IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) 4 // (./ /. '•o ^ //„. ^& i/.. I/. 1.0 I.I !.25 '-ilM IIIIM 1^ IM III 2.2 t m ™^ Ir 14° 1 2.0 1-4 IIIIII.6 V] (meaning "CON- TINUED"), or the symbol V (meaning "END"), whichever applies. Un des syinboles suivants apparaitra sur la dernidre image de cheque microfiche, selon le cas: le symbole — ► signifie "A SUIVRE", le symbole V signifie "FIN". 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 hand corner, left to right and top to bottom, as many frames as required. The following diagrams illustrate the method: Les cartes, planches, tableaux, etc., peuvent dtre filmis d des taux de reduction diffdrents. Lorsque le document est trop grand pour dtre reproduit en un seul clichd. il est filmd A partir de I'angle supdrieur gauche, de gauche d droite, et de haut en bas, en prenant le nombre d'images ndcessaire. Les diagrammes suivants illustrent la mdthode. srrata to pelure, m d n 32X 1 2 3 1 2 3 4 5 6 THE DISCOVERY OP A NORTH-WEST PASSAGE BT H.M.S. INVESTIGATOR, CAPT. R. M'CLURE DURING THE YEARS 1850-1851-1852-1853-1854 EDITED BY CAPTAIN SHERARD OSBORN, C.B. ROYAL NAVY J-BOM THE LOGS AND JOVRKALS OF CAPTAIN ROBERT LE M. M'CLURE FOURTH EDITION WILLIAM BLACKWOOD AND SONS EDINBURGH AND LONDON MDCCCLXV TO THE RIGHT HONOURABLE THE LOEDS COMMISSIONERS OF THE ADMIRALTY THESE PAGES, DESCRIPTIVE OP THE VOVAGE OP HER MAJESTY'S DISCOVERY-SHIP INVESTIGATOR WHILE IK SEARCH OP THE EXPEDITION UNDER CAPTAIN SIR .OHN PRANKLIN, R.N., K.C.B. AND OP THE DISCOVERY OP A NORTH-WEST PASSAGE BY CAPTAIN ROBERT LE MESURIER M'CLURE. R.N. ARE, WITH THEIR LORDSHIPS' PERMISSION, BY THEIR LORDSHIPS' MOST OBEDIENT AND HUMBLE SERVANT, SHERARD OSBORN. S( tl 65 PEEFACE TO THE SECOND EDITION. I HAVE no desire to take unto myself any credit for this work having so rapidly run through its First Edition; but it is a source of no small gratification to find that the discipline, endumnce, and gallantry evmced by British officers and seamen under no or- dinary trial, which I have endeavoured to chronicle for the honour of my profession, are so warmly appre- ciated by our countrymen. My gallant friend Captain F. L. M'Clintock had placed me under deep obligations for the kind manner m which his valuable observations upon the fauna of the Arctic Archipelago were made available. They are embodied with my own in a new chapter. To Sir Roderick Murchison my thanks are also due on behalf of the Investigators as well as from my- self, for his valuable papers of General Remarks upon the Geological Specimens and Fossils brought home by Captain Sir Robert M'Clure. My opinions upon the abandonment of a more recent expedition in the arctic regions have been mistaken for VIU PREFACE TO THE SECOND EDITION. those of Captain Robert M'Clure. I have therefore erased them from this >vork-the more willingly as it lias been shown to me that the record of the greatest arctic achievement of our day can be rendered perfect without connecting it in any way with the saddest tale in naval history. LoxXDON, January 1, 1857. PEEFACE TO THE FIEST EDITION. The annals of arctic history afford so many noble illus- trations of the spirit of enterprise and hardihood of our sailors, that they will, it is to be hoped, never fail to interest the British people. Of course it is easy to attempt to cast ridicule on any generous impulse of a nation or an individual, by speaking of it as Quixotic, foolhardy, and so forth; but if it be a weakness in English seamen, that for three centuries they have sou^^ht to wm honour and renown in regions where the ordinary hardships of those whose business is upon the c^reat waters are multiplied a hundredfold, it will assuredly be no joyous day for England, when her sadors shall be free from the charge of any such chivalrous extravagance I'ltEFACE TO THE FIIiST EDITION. IX Sir John Franklin J his hundred and thirty-eight gallant follo«.ers went forth to achieve the North-wtst lassage lley discovered it, and perished victims to the,r .eal They were followed by one worthy to follow m the,r footsteps -Captain Sir Eobort Le Mesnrier M Clare ; ho eame, indeed, too late to save Franklin ■ but at least ho thoroughly con.pleted the search for him on one given line, by passing from ocean to ocean, and he secured to the Eoyal Navy and to Great Britain the impenshable renown of having successfuUy accomplished an enterprise long attempted in vain. The Editor feels that, in the following narrative, he has scarcely done justice to the many noble qualities of every rndividual forming the gallant company of the Investigator; but he has at any rate endeavoured to place on record some feeble acknowledgment of their heroic courage and self-devotion. The delay in the production of this work arose from the Editor having been obliged to leave England upon active service during the Russian war; and the many c:i, {It i-y. Unnk.s rd II. M.S. IT M. S. Boocliey y 1854. Ust Of Officers ami C rrnv of H.M.S. Investigator-CWin^,;. Name. John EaincH, William Katten, CliarlnH AndcrHon, Isaac Htiil)t)f;r(l(;Id, I'refleriek Taylor, Hi,ifort, and the cheerfulness of the people committed to your care. 16. We leave it to your judgment and discretion as to the course to be pursued after passing Point Barrow, and on entering the ice ; and you will be materially assisted in this respect by what you will learn from Captain Kellett, if he should be fallen in with at the Sandwich Islands, as well as Irom the observations of Sir E. Parry and Captain Beechey contained in the memoranda, of which we send you copies. 17. We have desired that you shall be furnished, not only with a copy of the orders under which Commander Moore is ' now acting, but also with copies of all the orders which from time to time have been given to Captain Kellett, as well as with those under which an attempt was made to relieve the Erebus and Terror by Captain Sir James Boss on the eastern side through Baffin Bay. You will further be supplied with aU the printed voyages or travels in those northern regions; and the memoranda and instructions drawn up by Sir John Eichardson, as to the manners and habits of the Esquimaux, and the best mode of dealing with that poonle (a copy of which is also sent), will atlbrd a Vi iaable addition to the in- formation now supplied to you. 18. We deem it right to caution you against suffering the two vessels placed under your orders to separate, except in he surprised onsttintly on J\x will also, as you may u to cany to il)any an ac- 1 an urgent 1 the utmost taMish your rce in your fort, and the ion as to the ow, and on sted in this ellett, if he i, as well as lin Beechey 3U copies, id, not only er Moore is which from , as well as relieve the the eastern pplied with rn regions; y Sir John Esquimaux, (a copy of to the in- lifering the , except in m SAILING ORDERS. xxv the event of accident or unavoidable necessity ; and we desire that you will keep up the most unreserved communication with the commander of the Investigator, placing in him every proper conadence, and acquainting him with the genera"! tenor of your orders, and with your views and intentions from time to time; so that the service may have the full benefit of your united efforts in the prosecution of such a service ; and that in the event of any unavoidable separation, or of any accident to yourself. Commander M'Clure may have the advantage of knowing, up to the latest period, all your ideas and designs relative to the satisfactory completion of this undertaking. 19. We also recommend that as frequent an exchange may take place as conveniently may be of the observations made in the two ships ; that any information obtained by the one be as quickly as possible con.municated for the advantage and guidance of the other. 20. In case of any irreparable accident happening to the Enterprise, you are hereby authorised to take command of the Investigator, and make such arrangements for the officers and crews as may be most consonant to the rules of the ser- vice, and most conducive to the objects of the expedition. 21. In the event of Great Britain being involved in hostUi- ties with any foreign power during your absence, you are to abstain from the smallest act of aggression towards any vessel belonging to such nation, it being the practice of all civilised countries to consider vessels engaged in service of this kind as exempt from the rules and operations of war. 22. In carrying out the foregoing orders, you wiU avail yourself of every practicable occasion of acquainting our Secretary with every step of your progress, as well as with your luture intentions ; and occasionally during your vovage you will throw overboard one of the tin cylinders Mdth which you have been supplied (headed up in any cask or barrel that you coiUd manufacture or spare), containing an account of c ''I 1 1 f. ! In 'A t if XXVI SAILING ORDERS. the date, position, &c. On your reaching England, you will call on every person, in both vessels, to deliver up Jheir lo^s joiirnals charts, and drawings, but which, they may be in- formed, shall be returned to them in due time 23 With respect to your search proving fruitless, and your fina ly quitting the polar seas, as well as your securing yZ winter-quarters towards the close of any one season, welannot too strongly impress upon you the nec3ssity of the utmost precaution and care being exercised in Mithdrawing in time Lves of those mtnisted to your care, by your being shut up in a position which might render a failure of provisions possible. VVe leel it umiecessary to give you more detailed instruc- tions whicli might possibly embarrass you in a seirice of this description ; we have therefore only to repeat our perfect reliance on your judgment and resolution, both in doin^ all that IS possible to relieve the missing ships, and in mthdraw- mgm time, when you come to the painful conclusion that your efforts are unavailing. 24. You will bear in mind that the object of the expedi- tion IS to obtain intelligence, and to render assistance to Sir John Frankhn and his companions, and not for the purposes ot geographical or scientific research ; and we conclude these orders with an earnest hope that Providence may crown your efforts with success, and that they may be the means ot dispelling the gloom and uncertainty which now prevail respecting the missing expedition. Given under our hands, this 15th day of January 1850. (Signed) F. T. BarixNg. ( » ) J. W. D. DUNDAS. By command of their Lordships, (Signed) J. Parker. RiCHAnn OoLLiNsoN, Esq., C.B., Captain of H. M.S. Enterpiise, at Devonport. -nd, you will ip their logs, may be in- iss, and your curing your n, we cannot the utmost ing in time, ips, and the g shut up in •ns possible, led instruc- i service of our perfect a doing all L withdraw- lusion that he expedi- ence to Sir e purposes slude these lay crown the means )W prevail ' 1850. ING. DUNDAS. XXVI SAILING ORDERS. the date, position, &c. On your reaching England, you will call on every person, in both vessels, to deliver up their locrg journals, charts, and drawings, but which, they may be in-' f i d, you will > their logs, may be in- —f THE DISCOVERY OF A NORTH-WEST PASSAGE. *«' CHAPTEE I. INTRODUCTION. The successful realisation of the project so long cherished in Great Britain, of the discovery of a way through the Arctic Ocean to the Indies~the final solution of a pro- blem sought through many an arduous struggle durinc. the course of three hundred years-is what it is ou? present auty to chronicle ; and we may be permitted, in the first place briefly to remind the reader of the reasons tnat made such a voyage desirable. On looking at the surface of the globe, it will be seen at a glance that Hindostan, China, and Japan- the Ophirs of the Old World-are placed, geographically speaking, with respect to Western Europe, in the most distant and inaccessible position. a m zit 14 & I 1 140 1314 1 I 1- „L I • I rrrc 15|0 125 11,0 U):i 1 — I — IZC tl "1 r T I I L- I I x: T • J L-Zi^LTz:! LtmiitSnti f'-AlH; A. Givat lu:t,'r SpiU-i' In •..llicli the Id' lippt'iir.-- to ihii-f (uviimuiated ivn/ much to:- }tii:it of an ontlrt . -y- r-^^- CilwihwUiJi IV P. KOwt-n I . Thelc^ hiTc is not Jim IV \ or a () I'll. Vl'" .llU ' ■'^T.t V.vil >V^ ^llwi' ILuniltou I. CN^ \CMu-lmriU / "■:'''^' di-ni>. ■'->' •C^. "'V^, •cluue <>;■ r.iitu-» fix '**'?!■„ £;.lri.i >^ ?C\ V >"p' B a t li u . % :%Clure ^ Siw* .V** ve- L'S-!^ ^ ' .^ iii-nfit LiM.P Steek Jloi-th 1 -« <'A.W.- "*»;. M Victoria, J,_a_ad::l:-^^'-'7i| -^fUiouMr^ 1 ^_ ... r<..^r^ct»""'"-'- iSi^ 4S^ V, /.vin •■• i: - ■:!_ . LTTLXTlrT.- — It 11,0 13 is I I L ._1.. 13 L n Er R ,_/ ~i — I I — -L I • T -j-T-rrmrr— 70- U5 no 10 no 12* luo /•'I "'if' iw Mviiui If 'p'^, IV i) t<> iiv» / . .Vluv'" /i(7V (,•.• n<)/ oraoi-d. ..v.>W^' S. '"'A.. ■N*Vt S.-.'« >^i I _J .'^ fj/;;; v^Ji.'^V >\'^ ^_TV.>vr ILiiiiilti'ii 1 . ^^ \CBi,-hiinh I . ?:./.•» y;. •>>, '■•'■'■ ft iniki'- 5tP.' ^•i^-.. /••?/ 1. A -■■»..... •^%iiC ^•;.(n, vr/L-r/?"""''Vy" <■<■'>'' c.?<'T > .\v-- , V c' 1 ft. \^ \. / vX ■ ' ■iihu^Xf A 'e ^'^/ 5, .;.>^'^ A^'^^^'T^. lIsla^^^K i\ lir"}iUc C.^^^.'^'^ Ao^ 6 ^ Forri''?'' ^.^^ hAl,i., .r^'>e . \L f'"'-'- ^^^'• l\»' .^«' V Z' Vmiluiiu /'' > » t -^s^.' f*v;, „.-ll 7 \v?" cN'*>f»-^ ^y^ VViv'i lift-''" ,c;_,^c!. cP fc'^ : A ; s-i vA'' j V „. ,• ''Tee '^>»«'f°- -^i ."~'yr— ^ ^j ,0'"' ^^r^ir* ,,CeU^^ """vSW .riK llf.'ii / . iar-' i,^ v^l'' i.))i/'i' ^,; tAf" ■"'^ |i'.'.V.V''ir.if«i/i A L .X- -L. — 1. 13)0 „■■■■>-.. f ■■: ■^'C^ ! '•• ^ A lb ^j. t S o uu * ^J -H N 9 r t h ^i^elureB. S oiUfi' s e t i c t or i a. J^AiLdJllO-^-*^ W-XVr- - jl.rfir.'J"'''' r let cvi '"Son;- ,■,■.>•..■,■// B. •i-.lB. t'Xater r 'C c .■ti> ^7? ji'iif-''' IV.Iui-''' '<>,_^ Vim,/ ■/ M 14 •T I ~r iia no Fi;mktm \ i^ "A./.. rrrr^ ...■iilJ i i j -t~ 105 10 LMilf.f-i Chri'c'lif -J J__J II .1 i !." U i 2 DISCOVERY OF A NOETH-WEST PASSAGE. Turn to an ancient atlas, and think of the " antres vast and deserts idle" that lay between India and Europe, and we can better appreciate the forays of the great Macedonian, the difficulties he encountered, and the genius which, in mastering them, raised him to the rank of a demigod among his countrymen. Yet Alex- ander left no footprints east of the Indus. The legions of imperial Rome failed to carry their conquering eagles to a region which they must have been fully aware contributed largely to the enormous wealth of Jerusalem, Judea, and Egypt. Even Eoman ambition was checked by the difficulties of the route. The Mohammedan, more fortunate in his central posi- tion, served for ages to act as the medium of transit for the spices and products of the East to Western Europe, whither the Crusader carried back a knowledge of and taste for luxuries previously unknown, — a knowledge which created new wants, and excited the mercantile and nautical skill of nations dwelling upon the shores of the Mediterranean. Venice and Genoa rose to greatness upon their lucrative trade with the East ; and the fact soon came home to the common sense of their neigh- bours, and awakened the desire to supplant them, Cx- share in their profits. In the middle of the thirteenth century, Maico brought back to Western Europe such glowing accouL' of the East as verified all the traditionary tales o± Cipango and Cathay. Enterprise and cupidity were aroused. The Portuguese slowly but successfully pro- ceeded along that African shore which, as they knew, touched Asia upon the Mediterranean Sea, and which gdl u I J INTBODUCTION. - 3 the pmo If they followed it in an opposite direction fror ePta „ L -r """'""^^ ' "■"* '''•=» deduced, irom certain traditionary accounts of a land lyinciiiuw, r.K.is.), 'it a naval power but nf ,,«.+ j should complete a discovery in 'the ^tl/thCt;^ which was so happily commenced by Enghshnient .?' sixteenth, and another Vespuccio run Iway ^^^^^^ honours due to a Columbus.''* ^ ^^ *^^ * ' Quarterly Review/ January 1818, page 219. ./•.., .,^/H .i n^ t 8 DISCOVERY OF A NORTH-WEST PASSAGE. In 1816 a more than usual concurrence of favourable winds, currents, and weather had disengaged and carried down a vast body of ice from the polar regions north of the Atlantic. Icebergs and floes were found floating in grea^, quantities as far south as the 40th parallel of lati- tude. The very climates of both northern Europe and America were afiected by the decreased temperature they occasioned ; and, as an instance of it, Indian-corn would not ripen in 1816 in either Pennsylvania or Massachusetts, — an unparalleled circumstance. Mr Barrington, as well as Sir John Barrow, both maintained that, could a navigable route be found north- about, the commerce of England with the East, more than that of any other nation, would be benefited ; and the higher the latitude in which we could pass into the Pacific, the more the distance would be shortened. " For instance," says the latter, " the distance from Shetland to Behring Strait, in the 72d parallel, is just half as long again as on a meridian passing through the pole, or as 1572 leagues to 1048." The people of England entered into these views, and into all the theories and conjectures of Sir John Barrow. Some of these conjectures are quite startling to one who, like the writer, is able to sit down and peruse them, knowing on what slender premises they were grounded, and seeing how many have actually been verified since his death. In October 1817, Sir John Barrow published a small diagram to illustrate an article of his upon the existence of a north-west passage, which is now before us ; and although he was only then in possession of the informa- INTRODUCTION. 9 tion which we have said England possessed at the end of the eighteenth century, yet, guided by a clear judgment and a thorough knowledge of the subject, he filled up the deficient coast in so correct a line that the charts of to-day, upon the same small scale, vary but little from his. The search for a north-west passage was now actively resumed, and voyage after voyage followed rapidly— Ross, Parry, and Franldin executing, and Barrow cheer- ing them on. Captain James Burney, who, as a lieutenant of Captain Cook, carried some authority with his opinion, opposed the idea of any communication between the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans, and actually connected the American and Asiatic continents. The first navigator chosen to follow on the footsteps of Baffin attempted to close every avenue or outlet to the north-west from Baffin Bay. Yet Sir John Barrow was not daunted. "I have every reason to believe Old Greenland an island, or an archipelago of islands," he said, "and no inclination to deny that some of them may stretch far enough to the westward to form those several sounds of wbch Baffin so briefiy and vaguely speaks." Shortly after the above lines were written. Parry verified them by really sailing west through an archipelago of islands half way to Behring Strait ! Sir John Barrow, the great promoter of arctic research, while si^xaring the honours of every fresh discovery, was certainly not desirous of avoiding the responsibility at- tached to sending men upon a service of so much risk f. ;i| I 10 DIHCOVKUY OF A NOHTII-WKRT I'ASSAOE. uiul »lanK<>r, iiiul was romly to mUhiw j^'ood romom for (loiiiK ao. Until tlio roptrntod ruiluros of Parry uiid Fmiiklin conviiuuMl liini of tho iinpossibility of uhjii^' a )iorth-w(»at passago for roiniU(>r(!ial purposoa, Sir John narrow had ovi.iontly fondly hoped to socuro to his country tho advanta^'os of a shorter route to India : but ovon tluMj, joalous of hor niaritinu^ ^lory, and inlluoncod by a sincoro lovo of acionco and a dosiro'for tho oxtciusion ol knowlod^'o, ho judgrd rightly that nowhoro could tho skdl and vmrgy of tho ih'itish navy bo nion^ honourably diroctod than to gooj^raphioal diaoovory, whothor in tlio fro/on or torrid zones. Arctic exploration had, indeed, entailed some luirdship and aulferin^r ; b^t bo it renienil)ered tliat up to the day Avhen «ir dohn Franklin sailed on Ids last voyage in ISIf), no fatal catastrophe had overtaken any one of the many shi{)s that had been employed on that service in modern days. Sir dohn r>arnnv appreciated fully tho dimculties and dangers of arctic service; and a mere selfish desire to see knowledge extended, at any sacrilico of humanity, was assuredly not his failing, llo did not live to see tho re- alisation of tho conlident predictions of his sagacious mind ; yet he had seen a vast deal added to our geogra- phical knowledge of tho earth's surface— additions of no small moment in every branch of natural history, as well as in physical science; and tho wide world saw and knew that tho race of seamen who had secured to Britain tho supremacy of the sea in war, were not deteriorating in time of peace. It was no narrow or selfishly ambitious feeling that 1 iiHons for iny uiid ' UHiiij,' a ■^ir .John to his ilia : but jlluoncod xtciisioii ouhl thd iiourahly iv in tlio luirdsliij) tho (lay )ya^'o ill of tho irvico ill ties and '0 to seo ity, was ( tho ro- igaeious {jfoofrra- 18 of no as well d knew ain tho ting in ig that INTRODUCTION. n dictated tho following words, during tho tinio that ono expedition was absent in search of tho long-sought pas- sago. "They may not succeed," ho says, "in that pur- pose ; but thoy can scarcely fail in being tho moans of •extending tho sphere of human knowledge, and if they bring back an accession of this, thoy cannot bo said to have boon sent in vain, for 'knowledge is power,' and wo may safely commit to tho stream of time tho benefi- cial results of its irresistible iniluonco." Franklin and his hundred and forty followers were the hn- orn liopo of tho North- West Passage. By the sacrifice ot thoir lives, they have secured to us, their countrymen an honour that perhaps might otherwise never have been won; for it was in seeking for them that Captain M'Clure and his gallant officers and crew succeeded, for the first time ill ilio annals of tho world, in passing from the Pacific to tho Atlantic Ocean. In the eloquent words of Lord Stanley and Sir Edward Parry, when addressing Captain Crosswoll, who first brought tho intelligence to England, in 1853, of tho discovery of tho water com- munication between the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans « it was a triumph that would not be valued tho less highly because it was not stained by bloodshed-a triumph which was not embittered by any single painful or mel- ancholy rominiscence-a triumph not over man, but over nature-a triumph which inflicts no injury, and which humiliates no onemy-a triumph not for this ago alone but for postority-not for England only, but for man- kind. ' When such is tho testimony borne to the honour won by those who had achieved this passage, Sir John Barrow ^li! I iJ -I ' ill ;1. h ♦I /{ i! 12 DISCOVERY OF A NORTH-WEST PASSAGE. needs no apologist for having been the main promoter of arctic research ; and although the laurel is twined with the cypress-wreath of those who have laid down their lives in this service, their friends and relatives may proudly wipe away their tears. The North-West Passage would never have heen dis- covered but for the devotion of Franklin, his officers, and men ; they each volunteered for that duty, and they fell in the performance of it. The party from the Erebus and Terror, which perished, we now know, at the mouth of the Great Fish Eiver, went down the channel which leads from Capes Walker and Bunny in Barrow Strait, and they, thus dying, forged the great link which con- nects the known coasts of the Parry Archipelago with that of the American continent. They did not, like the crew of the Investigator, achieve the passage by actually passing from ocean to ocean ; but it is possible that at the very moment when Captain M'Clure stood on the northern coast of Banks Land, and assured himself of a water communication between the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans, some lonely survivor of Franklin's expedition might have been watching from King William Land, that known highway to Behring Strait, which they well knew extends from King William Land and the Great Fish Eiver. Captain M'Clure and his followers can well afibrd to surrender cheerfully to the illustrious dead that share of the honour which is their due ; and we who mourn the loss of those who perished with Franklin in gallantly endeavouring to perform what the Investigator so happily efi'ected, may still point to the chart of the polar regions, and say, " Si monumentum requiris, circumspice! " II. GE. ronioter of ined with own their tives may been dis- ficers, and I they fell le Erebus ihe mouth uel which ow Strait, '^hich con- lago with b, like the y actually e that at d on the mself of a Atlantic xpedition im Land, they well the Great I can well lead that . we who mklin in tigator so the polar mspicel " m m CHAPTEE II. ItETURN OF THE ARCTIC SQUADRON OF 1848, AND IMMEDIATE RE-EQUIPMENT OF THE ENTERPRISE AND INVESTIGATOR - APPOINTMENT OF CAPTAIN M'cLURE- PREPARATIONS FOR SPEEDY DEPARTURE-THE TWO VESSELS PASS THE NORE- HEAVy GALES IN THE CHANNEL -PUT INTO PLYMOUTH - ENGAGEMENT OF AN INTERPRETER-FINAL DEPARTURE FROM ENGLAND -APPEARANCE OF ARCTIC SHIPS — INVESTIGATOR REACHES THE SOUTH / TLANTIC. The Arctic Discovery Squadron, under Captain Sir James Eoss, had hardly returned from its perilous opera- tions of 1848 and 1849, when it was at once determined by Government to re-equip the vessels, in order that another expedition might resume the search after Sir John Franklin's missing ships by the way of Behring Strait. Ihe Enterprise and Investigator, it will be remem- bered, had failed in their attempt to get to the westward of Leopold Island in 1849, and only escaped from that inhospitable spot, to be beset in the drifting pack-ice of Barrow Strait, to be swept with it out of Lancaster Sound into Baffin Bay, and thence just secured their re- treat to England before the arctic seas became generally sealed for that season. Tempest-tossed and ice-worn though the good ships were, our naval dockyards soon put them into proper 11 ■ ■ Mr m li ■P>*: '» :*| nux VI '' Mt^. 14 DISCOVERY OF A NORTH-WEST PASSAGE. condition for once more resuming their contest with floe and iceberg. Captain Eichard ColUnson, C.B., was ap- pointed to the Enterprise as senior officer of the expedi- tion, and Commander Eobert Le Mesurier M'Clure to the Investigator. The former officer enjoyed a high naval reputation, and in China his abilities as a surveyor had done t^ «to good service j the latter, the destined discoverer c i«th-vest passage, had served through a long and severe probation in every grade, until, after a struggle of twenty-six years, he was appointed to the command of the Investigator, as a reward for the good service he had rendered as first-lieutenant to Sir James Eoss, in his voyage of 1848-49. There was in the winter of 1849-50 no lack of volun- teers for arctic service amongst the officers and men of the Eoyal mvy. The most sanguine feelings concerning the cause they were about to engage in, animated the whole service, and told with excellent effect in the speedy equipment of the ships and the completion of their crews; and although the pendants had been hoisted as late as the 19th of December 1849, yet, on the 10th of January foUowing, the Enterprise and 'in- vestigator were enabled to put to sea from the river Thames with their full complement of men. They were, however, much hampered upon both upper and lower decks with provisions and stores; and heavy winter gales in the Channel having caused both vessels to strain much, it became advisable to put into Plymouth to be caulked— a measure which gave the captains an oppor- tunity for entering several more good seamen from that well-known nursery of men-of-war's men. f GE. ; with floe , was ap- le expedi- i'Clure to d a high surveyor ; destined ihrough a :1, after a id to the the good ir James •f volun- men of ncerning ated the in the letion of id been yet, on and In- 16 river ey were, d lower winter strain h to be L oppor- •m that FINAL DEPARTUKE. 15 :si '^ m grass was allowed to grow under their feet at Plymouth, for the vast distance between England and - Behring Strait had to be traversed by way of Cape Horn m deep-laden bM-bowed ships ;— winter gales awaited ^em in the Channel, and equinoctial ones off Cape Horn. All knew there was a weary six months' voyage before they could reach the ice, and that the loss of a month by accident or neglect might cause the highway they sought from Behring Strait to Melville Island to be closed against them. At last nearly aU was ready ; every article of equip- ment on board, and what was not then procurable was ordered to be sent to the Sandwich Islands, via Panama We must not fail to mention that, before sailing, there was shipped on board the Investigator a German clerc^y- man, a Mr Mierching, who had been engaged as an Esquimaux interpreter. The proposal had been sud- denly made to the worthy man one day when he was enjoying his ease in a quiet village in Saxony, after re- turmng from a long sojourn in Labrador as a Moravian missionary. He accepted the offer, and was despatched forthwith as fast as rail could take him to London The Admiralty sent him a few hours afterwards by express to Kymouth, and he arrived only just in time to be tumbled n..o the Investigator before her departure On the 20th of January 1850 this arctic squadron weighed, and the Enterprise and Investigator sailed thence wi h a fair and fresh wind. It will now be my duty to foUow the latter vessel and her gallant company in their long and adventurous voyage, at the same time avoiding minute details of the everyday operations of the Inves- If h n\ Iff I I' 16 DISCOVERY OF A NORTH-WEST PASSAGE. tigator, which partake rather of the character of a ship's log than of remarks intended for the general reader. I must endeavour to picture to the general and non- professional reader the appearance of the little vessel, ■whose name will be remembered as long as England holds dear the character of her adventurous arctic navi- gators. Many of our readers have seen in olden times, during westerly winds in the British Channel, water- washed looking vessels of four or five hundred tons register rolling towards the Thames, freighted with rich produce from the East or West Indies. These craft could boast of little beauty, and had but little speed. People said they were fine wholesome vessels. Yery likely they were ; at any rate, they took a long time to get through their work, and looked as if they were built by the mile, and cut off in lengths, as required for the trade. Such a one was H.M.S. Investigator, for she had been bought from an eminent firm at Black wall. The " fast sailing copper-bottomed A 1, &c.," had been doubled with wood in every direction ; and her bow and stern, according to then infallible rules for arctic ships, were made to re- semble the ends of a caisson, by having wood and iron bolted one over the other, until in some places twenty- nine inches of solid timber might have been found, or even more. Everytliing in the shape of outward orna- ment was of course carefully eschewed; and a solemn coating of black paint, but little relieved by a white riband and small figure-head, added yet more to the appearance of strength and weight of the little, but I am afraid I cannot say pretty, vessel. J! THE INVESTIGATOB. 17 Aloft, m her powerful rigging and large blocks, were seen signs of a departure from the perfect neatness of a Queen's ship— for appearance had to be sacrificed to efficiency; and her deeply-immersed hull, her decks covered. with casks securely lashed, and the many strange articles, such as sledges, ice-triangles, ice-saws, and crow's nest, all told their own tale, and were well in keeping with her character and destination. The crew of this good ship was, as the sequel wiU show, not un- worthy of her, for throughout Captain M'Clure's journal I meet constant expressions of admiration for the men under his command; indeed, so early as the 24th of January, he says, when speaking of the accidental loss of his topmast :— " Vexatious as it certainly was, stiU it was attended with one advantage, as it gave me an in- sight into the disposition of my crew, and a more orderly set of men have seldom been collected." Thus early was that mutual confidence sown which afterwards yielded such good fruit. Battling with foul winds and heavy seas, it was not until the 20th of February that the Investigator reached the N E. trade-wind of the Atlantic. Whilst passing through the tropics, care was taken during the fine weather of that region to make good such defects as had shown themselves in the vessel, and were within the power of her artificers to remedy ; and aU due precau- tions were employed to insure the health and comfort of officers and men. t I ¥ 'i '^ 'it+1 CHAPTEE III. SLOW SAILING OF THE ARCTIC SHIPS— KEACH TERRA DEL FUEQO — H.M.8. GORGON IN POSSESSION BAY— REACH PORT FAMINE —SHIPWRECKED AMERICAN SCHOONER— AMERICAN GO-AHEAD- ISM— SUBLIME SCENERY — INVESTIGATOR MEETS THE ENTER- PRISE—AMERICAN RIVER-STEAMER IN THE PACIFIC — HEAVY GALE— CAPTAIN M'CLURE's CARE OF THE MEN. It was not until the 18th March, nearly two months after leaving England, thai the Investigator passed out of the southern tropic in the South Atlantic Ocean, al- though a heavy press of canvass had constantly been carried. It was nearly a month afterwards that Captain M'Clure sighted Cape Virgii , that headland of the South American continent which marks the eastern entrance of the Strait of Magellan. This rate of pro- gress gives the best idea of the speed of the arctic dis- covery-ships, and best enables us to appreciate the anxiety with which Captain M'Clure, his officers, and crew, must have watched the precious hours as they flitted by, as well as the credit they deserve for the per- severance and ability with which they did so much, with such inferior means. On the 15th of April, the land of the Strait of Magellan gladdened their sight, and, inhospitable as it was, it was welcome after eighty-five days of sea work; DEL FUEGO IT FAMINE GO- AHEAD- HE ENTER- — HEAVY 3 months assed out 3cean, al- itly been b Captain I of the 5 eastern 3 of pro- fctic dis- iate the jers, and as they the per- ich, with 5irait of )le as it a work ; AT PORT FAMINE. 19 and they commenced beatiug along that coast where so many points bear English names strangely mixed up with the Spanish ones— names that tell how England's gallant seamen have toiled, and hoped, and suffered in the great cause of human advancement, from Anson and Drake, proud admirals, to poor Allan Gardner, the sailor missionary, who perished in a noble effort to carry civilisation to the wretched Fuegians. On Point Duncre- ness ware seen large troops of guanachoes, a species "of the Uaina : their flesh would have been a great acquisition, but a lee shore gave Captain M'Clure enough to do to keep his ship in safety, until upon the turn of tide he was enabled to push westward against the contrary wind which prevails in this strait. Next day the Investigator reached Possession Bay, and found H.M.S. Gorgon there ready to assist in towing her into the Pacific Ocean • and accordingly, by her aid and the zealous exertions of her commander, the Investigator, on the 17th April arrived at Port Famine. ' At this wretched Chilian penal settlement, Captain M Clure learnt chat the Enterprise had already passed and, what was still more to be regretted, taken with her all the bullocks, so that the prospect of fresh beef for the Investigator's crew was no nearer than the Sandwich Islands, to reach which the wide Pacific Ocean had to be traversed as the Atlantic had already been. The most mterestmg object seen at Port Famine was the castaway crew of an American schooner, bound to California. The stoical indifference to the reverse of fortune with which It had pleased Providence to visit the two Yankee owners —for they were there— struck our arctic explorers much; m Mi] III ^ r H V i' *-^ ;j I i i! 90 DISCOVERY OF A NOUTII-WKST PASSAGE. ami tho iiiiHluikon tirmnCvsa with which tlioy dotorinincd not to bo hoatou was ilhiatnitivo of tho host phase of American character. Their tale was a strange, hut not an unusual oii(5. In the height of tho Californian fever then raging, one of tho owners had been a vendor of hardware, tho other the proprietor of a dry provision store in Now York. The latter, walking one day on tho quay, saw a schooner ad- vertised for sale ; and being struck with the number of persons daily embarking for California, tho thought sud- denly entered his head that in that El Dorado he might make a fortune far more rapidly than even in tho smart town of New York. At this moment his eye chanced to light upon the vendor of hardware, likewise apparently in a brown study ; and addressing him, the dry-goods- man asked, "what he thought of a Californian venture?" "Just what I was thinking of," was the reply; and with true American ijo-aheadis)n, they at once decided on selling off, and embarking their all, four thousand dollars each, in the schooner. The thing was done; and ten weeks afterwards they were cast away upon the south extreme of America, and utterly ruined ! Yet they were not dispirited, and they wanted no sympathy. *♦ No ! " said the dry-provision merchant, when it was suggested that he had better return to New York and adhere to his old line of business — " no ! I guess I'll never go back to New York ; I'll get some- how to California, and right myself yet ! " The Gorgon took some of the men on board until they could be put into their own countrymen's vessels. Leaving Port Famine, the Investigator proceeded on I il OIIANDEUR OF THE SCENEllY. 81 hor way, passing the wild and, in many places, sublime sconory which skirts the shores of this wonderful and intricate inland soa — the lofty mountains presenting at once the characteristics of the equatorial and polar regions, their summits covered with glaciers, whilst their bases are clothed with dense and humid forests whose rank luxuriance of vegetation resembles that of the thickest Indian jungle. After rounding Cape Frowards, they found the Enter- prise at anchor in Fortescue Bay, and had a good oppor- tunity of comparing their relative courses since parting company. By the charts, the two discovery-ships had seldom been sixty miles apart, and they had crossed the equator within thirty- five miles of each other, though without meeting. Such are the not unusual accidents of a sea voyage ; and at any rate neither Captain CoUinson nor his colleague could accuse themselves of being the cause of delay to the other. Whilst at this anchorage, detained by strong and foul winds, an American river- steamer, bound to California, passed by. She had many passengers, and took our voyagers' mail to Valparaiso, it being the intention of her skipper, a reckless sort of individual, to take the in-shore channels which lead from Cape Horn to Chiloe, before he trusted his frail- built vessel to the mercy of the Pacific. That steamer appeared to have made such a marvel- lously quick passage, that some of the Investigator's officers naturally asked the skipper if he were certain of his dates of departure and arrival. The reply, if not pleasing to ears polite, contained in it a great fact: " Well, officer," said Jonathan, " T ain't sure, for I have • (I, * M fi ■\ )N S2 OTSCOVKKY OF A NOllTir-WKRT PARSAOE. livod so lon^ ainoiifJtHi liars that I don't know wIkmi T am spoakiiifar tho Irutli ! " On i\w 19ih of April ilui woatlior nioddraind auHici- oiitly for tho (^ior:];on to tak(> both tho Kntin'pri.so and Tn- vostii^ator in tow, and thoy started at an early honr ajj;ainst a hrco/o which othorwiso wonld havo still k(^pt sailinj^ ships idlo. Fu(\ifians, in frail canoes, chased tlu^m in hopes of barter, but wore iniablo to (M>nnnnnicato, and next day tho vessels passed Capo Tillar, th(5 western bonndary of the strait. (hice in tho broad Pacific, tho swell of a western sea crtnsed tho hawsers lo carry away so ol'ten as to prevent tlie towing of more than one vesscd at a time. The En- terprise was iirst taken, and a good oiling given her, and then tho Investigator was helped on in her tnrn. As night canio on, liowever, tho galo freslicned from tho north-west, and tho l<rprise and Investigator parted company, never again to rejoin. Pnring tho night of tho 20th, tho Gorgon was obliged to cnt away the towing-hawser of the Investigator, and after lying by her nntil daylight. Captain Paynter, of tho Ciorgon, bore up to look for tho Enterprise. So heavy a galo now oanio on that no canvass could be carried by tho Investigator to bear her away from the iron-bound shores of Patagonia, distant at the time not more than thirty or forty miles ; and thus drifting before an increasing gale, she was driven far to tho south- west, and it was not nntil tho 30th of April that it abated, and enabled tho tempest-tossed ship to resume her course for the next rendezvous, Honolulu, in the Sandwich Islands. riJKVKNTIVKH OF SCURVY. 23 At this early poriod of tlio voyago, ovory prceauiioii was takoii hy Captiiiii M'CJlun- to provont tho H(!.h1h of ficurvy l)(iing sown amongst his men. Ilo incronmjd tho rations of vegc-tablciH and frcinli j)rn8nrv(!d moat, iHsued thorn ov(!ry altornato day, and, an Hoon an tho wcjatlior l)ormitt(!d it, tho od'Kiorw and (;row woro constantly om- ploycd in thoir vvatohoH rostowing, oxamining, and ascfjr- taim'ng tho (piality of thoHo provisions, upon which Cap- tain M'Cluro's oxperionco told him tho result of his voyago would so much dopond. No ono knew better than ho that in tho far north man is a machine not to bo replaced; that without tho zealous labour and tho skill and energy of tho cniw tho best officers aro worthless. To work a willing seaman to death, or into scurvy, and then turn round and lay tho blame on the climate of tho poles, was not tho system of tho man who was about to achieve the North-Wcst Passage; and in adopting the course he did, ho took tho best method of convincing his men, that, so far as circumstances admitted, ho would always study their health and comfort. Tho crow on thoir side naturally repaid him with unbounded confi- dence and hearty exertions. iiii !l ! I M 1 i fh i CHAPTEE IV. VOYAGE CONTINUED TO HONOLULU— LEAK IN THE BREAD-ROOM— LONELINESS OP THIS OCEAN— GOOD FEELING BETWEEN OFFI- CERS AND MEN— ARRIVAL AT HONOLULU— REPLENISHING AND DEVARTURE — GREAT ANXIETY OF OFFICERS AND MEN TO REACH THE ICE— PASSING THE ALEUTIAN ISLANDS— DENSE FOGS— THE ARCTIC CIRCLE CROSSED— MEET THE PLOVER DE- POT-SHIP—UNFAVOURABLE REPORT OF THE STATE OF THE ICE— CAPTAIN M'CLURE's PLAN OF OPEUATIONS— PREPARA- TIONS FOR MEETING THE ICE— H. M.S. HERALD MET WITH— CAPTAIN KELLETT's DISCOVERY. The whole of the month of May 1850 was passed by the Investigator in making the best of her way towards Honoluhi ; and the only incident worthy of notice was the loss of a topmast, and the discovery of the destruc- tion of a large quantity of biscuit, owing to a leak which had broken out in the bread-room: nearly a thousand pounds of biscuit were found to be so mouldy that it had to be thrown away ; but Captain M'Clure consoled him- self with the certainty of being able to replenish his stock at the first port. On 2d June they passed the limit of the S.E. trade- wind in lat. 17° 44' S., long. 105° 54' W. During the fortnight that the Investigator had been steering dia- gonaily across that space which intervenes between the southern tropic and the equator of the Pacific Ocean, LONELINESS OF THE PACIFIC. 25 monotony pressed heavily upon both crew and officers. Five weary months of salt water is enough to try the patience of any men; and Captain M'Clure's journal here laments the loneliness of the vast region of water which rolls from America to the Polynesian Isles, a fine and fair wmd, clear sky, and smooth sea, hardly compen^ eatmg for the absence of every living thing except them- selves : not even a bird or a fish broke the dreariness of the ocean solitude. Every day served, however, to unite more strongly the bond of mutual good feeling between the commander and his crew. Much heavy work con- nected with the restowage and examination of the provi- sions fell, of course, upon the latter; but they did it with such cheerfulness and goodwill as to draw forth the re- mark in Captain M'Clure's handwriting: " I have much confidence in them. With such a spirit what may not be expected, even if difficulties should arise 1 " This good opinion of his men was fully borne out in the sequel. The equator was crossed on the 15th June, and the S.E. trade kindly favoured them into 7° north latitude. On the 23d of June the N.E. trade-wind reached them, and aided by it they made on the 24th the longest run the Investigator had as yet performed in twenty-four hours— namely, one hundred and eighty-six miles. It was a proud day for the old ship. On June 29th the snow-capped peak of Mouna-Kea, on the island of Owhyhee, showed itself, and announced that at last they were nearing a port, after a sea-vovaee of 15,000 miles. "^ ^ Running through the western islands of the Sandwich group, they anchored, gladly enough, on the 1st Julv 26 DISCOVERY OF A NORTH-WEST PASSAGE. I outside the roofs of IIoiiolulu harbour, tlio wind being foul for entering its narrow mouth. There was no time to bo lost, however, and all neces- sary supplies were speedily purchased, Captain M'Clure being much aided in his labour by Captain Aldhani of II.M. brig Swift, then in the port. The very next day, all the stores wore ready for shipment, and the Investi- gator was in-opared for the prosecution of her voyage with the utmost despatch. The crow of the Swift gene- rously undertook this duty while the men of Jie Investi- gator were allowed all the leave that could be afforded them to wander about the beautiful island of Oahu. Captain CoUinson, in the Enterprise, had already, it appeared, called at this port, and had replenished and gone on, in prosecution of his instructions. The anxiety of Captain ^['Clure to overtake his chief, and rejoin him in time for entering the polar sea in 1850, can be better conceived than described. Abundant supplies of fruit and vegetables were purchased, although the high prices occasioned by so large a demand, as well as the arrival of the annual Hoots of American whalers, formed a consid- erable obstacle to the private purchases of officers and men. By a remarkable fataHty, too, their hopes of ob- taining a good supply of fresh beef were again destined to bo disappointed ; for the natives, in attempting to land the bullocks from a coaster, had drowned all but one of them. The Consul-General, Miller, as Avell as some of the merchants, extended due hospitality to Captain M'Clure ; and although ho had occasion to remark that Yankee influence was all-powerful in these islands — the Ameri- DEPARTURE FROM HONOLULU. 27 can stopping-stonos to the empire of the I^st, as they have been appropriately called-yct neither he, nor the Investigators generally, had any cause to complain of want of courtesy towards themselves, or of sympathy for the nohlo mission on which they were employed. The 4th July 1850 saw the Investigator in every re- spect ready for the polar voyage, which was her appointed task. Every available space was again filled with pro- visions, and in addition to a solitary bullock, a dozen sheep, and vegetables sufficient to last forty days, were embarked. Her weak or sickly men had been invalided and their places supplied by volunteers ; and all hands' were much refreshed and reinvigorated by even the short stay they had made in so pleasant a spot. On leaving Honolulu, the same evening, Captain M'Clure remarks that the health and cheerfulness of all were most gratifying, and that no vessel could have entered the ice u....cr more favourable circumstances after so long and trying a sea- voyage. The ice, however, was still full forty degrees of latitude distant, the Enterprise far ahead, and there were only about SLxty days more of summer left. Well, therefore, might Captain M'Clure feel anxious when he looked at his deeply-laden vessel, and pondered on the quickest mode of reaching Behring Strait. The old-established course from the Sandwich Islands to the Strait was by haulinc^ out to the N.W. across the N.E. trade, so as to strike the Asiatic coast in or about the latitude of Petropaul- offskoi, and then taking advantage of westerly winds to run along that coast, and thus avoid the dangerous chan- nels through the Aleutian Islands, which were imperfectly \ . li I i:« i Jl I \ , J' /i' 28 DISCOVERY OF A NORTH-WEST PASSAGE. known, and subject to dense fogs and strong tides. This route, however, generally occupied sixty days, and Captain M'Clure had heard of another and more direct one ; but at the same time the risk of his vessel being driven down upon the dangerous and inhospitable coast north of Vancouver Island and Princess Charlotte Island was duly pointed out. Fortunately, he had met at Honolulu with an intelligent merchant sailor, who urged him by all means to run the risk, steer a direct course to the northward, aad not to fear north-west gales at that season of the year. This advice, together with the emergency of the case, induced him to decide upon mak- ing direct for the Aleutian Islands, and trusting to the " sweet little cherub that sits up aloft " for the winds he might require. At midnight a course was shaped accordingly, and M'Clure went to his bed and dreamt of catching the Enterprise ; for there was much fear among both officers and men lest a report, heard at Honolulu, should prove to be true, that Captain Collinson intended, instead of wait- ing for his consort, to take the Plover on into the ice, and leave the Investigator to occupy her place in Kotzebue Sound as a mere depot-ship. No other bad effects had ensued from the liberty given to the Investigator's men at Honolulu, after their long imprisonment on board, than that six of them were laid up for a few days, in consequence of having, sailor-like, taken a great deal too much equestrian exercise — one or two having actually cut their feet with the stirrup-irons through riding hard without any shoes. Favoured by strong and fair winds, the ship made THE ALEUTIAN ISLES. S9 rapid progress to the northward, although dense fogs gave the captain and master much anxiety, lest they should be carried east or west of that channel through the Aleutian Isles, for which they were endeavouring to steer. On the sixteenth day after leaving Oahu, while ex- pecting to sight the land, the mist lifted sufficiently to show a bluff point, with a detached rock lying off it. This satisfied them that the island they had wished to sight was the one now at hand, and, as the Investigator was swept rapidly along in a tide-race with a fair wind, they had only time to observe, on the bow, the western extreme of the island of Tchunam. It was but a mo- mentary glimpse, however, that they were blessed with of either, and this was aU they saw of the Aleutian chain; but when certain of being clear and to the north of the islands, the Investigator was steered for Gore Island. Some idea may be formed of the denseness of the fogs whicli prevail in this region, and add so materiaUy to Its dangers, from the circumstance of some of the sea- birds, such as the little auk (Aka alle), striking against the rigging in their flight, and falling on board the ship. But fog or no fog, the ship was still pushed on with the utmost press of sail that any regard to safety would permit; yet a sea but little known was before the In- vestigator,— a sea interspersed with islands whose posi- tion was so uncertain that, in some cases, they were not even placed in the chart. Many an anxious hour was passed on board the ship, their greatest fear being lest, 30 DISCOVERY OF A NORTH-WEST PASSAGE. f I by grounding the vessel and detention, tlioy should be too late for entering the ice in the season of 1850. On 2Cth July the stud-sails were for the first time taken in since leaving Oahu, — a proof of how happily the winds had hitherto favoured the ship, — and next day they made King Island, and had a narrow escape of being swept on shore by a rapid and unexpected current. Fortunately, a good bearing, by compass, of the land was obtained before they were again enveloped in fog, so that they were able to shape a course between the two Diomedo Islands ; but still, running the gauntlet, as the Investigator was doing, was fraught with peril, and no- thing but the urgency of the case induced Captain M'Clure to persist, although it might bo that in such a sea, and amongst so many tides and currents, a straight course on end at high speed was the safer one. The words of her commander convey the best idea of the ship's position and his feelings as they approached the channel between the Diomede Islands : — " The channel is a good one doubtless in clear weather; but in a fog which has never given us a horizon more than four hundred yards distant, with a very strong and unknown current, with a fresh fair wind and deep water, it was an exceedingly anxious time for me, more especially when an unusual ripple was perceived, resembling the tidal race of Alderney or Portland. The noise was so great that we could not hear what was said without great vocal exertion j the sea was breaking into the channels, and the deep-sea lead showed that the ship was sweeping through twenty-two fathoms' water only." The look-out man even reported breakers ahead; and not MEET THE PLOVER. 31 small was the general delight when, by the deepening of the soundings and the cessation of the tide-ripple, the voyagers guessed themselves to have been swept into Kotzobue Sound, though disagreeably close past one of the islands at its entrance. On 29th July 1850 the arctic circle was crossed, and the Admiralty clothing supplied by the Lords Commis- sioners of the Admiralty for the use of seamen in those regions was issued to the crew. Arctic sights now rapidly accumulated to interest the many novices in the Investigator, and to awaken in the mind of their com- mander recollections of his former trying and unsuccess- ful voyage on the opposite side of America into that same frozen sea. The first to greet them was the Plover depot-ship, then commanded by Commander Moore, who, with two boats, was making inquiries amongst the natives of Wainwright Inlet concerning some of the thousand and one Esquimaux fictions that then enlivened the mono- tony of Kotzebue Sound. The eager query of how long since the Enterprise had gone to the northward? was answered by the Plover informing them that she had not been fallen in with at all ; this the officers of the Inves- tigator presumed might be accounted for from the dense fogs which had lately prevailed having prevented her being seen. The Enterprise had left Honolulu as early as the 30th June ; she was the faster-sailing ship, and there was no reason to suppose she had not been equally favoured in winds. The news of the state of the ice in Behring Strait was most unsatisfactory, especially to those who did not \ w 1 '»j_. 11 I 32 DISCOVERY OF A NORTH-WEST PASSAGE. know that its movements are so uncertain that a report more than twenty-four hours old was worthless. The Plover had seen the polar ice so densely packed from Wainwright Inlet upon the American coast to lat. 7P 30' N.. and long. 164° 28* W., as apparently to defy all efforts to push a vei >el to the north-oast. In recording this information, Captain M'Clure adds in his journal this remarkable sentence, showing how decidedly he had made up his mind to the course to be pursued, that of entering the ice at all hazards : " This," says he, "was not what I anticipated from the continu- ance of south-east winds ; but the season is not far ad- vanced, and much may yet be accomplished ere we are frozen up^^ The Investigators were generally struck with the healthy, and, in most cases, robust appearance of the Plover's crew. Indeed, this was not to be wondered at, considering they had merely wintered on the verge of the arctic zone, and in a place like Kotzebue Sound, where the natives are able to subsist upon the resources of the country, and where monotony, darkness, and hunger could not weigh upon them in any extraordinary degree. Before bearing up for Cape Lisburne (the next ren- dezvous that Captain Collinson had appointed), and where the Herald, Captain Kellett, was known to be cruising, all the letter-bags of tlie Investigator were sent on board the Plover ; and at the same time that admir- able despatch from Captain M'Clure to the Admiralty, in which he clearly stated what his intentions were, should he be left to act upon them. How to the very letter he m nil CAPTAIN M'CLURE'S PLANS. 33 II carried them out, aided by his gallant officers and men, will be seen in the sequel. Copy of a Letter from Commander M'Glurc to the Secretary of the Admiralty. " Her Majesty's Discovery Ship Investigator, at Sea (Lat. 51° 26' N., Long. 172° 35' W.), 20th July 1850. " Sir, — As I have received instructions from Captain Collinson, C.B., clear and unembarrassing (a copy of which I enclose), to proceed to Cape Lisburne, in the hope of meeting him in that vicinity, as he anticipates being detained a day or two by the Plover in Kotzebue Sound, it is unnecessary to add that every exertion shall be made to reach that rendezvous ; but I can scarcely venture to hope that, even under very favourable circum- stances, I shall be so fortunate as to accomplish it ere the Enterprise will have rounded that Cape, as, from her superior sailing, she has hitherto beaten us, by eight days to Cape Virgins, and from Magellan Strait to Oahu by six. It is, therefore, under the probable case that this vessel may form a detached part of the expedition, that I feel it my duty to state, for the information of the Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty, the course which, under such a contingency, I shall endeavour to pursue ; and I have to request that you will lay the same before their Lordships. "1st. After passiny Cape Lishurne, it is my intention to keep in the open water ^ which, from the different re- ports that I have read, appears, about this season of the year, to make betiveen the American coast and the main e %i 34 DISCOVERY OF A NOllTII-WEST PASSAGE. pack, ciH far to the eastward as the ISOfh meridian, unless a favourable opening shoidd earlier appear in the ice, which icould lead me to infer that I might piish more directly for Banks Land, which I think it is of the utmost importance to thoroughly examine. " In the event of thus far succeeding, and the season continuing favourahle for further operations, it would be my anxious desire to get to the northward of Melville Island, and rosume our search along its shores, and the islands adjacent, as long as the navigation can be carried on, and then secure for the winter in the most eligible position which offers. " 2d. In the ensuing spring, as soon as it is practicable for travelling parties to start, I should despatch as many as the state of the crew will admit of, in different direc- tions, each being provided with forty days' provisions, with directions to examine minutely all bays, inlets, and islands towards the N.E., ascending occasionally some of the highest points of land, so as to be enabled to obtain extended views, being particularly cautious, in their ad- vance, to observe any indication of a break-up in the ice, so that their return to the ship may be effected without hazard, even before the expenditure of their provisions would otherwise render it necessary. " 3d. Supposing the parties to have returned (without obtaining any clue of the absent ships), and the vessel liberated about the 1st of August, my object would then be to push on towards Wellington Inlet (assuming that that channel communicates with the polar sea), and search both its shores, unless, in so doing, some indica- tion should be met with to show that parties from any CAPTAIN M'CLURE's PLANS. 35 of Captain Austin's vessels had previously done so, when I should return and endeavour to penetrate in the direc- tion of Jones Sound, carefully examining every place that was practicable. Sir, should our efforts to reach this point be successful, and in the route no traces be discernible of the long-missing expedition, I should not then be enabled longer to divest myself of the feeling, painful as it must be to arrive at such a conclusion, that all human aid would then be perfectly unavailing, and therefore, under such a conviction, I would think'it my duty, if possible, to return to England, or, at all events, endeavour to reach some port that would insure that object upon the following year. ^ " 4th. In the event of this being our last communica- tion, I would request you to assure their Lordships that no apprehension whatever need be entertained of our safety until the autumn of 1854, as we have on board three years of all species of provisions, commencing from the 1st September proximo, which, without much depriva- tion, may be made to extend a period of four years, as, moreover, Avhatever is killed by the hunting parties I intend to issue in lieu of the usual rations, which will still further protract our resources. " It gives me great pleasure to say that the good effects of the fruit and vegetables (a large quantity of which we took on board at Oahu) are very perceptible in the in- creased vigour of the men, who at this moment are in as excellent condition as it is possible to desire, and evince a spirit of confidence and cheerfulness of disposition which are beyond all appreciation. " 5th. Should diffi^culties, apparently insunnonntahle, I 1- 3(5 DTSOOVEIJY OF A NOIITII-WEST PASSAGE. nfcoinprfss our ;)r<'f//vw, w) ok to rrndrr if a vidflcr of if(>ul)t whether the. vexxel eould t)e extricated, I sliotihl (teem it expedient, in thtd case, not to h((zard the luuis of those intrusted to my chanje after the wilder of 1852, but, in the ensuimj spriufj, quit the vessel with sle(t(/es and boats, and mal'e tlie best of our way to either Ponds Bay, Leopold Harbour, the Mac/cenzie, or for the irJuders, arcordi)i(j to circunhstances. " Finally. In this lettor I liavo ondoiivouroil to give an outline of what I -svish to accomplish (and -what, nndor niodomtoly ^Vvourablo seasons, api)oars to mo at- tainable), tho carrying out of which, however, not resting upon human exertions, it is impossible even to surmise if any or what portion may bo successful. But my object in addressing you is to place their Lordships in possession of my intentions up to the latest period, so, as far as possible, to relieve their minds from any un- necessary anxiety as to our fate ; and having done this — a duty which is incumbent on me, from the deep sympathy expressed by their Lordships, and participated in by all classes of our countrymen, in the interesting object of this expedition — T have only to add that, with the ample resources which a beneficent Government and a generous country have placed at our disposal (not any- thing that can add to our comfort being wanting), we enter upon this distinguished servicj with a firm deter- mination to carry out, as far as in our feeble strength we are permitted, their benevoloit intentions. — I have, " (Signed) Robert ^['Cluue, Commander." , ' i ^:H MEET THE HERALD. 37 k /< Not a letter written that day contained any expression but that of a liopef'ul issue to tlieir enterprise; and if anxiety was expressed, it was only that of being delayed, or being too late. The calm and resolute spirit of their leader is marked in the paragraph penned this same night. " I consider," he writes, " that we have said adieu to the world for the next two years. May that arm which has conducted us so far in safety, still con- tinue its protection upon a service where all else is weak- ness indeed ! " On 3Lst July the vessel was prcj)ared for falling in with the ice ; the crow's-nest was sent up to the mast- head, ready for the look-out men to take their station in ; whale-lines and ice-anchors were placed at hand, ready for heaving, or tracking the ship through loose ice ; and ice-chisels, saws, ladders, and all the many articles of equipment peculiar to arctic service, were placed on deck. The current had swept the Investigator thirty miles north of her reckoning, and Cape Lisburne was far astern when H.M.S. Herald, Captain Kellett, hove in sight. This vessel, it will be remembered, was annually or- dered from her surveying service in Central America, to communicate with, and replenish the provisions of the Plover depot-ship. The Herald usually arrived in June, and left Behring Strait in September. Her object in cruising about the strait was mainly in the hope of fall- ing in with the squadron of Sir John Franklin, should either of his ships have accomplished the passage from the AtLmtic to the Pacific Ocean ; but the Herald like- i J 'n » Tw * 1 1:. ■:!^- it! '^ ill m 38 DISCOVERY OF A NORTH-WEST PASSAGE. wise (lid good service in coiTGcting the charts of this neigh- bourhood, and in adding materially to our geographical knowledge. The most important discovery, however, that Captain Henry Kellett had made, and one which, in connection with the nature of the ice met with by the Investigator westward of Banks Land, is deeply interest- ing to those curious about the yet unknown regions which lie around our pole, was the sighting of an extensive land north and north-west of Behring Strait. In Cap- tain Kellett's despatches to England, bearing date 1849, the discovery is graphically described. "At 3 A.M. the 17th of August, the temperature of the sea suddenly fell from 40° to SG° ; the wind became light, and excessively cold. Shortened sail, supposing that I was very near the ice ; frequent snow-showers. "At 5 A.M. wind shifted suddenly from the N.W. in a sharp squall with heavy snow. Shortly after 8, when one of these snow-storms cleared off, the packed ice was seen from the mast-head from S.S.W. to N.N.W., five miles distarit. The weather was so bad that I bore up for the rendezvous. The weather, however, as suddenly cleared up, and I hauled my wind for the north-western extreme of the ice that had been seen. At 9.40 the ex- citing report of ' Land, ho ! ' was made from the mast- heads ; they were both soon afterwards crowded. " In running a course along the pack towards our first discovery, a small group of islands was reported on our port beam, a considerable distance within the outer mar- gin of the ice. " The pack here was not so close as I found it before. Lanes of water could be seen reaching almost up to the LAND SIGHTED BY THE HERALD. 39 group, but too narrow to enter unless the ship had "been sufficiently fortified to force a hole for herself. "These small islands at intervals were very distinct, and were not considered at the time very distant. " Still more distant than this group (from the deck) a very extensive and high land was reported, which I had been watching for some time, and anxiously awaited a report from some one else. There was a fine clear atmos- phere (such a one as can only be seen in this climate), except in the direction of this extended land, where the clouds rolled in numerous immense masses, occasionally leaving the very lofty peaks uncapped, where could be distinctly seen columns, pillars, and very broken peaks, characteristic of the higher headlands in this sea — East Cape and Cape Lisburne, for example. " With the exception of the N.E. and S.E. extremes, none of the lower land could be seen, unless, indeed, what I took at first for a small group of islands within the pack-edge was a point of this great land. "This island or point was distant 25 miles from the ship's track ; higher parts of the land seen, not less, I consider, than GO miles. When we hove-to off the first land seen, the northern extreme of the great land showed out to the eastward for a moment, and so clear as to cause some who had doubts before, to cry out, ' There, sir, is the land quite plain.' " From the time land was reported until we hove-to under it, we ran 25 miles directly for it. At first we could not see that the pack joined it, but as we approached the island we found the pack to rest on the island, and to extend from it as far as the eye could reach to the E.S.E. u ,t -I M 40 DISCOVEEY OF A NORTH-WEST PASSAGE. "The weather, which had been fine all day, now changed suddenly to dense clouds and snow-showers, blowing fresh from the south, with so much sea that I did not anchor as I intended. "I left the ship with two boats; the senior lieutenant, Mr Maguire, Mr Seemann, naturalist, and Mr CoUinson, mate, in one; Mr Goodridge, surgeon, Mr Pakenham, midshipman, and myself in the other, almost despairing of being able to reach the island. " The ship kept off and on outside the thickest part of the loose ice, through which the boats were obliged to be very careful in picking their way, on the S.E. side, where I thought I might have ascended. We reached the island, and found running on it a very heavy sea ; the first lieutenant, however, landed, having backed his boat in until he could get foothold (withjut swimming), and then jumped overboard. I followed his example ; the others were anxious to do the same, but the sea was so high that I could not permit them. " We hoisted the jack and took possession of the island with the usual ceremonies, in the name of Her Most Gracious Majesty Queen Victoria. "The extent we had to walk over was not more than thirty feet. From this space, and a short distance that we scrambled up, we collected eight species of plants ; specimens of the rock were also brought away. " With the time we could spare and our materials, the island was perfectly inaccessible to us. This was a great disappointment to us, as from its summit, which is ele- vated above the sea 1400 feet, much could have been seen, and all doubt set aside, more particularly as I ii CAPTAIN KELLETT'S DESPATCH. 41 knew the moment I got on board I should be obliged to carry sail to get off the pack, and out of the bight of it we were in ; neither could I expect that at this late period of the season the weather would improve. " The island on which I landed is four miles and a half in extent east and west, and about two and a half north and south, in the shape of a triangle, the western end being its apex. It is almost inaccessible on all sides, and a solid mass of granite. Innumerable black and white divers (common to this sea) here found a safe place to deposit their eggs and bring up their young ; not a walrus or seal was seen on its shore, or on the ico in its vicinity. We observed here none of the small land-birds that were so numerous about us before making the land. " It becomes a nervous thing to report a discovery of land in these regions without actually landing on it, after the unfortunate mistake to the southward ; but as far as a man can be certain, who has 130 pairs of eyes to assist him, and all agreeing, I am certain we have discovered an extensive land. I think, also, it is more than probable that these peaks we saw are a continuation of the range of mountains seen by the natives off Cape Jakan (coast of Asia), mentioned by Baron "Wrangel in his ' Polar Voyages.' I returned to the ship at 7 p.m., and very reluctantly made all the sail we could carry from this interesting neighbourhood, to the south-east, the wind at the time allowing me to lie just clear of the pack."* * An American report of a later date denies the existence of this extensive land, of whose existence Captain Kellett says he feels pretty certain; but until some one actually sails over the spot, we have as much reason to believe those who saw land as those who did not. If I il'l i I I \ '« '■ 4i i 5 1 |j|i t I 1 t 1 r^ f ; 42 DISCOVERY OF A NORTH-WEST PASSAGE. This land some geographers suppose to extend in con- tinuous or broken masses to the east and northward, and to form a portion of the vast archipelago of islands lying north of Barrow Strait; and directly that Captain Kellett's discovery was reported in England, it gave rise to a strong hope that Captain Collinson's expedition would be able to reach it, and follow along the southern coast towards Melville Island, as Sir Edward Parry had succeeded in doing from the opposite direction, thirty years before. CHAPTEPt V. fr THE INVESTIGATOR GIVES UP THE HOPE OF MEETING THE EN- TEUPUISE, AND DEPAUT8 ALONE — THE FIIIST ICE—IMMENSE HEUD OF WALUUSES— MOTHERS AND BABIES— VALUE OF THE WALRUS TO THE ESQUIMAUX— A BLIND LEAD— CAPE BARROW DOUBT,':: —PROCEEDING IN A NORTH-EASTERLY DIRECTION — GREAT EXCITEMENT— THREE ESQUIMAUX MET WITH— THEIR ASTONISHMENT AT SIGHT OF THE VESSEL. i '} li The most extensive body of "open water" in 1850 lay in the direction of Point Barrow, the turning point of America, a position the Investigators were impatient to reach. The Enterprise had not yet been seen ; but the fogs had been dense, and the weather unfavourable for meeting her, so that all conspired to make the anxious men and officers conjecture that she was still far ahead, and waiting for them. Captain Kellett, the senior officer, was not so sanguine as to the Enterprise having made an equally quick passage ; yet he felt the responsibility he should incur, should she have passed, by detaining her consort. Captain M'Clure, too, pointed out how valu- able every hour was to him, and to the important service he was upon ; for he well knew the force of the arctic maxim, that a day lost often entails a whole season of fruitless labour. At last Captain Kellett consented that the Investigator should part company ; but he first sup- ki'ri h I' I ■■ irJ :i .'I 44 DISCOVERY OF A NORTH-WEST PASSAGE. i ft ( i plied Captain ^I'Clure's -wants, by giving him three volinitoors, ami furnishing him witli such articles as his own stores -would admit of. The reader -will sympathise with the generous feelings of those who, like the captain and ollicers of the Herald, were thus for the last time, perhaps, in this world, shaking by the hand men bound upon a service as hazardous as it was glorions, and they will understand how trying a moment it nmst have been for one circumstanced as Captain Kellett was, to say to such a body as the Investigators — " Go on ! " when ho knew full well that from where they then stood there lay before them, for 900 miles, upon the one hand a shoal and dangerous coast, upon tlie other a heavy and hopeless sea of ice. The Investigator had not long borne up on her solitary course under a heavy press of sail, Avhen the signal was made, — " Had you better not wait forty-eight hours 1 " The reply was chiiracteristic : " Important duty. Can- not, upon my own rvsponbihiUtyr In a few hours the Investigator was alone, and pressing on into the polar sea. On the 2d August, in" the morning, the first ice was sighted extending across ahead, in latitude 72° I^. On reaching the ice immense herds of walruses were seen basking upon the loose masses : huge bulls, with splendid tusks, which would have delighted the eye of a Gordon Gumming; feLiales, with their numerous cubs playing about, formed a sight novel and interesting even to the old Greenland ice-master. A gun was at first loaded with grape and canister for the purpose of shooting some of them ; but the order was countermanded by Captain m HERD OF WALRUSES. 45 M'Clure, from the kindly feelings awakened by the affec- tion evinced between the mothers and babes of this brute community. 8ome of these creatures were conjectured to weiffh as much as thirty-five hundredweight ; and the ice when relieved of their weight rose about two feet. These ferocious-looking creatures are found in great numbers in Eehring Strait ; all our voyagers speak of them ; and the well-known sketch in Cook's Voyages of the conflict between his men and the walruses, has been seen by most people. It is only fair to observe, how- ever, that this representation does some injustice to a brute whose character is naturally inoffensive, although, when assailed in the water, it is not deficient in courage. If in company with the female or its young, the self- devotion evinced by the bulls excels that of mosi ani- mals. Both male and female have tusks ; but these are so situated as to be of but little use when the creature is out of the water, unless for aiding them in scaling the steep and rugged sides of ice-hummocks. The females are sometimes seen with two cubs at a time, but more generally with only one. They suckle their young ; and, from the different sizes and periods at which they have been seen doing so, voyagers are led to believe that, for twelve or eighteen months, the young one is dependent upon the mother for nourishment. They feed upon the submarine plants of the arctic regions ; and as far as may be judged from the teeth, they do not appear to eat fish or seal, although it is sometimes asserted that they do so. Their thick skins, plentiful blubber, wholesome flesh, and ivory tusks, render the walrus a valuable prize to the Esquimaux wherever they are found ; and in ! ,1 1 n I ' B y . 4e DISCOVKUY OF A NOUTII-WKST I'ASSAUK. ' I Ilohvin^' Strait a coiisiddrnWn triifli(; is carried on hy tlu3 Iv (jiii!i:;i'.i\ with tho Sihoriiiu traders, in tlio oxclmn^'o of \vii\r ■ iv»)ry for liussiiui knives and kettles. Whilst v.'c iiiivo been iv k'uv^ tliis di-^resaion ahoiit walruses, tho Titvostij,'ator has been running on uvnvly duo north, in tho KIGth meridian, or at lejist as nnieh so Ji8 tho ico would let lier, tho current aiding lier tlio while to tlio extent of sixteen miles in twenty- four liours. On August 1, Cai)taiu I\I '(Mure discovered that ho was running and working up a h/ind Imd, or cuUdv- mr, out of which it was advisable to make liis way by retracing his steps to tho southward. 'J'his was done as raj)idly as possible, and they arrived on tho Htli August oir Wainwright Inlet, and again sighted tho I'lover for u short time. Keeping now very close to tho American coast, or as nuich so as tho ico would admit, th.o vessel made rapid progress towards Point Barrow. At midnight, being at tho distance of about ton miles from tho bind, and in seventy-threo fathoms water, they rounded tho norii- wost oxtremo of tho American continent, and began their progress to tho east, and towards home ! What joy was in that sound, and in the thought of having at any rate achiovcd ono difficulty that hav. never before been mastered by a ship. On the morning of tho Gth August 18r>0, the officers imd crew of tho Investigator folt free from all anxiety upon the score of being able to enter tho Arctic Ocean from Behring Strait, and turn their backs upon the Pacific. That was now an accomplished fact ; and a good mouth of tho best navigable season was still before them. POINT HARROW PASSED. 47 I " Tlicir next aspiration was to reach Melville^ Lslantl ; l)ut as far as tins oyo could roach in that direction, a waste of ice extended, and such ice as few, if any, navigators, oven in the arctic zone, liad over heforo seen ; and tlio fact of a two-knot-per-liour current setting southward oir I'oint Barrow, told Captain M'Clurc; pretty plainly whither the pack would drift him, if he got entangled or heset in it. To keep in the hindwdfer was the only resource left ; for between the American coast and the line; of heavy oceanic ice, which, from its great draught of water, was checked by the shallow nature of the sea, there Avas a tortuous channel, varyi.ig from a few yards to a mile in width, and this land-water they hoped would lead them to that open sea off the Mackenzie Iliver, which Sir John liichardson reported in his journey to the mouth of that river. The wind came round to the E.S.E., with rain and mist ; and against these obstacles the good ship struggled through the ice. On the one hand lay a low and dan- gerous coast devoid of any shelter or haven, on the other a barrier of packed ice formed of great floe-pieces and hummocks, and the intervening space was much covered with stray masses, so dense and heavy in their nature as to cause the vessel to 1 omble in every timber whenever she unavoidably struck any of them. Now they were sailing in a dense fog, the hand-lead and look-out man their only security against shipwreck ; and anon in a gleam of sunshine and calm, towir with all their boats ahead. The excitement was great fox all ; and all anxiety for the future was merged in joy at the present. The men entered fully into the enthusiasm of the officers ; V* ^ ?^ll 48 DISCOVERY OF A NORTH-WEST PASSAGE. w ^ f 1 and loud songs and cheers rang through the solitudes of that lonely sea as each fresh difficulty v;as mastered, and another mile of easting attained. On August 8, when close to Point Pitt, about 120 miles east of Point Barrow, the master, Mr Court, was sent on shore to place a notice of the Investigator having passed, and to erect a cairn. On landing, the boat was met by three Esquimaux, who, although at first extremely timid, gained confidence when the polite and pleasing operation of rubbing noses had been properly gone through in token of friendship. Through Mr Mierching, tlie Moravian missionary, a communication Avas readily established with these Esqui- maux. The three men were, it appears, a portion of a petty tribe residing in this neighbourhood. The Inves- tigator had been first seen by them on the previous night ; and as they had never seen anything like her before, she had caused no small sensation in the community, and a general meeting had taken place in consequence. The most astonishing thing of all was, how those " three great trees" (the masts) came to be moving about ; and many different opinions were offered. They could give no name to this new wonder but that of " Ouiiack," the same they give to their large canoes. These three men had been deputed to watch and follow this wonderful Omiack ; and they were the men Mr Court had fallen in with. In reply to queries, they held out the gratifying pro- mise of a channel of water being found continuously to the east, and that at this season it would vary from three to five miles in width. The ice, they said, never went CHAKACTER OF THE ESQUIMAUX. 49 farther off the coast than at the present time—it was then some four miles off-shore— and at one season they said there was no water at all along the coast. Yet the poor savages could give no idea of when the water ceased to exist, or when tiio winter season may be said to com- mence in this region. Communication being established with the tribe gene- rally, some one or two of them owned to having seen a ship before to the south (the Plover, no doubt). In Kot- zebue Sound. They spoke also of trading with other natives, who gave them Russian articles in exchange for their furs, and promised, if Captain M'CIuro would re- turn, to have some skins and ivory ready for him. The tribe were a stalwart set, but the men had hideously disfigured themselves by labrets in the lower lip, most of them having two apertures on either side of the mouth, half an inch wide, into which those disgustmg ornaments were thrust. The women might have been good-looking, according to the standard of thorough-bred Mongolian beauty; and some were slightly tattooed about the^chin, but it was barely perceptible— any more, it must be added', than the natural colour of their faces, from an accumula- tion of dirt. General obesity prevailed in this arctic family, and they seemed to be in possession of stores of meat, as they offered to supply it for barter, if the ship would wait. Thieving, performed in a most artless manner, though not altogether without skill, appeared their principal accomplishment. Whilst Captain M'Clure was on one occasion serving out some tobacco as a pre- sent, he felt a hand in his trousers pocket, and on look- ing down found a native actually, while receiving with d ,p r i 1i i ! 60 DISCOVERY OF A NOIITII-WEST PASSAGE. one hand, picking liis pocket with the otiicr. Yet, when detected, the follow laughed so good-humouredly, and all his compatriots seemed to enjoy the joke so amazingly, that oven the aggrieved parties joined in the merriment. In Esquimaux society this tendency to pocket-picking was evidently considered an amiable weakness. Captain M'Clure told these people that he was looking for a lost brother ; and they promised, if they should ever find any white men in distress, to be very kind to them, and "give them deer's ilosh." From some cf this tribe the fact was gleaned of their having observed Lieutenant Pullon when, in 1849, he sailed along the coast to the Mackenzie Jliver ; and Captain M'Clure also satisfied himself that the Erebus or Terror had never reached this neighbourhood. A letter was left with this tribe, to be given to a,ny Europeans they might meet with, and they promised faithfully to deliver it, in consideration of the numerous presents they received. In proof, however, of how little faith can bo placed in the promises of such savages, it was not until May 1852, when that energetic officer Captain Maguire succeeded in opening a communication with these people, that he accidentally observed a small canvass bag, directed " To the Chief Trader of the Eus- sian Settlements, America," and eventually discovered a remnant of the original document. It only reached England in 1853, after Lieutenant Cresswell, who had been sent home by way of Baffin Bay wiih despatches, had reported the Investigator's safety. I CHAPTEII VI. THE NARRATIVE OF CAPTAIN MAGUIRE— THE ESQUIMAUX HE- I'OllT— 'JIIE COAST OF AMERICA IN THIS REfilON— THE PACK- ICE AND FLOES— REACH JONES ISLAND — VISITED BY TWENTY- FOUR NATIVES— RECOGNITION OF THE (.'IIIEF— SIMPLE CUN- NING OF THE SAVAGES— A FAIR MALEFACTOR— GALLANTRY OF THE INVESTIGATORS— HAZARDOUS AND DIFFICULT NAVI- GATION—THE DELTA OF THE MACKENZIE— 'J'HE SHIP AGROUND — SERIOUS LOSS OF PROVISIONS. AVhile the good ship is working slowly along the coast, I may take the opportunity of showing how ably her trail was discovered by Captain Maguire in 1852-3, and by what a faint clue he ascertained the fact of both the Investigator and the Enterprise having in successive years been seen by these Esquimaux. Captain Maguire, who succeeded the former captain of the Plover depot-ship, by dint of much energy and perseverance, forced her, in the year 1852, round Point Barrow, and reached the haunts of the natives visited by Captain M'Clure in 1850. Captain Maguire's admirable narrative, which I have given in the Appendix, is one of the most interesting that has been written by any arctic navigator : it describes his arrival amongst the Esquimaux, and his preparations for winter; their thievish propensities; his difficulties M [.. u 1 1 !"!l r.^ DISCOVKKV OF A NOKTII-WKST I'ASSACJK. imd iioMo rorlx.arnnco. " Ono tiny," to uso ].ia own Mords, "rotii riling' iicroas tlio hay to tho sliip, avo wrc accomimniod by u youiij^ inmi tuul a l)„y, ^vho talked a ^ivat deal moro tluin wo coidd understand; but tlio ibnnor, in ox plain in<,^ to us tbo sort of tobacco that had boon givon him on board a ship, fin.sfnf /,is Jhi,/e,-s io. iiothrr so (,s to ifrscrifx' Amrrinin twist or myrohrfni. This led US U) boliov(^ that tho vossol whoro ho had obtained it ini<,dd. havo boon tho lnv(>stif,mtor or Eiitor- l>nso.* . . . Tho two nion willin<^ly accompanied us on board ; and I was olail to avail myself of .Li,>u- tonant A\>rnon's knowlodoo of tho lanoua^'o to sift tho story more thoronohly. Ho allowed them most patiently to d(>st"rib(^ all thoy had seen, in tlu>ir own way, anil oventually ascertained that tlu^ slnp th(>y had been on board of had dia-onal t decks, and had' an ico-choko | laroer than tho Plovor's. The illuminators in tho d(>ck' thoy remarked, wore sipiai'o. Those are tho points that seem to have cau-ht th.-ir attention; and thoso were sulliciont to show that they liad been on board one or other of tho ships; but when tho captain was described •Ships jvoncrally carry tobacco in tho hvffov tlio i,so of their crews; but in 1 850 nm.nifactured tobacco was adopto.i in arctic dis- covery slups, to economise stowaH:o ; and vave,Hlhh, or flat com- presse.1 shibs, and najrohaui, or twisted sticks, were supplied by tho Adnnralty to Captains ColHnson's and Anatin's expeditions. A little clue hko this enable,! Ma^uiro to deci.le whether tlio reports ho was gleanuig roferre.l to the expeditions of Franklin or Collinson t Tho planking- of ships' docks is generally in lines parallel to their keels; but m arctic ships the doublino- is placed .Uagonally across the original deck, to give a g-oater degree of strength in tho event of being nipped by tho ico. X A strengthening piece of wood which goes round f e 8hiu outside. *^ ASPECT OF THE COAST. 63 () an wfiiirin^^ spectacles, Captain Collinsoii was at once itlentilied. " It is wortliy of notice," remarks (Japtain Maguiro, " tliat a particular kind of tobacco, with which we knew the ]*:iit(;rpriso and tlio Investi<,'ator to have been pro- vided, led to a voluntary descrii)tion from the K»([ui- maux oi' their having' boarde"<<^*'1^^10. |;a,-nol."n.a,.UIon thn lo.-k, wo aro al.lo ]!'''' <;; '.'•"^''; '••*« »'"•<• ti^t ins tnbo hnnt,>v.M- tho.M-onn.j ;•*:"» ' <"nt HmTow thns far to tho .astwanl : lo,- it w-as .;; ';;'">' '""," ^^"'' ^^■»'«"" < -'Ptoin Maj,ni,v ha.I sn.-h -'""•"J y. MS h. mentions in his nam.livo (oivon in tho -VpiHMuhx): and Iho.-o is littlo donht that it was ho who •»»^='^t,,./,>;, (ti,o .aiis), <^xcitod ho.r adnu-ration. Tho whulo boats, as conun'r inoro w.lh.n tho ^msp of th.ir conception, woro nmch adnuivd ; and thoy expressed cnriosity to know whoro jvos ,t^ to make such boats out of grew, helievino-, „s t\^<^y a.d, that they woro in one piecv, an.l merely hol- Wod out. Thoy readily parted with whatever lish and wi d-towl thoy had, in barter tor tobacco, and ollbn.d, ^t C aptain Mriure would stay, to bring abundance of vonison, which they had in store upon tho main. - ho ourivncy of this region is tobacco ; and (^iptain yi'i. lure became his own Master of the Mint, bv cutting tho sticks into pieces about three inches long, luul paying u KHQIIIMAIJX 'rillCKKIlY. 67 witli tlioni iiH \w tliouj^'lit just. An iiniUHiiijr iiiHtiiiiaj WUH iioiiciid oil ihiH (Mumioii of the ciiimiii/,' of tliOHu Hiivii^'OH. Olio of iliciii Imviii;,' ol/H(!rv(Ml iliui ovcry fiwli wiiH paid for Ly oii<> jjicco of ioliacco, wiili a viow of iii- r-roiiHin;^' liis pndii.s cut Ih'h liwli into piccoH, iini.l with l)iir(^fiic,(Ml iiHHunuKMi propoHcid that lie, hIiouM ]m paid tlic Hanio amount of tol)a(^(;o for each jiortion iw woidd liavo luion paid for tlio wliolc 'J'lio trick alfordiid ^'r(!at aniUHo- incnt anioni^^st tho crow of tlio lnv<^sti}^^•ltor; and tlio Icllow liiniHclf K(',(!nicd to (uitcr into tlio joke wlicii lio found lii.s r/inc. unHucccHHfiil. Anotluir piirty of nativcH, in tlic! course of the KaiiM!