IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) 1.0 1^128 I.I ■2.5 |50 — ^— ■■■ Ui 1^ |2.2 Z Ufi |2.0 u& 1 1-25 114 1.6 <« 6" ► <3 vl ^ ^ ^ ^ /: /A 'w '/ Photographic Sdencos Corporation 23 WEST MAIN STREET WEBSTER, N.Y. 14580 (716) 872-4503 . '«; *' M i # % m « »f 44*,. f '0 M f ^ * r V- -»'. • • . ■#? Neoelen XJ)dl»Sc.SdKr 1 v'^- I'n^nxred- ( Ij Fef^^Acsw n-J r^'om a. .PcyrtraU fy J'e^e^e^- 'ST"' SS * Will-iam f,}iobpT!,P-iibJislieT, 20, GTeai McirlLoTo-u^li Street. m JM \) O'N i. '♦ ^ ' 4 m NARRATIVE OF ARCTIC DISCOVERY, i^rom tire (lEarliest ^triotr to ti)e present ^imt, MITH THK DETAILS OP THE MEASUKKS ADOPTED BY HEU MAJESTY's •30VEBNHENT FOR THB RELIEF OF THE EXPEDITION UNDER SIR JOHN FRANKLIN. BY JOHN J. SHILLINGLAW. " The Frigid Zone, Where, for relentless months, continual night Holds o'er the glittering waste her starry reign." « LONDON: WILLIAM SHOBERL, PUBLISHER, 20, GREAT MARLBOROUGH STREET, 1850. ■e^z GloXo S^s^ 142336 LONDON: FRl.MKO UV Wir.IIAM WIICOCKSOX, ROLT.S BUrLDINT.S, F , FETTKR LANK. ^ To LADY FRANKLIN, WHOSK NOBLK ANl. ENKKOETIO KFFOllTS To itE^SfUK niUi UALLANT IIFSBAND AND HIS BRAVE COMPANIONS KUUM THK PERILOUS POSITrON IN WHICH THEY ARK l-LACK., THROUOH ZEAL Foil THEIR COUXTKY's GLOHY, AND THE EXTENSION OP GEOGKAI'HICAL SCIENCr. IT rs THE EARNEST PRAYER OF THE WHOLE ClVILIZEl. W-KLl. MAY BE CUOWNEP WITH SUCCESS, THIS VOLUME, IN WHICH HIS NAME STANDS rROFDLY PRE-EMINENT. IS i*lo«t IRtanfctfuUn Bclricatrti. PREFACE. [n no quarter of the globe does the seaman or the traveller meet with more dangers and ditli- (Milties in his path of enterprise or discoveiy thiiu in the Arctic Regions, or those lands and seas which are comprised within a circle, drawn on the chart at a distance of 23^° from the North Pole. Within these icy limits is contained the eagerly- sought problem of centuries, — the North- West Passage ; — that question which Sir Martin Fro- bisher, even in his day, considered as " the only great thing left undone in the world," and which has ever since baffled all attempts at solution, though pursued with unceasing zeal. To these barren solitudes the attention, not Vlll PREFACE. only of England, but of the whole world, has been anxiously directed for the past two years, owing to the uncertainty which hangs over the fate of Sir John Franklin and his gallant crews ; and the following pages, while they aim at ren- dering more popular a subject which yields to none, of a geographical nature, in absorbing interest, hive been compiled, principally with a view to keep public attention alive to the imperative duty which England owes to the brave men she has sent on a perilous service to use every practical endeavour within her power for their relief. How many, whose names never meet the w^orld's ear, whose tears are unseen by the world's eye, watch for the result ? London, March 25, 1850. CONTENTS. CHAPTER I. Soaiitliiiaviaii Enterprise and its Results — Discovery of Ice- land and Greenland — Probable Discovery of North Amcrita by the Scandinavians Ages before Columbus — Fate of the Three Sons of Red-handed Eirek — Voyage of Ochter, the Norwegian, written by King Alfred — Expeditions under- taken after the Invention of the Mariner's Compass, page J CHAPTER II. Emulation excited by the example of Columbus — Its intiu- ence on the mind of John Cabot, a Venetian merohant, residing at Bristol — Cabot undertakes a voyage of discovery, imder the sanction of Henry VII. — Discovery of Noith America by Cabot, previously to the discovery of South America by Columbus — Second voyage under the conumuid of Sebastian Cabot — An expedition sent out by Portugal to follow up Cabot's discoveries — False assunii)tions of the Portuguese — Fate of Cotereal, the leader of the expe- dition ........ 12 CHAPTER III. Sebastian Cabot transfers his Services to Spain — Jealousy of the Courtiers — Cabot's Return to England — Sent out by Henry VIII. to Extend his Discoveries, under Sir T. Pert — Disappointed through the Mutiny of his Crew, and Pusillanimity of their Commander — France enters the field of Arctic Discoveiy — Spain pursues the same object — Fresh Expeditions sent out by Francis I., under the com- nifind of Jacques Cartier — New attempt made by England, with its Disastrious Results — An endeavour of the Freneh X CONTENTS. to Colonize Canada defeated by the Natives — Cabot';* Return from Spain to England — Favourable Reception by Edward VI. — New Expedition framed by Cabot, under the King's sanction, commanded by Sir Hugh Willoughby and Richard Chancelor — Willoughby's Melancholy End — Chancelor penetrates to Moscow — Embassy of the Em- peror of Russia to England . . . . 2f> CHAPTER IV. Stephen Burrough sent out by the Muscovy Company — Frobisher's First Voyage — His supposed Discovery of Gold, and Second Expedition — His Third Voyage to Colonize Meta Incognita, with its total Failure and Dis- appointment — Projected Fourth Voyage . . 4U CHAPTER V. New Attempt to Discover a North-Eastern Passage, eon- ducted by Pet and Jackman — Project to Colonize America, undertaken by Sir Humphrey Gilbert and Sir Walter i?alegh — Its Failure — Three successive Expeditions sent o it by English Merchants, under Davis, solely for purposes' of Discovery — Dutch Expeditions and Discomfitures — Att«^Trxpt to find a North- Western Passage resumed by the Merchants of London — The Command entrusted to George Waymouth — His ill success . . . 63 CHAPTER VI. Piivate Voyages of Discovery at the expense of Alderman Cherie — The King of Denmark provides a Vessel, but gives the command to British Navigators — Knight .sent out by the Muscovy and East India Merchants — Loss of the Captain and part of the Crew — Escape of the remain- der to Newfoundland — Hudson's First Expedition under the Muscovy Company — His Second, with the Paiticulars of his Reception by the Natives on the site of New York — Acquisition of Land — Derivation of Name — Hudson's Last and Fatal Voyage — Great Hardships — Blockage in the Ice — His Crew Mutiny, and tuni him adrift in an open Boat — Their return to England . . . 79 •1 4 9^ CONTENTS. XI 2U sel, but CHAPTER VII. Captain Thomas Button sent out under the Patronage and Instructions of Henry Prince of Wales — The Muscovy Company renew their Endeavours — Want of Zeal in their Commander — Merchant Adventurers fit out an Expedition, in the hope of finding the Precious Metals on the Coast of Greenland — Murder of Hall, the Commander — Second En- terprise of the same Company, and Total Failure — Fothci- by's Two Voyages — The Muscovy Company persevere in their Exertions — Baffin, sent out under Bylot, signalizes himself — Baffin's Second Voyage, his Zeal and Energj- — Violent Death of the gi'eat Navigator — Letter of Sir John Wolstenholme . . . . . . . SH CHAPTER VIII. Arctic Voyage, undertaken by Captain Hawkridge, attended by no new results — The Danes roused to emulation by English example — Christian IV. fits out Two Ships, giving the command to Munk — Arrangement of Winter Quarters — Gloomy Anticipations caused by the appearance of Celes- tial Phenomena — Dreadful Mortality of the Crew — Return of the Survivors — Zeal of Fox, a Yorkshireman, stimulates to a New Enterprise, under his o\sai command — Charles I. gi'ants a Vessel — Proceedings of the Voyage — Meeting in Hudson's Bay with another Exploring Ship, the Maria com- manded by Captain James — Safe return to England 110 CHAPTER IX. Particulars of the Voyage of the Maria under Captain James — Wintering at Charlton Island — Formation of Winter Quarters, with various other particulars — Return of Sum- mer — Preparations for re-embarking — Conflagration on the Island — Escape of the Crew to the Vessel — Continuation of Voyage — Further Hardships — Return Home — King of Denmark despatches a Vessel, commanded by Captain Danell — Return without results — Second Expedition equally unprofitable — Proposal of M. de Grosseliez to the French Government, to fonii Settlements on the Shores of Hudson's Bay — His Project rejected by France, but em- braced by England — Carried into execution, under the Xll CONTENTS. Patronage of Prince Rupert — Grant of Territorial RightH to Hudson's Bay Company . . . . 122 CHAITER X. Renewed Attempt to Discover a North-East Passage, under- taken by Captain Wood, with two Vessels — Loss of one, and Narrow Escape of the other — Disasters and Return — Mr. J. Knight, Governor of the Hudson's Bay Company's Factory on Nelson's River, sent out in search of Copper Mines in the North of Hudson's Bay — Melancholy Issue of the Enterprise — A small Vessel sent out in search of Knight — Indifference of Scroggs, the Commander, to the Object of his Mission — New Expedition under the Lords of the Admiralty, and Accusations on its Failure 135 CHAPTER XI. Plans of Peter the Great, formed on his death-bed, carried into execution by the Empress Catherine — Behring's First Expedition — His Second — Shipwreck, disease, dangers, and difficulties — Behring's Death — The remainder of the Crew construct a Small Vessel, and Escape — Fresh Expedition from Russia, commanded by Tchitschagof — Its Failure — Second Attempt, with no better result — The Hudson's Bay Company renewing their exertions to discover Copper Mines, send out Overland Expeditions, commanded by Hearne — Massacre of an Esquimaux Encampment — Sur- vey of Copper Mine River . , . . 142 CHAPTER XII. Expedition under the sanction of George III. and the Admi- ralty Board, commanded by Captains Phipps and Lutmdge, in which the immortal Nelson was coxswain — Captains Cook and Gierke sent out on a Voyage of Discoveiy — Nootka Sound — Cook Killed at the Sandwich Islands — Expedition resumed by Captains Gierke and King — Death of Gierke — Meares, Vancouver, and Kotzebuc visit the North-west Coast of America — Characteristics of the Nootkans — Voyages of Pickersgill and Young — King of Denmark sends out a vessel commanded by Captain Low- enorn . . . . . . . . loS 1 Right8 122 , undcr- of one, leturn — impany'a : Copper )ly Issue search of ', to the le Lords 135 S I J CONTENTS. CHAPTER XIII. XUl Foinuation of North-west Company, in opposition to the Hudson's Bay Company — Mackenzie's Land Expedition to the shores of the Hyi^erborean Sea — Voyages of Van- couver and Kotzebue — Mackenzie's Second Land Expedi- tion . . . . . . . 160 CHAPTER XIV. Si)irit of Enterprise re-kindled through the exertions of Sir John Barrow — Expedition under Ross and Parry — Expe- dition under Buchan and Franklin — Brief Biography of Franklin — Continuation and Termination of Voyage 166 CHAPTER XV. Expedition commanded by Captains Parry and Liddon — Penetrate to the North Georgian Group— ^Winter Quarters — Theatricals — Ship New^spaper — School — Re-appearance of Sun — Close of Theatre — Hunting Excursions — Voyage resumed — Discouragement — Return Home , 178 CHAPTER XVI. Franklin's Overland Expedition, accompanied by Richardson, Hood, Back, and Hepburn — Attempt, but fail, to reach the Coppermine River — Constmction of Winter Residence — Laying-up Provisions — Influx of Indian Visitors ; con- sequent insufficiency of Food — Back's adventurous Jour- ney in quest of Supplies — His success and Return — Pur- suance of Journey — Hardships and Dangers — Murder of Hood by Michel the Iroquois — Retribution — Exhaustion and Starvation — Ultimate Succour through the energy of Back — Return to England . , 188 CHAPTER XVII. Russian Asiatic Discoveries . . „ . 200 CHAPTER XVIII. Expedition commanded by Captains Parry and Lyon — Win- ter Quarters — Amusements — Esquimaux — Native Charac- ter — Iligliuk — Her Intelligence and Idea of Geography XIV CONTENTS. rendered Useful — Further Progress — Fruitless Exertions — Second Winter — Return Home — Joyful Reception — Ex- plorations of Mr, Scoresby while Whale Fishing — Disco- veries made by Lieutenant-Colonel Sabine and Commander Clavering — Captain Parry's Third Voyage — Hecla and Fury sustain Great Damage — Abandonment of the Fury — Return Homo . . . . . . 20 B CILVPTER XIX. Three Expeditions planned in conjunction with Parry's last North Western attempt — The First, commanded by Cap- tain Lyon, designed to reach the point where Franklin's late journey had terminated — Extreme danger of Ship- wreck — Patience and fortitude of Crew — Deliverance — Another fearful Storm — Injury to the Ship — Compulsory return homewards — Second Expedition, under Captain Franklin, Overland to Behring's Straits, Dr. Richardson and Lieut. Back again being his companions — Arrival at Great Bear Lake — Erection of Winter Residence — Excur- sions — Christmas Day — Separation of Party — ^Tribe of Esquimaux — Icy Barrier — Further progress — Steps re- traced — Re-union — Arrival at Fort Franklin — Second Winter — Return to England — Third Expedition, by way of Behring's Straits, under Captain Beechey — Favourable voyage — Arrival at Rendezvous — Exertions to meet Frank- lin — Winter and Departure — Subsequent Return — Safe Arrival Home . . . . . . . 218 CHAPTER XX. Expedition by Captain Parry, with the hope of reaching the North Pole in Sledges — Arrival of the Hecla at Spitzbergen — Leaving the Ships, and Commencement of Operations — Slow and Laborious Progress — Disappointment, and Return to Table Island — Reserve of Broad devoured by Bears — Regain the Hecla — Attempt at North- Western Discovery renewed luider Sir John Ross, accompanied by his Nephew, Commander Ross — Expense borne by Sir Felix Booth and Ross — Disasters at Sea — Refit at Holsteinburg — Further Progress — Arrested by Barrier of Ice — Winter Quarters — Esquimaux — Survey by Commander Ross — Severe Winter I f^ CONTENTS. XV ertions — ion — Ex- ; — Disco- mmandcr ccla and the Fury 20H irry's last 1 by Cap- Franklin's of Ship- verance — mipulsory r Captain lichardson Arrival at e — Excur- -Tribe of ■Steps re- - Second 1, by way favourable eet Frank- irn — Safe 218 iching the pitzbergen orations — id Retum Bears — |Discovery Nephew, )oth and -Further Quarters — Ire Winter 4 — Discovery of Northern Magnetic Pole — Second Winter — Abandonment of Vessel — Danger and Fatigue in reaching Fury Beach — Constniction of Hut — Repair of Boats — Further Progress — Anxiety and Disappointment — Return to Fury Btach on Foot — Another Winter — Retrace the Way to Prince Regent's Inlet — A Sail — Disappointment — Another — Taken on Board the Isabella — Arrival at Home ........ 227 CHAPTER XXI. Anxiety in England respecting the Fate of Captain Ross — Captain Back appointed to go in search of him — Liberal Conduct of Hudson's Bay Company — Instructions from Colonial Office — Departure — Arrival at Great Slave Lake — Difficulty of Route — Discovery of Sussex Lake — Canoe Voyage — Rapids — Erection of Winter Dwelling — Native Superstitions — Famine — News of the Safe Arrival of Cap- tain Ross in England — Return of Spring, and renewal of Journey — Construction of Boats, and Embarkation on Back River — Hopes and Disappointments — Arrival within sight of Sea-coast — Arrested by a Barrier of Drift Ice — Re- turn to Fort Reliance — Winter — Arrival in England 238 CHAPTER XXII. Royal Geographical Society recommend New Expedition — Command entrusted to Captain Back — Embarkation in the Terror — Ice-bound off Cape Comfort — Breaking up of Ice — Successive Storms — Liberation of Vessel — Damage — Return to England — Completion of the Survey of the Artie Shore of American Continent, by Messrs. De isc and Simpson, of the Hudson's Bay Company, with the parti- culars of their three successive Expeditions . 2") 4 CHAPTER XXIII. Expedition of Sir John Franklin and Captain Crozier, in 1845, in Search of North- West Passage — Zeal, Patriotism, and Energy of Sir John Franklin's Character — Admiralty Board Instructions — Account of Expedition when last seen in Baffin's Buy — Anxiety at Home respecting its Fate 2(i4 xvi CONTENTS. CHAPTER XXIV. Three Expeditions sent out in search of Sir J. Franklin — the First under Captain Kellett and Commander Moore — the Second conducted by Sir John Eichardson and Dr. Rac — the Third under Sir J. Ross — their respective Instructions — Letter from Sir J. Ross — Board of Admiralty convoke a Meeting for Consultation — Stores sent out to Sir J. Ross to enable him to stay another Year — Reward offered by Lady Franklin and the Admiralty — News of Missing Expe- dition brought Home by Whaler — Stores sent out by Lady Franklin, and deposited at Cape Bay — Retuni of Sir J. Ross — Personal Account of Voyage — Means employed to attain its End — Progi'css and Proceedings — Winter Har- bourage — 111 Health of Crew — Foxes caught, and invested with Collars bearing Engraven Intelligence — ^Expeditions and Surveys — Sufferings of the Party — Magnetic Observa- tions — Death of Assistant Surgeon — Rawing Canal through Ice — Ship's Leakage — Drifting of Ship in Vast Field of Ice — Liberation — Arrival at Home . . . 272 CHAPTER XXV. Return of Sir J. Richardson from his Search by the Mac- kenzie — Account of his Proceedings — First Measures — Communication with Esquimaux — Deposits of Pemmican — Explorations — Sir J. Richardson and Dr. Rae separate — Dr. Rae remains to pursue the Search — Various Sug- gestions — Sir J. Richardson's Return to England 295 CHAPTER XXVI. Pi'oceedings of Herald, Captain KeUett, and Plover, Com- mander Moore — Arrival in Kotzebue's Sound — Joined by the Pleasure Yacht of R. Shedden, Esq., who Volunteers in the Search — Captain Kellett's Journal — Death of the Philanthropic Shedden — Disappointment and Failure of Expedition, and Augmentation of Public Anxiety for the Fate of Sir John Franklin — Enterprise and Investigator sent out, under Captain CoUinson and Commander M'Clure — Ingenious Devices — Saihng Orders from the Admiralty, and Departure of the Expedition, January, 1850 . 305 CONTENTS. XV CONCLUSION. Hct|octions on 111 Success of Arctic Research^Plan (br ..„ Aincncaii Overland Expedition-Examination of Wellint ton Channel-Minor DetaUs connected with Searctl Esknnaux or Innult Vocabnlary-Rcasons which Fo hid us to Dcspan-— Utility of Arctic Voyages of Discoverv rSs '' ""^'"'^ '^"^ ^'^ ^^^-^^^ Parry-cCS;;^ 334 APPENDIX. 343 . i ! I 1 . I , • 1 ;3 EXLANATION OF TECHNICAL TERMS MADK fSK OK IN THK ( Ol'IiSF. OF THK I'OI.I.OWINO NAKKATlVi; Bay or Youmj Ice. — Ice newly foiincd upon the surface. Blink. — A peculiar brightness in the atmosphere, which is almost always perceptible in approaching ice or land covered with snow. Land blink is usually uiorc yellow than that of ice. Bore. — The operation of " boring " through loose ice, con- sists in entci'ing it under a press of sail, and forcing the ship through by separating the masses. Dock. — An artificial dock is formed by cutting out with saws a square space in a thick floe in which a ship is i)laccd in order to secure her from the pressure of other masses which are seen to be approaching, and which otherwise endanger her being " nipped." A " dock " is simply a small bight accidentally found under similar circumstances. Field. — A sheet of ice generally of great thickness, and of such extent that its limits cannot be seen from a ship'.- mast-head. Floe. — The same as a field except that its extent can be distinguished from a ship's mast-head. A " bay floe " is a rioe of ice newly formed upon the surface. ^1 Hole or Pool of Water. — A small space of clear water surrounded by ice on every side. Nipped. — ^To be forcibly pressed between two or more masses of ice. XX EXPLANATION OP TERMH. A Pad: — A largo body of loose ice whose extent cannot be seen. A Patch of Ice. — The same us a pack, but of small dimen- sions, tSailituj Ice. — Ice of which tho nmsscs arc so much sepa- rated as to allow a ship to sail among them without great difficulty. A Tonfjuc. — A mass of ice [)rojecting under water in ti horizontal direction from an iceberg or floe. A ship some- times grazes or is set fast on a tongue of ice, which may, however, generally be a\uided, being easily seen in smooth water. A Watcr-Sh/. — A certain dark appearance of the sky which indicates clear water in that direction, and which, when con- trasted with the blink over ice or land, is very conspicuous. I Portrait of Sir John Franklin — Frontispiece. Two Maps of the Polar Regi(|^ — in pocket. NARRATIVE OF ARCTIC DISCOVERY. CHAPTER L Scandinavian Enterprise and its Results— Discovery of Iceland and Greenland — Probable Discovery of North America by the Scandinavians A}^es before Columbus — Fate of thi» Three Sons of Red-handed Eirek — Voyage of Ochter, the Norwegian, written by King Alfred — Expeditions under- taken after the Invention of the Mariner's Compass. " History has not recorded the annals of a people who have occasioned greater, more sudden, or more numerous revolutions in Europe than the Scandinavians."' It is impossible to read of the habits of these daring ravagers during the eighth, ninth, and tenth centuries, without inwardly shuddering at the cruelties perpetrated by them, and the devastation which almost invariably fol- lowed their sanguinary footsteps whithersoever they were pleased to direct them. The whole of northern Europe, and even Spain, Italy, and Greece, were kept in a constant state of alarm ' Preface to M. Mallett's " Northern AntiquitieR.' ii THE SCANDINAVIANS. trom dread of these incursions, and as defeat was nearly certain if any resistance was offered to their impetuous course, their successes and hardihood knew no bounds. But, if the terror of their name was widely spread on land, their maritime expeditions occa- sioned still greater ravages. The sea was literally covered with their vessels, and their voyages were characterised by a fearlessness and contempt of danger which excites our admiration and surprise to the utmost extent, when we take into considera- tion the scanty means at their disposal, unassisted, like the seamen of the present day, by the mighty arm of science. For two hunured years they almost incessantly ravaged England, and frequently subdued it. They soon spread, lilce a devouring flame, over Lower Saxony, Friesland, Holland, Flanders, and the banks of the Rhine as far as Mentz. They ])enetrated into the heart of France, having long before ravaged the coasts ; they everywhere found their way up the Somme, the Seine, the Loire, the Garonne and the Rhone. Within the space of thirty years, they frequently pillaged and burnt Paris, Amiens, Orleans, Poitiers, Bordeaux, Tou- louse, Saintes, Angouleme, Nantes, and Tours. They settled themselves in Camargue, at the mouth of the Rhone, from whence they wasted Provence and Dauphiny as far as Valence. In short, they ruined France, levied immense tribute on its monarchs, burnt the palace of Charlemagne at Aix-la-Chapelle, and, in conclusion, caused one of the finest provinces of the kingdom to be ceded to them.'^ The northmen always turned their footsteps to the south as the scene for their depredations, but 2 Mallett's "Northern Antiquities." THE SCANDINAVIANS. 6 as the sea was covered with their sails, it was ex- tremely possible that accident, or the indulgence of that roving disposition which has rendered them so famous, would sometimes lead them on voyages of discovery in a high northern latitude, and thus the sea-king first entered upon that rich field of geographical discovery in which the Rosses, Parry, Franklin, Richardson, Back, and many other Arctic heroes of the nineteenth century — have since gained their well earned laurels. It appears, however, that it was by a mere accident that they first obtained any knowledge of a more northern land than the Faeroe Islands. According to the Scandinavian Sagas, a cele- brated sea-rover named Naddod, during a voyage to the Faeroe Islands, about the year 860, was driven by a violent storm on an island, to which, from the vast quantity of snow he observed, he gave the name of " Snowland." This island was afterwards visited successively by two Swedes, Gardar Svafason and Flokko, by whom the name to that which it has ever since Island, or Iceland. The unfavourable report which these adventurers gave of the climate of the island on their return was probably the reason that no attempt was made to colonise it until the year 874, when Ingolf, and his brother-in-law Leif^ or Hiorleif, two famous Norwegian adventurers, after committing dreadful ravages on the English coasts, set sail with their plunder to the northern seas, and planted a colony on its bleak and barren shores. They met with no inhabitants on the island, but conjectured that it had been visited before, as they found numerous wooden crosses and other articles, which very probably had belonged to fishermen from the north of Ireland or the Western Islancis b2 was changed retained 4 THE SCANDINAVIANS. of Scotland, who had been cast away or had made it a kind of fishing station. The colony thus formed speedily rose into im- portance, and many noble families who would not tamely submit to the ambitious encroachments of Harald ILlrfiigra, the "fairhaired" king and con- queror of Norway, retired thither for refuge, and for four hundred years resisted all the attempts made by various Norwegian princes to subvert them. About a century after the above discovery, the Icelanders received into their body, Thorwald, a powerful Norwegian chieftain, who had been banished for homicide. His son, Eirck, surnamed " the red hand," it is believed on account of his similar sanguinary propensities, followed him. Eirek, however, though far removed from the scenes of bloodshed in which the youth of Scan- dinavia generally passed the greater part of their existence, was unwilling to lead an inactive life. He therefore determined on a voyage for the dis- covery of unknown lands, and towards the close of the tenth century (a. d. 982) set sail in the prose- cution of his design. He directed his course to the west, and soon made that part of the coast of Greenland which is now called Herjolf's Ness. Two lofty momitains which first met his view he named Huitserken, or whiteshirt, and Blaaserken, or blueshirt, the one being covered with snow and the other with ice. He landed on a small island west of Cape Farewell, where he passed the winter, and in the spring explored the mainland, and finding it covered with verdure, bestowed on it the euphonious title of "Greenland,"^ remark- * " Greenland is a place in nature nothing like unto the name : for ciMtainly there is no place in the world yet knowne and discovered that is less greene than it." — Purchas. # 'M THE SCANDINAVIANS. to im- ild not mts of d con- re, and tempts subvert ry, the *vald, a I been :named of his 1 him. )m the P Scan- L)f their ve life, he dis- pose of prose- lurse to :oast of Ness. iew he |serken, »w and island led the linland, cd on emark- lianie : for liscoveruil :t ing, that a good name would induce people to go and settle there. After an absence of three years, a period whicli excites our surprise when we consider how neces- sarily ill-equipped for encountering all the rigours of an Arctic winter the expedition must have been, Eirek returned to Iceland, where he de- scribed in such glowing terms the advantages of his new discovery, that numbers followed him in the year 986, to settle on a creek, named after him, EireksQord, which soon became a very con- siderable colony.* • Some years after this, Leif, the son of Eirek, visited the court of Olaf-Tryggvason, the first Christian king of Norway, and was converted to Christianity. He was accompanied on his return home by a priest, for the pious purpose of intro- ducing the same faith into the Greenland colony, which had meanwhile continued to increase in size and importance: the western district, or Vestre Bygd, numbering four parishes, ninety farms, and a numerous population, whilst the eastern, or Oestre Bygd, contained twelve parishes, one hundred and ninety farms, and two convents, besides being the see of a bishop. The cathedral was in Garda. The first bishop was ordained a.d. 1121, the seventeentli, and last, in 1404. Documentary proofs of his having offi- ciated in 1409 at a marriage in Garda have been discovered by the learned Finn Magnuscn, but after this date nothing was ever more heard of the Greenland colonies; — broken urns, implement!?, and fragments of church bells, are now the only vestiges that remain to us of what was once a * Eireks^ord is supposed to be the modern TunnuUiorbik in the Julianeshiuib district on the eastern coast of Baffin's Bay, in lat. 60'' 55'. c> THE SCANDINAVIANS. thriving and busy community. How they perished is unknown, though numerous hypotheses have been set up by various writers. Their decHne and eventual extermination, however, are probably re- ferable to the crooked policy pursued by the mother-country, which had the effect of destroying all their trade, which was necessarily their very vital principle, and as it appears they were always "sorely infested with a wild nation," on whom they had bestowed the contemptuous title of " Skraelings," or dwarfs, it is not improbable that the final blow was given by them. Magnuseii justly observes, " Iceland would probably have s'lared the same fate as Greenland, had not British merchants, in spite of opposition, supplied it with articles absolutely necessary for the existence of its inhabitants." It was an opinion, long held, that the two lost colonies were situated, the one on the eastern and the other on the western coast of Greenland, but this question was finally set at rest by Captain W. A. Graah, of the Danish royal navy, who, in 1829, by order of the Danish government, explored the eastern coast in umiaks, or Esquimaux boats, from Cape Farewell to the sixty-fourth parallel of latitude, without finding a single trace of them that would lead one to suppose it had ever been colonised.* At this period is involved a point of great geo- graphical interest, viz. : the discovery of the great North American continent by the Sc&idinavians, ages before Columbus "gave to Castile and Leon a new world," and we much regret, that through * Narrative of an expedition to the east coast of Greenland, sent by order of the king of Denmark, in search of the lost colonies, under the command of Captain W. A. Graah, &c. Translated by G. G. Macdougall, F.R.S., N.A., for the Geographical Society, 1837. See also " Geographical Journal," i. 274. 4 •rished i have ne and bly re- )y the Toying r very always whom Itle of lie that gniisen f have British it with jnce of wo lost rn and id, but Captain ^ho, in :plored boats, allel of ■ them r been It geo- ; great avians, Leon irough ;ind, sent 28, under ly G. G. 17. See THE SCANDINAVIANS. 7 want of space, our sketch will necessarily be but very slight.® We gather the account from the Sagas of Eirek the Red and Thorfinn Karlsefni ; and here we may be allowed to observe, that the Sagas relating to the discovery and colonization of Greenland have been so strongly confirmed in modern times by the discovery and translation of Runic inscriptions, ruins, &c., and generally are found to bear on their faces such evidences of truthfulness, that the conclusion is warranted, that those relating to America are equally deserving attention. Among those who accompanied Eirck the Red to Greenland was Herjiilf, whose son Bjarni was at that time on a trading voyage to Norway. Returning to Iceland in the course of the summer, of the year 986, and finding that his family had left the island, Bjarni resolved to follow them, and pass the winter, as he had been used to do, at his father's fireside. He accordingly set sail, though neither he nor any of his men had ever navigated the Greenland seas, and for many days was driven by tempestuous north winds, accompanied by dense fogs, he knew not whither. When the weather cleared up, he descried land, which, on approaching, he found to be moderately elevated and overgrown with wood. Being convinced that it could not be Greenland, which had been repre- sented to him as distinguishable at a distance by its snow-capped mountains, he left it to larboard, and, standing out to sea, after sailing two days again descried land, lower than the former, but also overgrown with wood. Continuing his course ® The reader who desires fiirther information on this particular point will find the subject very ably treated by Mr. Blackwell, in his Supplementary Chapter to Mallett's " Northern Antiquities." — Bohns Series, pp. 250—276. '1 8 THE SCANDINAVIANS. Avith ii south-west wind, he came in three days to a lofty island, the shore of which presented nume- rous icebergs and glaciers. The country not appearing to Bjarni very attractive, he again stood out to sea, and after sailing four days, with fresh gales, reached Herjulfnes, in Greenland, where his father was settled.' Many years after this, when Bjarni's important voyage began to be talked about, even in Norway, Leif, son of red-handed Eirek, purchased a vessel, and with a crew of about thirty-five men, set sail, in the year 1000, in order to K)11ow up, if possible, the discovery. The first land they made was that which Bjarni had seen last, a bare rugged plain of broad flat rocks, which bore no herbage of any kind, and answers very well to the south-eastern shore of Newfoundland. Continuing their voyage, they next arrived at a low level coast, thickly wooded, to which they gave the name of Mark- land, or Woodland. This description bears also a striking resemblance to the northern coast of Nova Scotia. After erecting houses and passing the winter on the spot, which, there is every reason to believe, was known six centuries later as New England, in the spring they loaded their vessel with timber, — then, as it is now, a very scarce article in Greenland — and their long boat with grapes, and set sail for home, bestowing on the country on which nature appeared to have lavished so many of her bounties, the name of Vinland, or the Land of the Vine. Thorvald, Leif's brother, visited the country in the year 1002, and was killed in a skirmish with the Esquimaux. This occasioned a third son of Eirek to go there also, in order to bring home his brother's remains, but he was blown away into ' " Northern Antiquities," p. 251—2. MADOC — PYTIIEA9 — OCTHER. I Baffin's Bay, where he and most of his followers were carried off by a contagious disease. In 1007, and, in fact, occasionally, until as late as the year 1290, Vinland was visited by the Northmen, but it does not appear that they ever made any attempt at colonization. The deepest obscurity still envelopes everything connected with a voyage to the American con- tinent, said to have been made, in the year 1170, by Madoc, Prince of Wales, son of Owen Gwynedd. It is a question wortliy of the most severe examina- tion by the traveller, the ethnographer, and the student, and it is to be hoped that the attention which h;;s lately been drawn to the subject, will be the means of renewing the desire for the settlement of so interesting a question." An ancient voyage to the North was performed by Pyiheas, a citizen of Marseilles, who described his course to have been along the eastern coast of England and Scotland, and six days farther, into the depths of ocean; at the end of that time he arrived at an island, the " Ultima Thule" of Ptolemy. Here his progress was arrested by a barrier of a peculiar nature, by something which was neither earth, air, nor sky, but composed of all three, through which it was found impossible to penetrate.^ Ohthere, or Ocliter, a daring Northman, who appears to have lived on the northern extremity of Norway, and to have been engaged in the service of King Alfred, to whom he related his voyage (which that illustrious prince wrote down in the Anglo-Saxon language), " being determined to find out, once on a time, how far this country ex- tended due north, and whether any one lived to ■ See Sir James Alexander's " L'Acadie." »Edin. Cab. Lib., vol. i. p. 112. f "1 b3 10 OCTHER — ZENO. ! 1 tlie north of the wastes oceupied by the Northmen," &C.,"' undertook a voyage, a. d. 890, which Forster delineates as extending to the interior of the White Sea, but he is supposed not to have reached farther than the river Kola. Captain James Burney, in his " Chronology of North-eastern Voyages, ob- serves (p. 5) — " It is not too much to say in praise of the royal historian and of the voyager, that few modern discoveries are more clearly and intelli- gibly described than this voyage and discovery made by Ochter." '* But the obscurity which envelopes the early vjyages to the frozen regions of the North, would require far more space to investigate thoroughly than our pages afford. We will, therefore, pass at once to that period in the history of discovery and research in the polar regions, after the invention of the mariners' compass had entirely changed the face of maritime affairs, when the ravens, to whose powerful wing the daring sea-kings were wont to trust in their voyages of exploration, were left to rest quietly at home ; " the light of the stars, the guidance of the sea-coast, were no longer necessary; trusting to the mysterious powers of his new friend, the sailor steered out fearlessly into the ocean, through the bewildering mists or the darkness of night ;" a new and glorious era was commenced in tlie history of commerce and navigation. In 1380, Nicolo Zeno, a Venetian merchant, is said to have undertaken a voyage to Flanders, in which he was cast away upon a coast which he calls Friesland. " The position of this unknown ^* Bnrrington's MiscclJaiiies, p. 460. "It was published in the original Anglo-Saxon by the Hon. Daines Baiiington. English translations of the voyage are in Hakluyt, in Dr. Reinhold Forster's " Discoveries in the North," and in Turner's '■ History of the Anglo-Saxons." ZENO — QUIRINO. 11 4 t shore has been a subject of controversy, and some have even had recourse to the hypothesis of its having been since swallowed up by the ocean." The whole voyage has been considered as a com- plete fabrication by the talented author of the "Memoir of Sebastian Cabot,"''' who believes it to have been got up by the Portueuese, to support their spurious claims to the priority of discovery of the American continent, in the voyage of Gaspar Cortereal, which will be noticed in its proper place. This is likewise the opinion of Captain Zahrtmann, hydrographer to the Danish royal navy, who luis written a very learned paper on the subject, to be found in the fifth volume of the " Journal of the Geographical Society of London." Piero Quirino, another Venetian gentleman, is said to have sailed on a similar voyage in the year 1431, and to have been wrecked on the coast of Norway. '2 Loudon : Hurst & Co., 1831. This valuable work is distin- guished alike by its deep research as by its tone of asperity ; the latter probably called forth, in some measure, by the errors of pre- ceding writers on the same subject ; its authorship is attributed to Mr. K. Biddle, the American senator. 12 JOHN CABOT— FIRST VOYAGE — 1497. CHAPTER II. Emulation excited by the example of Columbus — Its influence on the mind of John Cabot, a Venetian merchant, residing ai Bristol — Cabot undertakes a voyage of discovery, under the sanction of Henry VII. — Discovery of North America by < abot, previously to the discovery of South America by Columbus — Second voyage under the command of Sebastian Cabot — An expedition sent out by Portugal to follow up Cabot's discoveries — False assumptions of the Portuguese — Fate of Cortereal, the leader of the expedition. It was not until towards the close of the fifteenth century, that the spirit of geographical enterprise burst forth in anything like the glory which it has since attained ; and, perhaps, it is not too much to say, that the great Columbus was the first to kindle that flame of maritime adventure, which has since burned so steadily, lighting up the darkest corners of the earth, and forming the first link in the universal brotherhood of nations. The fame of the great admiral's glorious exploit had filled all Europe with wonder; "inasmuch," to use Hakluyt's words, " that all men, with great admiration, affirmed it to be a thing more divine than humane ;" and, among others, it appears to have made a very lasting impression on a certain Venetian, named John Cabot, whom we find, about the year 1494, residing in the city of Bristol. At what period Cabot came to England, " to follow the trade of merchandises," or what was his previous manner of life we have now no means of JOHN CABOT FIRST VOYAGE — 1497. 13 ascertaining ; but, that he was a man of consit ^»r- able skill in maritime affairs, his connexiofi \ ith arctic discovery will go far to prove, lie laiii iis plans, and other " demonstrations," for under- taking a voyage of discovery in the northern seas, before the then reigning monarch, Henry VII., who, though of a cold and cautious disposition, received them favourably. " lie had just missed the opportunity of employing (^olumbus, and with it the treasures of the New World. Instead of cold and cheerless distrust, there was a reaction in the public mind, with a sanguine flow of ccmfidence towards novel speculations and daring enterprises." ' The king viewed them favourably, and on the 5th March, 1496,'^ granted him and his three sons, Lewis, Sebastian, and Sanchius, a royal ])atent, authorising them to sail " to all parts, countries, and seas, of the east, of the west, and of the north," under the flag of England, with five ships, of what- ever burthen and strength in mariners they might choose to employ ; to subdue, occupy, and j)ossess all such towns, cities, castles, and isles, as they might discover, as the lieutenants of the king. The equipment of the expedition was stipulated to be " at their own proper costs and charges ;" one-fifth part of the capital gain was secured to the king, and the vessels were bound to return to the port of Bristol, where any commodities they might bring from foreign lands were to pass free from customs' duty. The patent also gave power to impose the forteit of the ship and goods of any one trading to the newly discovered countries, without the consent of John Cabot, or his three sons. This important ' Memoir of S. Ciibot. * According to Hakluyt, " Voyages, Navigations, Traffiqves and Discoueries of the English Nation," &c. (iii. 2(i, edit. 1600), 1495. This is erroneous, as tlie first patent bears date, " 5th March, in the 11th year of our reign " Henry began his reign, August, 1485. 14 JOHN CABOT — FIRST VOYAGE— 1497. y reason way of Lct come Ig to be ly com- Iwith all ich was 96,^ in ■efore to to finde [id from oertaine IS if Cabot Ihould be — Jvho highly up. This SEBASTIAN CABOT — SECOND VOYAGE 1498. 21 dayes I found that the land ranne towards the North, which was to mee a great displeasure. Nfcverthelesse, sayling along by the coast to see if I coulde finde any gulfe that turnedj I found the lande still continent to the 56 degree under our pole. And seeing that there the coast turned toward the East, despairing to finde the passage, I turned backe againe, and sailed downe by the coast of that land toward the cquinoctiall (ever with intent to finde the said passage to Indian) and came to that part of this firnie lande which is nowe called Florida, where my victuals failing, I departed from thence and returned into England, where I found great tumults among the people, and preparation for warres in Scotland: by reason whereof there was no more consideration had to this voyage." In the above extract it will be perceived that 56° is the northern limit assigned to the voyage, but we must very carefully observe that the con- versation, at which Ramusio was present, took place several years after the interview between Cabot and the narrator; besides which we have still further the chance of forgetfulness by Ramusio, who confesses to a bad memory. Now, in two other places, in his third volume, Ramusio states the latitude reached : — in the first, citing a letter from Cabot, whose correspondent and friend he had intermediately become, he states it to be 67° 30"' ; but in the seconi', speaking generally of the northern regions, he drops the half degree, and calls it 67 degrees. Another authority, Francis Lopez de Gomara, the Spanish historian of the West Indies, says : — " Sebastian Cabot was the fyrst that browght any knowleage of this lande. For beinge in Englande in the dayes of Kyng Henry the Seventh, > 1 1 i) 22 SEBASTIAN CABOT — SECOND VOYAGE — 1498. he furn^'sshcd twoo shippes at his owne charges, or (as sum say) at the Kyngcs, whome he persuaded that a passa^-e might he founde to Cathay by the North JScas, and that spices might be brought from thense soner by tliat way, then by the vyage the Portugales vse by the sea of Sur. He went also to knowe what maner of landes those Indies were to inhabite. He had with hym three liundreth men, and directed his course by the tracte of Islande vppon the cape of Labrador at Iviii. degrees : affirmynge that in the monethe of July there was such could and heapes of ise that he durst passe no further : also that the dayes were very long and in maner without nyght, and the nyghtes very clear. Cer- tayne it is, that at the Ix. degrees, the longest day is of xviii. houres. But consyderynge the coulde and the straungeness of the unknowen lande, he turned his course from thense to the West, follow- ynge the coast of the lande of Baccalaos vnto the xxxviii. degrees from whense he retuiTied to England."^ On the return of Sebastian Cabot to England, at the close of the year 1498, after making the daring attempt to penetrate to the north-west^ above narrated, he found the whole kingdom in a state of uproar, occasioned by the rising in favour of the notorious Perkin Warbeck, and the prepara- tions for a war with Scotland. If, therefore, he made any proposition to undertake another voyage of discovery in the arctic regions, (and doubtless a man of his indomitable spirit and energy would not let the matter rest after so favourable a com- mencement,) it was not very likely to receive much attention from a king who had his hands full of such serious matters. Let us allow, however, the following note to • " Eden's Decades," fol. 318 ; " Memoir," p. 87. SEBASTIAN CABOT. 23 liavc any weight in the enquiry, and it would ap})ear that his love of adventure surmounted all difficulties. In the Rev. Mr. Seyer's "Memoirs, Historical and Topographical, of Bristol and its neighbourhood, from the earliest period to the present time," it is stated (p. 208, vol. ii.) that some of the ancient Calendars of Bristol, under the date of 1499, contain the following entry : — " This ycare Sebastian Cabot, borne in Bristoll, proffered his service to King Henry for discovering new countries ; which had noe greate or favorable entertainment of the king, but he, with no extraor- dinary preparation, sett Jforth from Bristoll, and made greate discoveries." Couple with this memorandum the extraordinary statement made by Alonzo de Ojeda to the Spanish court, " that he found certain Englishmen in the neighbourhood of Coquibacoa," and we have pro- bably a clue to the manner in which Cabot passed some portion of his time, from the period of his return from the arctic seas, in 1498, to the date of his entering the semce of Spain, (13th Sep- tember, 1512) ; but as we have as yet no further evidence on this point, great faith umst not be placed in this assertion.^ For many succeeding years we look around in vain for an indication of any further attempt at a northern voyage out of England. But Portugal, at this period of history, the great maritime power of the world, and subsequently the most formidable of England's rivals on the sea, was not so unwise ' Tliis is the view taken by Washington Irving, in his delightful " Voyages of the Companions of Columbus," who likewise says, that the reason Ojeda was vested with such full powers, in his second voyage to colonize Coquibacoa, was in consequence of the rumour that he had formerly met with the English at that place, and the govern- ment was very desirous of having a man of such known courage as Oieaa to make good the Spanish claim in that quarter. *! ; 24 CASPAR COIlTEttEAL FIRST VOYAGE 15U0. as to allow so promising a field of honour and emolument to remain unexplored. The daring intrepidity of her sons had oj)ened or.l a passage round the tempestuous extremity of Africa, while countless numhers of her adventurers were flock- ing to the luxuriant shores of the New World; and we may therefore readily imagine that she looked with no very favourable eye upon the pro- ceedings of England, which threatened to wrest from her some of her brightest laurels. Accord- ingly, Gaspar Cortereal, a member of the noble family of that name, with the sanction of King Emanuel, (in whose household he had been edu- cated while he was yet the Duke de Beja,) fitted out two ships at his own expense, and sailed from Lisbon in the year 1500, with the intention of following up Sebastian Cabot's discoveries. He touched at the Azores, and then pursued a course which, as far as he knew, had never been traversed by any former navigator, until he made a land which he named Terra Verde.* This was part of the coast of Labrador, and he proceeded to explore it for upwards of six hundred miles. We derive a remarkably clear and minute account of this expedition from a letter, dated 19tli October, L501, written by Pietro Pasquiligi, the Venetian am- bassador at the court of Portugal, to his brothers in Italy, only eleven days after the return of Cortereal from his northern voyage, a translation of which is subjoined. " On the 8th of the present month one of the two Caravels which his most Serene Majesty dis- patched last year on a voyage of discovery to the North, under the command of Gaspar Cortereal, arrived here, and reports the finding of a country dis- * Carefully to be distinguished from Greenland. See Sir John Barrow's " Chronological History of Arctic Voyages," 1818, p. 39. 1500. lour and 2 daring passage ca, while re flock- j World; that she the pro- to wrest Accord- he noble of King teen edu- ja,) fitted liled from ention of I'ies. He [ a course traversed land part of o explore V^e derive t of this )er, 1501, tian am- brothers Cortereal which is le of the esty dis- ry to the ortereal, intrydis- le Sir John L8, p. 39. e a as GASPAR CORTEREAL— FIRST VOYAGE — 1500. 25 tant hence West and North- West two thousand miles, heretofore quite unknown. They proceeded along the coast between six and seven hundred miles without reaching its termination, from which circumstance, they conclude it to be of the mainland connected with another rcrjion tchich last year was discovered in the North, but which the Caravel coidd not reach on account of the ice and the vast quantity of snow ; and they are confirmed in this belief by the multi- tude of great rivers they found which certainly could not proceed from an island. They say that this country is very pojndoiis, and the dwellings of the inhabitants are constructed with timber of great length and covered with the skins of fishes. They have brought hither of the inhabitants, seven in all, men, women, and children, and in the other Caravel which is looked for every hour there are fifty more. "They are of like colour, figure, stature, and aspect, and bear the greatest resemblance to the Gypsies ; are clothed with the skins of different animals, but principally the otter; in summer the hairy side is w^orn outwards, but in winter the reverse ; and these skins are not in any way sewed together or fashioned to the body, but just as they come from the animal are wrapped about the shoulders and arms : over the part which modesty directs to be concealed is a covering made of the great sinews of fish. From this description they may appear mere savages, yet they are gentle and have a strong sense of shame, and are better made in the arms, legs, and shoulders, than it is possible to describe. They puncture the face, like the Indians, exhibiting six, eight, or even more marks. The language they speak is not understood by any one, though every possible tongue has been tried with them. In this country there is no iron, but they make swords of a kind of stone, and point c I- t) 9A) CASPAR COUTEREAL — FIRST VOYAGE — 1500, their arrows with the same material. There has been broujuht thence a piece of a broken sword, which is gilt, and certainly came from Italy. A hoy had ni his ears two silver plates, which beyond question, from their aj)pearance, were made at Venice, and this induces me to believe that the country is a Continent ; for had it been an Island, and visited by a vessel, we should have heard of it. They liave great plenty of salmon, herring, cod, and similar fish ; and an abundance of timber, especially the phie, well adapted for masts and yards, and hence His Serene Majesty contemplates deriv- ing great advantage from the country, not only on account of the timber of which he has occasion, hut of the inhabitants, who are admirably calcu- lated for labour, and are the best slaves I have ever seen."^ " Memoir, p. 239 — 241. This valuablo docuniont is preserved (lib. vi. cap. i-xxvi ) in the precious voliinie entitU^d " Paesi novamente vetrovati et Novo Moudo da Albcrico Vesputio Florentiao intituhvto," published at Vicenza in 1507, and now a work of the greatest larity. (Tlio original and French translation are in the library of Havard College.—" Bancroft's United States," p. 4.) The " Paesi " was translated into Latin by Madrignanon, in a book entitled, ■' Itinerariuni rortiigallcnsium e Lusitania in Indiam," &c., and this translation is perhaps one of the most deliberate frauds ever perpe- trated ; and the misfortune is, that it has misled a host of ancient and modem writers, who have treated of Cortereal's voyage, until exposed by tlie author of the " Memoir of S. Cabot," (p. 249 — 25-').) Some of the principal perversions are as follows : — " Instead of * a region discovered last year,' we have ' a region formerly visited by (•Mr countrymen.' The distance sailed along the coast becomes almost ^■Ayht hundred miles. There is created amongst the natives a preference if Venetian manufactures. This region, ' very populous,' according to the original, is converted into one 'admirably cultivated,' and instead of the pine, &.c., well suited for the spars of vessels, we have the natives actually engaged in ship building ! The captives 'adapted ' to labour, become ' habituated ' to it, and at length ' bom ' to it ; and in speaking of the King of Portugal, the ambassador is made to call him, ' our king.' And this is a professed translation, by an ecclesiastic, tledicated to a high ])ublic functionary !" It would be useless to •iffor any arguments to prove that the country further north which (!oricreal could not reach, but of which he rightly conjectured he had found a continuation, was that discovered by Cabot. 500. lere has 1 sword, illy. A beyond iiadc at that the I Ishmd, beard of herring, f timber, id yardsy cs deriv- ; only on occasion, y calcu- 3 I have s preserved i novamente iiitituhito," greatest library of " Paesi " entitled, , and this ever perpe- of ancient yaj(e, until 249—25.').) stead of * a visited by mes almost reference according ated,' and we have 'adapted' to it ; and ade to call cclesiastic, useless to orth which cturcd he (JASPAR CORTEREAL FIRST VOYAGE — 1500. 27 Such arc the terms of the original letter, and it will l)t' at once seen how fraudnlcnt has been the attempt made by the Latin translation of Madrig- nanon to impose npon the world, and to set nj) for Portugal a claim of priority of discovery. The author of the Memoir, maintains that the most northern point reached by (^ortereal wtis the gulf of St Lawrence, or, at the utmost, the southern extremity of Labrador; but the arguments which go to prove that his voyage extended along the coast of Labrador, appear to be far more reasonable (m this point.**^ It is very easy to imagine the triumph with which such a discovery would be received at the court of Emanuel ; independent of all considera- tions of a mercantile character, (which entered very largely into such projects in those days,) it was very gratifying to the nation that their first attempt in the frozen north should have been crowned with so much success: — but it was a more substantial, though a basely mercenary, motive, which induced them again to take the field. We have heard the Venetian ambassador laud the mild and laborious disposition of the natives Cortereal had so cruelly entrajiped, as admirably fitted for slaves. " Twenty years before, the fort of D'Elmina had been erected on the shores of Africa, to follow up the suggestion of Alonzo Gonzales, which pointed out the southern Africans as an article of commerce.*' Here alone, then, there was a rich mine of wealth to the nation, and it is with feelings of grief and disgust that we learn how eagerly the king entered into a project which w^as to entail misery upon thousands of his tellow-creatures. Alas ! where is it possible to point to a more blood-stained narrative of refined cruelty, than the annals of the iVfrican slave trade, wliich we thus trace back to this barbarous suggestion. >o Edin. Cab. Lib. Polar Seas, p. 185—7. c2 2« THE CORTEllKALS. Next year, Cortercal departed with two ships on a second voyage," and steered his course to the most northern extreme of his former voyage. Here he is deserihed as entering a strait, (prohahly Hudson's,) but at this interesting point of the voyage a tempest arose, and he was separated from Ins companions, and never heard of more. The probability is, that he fell a victim to the just indignation of the relatives and friends of those natives, whom he had so cruelly carried off on liis former visit. When the news of this disaster reached Portugal, Michael Cortercal, grand door-keeper to the king, rother, whose dark and unhappy end he was destined to share; — he never returned, and the deep still holds the secret of the fate of both. A third brother, Vasco Eanes, master of the king's liousehold, yet remained, and was only prevented by the king's positive commands from following in their track. " The king," says Goes, " felt deeply the loss of these two brothers, so much the more as they had been educated by him ; and on this account, moved i)y royal and gracious tenderness, in the following year, he sent at his own expense two armed ships in search of them ; but it could never be discovered where or in what manner either the one or the '-.ther was lost, on which account this province of 'JYn'ra Verde, where it was supposed the two brothers perished, was called the Land of the Cortereals.">2 " He sailed on tliis second voyage, according to the Edin. Cab. Lib. (Discov. N. Coasts of America, p. 37,) on the 15th Ma;/, 1501. (also Barrow, pp. 40 — 45). It is impossible to reconcile this statement \viili the fact that Cortercal returned from his first voyage on tho Sth of OcUiber, 1501. '- Damiano Goes " Chronica del Rey Dom Manuel," pt. 1. c. 6G. ■S -II -.A i k:!'ii,i SEBASTIAN CADOT. 2!) CHAPTER III. Sebastian Cabot transfers his Services to Spain — Jealousy ot the Courtiers— Cabot's Return to England — Sent out by IFenry VI 1 1. to Extend his Discoveries, under Sir T. Pert — Disappointed through the Mutiny of his C'rew, and Pusil- lanimity of their Commander — France enters the field of Arctic Discovery — Spain pursues tlie same object — Fresh Expeditions sent out by Francis I., under the command Oi' Jacques Cartier— New attempt made by England, with its Disastrous Kesults — An endeavour of the French to Colonize Canada defeated by the Natives — ( abot's Return from Spain to England — Favourable Reception by Edward VI. — New Expedition framed by Cabot, under the King's sanction, commanded by Sir Hugh Willoughbyand Richard Chancelor — Willoughby's Melancholy End — Chancelor penetrates to Moscow — Embassy of the Emperor of Russia to England. Fourteen years elapse from the period of his celebrated voyage, before the illustrious name of Sebastian Cabot re-a]>pears on the list of Arctic voyagers. We have before stated, that in i.612 he was induced to enter the service of Spain, probably, because he saw it was useless to hope for any encou- ragement at home. Ferdinand would be anxious to ;ithdraM% if possible, from the service of a youthful monarch full of enterprise and ambition, and possessed of the accumulated treasures of his thrifty father, a Navigator who had opened to Eng- land the glorious career of discover}^ and llenrv VIII., not knowing what he was losing, suffered himself to be robbed of a man whose equal was not to be found in his realms. 30 CABOT — THIRD VOYAGE 1517. The Spanish sovereign speedily perceived the worth of his new minister. We find Cibot, with tiic title of captain, and a liberal allowance, hold- ing in 1515, the dignified and important station of a Member of the Council of the Indies. In 1516, a voyage to discover tlm north-west passage was projected under his command ; but the death of Ferdinand, at the beginning of that year, appears to have put an end to the contemplated expedition, and tlie long pent-up jealousy of the courtiers, which dared not, during the king's lifetime, exhibit itself in any marked manner, now broke forth, and Cabot, to escape its rancour, returned to England. In 1517, Henry Vlll. was induced to fit out a small squadron, in order to extend Cabot's former discoveries in the north. The chief command was given to Sir Thomas Pert, to whose faint-hearted- ncss is to be attributed the ultimate failure of the voyjigc. On the 11th of June they had reached the north latitude of 6V° 30', when a mutiny of the crew, added to the pusillanimity of the com- mander, compelled Cabot to return home. It amounts almost to a certainty, that Cabot, in this voyage, entered what is at present known as Hudson's Bay, or at any rate, the strait which bears the same name ; and it seems also highly j)robable, that Frobisher and Hudson in later times, were guided by what was known and pub- lished of Cabot's attempt before they undertook their several voyages. The subject is very fully discussed by his biographer, (pp. 27-37, and 290- 301,) to whose pages we must refer those who seek more information on so interesting a point. In 1524 the French, for the first time, entered the field of Arctic discovery. In that year, by dire ction of Francis L, four ships were fitted out, and the command given to Giovanni Verazzano, GIOVANNI VERAZZANO — 1 524. 31 jeived the ibot, with nee, hold- ; station of In 1516, issage was death of r, appears xpedition, eourtiers, le, exhibit forth, and England. fit out a ►t's former mand was t-hearted- ire of the d reached nutiny of the com- • Cabot, in cnown as lit which o highly in later and pub- ndertook ery fully and 290- ose who point, entered year, by ted out, razzano. 1 a Florentine, who coasted North America from the latitude 34° to 50', a distance of seven hun- dred leagues, embracing the whole of the present United States and a large portion of British America. Verazzano had frequent opportunities of meeting with the natives, and in the account of the voyage which he gave to Francis, he speaks of thern in the highest terms. It has been thought probable that he first landed on the coast of Georgia- near the present town of Savannah.' In his indefatigable progress northwards, he how- ever found a people as fierce and sullen as those with whom he had lately come in contact were mild and gentle. A further run of fifty leagues along the coa.st brought him to a cluster of thirty islands, separated by narrow channels, a descrip- tion which precisely marks the present Bay of Penobscot. He pui-sued his course to the latitude of 50°, when his provisions failing, he sailed for France, and reached Dieppe in safety on the 8th July, 1524. It is greatly to be regretted that nothing is known of the after life of Verazzano. That he was a man of great ability is apparent from the energy with which he carried out the above im[)ortant voyage. It has been proved by the " Edinburgh Cabinet Library,"^ that he was alive in 1537, and, therefore, could not have been the " Picdmonteso pilot," said in the "Memoir of Cabot," (p. 278.) to have been slain on the coast of America in 1527, and which will be noticed in its proper place. The disastrous battle of Pavia, which sent Fran- cis a prisoner to Madrid, is a matter of history. " France, without her sovereign, without money in ' Forster's " Discov. in North," p. 433. ' " Discovery on the Northern Coasts of America," p. 52. . I • i| 32 GOMEZ — 1524. iiUT — 1527. her treasury, without an army, without a general to command it, and encompassed on all sides by a victorious and active enemy, seemed to be on the very brink of destruction."*^ All idea, there- fore, of the advantages to be derived from a settle- ment in the country newly discovered by Veraz- zano, was, for a time, utterly forgotten ; and it is ten years before we find a similar expedition leave her shores. In the same year that France made her first attempt in the north, an expedition under Gomez left Spain, with the view of finding a northern and shorter passage to the Moluccas. He appears to have reached the latitude of 40°, and without making any material discovery, returned, after a voyage of ten months. On the 20th of May, 1527, in the nineteenth year of the reign of the eighth Henry, an expedi- tion " of two faire ships wel manned and victualled, having in them divers cunning men, set forth out of the Thames to seek strange regions." The pro- ject v/as undertaken at the earnest suggestion of Mr. Robert Thorne, of Bristol, a great patron of naval enter})rise. Hakluyt (iii. 129) laments that he was unable to learn the names either of the vessels or their commanders, or any details of the voyage, " by reason of the great negligence of the writers of those times, who should have used more care in preserving of the memories of the worthy acts of our nation." There was orly an indistinct idea abroad that one of the ships was named the •' Dominus Vobiscum." This version has passed down to the most mo- dern writers, and each succeeding one has not failed to lament the want of more information, until the author of the " Memoir " pointed out in •^ Robertson'a " Charles V." Book 4. 1 JOHN RUT 1527. ;i;i general des by be on there- settle- Veraz- id it is n leave er first Gomez ?rn and )ears to without after a eteenth expedi- jtualled, rth out [he pro- tion of Iron of ts that of the of the of the more worthy listinct ^ed the 5t mo- is not hation, lout in I Parcha.3 (iii. 890), a letter, written by one John Rut, the commander of one of the identical vessels engaged in the enterprise, addressed to Henry VIIL, which states that the ships' names were "the Mary of Guildford," and the "Samson;" that they reached the latitude of 53^, where they were arrested by the ice ; that they afterwards met with a " marvailous greate storm," in which the Samson foundered ; and, that they subsequently put into the haven of St. John, where they found Spanish. I'Vcnch, and Portuguese vessels fishing. From this place the letter is dated, the 3rd August, 1527. On the subsecjuent proceedings of Rut, the au- thor of the " Memoir of Cabot " has compiled m \xMy pretty narrative. He maintains that Veraz- zano, (whose voyage in the French service we liave before noticed.) was the pilot of the " Mary of Guildford," and that he met with his death at the hands of the natives at Baccalaos. To prove his assert: "a, he adduces the following evidence: — Ramusii. ^ that in his last voyage, (naming no date,) Ve ..\yi'-\i\o having gone ashore with some of his companions, they were all killed, roasted, and eaten by the natives, in the sight of those who re- mained on board ; and the author of the "Memoir" wishes to connect with this, the statement made by the captain of a cara; el, named NavaiTo, who was at Porto Rico in 1527, when an English ship ar- rived there, and her commander, in answer to his ([uestions, said that he, with another vessel, had been despatched to seek the land of the great ( Miani ; that they had been repulsed by the ice in the northern seas; that the other ship had foim- dered ; and th it his pilot, n l*ii'(hiionteii(' ht/ birth, had been killed by the natives at Baccalaos. The whole of this statement, at least, all that refers to the supposed dreadful death of Ver.izzauo, falls to 34 JACQUES CARTIER FIRST VOYAGE — 1534. ' i I the ground, when wc find that, beyond all doubt, he was alive in 1537, as already stated at page 31. It seems extremely probable that Sebastian Cabot and Sir John Pert, did not touch at Porto Rico in 1517, as has been hitherto imagined; but that Rut visited it in 1527, and was the adventurer who caused so much alarm to the Spanish govern- ment. After an interval of ten years, the French, at the instigation of Philip Chabot, Admiral of France, again set forth on the career of northern discovery. The command of two ships, of sixty tons each, was accepted by Jacques Cartier, to whom the little fishing-town of St. Malo is proud of having given birth. He sailed on the 20th April, 1534, and the account of his voyage in Ramusio, and also in the " Histoire de la Nouvelle France," by L'Escarbot, is very interesting. It is written in the third person, and it does not appear that he was himself the author. It represents him to have circumnavigated Newfoundland, and to have proceeded for some time in his course up the Bay of St. Lawrence, being the first European that visited it ; but the season being far advanced, he appears to have thought it better to reserve, for another voyage, the further examination of what promised to be a glorious field for exploration. He returned, therefore, by the straits of Belle Isle to St. Malo, where he arrived on the 5th Septem- ber, 1534. Cartier was received, on his return, with the consideration due to the importance of his dis- covery : and, through the influence of the Vice- Admiral of France, a warm patron of the under- taking, obtained a new commission, with much more extensive powers than before. On the 19th May, 1535, he again sailed, with three ships, si 534. JACQUES CARTIER — SECOND VOYAGE 1535. 35 11 doubt, pao^e 31. n Cabot • Rico in but that [venturer govern- rench, at miral of northern of sixty artier, to is proud the 20th oyage in Nouvelle ig. It is >t appear lents him and to 5e up the uropean dvanced, erve, for of what >lorati()n. Jelle Isle Septem- w'lth the Ills dis- lie Vice- under- > much the 19th ships, respectively of a hnndred-and-twenty, sixty, and forty tons burden, which, soon after their depar- ture, were separated in a storm, and did not meet with each other until the 26th of July, when they proceeded to examine the large gulf which he had ibrmerly entered. " It was," to use the words of Carticr, " a very fair gulf, full of islands, passages, and entrances, to what wind soever you pleased to bend, hnving a great island, like a cape of land, stretching somewhat further forth than the others." This island they named L'Isle de 1' Assumption, it was that now known as Anticosti, a corruption of Natiscotcc, the Indian name for it to this day. To the channel between it and the opposite coast of Labrador, (.\^rtier gave the nanie of St. Law- rence, which has since been extended to the whole gulf. The French ascended the rivi r as far as the Indivin city of Hochelaga, receiving on all sides expressions of friendly feeling from the aborigines, indeed, so much so, that on arriving at that city, their credulity and admiration were such, that they brought their paralytic old king, Agonhanna, to be touched, and as they believed, cured by the Admiral. Shortly after, the French were attacked by the scurvy, since so fatally familiar to the seamen, but happily discovered, through the Indians, a cure for it, in a decoction of the leaves and bark of the North American white pine. They also now, for the first time, became acquainted with tobacco ; and their astonishment may well be conceived, at seeing the natives " suck so long, and fill their bodies so full of smoke, that it came out of their mouths and nostrils, even as out of the tunnel of a chimney." Preparations were now made for leaving Iloche- !■. 36 THE TRINITIE AND MINION — 1536. laga, which name the French had changed to that of Mont Royale, since corrupted into Montreal. " Time has now swept away every trace of Hoche- laga: — on its site the modern capital of Canada has arisen ; 50,000 people of European race, and stately buildings of carved stone, replace the simple Indians and the huts of the ancient town."^ But before their departure, by a piece of duplicity which calls for the strongest reprobation, they seized the Indian chief who had received them so kindly, and setting sail, arrived safely at St. Malo on the 6th July, 1536.'' Though this discovery was of such importance, it does not appear that the French, until some years afterwards, thought Canada worthy of another visit, although it offered so many advan- tages for colonization. " The weak and shallow ]>rejudice, which at this time prevailed in most of the nations of Europe, that no countries were valuable except such as produced gold and silver, threw a damp over the project, and for nearly four years the French monarch would listen to no pro- })osals for the establishment of a colony." In April, 1536, an expedition left England, con- sisting of two ships, named the Trinitie and the Minion. The scheme originated with "Master Hore, of London, a man of goodly stature, and of great courage, and given to the study of cosmo- graphie ; and among the company were many 'gentlemen of the Inns of Court and of ('han- cerie.' " After a tedious passage, the gentlemen reached Cape Breton ; but they were soon arrested in their progress by faniiue, and their privations eventually became such, that one individual, in order to prolong his own miserable existence, * Wiirburton's "Conquest of Canada." * Ramusio, v. iii., p. 453. CARTIER AND ROBERVAL. 37 killed one of his companions, " while he stooped to take np a root for his rcHef."^ They were at tlie very last extremity when a French vessel un- expectedly arrived, " well furnished with vittaile," ot which, thrusting aside all scruples as to the honesty of the transaction, they speedily made themselves masters, and hastened home, where the Frenchmen followed, and making complaints to Henry VIII., " the king causing the matter to be examined, and finding tlie great distresse of his subjects, was so moved with pitie that he punished not his subjects, but of his own purse mado ^'ill and royal recompence unto the French."' We have said that, for some years, the French omitted to follow up the successful issue of Car- tier's second voyage ; their next attempt was the result of a private adventure. Jean Fran^'ois de la Roque, the Sieur de lloberval, a wealthy noble- man of Picardy, reciuested permission to found a settlement in the country, and this Francis readily granted, besides conferring on him a long string of empty and ridiculous titles, such as Lord of Norimbega, Lieutenant-General, and Viceroy in Canada, Hochelaga, Sanguenay, Newfoundland, Belleisle, Carpon, Labrador, the Great Bay, and Baccalaos; which, truly, if merited by any one, ought to have been conferred upon Cartier. A subordinate command only was given to this great French seaman, who wjis ordered to set sail with five vessels, leaving his lordship, the lieutenant- general and viceroy, to follow, when the path should have been cleared of a few of the tlilh- eulties: — and not a few of these had to be sur- mounted. Donnaconna, the aged chieftain who had been so nefariously carried off, had died in France, and « Hakluyt, v. iii.. p.. 130. • Ibid. i. 131. > I 38 UOBEUVAL SECOl,x/ TOYAGE 1549. when Carticr revisited the scene of his former amicable intercourse with the Indians, they ob- served a totally dili'crent demeanor toward him: — whilst before tliev had exhanscd all their arts and persuasions to induce him to stay amongst them, they now resisted, by every means in their power, any attempt at a settlement, until at length the French were ol)li«»;ed, for their defence, to build a tort near the j)resent site of Quebec. VVe have already, in the voyajies of the Cortereals, had a sad example of the fatal results of any attempt to break asunder all ties of relationship and hu- manity by forcing the Red Indian to become the slave of his white fellow creature ; it was only by acts of the most sision," and when the mercliants began to turn their views towards the north-east — in their at- tempts to discover a passage to the Indies having met with such severe rebuffs in the north-west, — we find him entering into their schemes with a spirit and energy surprising in one so young. At this critical moment there happened to be in London no less a person than oebastian ('abot, a sketch of wiiose life since we last heard of him may not be uninteresting. After his voyage, in conjunction with the faint- hearted Sir Tliomas Pert, in 1017, he appears to liave returned to Spain, where he was created by the oinperor, pilot-major, an office of great importance and responsibility. He was also a member of the famous conclave, held at Badajos, in April, 1524, appointed to settle the dispute between the kings of Spain and Portugal as to their respective titles to the Moluccas, to which both monarchs laid claim, each affirming that thev came within the grant of the papal bull to fiimself. On their decision being proclaimed, that the Moluccas were situate by at least twenty degrees within the Spanish limits, a company was fv>rmed to proseciUe the trade to these islands, and the command of a scjuadron of ships having been give!) to Cabot, he was permitted, after numberless vexatious obstacles had been thrown in his way by the agents of Portugal, to depart in the beginning of April, 1526. " " History of Uoformation," v. ii. p. 22-3. •to SIR HUGH wiLLouGiiBY— lao3. Ill this voyajjjc C'abot sailed up the llio tie la Plata for a distaiiee of three hmidretl and fifty leaj^ucs, and, after a residence in the country, he returned to Spain, the main ol)jects of his voyage having been defeated, by the machinations of Portugal, but nevertheless adding greatly to his own po[>nlarity as a naval connuander. He al'ter- \vard> made several voyages in the Spanish service, but growing old, and doubtless wishing to end his days in his native country, he returned to England. King Edward soon became aware of the value of ('abot. On the (ilh Jamiarv, 1549, he granted liiin the nnuiilicent pension of two hundred and fifty marks (or KJO/. l.'J.v. 4r/.), "in consideration of tiic good and accej>tal)le service done, and to be done, unto us by our beloved scnant, Sebastian Cabot.'"' If he was not created grand-pilot of England, as (juestioned by his biographer (pp. 176 and 311), certain it is, tiiat the functions of his ofKce were most varied and important. Placed at the head of a company of merchants, composed, as it is said, of men of great wisdom and gravity, j)re})arati()ns were diligently made for a north- eastern expedition of discovery. A sum of 6,000/. was raised, by shares of 251. each, in order to defray the expenses of the undertaking, and the three ships, of which the expedition consisted, were fitted with everything which experience had })rovcd to be necossary, and, as a further precau- tion, the keels were covered with " thinne sheets of leade," which is the first instance on record in England of the practice of sheathing, a method however long before adopted in Spain. The next step was to secure a fitting com- mander, an object of high ambition to many, and the choice finally fell on Sir Hugh Willonghby, " "Kymcr," v. xv. p. 181. ^i I WILLOI (JlIilY AM) ClIANHELOn — l5.jH. 4 I o lie la ul fifty itry, he voyiige ions of ' to his [c aftcr- scrvico, ciul his )n<>;Uin(I. vahic of tjrauted red ami ileratioii , and to cbastian pilot of pp. 176 of his laced at niposed, jrravity, north- • 0,000/. rder to [uul the nsisted, ICC had precau- ■•> sheets icord in method g coni- ny, ami |)Ule floekt together, standing very tliieke upon the shoare, tlie Privie Counsel ihey lookt out at the windowes of the Court, and the rest ramie up to the toppes of the towers; the shippes hereupon diseharge their ordinance, and shoot off their pieees after the manner of warre and of the sea, insonnieh that the tops of the hdles sounded tiierewith, the valleys and the waters gave an echo, and the marin rs they shouted in such sort, that the skie ran*? ni»:aine with the novse thereof One stood in the pooj)e of the ship, and, by his gestures, bids farewell to his fricndes in the best manner hee could. Another walkes upon the hatches, another elimbes the shrouds, another stands u}>on the maine yard, and another in the top of the shippe. To be short, it was a very trium])h (after a sort) in all respects to the be- holders. Hut (alas!) the good King Edward (in respect of wliom principally all this was prepared) hee, only by reascm of his sicknesse, was absent from this shewe, and not long after the departure of these sliips the lamentable and most sorrowful accident of his death followed."" Thev were detained at Harwich till the 23rd, when they finally " hoysted up sale," and bade adieu to their native country: "many of them looked oftentimes baeke and could not refraine from teares, considering into what hazards they were to fall, and what uncertainties of the sea they were to nuike triall of." Chancelor himself was moved; " Ilis natural and fatherly affection also somewhat troubled him, for he left behinde him two little sonnes, which were in the case of orphanes if he spedde not well." ''^ On the 14th July they were among the nume- " "Hakluyt,"p. 215. "Ibid. I wiLLorciiinv and ciian(i:lor — 1.>.'>3. 43 le nunie- roiia islands which stud the coast of Norway, in tl»c (U)'^ of hititiidc, and proceeded onwiu'd to Sevnain (or Senjen, as it is called on the Adini- rally chart), where they touched, hut without success, for n pilot. They then continued their course. VVill()u«?hl)V had appointed Wardhnys (a sea-port of Fininark, in north latitude TO*^, and 30" cast lonj^itude,) as a place of rendezvous in case of the fleet hein«^ separated ; the very same day that this arran'j;enient was made, a terrible gale arose, and, off the North Cape, the vessels of Willoughby and Chancelor separated, never again to meet. When the morning dawned, only the smaller vessel, the Confidentia, was in sight. The Admiral continued his course, and on V\q 14th of August, one hundred and sixty leagues E. by N. of Senjen, he came in sight of land," which, war, evidently Nova Zembla, somewhere, it may bf* assumed, between the promontories named in the Admiralty Polar Chart, North and South, Gonsinoi Nos. Froiu this they endeavoured to ]>ush to ♦^'^e northward, but being repeatedly repulsed, t'ley turned their sails towards Wardhnys, and Ix .jan to grope their wav along the naked and barren coast of Russian Lapland, until they at length took shelter in the mouth of the river Arzina, near Kegor, from whence parties were sent out thict and four days journey, but they returned " without finding any peo})le or any si»nilitudc of habitation." '■' Willoughbv's iiniKUtJiiit and fatal voyaun- lias tiooii very alil.v tii-ati'd in a rt'cent volnnit' of tln> Hakluyt Soci.'ty's iiivaliiahk' rt-- prints, thi« "Narratives of Nortli-Wi'stern Voya^jo" 1 H)() to K).!!," Ity Thomas Ruiidall, Esi). The author has liad thi :. ; /itage of the rich store-honse of early records iu the possession or liie Honmiralile Kast India l'onii>any. It is indeed to i»e hoped that the Hakluyt Sneioly, whose lal)ours tend to disseminate ueoprajinical wiu'ks which have been hitherto cimtined to the shelves of tlic wealthy, or buried ill the archives of national collections, will r ct. -ve the support that is ju'ttly due from a nutiuu so eminently luantime as England. 44 WILLOLGHBY 1553. These are the closin;^ words of Sir llu«»;h Willoiifijhby's journal, found two years later by sonic Russian fishermen, while wandering along the coast, lying before the stiff and frozen corpse of the noble commander ; every soul in both ships, to the number of seventy, had ])erished, cither through famine or the intense cold. The ships were recovered, and with the dead bodies in them, were sent to England, but on the passage they "sunk with their dead, and them also that brought them." The well known lines of Thomson record in beautiful language this frightful catastrophe. " Miseraltlc they ! Who, here entangled in the trathfi-iii^ ice. Take their last look of the descendiiiii sun ; While, full of death and iieice witli tenfold frost, The lon>f lonp ni^rht, incunihent o'er their heads. Falls liorri1)le. S\ith was the Briton's fate, As with first prow, (wliat have not Britons dared !) He for t!ie passage sought, attempted since So much in vain, and seeming to be shut By jealous Nature with eternal bars. In these fell regions, in Ar/ina caught, And to the stony deep his idle ship Immediate seal'd, he with his hapless crew. Each full exerted at his several task, Froze into statues ; to tlie cordage glued Tlie sailor, and the pilot to tlie helm." — Winter. But we willinfrly turn from this fearful scene, which has something inexpressibly melancholy in it, to sketch the successful issue of Chancelor's voyage. It will be remem])ered that on the day of the dispersion of the fleet, Wardhuys had been ap])ointed as the place of rendezvous in case of any accident occurring. Thither Chancellor steered, and after waiting seven days for his commander, notwithstanding the prayers of " certaine Scottishmen," that he woidd not })roceed farther on his dangerous course, he remained " stedfast and inmiutable in his first res' • ■I ..■is ClIANCELOR — 1 ')03. 4.j ■ llu»rh iatcr by g alonj; [1 corpse th ships, I, either be ships in them, »gc they brought ►n record ophe. ill scene, icholy in lancelor's the (lav had been 1 case of waiting iding the i\e wonltl )urse, he irst rcs' • liition, determined either to bring that to passe wliich was intended, or els to die the death ;" and lia])})ily his crew, " though troubled with cogita- tions and perturbations of minde" with regard to their lost companions, were yet willing to follow their commander, which constancie of minde in all the companie, did exceedingly increase their caj)-- tain's carefulncsse."'^ He therefore ])ut to sea, and held on his course " towards that nnknowen part of the world, and sailed so farre, that he came at last to the place where he found no night at all, but a continuall light and brightnesse of the sunne shi- ning clearly upon the huge and mightie sea. And having the benefite of this ])erj>etuall light for cer- taine dayes, at the length it pleased God to bring them into a certaine great bay, which was one hun- dreth miles or thereabout over. Whereinto they entered somewhat farre, and cast anchor." This " great bay'' was no other than the White Sea, a discovery of no little imj)ortance ; soon after they landed at Archangel, in those days nothing but a castle, and, " looking every way about them, it happened that they espied a farre off a certain fisher boate, which Master C'hancelor, accom- panied with a fewc of his men, went towards to connnune with the fishermen that were in it, and to knowe of them what countrey it was, and of what people, and of what manner of living they were; but they being amazed with the strange greatnesse of his shippe (for in these parts before that time they had never seen the like), beganne presently to cvoyde and to fiee ; but hee still fol- lowing them at,Uist overtooke them, and being come to them, they (being in greate teare as nien halfe dead) prostrated themselves before him, offering to kisse his feet; but hee (according to his great and » Hakluyt, v. i. p. 24G. 46 CUANCELOR 1553. singular coiirtesic) looked pleasantly upon them, conitbrtiufj; them hy signs and gestures, refusing those dueties and reverenees of theirs, and taking them up in all loving sort from the ground. And it is strange to consider how much favour after- wards in that ])lace, this humanitic of his did pur- chase to himself. For they, being dismissed, spread by and by a report abroad of the arrival of a strange nation, of a singular gcntlenesse and courtesie ; whereupon the conunon people anv.o together, of- tering to these newecome ghests victuals freely."''^ In answer to his encpiiries, he was told that he had discovered part of a vast territory, which was under the absolute control of a sovereign, named Ivan Vasilovitch ; Chancelor, neither daunted by the immense distance to the court of this monarch, which was held at Moscow, nor by the perilous journey of six hundred miles, which he would have to perform over the snow in sletigcs, began imme- diately to negociate for permission to visit this great prince, which, after the delay of sending to Moscow, he obtained. It (h)es not come within our province to follow him step by ste}) in his ])erilous journey, suffice it to say, that his recej)tion by the monarch was most cordial, and he returned to England, after htiving laid the foundation of an important com- nerce between the two nations. The following description of Moscovv- given by C^Jiancelor, shows it to have been at that time a place of great business, and that its intercourse extended then to the northern sea-coasts: — " I take Moscow to be greater than London, with the suburl)s ; but it is very rude, and standeth without all order. Their houses are all of timber, very ilangerous for live. Tlie ground (country round) is well stored with corn, which they carry to the '* llakluv t, V. 1. p. 24G. en AXCELOR — SECOND VOYAGE 1 555. I them, •efusinp , taking . And ir after- lid pur- , spread , strange urtesie ; ther, of- rcely."'-^ I that he hieh was , named uited by nonarch, perilous (uld have ^n imnie- liis great Moscow, n'ovince journey, monarch ind, after mi com- riven bv t time a ercourse ts:— " I with the without cr, very round) y to the ritv of Moscow in such abundance, that it is wonder to sec it. You shall meet in a morning seven or eight hundred sleds coming from, or going thither, some carry corn, some fish. Some that fetch corn from thence dwell at the least one thousand miles off, and all their carri{.<(«- i . on sleds. Those which come so far, dwell in tiie north part of the duke's dominions, where the cold is so extreme it will suffer no corn to grow." The success of Chancelor infused new vigour into the proceedings of the association of merchant adventurers, who now assumed the title of the Muscovy Company, and Chancelor was again sent out, for the joint purposes of trade and discovery, in 1555. lie was returning to England, with an amluissador from the emperor, and a cargo worth 20,000/., when his vessel was driven on shore, by a tempest, in Pitsligo Bay, near Kinnairds Head. " Using all carefulness for the safetic of the bodie of the said ambassadour and his trayne, taking the boate of the said ship, trusting to attaine the shore, and so to save and preserve the bodie, and seven of the companie or attendants of the same ambas- sadour; the same boate, by rigorous waves of the seas, was by dark night overwhelmed and drowned, wherein perished not only the bodie of the said grand pilot, with seven Russcs, but also divers mariners of the said ship ; the noble persouiige of the said ambassadour, with a fewe others (by God's preservation and special favour), only with nuich (lilficultie saved." "' The ambassador subsequently proceeded to Lon- don, where he was most sumptuously received by Philip and Mary, and where he remained for about three months. On the 3rd May he " departed from London to '• Uakluyt, V. i. p. 280. 48 CIIANCELOR SECOND VOYAGE. Graveseiul, {iccompanied with divers aldcrineii isnd incMchants, who in good gard set him aboard the noble shippc the Prinu'ose, admiral to the flectc, where leave was taken on both sides and parts, after many imbraceinents and divers farewels, not withont expressing of teares." STEPHEN BlRROrCH \5')6. 49 CHAPTER IV. I 1 1! Stephen Burrough sent out by the Muscovy Company— Frobisher's first Voyage — His supposed Discovery of Gold, and second Expedition — His Third Voyage to Colonize Meta Incognita, with its total Failure and Disappointment — Projected Fourth Voyage. Meanwhile, during Chancclor's absence on that voyage in whicli he subsequently lost his life, the Muscovy Company had fitted out a small vessel, called the Searchthrift, which, on the 29th April, 1.'556, sailed from Gravesend, under the command of Stephen Burrough, the master of Chancclor's ship in his first voyage. Previous to their sailing, the " Right Worshipful Sebastian Cabot," and a inrge party of ladies and gentlemen, paid a visit to the vessel, and examined all the preparations with great interest, and afterwards the " goode olde gen- tleman, Master Cabota," gave a banquet, at which, " for very joy that he had to see the towardness of their discovery, he entered into the dance himselfe amongst the rest of the young and lusty company.'" It was not imtil the middle of July that Burrough reached the Straits of Waigatz, where he was beset on all sides by " monstrous heaps of ice," and was constantly in danger of being annihilated by these enormous masses coming in collision with each other. They were likewise nearly capsized by an immense whale, which, lu)wever, they managed to affright by shouting. Burrough penetrated abciui i i >() SIR M. FROBISUER — FIRST VOYAGE — 1576. Hfiecn leaf^ucs beyond the mouth of tlie river Pechora, hut all his efforts to proceed farther proved abortive, and he therefore returned, with the intention of again resuming the attenij)t. In order to j)reserve a strict chronological order, we have now to turn our faces to the north-west. The name of Martin Frobishcr is one of which this country may well be proud ; and yet his con- nexion witii the defeat of the " Invincible Armada" is all that is remembered of him by many. Mr. Barrow truly says, in his " Naval Worthies of Elizabeth's lleign" — "lie was one of those men, who by their zeal, energy* and talent, acquired and preserved for Queen Elizabeth the proud title f)f ' Sovereign of tlie Seas ;' " but few, however, know that he earned his early honours in a northern clime : few know, that for fifteen long years he was contirnially pressing upon the minds of his friends, and the merchants of the city of I^ondon, the desirableness of renewing the attempt to find a j)iissage by the north-west ; the former proved luke- warm, and the latter, he soon perceived, were not wont to regard " venture without sure certaine and present gaines." When, indeed, will the time come that a noble idea shall receive from the world the attention which is its due, uninfluenced by any sordid or narrow-minded motive.' At 'angth, however, Frobisher found a friend nt court in Ambrose Dudley, Earl of Warwick, by ' " Let those wIjo are dispnacd to faint under difficulties, in the pro- secution of any jrrcat and worthy undertaking, reineniber that eighteen viMrs elapsed afte • the time that Columbus conceived his enterprise before he was enabled to carry it into ett'ect ; that most of that time was passed in almost liopeless solicitation, amidst poverty, neclect, and tauntinu; ridiiule ; that the |)rime of his life had wasted away in the struggle ; and that when his perseverance was finally crowned with success, he was about his fifty -sixth year. This exitmpic should encourage the enterprising never to despair." (Washington Irving'> '• Life of Colmnbuj," v. i. p. 174.) i' i 1 ■t- Iv crowiicc «» I FROBISHER — FIRST VOYAGE — 1576. 51 wliosc assistance, in the year 1576, he was enabled to ecjuij) tlu'ce vessels, respectively of the insigni- ficant (linicnsions of thirty-five, thirty, and ten tons! which, however, experience has proved, were nuicli better adapted for Arctic exploration, than ships of a larger measurement. On the 7th of Jnne they weighed from Dcptford, and dropped down to Greenwich, where Elizabeth then held her court. Here salutes were fired, the queen waived her hand from the windows, and likewise sent a u^entleman on-board, " to make known her jrood likings of th'^ir doings," and wishing them " hajipie successe." On the 19th the fleet was off Yarmouth, and thence stood out to sea. Nothing of any moment occurred until they were off the Shctlands, when one of the ships sprung a leak. On the 11th July land was discovered in OT N., rising like " pinacles of steeples, and all covered with snow." evidently the southern part of Green- land. Attempts were made to effect a landing but without success, and in a very severe storm which was experienced, the ]Mnnace, with her crew of four hands, was lo't, and the Gabriel, their other Companion, " mistrusting the matter, privily conveved themselves away," and reached England in safety. Frobishcr, however, bore up gallantly against these mischances, so riiinous to the hopes of an aspirant for naval fame : — he altered his course, and stood to the south-west for seventeen days, when he made land in 62" 2', shut up by an impenetrable barrier of ice, and no soundings with one hundred fathoms. This dreary coast is sup- posed to have been part of Labrador. "On the 13th of July an incident occurred, which is not noticed in the printed accounts of tlic voyage, but which is too creditable to Frobislu r \o be suppressed. On the day above named, tlr.' D»2 r)2 FUOBISIIER — FIRST VOYAGE — lo76. (jrabricl was in the utmost danger of fouiiclerinj^, and tlic crew ran great lia/ard of perisliing with their vessel. From tliis melancholy fate they were saved by the promptness, energy, and judgment ot their connnandcr. On the day above named, the manuscript states: * In the rage of an extreme storm the vcssell was cast flat on her syde, and. being open in the waste, was fylled with water, so MS she lay still for sunk, and would neither weare nor steare with any helpc of the helme, and could never liave ryscn agayn, but by the marveilous work of (lod's great mercy to heh) them all. In tliis di>tress, when all the men in tlie ship iiad lost tlieir courage and did dispayr of life, the (^iptayn, ///if him-srlfe^ with valiant courage, stood up, and j)assed alongst the shin's side, in the chaynwale^ (channels), lying on her flat syde, and caught holde on the weather leche of the foresaile ; but in the weather-coyling (going about) of the ship, the foreyarde brake. To esise her, the mizcnmast was cut away ; but she still rolled heavily, so that the water, * yssued from both sydes, though withall without anything fleeting over.' As soon as prac- ticable, the poor storm-buffeted bark was ^ put before the sea,' and all hands were set to work to repair damages."'^ The cpiecn's name was given to a cape, fallen in with in latitude 62° 30', and more northerly they met with another foreland, in (J.V 8', which was the southern extreme of " a great gut bay, or passage, divided as it were by two maine landes. or continents assunder." Into this strait, to which he gave his own name and by which it is still known, Frobisher penetrat(>d between fifty and sixty lea";ues, at whicli point he met with a "salvage peojile, like to Tartars, with ■•' •' N..rth-\Vcst Voyage," pp. 11-12. FROUISIIER — FlRjiT VOYAGE — 1 J7(). 5'^ longe l)lackc haire, broad faces, and Hatte noses, the women marked in the face with hlewe strci-kes tlownc the eheekes and ronnd about the eyes, having bootcs made of seak's skinnes, in sliape somewhat resembhng the shallops of Spain." Here Frohisher lost a lx)at'a crew of five men, and, not- withstandinjj; he " shotte off falconets and sounded trumpets," he never again heard of thcui. In revenge, he managed, by tinkling a bell, to entice one of the natives to the ship's side, and " plucked him, by main force, boat and all, into his barke, whereupon, when he found himself in captivitv, for v<:ry choler and disdaine, he bit his tongue in twaine within his mouth, notwithstanding he died not thereof, but lived untill he came to England, ;md then dieublic profit unto their owne private gaines. '* In conclusion, the hope of more of the stnur (/(tide ore to be found kindled a greater opinion in the hearts of many to advance the voyage againe. Wliereupon prejiaration was matle for a new voyage against the yere following, and the cap- tainc more especially directed by commission for the searching more of this golde ore than for the searching any further discovery of the passage."^ There are two different versions of this story, which it is not worth while to go into; it is quite sufficient for us to know that cupidity was the real cause of the renewal of the attempt. Frobisher's » " Iliikluyt," V. iii. 59. '4 7 ft 1 FIloniSlIER — SECOND VOYAOK — l.^iTT. .-,.'■. iCe Irom i^ondoii, is what of that It them and it ciiturcrs chance, that at cd in a njucsset ■ailed in Dldliners rave out for the ers pro- my store Ivcnture «ncc the hope ot at her z enjoy to their h«! same inion in againe. a new le cap- sion for for the |.ge."» s story, is quite the real bisher's second expedition consisted of the Ayde, a royal sliip of nearly two hundred tons, the Gabriel and the Michael, his former ships, of thirty tons each. lie sailed with a " merrie wind " from HIackwall on the 2r)th May, lo77, and on the 7th June he was off the Orkneys, where we have the foUowin}^ graphic sketch of the inhabitants from the pen of George liest, the chnmicler of the voyage and lieutenant of Frobisher. " Their houses are bnilded of Pibble stone, without chimnies, the fire being m.-idc in the middest thereof. The good- man, wife, children, and other of their famil}*, eate and sleeuc on the one side of the house, and the cattell on the other. Very beastly and rudely in respect of civilitie. Tlicy arc destitute of wood ; their fires arc turffe and cowhards. . . . Tlieir houses arc but poorc without, an J sluttish ynough within, and the people, in nature, there- unto agreeable. They liavc great want of leather, and desire our old shoes and apparell, and old ro[)cs (before money), for victuals, atid yet tliey are not ignorant of the value of our coine." On the K'th July they arrived at the entrance of Frobishcrs Strait, which however they did not attein|)t to explore, "considering the short lime he had in hand, he thought it best to bend his whole endeavour for the getting of myne, and to leave the j)assage further to be discovered hereafter/* On the 22nd August, having collected about two hundred tons of ore, they left the island, whence it had been principally obtained, at the same time " giving a volley of shot for a farewell, in honour of the Right Honourable Lady Anne, ('ountess of VV^arwick, whose name it bcarcth." After a stormy and dangerous passage, in which the ships narrowly cscaipcd foundering, they got j>afe home, though at different ports. I i .)6 FROniSIIKR — HECONl) VoYAClF. — 1.377. Their arrival was hailed with the utmost enthu- siasm by all elasses. The ;!'>, "> in \tYon- peet, was eijual, if" not superior, ia v.'allli to the- Indiesof the sontii; the trader dream; ! i>;asperous ventures and unexampled jurolits, and tlic eovino- •^rapherand the seanmn, unuitlncneed hy any sordid motive, thou^lit of nothing hut the speedy solu- tion of what was, even in that day, eonsiucrcd a lu'jafa (jitrstio — the north-west j>assagc. A similar delusion, that goUf was to he found in the north, existed in very early times. Mons. l^a Peyrere infoijns us, that from the Danish ehronieles, it appears tiie kings of Denmark and Norway, towards tiie end of the thirteenth een- tury, sent ships to Greenland, from the then reeeived opinion, that it abounded in veins of gold and silver and precious stones; and he adds, "perhaps that pjissage in Job"* had made some im[)ression on their minds — * Gold cometh out of the north!'" The same Danish chronicle also adds, " that in former times, certain merchants returned from Greenland with great riches.""' • Ohiip. xxxvii., V. 23, This is a inai'vinal rcadinp in oiir version. * It was nil idm ciitprtuiiuHl hy Coliinilius, that, as \w extcuUil his (HsrovLMies to i-hniatos more and more undor the torrid iiitfiii-ur*' of \\w »iin, hn shouhl find the productions of natnre siihliniati'd liy its rays to more perfect and precious <|ualities. He was strenjjth- (Mied in this belief hy a h-tter written to him at the command of the iliieen, hy one Jaymc Ferrer, an eminent and learned lapidary, who, in the course of his trading; for precious stones and metals, had been in the Levant and in various parts of the Kast : had conversed with the merciiants of the remote parts of Asia and Africji, ami the natives of India, Arabia, and Ethiopia, and was considered deeply versed in jfeoj,naphy generally, but especially in the nature of thosir countries from which the valuable merchandise in which he dealt was procureil. Ill this letter, Ferrer assured ('olunibus that According to his ex|M.'ri- ence, the rarest objects of commerce, such as gold, precious stones, drugs and sjiices, were chieHy to be found in regions about the eipii- iioctial line, — where the inhabitants were black, or darkly ct»loure << >. ;(! .,7 rtiir version. ■T^ it> extciidnl id iiirtiii'iuv" sultliiiiati'il IS streii^tli- iiund of the i idiiry, who. ?. had been crst'd with tin." niitivos y versed iu i • countries ■i 8 proiured. -V his ex[M,*ri- -1-' oiis stones, V t the equi- :* ';\' y tolourt'd, •>; such com- "^ lIowTVcr, he this as it may, the utter \vortiiU>s- iicss of till' ore, wiiich was n()lhinited «)n all hanils. Special commissioners — gentlemen of great judgment, art, and skill— were a])p()inte(l l»y her Majesty, *' to look thorowiy into the cause for the true triall and due examina- tion thereof, and for the full handling of all matters ihenunto iippertayning." The eommi.-sioners made a most favourahle re- port, ho(h on the ore aiid the prospects of a pa— -iage to India; though upon what evidence it w;t> hased is not known ; — indeed, the whole of t!;i procee(ling> of these functionaries is vvra|)ped in great mystery. Arrangements were therefore matlc for another expedition, on a nuich grander scale, wliich embraced likewise a scheme of settlement. For this purpose, one Inmdred mariners, miners ■soldiers, gentlemen, gold-finers, bakers, and car- penters, were selected from the numerous appli- cants; and the frame of a large house was also eon.-^tructed, which was to be erected on their arrival at their destination. The fifteen vessels of which the expedition con- sisted, assembled at Harwich, on the 27th Miiy. 1 j7S, whence they sailed on the 30th of the sauje month. About the miiidlc of August, the ileet. after having passed through the most fearful dan- gers during their iwogress up the strait, had all assembled m the Countess of Warwick's Sound, w ith the exception of the Dennis, which had foun- dered with part of their wooden house on board, pK'xions, he did not think he would find those articles in jfreat aljumlai.ce.. — Kavarette *' Collection," tome 2, document 08. (Wasli- iiigtou Irving's " Life of Columbus.") d:5 58 FROBISIIER — THIRD VOYAGE — 1578. . ,1 and the Thomas of Ipswich, which had furtively sailed for England. The most undaunted courage and ready skill shown by the commanders of the several was vessels during their struggle with the elements at the mouth of the strait. " Some of the ships, where they could find a place more cleare of yce, and get a little berth of sea roomc, did take in their sayles, and there lay adrift, other some fastened and moored anker upon a great island of yce, that they were faine to submit themselves and their ships to the mercy of the unmerciful ice, and strenjjjthen the sides of their ships with junk of cables, beds, masts, planks, and such like, which being hanged overboard, on the sides of their ships, might better defend them from the outrageous sway and strokes of the said yce * * * and some even without boord, upon the yce, and some within boord upon the sides of their ships, having poles, pikes, pieces of timber, and ores in their hands, stood almost day and night without any rest, bear- ing off the force, and breaking the sway of the yce, with such incredible painc and perill, that it was wonderfull to beholde." But, " at length it pleased God with his eyes of mercy to look down from Heaven;" he had listened to the prayer so devoutly offered up by those " overlaboured and forewatched " men, who kneeled about the mainmast, and supplicated him lor deliverance, and had " sent them help in good time." The very next day, a fresh wind from W. N. W. drove the ice before it, and gave them an open sea, through which to pursue their course. " Then ensued a scene which is thus graphically described: — 'some in mending Uie sides of their .ships, some in setting up their topmast and mend- 4 ■# )ll FROBISIIER — THIRD VOYAGE — 1578. r>i» ing their saylcs and tacklings ; againc, some coiu- playning of their false stemme borne away, some in stopping their leakes, some in recounting their dangers past, spent no small time and labour.' " Their rc])airs in some measure finished, Frobi- sher again turned his attention to the prosecution of the voyage. " The seventh of July as men nothing yet dismayed, we cast about toward tiie inward, and had sight of land, which rose in form like the Northerland of the Straits, which some of tl)e fleetcs, and those not the worst mariners, judged to be the North foreland : however other some were of contrary opinion. But the matter was not well to be discerned by reason of thicke fogge which a long time hung upon the Coast, an-. 1 ne- stroved most of their provisions, of which, t u' iiiiiiiun xtiiig to lui'nrion, that there are thirteen ditfe.i'Ut \viiy» of spillinji the imiiic i»t thin eeiohrated man, viz., F -'.I'uh, Uiileghi". H iliiuli, Uiiwlciuh, Kawley, Uawly, UaiileiKh, i.'.alaijlte, Kale. Heal, Hi iii, and Uale;;a. His ^'i^llature lu his letter:! ill tlif Ilarleiiiii Cullri tioii MSS., and hi^i tlnurnal nt his second voyajjc. is Hali'ijh, and thi as li ••j ailopted liy Sir nnilturyk. in Ilia new edition ol " UnUj^ii « Discov'ty i^t' tlie Kutjiire ut (juiuua. ' .*' II jlt" c'on- \lW lie ith iin- illi five i. I lis y fueii ; uiiuber, i\ L'tl, I lu- ll l)ack, broken II taiiit- [)iirsiic(l L'oiuluct vtbviiul- tli some }j:ht, his shortl)' ) pieces. jCj olden irtlien. ted his ther to ed his r, they re I was r deck, crew, lid; he •1, as it thirtit-n i:ui, viz., {aiiU>ii;h, lis U'tur* (h'itted passed, just before nightfall. Darkness soon eoneealed his little bark troin sinrht ; but for lionrs one small lip^ht was seen to rise and fall, and |)Inn«ie aboiu amonfjj the fnrions waves. Shortly after nii(liii«;Iit, it suddenly ilisappeared, and with hief and his crew. One it all trace of the brave inaiined and storm-tosse( I sh np alone retnrncc 1 to Entrlaiui of that armament which so short a time before had been sent forth to lake possession of a new wo rid. "i Seven years after Frobisher's disastrous voyaifc, '•(livers worshijihil merchants of J-,on(loii and the west country, moved by the desire of advancing (iod's filory, and the jijood of their native land,"' concerted amonj^ themselves the plan of another attcinpl, which, throwing aside all lhon<;'ht of gold and pn'cions metals, was to be solely for the dis- covery of a passage to India. They accordingly jaircliased two barks, the Snnshiiic, of (ifty tons l)ur(lcn, with a crew of twenty-three jicrsons on- board, including four mnsicians; the other, called the iMoonshine, of thirty-five tons, had a comple- ment of nineteen hands. Master .J(»hn Davis, of Landridge, in Devonshire, *' a man well-grounded in the princij)lcs of the arte of navigation," was selected "for captaine and cbiete pilot of the ex- ployt ;' the captain of the Moonshine was William Ih'iton. The shi])s sailed from Dartmouth on the 7th June, loH.); on the li)th of July, '* a great whirl- ing and bri.'stling of the tydc" was heard, t tlw Kx|m'- .tition of Sir !luin|iliivy (iiliuTt." Iiy ('a|itaiii Kd. Hai>>.s, Ilakliiyt, Mil. iii. |i|i. I l.'J — lot*. t 1, c>c, DAVIS — KIHST VOYAGE - 1 .>Hj. \n\\rc masses ot" ice f;nu(lln«; at of which, however, a favourable wind s])rung up, and Davis, a steadv anil excellent seaman, iinmedialely broke off a prn- * '■ NtTtli-wesi Voyugojt, p(>. 37, 38. DAVIS — SECOND VOVAuK — I jS(>. «7 ^ fitablc l)artor tor furs in which tliey were eii^agcil, 'b- and put to sea. He steered north-west, direct across the strait, or sea, which now hears his name : and on tlie (Jth Anjrnst made huid, in (Hi" 40', wliich he named Mount Ralegh, and " ankered ir. a very f'aire rode, untlcr a brave mount, the chtVes whereof was as orient as jroldc;" which was named Totnes Koad. From this phicc he saik'd aU)n<; the coast to the south, and on tlie 1 1th reached a promontory, to wliich he gave the name of the Caj>e of God's Mercy, and rounded it elate with hope, that he had now found the desired pass{is amiable (pialities, jind took to stealing every- liiing tluit came within their reach. Davis departeil tidin (iilbert's Sound with one of these pilferers on-board, and stood across the bay. On the ITlli G8 DAVIS— Til nil) V()YA(.i;- 15^7. .Fiilv, in lat. fiO" H', tlicy foil i'l wifl' an cnonnon^ (juautity of ice, alon^ winch he coasted till the .'JOth, notwithstandiiij^ the repeated remonstrances of his crew, that *' hy his overholdness he might canse their widows and fatherless cliiidren to give him l>itter cnrses." On the 1st Angust lie discovered land, lat. (if^ XV N., and long. 70 W.' Here he was abandoned hy one of his vessels, jnid proceeded l)V himself in a small hark of thiriv tons, on the prosecntion of his voyage. On the 14th, sailing west, he discovered land, in fif}'^ 1!)' N. ; from this a sontherly conrse was shaped, and on the lUth thcv were in lat. 64" 20'. On the 4th September, in lat. 54" N., Davis states, he had " perfect hope of the [lassage, finding a mightie great sea ]>assing between the two lands west." After this, in consecpience of severe weather, he thonght it prndent to return home. The third ex])edition, under (^iptain John Davis, consisted of the Klizabcth, the Sunshine, and a clinker, called the Helen, and it was only by repre- senting that the expedition would pay for its outfit, by the fishing, that he was able to ecjuip even this insignificant force. He sailed from Dartmouth on the IDth May, l.>87, and on the l.'>th June was again off the old coast. Here the two largest vessels were left to fish, while Davis iu his small pinnace, which was found to move through liie water like a cart drawn by oxen, set sail and con- tinued t(i ran^e along the coast, to the northward, till the 'MHh, when he was in lat. ;2" 12', where he was stopped by an adverse wind; otherwise, he says, he beheld an open sea to the n(>rthwar(l. lie thert>fore shaped a westerly course, and ran forty leajrues without secin<»- land. Krom the 1st lo the 14th July, he was in coii- ♦ Quoiy, innbeHand Strsiits; the nortliern shore ot" which he traced for three days* and tlien, ^etlin^ l)ecahne(l, was not ahle to extricate Iiiinselt' until the 2!)th. On the oOtli July, ** wee erossetl over the entrance or mouth ot a ffreat inlet or passage, heinjr twenty !( iiji;ues broad, and hituate between sixty-two and sixlv-three degrees. In which place wee had eigl'it or nine great rases, currents or overfalls, lothsomely crying like the rage of the watei*s vnder Loudon Bridge, and bending their course into the sayd gulfe." This was evidently the entrance to Hudson's Straits, and ([uaint old North \V< «x observes — *' Davis and he," (si)eaking als< . Waymouth,) "did, I conceive, light Hudson into liis straights." Not being able to see anything of the Elizabeth and Sunshine, and having but half a hogshead of fresh water left, they shaped their course home- ward, and arrived at Dartmouth on the l.)th September. Notwithstanding Davis had reached a much higher latituile than any former navigator, he could find no one willing to send him out again. The burden of every one's song was, " 'I'his Davis hath been three times emploved ; why hath he not found the passage ?" Added to which, the death of Walsingham, the (pieen's secretary, and the all-absorbing projected invasion by the Spanish Armada, effectually put a stop to any further at- temj)ts, at least for a season. T he next exploratory project was for discovering a passage by the north-east, and was made by the Hollanders. The merchants of the United Pro- vinces, after the great political convulsion, in which they had been well nigh overwhelmed, had some- ,.«^.. IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) 1.0 I.I ■50 "^" lU 2.2 •ilUi. 1 1.25 III . .4 ,,.6 < 6" ► Photographic Sciences Corporation ?3 WEST MAIN STREET WEBSTER, N.Y. MSSO (716)872-4503 «' z ^0 BARENTSZ AND NAY — FIRST VOYAGE — 1394. what subsided, determined to participate in the advantap;es of a direct trade with India, which tlic nations of Europe had hitherto left exclusiveh' in the hands of the Spaniards and Portuguese. Tliey requested permission of the States General, who took so great an interest in the enterprize, that they promised a gratuity of twenty -five thousand florins, if they succeeded ; with the privilege of exclusive trade by this new route for eight years. Three ships and a small bark were fitted out. and the principal command given to William Barcntsz, a seaman of great reputation. They sailed from the Texel on the 5th June 1594, and arrived at the mouth of the Kola, in Lapland, on the 23rd of the same month. Here the squadron separated, Barentsz directing his course to the northward of Nova Zembla ; and the other vessels under Cornelis Cornelisz Nay, proceeding by the old passage through Waigatz Straits. Following Barentsz, we find him, on the 29th July, in latitude, by observation, 77° north, the most northern point of Nova Zembla, which he named Icy Cape. Further than this he could not advance, on account of large impenetrable masses of ice, which bai'red the way. The other division of the fleet made Waigatz Island on the 21st July in latitude 70'^ 20' north, and found the water covered with floating trees, trunks, roots, and branches, which they rightly judged came down from some large river. The shore was enamelled with herbage and flowers of every colour and agreeable odour. They perse- vered in their course until the 1st of August, when they made the passage by the south strait, and entered the sea of Kara, into which they sailed fifty or sixty leagues, until the 12th, when they were in latitude 7P 10' north. Feeling now con- ill it WILLIAM BARENTSZ — SECOND VOYAGE 1595. 71 vinced, by the rapid southerly bend of the coast, and the blue colour of the water, that they had an open sea before them, and erroneously supposing that that sea washed the shores of that rich country, the wealth of which they so much coveted, they retraced their steps on the 14th, and on the 15th were joined by Barcntsz. They arrived home on the 16th September.^ The States entered with spirit into the prose- cution of an attempt that promised so much. They fitted out seven ships, not with the view of discovery, but laden with merchandize, as if for the actual purposes of trade. The command was again virtually given to Barentsz, and they sailed from the Texel on the 2nd July, 1595. The ships separated after passing North Cape ; some going to the White Sea. Those intended for discovery, arrived, on the 19tli August, at the entrance of Waigatz Strait, which they only cleared on the 3rd Se[)tcmber, owing to the dangerous navigation. Before them was a fine clear blue sea, of a depth of more than one hundred and ten fathoms, in which great whales were sporting. Everything prognosticated success, when a storm arose from the north-west, and they perceived a large bank of ice drifting down on them. They continued in an unsuccessful endeavour to advance to the north-east, till the middle of the month, the weather increasing in sharpness, and the nights in length. On the i5th, a council was held, and the following resolution passed : — " We, the under- signed, declare that we have done our best before * Bumcy's "North-East Voyages," pp. lo — 28. A narrative of the three voyages of Barentsz was written l)y Girard le Veer, who accompanied him on the second and third, and was published under the title of " Vraie Description des trois Voyages, de mer, faits par le Nord, vers les royaumes de Cathay et de China." Amsterdam, 1600. Folic ■*, ' 5 it .' *; ii 72 BARENTZ AND RIJP — THIRD VOYAGE 1596. God and before the world, to penetrate by the north to China and Japan, as ordered by our instructions, until we have seen that it does not please God that we should continue our voyaji^e, and that it is necessary we should desist. We therefore have resolved to make our route back to Holland with all diligence." (Signed by the Ad- miral, and others of the council.^ The States declined to contribute to another expedition after this failure ; but they proclaimed a reward to any who might seek for, and be fortu- nate enough to discover, the passage ; and some ])ublic-spirited officials of Amsterdam accordingly equipped two vessels, to which Barentsz was again appointed pilot. They set sail on the 18th jVlay, and sighted Shetland on the 22nd. Here the commanders, Ian Cornelisz Rijp, and Barentsz, differed as to the course to be pursued. Rijp was for keeping to the northward of Nova Zembla, Barentsz for attempting the passage by the old straits. Rijp would not give in, and Barentsz, rather than part company, followed him. On the 9th June, in latitude 74^ 30', they made an island, which they named after the only living creature observed on it. Bear Island. On the 19th, they discovered a much larger island in 80" 1 r. " 1 his land, the most northern which to this time had been discovered in the world, has never- theless verdure and herbage. The animals seen rein here are white bears, some larger than oxen; deer, who feed on moss, and become so fat, that their flesh is excellent eating ; here are also foxes, white, grey, and some black. It is named by the Hollanders Spilberg or Spilbergen, signifying sharp pointed mountains."'' At this point the commanders again differeil, " Rec. des Voy.nges do la Comi)." vol. i. p. 93, et seq. WILLIAM BARENTSZ — THIRD VOYAGE — 1596. 73 and being unable to agree, determined on pursuing each his own course. On the 17th July, JBarentsz made the coast of Nova Zembla, pushed his way through numerous obstacles along the west coast, and, on the 26th August, doubled Cape Nassau, the north-east extremity of the island. Here they became involved in fogs and floating ice, which at length closed in upon them, with such violence as to lift the ship entirely out of the water, in an almost perpendicular position, filling them with the greatest apprehension. To extricate the ship from her perilous position was now a hopeless task ; and here, in the latitude of 76° north, were these seventeen unfortunate creatures, doomed to endure all the horrors of the dreary Arctic winter, doubly fearful, because unknown. Like gallant men, however, they threw no chance away, but took every precaution within their means, working cheerfully to build a hut, which was at length, after great labour, finished on the 2nd October. Meantime, each day the cold became more intense. If one of the workmen for an instant inadvertently put a nail into his mouth, as is a common habit, it would bring aw^ay the skin on its removal, and cause the blood to flow\ Their fine Dantzic beer froze so hard as to break the casks, and all the virtue w^as concen- trated in a very small compass in the middle ; the other part of the solid block had merely the taste of bad water. Did they hang up their clothes to dry, the side farthest from the fire was hard fi'ozen. " It seemed as if the fire had lost all power of con- veying heat; their stockings were burned before the feet felt any warmth, and this burning was announced by smell rather than by feeling. Yet, in the very midst of these sufferings, remembering that the 6th January was the Feast of the Kings, E \ 'i I'l * L 11 i - i I ilx 74 WILLIAM BARENTSZ — THIRD VOYAGE — 1596. they besought the master that they might be allowed to celebrate that great Dutch festival."" On the 4th November the sun disappeared, and with it also a very disagreeable visitor, who occa- sionally put them in great alarm — the huge white bear. They had, however, the pale light of the moon, and the little arctic fox, whose flesh they found very palatable, and a very agreeable addition to their slender larder. On the 24th January, they were surprised by the re-appearance of the northern limb of the sun, after a darkness of eighty-one days. Barentsz held out that it was quite impossible that this could take place for fifteen days to come ; but the joyful intelligence was confirmed on the 27th ; — he was not aware of the great refractory power of the northern atmosphere. The cold, however, con- tinued unabated until April, when it became milder, and they eagerly began to form plans to escape from their prison. The ship was immoveable, and the crew therefore earnestly besought to be allowed to fit up the two boats, which Barentsz at length granted. After much labour, they succeeded in digging them from out the snow; and by the 11th June, they were tolerably prepared for their perilous voyage. On the morning of the 14th, they all embarked, and bade farewell to the desolate snores on which they had passed those eight terrible months. They stood to the north, and on the 16th were off the northern extremity of Nova Zembla, where they sustained a great loss: Ba- rentsz, who had been long ailing, now approached his end. He was observed, on the morning of the 20th, intently studying a chart of the places they had visited, and shortly afterwards he desired that ' " Polar Seas," pp. 157-168. GEORGE WAY MOUTH — 160'2. 75 he might be lifted up in the boat. His wishes were complied with ; and while still gazing on the terrible scene of his shipwrecked hopes, the spirit of their estimable commander passed away. After encountering innumerable privations, the wretched survivors had the good fortune to meet with some Russian loddies, and obtained from them a supply of provisions. They also learnt the gratifying intelliffence that three Dutch ships were then lying at Kola ; and their joy may be imagined, when, on the 25th August, they arrived there, and found their former companion, Jan Cornelisz Rijp, commander of one of tne vessels. He had been unsuccessful in his northern at- tempt, and had returned to Holland, and was now on his return from a trading voyage. Of the seventeen men cast on Nova Zembla, but twelve returned to their native land. I i r ! ii '■ - i t ,'1 The north-western attempts were resumed in England by the " Wor" Fellowship of the Mrchnts of London, trading into the East Indies." The attention of the Fellowship having been called to the subject, by "a Ire written by one George Waymouth, a navigat'," it was submitted to "A general Court, holden the 7th of August, 1601," when " question beinge made for the sendinge out of the north-west passage, whether itt shalbe a voyage to seeke itt, or not, beinge put handes, itt was consented vnto for a vyage." Accordingly, two pinnaces, the Discovery, of fifty, and the Godspeed, of forty tons, were fitted out, after a great deal of altercation with the Muscovy Com- pany, on whose rights and privileges they were said to be intruding, until it was decided otherwise by " learned councell," and the command was given to Waymouth, who bound himself down to, 1st e2 ^-i I e <^ it 1 76 GEORGE WAYMOUTH — 1602. " Sayle towardes ffretod Davis, and soe forward by the nor-west to the kingdoines of Cataya or (Jhina, or the backe side of America." 2nd. " Not to returne of one whole year att the least." 3rd. To keep "a journall of their p'ceedings, to be deliuered to the Companie by the Capt., w"'in 10 daies after retourne." 4th. "Not to discouer his p'ceedings in the voyadge otherwyse then to the Gou'nor and Company." Lastly, in case of success, 5th. *' 500 IL graunted to the said Capt., after proofe he hath discou'ed the said passadge ;" but should the attempt fail, 6th, " The said Captn. doth disable him selfe from all demands for his salary and painesteakinge if he discou' not." Everything being at length fixed. Way mouth sailed from the Thames on the 2nd May, 1602, and on the 1st June he reached the north latitude of 59° 30'. On the 18th he made Greenland, and two days after Cape Desolation, with its black water " thicke as puddle." Still keeping a westerly course, on the 28th he made Cape Warwick. He now became involved in thick fogs; and, in addition, continued stormy weather, considerably daunted the spirit of the crew. Liable every moment to be crushed to atoms, and affrighted by the " noyse of a great quantity of ice, very loathsome to be heard," the sailors oecame discontented, and secret conferences took place, at which it was at length determined " to bear up the helme for England." They carried out their mutinous intentions on the 19th July, when Waymouth was asleep in his cabin, and the ship in the latitude of 68° 53'.^ When Waymouth came forth from his cabin and demanded of them, " Who bare up the helme ?" they answered, " one and all." The seamen gave as their reasons for this daring step, the impossi- • " North- West Fox," p. 49, says, " This cannot be." GEORGE WAYMOUTH — 1 602. 77 bility of finding a proper place to winter between the latitudes of 60° and 70°, but they state, " that if in your wisedom you shall think good to make any aiscouery, either in 60° or 57", with this faire northerly winde, we yeeld our Hues with yourselfe to encounter any danger. Thus much we thought needefuU to signifie,asamatter builded vpon reason, and not proceeding vpon feare or cowardise." Tn latitude 61" 40^ N, var. 35' W., Way month states that he entered an inlet, into which he sailed west by south one hundred leagues. North-west Fox declares this to be " no such matter," and Sir John Barrow (p. 168) "impossible;" and it seems with great reason, for had he pursued such a course, he must have gone on shore on the west side of Ablorialik Bay. There is much to be doubted in Waymoutn's account of his voyage ; the loose manner in which his journal is kept, from the time of his reaching Cape Warwick to the day when his crew mutined, — his calling every land that he sighted " America," — and, lastly, the mis-statement which originated with him, that the expedition was fitted out by the Muscovy and Levant Companies, all appear to shew that the commander had somewhat more to do with the ** bearing vp of the helme " than he would wish us to believe, and throw a great deal of doubt on the assertion that he reached the latitude of 68** 53'. Fox remarks : " He neyther discovered nor named anything more than Davis, nor had any sight of Greenland, nor was so farre north ; nor can I conceive he hath added any thing more to this designe ; yet these two, Davis and he, did, I conceive, liffht Hudson into his straights" On Waymouth's return home he was subjected to an examination, to "sattisfy the company of 'fl J I V I ! 1 V n 78 WAYMOUTH — PROJECTED SECOND VOYAGK. their returne soe suddenly." Other officers of the expedition were also examined, and they directly charged "Cartwright, the Preacher," with heing the cause of the mutiny, and " the said Cart- wright" was therefore ordered to give up "the gowne and apparell delivered him, to have been vsed yff the voyage had been made to the partes of Cathaia and China " Some thoughts it appears were entertained of Waymouth being again sent out, but after a long discussion on the subject, which lasted from November, 1602, to May, 1603, it was abandoned, apparently from pecuniary considerations. DENNET — 1603 — CUNNINGHAM— 1605. '9 CHAPTER VI. Private Voyages of Discovery at the expense of Alderman Cherie — The King of Denmaric provides a Vessel^ but gives the command to British Navigators — Knight sent out by the Muscovy and East India Merchants — Loss of the Captain and part of the Crew — Escape of the remainder to Newfoundland — Hudson's first Expedition under the Muscovy Company — His second, with the Particulars of his Reception by the Natives on the site of New York — Acquisition of Land — Derivation of Name — Hudson's last and Fatal Voyage — Great Hardships— Blockage in the Ice — His Crew Mutiny, and turn him adrift in an open Boat — Their return to England. In the year 1603, Alderman Sir Francis Cherie, of London, fitted out the Godspeed, at his own expense, and gave the command to Stephen Bennet. Bennet pursued the old course by the North Cape, Wardhuys, and the river Kola, from whence he steered into the northern sea before him, in a N.N.W. direction. On the 16th August he made Bear Island, but not being aware that it had been before discovered by Barentsz, he re-named it Cherie Island. Nothing further was done this year, but Alderman Cherie again dispatched the same vessel and commander, for several successive years on fishing voyages. The king of Denmark being now desirous of making similar discoveries, and valuing highly the skill of the British navigators, caused two ships and a pinnace to be got ready, and appointed John Cunningham, a Scotchman, the chief cap- } ; , ! i :i i •' ' , i- J; v\ ' i\': 80 JOHN KVrOHT — Ifi06. tain, and James Hall, an Englishman, the principal pilot, the rest of the crews beinff, except John Knight the steersman, eitlier Danes or Nor- wegians. They sailed from Copenhagen on the 2nd May, 1605, and on the 30th descried the coast of Greenland, in latitude 59° 50", but were unable to approach on account of the ice. On the 12th June they entered a bight, in latitude 66" 30', the seamen refusing to proceed further. Here they met with some natives, with whom they were so unfortunate as to come into collision, which ended in a furious onslaught being made on the boats. This forced them to put to sea, and abandoning all further attempts at discovery, they returned home. His Danish majesty the following year again despatched the same ships and com- manders. They reached the American shore in the latitude of 60° 15', and ranged northwards to 63° 33", when they bore away for Greenland, the coast of which they spent a month in exploring, after which they returned home. Meanwhile, Cunningham and Hall being en- gaged in exploring the western coast of Greenland, their former comrade, John Knight, was entrusted by the Muscovy and East India merchants with the command of the Hopewell, a pinnace of forty tons. He sailed from Gravesend on the 18th April, 1606, and was detained fourteen days at the Orkneys, where he shipped "two lustie fel- lows." Proceeding on his voyage, on the 14th June he was off some broken land, in latitude 56° 25' N. In latitude 56° 48' N., the land rose like eight islands. On the 24th June, a tremendous storm of wind arose, and the ship broke away from her moorings in a small cove in which she was then brought up, and before she could be again secured, had knocked away HENRY HUDSON — FIRST VOYAGE — 1607. 81 her rudder, and was half full of water. Here ends the account of the voyage written by the cn])tain ; the rest is from the {)en of one of the 8hi})'s com- pany. — On the 26th of June, trusting to discover a more convenient harbour, Knight took with him his mate and three men, well armed with muskets, and landed on the opposite coast. The men left in charge of the boat, waited in vain for their return, and dismay seized on them all, when the 28th came and their comrades did not appear. On the night that succeeded that day, a new calamity happened to them : — they were furiously set upon by about fifty " little people, tawnie coloured, thin or no beards, and flat nosed," whose attack appeared to have been premeditated In the darkness of the nieht, with the rain filling in torrents, and their minus full of horrors, we cannot but admire the courage of these eight stout-hearted men, when we find tnem driving off^ their terrible assailants. The carpenter exerted himself to finish a small shallop he had commenced building, which was, when completed, in no better condition than the crazy ship. But feeling the imperative necessity of exerting every means to free themselves fi-om their perilous position, they got under weigh, pre- ferring the impending danger of foundering, to a second visit from the little people, whom, in their fears, they had designated as man-eaters. After a most perilous voyage of three weeks, in which their ingenuity as well as their courage was sorely tried, they arrived at Fogo, in Newfoundland, completely worn out by fatigue. Here they were most hospitably received, and reached Dartmouth on the 24th December. In 1607, the Muscovy Company sent out Henry Hudson, whose name is renowned in connexion VI 82 HUDSON — SECOND VOYAGE — 1608. with Arctic discovery. His intentions were, to endeavour to find a passage, if possible, directly across the pole itself. To carry out this bold idea, this great navigator sailed on the 1st of May, in command of a small vessel, the name of which is unknown, with a crew of ten men and a boy. On the 13th of June, Hudson fell in with land, but thick fogs obscured it for several days; when, however, the weather cleared, he beheld a bold headland, covered with snow, and high land be- hind it, to which he gave the name of the Mount of God's Merc^ . His latitude here he estimated at 70^ Ranging north-eastward, in V3'^ he sighted high bold land, without snow, even on the most lofty summit. To this part of the coast he gave the name of Hold-with-Hope. On the 27 th of June, the coast of Spitzbergen was dimly seen through the fog, along which he continued to sail until he had passed, as he says, the latitude of 81^% and saw it still, stretching continuously as far as 82^ ; in this, however, he must have been mistaken, and imagined the large fields and masses of ice to have been land, as the northern extreme of Spitzbergen does not lie beyond 81"^; unless, indeed, he had stood over to the west, so as to have again fallen in with the Greenland coast. On the 31st of July, his provisions failing, Hud- son bore up for home, and coasting along Spitz- bergen, some parts of which appeared very agree- able, arrived safely in the Thames on the 15th September. On the 22nd of April, 1608, Hudson sailed from the Thames in another attempt. He was off the North Cape on the 3rd of June. In latitude 75^ he first fell in with the ice, through which he found it impossible to penetrate, and from which, fortunately he escaped with only "a few rubs." HUDSON — THIRD VOYAGE — 1609. 83 From the 9th to the 15th of June, little progress was made, on account of the ice and the fog ; on the latter day, two of the ship's company solemnly avowed that they had beheld a mermaid, which, however, unfortunately disajipeared before others could be summoned to witness the strange sight. Baffled by heavy north and north-easterly gales, Hudson was forced to steer to the southward, " the hopes of a passage being gone this way,bymeanesof our nearenesse to Nova Zembla, and the abundance of ice." He landed on the coast, in latitude 72*^ 12', and found quantities of whalebone and deer's horns, whilst the sea was full of morses, whales, and seals, which induced him to hope that the expenses of the voyage might be paid by their capture ; but he did not succeed in his expecta- tions, and on the 6 th July, " being void of hope of a north-east passage," he made sail for England, and arrived at Gravesend on the 26 th August. It is probable that Hudson's patrons were not pleased with his voyage, for we next year find him in the service of the Dutch East India Company, who appear to have again turned their attention to the north. His account of the voyage ^ is, however, very vague and unsatisfactory, a charge indeed which has been brought against him by various writers. He seems to have reached Wardhuys on the 19th of May, and then to have immediately turned the ship's head, and steered direct for the coast of North America. " The truth is, Hud- son's own mind seems to have been fixed on north- western discovery. This appears from several hints in his second narrative; and he was, probably, inclined to content himself with a mere show of proceeding eastward, that, apparently baffled, he ^ See Purchas, and the Collections of the New York Historical Society. i Y'\ I '. ■ t i \ 84 HUDSON — THIRD VOYAGE — 1609. might follow his favourite direction.'"' Hudson thus discovered the bay and river, on the shores of which New York now stands. Of his first ar- rival off this coast, an extraordinary tradition has been handed down among the native Indians of the neighbourhood, which has been preserved and communicated to the New York Historical Society by the Rev. John Heckewelder, for many years a Moravian missionary to the Indians of rensyl- vania,^ The narrator states that he received it from vari- ous old and respectable Indians of different tribes, about the middle of the eighteenth century. The narration goes into details which it would be use- less here to relate ; but the substance of it is as follows: — Long since, ere the Indians were ac- quainted with the existence of white men, some of the natives had been out in the bay fishing, when they discovered at a distance a large floating object, but were unable to determine what it could be, some supposing it to be a huge animal, others a large house ; however, hastening ashore, they attracted the attention of their friends to it ; and these, on viewing the phenomenon, concluded it would be wise to inform the neighbouring chiefs, that they might summon their warriors in case of danger. In answer to this summons, numbers has- tened together, and agreed it must be the Mannitto or Supreme Being coming to them in a large canoe ; and the result of a deliberation held by the chiefs on York Island, was the resolution that pre- paration should be made to receive him with be- coming honours. The women prepared the feast, a dance was arranged, and conjurors were set to work to determine who was the visitor, and the 2 " Polar Seas," p. 167. ^ " New York Historical Collections," New Series, v. i., pp. 71-74. ■n HUDSON — THIRD VOYAGE— 1609. 85 purpose of his coming. While all assembled were swayed between hope and fear, messengers came in, bearing intelligence that it was really the Man- nitto, with a number of people, arrived in a many- coloured house, and that they were of a different colour, and differently dressed from the natives ; one in particular attracted attention from being dressed entirely in red, and he was therefore sup- posed to be the great Mannitto himself. They were hailed in an unknown language, on hearing which they were terrified ; but for fear of offend- ing the supposed divinities, they remained by the shore. The house or large canoe stopped, and a smaller canoe, with the great Mannitto, put off for the shore, on reaching which he was received by a council of chiefs : friendly greetings passed between them, but the natives were lost in astonishment at his extraordinary appearance, clothed in red and shining with lace, and still more at his having a white skin. The Mannitto, as they still supposed him to be, had a large hockhack or decanter brought, with a cup, and poured some substance into It which he drank, and refilling it, he handed to the circle of chiefs ; all were afraid to touch the liquor, till one spirited brave, fearing to offend the great spirit, jumped up and volunteered to drink it. He said it was better for one man to die than for the whole nation to be destroyed by the indig- nation of the Mannitto, and bidding farewell to the assembly he drank it off, and in short time fell intoxicated, and slept, and they supposing him dead, mourned him accordingly ; however, he soon sprang up, declaring he never felt so happy as during his sleep, and drank more, the whole assembly joining him in this, and likewise becom- ing intoxicated. While this lasted, the strangers ■:t \i 86 HUDSON — THIRD VOYAGE 1609. had returned to their vessel, and coming back when the Indians had recovered their senses, made various presents, such as beads, axes, hoes, stock- ings, &c. After this, the whites departed, promising to return next year, bring more presents, and stay awhile, and saying that they would then ask a little land of them to raise herbs in. Faithful to their promise, they returned in the following year, and mutually rejoiced at meeting ; but the Indians state that the whites laughed at them for the ridiculous use they had made of their presents ; they had hung the implements of hus- bandry as ornaments round their necks, and made tobacco pouches of the stockings. The whites showed them the uses of the various presents, and they then joined in the laughter excited by their ignorance. Even more surprised than they had been on the first visit, they took all the white men for inferior Mannittos, still believing the chief stranger to be a superior divinity. They became very friendly, and the Mannitto asked for land — only as much as could be encom- passed by a bullock's hide. The Indians readily granted this, and the hide being brought, the strangers, much to the astonishment of the natives, cut it up into a thin rope, and thus encompassed a large piece of ground, which they were allowed to retain, not without some astonishment on the part of the natives at being thus outwitted. Peace reigned for a long time between the whites and Indians ; but the former, from time to time, asked and obtained grants of land higher up the Hudson, till the Indians believed they would in time take f)ossession of the whole of the country ; which at ast was actually the case. Ere taking leave of the subject, we may give the substance of a foot-note, by the reverend author, respecting the Indian Hudson's fatal voyage — IGIO. 87 name Mannahattaninki or Mannahachtaninh, which is to this day applied to York Island, which is said by the Delawares to have been given to it in con- sequence of the intoxication which took place on the arrival of the whites among them, the word in their tongue meaning the place of general intoxi- cation. On the other hand, however, the Mahi- canni or Mohiggans, and the Monseys, ascribe a different origin to the name ; the former ascribing it to a particular kind of wood growing there, and the latter from the circumstance of the Indians stringing the beads the whites had given them, the term signifying, in the language of the Monseys, " the place of stringing beads." On the 17th April, 1610, Hudson sailed from the Thames, on that voyage from which it was his fate never to return. Sir John Wolstenholme, Sir Dudley Digges, and others who were persuaded of the existence of a north-east passage, fitted out a ship called the Discovery, of fifty-five tons, at their own expense, the command of which was given to Hudson. He touched at the islands of Orkney, Faeroe, and Iceland, and, on the 15th June, "raysed the Desolations," where he found the sea full of whales, of whom they stood somewhat in fear. From this, he pursued a north-westerly course, and about the end of the month, met with an island, which Davis had laid down on his chart, now known as Resolution Island. Hudson not being able to go to the north of it, therefore took a southerly course, and fell " into a great rippling, or ouerfall of current, the which setteth to the west." This was the entrance of the great strait, now known by his name, into which he pushed his way, notwithstanding the icy obstacles which were continually placed in his course. But a far greater obstacle to his progress was the increasing dissatisfaction of his crew. In vain did he call ■4- >\ f 'if 88 HUDSON — FOURTH VOYAGE — 1610. them together, and show them his chart, repre- senting that he had sailed more than a hundred leagues further than any other Englishman ; — his consideration for their opinions had the usual effect in such cases; — "some were of one minde, and some of another; some wishing themselves at home, and some not caring wher, so they were out of the ice." However, they were all forced by dire necessity to assist in freeing the ship from her perilous position ; and, after several days of harassing weather, on the 11th July, in latitude 6'2^ 9% he reached some islands, which he named the Isles of God's Mercy. A few leagues further, and Hudson beheld that vast sea open before him, which seemed to be the completion of his most sanguine wishes. He made no doubt but that it was a portion of the mighty Pacific, and feelings of exultation filled his breast at the thought of his having succeeded in accomplishing that which had baffled so many before him. Hudson named the cape which formed the south-western extremity of the strait. Cape Wol- stenholme, and to another cape on the nearest of a group of islands lying off the main, he assigned that of Cape Digges. It was now the 3rd August, a period at which it became imperatively necessary to look for a more genial climate wherein to winter, which, after wandering about for three months, " in a labyrinth without end," they at length found, though no precise locality can be assigned to it. The 1 0th found them quite frozen in, and the pro- visions being nearly all gone, the crew had nothing but the prospect of starvation, through cold and hunger, during a long and dreary winter. Hudson endeavoured, by every means in his power, to sti- mulate his crew to exert themselves in aiding to enlarge their scanty stock, by " propounding a reward to them that killed either beast, fish, or HI'DSON — FOUKTH VOYAGE — 1610. 89 fowle;" and providentially they killed a great number of white partridge, but when these dis- appeared, and the sea also no longer yielded any of its denizens, they were reduced to great neces- sity, and food of the most disgusting description became acceptable. Thus things went on, until at length the ice began to break up, and these poor famished men weighed anchor from the scene of their terrible sufferings. But terrible though those sufferings had been to all, it had taught some of them no lesson of thankfulness for their release ; a plot of the most horrible nature was brewing, which, as soon as they had arrived at the entrance of the bay in which they had passed the winter, broke forth. It appears from the Journal of the Voyage, by Abacuk rricket, printed in Purchas (vol. lii. f). 597), that Hudson had, before sailing from Eng- and, taken on board a young man named Green, with the hope of retrieving him from the bad habits into which he had fallen. This wretch, owing to some sharp words which had been used by his com- mander to him, vowed to have the most deadly vengeance, and, as unfortunately there were not wanting others of a similar unprmcipled character to his own, his plan met with ready support. On the morning of the '22nd July, as Hudson came out of his cabin, he was seized from behind by the malcontents, who immediately, and with eight sick men, who were driven from their beds, inhumanly thrust him forth from the ship, and hoisting sail, fled from them as from an enemy. Thus miserably perished a man, of whom it has been truly said, that he was, " in point of Skill, inferior to few, in regard to Courage surpassed by none, and in point of Industry and Labour hardly equalled by any."'* As may be expected, as soon as they had ♦ "Ellis's Voyage to Hudson's Bay/' 8vo. 1748. Preface, p. 26. I > i t i ! i • it ' !{! (1 '1 I.;- 90 HUDSON FOURTH VOYAGE — 1610. fi executed this barbarous deed, the crew fell to plundering the vessel, breaking open chests, and committing all those acts of riot and excess which are usual m such cases, where all control is at an end. Green however, who doubtless was possessed of talent, although so lamentably perverted, endea- voured to restore order. After having been em- bayed for more than a fortnight among fields of ice, they at length had skill enough among them to guide the ship back to Cape Digges, — the long- desired breeding place of fowls, — to reach which, such was their impatience, that they ran on a rock, where they stuck fast for some hours. But, whilst they were in some measure recruiting their ex- hausted strength, an unlooked-for catastrophe hap- pened. They had met with a large party oi natives, " who, to all appearance, were the most simple and kind people of the world." One day when the boat went ashore for the purpose of collecting the eggs and birds, which now formed their whole sus- tenance, and when all her people were scattered in this duty, they were suddenly individually set upon by their cunning friends, whom, after a struggle, in which several received their death wounds, with great difficulty they succeeded in repulsing, and then regained the ship. " Thus perished the chief perpetrators of the late dreadful tragedy, visited by Providence with a fate not less terrible than that which they had inflicted on their illustrious and unfortunate victim." The remainder of the mutineers, after enduring the most dreadful privations, arrived off the coast of Ireland, when their last bird was in the steep-tub. They after- wards found means, by mortgaging their vessel, to Eroceed to Plymouth, when, probably because they ad been made to suffer so much already, they were allowed to go unpunished for their dreadful crime. i i SIR THOMAS BUTTON — 1612. 91 I CHAPTER VII. Captain Thomas Button sent out under the Patronage and In- structions of Henry Prince of Wales — The Muscovy Company renew their Endeavours — Want of Zeal in their Commander — Merchant Adventurers fit out an Expedition, in the hope of finding the Precious Metals on the Coast of Greenland — Murder of Hall, the Commander — Second Enterprise of the same Company, and Total Failure — Fotherby's Two Voyages — The Muscovy Company persevere in their Exertions — Baffin, sent out under Bylot, signalizes himself — Baffin's second Voyage, his Zeal and Energy — Violent Death of the great Navigator — Letter to Sir John Wolstenhohne. Hudson's sad fate doubtless excited great com- miseration at home, and it has been thought probable that the next expedition to the northern seas was partly undertaken with a view to ascertain any par- ticulars of his terrible end, for which reason we notice it, although it does not follow chronologically, but from the very little that is known of it, there is no positive evidence to support this charitable supposi- tion. The opening of Hudson's Strait into a vast sea to the westward, was, however, of itself quite sufficient to justify another voyage, and accordingly the Adven- turers fitted out two vessels, named like those of the great Cook, the Resolution and Discovery, the first of which was commanded by Captain Thomas Button, an officer in the service of rrince Henry, who is said to have been a man of great skill in maritime matters, as well as, generally speaking, highly talented ; and who was subsequently knighted for his eminent ser- vices. The Discovery was commanded by Captain Ingram. Button had w4th him also two volunteers. i-^ i ■' ), I l\ ' is t] 03 BUTTON — 161t?. named Gibbons and Hawkridge, who commanded similar expeditions at a future day. Mr. Rundall has printed in his "North- West Voyages" a rare fac-similie of the original MS. orders given by Prince Henry to Button, entitled : — " Henry P. _ " Certaine orders and instruccons set downe by the most noble Prince Henry of Wales^ this 5 of Aprill 1612 vnder his highnes signature and signe manuell and delieuredvnto his seruant Captaine Thomas Button generall of the company now im- ployed about y^ full and perfect discouery of the north-west passage for the better gouernment as well of the shipps committed to his charge as ol the personns in them imployed vppon all occa- sions whatsoever." The instructions which follow are drawn up with considerable skill. By them Button was directed to proceed to Digges' Island as soon as possible, " the waie being alreadie beaten," leaving the examination of the shores of the strait to his return. (8.) " Being in (Hudson's Strait) : We holde it best for you to keepe the northerne side, as most free from the pester of ice, at least till you be past Cape Henry, from thence follow the leading ice betweene King James and Queen Anne's Forelands, the distance of which two capes observe, if you can, and what harbour or rode is neir them, but yet make all the hast you male to Salisbury His Island, betweene w"*' and the Notherne continent you are like to meet a great and hoUowe billowe from an opening and flowing Sea from thence. Therefore, remembering that your end is west, we would have you stand over to the opposite Maine, in the latitude of some 58", where, riding at some headland, observe well the flood of it come in south-west, then you male be sure I i; 1 BUTTON — 161*2. y:j the passage is that waie ; yf from the north or north- west, your course must be to stand vpp into it, taking- heed of following anie flood, for feare of entering into BAis, INLETS, or SANDS (? sounds), which is but losse of time to noe purpose." In case of separation, Digges' Island was also appointed as the rendezvous. The ships being in all respects completed and provisioned for eighteen months. Button sailed in the early part of May, 1612, with By lot and Pricket, adventurers in the late unfortunate expedition of poor Hudson, as pilots. He arrived safely at Digges' Island, from which he took a south-wosierly^ course until he fell in with land, to which he gave the name of Cary's Swans'-Nest. His next land-fall he namBd Hopes Check'd, and the same day (13th August), a violent storm arising, he was obliged to seek a harbour for sheltering and refitting his ships. This he found in a small river, in latitude 57° 10' N., which he named Port Nelson, from his master, who died and was interred here, and which has since become one of the Hudson's Bay Company's principal stations. Having determined on making this their wintering place, they proceeded to construct a barri- cade, to protect the ships from the inclemency of the weather, and took other precautions to make all snug for the approaching winter, which in the end proved so severe, that several of the crew gave way under it. Button, with a sagacity which proves him to have been a wise commander, gave his crew no time to think of mischief, considering " that the best way of preventing men from murmuring, discontent, and secret conspiracies, was to divert their minds from dwelling on their own unpleasant situation,"'^ and he likewise happily succeeded in obtaining an abundant supply of wild fowl, which of course prevented much * Not norM- westerly. — See " North- West Voyages," p. 86. •■!* " Barrow," p. 198. H I i p. I. li J)4 JONAS POOLE — 1610, 1611. of that dissatisfaction which is the general consequence of hunger. About the beginning of April in the ensuing year the ice began to break up, although they were not able to extricate the ship from her icy berth for sonic months after. They then stood along the coast to the northward, until on the 29th July they had attained the latitude of 65°; this was somewhere near the present Cape Comfort, and was the highest northern latitude reached in the voyage. From this point a course was shaped to the southward, until Mansell's Islands were made, and thence a direct passage home. Button gave it as his opinion on his return, that a western passage did exist, although, much to his annoyance, he had not succeeded in discovering it. The enterprising Muscovy Company, in 1610, sent out Jonas Poole, in a small bark of seventy tons, to search for a passage across the pole. He sailed on the 1st March, but after reaching the latitude of 66", was driven back to Scotland. On the 2nd May he made the North Cape, and then stood for Cherie Island, which, however, owing to the dense fog, he quite missed, and first made the coast of Spitzbergen, along which he pushed to about 77° 30'; the air becoming gradually milder, when his ardour for discovery vvas entirely turned aside by the sight of a large nerd of morses, the capture of which formed his whole pursuit for the remainder of the voyage. Next year Poole again sailed, and unfortunately did not attempt to redeem his character as an Arctic explorer ; — nothing is heard of but the capture of the morse, until his little vessel of fifty tons was quite full. This was her ruin ; as the last bale of skins was being brought on board she heeled over, and all the loose skins slipping to the same side, she was carried entirely under water. The crew, who all POOLE, HAI.I, AND GIHHONS. 95 1 ; escaped witli divers serious contusions, were fortu- nately picked up by a Hull whaler Poole was again sent out the following year with two vessels, but as his object seems to have been solely the capture of the whale and morse, it seems unjust to place his name among the Arctic voyagers of the .mc venteenlli century; he says, indeed, that Thomas Mamiadukc, the chj)- tain of tlie other vessel, penetrated to the hititude of 82", but as we have no further authority for this assertion, the truth rests on his bare assertion. While Sir Thomas Button and Jonas Poole were engaged on the above voyages, a new company of merchant adventurers, one of the ])rincipal men of which was Alderman Cockin, despatched James Hall, who had already made three voyages to Greenland in the Danish service. The vessels were the Patience and the Heart's-ease, and the object of the voyage appears to have been a vague idea of gold and silver mines on the western coast of Greenland ; but, with such an idea in view, nothing, as may be supposed, was done. Hall whilst sitting in a boat was stabbed by one of the natives. Sir John Barrow remarks: " The little that is known of this voyage appears to have been written by William Baffin; and it is chiefly remarkable for its being the first on record, in which a method is laid down, as then practised by him, for determining the longitude at sea by an observation of the heavenly bodies." The Merchant Adventurers saw in the failure of Button's attempt nothing to discourage them ; in fact, they were rather disposed to think otherwise. They accordingly again fitted out one of his ships, the Dis- covery, the command of which was given to Captain Gibbons, a near relative of Button, and whom the lat- ter declares was not " short of any man that ever yet he carried to sea." Captain Gibbons, unfortunately for his high recommendation, failed most signally. Com- 96 GIBBONS, FOTHERBV, BYLOT, AND BAFFIN'. pletely baffled in his attempts to get through Hud- son's Strait, he ran for the coast of Labrador, and here, on the spot where the Moravians afterwards formed their settlement of Nain, he remained for nearly five months, blocked up by the ice. When he did get out, of what his sailors had with some truth dignified with the appellation of " Gibbons his hole," he had of course nothing to do but to return home. On the 16th April 1614, Robert Fotherby sailed in a small vessel called the Thomasine, in company with the fleet of Greenland ships, which now resorted to these seas for the fishery. After numerous obstruc- tions, he reached, on the 10th of June, Hakluyt's Headland, the north-western extreme of Spitzbergen, where an unbroken line of ice met his view. This, together with bad weather, forced him to return home. The following year Fotherby was again des- patched by the Muscovy Company. He advanced as far as 79° 10', when he became embayed in ice, from which he had scarcely escaped, when he was a second time encompassed ; thick fogs, violent storms, and shoals of ice prevented him from making any further progress, and the voyage was abandoned. Again did the Muscovy Company, with a perse- verance which is truly surprising, fit out the Discovery for her third Arctic voyage. The command of the vessel was virtually given to Robert Bylot, who had performed three voyages before to the north ; but it is to the intelligent William Baffin, who acted as his mate or pilot, that we may greatly attribute the suc- cess of his voyage. All that was known of this attempt was printed by Purchas, in his "Pilgrims;" but it has since been ascertained by Mr. Rundall (" North- West Voyages," p. 97), that his version of it is sadly incorrect, which has, unfortunately, laid the character of Baffin open to many undeserved attacks. Mr. Rundall has dis- '■■in BYLOT AND BAFFIN — 1615. 97 ped by been kages," I which open is dis- covered the autograph originals of the narrative, the table of latitudes and longitudes, the Brief Journal, and a letter to the worthy advancers and adventurers of the voyage, all written or compiled by Baffin him- self. The excellent letter in which Baffin forwards the other documents to the adventurers, commences by a series of well-turned compliments, which he con- cludes by saying, that " who so seeketh to sett forth the worthie prayse of our London merchants, had need bee more then a good rethoritian ;" then follow some few directions necessary to the understanding of the Table of latitudes and longitudes, Chart, &c. ; the whole letter bearing the evidence of the greatest candour and truth. The " Breefe lournall " is too long for our pages, but the following is the table of latitudes and longitudes referred to in the letter : — The Longitude and Latytude of such Places ivheare we haue beene on shore within Resolution Iland, and what Moone doth make a full sea, or the Tyme of Hioh Watek or the Chainge Day ; and also there distance from Resolution Iland. Resolution Hand .... Saluage iland Nine legues ^ beyond . . Broken ilands North Shore 6 leagues short of Cape Comfort At Cape Comfort .... Sea Horse Poynt .... Sir Dudly Diggs iland . Nottyngam iland . . . [1] [2] 66 26! 72 00, 73 00 i 74 30 80 30 85 20 85 22 82 30 79 40 80 50 61 62 62 63 64 64 65 63 62 63 30 30 40 46 40 45 00 44 45 32 [3] £. S. £. S. E. 4 E, S. E. S.E.byS, S. S. E. S. 5E. S. 5 E. S. by E. S. b. E. S.S.E. [4] [5] Legues. 58 67^ 87 142 180 186 154 123 13t On the 17th March 1615, the Discovery sailed from Blackwall, and after " an indifferent g(;od pas- sage," first sighted the coast of Greenland on the 6th May, a little to the east of Cape Farewell, after * Blank in the original.? 1, Longitude. 2, Latitude. 3, Bear- ings. 4, Time. 5, Distance. t This corner of the page is torn. F 'K I It * 98 BYLOT AND BAFFIN — 1615. rounding which, they kept a south-westerly course till the 17th May, when they entered Hudson's Strait. On the 1st June they anchored in a good harbour on the west side of Resolution Island, having encountered adverse winds, which stopped their pro- gress to the westward. From this narbour they weighed on the *2nd, and continued groping along the northern shore of the strait, " so well as the ice would give them leaue to gett," until the 8th, when they had reached " a company of ilandes," which they called "Savag Isles, hauing a great sound, or in- draught, betweene the north shoare and them." Here they met and had communication with some of the natives, " muche like to the inhabitaunte of Groyne- land, sauing that they are not so neate and artefitiall, seeminge to bee more rude and vnciuill, raynginge vp and doune as theare fishinge is in season." Pro- ceeding onward, without anything very particular occurring — save some lunar observations made by Baffin off Broken Point, the accuracy of which, a cen- tury after, called forth the praise of Captain Parry — Bylot, on the the 29th June, " raysed Salisbury Island," which, however, on account of the ice, he was unable to approach. He therefore stood to the northward, and succeeded, after great danger, in passing another island, to which, " by reason of the greate extremetye and grindinge of the ice," he gave the name of Mill Island. Often were they in great peril ; at one time " the ship was hoysed aloft ; and at other tymes shee hauinge, as it were, got the vpper hand, would force greate mighty peeces to sinke downe on the one side of her, and rise on the other. But God, which is still stronger than either rocks, ice, eddy, or streame, preserved vs and our shippe from any harme at all." Bylot now stood away to the north^ directly up the broad strait known as the Fox Channel, and on the * " Polar Seas," p. 244, westi " Purchas," norM-wcs in lat. 76° 35', a cape or head- land, to which the name of Sir Dudley Digges, one of the adventurers, was given ;^ and a few le:igues farther, a fair sound, with an island standing at its mouth, was called after another of the same worthies, Wolstenholme Sound. In lat. 77° 30', another sound, which they * " Cape Dudley Diffges was found to be a few miles to the southward of the situation in which Baffin has laid it down. It appeared to form a precipice of about eight hundred feet in height, was perfectly clear of snow, and presented a yellowish vegetation at top, behind which, at the distance of eighteen miles, there appeared to be high mountains covered with snow." — (Ross (Capt. John) Voyage : Isabella and Alexander, in 1818. London, 1819, p. 141.) I 1 T 1 1 • 1 . \ t ■ ! . I 1 ' ;i ; 102 BYLOT AND BAFFIN— 1616. named after the great number of whales observed, was seen, and between these two last, a group of islands received the name of Cary Islands. From Whale Sound they proceeded in a north-westerly direction, following the trending of the coast, until they made an island, to which the name of Richard Hakluyt, the first and greatest English compiler of a collection of voyages, was given. The next great inlet received the name of Sir Thomas Smith, and Baffin remarks, it " is admirable in one respect, because in it is the greatest variation in the compasse of any part of the world known ; for by divers good observations, I found it to be above five points, or fifty-six degrees, varied to the westward, so that a north-east and by east is true north, and so of the rest." With a favourable wind they now stood to the south- west, until the 10th, when it became foggy, and they found themselves again at the entrance of a fair sound, to which the name of Alderman Jones was given. Running along the shore, " which now trended much south, and began to show like a bay," on the 12th, in lat. 74" 20', they passed another great inlet, which was called Sir James Lancaster's Sound, and the mouth of which was sealed up for two hundred years afterwards, until the icy barrier was removed to admit the energetic Parry. Their hope of a passage now became day by day less. " From this sound," Baffin remarks, " to the southward wee had a ledge of yce between the shoare and us, but cleare to the sea- ward; we kept close by this ledge of ice till the 14th day in the afternoon, by which time we were in the latitude of 7P 16', and plainely perceived the land to the southward of 70° 30' ; then wee, having so much ice round about, were forced to stand more eastward." On this tack they ran about sixty leagues, when they again made the land, in about the latitude of 6&*, but • I i BYLOT AND BAFFIN — 1616. »03 not being able to gain the shore drifted down to 65" 40', when they got into the " indraft of Cumberland's Isles, and should know no certaintie and hope of passage could be none ;" a consultation was held, and Baffin adds, " seeing that wee had made an end of our dis- covery, and the year being too farre spent to goe for the bottome of the bay to search for drest finncs,^ therefore wee determined to goe for the coast ol' Groneland to see if we could get some refreshing for our men." This determination was carried out, and on the 28th July they anchored in the Cockin Sound of Hall, in lat. 65® 45', where they found abundance of scurvy grass, by the plentiful use of which, " with the blessing of God," they were soon restored to perfect health. Departing on the 6th August from Cockin's Sound, which they represent to be a very excellent harbour, they steered for home, and arrived safely in Dover Roads on the 30th of the same month. All that is known of the issue of this most importcuii voyage is, that on his return Baffin addressed the fol- lowing excellent letter to one of the gentlemen who had fitted him out. Of Baffin himself very little else, we regret to say, has survived the ravages of time. Purchas says (p. 848), " Master Baffin told me, that he would, if he might get employment, search the passage from Japan, by the coast of Asia ; but in the Indies he dyed, in the late Ormus businesse, slain in fight with a shot, as he was trying his mathematicall projects and conclusions." But though nothing is known of his after-life, future years have verified all that this admirable old navigator ever asserted, and his name will cling to the waters of the mighty bay he discovered, as long as honest worth shall be recognized in the world. 1 ! 'I ; if l.i * Whalebone. 104 BAFFINS LETTER. ■1 ** To the Right WorshipfuH Master John Woistenholme, Esquire, one of the Chiefe Aduenturera for the Discouerie of a Passage to the North-west. " Worthy Sir. There need no filling a joiirnall, or short discourse, with preamble, compliment, or circum- stance ; and therefore I will onely tell you, I am proud of any remembrance, when I expose your worth to my conceit ; and glad of any good fortune, when I can auoid the imputation of ingratitude, by acknowledging your many fauors ; and seeing it is not vnknowne to your worship, in what estate the businesse concerning the north-west hath beene heretofore, and how the onely hope was in searching of Fretum Dauisy which if your selfe had not beene the more forward, the action had well nigh beene left off; Now it remayneth for your worship to know, what hath been performed this yeere. Wherefore I entreat you to admit of my custome ; and pardon me, if I take the plaine highway in relating the particulars, without vsing any refined phrases, and eloquent speeches. ** Therefore briefly, and as it were in the fore front, I intend to show you the whole proceeding of the voyage in a word ; as namely, there is no passage, nor hope of passage, in the north o£ Dauis Strdghts, we hauing coasted all, or neere all the circumference thereof, and find it to be no other than a great bay, as the map here placed doth truly shew. Wherefore I cannot but much admire the work of the Almightie, when I consider how vaine the best and chiefest hopes of man are in things vncertaine. And to speake of no other matter, than of the hopefull passage to the north west ; how many of the best sort of men, haue set their whole indeuours to proue a passage that waves, and not onely in conference, but also in writing, and publishing to the world ; yea what great summes of money hath beene spent about that action, as your BAFFIN*S LETTER. 105 worship hath costly experience off. Neither would the vaine glorious Spaniard have scattered abroad so many false maps, and journals, if they had not beene confident of a passage this way ; that if it had pleased God, a passage had been found, they might have eclipsed the worthy praise of the adventurers, and true discouerers ; and, for my owne part, I would hardly haue belieued the contrarie, vntill mine eyes became witnesse of that I desired not to haue found, still taking occasion of hope on euery little likelihood, till such time as we had almost coasted the circumference of this great bay. Neither was Master Dauis to be blamed in his report, and great hopes, if he had anchored about Hope Sanderson^ to haue taken notice of the tydes; for to that place, which is in 72 degrees 12 mi- nutes, the sea is open, of an vnsearchable depth, and of a good colour ; onely the tydes keepe no certaine course, nor rise but a small height, as eight or nine foote; and the flood commeth from the southward; and in all the bay beyond that place, the tyde is so small, and not much to be regarded ; yet by reason of snow melting on the land, the ebbe is stronger than the flood, by meanes whereof, and the windes holding northerly, the fore-part of the yeere, the great iles of ice are set to the southward ; some in Fretum Hudson^ and others towards Neu found Land: for in all the channell, where the sea is open, are great quantities of them driuing up and downe ; and till this yeere not well knowne where they were bred. " Now that the worst is knowne concerning the passage, it is necessarie and requisite, your worship should vnderstand what probabilitie, or hope of profit, might here be made hereafter, if the voyage be at- tempted by fitting men. And first, for killing of whales. Certaine it is, that in this bay are great numbers of them, which the Biscainers call the Grand Baye Whales, of the same kind which are killed at f3 106 Baffin's i.etieii. < Greenland, and, as it seemcth to nic, easie to be strooke ; because they are not vsed to bee chased or beaten ; for we being but one day in Wliale Sound, so called from the number of whales that we saw there sleeping and lying aloft on the water, not fearing our ship, or ought else ; that if we had l)eene fitted with men and tnings necessarie, it had beene no hard matter to haue stroke more than would haue made three shippes a sauing voyage, and that is of that sort of whale there is no feare. I being twise at Grcen- landf tooke sufficient notice to know them againe ; be- side I' dead whale we found at sea, hauing all her finnes, or rather all the rough of her mouth, of which, with much labour, we got one hundred and sixtie the same euening we found her ; and if that foule weather, and a storme the next day, had not followed, we had no doubt but to haue had all, or the most part of them. But the winde and sea arising, she broke from vs, and we were forced to leaue her. Neither are they onely to be looked for in VVhale Sounds but also in Sir Thomas Smithes Sound, Wostenholme Sound, and diuers other places. " For the killing sea morse I can giue no ccrtaintie, but onely this ; that our boat being but once a shoare, in all the north part of this bay, which was in the entrance oi Alderman Jones Sound; at the retunie, our men told vs, they saw many morses along by the shoare on the ice ; but our shippe being vnder saile, and the winde comming faire, they presently came aboard with- out further search. Besides, the people inhabiting about 74 degrees, told vs, by diuers signs, that towards the north, were many of those beasts, hauing two long teeth, and shewed vs diuers pieces of the same. " As for the sea vnicorne, it being a great fish, hauing a long home or bone growing forth of his forehead or nostrill ; such as Sir Martin Frobisher in his second voyage found one ; in diuers places we saw of them. BAFFIN S LETTER. lo: which, if the home be of any goode vahic, no (loul>f but many of them may be killeu. " And concerning what the shoare will yield, as beach Jinnes^ morse teethf and such like, I can little say; because we came not on shoare in any of the places where hope was of finding them. " But nere some may object, and aske, * why we sought that coast no better?' To this I answere, that while we were thereabout, the weather was so exceed- ing foule wee could not ; for first we anchored in Wostenholme Sound, where j)resently our shippe drove with two anchors a head; then were we forced to stand forth with a low saile. The next day in Hlinle Sound we lost an anchor and cable, and could fetch the place no more ; then we came to an anchor neere a small island lying between Sir Thomas Smith\s Sound and Whale Sound ; but the winde came more outward, that we were forced to weigh again. Neuer- thelesse if we had beene in a good harbour, hauing but our shippe's boat, we durst not send her farre from the shippe, hauing so few men as seuenteene in all, and some of them very weake : But the chiefe cause we spent so little time to seeke a harbour, was our great desire to performe the discouerie, hauing the sea open in all that part, and still likelihood of a pas- sage ; but when we had coasted the land so farre to the southward, that hope of passage was none, then the yeere was too farre spent, and many of our men very weake ; and withall we hauing some beliefe, that shippes the next yeere would be sent for the killing of whales, which might better doe it than we. " And seeing I haue briefly set downe what hope there is of making a profitable voyage, it is not vnfit your worship should know what let or hinderence might be to the same. The chiefest and greatest cause is, that some yeere it may happen, by reason of the ice, lying between 72 degrees and a halfe, and j \ •■ 108 Baffin's letter. I i 76 degrees, no minutes, that the shipnes cannot come into those places till toward the nuudest of July, so that want of time to stay in the countrey may bee some let. Yet they may well tarry till the last of Auffust, in which space much businesse may be done, anugoode store of oile made ; neucrthelesse, if store of whales come in, as no feare to the contrarie, what cannot bee made in oile may be brought home in blubber, and the finnes will arise to good proRt. Another hinderance may be, because the bottome of the sounds will not be so soone cleere as would be wished, by means thereof now and then a whale may be lost — tne same case sometime chanceth in Green- land ; yet I am perswaded those sounds before named, will all be cleered before the twentieth of July, for we, this yeere, were in PVIiale Sound the fourth day among many whales, and might have strooke them without let of ice. Furthermore, there is little wood to be expected, either for fire or other necessaries, therefore coles and such other things must be pro- uided at home, they will be so much the readier there. "Thus much I thought good to certifie to your worship. Wherein I trust you will conceiue that much time hath not been spent in vaine, or the businesse ouer carelessly neglected ; and although we haue not performed what we desire, that is to haue found the passage, yet what we promised, as to bring certaintie and a true description, truth will make manifest that I haue not much erred. " And I dare boldly say, without boasting, that more good discouerie hath not in shorter time, to my remembrance, beene done since the action was at- tempted, considering how much ice we haue passed, and the difficulty of sayling so neare the pole vpon a trauerser ; and, aboue all, the variation of the com- passe : whose wonderfuU operation is such in this bay, iiii 11 hat my at- ed, n a Dm- IIAFFIN 8 LKTTKn. 109 increasing and decreasing so suddenly and swifl, being in some part, as in t^Voatenholmc Sound and in Sir Thomas Smith's Sou?uit varied about fiue points, or 56 degrees, a thing almost incredible and match- lesse in all the world beside: so that without great care and good observations, a true description could not have been had. — In fine, whatsoeuer my labours arc or shall be, 1 csteeme them too little to express my thankeful mind for your many fauors, wherein I shall be euer studious to supply my other wants by niv best endeauours, and ever rest at ■ ' "Your Worship's Command, "William Baffin.'"' ,1 i • i » " Purehtts," vol. iii. pp. 843-4. '\ : 110 HAWK FUDGE. CHAPTER VIII. Arctic Voyage, undertaken by Captain Hawkridge, attended by no new results — The Danes roused to emulation by £nglish example — Christian IV. fits out Two Ships, giving the com- mand to Munk — Arrangement of Winter Quarters — Gloomy Anticipations caused by the appearance of Celestial Phenomena — Dreadful Mortality of the Crew — Return of the Survivors- Zeal of Fox, a Yorkshireman, stimulates to a New Enterprise, under his own command— Charles I. grants a Vessel — Proceed- ings of the Voyage — Meeting in Hudson's Bay with another Exploring Ship, the Maria, commanded by Captain James — Safe return to England. The next Arctic voyager was Captain Hawkridge, who it will be remembered was a fellow volunteer with the unfortunate Captain Gibbons, in the voyage of Sir Thomas Button. Nothing was known of this attempt but the commander's name, not even the year or the ship's name, until Mr. Rundall, in searching the Court Minute Books of the East India Fellow- ship, came upon the following announcement by Sir John Wolstenholme of " an intended tryall to be made once againe in discou'nge the Norwest passage," under date of the 20th January, 1618-19. " As an inducement to the court to contribute their assistance to this new attempt, he states it is under- stood, * that in Botton's Bay, w'^'' runneth in 450 leagues from the mouth, a great tyde of floode runnes, and riseth sometimes 17 or 18 feet in height, w*'*' is supposed cannott be but by some current in the sea in some other place, w'^*' in pbabillitie may proue the HAWKRIDCiF. HI desired passage.' Sir John Wolstenholiiie further states, so satisfied is he of the feasibihty of the project, that he intends * to make a good round aduenture in his own pticuler, and to pswade as many friendes as he may, whereby to raise meanes to furnishe forthe two piiyiaces, w"^** will cost //. 2,000.' This appeal to the generosity of the worshipful body was no less successful than former applications of the same de- scription had been, ' seeing,' the record states, * that the matter is small for this Companie, and that these workes bringe forth some good (as the whale-iishinge was found by the like occasion), yf the yssue prone good, they are like to be ptakers of that good ; but yf itt should succede otherwise, yet the deed is charitable ; They, therefore, by erecon of hands, did graunte an aduenture of //. '200 towards the same.' " •" As we know that the expedition which succeeded that of Baffin, in 1616, was the one commanded by Luke Fox, in 1631, it may safely be assumed that the above remarks apply to the voyage of Hawkridge. He appears, however, to have done very little more than his friend Gibbons ; " the only difference be- tween the two navigators is, that the one was blocked up in 'a hole' and did nothing; while the other roved about to no good purpose." Fox is the only one who seems indeed to have heard anything of the voyage, and all we can learn from the meagre accounts which he derived from " manuscript or relation " is, that Hawkridge appears to have penetrated through Hud- son's Straits, but as nothing further is known, we are fain to leave the exploits of Captain Hawkridge in their original obscurity, impressed with the idea, that had they been worth knowing anything about, they would have been recorded. In the year 1619 the Danes appear to have awakened from a long slumber, during which so many brilliant ' " North-West Voyages," pp. 150—1. i. i jl 1' 1 « i i i ' ! t ^ } f ■■!■ : 112 JENS MUNK — 1619. discoveries had been made by the English navigators, and to have again turned their attention to the northern seas, in which they had a sort of natural interest. In that year Christian IV. caused two ships to be fully equipped, the command of which was entrusted to Jens Munk, who had the reputation of being an experienced seaman. Munk sailed from Elsinor on the 18th Mjw, and made the coast of Greenland on the 20th June. He stood up Davis's Straits, until he became so hampered with ice that he was forced to go to the southward and pass into Hudson's Straits. Here he took the liberty, (and indeed throughout the whole voyage) of altering the names given by former navigators; — thus Hudson's Straits became Christian's Straits ; the northern part of Hudson's Bay Mare Novum, the New Sea; and the southern, Christian's Sea, &c.; the innovation, how- ever, has received, at the hands of geographers, the contempt it so richly merited. Munk took up his winter quarters in what is now termed Chesterfield Inlet ; having erected good huts, and finding a plentiful stock of game, everything promised a comfortable stay until they should again be able to set out in search of unknown lands, but the issue was perhaps the most terrible of any that we have had to record. They first began to lose their spirits at beholding those extraordinary and m?ignificent aerial phenomena which are peculiar to an Arctic sky. On the 27th November, to all appear- ance, they beheld three distinct suns, and again another two on the 24th January. In December they also beheld an eclipse of the moon, which appeared as if environed by a transparent circle, within which was a cross, seemingly dividing the moon into four quarters. AH these beautiful appearances instead of amusing them had a directly contrary effect, and were regarded as the harbinger of those misfortunes LUKE FOX —1631. 113 ■\\ which shortly followed. The fro^ set in with great intensity, and their wine, brandy, and beer, froze so hard as to burst the casks in which they were con- tained. The scurvy next appeared among them, superinduced, it would seem, from too liberal a use of spirituous liquors, and to cure it they indulged still more freely, perhaps the worst means which could have been employed. This state of things continued, until they all became so weak as to be unable to kill any of the multitudes of ducks, geese, and partridges, which abounded ; and this, as famine now begun to stare them in the face, considerably aggravated the horrors of their position. Munk himself, after re- maining in his hut four days without food, at length had resolution to crawl out, and found that out of a crew of sixty-four souls two alone survived. With the energy of despair these three unfortunate sufferers dug into the rock-like snow, and found some plants and roots, which they greedily devoured, and wh'.ch, providentially, being possessed of anti-scorbutic pro- perties, soon enabled them to exert themselves more freely. By degrees they regained their natural vigour, and were enabled to lisn and shoot, but their thoughts were ever directed to the means of escape, and at length, having equipped the smaller vessel from the stores of the large one, they set sail, re-passed Hud- son's Straits, and, after a stormy and perilous voyage, reached home safely on the 25 th September, 1620. The revival of the subject of a north-west passage in England was owing to the exertions of Captain Luke Fox, or as he prefers to call himself, "North-west Fox," a shrewd talented Yorkshireman, whose book, which we have before had occasion to notice, is re- markable for its quaint comical style. According to his own account. Fox had for years continued to urge an expedition to the northern seas, which, he says, he *'had been itching after ever since 1606, and i u If i' J I 1 114 LUKE FOX — 1631. would have gone mate with John Knight;" he was at length so successful as to get the " honourable knight, Sir John Brooke," and other gentlemen, to take the matter up, and application being made to Charles I. for the loan of a vessel and his countenance to the undertaking, his majesty ** graciously accepted and granted both," immediately placed a ship of the royal navy at their disposal, but the season being too far advanced, their departure was delayed until next year. This delay proved dangerous ; in the interval, Mr. Henry Briggs, one of the supporters of the enter- prise, died ; others withdrew from the undertaking, and the whole affair would have been abandoned but for the opportune co-operation of Sir Thomas Roe and Sir John Wolstenholme " the never failing friend of this voyage," who were appointed by the king to expedite it. Under their direction, a pinnace called the Charles, of seventy tons, and a complement of twenty men and two boys, was equipped and pro- visioned for eighteen months. Of his outfit. Fox speaks in the following terms, first, however, address- ing his reader thus: "Gentle reader, — expect not heere any florishing phrases or eloquent tearmes, for this child of mine, begot in the north-west's cold clime (where they breed no schoUers), is not able to digest the sweet milke of Rethorick, &c. ** The ship of his Majesties was (of my own chusing, and the best for condition and quality, especially for this voyage, that the world could afford,) of burthen eighty tonnes, the number of men twenty, and two boyes, and by all our cares was sheathed, cordaged, builded, and rt,paired, all things being made exactly ready against an appointed time. My greatest care was to have my men of godly conversation, and such as their years, of time not exceeding thirty-five, had gained good experience,* that I might thereby be the ,,]■ ;r. LUKE FOX — 1631. 115 better assisted, especially by such as had been upon those frost-biting voyages, by which they were hardened for indurance, and could not so soone be dismayed at the sight of the ice. For beardless younkers, I knew as many as could man the boate was enough ; and for all our dependances was upon God alone, for I had neither private ambition or vaine glory. " And all these things I had contractedly done by the master, wardens, and assistants of the Trinity House. For a lieutenant I had no use ; but it grieved me much that I could not get one man that had been on the same voyage before, by whose counsaile or discourse 1 might better have shunned the ice. I was victualled compleatly for eighteene months, but whether the baker, brewer, butcher, and other, were master of their arts, or professors or no, I know not, but this I am sure of, I had excellent fat beefe, strong beere, good wheaten bread, good Iceland ling, butter and cheese of the best, admirable sacke and aqua- vitae, pease, oatmeale, wheat-meale, oyle, spice, sugar, fruit, and rice; with chyrugerie, as sirrups, julips, condits, trachisses, antidotes, balsoms, gummes, un- guents, implaisters, oyles, potions, suppositors, and purging pills ; and if I wanted instruments, my chy- rugion had enough. My carpenter was fitted from the thickest bolt to the pumpe nayle or tacket. The gunner fi*om the sacor to the pistol. The boatswaine from the cable to the sayle twine. The steward and cooke from the caldron to the spoone. " And for books, if I wanted any I was to blame, being bountifully furnisht from the treasurer with money to provide me, especially for those of study there would be no leisure, nor was there, for I found work enough." Next follow rules for proper discipline on board, which were no less necessary than was the abundant provision above noticed. .1 116 LUKE FOX — 1631. l'-:^ "May 7, anno 1631. — The voyage of Captaine Luke Foxe, in his majesties pinnace the Charles^ burthen seventy tonnes, twenty men, and two boyes, victuals for eighteen mouths, young Sir John Wolsten- holme being treasurer. ** Orders and articles for civill government, to be duly observed amongst us in this voyage. "Forasmuch as the good successe and prosperity of every action doth consist in the due service and glorifying of God, knowing that not < nly our being and preservation but the prosperity of all our actions and enterprizes doe immediately depend upon His Almighty goodness and mercy, of which this being none of the least, eythcr of nature or quality. For the better governing and managing of this present voyage, in his majesties ship the Charles^ bound for the North-west Passage, towards the South Sea, May 7, 1631, as foUoweth: — " 1. That all the whole company, as well officers as others, shall duly repaire every day twice, at the call of the bell, to hear publike prayers to be read (such as are authorized by the Church), and that in a godly and devout manner, as good Christians oi^ht " 2. That no man shall swear by the name of God, nor use any prophane oath, or blaspheme His holy name, upon pain of severe punishment. "3. That no man shall speak any vile or unbe- seeming word, against the honour of his Majestic, our dread soveraigne, his lawes or ordinances, or the religion established and authorized by him here in England, but as good subjects shall duly pray for him. "4. That no man shall speake any doubtfiill or despairing words against the good successe of the voyage, or make any doubt thereof, eyther in publique or private, at his messe, or to his watch-mate, or shall make any question of the skill and knowledge eyther of superiour or inferior officer, or of the undertaking, LUKE FOX — 1631. 117 nor shall offer to combine against the authority thereof, upon the paine of severe punishment, as well to him that shall first heare and conceale the same as to the first beginner. " 5. That no man do offer to filch or steale any of the goods of the ship or company, or doe offer to breake into hould, there to take his pleasure of such provisions as are layd in generall for the whole com- pany of the ship ; nor that any officer appointed for the charge and oversight thereof doe other wayes than shall be appointed him, but shall every man be careful! for the necessary preservation of the victuall and fuell conteyned in the hould ; and that also every officer be so carcfuU of his store, as he must not be found (upon examination) to deserve punishment. " 6. That no man doe grumble at his allowance of victuall, or steale any from others, nor shall give cross language, eyther to superior or equal, in reviling words or daring speeches, which do tend to the in- flaming of blood or inraging of choUer ; remembering this also, that a stroke or a blow is the breach of his majesties peace, and may not want his punishment therefore, as for other reasons. "7. That at the boatswaine's call, all the whole company shall appeare above decke, or else that his mate fetch up presently all such sloathfull persons, eyther with rope or cudgell, as in such cases deserves the same. The quarter-masters shall look into the steeridge, while the captains, masters, and mates are at dinner or at supper. *' 8. That all men duely observe the watch, as well at anchor as under sayle, and at the discharge thereof, the boatswaine, or his mate, shall call up the other, all praising God together with psalme and prayer. And so committing ourselves, both soules and bodies, ship and goods, to God's mercifuU preservation, wee beseech him to steere, direct, and guide us, from the lie LUKE FOX — 1631. beginning to the end of the voyage, which hee make prosperous unto us. Amen." Fox sailed from Deptford on the 3rd May, 1631, and passed Cape Farewell on the 13th June, thoush he was not able to see the land on account of the drizzling mist and fog, in which he was at the time enveloped. On the 20th land was made, on the north side of Lumley's Inlet, which rather unaccountably appears to have put him in mind of Gibbons and his hole, and likewise gives occasion for his indulgence in a piece of gossip, for which he is so notorious, and in which his journal so much abounds, as to the origin of the name of the inlet, which he says is " named after the Right Honourable the Lord Lumley, an espe- cial furtherer to Davis in his voyages, as to many other lordly designes, as that never to be forgotten act of his, in building up the peere of that poor fisher- towne and corporation of Hartlepoole, in the bishop- ricke of Durham, at his owne proper cost and charge, to the value of at least 2000 pounds. At my first coming thither, I demanded at whose charge the said peere-towne was builded, an old man answered, marrye, at my good Lord Lumley Sy whose soule was in heaven before his hones were cold" Next day he entered Hudson's Strait, and crowded on all the sail he could carry with safety, in order to avoid the fate of Gibbons, whose unfortunate mishap is ever before him. Being asked why it was that he made such haste, he answered, " that as every moun- taine consisted of severall pieces, so did my voyage upon fathomes, which must be measured here with speed, though afterward I might take leisure, which added one to another might in time compasse all the mountaines of the world ; and that it fared v/ith me as the mackarell-men at London, who must hasten to the market before the fish stinke." After numerous delays and dangers from the ice, Fox at length made i I' i LUKE FOX — 1631. 119 Salisbury Island on the 10th July, when he beeame involved in floating ice, which gave him a great deal of trouble ; no sooner had he by " haleing, saleing, toweing, and pulling," got clear of one mass and pushed for an openmg, than the treacherous inlet would again inclose him, and the same work had to be done again. The 19th found him still in the vicinity of Digges', Salisbury, Nottingham, Mansell, and Southampton Islands. On the 20th Gary's Swans' Nest was made, and on the 26th, in lat. 63" 20', it was " as hot a day as any in England, and the pettie dancei-s and hurbanes," by which is meant the aurora Ijorealis, " flashing during the night." On the 27th, in lat. 64° 10', an island was descried, which proved to be a place of sepulture for the natives. The bodies, the longest of which did not exceed four feet, were laid with their heads to the west, and were wrapped in skins, while numerous arms and implements in carved bone were lying beside them. To this island Fox gave the name of Sir Thomas Roe's Welcome, an appellation which has since been extended to the straits, at the entrance of which it lies; to another, farther to the westward, he gives the name of Brooke Cohham ; and likewise to a small group near the last, " Brigges his Mathematickesr Here Fox stayed his northern progress, assigning as a reason his instruc- tions, which direct him " to set the course from Caries Sivannes' Nest, N. W. by N., so as I might fall with the west side in 63 d., and from thence southward, to search the passage diligently, all the bay about, untill I came to HudsorCs Bay^"* steering south along the American shore. On the 2nd August he was off the " Hopes ChecKd^' of Sir Thomas Button, and on the 8th made Port Nelson, where he found part of a broken cross, which had been set up by Button, bearing an inscription, stating what his reasons had been for wintering here, &c. It was re -erected with a further inscription. I 1-20 LUKE FOX— J631. Fox determined to continue his voyage to the south- ward, in preference to taking up his winter quarters, as he had not observed as yet a single indication of the desired passage. On the 29th they fell in witli the Maria, a vessel which had been despatched by tlie Bristol merchants, imder the command of Captain Thomas James, on the very same day as Fox, and with a similar object in view. These two rivals met, and feasted each other on board their respective ships; but Fox does not appear to have been greatly prepos- sessed in the other s favour ; he speaks of him as " a gentleman who could discourse of arte, as observations, calculations, and the like, and he shewed me many instruments, so that I did perceive him to bee a prac- titioner in the mathematicks ; but I found that hee was no sea-man." The qualities of his vessel also drew forth some sharp remarks; while at dinner, which was served between decks, there not being suf- ficient room in the great cabin, she took in so much water, that Fox remarks, that " sause would not have been wanted if there had been roast mutton," and he revolved in his mind, " whether it were better for James his company to be impounded amongst ice, where they might be kept from putrefaction by piercing ayre, or in open sea, to be kept sweet by being thus daily pickled." The two navigators tooK leave of each other, after having been in company about seventeen hours, and Fox still sta..iding to the south; on the 3rd September, in lat. 55" 14', made a shore, to which he gave the name of Wolstenholme's Ultimum Vale, " for that I do believe Sir John Wol- stenholme will not lay out any more money in search of this bay." ^ From this point a northerly course was taken, and on the 7th (Gary's Swans' Nest was again seen; Fox continued to coast Southampton Island, ' Sir John Wolstenholme's loss on this voyage Fox estimates at 400/., and his total losses on account of his north-western enterprises at about 1100/. 1 LUKE FOX — 1631. 1-21 the weather " nothing bn.t snowe, frost, and sleet at best, our selves, ropes, and sayles, froaze, the sun seldome to be seene, or once in five daycs, the nights thirteen houres long, the moone wayning." From Seahorse Point he stood across to the main, and passing Mill Island, tracked the coast to the northward, naming successively two capes after King Charles and Queen Maria, and another Lord Weston's Portland, until, on the 22nd September, he reached a point, in lat. 66" 47', where he beheld the land trend to the S. E., which he named ** Foxe his Farthest." He now began to retrace his steps, seeing that there was no prospect of a passage in tnis direction, and it was thought too late in the season to attempt to reach Port Nelson to stay out the winter: — the fear, more- over, that the provisions would not hold out, even if they adopted this measure, induced Fox to direct his course homeward. On the 31st September, "blessed be Almighty God, I came into the Downes, with all my men recovered and sound, not having lost one man nor boy, nor any manner of tackling, having beene forth ne r six moneths. All glory be to God !" ^1 I. 122 THOMAS JAMES — 10.31. ! ;-' , CHAPTER IX. Particulars of the Voyage of the Maria under Captain James- Wintering at Charlton Island — Formation of Winter Quarters, withvariousotherparticulars— Return of Summer— Preparations for re-embarking — Conflagration on the Island — Escape of the Crew to the Vessel — Continuation of Voyage — Further Hard- ships — Return Home — King of Denmark despatches a Vessel, commanded by Captain Danell— Return without results— Second Expedition equally unprofitable — Proposal of M. de Grosseliez to tne French Government, to form Settlements on the Shores of Hudson's Bay — His Project rejected by France, but em- braced by England — Carried into execution, under the Patron- age of Prince Rupert — Grant of Territorial Rights to Hudson's Bay Company. We have already noticed the meeting of Captain Luke Fox and Captain Thomas James in the bottom of Hudson's Bay, and we now proceed to examine the voyage of the latter. The vessel, which was built expresslv for the pur- pose by the Bristol adventurers, was of seventy tons burthen, and was victualled for eighteen months, with a complement of twenty-two hands. James tells us in the narrative, which he published at the king's desire,' that he would neither allow any of his men to ' " The Strange and Dangerous Voyage of Captain Thomas James, in his intended Discovery of the N. W. Passage into the South Sea, wherein the Miseries indured both Going,Wintering, and Returning, are related at larore ; published by the special Command of King Charles I.," &c., quarto, 1633. Reprinted with the greatest integrity, in Churchill's Coll. oi Voy,, V. ii. p. 429. ! .nM ii n ijW > ww ^>-« JAMES — 16;3I. 123 > examine be married, nor would he take any that had before " us'd the northerly icy seas," thouirh there were numerous applicants ; thus keeping all the power in Iiis own hands, and making all innnediately in depend- ancc upon him, which proved in the end mther ques- tionable policy. On the .3rd May, the Maria left the Severn on her voyage of discovery, and on the 4th June, off Cape farewell, was in great danger from the ice, in w^arding off which they laboured day and night, and broke all their poles. Early in the morn- ing of the 1 7 th, Resolution Island was seen high above the fog, which covered the face of the ocean, and they succeeded in rounding its southern point on the '20th. From this date, James's journal is full of the most dismal entries. Though a man possessed of a kind and feeling heart, and many other amiable qualities, it does not appear that he was fitted for the command of an expedition like the i)resent, where the ordinary duties and experiences of a sailor stood for naught, and the navigation was among stupendous masses of ice, dangers totally unlike any that he has commonly to encounter, and from which there is no escape, if not opportunely met, or providentially turned aside. It is hardly necessary to recount the numerous perils through which they passed, before they reached Salis- bury island. On tne 29th, after passing Mansells Island, they became so firmly enclosed in the ice that, " notwithstanding we put aboard all the sail that was at the yard^ and it blew a very hard gale of wind, the ship stirr'd no more than if she had been in a dry dock. Hereupon we went all boldly out upon the ice, to sport and recreate ourselves, letting her stand still under all her sails." On the 11th of August they sighted Hub- bert's Hope, and on the 16th, Port Nelson. Shortly after this a serious accident occurred while heaving up the anchor, by which several of the crew were hurt, and the gunner " had his leg taken betwixt the g2 124 JAMES — 10.31. cable and the capstang, which wrung off his foot and tore all the flesh off his leg." On the 29th of August Fox's ship was seen at anchor, and after saluting him " according to the manner of the sea," the two com- manders met, as we have before narrated ; but we do not find in Jyiies's journal any disparaging remarks on his brother sailor. On the 3rd of September, a cape, in latitude 55° 5', was named after her Majesty Henrietta Maria, the queen consort ; and on the 12th they were again so unfortunate as to strike on a rock. James, who was awakened out of a deep sleep by the blow, thought at first that he had better provide him- self for another world ; but becoming more calm, and controlling the revengeful feeling that took pos- session of him, to do some harm to those who, " blind with self-conceit, and enviously opposite in opinion," had committed the error, he took all the means in his power to remedy the evil ; the water was started, and the beer only just escaped a similar fate ; the coal was thrown overboard, and a variety of articles were put into the long-boat, as it was feared that the vessel had now received "her death-wound." However, after five hours beating furiously, during which time she received a hundred blows, each of which threatened to be her last, she happily beat over all the rocks, and the crew went to prayers, to return thanks to God for their deliverance. James now de- termined to steer for the bottom of the bay, in order to find, if possible, a passage into the river of Canada; or, if he failed, to winter on the main. In carrying Gilt his design, he fell in with some islands, and named them after Lord Weston, the Earl of Bristol, Sir Thomas Roe, and Earl Dan by ; on the latter, now commonly known as Charlestown by contraction, Charlton Island, he determined to pass the winter. A hovel was built on shore, and the sick men carried to it, while the ship, which had driven on the I JAMES — 1631. 125 beach, soon became a perfect mass of ice. To add to their distress, they had to pass knee-deep through half-congealed water if they wanted to hold com- munication with their comrades ; it was therefore de- termined to abandon the ship altogether, and take up their quarters on shore. The 1st December was so cold that James walked over the ice to the ship, where the boat had gone the day previously. The 13th they began to dig the boat out of the ice, in doing which, many had their noses, cheeks, and fingers, frozen as white as paper. The '2iird all their sack, vinegar, oil, and everything else that was liquid, was frozen as hard as a piece of wood, and required to be cut with a hatchet. " Christmas-day was solemnized in the joy fullest manner we could, and now, instead of a Christmas tale, I will describe the house that we did live in, with those adjoyning. When I first resolved to build a house, I chose the warmest and convenientest place, and the nearest the shi}) withal. It was among a tuft of thick trees, under a south bank, about a slight shot firom the sea-side. True it is, that at that time we could not dig into the ground to make us a hole or cave in the earth, which had been the best way, because we found water dig- ?ing within two foot, and therefore that project fail'd. t was a wh'^e light sand, so that we could by no means make up a mud wall. As for stones, there were none near us; moreover, we were all now cover'd with the snow. We had no boards for such a pur- pose, and, therefore, we must do the best we could with such materials as we had about us. " The house was square, about twenty foot every way : as much, namely, as our main course could well cover. First, we drove strong stakes into the earth round about : which we wattld with boughs, as thick as might be, beating them down very close. This our first work, was six fc^t high on both sides, but at ' I . t 126 JAMES — 1631. ! ■ I S ' the ends, almost up to the very top. There we left two holes for the light to come in at ; and the same way the smoke did vent out also. Moreover, I caus'd, at both ends, three rows of thick bush trees to be stuck up, as close together as possible. Then, at a distance from the house, we cut down trees, pro- portioning them into lengths of six foot, with which we made a pile on both sides, six foot thick and six foot high ; but at both ends, ten foot high and six foot thick. We left a little low door to creep into, and a portal before that, made with piles of wood, that the wind might not blow into it. We next fasten'd a rough tree aloft over all, upon which we laid our rafters, and our main course over them again, which, lying thwartways over all, reach'd down to the very ground on either side ; and this was the fabrick of the outside of it. On the inside, we made fast our bonnet sails round about, then we drove in stakes, and made us bedstead frames, about three sides of the house, which bedsteads were double, one under another, the lowermost being a foot from the ground. These we first filled with boughs, then we laid ou spare sails on that, and then our bedding and cloaths. We made a hearth in the middle of the house, and on it made our fire. Some boards we laid round about the hearth to stand upon, that the cold damp should not strike up into us. With our waste cloaths we made us canopies and curtains, others did the like with our small sails. Our second house was not past twenty foot distant from this, and made for the wat- tling much after the same manner ; but it was less, and cover'd with our fore-course. It had no piles on the south side, but in lieu of that, we piled up all our chests on the inside ; and, indeed, the reflex of the heat of the fire against them did make it warmer than the Mansion House. In this house we dress'd our victuals, and the subordinate crew did refresh themselves all JAiMES — 1631. 1-27 day in it. A third house, which was our storehouse, ahout twenty-nine paces off from this, for fear of firing. This house was only a rough tree, fastened aloft with rafters laid from it to the ground, and cover'd over with our new suit of sails. On the inside we had laid small trees, and cover'd them over with boughs, and so stored our bread and fish in it, about two foot from the ground, the better to preserve them ; other things lay more carelessly. " Long before Christmas our Mansion House was cover'd thick over with snow, almost to the very roof of it. And so likewise was our second house ; but our storehouse all over, bv reason we made no fire in it. Thus we seemed to live in a heat, and wilder- ness of snow; forth of our doors we could not g<», but upon the snow, in which we made us paths middle deep in some places, and in one special place, the length of ten steps. To do this, we must shovel awa v the snow first, and then by treading, make it some- thing harc^ .^\dcr foot: The snow in this path was a full yard thi under us. And this was our best gallery for ii* : .ck men, and for mine own ordinary walking. And both houses and walks we daily accommodated more and more, and made fitter for our uses. " The 27th we got our boat ashore, and fetched up some of our provisions from the beach-side into the storehouse ; and so by degrees did we with the rest of our provisions, witn extremity of cold and labour, making way with shovels thro' the deep snow ; even firom the sea-side unto our storehouse. And thus concluded we the old year, 1631." January and February passed in their ordinary occupations, the cold not in the least decreasing. " We made three differences of the cold, all according to the places — in our house, in the woods, and in the open air upon the ice, in our going to the ship. For I i I \\ 1 128 JAASES — 1631. i, the last, it would br sometimes so extreme that it was not indurable ; no cloaths were proof against it, no motion could resist it ; it would moreover so freeze the hair on our eyelids that we could not see ; and I verily believe that it would have stifled a man in a very few hours." * Vou were in a vjood, (may some men say unto us,) and therefore you might make Jire enough to keep you from the cold.'' It is true we were in a wood, and under a south-bank too, or otherwise we had all starved. But I must tell you withal, how difficult it was to have wood in a wood the three that were appointed to look for crooked timber, stalked and waded, sometimes on all fours, through the snow, and when they saw a tree likely to fit the mould, they must first heave away the snow, and then see if it would fit the mould ; if not, they must seek further. If it did fit the mould, then they must make a fire to it, to thaw it, otherwise it could not be cut ; then cut it down and fit it to the length of the mould, and then with other help get it home, a mile thorow the snow. " Now for our firing. We could not burn green wood, it would so smoke that it was not indurable ; yea, the men had rather starve without in the cold than sit by it. As for the dry wood, that also was bad enough in that kind ; for it was full of turpen- tine, and would send forth such a thick smoke, that would make abundance of soot, which made us all look as if we had been free of the Company of Chim- ney- Sweepers. Our clothes were quite burnt in pieces about us, and for the most part we were all without shoes. But to our fuellers again. They must first (as the former) go up and down in the snow till they saw a standing dry tree ; for that the snow covered any that were fallen. Then they must hack it down with their pieces of hatchets, and then others must carry it home thorow the snow. The I! JAMES— 16-31. l'2f) boys with cutlasses must cut boughs for the carpenter ; for every piece of timber that he did work, must be first thawed in the fire, and he must have a fire by him, or he could not work. And this was our con- tinual labour throughout the forementioned cold, besides our tending of the sick, and other necessary imployments." But notwithstanding these were severe privations for such emaciated beings as they had become, a more dreadful enemy than any they had yet encountered presented itself, in the shape of scurvy — exhibiting the usual symptoms of weakness, swelled legs, sore mouths, black turgid gums, the flesh of which had to be cut away every day ; the teeth loose in the jaw, &c., rendering two-thirds of the company powerless. March passed in nearly the same manner; but towards the middle of April they began to overhaul the ship, to see what could be made of her. During May and June they were engaged in digging out the ice with which she was filled ; in which they suffered great hindrance from the death of the carpenter. A most singular event happened at this time : the body of the gunner, who had never recovered from the amputation of his leg, and which had been committed to the deep some six months before, was discovered hard frozen in the ice, and when dug out, was as free from noisomeness as when first committed to the sea ; only that his flesh would slip up and down upon his bones like a glove upon a man's hand. The 16th of June was "wondrous hot, with some lightning and thunder, so that our men did go into the ponds ashore to swim and cool themselves ; yet was the water very cold still. There had lately a]>- peared divers sorts of flies, as butter-flies, butcher's-flies, horse-flies, and such an infinite abundance of blood- thirsty nmscatocs, that we were now more tormented with them than ever we were with the cold weather." g3 ' , \m JAMES— 1631. On the evening of the 22nd, having again fitted the ship and made her as staunch as their means would permit, she was with infinite trouble hove off, and towed into deep water. While the crew were engaged in setting the rigging in order and convey- ing the stores on board, James, with a companion, went to the summit of an eminence to light a fire as a signal, and to see if it would be answered by any natives in the vicinity. His companion forgetfully set fire to some bushes to windward, which, spreading rapidly, caught the tree up which James had climbed the better to observe, and he nan'owly escaped being burnt alive. The fire still continued to spread over the island, and raged furiously for two days, so that tFames gave orders that everything should be taken on board the vessel, and these orders were scarcely carried out, before the sentinel, who had been posted to watch the devastating flames, came running in to tell them " that the fire did follow him hard at his heels, like a train of powder." They, therefore, laid hand on everything that still remained, and hastened on board the ship, fi:om which they beheld the fire seize upon their dwellings and raze them to the ground in a moment. On the 1st July, the boat pulled ashore for the last time. After reading prayers and dining, the whole of the company gathered together to take the last view of their dead companions. " And now tlie sun was set, and the Boat came ashore for us; whereupon we assembled ourselves together, and went up to take the last view of our Dead, and to look into their Tombs, and other things." With mournful feelings, they then slowly pulled on board, and next morning, cheerfully hoisting sail, departed, "beseeching God to continue his mercies to them, and rendermg him thanks for having thus restored them." h JAMES — 1631. 131 " Now to avoid telling the same thing twenty times, we were continually, till the 22nd, so pestered and tormented with ice, that it would seem incredible to relate it. Sometimes we were so blinded with Fog, that we could not see about us ; and being now become wilful in our endeavours, we should so strike against the Ice, that the fore-part of the Ship would crack again, and make our Cook and others to run up all amazed, and think the Ship had been beaten all to pieces. Indeed we did hourly strike sucii unavoiuable blows, that we did leave the Hatches open ; and twenty times in a day the men would run down into the Hold, to see if she were ur, d." In this manner they reached Cape Henrietta Maria on the 22nd, where they went on shore, with their dogs, to endeavour to kill some deer, but they tired their dogs and wearied themselves to no purpose. The same evening they again set sail, and again we have the same catalogue of disasters until the 22 nd August, when they made land to the westward of Carey's Swans' Nest ; and on the 24th, Nottingham Island. On the 26th, matters becoming worse, James called a consultation of his officers, who gave him a written opinion : — " Our Advice is. That you repair homeward from this present 26th, and that for these Reasons."^ "Wherefore (with a sorrowful heart, God knows) I consented that the helm should be borne up, and a Course shaped for England. Well hoping, that his Majesty would graciously censure of my Endeavours, and pardon my Return. And although we have not discovered populous Kingdoms, and taken special notice of their Magnificence, Power and Policies; brought samples home of their Riches and Commo- dities ; pried into the mysteries of their Trades and ^ Tliesc reasons, which amount to seven, chiefly relate to the advanced season of the year, and the shattered state of the ship and her crew. 1 i { f! ; \ 132 DANELL — 165*2-3 — HUDSON*' BAY COMPANY. ! i ■ Traffic ; nor made any great fight against the enemies of God and our Nation ; yet I wish our Willingness in those Desart Parts may be acceptable to our readers. When we bore up helm, we were in Latitude 650 30' at least N. W. and by N. from Nottingham Island,^* On the 3rd September, the south end of Resolution Island was seen, and on the '2*2nd of October, they arrived in Bristol Roads, " having been hindered and crost with much contrary tempestuous Winds and Weather." In the year 1652, Frederick III., King of Denmark, despatched a vessel, commanded by Captain Danell, to the eastern coast of Greenland, whicn he reached in latitude 64^ 50', and tracked as far north as 65** 30 when he returned, and rounding Cape Farewell, stood along the western shore. He then again re- ))assed Cape Farewell, and endeavoured to approach the eastern coast, but was obliged at length to give up his efforts, and return home. Danell again sailed the following year, standing to the northward of Iceland, and reaching the latitude of 73** before he attempted to approach the coast of Greenland. He coasted along to the southward, down to Cape Farewell, but was never able to get within forty or fifty miles of the coast, owing to the ice. Among the French settlers in Canada who crossed to the shores of Hudson's Bay, was a certain M. de Grosseliez, a brave, enterprizing man, who, seeing the advantages that would accrue to the French nation, if settlements were formed on the shores of the bay, urged the government, by every means in his power, to form such establishments ; but his plans were treated with contempt, on the sole foundation of Captain Thomas James's dismal account of the climate. The English minister at Paris, hearing of the pro> \ Hudson's bay company — oillam — 1668. 133 posal, sent Grosseliez over to England with a letter to Prince Rupert, who entered warmly into the project ; and Captain Zacchariah Gillain was aj)pointed to convey the Frenchman to his proposed field of colonization, and to make further investigations. He sailed accord- ingly in the spring of the year 1668, in command of the Nonsuch ketch, and wmtered in Rupert's River, at the bottom of Hudson's Bay, where he built a small stone fort, to which he gave the name of Fort Charles, the first English settlement in this quarter. Prince Rupert did not let the matter drop here ; he obtained from King Charles a patent, incorporating him with the Duke of Albermarle, the Earl of Craven, and other noble lords, under the style and title of the Governor and Company of Adventurers of England, trading into Hudson's Bay. It granted to them and their successors the sole trade and commerce to Hudson's Bay and Straits, with territorial rights and jurisdiction over all the land and countries on the coasts and confines of the same, which were not actually possessed by the subjects of any other Chris- tian prince or state ; to be reckoned and reputed as one of the British plantations or colonies in America, under the name of Rupert's Land. It is not for us to enter into the question of the legality or otherwise of this charter, which has con- tinued in full force to the present day, although said to have been limited to seven years, or whether the immense power given by it has been wielded with proper justice over a territory "comprising an area nearly one-third larger than all Europe; reigning supreme over fifty native tribes of Indians, who are the slaves of its laws and policy, and scarcely removed but in name from being its actual bondsmen:"' — it is not for us to say whether it is to the interest of that * Isbister's statement of the grievances of the native and Half-Caste Indiana, p. 1. ■ i: li I :1 I 134 THE HUDSON S BAY COMPANY. company to keep the red man in the state of ignorance in wnich he is nowphmged :' — all sucli questions are irrelevant to the subject of northern discovery ; but it is certain that they have, till within these last few years omitted, to use those strenuous exertions for the discovery of a western passage, which, by their charter, they were bound to employ. * See "The Hudson's Bay Company and Vancouver's Island," by J. E. Fitzgerald, Esq. CAPTAIN JOHN WOOD — 167(». 135 I Island," by CHAPTER X. Renewed Attempt to Discover a North- East Passage, undertaken by Captain Wood, with two Vessels — Loss of one, and Narrow Escape of the other — Disasters and Return — Mr. J. Knight, Governor of the Hudson's Bay Company's Factory on Nelson's River, sent out in search of Copper Mines in the North of Hudson's Bay — Melancholy Issue of the Enterprise — A small Vessel sent out in search of Knight — Indifference of Scroggs, the Commander, to the Object of his Mission— New Expe- dition under the Lords of the Admiralty, and Accusations on its Failure. No attempt had been made at a north-east passage, out of England, for more than a century, when that project was again revived, by some notices whicli appeared in the transactions of the Royal Society for the year 1675, and by various learned treatises which were put forth by several ingenious reasoners ; among whom Captain John Wood appears to have taken the lead. Being impressed witn the conviction that such a passage did exist, and that there were many reasons why he should undertake its discovery, he drew up a statement and polar draught, showing the discoveries of former navigators in the same quarter, which were presented to Charles the Second, and his majesty, after consulting many merchants and sea- men on the subject, was pleased to grant the Speed- well frigate for the enterprise, and to which was added the Prosperous, a pink, of one hundred and i: J, I ' t I 136 WOOD — 1070. twenty tons, honght, victiuiUed, and manned, by the Duke of York and other iionourablc pcrs nages, who took a lively interest in the attempt, and conmianded by Captain William Flawes. Thus ecpiipped, Wood sailed from the Thames on Sunday, the *28th May, 1676, and doublctl the North ('ape about the 19th June. On the '2'2nd, he was in latitude 75" 59', and on the 26th fell in with the western coast of Nova Zeinbla. In standing off and on to avoid the ice, on the 29th the frigate, which most probably drew far too large a draught of water for navigation in an icy sea ; struck on a ledge of sunken rocks, and they had scarcely time to land some provisions before she went to pieces. The Prosperous narrowly escaped a similar fate, by wearing sharply round, and standing off the shore, when, as if to shut off their last hope of succour, she became enveloped in a thick fog, and for nine days remained invisible to the anxious eye of these unfortunate men. They were on the point of setting out on a land journey to Waigatz Strait, in the hope of there meeting with some Russian vessel, when, to their great joy, they beheld the Prosperous ; and making a large fire to attract attention, happily got on board the same day ; and steering direct for England, arrived safely in the Thames on the 23rd August. Wood gave it as his decided opinion, on his return, that he had been misled by following the opinion of Barentsz, the Dutch navigator, and that the islands of Nova Zembla and Greenland (by which is meant Spitzbergen) were one : " But," says the Hon. Daines Bamngton, " these ill-founded reflections seem to be dictated merely by his disap- pointment in not being able to effect his discovery. ' ' Wood's Voyage, together with Sir John Narborough's, Jasincn Tasman's, and Frederick Marten's, was published by Smith and Walford, printers to the Royal Society, iu 1694, and is dedicated to Samuel Pepys, the Secretary of the Admiralty, who furnished the materials. I KVIOIIT, MARl.OW, AND VAUOHAN— 1719. \'\7 Wood's voyage appears to have closed the hst of north-eastern attempts, vvliich have never been re- newed except by the Rnssians hi nuxk^rn times. In the year 1719 the Hudson's liay (Jompany were solicited by Mr. James Knight, the governor of their factory at Nelson's River, to fit out an expedition for the purpose of discovering a rich mine of native copper, which was represented by the Escpiimaux to exist in the northern part of Hudson's Hay. His re(|uest at first met with very little attention, until he threatened to cause an encjuiry to take j)lace into the legality of their charter, when, seeing he was bent on his purpose, they were compelled, in order to ensure his silence, to grant his recjuest. A ship and a ^oop, called the Albany and Discovery, were accordingly fitted out, the first commanded l)y C%ij)tain G"orgc Barlow and the other by Captain David Vaughan : Mr. Knight, however, having the sole direction of the expedition, of the successful issue of which he seems to nave been pretty confident, as he had large chests made, bound with iron, to hold the treasures he ex- pected to find, but the whole company met with a most untimely end, and it was nearly fifty years before their remains were found, on Marble Island, near Chesterfield Inlet, by some boats employed in the whale fishery. Ilearne, in his " Journey from Prince of Wales's Fort, in Hudson's Bay, to the shores of the Northern Ocean," gives the account of the disaster as he received it from the lips of an old Esquimaux, who had met with them several times on returning from his fishing excursions, from which it would appear, that, in getting into the harbv i^, one of the vessels received so much damage as to .aduce them to commence building upon the long boat. In the second winter, sickness and famine \vid reduced their number fi-om about fifty to twenty ; the summer of 1721 came, and only five of the twenty remained; three of these shortly after died, in consequence of 'I ii 1 L . , 1*38 CAPTAIN SCIIOGGS — CAPTAIN MIDOLETON. eating in a raw state the blubber and seal's flesh which they obtained from the natives. The two who survived frequently went to the top of an adjacent rock, earnestly looking in every direction for relief, whence they would return, and, sitting down close together, weep bitterly. At last one of the two sunk under this misery, and the life of his companion also departed whilst attempting to dig his grave. It was at first thought that Knight had succeeded in making the long-desired passage, and would return by the South Sea, but after two years had passed away, and no tidings of them had reached home, the Hudson's Bay Company felt it their duty to send out a small vessel, named the Whalebone, commanded by Captain John Scroggs ; but his head seems to have been turned by anticipations of discovering the rich copper mine, for we hear nothing in his meagre narrative of the unfortunate sufferers he was sent to relieve, though he must have sailed past the scene of their misery in his progress up Sir Thomas Roe's Welcome, and, for aught we know to the contrary, not without having been observed, for the two last survivors of the company had most probably not yet met their fate. Captain Scroggs had received fi^om the Indians further accounts of this copper mine, which, together with the great rise of tide (thirty feet) observed, appeared to a gentleman of the name of Dobbs to l)e such strong arguments in favour of another north- western attempt, that he never ceased soliciting the Hudson's Bay Company, until they agreed to send out two small vessels, which they accoi'Mnglv did, under the command of Captain Christopher Middle- ton, but the result of the voyage was never published. Whatever it may have been, however, it does not seem that it was at all satisfactory to Mr. Dobbs, wb'^ straightway accused the company of intentionally preventing the discovery, and other misdemeanors, ^1 I 3 TON. MIODLETON AND MOOR — 1741. 189 nil's flesh 3 two who I adjacent for relief, own close I two sunk ;ompaniori rrave. succeeded uld return lad passed home, the ;o send out nanded by ns to have ig the rich lis meagre svas sent to le scene of )mas Roe's 3 contrary, le two last bly not yet le Indians 1, together observed, )obbs to be her north- iciting the ed to send ingly did, Her Middle- published, t does not )obbs, wb'^ itentionally demeanors, :5 J I ■t the detail of which it is not worth while to enter into, lie also commenced a correspondence with Captain Middleton, which appears to have had the effect of confirming him in his opinion ; and he at length j)re- vailed on the Lords of the Admiralty to grant two vessels towards the renewal of the attempt. Thoy were called the Furnace and the Discovery, and were commanded by Captain Middleton and Mr. William Moor. The ships left England in 1741, and passed the winter at the Hudson's \h\y Company's factory in Churchill River, from which place they departed on the 1st of July, 1742, and standing along the coast to the northward, on the 3rd reached an island in 63" N., which they took to be the Brnnk Cohhain of Fox. Proceeding up the Welcome, in latitude 6.5" 10', Mid- dleton named a cape after his " worthy friend," Cape Dobbs ; and at the same time beheld a large opening, six or eight miles in width, to the N. W., for which he steerecl, and in which he was detained by the ice for three weeks. This inlet or river was named after Sir Charles Wager. They got clear of the ice on the 3rd of August, and pushing their way north, on the 5th entered another inlet in latitude 66" 14', into which he sailed until the next day, when he beheld the land rise to bar his progress, forming the head of a deep bay. lie now lost no time in retracing his course, being fearful lest he should get embayed in the ice; and on again reaching the entrance, he bestowed on the place the name of Repulse Bay. iTere Middleton's journal is very confused : he says that ho ascended a high hill, and looking towards the east, saw a frozen strait, eightec:n or twenty leagues long, and six or seven broad, with very high lanu on both sides of it, but (juite frozen over from side to side, and which he supposed to lead towards the Cape Comfort of Baffin, and the Lord Weston's Portland of Fox. Finding no probability of a pas- sage in this direction, they bore up for home. I I i II I I nr ffrrii^. 140 MIDDLETON. Though disappointed, Mr. Arthur Dobhs did not at first attach any blame to (Captain Middleton ; on the contrary, he expressed himself as well satisfied ; but some little time after, receiving an anonymous communication, stating that Middleton had made numerous false statements, particularly with reference to the frozen strait — he caused enquiries to be made, and examined the officers of the ships himself most minutely. The result was a long compiant, made to the Lords of the Admiralty, in which he accused Middleton of receiving 5000/. from the Hudson's Bay Company, as a bribe not to go the voyage, or to search for it in some other direction to that intimated ; at any rate, to draw off the projectors from the right ground ; which was referred by their Lordships' to Captain Middleton for explanation. Captain Middleton replied to these charges by a pamphlet, in which he printed numerous letters, &c., and alleged that Mr. Dobbs's animosity was in con- sequence of his not allowing certain articles, which had been clandestinely conveyed on board one of the vessels, to be bartered away to the natives at a great profit, to the manifest injury of the interests of the Hudson's Bay Company, of which company he was an old servant. Mr. Dobbs again returned to the charge, by his " Remarks upon Captain Middleton's Defence, wherein his conduct during the late voyage is impartially examined ; his neglect and omissions in that affair fully proved ; the falsities and evasions in his defence exposed ; the errors of his charts laid open ; and his account of currents, straits, and rivers, confuted, &c." This elicited a " Reply " from Cap- tain Middleton ; and shortly after another, entitled " Foi^ery Detected, in which he endeavoured to prove that Mr. Dobbs had been most shamefully imposed on, by some designing individual, with certain forged documents. These two pamphlets brought out other two from Mr. Dobbs, denying that he had either J I MOOR AND SMITH — 1746. 141 a foiled, or been imposed upon by forged papers; — but, notwithstanding these mutual recriminations ex- tend over nine hundred pages of print, the truth of the matter appears neve.' to have been ascertained ; although the Act of P.-^rij' ment* which shortly after passed, offering a rewani of 20,000/. to the discoverers of a N. W. passage, and the new expedition which was immediately set on foot, is tantamount to an ex- pressed opinion that Captain Middlcton was in the wrong. The vessels selected for the voyage were the Dobbs Galley, of one hundred and eighty tons, Wil- liam Moor, captain, and the California, of one hun- dred and forty tons, Francis Smith, captain ; they sailed on the 20th May, 1746. Having wintered in a small river near Fort York, from whence they sailed on the 24th of June, the ships stood to the northward, and entered Wager Strait with great hopes, from the set of the tide, of finding they had not misnamed it ; when, one hundred and fifty miles from the entrance, whilst the water was as salt as the Atlantic, and everyting wore a promising aspect, the depth suddenly shoaled, and from no bottom with one hundred and fort}' fathoms of line, the inlet ter- minated in two unnavigable rivers, one of which was observed to take its rise in a large lake to the south- wpCiC. Nothing of any moment was done to the northward, to examine the frozen . as Nootha-san-san Dazov, or the Far-off Metal Uiver, and llcariic \va.s directed to trace it to its inoiitli, to ascertain if it was navigable, und whether a settlement in tlie country was practicable. Ilearne set out on this ])erilous journoy on the 6th November, 1769, accompanied by two Englishmen ; two of the natives in the em])Ioy of the company, known as tlie Ilome- (iuard Indians; and eight northern Indians, as an escort, under the conunand of Captain Chawchinahaw and his lieutenant, Nabyah. After ])cnetrating oidy two hundred miles into the interior, the journey had to be abandoned, on account of the treachery of the Indians, and the desertion of the captain and his whole band, and the adventurers were forced to make their way back to the fort. Ilearne started on a second journey on the '2'fh'd February, 1770, taking greater precautions against failure, by leaving the Englishmen and women behind. 1'hc guide he selcctetl was an Indian, named Con-ne-a-queczc, and he selected five others, but was again doomed to disappointment. After four months' journey through a country in which they sometimes found abundance of game, and at others nothing at all, or, as Ilearne expresses it — " it may justly be said to have been either all feast- ing or all famine ; sometimes we had too nuich, seldom just enough, frequently too little, and often none at all." They at length arrived at a small river, called the Cathawhachaga, which empties itself into Snow Lake in the latitude of 64", when the guide declared it was quite impossible to reach the Copper River that season ; and it was, therefore, determined to return to the south, in order to pass the winter. Here they fell in with nearly six hundred Indians, among whom they were sojourning very comfortably, when an accident occurred to his cpiadrant, which obliged Hearne to set out on his return to the Fort, where he arrived, after many difficulties and extreme .!} I i ' ! Hf til I 1 ■I il! IjO IIEARNE THIKD JOURNEY — 1770. hardships, on the 25th November. On liis wov, Ilearno met with the very Indian who had 'ire «f/nt the principal acconnts of the mine of copper; ar ' Jie chief whose name was Captain Matonal)l)ee, an. ' lit; seems to have been jiossessed of more than ordinary intelligence, wannly entering into the designs of the governor, it was at length determined to send Ilearne out a third time, with Matonahbee as his gnide. At the chief's suggestion, no other men were allowed to be of the party ; but their place was filled — and, as it afterwards turned out, admirably so — by seven of his wives, it being that wortliy's opinion that '* women were made for labour; one ot them can carry or haul as nnich as two men can do .... and yet, though they do everything, they are maintained at a trifling expense ; for, as they always act the cook, the very licking of their fingers in scarce times is sufficient for their subsistence." They accordingly set out on the 7th of December, and after enduring very much the same privations as before, on account of the improvidence of his Indian companions, Ilearne arrived, on the 1st of July, at the River Congecat- hawhachaga, (probably one of the most remarkable names in the world, ) which they crossed, and then proceeded on their route to the north-west and north, passing Lakes Partridge, Pike, Littlefish, Cat or Ar- tillery Lake, Lakes Aylmer, Providence, and Cont- woy-to or Rain Lake ; until, on the morning of the 13th of July, they beheld from the top of a long chain of hills, a branch of the river of which thev were in search, and after a sumptuous repast on some fine buck deer thev had killed, a walk of a few miles brouglit them to the river which had been represented to hold such mineral treasures ; — but, alas ! after a search of four hours they were rewarded by the dis- covery of only one small piece of ore; and as to the navigation at this point, it would barely have floated ! I IIEARNK — THIRD JOURNEY — 1770. l.")! a large canoo. llcarnc would not have taken the absence of the copper nnich to heart, the jjcnind object of his journey haviuj^ been accoinphshetl ; but liis attention was drawn to the singuhu' coiuhict of the Indians, who, immediately on their arrival at the banks of the river, sent out spies to ascertain whctlur any Ksquiinaux were in the neighbourhood, who returnecl with the information that there were five tents pitched about twelve miles distant. 1 learne now learnt that it was the intention of the Indians to fall upon these wretched beings, in the dead of the nij;lit, and butcher them in cold blood. In vain were iiis prayers and solicitations, — they were treated with the greatest contempt; a savage terocity of ])!n'p()S(' per- vaded the whole body — at other times perfectly obe- dient to conunand — and their plans were lai(l with an exactness, which shows to what a fearf »! dej)th of depravity the soul of man in a state nature has fallen. After ])ainting themselves, and making their bodies look as horrible as lay within their means, the whole party rushed on their unconscious vielims, and a scene of the most frightful nature ensued. Iharne, who stood some little distance off, rooted to the ground with horror, was still more ngonized when some poor girl, about eighteen years of age, flung herself at his feet imploring his protection, while the pain from the spear wound she had received caused her to twist herself round his limbs. Notwithstanding his earnest entreaties that her life might be spared, the two savage monsters by whom she was ])ursued drove their spears through her, and transfixed her to the ground, at the same time laughing, and asking him if he wanted an Escpiimaux wife. After this dreadful episode, the remembrance of which, he declares, ever after brought the tears to his eyes, llearne and his party yiroceeded to make a careful survey of the Chopper Mine River, (for such 152 IlEARNE — TIIIIID JOURNEY — 1 770. was tlie name it received,) to its confluence with the sea. That it really was the ocean before him, Ilearne had no doubt, from the quantity of seal skin and whalebone observed in the tents of the unfortunate Esquimaux; and, although this has since been doubted, and he has been accused of many inac- curacies and unsatisfactory statements, modern geo- graphy has proved that his opinion was correct. Having accomplished the object of their journey, they set out on their return home, and arrived at Prince of Wales's Fort on the 29th of June, 177*2, after an absence of eighteen months and twenty- three days. llearnc's journey threw a great light on the geo- graphy of the North American continent, and laid open that career of discovery which has since been pursued with such brilliant success. rniPPS AND LUTWIDOE — 1773. I.'kJ t I */ CHAPTER XII. ti Expedition under the sanction of George III. and the Admiralty Board, commanded by Captains Phipps and Lutwidge, in which the immortal Nelson was coxswain — Captains Cook and Clerke, sent out on a Voyage of Discovery — Nootka Sound — Cook Killed at the Sandwich Islands— Expedition resumed by Captains Clerkc and King — Death of Clerke — Meares, Van- couver, and Koti^ebue, visit the North-west Coast of America — Characteristics of the Nootkans — Voyages of Pickersgill and Young — King of Denmark sends out a vessel coinmamied by Captain Lowenorn. For more than a century the idea of a passajje across the pole had shimbercd in EngUmd, when a gentleman, wliosc name is distinguished for the union of rank and talent, took up the question with great ardour. The lion. Dalnes Barrington having paid great attention to the subject, and collected a mass of evidence with regard to the navigation of the northern seas, laid it before the Royal Society, of which he was an eminent member, who represented to Earl Sandwich, then at the head of the Admiralty Board, the great desirableness of renewing the at- tempt in that quarter. A j)lan of an expedition was accordingly drawn uj), and submitted to his Majesty George HI., who heartily concurred in the proposal; and, accordingly, two bombs, the Racehorse and the Carcass, were ccpiipped for the j)urpose. The Racehorse was com- manded by Captain Constantine John Phipps, (after- wards Lord Mulgrave,) and the (Carcass by (Captain Skeftington Lutw'dge, whose coxswain, then a mere 11 ;J * f 154 COOK AND CLF.RKE — 177fi. boy, was the future naval hero of England — Horatio Nelson. They departed from the Nore on the 4th of June, 1773, and, on the 29th, were close to the bold and lofty coast of Spitzbergen, along which they sailed until they rounded its northern extremity, when an easterly course was taken, between the closely-packed ice and the land. On the 31st of July, in latitude 80° 37', both ships became encompassed by ice, and remained in this perilous position for some days ; after having had recourse, without effect, to the laborious operation of sawing, and just as they had commenced preparations for leaving the ship, and had hoisted out the boats and dragged them over the ice for more than two miles, a slight opening was ob- served, on which, all sail being set, ami the ice becoming more loose owing to the weather turning moist and foggy, they began to make more ])rogrcss. The ships came up with the boats and took them in ; and, on the 10th, a brisk gale from the N. E. s{)ring- ing up, they at length, after many hard knocks, suc- ceeded in getting clear of the pack, and repaired to the harbour of Smeerenburg for rest and refreshment, from whence they returned to England. Though the hopes of the smutiis and eminent men who had projected the expedition of Captain Phipps were considerably damped by its failure, they olid not entirely lose courage, but advised that the next attempt should be made from the Pacific to the At- lantic, and not, as had hitherto been the case, from the Atlantic to the Pacific. To execute this j)U!n, the government fixed upon the immortal ('ook, who had, in his two previous vo^'ages, showed himself to be the most illustrious navigator of the age, and w1k> accordingly sailed from Plymouth Sound, in his old ship, the Uesolution, on 12th July, 1776, leaving irstructions for the Dis- COOK AND CLEKKE 1770. 155 covcry, which was to be entrusted to tlie command of (Japtani Charles Clerkc, to join him at tlic Cape ot" Good lIoj)e. From thence tliey proceeded in com- pany on their voyage throngli the southern hemis- phere, which, however, is so well known, that we shall only take up their course when they arrived ott' the coast of New Albion, in latitude 44 i' north. On the 2i)th of March, they stood into a passage which had the appearance of a harbour, Ijut which on entering, they found to be an unfathomable sound : where, instead of anchoring, there appeared a proba- bility that they would have to make fast to the trees which skirted the shores; but after penetrating into the sound for a distance of six miles, they at length came to an anchor. ('ook learnt from the natives tiiat this extraor- dinary still })ool of water was called by them Nootka Sound, — a name by which it is known to the present day. The natives were " docile, courteous, and good- natured ; but quick in resenting what they looked upon as an injury, and, like most other ])assionat{' people, as soon forgetting it;" and, with the excej)- tion of an innate thievish proj)ensity, they were like- wise pretty fair in their mode of barter. Ca})tain Cook supposed that they had never before lield connnunication with Europeans, from the fact that they were cpiite unacquainted with fire-arms, and from the consternation they displayed, wlu i one day an otticer lired a ball through a war-dress, lof'vd six times, and impenetrable to either spear or srrow, furnishing a convincing proof that they had i to the northward, — })revented, however, by his inst'-r^' i<'ns, from devoting any time to the examinatit o rf the numerous l)ays, inlets, and rivers which exist on this part of the N. W. coast of America — until ivo had 156 COOK AND CLERKE — 1770. attained a latitude of 65°. He, however, thou^^ht it his duty to make an accurate survey of an inlet in 60°, which held out some hope of a passage, (which is now known by his name,) and of the coasts of the peninsula of Alaska. Shortly after this, to the great regret of every person in both ships, the surgeon of the Resolution died ; and an ishmd, fiillen in with on the t3rd August, was named after him, Anderson's Island. In 65M5' N., they doubled a promontory, to which the name of Cape Prince of Wales was given. They had now fairly entered the strait, and tliey com- menced making careful observations as to the tides, and found that the flood ran l)()th stronger and longer than the e'ob ; from which Cook concluded that, be- sides the tide, there was a westerly current. From this they stood over to the westward, and landed in a bay of the Tschutzki country, where they were most [)olitely received by the natives, who came down to the boats, taking off their caps and nuiking low bows, but still, however, keeping, with great caution, on the alert, as if fearful of some depredation on the part of their visitors ; by degrees, however, this timidity wore off. These people differed greatly from the dwarfish Americans they had left on the other continent, whose round chul>by faces and high cheek bones formed a striking contrast to the long visages, and stout and well made persons of this ])olite people. They displa^'cd great ingenuity in their articles of dress and various implements. Leaving this bay, which Cook named St. Law- rence, they stood to the north-east, and on the 11th of August, midway between the two continents, each being seven leagues distant, their soundings were twenty-nine fathoms, which was the greatest depth they found in the strait. In latitude 67" 45', a point of the American shore was named after I^ord Mul- CLERKK — 177" 157 rhi it let in which )f the great Gon of ith on arson's which Thev ft' r com- I tides, longer lat, be- Froni cd in a :e most n to the ws, but le alert, of their re off. Avarfish whose rmed a nd well |splaye(l various , Law- 11th of Is, each were depth I a point d Mul- grave. On the 18th, at noon, their latitude was 70'' 43' N., at which time they were close to a solid wall of ice, ten or twelve feet high. In standing for the land from this vast barrier, a low point to the ex- treme east was observed, much incumbered with ice, for which reason it was named Icy Cape, and, until Captain Beechey's voyage, this point remained the boundary of our progress iu the attemj)t to discover a passage from the Pacific to the Atlantic. After standing along this immense body of ice, they reached the Asiatic shore, and named a point of it, in latitude 08^ 5G', Cape North. Captain Cook was of opinitm that the coast would be found to take a very westerly direction from this ])lace, and he endcjivoured to trace it, until he was sto))ped in his course by thick fogs ; when, deeming it too late in the season to continue his explorations, he decided to proceed to the Sandwich Islands, and resume the attempt in the ensuing summer. This determination, however, it was his fate never to carry out. lie returned to the Sandwich Islands, where that fatal contest occurred, in which this great com- mander lost his life. The ex])edition was, indeed, resumed by Captains Clerke and King, but though repeated attcm})ts were made, they did not advance so far to the north, or on the coast of either conti- nent, as they had done the year before ; and on the 27th July further attempt was relinquished, and their course bent toward homo, after an ai)St!nce of three ears, on a voyage of which they wurt ^H)w all leartily sick. Captain Cicrke, who had been in a dyiug state ali.iost from the conuneneemcnt of the voyage — he was now reduced to an absolute skeleton — and at length breathed his last on the '2»*3rd August, and was interred at Petropoulowski. The north-west coast of America was visited subso- (piently to the expedition of Cook and Clerke by I I 158 MEARES — TWO VOYAGES. various navigators : among whom were Mcares, Van- couver, and Kotzebue. 1 he first was sent out l)y the leading mercantile men of Bengal, with the hope of realizing large profits in a trade for furs with the natives of Nootka Sound. He passed a very severe winter in Prince William's Sound, during which he lost twenty-three men by the scurvy, and was only too happy to escape from his prison to the Sandwich Islands, where, in ten days, such was the salubrity of the climate, the whole crew were completely restored to hcflth. Captain Mcares was again sent out on a similar voyage in the year 1778, by his opulent em- ployers ; but his objects being princi])ally those of ii'*ade, he did not reach a higher latitude than 49^ 37' N His account of the manners and customs of the IS^otkans, which he had ample opportunities of study- il't^ is most interesting. Ihcir intense eaKcinoss for t>i*. posses^sion of copper, and, indeed, metal of every kind, carried even to so great a length, that an impor- tMut treaty was entered into between two powerful clv'f'^, by which one agreed to surrender to the other f large (juantity of the most vuiuable skins of the sea otter for two coji])er kettles, v hich had been received in barter from Mcares; their water-nrocessions and whrle-hunts; their strikingly beautiful vocal music; their gigantic dwellings, supported by enormous trees and carved images, the entrance being made through the colossal mouth of one of these latter ; and lastly their frightful partiality for human flesh, (proved almost beyond a doubt by the festoons of human skulls observed in one chicrs dining-room, and the )illow on vliich the head of another rested at night, >y the ( xposure of men's lieads and limbs for sale, and by the tales told of the custom of killing and eat- ing sbives,) and this ; o strikingly contrasted with the general kiudnCvSs and dignified courtesy of their manners ; are all most minutcU and pleasingly 1 PICKEIISGILL — YOUNG — LOWENOKN. 159 Van- y the >pe of ativcs vinter D lost ly too dwich I'ity of stored t on a It eni- osc of id' 37' of the study- it'ss for • every inipor- )werful 3 other the sea ?ceived lis and miisie ; IS trees ir()iirescnts. llere the journey was very nearly frustrated ; tlie Indians were, or appeared to be, (piite ignorant of any river to the west, which Mackenzie was so anxious to find, flowing into what they were pleased to term the Great Stinking Lake; but while standing near a group of them, with whom his interpreter was con- versing, he sufficiently understood one of the Indians, who spoke of a large river near their present station, which flowed towards the mid-day sun, to suspect his guide of false dealing; and so it turned out. The man, heartily tired of the dangers they had already passed through, and expecting only a continuation of MAC'KKNZir. — SKCOMl) JOl RNKY — 1702. Ifi.'l (• tlicin ill tlu'ii- further prof^ress, had returned talsi answers to Maekenzic's ea^er eiujniries. The voyajrc was now resumed, under tlie «:;uidaiu'c of the Iiuhan wlio pive tlie information, and thev wer makinein<^ immediatel\ followed by the passage of a rapid, it made her a coin- phjte wreck. Tliey managed, however, to repair 1r r, and again embarked. Day after day thev continued their toils and pro- gress, until they arrived al the habitations of a tril)f, from one of whom Mackenzie learnt a great deal, a< to the course of the river they now were following, and which he rc))resented as <|uite impo^ l)le to navi- gate, on account of the dangerous fa" iiul rapids occurring at every few leagues. l>n the other hand, the land journey to the shores of the western sea was said to be (piite practicable; and accordingly Macken/ie, whose ardour neither the desertion of guides, nor the dangers of the route, could suppress, determined to abandon the canoe, and conclude his adventurous journey in this manner. Laden, therefore, with the thirty days' ]m)visi()n which remained, they connncnced their march through a tolerably open country, and at length arrived among a tribe whose houses were like those of the Nootkans, one hundred and twenty feet long, and capable of hold- ing many families, and who most hospitably regaled them with roasted salmon, and delicious ripe rasp- berries and gooseberries, luxuries abounding on the Pacific side of the North American continent, to which they had long been strangers. Their sni)er- stition, however, with regard to the fish frc(pieiit- ing these waters was rather curious ; they would not allow venison, which they refused to touch, to bi' carried in the boat, for fear the smell should drive s^. IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) 1.0 I.I 11.25 |50 ~^™ M^ IIS 114 ■ 40 = -IS UUu HE Hiotogr^hic Sciences Corporation 23 WEST MAIN STREET WEBSTER, N.Y. MStO (716) 872-4503 \ S5 \\ y 164 VANCOUVER AND KOTZEBUE. away the salmon, who were likewise supposed to have an invincible dislike to iron, and for that reason they refused to give the travelers any supplies of this fish in a raw state, lest it should be boiled in a kettle. Leaving these hospitable natives, and accompanied by four of them as guides, the voyage was resumed in a large canoe, and on the 20th July, after a passage of thirty-six miles, they arrived at the mouth of the river which discharges itself into the Gulf of Georgia, in the parallel of 50°. Here this daring expedition terminated ; Mackenzie returned by the same route, leaving the following token of his triumph over almost insuperable obstacles, written on the face of the cliff in perishable vermillion : — ALEXANDER MACKENZIE, From Canada by land, the 22nd of July, 1793. liOng since has this simple memorial, so strangely different from the pompous language of Balboa, when nearly three centuries before he achieved a somewhat similar feat, been effaced ; but the name and fame of Sir Alexander Mackenzie, as an Arctic hero, are un- dying. At the point where Mackenzie's interesting journey terminated, the voyage of Captain Vancouver, who had been a midshipman under Captain Cook, may be said to have commenced, in his search after a passage, which was supposed to exist among the immense archipelago of islands in this quarter. However, after having examined this coast, from the lat. of 41° to 60°, with an accuracy that leaves nothing to be desired, he proved beyond a doubt, that no such passage did exist ; an opinion which gained him no little animosity, on his return, from those who upheld this idea. Lieutenant Kotzebue, a son of the celebrated writer of that name, was likewise despatched in the year ■ ; I . I i ( n ■ m^i KOTZEBUE — 1815. 165 >have I they is fish ie. _ )anied ned in assage of the eorgia, edition route, almost he cliff rangely when ewhat fame of are un- 1815 to this quarter. He was furnished, by the noble and patriotic Count Romanzoff, with a small vessel callea the Rurick, of not more than a hundred tons. He entered Behring's Straits, and keeping along the Ame- rican shore, in lat. 68°, stood into a deep opening, which he trusted might prove the desired passage, as he saw nothing but water as far as the eye could reach; but after spending a fortnight in examining carefully this deep sound, no outlet was discovered to strengthen this hope. The shores of this sound, to which Kotzebue has very properly left his name, were well peopled by a fine race of men, who exactly resembled the descrip- tion given by Cook of the Tschuktzki on the Asiatic continent. Kotzebue observed the skulls and skins of reindeer, from which he inferred that that animal was to be met with in the country around; he also brought home drawings of several elephants' teeth, picked up, and which, if not brought by the great Polar current from the opposite shores of Siberia and Tartary, where they are found in such enormous quantities, are very curious, as being the first that have been dis- covered in the New World. 1 ^' ■ % : Ift, f , ■i * I journey jr, who maybe )assage, imense jr, after to 60°, fered, he Id exist ; on writer le year 16(3 llOSS — FIRST VOYAGE — 1818. . i.ii 1'^ J ,;i- CHAPTER XIV. Spirit of Enterprise re-kindled through the exertions of Sir John Barrow— Expedition under Ross and Parry— Expedition under Buchan and FrankUn — Brief Biography of Franklin — Conti- nuation and Termination of Voyage. The commencement of the nineteenth century was a glorious era for the prospects of further geographical research in the Polar Seas. Much money had hitherto been spent, and many lives had been lost, in unavail- ing efforts to clear up a question which was becoming more and more interesting, in proportion as the diffi- culties of its solution seemed greater ; when at this time the renewal of these efforts, after a lapse of half a century, on a much grander scale, was determined on by his Majesty's government, seemingly with a great probability of success. The late esteemed secretary of the Admiralty, Sir John Barrow, Bart., was the principal mover in this, and, indeed, in every other similar project that has since been entered into with the same purposes in view. He collected and arranged chronologically everything that was known of Polar voyages, wrote learned disquisitions in the Quarterlies, to prove that the winters for three years previously had been very wet, owing to the vast quantities of Polar ice which had drifted from their fastnesses into the broad At- lantic, and thereby greatly increased theprobability of making the passage ; pressed upon the English nation ROSS — FIRST VOYAGE 1818. 167 )ir John in under -Conti- iry was aphicul litherto inavail- coming le diffi- at this of half rmined with a the honour of completing a discovery, to which her old navigators had been the first to open the way ; and, in fine, entered with such ardour into the sub- ject, that two expeditions were at length determined on ; one to solve, if possible, the question of the north- western passage, and the other to sail across the Pole. The first, the one we shall at present follow, con- sisted of the Isabella, of three hundred and eighty- five tons, and fifty-seven men, commanded by Cap- tain John Ross, and the Alexander, of two hundred and fifty- two tons, and thirty-seven men, commanded by Lieutenant William Edward Parry. The vessels, which were as strong as wood and iron could make them, dropped down the Thames on the 18th April, 1818, and on the 27th May rounded Cape Farewell, and at a considerable distance to the eastward they fell in with their first iceberg. On the 17th June their progress was arrested by the ice, in the neigh- bourhood of Waygat Island, which was found to be set down on the Admiralty chart five degrees of lon- gitude, and half a degree of latitude, out of its true place. Here they were obliged to remain, in com- pany with forty whalers, until the 20th June, when the ice loosened considerably, and they commenced using every effort to get forward ; by dint of hard labour in towing and warping the ships among packs of ice, where it was frequently necessary to cut a passage, they managed to make some progress, until the 17th July, when two ice-floes closed on them, and they were completely jammed in; however, after a concussion, which lasted fifteen minutes, and which but for the great strength of the ships, and the prompt measures taken to extricate them, would have crushed them to atoms, they happily succeeded in heaving through. On the 6th August they were engaged in sawing a passage through the bay-ice towards a pool a-head. I f \ ft. .' i 1 ; t ' If , ' 1 t i i s M i' r n 168 RO.SS — FIRST VOYAGE — 1818. but before it could be reached, notwithstanding they laboured incessantly, a gale of wind sprung up, and placed them in a situation of greater peril than had ever before been experienced by any on board, even by those who had passed their lives in the Greenland trade. The two ships fell foul of each other; the ice-anchors and cables broke one after another, and a boat which could not be removed in time, was crushed to pieces ; the chain-plates were broken, and the fall of the masts was every moment looked for, when, by the interposition of Providence, the two fields of ice suddenly receded, and they escaped without any material injury, and iiispired with renewed confidence, in the strength of the ships. The gale having abated, and the weather having cleared up, land was seen in latitude 75° 54'. On the 8th August they fell in with an island utterly desolate, but with numerous heaps of stones, such as the Esquimaux usually raise over their dead : next day these people made their appearance, drawn with wonderful rapidity in sledges by their dogs over the ice. On an attempt being made to communicate with them, they exhibited the greatest alarm, but at length an interview was obtained by means of an Esquimaux interpreter on board, named John Sacheuse, of whose personal history a very touching biographical sketch may be found in " Blackwood's Magazine," supposed to be from the pen of Captain Basil Hall. They were very earnest in their enquiries about the ships, which all Sacheuse's eloquence failed to make them believe were not birds ; and it was with great difficulty, and by many arguments, he succeeded in convincing them that he himself was flesh and blood, an announcement that called forth a general exclamation of " heiffh yaxs" (probably the ** lliaout " of the early navigators, and remarkable as being the same expression as that universally used by the :'i; J ROSS FIRST VOYAGE — 1818. 1G9 Chinese and Tartars to express surprize and plea- sure.) Captain Ross observed knives among these people, the blades of which had every appearance of a meteoric origin, which, if true, would seem to prove the fact that aerolites fall in every part of the world. JJut the most remarkable thing that was observed in this neighbourhood, was a kind of crimson snow with which the face of the cliffs was lightly covered. It was the general opinion of the officers, that this unusual appearance was of vegetable origin ; in which they were afterwards borne out by Dr. Wollaston and Mr. Brown, the eminent botanists ; but others, on the contrary, maintained that it was the excrement of the little auk {A/ca alle), whose numbers hereabouts were so great, as sometimes literally to darken the air, and whose food consists of a minute species of shrimp very common in the arctic seas. The snov^r had, when first collected, every appearance of raspberry ice- cream, and the colouring globules, which were ex- tremely minute, had a fcetid animal smell, and yielded, on distillation, oil and ammonia. This crimson snow, however, appears to be not uncommon in alpine regions. Aristotle and Pliny have said that decayed snow breeds a red worm in it. It has been observed on the mountains near Genoa, in various parts of the Alps and Pyrenees, and also in the northern part of fepitzbergen, where its ap- pearance has generally been attributed to vegetable origm. Leaving the " Arctic Highlanders," and their sin- gular cliffs, the expedition approached those great sounds which Baffin had named, but so imperfectly described. Wolstenholme's and Whale Sounds were passed much too hastily, it would appear, for the commander's future fair fame ; and, indeed, no par- ticular attention was paid to any of these large open- I t 1 ^ •\ \ I ii 1^1 i\ i S i> i^ m mm m 170 ROSS — FIRST VOYAGE — 1818. i I ings, until they arrived, on the 19th August, about sixty miles off Sir Thomas Smith's Sound. The two capes which formed its entrance were distinctly seen, and were named after the Isabella and Alexandria. " 1 considered," says Captain Ross, " the bottom of this sound to be about eighteen leagues distant, but its entrance was completely blocked up by ice." This paragraph, involving, as it does, the important ques- tion of the insularity of Greenland, has been a sub- ject of great contention, it having been denied that any bottom to the sound was, or could be observed, owing to the great distance off the laiid. A similar unfortunate examination, if such it can be called, was extended to Alderman Jones's Sound, off which they remained four days, without sending a boat on shore. Following the trending of the head of the bay, and standing to the southward, on the 30th of August Ross arrived off that magnificent inlet named by Baffin Sir James Lancaster's Sound, the entrance to which was perfectly clear, and the sound- ings from six hundred and sixty to one thousand fathoms. The ships stood in, " every officer and man, on the instant as it were, having made up his mind that this must be the north-west passage, and firmly anticipating the pleasure of writing an overland dispatch, either from the eastern or western shores of the Pacific;" at least so says a brief view of the voyage, written by the assistant surgeon of the Alexander, and published in a monthly journal on the return of the ships to England, an expression which is corroborated by Sir Edward Parry ^ though Captain Ross says that the " general opinion was, that it was only an inlet." * However, after running in for thirty, or, as Captain » A voyage of Discovery in his majesty's ships Isabella and Alexander, for the purpose of exploring Baffin's Bay and inquiring into the probability of a North- West Passage, by John Boss, E.S., commander, 1819 ; p.l71. noss— FinsT voyage — 1818. 171 Ross says, eighty,' miles, he states that on the 31st August, he distinctly saw the land round the bottom of the bay, forming a connected chain of mountains with those which extended along the north and south sides, and also a continuity of ice, reaching from one side of the bay to the other. The signal was therefore made for the Alexander to pu: about, an order which her commander, Lieu- tenant Parry, declares he never could understand, as he was himself full of the most sanguine hopes, and saw no grounds for such conduct, but which nis duty of course obliged him to obey. It is also said, that this manoeuvre was executed on board the Isabella, whilst most of her officers were below at dinner, and ignorant of what was going on. After leaving Lancaster Sound, the ships stood away to the south, and on the 1st October arrived off the entrance of Cumberland Strait, which would have been another favourable opening for resuming the search for a passage, had not Captain Ross chosen to read his instructions from the Admiralty Board in a different manner to which it seems they were intended, and passed by it on his passage direct home, where he arrived early in the month of October. Of the polar expedition under the command of Captain David Buchan, no account was given to the world for twenty-five years after its return, v hen a very interesting Journal was published by Ci.ptain F W. Beechey, who served in the voyage as lieutenant of the Trent Whatever may have been the causes which delayed the publication of the narrative of this voyage, it has lost nothing of its value by its non- ' ** Observations on a work, entitled ' Voyages, &c., within the Arctic Regions, by Sir John Barrow, Bart., ^tat 82 : ' being a refutation of the numerous misrepresentations contained in that volume, by Sir John Boss, C.B., &c., Captain, R.N." Blackwood, 1846. See p. 28. I 2 t , II ! 4 i ! 1 II '.iib^ 172 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH appearance for so many years ; and like everything else from Captain Bcechey's pen, is one of the most lively, interesting, and agreeable books ever written. The ships equipped for this voyage were the Dorothea and Trent, commanded by Captain David Buchan, and Lieutenant, now Captain Sir John Franklin. The latter gallant officer is now passing his fifth winter in the frozen north ; his return from which, hundreds of thousands of his countrymen await with breathless anxiety ; it may therefore be interesting if we here give a brief outline of the career of one of the greatest travellers the world ever produced; which, though somewhat premature in this stage of the narrative, may be excused, as we are now relating the voyage in wnich he first entered on that field of enterprise, where he was destined, in after years, to win such unfading laurels. Captain Sir John Franklin was bom in 1786, at Spilsbury, in Lincolnshire ; he is the brother of the late Sir Willingham Franklin, Kt., Chief Justice at Madras. He entered the Navy 1st October, 1800, as a boy on board the Polyphemus, 64, Captain John Law ford, under whom he served as midshipman in the action off Copenhagen, 2nd April, 1801. He then, in the Investigator, sloop. Captain Flinders, sailed on a voyage of discovery to New Holland, where, on joining the Porpoise, armed store ship. Lieutenant Commander Robert Merrick Fowler, he was wrecked on a coral reef near Cato Bank, 17th August, 1803. While afterwards on his passage home in the Earl Camden, East Indiaman, commanded by Captain Nathaniel Dance, the commodore of a China fleet of sixteen sail, Mr. Franklin appears to have had charge of the signals, and to have distinguished him- self at the celebrated repulse of a powerful French squadron under Admiral Linois, 15th February, 1804. f 13: OF SIR JOHN FRANKLIN. 173 Joining, on his arrival in England, the Bcllcronhon, 74, Captains John Lorinj]^, John Cooke, and Edward llothcrham, he suhseqncntlvj under Captain Cooke, took part in the battle oi Trafalgar; and on that occasion, 21st October, 1805, we again find him superintending the signal department, and evincing very conspicuous zeal and activity. On bemg next transferred to the Bedford, 74, Caj)tains Adam M'Kenzie and James Walker, of which ship he was confirmed a lieutenant 11th FelDru- ary, 1808, Mr. Franklin escorted the royal family of Portugal from Lisbon to South America. During the afterpart of the war he was chiefly em- ployed at the blockade of Flushing; and he then, towards the close of 1814, joined the expedition to New Orleans. On the r4th December, in the same year, he was slightly wounded, while leading the Bedford's boats in unison with those of a squadron, at the capture, on Lake Borgne, of five American gun-boats under Commodore Jones, which did not surrender until, after a desperate conflict, they had occasioned the British a total loss of seventeen men killed and seventy-seven wounded. During the attack on New Orleans Mr. Franklin assisted in conducting the indescribably arduous ope- ration of cutting a canal across the entire neck of land between the Bayou Catalan and the Mississippi ; and for his conduct on the morning of the 8th January, 1815, when he commanded the small-arm men under Captain Rowland Money, at the brilliant defeat of a body of Americans strongly entrenched on the right bank of that river, he was officially and very warmly -recommended for promotion. After serving for a short period during the summer of 1815, as first-lieutenant of the Forth, 40, Captain Sir William Bolton, he assumed command, 14th Jan- uary, 1818, of the hired brig Trent, in which he '1' i- \ 174 DIOORAPIIICAL SKETCU accompanied Captain David Huchan, of the Dorothea, on a perilous voyage of discovery to tlic neighhour- hood of Spitsbergen. In April, 1819, having paid off the Trent in the j)receeding November, he was invested with the con- duct of an expedition destined to proceed overland from the shores of Hudson's Bay for the purpose, more particularly, of ascertaining the actual position of the mouth of the Coppermine River, and the exact trending of the shores of the Polar Sea to the eastward of it. The details of that fearful under- taking, which he endured until the summer of 1822, and in the course of which he reached as far as Point Turnagain, in latitude 68° 19' north, and longitude 109° 25' west, and effected a journey altogether of 5550 miles, will be found in another part of our nar- rative. Captain Franklin's commander's and post commissions bear date respectively 1st January, 1821, and 20th November, 1822. On 16th February, 1825, this energetic officer again left England on another expedition to the frozen regions, having for its object a co-operation with Captains F. W. Beechey and Edward William Parry, in ascertaining from opposite quarters the existence of a north-west passage. The results of this mission will also be found in our pages. On his return to England, where he arrived 26th September, 1827, he was presented by the Geogra- phical Society of Paris with a gold medal, valued at 1200 francs, as having made the most important acquisitions to geographical knowledge during the preceding year, and on the 29th April, 1829, he received the honour of Knighthood, besides being awarded, in July following, the Oxford degree of a D. C. L. From the 23rd August, 1830, until paid*off in January, he next commanded the Rainbow, twenty- OF SIR JOUN FRANKLIN. 175 eight, on the Mediterranean station, for his exertions during which period as connected with the troubles in Greece, he was presented with the order of the Redeemer of Greece. Sir John Franklin, who was created a K.C.I I. the 25th January, 1836, and was afterwards for some time Lieutenant-governor of Van Dieman's Land, has, as captain of the Erebus, discovery-ship, been engaged since the 3rd March, 1845, in the attem])t to explore a north-west passage through Lancaster Sound to Behring Strait, and God send that he and his gallant crews may yet return from that attempt to gladden the hearts of their sorrowing friends.* The Dorothea and Trent sailed from England early in the spring of the year 1818, and on the 24th May reached Cherie Island, where immense herds of the walrus were observed. The weather soon after became very foggy, and the ships were separated, but mutually stood for Magdalena Bay, on the north-eastern point of Spitz- bergen, the appointed place of rendezvous in case of such an accident, where they anchored on the 3rd June. Here some magnificent avalanches were wit- nessed ; one, occasioned by the report of a musket at the distance of half a mile from the glacier, broke away from the main body of the iceberg, and fell heaalong into the sea with a noise like thunder. The crew of the launch, who were sitting quietly look- ing on the scene, were suddenly astonished to find the boat rise on the breast of a great roller, and be- fore they had time to take any precautions she was washed upon the beach, and so badly stove as to require repairing before they could regain the ship. The distance the boat had been carried by the wave was found on measurement to be ninety-six feet. ' :1 i 1 • •' 0' Byrne's Naval Biography." 176 BUCHAN AND FRANKLIN— 1818. i.- .1 A second avalanche of still greater proportions, which was afterwards measured and found to be nearly a quarter of a mile in circumference, and the weight of which was computed at 421,660 tons, caused such rollers in the bay, that the Dorothea, then careering at the distance of four miles, was compelled to release the tackles to avoid being swamped. Leaving these magnificent natural phenomena, and the interesting shores of the bay, the ships stood to the west through the half-congealed water, and fell in with some whale-ships, from whom they learned that the sea to the westward was completely packed with ice, and that fifteen vessels were beset in it. Captain Buchan therefore stood to the northward, but before he was able to clear the north-western extreme of Spitzbergen, the ships got irto the midst of a floe, in which they remained bound for thirteen days, and by which they were carried bodily to the southward, at the rate of three miles a day ; but at length, getting free, took shelter in Fair Haven. They again put to sea on the 6 th July, and got as far as 80° 15' north, when the ice once more arrested their progress. Having forced their way into an opening, the ships were again beset and remained so for three weeks, notwithstanding that every effort was made to extricate them, and push to the northward. All was however in vain, and in latitude 80° 34', Captain Buchan abandoned the idea of making a northern passage ; but having resolved to try the eastern coast of Greenland, he sailed along the edge of the pack with that intention, when suddenly a violent gale of wind came on, and the Dorothea w^as driven on to the mass with a force that threatened instant destruction. Human power was too insignificant to cope for an instant with the mighty war of elements, and the only thing that could be effected was to put the Il BUCHAN AND FRANKLIN — 1818. 177 hliip's head right into the ice, which was accordingly done by both vessels, and they plunged into the " un- broken line of furious breakers in which immense pieces of ice were heaving and subsiding with the waves, and dashing together with a violence which nothing apparently but a solid body could withstand, occasioning such a noise that it was with the greatest difficulty we could make our orders heard by the crew "Each person instinctively secured his own hold, and with his eyes fixed upon the masts, awaited in breathless anxiety the moment of concussion. It soon arrived ; — the brig, cutting her way through the light ice, came in violent contact with the main body. In an instant we all lost our footing, the masts bent with the impetus, and the cracking timbers from below bespoke a pressure which was calculated to awaken our serious appre- hensions Her motion was so great that the ship's bell, which in the heaviest gale of wind had never struck of itself, now tolled so continually that it was ordered to be muffled, for the purpose of escaping the unpleasant association it was calculated to produce." At length providentially the gale abated, and the ships were got into an open sea, but the Dorothea was in such a dreadful state that it was with the utmost difficulty she was kept afloat until they reached Fair Haven, where she was repaired, and the two vessels then set sail for home. Lieutenant Franklin requested that he might be allowed to remain out to make another trial, but Captain Buchan, very pro- perly under the circumstances of the case, refused to accede to his desire. On the 30th August they put to sea, and on the 22nd October arrived in the Thames. i ? r ■I :( I ^1 I H ■■ili i3 178 PARRY— FIRST VOYAGE — 1819. :! .4-' ' CHAPTER XV. Expedition commanded by Captains Parry and Liddon — Pene- trate to the North Georgian Group — Winter Quarters — Thea- tricals—Ship Newspaper — School — Re-appearance of Sun — Close of Theatre — Hunting Excursions — Voyage resumed — Discouragement— Return Home. The voyage of Captain John Ross to Baffin's Bay, and his imperfect examination of its shores, from various causes, was not, as may be imagined, con- sidered by its anxious projectors as sufficient proof of the non-existence of the long-sought passage. A new expedition was therefore decided on, the command of which was entrusted to Lieutenant, now Captain, Parry. The ships appointed were the Hecla, a bomb of three hundred and seventy-five tons, well adapted for stowage, with a crew of fifty-eight men; and the Griper, a twelve-gun brig of one hundred and eighty tons, and a complement of thirty-six men, commanded by Lieutenant Matthew Liddon. The vessels, provisioned for two years, sailed from the Thames on the 8th May, 1819,,and arrived in the middle of Davis Straits on the 18th June, where they fell in with the usual formidable barrier of ice. When Parry had attained the latitude of 73° he saw that his only chance to reach the western shore was to put the ships into the detached pieces and floes of ice, and trust to incessant heaving and warping to attain PARRY — FIRST VOYAGE — 1819. 179 his object ; and he accordingly pursued this course, until the 30th July, when he arrived off Possession Bay, the southern entrance of Lancaster Sound, just one month earlier than Ross in 1818. The line here went down to the depth of sixty and seventy fathom, which was a favourable omen, but a tantalizing wind fitom the west caused them to make but slow progress. On the 31st they landed at a spot they had visited the previous year, where they found the flag-staff still standing, and the foot-prints as fresh as if made but a few days before ; another favourable sign, inasmuch as it proved that very little snow had fallen since their visit. An easterly wind, which soon encreased to a fresh gale, and a press of sail, carried them gallantly up this magnificent sound, while their almost breathless anxiety may be more easily imagined than described. Report after report was made from the mast-heads, which were crowded with officers, " and an uncon- cerned observer, if any could have been unconcerned on such an occasion, would have been amused by the eagerness with which they were received." In this state of anxious suspense they continued standing on until they had attained the west longitude of 83° 12', placing nearly a hundred miles between them and the entrance of the sound ; and transforming Ross's insuperable Croker range into a splendid bay, which now bears the same honoured name. At this point the strait, to which the name of Sir John Barrow was given, still maintained a breadth of thir- teen leagues ; and the sea before them appearing as free from ice as any part of the Atlantic, they began to flatter themselves that they had fairly entered the Polar Sea ; some indeed, more sanguine than the rest, commenced calculating the bearing and distance of Icy Cape, when they fell in with a small island, from which a barrier of ice extended to the northern K ;' 'W ill .' 1 i.' ■? ]80 PARRY — FIRST VOYAGE — 1819. shore of the strait; and Parry, finding that it was- useless to hope to penetrate through this obstacle for the present, stood to the southward in order to ex- amine an inlet which he had observed. He found it to be about thirty miles broad, and the western shore much encumbered with ice, but standing over to the eastern he was enabled to proceed along it to the south for about a hundred and twenty miles, during which time the compass gradually became so sluggish as scarcely to be of the slightest use ; when, as its width appeared to be increasing, and their hopes of a passage were rising in proportion, they suddenly per- ceived a floe of ice stretch away to the southward, beyond which there was neither land nor water visible. The latitude attained was 71° 53' 30", longitude 90° 03' 45'', and Captain Parry says that he saw no reason " to doubt the practicability of ships penetra- ting much farther to the south by watching the occa- sional openings in the ice," and thought it highly probable that the inlet would be found to communicate with Hudson's Bay ; but he determined not to waste time here, but to return at once to the great western opening, which however, owing to baffling winds and heavy logs, he did not regain until the 19th August. To this inlet he gave the name of the Prince Regent, having entered it on the 12th August, his Royal High- ness's birthday. His extreme point of view he named Cape Kater, and to a bay and fine harbour on the eastern shore he gave the name of Port Bo wen. On reaching the entrance they found the ice still thickly concentrated round Prince Leopold Island, but a few showers of rain and snow worked such a striking change in the course of a few days, that " it was almost impossible to believe it to be the same sea which but a day or two before had been completely covered with floes to the utmost extent of view." I i ( fj. 1 PARRY — FIRST VOYAGE — 1819. 181 Eagerly resuming their progress, on the evening of the 'i'ind, after naming several bays and headlands on the northern shore, the ships arrived off the mouth of a noble-looking strait, more than eight leagues in width, and as seen from the mast-heads on a beauti- fully clear evening, apparently perfectly clear from land and ice ; a matter of great comfort to them as the continuity of the land to the northward was be- ginning to give them considerable uneasiness, for fear that it might take a turn to the southward and unite with the coast of America. " To this noble channel," says Parry, " I gave the name of Wellington, after his Grace the Master-General of the Ordnance." Although this grand opening offered many advan- tages for exploration. Parry preferred to hold on his present westerly course up Barrow's Strait, though he made but slow progress, on account of the detached floes of ice, the danger from which was considerably heightened by foggy weather. Cornwallis, Griffith, Lowther, Bathurst, and By am Martin islands, were successively named and passed. On the latter island the remains of Esquimaux habi- tations were found in four different places, besides numerous traces of the reindeer and musk-ox. The valleys were covered with a luxuriant moss, similar to come noticed in the ravines of Possession Bay. On the 4th September, the expedition crossed the meridian of 110° west from Greenwich, in the latitude of 74° 44' *20", by which the crews became entitled to the reward of five thousand pounds, granted by an order in council, grounded on an act of parliament' to such of his Majesty's subjects as should penetrate thus far to the westward, within the Artie Circle. To do ' 58 Geo. III., cap. 20, " An act for more effectually discovering the Longitude at Sea, and encouraging attempts to find a Northern Passjige between the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, and to approach the Northern Pole." Repealed. ■11 \ \ V' h I \ 182 PARRY — FIRST VOYAGE — 1819. « I ! ^-^1 honour to this joyful event, a bluff headland off which this announcement was made, received from the men the name oi Bounty Cape, It was Captain Parry's earnest hope that he might have the remainder of the month of September before him, to prosecute his discovery before the winter should set in ; but his vexation was very great when, on the 8th, his progress was entirely stopped by a fixed body of ice, extending completely in to the shore, near a point forming the western extreme of the largest island which they had yet met with in Barrow's Strait, named after Viscount Melville, the First Lord of the Admiralty. He therefore returned to a bay, in which the Hecla and Griper had on the 5th dropped anchor, for the first time since leaving the coast of England, "a circumstance which was rendered the more striking at the moment, as it appeared to mark, in a very decided manner, the completion of one stage of the voyage," and they had hardly reached their resting place, after incurring most imminent danger from the floes of ice continually driving on shore, ere the winter set in. Before, however, they could feel at all secure in their quarters, it became absolutely necessary to get the ships into an anchorage through a floe of ice, averaging seven inches in thickness, and of the length of nearly two miles and a quarter. This necessity gave rise to tne most laborious operation of cutting a canal, which was performed in two days ; and on the 26th September, 1819, the Hecla and Griper were hauled into winter harbour, in five fathoms' water, with three hearty cheers from both ships' companies. Parry had now reached a position in which he must remain for at least eight or nine months, three or four of which would have to be passed without light from the sun, and under all the severities of an arctic climate, hundreds of miles from any civilized abode, and with- secure m PARRY — FIRST VOYAGE — 1819. 183 out any pleasantcr prospect whereon to gaze than one immense expanse of dazzling ice, unbroken except by a few hammocks. " The ships, and the smoke issuing from their several fires, indicating the presence of man, alone gave a partial cheerfulness to the prosnect ; and the sound of voices which, in the calm and cold air, was heard at an extraordinary distance, alone broke the deathlike stillness that reigned around them. Amid this total want of objects, even a stone of any uncommon size rising above the snow, became a mark to which their eyes were unconsciously fixed, and their feet mechanically advanced." It was now that Captain Parry's real worth was discovered ; " he possessed that decisive, and at the same time conciliatory character, joined to that know- ledge of human nature, and particularly of the cha- racter of sailors, which fitted him for a management, in which it was necessary to join persuasion with authority;"'* "and, indeed, seems to have united in his own person a greater number of qualifications than fall to the generality of mankind."^ Of course, the first thing to be done was to house the ships entirely over, to bank them up with snow, to remove all the heavy stores and timber on shore, so that the men might have the decks clear for exercise, and to pro- vide means for keeping them dry and warm, as the thermometer had now fallen below zero. The next consideration was the distribution of the provisions and fuel; and the regulations on this head were admirable. Hunting and exploring parties were also formed ; but, perhaps, the most happy idea for dispelling gloom among the men was the getting up of a theatre, which was opened with the play of "Miss in her Teens" the same day that the sun sank below ' Murray's '" Historical Account of North American Discoveries," v. ii, p. 175. ' Review of Voyage in " Quarterly," 1821, p. 190. r :i ■» f %■: 1! ^ I 184 PARRY — FIRST VOYAGE 1819. the horizon (5th November) not to rise again for three tedious months. In this their excellent commander himself took part, " considering," as he says, " that an example of cheerfulness, by giving a direct counte- nance to everything that could contribute to it, was not the least essential part of my duty, under the peculiar circumstances in which we were placed." These representations, which were repeated every fortnight as long as darkness lasted, as may be con- ceived were received by the men with the most rap- turous applause. But though these entertainments, and other duties, employed a great portion of the time of his officers, Captam Parry devised a more rational amusement for them in the shape of a weekly newspaper, of which Captain Sabine, the eminent observer, undertook to be the editor, and which was called the North Georgia Gazette and Winter Chronicle. Although this was, perhaps, the first time that such a journal had been set on foot in a ship of war. Captain Parry was too well acquainted with the excellent disposition of his officers, to apprehend any unpleasant consequences from such a measure. Another admirable expedient, which may be mentioned, was the establishment of a school among the men. Thus occupied, day after day passed away, and the old year closed with tolerably mild weather ; but the month of January was miseraljly cold, the thermometer never reaching above zero, and generally standing thirty or forty degrees below it. The first case of scurvy was reported on the 2nd January, but was cured within ten days after by a plentiful use of anti- scorbutics. On the 3rd February, owing to the refractive power of the atmosphere, the upper limb of the sun was seen from the Hecla's main-top (a height of fifty-one feet above the level of the sea), and on the 7 th the full orb ~^.. PARRY — FIR&T VOYAGE — 1811). 18o 1 for three )mmander , " that an ct counte- to it, was under the ! placed." ted every ly be con- most rap- ier duties, is officers, sement for of which Jertook to th Georgia this was, had been was too on of his equences xpedient, ment of a and the but the rmometer standing t case of but was e of anti- ve power was seen -one feet e full orb jjppeared above the horizon, after an absence of eighty- four dreary days. But his weak rays had but little effect on their adamantine prison for some months after, and on the 16th the greatest degree of cold was experienced, the thermometer having descended to — 5b° ; a temperature which sorely tested those of the officers who had undertaken to appear in female ap- parel, on the boards of the " North Georgian theatre," the same evening. The first appearance of anything like mild weather was in the month of March, wluni preparations were made to free the ships, and an enormous quantity of ice which lined their sides, the produce of the mens' breath and the steam from their food, was scraped off. On the 16th the theatre was closed, with an appro- priate address, as they had now less time for amuse- ment. On the 30th April a rapid change took place in the temperature, which soon brought them welcome visitors in the shape of bird and quadruped, the tracks of which became daily more numerous in their annual migrations to the northward, and the hunting excur- sions were resumed with great success. But the effects of the increased heat on the ice was very slow, and while impatiently awaiting its dissolution Parry, pro- vided with three weeks' provisions, undertook a journey across Melville Island, which he performed success- fully, though the travelling through the soft snow was often very laborious. The soil in most places was barren, with occasionally pieces of coal embedded in sandstone; but on the western coast vegetation was found to be more abundant, and game more plentiful. On the northern shore, after boring through ice four- teen feet four inches in thickness, they tasted the water, which was " not very salt," though sufficiently so to convince them that it was the sea. In the middle of July, the thermometer reached its \ ; )'■} 12 , I ''!; f 186 PARRY — FIRST VOYAGE — 1819. 1^ f highest point in Melville Island, viz. 60" ; but it was the 1st August before the ships were released from their long imprisonment. On the 15tn they had again advanced to the south- west extreme of the island, and were again met by the same insuperable obstacle which had before barred their progress, and on ascending the high and preci- pitous point of the island, as Tar as the eye could reach, there was the same hopeless prospect, which gave rise to the suspicion that some barrier existed beyond it, which would not allow the ice to drift to the westward. It was, in consequence, determined to search for a passage farther to the southward, and the ships there- fore put about, in the longitude of 113° 48' 29", after sightmg a high and bold coast to the west, to which the name of Sir Joseph Banks was given. But their efforts were altogether fruitless, and, after consulting his officers, Captain Parry decided to abandon the enterprise, and accordingly bore up for England, exa- mining carefully the south shore of Barrow's Strait, as he passed along, and calling in at the river Clyde, on the western shore of Baffin's Bay, where he fell in with a tribe of Esquimaux, whose appearance and conduct formed an extraordinary and agreeable con- trast to those of the generality of that race. After a stormy passage the ships arrived safely at home, where, as may be expected, their appearance was hailed with the greatest admiration; indeed, it must have been with no ordinary feelings of pride that Captain Parry again trod his native shores ; — he had sailed upwards of 30** of west longitude beyond any former navigator, and had set at rest the contested question of a Polar ocean ; — he had greatly aided the sister sciences by the valuable observations obtained by his several officers, most of whom have since risen to great eminence in their profession; — he had brought —>i. PARRY — FIRST VOYAGE — 1819. 187 back his ships in nearly as perfect a condition as when they left the docks ; and every man of his crew (with the exception of one, who carried out with him an incurable disease) in as high and robust health as when they quitted England ; while he had shown that his own merits were ot the very highest order. No greater compliment can be paid to Sir Edward Parry, for his conduct in this expedition, than by quoting the words of Sir John Barrow,* who says — " We are proud, and justly proud, of the name of Cook ; but we venture to assert, without fear of con- tradiction, and without meaning to derogate one tittle from the merits of that renowned navigator, that in no part of his career of discovery had he occasion to call into action all those personal exertions and mental energies, which were perpetually demanded in, and essential to the safety of, the late expedition." * Review of Voyage in " Quarterly," 1821, p. 214 K J If I' 188 FRANKLIN — FIRST JOURNKY — IHH). CHAPTER XVI. Franklin's Overland Expedition, accompanied by Richardson, Hood, Back, and Hepburn — Attempt, but fail, to reard of May 1819, in tht Hudson s Hay ('ompany's ship Prinec of VValc^, and jif'fc^r a narrow escape from shipwreck on the tii taded shores of Resolution Island, arrived in safety at the York Factory Station, on the 30th of August ; but they were iniable to set out on their journey till the 9th of September. On the *J2nd of October, they arrived at (Cumberland House, on Vine Island Lake, after having travelled by water a distance of nearly seven hundred miles, and sur- mounted all the usual difficulties in the shape of rock, rapid, and portage. Late as the season was, Franklin determined, with his accustomed energy, to push on to Carlton House, on the Athabasca Lake ; and accordingly, taking leave of Dr. Richardson and Mr. Hood, he set out on the 18th January, 18*20, accompanied by Mr. Back and the faithful Hepburn ; and after a journey of eight hundred and fifty miles, with the thermometer 40° and sometimes 50° below zero, arrived at Fort Chipcwyan on the 20th March. Here they were joined early in July by Dr. Rich- ardson and Mr. Hood, and on the 18th of that month the whole party, with an addition of sixteen or eighteen Canadian voyugeurSf embarked on their voyage, but, notwithstanding, the greatest efforts were made to reach winter quarters at the mouth of the Coppermine, they were compelled to halt on the banks of a river in lat. 64° 28' N., long. 113° 6' W., five hundred and fifty miles from Fort Chipe- wyan, where they commenced building a hut and laying in a good stock of provisions. From the herds of rein-deer which covered the surrounding country, about a hundred and eighty fell i i 't ^' \. ■'3 I H ; Ji 190 FRANKLIN — FIRST JOURNEY — 1819. victims to the skill of the hunter, and the flesh, after being partially dried, was kneaded up with fat into a paste, well known in North America by the name of pemmtcan. But this stock was soon found to be insufficient to supply the wants of the numbers of Indians, who crowded to the station when the winter had fairly set in; and accordingly, Mr. Tack, with his usual zeal, volunteered to conduct a party back to Fort Providence, and if necessary to Chipewyan, to obtain further supplies. This journey, one of the most perilous on record, was successfully performed, though at the cost of a great deal of suffering to Back and his party. The misery of travelling over a distance of one thousand one hundred and four miles, in snow shoes " can be but faintly imagined by a person who thinks upon the inconvenience of marching with a weight of between two and three pounds constantly attached to galled feet and swelled ankles," which mark his weary track with blood ; well indeed may Sir John Franklin say " I had every reason to be much pleased with his (Back's) conduct on this arduous undertaking." These supplies arrived on the 15th January, 1821. In June the first party started on their voyage down the Coppermine, and on the 14th, Franklin and the remainder left Fort Enterprise, " a name that, in reference to future events, might, with great and deplorable propriety, be changed to that of the * House of Misery, Lamentation, and Woe'." Before leaving, however, Akaitcho, a chief of the Copper Indians, and Mr. Wentzel, a clerk of the North-West Company and a companion of Back in his journey, made a promise that a supply of provisions should be depo- sited there previous to September. On the 1st July they embarked on the Copper- mine, and, after a tedious and hazardous voyage, on the 16th arrived at the mouth of the river, nine 19. ; flesh, after Lh fat into a the name of bund to be numbers of 1 the winter Tack, with arty back to ipewyan, to s on record, tie cost of a party. The ne thousand oes "can be iks upon the ; of between 3d to galled weary track "ranklin say id with his ing. luary, 1821. ►yage down llin and the le that, in great and the * House jre leaving, ler Indians, |t Company r, made a be depo- le Copper- [us voyage, 1 river, nine F RANKLIN— FIRST JOURNEY — 1810. 191 miles from the " Bloody Fall " of Heame, and three hundred and thirty miles from Fort Enterprise. On the 21st they all embarked in their two crazy bark canoes, on an undertaking on which few but English sailors would have had the hardihood to venture. Fifteen of the party had never seen salt-water before in their lives, and their delight on first view- ing it speedily gave way to sensations of fear and despondency ; more particularly as they had but fifteen days provisions, and a very remote chance of relief from the Esquimaux. For the first four days their progress was due east, along a coast which was free fi:om ice, and at first well covered with vegetation. Numerous rocky and barren islands, with high cliffs, were seen to the north, as well as that peculiar phenomenon termed ice-blink, which indicates the presence of large masses of ice. Little or no tide was observed, but the indications of an eastern current were found in the deposit of quantities of drift wood, chiefly of the poplar, on the western shores of all the project- ing headlands. On the 25th, during a dense fog, they doubled a bold cape, to which the name of Barrow was given. The coast was here composed of granite cliffs, fourteen or fifteen hundred feet high, on which no landing could be affected with any degree of safety, and which presented a most dreary aspect to their anxious eyes. At a great risk to their slender canoes, from the ice which encompassed Cape Barrow, they made their way unto Detention Harbour, so named from being unable to get out for some days after their entrance. On the 29th the progress was resumed, favored by a land breeze, and on the 30th, after rounding Cape Kater, they entered a deep gulf to which the name of Arctic Sound was given ; the name of Hood was bestowed on a river at the bottom ,1 f I 1! . ;» 192 FRANKLIN— FIRST JOURNEY— 1819. fM' of the sound. Bathurst's Inlet was next examined, and proved to be more than seventy miles in depth. Proceeding to track the eastern shore of Corona- tion Gulf, on the lOtli August they appeared to have again reached the open sea, when, to their extreme dismay, they found themselves in the very centre of a large bay, to which the name of Lord Melville was given. By the time they had again resumed their northern course, the condition of the expedition de- manded Franklin's most serious attention. It was but too evident that valuable time had been unavoid- ably lost in examining the shores of the great gulf in which they now were ; and although from the chart the position of Point Turnagain, the extreme limit of the expedition, appears only six degrees and a half from the mouth of the Coppermine, yet their canoe voyage had extended over six hundred and fifty geographical miles. The canoes were terribly shattered ; the provisions could only hold out for a few days, and the supplies derived from the hunter's rifle were now becoming fearfully precarious. It was therefore deterniined to abandon the discovery at once, and return to Fort Enterprise by the way of Hood's River, where the game appeared more plenti- ful, in preference to the old route by the Mackenzie, a resolution which was joyfully received by the Cana- dian voifdgeursy who were delighted at the thoughts ^f exchanging their scanty meal of a handful of pemn^i- can for their usual allowance, at the Company's forts, of dfjht pounds of meat a day. Alas ! they little an- ticipated the danger and privations still in store for them. A few miles up Hood's River, they were stopped by a grand cataract of the whole river tumbling over a ledge of rocks, and forming the two magnificent falls named after the distinguished philanthropist, Wilberforce. The river here runs in a chasm, the FRANKLIN — FIRST JOURNEY — 1819, 193 walls of which are upwards of two hundred feet in height, and in some places only a few yards in width. Here they were detained until the 1st September, in constructmg two smaller canoes, prior to commencing their land journey to Point Lake, which was only a hundred and forty-nine miles from them, in a direct line. Twelve miles on their journey they were sur- prised by a snow-storm, which obliged them to en- camp, and having no means of obtaining either food or fuel, they were forced to remain two days huddled together under their blankets, with the temperature at 20°. On the 7 th they again set forward, but the voy- ageurs now grumbled at having to carry two canoes, and at length, partly through carelessness, and partly through accident, one was wholly destroyed by a fall, and the other rendered nearly useless, and subse- quently abandoned by her carriers. They threw away their fishing-lines, and, indeed, acted through- out with such imprudence and folly, that, had their safety depended on their own exertions, not a man wo^ild have been saved. Three miserable weeks thus passed away, during which time they obtained from the resources of the country only five days' provision, their sole supply for the rest of the time being a kind of lichen or moss, called by the Canadians tripe de roche, or rock- tripe, without which they must undoubtedly have perished of actual starvation. On the 26th September, after having a thousand times regretted the loss of their canoes, the party arrived on the banks of the Coppermine, where a few small deer were killed ; but here the madness of those who had abandoned the canoe became more fully apparent: eight whole days (mostly of fine weather) were consumed in devising means to cross a stream a hundred and thirty yards wide. Attempt K I 1 5, \ > I 1 ! t r i'l ii ^ 'I i \ I ri! ; f ii' lu' ! I. 194 FRANKLIN — FIRST JOURNEY 1819. after attempt was made to get a raft of willows across, but they all failed, on account of the greenness of the wood and the want of paddles. In this desperate state of aftairs, with the certainty of starvation staring them m the face if they were not successful in crossing the river. Dr. Richardson nobly volunteered to swim across with a line attached to his body. He had nearly succeeded in reaching the opposite shore, when the strong deep current, which was piercingly cold, proved too much for his debili- tateu frame, made weaker by long fasting, and to their inexpressible anguish, he sank. They instantly hauled on the line, and dragged him ashore nearly lifeless, when at sight of his emaciated limbs, the Canadians simultaneously exclaimed, " Ah ! que nous sommes maigres^^ so greatly had he been reduced. Soon after. Back, who had been despatched to examine the shores of the lake, returned without having been able to discover any place where it was possible to cross. Their distresses now every hour became greater ; the hunters were unable to kill any- thing, but brought home the back-bone and antlers of a deer, which was esteemed a prize, although the marrow was so putrid and acrid as to excoriate the lips; their sufferings had reduced them to perfect shadows ; Franklin was so weak as to be unable to walk a distance of three quarters of a mile after three hours' labour; — Richardson, Back, and Hood were equally helpless ; the Canadians sullen and despond- ing ; the only one capable of »^xertion was Hepburn, whose noble conduct and indefatigable zeal through- out calls for the highest admiration. At length, by God's blessing, they were enabled to cross the river, by means of a patched-up canoe formed of willows, and covered with painted canvass. Back was immediately sent forward with three men to Fort Enterprise, which was distant only forty miles. ^ s i FRANKLIN — FIllST JOURNEY 1819. 195 On the 5th October the remainder moved forward, but soon had to divide into two parties, as it was found utterly impossible to get some of them to pro- ceed ; — Dr. Richardson, Mr. Hood, and Hepburn accordingly volunteered to remain at the first con- venient spot, with those who were too weak to travel ; while Captain Franklin, and the remainder thus re- lieved of considerable burthens were to push on to the Fort, from which they were distant only four and twenty miles ; and so this affecting parting took place, after prayers and thanksgivings to the Great Master of Life. The first party, now consisting of nine persons, descended into a more level country, but the snow lay so deep that after a march of only four miles and a half, they were compelled to camp. Next day Belanger, and Michel an Iroquois, begged permission to be allowed to return to Dr. Richardson ; which was granted; a third, Perrault, a short time after joined them, and a fourth named Fontano, an Italian, who was much beloved by all, gave in two miles further on, and was also allowed to return. Of these four, but one, — the fiend Michel the Iroquois, — ever reached the little camp. Captain Franklin had now with him, Adam, Pel- tier, I^enoit, Samandre, and Augustus the faithful interpreter, who had pressed forward by himself. On the evening of the 11th they came in sight of the ardently wished-for Fort, having tasted nothing for five days but a little tripe de roche and the shreds of their shoes. Their horror and dismay may be conceived, when not a vestige of any living creature was to be observed. When their agonized feelings had in some measure obtained relief in tears, a note was found from Mr. Back, stating that he had been there two days pre- viously and had again set out on his search for the ' I I 'I .:ii K J. 1 196 FRANKLIN FIRST JOURNEY 1819. Indians, but from the weakness of his party he was afraid lie should not be able to reach Fort Providence, The sufferings of this gallant young officer on this journey were very great, but his exertions have been gratefully recognised. Four days afterwards a mes- senger arrived from hiiii to say that his search had been unsuccessful. Eighteen days passed by ; the snow lying deeper than in the previous December, and the temperature from 15° to 20" below zero : a miserable existence was sustained on several old deer-skins, and the bones carefully collected from the ashes ; yet not one single murmur do we find the gallant chief uttering ; not once did he give way to despair. He even made an attempt to set out in search of assistance, but returned the following day, having broken his snow shoes, leaving Augustus and Benoit to continue the journey. On the evening of the 29th October, two gaunt figures entered Fort Enterprize, and were recognised by the emaciated circle around the fire as Dr. Rich- ardson and Hepburn. Such a meeting defies the powers of description; it was a compound of both joy and sorrow, for the absence of poor Hood and the Canadians was instantly seen : each was shocked by the appearance of the other, and the doctor particularly requested that they would undeavour to make their sepulchral voices more cheerfiil; "not aware," says Franklin, "that his own partook of the same key." But perhaps the severest trial still awaited them in the Doctor's narrative. For the first two days after fhe separation, they had nothing whatever to eat; on the third, Michel, the only survivor of the four who had set out on their return to the camp, came in with a large hare and a partridge. He was looked on as their guai'dian angel, and willing offers of their scanty FRANKLIN — FIRST JOURNEY 1819. 197 wardrobe were made him, when he complained of the cold. On the 11th, after another long fast, the Iroquois who appeared to be gaining strength as his com- panions became weaker, brought them apiece of flesh which he said was part of a wolf; a tale which was implicitly received, but which they had aften^^ards reason to believe was a portion of tne bodies of Bel- anger or Perrault. The conduct of this man was cal- culated to awaken their most serious suspicions ; he be- came sullen and morose; remained away all day without any reason; would neither hunt no; cut wood; refused to sleep in the tent, and regretted he had ever quitted Franklin's party, to whom he threatened to return. On the morning of Sunday, the 20th October after reading prayers, Michel was urged to go hunt- ing, that he might if possible leave them some provi- sion before he set out on his journey to Fort Enterprize, which he was to commence the next day. They then went about various occupations, Hepburn cutting wood, and Dr. Richardson gathering the tripe de roche. Poor Mr. Hood and Michel were left at the fire in earnest conversation, when suddenly the Doc- tor was alarmed by the report of a gun, and Hepburn calling loudly to him. When he arrived at the tent, he found poor Hood lying lifeless, with the book he had been reading open before him, a ball having passed through his head. At first he was horror stricken with the idea that, in a fit of despondency, he had hurried himself into the presence of his Almighty Judge ; but the conduct of the Iroquois soon gave rise to other thoughts, and excited suspicions which were confirmed when, upon examination, the shot was found to have entered at the back of the head ; and the long gun supplied to the Indians could not have been placed in the position to inflict such a wound except by a second person. } ' I I ! I ^ •?: 1 > : ' I , . I' '1(1 I I ■ 198 FRANKLIN — FIRST JOURNEY — 1819. It Michel alleged that he knew nothing of it, and asked them menacingly if they suspected him of so foul a deed, though they had not for an instant even hinted at such a suspicion. As the death of this excellent young officer re- moved the only bar to their journey. Dr. Richardson determined at once to set out for the fort ; and had there been any doubt of the guilt of Michel, his con- duct would now at once have removed it. He never suffered his companions to be alone together for a moment; was constantly asking them if they suspected him of the murder ; and, indeed, it became but too evident that he would take the first opportunity to destroy them, to remove all evidences of his guilt. He relaxed this caution however to gather some tripe de rochct and the doctor and Hepburn hurriedly took advantage of the occasion to communicate their mu- tual suspicions, and Hepburn was so convinced that their safety depended on his death, that he offered to be the instrument of it; but Dr. Richardson, now thoroughly convinced of the necessity of such a dreadful act, determined to take the whole responsi- bility on himself, and accordingly, when Michel came up with them, he shot him through the head with a pistol. Michel had gathered no tripe de roche ; he had halted to put his gun in order, no doubt with the intention of destroying them, while engaged in encamping, that same evening. Six days did Dr. Richardson and Hepburn drag on their weary limbs, existing on lichens and the skin cloak of poor Hood. On the evening of the 6 th they came in sight of the fort, and with sensations not to be described, beheld smoke issuing from one of the chimnies ; but alas I how were their joyful antici- pations blasted, when they entered the desolate build- ing and beheld the filth and wretchedness of their poor companions ; their own misery had stolen upon FRANKLIN — FIRST JOURNEY — 1819. 199 them by degrees, and they had become accustomed to the contemplation of each other's emaciated figures, but the ghastly countenances, dilated eyeballs, and sepulchral voices of Franklin and his party, ' "o of whom died shortly after,) were more than they could at first bear. The condition of the whole party now daily became worse ; the hardness of the floor produced sores : after suffering acute pains of hunger all day, at night they were sated in dreams with every luxury. Their tempers grew so fretful, that the kindest ex- pressions were received pettishly, and Captain Frank- lin himself admits that he became excessively peevish. Each thought the other weaker in intellect than himself, and more in need of advice and assistance. On the 7th November, the long and ardently wished for relief, came by the hands of three Indians, sent forward by Mr. Back, and by these men they were tended with the greatest care and solicitude, and conveyed to Moose-Deer Island where they met that gallent young officer, to whose exertions they unquestionably owed their lives. From this spot their progress homeward was comfortable and easy, and thus terminated a journey, by land and water, of five thousand five hundred and fifty miles, during which, a degree of misery had been suffered, hardly to be paralleled in any journey, in any quarter of the globe, and which had been endured with the most unflinch- ing courage and christian resignation. ; ' f * ' *■ I (., ! H ' M U\ V I 200 RUSSIAN ASIATIC DISCOVERIES. \ t 1": i.ln Mill - CHAPTER XVII. RUSSIAN ASIATIC DISCOVERIES. '• 1 M[ ! i;'' ,1, ,'T The whole of the immense extent of country from the White Sea to Behring's Straits, embracing one hundred and forty-five degrees of longitude, has been discovered, surveyed, and described by Russians, who, accustomed to the severity of the climate and to the privations inseparable from it, have conquered all those difficulties and impediments which arrested others. But they are far too numerous to allow of the detail in the present wor]c, which their importance so well deserves, and we have therefore embodied in a tabular form those which are of the greatest interest in a geographical point of view, while the reader who desires more information, will find his every wish gratified in the appendix to Admiral Von Wrangell's narrative of his expedition to the Polar Sea in the years 1820-1-2-3.2 ^ Madden ; second edition, 1844, edited by Colonel Sabine. RU89IAN DISCOVERIESw 201 H a H » ■A 8 2 3 V CS bi 3^ a ^ §-3 X PL, O s w*:2^ , V V V I ja ,£3 ^ « g I •-S 2a «^ 4;^ •si fl 06 5-1 TJ h <1> 4) (£3 « ^ 2 g-o-o 0) 5-a 3 ♦* « p 2 O 3 K ■2 « K^ . ^ TS TS J a '* o C a 3 i:.'S p5 ^ I J rt"^ gf.2 S ^ x» o "< ui -s S a -^ '2 ^ _ _ q S « 4> -c -^l -* OB 01 c9 4< PC4 0Q0Q « "J? |^«ll OQ a ' .a •« -a -■ U , 3 P ■-3 . ^ o ^ ^ ft. « o * i PC4 O O o s i Cm O H H p p o n n H t O 3 g d ■ I o ,^4 iS -a L o ^ 3 1 1 2 a I 3 W A 00 o s "^ s (Z4EH ■=1 I -^ a 01 CS ^ 5 § « .o O ^ SOD 3^< •>i CO 5 1-8 h-l c • • u 3 CO ^ .A *■-■ O & (l> 3 o «o «o «o M ^ iH 1-H ri i-H J£ 1-^ * "* «o t^ «0 CO CO I a» Tj» CO CO r-t o o CO CO CO CO > i 202 RUSSIAN DISCOVERIES. I I RU88IAN DISCOVERIES. 203 i «a -^ •§•« a • »■* 4) ?< c O B "a 11 ♦* o ., a-s t 4) « . 1* s ^•^ Sz; ^ 4j V ^ l- ♦3 . O •• <-> ii ^-s V •c e m 4) S ! V ^£ I >—t o is 2 h !>• •" § i a o S! U 4i P ■•-• aa «. :: •^-^"i ■2^ ^?- plored when § « a |i5 H *e3 » (3 • • • • • r^ 1 3$ 3f 09 •a •a V « H-l HH • • > Q tiMO XQ Cj »-i 0^ •S » s 5 o <»» ■«*« »^ i-H •2-3 s s-sl 9 1 i .? ' ^ 4< a 41 ^ 5 -3 «5 .t; -f^ _ — I B S o a ST? ^ c .a "O ^ a 3 Z^"* ar_r 4) 3 § £ i! ^ c " S i £ M -, « 9 a •9 1 on a '^ o a O m O 4-* a 4> -s a a p .s • .2 3 -s I ex. a< ►3^3 ^ S a ^ o to H >o o» a» ---"a CO CO t-l r~l •^ , ec «>• H eo eo CO er ■^ «0 . *^ t-.t>. t*t^ »^ U3 t^ i-^ ll 204 RUSSIAN DISCOVERIES. a o 1 4> o 0) S OQ CJ S f« e f (U ^ S ^ fli 'O o g C3 . ? .a f" ^ TO ^ 03 •c HI "« a ■*-» o 'o > o o CQ 'C JS o * _S 3 o (4 ■5 Oi i at 1^ 03 1*^ c a> , , _ O 4) O o « « I" 53 -, a e>9 T3 S o 'El DO "3 rrt gt-tecT O ^^ C'B Zrr, V " acS o ^ IS >>r5 « » 2 S &1 •^«'«r^,-5 » O 2^ O Bo**! ■ «-a M .2 g Sf2 (i( M >-m CIS I o > a 3 n c3 -3 £ © u 4> O > !- S c* ^ e B g 3 00 c3 o O 0) 00 J2 B -3 i •a g - i>S »icc3 B V •a 2 4) _, M br a B as ^ >.-B B CS -£3 Ui .5 ^ 1) Ha © S ■f B 0) CQ B .r< © C 01 > -w s s « " .s .2 « +3 > •S « ^^ 00 c ?? fi cf"* cs.t; ^ ^^ § •^-^ 2 g|^ « S « 2 3 rt . B 3 o u en CQ c8 O (U «- _ 00 .£ O © rn !* B' cS B a. « E oo OJ B. 3 iS .S « be a; t4-l If B S Bfl SS •> " « e<3 t ^TS B - B •-" ee E 0^ «2.2^ -^^ '^ «j >B cs a B ♦* > B V B OS 3 O _ .s a> B B bo B O U3 t^ a» s 8 'S in •S'S a « S \i) -V V« '«> -S 1^ •^ M •^ 4) :3 :s :3 :3 M (^H^ 1-^ h^ 1-^ 1^ ■-I i-t 1-1 o» I-H Cfl eo •«f 1 t-< 1-1 ©» (N (M « 00 W 00 00 00 00 00 o 1-H 1-H 1-H 1-H 1-H rH 00 , -. » , B if ill ® a> S « >•" e 03 cS V be b- •c ^ cS P « is C « ® a « £ & «« s "" «- eS c ^ ft. I •- " fa 2 « a. 5 S o fc- o S C3 00 I RUSSIAN DISCOVERIES. ^^ — 205 S C8 -^ .S t^ g 3 ♦^ .« .5 a> n a naviga- endered ex- obeying no )ont, to the after having )ast Baffin's o a position iigust. le coast was iig carefully f deep and xptain Lyon named after 3W began to to look out in a small the vessels irry's fertile ng the con- ble. Thea- r scale than up for the while the in making sant musical I, our com- seaward so ir own faults our present ictations for f presented itself in the shape of a party of Esquimaux, whose orderly quiet behaviour formed a striking contrast to the specimens of the same race met with at the Savage Islands. The two commanders were invited, and visited the snow-houses of this amiable people, and were particularly struck with the great ingenuity dis- played in the construction of the arched domes or roofs, on the origin of which so much has been said and written by the learned. The favourable impression made on the party in their first interview with these poor creatures, was not diminished during a constant intercourse of three or four months duration, and Cap- tain Parry particularly mentions one honourable trait in their character — their honesty. Their love of music, singing, and dancing was such, that, though ever so pinched with hunger and cold, they were always ready and eager to join in any mer- riment, and the mere motion of the hand, as if in the act of turning an organ, was sufficient to set them offi But there was one of them, a woman named Iligliuk, who was possessed of more than ordinary intelligence ; and her son had likewise a larger amount of under- standing than the generality of his countrymen. Her enquiring mind, remarkably soft voice, and great de- light in singing, drawing, and needlework, speedily made her a favourite, and presents were showered upon her, until unhappily her head was turned, and it was found difficult to believe that the Iligliuk of April was the same person as the Iligliuk of February. But her superior intelligence was, perhaps, most appa- rent in her knowledge of geography. It struck Captain Parry that this might be made available for his purposes, and accordingly he placed in her hand a pencil, and desired her to draw the shape of the land north of their present abode ; the Esquimaux lady at once understood his meaning, and drew it accordingly, but having no idea of distance. i ] 210 PARRY SECOND VOYAGE 1821. soon reached the other end of the table, having passed over a dozen sheets of paper. The experiment was then *ried on a smaller scale, after repeatedly making her " box the compass," so as to impress on her mind something like an idea of the bearings of the coast ; again the pencil was put into her hand, when, with a countenance of peculiar gravity, she traced the coast to the northward, as nearly north from Winter Island. " The most important part still remained, and it would have amused an unconcerned looker-on to have observed the anxiety and suspense depicted on the countenances of our part of the group till this was accomplished ; for never were the tracings of a pencil watched with more eager solicitude." Great was their surprise and joy, when Iligliuk, without taking the pencil from the paper, brought the continental coast short round to the W., and then S.S.W., to within three or four days' journey of Repulse Bay ; further than this she knew nothing of the coast. This coun- try she called Akkoolee, and from its highest hills, she said, that nothing was to be seen but one wide-ex- tending sea. They now became every day more anxious to verify IligliuK's sketch-map, and in the latter end of June were busily employed in making preparations to depart. On the 8 th July they put to sea, after great labour in sawing a passage out of their winter berths; but soon met with a barrier in some great masses of ice brought down by a strong current from the north, which threatened repeatedly to crush and overwhelm them, and which unhung the Ilecla's rudder, but by untiring perseverance, on the 13th they arrived off a fine river, with a magnificent fall, which was named after Mr. Barrow, and the banks of which were covered with rich vegetation. Amitioke, with its herds of walrusses, was next made. (H PARRY SECOND VO Y AG E 1 82 1 . 211 On the 16th high land was seen to the north and east, and full of hope that this was the northern shore of the strait, they pushed on ; but great was their dis- appointment, when arriving at the entrance they saw one unbroken floe of ice, extending from shore to shore. For nearly four weeks ineffectual attempts were made to get to the westward, without advancing twice as many miles. Captain Parry, " each hour's delay adding an inde- scribable weight to his anxiety," therefore determined to make a land journey, and setting out on the 14th August, arrived on the 18th at a peninsula, on pro~ ceeding to the northern point of which, the strait lay immediately beneath them, running in a direction about east and west, two miles in width, apparently very deep, with a tide or current of at least two knots, setting the loose ice through it to the eastward. The strait was named by anticipation, the Strait of the Fin-y and Hecla, ana an attempt was made on their return to the ships to push through some of the cracks, which were now making their appearance in the great floe, but nothing of any moment was achieved. A party sent, under Lieutenant Reid and Mr. Bushnan, to explore the northern shore of the strait, on the second day of their journey, sixty miles west of the entrance, reached the latitude of 70° 00' 05", from which point they saw the opposite shore trend to the southward, and a boundless ocean beyond, shut up by ice. Winter quarters had again to be sought, and were found at Igloolik, where the ships were safely esta- blished, after cutting a canal, 4,343 feet long, through ice twelve or fourteen inches thick. Their time was employed much the same as during the previous winter, while they had also communication with another tribe of Esquimaux. It was not until the 8th August, after sawing /[ 1 . ^' B 212 PARRY — SECOND VOYAGE — 1821. through a mile of ice, that they were again afloat, when Captain Parry began to reflect on his future plans. He had formed a resolution to take a twelve- month's stores from the Hecla, and sending that ship home, to remain out in the Fury to the end of the year 1825 ; but on once more getting afloat, the pro- bable evil, likely to arise from such a course, seemed far to outweigh the possible good, and on requesting the opinions of his doctors as to the health of his officers and crew, their opinion was so decisive, that, taking many other weighty matters into consideration, it was determined to return home. Assisted by the rapid southerly drift, the ships made a quick passage, and on the 10th October arrived at Lerwick, where the greatest joy was expressed at their return; the bells were rung, the houses were illuminated, and the people flocked from all parts of the country to offer their congratulations, as if each individual had a brother or a son amongst the crew. On the 16th November Captains Parry and Lyon paid off" their gallant crews, among whom the greatest cordiality and good feeling had existed, notwithstanding their many severe trials. One fact speaks volumes for their excellent commander — he had but to hoist his pen- nant to bring his old officers and men round him again ; and, indeed, it would have been strange had it been otherwise, for although the navy of England has produced some of the noblest men that ever existed, it has never nurtured one who had the in- terest of his men more at heart, or who better under- stood the peculiar character and feelings of sailors, and laboured more to gratify their wishes, than Cap- tain Sir Edward Parry. Leaving, for awhile, Captain Parry and his gallant followers, to rest for a few months after their haz- ardous voyage, we must now glance at some important discoveries male in the Polar Seas by Mr. William i' SCORESBY AND DUTCH NAVIGATORS. 213 (now the Reverend Doctor) Scoresby, a gentleman of great scientific attainments, wlio has for many years given up the rough and dangerous life of a whaler, and risen high in his present profession. Dr. Scoresby passed his early youth in a Greenland ship, commanded by his father, and had frequent opportu- nities of observing the state of the ice at various periods. In the year 1806, he reached a higher northern latitude than any former navigator.' In his search for whales, his father in this year attained, without obstruction, the latitude of 81° 30', when he had an open sea before him ; but a deviation from the path of duty, however important to the interests of science, would have been blameable even under ■-if i 1 ' The Hon. Daines Banington, in several papers read before the Royal .Society, which were published in 1775-6, and again in 1818 as a vnlunie, asserted the possibility of approaching the North Pole, and adduced the testimony of a number of Dutch and other Navigators, who alleged that they had, in their whaling adventures, reached the very high latitudes of 89" and 89*> 30'. The subjoined is a tabular view of these statements : — Captain John Reed 80» 45' Captain Thos. Robinson (for three weeks together) . 81" — Captain John Philips ...... 81" odd min. James Hutton, Jonathan Wheatley, Thomas Robinson, John Clarke (four instances) .... 81' 30' Captains Cheyne and Thew (two instances) . . 82* — Cluny and David Boyd (two instances) . . . 82" odd min. Mr. George Ware 82" 15' Mr. John Adams and Mr. James Montgomery (two instances) ....... 83" — Mr James Watt, Lieutenant in the Royal Navy . 83" 30* Five ships in company with Hans Derrick . . 86" — Captain Johnson and Dr. Dallie (two instances; to which, perhaps, may be added, Captain Monson, as a third) 88" — Relation of two Dutch masters to Captain Goulden . 89" — Dutch relation to Mr. Grey 89" 30' In all these instances Daines Barrington has taken credit for nearly a degree to the northward of their several situations, because the blhik, or glare of the packed ice, is to be distinguished at this distance when the weather is tolerably fair. ) . V rl *214 SCORESBY — 182*2. these favourable circumstances, and he was rehic- tantly obhgcd to return. His most important discoveries, however, were made in 1822, when he was in command of the whaler, BafRn. The eightieth parallel had been so well "Jishcd" and had become so unproductive, that Mr. Scoresby determined to try the eastern coast of Greenland, and on the 8th of June, in latitude 74° 6', discovered a bold rugpjed coast, which he supposed to be the " Hold with Hope" of Hudson, as the lati- tude given by the old navigator was tolerably correct, but the longitude differed from the best charts from 7« to 10«. On the 1 9th July, after capturing several whales, the coast was again made, composed of high bold cliffs, rising almost perpendicularly from the beach to the height of three or four thousand feet, and ter- minating in lofty peaks like stacks of chimneys. Steering S. S W. along this coasts names were given to various points, after men distinguished in litera- ture, science, and art, until he arrived at a large opening, in 70°, to which he gave the name of his father, and on emerging from which, he still con- tinued his course to the southward, but finding no appearance of whales, was forced again to steer to the north. In a few days he once more made the land, and named points after Werner the geologist, Sir Humphry Davy, Captain Parry, &c, ; but, disap- pointed in not meeting with whales, he was obli^^ed to abandon further ex'.iloration of a coast he may thus be said to have discovered for a range of four hundred miles, as it had been formerly known only by vague rumours. Tc the important discoveries of Scoresby, some additions were made next year (1823), by Commander Clavering and Captain (now Lieut. Colonel) Sabine, R.A., in the Griper. While the latter was employed SADINE AND CLAVERING 18*23. 215 was reliic- ever, were uul of the ad been so iictive, that em coast oi itude 74° fi', le supposed , as the lati- ibly correct, charts from eral whales, f high bold 1 the beach eet, and ter- f chimneys. 1 were given id in litera- at a large name of his le still con- finding no to steer to made the le geologist, but, disap- was obli^Tcd ast he may nge of four mown only resby, some Commander nel) Sabine, as employed in making scientific observations in Spitzbergen, Command er Clavering ])ushed into the northern seas, and succcded in reaching the latitude of 8i)^ 20'. Returning and taking Captain Sabine on board, he set sail for the eastern coast of Greenland, of which he came in view on the 5th August. " Never wiis there a more desolate spot seen ; Spitzliergen was, on the whole, a paradise to it." Proceeding along the coast to the north, they reached the latitude of 75" 12', and from the heights of an island named after the Shannon, (in which ship Captain Clavering served during her action with the Chesapeake,) the same bold high land was seen, still stretching as far as the 76tli degree of latitude. The Griper then returned to the southward, landing Captain Sabine at various points, in order to enable him to carry out his series of valuable observations, but nothing else of any importance occurred during the remainder of the voyage. No further efforts were made to explore the depths of the Polar Sea, until the year 1827, when Captain Parry made his celebrated attempt to reach the pole hi boats; but that excellent officer was again sent out by the government to the north-west in 1824, with the view of exploring the bottom of Prince Regent's Inlet, which was supposed to hold out flattering hopes of a passage into the Great Polar Basin, and acting in concert with two land expeditions under Captains Lyon and Franklin, and one by sea under Captain Beechey. The two ships of which the expedition was com- posed, were the Ilecla and Fury, the latter now com- missioned by Commander Hoppner; they sailed from the Nore on the 19th May, and were obliged to take up their first winter's quarters at Port Bowen, in Regent's Inlet, owing to the great loss of time incurred in crossing Baffin's Bay. it is needless to i: ■• i»iai niMM»»i>mii!Hry»». 210 PARRY — rillUD VOYAGE — 1824. recapitulate the details of the manner in which it passed away. Ca})tain Parry, indeed, observes, that It is hard to conceive any one thing more like another than two winters passed in the higher latitudes of tlie Polar regions : when once the earth is covered, all is dreary, monotonous whiteness, — not merely for days or weeks, but for more than half-a-year together. Whichever way the eye is turned, it meets a picture calculated to impress upon the mind an idea oi inani- mate stillness — of that motionless torpor with which the feelings have nothing congenial ; of anything, in short, but life. The presence of man seems an intru- sion on the dreary solitude of this wintry desert, which even its native animals have for a \vhile for- saken. Every expedient for rendering cheerful this sclitary life which former experience had taught was tried, and with admirable effect. Land journeys were made to the north, under the command of Lieut. J. C. Ross, and to the south, under Lieut. Sherer. The first brought the gratifying intelligence of open water in Barrow's Bay ; and the last returned, after survey- ing the coast as far down as 72J^ when, from want of provisions he was obliged to retrace his way, or otherwise he might have continued his progress down to the Strait of the Fury and Hecla. They got their first peep at the sun from the top of a high hill on the 2nd February, but it was the 22nd before he was visible at the ships, after an absence of a hundred and twenty -one days. On the 'iOth July, they warped out of Port Bowen and stood towards the western shore of the Inlet ; the labours of a bad summer and the tedium of a long winter forgotten in a moment, now that they were on unexplored ground. They proceeded southerlv, close to the western shore, until the 28th, when they be- came beset, and suffered great peril till the 1st August, / PARRY — THIRD VoYACE — 1824. 217 when they were in latitude 72" 42', h)npitiKU' J)l" 5(y. At this point, the Fury was forced on shore, hut cominj? off at higli water, all sail was made for a broad channel of water in the distance, but, inihap- pily, before it could be reached, the ice again drove in upon them, and the ships became literally helpless and unmanageable. The Ilecla, after driving with it for about a mile, struck the ground and remained last, but the unfor- tunate Fury was irresistibly carried past them, and driven on snore with great violence. Both ships got off at high water; but Captain Parry, on going on hoard the Fury, found her injuries so severe as abso- lutely to require her to be hove down. Four pumps, constantly worked by both officers and men, were sca/cely sufficient to keep her free. On the 18th, the Fury was hove down in a sort of artificial harbour, constructed out of the groundetl bergs ; but, on examining her hull, she was found to be in such an alarming condition, that Captain Parry desired the opinion of Captain Hoppner and his officers on the best course to be pursued, and these gentlemen, taking into consideration the impossibility of securing her in her present position, or getting her afloat to another, unanimously reported — "that an absolute necessity existed for abandoning the Fury ; " and Parry, having his own private opinion thus con- firmed, with extreme pain and regret, ordered the signal to be made for the Fury's officers and men to repair on board with their clothes, the stores being necessarily abandoned, owing to want of room. The Hecla then stood over to the eastern shore of the Inlet, and reached Port Neill with scarcely any im- pediment from ice. Here she was refitted, and weighing anchor on her voyage home on the tSlst August, she arrived at Sheerness on the 20th Oc- tober, 1825. L h I! 218 LYON— 1825. CHAPTER XIX. Three Expeditions planned in conjunction with Parry's last North >\'^estern attempt— The First, commanded by Captain Lyon, designed to reach the point where FrankHns late jour- ney had terminated — Extreme danger of Shipwreck — Patience and fortitude of Crew — Deliverance — Another fearful Storm — Injury to the Ship — Compulsory return homewards — Second Expedition, under Captain Franklin, Overland to Behring's Straits, Dr. Richardson and Lieut. Back again being his com- panions — Arrival at Great Bear Lake — Erection of Winter lltsidence— Excursions— Christmas Day— Separation of Party — Tribe of Esquimaux — Icy Barrier— Further progress — Steps retraced — Re-union — Arrival at Fort Franklin — Second Winter — Return to England — Third Expedition by way of Behring's Straits, under Captain Beechey — F.ivourpble voyage — Arrival at Rendezvous — Exertions to meet Franklin — Win- ter and Departure— Subsequent Return — Safe Arrival Home. Mention has been made of three expeditions in conjunction with Captain Parry's third and last north-western attempt. The first was commanded by Captain G. F. Lyon, and was sent out for the purpose of completing the survey of the shores of Melville Peninsula, and the Arctic shores of America as far as Cape Turn-again, the point where Frank- lin's late journey had terminated. The second was a land expedition under Captain Franklin, across the continent, down the Mackenzie River, and along the northern coast of America towards Behring's Straits, where the third and last expedition, sent via Cape Horn, was to meet both him and Captain Parry. ftl^ LYON — 1825. 219 Captain L^'on sailed in the Griper, on the 19th June, 1825, accompanied by the Snap, commanded by Lieutenant Bullock, as far as the entrance of Hudson's Straits. Having taken on board the addi- tional stores from the Snap, which considerably increased the sluggishness of the Griper, they parted company, and the latter proceeded on her lonely voyage. On the 22nd of August, they made the high land of Southampton Island, and rounding its southern extreme stood np the Welcome, where their first mis- fortunes commenced. The compasses, as they ad- vanced further north, became useless ; a heavy sea incessantly swept the crowded decks, while a thick fog hid everything from their sight. In this situation three bowers and a stream anchor were let go, but before she was brought up by them, the water had shoaled to five fathoms and a half, when, momentarily expecting that the ebbing of the tide would occasion the total destruction of the ship, the boats were prepared to be hoisted out, and " every officer and man drew his lot with the greatest com- posure, although two of the boats would have been swamped the instant they were lowered." Hour after hour the decks were flooded, drenching the poor fel- lows to the skin; and on the weather clearing a little, a low sandy beach was observed just astern of them, oil which the sea was breaking fearfully, and no human power could have saved them had the anchors parted and the vessel been driven on it. Although, however, few of them had any idea they should ever survive the gale, Lyon ordered that every man should put on his warmest clothing, and secure some useful instrument about his person. "Each therefore brought his bag on deck, and dressed him- self; and in the fine athletic forms which stood ex- posed before me, I did not see one muscle quiver nor the slightest sign of alarm. Prayers were read, and they then all sat down in groups, sheltered from l2 ■-r 220 LYON — 1825. the wash of the sea by whatever they could find, and some endeavoured to obtain a little sleep. ** Never," says their gallant commander, who had not been in bed himself for three nights, " never per- haps was witnessed a finer scene than on the deck of my little ship, when all hope of life had left us. Noble as the character of the British sailor is always allowed to be, in cases of danger, yet I did not believe it to be possible that among forty-one persons not one repining word should have been uttered. Each was at peace with his neighbour and all the world ; and I am firmly persuaded that the resignation which was then shewn to the will of the Almighty was the means of obtaining His mercy. God was merciful to us ; and the tide, almost miraculously, fell no lower." Very appropriately was the scene of this affecting narrative named the Bay of God's Mercy, On the 12th September, off Wager Inlet, they en- countered another fearful storm, and on the 13th the gale and sea increased to such a terrific extent that she broke from her anchors and drove before its fury, every one expecting her each moment to be dashed to pieces on some unknown rock, but providentially they were again preserved. Captain Lyon now requested the advice of his officers, and all being of opinion that to continue the voyage with the ship in her present crippled state, without a single anchor, and with compasses worse than useless, was next to madness, a course was shaped for England, where they arrived safely, having done but little towards the cause of geography, but adding another to the many examples on record of the noble and manly resolution of the English seaman, in trials, at the mere recital of which the heart sinks. The second expedition, in conduction with Parry's voyage, was that under the command of Captain Franklin. That gallant officer, nothing daunted by 3S, a course FRANKLIN SECOND JOURNEY — 1825. 2-21 the dreadful sufferings he had undergone on his first journey, laid before the government a plan for an overland expedition to the mouth of the Mackenzie, and along the northern coasts of America to Behr- iiig's Straits ; and as in the course proposed, similar dangers were not to be apprehended, while the ob- jects to be attained were at once important to the naval character, scientific reputation, and commercial interests of Great Britain, the suggestion was adopted, and he received an appointment to the command of the party, composed of his old apd tried friends. Dr. Richardson, Lieutenant Back, Mr. E. N. Kendall, Admiralty mate, and Mr. Thomas Drummond, assist- ant naturalist. Captain Franklin had learnt from dear-bought ex- perience that the light bark canoes of the Indians were ill calculated for an icy navigation, and he there- fore obtained permission to have three boats con- structed in the dockyard at Woolwich, of mahogany with ash timbers ; while remembering the eight days spt t in unavailing attempts to cross the Coppermine, ' h r one was constructed of planks of ash, fastened tG^< !jr with thongs, and covered with mackintosh, weighing altogether only eighty-five pounds. These boats were sent out by the way of Hudson's Bay, while the travellers took the route by New York. The expedition sailed from Liverpool on the 16th February, 1825, and arrived at New York on the 15 til March. It would be needless to follow them step by step in their progress to the northern coast ; we shall merely state that they arrived at Great Bear Lake, and commenced the erection of a winter resi- dence on its shores, whilst Captain Franklin and a party proceeded down the Mackenzie to look at the state of the navigation of the Polar Sea. They reached the north-eastern entrance on the 14th August, in latitude 69« 14' longitude 135" 57', a \ \ ) • \ 1 ' 1 .-■ 1' t^r )' ■ I 222 FRANKLIN — SECOND JOURNEY 1825. and rejoiced at the sea-like appearance to the north. Observing an island in the distance, the boat's head was directed towards it, and hastening to its most elevated part the prospect was highly gratifying. The rocky mountains were seen from S. W. to W. h N., while to the north the sea appeared in all its majesty, with many seals and whales sporting in its waves. On the 5th September they returned to their winter quarters on Great Bear River, which now })resented a lively bustling scene, from the pro- j)arations necessary to be made for passing eight or nine months in what was appropriately called Fort Fj'onkJin. With full employment for every one, the time passed away very cheerfully. On Christmas-day sixty human beings assembled in the little hall to do lionour to the usual festivities — Englishmen, High- landers, Canadians, Esquimaux, Chipewyans, Dog- ribs, Hare Indians, Cree women and cnildren, all talking at one time in their different languages, and all mingling together in perfect harmony. On Tuesday, the 28th June, 1826, the whole com- j)any re-embarked in the boats, on the Mackenzie, and proceeded on their voyage down that river until the 3rd July, when, on arriving at the point where the river branches off into several channels, the separation into two parties took place, — Captain Franklin and Back with two boats (one of which had been built at the Fort) and fourteen men, including Augustus, the faithful interpreter of the former journey, were to 5Tiroceed to the westward ; while Dr. Richardson and Kendall in the other two were to proceed with ten men to the eastward as far as the Coppermine. We shall, however, first follow Captain Franklin and his party. On the 7th he arrived at the mouth of the Mac- kenzie, where he fell in with a very large party of FRANKLIN — SECOND JOURNEY 1825. t>'.>;3 Esquimaux, whose conduct was at first very violent, but by great command of temper and some concilia- tion they were at length brought to restore tiie articles pillaged from the boats. Captain Franklin, however, speedily discovered that all their protesta- tions of regret were false, and nothing but the greatest vigilance on his part saved the party from a general massacre. On the l;3th his progress was arrested by a compact body of ice stretching from the shore to seaward ; and on landing for shelter from a heavy gale, another party of Esquimaux was met with. On the 15th, having passed this barrier, they arrived oif Habbage's River, but again were they involved in an icy laby- rinth, which, added to the dense fogs here found in the highest degree of perfection, owing to the barrier opposed to their progress south by the Rocky Chain, made it tormentingly slow. A month, — one the most favourable for Arctic exploration, — had passed in this manner, while only 10° (three hundred and seventy-four miles) of west longitude had been at- tained, and another 10° still lay between them and Icy Cape. Thus situated, and ignorant that a hundred and fifty miles further west, a boat was awaiting him from the Blossom, which had been sent to Behring's Straits, under Captain Beechey, Captain Franklin justly came to the conclusion that they had reached a pomt, beyond which perseverance would have been rashness, and their best efforts fruitless. On the 18th August, they, therefore, set out on their return, giving to their extreme point, in latitude TO^* 24' north, longitude 149° 37' west, the name of Return Reef; and, with the exception of a violent storm near Herschel Island, reached Fort Franklin on the 21st September, without any material danger. Here they found Dr. Richardson and his ])arty, who had performed their voyage most successfully in !',■ 4 2-24 BEECHEY — 1825. I ■ little more than a month, making an accurate survey of a coast which had been hitherto unexplored. Many parties of Esquimaux were met with, who all appeared to live more comfortably than those seen by Franklin, but inherited the same thievish propen- sities. Cape Bathurst, at the extremity of a penin- sula in latitude 70° 30', longitude 127° 35', was the most northern land met with in the voyage. In coasting along, no land was seen to the northward until they arrived at the meridian of 117° west, when they entered a strait named the Dolphin and Union, after the boats, formed by a long tract of elevated land, to which the name of Wollaston was given. The navigation of these straits was rendered cx- tremly dangerous from the many sunken rocks near the shore. Ascending the Coppermine on their return, at forty miles from the Bloody Falls of Hearne, they were obliged to abandon the boats, owing to the numerous rapids and rocks ; and, distributing the provision among the party, they set out for the shores of Great Bear Lake, where they were taken across by a boat, and arrived at Fort Franklin on the 1st September, in high spirits and good health. Here they passed the greater part of another winter, and, on the 20th Febniary, the last few who remained with Captain Franklin quitted the house and returned to their homes by various routes. The tnird and last expedition in connection with Captain Parry's attempt by Prince Regent's Inlet, still remains to be noticed. It is that which was sent by the way of Behring's Straits under the command of Captain F. W. Beechey ; and seldom has so highly interesting a voyage been so delightfully treated as in this case.' ' " A Voyage to the Pacific and Beerings Straits, to co-operate with the Polar Expeditions, perfonncd by H. M. S. Blossom, under the command of Capt. F. \V. Beechey, R. N., in 182o-G-7-8.' London, 4to. 1831. BEECHEY — 1825. 225 The Blossom, a twenty-six^un ship (but mounting only sixteen), sailed from England on the 19th May, 1825, fully equipped for her long and interesting voyage. It does not come within our province to meet with her again until her arrival in Behring's Straits ; but, to preserve the thread of the narrative, it may be as well to run hastily over her track. Looking in at TenerifFe and Rio Janeiro, she pro- ceeded round the Horn, and, touching at Valparaiso, Easter and Pitcairn's Islands, and Lord Gambler's Group, she arrived at Otaheite, the sad scene of Cook's death. From thence her course was to the Sandwich Islands, leaving which oii. lie 2nd June, she was on the 27th becalmed off Petropaulowski. On the 25th July, the ship reached Chamisso Island, in Kotzebue's Sound, the rendezvous agreed on with Captain Franklin. The arrival, within fifteen days of the time specified in his Instructions (10th July), cannot but be looked upon as an evidence of the high state of discipline to which Captain Beechey had brought his crew. The Blossom then proceeded to push to the north- ward until, on reaching a point a little south of 71" north, she was arrested by the ice ; and, as Captain Beechey had orders not to risk getting beset, and as, in addition, the ship was totally unfit for such a contest, he hauled off and returned to Kotzebue's Sound, despatching the master, Mr. Elson (with a crew of eight men), in the barge to follow up the sei'vice. The gallant little boat-party struggled on against all obstacles, and succeeded in getting to a point seventy miles further west, which was named after Mr. Barrow the indefatigable promoter of Arctic discovery. Almost the same day (18th August) that Mr. Elson turned the boat's head towards Kotzebue's Sound, Franklin and his party arrived at Return Reef, so that, l3 1 i 226 '^'ixiiEY — 1825. had he pei'sistcd in his endeavours '.o reach Behring's Straits the most fatal consequences might have en- sued, unless the party had had strength enough to reach the ship. 'llie winter now set in so quickly that no time was to be lost in getting out of the straits; and the Blossom, after burying some provision'^ on Chamisso Island, ])roceedcd first to oan Francisco in Cali- fornia, and afterAvards to the Sandwich Isles and Macao, in China, where, having laid in a sufficient stock of provisions, she again sailed for the Straits, and arrived at the rendezvous within five days of the time appointed in the Admiralty orders. Here no traces of Captain Franklin were seen, and they were unable to extend their researches even so far as the previous year, while the loss of the boat and the early setting in of the winter compelled them to take a final leave of Behring's Straits on the 7th October, 1827. The Blossom arrived at Spithead, after her long voyage, in which she had spent three years and a half, on the 12th October, 18*28, where Captain Beechey found that Captain Franklin had preceded him in his return by more than a year. 2 Recently dug up by Conimr. Moore, of the Plover, and found to be in an excellent state of preservation. paury's attempt to reach tub pole — 1827. •2*27 CHAPTER XX. Expedition by Captain Parry, with the hope of reaching the North Pole in Sledges — Arrival of the Hecla at Spitzbergen — Leaving the Ships, and Commencement uf Operations — Slow and Laborious Progress — Disappointment, and Return to Table Island — Fleserve of Bread devoured by Bears — Regain the Hecla — Attempt at North-Western Discovery renewed under Sir John Ross, accompanied by his Nephew Commander Ross — Expense borne by Sir Felix Booth and Ross — Disasters at Sea — Refit at Holsteinburg — Further Progress — Arrestetl by Barrier of Ice — Winter Quarters— Esquimaux — Survey by Commander Ross — Severe Winter — Discovery of Northern Magnetic Pole — Second Winter — Abandonment of Vessel — Danger and Fatigue in Reaching Fury Beach — ('onstruction of Hut — Repair of Boats — Further Progress — Anxiety and Disappointment — Return to Fury Beach on Foot — Another Winter — Retrace the Way to Prince Regent's Inlet — A Sail — Disappointment — Another — Taken on Board the Isabella — Arrival at Home. With Captain Beechey's voyage to Behring's Straits may be said to have concluded all the details of Captain Parry's third voyage in search of a north- west passage, to which it bore an indirect relation. The next Arctic project was "An attempt to reach the North Pole in boats fitted for the purpose, and attached to H.M.S. Hecla, in the year 1827, under the command of Captain W. E. Parry," &c., and is, perhaps, one of the most astonishing expeditions on record. Captain Parry, just returned from an unsuccessful voyage to the north-west, eagerly adopted some sug- I ' 1228 PARRY POLAR ATTEMPT — J 827. gcstions made l)y Mr. Scoresby and Captain Franklin, that the pole might be reaelied over the ice (which the experience of the former had shown to be in some E laces one continuous level sheet) in a vehicle, half- oat, half-sledge. He submitted a plan to the Lords of the Admiralty, who referred it to the Royal Society, and that body reporting favourably on it, two boats were built of thin planks of ash, fir, and oak, with sheets of water- proof canvass and thick felt inlaid between, and so constructed as either to pull or sail through the water, or to drag over the ice. The Ilccla conveyed the expedition first to Ilam- merfest, where eight reindeer were taken on board, and next, after a tedious delay from violent storms, and in getting a safe harbour for her, to a cove on the north coast of Spitzbergen, which was named after the ship. The best part of the season had thus unavoidably passed away, ere they could set out on their journey, and as it was quite evident that thev would be unable to carry out to its fullest extent the main object of the enterprise, the reindeer were left behind, and the snow-shoes converted into four excellent sledges for dragging baggage, which proved invaluable, and on 22nd June they quitted the ship amid hearty cheers. The boats had each a crew of ten men and two officers, the second being under the charge of Lieu- tenants J. C Ross and E. Bird ; with provisions for seventy-one days, and all her furniture, tools, instru- ments, &c., each boat weighed three thousand seven hundred and fifty-three pounds. After a voyage of eighty miles, over a sea as smooth as glass, they reached the edge, not, as was hoped, of a firm, compact body of ice, but of a loose, rugged mass intersected by channels, and fatiguing to the greatest degree to drag the boats over; and what • t I PARRY — POLAR ATTEMPT — 1827. 229 with loading and unloading, and going four times over the same ground to bring up the stores, a current all the time setting the whole mass bodily to the south at the rate of four miles a day, &c., they fre- quently advanced but two, sometimes three, and seldom more than four or five miles, directly north during a day, or, more properly speaking, a niylit; for Captain rarry found it more convenient to travel by night to avoid the glare of the sun on the ice. Another advantage of this j)lan, which was, however, occasionally deranged, was the greater warmth en- joyed during the hours of rest, and the better chance of drying their clothes, while the snow was also much harder during the night, and firmer to the tread ; the only disadvantage was that the fogs were somewhat thicker and more frequent by night than day. Their progress under these disadvantages was, as may be conceived, both slow and to the utmost extent laborious. They had begun their toilsome journey on the 25th June, in the latitude of 81° 13'; on the 29th their latitude was 8P 2.3', only eight miles of direct northing ! This startling fact Captain Parry and his officers kept to themselves; and, knowing that the}' would never be able to reach the Pole, he only stipulated that they should persevere to reach the parallel of 83". Onward they struggled without a single murmur, in the face of torrents of rain, which Captain Parry says he had never seen equalled, heavy falls of snow, and dense fogs, to accomplish that which appeared an utter impossibility, only re- marking, with a laugh, " that they were a long time getting to this 83«." As they advanced, it appeared as if this point would really be attained, for the floes of ice became longer, though still not coming under the title of " fields ; " but this hope was soon after crushed. On the 22nd July their latitude by observation was *2.30 PAnRY — POLAR ATTEMPT — 18'27. . y.VA .■^'' 82° 43' 6" ; on the 26th, 82" 40' 23 " : so that, since the 22nd, tliey liad actually lost by drift no less than thirteen miles and a half; for they were more than three miles to the southward of the observation ob- tained at midnight on that day, and they had cer- tainly travelled during that interval between ten and eleven miles. This discouraging fact, together with a steady breeze from the northward which, though an advan- tage, inasmuch as it opened some lanes of water, was outweighed by the greater drift of the masses of ice to the southward, determined Captain Parry to abandon what was now a hopeless journey, ancl ac- cordingly he ordered a day of rest previous to set- ting out on their return. The gallant boats' crews were deeply disappointed that their exertions for thirty-five days, during which they had traversed, at a moderate calculation, some five hundred and eighty geographical miles, had been productive of such poor results ; and, to their honour be it said, that in toiling on to reach the latitude of 83", they had only in view the desire to gratify their com- mander's wish, and had no suspicion that, by an order in Council, they would on reaching that point become entitled to a reward of one thousand pounds. On the 27th they turned their backs on these dreary and cheerless scenes, and the drift of the ice to the southward being now all in their favour, made considerable progress. On the 11th August they again launched on the open sea, and on the 12th reached Table Island, where it was discovered that all the stock of bread deposited there had been dis- covered and devoured by the bears, and they were therefore obliged to steer for Walden Island, where a similar supply was found undisturbed. On the 21st they arrived at Hecla Cove, where they met with that warm and cordial welcome which can only nOSS— SECOND VOYACJK — 1 H'J}). 201 he felt, not described ; and thus ended tlieir ever- nieinurahle expedition. Cuptain Parry's Pohvr attempt was the hist of the series made to the same (juarter; but, in the year 1829, a most important ext)edition left Knportunely rts. [ved safely iary expe- jimportant northern |n of light ries of a newly discovered land, verified the Esquimaux ac- counts given to Captain Parry of an inland sea, and brought to light lakes, rivers, and islands; while, during its progress, the powers of human endurance had been subjected to the severest ordeal, were placed, as it were, upon the rack, and called upon for four years and five months to sustain every kind and degree of privation ; and to all this misery three individuals only had fallen victims, two of whom died of diseases foreign to the climate. The case of Sir John Ross and his brave men was brought before a select committee of the House of Commons in April, 1834, and it is gratifying to be able to state, that the gentlemen who composed that committee were fully alive to the advantages accruing to a great naval power, like England, from voyages of discovery of this class, and that they unhesitatingly recommended that its gallant commander should be voted the sum of 5000/. As to the other officers and men of the ship, although none but Commander Ross had any claim on the go- vernment, the Admiralty, in a wise and liberal spirit, rewarded all bountifully. Double pay was given to the men up to the time of the abandonment of the ship, and full pay after that, till their arrival in Eng- land, whilst eligible situations in the dockyards and elsewhere were liberally bestowed. Commander Ross, to whom the greater part of the scientific results of the expedition are due, was appointed commander of H.M. S. Victory for twelve months, that he might, by that length of service, be enabled to receive post rank, which, by a special minute, the Admiralty ensured to him at the expiration of that time ; and, finally, acting on the warm expressions of the com- mittee, his Most Gracious Majesty, William the Fourth, was pleased to create Mr. Felix Booth, to whose modest public spirit and rare munificence this expedition was entirely due, a baronet. .' •; iy^ . I ' i\ '233 back's journey — 1833. CHAPTER XXI. Anxiety in England respecting the Fate of Captain Ross — Cap- tain Back appointed to go in search of him — Libera! Conduct of Hudson's Bay Company — Instructions from (JolonialOffice — Departure — Arrival at Great Slave Lake — Difficulty of Route — Discovery of Sussex Lake — Canoe Voyage — Rapitis— Erec- tion of Winter Dwelling — Native Superstitions — Famine — News of the safe Arrival of Captain Koss in England — Return of Spring, and renewal of Journey — Construction of Boats, and Embarkation on Back River — Hopes and Disappointments — Arrival within sight of Sea-coast — Arrested by a Barrier of Drift Ice — Return to Fort Reliance — Winter — Arrival in England. Very nearly the same anxiety was displayed in England for the fate of Captain Ross and his men, in the year 1833, as now exists in 1850 with regard to Sir John Franklin; and plans were as eagerly tbrmed for his release then, as they are now for that of our noble countrymen. Captain Back, the well- remembered companion of Franklin and Richardson, was in Italy when he first heard of the intention of government to send a party to the relief of Captain Ross; and hastening home, he offered his valuable services, which were gladly accepted, and accordingly were transferred by the Admiralty to the Colonial office, under which department of government he was to act. A committee of the first men of the day was formed, of which the King »viis pleased to be patron ; and back's journey — 1833. 239 subscriptions were received from various learned and scientific bodies, and different parts of the empire, to the extent of several thousands of pounds, to which his majesty's government added 2,000/., for the pur- poses of the expedition. Soon after tlie committee had been appointed, the governor and committee of the Hudson's Bay Com- pany came forward, and in the handsomest manner undertook to furnish from their stores, for the use of the expedition, everything it might require during its absence, upon the understanding that all beyond their truly liberal subscription of (me hundred and twenty bags of liemmican, two boats and two canoes, should be regularly charged. They also gave Captain l5ack a commission, which would enable him to command obedience, and even supplies when required, from any of their servants, who might not have received direct instructions on this head. Captain Back quitted England in the month of February, 1833. He was accompanied by Mr. Richard King, who was engaged at a salary, as surgeon and naturalist to the expedition, and three men, the re- maining thirteen, of which the complement was to be composed, were to be picked from the best hunters of Canada. To give the reader an accurate idea of the ground which Captain Back was directed to traverse, we subjoin the instructions he received from the Colonial office. " Colonial Office, " ith February, 1833. "Sir, — The Commissioners of the Admiralty hav- ing been pleased to lend your services to this office, that you may conduct an expedition now preparing to proceed to the Polar Sea in search of Captain Ross, you are hereby required and desired to under- take this service, placing yourself for the purpose at , !. 240 back's journey — 1833. the disposition of the Governor and Committee of the Hudson's Bay (Company, who have undertaken to furnish you with the requisite resources and supplies. "You are to leave Liverpool early in Fehruary, and to proceed with your party by way of New York to Montreal, and thence along the usual route pur- sued by the North- West Traders to Great Slave Lake, which it is hoped you will reach by the 20th July, You are then to strike off to the north-east- ward, or in such other direction as you may ascertain to be most expedient, in order to gain the Thlew-ee- choh-desseth or Great Fish River, which is believed either to issue from Slave Lake, or to rise in its vicinity, and thence to flow with a navigable course to the northward till it reaches the sea. On arriving at the banks of this river you are to select a con- venient situation for a winter residence, and immedi- ately appoint a portion of your force to erect a house thereon : but, if possible, you are to proceed yourself with an adequate party, and explore the river to the coast the same season, erecting a conspicuous land- mark at its mouth, and leaving notice of your inten- tion to return the ensuing Spring, in case Captain Ross should be making progress along this part of the shore. " You are to take care, however, to return before the commencement of the Winter, to avoid any un- due exposure of your men. During the Winter you are to construct two boats capable of navigating the Polar Sea ; and as early as possible in the ensuing Spring you are to descend again to its shores. " Your proceedings afterwards must be much guided by your own judgment. The first object will be to reach Cape Garry, where His Majesty's late Ship Fury was wrecked ; on the remaining stores of which it IS known that Captain Ross in some measure IT I mack's journey — 1S33. '241 relied; but in making for this point, wlictlier by the cast or west, you must be governed by the position of the mouth of the river, and other local circum- stances, as you progressively ascertain them. While j)sissing along the coast you are to keep a vigilant look-out upon the shore for any signal or indication of the party of which you are in search (particularly at the entrance of the Ilecla and Fury Strait, should you take the eastern })assage); and in the event of your meeting them previous to your arrival at (Ja])e Garry, you are to offer to return immediately, and bring them with you to the Hudson's Hay Settle- ments. Or, should you find any indication of their having been on any part of the coast before your arrival, you are to search minutely for some memorial which may lead to the discovery of their intentions ; and to proceed, in the event oi success, in whatever practicable direction may seem best calculated to lead you to them. Devoting the sunnner, then, to the interesting search in contemplation, it is unne- cessary to recommend to you to make it as effectual as possible, consistently with a due regard for the health and preservation of your party. " But whatever may be its prospects or success, you are on no account to prolong it beyond such a period of the year (varying from the l*2th to the 'JOth of August, according to the distance which you may have attained) as will ensure your return to your winter quarters before the severe weather sets in. On your acting in this particular with due caution may depend the eventual success of the whole Expedition. On your return to your temporary establishment you are carefully to examine the state of your supplies, if possible also communicating with Great Slave Lake, to ascertain whether additional stores are there collected for yoiL And if you find that you can, with reasonable prudence, devote a second Summer to the service on 242 back's journey — I80n. which you arc cnj^jiged, you arc herchy required and directed to do so, but it* not, you are to return to Enghuid in the following Spring. " Subordinate to your object of finding Captain Ross, or any survivors or survivor of his party, you are to direct your attention to mapping what yet remains unknown of the coast which you will visit, and making such other scientific observations as your leisure will admit, for which purposes the requisite instruments will be supplied to you. But you are not for such objects to deviate from your princi])al pursuit until you shall have either succeeded in its accomplishment, or satisfactorily ascertained that its success is impossible. " You are, during your absence, to embrace any opportunities that may offer of corresponding with this Office, and rei)ort your arrival here on your return. "I have the honour to be, &c., " GODERICH." •• To Captain George Back, />'..V., "21, JReyent Sfrett." These instructions were greatly modified, in con- sequence of the return of Captain Ross and his lost men, in the month of October in the same year, and Captain Back was therefore advised, by an overland despatch, to turn his whole attention to the second object of his journey, viz. : completing the survey of the coast-line of the north-eastern extremity of America. We shall avoid the repetition of the details of Cap- tain Back's fatiguing journey from Montreal to Fort Resolution, on Great Slave Lake, where he arrived on the 8th August ; it was the journey of Sir Alex- ander Mackenzie, and is the common route of the servants of the Hudson's Bay Company. On his back's journky — 183.'3. 24J) arrival there, ho was sorely |nizzl((l as to the fiiliiro eourse to be pursued ; — while all the ludians were agreed as to the dangers of the navigation ni' the 'J'hiew-ee-choh-dezeth, or Great Fish River, singu- larly enough, they were utterly i<;norant of its position, and earnestly reeomnienued the route l)y the Teh-lon-desseth — am/Uce — the Little Fish Hiver, whieh they represented as running to the westward of north, and as a broad and noble stream, decorated on either bank with tall pine and birch, and abounding with musk-oxen, moose, rein-deer and (i-h ; whilst the former was gra])hicall3' pourtrayed as originating in rapids, narrow, shoal, and dangerous — destitute of wood, even for fuel — full of dangerous cascades and falls — and after a course more tortuous than that of any river known to the oldest and most experienced of their tribe, tumbling over its northern barrier in a foaming cataract into the sea. Ultimately, however, after much embarrassment and perplexity, he decided on dividing the crew into two parties, taking six with him in the canoe to search for the Thlew-ee-choh, and leaving the remain- der as an escort with Mr. M'Leod, one of the Com- pany's agents who had volunteered to accompany the expedition, and who was to prepare a winter habita- tion at the eastern end of the lake. On the 11th August, Captain Back embarked on his navigation of the Slave Lake, and after a voyage along the shore of the Lake, which sometimes rose to a perpendicular height of twelve hundred feet, and equalled in grandeur and boldness the scenery of the Alps or Appenines, among a labyrinth of islands, more or less wooded, some steep, round and bare, others broken or shelving covered with low pine and birch, on the 19th August they arrived at the entrance of the Hoar-Frost River, and commenced their toil- some ascent of its steep and rockv bed. The labour- si '2 ^44 HACKS JOURNEY i-;3J3. ! ioiia (Inly of cnrryinf? the canoes and stores over the portages, was rendered doubly sov'."f ' y the combined attack of myriads of sand-tlics ufi :no«(juitos, which made their faces stream with bloc ^ ihere is cer- tainly no form of wretchedness among those to which the chequered life of a voyageur is exposed, at once so great and so humiliating, as the torture inflicted by these puny blood-suckers. To avoid them it is impossible ; and as for defending himself, though for a time, he may go on crushing by thousands, he can- not long maintain the unecpial conflict; so that at last, subdued by ])ain and fatigue, he throws himself in despair with his face to the earth, and, halt-suffocated in his blanket, groans away a few liours of sleep- less rest." An anecdote is related by Captain Back of Sir John Franklin, who always made it a rule never to destroy one of these tormenting plagues, remarking that the world was wide enough for them both ; and the astonished Indians, who had seen Sir John on his former journey quietly blow the half-gorged insect from his hands when taking his observations, could not refrain from expressing their surprise that ("aptain Back should be so much unlike " the old chiefs'* when they observed him fill his tent with smoke in order to stupify these pests. The ascent of so rapid a river as the IIoar-Frost, imder the most favourable circumstances, would have been most fatiguing; but attended by such dangers and torments, it was peculiarly laborious and distress- ing ; but at length, after passing a succession of lakes, portages and rivers, with their usual accompaniments of rapids and cascades, on the 26th August, Captain Back beheld from the summit of a high hill, an im- mense lake, extending with a clear horizon to the S. W., and abounding in large islands and bays, from ten to fifteen miles deep. It was, according to Indian ■' 1 back's .iouhnky — 18.)3. 243 testimony, about sixty miles in extent towards the north-west, with n breadth not exceeding thirty, nor less tlian twenty miles. This splendid sheet of water was named Aylmer, after the Governor-General of Canada. A party of four men, with provisions for three days, was despatched in a N. and N. VV. direction, to look for the river Thiew-ee-choh or the lake in which it was supposed to take its rise, and returned four days afterwards, having fallen in with the river on the second day of their Journey ; though ( -aptain liack may be said to have first discovered Sussex Lake, in which it took its rise, during a short journey he made to look for the men. On the 31st August, they embarked on the Thlew- ee-choh, a name which has since very properly been changed by geographers to Bark's River ; but on reaching 5lusk-ox Lake, a series of rapia])taiu Hack left his dreary and desolate wintering-place with his breast lightened and his spirit free ; and with a {piick step went on his way rejoicing. At Artillery Lake they took up the remainder of the I)arty, and the carpenters who had been engaged in the construction of the two boats ; having selected one of which, she was placed upcm runners, and their journey was reeonuneneed. ()n the 2Hth June, after a most fatiguing march, the boat was launched on the waters of the HfK'k Uiver, and on the 1st July thcv reached Musk-ox Rapid, the point where the fornur voyage had termi laled. Two miles further it was back's journey— 1833. •245* joined by a large stream, which the Indians callcl (^^ontwoy-to River, which they said took its rise in the lake of tlie same name, called by Hcarne Rum Lake. Shortly after, Mr. M'J^eod, to whose unre- mitted exertions tis a hunter, Captain IJack and his party in a great measure owed their existence, set out on his return to Fort Resolution, with cii: -motions to be again on the banks of the Thlew-ce-choh by the middle of September. On the Hth July, after having taken a final leave of the old chief Akaitcho, who, with his people, had manifested great interest in the whole of the expedi- tion, the boat was laden witli her cargo and prepared for her voyage down the river. She weighed three thousand three hundred and sixty pounds exclusive of covering or awning, masts, yards, sails, spare oars, poles, planking, and the crew. The latter, as now finally reduced, consisted of three Highlanders, an Orkney, an Irish, and a Lancashire man, two half- breeds, Mr. King, and the commander. Much do we regret that space does not permit us to detail this interesting voyage down a river now for the first time visited by any European ; a glance at the map will at once convey to the mind the difficulties and dangers of the undertaking, as well as the valu- able additions made to geographical discovery, far better than any words. On the 12th Captain Back was greatly dismayed to see a range j! low mountains stretching in a direction north-west a^d '^outh-east, and seeming to oppose an insuvmoLoi; hie oihTier o the onward course of the river. CitPtain li ck had long given up all hope that th. flJew-ec choh fell into liathurst Inlet; but, now ihat it app^.tired to take an easterly course, towards C!io-,terlield Iiii'H, all his plans and calcnlati(ms rcsiioi/ on the northerly course of the river were overthrown, and his disajn pointment and uneasiness knew n^* bounds. Great, M 3 250 back's journey — 1833. therefore, was his dehght when, after waiti.ig for the breaking up of the ice, which extended from shore to shore, the river again took a northerly turn ; and as quickly were his hopes quenched when it again bent suddenly to the southward. On the 16th July, however, the river again assumed a direct course to the north, and now commenced a scries of rapids and cascades, rocks and portages, to which the first part of the voyage was comparatively safe navigation. The roar of the water, rushing between ranges of precipitous sand-hills, was heard for the distance of a mile, and was scarcely ever out of their ears. Iloar- Frost portage was bad enough, but some that they now had to surmount bore no resemblance to it for danger. The boat was just got down, but without the least care whether she would ever be able to get up again Hack pressed on, he had determined to reach the Polar sea, and difficulties only served to strengthen his determination. On the 19th July, the river opened out into a series of broad and extensive lakes, wiiicli were named after Sir Henry Ptlly, the governor, and Mr. Garry, a member of the Hudson's Bay Company, whose in- terest in Polar voyages is sufficiently expressed by the numerous points in the Arctic regions which bear their names. Proceeding onward, the voyagers passed Lake Mac- dougali, and rapid after rapid, until, on the 28th July, they arrived at Lake Franklin, where they had an interview with a very friendly tribe of Es(juimaux, to whom Captain Back was indebted for ever getting to the sea at all ; for had they not lent a helping hand to carry the boat over the last portage, the men would decidedly have been unequal to the task. The hrst sea-coast seen was a majestic headland, which was honoured by the name of the Princess back's journly — 1833. 251 Victoria. " This, then, may be considered as the mouth of the Thlevv-ee-choh, which, after a violent and tortuous course of five hundred and thirty geo- •rraphical miles, running through an iron ril)beil coun- try, without a single tree on the whole line of its banks, expanding into fine large lakes, with clear horizons, most embarrassing to the navigator, and broken into falls, cascades, and rapids, to the number of no less than eighty-three in the whole, pours its waters into the Polar sea, in lat. 67^ 11' 00" N., and long. 94° 30' 0" W. ; that is to say, about thirty -seven miles more south than the mouth of the (Joppcrmine River, and nineteen miles more south than that of Back's River, at the lower extremity of Bathurst's Inlet. After passing Irby and Mangle's Bay, and a huge barren rock about eight hundred feet high, which was named after the present distinguished hydrographer to the Admiralty, Admiral Sir Francis Beaufort, Cap- tain Back was arrested by drift ice, and ascended a hill in the hopes of beholding a free and open sea ; but the first glance, as he topped the crest, was si.fii- cient to chill that hope, and a careful inspection with the telescope produced the unwelcome conviction, that his future progress, if made at all, mtist be worked out by slow and laborious efforts. From the horizon, to within two miles of where he stood, glared one solid body of drift ice, connecting both shores, The western shore was for a like reason unapproachable, and Captaiii Back had great reason to br grateful that the priinary object of the service had been providentially anticipated. Here the expedition may be said to have termi- nated, for although, after much delay, Ca])tain Back succeeded in reacliing the western shore, and tracing its course round to the eastward as far as Point Booth, to reach Point Turnagain was found absolutely im- 252 back's journlv — 1830. practicable, and as to a land journey, of which Cap- tain Back cherished the notion, that was completely frustrated, by the impossibility of carrying any wcicht on a soil in which, at every step, thev sunk half leg deep, destitute of shrubs or moss tor fuel, and almost without water, over which they must have travelled for days and days to have made even a few miles of longitude ; and where, finally, if sickness had over- taken any one of the party, his fate would have been inevitable. Thus circumstanced, Captain Back had no choice but to abandon the further prosecution of the attempt, and accordingly, after assembling the men and unfurl- ing the British flag, which was saluted with three hearty cheers, they set out on their return. The lati- tude of the place was GS^ 13' 57" N., longitude J>4" 58' 1" W., and the variation, n-j well as the sluggish- ness of the instrument would allow of determination, 1" 46' VV. It would be of little use to enumerate the dangers of (vaptain Back's return voyage, suffice it to say, that on the 17th Septctaber, he mot his friend Mr. M'Leod and a party, who> faithful to their j)romise, were await- ing him on the shores of Musk-ox Lake. On the 24th they reached the Ah-hel-dessy. The descent of this small, but raj)id river, was a succession of running rapids, making portages, and lowerinjj down cascades, and at length one deep perpendicular fall, named after (-aptain Anderson, 11. A., rushing be- tween mountainous rocks into a vast chasm, stopped i)!i further progress, and the boat was obliged to be abandoned. On the 27th September they reached Fort Reli- ance, after an absence of nearly four months, tired, indeed, but well in health, and truly grateful for the manifoUi mercies they had experienced in the course of their long and ptiJious journey. Arrangements back's journky — 1803. 253 'vere immediately made for passing the winter as com- fortably as possible ; (Captain Back had, indeed, some idea of trying if there was any communication between Lak Bcechey and Back's River, at the bottom of Bathurst Iidet; but with sincere reluctance, after anxious deliberation, he relinquished it as hopeless. Back set out on his return in the ensuing March, and on the 8th Se})teniber arrived at Liverpool, aflcr an absence of nearly two years and six months. I'he remainder of the party returned to England in the Hudson's Bay Company's ship in October. * h ' ' 254 hack's voyage of the terror — 1836. CHAPTER XXII. Koyal Geographical Society recommend new Expedition — ("om- mand entrusted to Captain Back — F^mbarkation in the Terror —Ice bound ofFCape Comfort— Breaking up of Ice— Successive Storms— Liberation of Vessel— Damage— Ueturn to England— Comuletion of the Survey of the Arctic Shore of American Contment, by Messrs. Dease and Simpson, of the Hudson's Bay Company, with the particulars of their three successive Expeditions. In the year 1836 the Royal Geographical Society of London rccomnicndcd to the Colonial Secretary, that an attempt shonid be made to reach the shores of Prince Regent's Inlet, by a land journey from Wager River, or Repulse Bay, and otherwise, for the purpose of geographical research in this (juarter. The project was referred to the Admiralty, who accordingly or- dered H. M. S. Terror to be fitted for the voyage, and Captain Back, who had just returned from his exploits on the Thlew-ee-choh, was aj)pointed to the command. The plan of operations, as j)ointed out to Captain Back by the Geographical Society, was, to proceed to Salisbury Island, when he was left to his own discre- tion, whether to pursue the course successfidly chosen by Parry, up the Frozen Strait, or to try the more cn'cuitous route by the W^elconie, in which (^aj)tuin Lyon had so signally failed. On reaching either Wager River, or Kepulse liay. Captain Back was t leave the ship in charge of an officer, and to proceed, with a large party, across the land, to examine tlu' o H\rK*s Voyage of the teurofi — 18:)6. t>5.i bottom of Prince Regent's Inlet, sending a detucli- incnt to the nortli, iis far as the strait of tlic Fury and I lechi, and another to the west, to endeavour to reach Point Turnagain. The Terror left the Thames Oi> the 14th June, IH.'iO, andon tlie 14th August, made Salisbury Island. (^a))tain Hack, as may be supposed, did not long hesitate which course he should pursue. While Cap- tain Lyon, in the (jri])er, had only been providentially delivered from the dangers of the Welcome, Parry had made the passage of the Frozen Strait, with comparative ease ; and the Terror, therefore, stood to the northward, to follow that exam])le. But it was not lojig before they were stopped in their adventurous career ; after some days " boring " through the floes, on the 13th September, they were firmly fixed off ( )ape Comfort. " Not a pool of water was visible in any direction : to the mercy of Providence alone, could we look for rescue from our perilous situation. None but those who have experienced it, can judge of the weariness of heart, the blank of feeling, the feverish sickliness of taste, which gets the better of the whole man, under circumstances such as these." Captain Back describes his situation thus, for days, weeks, and montlis, as being *' held within sight of the same land, as if it were in the grasp of a giant." Most inappropriate was the name of " Comfort " applied to the black, frowning mass of inaccessible cliff, off which they were whirled about powerless. Any idea of reaching Repulse Bay under such cir- cumstances, would have been preposterous: imleed the wonder is, how the ship ever stood the enormous pressure to which she was subjected, and which left on the ice as perfect an impression of her form, as if struck in a mould. An attempt was being made to cut out a dock in apparently one of the most secure floes, when the ll ^ t?56 back's voyage of tiik TEitRon — 180(). whole mass, by one of those o'tnion'Miary convulsions, which is the hist hoj)e of the beset Arctic V'oynger, l)roke up, and drove with great violence right up the Frozen Strait, grinding large lieaps that opposed its progress to powder. The j)oor ship v/as often carried within a short distance of secure shelter, but her " icy cradle " again bore her awav on its bosom, and kept her connnander in a state ot the must anxious fear. Towards the end of November, however, their floating prison became a little more settled, and they l)egan to build snow walls around her, to protect her from the weather, and give employment to the men. On the 2*2nd December, a storm arose, and raged like a hurricane for some days, which mortal man could not stand against. As the gale was off the land, the greatest apprehension was felt, lest the floe should break up, when instant destruction would have been their doom ; but when it abated on the 24th, so great had been its force, that they found they had actually been driven twelve or fourteen miles cast of Cape Comfort. In February, another frightful convulsion took place, and thev were carried within view of Sea-horse Point. To nnd themselves at freedom to move, would, two months later, have been the summit of their wishes, but now they saw it with reluctance, Jis it only mocked them with a hope which could not be realized, while it involved them in immediate peril. On the 16th March, another rush drove the ship up under ice, and she careened fidly four streaks. Scarcely were they recovered from their astonishment, that anything of human build could outlive such assaults, when again the ice drove on her, and threw up a wave thirty feet high, crowned by a blue s(piare mass of many tons, resembling the entire side of a house, which, almost by a miracle, fell astern of the poor trembling ship. But the floe on which she nr.vsi: and simpson — ls;)7. »i-)7 rested, appears to have had a very massive lounihitioii, and this most pr()hal)ly proved their only safety. Until the lOth .fnly, they were thns drifting ahont at the mcrey of the elements, hut next (hiv tlie shii) broke lier iey bonds, and {^hded gently ilown into lier own element For three thiys after, however, she lay on her beam ends, so that ** no one conld move about the deek withont holdin^; on by the ropes to windward,"* when on the lltli, suddenly, and i)efore a word eould be spoken, the liberated sliip ri The following year Dease and Simpson entered on their third trip along the continent, and made very great additions to their already valuable discoveries. On the 22nd June, 1839, they descended the Cop- permine to the Bloody Fall, where they remained until the 28th. This interval was employed in the explo- ration of Richardson's River, discovered the previous year, which discharges itself into the bottom of Back's Inlet. On the 3rd July they took advantage of the first opening in the ice to commence their voyage, but it cost them a week's hard work to reach Cape Barrow. From its rocky heights they beheld with equal surprise and delight the wide extent of Corona- tion Gulf partially open, whereas, long after the same date the previous year, the whole party might have crossed it on foot. 1 hey landed at Cape Franklin just one month earlier than Mr. Simpson's arrival there on his pedestrian journey. Cape Alexander was not weathered till the 28th owing to a violent easterly gale, which put them in great danger from the heavy drifting ice. From Cape Alexander, situate in latitude dS^ 56' north, longitude ]06<'40' west, to another remarkable point in latitude 68° 33' north longitude 98° 00' west : the Arctic coast may DEASE AND SrMPSON' 1839. 261 U i b? comprised in one spacious bay stretchinpj as far south as latitude 67^ 40' before it turns off abruptly northward to the last-mentioned position. This vast sweep, of which but an inconsiderable portion was previously seen by Mr. Simpson, is indented by an endless succession of minor bays, separated from one another by long, narrow, projecting points of land, enclosing an incalculable number of islands. " From this description it will be evident that our route was an extremely intricate one, and the duties of the survey most harrassing; but, whilst perplexed be- yond measure in finding our way through these labyrinths, we derived great advantage from the pro- tection afforded by the islands from the crushing force of the seaward ice ; and the weather was gene- rally clear." White Bear Point, in particular, caused a serious detention. The northerly trending of the coast from the bottom of this great bay caused them to imagine that it would carry them round the Cape Felix of Sir James Ross ; but on the 1 0th August they sud- denly opened a strait running to the southward of east, where the rapid rush of the tide scarcely left a doubt of the existence of an open sea leading to the estuary of Back's River. The strait was ten miles wide at either extremity, but contracted to three miles in the centre. On the 1 2th August the expedition encoun- tered a most terrific thunder-storm. They ran rapidly to the south-east, passing Points Richardson and Ogle of Sir George Back, and, owing to the darkness of the night and increasing gale, drove ashore beyond Point Pechell. On the 16th they reached Montreal Island, and found a cache of pemmican, &c., deposited there by Sir George Back the very same day five years before I The arduous object of the voyage was now per- formed, and the length and difficulty of the route back to the Coppermine would have amply justified V I ! 1} 1 w i ' f- 26-2 DEASn AND SIMPSON 1839. their immediate return, but having already ascer- tained tlie separation of Boothia from the American continent, on the western side of Back's River, they determined not to desist till they had settled its rela- tion thereto on the eastern side also. Far to the southward Victoria Headland stood forth so clearly defined that it was instantly recognised through Back's beautiful drawing. On the 17th they reached a high, bold promontory, which was named Ca})e Britannia; and on the 19th, after crossing a fine bay with great toil and danger, the coast bent away nortli- east, which enabled them to effect a run of forty miles, but, the wind changing, they were forced to take refuge in a small river, which was the extreme point of the voyage. From a limestone ridge, about a league inland, they obtained a view of some very remote blue land in the north-east quarter, in all pro- bability one of the southern promontories of Boothia. Two considerable islands lay far in the offing, anil others, high and distant, stretched from E. to E.N.E. The view to the eastward apparently displayed a large gulf so uniformly and exactly described by the Esquimaux as Akkolee, To have attempted to ex- plore it would, under the circumstances, have been, what Mr. Simpson justly terms, "foolhardy," and the admirable little boats were therefore turned to- wards home. The strong wind that had forbidden their advance gave wings to their retreat ; the same night (^Oth August) they landed once more at Cape Britannia, and next morning crossed direct to Point Pechell with a heavy sea on. After examining a bay to the west of Point Ogle, they crossed over on the 24th, and traced the coast up towards Cape Felix for about sixty miles. The weather now became very unsettled and threatening : on the 29th August a snow storm began that lasted for seven days during four of which they DEASE AND SIMPSON — 18(39. 263 extreme point idge, about a vcre fixed to one spot. They then stood for Victoria Land, and explored its high, bold shore for upwards of one hundred and fifty miles. Often, near the shore, no bottom could be found with thirty-five fathoms of line ; and the blue colour of the water everywhere indicated a profound depth: — and at length they reached the extreme point seen by Mr. Simpson from Cape Franklin, in 1838, where the coast begins to trend to the northward of west ; Cape Barrow being by computation S.S.W, distant fifty miles. On the 10th September they crossed (Coronation Gulf, and on the 16th re-entered the Coppermine, after by far the longest voyage ever performed in boats on the Polar Sea. Leaving one of their little craft, together with the remains of the pemmican (which, through age and long exposure, was become quite mouldy) and various other articles, as a prize to the first Esquimaux who might visit the Blooay Fall, they ascended the river, with their double crew, in four days, abandoning the tents and everything but absolute necessaries, crossed the Barren Grounds up to their knees in snow, having unluckily left their snow-shoes on the coast, and safely reached Fort Confidence at dusk on the 24th September, 1839. 'i 1 I I .1 -1 » M -1-;^ 264 SIR JOHN FRANKLIN — 1845. If '■ CHAPTER XXIII. Expedition of Sir John Franklin and Captain Crozier, in 1845, in Search of North- West Passage — Zeal, Patriotism, ami Energy of Sir John Franklin's Character — Admiralty Board Instructions — Account of Expedition when Last Seen in Baf- fin's Bay— Anxiety at Home respecting its Fate. The Arctic seas were too eminently a theatre of British entei'prise and daring to be long deserted even by those who had experienced themostfeaiful rigours ol the climate. No nation had followed up the sub- ject with anything approaching to the ardour of Eng- land. Some of the best and bravest of her gallant sons had sought to subdue the spirits of storm, ice, and fog which ruled with despotic sway over their de- solate and solitary dominions ; but the struggle always ended in discomfiture, and a veil like that which hid the sources of the river of Egypt, in the burning sand-plains of Africa, still baffled the most energetic endeavours to penetrate into the mysteries beyond it. In the year 1844 Captain Sir James Clark Ross returned from his brilliant discoveries in the Antarctic seas ; and Sir John Barrow, who still held his high official position of Secretary to the Admiralty, thought the opportunity for again resuming geographical research in the northern regions too good to let slip. He therefore submitted a proposition to their lordships and the council of the Royal Society for sending oat another expedition, which, as the two ships, Erebus SIR JOHN FRANKLIN — 1845. 205 rozier, in 1845, 'atriotism, ami dmiralty Board St Seen in Baf- e. a theatre of leserted even jaiful rigours up the sub- dour of Eng- •f her gallant ►f storm, ice, >ver their de- •uggle always that which the burnin}^ lost energetic les beyond it. } Clark Ross the Antarctic leld his high [alty, thought Igeographical )d to let slip, leir lordships sending oat [hips, Erebus and Terror, were completely fitted for such a service, he represented might be made at a third of the cost of the voyage from which they had just returned, while the objects to be attained were highly im- portant to the interests of science, more particularly to that of terrestrial magnetism. Backed by the opinion of Lieutenant-Colonel Sabine, who stated that such observations would be most desirable, ai ;d " that a final attempt to make a North-west Passjge would render the most important service that now remained to be performed towards the completion of the magnetic survey of the globe ; " the proposal seemed well worthy of attention, and finally, the Erebus and Terror were ordered to be equipped for the voyage, on which they have been absent now nearly five long years. Each was fitted with a small steam-engine and screw-propeller, which, however, on trial did not give a speed of more than three knots an hour. The selection of a fitting commander for this new enterprise was a matter of no small importance, and fell on the gallant and veteran Sir John Franklin, while Captain Richard Crozier, the able colleague of Sir James Ross in his southern voyage, was appointed to the Terror, as his second. There is something strikingly noble in the zeal and perseverance with which Franklin has followed up the cause of Arctic Discovery ; in his ardent eager- ness for the solution of the great problem, it is im- possible not to recognise the self same spirit which actuated the Great Admiral against all difficulties to attempt his discovery of that New World which his great mind had already shadowed forth; the same " burning desire " which animated the heart of the youthful Cabot, and has made his name only second, if not equal, to that of Columbus ; and the same, we N .;^i; .* s •* 266 SIR JOHN FRANKLIN — 1845. V arc proud to sr.j', tl.at has carried a host of oui' coiintryinen, whose names arc emblazoned on the ptige of history, to the most distant corners of the earth. Althougli at an advanced period of Hfe, but just released from all the harrassing duties of a colo- nial governor, and surrounded by everything the world holds dear, yet he willingly gave them all up for the purpose of advancing his country's glory, lie was of opinion, with the estimable and talented hydrographer to the Admiralty, "that it would be an intolerable disgrace to this country were the flag of any other nation to be borne through the North- West Passage before our own." " You know," says Sir John, writing to the friend whose valued opinion we have just quoted — " You know, I am sure, that no service is nearer to my heart than the completion of the survey of the North coast of America, and the accomplishment of a North- West Passage."' This was written in February, 18.30, when he volunteered to conduct the expedition to Repulse Bay, which was afterwards carried out by Sir George Back ; but the same sentiments still animated him in 1845. Sir John Franklin is an excellent example of what single- ness of purpose can effect: may he yet return to receive the reward of his noble sacrifice. The Erebus and Ten*or, being in every respect fully equipped, sailed from the Thames on the 26th of May, 1845, in company with the transport Barretto Junior, commanded by Lieutenant Griffith, and laden with extra stores, to be discharged in Davis Straits ; and, as great interest very naturally attaches to the In- structions he received from the Board of Admiraltjs we shall give the substance of them as laid before Parliament in April, 1848, in obedience to an Oi'der of the House of Commons. ■ Journal of tlie Geographical Society for 1836, p. 46. sin JOHN FHANKLIN — 1845. 2(57 t I " By the CommhshnerSf ^r. " 1. ller Majesty's (jovernment Imviiifx dcciiicd it cxi)cdieiit that a furtlicr attempt should be made for tlic accomphsliment of a nortli-west passage by sea from the Atlantic to tlie Pacific Ocean, of which pas- sage a small portion only remains to be completed, we have thought proper to ap|)oint you to the com- mand of the expedition to be fitted out for that ser- vice, consisting of H.M.S. Ercbus and Terror; and you are hereby required and directed, so soon as the said ships shall be in all respects ready for sea, to pro- ceed forthwith in the Erebus under your command, taking with you H.M.S. Terror, her Captain (Crozier) having been placed by us under your orders, taking also with you the Barretto Junior transport, which has been directed to be put at your disposal for the purpose of carrying out portions of your provisions, clothing, and other stores. " 2. On putting to sea, you are to proceed, in the first place, by such a route as, from the wind and weather, you may deem to be the most suitable for despatch, to Davis' Strait, taking the transport with you to such a distance up that Strait as you may be able to proceed without impediment from ice, being careful not to risk that vessel by allowing her to be beset in the ice, or exposed to any violent contact with it ; you will then avail yourself of tlie earliest oppor- tunity of clearing the transport of the provisions and stores with which she is charged for tne use of the expedition, and you are then to send her back to England, giving to the agent or master such directions for nis guidance as may appear to you most proper, and reporting by that opportunity your proceedings to our Secretary, for our information. ** 3. You will then proceed in the execution of your orders into Baffin's Bay, and get as soon as possible to the western side of the Strait, provided it should ap- N 2 1' 1 1 ill ■y *i i h! 2fi8 sin JOHN FRANKLIN — 1845. pear to you that the ice chiefly prevails on the cnsicni side, or near the middle; tlie object being to vnivv Lancaster Sound with i\» little delay as possible ; but as no specific directions can be given, owing to the position of the ice varying from year to year, you will, of course, be guided by your own observations as to the course most eligible to be taken, in order to en- sure a speedy arrival in the Sound above mentioned. " 4. As, however, we have thought fit to cause each ship to be fitted with a small steam-engine and pro- peller, to be used only in pushing the ships through channels between masses of ice, when the wind is ad- verse, or in a calm, we trust the difficulty usually found in such cases will be much obviated ; but as the supply of fuel to be taken in the ships is necessarily small, you will use it only in cases of difficulty. " 5. Lancaster Sound, and its continuation througl) Barrow's Strait, having been four times navigated without any impediment by Sir Edward Parry, and since frequently by whaling ships, will probably be found without any obstacles from ice or islands ; and Sir Edward Parry having also proceeded from the latter in a straight course to Melville Island, and re- turned without experiencing any, or very little diffi- culty, it is hoped that the remaining portion of the Eassage, about 900 miles, to Behring's Strait may also e found equally free from obstruction ; and in pro- ceeding to the westward, therefore, you will not stop to examine any openings either to the northward or southward in that Strait, but continue to push to the westward without loss of time, in the latitude of about 74J°, till you have reached the longitude of that por- tion of land on which Cape Walter is situated, or about 98® west. From that point we desire that every effort be used to endeavour to penetrate to the south- ward and westward in a course as direct towards Behring's Strait as the position and extent of the ice, m SIR JOHN FRANKLIN — 1845. 209 '■• |1 or the existence of land, at present unknown, may admit. " 6. We direct you to this particular part of the Polar Sea as affording the best prospect of accom- plishing the passage to the Pacific, in consequence of the unusual magnitude and apparently fixed state of the barrier of ice observed by the Ilecla and Griper, in the year 1820, off Cape Dundas, the south-western extremity of Melville Island ; and we therefore con- sider that loss of time would be incurred in renewing the attempt in that direction ; but should your pro- gress in the direction before ordered be arrcsteil by ice of a permanent appearance, and that when passing the mouth of the Strait, between Devon and Corn- wallis Islands, you had observed that it was open and clear of ice; we desire that you will duly consider, with reference to the time already consumed, as well as to the symptoms of a late or early close of the sea- son, whetlier that channel might not offer a more practicable outlet from the Archipelago, and a more ready access to the open sea, where there would be neitner islands nor banks to arrest and fix the floating masses of ice ; and if you should have advanced too far to the south-westward to render it expedient to adopt this new course before the end of tne present season, and if, therefore, you should have determined to winter in that neighbourhood, it will be a matter for your mature deliberation whether in the ensuing season you would proceed by the above-mentioned Strait, or whether you would persevere to the south- westward, according to the former directions. " 7. You are well aware, having yourself been one of the intelligent travellers who have traversed the American shore of the Polar Sea, that the groups of islands that stretch from that shore to the northward to a distance not yet known, do not extend to the westward further than about the 120th degree of i . / 270 SIR JOHN FRANKLIN 1845. V b i western longitude, and that beyond this, and to Behring's Strait, no land is visible from the American shore of the Polar Sea. [8. Should he be so fortunate as to accomplish the Passage, he was to proceed to the Sandwich Islands, and afterwards land an officer at Panama, with des- patches.] [9. Care to be taken to find a good wintering place, and guard against surprise from the Esqui- maux ; also to employ them to convey intelligence to Hudson's Bay Settlements.] " 10. In an undertaking of this description, much must be always^ left to the discretio;? of the command- ing officer ; and, as the objects of this expedition have been fully explained to you, and you have already had much experience on service of this nature, we are convinced we cannot do better than leave it to your judgment. [11, 12. Caution not to let the vessels separate, and to keep up constant communication with Captain Crozier.] [13, 14, 15. Valuable instruments and portable observatory put on board, and great advantage ex- pected to be derived from scientific observations by the officers.] [16, 17, 18, 19, 20. Scientific observations pointed out, and, as a possible means of communication, after passing the latitude of 65^ N., bottles to be thrown overboard, containing an account of the proceedings of the expedition J [21. In event of accident happening to either of the two ships. Sir John to remove crew of disabled ship to the other, and proceed on prosecution of voyage or return, as may appear necessary. In event of any fatal accident to Commander, Captain Crozier to assume chief command.] [22. To take every opportunity of communicating SIR JOHN FRANKLIN 18*5. 271 with the Secretary to the Admiralty, and on arrival in England to demand from officers all logs, journals, drawings, &c.] [23. Usual clause relative to England be:;oming engaged in hostilities during absence.] " Given under our hands, this 5th day of May, 1845. {Signed) " Haddington, " G. Cockburn, « W. H. Gage. « To Sir John Franklin, K.C.H., " Captain 0/ H. M. S. Erebus, at Woolwich. " By command of their Lordships. {Signed) " W. A. B. Hamilton." Sir John Franklin was last seen by the whaler, Prince of Wales, on the *26th July, in latitude 74'^ 48' north, longitude 66** 13' west, moored to an iceberg, and waiting for an opening in the great body of ice which 'fills the middle of Baffin's Bay, in order to reach the entrance of Lancaster Sound. Up to that moment all hands were well, in high spirits, and de- termined to succeed if success were possible. " We left them," says Lieutenant Griffith, " with every species of provisions for three entire years, indepen- dently of five bullocks. They had also stores of every description for the same time, and fuel in abundance," Since that day they have never been heard of; and for the last two years an universal anxiety has been felt which does high honour to the English nation. P'- 272 SEARCHING EXPEDITIONS. CHAPTER XXIV. SEARCHING EXPEDITIONS. ^11 Three Expeditions sent out in Search of Sir J. Franklin — the first under Captain Kellett and Commander Moore — the second conducted by Sir John Richardson and Dr. Rae — the third under Sir Jas. C. Ross — their respective Instructions— Letter from Sir J. C. Ross — Board of Admiralty convoke a Meeting for Consultation — Stores sent out by North Star to Sir J. C. Ross to enable him to stay another Year — Reward offered by Lady Franklin and the Admiralty— News of Missing Expedi- tion brought home by Whaler — Stores Sent Out by Lady Frank- lin, and Deposited at Cape Hay — Return of Sir J.C. Ross and Account of Voyage — Means Employed to attain its end — Pro- gress and Proceedings — Winter Harbourage — 111 Health of Crew — Foxes Caught and Released with Collars Bearing En- graven Intelligence — Expeditions and Surveys — Sufferings of the Party — Magnetic Observations — Death of Assistant Sur- geon—Sawing Canal through Ice — Ships Leakage — ^l)rifting of Ship in Vast Field of Ice — Liberation — Arrival at home. In the beginning of the year 184B, it was con- sidered that the time had arrived when it became necessary to send out in search of the missing adven- turers ; and the Government, with great promptitude, determined on three several expeditions. The first was to endeavour to enter the Polar Sea from the western gate, or entrance, of Behrings Straits; the second was to descend the Mackenzie River, and examine the sea coast as far as the Coppermine ; and the third was to proceed through Lancaster Sound and Barrow's Straits, in a direct course to the westward ; and the whole plan had the appearance of being such a well-adjusted scheme that great hopes were enter- tained of its ultimate success. Accordingly, the Plover, surveying vessel, was HERALD AND PLOVER — 1848. 273 commissioned by Commander Thomas E. L. Moore, and sailed from Sheerness on the 1st January, 1848, to join the Herald, 26 guns, Captain Henry Kellett, C.B., at Panama, in company with whom he was to proceed (provided no intelligence had been received) to Petropoulowski, to procure interpreters, &c. They were then to proceed to Behring's Straits, where they were to arrive by the I st July, and along the Ame- rican coast, as far as practicable, to endeavour to find a secure harbour for the Plover during the winter. Two whale boats, or the Russian baidar, were then to continue the search further along the coast, and to communicate, if possible, with the party who were to descend the Mackenzie River, under the command of Sir John Richardson. So soon as the symptoms of winter approached, the boats were to return to the Plover, which ship, being provided with fuel and provisions from the Herald, was to house-in, and make all snug for the winter. The Herald was then to return to the south to give notice of their proceedings and resume her surveying duties. With the assistance of the natives, whose friendship for this purpose it was very desirable to cultivate, during next spring small exploring parties were to be sent in every possible and practicable direction, and as soon as the water had formed along the coast the boats were again to be despatched in order to com- municate with Sir John Richardson. Sir John Richardson's instructions directed him to leave England on the 25th March by the mail steamer for New York, in company with Dr. John Rae,' * This latter gentleman, in July, 1846, conducted an important expedi- tion sent out by the Hudson's Bay Company, consisting of thirteen persons, from Fort Churchill in Hudson's Bay, to the head of Repulse Bay ; and from thence across the Isthmus which connects Melville Peninsula with the north-eastern angle of the American continent, along the western n3 •I . ; ;l ! -i 274 RICHARDSON AND RAE 1848. and to proceed immediately to Montreal, for the purpose of conferring and making arrangements with Sir George Simpson, the territorial governor of the Hudson's Bay Company in Rupert's Land. Next, to travel to renetanguishene, on Lake Huron, and thence by steamer to Sault St. Marie, at the Fort of Lake Superior, there to embark in a canoe to be provided in readiness by the Hudson's Bay Com- pany, and to follow the usual route by Fort William, Rainy Lake, the Lake of the Woods, Lake Winipeg, and the Saskatchewan River ; and it was hoped they would overtake the five boats provided for the expedi- tion, under the charge of Mr. Bell, chief trader to the Company, in July, 1848, somewhere near Isle a la Crosse, or Methy Portage, The canoe was then to return, and Sir John was to hasten on with four boats to the mouth of the Mackenzie, leaving Mr. Bell to follow with the heavier baggage in the barge, Mr. Bell was to turn off at Great Bear Lake, and erect his winter resi- dence at Fort Confidence, establish fisheries, and send out hunters. The examination of the coast be- tween the Mackenzie and Coppermine was then to go forward, which it was thought would probably occupy thirty days; but it was very probable that they would not be able to keep the sea later than the 15 th September, as from the beginning of that month the young ice covers the surface of the water during the night, presenting a very serious impedi- ment to the boats. Should they reach the sea about shore of Committee Bay, (the " Akkoolee " of the intelligent Iligliuk), as far north as the " Lord Mayor's Bay " of Sir John Ross. Bretuming to Repulse Bay, where he had taken up his winter quarters in a skin- covered house named Fort Hope, Dr. Rae again started, on the 13th May, to trace the western shore of Melville Peninsula, and after survey- ing it, at a great expense of personal suffering, to within a few miles of the Fury and Hecla Straits, returned to Fort Hope, after an absence of twenty-seven days. RICHARDSON AND RAK — 1848. •275 < 'i| the first week in August, it was hoped that they would be enabled to iiiake the complete voyage, and also to coast part of the western and southern shores of WoUaston Land. If, from various caus. s, the ex- pedition was prevented from arriving on the shores of the Polar Sea until too late to reach the Copper- mine, it was to return to Fort Good Hope, on the Mackenzie, there deposit two of the boats, with all the sea stores, and proceerl with the other two boats and the whole of the crews to winter quarters on Great Bear Lake. Deposits of pemmican were to be made at Point Separation, (Jape Bathurst, Cape Parry, and Cape Krusenstern, and also at Fort Good Hope, for the use of a party which Sir James Clark Koss purposed sending there in the spring of 1 849, who were not to return to the ships, but ascend the Mackenzie. The instructions desire that the search by Sir John Richardson was not to be prolonged after the winter of 1849, which was to be passed on Great Slave Lake ; but, at the earliest practical moment after the breaking up of the weather in the spring of 1850, steps were to be taken for the return of the party to England. Sir John Richardson was directed to bury bottles in the circumference of a circle with a ten feet radius, from the point of a broad arrow painted on the signal post — at Point Separation, at the head of the Delta of the Mackenzie, in latitude 67^ 38' north longitude 133" 52' west; on Whale Island, at the mouth of the Mackenzie ; on Point Toker, in latitude 69** 38' north longitude 132** 15' west; on Cape Bathurst, latitude 70" 31' north; and on Cape Parry, latitude 70" 5' north. The landmarks were to be painted white or red, or with black stripes. On the 12th June, 184S the last of the three, though perhaps the most important searching expe- j^mtflM 276 ROSS AND BIRD. i !■ i'i ;l dition, left our shores under the command of Captain Sir James Clark Ross, composed of two magnincent ships, the Enterprise of four hundred and seventy tons, and seventy men, ; and the Investigator, Cap- tain E. J. Bird, four hundred and twenty tons, and seventy men — both ships as strong as it was possible for wood and iron to make them, and furnished with all the appliances of science. By Captain Ross's urgent request, the ships were provided each with a launch* fitted with a small engine and screw, in preference to having that ma- chinery fitted to the ships, as was adopted with the Erebus and Terror. The route was to be direct to J^ancaster Sound and Barrow's Straits, through which they were to penetrate due west, narrowly searching both shores, and, should the weather permit, a similar search was to be extended to the shores of the Wellington Chan- nel. The next point to be examined was the coast between Capes Clarence and Walker, all which, it was hoped would be accomplished during the first season. The coast of North Somerset is usually en- cumbered with heavy ice, therefore both ships were to proceed very cautiously, so as not to hazard being shut up for the winter. If a harbour was found near Garnier Bay, or Cape Rennell, they were there to secure the Investigator for the winter, and from this point she was to explore the coast as far as it ex- tended to the west, and also the western coast of North Somerset and Boothia, as far as Cape Nicolai; while another party were to proceed to the southward, and ascertain whether the blank space there shown on our charts, consisted of an open sea through which ' These boats were twelve tons burthen each ; extreme length, 3H feet ; breadth, 9 feet 7 inches ; depth, 6 feet 10^ inches ; draft of water with machinery, 1 foot 7^ inches ; weight of boat, 3^ tons ; weight of boiler and machinery, 3^ tons ; average speed on river, 11 miles an hour. ENTERPRISE AND INVESTIGATOR — 1848. 277 Sir John Franklin might have passed, or of a con- tinuous chain of islands, among which he might still be blocked up. In the summer of 1849 the steam- launch was to be despatched to Lancaster Sound, in order to meet the whale-ships, which usually visit the western side of Baffin's Bay at that time, and by whom further instructions were to be sent out from England. Meantime, the Enterprise having left her consort for the winter, was to push on to the westward, and endeavour to reach Winter Harbour, or Banks' Land, as circumstances might admit. From this position parties were to be started in all directions to discover traces of Sir John Franklin. One was to determine the general shape of the western face of Banks' Land, and was then to proceed direct to Cape Bathurst, or Cape Parry, on the main, and so on to Fort Good Hope, where directions for their future guidance were to be left by Sir John Richardson. Another party was to explore the eastern coast of Banks' Land, and from thence to Cape Krusenstem, where, or at Cape Hearne, a cache of pemmican was to be made for Sir John Richardson, under whose orders this party was afterwards to place itself. By a letter from Sir James Clark Ross, dated from the Danish settlement at Uppernawick, the 12 th July, 1848, the Lords of the Admiralty learnt his intention to send home the Investigator, if, after passing the second winter at or near Port Leopold, she should receive no tidings of Franklin and his party by the whalers which would leave England in March, 1 849, thus leaving the Enterprise to prosecute the search alone. Their Lordships, on requesting the opinions of those who were best qualified to judge of the conse- quences of such a step, found, that if such a resolve was carried into effect, it might prove most detri- mental to the objects of the expedition. ' I 278 NORTH STAR 1849. I'M \i At a meeting held on the 17th January, 1849, at which were present, Admiral Sir F. Beaufort, the Rev. Dr. Scoresby, Colonel Sabine, R.A., Captain Sir W. E. Parry, R.N., Captain F. W. Beechey, R.N., Captain Sir G. Back, R.N., and Captain Sir E. Bel- cher, R.N., &c., it was given as their unanimous opinion that, as the expedition had not reached the entrance to Lancaster Sound until the 28th August, 1848, after which the navigation would be open only for a few days, it was highly probable they would be obliged to winter near together, instead of the Inves- tigator, as was intended, finding a harbour about Cape Rennell, and the Enterprise one at Winter Harbour, or Banks* Land ; the consequences of leav- ing one ship to perform so hazardous a service alone, might therefore prove highly unsafe. It was therefore strongly recommended that a vessel with stores should be despatched, at the latest, by the 15th May, so as to enable the Investigator to con- tinue the search for another year, and that imperative instructions should be given to Sir James Ross, to make a strict search in Wellington Channel and its neighbourhood, since it was known that Sir John Franklin attached very great importance to that opening, in case of his failing to push on to the southward and westward. Acting on these sugges- tions, the North Star was ordered to be fitted, with the least possible delay, and sailed on the 16th May, 1849. The orders to her commander, Mr. Saunders, were, to proceed at once to Lancaster Sound, and keeping a bright look-out for the Investigator, or her boats, to endeavour to reach Whaler Point, at the entrance of Port Leopold, or, if that place was not attainable, either Capes York, Craufurd, or Hay, or Possession Bay ; after the completion of this service, and if time still remained, the North Star was to run up to the head of Baffin's Bay, and examine the great sounds there ; but on no account was her commander REWARDS BOTTLE PAPERS. 27?) to hazan' a winter in the ice. This vessel was last seen on ihe 19th July, in lat. 74« 3' N., long. 59^ 40' W., oiF the Devil's Point; but, as she has not returned, and was not seen by any of the whalers who, in August last, were off Cape Hay, or by either of the ships she was sent out to relieve, it is pro- bable that ner commander, if he has succeeded at all in entering the sound, has, in his zeal, been led to push to the westward, and becoming involved, has been forced to winter. In addition to the sending out of the transport, the Admiralty, in March, offered a reward of 20,000/. (to which Lady Franklin added 3000/.) to such ship or ships, or to any exploring party or parties, of any country, as should, in their Lordships' judgment, render efficient assistance to Sir John Franklin, his ships, or their crews, or who might contribute directly to extricate them from the ice, directing attention particularly to Smith's and Jones's Sounds in Baffin's Bay, Regent's Inlet, and the Gulf of Boothia, and especially to the Wellington Channel. Unfortunately, however, this announcement came too late for tne whalers, who had already sailed, and even if the news had reached them at their fishing grounds, they would have been quite unprepared for the risk which they must necessarily run in such an adventure. Things were in this state, and men began to look anxiously to the arrivals from the whale fishery, when, in the beginning of October, a sealed bottle was brought home, which had been picked up in Davis Strait, and great was the anxiety to know its contents: — it turned out, however, to be only a memorandum written by Captain Fitzjames, dated the 30th June, 1845, and, consequently, a month anterior to letters which had been before received by their Lordships. Scarcely had the anxious hopes thus raised been I I 280 E8KIMAUX SKETCH. fi i 1 ■f i i'l crushed, before some news arrived by the whaler True Love, which, at first, seemed to throw a sudden light on the lost expedition. The captain of this vessel (Parker) had tallen in with a brother whaler, Captain Kerr, of the Chieftain, at Ponds Bay, who told him that, on the first arrival of the Chieltain at that place, an Esquimaux came on board, and, with- out questioning^ drew a rough sketch, representing four vessels beset in the ice, in an inlet, which was under- stood, from the description of the number of days' journey from Ponds Bay, to be Regent's Inlet. The Esquimaux stated that two of the ships had been frozen up on the west side of the inlet for four years, and the other two on the east side for one year. Tiie True Love and the Chieftain made an attempt to verify this report, and reach the entrance of Prince Regent's Inlet, but on the 5th August they were stopped by a solid body of ice, stretching across Lan- caster Sound, from Admiralty Inlet to Croker's Bay, and they were obliged to return. Captain Parker landed a cask of preserved meat, and thirty bags of coal, (which had been sent out by Lady Franklin) upon Cape Hay, and arriving home before his comrade, immediately communicated this information to the Admiralty, which was afterwards confirmed by Captain Kerr. But though " hope told a flattering tale," when the evidence, on which the report was founded, came to be examined, it was found to be full of discrepancies. First, the alleged position of the ships was too near the fishing grounds of the whalers, to escape notice ; and secondly, it was highly improbably, but that Franklin would have either made use of the Esquimaux, to convey intelli- gence of his whereabouts to Ponds Bay, or have despatched a party across the land, a distance of only two hundred miles, for that purpose; whilst the Admiralty Instructions, positively ordered that the SIR J. C. ROSS — OFFICIAL REPORT. 281 steam launch of the Investigator, was to be sent in the summer of 1849, to the entrance of Lancaster Sound, to meet the whalers. The whole matter however, is proved to have been a fabrication, by the recent return of Sir James Ross, who, unexpectedly, arrived off Scarborough, on the 3rd of November last, and made an official report of his unsuccessful search, to the Lords of the Admiralty, of which the following are the principal details. " In accordance with the intentions expressed to the Secretary of the Admiralty in my letter of the 13th July, 1848, Her Majesty's ships Enterprise and Investigator sailed on that day from the Danish settlement of Upernavik. " Running through an intricate archipelago of islands, which lies off the mainland, on the 20th, we made fast to a berg aground off Cape Shackleton. " Here we were joined by the Lord Gambier (of Hull), Mr. R. Hill, master, who informed me that, having run to the southward with all the rest of the whaling-ships, and having carefully examined the pack edge for any opening that might lead them to the westward, he had come to the conclusion that there was not the smallest chance, from the close, compact, and heavy nature of the ice, for any ship crossing to the west coast of Baffin's Bay this season. He had, therefore, returned to the north, and expected that all the other ships would soon follow him, and endeavour to round the north end of the pack ; he spoke very confidently of being able to accomplish this by the first week of August, and promised, at any rate, to remain in company with us until the 3rd August. We cast off from the berg early the next morning, towing the ships through loose streams of ice, towards some lanes of water, which had opened out during the calm, which prevailed all night. Our progress was, however, very slow during this and the m . •282 nOHH AND DIIID. next few days, and our situation oflen difficult niid enibarrassing. " On the morning of the 26th, when off the Three Islands of Baffin, in latitude 74** north, we were surprised, on the fog clearing off, to sec the Lord Gambler about eight miles distant, standing under all sail to the southward, thus disappointing us of the only remaining means of forvvarcling information of our proceedings to their Lordships. " We pursued our course to tne northward, under varying circumstances of perplexity, anxiety, and success ; for, although 1 could not but feel assured that we should eventually get through the Melville Bay barrier, yet calms and light winds so greatly impeded any movement in the pack, that day after day passed away until the season had so far advanced as to preclude every hope of accomplishing much, if anything, before the setting in of winter. " No exertions, however, were spared to take advantage of every opportunity of pushing the ships forward, until on the 20th August, during a heavy breeze from the north-east, the ships, under all sail, bored through a pack of ice of but moderate thickness, but having amongst it heavy masses through which it was necDssary to drive the ships at all hazards. The shocks they sustained during this severe trial were great, but fortunately without serious damage to them. " We gained the clear water at 4 p. m. in latitude 75^*^ north, and longitude 68° west, and steered direct for Pond's Bay, where I felt assured of meeting with the whale-ships, if any should have crossed to the west land, and might learn from them if the Erebus and Terror, or their party in boats, had passed along that shore, and also with a view to communicate with the Esquimaux who annually visit the coast, and from whom we might have derived information of our absent friends. ' ^ ENTF.IIPRISE AND INVF.STIOATOH — 1848. V>8.') difficult and iformation of " On the *2Srd, wc intulc the land about ten miles to the southward of Pond's H \v, and could trace the line of the main pack close in against the land, at a distance of three or four miles to the southward, so closely pressed home, as to leave do room lor ships or boats to pass between it anrl the shore. We next stood into Pond's Bay, and hove to, within half a mile of those points upon which the Esquimaux are known to place their summer residences, firinu^ guns every hall-hour, and with our glasses closely exaniining every part of the shore without being able to discern any human being. " From Pond's Bay we commenced a rigid exa- mination of the coast to the northward, keeping the ships close in along the land, so that neither people nor boats could have passed without our seeing them. Opposed by a strong current, although going before the wind between two and three knots through the water, we found, by the result of all our observations, as well as by unerring marks on the land, that we were sometimes carried astern against the wind. " On the 26th, we arrived off Possession Bay, and a party was sent on shore to search for any traces of the expedition having touched at this general point of rendezvous. Nothing was found but the paper left there, recording the visit of Sir Edward Parry in 1819. From this point we continued the examination of the coast with equal care, for we fully expected every hour to see those of whom we were in search, and the most vigilant look out was kept aloft and from the deck. " On the 1st September, we arrived off Cape York, and a party was sent on shore, under very difficult circumstances, to seek for our friends, and to fix a conspicuous mark at this remarkable point, on which was placed a paper for the guidance of any party that might fall in with it. " Every day we were in the practice of throwing 5 i ^r 284 ROSS AND BIRD. overboard^ a cask from each ship, containing papers of information of all our proceedings; guns were fired during foggy weather, and blue lights and rockets during the hours of darkness, the ships being kept under such easy sail, that any boat seeing the signals might have reached them. "The general tenor of the information thus dis- tributed along the coast, was to acquaint Sir John Franklin, that as the whale-ships had not been able to cross to the west land of Baffin's Bay, they could have no hope of assistance from them, and recom- mending them to make for Port Leopold, where I intended to form a depot of provisions, and perhaps leave the Investigator to winter there ; they would, at any rate, with the provisions, find a notice of the position in which the nearer ship was passing the winter. It therefore became necessary to push for Port Leopold to fulfil these promises. "We accordinglystoodoverfrom Cape York towards North-East Cape, until we came in with the edge of a pack, too dense for us to penetrate, lying between us and Leopold Island, about 14 miles broad ; but, as we could perceive that it was still in motion, we hoped that a few days might produce a favourable change, and in the meantime, we stood over to the north shore of Barrow's Strait, to seek a harbour further to the westward, and to examine the numerous inlets of that shore. Maxwell Bay and several smaller inden- tations were thoroughly explored, and, although we got near the entrance of Wellington Chanel, the firm barrier of ice which stretched across it, and which had not broken away this season, convinced us all was impracticable in that direction. " We now stood to the south-west, to seek for a harbour near Cape Rennell, but found a heavy body of ice extending from the west of Cornwallis Island, in a compact mass to Leopold Island. Coasting along this pack during stormy and foggy weather, we had I » ENTERPRISE AND INVESTIGATOR 1848. 285 difficulty in keeping the ships free during the nights, for I believe so great a quantity of ice was never before seen in Barrow's Strait at this period of the season. " With the thermometer at 15° every night, young ice formed rapidly and became so thick as to frustrate all our exertions to pass through some of the looser streams. Nevertheless, after some days of anxious and arduous work, we succeeded in getting through the pack, which still lingered about Leopold Island and North-East Cape, and entered the harbour of Port Leopold on the 11th September. Had we not got into port on that day, it would have been im- possible to have done so any day afterwards, the main pack, during the night, having closed the land, and completely sealed the mouth of the harbour. " We had now, at any rate, accomplished one material point, and were rejoiced to find the anchorage, of which we had before been in much doubt, well adapted to our purpose, and I resolved, that it should be the winter quarters for the Investigator. " I had much satisfaction the next morning to find how perfectly our steam-launch fulfilled our expecta- tions in an experimental cruise about the harbour, before proceeding in her to the westward in search of a harbour for the Enterprise, as it was now beyond probability, from the early setting in of winter, and from the unbroken state of the ice, to reach Melville Island this season. The pack at the harbour's mouth, however, still prevented our immediate departure, and all our energies were devoted to landing a good supply of provisions upon Whaler Point. In this service the steam launch proved of infinite value, conveying a large cargo herself, and towing two deeply laden cutters, at the rate of four or five kncts, through the sheet of ice which now covered the harbour, and through which no boat unaided by steam could have penetrated beyond her own length. ■..I! m ifii ■ I :.! h t 11 i 286 ROSS AND BIRD. " On the evening of the 1 2th October, the ships were hove into their winter position, within two hundred yards of each other. " 1 was indeed most anxious to have taken the En- terprise to some distance to the westward, but the pack, which sealed the harbour's mouth the night after we entered it, never admitted a chance of even a boat making her way out ; and across the isthmus, as far as we could discern from the hills, the same extensive mass of heavy, hummocky ice, which we had coasted along in search of an openmg in the early part of September, was still pressed closely home against the north shore of North Somerset, and remained fixed there through- out the winter; so that if the Enterprise had been able to get out of the harbour, she could not have proceeded far, and would most likely have been compelled either to pass the winter in the pack, or to have returned to England, and thus have defeated all prospective measures for the assistance of our long absent friends. "Although I could not but feel extreme disappoint- ment at the small advance we had made during our first season, yet we had much to be thankful for in having been permitted to gain secure winter quarters at Port Leopold, a position that of all others was the most desirable, if any one spot had to be selected for that purpose ; being at the junction of the four great channels of Barrow's Strait, Lancaster Sound, Prince Regent Inlet, and Wellington Channel, it was hardly possible for any party, after abandoning their ships, to pass along the snores of any of those inlets, without finding indications of the proximity of our expedition. " The winter was passed as are all winters in this climate, but long experience and liberal means, gave us many comforts that no other expedition had enjoyed ; yet it is remarkable that the health of the crew suffered more during this winter, than on any former occasion. Our want of success might have ENTERPRISE AND INVESTIGATOR — 1848. 2B7 n ankful for in tended in some measure to depress their spirits, and, unfortunately, the cold of winter was prolonged unusually far into the spring before we could give them more active employment. " During the winter a great many white foxes were taken alive, in traps set for the purpose ; and, as it is well known how large a track of country these crea- tures traverse in search of food, I caused copper collars, upon which a notice of the position of the ships and depots of provisions was engraved, to be clinched round their necks, and then set them at liberty again, with the hope that some of these mes- sengers might be the means of conveying the intelli- gence to the Erebus and Terror, as the crews of those vessels would assuredly be eager for their capture. " After several short preliminary journeys, in April and the early part of next month, to carry out small depots of provisions to the W. of Cape Clarence and to the S. of Cape Seppings, I left the ships on the 15th May with a party consisting of Lieut. M*Clintock and twelve men, with forty days' provision, which, together with tents, clothes, blankets, and other neces- saries, were lashed upon two sledges. We were accom- panied for the first five days of our journey by Captain Bird, in command of a large fatigue party, which in- creased our numbers to forty- two. " A detailed account of this journey may be found in my journal ; it may be sufficient here to mention, that the examination of all the inlets and smaller in- dentations of the coast, in which any ships might have found shelter, occupied a large portion of our time, and cost us much labour ; but it was necessary that every portion of the coast we passed along should be thoroughly explored. " The N. shore of N. Somerset trends slightly to the northward of west, until after passing the extreme North Cape of America, a few miles beyond Cape m .;, 1 ]' \y< t ', I I \ 'I f, jl \ I 'i- ■ hi ' t-ll: ii Hm^^ : \ > • . i 1 ' ' f J j ^. i^ *288 ROSS AND BIRD. KeiincU; from this point it trends slightly to tlio southward of west, until after rounding Cape Bunny, when it suddenly assumes a nearly south direction. " From the nigh land in the nei^l.!jourhood of Cape Bunny we obtained a very extensive view, and observed that the whole space between it and Cape Walker to the west, and Wellington Channel to the .north, was occupied by very heavy hummocky ice, whilst to the southward it appeared more favourable for travelling; I therefore determined not to divide the party, as I had originally intended, until we should find a more practicable point for their exertions. " We therefore proceeded to the S., tracing all the indentations of the coast, when our progress became much delayed by several of the party becoming useless from lameness and debility, so that it proved most fortunate that I had not divided the force, which could only, under such circumstances, have terminated in the complete failure of both ; for, although the load of provisions was every day becoming less, the neces- sity of carrying two of the sufferers on the sledges, and the loss of the services of three others, who had scarcely strength to walk behind, greatly increased the labour of the few who were now able to work. " The examination of the coast was pursued until the 5th June, when, having consumed more than half our provisions, and the strength of the party being much reduced, I was reluctantly compelled to abandon further operations, as it was, moreover, necessary to give the men a day of rest. But, that the time might not be wholly lost, I proceeded with two hands to the extreme south point in sight from our encampment, distant about eight or nine miles. " The extreme point of our operations is in lat. 7'2» 38 N., and long. 95° 40' W. It is the west point of a small high peninsula, and, the state of the atmo- sphere being at the time peculiarly favourable for dis- ENTERPniSE AND INVESTIGATOR 1848. '289 yhtly to tlic 'ape Bunny, I direction, lyourhood of ve view, and it and Cape annel to the mmocky ice, re favourable lot to divide itil we should sertions. racing, all the )gress became :oining useless proved most ;, which could terminated in ugh the load ss, the neces- the sledges, lers, who had increased the work. pursued until hore than half le party being d to abandon necessary to e time might hands to the lencampment, ms is in lat. le west point of the atmo- irable for dis- tinctness of vision, land of any great elevation might have been seen at the distance of one hundred miles. " The extreme high cape of the coast, however, was not more than fifty miles distant, still bearing nearly south,'^ the land thus trending for Cape Nicolai. " We observed several small bays and inlets between us and the southernmost cape, of w^hose continuity we could not be assured at so great a distance, yet they are marked on the chart which accompanies this ac- count of our proceedings, by which it will be perceived that a very narrow isthmus separates Prince Regent Inlet from the western sea at Cresswell and Brentford 13ays. " On our return to the encampment I found they had all been well occupied during our absence. Lieut. M*Clintock had taken some magnetic observations, which will be of great value, from our being so near to the Magnetic Pole. Two of the party had cut through the ice, which they found to be eight feet thick, and fixed a pole, by which the state of the tides was ascertained ; and all the rest that could work had erected a large cairn of stones on a high knoll just above the tents, in which a copper cylinder was placed, containing an account of our proceedings, and all necessary information for the guidance of any of Sir John Franklin*s party that might be journeying along this coast. " Although our resources did not admit of any fur- ther perseverance on our part, we could not but feel some satisfaction in the assurance, that if those of whom we were in search had at any time been upon the N. or W. coast of North Somerset, we must have met with some traces of them. The season for tra- velling in these regions had also passed away, the thaw having commenced ; and, had they abandoned their ships at Melville Island, they must have arrived 2 The bearings herein given are true. O .^f H m ','; •■i i I ; i ii 290 ROSS AND BIRD. on either of these shores long before this time, where they would have found us in the best possible position to render them assistance, and conduct them to our vessels. ** We set forward on our homeward journey on the 6th June ; and, after encountering a variety of dif- ficulties, reached the ship on the 2drd, the party so completely worn out by fatigue, that every man was, from some cause or otner, in the doctor's hands for two or three weeks. " I was greatly grieved to hear of the decease of Mr. Henry Matthias, the assistant-surgeon of the Enter- prise, of consumption, which had been deeply rooted in his constitution before leaving England. Several others of the crews of both ships were in a declining state, and the general report of health was by no means cheering. " During my absence Captain Bird had despatched parties in several directions — one, under the command of Lieut Barnard, to the north shore of Barrow's Strait ; a second, commanded by Lieut. Browne, to the east shore of Prince Regent Inlet ; and a third, conducted by Lieut. Robinson, along the western shore of that inlet. The labours of these parties were of comparatively short duration ; still they, like our- selves, all suffered from snow blindness, sprained ancles, and debility, especially that under Lieut. Ro- binson, who extended his examination of the coast for several miles to the southward of Fury Beach. " Although it was now but too evident, from no traces of the absent expedition having been met with by any of these parties, that the ships could not have been detained anywhere in this part of the Arctic regions, yet I considered it proper to push forward to the westward as soon as our ships should be liberated from their wintr»r harbour. My chief hopes now cen- tred in the eftbrts of Sir John Richardson's party ; ENTERPRISE AND INVESTIGATOR 1848. 291 ime, where )le position tiem to our mey on the iety of dif- ;he party so ry man was, s hands for cease of Mr. f the Enter- eeply rooted ad. Several 1 a declining by no means d despatched the command of Barrow's Browne, to and a third, the western , parties were tey, like our- less, sprained jr Lieut. Ro- the coast for leach, fent, from no leen met with luld not have jf the Arctic |sh forward to be liberated >es now cen- Lson's party; but I felt fully persuaded that Sir John Franklin's ships must have penetrated so far beyond Melville Island, as to induce him to prefer making for the con- tinent of America, rather than seeking assistance from the whale ships in Baffin's Bay. " Our crews, weakened by incessant exertion, were in a very unfit state to undertake the heavy labour which they had yet to accomplish. The season at this place was so extremely backward, that hardly a pool of water was to be seen on the surface of ice which covered the harbour, except only along the line of gravel which had been spread out towards the harbour's mouth during the winter, and there appeared but small prospect of any release this season. " All hands that were able, commenced with saws, extending the breadth of the canal so much as to admit the ships to pass down it towards the point of the har- bour, a distance of rather more than two miles. These labours were continued until the L^th August, when the canal was nearly finished ; but the ice to seaward remained, to all appearance, as firmly fixed as during the winter, though we could j)erceive it was wasting away close along the shores, and it was not until the 28tn August that we succeeded in getting clear of the harbour. " Before leaving Port Leopold I had caused a house to be built of our spare spars, and covered with such of our housing cloths as we could dispense with, and for which we could find a substitute if needful, leaving also twelve months' provisions, fuel, and other neces- saries, together with the Investigator's steam-engine and launch, which had been lengthened seven feet for the purpose, and now formed a fine vessel, capable of conveying the whole of Sir John Franklin's party to the whale ships. " We now proceeded towards the N. shore of Barrow's Strait, for the purpose of following up the o2 l1 ). 11 : •J92 nOSS AND BIRD. examination of Wellington Channel, and, if possible, of extending our researches as far as Melville Island ; but when about twelve miles from the shore we came to the fixed land ice, which had not broken away this season, and nothing but an uniform sheet of heavy ice was to be seen to the westward. ** We kept the ships near that which appeared to be the most probable spot, watching for any opening that might present itself, when, a strong wind sud- denly arising on the 1st September, brought the loose pack, through which we had been struggling, down upon and it closely beset the ships. At times, during two or three days, they sustained severe pressure, and ridges of hummocks were thrown up all around us, but after that time, the temperature falling to near zero, it formed the whole body of the ice into one solid mass. We were so circumstanced that for some days we could not unship the rudder, and when, by the laborious operation of sawing and removing the .hummocks from under the stern, we were able to do so, we found it twisted and damaged, and the ship was so much strained, as to increase the leakage fi-oni three inches in a fortnight to fourteen inches daily. " The ice was stationary for a few days ; the pres- sure had so folded the lighter pieces over each other, and they were so interlaced, as to form one entire sheet, extending from shore to shore of Barrow's Strait, and as far to the E. and W. as the eye could discern from the masthead, whilst the extreme severity of the temperature had cemented the whole so firmly together, that it appeared highly improbable that it could break up again this season. In the space which had been cleared away for unshipping the rudder the newly-formed ice was fifteen inches thick, and in some places along the ship's side the thirteen feet saws were too short to work. " We had now fully made up our minds that the : '■ 1 ENTERPRISE AND INVESTIGATOR 1848. 2^3 f ships were fixed for the winter, and, dismal as the prospect appeared, it was far preferable to being car- ried along the west coast of Baffin's Bay, where the grounded bergs are in such numbers upon the shallow banks off that shore, as to render it next to impossible for ships involved in a pack to escape destruction. " It was, therefore, with a mixture of hope and anxiety that, on the wind shifting to the westward, we perceived the whole body of ice begin to drive to the eastward, at the rate of eight to ten miles daily. Every effort on our part was totally unavailing, for no human power could have moved either of the ships a single inch ; they were thus completely taken out of our hands, and, in the centre of a field of ice more than fifty miles in circumference, were carried along the southern shore of Lancaster Sound. " After passing its entrance the ice drifted in a more southerly direction, along the west shore of Baffin's Bay, until we were abreast of Pond's Bay, to the southward of which we observed a great number of icebergs stretching across our path, and presenting the fearful prospect of our worst anticipations. But, when least expected by us, our release was almost miraculously brought about. The great field of ice was rent into innumerable fragments, as if by some unseen power. " Hope revived, and our people worked with energy ; all sail was made, and warps run out from each quar- ter, to spring the ships past the heavy floe pieces. The Investigator reached an open space of water on the evening of the '24th, but it was not until noon of the 25th September that the Enterprise could clear the pack. It is impossible to convey any idea of the sensation we experienced, when we found ourselves once more at liberty, whilst many a grateful heart pouredfourth its praises and thanksgivings to Almighty God for this unlooked-for deliverance. " The advance of winter had now closed all the 1' pill '• 294 SIR J. c. ROSS — 1848. harbours against us; and, as it was impossible to penetrate to the westward through the pack from which we had just been liberated, I made the signal to the Investigator of my intention to return to Lng- land. " Standing to the S. E., we came in with the middle ice of Baffiirs Bay, within a few miles of the land, and were obliged, in order to make our retreat the more sure, to run along its western edge to the N. E., until we reached the lat. 74f° N., where we rounded its north end, on the 4th October, in sight of the coast of Greenland. " Favoured by unusually fine weather as we pro- ceeded to the southward, we passed without any acci- dent through the great cluster of bergs, which is always found in lat. 69** N., and on the 12th, we recrossed the Arctic Circle, after which time we tsaw no more ice. " Strong westerly winds carried us past the meridian of Cape Farewell on the 18 th, and at I a. m. of the 28th we struck soundings off Mould Head. At day- light we found ourselves in the Fairway between North Ronaldshay and Fair Island, but a southerly wind so impeded our further progress. <:liat it was late on Saturday night before we could anchor off Scar- borough. " I arrived at the Admiralty early on Monday, the 5th November. " I cannot conclude this report without expressing my deep obligations to Captain Bird for his cordial co-operation and zealous support throughout this most arduous service, and my admiration of the conduct of the officers and crews of both ships, whose meritorious exertions fully entitle them to the most favourable consideration of the Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty. " James C. Ross, Captain, R. N." " To the Secretary to the Admiralty." SIR J. Richardson's report — 1848. CHAPTER XXV. Return of Sir J. Richardson from his Search by the Mackenzie- Account cf his Proceedings — First Measures — Communication with Esquimaux — Deposits of Pemmican — Explorations — Sir J. Richardson and Dr. Rae separate — Dr. Rae remains to Kursue the search— Various Suggestions — Sir J. Richardson's Leturn to England. On the 7th November, Sir John Richardson like- wise returned to England, from his Arctic land expe- dition, which had been as unsuccessful, with regard to its principal object, as the voyage of Sir James Ross. The following are the principal heads of his official report : — " Sir, — I have the honour to acquaint you, for the information of my Lords Commissioners of the Ad- miralty, of ray return from America in the Royal Mail steamer Caledonia. " On the 4th June, 1847, five seamen, fifteen sappers and miners, with four boats, 15,800 lbs. of pemmican, and other provisions and stores, were embarked on board the Hudson's Bay Company ships. The arri- val of these ships at York Factory was later than usual, and some of the stores still remained on board on the 10th Sept. ; but Chief Trader Bell, of the Hudson's Bay Company, who now took charge of the party, considered it imprudent to wait longer for their landing. At this date, therefore, he commenced his voyage into the interior, taking with him, in addi- tion to the English boats and their crews, a large 290 RICIIARDSON*8 RKPORT — 1848. ii^-i battcaux, with sixteen Canadian vityageurs^ and the stores necessary for building a winter residence, pro- viding for the fisheries, and equipping and paying Indian hunters. "Owing to the extreme drynessof the summer, the rivers were uncommonly low, and the bouts being, therefore, unable to carry more than two-thirds of their ordinary load, it was necessary to leave a con- siderable quantity oi pemmican at York Factory to Ije forwarded inland, with the additional supplies next summer. The difficulties which Mr. Bell encountered, as well from the lowness of the waters as from the very early setting in of winter, were great, his pro- gress consequently was slow, and he was finally arrested by tne freezing of the lakes, six days' march short of his intended winter quarters at Cumberland House. " He immediately housed the boats, constructed a storehouse for the reception of the provisions and other packages, established fisheries, and as soon as sledges could be made, accompanied the bulk of the t)arty on snow shoes through the woods to Cumber- ana House. "On the *25th March, 1848, Mr. Rae and I left Liverpool, and landed a fortnight afterwards at New York, and proceeded, by way of the Hudson and Lake Champlain, to Montreal, where we found wait- ing for us sixteen Canadian voyageurs^ forming the crews of two canoes provided by Sir George Simpson, Governor of the Hudson's Bay Company's territories. Our route lay through Lakes Ontario, Erie, St. Clair, and Huron, to Sault St. Marie, where we were detained some days waiting for the breaking up of the ice on Lake Superior. When the lake opened we resumed our voyage to Fort William, and from thence to Kainy Lake, the Lake of the Woods, and Lake Winipeg, where we were again stopped for If richahdson's he port — 1848. 297 some days by ice, but having at length succeeded iu breaking our way through, we entered the SuHkatche- wan Uiver on the 9th June, and on the 15th reaiehed Cumberland House. Here we learned that Mr. Bell had set out a fortnight previously, but had been detained by ice in Beaver Lake for four days. We followed him with diligence through Beaver Lake, Churchill River, Isle a la Crosse, BuflPalo and Methy Lakes, to Methy Portage, where we overtook him on the 20th June, 184H. " With the assistance of the voyiuftmrs from Montreal, the boats and stores were transported, on the men's shoulders, across the ])ortage in eight days ; this laborious proceeding having been rendered necessary by the death of the whole of the horses usually em- ployed there. The two canoes, with their crews, were sent back to Canada. " On the 15th July, having reached the last portage on Slave River, tliree boats were arranged for the sea voyage, with full loads of pemmican and able crews, consisting in the aggregate of eighteen men. Mr. Rae and I embarked in them to proceed with all speed to the mouth of the Mackenzie, leaving Mr. Bell with the remainder of the party and two boats containing the stores for winter use, with directions to make the best of his way to Great Bear Lake, to establish a fishery at its west end, near the site of Fort Franklin, for the convenience of the sea party, in the event of its having to return up the Mackenzie ; and lastly, having traversed the lake to its northern extremity, to erect dwelling-houses and storehouses near the influx of Dease river, and to carry on fisheries at such suitable places as he should discover in the neighbourhood. He was also instructed to despatch James Hope (a Cree Indian, belonging to his party, who had been formerly employed in the expedition, under Messrs. Dease and Simpson, and 1 I 298 Richardson's report — 1 848. ,1 K, knew the country well), together with a native hunter of the district, to the banks of the Coppermine in the beginning of September, there to hunt till the 20th of the month, and looking diligently for the arrival of the boats. " On my way to the sea I landed three bags of pern- mican at Fort Good Hope, the lowest of the Com- pany's posts on the Mackenzie, for the use of any party from Sir James Ross's ships or from the Plover, which might reach that establishment, and I likewise deposited one case of the same article, with several memoranda and letters, at Point Separation, which forms the apex of the delta of the Mackenzie, marking the locality in the manner agreed upon. " We reached the sea on the 4th of August, and had an interview with about three hundred Esquimaux. The distance from Point Encounter, where we met this party, to the mouth of the Coppermine River, including the larger inflexions of the coast line, is upwards of eight hundred miles ; and, as we had almost constantly head winds, we rowed aloi^, near the shore, landing at least twice a day to cook, occa- sionally to hunt, for the most part at night to sleep on shore, and often to look out from the high capes. Our communications with parties of the Esquimaux, assem- bled on the headlands to hunt whales, or scattered in parties of two or three along the coast in pursuit of reindeer and waterfowl, were frequent. They came off to us with confidence, and, through the medium of our excellent Esquimaux, Albert, who spoke good English, we were able to converse with them readily. They invariably told us that no ships had passed, and were rejoiced to learn by our inquiries that there was a prospect of their seeing more white men on their shores. Up to Cape Bathurst, or for about one-third of the distance between the Mackenzie and Copper- mine, the Esquimaux informed us that for six weeks riciiardson's report — 1848. 299 of summer, or, as they expressed it, for the greater part of two moons, during which they were chiefly occupied in the pursuit of whales, they never saw any ice. " On the extremity of Cape Bathurst we erected a signal-post and buried a case of pemmican ; and we made a similar deposit, marked by a pile of painted stones, on the extremity of Cape Parry. After round- ing the latter cape we observed, for the first time on the voyage, floes of drift ice, which became more numerous as we approached Dolphin and Union Strait. " On the 22nd of August we had a strong gale of westerly wind, before which we ran under sail for some hours ; but it speedily augmented to a violent storm, and we were compelled to provide for the safety of the boats by running among the ice, loosely packed on Point Cockburn. During the night much ice drifted past, and in the morning we found our- selves hemmed in by dense packs, extending as far as the eye could reach. Up to this time the weather had been of the usual summer temperature of that region, but it now became very cold, and we had continual frosts, with fi:equent snow-storms, during the remainder of our stay on the coast. By keeping close to the beach in places where the shallowness of the water kept off^ the larger pieces of ice, by cutting passages for the boats where the packs abutted against the rocks, by dragging the boats over the smoother floes, and by making portages along the shore, accord- ing to circumstances, with the aid of occasional spaces of open water, we succeeded, with much labour, in making our way to a bay between Capes Heame and Kenddl by the end of tne month. I had previously thought it advisable to abridge the labours of the crews, by leaving one boat, with its cargo o£ pemmican, on the north side of Cape Krusenstem ; and, by the 300 Richardson's report — 1848. time we came near Cape Kendall, the two remaining boats were scarcely seaworthy, having been much cut by the young ice which now bound the floes together. " The ground was covered with snow, no open water was visible from the highest capes, and the winter appeared to have set in with rigoiu*. I found myselfj therefore, reluctantly compelled to abandon the boats, and to prosecute the journey to our winter residence on Great Bear Lake, by land. The pemmican and ammunition were carefully concealed for future use, the boats were hauled up on the beach, and the party directed to prepare for the march. " We set out on the 2nd of September, and on the following day came to an encampment of Esquimaux. They cheerfully ferried us across the mouth of a wide river, which I named the Rae. We afterwards crossed the Richardson in Lieut. Halkeit's portable boat, and following the line of the Coppermine, and of its tribu- tary, the Kendall, we gained a branch of Dease River ; and, on the thirteenth day, reached our destined quar- tet's at Fort Confidence. " In the voyage between the Mackenzie and Copper- mine, I carefully executed their Lordships' instructions with respect to the examination of the coast-line, and became fully convinced that no ships had passed within view of the mainland. It is, indeed, nearly impossible that they could have done so unobserved by some of the numerous parties of Esquimaux on the look-out for whales. We were, moreover, informed by the Esquimaux of Back's Inlet, that the ice had been pressing on their shore nearly the whole summer ; and Its closely packed condition when we left it, on the 4th of September, made it highly improbable that it would open for ship navigation later in the season. " I regretted extremely that the state of the ice prevented me from crossing to Wollaston Land, and thus completing in one season the whole scheme of Richardson's report — 1848. 301 their Lordships' instructions. Tiie opening between Wolla&ton and Victoria Lands has always appeared to me to possess great interest ; for through it the flood tide evidently sets into Coronation Gulf, diverging to the westward by the Dolphin and Union Strait, and to the eastward round Cape Alexander. By the fifth clause of Sir John Franklin's instinictions, he is directed to steer south-westward from Cape Walker, which would lead him nearly in the direction of the strait in question. If Sir John found Barrow Strait as open as when Sir Edward Parry passed it on four previous occasions, I am convinced that (complying as exactly as he could with his instructions, and without looking into Wellington Sound, or other openings either to the south or north of Barrow Strait) he pushed directly west to Cape Walker, and from thence south-west- wards. If so, the ships were probably shut up on some of the passages between Victoria, Banks, :?nd Wollaston Lands. This opinion, which I advocated in my former communications, is rather strengthened by the laborious journeys of Sir James Ross having disclosed no traces of the missing ships. " Being apprehensive that the boats I left on the coast would be broken up by the Esquimaux, and being, moreover, of opinion tliat the examination of the opening in question might be safely and efficiently performed in the only remaining boat I had fit for transport from Bear Lake to the Coppermine, I deter- mined to entrust this important service to Mr. Rae, who volunteered, and whose ability and zeal in the cause I cannot too highly commend. He selected an excellent crew, all of them experienced voyageurs, and capable of finding their way back to Bear Lake with- out guides, should any unforeseen accident deprive them of their leader. In the month of March (1849) a sufficient supply of pemmican and other necessary stores, with the equipments of the boat, w^ere trans- ' i' i)»^ ;;!'■: ' 1 302 Richardson's report — 1848. ported over the snow on dog-sledges, to a navigable part of the Kendall River, and left there under the charge of two men. As soon as the Dease broke up in June, Mr. Rae would follow with the boat, the rest of the crew and a party of Indian hunters, and would descend the Coppermine River about the middle of July, at which time the sea generally begins to break up. He would then, as soon as possible, cross from Cape Krusensteni to WoUaston Land, and endeavour to penetrate to the northward, erecting signal columns and making deposits on conspicuous headlands, and especially on the north shore of Bank's Land, should he be fortunate enough to attain that coast. He was further instructed not to hazard the safeiy of his party by remaining too long on the north side of Dolphin and Union Strait, and to be guided in his movements by the season, the state of the ice, and such intelli- gence as he might obtain from the Esquimaux. He was, moreover, directed to report his proceedings to their Lordships immediately on his return, and should his despatches experience no delay on the route, they may be expected in England in April or May next He was also requested to engage one or more families of Indian hunters to pass the summer of 1830 on the banks of the Coppermine River, to be ready to assist any party that may direct their course that way. " With respect to the recommendation of additional measures in furtherance of the humane views of their Lordships, it is necessary to take into account the time for which the discovery ships were provisioned. Deer migrate over the ice in the spring from the main shore to Victoria and WoUaston Lands in large herds, and return in the autumn. These lands are also the breeding places of vast flocks of snow geese ; so that, with ordinary skill in hunting, a large supply of food might be procured on their shores in the mouths of June, July, and August Seals are also numerous in RICHARDSON S REPORT 1848. 303 Inumerous in those seas and are easily shot, their curiosity rendering them a ready prey to a boat party. In these ways, and by fishing, the stock of provisions might be greatly augmented. And we have the recent example of Mr. Rae, who passed a severe winter on the very barren shores of Repulse Bay, with no other fuel than the withered tufts of a herbaceous andromeda, and main- tained a numerous party on the spoils of the chase alone for a whole year. Such instances forbid us to lose hope. I would therefore beg leave to suggest that the Hudson's Bay Company be authorised and requested to promise liberal rewards to Indians and Esquimaux who may relieve white men entering their lands. Some parties of Esquimaux frequenting the coast to the westward of the Mackenzie are in the habit of passing the winter in the vicinity of the Hud- son's Bay Company's posts on the Rat River (a tribu- tary of the Peel), and might be interested in the cause by judicious promises. The Russian Fur Company have a post on the Yucon or Colville, which falls into the Arctic Sea about midway between the Mackenzie and Behring Straits, i^nd through their offices similar offers might be made to the western Esquimaux. We know from the narrative of Sir John Franklin's dis- covery of that coast, and also from the subsequent voyage of Messrs. Dease and Simpson, that the Esqui- maux who frequent the estuary of the Mackenzie, meet those from Point Barrow, at an intermediate point, for the purposes of oarter ; and in this way in- telligence of any interesting occurrence is conveyed along the coast. The Russian post on the Colville re- ceives its supphes from a post in Norton Sound, where it would be easy for any vessel bound to Behring Straits to land a communication. Mr. Rae, having been appointed to the charge of the Mackenzie River fur district, will give a proper direction to the efforts of Indian hunters in that quarter. 304 Richardson's report — 1848. " Having thus, Sir, in a more diffuse manner than is usual in an off'^ial letter, but in accordance with my sense of the deep interest felt on the subject, not only by my Lords Commissioners, but by the nation at large, and I may add by the whole civilized world, recapitulated the proceedmgs of the expedition, and detailed my opinions, I have only to a(id that, after the return of Mr. Rae and myself from the coast in September, 1^48, we devoted our leisure during the winter to observations on the magnetic intensity and force, with the uniplar magnetometer, and Dr. Lloyd's inclinometer, and kept hourly registers for fourteen hours each day of the declinometer, barometer, ther- mometer, and wind vane. " In the beginning of May, 1 849, Mr. Bell and I, taking with us all the Europeans of the party then remaining at the fort, and such of the Canadians as were not to be employed with Mr. Rae on his summer expedition, crossed Great Bear Lake on the ice, and, when the navigation opened in June, ascended the Mackenzie, and retraced my outward route. We were stopped b}' ice on Great Slave Lake till the 11th July, On reaching Methy Portage, Mr. Bell resumed his duties in the Company's service, and I proceeded with a party to Norway llouse, where I discharged the Canadians, and sent the seamen and sappers and miners to York Factory, there to embark in the Com- pany's ship bound for England. I then continued my voyage to Canada in a canoe, and, after passing two days at Montreal with Sir George Simpson in ex- examining the charges for supplies furnished to the expedition, proceeded to Boston for embarkation in the mail steamer. " I have, &c., " John Richardson, Med. Insp. " Commanding the Arctic Searching Expedition. *' To the Secretary of the Admiralty ^ §"c., ^c, ^c." It THE HHRALD AND PLOVliR 1848. 305 CHAPTER XXVI. Proceedings of Herald, Captain Kellett, and Plover, Com- mander Moore — Arrival in Kotzebue's Sound —Joined by the Pleasure Yacht of R. Shedden, Esq., who Volunteers in the Search — Captain Kellett's Journal — Death of the Philanthropic Shedden — Disappointment and Failure of Expedition, and Augmentation of Public Anxiety for the Fate of Sir John Franklin — Enterprise and Investigator sent out, under Cap- tain CoUinson and Commander M'Clure — Ingenious Devices — Sailing Orders from the Admiralty, and Departure of the Expedition, January, 1650. It only now remains to give the details of the search via Behring's Straits, by the Herald and Plover. The Plover, being a most miserable sailer, did not reach Oahu, in the Sandwich Islands, until the 22nd of August, 1848, too late in the season, of course, for any research in Behring's Straits. She wintered at Noovel, on the coast of Kamtschatka, whence she sailed on the 30th of June, and on the 14th of July anchored at Chamisso Island, at the bottom of Kot- zebue's Sound, the appointed rendezvous. The next day she was joined by tlie Herald, and a yacht called the Nancy Dawson, the property of Robert Shedden, Esq., a gentleman of large fortune, who, hearing in China of the objects of the expedition to Behring's Straits, nobly resolved to turn aside from his pleasure 306 KELLETT AND MOORE. 1^1 voyage round the globe, and to aid in the search for his imperilled countrymen. The following are the heads of the admirable report of Captain Kcllett dated the 22nd November, 1849, received 22nd January, 1850), which embraces everything known of the exploits of the Herald and Plover down to the present time. " 15th July. — Shortly after eight a.m. we made out a vessel at anchor under Chamisso Island, and at ten exchanged numbers with H.M.S. Plover. Commander Moore came on board, from whom I was glad to learn that the officers and crew were all healthy and in good spirits. He had only arrived at six a.m. the day pre- vious, having passed the winter in a harbour on the Asiatic shore, close to the south of Cape Tchukotsky. Before my arrival two boats had been despatched for the Mackenzie River ; but fortunately the Herald hove in sight before it was too late to signalize them ; the boats saw the recal, and returned. We commenced immediately on our arrival to coal and provision the Plover, and by nine a.m. she had on board all the bread she could stow, half her coals, and a proportion of other provisions. "The 16th and 17th were occupied in stowing Erovisions and coal, and examining the different ays on the east side of Choris Peninsula for a win- tering station for the Plover. We found very shoal water in all of them, shoaling gradually northerly towards the sandy peninsula. We were of opinion that if a vessel did winter there she would be greatly exposed, and probably, on the breaking up of the ice, be either earned into the straits or shoved up on to the beach. On each day of our stay we were visited by two baidars, carrying twelve men each, belonging to Spafareif Inlet ; all of them were particularly tall, well built, well armed, and without either women or dogs. Commander Moore, whilst on a visit to these friendly HERALD AND PLOVER 184!?. 307 [len or doffS. natives, and enjoying a pipe with them, dug for the flour left by (Captain Becchey twenty-three years be- fore, in a position indicated by directions on a rock, which were as perfect as the day when cut. The cask required the united strength of two boats' crews, witli a parbuckle and a large spar as a lever, to free it altogether. The sand was frozen so hard that it emitted sparks with every blow of the pickaxe. The cask itself was perfectly soimd and the hoops good ; out of the 3361b. of flour which it contained, 1751b. was as sweet and well-tasted as anv which we had on board. The tin of beads was also found ; those not of glass much decayed ; the cotton stringing quite sound. "July 18. — Weighed; and, accompanied by the Nancy Dawson and the Plover, stood out of the anchorage. "July 19. — Exchanged colours with an Ameiican whaler (Margaret, of Providence). Whales blowing in every direction. Fog so dense at eight p.m. that the Plover could not be seen, although within speaking distance. Continued running to the northward during the night, keeping company by gongs and bells. " July 20. — Noon ; wind shifted suddenly to the northward ; fine clear weather. Cape Lisbimie east 19 miles. At five p.m. we anchored in 15 fathoms, with Cape Lisbume bearing N. 7® 20' E. mag., distant 2\ miles ; Plover and yacht in company. " From this position two whale boats were despatched to examine the coast northerly, under the orders of Lieutenant Pullen (Plover), and Mr. Parsons, second master (Herald). A boat was also sent from the Plover a short distance to the southward. The Plo- ver's boat returned soon after midnight, having landed in one or two places, and met with many natives, who were friendly and well-disposed. " July 21. — Weighed in the morning at seven a.m., with a N.N.E, wind, to follow the boats northerly. 308 KELLETT AND MOORE. f I) ' The Plover, being nearer in shore, was visited by two baidars, each carrying about twenty natives, men and women; a most miserable set of beings they were. At ten A.M., 2'2nd, boats alongside. " Mr. Pullen had examined the inlet to the east- ward of the cape without success. He was informed by the natives, through the interpreter, that none of the inlets on the coast would admit of a vessel enter- ing them ; that it was only a few of them, at the early spring, their baidars couhl enter ; and they were closed when the winds began to blow from the westward. " We experienced until the 23rd a tedious calm ; the current fortunately set us north, half a mile per hour. During this time we were fearler^sly visited by two baidars, with the same party of natives we had seen oflF Cape Lisbume. " July 25. — Wind N.W. ; cold, but fine and clear weather; steering for Wainwright's Inlet, the vast number of walruses that surrounded us keeping up a continual bellowing or grunting. The barkmg of the innumerable seals, the small whales, and the immense flocks of ducks continually rising from the water as we neared them, warned us of our approach to the ice, although the temperature of the sea was still high. We made the land, ten miles to the northward of Wainwright's Inlet, and at two p.m. we anchored in eleven fathoms, about three miles off it . entrance. [In running down the coast, they were astonished to see a man on shore, as they imagined, making signals with a flag ; but, on sending a boat, it turned out to be only a native mark for a quantity of blubber and reindeer flesh.] [Wainwright's Inlet was selected for the Plover's wintering-place ; but on sounding the entrance it was discovered that nine feet was tne greatest depth of water; "but, as it was encumbered with some heavy pieces of ice aground, which during our stay was HERALD AND PLOVER — 1848. 309 ;he Plover's -ance it was brcakinf;^ up fast, I concivcd it very prohahlc tliat after they had disappeared the channel might become more direct and deeper ; I therefore determined to return, and make a closer examination of the inlet, as soon as 1 had seen the boats as far north as we could reach in the ships. The boats were, therefore, directed to visit Wainwright's Inlet on their return ; but, under any circumstances, the Plover would be found at Chamisso Island. " By midnight the boats were all ready, and shoved off under three hearty cheers from the ships, which were as heartily returned. " This little expedition consisted of twenty-five pei'sons, and four boats, as follows : — liieutenant rullen, commanding the Herald's thirty-foot pinnace, fitted on board with the greatest care, thoroughly decked, schooner-rigged, and called the * Owen,' fur- nished with pumps, spare rudder, and a strengthening piece of tw o-inch plank above her water-line. " Two twenty-seven-foot whale boats, new boats, covered in abait as far the backboard, but without either bo:;es or cases, the provisions being stowed, the bread in painted bags, and the preserved meat between tarpaulings. The men's clothes were in haversacks, capable of removal in a moment " Plover's pinnace, a half-decked boat, with cases for her provisions, &c., so placed as to resist pressure fi:om the ice. " There were placed in the boats seventy days' preserved meats for the whole party, all the other articles of provisions, except bread, to the same extent, being also soldered up in tins. In addition to these, the Owen had on board eight men's allowance of the regular ship's provisions. After she was stowed with this proportion, every comer that would hold a cade of preserved meats was filled. The two larger boats carried in lack of them five cases of pemmican for the special use of Sir John Franklin's party. 310 KELLETT AND MOOHE. : "The ships weighed in company with the boals. " July 26. — The ice could be seen in heavy masses, extending from the shore near the Sea Horse Islands. At six we were obligeRE. Even in this way they were not troublesome when we told them we wished them to co away. They were all very fine men, but disfigured in appearance by the tabrets they all wear. They brougnt us wood and water, gave us fish and venison, and offered us whales* blubber and seals* flesh. Leaving a few of the men to take care of the boats, the rest came on shore for an hour. The natives were highly amused, and joined in their sports of leaping and running. The sportsmen were always accompanied by some of them ; they were greatly surprised to see some of the young officers killing the birds right and left. " The moment the boats started (until we got far up) we were preceded by their little kiacs, sounding with their paddles, to the channel. We had pilots in each of the large boats, who remained constantly with us, and who experienced great concern when they unavoidably got us on shore. " I have been the more particular in my remarks relative to these interesting people, because their behaviour on the visits of Captain Beechey and my- self have been so very opposite. It may be accounted for in this way — we had an interpreter who could speak with them, through which they found out what our object was in going amongst them. "The Russian settlement has, also, I consider, been very instrumental in causing this alteration in their conduct. We found many of them with shirts, handkerchiefs of gaudy colours, cottons printed with walrus, reindeer, and all the other animals that they are in the habit of catching, and representing in ivory knives and kettles — all these came from the Russian settlement. They were latterly very anxious to obtain muskets, and evinced no fear in discharg- ing them. "September 11. — We arrived with the boats at a part of the river thirty miles up, perfectly barred HERALD AND PLOVER — 1848. 321 across with heavy rock, over which there was a fall of about thirteen inches. Here the heavy boats were stopped, but by unlading the lighter ones we were enabled to haul them over. " Wishing myself to return to the ship, and Comm. Moore being still anxious to go on, 1 directed the senior lieutenant of the Herald to accompany him in my gig ; for the purpose of mutual protection (leav- ing one of the larger bouts below the fall to wait their return) ; I directed him to make a tracing of the river as far as they might ascend it, and return to their respective vessels before the 23rd inst They ascended the river about thirty miles beyond where I left them. In this distance tney met with but two natives. They passed several places where they were obliged to unload and haul these light boats over. They found, also, the pine trees scattered about in twos and threes a little distance from the bank. The river, from the mud and leaves hanging on the banks, showed that, at some period of the year it was at least ten feet above the level at that time. " The absence of spars of wood ol any description on the frequent bridges of rocks across the river, on the tops of the many spots of sand, or on the summit of the banks (which bear evident marks of having been overflown at some season), shows that the Buck- land is not the source from which the enormous quantities of wood found at Choris Peninsula is derived. We have never found a particle of wood on the eastern face of this peninsula — all on its western. "Comm. Moore and his party returned on the 19th. We now commenced to prepare for our depar- ture southward. The Plover's nouse was nearly completed, and as much provisions as he could stow or take care of were placed on board her. " By the 26th we were ready to start, having fully completed all the Plover's wants, and early on the Pi3 m V i V \ G22 KELLETT AND MOORE. morning of the 29th September I weighed from Kotzcbue Sound, with a fair breeze from north-east ; yacht in company. At the time of our departure there was early snow on the low lands — the streams were still running. In fact, the whole month of Sep- tember had been remarkably fine — generally with strong wiiuls from the eastward. " Passed Behring's Straits on the morning of the 2nd October in a heavy gale from the north-north- west. "October 11 — At midnight passed the Aleutian Group by the Straits of Amoukhta. " On the 14th November, anchored at the port of Mazatlan. " At Mazatlan I found lying H. M. S. Amphitrite and the Nancy Dawson yacht, this little vessel having arrived the morning previous.* " I have endeavoured in this letter and the accom- panying documents to give their Lordships a detailed account of my proceednigs while in the Arctic circle, which I trust will meet with their approval. " And in conclusion, I hope for the consideration of their Lordships for the officers serving under my command, who have, as heretofore, without an excej> tion, displayed uncommon zeal in their respective duties. " I have the honour to be. Sir, " Your very obedient servant, " Henry Kellett, Captain." " The Secretary of the Admiralty, London." As may be supposed, when it was ascertained that no traces of the lost expedition had been found by any of those sent out to its relief, the anxiety of the * We much regret to say that Mr. Shedden fell a victim to his too great exertions in this humane cause- He died at Mazatlan. HERALD AND PLOVER 1848. 323 lie Aleutian public became still greater, and at length the Enter- prise and Investigator were ordered to be put in readiness for another search, which, however, was this time to be made by the way of Behring's Straits, in conjunction with the Plover. The ships were commitssioned by Captain Richard (^uUinson, C.B., and Commander 11. S. Le M. M'Clure, who had been first lieutetiant with Ross in his late voyage. They were provisioned for three years, and supplied with numerous ingenious devices for aiding them in their object, such as balloons, gunpowder for bhisting, and a vast number of ice saws, poles, hatchets, &c., besides a sharp-pointed machine, weighing some four- teen or fifteen pounds, attached by a tackle and fall to the extreme end of the bowsprit, which, being worked on deck and allowed to drop suddenly, would penetrate ice of an ordinary thickness, and thus open a passage for the ships. The Enterprise and Investigator sailed from Ply- mouth Sound on the 20th January, 1850, under the following orders : — " By the CommissionerSy Sfc. ** 1. Whereas the efforts that have been made during the last two years to relieve the Erebus and Terror have failed, and all access to the Parry Islands has been prevented by the accumulation of ice in the upper part of Barrow Straits ; and whereas it is pos- sible that the same severity of weather may not pre- vail at the same time in both the eastern and western entrances to the Arctic Sea, we have now determined, in a matter of such moment, to send an expedition into the Polar Sea from the westward, and having a full confidence in your zeal and skill, we have thought proper to appoint you to the command of H. M. S. Enterprise, and also to place under your orders H.M.S. Investigator, both of which vessels having been duly ki IK !i I! 'I 324 KELLETT AND MOOHE. fortified against collision with the ice, equipped for the polar climate by wnrni-air apparatus, and fur- nished with provisions for three years, as well as a large supply of extra stores, you are now required and dircc'ted, so soon as they are in all respects ready for sea, tu proceed to make the best of your way to (Jape Virgins, in order to arrive at Behrnig's Straits in July. " 2. At Cape Virgins the commander-in-chief in the Pacific has been desired to have a steam-vessel waiting for you, and by her you will be towed througli the Straits of Magellan and the Wellington Channel, and on to Valparaiso. " 3. At that port you will use the utmost despatch in fully eplenisning; and having so done, you will ag ai n ur your best exertions to press forward to the Sand wise Islands. [4. On arriving at the Sandwich Islands he was to use the utmost despatch to refit, and should the Plover be there, which was very improbable, she was to be taken under his orders, further directions were to be sent out by the March mail, but every exertion was to be made to reach ^he edge of the ice by the 1st August.] " 7. We consider it essential that after entering the ice there should be a depdt, or point of succour, for any party to fall back upon. For this purpose the Plover is to be secured in the most favourable quar- ter, as far in advance as can be found — such as Wain- wright's Inlet or the creek at Hope Point ; but if they be unsafe, and none has been discovered nearer to Barrow's Point, then at Chamisso Island, or any part of Kotzebue Sound which may afford the neces- sary shelter. [8. 9. Volunteers were to be taken from the Herald, to replace any of the crew of the Plover who might be unfit to contend with the rigours of a further stay in those latitudes, &c.] HERALD AND PLOVER — 1^48. 325 [10. 11. The Plover was to be entirely refitted witli stores, &c., from the Herald (should that ship be in company), so as to enable her to stay until the autunm of 1853, while the Herald was to return home.] [12. The Plover was to remain in her winter quar- ters awaiting the return of the Enterprise and her consort until the summer of 1853.] [13. The Herald (if found in company) was to assist in securing the Plover in her winter quarters.] [ 1 4. Taking every precaution against surprise, the friendship of the E.s(|uimaux was to be cultivated by every possible means, and rewards were to be offered to them to convey intelligence to the H< dsoa's Bay Company's setdements.] [ 1 5. Every resource was to be devoted to pj osen f, the health and promote the comfort and clv.»erfulr' ss of the crews.] " IC. We leave it to your judgment and discretion as to the course to be pursued after pjissing P '»'J, Barrow, and on entering the ice; and you will bo materially assisted in this respect by what yoi. will learn from Captain Kellett, if he should be fallen in with at the Sandwich Islands, as well as from the observations of Sir E. Parry and Captain Beechey, contained in the memoranda of whicli we send you copies." [ 1 7. Capt. Collinson was furnished with copies of the various instructions to the several expeditions, the opinions of the first Arctic authorities, nooks of the voyages, &c., in the northern regions, & ;.1 [18 — 19. Caution not to allow the reparation of the two ships, and to keep up continued intercourse between them.] [20. Authorised to take command of the Investigator in case of any accident to the Enterprise.] [•21. Usual clause with reference to the scientific 326 KELLETT AND MOORE — 1848. , I objects of the expedition in the event of Great Britain becoming involved in hostilities during its absence.] [22. To communicate proceedings to the Secretary of the Admiralty at every opportunity, and to heave overboard occasionally tin cylinders containing in- formation of position, &c.] [•Jt'3. Every care to be taken lest they should be shut up in a position which might render the failure of the provisions a possibility.] " We feel it unnecessary to give you more detailed instructions, which might possibly embarrass you in a service of this description; and we have, therefore, only to repeat our perfect reliance on your judgment and resolution, both in doing all that is possible to relieve the missing ships, and in withdrawing in time when you come to the painful conclusion that your efforts are unavailing. "You will bear in mind that the object of the expedition is to obtain intelligence of, and to render assistance to. Sir John Franklin and his companions, and not for the purpose of 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 of expelling the gloom and uncertainty which now prevail respect- ing the missing expedition. " Given under our hands this 15th day of January, 1850, «F. T. Baring, "J. W. D. DUNDAS. " By command of their Lordships, " J. Parker. " Richard CoUinson, Esq., C.B., Captain of II. M.S. Enterprise, nt Devonport." Although the despatching these two vessels to pene- trate through Behring's Straits to Melville Island, a dis- tance of nearly nine hundred miles, forms an important 1 I DEBATE IN HOUSE OF COMMON8. 3-27 auxiliary in any general plan of search, it is by no means to be considered as the best point to which our efforts can be directed, in sending out to the relief of our gallant countrymen, an opinion which is held by some of the most eminent Arctic navigators of the day, who, far from regarding Captain CoUinson's ex- pedition as what the Times has rather unadvisedly called a "last effort,"' consider it to be a very secondary one to any that may be sent by way of Lancaster Sound and Barrow's Straits. This point was most ably and particularly brought to the notice of the Government by Sir Robert Harry Inglis, in the House of Commons, on the 5th of February, when moving for any reports that might have been made by the officers employed in the late expeditions, and for copies of any plans of search, whether by ships or boats, of correspondence, orders to Captains Collinson, Kellett, and Moore, Lieutenant Pullen, and Dr. Rae, &c., sent in to, or issued by, the Admiralty.'' Sir Robert Inglis said he was desirous of exciting an expression of sympathy for those who were now passing their fifth year — if God should have spared their lives — amid the horroi*s of an Arctic winter. He earnestly urged upon her Majesty's Ministers to take such measures for the relief of their fellow-countrymen as their own zeal, and the science of those by whom they were surrounded, might teach them to be the most applicable for the purpose. '^The Government ought out slightly to esteem that person who could move for even a slip of pajKjr in reference to future fjroceedings, who did not, at the same time, acknow- edge what they had already done upon the same sub- ject At the same time he was bound to urge upon them not to lose a month, a week, a day, or even an 1 Leader of 31st January, 1850. * No. 107, ordered to be printed oth March. 3-28 DEBATE IN HOUSE. V- li ll It hour, in seeking to release those gallant men from tlieir perilous position; for every former expedition had failed, if not entirely, or principally, yet, in some mefisure at least, from not having heen sent forth from this country at an earlier period. In order that the search might be effectual, it ought to commence in Baffin's Bay at the end of May or the beginning of June, so that it might take advantage of the first opening in July, lie ventured to hope that the Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty would take into consideration the expediency of applying steam navigation, directly and primarily, in the search. He had learned from high authority that the measure was not only practicable, but might be easily adapted and applied most usefully in such an enterprize. He would also suggest that, instead of two vessels being employed, the same amount of tonnage should be distributed amongst four vessels. The object wiis not so much to go from one point to another as to make a search in all directions. Supposing four vessels should go out, he would suggest that each vessel should be indepen- dent of the othere. A stimulant would thus be given to the energy of each, and greater results would pro- bably follow than could be secured by any otlier mode. He had not said a word on the subject as being one connected with humanity, with national honour, or with science; but the cause of humanity ought to compel them, and a feeling of national honour ought to induce them, to do what he now urged upon Her Majesty's Government, without a word being said about science. For what did they hear at the close of the last session? That the Governments of two other states were engaged in making preparations for rescuing our countrymen. He believed there was no precedent in history of one nation sending forth an expedition to rescue the lives of the subjects of another nation. He did not know whether, either in the case 4 DEBATE IN HOUSE. 329 n from their edition had it, in some t forth from ler that the ommence in ►eginning of of the first pe that the would take )lying steam search. He measure was adapted and 3, lie would ng employed, 2 distributed )t so much to f a search in ould go out, be indepen- hus be given s would pro- j otlier mode. IS being one honour, or [ty ought to lonour ought id upon Her being said it the close lents of two parations for ;here was no ng forth an Its of another in the case of Russia or of the United States, their hopes had been realized ; but the honour of England required that efforts should be made by England herself to rescue her own countrymen. It 'irtd been suggested that the use of small balloons would liicilitate tlie search. He gave no opinion upon the subject, but he thought that such a mode might be made subsidiary to the other means employed. This was not a private question ; he would not, therefore, introduce private considera- tions; but when he reflected on the extraordinary conduct of the wife of Sir John Franklin, of her self- denying efforts in the cause of her husband and of his companions ; when he considered the hundreds of ])ersons who were interested in the fate of the hus- bands and brothers now engaged in that expedition, he thought he did not unreasonably prefer his suit to the First Lord of the Admiralty when he expressed a hope that he would take the subject into consideration, not merely from a sense of humanity towards those who were missing, or from a sense of national honour, or from a consideration for the cause of science, but also from a sympathy for the anguish and suspense that had been felt by so many of those who, though breathing the same genial air with oiu^elves at home, were suffering for those who were now separated from them, and were existing in the regions of an ice-bound zone. He had reason to hope that his Right Honour- able friend was not only prepared to concede the papers he had asked for, but to indicate to the House at once that it was the firm intention of the Government to comply with the suggestions that had been made. The First Lord of the Admiralty (Sir Francis Baring), in reply, stated that it was the intention of the Government to send out again in search of Sir iJoim Franklin, by Lancaster Sound, and that the various plans submitted to them had received their most anxious consideration. He thought it right to 330 AUSTIN — OMMANNEY — OSBORN — I 8.')0. . t State that he had never done the Uouse of Commons, or the comitry, the injustice to suppose that expense would be an obstacle when the lives of their fellow- men were at stake— (an expression which was received with acclamation by the House) — and that everything that human power could do should be done to save the lost expedition; while he was glad to say that His Imperial Majesty, the Emperor of Russia, the United States of America, and the Hudson's Bay Company, had most cordially entered into these views, and manifested the most earnest sympathy. The promise thus given was immediately ordered to be earned into effect. The Eider and Free Trade screw-propeller steam-vessels, and the Baboo and Ptar- migan,^ strong teak built ships, of four hundred and thirty and five hundred tons, were purchased, and at once put into the hands of the dockyard authorities, They are now rapidly preparing for their dangerous voyage. Notwithstandmg the hazardous nature of the service, no difficulty was found in procuring officers ; in fact, ud was the case with the Enterprise and Inves- tigator, there have been almost volunteers enough in officers to man the ships, while from the excellent and timely measures adopted by Captain Austin, some of the most experienced whalers had been secured for the forecastle. Independent of the government expedition, there arc three others, to which we must advert. The first con- sist of a vessel, touchingly named the " Lady Franklin," a fine ship of two hundred and twenty-five tons, to be commanded by Mr. Penny, late of the Advice whaler ; and the other is her tender, the " Sophia," a new clipper brig of one hundred and twenty tons, • These names h.ive been altered from Ptarmigan to Resolute (Captiiin H. T. Austin), Baboo to AHHtslance (Captain B. Ommanuey), Eider to Pioneer (Lieut Osbom). i8:>o. of Commons, ; that expense ' their fellow- li was received lat everything 2 done to save d to saj that f Russia, the Hudson's Bay sd into these sympathy. itely ordered to id Free Trade »aboo and Ptar- r hundred and rchased, and at ard authorities, heir dangerous us natiure of the curing officers; )rise and Inves- teers enough in le excellent and Austin, some of secured for the lition, there arc The first con- ady Franklin," y-five tons, to of the Advice r. « Sophia," a twenty tons, Ito Resolute (CapUiin liumaiiney), Eider to PENNY — ROSS — RAE — 1 850. 3.31 named after Miss Sophia Cracroft, the devoted com- panion of Lady Franklin, and the second most promi- nent watcher for the return of the missing adventurers. The Lady Franklin is fitting at Aberdeen, with a cele- rity which does great honour to all engaged in her equipment ; and the Sophia, at Dundee, is not behind her consort. The second expedition is likewise a private one, to be commanded by the veteran Sir John Ross, and is equipped by a public subscription, towards which the Hudson's Bay Company have njenerously voted the sum of 500/. The vessel is named the " Felix," of one hundred and twenty tons, after Sir John's late valued friend Sir Felix Booth, schooner rigged, with a tender of twelve tons, called the '* Marv." Thcv are to sail from Lock Ryan, N. B. on the 20th Ai)ril next, having on board provisions for eighteen months, and will touch at Holstemburg, Whale Island, or Opernavich, for two Danes, who understand the Eskimaux language, as interpreters. They then proceed to Barrow's Strait, by the northern or southern route, as most advisable, and beginning at Cape Hotham, the western extremity of Wellington Channel, will examine all the headlands to the westward for deposited intelligence, and if none is found before reaching Banks' Land, the Mary will be left there as a vessel of retreat, while the Felix will continue her search during this and the ensuing year ; after which Sir John Ross thinks that it will be need- less, as he has no doubt, that before that time the fate of the gallant Franklin and his devoted companions will be ascertained. Lastly, I v the mail of the 28th December, instruc- tions were sent out by the Hudson's Bay (company to Governor Sir George Simpson, to give the necessary orders to Dr. Rae to continue the search, along the northern shore of the continent, for another year. Kli 332 RAE — 1850. On the 19th February last, a despatch was received from Sir George Simpson, acquainting the Company with the nature of the orders he had given to Dr. Rae to carry out these views, the substance of which are as follows : — That should his explorations in the month of July, 1849, have ended in disappointment, he was to organize a further attempt, in the ensuing summer, to examine the space, havmg Banks' Land on the N., Cape Walker on the E., and Victoria Land on the S. SimultaneoiLsly with the expedition to proceed towards Cape Walker, one or two small parties were •to be despatched to the westward of the Mackenzie, in the direction of Point Barrow, one of which was to cross over to the Youcon River, and descending that stream to the sea, carry on their explorations in that quarter, while the other going down the Mackenzie was to trace the coast thence towards the Youcon. And these parties were also to be instructed to offer rewards to the natives to prosecute the search in all directions. By these means there was reason to believe, that in the course of one year so minute a search would be made of the coast and the islands, that in the event of the expedition having passed in that direction, some trace of tlieir progress would certainly be discovered. To carry out these endeavours. Dr. Rae had per- fect carte blanche. In all the details he was very pro- perly left to his own judgment, but was particularly requested to keep up the depot at Fort Good Hope, with an ample supply of clothing, provisions, ammu- nition, fishing-tackle, &c., in case any of the men of the missing expedition pushing their way there. Mav He, " who hath measured the waters in the hollow of his hand," crown all these endeavours with success, and grant that through their means our noble countrymen, Franklin and his crew, may yet return in ch was received 1850. 333 safety to their mourning friends.'' From the knoun talents and ardent zeal of the explorers, cverythinn- is to be hoped ; and although ^ " 'Tis not in mortals to command success, Yet they'll do more— they'll deserve it." Jr K^ ™"'^ 'T-^^ *^"* ^^'^ necessity of going to press, before the vario.is searching expeditions now fitting out depart on their humane mission precludes the possibility of giving the orders under which thev sail V 384 CONCLUSION. CONCLUSION. Reflections on the ill-success of Arctic Research— Plan for an American Overland Expedition— Examination of Wellington ('hannel— Minor Details connected with Search— Eskimaux or Innuit Vocabulary — Reasons which forbid us to despair— Utility of Arctic Voyages of Discovery— Opinion of Hakluyt and Sir Edward Parry— Concluding Remarks. Our sketch is now finished. We have endeavoured in the foregoing pages to present to the reader a brief view of Geographical Discovery and Research in the Polar Regions, from the days when Scandinavia poured forth her hordes of maritime adventurers to ovennin and suhchie the most powerfid states of Europe, down to tlie latest relief expedition which has left the shores of old England to succour the veteran Franklin and his brave men : — and, if after its perusal, he close the book, and for a moment give free scope to his fancy, as he reviews in his mind the daring and unsuccessful attempts which have been made for more than three centuries to solve the great problem, he cannot fail to be forcibly struck with the peculiar adaptation to this most perplexing question of Thompson's beautiful lines — " seeming to be shiit By jealous Nature with eternal bars." There have been numerous plans sent in to the Lords of the Admiralty to effect the rescue of our dis- tinguished countryman Sir John Franklin, and doubt- less, with the vast resources and experience at their command, and nobly anxious to fulfil their duty to the relatives and friends of the absent adventurers, their Lordships have adopted what, in their judgment, CONCLCSION. 305 niav appear to he the best measures to attain that end ; but as their peeuhar province lies in the equip- ment of searching expeditions by sea, they may, perhaps, have overlooked the great importance which is attached by the highest authorities to a severe scru- tiny of the northern shores of the Continent by land expeditions. if the reader, with the open map before him, will glance over the Admiralty Instructions to Franklin, anusli, in Marcli and April (or oarlior or later, aeeordinj^ to eireuin- staneert), to the (Jreat Slave Lake, tlienee one brigatle should strike oft' to the north-east, down the Haek or Great Fish River to the Polar Sea. This part, though very important, has been whollv omitted in every plan of seareh. The other two l)ri and arguments, which forbid us cither to relax in our efforts or to lose hope. In the FIRST place, there are few men who have hud more experience in an Arctic cHmate, and are better qualified to cope with its difficulties and dangers, than Sir John Franklin ; and, as his officers and crew are as fine men as ever troil the deck of a ship, we ought to have the greater confidence in their powers, both of physical and mental endur- ance. Skcondly, although they were only provisioned for three years, antl have been absent now nearly five, there is every probability, that their guns would fur- nish them with a large supj)!y of game during the migration of the animals to the northward. Pfirry, during his stay at Winter Harbour, killed deer, nuisk oxen, &c., amounting to three thousand seven hun- dred and sixty-six pounds weight: — Sir John Rich- ardson tells us that Victoria aiul VV^oUaston Lands are resorted to by vast flocks of snow geese and seals : * — Sir .James (lark Koss, during the winter he lately passed at Port JiCopoId, obtained some four thousand pounds of the flesh of loons, dovekies, &c. ; whilst i)r. llae, who passed a severe winter on the sterile shores of Repulse Ray, maintained a numerous party on the spoils of the chase alone ;*" and there are many other resources, of which Franklin, from former and dear-bought experience, would be perfectly aware. Thirdly, We have a dozen instances of the powers of human endurance in the Arctic Regions. — for in- stance, Barents/, in NovYa Zemlia ; and the almost miraculous preservation and deliverance of eight KngHshmen, " left by mischance in (Jreenland, A.D. 1 630, nine months and twelve davs ;"^ Franklin's own celebrated and terrible journeys; and especially we * Sec piige 302. • Sir J. KichanUon's Rej)ort, see page 303. • Churcliiirs Collec. Viv.,|). 750. I CONCLUSION. :{4i o relax in our icn who have inate, and are ifficultiea and as his officers the deck of a confidence in nental endur- provisioned for )w nearly five, nis would fur- ue durinjx the iward. Parrv, led deer, nnisk nd seven hun- Mr John Rich- ston Lands are } and seals : '"* — nter he lately four thousand IS, &c. ; whilst on the sterile nnerous party Iherc are many n former and tly aware, of the powers ions . — for in- d the almost lice of eight enland, A.D. ranklin's own especially we sec page 303. have the extraordinary escape of Sir John Ross, who returned to England in safety, after an absence of four years and five months, on one of the most hazardous expeditions on record. All these facts forbid us to despair, and afford a well- grounded hope, that if spirited and enei^etic measures are taken, we shall yet have the inexpressible satis- faction of rescuing our lost countrymen from a fate too horrible to contemplate. Much has been said and written as to the utility t)f voyages of discovery in the Arctic Regions, and fre- auent have been the attacks of mere Utilitarians ; but tnough the almost ceaseless efforts of more than three centuries have not been crowned with the success which they may seem to have deser\^ed, yet, it cannot be denied, that Arctic Exploration has been the school in which some of England's greatest naval heroes have been trained, and that whatever comparison the result may bear to the ex srtion and outlay, it must be renieni- bcred, that these expeditions have greatly tended to promote that spirit of hardihood and enterprise, which cannot be too highly valued in a profession which it should ever be our greatest care to foster. No one can be insensible to the honourable distinction England enjoys among nations, from her having engaged in pursuits of this nature ; to use the words of Richard liakluyt — -* Wil it not in all posteritit be as great m renown vnto our English nation, to have been the first discouerc*^ of a sea beyond the North C^aj^e (neuer certainly knowcn before), and of a conueni'Mit passage into the huge Empire of Russia by the Baie of S. Nicholas and the Riuer of Duina, as for the Portutfales to have found a sea beyond the Cape of Ruona Espi- ranza, and so conseouently a passage by Sea into tlie East Indies." In what language would the worthy " Preacher," as he styles himself, have chronicled the 342 CONCLUSION, i '. brilliant discoveries of a Mackenzie, a Franklin, and a l*arrv I Whilst, however, the Polar Regions are peculiarly a field for British enterprise, it must still be remeni- l)e»*ed that there are very great dangers attendant on all researcheo within the Arctic Circle, and it is ques- tionable, whether even the large interests of science involved in the solution of the problem of a North VVost Pjiasage, would justify the renewal of any further attempts to set that nuich contested point at rest. Sir Edward Parry has recorded his opinion, that " it may be tried often, and often fail ; but that it is an enter- prise within the reasonable limits of practicability, and that it will one day or other be accomplished." Whether, however, these attempts on the part of England will end with the voyjigc of Sir John Franklin, is of very little importance at the present moment ; indeed, we may candidly avow with Captain Thonuis James, " I very well know, that what I have here hastily written, will never discourage any noble Spirit that is minded to bring this so long tried iVction to ab- solute effect; and it is likely withal that there be some, who have a better undcrsUmding, and a surer way of prosecuting of it, than myself have ; to whose designs 1 wish a happy success:" — but, although contrary to the opinion of Sir Edward Parry, and esjiecially anta- gonistic to that unconcpierable spirit seemingly inhe- rent in the British Navy, we would earnestly hope, that, should it please the Almighty to send back the gallant Franklin and his devoted crews in safety, England will be careful of again risking the lives of her adventurous sons, in further altem])ts to discover what cannot be looked upon in any other light than tliat of a geographical /^w/.v f'atuus, Cr!)e i^tirtfj ffiScat 19i»»»agr. ranklin, and a are peculiarly ill be remem- ttendant on all id it is ques- Dsts of science n of a North of any further nt at rest. Sir , that " it may . it is an enter- L'ticability, and lished." 3n the part of John FrankHn, 'sent moment ; iptain Thonuus it I have here ly noble Spirit .1 Action to ab- there be some, a surer way of whose designs !;h contrary to enland Mate. 48;Petty-officer8,Seamen,& Marines. , 60 Total, 62 182+. FURY, 377 Tons. lloppner. H. P., Commander. Austin, II. T., Lieutenant. Uoss, J. C, ditto. Mc L"-en, A., Surgeon. Halse, J.. Purser. Bell, T., Assistant Surjjfeon. Westropp, U., Midshipman. Waller, C. C, ditto. Bird, K., ditto. Mi>j.'j^'. W., Clerk. (Vawl'ord, G., Greenland Master. Donaldson, T., Greenland Mate. 48 Petty-oftiters,Seamen.cSL Murines. 1824. Uson. GRIPER. 180 Tons. Lyon, Q. F., Captain. Manico, P., Lieutenant. Hardin)^, P., ditto. Kendal, E. N., Assistant Survyor. Evans, J., Purser. Tom, J., Mid.sliijmian. Leyson, W., Assistant Surgeon. 34 Petty -ofliccrSjSeamcu, & Marines. 41 Total. 1825. ifranblin. Franklin, John, Captain. Richardson, John, M.D., Naturalist and Surgeon. 8RCi, T., A^ii^t. Naturalist. 1825. BLOSSOM, 20 Guns. 5., Astronomer. Beechey, F. W., Captain. Peard, G., Lieutenant. Belcher, E., ditto. Lay, T., Naturalist. Coilic, A., Surgeon. Marsh, (i., Pursoi. Nelson, T., Assistant Surgeon. Evans, J., Clerk. Osnier, II., ditto. Wainwright, J.; ditto. Elso»\, T., Master. Gould, J. F., Admiralty. Smyth, W., Mate. Wolfe, J., ditto. Kendall, J., Midshipman. Beechey, R. B., ditto. Crawley, J., Volunteer. Hoi-kley, J., ditto. Barlow' J. C.f ditto. I I^win, C, ditto. 346 APPENDIX. 1827. ATTCMPT TO REACH TUB POLR IN BOATS. IIECLA, 376 Toms. Parry, W. E., Captain. Rosa, Jumos C, Lieutenant. Forster, Henry, (6) ditto. Crozier. F. R. M., ditto. Halsc, James, Purser. McComiick, K., Assist. Surgeon. 1829. VICTORY. Ross, John, Captain. Ros.i, James C. Tii'Mu, William, Purser. Mc Diamid, Georjje, Surgeon. nianky, Thomas, 1st Mate. Aberntithy, Thomas, 2nd ditto. Taylor, George, 3rd ditto. Brunton, Alexander. Ist Engineer. Maciniiea, Allan, Cuu ditto. 19 Petty-officers iiud Seamen. 28 Total. 1833. 8BABCH rOR CAPTAIN JOHN ROSS. Back, Qeorge, Captain. | Kin^, Richard, Surgeon. And three Men. 1836. TERROR, 326 Tons. Back, (}., Captain. Smyth, W> Lieutenant. Stanley, ^>., ditto. Mc Mui%/0, A., ditto. Gore. G.. Mate. Mc dure, R., ditto. Fisher, P., ditto. Mitrcuurd, C, Extra Mate. Donovan, T.. Surgeon. Mould, J. A., Assistant Surgeon. Lawes, W.. Clerk in Charge. Saunders, J . Asting Master. 61 retty-officer8,Seamcn,& Marines 73 TiuO. 1837-8-9. Messrs. De:ifle aud Simpson. APPENDIX. 347 'urser. , Awist. Surgeon. 3rd ditto. idor- Ist Engineer. 1845. EREBUS, 378 Tons. Franklin, Sir J., Captain. FitzjamcB, J., Commander (Capt.) Uorc, O., Lieutenant (Commander). Lc Viscontc, H. T. D., Lieutenant. Fairbolmc, J. W., ditto. Vet Voeux, C. T., Mate, (Lieut.) Sargent, R. 0., ditto, (do.) (-'ouch, E. ditto, (do.) Collins, H. F., Second Master. Stanley, S. S., Surgeon. Goodsir, H., Assist. Surgeon. (Act.) Osmere, H., Paymaster ik. Purser. Read, J., Ice-Master (Act.) 58 Petty -officer8,Seauien, & Marines. TERROR, 326 Tons. Crozier, F. R. M., Captain. Liddle, E., Lieutenant(Commander). Hodgson, G. H., L'eutenant Irving, J., ditto. Honiby, F. J., Mate (Lieutenant). Thomas, R., ditto, (ditto.]! Blanky, T., Ice-Master, (Act.) Macbean, G. A., Second Master. Peddie, J. S., Surgeon. McDonald, A., Assist. Surgeon. Helpnmn, K. J. H., Clerk in Charge. 57 Petty -otticerSjSeamen.Ai. Murines. 68 Total. 70 Total. Rank, within parenthesis promotion since absence. 1846. Survey of Isthmus of Boothia, by Dr. John Rac. 1848. PLOVER. Moore, T. E. L., Commander. PuUen, W. J. S., Lieutenant. Simpson, J.,(b) Assist. Surg. (Surg.) Hooper, W. H.. Mate (Act.) Martin, H., Second Master. Lindsay, J. J . Clerk in Charge. 1848. HcUctt. HERALD, 26 Guns, 50^^ Tokb. KcUctt, Henry, Captain, C. B. Maguire, R., Lieutenant. Trollope, H., ditto. Coijper, E. J. L., ditto. Hill, J. S., Master (Act.) Goodridge, J. O., Surgeon. Woodward, T., Paymaster &. Purs. Billings, W. T., Assistant Surgeoiu Parsons, W. F., Second Muster. Whiflin, J. G., Clerk. 1848. Orerland Searching Expedition under Sir John Richardson, M. D., aud Dr. Rae. :U8 APPENDIX. ISIS. ^{r ^iflmeti (Bhxk Vio^ii. .y.\0 Tons, KNTKRPRIZE, RnsH, Jntnos ('.. Ciijitaiii. Mc Cluro, R. S.. Lc AI., Liontonnnt Mc CHiitork, F. L., ditto. Browne, W. II. J., ditto. Couldcry, W. S., Mnstor, (Act.) RobortHon, J. (A.) M. D., Surgeon. Hiffjjs, Jninps, Pnyninstor &. I'urntT. Matthias, H., AHsiHtnnt Surgeon. Court, S., Second Master. Whitshcad, Edward, Clerk. INVESTItiATOU, 480 Tons. Bird, K. J., Captain. K0H8, M. Ci. II. W., Lieutennnt. UohinHon, P., ditto. Barnard, J. J., ditto. Tatber, W., Master. Anderson, R, Surgeon. Moore, L. J., Mate. Cresswell, S. G., ditto. Allard, J. H., Seeond Master. Adams, E., Assistant Surgeon, (i^ilpin, J. D., Clerk in Charge. 1819. i&aunDerit. NORTH STAR, rm Toxa. Saunders, .!., Master Commanding, Way, J., Second Master. Norman, M. ditto. Uawlcr, H. B., ditto. KNTERPRIZR, 530 Tons. Collinson, R., ('apiam, C.B. Phayre, G. A., Lieutenant. Barnard, J. J., ditto, lago, C. T , ditto. Anderson, R., Surgeon. Lrg«, R. T. G., Muster. Parks, M. T., Mate. Adams, E., Assistant Surgeon. Skead, K., Second Master. Whitehead, E., Clerk in Charge. 1850. Aujttin. RESOLUTE. Au.stin, Horatio T., ('aptain. Aldrich, R. D., Lieutenant- Browne, W. H. .1., ditto. Brooman, J. E., Purser. Bradford, A. R., Surgeon. James. Lewis, Clerk. Rulloek. C.. Midshipman. Kiiiif, Richard, Assistant Surgeon Leash, .1., Ice-Master, (Act.) Sahe^tor, (}.. (Act.) Rae, James, M. D. Assist. Surgeon. Rutter, J. J., Clerk in Charge. 18.50. on. -(•J-, Mate. ^ H., Sccoiul Mnstpr. E., Assistant Siirgeon • !>■, Clerk in Chur^ri.. ONS. . Ifo-Mnotor, (Act.) «., (Act.) "H, iM.D Assist. Surpoon • J; Clerk in t'har|fe. TIGATOR, 480 Ton... II.J., LoM.,C,m„naii(|(.r. *V- H., Lieutenant. ^- (i-, ditto. , A., M.D., Surgeon. . H. II., Mate. It- •^, ditto. Assistant Surgeon, "'econd Master ;., Clerk. SSISTANOR E., Captain. .. Lieutenant. • P- L., ditto. i*'., ditto. •^- L., Surgeon, t- v., Mate. , Clerk. N.. Clerk in ChargM. W. B.. Second Mn-,r,.r. ', Commanding. K., AsMstaut Surget.n. lit) KHI • ^ •- ^Av^m' -•♦># -^ ^'.-.c.^ A 31 F, IM t \ \ >• ( ' O >' T J >■ E '^^ T . Ti ■tin III"!"' t' >hlllUlill'i» \,iir,ilif .1 .li,li, lll.ifi' iiQMS^S ■■'■ ' ih'-'^y ^'<-A,i ..^' ,v - ^ 1 l-Vir- IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (Ml -3) 1.0 I.I |28 no 1^ 12.2 I: «i Hii ' ^ ll£ 12.0 •uuu I mr'¥' < 6" ► C' ^ / Hiotographic Sciences Corporation 33 WEST MAIN STREET WEBSTER, N.Y. USSO (716)«72-4S03 '^^^^^ :« ♦V I/.. %g 1 V • o>JH oOSI oogi • OU ^">>*'0."' i">»Mi«08v ;,H*a>).jo |si: II 10" IHri'ifltaii of O 'liTwuwrieli W. Shi'ioei'l , Puijj ishe r , 20 G*' Ma.rlfc • OU ;,"»>*".>.)'' I'JMaOSl ;,n»«{).lo Isf.loOtl '" "I ""' .091 .011 oO*l to" Hfi-idiaii oC O f*nwuwicll 10* 20" 40" .' Tillhirctiifi Lid, Slii'ijevl , "liijiisher , ?/) C': Ma,rlftotouijh ;>U'eet .