heretofore. i I ii !•■ i IN ift 1' il' I i U 1 i , <:l •1 I 12 S/r jolni hrankliii. As all licr prospects, at present, relative t(j help from Kni^laiul. were clouded, she tunicd her e)'es towards America. Hut thouL-h she made the most pathetic antl urj^^cnt ai)peals, both to the press and to those in authorit)', and though she crossed the Atlantic and pleaded her cause in pcrs(jn, the resi)onse was a vcr}' qualified one, viz. : the scndini; out of Dr. Kane's expedition. As this was on the part of the Republic more of a \"o)'a<^c of general discover)' than a search for Sir John, but little was expected, and less than little was the result. This was disheartening to the heroic lad)'. True, America, in the IJe Haven expedition, liad previousl)- responded to her call, still, she was led to hope that another bo!u:-fidi' response would have been made. There is not before us any record concerning the basis of her plea, but we doubt not that there, as here, the child's chart was ever before her. and that she pleaded accordingl)-. It is now November, 1H54 The McClure expeditio»i ( Behring Strait and the Helcher expe- dition (Wellington Channel) have just returned, bring- ing no tidings. Dr. Rae has also come to England and has brought with him ver)* exciting news, being no less than the discover)- of undoubted relics of Sir John L^'anklin's expedition, in the shape of different pieces of plate, marked with the Franklin crest and the crest and the initials of some of his diaries Dickon »i3 )fifi< K land ;ing of of li; 1 I liJ: i I I ■ 1 ; '■ I. ' t t' f I ' m 128 .S'/> /o/in Fmn/v'/ifi. families, whose huts bore unmistakable signs of Franklin garniture, and whose inmates affirmed that the natives of King William Island had seen two ships, one of which had been sunk by the ice, and the other had been driven ashore and broken in pieces. Both parties now pressed on towards King William Island, and having reached Cape Victoria, they parted, Hobson to explore the West of King William Island and McClintock the east. To enter upon King William Island, Lieutenant Hobson had to cross James Ross Strait, one of the places included in the directions given to Forsyth and Snow, about nine ycarr. before. He crossed this Strait, and begari with much enthusiasm to explore his alloted portion of the Island. Without knowing, it he passed the locality where were cast away the Erehis and Terror. Still pushing on, about fifteen miles belovv this, he came upon Point X'ictory ! Point Victory ! This is situated on the N.W. Coast of the island. Point Victory ! This is the place that " appeared " on the wall of Captain Coppin's upper room, in Londonderry, about nine years and six months since, and concerning which his little child had spoken and written, and about which her father had written to Lady Franklin in 1S50. And off', on the right hand, is Victoria Channel, about which the child had also written ten Light at Last! 129 and spoken, as a part of the mysterious handwriting which appeared on the wall. This place also, had been included in the letter to Lady Franklin, in 1850. Point Victory ! Hobson commenced to search a dilapidated cairn, and here, amongst some loose stones, he discovered a thin tin cylinder, in which was contained the following precious record, and the only written record that was ever found. " Point Victory ! Victoria Channel ! " The record found in the former and the ships lost in the latter ! How surprising ! The words which appeared on the wall are now clear ! The ships on the chart, and the strange, unknown route that led to them, are all plain now ! The father's untiring zeal and Lady Franklin's unswerving faith are at last rewarded ! *' At eventide there shall be light." Light is come ! In the little tin cylinder were these words : — " H.M. ships Erebus and Terror, 28th May, 1847. Wintered in the ice in lat. 70° 5' N., long. 98° 23' \V. Having wintered in 1846-1847 at Beechy Island, in lat. 74° 43' 28" N, long. 91° 39' 15" W., after having ascended Wellington Channel to lat. "jj', and returned by the west side of Cornwallis Island. Sir John JM^anklin commanding the expedition. All well. Party, consisting of two officers and six men, left the ships on Monday, 24th May, 1847. *' Gm. Gork, Lieut. "CiiAS. F. Di:s V(KUX, Mate." K !; \ s \l \ H ■ ■ J I! I! 130 Sir John Frankli)!. Round the margin of the paper (which was a Government form) were written these notes : — "April 25th, 1848. H.M. ships Terror and Erebus were deserted on the 22nd April, five leagues N.N.W. of this, having been beset since 12th Sep- tember, 1846. The officers and crews, consisting of 105 souls, under the command of F. R. M. Crozier, landed here, in lat. 69" 37' 42" "^L, long. 98° 41' W. Sir John Franklin died on the nth June, 1847; and the total loss by deaths in the expedition has been, to this date, nine officers and fifteen men. "(Signed) F. R. M. Crozikk, " Captain and Senio; Officer. "(Signed) James Fitzjames, "Captain H.M.S. Erebus. •' And start on to-morrow, 26th, for Back's Fish River." As a supplement to those all important records were written these words : — " This paper was found by- Lieut. Irving under the cairn supposed to have been built by Sir James Ross in 1 831, four miles to the northward, where it had been deposited by the late Commander Gore in June, 1847. Sir James Ross's pillar has not, however, been found and the paper has been transferred to this position, which is that in which Sir James Ross's pillar was erected." The supposed cairn of Sir James Ross's was not " Point Victory," and had not Lieut. N'lmc Di mitt is. 131 Irving removed the cylinder from the caini to •' Point Victory," the " Point Victory " of the " revelation " would have had no meaning. AT is clear now. The mystery, involving the unprecedented labours of ten long anxious years, is explained. *' Victoria Channel " was the sepulchre of the Erebus and Terror. And until the time, when the sea and the ice shall give up their dead, they will remain the tombs of Sir John and most of his heroic coadjutors. " Point Victory " receixed the record of some, and the chief, of the lost ones, and what more is needed ? The devoted widow is in possession of the Koh-i-noor of all the diamonds of facts. " A little child shall lead them." Led by a little child she has ascended " Point Victory." Witii a Nunc Dimittis she may now ascend to an invisible throne, leaving to those that follow the gladsome task of sounding, throughout the ages, the peans of a noble lady but a much nobler wife. Lieutenant Hobson, having made secure his priceless treasure, pursued his journey westward. At a little distance from Point Victory, he dis- covered a large boat, belonging to the ill-fated ships, in and about which were two skeletons, guns, and a vast number of different articles. From all appearances, this indicated that the ship- wrecked crews had chosen this route to reach K 2 I if! 1: ! i ■l^r mi i n2 Sir John Franklin. the l^^ish River, via Simpson's Strait, the place included in the orders issued by Lady Franklin to Forsyth and Snow. Through severe illness, Hobson had to discon- tinue his explorations, and, as quickly as possible, hasten back to the ship. As given to us by an intelligent and quick-sighted member of the expe- dition, Hobson reached the ship just in time to prevent immediate death. And there he lay, da}- after day, in a most helpless condition. " Will poor Hobson ever again see the loved ones at home and receive the honours due to the valiant ? " could but be the feelings of both officers and crew. But in the midst of an illness, which ulti- mately proved fatal, he was much cheered by the congratulations of those who rejoiced over his labours. (^f the three officers in command of the search parties, Hobson had suffered the most and had achi wed the most. .As the chosen and more immediate instrument in bringing to light, what had, for so many years, agitated ]^2ngland and America, as well as being the gentleman that directly proved the truth of the " revelation," we feel that, for some reason, unknown to us, Lieutenant Hob.son has been kept very much in the background. And never have we felt this more strongly than when reading of lason, kept liave dinir The Real Discoverer. 133 Sir Leopold McClintock's "Voyage of the Fox\' All honour to those who were his fellow-labourers in the arduous task, but none that would cast into the shade the one who, to use a Scriptural phrase» found, for the expedition, " the pearl of great price." The remaining portion of the story is soon told. King William Island was entered upon by McClintock on May 7th, he marching southward, in the journey, after a short time, ten or twelve occupied huts were come upon, the inmates being some thirty or forty in number, and who were in l)Ossession of many things belonging to the ill- fated expedition, including six pieces of plate, on which were the crests, or initials, of Sir John and three of his officers. From them it was also ascer- tained that the wreck of the stranded vessel was distant about five days' journey, and that many of the white men had " dropped " on their way to the Great River (Fish River). With not a moment to waste, McClintock sped on to the extreme .'ast point of King William Island, which was reached on the loth. Here were discovered more relics, and a rather equivocating old man and woman, who denied all knowledge of white men having died in their neighbourhood, and who spoke of the Great River as being at a long distance. Still pushing on, McClintock, the same evening. f :( I A l! m f r. f:; I' ! :| ' ! '34 ^'/> Jo/in Fnxiikliii. encamped on the frozen entrance to the Great l-'ish River. Very sanguine as to results on Montreal Island, he reached it on the 15th, but only discovered some small traces of European relics, which, probably, were plunder from one of Sir John's boats. Search at Barrow Inlet and l^LlHot Bay was fruitless. With disappointment, the return journey was commenced on the 19th, and on the 24th, the western coast of King William Island was entered upon by crossing Simpson's Strait, the place also included in the orders of Lady Franklin to Forsyth. As this was the way o\er which had passed the party from the Erebus and Terror, careful examination was made. On the 25th, a bleached human skeleton was found, partly covered with snow and lying on its face. On close examination, it was proved, beyond doubt, that the corpse belonged .0 the Erebus or the Terror. This discovery was on the coast of Simpson Strait. A careful search producing no more results, he moved on a few miles west, or north-west, to Cape Flerschel. A cairn Simpson's cairn) erected by Simpson on the top of the Cape, was sanguinely examined, but yielded nothing. Still pressing forward, and over ground never trodden before by Europeans, apart from the dead and lost ones of Franklin's ships, he reached a small cairn, erected by Hobson, in which was ii ! t4 W/icrc lucre the 102? 135 found a note, informing him of the before- mentioned discoveries. He now resumed his journey along the westerii coast. When near the most extreme western point, he came upon the large boats already referred to. Hobson had here, as at Point Victory, searched very carefully for records, but found none. A note was left to this effect. McClintock's minute inspection of the boat and its equipments told of careful preparation to ascend the Great Fish River. As watches and two double-barrelled guns were found close to the boat, as well as a large number of articles, it was evident that no one had been robbing the unfor- tunate dead. This boat was about fifty miles from Point Victory, sixty-five miles from the position of the ships, and seventy miles from where the first skeleton had been found. The boat, from its great size and weight, must have belonged to the 105 who had left the ships for Great Fish River. Three had been discovered. Where were the 102? Yes ! where ? With no hope of further discoveries, McClintock set out for the ship, in Bellot Strait, which he reached in time for a late breakfast, on June 19th, having been absent seventy-eight days. As to Lieut. Hobson, he was still in the ship, an invalid, being brought there on the 14th. Captain McClintock was now anxious about Captain Allan 1 \ 'I' i 1 ui \ . i< i !■ i k i:'rli 1,1 i"i: I I.' I." 136 Sir John Fi'auklin. Voung. After fort)- days of great exposure, he had come back to the Fox, on June 7th, to get some restoratives, and though far from well, he had left four days before McClintock's return. JJoing }'eoman's service, in other respects, he added nothing to the discoveries made by Hobson and IVlcClintock. Young shortly after returned, seriously ill. Cleaning the ship, preparatory to leaving for England, was finished on July Qth ; on the 6th of August steam was got up, and on September 20th, the Fox reached the English Channel. The officers and crew received by a vote of the Mouse of Commons, as an acknowledgment of their labours, i^8,ooo ; i^2,ooo were also voted for the erection of a statue to Sir John ; Captain McClintock received the honour of Knight- Bachelor ; Lieut. Hobson was made Commander ; and Lady Franklin was awarded the Founder's gold medal of the Royal Geographical Society. The latter was an honour never before conferred upon a lady. And most worthily had she won it. No to-be-envied recipient of this distinguished honour, before, or since, more truly deserved it. " Many daughters have done virtuously, but thou excellest them all." We doubt not but the reader is now inclined to ask the question : What proof is adduced to show the correctness of the foregoing having any '■ Kennedy and the Revelation.' 0/ direct connection with the "revelation " at Loii- dondcny, in 1849? As to the discoveries made, and as to the localities in which they were made, there can be no dispute, nor doubt, but can as much be said concerning the truth of the " reve- lation " and its relationship to the discoveries ? The reply is a firm-toned, " Yes." In the possession of the writer is an abundance of original documentary evidence, v/hich, with the exception of the following letters, he has been unable to publish, either verbatim et literatim^ or in the shape of extracts, o quotations. Under such circumstances, the proofs are not so numerous as they might otherwise have been, still, if no other evidence existed, the verbatim letters of Captain Kennedy and the words of Sir Roderick Murchison cannot be controverted. It may be that, in a short time, the asked-for permission may be granted. In the meanwhile, the documents are in the writer's possession and may be examined. So far as he knows, nothing has been inserted, or asserted, in the foregoing, which cannot be fully verified by documents in the possesiilon of the author, or from living, reliable witnesses. The following two letters, from Captain Kennedy, arc offered : — I ! ^vs Sir John In-iDiklin. \ i i; " 42, Queen's Square, " London, Oct. ist, '60. " MV DKAK Mr. Coitin, •' It was like livinq^ over ai^ain a plcasinii^ [)art of my former life, to receive so kind a letter from }^ou, as was awaiting me when I returned to London latter end of last week. I would have replied to it immediately then but one thin<^ connected with my intended mission has prevented it, and I now sit down with very great pleasure not only to express again the very great pleasure I have in renewing acquaintance that began under the remarkable circumstances that led to it, but to thank you, in the most cordial manner, for the very kind invitation you have given me to visit you — a thing there may be a possibility of my doing, on my return to America, some time after Christmas. I am sorry I did not know you were the Contractor for receiving the Canadian Mails, as I have twice passed Londonderry in Canadian steamers, since you have had the contract, the last time I passed it being about the middle of July last. We were then delayed a considerable time, and I wo\ild have had time to have gone on shore <^o have seen you, at the calling place of these steamers, when I could have said in five minutes more than a half hour could bring forth by writing. " Remarkable Thingsr 139 " As ) ou are aware, I am still striving to slir lip an interest in behalf of my mission among the North American Indians, and am going about visiting the various places most likely to take an interest in it. I cannot, therefore, just now give you such a document as I would wish to give you on the subject of the remarkable revelation of )'our child, respecting the place Sir John I'ranklin was known to have perished, and which had in those revelations so very many remarkable coincidences with the facts when these became known by the expedition under Sir — McClintock. " It has always struck me since McClintock returned, that the disclosures of your child were among the most remarkable things that were con- nected with the search for poor Franklin. I am purposing to have a little more leisure towards the close of this week than I have now, and you may then expect a more formal, and less hasty reply to your kind letter, and then also, I hope to be able to send you a list of such as have subscribed to my mission, which I am getting printed, as it is so much labour to write down the names in so many circulars as I wish to send around. If it will be possible I will try and visit Ireland on behalf of the same mission, as I know that it has many warm hearts, that however little, it too would be disposed to give its mite towards ii l( I i i! \i \\-- I li 't '! ' 140 Sir John Franklin. it. but on this I will be able to say more when [ next write )'ou, as then I shall have laid down iny plans for the winter. Meanwhile, will you kindl>' accept for yourself and Mrs. Coppin, with the entire family, the united best wishes of Mrs. Kennedy with self, and believe me, my dear Mr. Coppin, " Very trul)' and sincerely yours, "\Vm. Kennedy." '' Sedgley, Dudley, "4th Oct., '60. "Mv DEAR Mr. Coppin, •' I now have great pleasure in fulfilling the promise I made a day or two since respecting the mysterious revelations of one of your children respecting the position of Sir John Franklin's ships at a time when all was darkness and un- certainty as to the fate and position of that gallant navigator of his ships. These revelations have since the return of Sir F. L. McClintock appeared to me the most remarkable of all the wonderful things that have been brought out by the various Arctic expeditions. I was in the first instance informed of the matter by Lady Franklin soon after it was decided that I was to have the command of the expedition down Prince Regent's Inlet. She instructed me to go over to London- Kennedy s Confession. 141 |st lin he ' s tlcny to sec yourself on the subject. I went, and there from your own chikh'cn had the facts related that arc [sie'\ mentioned by Lady I'Vanklin. '• In particular, your child related that Sir John with his ships were io be found down Prince Regent Inlet, and that, about places nameil Victoria, exactly the name of the place where Sir John abandoned his ships, and deposited the only record that has been recovered from the Franklin expedition. How \our child cculd have known the.se things is the more remarkable, because at the time, she not only had not the slightest intimation as to the whereabouts of poor h'ranklin, but Lady Franklin herself, was so possessed with the matter that Sir John had gone up Wellington Channel, that most people were carried awa\- with the same impression. I was among this number, and therefore did not attach that importance to the.se revelations that 1 ought to have done. Had I followed the route your little girl pointed out, I should have carried away from McClintock that honour, fame, and reward which he is now enjoying from the success that attended his expedition, ami t/iat by foUoiving the route pointed out by your ehild. " It was very remarkable that your child should have had these revelations, and I have often, since the return of McClintock, whilst struck at il ii i i* rJ '»arfi^> 143 Sir John Fiaukliu. the literal truth of what your then little one must have seen, asked niyself the question, how it is that such knowledge comes to us ? and I liave been sometimes disposed to think that in- timations are, on rare occasions, made to mortals in the way that this must have been made known to your little one. '* My wife, to whom I hope some time hence to introduce you, desires to unite with me in kind regards to yourself and family, and believe me yours, my dear Mr. Coppin, " Very truly and sincerely, "Wm. Ken NED v. " I am not able to send you a printed list of subscribers as the printer has not yet sent them, but hope soon to do so. " I am to devote a couple ot months to the collecting for my mission, after which the subscrip- tion list will be closed. " I quite neglected to thank you for the kindness you have manifested towards my mission. "W. K." Captain William Kennedy is still alive, and resides at St. Andrew's, Manitoba, to which place he went after he returned from the Mission to the North American Indians, and to whose spiritual welfare he assiduously devoted himself for several years. " Mysterious Revelation. " 143 :hc ip- ;elf On July 23rcl, 1888, Mr. Knatchbull-Hugcssen, in the House of Commons, asked the h'irst Lord of the Admiralty (Lord G. Hamilton), concerning the desirability of recognising " the great services " of Captain Kennedy in '* the discover}- of the most direct North- West Passage, viiie Times, July 22nd^ 1888. The answer was to the effect that though Captain Kennedy had discovered the Bellot Strait, yet, he not being a servant of the Admiralty, it was not a case for a grant from the naval funds. We regret this, and all the more deepl)' so that there should have been any occasion for bringing the case before the notice of the House ot Commons. However, to the letters. Ls there not enough evidence in these to establish the truth of a " revelation ? " How strongly must the impartial reader be struck with this should he take the trouble to pencil-mark, or underline, such phrases as the following : — " Remarkable revelation of your child ; the disclosures of your child ; remarkable disclosures ; most remarkable things ; m\'sterious revelation .... when all was darkness and uncertainty ; the most remarkable of all the wonderful things that have been brought out by the various Arctic expeditions." The general tone of the letters is unexceptional. There is about them an honest straightforwardness that no one can fairly call into question. Whatever II: H lij r i ill ; 144 .V/> /o/in Franklin. the amount (A regret implied, there is no symptom of tlic writer being a prey to the ranklings of iz\\\y. He is more absorbed in his moral and spiritual work to benefit others than in seeking to wrest any honour from a successful rival. It is not Captain Kennedy versus Sir Leopold McClintock. That the reader and the critic of the " revelation " may have before them a summary of the position, attention is called to the following facts : — 1st. Captain Kennedy was first informed about the ■' revelation " by Lady Franklin. 2nd. That he may not, for his coming search for Sir John, depend entirely upon her own state- ment, Lady 1^'ranklin advises Captain Kennedy to go o\er to Londonderry and examine the matter for himself. 3rd. He goes, and from the little girl's o\\\\ lips, he receives a confirmation of Lady Franklin's statement. (As before remarked, he stayetl at Captain Coppin's house for three days). 4th. lie feels that the very remarkable feature about the child's statement is, that whilst Lady P'ranklin. and all others, are saying the expedition must be somewhere up in the neighbourhood of Wellington Channel, the little girl has pointed out on the chart quite another direction. 5th. That though he knows this, yet such arc his predilections for the Wellington Channel route, he at his he Kennedy s Confession. 145 does not act upon the information in his possession. (As before seen, he partly carried out his instructions, and so discovered Bellot Strait, i.e., the line marked on -'s chart. The mistake being he did not go far enough south, but rather made for Wellington Channel, or the north.) 6th. That he has lost the " honour, fame and reward " which Sir Leopold McClintock obtained, and that by " not folloiving the route pointed out by the child" — in other words, he himself would have been in the position of Sir Leopold McClintock had he simply followed the child's route. 7th. Since Sir Leopold McClintock's return, he has been '' often struck at the literal truth " of what the little girl must have seen. 8th. Then he wonders how such knowledge comes, and feels disposed to think that such knowledge is only made to mortals " on rare occasions." The reader's attention is called to these words in the letter of Captain Kennedy, viz : — "Had I followed the route your little girl pointed out." This route was the same as that which had been marked on the chart sent by Captain Coppin to Lady Franklin, and which, with its accompanying communication, was believed to be in the hands of Lady Franklin, up to the time of her death. Application has recently been made to her executors for the return of both chart and communication, to (Captain Coppin, but up to the L »( 146 Sir Jo/in Franklin. . i t ! \ 1; u\ \ moment of going to press, the Captain has not received them. IVobably, in the next edition, both will be inserted. Supplementary evidence to Kennedy's letters, and that of a more independent character, is offered from another quarter. Sir Roderick J. Murchison, President of the Royal Geographical Society (1845), was asked by Lad}^ l^ranklin, or a " friend " of Sir John, to write a preface for the voyage of the Fox. This he did. At page xviii. are these words : — " And here it is to be remembered, that the tract in which the record and the relics have been found, is just that to which Lady Franklin herself specially directed Kenedy [Kennedy], the commander of the Prince Albert, in her second private expedition in 1852 ; and had that intrepid explorer not been induced to search northwards of Bellot Strait, but had felt himself able to follow the course indicated by his sagacious employer, there can be no doubt that much more satisfactory results would have been obtained than those which, after a lapse of seven years, have now been realised." Not only is the foregoing extract a confirmation of the letters of Captain Kennedy, but it is very sugges- tive as to the grounds that Sir Roderick had for making such a statement. A gentleman of his eminence could scarcely be supposed to have penned such words without a clear reason for so doing. Accustomed, as he was, to weigh evidence and to for his ined Ding, d to Murchisou and Kennedy. 147 arrive at conclusions, the very opposite of those obtained from uncertain data, those words were the outcome of an honest conviction. Whence, then, got he the information ? Lady Franklin was accessible, and Lady Franklin and himself were friends. What more natural than for her Ladyship to have told her powerful fidus Achates all about the revelation," and of Captain Kennedy's relation thereto ? To suppose that the v.minent scientist held a brief for the case of Kennedy versus McClintock would be a breach of the code of \\Q\\o\\x par excellence, not to mention the base hypocrisy which such an act would reveal. The entire preface tells of nothing but praiseworthy feelings towards McClintock. "^he brief-theory dis- posed of, the fair inferenc is that what Sir Roderick wrote was written with a full knowledge of the "revelation" as given him by Lady Franklin. And when he uses the word " revelation," at page xii. of his preface, is he not unconsciously referring to the facts so well known to Lady Franklin and others ? As to Lady Franklin's feelings on the matter, they were even stronger and more definite than those of Captain Kennedy and Sir Roderick Murchison. Though above nine years had passed since the " revelation " of the child had been made the basis of her new line of action, and though difficul- ties of every kind had been encountered, yet the L 2 I 148 Sir Jo/m Frankliii. I 1 f i !■ whole of the wonderful circumstances were as fresh in her mind as ever. In 1850, as drawn on the child's chart, she had seen the ships, ice-bound, and snow- capped, in a certain channel. That channel was Victoria Channel. McClintock had returned and proved the truth of that part of the matter. Not only so, but all bad united to say that the region in which the ships had navigated and in which they were lost, could not have been reached, yet the discoveries of McClintock had proved that the child's chart was right and all other opinions were wrong. Concerning such, her ladyship had not the least doubt. What she believed concerning the vessels, as represented on the child's chart, she equally believed in reference to " Point Victory," as pointed out on the same chart. No one knew that this prominent projection of King William Land was a directing post to the place, where lay the Erebus and Terror, much less that in a cairn, on this summit, would be found the only written record that could tell anything about the fate of the expedition ; yet so it proved to be. And no one believed this more fully than Lady Franklin, when McClintock brought back the undeniable proofs. In a most circumstantial, or detaihd wa}', through Captain Coppin, she had received all information concerning the ships, the places through which a The Real Diseoverer. 149 )ugh tion h a search expedition should enter, the new route in which it should go, and the places of vital im- portance on the other side of the new route. Nine years after, Lady Franklin was prepared to affirm that the prophetic record, or the super- natural revelation, had been abundantly proved to be true. McClintock's discoveries were her witnesses. Further, her Ladyship, with the chart and the child's statement in her possession had a proof of the veracity of her words which no one could invalidate. Whatever ma}' have been the labours and hard- ships of McClintock and his party in geucral, or of Lieutenant Hobson in particular, all, or eiti i, had not " laboured *' so much, as to enter into the " labours " of another, and that one the fingers and the mouth of Captain Coppin's little daughter. This was Lady Frank "n's opinion, and with what she possessed, and in view of what she had done, the opinion could not have been otherwise. Captain Kennedy had declared that, guided wholly and solely by the child's statement and chart, he could have achieved what had been done by McClintock, and Lady Franklin believed the same. Thus, whether fully discovered by the latter, or partially discovered by the former, the sole guide, from first to last was the " revelation " at ii MO Sir Jo/iii Fmn/c/iu. ! I 1 1 I ;.' \\ * I t Londonderry, in 1S49. Human sagacity had no more to do with eitlier, or both, than had the going of the scr\ant of I'^lijah to the top of the mount to do with the rising of a cloud Hke unto a man's hand. As to boasting of intuitive skill, or the possession of rare knowledge as the fruit of great experience, with as much reason might boast the cleverly-worked marioimette, or the invisibly-moved automaton. Both Kennedy and ricClintock were machines, whose motor power was a " revelation," and whose regulator was Lady Franklin. To say otherwise is to deny that " wis- dom is justified of her children." Opinions may vary concerning the nature of the phenomena, or there may be some that will deny the matter as appertaining to anything phenomenal, but we venture to think that no one will attempt any other explanation of the cause, or causes, that led to the discovery of the fate of Sir John Franklin. Captain Coppin, Lady Franklin, Miss Cracroft, Captain McClintock and Captain Kennedy received their inspiration, through a child's " revelation ; " under the influence of that inspiration they laboured for a definite object, in a given place, and what they worked for they obtained. In the presence of such a mass of evidence, as to the reality of the " revelation," we can but feel The Mouths of Babes. \\\ that the matter becomes an absolute demonstration, or something so near to it as to be, for all practical purposes, the same as the thin, itself. And he who can demonstrate to the nitrar)' will prove himself to be sometning more than a " Chevalier sans peur et sans reprochey " Point Victory, Victoria Channel." " Out of the mouths of babes and sucklings Thou hast perfected praise." li hey as feel Vi i ,}] ) /) it ■ 'I « I ) 4' 1: '; I i I. li CHAPTER VI. TlIH EVIDKXCK FOR THE " REVELATION " EXAMINED. " Try the spirits." The well-known adage, " The strength of a chain is no stronger than its weakest link," has, through- out all the preceding pages, been, to the author, an ever-present feeling. Ere they were handed over to the press-man, he has heard, in anticipation, the voice, not only of the hypercritical, but that of the most uncharitable carper. As so hearing, the writer has carefully examined every link of evidence, and without being guilty of overweening confidence, he ventures to affirm that his readers will find some amount of difficulty in breaking the chain. Let us see. The reader is prepared to endorse the statement that Sir John Franklin was lost, and that, on her own responsibility, his wife undertook to make a search for him. He is also willing to agree to the fact that a search expedition was placed in command of Captain Forsyth, assisted by Mr. \V Fors^'th^s Insfyuctions. 153 Parker Snow, as his chief oflficer. Then he cannot dispute wliat Sir John Richaidson wrote in 1848-9. to the effect that Dr. Rp.e's discoveries in con- nection with the searches of the Enterprise and Investioator, under the command of Sir James C. Ross, had covered the whole of Prince Regent Inlet and the Gulf of Boothia. Yes, Sir John had so written, and yet, as if such were valueless, and as if all Government expeditions and opinions were valueless, we find Lady I'ranklin, without " rhyme or reason," placiuLjj her faith in the statement from, or through, a child, and that in direct opposition to such a Nest(M' in Arctic research. The reader will also agree that the search expedition of the Prince Albert was to be connected with regions in and about Regent Inlet, Boothia, down to Simpson Strait via the Strait of James Ross. As a proof of this, the following extract is taken from Snow's voyage of the Prince Albert: — "The object of the expedition was the thorough search of the west coast of Regent Inlet to the bottom of Boothia, together with the western side of Boothia, into James Ross Strait and down to Simpson Strait " {%Hde p. 6). If the reader will now consult the map, he will find that this route, as given b}- Lady P^ranklin, was the one that covered the entire area in which were included the places where the precious 1' Il I 154 Sir Joliu Franklin. record was found and where were lost the Erebus and Terror. That Ca[)tain Forsyth and Mr. Snow did not attend to their instructions does not destroy the evidential part of the case. I lere, then, is Snow's statement, and, without fear of contradiction, the writer affirms that the route specified was an entirel}' new one — yes, new, and that in the face of the predilections of Lady Franklin, the savans of the Arctic regions, the advisers of the Government, and the expeditions carried out under the Admiralt}-. All, therefore, bespoke, on the part of Lad}' Franklin, the selection of an opposite direction. And not only this, but so convinced was Lady Franklin herself of the Welling- ton Channel route, that she purchased and fitted out the Prince Albert for the northern line of search. Why, then, did she, within a few days of sending off her expedition, suddenly alter her mind and enjoin the commander of her ship to go south ? There is but one available explanation, and that, the " revelation " of Captain Coppin's little daughter and the information connected with the " revelation," accepted by Lady Franklin and, as a consequence, acted upon. How clearly this appears in all thai Lady Franklin said and did. It was the "revelation" that brought her in contact with Captain Coppin ; it was the recital The hijhiciuc of the " Revelation. 3:> of the " revelation '" that brought to rcineinbrancc the forgotten fireside conversation with her lost lius- band ; it was the " revelation " that led her to alter iier plans, and that at once ; it was a full belief in the " revelation " that led her, not onl)- to have the child's chart and the accompan)ing statement sent from Londonderry, but on the receipt of the chart, to issue to Captain Forsyth specific, emphatic, and entirely new instructions. It was this same " revelation " that brought her into direct contact with the Bros. Horsfall, of Liverpool, and that led thein to offer the Jemima^ as a companion to the Prince Albert, and, subse- quently, to send subscriptions to Lady Franklin's fund. And so strong were the convictions of her Ladyship as to the truth of the " revelation," that had all the combined wisdom of all the Arctic explorers, and authorities, under the sun, sought to have removed said convictions, it would not have been successful. Rightly, or wrongly, this was Lady Franklin's exact position. And unless the reader is prepared to deny the statement of \V. Parker Snow, at page 6 of his interesting work, published imme- diately on his return from the fruitless voyage in 1850, then, thus far, he can but agree with the writer. And unless IiC can, apart from the " reve- lation," explain the cause which led Lady Franklin r , , i( I 11 I 1 h .1 I f t| 156 Sir folui Fnxnklin. to go against all other ()])inions, and thus to send the Prince Albert in an opposite direction, then he should, in all fairness, give credence to this, the first portion of the evidence. The reader is further i)repared to agree that, up to 185 1-2, no chart, government or otherwise, showed a channel going from Regent Inlet into Franklin Channel TPeel .Sound), down through which Sir John I'ranklin passed, and below which he was lost. P'urther. the reader will not dispute what Sir Roderick J. Murchison, in his Preface to the '' Voyage of the l^'ox " page 16), said concerning this place, twcnt}- miles in length, viz., an " im- passable frozen channel, or ignored as a channel at all." This accci)tcd as indisputable, the reader cannot deny the fact that the maps of 1852-4 shovv^ that through the " land, or eternal ice," a channel runs, known cither as the Kennedy and ]kllot Channel, or Strait, or the Ikllot Channel, or Strait. It is true that not a few doubted the possibilit)' of such a channel, or strait, and that such doubts existed up to iSqS. I'lven Captain McClintock, here the channel ippi 'POt, was shown on the official chart, was not fully con- vinced of its existence. \e\ ertheless, such a channel was, from 1852-4, and henceforth, marked on all the best maps of that pcriotl. It is also not dis- Forsyth ami Kennedy, 157 11 putcd that such strait, named then and named now, l^ellot Strait, or the Kenned)' and IJellot Strait, was discovered by the [)art)', or parties, whose name, or names, it bears. And it is further agreed, according to Snow's " Voyage of the Prince Albertl' that h'orsyth's directions covered the entire locality in which was found the channel, or strait — the natural inference being that if h'orsj'th had been careful in his searches, lie, himself, would have been the fortunate discoverer of said strait, as well as in all reasonable certainty, the fate of Sir John I-'ranklin. How, then, was such a strait discovered, and that in an unthought of region ? A very conclusive answer is found in Kennedy's letters, dated respec- tively, October i.^t and 4th, i860. His words are: " I was, in the first instance, informed of the matter by Lady I^^ranklin soon after it was decided that I was to have command of the expedition down Prince Regent Inlet. She instructed me to go to Londonderry to see yourself on the subject. I went there, and from your own children had the facts related that are mentioned by Lady h'ranklin. In particular, your child related that Sir John, with his ships, was to be found down Prince Regent Inlet and there about places named X'ictoria — exactly the name of the place near which Sir John Franklin abandoned his ships and B f : l| f f\ #f : 1 ' i i i • ' i J ' i ( ( ( ; i- it ) :• ?• 'I I 1 58 Sir John Franklin. deposited the only record that has been recovered from the iM'anklin expedition, &c." {I'ide his letter in Chapter V.). This, then, may be accepted as an incontrovertible fact, that Captain Kennedy would not have gone down Regent Inlet and discovered Bellot Strait but for the "revelation" of Captain Coppin's little daughter. Given, as a concession to the hyper- critical, the possibility that after the lapse of eight years, or through (^ther circumstances, Kennedy approached the subject with a warped, or an erroneous, judgment, it matters but little. The quotation from the Morning Herald^ as given in Chapter V., was not written in i860 but in 1851. And as Kennedy's letters are simply a detailed, confirmatory account of such a statement, they may, if the reader choose, form the minor premiss in the argument. Then the reader can scarcely venture to dissent from the impartial statement of Sir Roderick J. Murchison, when he remarks, *' that had that intrepid explorer [Kennedy] not been induced to search northwards of Ikllot Strait, but had felt himself able to follow the course indicated by his sagacious employer, there can be no doubt that much more satisfactory results would have been obtained " (see conclusion of Chapter V.). There is no necessity for discussing the value ot The Old World and the Nei.K 159 sent < J- cpid arch self nous norc (sec c ot Sir Roderick's opinion, nor on what it was founded. He fully believed that, for some reason, Kennedy had j^one in a certain direction, that such direction was not believed in by the English Government, and that, in this tlirection, lay the explanation of a mystery, whose solution, for a whole decade, had defied the united efforts of the Old World and the New. Thus far, we trust, the most faithful descendant of the i>roverbial Grad-Grind will not be so in- credulous as to treat the evidence as " moonshine." Either the statements of Captain Kennedy, as to the reason why he went in the direction of Hcllot Strait, must be falsehoods of the most unredeemable wickedness, or they must be true. There can be no midway position. We must, therefore, ask, unless good cause is shown to the contrary, that the reader, thus far, at least, shall accept the tendered evidence as unimpeachable, and as strong as it is unimpeachable. Further, it is impossible to produce a single iota of evidence to show that either Forsyth or Ken- nedy would have gone in the direction each one did, apart from the "revelation." This granted, then, apart from the " revelation," there would have been no discovery of l^ellot Strait — at least there is not a tittle of evidence to prove anything to the con- trary. And no more does the discovery of the 1^ il i\ I f : I ilr 11 I 3 i6o Sj'r Johu franklin. hieroglyphics of Kg3'pt. and ;\incvch tell of the existence of a Rame-ei; II., and a Sar[,nir., than do the present Arctic maps proclaim the certitude of the " revelation " at Londonderry and of its con- sequent results — the discovery of Bellot Strait. Further, the reader can but agree with the writer that Captain William Coppin is, throughout the whole of the efforts to discover the fate of Sir John, a most devoted worker. In Aberdeen, in London, in Liverpool, he is found in " labours more abundant." Above thirty special interviews with Lady Franklin ; hundreds of visits to those that could help forward the work of discover}' ; enlisting the practical sympathy of the officials of municipal and imperial governments ; on ship and rail ; by night and by day ; in much self-denial and at much expense — all for what? A dream? No. A theory? No. What then? There is but nne reply, and that is a firm, unchanging con- vict! / '\ the "revelation," as given by his little k^irl- At first incredulous, almost to obstinacy, then hesitant, then tediously slow of belief, then con- vinced, then relapsing again into unbelief, and then with his practical, matter-of-fact, entire self, com- mitted to a line of action, from whicli he never swerved, — his faith, as to the genuineness of the • revelation," cannot be called in question. " Point c'i ' The Blessed Virgin. i6i then con- then com- I never If the iToint Victory" and " Vicioria Channc),' ».j Ik reached from ELegent Inlet, were, to hts ni rul ib familiar as the city of his adoption. 'Vh-\\. V.:\y\x. Victory had a true tale to tell, and that Victoria Strait contained the Erebus and Terror, wtic to him as patent, as were the docks of Liverpool and the ships which he had seen in the same. If ever an infant's finger had woven a silken thread, and that thread had bound a giant, little did this with her father. With deference be it said, no Blessed Virgin was as much led by the " holy child," as was Captain Coppin by his little daughter. And unless it can be proved that a man of superior practical powers became the victim of an un[)recedentcd delusion, and for years worked assiduously under this dei'isiun as well as prevailed upon the crcnie of the practical peoijle of Liverpool to espouse ;; delus' e scheme, then we claim that, in Cap!' in Coppin himself, we have an amount of evidence that nothing can destroy. Another pr jon of the evidence V:. associated with the late Mr. Charles Dickens, whose House- hold Words (1854) tell of his deep interest in tlie efforts to discover the fate of Sir John Franklin, The reader has to bear in mind that it is not now the year 1850, in whicli we have seen Lady Franklin, strong in her ncw-borp. faith to follow ',!■ I ( ■ r^f II ■I' 1 ' \ :i 162 Sir John Franklin. the finger of revelation. Neither is it the years 1 85 1-2, when, with renewed hopes, she fitted out, and waited for the return of, her second expedition. No ; those days of her vigorous, young faith, have passed away. With a matured wisdom, begotten of a much-tried experience, she is on the verge of entering upon the fifth year of her thoughts and conchjsions, in connection w?th the " revelation." It is December, 1854. Lady Franklin has re- solved to fit out her last expedition to decide, once and for ever, the fate of the Erebus and Terror. Money, and a large sum of it, is required. Amongst other means to raise it, her Ladyship and Miss Cracroft (who is still alive) resolved to make public use of the *' revelation." More than ever, both sec that the chart of the child and the writing on the wall were connected with living realities. This faith of theirs, and the foundation on which it rests, must go before the British and American public. Concerning the church in Rome, St. Paul had testified that their faith was spoken of throughout the whole world. Why not the faith of the niece of Sir John and that of his devoted wife? They had been associated with the " supernatural," they had courageously worked together in the one com- mon belief of its verity and yet, with a pardonable timidity, their faith had been hidden under a bushel. It shall be so no more. Before God i Charles Dickens. 163 had hout niece riiey they com- lable r a God and man there shall be an open prolession. How shall this be accomplished ? Two things are necessary — one the consent of Captain Coppin and the other an influential pen. As to the latter, who so powerful as the sympathetic editor of Household Words ^ and what better medium than his universally read weekly ? With strong faith and resolute purpose, both ladies agreed to do their best to bring together the prince of the literati and the genius amongst shipbuilders. Miss Boyle should work the matter on the side of Charles Dickens, and Miss Cracroft on the side of Captain Coppin. Of Miss Boyle's complete success and of Miss Crrxroft's non-success, the reader is already familiar. The shipbuilder, for sacred, family reasons, dared not place himself within the magnetic circle of the world-famed littc^rateur. The impartial reader can but feci the force of this portion of the tendered evidence. If words mean anything, and if actions mean anything, there is not, up to 1854-5, the least tendency to dis- believe the record of 1849. True but little had been achieved, yet such was not the fault of 'Cm*. believers in the " revelation." Their faith had done much — had done all that was humanly possible, and the hindrance to yet greater achievements arose from the unbelief of the general public. But why wonder, since eighteen hundred years before, M 2 164 Sir John Franklin. \ f . t a heaven-sent personage had failed to do many mighty works because of unbelief Lady Franklin, Miss Cracroft, and the late Lady-in-Waiting of the deceased Queen Adelaide, doing their utmost to bring together William Coppin and Charles Dickens, and all based on a belief in the supernaturalness of the child's statement, is, therefore, not matter that should be relegated to the receptacle of " old wives' fables." Previous to giving the last portion of the evidence, there should be noticed the evidence that connects 1856 with 1854. Iktwccn these years, Lady Franklin, though very seriously indisposed, was not idle. Fail- ing to realise her hopes, through the powerful advocacy of Mr. Dickens, she broke fresh ground. The result was most cheering. Things are now so rapidly maturing for the final effort that, in a few months, the Fox will set sail. Whilst the utmost care is being taken to fully equip the little ship, both in men and materials, if possible more care is being taken as to the exact locality to be searched. Doubts, of a very grave kind, exist in some quarters, relative to the reality of Bellot Strait, as given on the government charts. Some even go so far as to deny its existence. This, including a natural wish to examine, de novo, the basis of a six years' faith, not lost yet, though most severely tried, 1850 and 1856. 165 borne t, as n go six :riecl, led Lady Franklin to ask Captain Coppin to send her the original chart, as drawn by his little girl, and of which he had sent a copy in 1850 — her Ladyship forgetting that the one she received, in 1850, was the original and not the copy. After these preliminary remarks, the reader will agree with the author that such an application, on the eve of sending out the last expedition, is not destitute of meaning. Here, without doubt, 1850 is connected with 1856, and the first search, in an entirely new locality, is inseparably linked with the last intended search in the same locality. Whatever may have been the doubts in the long years of unceasing work, weary watching, intermingled with seasons of complete prostration of her physical and nervous system. Lady Franklin's faith is again strong. Samson-like, the strength of the mighty is her portion, and though she may perish in the attempt, she will do more in her death than she has done afoictimc, throughout all the days of her life. ]^ut thinking and musing apart, the sending for the chart — the chart of the " revelation," told of con- tinued belief in the " revelation,'' and thus far increases the weight of evidence. And, considering all the rebuffs, governmental and otherwise, not to mention all the blighted hopes and thwarted schemes, the faith of this period, touching the genuineness of the revelation, was, in its evidential value, greater II i m 1 1 ' ■ '1 ;i } \ ^ i> h f. f I' m t-i 1 66 6'?V yb//;/ Frauklin, than anything wc have noticed. At least, wc challenge, with the strongest confidence, any effort to overthrow it. The reader may find it too mys- terious to accept, yet, such is no reason for denying it. Life, in the animal and the vegetable, is a mystery, but how egregious the folly to deny the existence of buch a thing as life. We now call attention to the last portion of thu proffered evidence. It is agreed that Captain McClintock sought to commence his real work of search by passing through Bcllot Strait, if such a place existed. It is also agreed that McClintock says, totidem verbis, he had, more or less, doubts about the reality of such a place. It is further agreed that as he drew near to the locality, as marked on the map in his possession, his anxiety was great — that he looked upon the matter as a crisis in his efforts, if not his chief hope of success. Then it is also agreed that he entered Bcllot Strait, went to its extreme western end, and would have passed out into Franklin Channel (I\el Sound) had he not been prevented by an impassable barrier of ice. Then no exception can be taken to the fact that both McClintock and Hobson, together, searched the west of Boothia, where, nine years before, Forsyth received instructions to search. Neither can any exception be taken to the fact that at the south- Ten Years Before. 167 as iety as a cess. rait, lave had rrier that ched syth any uth- west of Boothia, for the full exploration of King William Island, the explorers parted compan)' — McClintock to search the east of this island and Ilobson the western part. Further, no exception can be taken to the fact that Hobson, to reach the entrance to the island, had to cross the frozen James Ross Strait, the very same place that Forsyth and Kennedy had received instructions to examine. Then no exception can be taken to the fact that in passing down the western coast of King William Island, towards Simpson Strait, to which place I'orsyth and Kennedy were directed to go, I lobson came upon Point Victory, where was found the precious record, and concerning which, almost ten )'ears before, Captain Coppin's little child had spoken and written. Then, once inoie, in his journey towards Point Victory, Mobson had passed the Victoria Strait, where had been cast away the ships of Sir John. This also agreed with the child's " revelation." As a point of some importance, the reader's attention is directed to the following in connection with the order in which the last two names "ap- peared " in the writing on the wall. In the search- journey, we find that Hobson passed the locality in which the ships had been cast away, and this without knowing it. Suppose that the writing on the wall had appeared in its geographical order IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) // i?< :/ 1.0 I.I 2.5 1^128 1 1^ 12.0 1.25 ■ 1.4 1.8 1.6 m .. & /a ^a 3>M / ^ ^"^ V > Hiotographic Sciences Corporation 23 WEST MAIN STREET WEBSTER, N.Y. 14580 (716) 872-4503 ^•^ A ,v \ *» "1*^ ^9) V ^1? 0^ ^ % ^ 'ij)^ v\ <> I 1 'I li i, ' I J If t I- 1 i68 Sir John Franklin. it would have been Victoria Channel, Point Victory. Had this been the case, the probability is that a great deal of fruitless search would have been under- taken, if not by Forsyth and Kennedy, yet by McClintock's parties. And who can say that under such circumstances the whole would not have been a failure? The writing, however, was otherwise. It was Point Victory which contained the invaluable secret con- cerning the fate of Sir John Franklin. Hence, there was no need to search for Victoria Channel, much less to waste precious time in so doing. Thus it was Point Victory, the last in geographical order, first, and Victoria Channel, first in geographical order, last. " This is very remarkable," exclaimed a Liverpool merchant, when he carefully examined the matter. " Remarkable," is the feeling of the author. Then, verily, there is something in the fact that, a few miles below Point Victory, still in the direction towards Simpson Strait, was discovered the large boat with its skeletons, et ccetera. And, lastly, who can take exception to the fact that, from the eastern side of King William Island, McClintock had gone down beyond its extreme limit, and to reach it again, on his return journey, west, he had crossed Simpson Strait — the very place that was included in the directions issued to Forsyth and Kennedy ? 1850-51 agrees witJi 1859. 169 that, tion arge who itern ;one Ih it Lssed ded :dy? 1 > It was on the coast of Simpson Strait that McClintock's party discovered a skeleton, belonging to the ill-fated crew, probably only one of the four or five score that sought to get to the Great Fish River, via Simpson Strait. It was also a little further on that the party came upon, and examined, Simpson's cairn. Then it should be remembered that, originally, the invaluable record, found at Point Victory, was not at first placed there, having been transferred, from Sir James Ross's cairn (four miles northward), by Lieutenant Irving. This, of itself, is very striking, and shows that had not Irving so removed it, " Point Victory " of the child's revelation would have had no meaning. What more evidence, concerning the truthfulness of the " revelation " can the unprejudiced reader require? Do not the directions to Forsyth and Kennedy in 1850-51 agree with the successful explorations of 1859? Yes, verily, and that not merely in spirit but in the very letter. It is possible that a critic may object that McClintock's expedition went in the direction it did because most of all other probable places had been already explored. But whatever may have been the value of this argument, in 1857, it had nothing to do with the expedition of I-^orsyth and Kennedy in 1850-52. Either of these expeditions, if carried out, according I I pi m. . m ' I 1 i i i 1 \ 1 '!! ! ! {: \ ■\i if ■ 170 Sir John Franklin. to instructions, would have discovered more by far than was discovered by Hobson and McClintock. Our rc^suvic of the evidence is as follows : — 1st. The fate of Sir John Franklin was discovered by the expedition of Captain McClintock. 2nd. This expedition, in 1858-9, covered the entire area, and was confined in its researches to the same area, concerning which Forsyth and Snow received specific instructions in 1850, and Kennedy in 1851. 3rd. All three expeditions were directed to the same locality, or area, and were, for all practical purposes, but one expedition — extending, truly, over a period of nine years, yet originating in the same place, under the same circumstances, governed by the same mind, and carried out on the same principles. 4th. The locality in which was discovered the fate of Sir John Franklin was a locality regarding which the Government was incredulous, and in which, as a consequence, their many expeditions never searched. 5th. Such locality was only believed in by Captain Coppin and Lady Franklin, including a very limited circle to which they had made it known. 6th. This locality was made known to the fore- going few, wholly and solely, through a little cl.ild, at Londonderry, who, about nine years and six ^ptain lited fore- :hild, six Homage to tJie Revelation, 171 months before its confirmation, drew a chart, which showed where the ships were lost, the way to reach them, as well as giving the names of the places in which the fate of the ships was afterwards discovered. 7th. No means existed to afford any knowledge concerning the locality where the ships were lost, much less how to reach them, and even a great deal less concerning the exact place where the famous record was found. 8th. This being the case, the only reasonable explanation is that what the child " saw," concerning the locality, was through an agenc}', or an influence, which did not come within the range of human vision, and that, consequently, it was a " revelation." 9th. Captain Coppin, Lady Franklin and Captain Kennedy looked upon it as a " revelation " — a something that was supeiiiatural, and each acted accordingly. loth. Therefore, as no evidence to the contrary can be produced, and as none exists, relative to the locality in which was discovered the fate of Sir John Franklin, we can but conclude that the cause of the discovery was a " revelation." This being the unavoidable conclusion, we sec the united wisdom of England, Europe and the American con- tinent compelled to do homage to the Revelation OF THE LITTLE CHILD OF LONDONDERRY ! ' I; ' i \% I . I : ^ lii ii 1 1 f M I ! CHAPTER VII. What was the " Revelation ? " ^' For the spirit of the living creature was in the wheels," — Ezekiel. '*0 the depth."— ^/. Paul. The eighth decade of the present century, and the all-but-completed half of the ninth decade, have been, pre-eminently, associated with scepticism. Whether in matters mundane, or super-mundane, there is no disposition, in any quarter, to cry peccavi. Not a few contend that all things are purely mundane. With them spirit is a myth and mind translucent or transcendentalised matter. And though there are multitudes of everyday mysteries, at present inexplicable, and connected with no known data by which to examine them, much less to explain them, still, their science, or their philosophy, forbids that they should have any key to unlock, and any clue to search, the laby- rinth of hidden things, but such as are beaten out on the hard anvil of scientific facts and fashioned after scientific patterns. Be it the realm of vegetable, animal, or mental The Miuidanists, 1/3 -Ezekiel. Y, and decade, )ticism. indane, to cry s are Ith and And steries, th no much Ir their le any laby- beaten s and mental life, as well as power, everything must be accounted mundane — eternally and unalterably mundane. As the Mundanists arc, every day, putting faith in, and taking action upon, a thousand things, con- cerning which they have no evidence that they are purely mundane, such critics of the super- mundane are, by their own works, adjudged to be inconsistent, and not only so, but, in the present case, are, to use a magisterial phrase, " dismissed with a caution." Whilst thus parting company with the Mun- danists, be it observed that there are believers in the super-mundane, or supernatural, who are ever seeking to exclude from man's everyday life, all reference to a spiritual power — a power that firmly holds the reins of universal government and intelligently guides the affairs of this and other worlds. The ancient philosophers and poets wrote of Phoebus, sitting in his chariot and guiding the sun, but our modern sceptics have, long since, with their arrows, pierced unto death Phoebus, and^ forsooth, will allow him no successor. They will descant on natural laws and on natural forces, as if natural laws originated natural laws, and as if the main-spring of natural forces was a thing that created itself. The Epicurean theory of creation and force, through a " fortuitous concourse of atoms," is equally acceptable with " Protoplasm " I ' h ' 174 Sir John Franklin. — indeed, the modern theory appears to be but a poor evolution from the ancient one. All things considered, those that are the disciples of such a system are far more inconsistent than the Mundanists, since they acknowledge a super- mundane force, or power, and yet make the power to be a creature of the Buddhist's Nirwana type, or some nondescript existence, whose position in the worlds of mind and matter is as useless as it is undefinable. In the present instance, these are dismissed with feelings of pity, and with a prayer that, ere long, they may far advance beyond their present state of soul-vision, which only amounts to seeing " men as trees walking." In the super-natural, there i - second kind of believers. Those have faith in a living, personal, all-powerful and an all-wise Supreme Being, who, in holiness and justice, as well as being a Divine Father, governs the universe of nature and rules the world of the super-mundane. They also believe in the existence of angels, who should be recog- nised as being amongst the inhabitants of heaven, and in devils, who are the denizens of hell. Further, they believe in the personal, conscious and active existence of those who have departed this life. Not only so, but they believe, without reservation, the entire records of the Bible, from Genesis to Revelation, and especially in all that Tlie Christian World. 175 )Ut a ciplcs than juper- povver type, 3n in 2SS as these ^ith a (cyond only ind of rsonal, who, ivine rules elieve recog- eaven, Iscious )arted lithout from II that relate to visions, supernatural appearances, and ministering spirits. Yet, notwithstanding all such belief, and notwithstanding their belief in miracles, they are most unwilling, as to modern times, to give credence to anything that borders on the supernatural. Nay, with a very curious co-mixture of scepticism and unbelief, they devote much atten- tion to such questions as the deluge, the burning of the " cities of the plain," the passage through the Red Sea, the sun and moon standing still, the crossing of Jordan, and the whale swallowing Jonah. As if they believed in no Omnipotent God, and in His ability to work miracles, great as well as little, so do they seek to explain said events by a process which is purely scientific. Viewing such, as in serious danger of surrendering the high vantage ground of truth, one can but remember those words of the Bard of Avon, about protesting too much, and is almost inclined to think that it was in view of such temporizing conduct, the poet prayed, "The world, the Christian world, convince Of dtimning unbelief." In discussing the chief point in this chapter, the writer is fully prepared to have just as much opposition from believers in the Bible, as a Divine Revelation, as from the Mundanists and the Semi- ; M, 176 Sir John Franklin. Mundanists. The age of miracles is past, say they, and the ** vision " is sealed, and so to believe and to teach that more revelations can take place is presumption — is a fool-hardy trespass on the sacred domains of " the faith once delivered unto the saints." And yet, with all their opposition, not a few opponents receive, without much doubt, premoni- tions of coming events, such as trouble and death, and do not call into question the reality of the visions of their sainted, dying friends and relatives. Thus far, then, it may be safely concluded, that even the opponents of anything being added to the Divine Word of heaven, do, by their own belief and practice, tacitly confess to the possi- bility of modern visions and revelations. This so, Christian men and women should do anything rather than ridicule what, at least, is mysterious, and which; for aught they know, may be scintilla- tions, or coruscations, from that world of light which is at once their inheritance and their hope. More, perhaps, than some are wont to think, there is an infinitude of meaning in the "cloud of witnesses " of the author of the epistle to the Hebrews. How near is that " cloud ? " How close is the connection with the human and the invisible? Who can tell ? Ah, at best, we " see through a glass, darkly." In page 96 of the Unseen Universe, it is contended that matter is the less J I Subjcctii 'c Rci 'dation. ^77 t, say Delicve place .n the ito the not a :}moni- death, of the itives. d, that led to r own possi- 'his so, lything erious, mtilla- light nope, think, cloud to the V close isible ? irough Unseen le less important half of the physical universe — mind being the more important. Is it so ? It may be so. As will be remembered, both in the preface and in Chapter IV., prominence has been given to the word "revelation." It now devolves upon the writer to consider this important question, and that there may be no mistake as to the place which it is contended the " revelation," in these pages, should occupy, care is required to distinguish between the different classes of revelation. The word, revelation, has two meanings, viz., the uncovering of what is p'.'rely hidden^ and the un- covering of what is purely nnknoivn. This uncovering comprises the subjective and the ob- jective — the former caused mainly by something within ourselves, and the latter by something mainly outside of ourselves. If the reader will, before proceeding further, clearly grasp the meaning of subjective and objective, he will, far more easily, be prepared to comprehend the subsequent parts of this chapter. \st. — Subjective Revelation. This may be produced by Dreams, by the law of Association, by an abnor- mal condition of bodily health or state of mind, and by Thought-Transference, or Telepathy. a. Dreams. — During sleep, it frequently happens that something, long forgotten, is seen with perfect N i i I I I ti It w H 1 III : 173 Sir JoJui Franklin. clearness, and in the morning is remembered as distinctly as if it only happened an hour since. A very striking illustration of this is f^iven in Dr. Moore's Poiver of the Soul over the Body, relative to a bank manac^er, who, havin^^ found a larc^e deficit in his balance sheet, and not beins^ able, after many days of worry and anxiety, to account for it, saw reproduced at the counter an un-entered transaction, and u'oke to find, throuj^h his dream, the mystery cleared up. But as similar examples, though less striking ones, belong to the experiences of everyday life, there is no need, any longer, to dwell upon this aspect of the subject. Here, then, is an uncovering of what was hidden. What is the modns operandi of such an apokalupsis, is, at present, unknown. Perhaps, the best illus- tration possible of the case, is to represent the mind or memory as a sort of gossamer-roll, on which are written facts and painted images— all as the result of daily scenes and events. This roll, according to the age of man, and more easily than is spun a spider's web, is ever being increased in length. Assume, now, that roll after roll of the events and scenes of past succeeding months or years have covered up the written facts and painted images, and that, under the existence of certain conditions, the roll shall be unfolded, and red as since. :en in Body. found t beini^ cty, to iter an ;hrough But as belon CT is no of the hidden. :alupsis, ;t illus- :nt the Iroll, on -all as lis roll, ;iy than ;ased in of the Inths oi- ls and lence of ed, and A Peculiar Complaint. 1/9 you probably have a glimpse of what is amongst the lowest class of the uncovering of hidden things. The bank manager just referred to, had, at the counter, gone tlirough a certain important money transaction, which, though unrecorded in the day- ledger, was faithfully written on the memory-roll, and so, under certain mysterious physical and psychical conditions, associated with sleep, there was a revelation — an uncovering of the hidden. Ik The Laiv of Association, — There is only just need to refer to this well-known law. Every average -minded person is fully aware that a matter forgotten, or covered up, for twenty or thirty years, has, through some sound, sight, or occurrence, or, perhaps, an undefinable something, been suddenly called to remembrance as if only a thing of yesterday. c. The abnormal in body and mind. — A lady, whom the writer, in his pastoral visitations, occa- sionally called upon, was subject, about spring season and autumn, to a peculiar complaint, which led her to see, in different parts of her house, regi- ments of " black people." As she belonged to a military family and had, many years ago, witnessed martial evolutions, the regiments of soldiers be- came, as it were, painted on the memory roll, and so, under abnormal physical conditions, which were N 2 ■ It i til; HI I i I So Sir John Frankliti. \ I \\ !t; hk •? hit i:i i. I '«:•-. I. -fill speedily removed by medicine, she saw an unfoldint;" of the roll, in the form of moving regiments. Here we have a good illustration of the subjective appear- ing as objective. And no one can have watched the case of a man in the first and succeeding stages of dclirinni tremens, without being convinced of ho^v much a disordered mind has the power of making object.'ve what is purely subjective. As illustrating another phase of the purely subjective appearing as objective, a well-known gentleman in Liverpool related to the author the following incident : " One evening, recently, it being between sunset and twilight, I was about to get into bed, when, to m}' surprise, I saw my father, who had been dead ten years, lying down on the further side of the bed, dressed in his usual clothes. Thinking it to be some mental, or optical illusion, I rubbed my eyes and imme- diately it vanished." Several instances of ^he same kind have been related to the writer and have, generally, been believed to be bona fide supernatural appearances ; but had such appearances been treated in the same way as the foregoing common sense and practical gentleman just referred to treated his case, the long catalogue of ghost stories would receive a diminution amounting to about nine-tenths. How far such cases have to do with some i ThoHg/it-Transfereucc. i8i temporary, or even momentary, hallucination, it is hardly possible to tell ; and how far the mental and the physical co-operate or otherwise, to pro- duce the curious phenomena, it will, with our present ignorance, be impossible to determine. From some recent experiments in connection with the eye, it is proved, almost to a demonstration, that it possesses the power of so placing or adjusting what is purely subjective as to make it appear purely objective, e.g.^ the case of the gentleman's father just given. This thought, care- fully borne in mind, will help to understand the next paragraph. (t Tliought-Transference^ or Telepathy. — Of late, and especially by the Psychical Research Society of London, much attention has been paid to a subject of deepest interest. Though less compre- hensive in its range of subjects, the Liverpool Mental Science Association, in 1883-4, achieved some striking success in the same department of mental phenomena. The sum total of the results may, in brief, be stated as follows : — There are many persons, who, being placed eii rapport with others, have the power, through some unknown laws of animal magnetism, or the equally strange forces of sympathy, of conveying and receiving mental, or visual impressions, such as geometrical figures, all kinds of drawings and paintings, in- I82 Sir JoJui Fra)iklin. -\ \ ! \\ eluding words and arithmetical signs and numbers. Providing all conditions be favourable, such things can be conveyed from one mind to another, with or without direct contact. Indeed, space, in the ordinary acceptation of the term, may be said, in some cases, to have but little to do with the higher realms of telepathy. As it is now a well-established fact, and one which can be easily tested, that, without contact, under favourable circumstances, whatever is willed by an Agent can be seen or found by the Per- cipient, and as this can easily be accomplished at a distance of some feet, or some yards, the fair inference is that it may be accomplished, under favourable conditions, through a much larger inter- vening space. And as the natural magnet can, through a stone wall, influence the compass needle, why not equally possible for the more subtle power of human magnetism to convey impressions of pic- tures, &c., through walls, or any other material substances ? Let him that says " No," prove his negative position. As will be understood from the foregoing bare outline of telepathy (/>., sympathy, as a tele- graphic communication), no results are reckoned upon unless there is a previous knowledge, of some kind, on the part of the Agent In other words, unless there shall be some kind of sym- ■, 1 ''Mr. Mac/cay is Dead:' 183 pathy between an Agent and a Percipient there is no proof that anything, in the shape of seeing or uncovering the hidden, can take place. Thus Thought-Transference prc-supposes previous know- ledge on the part of the Agent of what he, by will-force, or spirit-force, or animal-magnetism, shall transmit to the Percipient, and telepathy presup- poses the existence of sympathy between the persons concerned. As an illustration of this, the reader is referred back to the case of Mr. Mackay, in Chapter IV. As will be remembered, there was between him and the little children of Captain Coppin a sym- pathetic friendship. His little daughter sees on the wall the words, " Mr. Mackay is dead." This, applied to the principles of telepathy, would mean that Mr. Mackay is in the act of dying, his thoughts, at that moment, go after his little favourites ; those thoughts take the shape of a wish to inform the child that " Mr. Mackay is dead ; " those words, as by an electric flash, are sent to the mind of the child, and so, what to her is purely subjective, appears, by some mys- terious process of mind and vision, as an objective thing, i.e., seeinijig to appear on the wall. On the same principle may we not have an explanation of vast numbers of those cases, beyond question true, where, either in a dream, or in broad 184 Sir John Franklin. \ \\\ '\ •:. i r daylight, some dear, distant friend has suddenly appeared, leaving to an early post, or telegram, or message, to bring word that, at the moment of the appearance, the friend had either died, or had been seriously injured? What more natural, under such circumstanced, for the dying, or injured one, to have one all-absorbing wish to see the absent one, and so start, as it were, a current of soul- electricity, which, reaching the brain, uncovers the hidden, by transforming what is subjective into what is objective? Well authenticated illusirations of such a power, of something similar, could be multiplied ad infiniUmi, but as the object of these remarks is not to investigate so much the laws of Thought- Transference and Telepathy as to discuss the possibility of a " revelatior " taking place through such means, and that such cannot be applied to the " revelation " in connection with the discovery of the fate of Sir John Franklin, these few obser- vations must suffice. See Chap. VIII., Sec. 3, The Mysterious. For some valuable remarks on what appears to be a sixth sense, see also the National Reviezv, September, 1888. We have noticed that, through dreams, the laws of association, an abnormal state of body and mind, and telepathy, the hidden may be uncovered. It now remains for the writer to examine whether Clairvoyance. 185 the revelation to the little daughter can be classi- fied under either of the foregoing divisions of psychical science. No account is taken here of clairvoyance, connected as it is with mesmeric influence, and resting, as it does, upon data, whose befitting designation is fitful and uncertain. So far as our experience has gone, no clairvoyance is possible, apart from the mesmeric sleep. And then, the most that is claimed for it by its most intelligent advocates is this : What is seen by the clairvoyant is a reflex action of the mind on the part of the operator, or of some one very near him. But enough. We are not dealing with mesmerism, omnuiui gathcnini. Thought-Transference, or Telepathy, implies sym- pathy between the parties concerned. According to this view, we have a possible mundane explanation of the death of Mr. Mackay, the banker. And had there been the same intimacy between the little daughter, " Weesy," or her elder sister, and Sir John Franklin, or even the smallest amount of friendship, we might have been disposed to attribute the " revelation " to such a channel. Besides, Thought-Transference, or Telepathy, pre- supposes between one of the parties concerned, a knowledge, more or less, of what is made known. Hence, if Sir John, or any of the crew, were in sympathy with Captain Coppin's little children, i :,i i. A ■ 1 J* . *^ 5 ;; if 1 86 Sir John Frank/in. there would be no insuperable obstacle in sup- posing that such sympathy could have been transmitted from Londonderry to the crew of the sunken, or ice-bound ships. But inasmuch as they, of the ships, were strangers to her of the city, the telepathy idea must be abandoned. Besides, supposing that between any member of the lost crews there was a sympathetic friendship with either of the little children, there could not have been a transference of any knowledge about a channel from Prince Regent Inlet to the place where the ill-fated ships were lost, seeing that such a channel was not known to the crew, or crews. But, if known, there was an absence of the necessary sympathy, as between crew and children. To what, then, are we driven ? Our reply is to the super-mundane, not something inexplicable, from a scientific view, but the purely super- mundane. No sooner do I mention this, than I hear the spiritualist interposing with a quasi- objection, or else with an explanation according to his own dictionary of controls, mediums and so forth. To him, the solution of the question is a very easy affair — if not flippancy itself, yet involving, from his own standpoint, such issues as to require a complete reconstruction of the entire basis of religious dogma, or faith. Whilst, there- ,1 't Siuedenborg's Spirits. 187 fore, believiniT that in spiritualism there is a substratum of the right, still \vc refuse to accept the idea that Captain Coppin's little daughter was the " medium," and that the spirit of the departed Sir John, or any one of his crew, was the "control," and thus was revealed the 7ieic way to reach the crews of the Erebus and the Terror. Besides, the spiritualists, with all their confidence in the knowledge of "spirits," have scarcely ven- tured to prove that any new discovery in the arts and sciences has ever been made known to the world through their communications, or mani- festations. Where, for instance, can the spirits be referred to as having discovered a planet, or a new pathway to — say, the North Pole. Certainly the " spirits of Swedenborg carried him through wonderful regions — planetary, stellary, etc. — but one would be more readily inclined to accept his statements had he discovered one of the man}' stars and planets which were discovered in his day, and subsequently. Telescopes, in such cases, could see better than his " angels." Though refusing to believe the commonly ac- cepted modus operandi of the spirit-workings of spiritualism, we, nevertheless, believe that the "revelation,"/^;' se, came from the unseen, spirit- world. And, in saying this, we mean that what M I m \ . Vii ; I '•I, •I lili I i* 11 i ( ,1 \i 1 :: I i! 'I" i 1 i'l' iy^ *' .1!!'' t!r i ■r; i88 vS'/V /c^/'// fyaiiklin. was made known to Captain Coppin's little daughter was one of the many thinijs that have, throughout the ages, marked the providential dealings of Jehovah for the instruction, or the good, of mankind. See Chap. VIII., Sec. 3, The Mysterious. In adopting this view of the case, we are fully aware that we are face to face with objections, and especially of the raison d'etre class. Remarks one, if the matter came from an All-wise God, why was not the " revelation " made known the ver)- moment that Sir John's ships entered the ice-trap of death, instead of about two years after? We do not profess to answer this question to the satisfaction of the mere quibbler. But we venture to assert that here there is no need for a believer in Divine Providence to stumble. The pages of Revelation, and the experiences of every day life, are full of facts, around which gather the perpetual Why and Wherefore, and upon which, unto their full understanding, must come the light of the future. Not to the same extent, surely, as the delay of the coming of Christ into the world, still, is it not as rea- sonable to find fault with the delay of " the fulness of time " in His case, as to find fault with delay in making known the case of the lost Erebus and Terror ? Before an objection against the workings Hosanna Gvectincrs. 1 > 189 t)f Providence can be accepted as valid, it is essential that the objector, with his very finite knowledge, should be able to measure the infinitude of Deity. *' We are but of yesterday," and shall be " no more seen " after to-morrow, are but poor proofs of ability to comprehend the " from Ever- lasting to Everlasting." Will the hypercriti'al be offended, if we remark that, as to the locale, there was but one London- derry, and as to the personnel^ only one Captain Coppin ? Then, also, there was one reliably intelligent child in Captain Coppin's family. Certainly, the Derry of the historical " No Sur- render," was associated with hallowed memories ; and the fitness of the Captain himself, for the unfolding of the " revelation," or the proving of its truth, was very unique. And, who more fit to bring to nought the wisdom of man and of kingdoms (England, Europe and America) than the employment of a little child ? Her " angels," or the " angels " of " Weesy," were equally as real as were the angels of the children in the incarnation days of the Son of God. Then what of the ancient prophecy and its fulfilment, at the royal entry into Jerusalem ? '' Out of the mouths of babes " praise could have had an illus- tration at Londonderry, as well as in the "Hosanna" greetings of ancient days. I I j ( ■ ■It )i I u.. i\'i ■;! • I I il'"'>- 190 Sir Jo Jill Frank a II. But, objects another, it is unreasonable to suppose that a "revelation" could have been ^ivcn in 1849, and the purposes for which it was ^iven not to have had any very definite cxplanatio .ill 1859. That was not the fault of the " revclat. ji," but the fault of those who should have acted upon it. Within a few months of the " revelation," the matter was not only made known to the ail-but helpless Lady Franklin, but to the Secretary of the Ad- miralty, and that by Captain Coppin in person. In addition to the earnest and urgent words of Captain Coppin, 430 of the Liverpool bankers and merchants sent, through the Captain, a strongly- worded memorial to the Admiralty, beseeching that action might be immediately taken, and that in the direction specified on the chart, and by the writing on the wall. But for reasons best known to " my lords," there was no response. They were either indifferent to the subject, or had committed themselves to a line of discovery, from which no pressure, or persuasion, could get them to depart. The heroic lady, aided to the best of his ability by the indefatigable Captain Coppin, had to work singlehanded. Had " my lords " moved with the alacrity which was urged upon them, many valuable lives might probably have been saved. Not only so, but had Captain Forsyth, instructed fully as he was by Lady Franklin, carried out his I ^1 : I, 1 JVas it Culpable Neglect? 191 instructions, many of the 105 men would, probably, have been rescued. As previously seen, most, if not all of the crews must have perished (" dropped down ") within the area included in the directions given to Forsyth and Kennedy, and those probably in the more limited locality between James Ross Strait and Simpson Strait, i.e., King William Island. If so, and if most were alive when l^'orsyth was sent out by I.-ady Franklin, then the neglect of Forsyth (if neglect it was) to carry out his instructions was of a very culpable kind. Even Kennedy cannot be entirely acquitted of blame. Then from Dr. Rac's account, we have almost indisputable proof that most, if not al . of the 105 were alive in June, 1850 — being seven months after the '* revelation " took place. True, he thought that all must have perished almost immediately after. But his opinion was not accepted as infallible. On the contrary, HouseJiold Words of 1854 would rather believe in their being murdered by the Eskimo than that they perished through exposure, starvation, and the devouring of each other. Further, we have seen that, in the opinion of Lady Franklin, had she and Captain Coppin gone out themselves, instead of sending out Captain Forsyth, many would, probably, have been saved from perishing. Further, even in 1856, eleven !:l ' 192 Sir John I'mnk/iii. . i < ' '-•1 hi' years after Sir John I'Vanklin liatl been lost, there were many Arctic experts, both in En<^land and America, who still believed that a number (jf the youn^jcr men of both crews mij^ht be alive. Where an Eskimo could barely live there was no proof that an iM^i^lishman would necessarily die. This view was held by the Scottish Courts in 1856, in a case of application for probate on the part of the relatives of one of the wealthy officers of the lost expedition. Probate was refused because there was no evidence of death having taken place, l^ut j^iven that all opinions were incorrect, as to the possibility of saving any lives, yet there is no need to exclude Providence from the matter. Had the route and the places, as given in the " revelation," been tt once attended to, what scribe is there that can give a correct record of what might have been saved, everyway ? Some forty expeditions engaged in the search — thirty- five of these would have been saved. About ;^8oo,ooo were spent in those expeditions — ;^6oo,ooo of this would have been saved. Several lives were lost, and not a few were incurably diseased through those expeditions — such would have been avoided. And oh, what toituring anxiety became the pro- longed portion of the lives of Lady Franklin and the relatives of the lost ones — this would have been prevented. And, as of as much importance % Interposition of Providcnn'. 193 as almost anything, was the loss of the invaluable records, mementoes, farewell letters, d\'inij wishes, etc., etc. — these would have been saved. Verily a revelation that most assured 1}- could have accomplished such important things was a revelation for which Providence could have been abundantly praised. Again, had not the '• revelation " been made, there is no reasonable proof that the record placed at Point Victor)- would ever have been discovered. And had not this been dis- covered it would not have been known, to this da\', what was the fate of Sir John, only so far as the relics brought home by Dr. Rae were concerned. Most certainly the Government showed no signs of sending out another expedition, and there is no ground for supposing that, apart from her faith in the "revelation," Lad\ P'ranklin would have done so. And had she done so, there would have been, apart from the " revelation," no Jk'Uot Strait, as a directing post towards the accomplishment of her wish. And what the value of Bellot Strait was to Captain McClintock we have already learnt from his own words, in his account of the \oyage of the " little" Fox. Assuredly, this alone is sufficient to give a reason for the interposing of a Providence, whose providing hand and watchful eye are extended to the very "hairs" of the head as well as to sparrows. O i i 194 Sir John Frankhn. M if Then, how striking is it that not one of all the expeditions sent out by the Government could discover the track which Sir John took after leaving Wellington Channel, much less the unknown and discredited spot where he was lost. Even Dr. Rae's discoveries were not made when he undertook his searches under the direction of the Government. It was the private enterprise of the Hudson l^a}- Company that sent Dr. Rae to Boothia, and were it not for that, no stray relics of the lost ones would have been brought to luigland. Thus, not a particle of credit can be put down in faxoiir of all the expenditure, of all the wisdom and of all the perseverance which were connected with the Government undertakings. Read in the light of subsequent events, the position of the government appears to have had its counterpart in the " Dog in the Manger." Certainly it did nothing itself, and it afforded no real assistance to those who sought, in another direction, to reach the ships according to the '• revelation." Those ruinous delays of 1850, 185 1, and 1852, and the disobedience to " revelation," were not the first in the world's history, neither were they the last. From the days when the Almight)' spake unto Cain, unto the days when Jerusalem turned a deaf ear to the warnings and besccchings of ''Ah a Ghost Storyr 195 of all ; could : after s the IS lost. ; when tion of prise of Rac to Y relics ight to can be ), of all which akings. nts, the Hve had ingcr." rded no another to the d 1852, not the (ley the spake turned iniijs of Heaven, man has been wise in his own conceits, and, in a thousand ways, has he thwarted the designs of goodness and mercy. As to the cuckoo cry of scepticism, " it is all a ghost story," it may be replied that it is the most wonderful ghost story recorded of this, or of any other age. Untiring efforts, extending over about ten years, three expeditions, the discovery of a new and a most unexpected channel, and the interest in so many quarters, and all resting on a " ghost story," is something unparalleled in the annals of history, and demands an explanation that scepticism is utterly unable to give. The pooh, pooh, and the incredulous laugh, are not arguments. We will not discuss whether the "appearances" of " Weesy " were objective or subjective ; pro- bably, at first, objective, they afterwards became mixed. All we claim, as a rational explanation of the " revelation," is this, it was snpeniatural. By this word, supernatural, is meant a special act of Providence, by which were put before certain parties means which such parties were able to use, and which, if used at the proper time, would have saved from an untimely death, at least, a great many of the crews of the Hrchits and the Terror. As before observed, the use of the means was refused by some, delayed by others, O 2 IB 196 Sir John Franklin, I' I r I and when, at last, acted upon, it was too late to save life, and yet it fairly solved what had been a problem for the past eleven years. In connection with the remarkable defeat of the besiegers of Londonderry in 1688-9, James II. uttered these memorable words, " the opposition of Deny lost the opportunity that can never be recalled," Words of pregnant meaning, it follows that the turning point of England's future histor}', and the accession to the throne of England of the House of Hanover, "being Protestant," were connected with the immortal and victorious courage of the citizens of Derry, Be it so, or not, the author is led to hope that, through the present pages, the ' revelation " of the little child of Londonderry will, unto any unbeliever \n the super-mundane, be the making of a red-letter da}- in his life, and that, the giving up of his materialism. This so, there will be fulfilled in him, as in many others, the words of the prophetic evangelist^ "A little child shall lead them." 1 I '^ : CHAPTER VIII. Section I. — Captain Coppin's Life in General. '* Seest thou a man diligent... he shall stand before kings." Captain William Coppin, who is now in the eighty- fourth year ot" his age, and possesses, in a very remarkable degree, all his pristine vigour, was born at Kinsale, County of Cork, October 9th, 1805, rendered famous by the landing and the departure of the dis- comfited James II. On the Irish side, the Coppin family can trace their descent, in a direct line, from tl^e ancient kings, and on the English side, from the Tudors. At the school of his native place, when fourteen years of age, he carried off the first prize for mathematics. At fifteen, through his expertness as a swimmer, his ingenuity, and his great presence of mind, he was the sole instrument in saving the lives of the boatswain and crew of a boat which was suddenly capsized, an exploit that prevented six wives from becoming widows and six families of children from becoming fatherless also, and made young Coppin the hero of no small circle. As his native town pos.sessed the chief dockyard I ill fylt . M ,| ! I'.. I I: Hi il i:' 198 Captain Coppin. in Ireland, and as his maternal uncles had held high positions in the Royal Navy, no wonder that " Willie " took a fancy to the sea. His mother was averse to this, and desired him, like his three brothers, to enter the medical profession. This being most distasteful to him, a compromise was effected by his entering the shipbuilding business. Encouraged by the head of the firm, a friend of his father's, young Coppin made most rapid progress. Ere he reached seventeen, his ideas outgrew those of Irish shipbuilding, and accordingly he left for St. John, New Brunswick. The new field afforded him full scope for his expanding mind. Before long, he was building ships on his own account, and when scarcely twenty, many a neat and strong wooden craft had passed through the hands of the lad from Kinsale. Ambitious to navigate, as well as to build, he devoted his evenings and all spare minutes to the study of everything connected with shipping matters, even unto coast and colonial trading. Success crowned his efforts, and so, for two years, in his own designed and specially built vessels, he traded between the different West Indian Islands. He was now twenty-two, open in countenance, robust in build, and with energy fit to cope with more than ordinary difficulties. A gentleman in Londonderry requiring a ship for First ScreiK.'- Propeller. 199 the timber trade, IVIr. Coppin built it in Nova Scotia, fitted it up at St. John, N.B., took in a cargo of deals and timber, and arrived at Londonderry in command, being now twenty-five years of age. The Derry gentleman being so pleased with the manly young son of Neptune, asked him to undertake the building of a ship for the American passenger trade. This he accomplished in 1834. The cargo and steamship business, at this time, commencing to rapidly develop between London- derry and Liverpool, and being anxious to master all the minutiae of the new mode of navigation, young Coppin accepted the offered command of the Queen Adelaide. He shortly after took charge of the Robert Napier (named after the father of steam-ship build- ing on the Clyde), which, with the object desired, accomplished, he, in 1839, started in Londonderry as ship-builder and engine and boiler maker. Well- grounded in the steam-ship business, Captain Coppin, who had studied very carefully the screw-propelling theory, resolved to build a large steamer, 1,515 tons register, with engines of 360 horse power, and worked by the screw-propeller. Such an undertaking, the laughing stock of some and the amazement of others, involved the erection of new furnaces. Besides, there was no model to copy from. But the enterprising young native of the town on the l^ay of the Bandon was equal to the occasion. \ \ fi '!> i I if i I M iii;:i 1,1 I :! i II! 200 Captain Coppin. Commenced in 1^41, the Great Northern was launched, THE "GREAT NORTHERN" STF.AMEK. with the city en fete, in June, 1842, and as she proudly / J^ 1 ^ V A \ Wr- SECTIONS OF THB "CRRAT NORTHBIUf" 8TBAMBR, left licr moorings and sailed out on the Fovle, wise " I /hi St rated London Neivsr 20 1 men saw, in steam shipping, the dawning of a new era. The following extract from the Uliistrated [London'] iV^rcv, January 14th, 1843, will afford some evidence of what we say: — "This extraordinary steamer, now in the East India Docks, is the object of general astonishment. Her great length, breadth, and depth exceed, we believe, the dimensions of any steam vessel ever in existence. She was built at Londonderry by Captain Coppin, and is a remarkable monument of marine architecture. She is propelled by the Archimedean screw, which works on each side of the rudder. The engine is of 360 horse power. No paddles are required, and but for the funnel, which is seen amidships, she might pass for a square- rigged ship of the larger class. She has three masts, with lower and upper yards, and is rigged in every respect like a frigate, or sloop of war. We were favoured by one of her officers with the following dimensions : — Length from the taffrail to the stern, 274 feet, breadth of beam 37 feet, depth from the gangway to the keel, 26 feet. On her passage from Londonderry she ran, upon an average, 13-J knots. During the week many persons entered the dockyard to gaze at this really wonderful object." (See also the Mechanics' Magazine, October ist, 1842). Amongst others that visited the Great Northern were Mr. Lloyd, Chief Engineer of the Woolwich Dockyard, and Captain Sir Edward Parry, \ ii i| I I 1 M' i i II -;■ 'I ■I' :j. 1 ' !l: 202 Captain Coppin. who expressed himself as much pleased, and pro- phesied that the time was not far distant, when no ship of Her Majesty's Navy would be without an Archimedean screw. Further, so favourably im- pressed was the Admiralty with the Great Northern^ that they, under Captain Coppin's superintendency, made three trial trips with her, each of which cost the Captain ^loo. The speed and everything being satisfactory she was placed in commission, to ply between Calcutta and Hong Kong, in the transport of troops for the war with China. She was to be chartered foi- three years, at ^loo per day, the owners to find ever}thing. Comptroller General Meek, of the Victualling Depart- ment, had charge of the matter. As there nas an unaccountable delay in the signing of the requisite papers, the Chairman of the Little Screw Company whispered to the Captain about a gift of £,200 (Persian — Backsheesh). This little present was not forthcoming, neither were the necessary papers. So the Great Northern never had the opportunit)' of doing good service for the Admiralty. Plato taught that we should not speak ill of the dead, still, in the light of some recent startling disclosures in connection with the Metropolitan Board of Works, as well as with the Admiralty, it is no transgression of the laws of charity to presume to think of the possibility of peccability amongst high officials. But O ye rich Shipoii'ucrs. 203 in those days there was probabl}- no aspiring genius to open the doors of Augean stables, and no severely practical Secretary of the Admiralty, to wield the spear of Ithuriel. At all events, Captain Coppin was a heavy loser by his visit to the Thanaes, and no one can prove that the main cause of such was not nearer London than Londonderry. Reference has just been made to the Little Screw Company. The chief feature about this was the working of the Screw-Propel Icr, the patent rights of which were secured by the inventor, Mr. F. P. Smith, a farmer's son, of Kent. But this was not accom- plished until Captain Coppin, to encourage rising but struggling talent, by a gift of £'J'^, came to the help of the youthful patentee. In that young man, without means, O ye rich ship- owners and shipbuilders of the Tyne, of the Clyde, of Glasgow, of London, and of Liverpool, see ye your progenitor and the father of your wealth. Ye are reaping much for which ye did not sow, and what yc rejoice in w^as fait accompli when ye were children, or before ye were born. Rejoice }'e in your mansions, and more abundantly prosper ye in your undertak- ings, but forget ye not the memories of those whose genius was the foundation of your commanding and world renowned super-structures. He who secured the first rights to work the screw- propeller was Captain Coppin, and the first real trial h !• * i< It -^ it I li ;l 5 it II \i .1 ■'SI Hi|! 1' 204 Captain Coppin. made was with the Great NortJieru. Had this steam- ship received the treatment commensurate with its worth, and had his rights to work the screw-propeller been respected as the^' ought, he would not have lost, as he did over the transactions, above ;{^i 5,000. Well may he have exclaimed, concerning his toil and his expenditure, Cui bono ? In addition to Captain Coppin. being the father of the screw-propeller, he was also the father of the steam-ram. It was during the Crimean War that, for the protection of I^ritish c )asts, harbours, and ports, as well as for the destruction at night time, of the Russian fleet at Scbastapol, he laid before the English Government his plans for a steam-ram. In answer to his proposal, he was officially informed that the Government could not entertain anything in con- nection with such a system of naval warfare. A Government has a perfect right to change its mind, which, in this matter, it did, by having a few years after, no less than a dozen ram vessels ! But in thus changing its mind, the Admiralty would have added to its credit had it, in some way, recognised the previous proposals and plans of the gentleman who first placed before them the steam-ram idea. As a leading merchant of Liverpool remarked to the writer, a short time since, the invention of the steam-ram, by Captain Coppin, was amongst the greatest of his achievements, and its formal rejection The Steam Ram. 205 by the Government was anything but creditable to its foresight. An important resume of the state of the steam-ram question, at the period, including; valuable suggestions for further improvements, appeared above the signature of William Coppin, in the Times oi August 25th, 1S70. Admiral Sartorius and Mr. Reed had made, a few da}'s before, through the same medium, a variet)* of proposals, but as com- pared with the suggestions of a practical man, they were chiefly theorisings. And how far theorists have added to the efficiency of our nav\-, and have lessened taxation, we leave the taxpa}er to decide. Neverthe- less, we fear that for want of practical men of the stamp of Captain Coppin to deal with naval ques- tions, many a Chancellor of the Exchequer has been bewildered. Monuments have been raised to the memory ot heroes of every type, and honours have been lavished upon those that have given impetus to discovery, to trade and to letters, but the venerable, modest, self-denying, and noble -souled Captain William Coppin, no one has delighted to honour, save the city of his espousal. Yet if merit were ever deserving of reward, the father of the screw- propeller, as applied to steam navigation, and the inventor of the steam-ram, has worthily won such. Entered well on the second decade beyond man's allotted span of life, it is almost useless to vote ■ft ll I 1 I '4 I h liilr ihii 206 Ci^ptain Copptn. a Govcniiiiciu ])cnsi<)ii. Still, "better late than never." Hut wc have not exhausted the successful achieve- ments of one that deserves well of his country, and the special cjratitude of all shipowners. Other steamships were built in rapid succession, including the I.ady Franklin, the Maiden City, for the Liverpool and Londonderry trade, and the City of Londondcny, 13 Ai Lloyds. The Loui/h I'ovle embankment ; the larcje number of lighthouses under the Harbour Commissioners of Londonderry, antl the raising of 140 sunken ships in the White Sea, the Mediterranean Sea, and else- where, b)' modes and inventions of his own, will give an idea of the value of the services of Captain Coppin in some of the most important branches of maritime discover)'. It is also worthy of mention that, through his energy in securing the consent of all the fish buyers of l^iverpool. the crews of t.^ fish steamers were enabled to spend their Sundays in Ireland in- stead of Liverpool. No small boon to those that had families, to sa)' nothing of the higher considerations of morals and reliijion. As another illustration of his efforts to benefit others, Captain Coppin was associated with the following incident : Hcitig requested to give evidence at Stranraer re the stranding of the Princess Royal, in The Poor Widow. 207 1844, he was in the court house waiting to be called. Down in the market-square, just beneath the waiting place, he saw an auctioneer, minus coat and vest. The salesman was surrounded by about two hundred town and country folk, whose chatter and noise bespoke more curiosity than business. Hut above all were heard stentorian tones, telling of the "third and last time, or else you will lose a great bargain." Assaying to go down and investigate the curious scene, he was advised b\' the head waiter of the Hotel as to the necessity of keeping a watch on his pocket-handkerchief Not forgetting such a timely warning, two or three minutes found the Captain amongst the motley assemblage. luiquiries of the bystanders as to whose were the goods being sold, led to the in- formation that they belonged to a poor widow, who lived in a small mud hut, with a poor crippled son dependent upon her, and whose landlord, for the sum of thirty-four shillings, due for rent, had seized her goods. Above all things, the poor widow longed to buy in the clock and the chest of drawers. Taking in the situation at a glance, the Captain resolved, if })ossible, to buy m all the things, and accordingly entered the bidding arena. His chief opponent was a sailor, but a half-a-crown in the hands of the waiter got rid of Jack. In a short time all the furniture was knocked down to the )• ?'f,. 1 ill : M' Mil' ■■' '! 208 Captain Coppm. Captain, who, with his friend, Mr. John Weild (agent for the Glasgow Underwriters , who had been watching the scene, paid the purchase-money, saw the furniture carted to the hut, and to prevent it again being seized had it made over to the daughter, a servant at Stranraer. Next to the jo}- of the widow was the joy of the crippled son, who, on the way- side, watching the return of his furnitureless mother, saw a sight he never expected. The large farmer and landlord who, for six long miles had dragged the widow's furniture to the market-place, had no peace afterwards. Accustomed as he was to supply most of Stranraer with his farm produce, he hereafter found that he had to run the guantlet of the epithets of all the scores of children that had witnessed the auction. Were they his servants, or his children, no sooner did they appear in the market-place than they were greeted with jeers and reproaches, as belonging to " the man who had turned out and sold up the poor widow." This, at length, becoming unbearable, compelled the farmer to quit the neighbourhood, and to seek a quieter life in Australia. Thus, to use the words of Captain Coppin, who was at Stranraer a few months after the departure of the farmer to the Greater Britain, " He that turned out the widow was, through the widow's turning out, turned out of his farm and turned out of his country." That zuon/d-be Robber. 209 The followinj^, amongst several, is given of the Captain's muscular experiences : — In 1824, while engaged in the shipbuilding trade at St. John, N.B., he found himself at the end of the week, for the payment of the men, unprovided with small change. Knowing a fruiterer at York Port Hill that could change about Soo dollars, and so meet his requirements, he, as on former occasions, went to him. The counter of the shop was overlooked by a rising pathway, about twelve feet in height. An hour was spent at this counter in getting the requisite small silver. With dollars changed, he left the shop and commenced to ascend the rather steep incline, when he saw before him, in dim outline, a man, standing in a position from which he could have seen the counter of the shop. The thought at once struck young Coppin that the man's intentions were robbery, and possibly murder. The night was pitch dark. Quick as thought, the resolve was to knock him suddenly over the embankment, and escape with all speed. No sooner resolved than it was vigorously done with the left hand, and over went the fellow, and down he rolled amongst the slate and rubbish below. There being no lamps about, nothing remained but for the energetic and money-laden shipbuilder to run as fast as possible. Subsequent events told plainly that the man sent tumbling down the embankment had an eye to the possession of the men's wages. It was the I r J . i i ^ n u i '■J ! .:( !i I i! 2IO Captain Coppiii. last time that money-changing at the counter of the fruitseller took place after sunset — at least hy Captain Coppin. At a time when the shipping world in particular, and the nation in general, are being reminded of departed worth in the person of Mr. John Elder, late head of the renowned firm of John Elder & Co., ship- builders and engineers, Glasgow, it may be noticed as an interesting episode that, when a schoolboy, young Elder was most fond of apples. Captain Coppin, who was at Glasgow in 1837, receiving new boilers for the ss. Robert Napier, from the father's firm, generally spent his evenings at Mr. Elder's. In con- nection with his favourite fruii the promising boy found in the Captain a very special friend. Many and many a time were his well-filled pockets emptied by the voracious, apple-eating, intelligent and studious lad. To Captain Coppin it was no cause for wonder that, in after days, his hardworking young friend became a prince amongst the marine engineers. All honour to departed worth, in which no one feels a more sincere sympathy than his surviving and aged friend. May the proposed monument to John Elder be worthy of the man, and a credit to Glasgow ! A co-sharer m the many apple-eating feats was his brother Alexander, of the firm Elder, Dempster and Co., British and African merchants, Liverpool. Jauics Nasinytli. 2\\ Though in a different business from his late brother, Alexander has not '' missed his mark." Just about a year before his acquaintance with the Messrs. Elder, Captain Coppin was brought into close contact with another, whose fame was still /'// embryo. It was in 1836, whilst having engine machinery shipped for Londonderry at the Clarence Docks, Liverpool, that he saw an energetic young- man, in shirt-sleeves, superintending all the various arrangements. This was James Nasmyth. On ascer- taining that he was accompanying the machinery, and had paid his passage. Captain Coppin ordered the fare to be returned, and embracing the first opportu- nity, he asked young Nasmyth to accept cabin accommodation with himself, free of expense. The more he saw of the }'oung man the more was he convinced that he would get unto himselt a name. During his stay at Londonderry, he made his home at the Captain's, and left the historic city with the most pleasant reminiscences. Two years after this Mr. Nasmyth took new premises at Patricroft, near Manchester, and so, as a practical engineer, laid the foundation of his subsequent fame. The Nasmyth hammer, to others, as well as to the author, must have been a topic of frequent conversation in earlier days. When, twenty years after the incident at Clarence Docks, at the age of forty-eight, Mr. Nasmyth retired P 2 I fit' '15 ; , i y ih.iiiii m' -' u III i hall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams.'' -Acts of /he A/>osiles. In presenting the following selections from the experiences and records of Captain Coppin, the i-ii Siiap-tJie-Finger People. 227 shall tlreaiu author is fully aware of the empty laugh that will be evoked in some quarters, the lampooning scepticism in other quarters, and the feelings of incredulity which will be aroused in not a few. Ikit in the face of such, the writer, as meeting in his owr parish Mission Hall, once every week, the Freethinker, the Agnostic, the Atheist, and the Doubter, is in a position to state with much assurance, that only from the Christiin side is there any reasonable explanation of the following facts. Spencer, Huxley, and Tyndall, are as much in the fogs of uncertainty, here, as the most blatant follower of the Billingsgate lecturer. IVIolecules of the brain, fortuitous coincidences, and all the other deductions and inductions of a non-Christian mental science, ■cannot win laurels in this field. With all their daring, they cannot cross a boundary line which divides tlie seen from the unseen, and the known from the un- known. And apart from the fainter, or the brighter, scintillations of a Christian revelation, most of the instances, as given below, will, for ever, belong to the unknowable. May we suggest to any one that maybe tempted to join the snap-the-finger party, to so evidence Ms regard for what he is forced to classify amongst the unknowable, as to treat such things with something like decent respect. To ridicule what is inexplicable is not only a pitiful betrayal of one's ignorance, but <) 2 !■■■ • f h ■ ,:t,i' ill k 1 l:r^^ 228 Captain Coppiu. shows a temper fiHkc unworthy of a seeker after truth and of one endowed with reason. "Seking Across the Atlantic." On returning from a visit to his parents, in 1827, Captain Coppin, sailed in the Levant, bound for St. John, New Brunswick. For seven da)'s, through con- trary winds, the brig was detained off Cape Clear. On the night of the seventh day, the Captain dreamt that the brig reached, in twent)'-six days, from where they then were, Shelbourne Harbour, in Nova Scotia. In his dream, he went up to the topmast cross-tree, obtained a good view of the harbour, saw a number of fishing vessels at anchor, and, on an island, at the entrance, a light-house. This led him, in his dream, to use a telescope, through which he saw the keeper of the light-house light the lamps. In the morning, at the breakfast- table, the dream was related, the Captain of the brig being present, l^eing bound for St. John, N.B., via Cape Sable, Captain Griffiths remarked that sailing, via Shelbourne Harbour, would be out of his course. The dream was written down in pencil, on the white cross-beam of the cabin. The fog now cleared awa)-. For the next sixteen days fair progress was made. At the end of this time, on account of dense clouds and logs, no obser\ation could be taken, and consequently all reckoninir of the brio's course became unreliable. \ViUi(Xin Hone. 229 Thus matters went on for several days, nothing more beini^ thoui^ht about tlie dream. One after- noon the fog hfted, and t'e brig made for an island, on which was a lighthouse. Captain Coppin, seeing this, went down to the cabin, examined the pencilling and found that it was exactly 26 days from the time it was made. J^efore proceeding further, Captain Griffiths waited for the lighting of the lamps. In the meanwiiile Captain Coppin ascended the topmast cross-trees, and, as in his dream, he looked into the harbour and saw the ships at anchor. The harbour was Shelbourne, which, without enter- ing, Captain Griffiths took his reckonings from, rounded Cape Sable, which was 40 miles distant, and reached St. John's in safety. The six cabin passengers on board the Leraut were witnesses of the writing of the dream and of its fulfilment. No wonder Captain Griffiths asked the dreamer " How could you see across the Atlantic ? " As in the case of the sight of the coming ship, given below, was not this another proof of spirit vision ? If not, what then ? The case (jf William Hone, the well-known materialist, as given by John Timbs, is generally known. Desiring to see a gentleman in London, he called at his house and was shown into the drawing- room. No sooner had he seated himself, than he felt convinced that, though never in the house before, yet 1 ^-^ [I 'iff! 1 230 Captain Coppin. i 111 ■ii''l! \V he had seen the room and its contents. Resolving settle the matter, beyond all doubt, he looked for a knot in the window-shutters. This he found ; and so satisfied was he that there was something in him beyond the mere material that he renounced his scepticism and became a very devout and humble Christian. His h)-mn, as given in Timbs' Autobio- graphy, on his birthday, in 1834, is a proof of this. So far as we have been able to ascertain, Mr. Hone's impression was, that through some super- mundane means, he saw the room in his sleep. Origen explained such cases, or things similar, by the theory of the pre-existence of souls. W'c rather incline to the belief in what, for a better name, we call spirit-vision. Confident are we, from instances before us, and those from unimpeachable, living wit- nesses, that in Captain Coppin and William Hone's experiences, very much may be said in favour of spirit- vision. Though mysterious, may not this be as much a part of man's tripartite nature as that " the blood is the life ? '' The Unknown or iNEXPLiCAnLi;. "A Heavy Blow on the Shoulder." M . Hi ; Whilst trading between Barbadoes and St. Bartholo- mew, J'. 1 83 1, the following incident occurred. The night being inauspicious, and the coast not very well Hard a Starboard! 231 known, the best man on board was entrusted with the helm, with the injunction that when he sighted Bar- badoes he was to call Captain Coppin. Carlisle Bay, according to reckoning, was expected to be entered about ten o'clock. Anxiety prevented the Captain from returning to his cabin, so wrapping himself in his cloak, he laid down on deck, very near the helms- man. The vessel was close-hauled on the wind, and was doing seven knots per hour. He had not long been asleep before he was roused up by a heavy blow on the shoulder, as if given by the open hand. Rising quickly to his knees, he de- manded of the helmsman an explanation. Calling his Maker to witness, he declared that he had neither touched him, nor had one of the hands been aft since he had gone to sleep. At once springing to his feet, Captain Coppin ran up the fore-rigging and immediately shouted out " hard a starboard." An- swering her helm, the vessel just cleared the lee- breakers, and with the utmost difficulty sailed between two large rocks, known too truly, as The Cables. Just half-an-hour from this time the vessel was safely anchored in Carlisle Bay. Call this mode of awakening what the reader may, the waking up was most opportune, since, in one minute more, the vessel would have been stranded on a number of sunken rocks and the consequences could but have been disastrous both to life and pro- 232 Captain Copl'in, >' ' J ;! t ! pcrty. Opportune ! Was not the whole an ordering of a merciful Providence ? Tjie Lost Hat and the ^3,000 Whilst, in 1865, on the El b, engaged in raising the Tcoga, 1,300 tons register, bound for Hamburg, Captain Coppin stayed at the nearest hotel. One night, he dreamt that he saw a long box, floating in the air. In running to lay hold of it, he seemed to lose his hat, which was caught and brought to him by two boys, to whom he gave two shillings. Having seized the box, he saw written on it, ;^3,ooo. Captain Coppin's share (one-half) for raising the sunken ship was to be ^9,000. The day following the dream, the Captain was on board the ship when his hat blew off. There were two boys near, who ran and saved the hat. As a reward, he took from his vest pocket the first coin to hand and that was a two-shilling piece. The attempt to raise the ice-struck Tcoga was unsuccessful, and the whole undertaking proved to be a heavy loss. On adding up the items the total was exactly ;^3,ooo. Thus was fulfilled, after a peculiar fashion, the dream of the hat, the long box and its inscription, ^^3,000. Without doubt, many of our readers, as w-cll as the writer, have been the subject of many similar experi- ences. One corroborative illustration shall suffice. The author, when twelve years of age, had, twice on The Gcruian Soldier, 233 the same nii^rht, a dream that he was injured — the in- jury resultin-outh away from Vatevland, Captain Coppin deemed the apropos quotation a " clever hit," Was it so, or was it one of those scin- tillations of the mind-world, which, ever and anou' tells of something that lies beyond the horizon of material vision, and which the Gradgrinds, with Asleep. 235. their square root theories, are ever tryini^ to explain away? One thiiig is plain, overwhelming evidence, from evcry-day experience, tells of something that human ken is unable to descry. SOUI., Ok S.'IRIT-VlSION. i le was on the banks of Newfoundland, in the ship Prudence, The fog was most dense, and speed was six knots per hour. Joeing off watch, and very tired and sleepy, he went to his cabin, and, with head resting on the right hand, Captain Coppin was soon asleep. At the end of half-an-hour, he saw, in his sleep, something ahead of the ship in the distance, shapeless and small. He at once woke up, went on deck, remained there about ten minutes, saw that all was right, returned to his cabin, and again fell asleep, in the same posture as before. In about three quarters of an hour, he saw the same object the second time, still shapeless but larger, nearer, but less opaque. Immediately waking up, he again went on deck, thinking that the matter was nothing but the outcome of his natural concern for the ship. Remaining on deck about a quarter of an hour, he again returned to his cabin and, as before, went to sleep, the head resting on the right hand. In about an hour, he saw, for the third time, the same shapeless object, but larger, nearer, and brighter than the second time. As before, he woke up, went K 1^ 1 ! n ^ ,1 !' 1 1 li 1 H :■ 1; 1 V' 11 » 11 M< rl Ri Ifl jR' iiE M i : ■■ llil 1 1.- i .i \ I r ^ 23C Captai}i Coppin. on deck, remained there from ten to fifteen minutes, when, as the weather was bad and he was very tired. Jie went to sleep the fourth time, the head again resting on the right hand. In about an hour's time, still asleep, he looked up, and, at an angle of 45 degrees, saw a forctop-gallant sail of a vessel which was coming right down upon ih^Pntdefice. Awaldng \\\ a great fright, he jumped up, knocked over the cabin table in doing so, rushed on deck and saw, as in his sleep, the mast of another craft, bearing down upon his own ship. More asleep than awake, he, with a giant's energy, seized the wheel, changed the course of the ship, and cleared the ail-but colliding vessel. Running up the poop ladder, he was accosted by the man on watch as to what the man at the wheel was about. " Look,' exclaimed Captain Coppin, and in a moment away went his hat and a p'ece of the quarter of the ship. The danger was past, but the man at the wheel, groaning with pain, through a dislocated shoulder, and the carpet of the cabin on fire through the upset candles, furnished proof of the reality of what he had seen, and the force of will which he had exerted to avoid the impending calamity. Asked to explain this, wc would rather incline to classify it amongst the super-sensuous than amongst those cases that come under the designation, or class, of special interpositions of Providence. It may have His A ngel ? 23r been a purely providential act to save property ami life, but in the light of recent discoveries in the vast and mysterious domain of mind, we would not " make oath " as to its being absolutely the case. The ancient Jews held that the righteous had, as their constant attendants, one or more angels, to help and to guide. Was this through tlic instrumentalit)- of Captain Coppin's angel ? Rhoda's statement concerning the knocking of St. Peter at the door of the mother of John Mark, led those at prayer to exclaim, " It is his angel." Why not retain the belief amongst ui> to-dav ? No harm to human faith to recite, " I believe in the ministry of angels." Still we rather incline towards the supra- sensitive, on the banks of Newfoundland, than the " interposition of angels." We are well aware of the distich of Dibdin, " There's a sweet little cherub that sits up aloft, To keep watcli o'er the life of Toor Jack." still, the prosaic facts of everyday life are much against "the cherub" theory. Poor Jack is ever meeting a watery grave, despite the poetical invisi- bility that sits up aloft. The lampooning worshipper of matter may deride the whole subject, as beneath the notice of common sense. Be it so, yet his reiterated scoffing can do but little to explain the phenomena, pervading every walk of life. I % m ! if t> I i k 23S Captain Coppin. Just as the pen had finished writing the above, the author, examining some data, in the Last of the Arctic Voyages, hy Sir Edward Belcher, noticed some experi- ences very similar to Captain Coppin's. What he relates happened during his command of the naval expedition to the Arctic Seas, in search of Sir John Franklin in 1852-54. He is ice-bound in the Assis- tance. The ice quarter-master sees no signs of a break-up, but Sir Edward (under what conditions he does not specify) sees a *' dark streak," apparently " a lane of water," which, though distant, impressed him as being a break in the ice. Though it was declared by the ice quarter-mpstcr to be a fog, still, though somewhat indifferent, he did not forget the "streak.' He shortly after, about ten, retired to bed, but just as he was composing himself in his bunk, the officer on watch announced that the ice was broken. On another day, he felt so impressed that a sledge was due from Kellett (one of the search-officers) that he resolved, at noon, to send an officer to the hill to look out. Just then, being called away to attend to some- thing special, noon arrived before he had given his orders. At that hour, his clerk informed him " that a dog-sledge was nearly alongside." We doubt not, if facts were tabulated, such cases could be multiplied ad iiifiuitum. \% The Cabin Boy, 239 ive, the r A rctic expcri- hat he z naval ir John : Assis- is of a :ions he :ntly " a sed him declared though streak.'" t just as fficer on n. On lo-c was that he to look o some- liven his " that a t not, if Itiplicd If not Providence, what was it? In 1868, Captain Coppin was instructed to proceed to the Lizard, and raise a sunken screw steamer, bound from Havre to Liverpool, with a general cargo and cabin passengers. On arrival, in very minute details, he received the following account: — In the night, during a fog, the steamer ran ashore. As the sea was perfectly smooth, and there ap- peared to be no danger, the captain and crew resolved not to disturb the passengers. But un- known to them, and against orders, a little cabin- boy, aged fourteen, ran down, informed all the passengers of imminent danger, and told them there was not even a moment to save their clothes. Full of consternation, and to the amazement of the officers and crew, they all rushed on deck. At the very moment the last left the cabin, the steamer heeled over on her beam end and thus pre- vented all ingress to, or egress from, the cabin. The lee quarter-boat, however, was to hand, and into this all the passengers got, and were safely landed. Not a single life was lost. As a small token of their gratitude to the boy, the passen- gers subscribed amongst themselves the sum of £12. Why did the boy act as he did, and that so contrary to the rules and regulations of a well -disciplined ship? One thing appears clear, IP f if" ^ 'I If w ': ' i : ! r ii f 240 Captain Coppiii. and that is, had thc>- not been roused, and had there been a minute's delay, even to dress, all the passengers would ha\c been drowned. Rats, says Jack, leave the ship before she is wrecked. Was it instinct that led the cabin-boy to alarm the passen- i(ers, or was it the whispers of Providence ? A DkKAM. Whilst in command of the Robert Napier, ply- ing between Lixerpool and Londonderry, in 1837, Captain Coppin, just '^cforc leaving his residence to go on board, told Mrs Coppin that before sunset, she would probabl}- heai from him. The reason for such a remark was that, in a dream, on the previous night, he had towed into Belfast Lough, from off the Giant's Causeway, a disabled ship. The Robert Xapier left at the advertised hour, and when off the Causewa}', the horizon was carefully scanned, but there was no sign of a vessel in distress. With a deepening impression that the dream was true, Captain Coppin went up the main rigging about thirty feet. From here, at a distance of eight miles, on the fishing ground, was \\'hat appeared to be a fishing boat. The steamer's course was parallel with the land, and the object lay off at right angles. The course of the shi^) was altered immediately and, Coi)icidence o Providence. 241 nd had all the .ts, says Was it passcn- :c? '^r, ply- m 1837, residence t before m. The a dream, b Belfast disabled dvertised izon was n of a ipression )in went From fishin fishing I the land, The Itely and a> rapidly as possible, she steered for the object. I lalf an hour's sail revealed a hirge brii^, com- l)lctely dismantled. The life-boat was launched under the command of the chief officer, at whose disposal was placed a strong tow-rope, with instructions to fasten it to the briir and return at once. This was done, a-id so expedi- tiously as to leave no time to ask an)' questions as to price of towin<^, or the place of destination. Kvery thing secured, the Robert Napier made for Belfast Lough, which was reached at midnight. The brig proved to be bound from Glasgow to Quebec, with a general cargo. Had she not been rescued, the strong bree/.e would have driven her on to the rocks and breakers of the Scottish coast, where, in all probability, not only ship but lives would have been lost. Captain Coppin saved the tide for entrance to Clarence Dock, Liverpool, and the reward for .saving the ship was ^'500, and the mode of savincr her was all accordin<^ to the dream. A happy coincidence, say some, an over-ruling Providence .say others, amongst whom was, and is, Captain Coppin. Was it in Answkr to Pravkr ? During a fog, the SJtanirock, plying between Londonderry and Glasgow, ran on the rocks of the Mull of Cantire, and became submerged, and that in R V Pi| I» i' II 242 Captain Loppin, u very bad [x^sition. Captain Coppin undertook to raise her and place her in dry dock, at Ardrossan, on the condition of receiving 27 per cent, of her deteriorated vakie. After spending about ^300 in preparing to h'ft her, she refused to move. The hour of high tide had passed, and as the Captain could not afford to spend any more time or money, all hope appeared to be lost. In this moment of great trial, he retired to the small deck-house and offered to God an earnest l)rayer for help. He then returned to the workmen. In less than two minutes after his return, there went up loud, ringing cheers, which told the Captain that his efforts had been crowned with success — contrary' to all expectation she was off! In a very short time, the S/iainrock was docked, and not one of tlie fift}- men knew of that prayer in the deck-house. "Call upon me in the day of trouble, I will deliver thee." A StRANCE COVKRINt'. Ur OF DOCUMKNT.S. An American Consul in Ireland, and a special friend of Captain Coppin's, had to go to America tn transact some very important business. He took passage in one of the best of the Atlantic vessels, the commander of which was well known to Captaiji Coppin. Business finished, the Consul arranged to return by the ship in which he had come out. Accordingly he left instructions at Government The Letter Bags. 243 took t( > isan, on of her C300 in he hour 3ukl not ill hope .1 to the earnest workmen, ere went tain that -contrai')' \Q>\\ time, the fift>' '' Call thee." NTS. a special merica to He took ssels, the Captain ranged to ::)me out. vernment House, Washiiii^ton, to forward all documeiUs ,iiul official papers to the (jieneral Post Oftice, New \'ork. Arriving a few days before the ship's departure on the return voyage, he called each day at the post office but found, to his chagrin, that no papers had arrived. The last day came, and still no documents were to hand, and so, to his great mortification, the vhip sailed without him. The next day, as usual, calling at the office, he was invited into the master's private room, and there, with profu.se apologies, received the information that the documents had arrived several days since, and had, for some unaccountable reason, been covered up by a heap of empty letter bags. With much depression of spirits, he returned to his hotel. That ship was lost with all on board, with the solitary exception of one second-class passenger. Who will venture to say that there was not, in this case, more of 1^'ovidence than coincidence ? ®t^i^^)^)^ 111 : N i. rr Bemkosk (Ic Sons. Printebs, 23, Old Bailet, Lom-on, K.C : AND DkUBY. il SUPPLEMENT TO THE SECOND EDITION. A DEFENCE. BEINC; THE I'UBLICATION OF CERTAIN LETTERS, WRITTEN BY LADY FRANKLIN ANH MLSS CRACROFT, IN ANSWER TO ADMIRAL SIR F. LBOl'OLD VlcCLINTOCK'S CHARGE THAT "THE SECRET OF THE DISCOVERY OF THE FATE OF SIR JOHN FRANKLIN" IS A *^ FABRICATED " STORY, AND THAT SIR LEOPOLD HAD THE AUTHORITY OF MISS CRACROFT FOR SAYING AS MUCH. ALSO THE EVIDENCE OF CAPTAIN PARKER SNOW, AND A REPLY TO DR. JOHN RAE Re THE VICTORIA CHANNEL. 'If! i ^ :1 !i III I ! ■ •'»' CONTENTS. Sir Leopold McClintock's charge of fabrication. Miss Cracroft's alleged confirmation of the charge. As per contra, Miss Cracrolt's letter. Strange, if true. Lady Franklin's letter. "Ridiculous." St. Stephens's Review. Captain Parker Snow — his letters and the midnight interview with Lady Franklin — also the chart. "Cooking" by Miss Cracroft. The Morning Stars letter. What is Captain Snow's exact position ? Miss Cracroft's letter, No. III. "Fal)ricated." Miss Cracroft's letters (Nos. IV. and V.), and Charles Dickens's. The unchivalrous knight and the amev ie honorable. Miss Cracroft's letter (No. V^I.) This and Sir Leopold's ipse dixit. Sir Leopold's conduct not honourable. temporal O mores! Lady Franklin's letter (No. VII.) Moral turpitude. The St. Stephen'' s Review and Sir Leopold's ine.xplicable behaviour. Why his silence anent the strictures? Dr. Rae and Victoria Channel. The chart which was sent to Lady Franklin. Miss Cracroft on this chart. Clreat in- gratitude to Captain Coppin. An appeal from the grave. (Captain Parker Snow's chart. The Psychical Research Society. Letters from the "little child" and her aunt. Is .Sir Leopold the victim of an extraordinary delusion? Scylla or Charybdis? i N I i INTRODUCTOEY. As will be seen, the supplement to the second edition contains most important matter, in the forn: of confirmatory letters. Not only are these i^ivcn to meet the desires of the j]^eneral {:)ublic, but to remove doubts in some quarters, to reply to the carping criticism of a certain class of reviewers in other quarters, and to give a direct answer to state- ments, such as appeared in a leader of the Ginsi^^ozu Herald, April 13th, viz., "Lady Franklin has left no assurance that she believed this ' revelation.' " Further, as of even greater importance, the letters arc published by the Author in self-defence. I^'or reasons, probably known to himself. Admiral Sir V. Leopold McClintock, in a letter sent to the Liverpool Courier o^ June 4th, the Liverpool Mercury of June 4th, and the Liverpool Daily Post of June 6th, used, concerning the Author, these words. " He has placed himself in the unenviable pre- dicament of being an advocate of a story that could not have been fabricated in Lady Franklin's lifetime," &c. ., ) If fi V. 1 r'l f ; -i * ' i 2;o Introductory. And as if fearing that his ipse dixit would not carry all the conviction he wished, he brings another to his aid by writing, "I am also authorised by Miss Cracroft, Lady Franklin's niece and constant companion, to assert the same in her name." As neither from Miss Cracroft, nor from her solicitors, the Author Cuuld get any confirmation, or denial, of Sir Leopold's use of her name, nothing reiuained but to publish both the letters of Lfitly Franklin and Miss Cracroft, and thus let the public judge for themselves. This is here- with done, and done with the fullest confidence that, whatever may be the opinion as to the meaning, or the rationale, of the " revelation," it will be seen that Lady Franklin fully believed in the revelation, as supernatural, and Miss Cracroft, as her amanuensis, fully endorsed her belief Yes, and so strong is the testimony that Miss Cracroft did this, that the Author is most unwillingly forced to feel a suspicion that Sir Leopold's statement, concerning the authorised use of Miss Cracroft's name, cannot be supported by the smallest modicum of evidence. It is scarcely conceivable that a lady who wrote the several letters given in the su[)plement, could so belie her own handwriting as to request Sir Leopold to write, in her name, what is Introductory, 251 absolutely false, but also to libel the memory of her illustrious aunt, not to mention the characters of both Captain Coppin and the Author. It was in deference to Miss Cracroft's strongly- expressed wishes that the letters, now published, were not incorporated into the body of the first edition, but when, throut^h her solicitors (who arc also, in this matter, Sir Leopold's solicitors !) Miss Cracroft refuses to either deny, or confirm, the libellous language of Sir Leopold, character — a defence of character — ^dcmands that the distinct assertions of the book shall be substantiated by irrefutable evidence. In addition "to the letters of Lady Franklin and Miss Cracroft, the reader will find some valuable confirmatory testimony from the pen of Captain Parker Snow, the " chief officer " of Lady I'Vanklin's first letter to Captain Coppin. It was supposed that he had died some years since. His account of the "midnight" interview with Lady Franklin and the chart which he drew, either from her dictation, or from the child's chart, then in her Ladyships possession, is very noteworthy. As to this now famous and eagerly-asked foi chart, it is deeply to be regretted that, for the sake of truth, both it and its accompanying descriptive statement have not been handed to in: it !l|| _/ Bf'*T 1 ' 1 1 . = ' i in U I. 252 Introductory. Captain Coppin by Miss Cracroft, their custodian. Never ^iven to Lady Franklin, but sent to her, at her request, common justice demands that the sender should receive them back. Legal pro- ceedings were taken by Captain Coppin to recover the invaluable documents, and as such the case was entered for hearing in the High Court of Justice, London, but the bankruptcy of the Captain's solicitor produced a collapse. Since then, the want of funds has prevented the matter from being pushed forward. Concerning this chart and its accompanying communications, see Lady Franklin's last letter. Two letters are also given from the Coppin family — one from the " little child," and one from her aunt. Sincere thanks are, herewith, tendered to friends for kind and stimulating words. They have come from all quarters, including Australasia, and from all ranks and professions, including the Bishop of Derry, one of the Crown Counsel for Scotland, and Sir Charles Isham, I^art. Gratitude i.« somewhat qualified in connection with the quibbling Inquirer, the skittish Scots Observer, the incredulous Guardian (Manchester) and the lampooning Honiilist. More worthily would these have done credit to the canons of criticism had they followed the example of the Pall Mall Introductory. :>:> Gazette, the Athcncvuin, Whitehall Revieiv, Saturday Kevieiv, the Queen, the Court Journal, the Graphic, St. Stephen's Review, and the Pictorial World, which, at the expense of its own wisdom, confessed, concerning the book, that " an oi-dinarx^ critic cannot deal with it," — i.e., the book. With all his additional evidence, the Author does not hope to convince every one that the " revelation " was supernatural. One editor, wilh unmistakable candour, says : " We utterly refuse credence to the supernatural part of the story, even, if Lady r'ranklin herself believed in it." We trust this unbeliever will attempt to give to the world a natural explanation of the case. Concerning such an attempt, we prophesy a complete failure. The Spiritualists have reckoned the book as a contribution to the cause which they advocate. This, the Author emphaticall}' disclaims. Through their weekly publications, lie has not only stated that the case is vastly different from their own so-called " revelations,"' but that they could not prove that their "spirits" hail power to discover what was previously unknown, e.g., such as the famous record which was at Point \'ictory in 1849, and which, through the child's chart and what she "saw," was discovered in irove the ' gettini^ obstacles, etter was entres of ince t!u: ably con- pvoposed omcthing •e, charac- 1848-59) Franklin '. ord con- to the ct people nowledge " spirits!" A'ers have Ami Introductory. 255 thought the same as the compla'iiiug " U. A., Oxon," for their behoof, if not for the information of the devotee of spiritualism, we may state that the two obstacles, " or extraordinary difficulties," that completely altered the original design of our book, were caused by the twice-repeated vexatious conduct of Miss Cracroft. But for her interference with the insertion of the letters, the book would have been issued in quite another form. Further, wiien the inexplicable interference necessitated a re-casting of the several chapters, there was a second interference — not even a quotation from a single letter bciiig sanctioned for publication ! This, as may be supposed, made it essential to have a fresh arrangement, far more laborious and far less pleasant than the previous one. Such, in brief, is the Author's apology for the issue of the book in its late and its present form. In conclusion, the Author sees no cause for altering his final remarks, in chapter vi. of the first edition, viz.: — "We see the united wisdom of England, Europe and America compelled to do homage to the REVELATION of the Litti child OK Londonderry!" Liverpool, December^ 1889. h J., rll k N ■■Hi 111 f I i I THE SUPPLEMENT. A DKFKNX'K. In the Pall Mall Gazette (^f May i^tli, 1889, Admiral Sir I^\ Leopold McClintock wrote as follows. — "The whole story of the 'Londonderry vision ' is so ridiculous that I hesitate to notice it." On June 4th and 6th, he also, anent the story of the "revelation," wrote to the three Liverpool daily l^apers {^Mercury, Couriey and Post) these words : — " He [the Author] has placed himself in the un- enviable predicament of beini^ an advocate of a story that could not have been fabricated in Lady I'ranklin's lifetime." He also, in the same letter, remarked concerning the book, that "for the credit of its author it should be withdrawn." As may be supposed, such lani^ua^'^e coming from an Admiral in Her Majesty's Meet, attracted more than ordinary attention. The author, for his second and fuller reply to these libellous statements in the Mercury, briefly recapitulated tho.se portions of his book which were entirely founded on the much-talked of letters, and ^500 were offered to either Miss Cracroft or Sir f ' r 258 Sir John Franklin, I 1 ) . : jl j i i. i 1 '■ ' fi 1 , \ 1 i g H \ i m ' ■ ', li - :•! 1 -Ap \l 1 ,' Leopold, should she, or he, disprove a single assertion thus made. To avoid the necessity of referring the reader to the pages of the body of the work, the recapitu- lation, as given in the Mercury, June 16, 1889, is here reproduced. Recapitulation No, i, with Letter No. i. Till-: RKCAI'ITULATION. " I. That in 1849 Sir John Franklin and his ships, the Erebus and Terror, were known to be lost. "2. That in the latter part of 1849 Captain Coppin's little child, of Londonderry, ' saw ' an Arctic scene on the floor of a bedroom in her father's house, and drew the same with her own hands in the form of a chart. " 3. That this Arctic scene represented two ships in a locality that was at that time supposed to be inaccessible. " 4. That, as showing the way to reach the ships, there appeared on the wall of the same room these words, ' Lancaster Sound, Prince Regent Inlet, Point Victory, Victoria Channel.' " 5. That said chart, with said names on it, and a descriptive statement of the entire cir- ciimstanccs, or the ' revelation,' was placed in Lady Franklin's hands before the sailing of ^. 1 Defence. 2S9 her first expedition (Prince Albert) in search of her husband. "6. That, based on said chart and its ac- companying descriptiv'e statement, specific in- structions were given to the commander, Captain I^'orsyth, and to his chief officer^ Captain \V. Parker Snow. " 7. That had such instructions been carried out to the letter, the fate of Sir John would have been known in 1050 or ianklin's expedi- tion, and that said party was in active co-operation with Captain Coppin to further the cause of the expedition to Regent Inlet, &c., this letter is valuable. In the Liverpool papers. Sir Leopold McClintock affirmed that Miss Cracroft authorised him to say that " no labours v.'ere founded on this A Defence. 261 liydro- I'rancis cir plan ■cious to not im- ,t Livcr- 1 liopc 10 re use rom you, •itc when led from lave sent id can of L'KOKT. was Mr. |Liverpool cxpedi- -operation ;e of the letter is Leopold LUthorised Id on this so-called revelation." Strange languaj;e in face of the above letter. Hut more anon ! Recapitiilatiou No. 2, with Letter Xo. 2. THK RECAPITULATION. " I. That Lady I^Vanklin acknowiedt^ed re- ceiving from Captain Coppin an account of the revelation of his little child, including (as Captain Coppin says) the cliart and its descriptive statement. " 2. That she full)' believed said ' revelation,* and was guided by it as something that was supernatural, and this to such an extent that, were all the Arctic authorities against her, she would not change her mind. " 3. That, with a belief in the supernatural ncss of the chart, M:c., she gave specific instructions to Captain Forsyth and his chief officer, Captain Parker Snow, and that she did this on the 4th of June, the day previous to the sailing of the Prince Albert. " 4. That I^'orsyth did not pay much heed to her instructions, but that the chief officcr (Snow) did, and that, as such, her hopes rested very much upon the influence of the chief officer over his superior officer, i.e., I^'or.syth. " 5. That Lady Franklin did consult the Messrs. Horsfall, of Liverpool, to whom, as k* I \ } IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) V // / 7a 1.0 I.I ■r i^ IIIIIM I ^ Ilia :^ U£ 12.0 18 lUI IIIIIJA IIIIII.6 Photographic Sciences Corporation 23 WEST MAIN STREET WEBSTER, NY. 14580 (716) 872-4503 « V iV \ C\ ^^ ^"^ d^^^. <^o s ko ^T^ rl i ''K (■ i f \ 3f ■ '\ 1 i •1 ■\ 1 ■ 1' ' 262 ^'/r Jo Jul Franklin. hoAXY^ already infcjrmcd of the 'supernatural' by Captain Coppin, and their action on the same, her ladyship was scarcely a stranger. " 6. That Lady Franklin, whilst finding the Messrs. 1 lorsfall conversant with, and believers in, the ' revelation ' as supernatural, did, in their office, agree with them not to place the supernatural aspect of the case before the merchants of Liverpool. ■' 7. That, as believers in the ' revelation,' the Messrs. Horsfall (\V. & T. 11) did promise to send, as a consort to the Prince Albert, their ship the Joniina. " S. That Lady Franklin was very anxious to ascertain the results of the search for her luisband, as based upon the ' revelation ' of the little child. " Here is the inception of our story, called by St. Stephens Review (July 13): ' one of the most remarkable instances of substantiated modern miracles ever submitted to the nine- teenth century public' Not only so, but Sir Charles Lsham, Bart., with the belief that the storv is ' a fact better calculated to check materialism than all the preaching of centuries,' has gone to the trouble of lithographing a description of the book and sending the same to a large number of his friends and acquain- tances." yi Defence. 263 irnatural ' 1 on the mger. nding the bcHevcrs , did, in place the )eforc the lation,' the promise to Ibert, their ry anxious :h for her elation ' ot ory, called ' one of the bstantiated the ninc- so, but Sir if that the to check centuries,' raphing a P- the same id acquain- \Ve now ask the reader to compare letter No. II. with this reca])itulation, and tiien decide whetlier Sir Leopold McClintock was justified in writing " fabricated," as an appellation whereby to describe the contents of the book. As will be observed, this letter was vvTitten by Lady I^^-anklin on the Tuesday immediately following the Friday on which Miss Cracroft wrote her letter. The italics in the letter are the .Vuthor's. LKTTER NO. 2. •'21, Bedford Place. " nth June, 1850. •" Mv Dear Mr. Coppin, " I left Aberdeen on Friday last by raihvay for Liverpool, thinking it was much better to answer in person the many inquiries you put to me than to attempt it by writing. On Saturday I had the pleasure of an interview with the 2 Messrs. Horsfall, who were very kind, but expressed to me their fears lest I should have formed too sansjuine expectations of what was to be done at Liverpool. They said that if some immediate impetus could be given to the work it might, perhaps, be accom- plished, such, for instance, as the arrival of his vessel from the coast of Africa, which he has so generously offered. In the meantime Mr. Horsfall had written to one or two persons, viz., .Sir I^^rancis li 2 1 ! ill 264 Sir John Fratiklin. \\ i t\ j ir; i l|: H I 1!; !' 1: 4 ■ ■; ^ B'[i pi: :J Beaufort, of the Admiralty, and Dr. Scoresb}', to know their opinion of this new line of search. " I trust their replies may be favourable, tho' I would rather the matter were discussed ui)on its own merits than upon the opinions of any authority whatever. " It is a question capable of beinj^ judi^ed of by anyone who will i^ive sufficient attention to it, and ;/y/ (>7C'/i ini[^vessio)i of its necessity is so great that 2vere all the Arctic authorities collected toi^'cther in one body agai)ist it (which, however, will nei'er be the case), it ivould make no difference at all in my opinion- You who have other i^rounds for judging this matter will not wonder at my impressions, and may, perhaps, see that they come from a higher source than those zvhich are founded on mere reasonings. " 1 made a distinct allusion to the supernatural revelation you have received in one of my letters to iVIr. llorsfall, but in such a manner that he could not understand it unless he had received some commuin'cation from yourself. On conversing with him (I mean with the elder Mr. Horsfall), I found he was quite ignorant of the ' remarkable circum- stances^ alluded to, and that he had not even noticed the expression, but his brother, who was present, had received your confidential communication on the subject, and said he should make it known to his brother, but that it would be subtractive to :il ;.sby, to ch. Ic, tho' ipon its uthority d of by :) it, and rcat that rctJiev in » 'cr be the y opinion- lis matter nd mayy r source onings. ernatural letters to he could •cd some sing with 1, 1 found 'e circuni' n noticed present^ ication on known to active to A Defence. 265 the object we had in view if it were revealed to the merchants of Liverpool. " In this the elder Air. llorsfall entirely agreed, so soon as it was made known to him that it was something supernatural. I parted from them not without hope that they will yet be able to do something, and most grateful am I to you, my dear sir, for your very benevolent exertions in our behalf, and for the energy and prudence which have dis- tinguished your proceedings. If anything is done at Liverpool you wall, undoubtedly, have been the moving arm of it, and you could scarcely have fixed upon 2 better men to carry on a good work than those 2 amiable and sensible brothers to whom I introduced myself — their names were not altogether unknown to me. " How kind and generous of you, also, to think of procuring the aid of steam to propel them on their v/ay — such powerful assistance would put them nearly on a footing with their predecessors, and as they have not got so remote a distance to obtain \sic\ as the vessels which are bound to Melville Island, they would have abundance of time, a month hence or longer, to reach their destination. "/ wait with anxiety for the Jurther dcvelcpnient of your little daughter s revelations, should there be any. "Captain For.syth was at tirst much impressed by ri H III |l m II Wm \ i IM! f , ,■ ! i i '3 I ' 1 if:' If i; ;; i! HI ''\ 266 Sir John Frankli/i. the communication I made to him, but he slept it ofi, and thouc^ht h'ttle of it the next da)'. The orif^inal impression will, however, probably revive again, and at all events / succeeded in luakiiii^ his chief officer, who from Ins ability and ener<^)' is a man who will ha'^'c o-yeat injluence over Captain Forsyth, deeply and seriously impressed with the facts revealed. " It was vain to attempt to retard their departure when once the\' were ready, and they sailed on Wednesday evenini:; last, under the strictest in- junctions from me, as well as from the naval officers, who had i^iven them advice and instructions to look in at Leopold Harbour, at the entrance of Regent Inlet, and to leave there such information as to his plans and intentions as would be of use to those who came after him. I also stroni^K- impressed upon him the necessity of correctly \sic\ co-operating with any 2nd vessel which might follow in his track. " I have missed several of your letters by being on the road, but I believe this morning they are all returned to me. You will be pleased to hear that I not only obtained a free passage to Aberdeen but also all the way to London on the railroad for myself and maid, and to crown all, when I asked for my bill at the Queen's l^lailway Hotel at Liverpool, including also the account of A Dcfoicc. 26; my companion, Mr. Forsyth, they presented me with a blank sheet, hoping I would not be offended, but sayini^ they could not tliink of taking" a farthini,^ from mc, knowin;.^ I had spent a fortune already in my husband's cause, and was willinc^ to spend another if I had it. " Such sentiments as these fand such noble devotion as you have shown me) arc like (lowers strewn in my path, otherwise one that is hard and painful en()Uw's note book, in his hand, at midnight of June 4-5, 1(850, while, by request of Lad)' i'^-anklin, in her room at Aberdeen, and notini^ down from her dictation, sundry particulars c.f an extra(jrdinary revelation rsyth's "chief officer." But, if possible, a stronger confirmation appeared in the MoDiinin; Star, October 19th, i860, a cop\- of which, a few weeks since, was sent to the .Xuthor. The following is an extract from what appeared over the name of W, Parker Snow: — "June, 1850, we sailed from Aberdeen for the locality I was so anxious to search. The night i)revious to our departure, a lad)' well known to public fame, called me to her room and communicated what \ I ri ■1 li' , ^y f ' I 11 :i! i 1 I ' » m Rill I It SI 272 .S"/> /iven to me the night before 1 sailed. How far it has been .singularly verified, any one conversant with Arctic matters can tell. The Erebus and Terror were south of Barrow Strait and not north, as most persons strongly believed. They were in Victoria Channel ; and at Point Victory, a record, giving information concerning them, had been eleposited. ./ Defence. -\-.> " Respecting; the other initials, I can give no idea. I can but relate the facts as they occurred in 1S50. Hut yet more. In Auijust of the same year in which \vc sailed, we were not far from the localit)' here referred to. C)nl>' 250 miles divided us from the place I had so stron<.;ly before m}' eyes. Unfortunatelw it was determined to turn back. I entreated permission to t^o on with soiue volunteers, who came forward from the crew, in a boat. M\- reciuest was refused." What was written concerning the old pocket book in i860 is, as verified by ourselves, true in 1889. "A story that could not have been fabricated in Lad\' l*'ranklin's lifetime," so asserts Sir Leo[)()id McClintock, vet here we find a statement made, through the press, in her ladyship's lifetime. The withholding of Lady Franklin's name was out of respect for one who was, at that time, in a delicate state of health, and whose publicl}' avowed association with supernatural phenomena would have been anything but a tonic to her ladyship's already unstrung nerves. For the outlined map, above referred to, see the remarks which follow I.ady Franklin's last letter. It is, however, fair to Captain Parker Snow to remark that both in the IJverpool Mercury and the St. Stephen s Reviezv, he said that neither he, nor Forsxth, was influenced in their expedition by I vm 'I ! f lii •' I " ■I n I , »: in pi ' I* i 1 i- I ■h I ^ii:i^'!i 5::. 274 S/r IoIdi J- rank/in. anything in connection with the " revelation." Ikit whilst asserting so much, he has made other statements, both through the public press and to the Author, which appear to be irreconcilable with such an assertion. W'e will give two examples only. In a letter to the Author, dated July 17th, 1889, he makes the following statement: — "The 'rev.' as something wondrously above ordinary things, ivas marvellousl)' correct in its prophetic forecast, and warrants what .S7. Stcplieiis Review says [Aug. 24, 1889], Lad)' l^Vankiin did, on that night, earnestly entreat me to push on to Boothia \_sic\. Hut what power had 1, as only second in command? Moke that she said to me then is yet on my mind. Poor, revered Lady ! If i am asked m\' honest belief it is, and always ivas, my wife antl others know, that Lady Franklin was strongl\' impressed, and I should say influenced, by what she told me of the 'revelation.'" The italics arc- Parker Snow's. Again, in a subsequent letter to the Author, dated July 19th, 1889, Captain Snow uses those words : — " You aver it was to se?rch in directions named on child's chart, No : as to myself, but this I can remember, by the aid of other private notes, she did earnestl)' impress on me, in addition to prior instructions of same direction to strive <1( A Defence. elation." But made other press and to irreconcilable 11 cjive two ly 17th, 1889, — " The ' rev.' linary things. lietic forecast, Reviczo says on that night, Boothia \_sic\. in command ? ; yet on my im asked m\' my wife and was strongl\- ced, by what he italics arc- the Author, )\v uses those in directions myself, but other private ne, in addition ion to strive all in my power to examine the points named [Point Victory and Victoria Channel]. If 1 go into court I can there say more." The itahcs are Captain Snow's. In the presence of these and many similar statements, as well as his letter to the Morniiii^ Star, above referred to, not a few have found it difficult to understand the position of the venerable writer. Probably the\', with ourselves, will have to wait for the ivholc truth, until something shall bring the entire case " into court." One thing throughout all his correspondence is clear, and that is, Forsyth's incredulity, or timidit)-, or stupidity, prevented Parker Snow from going on to Point Victory and Victoria Channel. Recapitulation No. 3, i^ntli Letter No. 3. TnK RKCAprri-i.ATiox. " I. That Captain Kennedy, who is still alive, was instructed by Lady Franklin to go to Londonderry to examine, for himself, the child's account of the revelation. *' 2. That Miss Cracroft did write to Captain Coppin concerning Kennedy, and showed that by his experience, his high moral character, and his deep religious feelings, he \\';\:> eminently qualified for the post of commander. " 3. That the object of the second expedition Wi !i 1 U: 276 S/'r JoJiu Franklm. of the Prince Albert was precisely the same as that of Forsyth's. " 4. That Captain Coppin was asked to suggest some suitable man, if possible, for the post of chief officer. " 5. That Captain Coppin was approached relative to the going of Kennedy to London- derry. "6. That Mr. Horsfall, of Liverpool, was still doing his best to help Lady Franklin. " 7. That Captain Coppin was regarded at this time as being of immense service to the cause." LETTER NO. 3. "21, Bedford Place, " Russell Square. "March 6 [1851]. "Dear Mr. Coppin, "Just before my Aunt was taken more seriously ill, we were gratified and relieved by the arrival from Canada of Mr. Kennedy, late an officer in the Hudson Bay Company's service, and possessed of very great exper'ence in Arctic travelling. He spent eight years on the coast of Labrador and was the first European who visited its northern coast. This gentleman offered his services to my aunt, through a mutual friend ;3i,::. I A Defence. '>7 77 the same isked to sible, for )proached London - pool, was ranklin. garded at service to 6 [1851]. .ken more |ed by the late an ["vice, and In Arctic the coast )ean who Ian offered ual friend last year, but the arrangements then completed did not permit of liis offer being accepted. On learning that the Prince Albert had returned and would be sent again, under different organization, such as would make the renewal of his former proposal very acceptable, Mr. Kennedy at once started off from Lake Huron, and with the least possible delay presented himself to my aunt here in England. He is a man of great energy and perseverance, and of deep religious principles, and one can but feel thankful, in no ordinary degree, to possess the services of such a person, offered, too, in the noblest manner, upon the sole condition that he shall receive no remuneration whatever. " The object of the expedition is precisely the saine as last year, when, as now, the Prince Albert was regarded as a means of tra^i sport for the boat parties by which the real search will be effected. The management of these boat parties will be entrusted to Mr. Kennedy, a charge for which his great experience in travelling by boats on sea and on land, qualifies him perfectly Mr. Kennedy is now in the north engaging his men, and looking out for some person fit to take charge of the second boat party. A person of intelligence, enterprise, and above all of sufficient resources in his own person, to supply, as far as may be, the want of experience in the service. ■;; i: ( M ^ \ 1 * .; 1 s ' r n li, i " ! i i I-I ( II I ii 'i': i::ilii^ i ' \ 278 Sir John Franklin. H^ must understand navigation too, i.e,, the use of such instruments as are required both on land and at sea, for determining and guiding a party aright, and to these qualifications must be added the power of controlling men. It is not every one who is fit for such work, more especially as the course given him may lead through a part of the country not yet laid down precisely in the charts. " Do yoti know of any such person — if possessed of some medical knowledge, so much the better ? Do vou think there would be any advantage in Mr. Kennedy going over to Londonderry to see you ? and you might then return to Liverpool together. He might do good at Liverpool, and although you do not go thence for a month, I suppose, to come, yet I am sure you will accomplish much by writing there. '^Nothing is changed as to the ^Prince Albert' expedition excepting the organization, which is now considered to be very effective, and one only difficulty is about the funds " Some time since, my aunt, at the request of Mr. Horsfall, sent a copy of Mr. Snow's book to the Free Public Library, now establishing at Liverpool. He thought it might awaken a degree of interest which would prove active, indeed my aunt feels most grateful to Mr. Horsfall for all his kindness, and is anxious he should know and be A Defence. 279 fully persuaded of this feeling. I am sure you will be able to do a great deal for us in Liverpool and elsewjierc. " Believe me, dear Mr. Coppin, " Yours sincerely and gratefully, "Sophia Cracroft." In perusing this letter the reader will bear in mind that Forsyth's directions were to examine all the area in which were located the places of the '' revelation," " Point Victory " and " Victoria Channel." Attention is consequently called to the salient points of the letter : — 1st Kennedy is a man of high moral worth. Hence Miss Cracroft's expression — " deep religious principles." 2nd. The second expedition is destined ; d go to the same locality as the first one. Where that was has been already shown. " The object," re- marks Miss Cracroft, " is precisely the same as last year." 3rd. The object " precisely the same," so must be the instructions. Hence the desirability that the new commander should go to Londonderry to interview Captain Coppin and his little daughter. (For a detailed account of the visit to Londonderry see Kennedy's letter, pp. 140, 141). C 2 fli)- ! (■ ,1 1 ■ 1 1^ i ' !i!;i ■ :i 1 . I s' 1 '^' : \ ^ 2 So Sir JoJin I' rank I in. 4th. The Ilorsfall famil\' is aj^ain doinij its best to strengthen the hands of Lady Franklin. A few of its members subscribed above ;^50, and did yeoman service in enUsting the practical sympathy of others. 5th. Captain Coppin is still looked upon as a very important factor in all the arrangements, and as far as his important shipbuilding and other business permitted, he, without stint, devoted his energies to expedite the efforts to explore Point Victorv and Victoria Channel. It is worthy of notice that the boat arrangements referred to were on tlie same lines as those in con- nection with the Fox — McClintock's expedition. " Ridiculous I " exclaims Sir Leopold McClintock. " No labours were undertaken in connection with the so-called 'revelation,'" — so Miss Cracroft is made to say. A " fabricated " story, so proclaims the Knight and Admiral in Her Majesty's fleet. Be it so, but probably before the letters are concluded doubts will suggest themselves as to the possibility of such language lessening the lustre of the Order of Knights, at least as related to one of its members. The next two letters bring us to December, 1854. Kennedy has returned from his voyage, and for reasons not yet satisfactorily explained, has accomplished nothing, save the discovery of a I'* il A Dcfentc. 281 channel (Hcllot Strait). Neither in his book {The Second Voyage of the Prince Albert)^ nor in iiis recent letters to the Authcjr (August loth and September nth, 1889), does Captain Kennedy throw much light on the subject under review. He writes of difficulties being placed in his way, and makes a quasi-confession that his publi- cation underwent something more than the close inspection of Lady Franklin, ere it was given to the public. How much such confession means we are not prepared to say ; but, as in the case of Snow's book, there is evidence of " cookin; known the extra- ordinary ' revelation ' of your child throuL^h the ver)' extensive medium of the Household Words, as a powerful incentive to a searcli for the ships. A more widely spread diffusion could hardly be secured, if we find him willing- to publish the deeply interesting- narrative. " Ever yours very truly, "Sophia Cracroft. "Monday Evening, Dec. 4, 1854. " 162, Albany Street, Regent's Park." "December 4th, 1854." This was during "Lady Erankhn's lifetime." The ''extraordinary revelation A Defence. 2.S; lACROFT, \CROFT. of your child'' and ''the (feeply //i/ejrst/nx' iiarvative b>' tlu )ii rcfcrrctl to the same event — the chart (Uawn child from tlie Arctic scene whicli •' ai)[)eared " ( the lloor, and the mysterious writini;' w hich appeared on the wall C1849). Yet one, whose name is en- rolled anKjnj^st the Knii^hts of the i;reatest empire under the sun, can proclaim throujj^hout said empire that the " story could iKjt have been fabricatetl duriiiy; Lady Franklin's lifetime," and forsooth dra^s the name of the writer of these letters bcifore the people of the same empire, as a conHrmation of his sadly unwarrantable assertions. And what adds mcjre disijrace to his conduct is the fact that, called upon by Captain Cop[)in to withdraw and to apologise for his calumnious state- ments, he declined to do so. Has the KniL;ht for- gotten the adage, Noblesse c'-lige? It was the wish of the venerable father of the "little child" to brin"" the unchivalrous Knii>"ht before one of Her Majesty's Judges, but the want of means alone prevented it. As to the libel on the i\uthor, Sir Leopold should remember that a clergyman's reputation is of equal value to one that is entitled to the prefix of "Sir" to his baptismal name. It is to be hoped that in the presence of facts, herewith given, he will, without the least delay, make the amende honorable to Caj)tain Coppin, if not to the Author. X I Hi' I. in ill I h ill 286 Sir John Franklin. % Failing to do so, will civilized society suffer loss by his being ostracised from its midst ? Let Trinity House answer. The reader's attention is now specially directed to letter No. VI., and its more immediate sur- roundings. Lady I'ranklin is busily engaged in completing all arrangements for her last expedition. The most important feature in connection with the new effort is the exact destination of the expedition and the best route to reach it. As if resolved to examine the entire question of the revelation, ab initio, we find Lady Franklin engaged in correspondence with Captain Coppin. Her Ladyship, through some means (probably ill- health), could not make the record of the "revelation" complete. Hence we find her, through Miss Cracroft, asking Captain Coppin to send the chart, sketched by his little daughter, so that the account might be perfect. Tlie Recapitulation No. K, ivith the Letter No. VI. THE RECAPITULATION. " I. That, in 1856, Captain Coppin was writ- ing to Lady Franklin on the ' revelation.' '* 2. That Lady Franklin was grateful for such writing. "3. That, through Miss Cracroft, Lady Frank- lin acknowledged ihe receipt of a copy of the ']■ A Defence, 287 descriptive statement, attached to the chart, as sent by Captain Coppin in 1850. " 4. That Lady Franklin also wished for a copy of the chart, as drawn by Captain Coppin's little child in 1850. " 5. That such a request was made that Lady Franklin might complete the account of the extraordinary " revelation." "6. That Captain Coppin was asked to help forward the movement by circulating printed matter in all directions." LETTER NO. 6. "60, Pall Mall, " 16 April, 1856. " My dear Mr. Coppin, " I am sorry to have seemed so negligent of you, but the indisposition my aunt was suffering from, when you were in town, proved to be only the beginning of a long illness, from which she is only now recovering ; and my own health is so far from being what it was, that many a letter is now, I grieve to say, put aside and apparently forgotten. Your letters came quite safely, and my aunt is very much obliged to you for them. In that accompanying the copy of the one you wrote iti 1850, you kindly promised to send Iter the charts sketched by your daughter, which would make the J ' I. ' ■I f| r I 288 Sir JoJin Franklin. .'I record complete — a strange and start! hig episode anio)ig many which have occurred to us in the late eventful years. *' I send you now a letter which you ma}^ like to adopt and copy, but pray make any alterations you like. I know you will agree to the main points. And we send also six copies of another pamphlet, which we think more clever than the first — perhaps you would send a copy to such M.P.'s as you think would pay any attention to the subject — and we will send you as many more copies as you like to have. The Editors of newspapers might as weU have a copy, if you know any who will notice it in their columns. " As I said before, we will forward more copies to you to any amount you may wish for, of either pamphlet, but the one I now send is considered the most able. Both have faults, but they will do good and have done it My aunt sends her kindest regards, and believe me, dear Mr. Coppin, " Yours very sincerely, " Sophia Cracroft." i.i!: " No labours were founded on the so-called 'revelation,'" so asserted Sir Leopold. Were there not? If not, the foregoing letter means nothing. Captain Coppin is doing his best to help forward i Defence, 289 the expedition, and he believes in the " revelation/' He is writing definitely on the M'.bject to Lady- Franklin. A copy of the original descriptive letter, which was attached to the chart, in 1H50, has just been sent to her Ladyship. She now wants the chart itself, though, so far as Captain Coppin can recollect, the original must, at the time, have been in her possession, \'et unknown, at the moment, to herself What does it all mean ? " Nothing, nothing. Oh, nothing at all,"' may be the cuckoo-cry of Sir Leopold, but Miss Cracroft must think differently, unless memory has failed her, or she is prepared to deny her own hand- writing. We will concede th.c possibility that Sir Leopold may not have heard much about the " revelation," and, like Forsyth, cared less, but it is impossible to concede that, at this time. Lady Franklin, Miss Cracroft. and Captain Coppin were not working on lines which were, more or less, seen as leading to Point Victorw And what is of no small importance in the evidence for the " revelation," being the basis of definite action, is the fact that both chart and statement are recognised as being known in 1850, and as being considered so valuable tJien as to be sought after noiv. Thus, in the clearest manner possible, 1850 is connected with 1856. Further, fhat a few months li / 290 Sir fohn Franklin. ! I- \\ iirj'i before Sir Leopold McClintock was appointed to search the locality specified in the chart and its accompanying statement, Lady Franklin and Miss Cracroft were found arranging to have the search made in said locality, must be accepted as an incontrovertible fact. But whilst Lady Franklin and Miss Cracroft are completing the record of the "revelation" o-f 1849, so as to reach Point Victory and Victoria Channel, via Lancaster Sound and Prince Regent Inlet, Sir Leopold McClintock has in his mind three other routes whereby to reach the locality, designated in the memorial to the Government (June 5th, 1856) as " at no great distance from the spot where certain relics of Sir John and his crew were obtained by Dr. Rae." Those three other routes, concerning which Sir Leopold and others memorialized the Government, were very remote from each other, and exhibited, on the part of the memorialists, a vagueness of the most convenient kind. Hence we are not surprised that the Government refused to embark upon such an indefinite proposal. One of the proposed routes was Peel Sound ; another was Repulse Bay, which, though much more difficult than that of Peel Sound, v/as simpli- city itself compared to the distant and almost hopeless Behring Strait route — some 4,000 or 5,000 miles distant from where Dr. Rae had found the A Defence. 291 relics of Sir John. And what adds wonder to the vagueness of Sir Leopold and his co-memorialists is the fact that they left the choice of the route to the Government. Thus, whilst Lady Franklin was, in April, 1856, preparing to go to King William Land, or Point Victory and Victoria Channel, via Regent Inlet, Sir Leopold was equally as ready to reach the place of I3r. Rae's diccoveries by the distant Behring Strait route 1 In other words, with the child's " revelation " before her, Lady Franklin's route is limited to so many hundreds of miles, whilst McClintock's route, without the " revelation," embraces an equal number of thousands of miles. Yet, in the face of that memorial, Sir Leopold, in a letter to the author (May 2nd, 1885), and in his letters to the Pall Mall Gazette and the Liverpool Press, tries to convince his readers that he went to " King William Land " via Lancaster Sound, Regent Inlet, because common sense could point to no other route Be it so ; then, within some eight or ten months after he signed the memorial of the " as you like it " route, he could only follow one route, and that the route of the "revelation;" and instead of the indefinite locality in Boothia, where Dr. Rae found the relics, he is prepared to go to " King William Land," in which is situated Point Victory, and upon whose shores wash up the waters of Victoria Channel. ':,'> ! ill 1 F *P^ m WK^-- i > r i t; f , *: i s ' ?i : / > « ,i ,' i i! ">o? 92 .V/> /^V/// Franklin, Verily, the novice in Arctic matters can discern, in all such lanc^uai^c, a deal of the ad captanduni ; and to those who know about the " revelation," of Lady Franklin's belief in the " revelation," how, after Sir Leopold sig-ncd the memorial to the Government, he was brouj^ht in contact with Lady Franklin, and how. afterwards, his plans were altered, there can only come the unpleasant suspicion that he, of set purpose, is kecpini^ back the " whole truth." Unless, therefore, Sir Leopold can explain why in June, 1856, he was prepared to accept the 15ehrini>" Strait route to c^et tf) Boothia, o<; its neighbourhood, and yet, in the spring of the following year, he was pre- pared to follow the route sketched by the little child in 1849, he will not take the first step to clear himself of what appears to be a grave reflection on his hononr and probity. l^ut considering how Sir Leopold can bespatter the character of those to whom character is as valuable as his own, no surprise need be felt at any attempt he may make to fortify his charge, /'.r., the story is a "fabricated" one. Facilis destrnsns Ai'crni ! Query, did Sir Leopold read the book before he rushed into print to condemn it ? A whisper has reached us that he did not. If he did not, his conduct i> far more worthy of the plebeian than the patrician. And if he did, he is guilty of a crime that must seriously detract from any A Defence. 293 1 discern, Ptanduin ; ation," of m," how, I to the ith Lady re altered, in that he, truth." plain why ic Behring ibourhood, \c was pre- little child p to clear reflection erinf^ how )f those to 10 surprise to fortify ted " one. )ok before whisper did not, plebeian is guilty from any claim he may make as to his love for just and fair dealing. Why ? Because throughout the pages of our book may be found clear and emphatic references to documents in our possession that were freely open to inspection. Yet without in- specting said documents, or even condescending to ask to inspect them, he condemns the book on which they are founded. Sir Leopold belongs to the Trinity Brethren. Were the author a member of the favoured fraternity, and had Sir Leopold treated him after his present unjust fashion, probably som.e just measures wcjuld have been taken to convince him of his unbrotherly behaviour. But, as against all he may say to the contrary, one fact is patent, and that is, whereas Sir Leopold would fain convince the public that his going to King William Land had nothing to do with the " revelation " of the little child of Londonderry, he cannot adduce one particle of proof that he would ever have gone there, direct as he did, apart from Lady Franklin. On the contrary, had the Government complied with the desire of the memorialists, and had Sir Leopold been chosen as one of the officers of the Government expedition, he, m the following year, instead of going on to King William Land, via Regent Inlet, would willingly have taken the Behring Strait route, some D • I If^ i ! 294 Sir John Frajiklin. >l < 4,coo or 5,000 miles distant from the place where Sir John's fate was discovered. Not only so, but Sir Leopold, apart from Lady- Franklin, can produce no reliable evidence that he would have ever gone direct to King William Land — this place not being mentioned in the memorial which he signed. But wl.y say mol-e? In Sir Leopold's apparently chaotic state of mind, wc should be scarcely surprised if he, nautically speaking, crow-nested his statements concerning the author's story, by declaring the memorial, signed by himself, to search via Behring Strait route, &c., merely a "fabricated" story. O tempora, O mores! Recapitulation No. JV., with Letter No. VII. THE RECAPITULATION. " I. The book states (pp. 147-51) that the expedition of the Fox, under the command of Sir Leopold McClintock (then a captain) gave a startling meaning to ' Lancaster Sound, Prince Regent Inlet, Point Victory, Victoria Channel.' Whatever the doubts about their meaning before, all was clear now. The chart of the little child, the words she ' saw ' on the wall, and Lady Franklin's faith in the same, in 1850, were proved to have been pregnant with truths of momentous importance. The * revelation ' of 1 849 had, even to the /] Defence. J95 :e where >m Lady z that he William in the \y mol'c ? of mind, nautically n-ning the al, signed route, &c., mores! Q- VIL that the command |a captain) ;cr Sound, Victoria .out their he chart l' saw ' on Ith in the lave been portance. to the exact word, been proved to be true. The expedition of Forsyth might have, ought to ha> c, settled the whole matter in 1850. Thus would there have been no need for a Kennedy's expedition, the English and American ones, that of Anderson's in 1855, and much less that of McClintock's in 1857. The instructions to Forsyth, and to his chief officer, Captain Parker Snow, as well as the map and words in Captain Snow's pocket book, anent the ' revel'Jition,' were now seen to have been as a voice of Providence, which, if obeyed, would have been as a trumpet, speaking glad tidings to P2urope and America. No other proof is required to substantiate this statement than the letter of Lady Franklin to Captain Coppin, dated Dec. 2 1 St, 1859. Thus we affirm " 2. That said letter is mainly about the agreement of the ' revelation ' with the recent discoveries of the Fox expedition. "3. That the little child's chart did, in 1850, point out the lost Erebus and Terror, as being in a locality which was thought at the time (1850) to have been unreachable, " 4. That McClintock's discoveries had proved that the ships were actually lost in the sup- posed inaccessible region. " 5. That this region was Victoria Channel, D 2 \ . i ^'1 :i i % b:'!i !ti 296 Sir John Franklin. il : W as known to Lady Franklin in 1850, througli the chart of the child and its descriptive statement. " 6. That Point Victory, where the only and famous record was found, was exactly the same place as marked upon the chart by the little child in 1849-50. " 7. That Lady Franklin did express sorrow that she could not just then lay her hand upon the descriptive statement, or letter, in which, in 1850, Captain Coppin had given her a full account of the child's 'revelation.' " 8. That both chart and the descriptive statement were, at that time, in Lady Franklin's possession, and were safe, and as such could, if needed, be readily referred to." LKTTKK NO. 7. '' \l, Park Place, " St. James' Street, " Dec. 2 1 St, 1859. •' Mv DEAR Mr. COPl'lX, " I have received your letter of yesterday, re- questing me to tell you how far the ' mysterious revelations' of your child, in 1850, respecting the expedition of my late husband, correspond with the facts recently ascertained, beyond dispute, by Captain McClintock's researches. In reply I have A Defence. 297 no hesitation in telling you that the child's chart drawn by herself, without as you assure me having seen an Arctic chart before, represented the ships as being in a channel which we believed at that time to be inaccessible, but which, it has since been found, they actually navigated. "Moreover, the names 'Victory' and 'Victoria,' written by the little girl upon her chart, correspond with that of the point (Point Victory) on King William's Latid, where the important record of the 'Erebus' and ' Terror'' was found, and with that of the strait or channel (Victoria Strait) where the ships where finally lost. " I regret that I have not at hand }'our very interesting letter of May, 1850, in which you made to me those remarkable communications with more detail, but I believe I am quite correct in what 1 have stated. I have carefully preserved your letter and the child's drawing and you ma}- be assured that they are in safety, and can be referred to, tho' it would be difficult for mc to do so at this present moment. " Ever yours, dear Mr. Coppin, " Most truly and obliged. "Ja^e Franklin." This letter, and unassailible reply to Sir Leopold's charge of fabrication, calls for some two or three observations : — '.r ,;! 11 |! ; f I 298 Sir JoJrn Franklin. 1st. — With a sad ignoring of the principles which belong to the Preux Chevalier^ and with a painful exhibition of moral turpitude, Sir Leopold McClintock, in his communication to the three Liverpool daily papers, uses the following lan- guage: — "It seems impossible to resist the conviction that this name 'Victoria Channel' was subsequently added to the 'revelation.'" No marvel that the St. StepJieiis Revieiv (August 24th, 1889; remarks, concerning this statement of Sir Leopold, " Be it so. Then he charges Lady Franklin with writing a falsehood." In addition to such a stricture the lengthy article on the subject contains the following : — " The puzzle is to understand why Sir Leopold McClintock is so very anxious to damn the Rev. J. Henry Skewes' book. Is it that he thinks there will be less honour and glory accrue to him for having found the remains of the Franklin Expedition, if it is known that he was indirectly assisted by this previous supernatural revelation ? Or can it be that he honestly did not know that Lady Franklin believed in and acted on that revelation? This is the point to be ascertained, and we pause for a reply. The reverend author has, by the publication of these letters [Nos. II. and VII.], established his statement and proved himself no fabricator ; and unless Sir Leopold A l^efcnce. 299 can show these letters to be forcfcries, he should withdraw his allegations as publicly as he nnade them. One word more : If this revelation can be verified, it will be the nearest approach to a miracle since the time of our Saviour ; and unless Sir Leopold McClintock can impeach the testi- mony of Lady Franklin's letters, it would seem that the truth of the revelation was proved b:;yond dispute." The attention of Sir Leopold was called to the article, with the letters annexed, but either for want of conscience, or honour, if not the want of both, he vouchsafed no answer ! In a naval officer we are accustomed to look for courage, but judging from Sir Leopold's silence, anent the severe strictures in the above-mentioned weekly publication, the " blood " of the Knight- Bachelor has become "water." The St. Stephen's Reviezv would like to know why Sir Leopold is so much against Mr. Skewes' book. May we venture to reply? In his letters to the Liverpool Press, Sir Leopold dwells very much upon what *'/" did. For example, he says, 'T ascertained, that the Erelms and Terror had been arrested by the ice and abandoned by the crew.'' Again, almost repeating himself, he observes, " It was near Point Victory that I ascertained, in 1859, that the doomed crews," &c. • Why all this 300 Sir John hfixukiiii. '11' to the exclusion of Lieutenant Ilobson, wliose party, several days before McClintock's party from thr south came on the spot, had discovered the lar^e boat and the famous rec(M\l ? Correctly- speaking, neither McClintock nor any of his part}- discovered anything' that could throw lijrht upon the fate of Sir John and his shi[)s. Our book, to the ii»^norin{^ of Sir Leopold's undue use of the personal pronoun "I," puts Lieutenant Hobson in his just position. Whereat Sir Leopold appears to be offended. Besides, the book, very probably, dispels a glamour which Sir Leopold has allowed to gather round himself, attributing to him certain powers of foresight, or insight, which his Arctic con- temporaries did not possess. The " revelation," if anything, does not favour this apparently selfish glamour. If our solution of the problem, which perplexes the .S7. Stephcris Reviczv, is not satis- factory, we venture to think we have furnished valuable aid in that direction. 2nd. — Concerning the '^''ictoria Channel, as given in this remarkable letter, Dr. John Rae has busied himself not a little. In the London, Liverpool, and Londonderry Press, he claimed to have surveyed and named the locality, in August, 1851. The Author, supposing the Victoria Strait, or Channel, like Point Victory, to have been dis- a ill A Defence. 301 covered and named, previous to the cliilds "revela- tion " of September or October, 1S49, at once very carefi !ly examined the whoUr (question as raised b}' Dr. Rae. And knowini;, as he did, a deal of the uncertainties which surround some of the statements of Arctic explorers, he refused to accept the unsupported testimonx' of Dr. Rae. With his surve)', or rather rapid visit, to the coasts of Victoria Channel, we did not differ from the Hudson Hay tloctor. Outside of himself, there was, in the JMue Hooks of lcS52^ quite enouirh evidence to prove that he visited the coasts of the locality in dispute, but not a particle of evidence to prove that he named the place. Hoth privatel)' and publicl\' we have asked for proof, other than his if^se dixit, but though several months have intervened, the proof is not to hand. We do not den\' what he asserts, but we look in vain for proof. Till this be forthcoming, one of three things ap[)ears to follow: A — The local it}' in which the lirebus and Terror met their fate was named before it "appeared" on the wall, and as such was in the hands of Lady Franklin, some fifteen months previous to the time in which Dr. Rae affirms he both surveyed and named it. B — If not named previous to the child's "revela- tion," then the child not onl)' " saw " the ships lit i 302 Sir John Franklin. ■ i * : in the locality where they were imprisoned, but gave to the place its present name. C — This the case, and the name being in the possession of Lady Franklin, it is possible, through some means, that when Dr. Rae wrote about his visit to the shores of Victoria Strait, he wrote about a place whose name had come to him through her Ladyship. Impartial Arctic explorers, who have carefully examined the whole question, look upon this utDtiing of the locality a^- being almost as wonder- ful as the "seeing" of the ships in the fatal waters about ten years before they were discovered to have perished there, and the " appearance " of the name of a place (Point Victory), which, ten years after its being " seen," was proved to have had in its safe keeping, the famous record. The Author, however, is not so far committed to this view as to be unwilling to calmly examine any evidence, per contra, from Dr. Rae or any other source. 3rd. — As to the chart and its accompanying descriptive statement. That both had been in Lady Franklin's possession, in 1850, there can be no reasonable doubt. That as per letter No. VL) they were still known to Lady Franklin and Miss Cracroft in 1856, is also beyond question. At the death of Lady Franklin, in 1875, the A Defence. 303 whole of her correspondence passed into the hands of Miss Cracroft, her residuary legatee. Amongst the voluminous letters, &c., in connection with the Franklin expeditions, without doubt, are to be found the chart and its accompanying state- ment, at least so believed Miss Cracroft on March 26th, 1885. It was at this time that she wrote to Captain Coppin from Dorking, promising that on her return to London she would " search for the chart alluded to in my aunt's letter " {i.e., letter No. VII.) On May 5th, she again wrote, " As soon as may be after my return home I will seek for and send you the chart made by your child." This also was dated from Dorking. On June 26th, she again wrote Captain Coppin from 45, Phillimore Gardens, Kensington, saying, " I have not yet found your first letter as to the apparitions seen by your child in reference to the Erebus and Terror, and the drawing made by her, but I will not fail to let you know when I have done so." In a letter dated 23rd July, 1885, also sent to Captain Coppin, Miss Cracroft writes about an interview she has had with Sir Leopold McClintock. What was the result of that interview the Author wotteth not, nevertheless it is significant that after this date there were no further promises (! i . i? i ' 1 . 11 ; ;' ' W^ ^ n M • iii i Hi ( I II 11! 1^ 304 Sz'r Jo Jul Franklin. about sending the chart, and from that time to the present, all that the law could do has been done to retain possession of both chart and its accompanying descriptive statement. Why ? Cannot Sir Leopold McClintock answer ? The least that can be said for such conduct is, that it is a cruel return for unstinted labours and much expense incurred in furthering the efforts of a noble lady, who, if alive, would only have been too willing to have returned the documents to their rightful owner. Is not the refusal to do so a perpetuated injury to the memory of Lady Franklin ? We fear the answer must be — Yes. Sir Leopold may say that he knew nothing about the " revelation," yet, in his letter to the Pall Mall Gazette (May i6th, 1889) he wrote that " Lady Franklin was deluged with these revelations." True, he very gratuitously puts in a disclaimer, on the part of the dead, by saying, " She courteously listened to all, but was influenced by none of them." Could the dead speak unto Sir Leopold, there would be heard a voice, accompanied by a pointing finger, saying : — *' Thy words, O man, have misled, and are misleading, the nation whose Queen and her councillors raised thee unto honour and comfort. Thou art denying the truths contained in my I i Defence. 305 letters, and art causing contempt to be cast upon the words which 1 requested my kinswoman, Sophia Cracroft, to write. Thou robbest VViUiam Coppin, my late valued and long-tried friend, of his character. Art thou afraid that it should be known that thou didst no more than mi""ht have been done by James Forsyth and his chief officer, William Parker Snow, nine years before, or what might have been accomplished eight years before, by William Kennedy? Thou actest unwisel}'. Go thou, at once, and read the letters written by mine own hand, and thou wilt bemoan thine unjust words. Read thou, also, the letters written by Sophia Cracroft, and written by my request, and thou wilt assuredly know that 1 ivas influenced by the ' revelation ' of the little child of London- derry. In what thou hast written to the contrary, thou has not written according to the evidence offered unto thee. Thou keepcst back, if it were possible, the truth from being known. Be thou sorry for thine exceeding folly, and make thou immediate reparation unto those whom thou hast greatly wronged." But alas, if Leopold McClintocL will not believe the letters of Jane Franklin and Sophia Cracroft, neither will he be persuaded though one rose from the dead ! \ ■ f !• i ( i. 1 t. r f > 1- 1 s I : AMERICAN CONTINENT ^l Defence. 307 We now briefly notice Captain Parker Snores chart. NOTES ON THE CHART. 1st. — This chart has been carefully reduced from the crude outline of Captain Parker Snow, as sent to the author, April 28th, 1889. 2nd. — The quadrilateral, depicted in the upper portion of the chart, accurately represents what is to be seen in the old, weather-worn pocket book, still in t,^c possession of Captain Snow. This was drawn from the dictation of Lad\' Franklin, on the midnight (June 4-5, 1850) preceding the departure of the Prince Albert. The size of the leaf is five inches and three tenths, by three inches and five and half tenths, or about the same length and breadth as the printed portion of a page of the present volume. The copy sent to us by Captain Snow has been compared with the original, /'.<•., the one in the old pocket book, and we found it to be an exact transcript. 3rd. — As justly remarked b}' Captain Snow, the crude outline was all that the leaf in his pocket-book " could take in." Subsequently, from memory, he outlined a continuation of the chart, as described to him by Lady Franklin in the midnight interview. How far the additional part, or even the oblong portion, agrees with the child's chart, we cannot say. Captain Coppin, from what 1 o8 Sir John Franklin. if". rr he can rcmcinber, thinks the general outhne a fairly correct reproduction of the one drawn by his little child. The channel leading from Regent Inlet towards Victoria Channel is not in Parker Snow's chart. If incorrect, Miss Cracroft will have an opi)ortunity of correcting it. But we fear that with her it will be the same as with her confrere. Sir I.ecjpold McClintock, i.e., personal interests are of far more importance than imperial ones. 4th. — The letters on the chart. What Captain l^arker Snow wrote to the Morning Star in i860, is equally true now. lie cannot explain N.I\, nor G.W.A. Neither does he know whether they were given to him by Lady i^^ranklin, or whether they were put down by himself as initials of some place, or places, that were then crossing his mind. 5th. — As will be noticed, on the copy from Captain Snow's pocket-book, there is reference to two ships '• going the wrong way." On the assump- tion that the little child " saw " the ships, Erebus and Terror, in a supposed inaccessible region, there can be no valid reason against her seeing other ships, if so, the two ships referred to might have been the Enterprise and Investigator^ which, at the possible date of the "revelation" (September-October j. were either making for Wellington Channel, or else drifting helplessly back into Lancaster Sound, via Barrow Strait. .\s will be observed in the preceding 3 a fairly his little nt Inlet r Snow's have an that with ^rcre, Sir s are of Captain in i860, iM.I\, nor !iey were :her they of some lis mind, py from rence to assump- Erebus on, there ig other jht have 1, at the DctoberJ) , or else unci, via •receding" A Defence. 309 extract from the Moruim:^ Star, Snow mentions the Enterprise and Investii^ator. Hut should the matter be viewed prophetically, then the two ships, goin<^ the wrong way, might have been the Lady Erankliii and the Sophia, which, in the following spring, went on to explore Wellington Channel, and thus passed Peel Sound, down which tiie Erelnis and Terror had gone. As such they were, most certainly, '' two ships going the wrong way." BuV in the absence of the original chart, nothinj^ satisfactory to ourselves can be advanced, or deduced. Many of the reviewers have seen enough of the mysterious, or else the supernatural, about the story, to recommend the London Psychical Research Society to investigate the matter. This, the secretary, Mr. Downing, offered to undertake in the beginning of 1885, and a very interesting correspondence on the subject ensued. But as neither himself, nor the Author, could get Miss Cracroft to send the chart to Captain Coppin, and as the examination of the chart was almost the si7ie qua 7ion of commencing investigations, the matter was deferred. Besides, it was not till about three years after that Captain Coppin gave permission to make his name public. This delay was auv cher hindrance. But when, on the publi- cation of the book, Mr. Myers, one of the Hon. Secretaries of the Society, wrote us, relative I i ! t N 3IO Sir JoJni FranklijL \\ > I I i ■; M, i t( to tlic inspection of the letters, he was readily offered the opportunity. As Mr. Dovvninti^ has been aware, from the first, we have always shown the greatest willingness to answer all his questions, and to do our utmost to further an)' efforts for the investigation of the phenomena. In addition to the evidence of the chart, there was, on the part of Mr. Downing, a desire to have direct confirmatory evidence from the " little child " herself. As far as letters are of an}- weight, this evidence is in our possession. Not only so, but we have received several letters from the aunt of the '' little child " — the aunt who was with her when she " saw " the Arctic scene and the letters on the •.vail. Selections from those letters are herewith given. Two of them were sent the Author on August 8th, 1889, and were the unsolicited outcome of the great indignation which the writers felt concerning the charge of fabrication made by Sir Leopold McClintock. Miss H. SiMitii's Letter. " Londonderry, "August 8th, 1889. "As a witness to the facts related in Mr. Skewes' .j(jok, entitled ' Sir J. Franklin's Fate,' I can bear undoubted testimony to every incident narrated in it being strictly true, and as having occurred A Defence. \\ I in my presence, as I was a resident in ni\' brother-in-law's house at the time, and heard from the children all they saw in connection with this remarkable ' revelation.' My little niece, Louisa, died on Whit Sunday, May 27th, 1849. Imme- diately after her death, all the children declared they saw her every day as usual. " One day it occurred to me to question her as to the fate of Sir John Franlrlin, and in answer to that question there appeared on the wall of the room luminous letters which my niece saw and spelled out for me, as ^iven in page 75 t)f the book. This question, I asked many times, and always the same answer repeated over again. But one day, in addition to the letters, a snow scene appeared on the floor, which my little niece described to me as two ships embedded in snow, and saying the room felt so cold. Th's scene the child drew on paper, roughly of course. Captain Coppin beinp" told of this strange occurrence, informed Lady Franklin of all particulars, and at her ladyship's request, forwarded the child's drawing. A long correspondence followed between Captain Coppin, Lady Franklin and her niece, Miss Cracroft. Lady Franklin fully believed in the ' revelation,' so much so as to influence every expedition se'-'t out to the locality mentioned in the ' revelation.' All letters in Captain Coppin's possession can be L 2 I |! , 312 Sir John l^yanklin. \ ■ !■' sIkjwii to prove, as incontrovertible evidence, tlnit all the statements contained in Mr. Skewcs' bocjk, I mean tliosc relating to the ' revelation,' which came under my own observation, arc strictly true in every particular. " I remain, " Sincerely yours, "HARRIET SMITH." In a letter to ourselves, dated August loth, 1889, Miss Smith remarks, " My sister and myself never saw Louisa at any time. It was the four children alone to whom she appeared." The next letter was written by the " little child," and is by herself entitled : — "The Little Child's Testlmuny." " Londonderry, August 8th, 1889. Having learned that Sir L. McClintock has condemned Mr. Skewes' book, and called it a fabrication, I think it only just to the Author and in vindication of my father's character, which has been so grossly maligned by those who for motives best known to them- selves seek by most dishonourable assertions, to prevent the real facts from becoming known, to say that, fortunately, we possess such a vast amount of evidence as can upset all baseless assertions made by any person or persons. // Dcjcmc. «3 "I can testify that every statement contained in the book is a real fact, and all our tainil)- can vouch for their having occurred as stated by Mr. Skewes. I have a perfect recollection of the whole matter. After mv little sister's death, she appeareel to all i)f us children, every day. ver)' often sittinj.^" on my Aunt's knee, of whom she was very fond, dressed in robes of indescribable beaut)' and radiantly bright [was not this purely subjective?]. My aunt first asked Lousia thec[uestion, where was {sic) Sir John Franklin ? At once, on the wall of the room, appeared in shining letters, ' Lancaster Sound, Prince Regent Inlet, Point Victory, Victoria Channel.' Repeating the same question again, an Arctic scene became visible before me. Two ships surrounded by ice, and a channel leading to them. This scene was so impressed on my mind that 1 drew it as well as I was then able, and which my father afterwards sent Lady Franklin at her request. It is now in Miss Cracroft's possession, who refuses, most unjustly, to give it up. " Lady FVanklin presented my sister and my- self with a book each, which I have now before me, with the following inscription in her own handwriting. ' To Coppin, in memory of her deep sympathy in the Arctic expedition. From her sincere friend, Jane Franklin, Nov., 1863.' ij^ I J I I I : I 4 i 314 Sir JoJin Pninkhn. " 1 \\\w thutikful to say there are two gcntle- iiieii, (jiie, Captain Parker Snow, resitlin^ in London [Hexley Heath], and Captain \V. Kennedy, residini; at St. Anch'csv's, Manitoba, both of whom were personally instructed by Lady Lranklin with strict injunctions to follow the route as directed in the 'revelation.' Captain Kenned)-, by Lady r'ranklin's direct wish came to Derry anc' rcmainetl three days in our house to learn ever)- particular connected with the ' revelation,' and left fully im- pressed with its truth, as his letters published in the book prove. "After the last expedition came home, which, owing to the indefatigable exertions of Lieutenant }Iob.son, was to bring to light the full meaning of the heaven-sent revelation, the memorable words, ' Point Victory, Victoria Channel,' — which were liter- ally fulfilled to the letter by the expedition of 1857. "Yours faithfully, "The Little Child." But what availeth all proof in face of the knighted son of the Arctic regions ? " Ridicu- lous ! " " Fabricated ! " are his exclamations. Be it so, then he impeaches the veracity of the " little child," of Miss Smith (her aunt), of Captain Coppin (her father), of Captain William Kennedy, of Lady Franklin, and, strangest of all, of Miss J Pt'fi'ure. =; Cracroft. \\c sjiy Miss Cracroft, since in view <>t the letters \vc li.avc ijivcn as written b\' her own hand, it is scarcel)' i)ossil)lc to conceive that she jravc Sir Leopold an\- authority to use her name in the manner he did. If so, the reason for the same requires a full explanation, and if not so, then, to the sin of false accusation, must be added yet another sin — somcthini; even stron liivMKosE & Sons, Printers, London ; and Derby y after ^cd that ic letter, Dnfirmed ^en " by as such 3n.