IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) 1.0 1.1 11.25 bilM 12.5 Ijfl ^^ ■■■ ■tt l&i 122 •^ U£ |20 muu Photographic Sciences Corporation WIBSTIR.K.r J4SS0 (716)S72-4»03 v ,v <^ ^ CiHM/ICMH Microfiche Series. CIHM/ICMH Collection de microfiches. Canadian Institute for Historical ly/licroreproductions / Institut Canadian de microreproductions historiques Technical and Bibliographic Notas/Notes techniques et bibliographiques The institute has attempted to obtain the best original copy available for filming. Features of this copy which may be bibliographically unique, which may alter any of the images in the reproduction, or which may significantly change the usual method of filming, are checked below. D D D D D \y Coloured covers/ Couverture de couleur I I Covers damaged/ Couverture endommag^e Covers restored and/or laminated/ Couverture restaurAe et/ou pellicul6e I I Cover title missing/ Le titre de couverture manque I I Coloured maps/ Cartes giographiques en couleur Coloured inic (i.e. other than blue or black)/ Encre de couleur (i.e. autre que bleue ou noire) I I Coloured plates and/or illustrations/ Planches et/ou illustrations en couleur Bound with other material/ Reli6 avec d'autres documents Tight binu.ng may cause shadows or distortion along interior margin/ La re liure serr6e peut causer de I'ombre ou de la distortion le long de la marge int^ sure Blank leaves added during restoration may appear within the tent. Whenever possible, these have been omitted from filming/ II se peut que certaines pages blanches ajouties lors d'une restauration apparaissent dans le texte, mais, lorsque cela 6tait possible, ces pages n'ont pas 6t6 filmies. Additional comments:/ Commentaires suppldmentaires; Various paging. L'Institut a microfilm^ le meilleur exemplaire qu'il lui a it6 possible de se procurer. Les details de cet exemplaire qui sont peut-Atre uniques du point de vue bibliographique, qui peuvent modifier une image reproduite, ou qui peuvent exiger une modification dans la methods normale de filmage sont indiqu6s ci-dessous. I I Coloured pages/ n This item is filmed at the reduction ratio checked below/ Ce document est film^ au taux de rMuction indiquA ci-dessous. Pages de couleur Pages damaged/ Pages endommag^es Pages restored and/oi Pages restauries et/ou pellicultes Pages discoloured, stained or foxe( Pages ddcolories, tachettes ou piquies Pages detached/ Pages d6tach6es Showthrough/ Transparence Quality of prir Quality in6gale de I'impression Includes supplementary materii Comprend du matiriei supplimentaire I I Pages damaged/ I I Pages restored and/or laminated/ r~^ Pages discoloured, stained or foxed/ I I Pages detached/ j~~| Showthrough/ I I Quality of print varies/ \ I Includes supplementary material/ Only edition available/ Seule Edition disponible Pages wholly or partially obscured by errata slips, tissues, etc., have been ref limed to ensure the best possible image/ Les pages totalement ou partiellement obscurcies par un feuillet d'errata, une pelure, etc., ont 6t^ fiim^es d nouveau de fagon d obtenir la meilleure image possible. 10X 14X 18X 22X 26X 30X J 12X 10X 20X 24X 28X 32X ails du tdifier une nage Th« copy film«d hara has baan raproducad thanks to tha ganarosity of: Library Division Provincial Archives of British Columbia Tha Imagas appaaring hara ara tha bast quality possibia considaring tha condition and lagibility of tha original copy and in liaaping with tha filming contract spacifications. Original copias in printad papar covars ara filmad baginning with tha front covar and anding on tha last paga with a printad or illustratad impras- sion. or tha back covar whan appropriata. All othar original copias ara filmad baginning on tha first paga with a printad or illustratad impras- sion, and anding on tha last paga with a printad or illustratad imprassion. Tha last racordad frame on each microfiche shall contain the symbol — ^ (meaning "CON- TINUED"), or the symbol V (meaning "END"). whichever applies. Maps, plates, charts, etc.. may be filmed at different reduction ratios. Those too large to be entirely included in one exposure are filmed beginning in the upper left h«nd corner, left to right and top to bottom, as many frames as required. The following diagtams illustrate the method: L'eNemplaira filmA fut raproduit grica A la gAnArositA da: Library Division Provincial Archives of British Columbia Las imagas suivantas ont AtA reproduites avec le plus grand soin. compta tenu de la condition at da la nanet* da I'exemplaira film*, et en conformity avec las conditions du contrat da filmaga. Les exemplairas originaux dont la couverture en papier est imprimia sont filmAs en commen^ant par la premier plat at on terminant soit par la darniAre paga qui comporte une empreinte d'impression ou d'iilustration. soit par le second plat, salon la cas. Tous las autres exemplairas originaux sont filmAs en commenpant par la premiere page qui comporte une empreinte d'impression ou d'iilustration et en terminant par la derniAre page qui comporte une telle empreinte. Un des symboles suivants apparaitra sur la derniAre image da cheque microfiche, selon le cas: le symbols — ^ signifie "A SUIVRE". ie symbole V signifie "FIN". Les cartes, planches, tableaux, etc.. peuvent Atre film«s A des taux de reduction diff4rent8. Lorsque le document est trop grand pour hue reproduit en un seul clich«. il est film* A partir de I'angle supArieu/ gauche, de gauche A droite, et de haut en bas, en prenant le nombre d'images n^cessaira. Les diagrammes suivants illustrent la mithoda. rata Blure, 3 2X 1 2 3 1 2 3 4 S 6 ) i^: K I.' .'4 \t .i^V Q W ^: u$ o o 0$ M H < O t— ( Pi o >-^ Ph X M fi< O ptS D H (< Ah '■ \. Q M o o to M H ft: < THE SEARCH FOR SIR JOHN FRANKLIN. FROM THE JOURNAL OF ALLEN YOUNG, ESQ.. F.R.G.S. J. GRIFFIN & CO., (Publishers, by appointment, to H.R.H the Duke of Edinburgh.) 15, COCKSPUR STREET, PALL MALL, LONDON. And 2, THE HARD, PORTSEA, PORTSMOUTH. 1875. VLUf I \\ t introbuction. T^HE public interest evoked on the subject of Arctic research in consequence of the departure of another Expedition to the Polar Regions induced the Publishers to request Mr. Allen Young to allow his interesting Journal written on board H.M.S. Fox, to be reprinted ; this he kindly consented to. The Publishers are also indebted to the Proprietors of the "Comhill Magazine" for allowing them to republish the Journal, as it originally appeared in the pages of that Magazine. September, 1875. 1C3420 F^cif;•-^<.V.'.•!ipt'-.■ ■" p R o V 1 M c I A - . '. . : A . < y VICTOrtlA, B. w. ■^Sii ■.■f^t' )f e y I. i r I 1 r i THE SEARCH FOR SIR JOHN FRANKLIN. (From the Journal of Allen Young, Esq., F.R.G.S.) THE last of the Government Expeditions in search of Franklin returned in 1854, without bringing further in- telligence than had been previously ascertained, namely, that the missing ships had spent their first winter, 1845-46, at Beechey Island, and had departed thence without leaving a single record to say whence they came or in what direction they intended to explore in the following season. The war with Russia engrossed the public attention, and the Admiralty determined that nothing more could be done for our missing sailors. Franklin and his companions were pronounced to be dead, and the search to be closed. But many Arctic officers and private persons thought otherwise. By the extraordinaiy exertions of the previous expeditions the country to be searched had been reduced to a limited area in which the ships must be, if above water, and through which the crews must have travelled when they left their ships. Every other retreat from the Arctic Seas had been explored, and the Great Fish River and King William Land alone remained unexamined. Later in the same year (1854), Dr. Rae, the celebrated traveller for the Hudson Bay Company, who was endeavouring 6 ] J30' H V •* I, \, V /(y(../ *• /l.i/)iii mil!. ^ Sliiilli Smiiii:! \ . (H"" ■ .fith ,7it.1. .Vn'V.'hti ri> a s^ : '■ ' •• >• ' r *^ A-^KvV" I ^J \ s> ,■ tM,,,..,:) ^--,^r" ^■'\CW-' ff oSSy *■ /^ •' / ..^'^ liiipiu-iicnfHr--- - - ..(7'"" 1 c ■■;i/ > \ * :..j i,^.../ / POX1.A.V II V, Bcrf- '.Vj^»"-^*"*«n,/^.,^ ^«"'v,'".; ,■>■.>■•'.«■...*■/...-." A-../.„.v.v. .i,«-— «•"■" BOOTHIA > 'cy^ 3^ / II r II s (k .V ; lltr, ' /.I Ihiir^ III, .I.-, . \i j <\ _ I! •> > lilii:! '• ^^ii u ^^■-\ i^ "V, S,.v:/f ;v. \.. ^' \ A riiAitT .■■l„.>:iii., Ill, ,/ TRACKS OF THE YAt HT F '^ji^^ ■4 I /?>//».«■ .// //i.Vf. \ ^ > S- III St-M l-fll III ° / H.M. SHIPS CRCBUS A TERROI • !•■ < ■ li .■ .1 li.> l.ii.l > I ,.„,,l. I II II (I I- I' I III <■ f I ;i II il III' « AI'T^ .\r.( I.IXIOCK. U..V, 'ill St'it fC'll nl" fhtnh'/hi'.v I'lvf'rtiitnm <'itj.>iniii,f lift.--' timf yinipA-i'nW tniii>.: iii\;nttfli.%hfii tin- iti.>r,nrfy t'f" thr Xotth Wr.H Ihs.x'iuft' in A'///*. i;t:i; i<> ia:ii>. MO .1//^- Y..utur r.l l'iii,t;ra\'itl lor Tin' Coniliill Mai;';*: 7«) (to /..„»,„ 1.11,1. y, t I S,Mlli;| „ X W lit* w=--(,. :' . M.lvil'- II,., J!> .li>fl, U'^JI S ■ "'■■"'"'". ••■,•: .• ,.L • • ■ W.I ,-*.i..'hii tiui.h^i, A I (l.flll|-N.ll\. ^! - Hhm.'/i /'i*.»,.,-v Jj //.»/.«;*, -*fc- 10 ;io 20 Nv:i. /.,...((..!•;■' l,ir<'lflH ■ - -^ . . ... Tl'>ClTHrA\. KKLIX Ij, ,:.,l:'hnull.\ ,■ M''."'!!**' Ti\ ^ ^ Si...|.»..ii Sii-.rj x^-r.. ..^_ 'itn^piir-C^j'rX 4^ i; ' to _E I I I 1- I NVI. ii.» •^''-NT ,..• '"■'"..,. , \ yilH'I'll 1,.. '** ,.1..,//., "^I«IM»\V STHT soicrn V >, ^ ~~ i SllMMItSKT r >• / ?c /I. u:«w»w -^ ^. '■■■• III) Drill A < ■•, KKI.IX \ .. ,. \ #...A. /H.I" V ^','i^ ^-5. ■'^•"':6^*^ ^:'^'^$^\, ,-::). r /»'.ftii.-.i «■■•>■-• F^ -^ — z' ''>S itmr.fr ot' Ihr yr.^.tft in ti rYtnurkuil'lf l4'r ikut thnnuih Hittyui Sm. .irv i//,v////,/// /..•/(,-./ ii.r *%rU 4i.f tht' f'lui.tf,* tli.vri*\fiYtf ti/ii/ r.r f>/'>n:i /'> /.■//.. .\f:rtintt>,h- lf..\.K- hii Ottir^r.^. Till' ftntinfuil LttiUifitif.v iinittfiit'it wif/i /»/>■ \/i>n,* Sivfft'i/iti'on.*- it! .-■frirrJi itf'ii .\.'$th ^Vf.ft hi.v.ui/if -ttT ,//.*■.. huhi;iht{ '/;v tin- />/..■<■.>», r r/w' iii.-rm-.f uriif iln/,:*. Tfir %-rniiU Mtif>,>.' 4in: y.' . HftiiittinH i T K S W 'k 1 X •■'"'.: \ •"'/--, '• ^i5- ''"^ ,.'.>l$tex t'tvttt itif "■'v'W'fr' .n \; i. I'lho.Hri.ih "X ■H,.vi/f /-Ji^ t? n-/ .V!'U Ki-tiiiiiiint iil'/iiin ,if' ihtit .ivj/'/i/fA/ /.> lUft^ M^ ninto<-k- in Iti.'T- .V;l /:.»../ >■/„,:(,«/.,„„,/ IH.,,-^ In Kninnt/ m ■■ l.f.J .V ^,/:.-; Iiil\l,l' /■^M\'nm.;'lfiii IHfA \''\ Sitri't ih< lit/.y.- /.;,«,' " .. I.VH I, /,...«.-..■.' .. /,■(.'»'( - _ _ ll Ihil'l ?>>;,/...■ .*._ i^ .»■/«/.;,• .. . ■ SitJ.hUiiiLittiyTrii.i.- ,_,.._._._. J I'lin.iil.- _ _ I; / V ^thit\.tinl_ h.t,^. ""■■■ '-■/,.,- rnif.-i«i'ii./....^/.v .-... > , .4 -IlK /../■'' ft. -tKr /'.Ttrf.m.A»iTr»j .\ A r II A 1ST .//;,. -r::^ .'?% v'''"'" >. •''■41 ^-Z CS OF THE YACHT FOX ' ^i>|_ * % 1 .• ll I- .1 1. V l.;..l V I i:,iil. III. ^■ A r L A X T i «•'■'" "'''^'^■: O I". A \ ll' I' ill. .' I ;iliil 1.1' .rr; .M".( I.I .vTOiu. U..V. Ml S.VII'i'll ..I iHIPS EREBUS A TERROR i.'i.'i; ll. i.'v.'.ii. ..« ;: 7<) r«) -'^^i;-/...'.. ■;/...! /■/.■': 1 r- -1- -r i- 7 I rt— I -r -r 1(1 -t— ^ J I - --t -I T •MY ^^'A' /»• , I — r — T zr- r s -T^^-~ 21 r -.w ll liir Tlic ('(iniliill M((<'';iz'iiic" .SuiilU.KldiT.V Co. Umilmi . /.\ .''!,, ttt!'i^l.~- i%^njt\il'h- K^1.ibti.flt! U'liJiiH. Lady Franklids indefatigable exertions. to ascertain the northern extreme of America, brought home intelligence, which he had obtained from the Esquimaux of Boothia, of forty white people having been seen upon the west coast of King William Land in the spring of 1850 : that they were travelling southward, and that later in the same year it was supposed they had all died in the estuary of a large river, which Dr. Rae conjectured to be the Great Fish River. In 1855, the Hudson B'^y Company, at the request of the Admiralty, sent an expedition, conducted by Mr. Anderson, to explore the Fish River. Mr. Anderson returned, having ascer- tained that a portion of the missing crews had been on Mont- real Island, in the mouth of that river; but Mr. Anderson, without an interpreter, or the means of going beyond the island, could only gather the most meagre information by signs from the Esquimaux, and by a few relics found upon the land. Where the ships had been left, or what had become of the people, seemed as great a mystery as ever. It was then that Lady Franklin (who had already sent out three expeditions) urged again that the search should be con- tinued, and that our countrymen should not thus be left to their fate ; but although her appeal was backed by the most competent officers, the season of 1856 passed away without endeavours to clear up the mystery ; and determining that another year should not be lost in vain entreaties. Lady Franklin once more undertook the responsibilities and the expenses of a final effort to rescue our long lost sailors from their perhaps living death among the Esquimaux, or to follow up their footsteps in their last journey upon earth, and to give to the world the scientific results of the expedition for which those gallant men had given up their lives. In the spring of 1857 Lady Franklin commenced prepara- tions for the contemplated expedition. She was supported by some of the most distinguished Arctic officers and scientific ea and ?h the Davis' C4= 31' [ine of e were ir that a few e. , after gainst before ! ship long, t the now that . It con- I aider that we have thus been carried lielplessly along by the effect of a single gale. Nov. 2. — A bear came to look at the ship at night, and our dogs soon chased him on to some thin ice, through which he broke. All hands turned out to see the sport, and notwith- standing the intense cold many of the people did not wait to put on their extra clothes. The bear was dispatched with our rifles, after making some resistance, and maiming several of the dogs. We have not seen the sun to-day ; he has now taken his final departure from these latitudes. It is getting almost too dark to shoot seals, and we employ ourselves with such astronomical observations as are necessary to fix our position, and to calculate our drift, with observations upon the ther- mometer, barometer, and meteorology generally. Nov. 28. — After a zigzag drift out to the westward, until the 24.th inst., into latitude 75^^ 1' N., longitude 70° W., we have commenced a southern drift, and we trust now to progress gradually out of the straits, until released in the spring. We have had considerable commotion and ruptures in the ice-floes latel}', but fortunately the nips have not come too close to us. We ascend the masthead, to the crow's-nest, every morning, to look out for water, for our dogs are getting ravenous, and we want food for them. December 4. — Poor Scott died last night, and was buried through the floe this evening, all hands drawing his earthly remains upon a sledge, and the officers walking by the side. It was a bitterly cold night, the temperature 35° below zero, with a fresh wind, and the beautiful paraselene (ominous of a coming gale) lighting us on our way. The ice has been more quiet lately, and we are becoming more reconciled to our imprisonment. A reading, wr't^ing, and navigation school has commenced, and our Captain loses no opportunity of attending to the H The Winter Solstice. I U;^^ I I amusement and .•ecreation of the men, so necessary in this dreary life. Besides the ordinary duties of cleaning the ship, the men are exercised in building snow houses, and preparing travelling equipage. December 21. — The winter solstice. We have about half- an-hour's partial daj'^light, by which the type of The Times newspaper may be just distinguished on a board facing the south, where, near noon, a slight glimmer of light is refracted above the horizon, while in the zenith and northward the stars are shining brilliantly. In the absence of light and shade we cannot see to walk over the ice, for the hummocks can scarcely be distinguished from the floe ; all presents a uniform level surface, and, in walking, one constantly faUs into the fissures, or runs full butt against the blocks of ice. We must now, therefore, be content with an hour or two's tramp alongside, or on our snow-covered deck under housing ; and during the re- mainder of the day, we sit below in our little cabin, which has now crystallized by the breath condensing and freezing on the bulkheads, and we endeavour to read and talk away the time. But our subjects of conversation are miserably worn out ; our stories are old and oft-repeated ; we start impossible theories, and we bet upon the results of our new observations as to our progress, as we unconsciously drift and drift before the gale. At night we retire to our beds, thankful that another day has passed ; a deathlike stillness reigns around, broken only by the ravings of some sleep-talker, the tramp of the watch upon deck, a passing bear causing a general rousing of our d' ^s, or a simultaneous rush of these poor ravenous creatures at our cherisiied stores of seal-beef in the shrouds ; and, as we listen to the distant groaning and sighing of the ice, we thank God that we have still a home in these terrible wastes. Bcneniher 2S. — During Divine service yesterday, the wind increased, and towards the afternoon we had a gale from the J Monotony and darkness of an Arctic winter. 15 this ship, )aring ) half- Times Qg the fracted e stars ade, we carcely level issures, 3t now, side, or the re- lich has f on the he time. )ut ; our theories, Ets to our the gale, day has y by the pon deck, ^s, or a s at our we listen lank God the wind from the if noi*th-westward, attended with an unusual rise of temperature : to-day the gale continues, with a warm wind from the N.N.W. " The Danish settlers at Upernavik, in North Greenland, are at times startled by a similar sudden rise of temperature. During the depth of winter, when all nature has been long- frozen, and the sound of falling water almost forgotten, rain will fall in torrents ; and as rain in such a climate is attended with every discomfort, this is looked upon as a most unwelcome phenomenon. It is called the Warrw South-east Wind. Now, if the Greenlanders at Upernavik are astonished at a warm South-east Wind, how much rather must the seamen, frozen up in the pack, be astonished at a warm Novth-ivest Wind. Various theories have been started to account for this phe- nomenon ; but it appears most probable that a rotatory gale passes over the place, and that the rise in temperature is due to the direction from which the whole mass of air may come, viz., from the southward, and not to the direction of wind at the time." Let us now return to the narrative, for our days were now becoming mere repetitions of each other. We saw no change, nor did we hope for any until the spring. Gale followed gale ; and an ojcasional alarm of a disruption in the ice, a bear or seal hunt, formed our only excitement ; indeed, we sometimes hoped for some crisis, were it only to break the dreadful monotony of our lives. Our walks abroad afforded us no recreation ; on the contrary, it was really a trying task to spin out the time necessary for exercise. Talk of a dull turnpike- road at home ! Are not the larks singing and the farm boys whistling ? But with us what a contrast I Our walks were without an object ; one had literally nothing to see or hear ; turn north, south, east, or west, still snow and hummocks. You see a little black mark waving in the air : walk to it — it is a crack in a hummock. You think a berg is close to you ; m .,i ■' I h i6 Appearance of the sun. go to it — still a hummock refracted through the gloom. The only thing to do is to walk to windward, so as to be certain of returning safe and not frostbitten, to pick out a smooth place, and form imaginary patterns with your footprints. Philosophers would bid us think and rellect ; but if philosophers were shut up with us amid the silence and darkness of an Artie wintei", they would probably do as we did — endeavour to get away from their thoughts. By the 29th of January, we had drifted into latitude 72° 40' north, longitude (52° west, and by the aid of refraction we saw the sun for the first time since November 2. We ought indeed to have greeted him on a meridian far westward of our present position, but it had been out of power to do more this year, and we could only hope for more success in the next. The weather had now become intensely cold, the mercury was frozen, and the spirit thermometer registered 46° below zero. We had great difficulty in clearing our bed-places of ice, and our blankets froze nightly to the ship's side ; but we had the sun to shine upon us, and that made amends for all. What a different world was now before our eyes ! Even in those dreary regions where nothing moves, and no sounds are heard save the rustling of the snowdrift, the effects of the bright sun are so exhilarating that a walk was now quite enjoyable. If any one doubt how necessary light is for our existence; just let him shut himself up for three months in the coal-cellar, with an underground passage into the ice-house, where he may go for a change of air, and see if he will be in as good health and spirits at the end of the experiment as before. At all events, he will have obtained the best idea one can form at home of an Arctic winter in a small vessel, save that the temperature of the Arctic ice-house is - 40°, instead of + 32°, as at home : only 72° difference I On the 14th of February some of us walked out to where t Darkness disappearing. 17 m. The iertain of th place, osophers ■^ere shut winter, et away tude 72° ction we '^e ought d of our lore thi.s le next. Jury was ow zero, ice, and had the What a ie dreary save the ti are so any one let him kvith an go for a i spirits he will I Arctic ) Arctic ily 72= > whe re the ice was opening to the northward, and saw a solitary dorekie in winter plumage. These beautiful little birds a[)pear to winter on the ice. The water, appearing deep black from the long absence of any relief from the eternal snow, was rippled by a strong wind, and the little waves, so small as to be compared to those of the Serpentine at home, sending forth to us a new, and, consequently, joyous sound, induced us to linger long by the side of the small lake— so long, that we were only reminded, by our faces beginning to freeze, that we were at least three miles from the ship, a gale blowing with thick snow-drift — besides no chance of getting anything for the pot. A memorable day was the 2Gth of February, when we opened the skylight and let in daylight below, where we had been living for four months by the light of our solitary dips. The change was indeed wonderful, and at first uncomfortable, for it exposed the manner in which we had been content to live. With proper clothing you may laugh at the climate, if not ex- posed too long without food. It is not the cold outside that is to be feared, but the damp, and plague-engendering state of things below. This can only be guarded against by having good fires and plenty of light. Towards the latter end of March, the ice was getting very unquiet, and we had frequent disruptions close to the ship. On the night of the 25th of March, a wide fissure, which had been opening and closing during the previous fortnight, closed with such force as to pile up tons and tons of ice within forty yards of the ship, and shattered our old fioe in a line with our deck. The nipping continued, and on the following night a huge Ijluck was hurled within thiii-y yards from us. Another such a idght and the little Fox would have been knocked into lucifcr matches, and we should have been turned out upon the floe. April was ushered in with a continuance of heavy northerly C 1 8 Heavy Storm. — Breaking up of the Ice. II i ii Jl \S \ gales ; we were constantly struggling with the ice. We were thr je times adrift, and expecting to see our ship destroyed ; and on the night of the 5 th, the floes opened, and as their edges again came together, they threatened to tear everything up. We were on deck throughout the night ; our boats and dogs were cut off from us, but with great exertion we managed to save the dogs, although we nearly lost some of our men who went in search of them. We that night secured the ship by the bower chains, and we afterwards had a few days' quiet. On the 10th we saw the mountain peaks about Cape Dyer, on the west side of Davis' Straits, the first land seen since the previous October. We had drifted into lat. CG° 5' N., and long. 58° 4)1' W. ; and we hoped that after passing Cape Walsingham, the pack would open out. On April 17, in a heavy storm, a general breaking-up of the ice took place, and we were turned completely out of our winter dock, and into an apparently open sea. A scene of wild confusion ensued; the floes were driving against each other in all directions, and the wlicle ocean of ice appeared in commotion, while a blinding snow-drift distoi-ted and magnified every surrounding object. Our first care was to save our dogs ; but as an Esquimaux dog always expects either a thrashing or to be put in harness when approached by a man, and the poor creatures were terroi'-stricken with the storm, they ran wildly about over the ice, and many of them were obliged to be abandoned to their fate, after sharing the perils of the winter with us. On board the ship, preparations were made to get her under command ; for we were driving down upon the lee, and into loose ice, where our men could not have rejoined us with the boats. We shipped the rudder, and soon got some ca: -.i upon the vessel, and having got the men and boats safely on board, we steered to the eastward, and really thought that we were released. A dark water-sky hung over the I Freed from Icebergs. 19 ^Q were stroyed ; as their lything )ats and iianaged ion who ship by quiet. )yer, on nee the N., and Cape ) of the of our icene of st each Jared in ignified r dogs ; hing or he \)ooY wildly to be winter to get the lee, ned us t some boats lought 3r the eastern horizon, and we thought that we were not far from the open ocean. But we had not proceeded more than some seven- teen miles, when at midnight we came to a stop]3age. ^ It was fearfully dark and cold, and with the greatest difficulty we cleared the masses of ice. The water space in which we worked the ship became gradually less and less; we Hew from side to side of this fast decreasing lake, until at last we had not room to stay the vessel. By 4 A.M. we were again beset. Wo now commenced a second drift with the i)ack, which took us down to latitude 04;° north, and longitude 57° west, on the 25th April, when, towards midnight, a swell entered into the pack, ' and gradually increased, until the ice commenced churning up around the vessel, and dashing against her sides. These violent shocks continued throughout the morning, and really seemed as if they would soon destroy the ship. How- ever, by the power of steam, we got the vessel's head towards the swell, and with a strong fair wind, we commenced pushing out. After many narrow escapes from contact with the ice- bei"gs, we were by night in comparatively open water. We were free ! and steered a course for the settlement of Holstcin- borg, in Greenland, to recruit, and to prepare for another attempt. What a change on the following morning ! Not a piece of ice could be seen, save a few distant bergs. We once more had our little vessel dancing under us upon the waters, innumerable sea-birds flew around us, and the very sea, in con- trast to its late frozen surface, appeared alive with seals and whales. All nature seemed alive, and we felt as if we had risen from the dead ! In the evening, the snow-covered peaks of Sukkertoppen were seen, and on the 28th of April, we moored in Holsteinborg harbour. Our anchors had not been down, nor had our feet touched the land since the 8rd of August. Ice-bound and imprisoned, we had drifted upwards of 1,200 miles. Need it be added how thankful we Avere to C2 f I II I f 1 t r f; r ) ( 20 ^a// wi//i Crew and Esqtiimaiix women. that kind Providence who had watched over us, and under Him to our gallant Captain, to whose unremitting attentions to our comforts and safety we owed our health and deliverance. The winter in Greenland had been very severe, and the country was still snow-covered, and without an indication of spring. The natives were scarcely aroused from their winter's sleep, and all our expectations of venison and ptarmigan feasts soon vanished. Very few reindeer had yet been taken, the season not commencing before July, when the hunters go up the fiords and kill them by thousands for the sake of their skins alone, leaving their carcasses to be devoured by the wolves. Our men, however, were bent upon enjoying themselves, and as Jack's wants are few, with the aid of a couple of fiddlers and some bottles of grog, they kept up one continuous ball— patronized by all the fair Esquimaux damsels — in the dance- house on shore. The whole population had turned out to meet us. We were entertained by the kind-hearted dames upon stockfish and seal-beef, and such luxuiies as they could afford, with a hearty welcome to their neat and cleanly houses ; and we in our turn endeavoured to do the hospitalities on board the Fox with pickled pork and preserved cabbage. It was new life to us, who had been confined so long in our little den, thus to mingle with these friendly people. Never was sympathy more needed. We arrived hungry and unshaven, our faces begrimed with oil-smoke, our clothes in tatters ; the good women of Holsteinborg worked and washed for us, repaired our sadly disreputable wardrobes, danced foi- us, sang to us, and parted from us with tears and a few little presents by way of souvenirs, as if we could ever forget them. We wrote a few hasty letters, hoping that they would reach home in the autumn, and sailed once more upon our voyage. We wished to call at Godhavn for another Esquimaux and "4- t Meetinp with Whalers. 21 some more dogs, besides a few stores, of which we stood in need ; so, sailing up the coast, we arrived off the harbour on the night of May 10, but an impenetrable stream of loose ice blockaded the entrance. It was a wild night, and snowing heavily ; sea, air, ice islands and icebergs seemed all mingled in one common haze. We endeavoured to haul off the land, and near midnight we narrowly escaped destruction upon an island, which, seen suddenly on the lee-beam, was at first taken for a berg. We all thought our ship must be dashed upon the rocks, and we were only saved by the presence of mind and seamanship of our Captain, who never left the deck, and wore the ship within a few yards of the shore. We anchored next day at the Whale-fish Islands, and f U in there with the Jane and Herione whalers, whose captains gave us a true Scotch welcome, and ransacked their ships to find some little comfoi-ts for us. We again tasted the roast beef of old England. From the islands, we crossed to Godhavn, where finding the harbour still full of ice, we hauled into a rocky creek outside, a perfect little dock just capable of holding the ship, but exposed to southerly winds. By the 25th of May we were prepared for another and final attempt to accomplish our mission, and to try our fortunes in the ice. We were certainly sobered down considerably by our late severe lesson ; but although less confident in our own powers, a steady determination to do our best prevailed through- out the ship. Passing again through the Waigat, we stopped at the coal-deposits to fill up with fuel, and we shot a few ptarmigan while thus detained. We next stopped at Saunder- son's Hope, " the Cape where the fowls do breed," but it was yet too early for eggs, and as the looms had no young to pro- tect, they flew away in thousands at every discharge of a gun ; we got but few of these, in our opinion, delicious birds. On the 31st, w^ made ftist to an iceberg off Upernavik, to await f 22 V ■ O/i the Rocks in Melville Bay. 1' !i n I I the breaking up of the ice in Melville Bay. When we were in these latitudes the ])i'evious year, all thiiij,rs living were nii'nutinix southward, but now constant flights of sea-birds streamed northward, night and day, towards their breeding- ])Iaces and feeding-grounds, and by sitting on the rocky points, and shooting th(Jiu as they passed, we could generally make a fair bag. We were now almost subsisting on eider ducks and looms. On June the Oth, we commenced our ice-struggles in Melville Bay, endeavouring, according to the usual mode of navigation, to push u]>, between the main pack and the ice still attached to the land, on all occasions when the winds moved the pack out, and left a space oi- lane of water. While thus following up the coast, on the 7th, we ran upon a reef of sunken and unknown rocks, and, on the tide falling, we lay over in such a manner as to threaten to fill upon the water auain risinij'. We succeeded, however, in heavin wo struck on an unknown shoal, but soon backed off again, and let go the anchor, as we could not see our position. About midnight the fog lifted, and we proceeded. A large bear v/as seen swimming round a point, and was shot ; and shortly after, one of the men fell overboard : he was picked up rather exhausted with his cold bath, and perhaps a little alarmed at bathing in company with polar bears. We anchored next day off Cape liiley, where the BredalhanG was lost, after Captain Inglefield had landed some of her stores and coals. We found that the bears had been amusing themselves with the provisions, and h^id eaten out the bilges between the hoops of many of the casks. They evidently bad a particular relish for chocolate and salt ]>orlc (we hoped they liked it), and had taken the greatest trouble to throw everything about. We visited tho stores at Beechey ; they had been stored and housed mrd. Erecting tombstone in mefnory of Sir y. Frmiklin. 27 eed, and ^^^y^^, but "perateJy ed to a lien say, impasses lan good ittle ice, t it j^ru- ' walrus ice, and un close ceed in always thod of yet we -1 Cape Lit soon lot see seeded. s shot ; picked . little ;hored , after coals, with loops •elish ■ had We used with extreme care. A violent gale had passed over the place, for the door of the house was blown in and the entrance full of snow, but nothing was damaged excepting some biscuit. We also vi-^ited the graves, so often described, yet ever interesting, of the poor fellows who died in Franklin's first winter quarters, and whose comrades we were now seeking. Our coaling from Cape Riley was completed by the ir)th, and we were glad to leave that exposed and dangerous place. We had been considerablv troubled with drift ice, ami on the 13th we drove half across the bay, with both anchors down, and had to moor to a piece of ice grounded close to the ship. We crossed to the house at Beechey, and there landed a hand- some tombstone (sent out by Lady Franklin), in memorial of Sir John Franklin and his companions. It was placed close to the monument erected by their shipmates to the memory of ])oor Bellot and those who had died in the previous searching expeditions. Taking in such stores as were actually necessary, and having repaired the house, we crossed over to Cape Hotham for a boat (left there by Penny), to replace one of ours which had been crushed by the ice. Wellington Channel appeared to be clear of ice, and a jumping sea, fiom the southward, gave us promise of clear water in that direction. On the 17th, we were sailing down Peel feound with a fresh wind, and carrying every rag of canvas. Passing Limestone Island and Cape Granite, we began to think that we should go right through, for as yet no ice could be seen ahead ; but the southern sky looked bright and icy, while, in contrast, a dark gloom hung over the waters we had left in the northward. Still we sailed on merrily, and were already talking of passing the winter near the Fish River, and returning the following year by Behring's Straits, when " Ice ahead I " was reported from the croAv's-nest ; and there it certainly was, a long low while barrier, of that ]>eculiar concave form always indicating fast-ice. The Straits had not broken i 28 Onward to Bellot Straits. . ci i^ld now do nothing but wait a change; and t.. employ t^ nre, we sailed down the east coast of Boothia for some fortj ' iilcs, to land a depot of provisions, in case we should re- quire, in the following winter, to communicate with the natives about Port Elizabeth. Navigation was now very cold and dreary work : we struggled back to Bellot Straits against strong north winds, sleet, and snow, and without compass, chart, or celestial objects to guide us. The Captain next went away in I'b boat, determining, when stopped, to travel over land to the ves.evii sea to examine the actual state of things there ; and I was sent to the southward for five days with boat and sledge, 30 A bear on the alert. — Narroiv Escape. to ascertain if another passage existed where a promising break in the land had been seen. The Captain returned to the ship on the 31st, bringing with him a fine fat buck ; he had reached Cape Bird by water and land, and brought us a favourable report of Victoria Straits. Our hopes of getting through were again raised. I returned unsuccessful from the south ; no other strait existed, but only an inlet, extending some six miles in, and a chain of lakes thence into the interior to the south-westward. I saw only one deer, but many bears were roaming "about the coast. On the Gth Septen; tv we made another dash at the Straits, and this time succeeded .-eaching a rocky islet, two miles outside the western entrance ; but a barrier of fast ice, over which we could see a dark water-shy here stopped us. Moored to the ice, we employed ourselves in killing seals, hunting for bears, and making preparations for travelling. I was sent to an island eight miles to the south-west, to look around ; and on ascending the land, I was astonished to see water as far as the visible horizon to the southward in Victoria Straits. While sitting down, taking some angk s with the sextant, I luckily turned round just in time to see a large bear crawling up the rocks to give me a pat on the head. I seized my rifle and shot him through the body, but the beast struggled down and died out of reach, in the water, and thus a good depot of beef was lost. Hobsoii, who, for some days, had been employed carrying provisions on to this island, started on the 25th with a party of seven men and two dog-sledges to carry depots as far as possible to the southward, and the Captain placed a boat on the islet close to the ship, in case we should have to leave for winter quarters before Hobson's return. The winter now set in rapidly, new ice was fast increasing, and the weather very severe ; all navigation was at an end, and the barrier outside of us had never moved. We had now -,S;a^iKsa>.r?»»i.t Whiter ing in Bellot Straits. — Buried in Snow. 31 no hopes of getting further, and as no harbour existed where we were, we had nothing for it but to seek our winter heme in Bellot Straits, and finish our work in the following winter and spring. Y ' leaving Hobson to lind his way to us, we ran back through Bellot Straits towards a harbour that we had dis- covered and named Port Kennedy. The Straits were already covered with scum, and almost unnavigable, but we reached the harbour at midnight on the 27th, and ran the ship as far as possible into the new ice which now filled it. The Fox had done her work until the following summer. No opportunity was now lost of procuring fresh food. The deer were migrating southward and a few were shot as they passed. But the hunt- ing was very precarious ; the deer were travelling, and did not stop much to feed ; there was no cover whatever, and stalking over the rugged hills and snow-filled valleys was most laborious. A few ptaimigan and hares were also shot, but we were alto- gether disappointed in the resources of the country. We had, however, a fair stock of bear and seal flesh for our dogs and ourselves to begin upon. On the 6th October Hobson returned, having reached some fifty miles down the west coast of Boothia, but was there stopped by the yet broken-up state of the ice. Finding that we had left Cape Bird, and that Bellot Straits were impassable for the boat, he travelled back to the ship over the mountains. The people were now clearing out the ship, landing all super- fluous stores, and building magnetic observatories of snow and ice, besides hunting for the pot. We once more buried the ship with snow. On the 24)th, Hobson again started for the south-westward, to follow up his last track, and to endeavour to push his depots further on. He returned to the ship on November G, having experienced most severe weather, and great dangers from the unquiet state of the ice. When encamped near the shore, in 32 Burial of Mr. Bland. ii ' latitude 70° 21', the ice broke suddenly away from the land and drifted out to sea before the gale, carrying them off with it. They were perched upon a small floe piece, and a wide crack separated the two tents. Dense snow-drift heightened the darkness of the night, and they could not possibly tell in which direction they were driving. The next morning they found themselves fifteen miles from where they had pitched the previous evening. By the mercy of Providence a calm succeeded, and they escaped to the land over the ice which immediately formed. So thin was this new ice, that they momentarily expected to break through. By great exertion Hobson saved the depot, and finding it impossible to do any more, he landed the provisions and returned to the ship. Our autumn travelling was now brought to a close. A depot of provisions was to have been carried by myself across Victoria Straits, but this was given up as evidently impracticable. We sat down for the winter, praying that we might be spared to finish our work in the spring. On November 10th the whole ship's company marched in funeral procession to the shore, bearing upon a sledge the mortal remains of poor Mr. Bland (our chief engineer), who was found dead in his bed on the 7th. The burial service having been read, he was deposited in his frozen tomb, on which the wild flowers will never grow, and over which his relations can never mourn. We were all on board almost as one family, and any one taken from us was missed as one from the fireside at home. It was long before this sorrowful feeling throughout the ship could be shaken off. On the 14th the sun disappeared, and we were left in darkness ; our skylights had long been covered over with snow, and by the light of our solitary dip we tried to pass the weary hours by reading, sleeping, and smoking. We were frozen in, in a fine harbour, surrounded by lofty granite hills, and on these were occasionally found a few ptarmigan, hares, and wild foxes ; Fox-traps, Seal-nets, and Bear hunthig. 33 I us was wnenever the weather permitted, or we could at all see our way, we wandered over these dreary hills in search of a fresh mess. We varied our exercise with excursions on the ice in search of bears. But although exercise was so necessary for our existence, yet from the winds drawing through the Straits and down our harbour as through a funnel, there were many days, and even weeks, when we could scarcely leave the ship. The men set fox-traps in all directions, and Mr. Petersen set seal-nets under the ice. The nets were not successful, but the traps gave an object for a walk. Magnetic observations were carried on throughout the winter ; — the reading of one instru- ment, placed in a snow-house some 200 yards from the ship, being registered every hour night and day. On some of the wild winter nights, there was some risk in going even that distance from the ship. Christmas and New Year's days were spent with such rejoicing as in our situation we could make, and we entered upon the year 1859 with good health and spirits. Our dogs, upon which so much depended, were also in first-rate condition, and not one of thein had died. The sun returned to us on January 2Gth ; the daylight soon began to increase ; and by February 10th, we were all ready to start upon our first winter journey. Bad weather detained us until the 17th, when Captain M'Clintock and myself both left the ship ; the Captain, with only two companions, Mr. Petersen (interpreter) and Thompson as dog-driver, to travel down the west coast of Boothia, to endeavour to obtain infor- mation, preparatory to the long spring journeys, from some natives supposed to live near the magnetic pole. I was to cross Victoria Straits with a depot of provisions, to enable me in the spring to search the coast of Prince of Wales Land, wherever it might trend. I returned on March 5. The Captain's party hove in sight on the 14!th, and we all ran out to meet him. He had found a tribe of natives at Cape D r m 34 Discomforts in the Arctic Regions. Victoria, near the magnetic pole, and from them he learnt that some years ago a large ship was crushed by the ice, off the north-west coast of King William Land ; that the people had come to the land, and had travelled down that coast to the estuary of the Great Fish River where they had died upon an island (Montreal Island) ; the natives had spears, bows and arrows, and other implements made of wood, besides a quantity of silver spoons and forks, which they said they had procured on the island (more probably by barter from other tribes). It was now evident that we were on the right track, and with this important information Captain M'Clintock returned to the ship. Our winter travelling was thus ended, fortunately without any mishap. Those only who know what it is to be exposed to a temperature of frozen mevcury accompanied with wind, can form any idea of the discomforts of dragging a sledge over the ice, upon an unknown track, day after day, and for eight or ten consecutive hours, without a meal or drink, the hands and face constantly frostbitten, and your very boots full of ice ; to be attacked with snow blindness ; to encamp and start in the dark, and spend sixteen hours upon the snow, in a brown- hoUand tent, or the hastily erected snow-house, listening to the wind, the snow-drift, and the howling of the dogs outside, and trying to wrap the frozen blanket closer round the shivering frame. The exhaustion to the system is so great, and the thirst so intense, that the evening pannikin of tea and the allowanced pound of pemmican would not be given up were it possible to receive the whole world in exchange ; and woe to the unlucky cook if he capsized the kettle ! On the 18th March, I again started for Fury Beach, distant seventy-five miles, to get some of the sugar left there by Parky in ^825, and now considered necessary for the health of our Preparations for Sledge travelling. 35 men by the surgeon. This journey occupied until the 28th, one sledge having broken down, and the whole weight — about 1200 lbs. — having to be worked back piecemeal with one sledge, by a sort of fox-and-goose calculation. Dr. Walker, who had also volunteered to go down for the provisions left on the east coast in the autumn, and now not required there, re- turned about the same time. With the information already obtained, and which only accounted for one ship, Captain M'Clintock saw no reason for changing the original plan of search, viz., that he should trace the Montreal Island and round King William Land ; that Hobson should cross from the mag- netic pole to Collinson's farthest on Victoria Land, and follow up that coast ; and that I should cross Victoria Straits and connect the coast of Prince of Wales Land with either Collin- son's farthest on Victoria Island or Osborne's farthest on the west coast of Prince of Wales Land, according as he might discover the land to trend. I was also to connect the coast with Browne's farthest in Peel Sound, and explore the coast of North Somerse from Sir James Ross's fartiicst (Four River Bay) to Bellot Straits. This would complete the examination of the whole unexplored country. The travelling parties were each to consist of four men drawing one sledge, and six dogs with a second sledge, besides the officer in charge, and the dog-driver. By the aid of depots, already carried out, and from the extreme care with which Captain M'Clintock had prepared the travelling equipment, and had reduced every ounce of unnecessary weight, we ex- pected to be able to be absent from the ship, and without any other resource, for periods of from seventy to eighty days, and if necessary even longer. The Captain and Hobson both started on the 2nd April, and I got away upcm the 7th. The Fox was left in chargo of Dr. Walker (surgeon), and three or four invalids, who were unfit for the fatigues of travelling. D2 f 36 Additional news of lost ships. Althoujxli we all felt much excited at the real commence- merit of our active work, and interested in these departures, this was i^erhaps the most painful period of our voyage. We had hitherto acted in concert, and all the dangers of our voyage had been shared together. We were now to be separated, and for three months to travel in detached parties over the ice, without an opportunity of hearing of each other until our return. It was like the breaking up of a happy family, and our only consolation lay in the hope that when we again met it would be to rejoice over the discovery of the lost ships. Nothing of interest occurred on board during our absence ; but one of the invalids, poor Blackwell, had been getting gradually worse, and died of scurvy on June 14, the y^xy day on which HoBSON returned. The Captain and Hobson travelled together as far as Cape Victoria. There they leanit the additional news that another ship had drifted on shore on the west coast of King William Land in the autumn of the same year in which the first ship was crushed. Captain M'Clintock, now knowing that both ships had been seen off that coast, and that on it the traces must be found, most generously resigned to Hobson the first opportunity of searching there, instead of crossing to Victoria Land, as originally intended. Captain M'Clintock then went down the east side towards the Fish River. Near Cape Norton he found a tribe of some thirty or forty natives, who appeared much pleased to meet the strange white people. They answered readily any inquiries, and concealed nothing. They produced silver spoons and forks, and other relics from the lost ships, and readily bartered them for knives or needles. They were ac- quainted with the wreck, which they said was over the land (on the south-west coast), and for years they had collected wood and valuables from it, but they had not visited it for a long time. They had seen Franklin's people on their march On the track. 37 southward, but had not molested them. They said that they had seen one human skeleton in the ship. Proceeding on his route, Captain M'Clintock next found a native family at Point Booth, near the south-east extreme of King William Land ; these natives gave him the additional information that the remains of some of the lost people would be found on Montreal Island. Having searched Montreal Island and main land in the neighbourhood without finding other traces than a few pieces of copper and iron, and now having connected the search from the north with Anderson's from the south, Captain M'Clintock proceeded to examine the shores of Dease and Simpson Straits, and the southern shore of King William Land. Near Cape Herschel, the Captain's party found a human skeleton upon the beach as the man had fallen down and died, with his face to the ground ; and a pocket-book, containing letters in German which have not yet been deciphered, was found close by. The large cairn, originally built by Simpson, at Cape Herschel, had been pulled down, probably by the natives, and if any record or document had ever been placed therein by Franklin's people, they were now lost, for none could be found within or around the cairn. Passing Cape Herschel, Captain M'Clintock travelled along the hitherto unknown shore, and discovered it to extend out as far as the meridian of 100" West. There all traces of the natives ceased,* and it appeared as if they had not for many years lived or hunted beyond that point which was named Cape Crozier (after Captain Crozier, Franklin's second in command). The land then trended to the north-eastward, and about twenty miles from Cape Crozier, M'Clintock found a boat, which had only a few days previously been examined by * The waudei-ings of the Esquimaux may be traced by the circles of stoues by which they keep down their skin summer tents. 38 Records of ''Erebus" and " Terror!' HoBSON from the north, and in it a note left by Hobson to say- that he had discovered the records of the Erebus and Terror, and after travelling nearly to Cape Herschel without finding further traces, had returned towards the Fox, Ca])tain M'Clintock, from the south, had now connected his discoveries with those of Lieutenant Hobson, to whose very successful journey we will now turn. Parting from the Captain at Cape Victoria, HoBSON crossed to Cape Felix, and near that point he found a cairn, around which were quantities of clothing, blankets, and other indica- tions of Franklin's people having visited that spot, and probably formed a depot there, in the event of their abandon- ing their ships. Anxiously searching among these interesting relics without finding any record, Hobson continued along the shore to Cape Victoria, where, on May 6, he discovered a large ccirn, and in it the first authentic account tver obtained of the history of the lost expedition. It was to the following effect : That the Erebus and Terror had ascended Wellington Channel to latitude 77° north, and had returned west of Cornwallis Island to Beechey Island, where they spent their first winter, 1845-4G. Sailing thence in the following season, they were beset, on September 12, 1846, in latitude 70° 5' north, longitude 98° 23' west. 8ir John Franklin died on June 11, 1847 ; and on the 22nd of April, 1848, having, up to that date, lost by death nine officers and fifteen men, both ships were abandoned in the ice, five leagues north north-west of Point Victory. The survivors, 106 in number, had landed, under the command of Captain Crozier, on the 25th April, at Point Victory, and would start on the morrow (April 26^ for the Great Fish River. Another record was also found, stating that previously, on the 24th May, 1847, Lieutenant Graham Gore and Mr. Charles Des Vceux, mate, had landed from the ship, with a party of six men. The record did not state for what reason they had . Relics of Sir yohn Franklins Expedition. 39 "or. { landed ; but from the number who finally abandoned the ships, this party must have returned on board, and it is probable that they merely landed to examine the coast. Quantities of clothing, cooking, and working implements were scattered about near Point Victory, and a sextant, on which was engraved the name of Frederick Hornby, was found among the debris. Collecting a few of the most interest- ing of these relics to take with him upon his return, Hobson then pushed on to the southward, and when near Cape Crozier he discovered the boat above mentioned, by a small stanchion just showing up above the snow. Clearing away the snow, he found in the bottom of the boat two human skeletons, one of which was under a heap of clothing. There were also watches, chronometers, silver spoons, money, «Sz;c., besides a number of Bibles, prayer and other religious books ; and although one of the Bibles was underlined in almost every verse, yet not a single writing was found to throw further light upon the history of the retreating parties. There were two guns, one barrel of each being loaded and cocked, as if these poor fellows had been anxiously longing for a passing bear or fox to save them from starving ; for nothing edible was found, save some chocolate and tea, neither of which could support life in such a climate. Lieutenant Hobson, having searched the coast beyond Cape Crozier, returned to the ship on June 14, in a very exhausted state. He had been suffering severely from scurvy , and was so reduced in strength that he could not stand. He had been for more than forty days upon his sledge, carried in and out of the tent by his brave companions, and his sufferings must have been beyond description. Throughout his journey he had only killed one bear and a few ptarmigan. Captain M'Clintock returned on board the Fox on June 19, having been absent eighty days. He brought with him a number of relics, and had minutely examined every cairn and m ■,«■ 40 Re-crossing Victoria Straits to complete search. R s\ v\ the whole coast of King William. He supposes that the wreck of the ship, unless upon some off-lying island, has been run over by the ice, and has disappeared ; as he saw nothing of it. He made n!ost valuable discoveries in geography, and surveyed the coast from Bellot Straits to the magnetic pole, besides having travelled completely round King William Island, and filled up its unknown coasts. Besides his other instruments, he carried with him a dip circle, weighing 401bs., with which he also made most valuable observations. I had crossed Victoria Straits (now Franklin Straits), dis- covered M'Clintock Channel, and proved Prince of Wales Land to be an island ; having reached the point which Captain Sherard Osborn came to from the north. Owing to the verv heavy character of the ice, I failed in crossing M'Clintock Channel, and returned to the ship on June 8, for a day or two's rest. I had again started on June 10, to re-cross Victoria Straits, and to compl te the search to the northward upon Priiice of Wales Land, and the unknown land of North Somerset, and was now absent ; and although the ice was fast breaking up, and the floes already knee-deep with water, Captain M'Clintock, notwithstanding his late severe journey, learing that something might be wrong, most kindly started immediately, with only one man and a dog-sledge, to look for me. He found me perched up out of the water upon the top of the islet, off Cape Bird, and we returned together to the ship on June 28. We were in fair health, although some of us were a little touched with scurvy. We passed our time in shooting, eating, and sleeping, and then eating again : our craving for fresh food, or, as the sailorf-* call it, blood-meat, was excessive ; seal and bear flesh, foxes, gulls, or ducks, went in- discriminately into the pot. We rejoiced whenever we got a fresh mess of any sort. The summer burst upon us ; water was pouring down all J , Discovery and fate of Sir J. Franklins expedition. 4 1 the ravines, and flooding the ice in the harbour, and with ex- treme satisfaction we saw the snow houses /ind ice hummocks fast melting away in the now never-setting sun. A joyous feeling existed throughout the ship, for our work was done, and we had only to look forward to an early release, and a re- turn to our families and homes. Over and over again we told our adventures, and we never tired of listening to the one all-absorbing, though melancholy subject, of the discovery of the fate of Sir John Franklin and his companions. We had been prepared by the report brought from the Esquimaux in February to find that all hopes of survivors were at an end, and that the expedition had met with some fatal and overwhelming casualty; but we were scarcely pre- pared to know, nor could we even have realized the manner in which they spent their last days upon earth, so fearful a sojourn must it have been. Beset and surrounded with wastes of snow and ice, they passed two more terrible winters drifting slowly to the soathward at the rate of one mile in the month, hoping each summer that the ice would open, and determined not to abandon their ships until every hope was gone. In nineteen months they had only moved some eighteen miles, their pro- visions daily lessening, and their strength fast failing. They had at last left their ships for the Fish River at least two months before the river could break up and allow them to pro- ceed, and in the then imperfect knowledge of ice travelling they could not have carried with them more than forty days' provisions. Exhausted by scurvy and starvation, " they dropped as they walked along,"* and those few who reached Montreal Island must all have perished there ; and but for their having travelled over the frozen sea we should have found the remains of these gallant men as they fell by the way, and but * Esquimaux report. •I 42 Ready for Sea. — Imbedded in Ice. % I for the land being covered deeply with snow, more relics of those who had struggled to the beach to die would have been seen. They all perished, and, in dying in the cause of their country, their dearest consolation must have been to feel that Englishmen would not rest until they had followed up their footsteps, and had given to the world what they could not then give — the grand result of their dreadful voyage — ilieir Llscovery of the ^ovth-West Passage. They had sailed down Peel and Victoria Straits, now appropriately named Franklin Stiaits, and the poor human skeletons lying upon the shores of the waters in which Dease and Simpson had sailed from the west- ward bore melancholy evidence of their success. * - ♦ By the middle of July the dark blue stream rolled again through Bellot Straits, but yet not a drop of water could be seen in Kegent Inlet. Our ship was refitted, the stores all on board, and we were quite prepared for sea. Our engineers were both lost to us, but the Captain soon got the engines into working order, and determined to drive them himself, for with- out steam we could reckon upon nothing. July passed away, and during the first week in August we could still see one unbroken surface of ice in Regent Inlet ; from the highest hill not a spoonful of water could be made out. We were getting rather anxious, for had we been detained another winter, we must have abandoned the ship in the follow- ing spring and trusted to our fortunes over the ice. However, a gale of wind on the 7th and 8th of August caused some dis- ruption in the inlet, for on the morning of the 9th a report came down from the hills that a lead of water was seen under the land to the northward. Steam was immediately made, and pushing close past the islands, we were enabled to work up the coast in a narrow lane of water between it and the pack. We reached the north side of Creswell Bay on the following day, but, the wind changing, we saw the pack setting rapidly , A Home! Sweet Home! 43 in upon the land, and it had already closed upon Fury Beach. Our only chance was now to seek a grounded mass of ice, and to hang on to it. We were indeed glad to get a little rest, and especially for our captain, who had not left the engines for twenty-four hours. But we lay in a most exposed position on an open coast without an indentation, the pack closing in rapidly before the wind and threatening us with the same fate as befell the Fiivy when she was driven on the shore about seven miles from our present position. Hanging on to this piece of ice with every hawser, we saw it gradually melting and breaking away, and at spring tides it began to float. On the 15th the gale shifted to the westward, and blew off the land ; we watched the ice gradually easing off, and directly that we had room, we cast off under strrm-sails, and succeeded in getting out of Regent Inlet and into Lancaster Sound on the following day. We entered Godhavn, in Greenland, on the night of August 26, and not having heard from our friends for more than two years, we did not even wait for daylight for our " expected letters. The authorities on shore kindly sent all they had for us at once to the ship, and I suppose that letters from home were never opened with more anxiety. Having a few repairs to do, especially li* our rudder, which, with the spare one, had been smashed by the ice, Ave remained a day or two to patch it up for the passage home. Then leaving Godhavn on the 1st September, although the nights were ex- tremely dark, and the weather stormy, with many bergs drift- ing about, we passed down Davis Strait without incident, and, rounding Cape Farewell on the loth, we ran across the Atlantic with strong, fair winds. Captain M'Clintock landed at the Isle of Wight on the 20th, and on the 23rd the i^oa; entered tb'^ docks at Blackwall. Our happy cruise was at an end, and by the mercy of Providence we were permitted to land again in England. I i GRIFFIN AND CO., 2, THE HARD, PORTSMOUTH ; AND IS, COCKSFUK STREET, PALL MALL EAST, LONDON, S.W. I i i^^l Catalogue of Books Published by J. GRIFFIN & CO., Naval Publishers, (By Special Appointment to H.R.H. the Duke of Edinburgh^) 2, THE HARD, PORTSMOUTH, AND 15, COCKSPUR ST,, PALL MALL EAST, S,W. ^m^^^ 1875. PUBLICATIONS OF J. GRIFFIN & 00- . NAVAL PUBLISHERS, 2, The Hard, Portsmouth ; and 15, Cocksp\ur St., London, (First Floor.) S.W. I s: THE SHIPS OF THE ROYAL NAVY Portraits of 24 Ships, beautifully Lithographed in Colours from Original Drawings. Demy 4to. blue cloth, extra gilt, price 30s. Third Edition. ' A mong illustrated works, none has appeared of greater interest than this upon the Royal Navy.' — Times. 'As an illustrated gift-hook, independent of its historic interest, " The Royal Navy," front the truthfulness of its illustrations, cannot but recommend itself, not only to tlie Royal Service, but also to the public' — United Service Gazette. ' This beautiful work does credit to all concerned in its prt- ductioH.'—Pall Mall Gazette. CAPTAIN NARES' SEAMANSHIP I vol. 8vo. 400 beautifully engraved Woodcuts, and Plates of Flags, accurately Coloured. 5th Edition, revised and corrected. Price 2 IS. ' It is t/te best work on Seamattship we have.' — Standard. ' Every necessary particular is given so fully and completely as t» Irmw* nothing t* ie desired.' — Shipping Gazette. THE RIGGER'S GUIDE liy Charles Bushell. Fully Illustrated. Being the best and only complete book on the Rigging of Ships. 7th thousand. Revised and enlarged, 3s. cloth. CAPTAIN ALSTON'S SEAMANSHIP Crown 8vo cloth, price 12s. 6d. Contains 200 Illustrations of Rigging, Sails, Masts, &c. ; with Instructions for Officers of the Merchant Service, by W, H. Rosser ; forming a complete Manual of Practical Seamanship. — 2nd Edition. THE GUN, RAM, AND TORPEDO Man(euvres and Tactics of a Naval Battle in the present day. By Commander Gerard H. U. Noel, R.N. ; J. K. Laughton, Esq., and Lieut. C. Campbell, R.N. Fully Illustrated. Crown 8vo. Price 8s. 6d. " For an Essay on so large a subject we have seldom met with one more complete. . . . Mr. Laughton is thoughtful, and altoge.'her excellent. ._ . . We must acknowledge the value of Lieut. Campbell's practical way of looking at thmgs. . . . _ We cannot close the book without bestowing a word of commenda- tion on the way in which it has been got up. Type, diagrams, and paper are all good." — Naval Science. 2, The Hard, PoHsmouth ;