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A THRILLING NARRATIVE arty. «sV /r "T'"" '' ^'"""-n"- Sehley at a tl.ne when Supplies had been Entirely Kxliausted gg, I TECHNICAL TERMS MCCIUE TO THK NAVIOATION AJIOHO 10* It 18 sometimea culled ^' ^ '^'""^ >>»«»• ered with anow. The blink of land/asweU ^'t. J "' 7 ''"' "*'" tities of ice. is usually of a yellowish IT ' "'" '"'''' '»'"'" «oparatr„gthom3 '""' ""''""^ '^« ^'''P '^^^^i^ by Brash. -Ice broken up into small fragments TLiio'Si^er irr • ^'- ^'-- °^ ^^^p-^^* or pro.,sio„ the water. _ See Tonouk ^ °''""' ^*^ '''« «'"''^«e of the ice. or to give notice of wh^ ' ' ''' '"" ''""«" danger of tftL;:tl^^LVL:'r*" ^"^^ '^^ ^^"^ ^« with saws for a simiL prpo'se ""' " "^""^ ^P'"'^ «"" «>"» fZ ";t" ^ ^"^' °^""^ '" *''*^ •=''^«*-"''« admitting the sea ^=et^n:;^;-~--^^ ""Xtlg-on tlr' '"•'"'^"' '^'^ *»•« atmosphere. «,.etin«. HUMMOCK. -A ma. of ice ri^ng to a coasiderab.o height abcv. th. 16 TECHNICAL TERMS. Mr general level of a floe, and forming a part of it. Ilummoeka aif originally raised by the pressure of floes against each other. lOE-ANciiOR. — A hook or grapnel adapted to talje hold upon ioe. loE-BELT. — A continued margin of ice, which, in high northern lati* tudes, adheres to the coast above the ordinary level of the sea. ICKBERQ. — A large floating mass of ice detached from a glacier. lOE-FOOT.— The Danish name of the limited ice-belt of the mort southern coast. Land-icb. — Ice attached to the land, either in floes or in heavy grounded masses lying near the shore. Lank op Watee. — A narrow channel among the masses of ice, through which a boat or ship may pass. Lead. — A channel through the ice. A ship ia said to " take the right lead " when she follows a channel conducting her into a more navi- gable sea, and vice versa. Nipped. — The situation of a ship when forcibly pressed by ice on both sides. Pack. — A large body of ice, consisting of separate masses, lying close together, and whose extent cannot be seen. Panoake-ioe — Newly-formeJ ice, assuming the peculiar conformation of numberless patches of "sludge," and giving the surface of the sea the appearance of a handsome pavement. Patch of Ice. — The same as a pock, but of small dimensions. Pehmican. — Meat cured, pulverized, and mixed with fat, containing much nutriment in a small compass. Sailinq-icb. — Ice of which the masses are so much separated as to allow a ship to sail among them. Bludqe. — Ice of the consistence of thick honey, oflering little impedi- ment to a ship while in this state, but greatly favoring the formation of a "bay-floe." BTREiiH. — A long and narrow, but generally continuous, collection of loose ice. Tongue. — A mass of ice projecting under water from an iceberg or floe, and generally distinguishable at a considerable depth of smooth water. It differs from a " calf" in being fixed to, or a part of, the larger body. Trackisq. — Towing along a margin of ice. Water-sky. — A dark appearance in the sky, indicating " clear water " in that direction, and forming a striking contrast with the •• blink " over land or ice. TouNQ-iCR. — Nearly the same as " bay-ice," but generally applied to ice more recently formed than the latter. CHAPTER I. ASPECTS OP TUB ARCTIC BEOI0N8. - PHBNOMKKA .„ BARL.E3T KXPL0RER8. -THK NORThITn ^f™" ^""'° «««*''•- RKAI^.-8,R „„o„ WXr,.OUOHBV L^OBxTHrR "r"-""" """"'^ The varied physical aspect of the globe offets aa tnuch to ciu.rm or awe the eye of tnan^s to Jwste to h.s comfort and well-being. From the glowirhea and gorgeous vegetation of the torrid zone, we uTe hrough all gradations of climate and feature, to the fngid reg.ons of either pole, where perpetual ice and a tZZiTTr P"""^* ^" extraordinary 1 trast to the lands of the sun : from intensest heat Z pass to mtensest cold; from the sandy deserts of Z south to the icy deserts of the north. Yet Iherels a! much the frozen .one to impress and elevat^ mind of the beholder as in the countries where natnr^ ^ plays herself in rich and exuberant loveless " Beyond the seventieth degree of latitude not a ti^e meets the eye, wearied with the white waste of snow forests, woods, even shrubs, have disaDDoared .n^ ' : X" ss?'"^""^ -r^'^ w„%" ,1;::: s scantily clothe the indurated soil. Still in thp f,.rfK« * north, „a.„™ claims h.r Mrthri^ht of b 4;tdt th« taef a„d rapid .„„,„„ ,b, ,^„^^ ,^^^ ^^'^^'^'^J^ 17 I IB ARCTIC PHENOMENA. 1 ;■ '^ flowerft and grassca to bloom for a few days, until again blasted by the evviftly-recurriiig winter. In these regions certain mystorious phenomena exhibit their most powerful cflects. Hero is the point of attrac- tion of the compass needle ; and here the dipping nee- dle, which lies horizontal at the equator, points straight downwards. Slowly, in its cycle of nearly two thou Band years, this centre or polo of magnetic attraction revolves in obedience to laws as yet unknown. Two degrees further toward the north is situated the pole of cold — a mystery like the former to science, but equally inciting to curiosity. If induction may be trusted, the pole of the earth is less cold tha.i the lati- tudes fifteen degrees below it. Round the shores and seas of the aretic regions ice ever accumulates : a circle of two thousand miles' diam- eter is occupied by frozen fields and floes of vast extent, or piled high with hugest forms, awful yet fantastic aa a dreamer's fancy. Mountain masses — " Whose block." of sapphire seem to mortal eye Hewn from cerulean quarries in the sky, With glacier battlements that crowd the sphere*, The slow creation of six thousand years, Amidst immensity they tower sublime. Winter's eternal palace, built by Time." Here the months are divided into long periods of day- light and darkness : for many weeks the sun sinks not below the horizon ; for three dreary months he appears 001 above it — " And morning comes, but comes not ol»d in light ; Uprisen day is but a paler night." But, in the absence of the great luminary, the vivid coruscations of +he aurora borealis illuminate the wintry landscape, etroaming across the skies in broad shcetn of THE ARCTIC OCEAN. light, flashing in inulti-colorod ravs o, n • . fa.nt and feathery "ointillatiol !!.^^ l.'^'n^';^ '•" away the irksome.iesa of o-Inn ! ^ *''** *'^'^e« night wondrous. ^ '"'"' ""^ '"''»'«« the loag The desolate crrandeiir nf ♦».„ . . ^ncroasod ,y th/ontit^ren ^f^ra^d T? ''''' others the dearth of vegetation T« "'"'' ' '° -perabundance of ani.aC 1 angTl^","^^^.^^ "countless herds of reindeer piJ„ n , , ' "' ^^** «ablos, and gray squirrels f^'.f' , "'^ ^'''''■^' ^"^««. foxes and Lll::'Z^ZZ7::' ''T '' ^^^^« "o«8 flights of swans, gle e anrrj""^'- ^"^^• spring, and seek deserts whorofl. '^'' ^"'^^ « their nests in sabty 1.7 '^,"'^ '"""'* ^'''^ ^uild their proy alongtfsea-ltr' T ' "' ^""^' P"^-« among the bushes • Hm! ' P*^™'^''^" ^un in troops brooks and in the L'or es "tlfe" "', '"^^ ^'^"^ *'« neighborhood of nl's lat^a '"" ,'""' ^^^'^ *''« Bhines in spring o" 1^'*^'"^"^ ' «"d when the sun cheerful note of the fi T 'I^ '"'"*^"°^*'« ^«"'- the thrush." ^' ^"'^'' ""^ '" «"tumn that of tho hi"'e'''rstn'kLrret"n'' ^^. ^'""Tenant-Colonel Sa- -;.o.hernt:Zt::n;:':— ^^^ hoth continents, the la^! u e s ^r VhV'^ ""^^ '' each has its -^ifnu/i * nearly the same, and ".oABtei „: " S'^'P'-Vi"'*"* '" "'» »"">: SH.eria„ Wand, ;< ,7" 1"""''^ '-'"""■" "» "'" "cw Sir E.lwa,.d P„ y' « N ^ h f":™""'/'""'' -'"^-i "J fitly ..amod, from ,oin • ^""' °""P' »"<' ""« •ral o„„ac,er a^d illtdo " '""* '"™' "''"' '" <^- W.th respect .0 tl,o Arctic Oce.„, . Ia,„ wriw «. 20 THE NORTH Mt:N. I >)| plains : " Wo may view thiH great polar soa as eiitloBed within a circle wIioho (iiuim-ter Ih 40'', or two tlio.iHand four liurulred goohnupliical tnilcH, and circiimrereiicc Hoven tlionBand two Imiidrcd niilca. On tiio Anialic Hide of this eea are Nova ZcrnLlu and the Now Sil.oriar. IslandH, eacii extending to about the 7«)th degree of latitude. On the European and American sidee are Spitzbcrgon, extending to about 80°, and u part ol" Old Greenhmd, whoso nortliern extremity in yet tinknown Facing America is tiie large island wfshed by Itegent'e Inlet, Parry's or Melville's Islands, with some others, in latitude 70» to 16", and beyond these nothing is known of any other land or islands ; and if we may form an opinion, by inspecting the general chart of the earth, it would bo that no islands exist which could in any shape obstruct navigation." It is to these regions, and the labors of which they have been the scene, that we have for a short poriod to direct our attention. The history of Arctic explorations properly begins a1 i period earlier by several centuries than is generally believed. Careful researches promoted and carried on of late years by the Society of Northern Antiquaries of Copenhagen, and others interested in the subject. have established the fact, that NewfouTidland, Green- land, and several parts of the American coast, were visited by the Scandinavians — the Northmen and Sea Kings of old — in the ninth and tenth centuries. While Alfred was engaged in expelling the Danes from Eng- land, and bestowing the rudiments of civilization on his country, and Charles the Bald was defendii^i ''i" «")n,e with the sick. Sir Humphrey then embarked in tiie bquirrel, of ten tons. he 20th of August. On the '21th. he was in la« tude 4.0, ,,,th fair weather. On the 29*:; ^torl^ 28 SIR HUMPHREY GILBERT. ff If i! arose, and the Delight, the largest vess( of the squadron, was lost. Sixteen only made their tdcape in the boat. The first appearance of change was a deuso fog, which enveloped the ships, followed by a gale of wind, south by east. They could not see beyond the head of the vessel. The Golden Ilinde, all of a sudden, got entangled among rocks and shoals. Tiio Delight beat still further in among them. Finding the sound- ings constantly varied, a signal was made to the Delight, by the Golden Ilinde, to stand out, but it remained unnoticed. She soon afterwards struck on a shoal, and ber stern was quickly beat to pieces. This was a fatal blow to the prospects of Sir Humphrey. The Golden Ilinde and Squirrel, all now left of the five ships which originally set sail from Plymouth, stood east by south. The water shoaled, and then deepened from four to seven fathoms, and then shoaled to four or five again, with a very high sea. At the time the De- light went on the rocks, her boat was afloat at the etern, it having fortunately been hoisted out the day before, when the weather was fine, to pick up some birds which had been shot. Into this boat a part of the crew were, by groat exertion, enabled to get, and to pick up others. The captain and a hundred of the crew perished with the ship ; and besides the Saxon before mentioned, who said he had discovered the silver ore, a learned man from Buda, in Hungary, called Budajus on board, but whose name was Stephen Parmenius, who had written a Latin poem in praise of Sir Humphrey, *nd had gone out to write an account of the voyage, »nd whit he saw, in the Latin tongue, was among the sufferers. The bearing of Captain Browne, who had been trans- ferred from the Swallow into the Delight, was, upon this occasion, of the most heroic character. When the fate Sm HUMPHREY GILBERT. 29 Of the vessel was seen to be inevitable, he was advised attempt, lie spurned the counsel, refusing to set the example of deserting the ship and abundoni.fg tk> 1 r! ' portion of the crew, who could have no hope of 0"^ lie cont„n.ed to the last to exhort those on lo lit o give way to despair; and firmly upon the d ok "f -vessel he awaited, with magnanin!ous resig tion ho term,nat,on of the catastrophe. He could not du e iho apprehension of a reproach for leaving his ,1 v.tho. provisions of any kind, thoy drifted befoi'e the ernpes . It was feared the boat could not live Lch longer u. such a sea unless lightened, and one oHhe party, by name Ileadley, proposed that lots s ould be drawn, and those who drew the four shortes tof the number should be thrown overboard. Thus 1 bette! chance would be ailbrded to the survivors of keep g •'t :;i\:r :f-'^"'- /^^^ '--^^ nob,y ansj;:! duct 1 0th of . ' "'.^'' ^" '-^'"P^"^ ^ " The eon! duct boh of the captain and master of this vessel exh.b. od that striking heroisn. to which brav t L tie held of battle is but secondary ^ ^ The third and fourth day passed over the heads of these unfortunate men without sustenance, l^iey picked up the weed borne on the surface of the foam g wate aroun,l thorn, and eagerly devoured it, drinkW he sea-wuten Their strength was rapidly leavwLm d^y a',;; f f^;''Z'r' -'Other, died on the fif da>. AH w,shed ,t would please God to take them out of 1 .n- m,sory. Since they had left the ship, th! sun •^ud been but once visible. All the nights bu't one IZ 30 SIR HUMPHREY OILBEIIT been starless, so that the darkness augniciited theii suflenng-s. They were all, except the master, Richard Clarke, praying for death. On the sixth day after the wreck, Clarke, calm and cullected, still endeavored to comfort them with the hope of soon making the land. They expressec' their doubts that they should ever again cast their eyes on the welcome shore. lie told them to throw him overboard if they did not make land on the seventh day; and this rallied tlieir spii its, for they seem to have reposed great trust in his skill and knowledge. The seventh day broke, and one hour before noou they got a sight of the shore. In the afternoon they landed, but were so weak that it was with difficulty they could assist each other out of the boat. They fell on their knees and thanked God for their deliverance. The stronger then helped the more feeble to a brook, where they refreshed themselves with the water, and quenched their intolerable thirst. They gathered and ate of some berries they found growing wild near the spot. The next day, Clarke divided them into parties of three, to search for food ; being to rendezvous together at noon, with what they could collect, for the common stock. They were fortunate enough to find a great quantity of peas growing wild. For three days they lived on these peas and on berries, and at night sheltered themselves in a hut, rudely constructed of the boughs of trees. They had preserved their boat, and, being a little recovered from tlieir former feeble state, they rowed along the shore, with the design of making the Great Bay of Newfoundland, which was then annually fre- quented by Spaniards engaged in the whale fishery. When hungry, they landed to eat bariies and peas SIR irUMPIIREY GILBERT 31 They had not proceeded fur i. this way, when a Spanish 8h,p foil „> w,th them, the captain of wln'ch proved a kind tad. He took them to St. Jean de Luz, in the Bay of Biscay ; a,.d when the Spa,.iard8 came on board, told hem they were poor fishermen cast away at New- foundland He set them on shore in the night, only ten nuU^ from the French frontiers, which they reached before day broke, and, thus having escaped, travelled to Eng and through France, where they safely arrived about tlie end of the year 1583. Their history having thus terminated, it will be proper to go back to the Golden Ilinde and Squin-el The crews of these ships, dispirited at the loss of the best vessel of the squadron, still continued to beat about in those th.ck fogs which are so common on the shores of Newfoundland. The crew of the Squirrel, already on Bhort a iowance, besought Sir Humphrey Gilbert to return to England. The crew of the Golden Ilinde joined m the same request. Sir Humphrey Gilbert, whose enthusiasm did not seem abated by his disasters engaged them to accompany him again in the following sprn,g. On the 31st of August they altered their course during a fresh breeze and high sea, and directed it for their native land. Sir Humphrey had hurt his foot, and, on the 2d of September, went on board the Golden Hinde to get t dressed by the surgeon of that ship. He repeafed the visit to partake of an entertainment with the captain, master and crew. He spoke of his disappointment on losing his papers and some ore which the Saxon refiner had procured m Newfoundland, which had been lost in the Delight. The Squirrel was overloaded, having heavy artilory on board, and things on deck so mncl above her tonnage, that her situation at that season of the year was considered dangerous by those on boar*' I 32 DAVIS. — BARENTZ. he il.ndo. They advised Sir Humphrey to shift into he larger vessel. He generously replied in tl.o nega- tive. "I will not," said he, "now desert my little vessel and crew, after we have encountered so many perils and storms together." The Golden Ilinde supplied the boat of t xo Squirrel witli what provisioT.s were necessary, and Sir Humphrey rouu-ned in it to that ship. They were then about three hundred leagues on their voyage to England. A vessel of ten tons, laden like the Squirrel, was too small to resist the waves in the Atlantic. On the 9th of September she foundered, and Sir Humphrey perished when they were in the latitude of England. The Squir' rel was near foundering in the afternoon of the same day she went down ; at which time, and when they were in imminent danger. Sir Humphrey was seen from the Hinde, sitting in the stern of the ship with a book in his hand, and was heard to call out, "Courage, my lads ! we are as near heaven at sea as on land ' " It was about twelve o'clock at night when the ship went down. '■ The three voyages by Davis, in 1585-88, enlarged the hmits of research. By the discovery of the strait which still bears his name, he opened the way to Baffin's Bay and the Polar Sea ; he also surveyed a considerable extent of the Greenland coast. Various attempts to had a passage were also made during this century by Spaniards, French, Danes, and Dutch, those of the last- mentioned nation being the most memorable. To avoid the risk of a voyage to India across the ocean, over which Spain claimed the supremacy, they sought for a shorter passage by the north-east. The three voyages by William Barentz, 1594-96 afford striking examples of dangers encountered, and manful perseverance in struggling against them. He BARENTZ. 33 n„»e,,e, and griefc, .„ »tay aU ^S : „ frL"'"' exerted t lemsolvos +» f»> \ winier. ii,ev retood ..„„ .a„ .,,at we t jd „fgo:C: "i, !' " but rather becarao faster, and could m!f . "' «« at other times wo had dm,e ..1 ., " ""' ''">' be w,-e.or. we to„,o l^^^^Zrltu '"'" '° best to doe, accordi.iff to tho tm,» .r! ""» .here, a„d attend surad'::!'; 'r;:,™^ ;;■■■"'- "3 ; and after wo h'ld r1<>h..f i "'^' ^^'"^ koopo and defend u seh^^ t'h"r "f """^'^ ^^^ wiide Loastos), we detected " TZ a L"''' ^"' the land, to keepe us therein as well a 'o e '^"^":; - to commit ourselves unto the tul^Ln of G d ' mi casting about for material for the edifice to ti, • joy they discovered a quantity of rr'.,"'' ^'''^^* they regarded as a Ll I "^^ *""^°'"' ^^'"'"h in their beh'lf and '^ interposition of Providence good h.pe th't God 7r. "'"'^' ''''"'^^^^d' ^^^-S in for that ^o It a7s nott'T 7 T""^ ''''''' ^^^^ ' also to burne, a se ^ ^I'^th: f "T '""^^' ^"* ^•se, without all doubt we IJTI u ^""^ = °*'^^^- ^ith extreme cold'' ^^ ^^''^ ^^^''^ '"-^^''ablv '-In-ch i:bor hey were i'''^ '" h-ndsleds, in -r-tyX-srir-r:^,^v-; 41 34 BARENTZ. bctwwn his lipn, tho Hkin camo off with na imicli pain, on taking it out again, as though tho iron had boon rod not ; yt't, notwithHtanding tho cohl, then; vuh open Roa for many wcoks an "arrovv-Hhut" beyond their Hhip. The dwelling, sloW in progrcHS, wuh finished by tho end of October, and tliatehed with sea-wrack, tho nioro effect, ually to eloMo the ciiinks in tho roof and walls, ami " we set up our dyall, and made tho clocko strike." On the 4th of Novenjbor " wee saw tho Bunno no more, for it was no longer above tho horison ; then our chirurgion made a bath (to bathe us in) of a wine-()ipe, wherein weo entred one after tho other, and it diIe to bear it, and' tS t ^r I T^f T?^''"^ vertigo, and could scarcely 17 \ul T1 "''" opened, when tho first who roa h 'i i , h 7' ""'' the sno^v. Gerard ,]o v ^"'-'' '^ '^'' ^"wn luint on ^prinkiin,^;::^:^,'-:,:-;-^^-'^!'^^^ i"g in restored them a.lin a I / '''^' '''' "'«''• Borved out to each n ,f r;^/ ^T" '^'^^^•"«^«« then On the lufhrn '''''''"' ^"'"P'«tely. 3G BARENTZ I skins, and put on several pairs of socivs togotlior, to keep their feet in heat. The ice was an inch thick on the sides of their hut, and when they went out in clear weatlier their clothes became white with frost and ice. They increased the size of their fire, but from their recent warning kept an opening for tlie smoke. They iiad used all the wood laid up in their hut by the middle of January, and they were obliged to shovel away the snow on the '.utside to get at a fresh stock. This they found a task of great difficulty, from the exccssivt. rigor of the climate. A party also proceeded to the ship, but found her frozen up as before, and the ice accumulated within. They caught a fox in the cabin, which they took to tlieir hut and ate. They had been economical of their wine, but they kept Twelfth night with savings from their scanty allow- ance, thus making as merry as tiieir dismal situation would permit. They fancied themselves at home in 'Holland. They made pancakes with meal and oil, and, soaking biscuit in their wine, drank to the three kings of Cologne, and comforted themselves as if they had been at a "great feast." They drew lots who should be king of Nova Zembla, and it fell to the gunner to be the monarch of that domain of cold and desolMion. In short, they made themselves as happy as if they had been in their own houses among the dykes of Holland. Thus does enjoyment, even in the most adverse times, c »me to the very portal of misery at the mind's bidding. They had stormy weather for several succeeding days, lill about the 15th of January, during which they confined themselves to their hut. Tliey heard tiie foxes running over their heads, but could not catch them, which they regretted, as their provisions were beginning to run short. The intense cold absorbed every other sensation. They applied hot stones to their feet and BAKENTZ 37 bodies t. keep them warm: comforting themselves that now the sun was about returning to them whhluuT patience he would warm and giadcL themTg ^ t , t ! beams. Even s.tting before their fire, tlaeirLckrwou M become white with frost, while their stockings wou'de bun.ed before they could feel the heat to thefr flet They visited their ship a second time and fonnH races of bears ; and, going below, discove;erttete1 foot lugner in the hold than it had been or 'inX Gerard de Veer and Jacob Heemskirk, going with a 24th of January, the day being clear, saw the ed^e of the sun above the horizon. They imnartoH fj.! i news to their friends b„t i.;^, ^''"P'''^*^^ *''« welcome fj.„ . inenus, but J3arentz was ncredulous a« the return was thought too earlv hv f. , ,' **« For two days afterwards thov h:^ ^ '*''" ^''^'' verifyino- tJio f.J ! I ^""^ "° opportunity ofl and clouV ' ''' "'^^'^'^^ ^^'"^ ^'-^ Thoy lost one of their number on the 26th • he had A .light relaxation of c! I, i F L^rjf n "I""' the no., „„„.h by „„,j „f n,crcrcd too? T 7 '° "..^sod «„,, and 11,0 „„i„a, „„„ down ' the.tp ^v tad cut n. tho snow directly ag„in.t thoir dooT The M 38 BARENTZ. captain, frightened and confused, could not fix the ba> of wood which usually constituted the fastening, but they contrived to hold the door home so fast that the animal could not enter, and it then walked away. The creature soon returned again, roaring around the hut, to the great terror of the inmates ; at last it got on the roof, which they feared it would have broken, being quite furious. A sail hoisted on the outside of the hut the bear tore to pieces in his anger. No other injury ensued. The sea began to open, as early as the middle of March, to withiTi seventy-five paces of the ship ; though a new frost came on, and increased the di.slance to live hundred on Jie 4th of May. They did not wait to see whether their vessel might again bo serviceable. They preferred the chance of going in their boats, and of venturing in them to cross a sea three or four hundred leagues rather than to trust an uncertain event. Tliey now set about preparations for departure. They repaired their two boats, and had good hope " to get out of that wilde, desart, irkesome, fearfull, and cold countrey." On the 13th of June the survivors, twelve in number, left the desolate shore, after a stay of ten months. Their privations and exposures in small boats, in an ice-encumbered sea, may be imagined. Three of them perished, worn out with disease. The indefatigable Barentz himself at last succumbed. They had passed Icy Cape two days before. This cape is "a headland in Nova Zembhi in the Arctic Ocean. It is in hit. 75° N. ; Ion. 70° E. ; a bleak and lofty promon- tory. As thoy wore approaching this capo. Barentz asked if they had yet reached it : and, on being told it was in eight, requested he might be lifted up to see it once more, the ruling passion of this adventurous seaman being strong in death. About nine o'clock on the [39] H BARENTZ. 4] mornmg of the 20th.. it was communicated to those "^ho were in the launch that Claes Andriz rvas near his end, he being in the other boat. Barentz then told hi. companions he should not long survive Andriz He was at the moment examining a chart of all the coun- nes and objects they had seen on their voyage, made l>y Gerard de Veor. No one suspected that wLat he «aid was so immediately to be fulfilled. Putting the chart on one side, he asked De Veer to give him some- thing to drink. Barentz swallowed what was given him, and found himself worse immediately: his eves moved rapidly about for a moment, and he died so sud- denly they had not time to call the captain, who was in the other boat. Andriz expired at nearly the same moment. The death of Barentz was a severe blow to his companions. Upon his experience and knowledge m navigation they relied for their safety in the future conduct of their navigation during a perilous voyage in boato, they hardly knew whither. They struggled on, however, manfully overcoming he perils that beset them ; and in September reache! the coast of Lapland, where " wee saw some trees on the nver side, which comforted us and made us glad, as if Zl )t\ *'''" T""" ^"*° " "'^ ^^^^^ ■' ^"r- "» -» the time hat wee had been out, wee had not seone any trees. On the eleventh of the same month, after a voyage of eleven hundred and forty-three miles, these brave-hearted men set up their boats in the " Merchants' house, at Coola, as " a sign and token of their deliv- erance ; and, embarking on board a Dutch ship, in the course of a few weeks once more set foot in their native country. The survivors appeared before the people of Araster- dam in the dress they wore at Nova Zambia. Curiosity was awakened everywhere respecting tii^m. They were 42 HUDSON, { . .t tdsen to the ministers of foreign states, at the Ilaguti, to relate their perils and give an account of the frigid land, which none of the southern natives had visited before. Their treatment on their arrival home must, in those days, have been an ample compensation to the survivors for their past suffe-: -- One of the boldest of early ■ ' ^rs, and one of the most successful, was Henry H . .n. the di -cover-r of the immense bay which will carry his name and unfor- tunate end to the latest times. This intrepid mariner first distinguished himself in 1607, being sent out by the Muscovy Company on a voyage, with instructions to penetrate directly to the pole. He succeeded in push- ing north as far as latitude 81^», and returned home after coasting Spitzbergen, with the conviction, which modern experience has not impugned, thai a passage to the pole was completely barred out by the ice in that direction. In 1608, he again set sail, to decide the practicability of a north-east passage, then a favorite subject of debate in the maritime countries of Europe He saw North Cape on the 3d of June, and reached latitude 7o^ when he got among the ice. He now pushed on in tlie parallels of 74° and 75^ to the east> ward, and made the coast of Nova Zembla, in latitude 72° 25'; but, finding a further course impracticable lie returned, with the conviction that there was no hope of a north-east passage ; and here again time has proved his judgment to have been correct. The Dutch sent him, in 1609, to try this passage again ; but he gave it up, after passing Wardhuys, and returning past North Cape, crossed to the coast of America, where he searched for a passage, and discov- ered the bay on which New York now stands, and the magnihcent river named after him, the Hudson On the nth of April, 1610, Hudson set sail in a vessel HUDSON. 43 «l.ip touched a. the oZlytl ZT, ,"'";""• ■""' tlio nil, of Mav tlw. „ ? '''"'"''• ""''■ °" ■ooM aftonvards with a ml „f !°°"' ' """ '"' '" wc.wa.d .0. .,.' '■„:;;r„trr zr v'^ Diidson entered a port in f l.o ^ .i •"^'"^ kniod a ."a„.u,r;idt:r';r *;;tr*=^ again obliffed to n„f K.^i -I, ^ ^^' ""* ^^re .'e .,arborb„rfo« „s :^7i:^t' "".'^ '- "* where they found bopiT h / ' '"'°"'" '"'™n, .«o':tier.r;":rjdt:f'-«-„,a„d.'a„d proved to be fo^ n ' ° "'" """'"""-d, but it Oree,„a„dap;ea,td, .r, ""'"T I"" '»,"'"' ">»' a vast barrio,, of ice. • £ day " T Z". """'' "'"' saw Greenland Dcrfectiv „ T "ays Hudson, "we the.unwentdow due^^r and" ""' ' """ '"'» "'e"' »o, piyin. the h-fth d:;:rteri:T5.r''-"°*--^ Capo"Der,::?;':^poTr:d'„nr„ a„d north-west. «„ i^ptarea on the western side. Here 44 HUDSON. they saw a groat number of whales. They now made their course north-west, the wind preventing them from Bailing more to the north, and here they first lell in with the icebergs. At the end of June thoy saw an island, pe^ haps Resolution Island. Hudson would still have sailed more to the north, but the wind would not permit ; so he went south of the island, and found the current settinc to the west. They entered the stream, and were carried north west, until they fell in with ice, which was attached to the shore. Hudson then kept to the south and west again, through floating ice, upon which they found numerous seals. They now had a clear sea, and sailed until they again encountered icebergs, and floating pieces of ice, keeping north-weat. They saw an ice- berg overturn, and took warning from it not to approach too near them in future ; yet they were soon obliged to take shelter between two masses, owing to a storm, and there lie snug. On the cessation of the storm, they stood on, as the:» found It clear enough of ice around them to venture The.r course lay with the ice, and whenever it permitted them to make a passage they moved with it, though ' Btill enclosed. Hudson, trying to get clear of it by Bteenng south, found the more he tried the worse they were off, until he could go no further. Here the navi- gator himself was in despair, thinking they should never get out of it. He, therefore, brought out his chart, and showed the crew that they had sailed a hundred leagues further than any of their countrymen had gone before, and left it to them to eay whether they should proceed further or not. Some seem to have replied one way and some another, but there was evidently much growl- ing and discontent among thom. After much labor they got clear, and shaped their course north and north-west- It IS most probable that the commander, seeing the dis- HUDSON. 45 took hi ' °' '" "■^"' ^"^^^ "- --'■— -d to k H own course. He still seems to have relied up .Ins own resources anagues, one pomt of which they named Deepe's Cape, the other Wolstenholme's. At this isla..d ' ho ooat was se..t on sho.. to make discoveries. Those in t were o^^.■taken by a storm, but they succeeded n and,ug and climbing up the .-ocks, who' they ame o ome level ground, in which they found a herd of deer but could not get within musket-shot of them. 0„ 2 ■Bl-d they found plenty of fowl, a..d some exc lie herbage, also sorrel and scur^•y grass. They saw som hollow cells of Btoue, in which they found a quantity of 46 HUDSON. fowls huiiy up by the necks. The ship now fired a gun to call ofr the i)coplc who had landed, for a fog had come on. Upon returning on board, Hudson would not Btay to refresh on the island, as some of the crew recommended, but i)roceeded, his mind, no (^oubt, con- templating the discovery of the great sea on which he was about to enter. At this lime it was that the discontent, which had no . uoubt been increasing on board, was visited by an ex- ercise of the commander's authority. Some discussion, It appears, took place about entering a bay, and going out of it. On this occasion, Hudson is said to have revived some old grudge, and to have di8pla(;ed one Juet from the situation of mate, , and degraded the boatswain for words which had been spoken some time before, making Billet, or Bylot, his mute, and AVniiam Wilson his boatswain. The crew thought it harsh in Hudson to revive this old affair. They were obedient however, and sailed again in a northerly direction untQ they saw land, and then to the south, and so on from land to land, on the opposite side the straits. On Michaelmas day they entered a bay, which Hudson named Michaelmas Bay. They afterwards stood to the north until they came into shoal water, with thick foggy weather. They were now obliged to anchor, and so reman.od for eight days, when, the wind dropping, Hudson insisted on heaving the anchor up, against the- opinions of those on board. While the crew w(.re lifting the anchor, a sea struck the ship, and knocked all hands from the capstan, several of whom were much hurt. They lost an anchor, and would have lost all their cable, bad not the carpenter fortunately been by with an axe and cut it. They now stood to the south and south-west, through a sea clear of obstructions, but changing In soundings ^■:Ai HUDSON. 47 twelve ;„"',"t ,""'^ '""■ ""'' '""-"""> tat S 8ont to explore wore 'if (ir«/ country. The party r.r V T . "^^^ unsuccessful, but on tli.> 1 st f Noven^bor they found a place where they migh hlu •'o.r vessel aground. By the tenth day th'y wZ ^-on „, and began to look at their stock o'^pr vhL when they ound they n,ust be fed upon such I allow anco as would hardly keep in life, or last the to t^o •ij iiu couia, and onored a rew.arrl fr. fi,^„^ who added to the general stock, by kill"; t at , I aT.yth.ng serviceable for food. In this th^y ml ave .ad success, or their subsistence fro. Apdl, t " th ::;zz::r '"'''"''''''-'-'''' ^'-^^-^^ It appears that, on taking up their winter quarters it bad een proposed to Hudson to erect a hous ouZr' ptctLble"^"T;'e^"* '''' ''''''' ^^"^ -•"•'« '* -- practicable The severe northern winter had set in when he altered his n,ind, and desired the carpenter to put > .n hand. The latter said he neither c'ould no Tal t h "* '*• ""'^^" P"'-^-^^ t« strike hiZ ralhn^ h,m names, and threatened to hang him. T^e 48 HUDSON. carpenter nmdo Iuh rojoitulcr by tcllii.jr UmUini bo know hiH duty, — that ho waH no liouHo-carpenter. Snih, at leant, JH the story of Pricket, one of those who ca'ine homo in the vesBoI ; but the Hubsequei.t noble conduct of the carpenter, in relusing to dcHort IlndHo;), shown that the hitter nu.Ht have stood high in h.i esteem and aflection, notwithstandinpf this altercation. The house was ultimately built, but proved to bo of no use. The winter was intensely cohl, and the ship's com- pany ill provided with necessaries. Their snfleringg were great, and most of them were lamed, or some way injured. They eked out their provisions by wiM (bwl of several kinds, having taken more than a hundred dozen of "white partridges," as they styled them When these birds left in the spnng, they had swans, geese, ducks, and teal. When these had gone away they devoured moss, frogs, and buds. One of the crew having brought the buds of a tree full of some substance like turpentine, a decoction of it was made by the sur- geon for drink, and much case was experienced by applying it hot to their frozen limbs. While the spring lasted, about the time the ice was breaking up the savages visited them, and they trafficked with tliem and gave the crow furs in exchange for knives, looking' glas'jes, and buttons. Hudson now prepared to return home. He delivered out the last pound of bread to each man, just as they were preparing for along and perilous voyage, without provisions for the entire crew for more than ten days • and also gave what Pricket calls a " bill of .vturne '' that If ever they got home they might show it, - and he wept as he gave it to them. Fourscore small fish taken just afterwards, were a seasonable relief t.^ thein though but little towards satisfying their hunger beyond the moment. UUDSON 49 They now Hot «all, and came to anchor in tl.c «ca of that nnrnenHo bay, in wl.ich the d-Mcc.ero havinl ZrtZ H """■" ""'''"'" '""'^^' = "^^ ^=''<-'-- only zj'hL:;::.;''^"^^^'°^'''''^''^'^'^'^->^^nudso^ iiut a report cahunnic.ns of Hudson, for secretins .read was now spread a,non^ tho en,;. The 1 o"f te..t which had been for son.e ti.no excited by o Je GroZ a worthless fellow, whon. Hudson had befricnul Ck ' out into open n.utiny on the 21st of J . ' tL ship 8 company, both sick and well, were in berths d 1 persed generally two and two about the ship Ki' ono of the crew who was supposed to be ft'i „dTy fo n the hold by fastening down the hatches. Green then went and held the carpenter i„ conversation to amuse hnn while two of the crew, keep^ just before Hudson, and one, named W.Ison, behind lim bound h.s hands. Ho asked what the^ were ab^' :;::^it'r;f"'^^'-''"''''""^-^'-^''-«^^^ ^^ShoM::c':i::':^?T*'"^"^''^^''^ us Hwo . He came upon deck to Hudp ,n, whom he ound w.th h,s hands tied. Hudson was heard to caU |> the carpenter, and tell him he was bound. Two o the devo ed party, who were sick, told the mut noers theu knavery would be punish d. ThJv paid nl" a tent.on ; the shallop was hauled up to ''th? sid .'>n.o vessel, and the sick and lame wer'e made to ^ej vessel, asked them if they would not be ha.iffed when *.th them, prcfern«g to share the fate of Hudson and 60 HUDSON. I^:'J the 8>ck men. He den.anded his chest, which waa. ffiven lum, and put into the boat. The names of the persons put out of the sln'p wore Henry Hudson, John Hudsoa, Arnold Lodlo, Sydrack Faner, Phillip Stafll- Thomas Wodohouse, Adam Moore, Henry King, and Michael Bate. The carpenter contrived to get a musket, powder and shot, some pikes, an iron pot, some meal and a few other necessaries. The crew then cast the boat off the ship, loosened the topsails, and stood out to sea, steering to the eastward. The boat in which were Hudson and his companions was seen no more, uor was it ever heard of again. The mutineers now stood to the north-east, contrary to Juefs opinion, who was for steering north-west Ihe next day they had a storm, and ran into ice, where they remained fourteen days, locked up. In that storm the intrepid commander and his forlorn party in the boat may have perished. It is probable they either died of hunger at sea, or got out of their course, and perished in the storm. They might, indeed, have been starved on the shore, or killed by the aborigines. Th^ end of Hudson is a melancholy and affecting incident. His talents, courage, and perseverance, rank him among the first navigators of any age. In the comparative infancy of discovery in the northern regions, he des(,>rves to take the lead. Left in the great bay which he brought to light, the victim of treachery, he has not been for- gotten by posterity, like many of his contemporaries The mystery of his hite causes his name to be pro- nounced, even now, with pity, while his skill and courage make tlie man an object of our admiration, even in these times, when a northern navigation and wintering are not considered such extraordinary perils by the navigator. The ship continued her navigation homeward. Steer HUDSON. 51 .ng northeast the mutineers shaped their course for the capoH or headlands whore, as they supposed the wdd fowl frequented. Landing on oL oftW , Boarch of fowl, they fell in with a party of native^ wh lohaved so peaeeably that the Engiis.Len so „ J an traffic w,th them. For this purpose, they ran X «I..p .n as near to the land as was practicable and sen Charge of the boat, the rest of her crew, one of whom was Green, landed and mixed among the native. T ■ng them looking-glasses and other Article :^';:ddti: one of the savages came into the boat and attacked' Fr>cke w,th a knife. He defended himself, and ^ lead l n.ggle e„sue.i in which the savage was 'at las t , f actd t/ ' ^'"^^ '' '"^^ «-- - shore were attacked. Thomas and Wilson were stabbed in thl bowels; Perse and Green, both dreadfullv wo d d k Tt ti::^ ''^, ''^'■' ^^°^- J-P«d from t e rocks into the sea, and swam to the boat, where hold g the stern, he begged to be taken in ; Perse b^.. off the savages with a hatchet, and Green witl f .ent of a pike. The savages then t^^nhrLt/^ arrows. Green was killed on the spot ; Perso receivJ n..ny other wounds, as did all the od^rl, bu he p j off the boat, havir.g taken in Motor. Perse and Mot ! n In. back from an arrow, as the boat came round c^ v"X"" '■ T; ^"""^^' '''' '^' -^ p--- '« w mds S ''"'"' ''"^ ^''P' '^"^ '"^''^ d'^d of their tori t, T- "T ""^^ — 'y I'ands enough left owo k the slup through the entrance of the strait t" to rr ""'" "'" ^''^'' ^'- «'''P -ere obUged go ,n ,he boat and kill fowls for subs stence on the •'"'Klred, which they salted. They then sailed to ho 62 BAFFIN. .; * # Cape of God's Mercies, and thence bent tlioir ccnirse for Cape Desolation, in Greenland. But, the wind coming on adverse, thoy shaped their course for Ireland. They suffered, during the passage, the most dreadful extremi- ties of famine, allowing only half a fowl a day to each man, and considering it a luxury to have it fried with candles, of which a weekly distribution was made for that purpose. Ivet, now the sole survivor of the ringleaders in the atrocious conspiracy, sank under these privations. The last fowl was in the steep-tub, and the men were become nearly desperate, when sud- denly it pleased God to give them sight of land, which proved to be the north of Ireland. They complain that, on going ashore at Berohaven, they did not receive the sympathy and kindness which they so much needed ; nor was it unti' they had mortgaged their vessel that they obtained the meons of proceeding to Plymouth. Strange to relate, no attempt was made to bring the mutineers to trial ; some of them, indeed, were after- wards employed in making further explorations. Great hopes were entertained that the much-desired passage would be found leading out of Hudson's Bay ; and a good deal of controversy on the question arose, from time to time, among contending voyagers and their abettors. Between this period and 1616, those arms of the sea known as Sir Thomas Rowe's Welcome and Fox Channel were discovered ; and in the year just men- tioned Baffin sailed into and explored the vast bay, eight hundred miles long, and three hundred wide, named after him. For a long time his report of its great length was disbelieved, but later researches have confirmed the accuracy of his statements ; even the latitudes laid down by him are almost identical with those recently determined, witli all the advantage of Ba|)erior instruments. Among other opem'ngs, Baflia BAFFIN. d3 «»w Lancaster Sound, and, had he explored if P» , discoveries would h.ivo hon„ *• • "P'^"^®^ "» J^arry's years, a, the/ ad been^ "''"'''' '^^ '"» '■"°<''«<' rorgctcn N„rtl,«„ Th oS:„'t"' "^ *' ■°"^- •toe. and, i,.dccd, „„u, „i, h"; plrfir' "■" was, that no practicable opening J ,11 p^ '^T' e-s.cd, except that at Bchri^^* si ' p*' f"" period to about the middle of ... "^ ""« to the west of Hudson' t;J: ZZ^ f"', -*'" effort was directed ■ and .r„i "".""' P>>'"»s to which earlier navigate:' \T.X\St'°^''' T "™» later. In small rosseU „,V' / *™'' "'"' "ame burthen, they accrpthld^Cfe tlX" '° '"' '"™' Acted b, .avishl,-e,„ippea";;;*2s """ '"" hardy nav l^r, ° „d h^ f" *°' ''™ •«»*'' «>« frozen regl ^f Slir,,' Tr« '^P'"'^'^ '" 't» rewire tifeTerdw ' " ""'' "'"'' '""J'^-''^ 'hat evidenrrs;eri:re'~ri;:'"^t^'' =i:trorrr~^^^^^^^^^^ facts, .tatingTherwirr'''*™'"'"'''™''*^'! .iust as they' * ur;r Thi tSTf'r "^f -/««"i-. has been suegeSed W .1 ^ °°*''" »°'* '•'""«* cently made bf f Norw ™"''"''''' '''"■>™« '* ThesLy stmi ;c« XpUst:; ^'" «-'-• the Ar« Waiers Wd m""" "' "" ™*" *°- "' 54 BELICS OF BARENTZ. i% \}<:i mains of many a hardy mariner and of spirited ^eaders in the perilous search for the North Pole. Among the many daring men who have biaved the icy terrors of Polar navigation, none have been more dar- ing than William Barentz, whose expeditions wc chronielo earlier in this chapter. After twice returning ii. safety to his native Holland, a third time this intrepid explorer went forth into those frozcK wilds, and this proved his hist earthly enterprise; the expedition was disastrous in many respecfci*, but chiefly in the death of its brave leader and of many of his equally brave followers. On the ice-bound coast of S])itzbergcn, Barentz and his men found it necessary to land and spend a drca'-y winter, and here they built huts for shelter and made them as comfortable as possible for occupancy by furnishing them from their vessel. When the winter was over, they found tlieir vessel unfit for the voyage home, and being com- pelled to embark in their boats, had to leave their furni- ture, utensils, etc., in the huts. Three centuries nearly have passed away since the de- sertion of the quaint settlement. The years have come and gone over those silent witnesses to the presence of the ancient mariner and his sturdy crew. In all that time, as we may believe, no living thing has invaded the sacred solitude of this spot, haunted with the memories of that coming, long ago, of Barentz, and his men. Possibly, from a distance, the walrus and the seal may have gazed upon it, and from his rapid flight in the ether some Arctic bird of passage may have turned a curious eye upon the scene. But no dust has settled there ; no moth has stolen in tc bring decay. Even the elements seem to have abated their severity and to have protected with a kindly hand the legacy left to their undivided keeping. The sequel almost partakes of the character of one of those tales vvherewith the princess in the "Arabian Nichts" deferred her threatened fate by whiling away the tedious KKLICS OF nAltUN-TZ. 55 > raiiiigs of l,cr cruel c„|i|,|, Or„.,l..„- ., C»|.tai„ Curls,.,, !«„„ «l,r „.a„ri i 1 ■>'°"u"™' const of S„itH,o,-..o„ H,.l , ' "l"l> to this icy tt. rollc, of the I, c4, L , I Tb , ■■'" ° '"■■""'' '"y of .hoes were i\nunl wlm-h T! n / '""^ ''''" " ^''''' can-icd to Europe „„ Carisc,.. r" T ! 'Zre"" «..■,»,« t„„d, of p...„o, i„ ,,i, rc,elatior oh S'Z wrctt of the long |)aat. "" I ' s CHAPTER II RUSSIAN KXPL0R4TI0NS.-DESHNEPF.- EXPEDITIONS OF 1711 -FRUIT- LESS EFFORTS. -LArTEFP.-BEHRINO.- HIS SHIPWRECK AND DEATH -FATE OF THE SURVIVORS. - SCHAtAROPF.- SLEDGE BXPEDITION. - ADMIRAL VON WRANQELL'S EXPEDITIONS. Hitherto we have been chiefly occupied with the explorations on and around Northern America, and we now come to the history of those along the continent of Asia, the northern limit of which extends over a space of 145° of longitude. The discovery and survey of this vast region is due entirely to the Russians ; for, although other nations attempted tlie passage, they penetrated ne further than the Karskoie Sea a'^id Cape North on the east. The first knowledge of the coun- tries which here bound the polar basin was, as in the case of the other continent, derived from private adven- turers, who undertook journeys into those desolate regions in hope^ of a profitable trade in furs, skins, and ivory. Russian traders, sailing from the White Sea and mouth of the Petchora, voyaged as far as Obi and the lennissei ; their vessels, similar to those of early British navigators, were little better than shallops, and it is impossible not to be struck with the labors of those whose chief resource was indomitable perseverance. The first endeavors under government authority were made about the year 1600; and trading-stations were established at the mouths of most of the Jar^'ci' f',i'ti> RUSSIAN EXPLORATIONS. _ DESHNEFF. 57 rivers, with tl,e double view of exploration and of sub oct,ng the natives to Russian authority. The Le,t before la 0, by parties sent under Cossaek leaders to col Oct nbute who at the same time fell in" i h th" Tclmktehes, and heard their reoorfs of ,-.. T , ofl- the coast. The earliest .tL'r/! , ■^"'^' '^"'° nf tl.n IT I eai^Hest attempt to sail to eastward two ' „ ^"'' "'^^ '""'^ '" ''''' -'d repeated in tl e wreci.ed, except one commanded bv Desh get round to .1.0 mouth „T,1,„ IT °'T' ™ '» coa.e, eo .„.e ror .a.o'iLl";\r;rrJ: T/S nvor lh,s ,s the only occasion on which such a vovai has been made ; and to np«f.n«ff j 1 • ^^yago ^>olong.s the honor of l^^teVt Lr"'7'"r navigators from the Arctic lea to te pt^/'lt? ''av,ng proved, at a period much earlier tt' ,3 com n^only supposed, that the American and aJV nonts are not united. ^'"*'"^'^» ^nd Asiatic conti- Other expeditions followed ; the Rn-,r T i a ioen ■ nnH f^ „i* • "^^•^ Islands were '>l-'\ ■f.Vs- m 68 FRUITLESS EFFORTS.- LAPWFF.-BEIIhlXO. Empress Anne, when the RuHsian admiralty fitted cut three expcditiouB " to obtain a correct kiiowledy hazy On the 18th of July, Behring, while w.-'fing for the ll- f r ' n '"^^* '""ff't"J«'ft-c-'nAwat8ka. Three days before Captam Tschirikov, who commanded the latitude, and oO' longitude, from Awatska. He ent oL shore h.B long-boat and shallop with seventeen In to observe the coast, but neither the one nor the other ever return.] Upon a consultation, in consequen e Be Irl r th " "" T'^^' *^ ^^*"^" '^ K.mts'chatk : Behung, ,n the mean tune, endeavored to explore the coast he first saw and to take in water. He ^e'tsa , on the 21st of July, determined to run as high as 60» north He found n unpossible to advance direct%he coast cot s antly runn.ng o„t to the south-west. He found h.m- eelf m a labyrmth of islands which bordered the conU nent, so that often, when he thought himself dear he discovered land on the larboard and starboard b^w He was then obliged to drop astern, and find a passaje that way. encountering great difilcultic. from ca':: aid On the 3d of September, while still among those glands they discovered some of the inhabitants by whom they were well received. The natives presented ;:^w Uitt:" '" R«BBians,-the only provision :;!S ,, . -^ "*^" '^^^^^ on a fishuig expedition aa their canoes were drawn up on the shore f but no fenmle or habitations were seen, their dwellings probably leTnl on the mainland. They were unarmed. A^r some o her communications with the natives, and encounteri g 02 HKmUNG. coiitriiry wimls, ino IluriHiuiiH were ovcrtivkoa by a vlo lent storm, wliiclj laNtctl for sovcntoon days. They round, tliouglj tlioy had not kept up thoir Hails, that tlioy had boon driven back to 18° 18' oC latitude. Tho Hcurvy now began to appear among them ; hardly a day passed without the death of one of tho crew, and liands enough, in health, wcru scarcely left to manujuvre the vessel. A return to Kamtschatka was resolved upon. After discovering and naming several capes and islands, they saw two which, by an unfortunate mistake, they took for tho two first of the Kourilo Isles. Uy this they erred in their reckoning. They in vain took their course to tho west; tho shore of Kamtschatka remained invisi- ble, and there was soon no hope, so late in the season, of making a port in that country. The crew, notwith- standing their suflerings from cold and continued rain, attended to their duty. The scurvy had already so far advanced that the steersman was conducted to the helm by two other invalids, who happened still to have the use of their legs, by supporting him under tho arms. When he could no longer steer, from suffering, ho was succeeded by another no better able to execute the labor than himself Thus did tho miserable crew waste away into death. They were obliged to carry few sails, for they luul not hands to reef them, if at any time it should be required ; and such as they had were nearly worn out, so that tho slightest storm was sufliicient to shiver them into threads ; in this case they could not be replaced from the stores, for want of sailors able to bend now ones. The rain was soon succeeded by snow. The nights now grew longer and darker, and they had now, in addition to their former precautions, to guard against shipwreck. Tho fresh water on board was rap. BWIRINO. 63 tl.0 4,1, „f LZZZll ""T" '''""" '""• "" tl,o w„,w.r,l w ' Z ""'"" f""'"""""l •" -»il I lov came ,„ »„.,„ „, ,„j, J., , rc„„c verTi T "' .'"'^ -islil o'clock i„ ,1,0 „„„„• J r"-'' ■ ' """ ' 1 could only ,00 tZ ZZ r '^"'" "''"'"""'■ «"<« «..0W. As Zr drew To ■""■"','"""■ '^'"•'"■'"' ""I' wreck in tlio dark uT. '"'"''' '° »'">■ .»rda,o „„ .,„ ':ii 'ii „T,"„T,r, ;;.:'" "■» l-.« l>"'Jy mouth and gums bldv Sol -Tk '''''' '""^ '^' nervous, and terrified af'fh , . ^''' ^^'^^^'^^ ^^^^^ Others Boeme t f ft Lt;^1^:,^*;r"' '''' '''''• -Ives in danger. Tl ey , f '/ f ''''r' *'""'^ *'^«'"- they heard the order r gl" on ^h"" r^'^ "'^" selves, and believed ^.^7!:: ^I^^^:^'^ leavmg the interior of the shin nn.if. f "'^ ^^11. On »ir of U,e h„,d. and ooj, „* 1 1 11°"; ™'™'"""' tliey spcclily expired " "traospl.ere. "-> feet a» ™e„ a, ^til^e o^'eSJifr'"" °° 66 BEHRING.— HIS DEATH. : -f, eers of the sliip, wlio were obliged to be on deck to look into everything. The captain, alone, of all the officers, died. Ilia age and temperament inclined him to inactivity. He took his friends, at last, for his ene- mies, and some could not come into his sight, on that account, towards the close of his illness Two of the officers took the disease by remaining on board in the bad air of the hold, after the crew had quitted the ship, but they both recovered. Behring died on the 8th of December, lUl, on the island which now bears his naine. lie had a great passion for voyages and travels in his youth, and had seen many parts of the world, and a great deal of ser- vice. In a previous voyage he had sailed through the strait that bears his name. lie had served under Peter the Great; was made lieutenant in 1707, and captain- lieutenant in 1710. He was thus a seaman from his cradle, and was chosen to command the expedition from Kamtschatka on account of his previous services. He left his name a record to the end of time in the straits that separate Asia and America. Ilis death was singular. He was almost buried before he breathed his last sigh. His men placed him in the most commodi- ous spot, the day after the disembarkation of the sick commenced. He was borne with great care into a sort of tent, upon or rather in the sand, and as well secured as possible. Every day he detached the loose sand from the sides of the place where he lay, so that he soon covered his feet with it. Those who attended him cleared it away, but at last he would not sufier them to doit any more. He showed anger if it were attempted, and by degrees had so accumulated it about him that when he died he was half covered. They buried him near the spot ; and the island is his laonument, bearing his name in the charts of all nations. FATE OF THE SURVIVORS 67 Not long after the death of the cantain +1, « • -w their vessel wrecked before thdrVe; 7:" their only means of escape from thl ZT' ' which they were winteriL Istorm '^ '^°' '° 9Qth i.F n^ 1 . =• -^ storm aroae on iht^ ^9th of December, the cable snapped a,.d flT f came ashore almost close to whore the P • "^ living. In the morning she Tva7fol/V -'^ "''" or ten feet in sand, and' ompleTe ^ J ^tor 'r^Th! "'^ had spoiled a great prooortion ^/., '!*"'''^'^^- ^he sea had boon oast. The Booo„rt„ f , ./ "°''''' """^ »;3.onco. Pa,..o, ^0^'. if *;, ,:r- °' -^ absence of three div^ r,„« . explore. After an had soon a g«. number oV;,":! J,!";.''"' ''"^ .chatka soa-boavers. They h,d al.T? '" '^""'■ her of blue and white fox^s, whio :ho°wo7 *™' """" ear npon „b,e™g the„. 'li ttrconeTuS";: i*..d. w°fh The dLir?orj"hf: '"r-- °^ *» opposite side from that where tZ h^d '^ '" "" Thoy (bund a high hill ,1 ro„ or 1 1 ™""' °" ='""■"■ Boa, and, asoondlg o^j "/J";/ '""«"" f™ the eastward and westfJd of f , """ '"'"' •" «« ;.-on .hey had no dtu th: "^Z^TJ^rn" ^;;.d^no trees, e.eept a few willoL oTtttd JofT Having thus satisfied thomsplvos +r,«„ island, they nroceedpo to and the cntL JZ wt et "'oTi,:'':: ^ '"^ "»*■ wreck to obtain „ato™,s fc, f^U™,'""^ "" "^ on hi, return, by being efeS; ' t'™r„fTr.='' -ew ship. It wL foftvZ, ,'"'", '° °°°"'™'=' *<>!' At the begi„„i„rof J„?o tt "^ '^ ""*<'" '"°''^- the fran,e\e,n/co"p,e e ThTn t °' "''""■■"« "^ deck, a cabin was b^ Hton L """ """' ""'' care toconstriirt 1 hr>a+ +« -^'ley took we or howin;; ■ ,: ':v:z:zr *"* '^'-'' ^^-^ Ae had been bnil, The sh^f "' " " ''"P ■>■« °f "W^h ;-e, the, e^pioyer^of trtT-r^::'^",^" woathor was fortunately calm for 8,\ d Jl^ . ^'^ «•- they got in the malt and rudd ' Zi '"""^7^'^^ took in their provisions rh ^^ ''*'^^' *"^ wrater All h ^.^™- ^heir vessel drew five feet •^ater. All hav.ng embarked, they set sail on the lelh! 70 SCHALAROFF. t f, I They cleared the rocks by the aid of their oars, and continued to row until they were about three leagues at eea, when they hoisted their sails with a slight breeze from the north. They found that their ship sailed and worked as well as if she had been built by able work- men. On the 18th, they had a strong gale against them from the south-we&t. The fear of a storm made them fling a part of their ballast overboard. On the 25th, they came in sight of Kamtschatka, entered the Bay of Awatska the next day, and on the 27th anchored in the port of Petropalaiiski. Tn 1160, SchalarofT, a merchant of Yakutsk, whose name is venerated throughout Siberia, determined on trying whether the passage attempted by Bohring could or coul i not be accomplished. He persevered during three seasons, in defiance of mutiny and hardships innu- merable. He, too, was wrecked on the desolate coast seventy miles east of Cape Chelagskoi, and, with all his crew, died of starvation. Three years later, Sergeant ADdrejefiF conducted a sledge expedition across the ice to tiie Boar Islands ; his reports, which were much exagger ated, led shortly afterwards to the accurate survey of this and the adjacent country. Cook's exploration, of which we shall hereafter speak, led to another expe- dition on the part of the Russians, which sailed from the Kolyma in 1787, under Captain Billings; but the attempts made to navigate either to the east or the west were both defeated. Further efforts were made at inter- vals during the firstquarter of the present century, some of them mainly to search for the northern continent, whose existence, far in the Polar Sea, had so often been the subject of rumor. Last we come to the expeditions commanded by Lieutenant Anjou and Admiral von Wrangell, carn'ed on also by means of dogs and sledges, from the yeat VON WRANGELL. 71 1820 to :823; tho latter taking the mouth of the Kolyma for his starting-point, the former the river lana These undertakings were especially promoted by the Emperor Alexander, and were conducted with all the care and skill warranted by an advanced state of science and philosophy. They failed but in one par- ticular—the discovery of the northern continent. How diligently and perseveringly this was searched for 18 best proved by the narrative of perils endured even to the risk of life, in the arduous enterprise Three times was the frczen surface of the sea traversed with- out leading to any definite result ; on the fourth jour- ney, m March, 1823, Von Wrangell reached the latitude of 10" 51', longitude U5° 27' west -one hundred and five wersts in a direct line from tho mainland. Sound- ings gave a depth of twenty-two and a half fathoms ; the ice here was thin and weak. More than once the party had only been saved from breaking through by the speed at which the dogs travelled over it. In the distance a screen of dense blue vapor- a certain indication of open water — was visible, on which the admiral remarks : " Notwithstanding this sure token of the impossibil- ity of proceeding much further, we continued to go due north for about nine wersts, when we arrived at the edge of an immense break in the ice, extending east and west further than the eye could reach, and which at the narrowest part nvas more than a hundred and fifty fath- oms across. * * * * ^,,^r^ climbed one of the loftiest ice- hills, where we obtained an extensive view towards the north, and whence we beheld the wide, immeasurable ocean spread before our gaze. It was a fearful and magmficent, but to us a melancholy spectacle. Frag- ments of ice of enormous size floated on the surface of the agitated ocean, and were thrown by the waves with awlul violence against the edge of the ice-field on the 72 VON WRANG£LL. further side of the channel before us. The colllaionB wore 80 tremendous, tliat large maascs were every instant broken away ; and it was evident that the por- tion of ice wliich still divided the channel from the open ocean would soon bo completely destroyed. Had we attempted to have ferried ourselves across upon one of the floating pieces of ice, we should not havo louud firm footing upon our arrival. Even on our own side, fresh lanes of water were continually forming, and extending in every direction in the field of ice behind us. With a painful feeling of the impossibility of overcoming the obstacles which nature opposed to us, our last hope van- ished of discovering the land, which we yet believed to exist." On returning from this extreme limit of their adven- turous journey, the party were placed in a situation of extreme risk. " We had hardly proceeded one worst," writes M. von Wrangell, " when we found ourselves in a fresh labyrinth of lanes of water, which hemmed us in on every side. As all the floating pieces around us were smaller than the one on which we stood, which was seventy-five fathoms across, and as we saw many certain indications of an approaching storm, I thought it better to remain on the larger mass, which offered us somewhat more security ; and thus we waited quietly whatever Providence should decree. Dark clouds now rose from the west, and the whole atmosphere became filled with a damp vapor. A strong breeze duddenly sprang up from the west, and increased in less than half an iiour to a storm. Ev( ■ v moment huge masses of ice around us were dashed against each other, and broken into a thousand fragments. Our little party ro mained fast on our ice-island, which was tossed to and fro by the waves. We gazed in most painful inac- tivity on the wild conflict of the elements, expecting VON WRANOELL. ?6 every moment to be swallowed up. Wo had been three Img hours in this position, and still the inuHS of ice beneath us held together, when suddenly it was caught by the storm, and hurled against a largo field of ice. The crash was terrific, and the mass beneath us was shattered into fragments. At that dreadful moment. wh(«n escape seemed impossible, the impulse of self' preservation implanted in every living being saved us Instinctively we all sprang at once on the sledges, and urged the dogs to their full speed. They flew across the yielding fragments to the field on which we had been stranded, and safely reached a part of it of firmer character, on which were several hummocks, and wnera the dogs immediately ceased running, conscious, appa- rently, that the danger was past. We were saved : wo joyfully embraced each other, and united in thanks to God for our preservation from such imminent peril." More than once during this trip the party heard from the Tchuktches that land could be seen far away in the northern seas. The part of the coast alluded to wag Capo Jakan, which the explorers afterwards visited ; but, although "they gazed long and earnestly on the horizon, in hopes, as the atmosphere was clear, of dis- corning some appearance of the northern land," they "could see nothing of it," gi^^fe^-' ICB-UAFT. CHAPTER III. OrrRR OF PARUAMtMT.— lIKARNK'fl JOIIRNKY. — PIIIITS. — NKI.SOV. — COOK. — MACKKSZIK. — 8IK JOHN UOS»'S PIIWT VOYAOK. — DOCIUN AND FRANKLIN. — I.ANOKROUS ilTUATION 0» TUB TRRMT AND OOROTIIBA. In 1743 the Hritisli Parliuineiit oflbrod a toward of twenty thousaiid pound.s to any ono who should Hail to tho north-west by way of Ihidsun'H Strait, which passage, it was declared, would bo " of great benefit and advan- tago to the kingdom." Ik-tvveen 1769-72 Mr. Ilearno undertook three overland journeys acrosa the territories of tho Hudson's Bay Company, to the shores of the Polar Sea. lie failed in the first two attempts ; in the third he succeodod in reaching a largo and rapid river, — tho Coppermine, — and followed it down nearly to its mouth; but, as there is reason to believe, without actually view- ing tho sea. The proof of tho existence of tho river was the most important result of Mr. Ilearne's labors ; for such scientific observations as ho attempted are loose and unsatisfactory. In the following year (1773), in consequence of com- munications made to the Royal Society on tho possi- bility of reaching the North Polo, Captain Phipps (after- wards Lord Mulgrave) was sent out with two vessels to cfTect this interesting object. He coasted the eastern shore of Spitzbcrgen to 80" 48' of latitude, and wan there stopped by the ice. AVith Phipps on this expe- dition was Nelson, tho future naval hero of England, then a mere boy. Young as ho was, ho was on one occasion appointed to command a boat, sent out to I'liippa. 77 ex|.Ir.ro a passage into tho opon wat.-r If mcatifl of saving ^r.otl.er l,o«f a " '^'*» *^* On., of .„c „„i,L I, J ::,, «'::.;;::'"?' """f ^ "'iimal lui8 HO hiunun-liko .„ .v ^'^ "" "^'"^' «o ul.0 in tl,orc/n ;:?""""" ^'^ ^"""»-'--e. the pa«HionB of 1 un.rtv T, """" ''' '^'"'''^^'' '"-« ^^ «-itl. tho utmost diiliculfv tl f f ""' ^"^ '^ ^"^^ tl'om fnun Htuvin-. or "oI^k " "''"' "^"''^ ^^^'^'«"t "P : and tl.o waln.s ifr '^. '''•■' ^'" '^••'«"" -''^'"o forcd, .lisporsc ;i ti!''''"^ ^"'^""''■« *'- -in mo.t daring manner *' " ''^'''"^ '"■"'««'^' i« « For a time Captain Pl.ipp^ ^,3 so surrounded hj ice. ;^^^Crr-r— rjTt.:- 78 COOK. — MACKENZIE. the ice. But on the 9th the ships were moved a little through some small openings ; and in the course of the day the J got past the boats, and took them on board ugain. On the morrow a favorable wind sprang up ; all sail was set, and, after forcing their way through much heavy ice, the ships cleared it, and gained the open sea. The season was now so far advanced that nothing more could be attempted, and the expedition returned to England. In 1116 Cook sailed on the fatal expedition which cost England her famous navigator, with instructions to at- tempt the passage of the Icy Sea from Behring's Strait to BaflQn's Bay. The clause of the act above referred to, wherein Hudson's Strait was exclusively specified, was altered to include " any northern passage" for ships ; and five thousand pounds was further voted to any one who should get within one degree ui' the pole. Cook, with all his perseverance, could not penetrate beyond Icy Cape, latitude 70° 20', where he found the ico stretch- ing in a compact mass across to the opposite l jntinrfnt, which he also visited, sailing as far as Cape North, on the coast of Asia. It would appear that cxpectatioiiu prev.ailcd of the enterprising mariner's success ; for h vessel was sent to Baffin's Bay to wait for him, iu 1777, in charge of Lieutenant Pickersgill. One other journey within this century remains to be Loticed — that by Mackenzie, under sanction of the Hud- son's Bay Company, with objects similar to those cf Ilearne. In 1789 he left Fort Chipewyan, crossed Slave Lake, and descended the Mackenzie River, a stream of much greater magnitude than the Coppermine, to an island whore the tide rose and fell. But, as in the case of his predecessor, we have no certainty that he reached the ocean. Rivers, however, play an important part in Arctic discovery ; and it was something gained to know ROSS AND PARRY. 79 hat the Hoa could be reached by their n.eans. Wo mav here obBorve, once for all, that these land exped^ ions Jhose pr.me object has been to determine the northern TatT 1 f T"'' "^ "^* *" ^« confounded wh Ihe attemp s to discover the north-west passage The result of these discouragements was a cessation of .aval researches, which continued for many yea s p at. '^^'t e' ^'^"^^^, *°^' ''^^^' - -^<^- -d •:;.: w ch cu off T7"-T ''"^ ''•^"^ ««"*-"•- before wliich cut off the Danish colonies in Greenland fmn, comn.un,cation with the mother country. L 18,6- , to Greenland whalers reported the sea to be clea L; .ce than at any former time within their know ledTo This fact engaged the attention of tlie British A .31. and the Council of the Royal Societ;^:^ 'ot X ^^ regio s Iheir reply was favorable ; and in 1818 tw-. expeditions were fitted out- the o;. to sc^r tl north west passage, the other to reach the pole Ca, ward lauy, ui the vessels Isabella and Alexander described J; n ^ '''""'"' '^" ^'''* '''""'""^ osc.ibed by Luflin as existing at the head of the vast bay which he so diligently explored ; and in c^^vil ou these instructions, the commander; fou d ," Z f - applaud the care and perseverance of the a o ntv .ator w ,,,, ,,^^^ ^^^^^^ huili:' V ars! t must be remembered that we are now treating of a nod when science put forward its imperati cL" L than a meagie -'''art of a previously-unexplored coast ^fntftr"""^ 'T ^"""^^^'^ and'the:: iXt 'tants. Astronomy, geology, meteorology, magnetism natural history, were all clamorous for nfw fact", a" f"; 80 BOSS AND PARRY. Batisfactory tests of those already known ; and not only raen of science, but the public at large, looked with deep interest to the results. The open state of the 8ef\ greatly facilitated the pur- poses of the expedition. On the 18th of April the navi- gators sailed down the Thames, and by the end of the month were off the Shetland Islands. On the f.l.j of May they came in view of Cape Farewell, round ^vhich, as usual, were floating numerous and lofty icebergs of the most varied forms and tints. On the 14th of June they reached the Whale Islands, where they were informed by the governor of the Danish settlement that the past winter had been uncommonly severe ; that the neighboring bays and straits had been all frozen two montlis earlier than usual ; and that some of the channels northward of his station were still inaccessible, owing to the ice. On the 17th of June, in the neighborliood of Waygat Island, an impenetrable barrier obliged the discoverers to stop their course, making themselves fast to an iceberg, and having forty-five whale-ships in company. Observations made ashore proved this island to be misplaced on the maps by no less than five degrees of longitude. On the 1th of August, in the same latitude, a heavy gale sprang up, which, driving the ice against the vessels, Euide a display of its terrible power. Providentially, when instant destruction was expected, the mass receded, and the ships, owiiig to the extraordinary strength of their construction, escaped without material injury. Proceeding along a high mountainous coast, the expedition came to a tribe of Esquimaux, wh(;, of all luman beings, seemed to live in a state of the deepest seclusion. They had never before seen men belonging to the civilized world, or to a race different from their own. The first party whom the navigators approached 80 BOSS AND PARRY. Batisfactory tests of those already known ; and not only men of science, but the public at large, looked with deep interest to the results. The open state of the sea groatly facilitated the pur- poses of the expedition. On the 18tli of April the navi- gators sailed down the Thames, and by the end of the month were off the Shetland Islands. On the 27th of May they came in view of Cape Farewell, round which, as usual, were floating numerous and lofty icebergs of the most varied forms and tints. On the 14t'i of June they reached the Whale Islands, where they were iiiformed by the governor of the Danish settlement that the past winter had been uncommonly severe ; that the neighboring bays and straits had been all frozen two months earlier than usual ; and that some of the channels northward of his station were still inaccessible, owing to the ice. On the 17th of June, in the neighborhood of Waygat Isiand, an impenetrable barrier obliged the discoverers to stop their course, making themselves fast to an iceberg, and having forty-five v/hale-ships in company. Observations made ashore proved this island to be misplaced on the maps by no less than five degrees of longitude. On the 7th of August, in the game latitude, a heavy gale sprang up, which, driving the ice against the vessels, made a display of its terrible power. Providentially, when instant destruction was expected, the mass receded, and the snips, owing to the extraordinary strength of their construction, escaped without material injury. Proceeding along a high mountainous coast, the expedition came to a tribe of Esquimaux, who, of all luman beings, seemed to live in a state of the deepest Beclusion. They had never before seen m.en belonging to the civilized world, or to a race different from their own. The first party whom the navigators approached ROSS AND TARRY. Showed every sicrn of alarm, dreading as ,v.« n wards understood, a fatal inliuence fro™ 'th. ^^^' or beings who. ti.ey regarded al Z .TJ;"" known species. They soon, however acJuL/ """ confidence, and gave the n'sual p - of o T bv f T'" free v,,th whatever they could cL. ^ '""'""« the general usage, theyi^^l ;: 7„::^;, T"^'"^^ powerful teams of dotrs • thofr nl V ^^ ^^^''^'^ ^"fJ Tly .ejooled with horro,- ,l,o pr„Cd "^vl r'T ' cult, Bwoetmoats, or snirif^ ■ . , '"'=""=» "' '■■«• from various spec esof S ,', '"° .' "' " """"'•^'^ Captain Ho,, s v jed Uv ,lt°"^ *""""' """■■■ P"'"'"- lt.e »„„wy covering olCrilrrr '"""'' "'■""«''■ wl.ite for a tint ofdoep t i^L" . T^St'lr""" Ca,ffp;:^:,rrii--:cr.;ri:-- enclosed byLnd or ob hn'.^T'''' *' ^^ ^'^'»" ^''-^^^ S(unKls very quicMy Cuh , ''"^"''«''"« an^' Whale -trance, cc^i:;;i^;^7^^P^-''».. even t.^^ a.Hl to afford no hope o a p J.at A t' "' "'"' '^^' «tretched towards ho north ^n A' ''' "P^""'"^''' they could not, i„ this hi r Tl ^" "^""^"°^ '^^' favorable as t; th ^hf^Vh t:' ''' '■""^''^^^^^^ -'^ next to Sir Thon^as Sm,t ' « '" ''''^- ^« ^'^^e scribed as the l! , " " ' ""'' ^''"^'^ ^^^^ ^e- :bese coasts. ThrwasT' r/' •''"" whole circuit of C """' '^^^'"^^^ ^'th greater atteutic n ; r Wl. 82 ROSS AND PARRY but Captain Ross satisfied himself that he iiad distinctly seen ii, at the distance of eigiiteen leagues, completely enclosed by land. lie soon arrived at an extensive bay, which had hitherto been unobserved ; afterwards to that which Baffin called Alderman Jones's Sound ; but in respect to both, the ice at their entrance, and tho apparent boundary of high land in the interior, led, as in tho other instances, to an unfavorable conclusion. Tho season was now somewhat advanced, the end of August approached, tho sun set after an uninterrupted day of two months and a half, and a thick fog rendered the lengthening nights more gloomy. The land, seen at some distance, consisted of very high and steep hills, presenting, however, some spots fit for human habita- tion. An opening forty-five miles wide, to the soutli- ward of a promontory which was named Cape Charlotte, was decided against on the uaual grounds. On the 30th of August tlie expedition came to a most magnificent Inlet, bordered by lofty mountains of peculiar grandeur, while the water, being clear, and free from ice, pre- sented so tempting an appearance, that it was impossi- ble to refrain from entering. This channel, which soon proved to be Lancaster Sound, was ascended for thirty miles, during which run officers and men crowded the topmast, filled with enthusiastic hope, and judging that it iiflbrdcd a much fairer prospect of success than any of those so hastily passed. Captain Ross, however, eoon thought that he discovered a high ridge stretching directly across the iidet; and though a great part of it was deeply involved in mist, a passage in this direction was by him judged to be hopeless. The sea being open, however, the commander proceeded ; but about twelve o'clock, Mr. Beverley, the assistant-surgeon, came down from the crow's nest, and stated that he had seen the land extending very nearly across the entire BUCHAN AND FRANKLIN. Day. ITereupon, it is said nil u oven 1,- ,„„ LiJg^^- ^^.^Zl.^T """""""'i- ■i.».i"c.„ aa. ac„: ',:: M -Jon',, '°, "°'","'"' '■« !^-.i .-.» oppo:4":;„r;T; : a£ T'\ ^"'" >ng iinsottled, he madn fl.„ .• , '''"'"'<''^ *''«" l^ecom- o"t of Lancaster Sound '"'' '^ ''''' *^« ^««-J« orn shore, withont sooinl "'""'^ "'""^ ^''« ^««t- '-•qual promise C„2„r^,:"fr^"''''^'' ^^"''^^'^ '"■''ff-n-tude ; but, as T cou d 1 T ,""' ""' ''""'^'^ '"» ''^titudos of Iludaol' bT; -t ; ."i'^, "^^' "" '"^''- ■ P-sago into the Arctfc ^1 ."f ''"'« chance of a '•ore, some of these shL?' '"' «"rveying, the^ . October. The c2 ' '''''"'"^ ^''""^ ^^''^rly in n.ost decided con c.: Zl!^ '"f ^"^ ""^-' '- ''eon perfectly correc ani tit T ' '""''^^''^-^ had I'ay, aflnrding no en ' * Lancaster Sound was a «ven any st 5t e.ir.?? """ '"^ ^'^■^^'^'•" ^^a. If '00 with which it is filled ^'^''' ^" ^^^count of the ^'^'^-•^' the oxpeditlrrs ,^tdtSi^"^;^ '»' ^-ogard to whose fate so mucZ n ^ ^'•'^"khn, si.bse.ment years exc til . T"\Pf ''^ '"t«'-e«t ^as in a« midshipman of ePor^ '" "^^^' '" ^•'^'••^ "^« ployed by Cant-un P ^ ^'^P'^'^^' ""^ of the ships em- -I.P..nu3,a.mid.pmTnt^d"miS:.."ra:^ RJ nUCIlAN AND FRANKLIN !80l to 1808, lie wuh in tlio floct with .VcIhpm at the litittic of Copciiliugcri. lie wiiH next appointed luttiiig- tieiitciiaiit in tlio li<-(irunl ; and waH lieutenant oi' tlio Helifioplion in tlio battle of Traliilji^ar, in IHOf), and alwo in tli. '^ " 1 -y wmruHCH. ln the courHe of six or seven hours ^ The diHcovery ships passed sK.wly through the small 8.0... Ihe progress through such a labyrinth of frozen cr r:,rn:tT^'''"r'""^'"''.^^ ^■■^"^- ^''^ "«^-- -" crew (lid not tiie of watching the sceno r. . + • B^.y thus desc..H,es the genial i:;:::LcS^" Ve.y ew of „s had ever seen the sun at midnight and this ...ght happening to be particularly clear ht h . rod disc, curiously distorted by .-efract on 'n « "' The r,.ys were too oblique to illuminate more than the inequalities of the floes and f-.H;. *i or d,st„rw „y .„„ „„„,„„, „ j^r f t J a :r KuuLiii g as If with precious metals " ">««>U8. or ..he l,ab,ts a„J character of the «lr„. : .3>: . J>/ S£ii*4ii*.y IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) 1.0 li!! I.I ■ 50 ""'== 2.5 2.2 *^ 1^ ^ !: 1^ III 2.0 u ,. — — i.8 1.25 1.4 J4 ^ 6" - ► Photographic Sciences Corporation 23 WEST MAIN STREET WEBSTER, N.\. 14580 (716) 872-4503 tv^^.. ^>\ #Qj\ " " %" IP< (p- w. l/.s 86 BUCHAN AND FRANKLIN Lieut. Bcechey gii^es, after frequent intercourse with vliem, a very interesting account. Their affoction for tl.oir young, and their unflinching courage in defending ihnni, are remarkable ; not moro so their coirpassionatc conduct toward a wounded companion, wliom they will -.ever leave till carried off to a place of safety ; and 3ven the young ones on such occasions will turn fiercely against the boats of the pursuers. A single instance will suffice to show the care and affection bestowed on their young. " We were greatly amused by the singular and affec- tionate conduct of a walrus towards its young. In the vast sheet of ice that surrounded the ships there were occasionally many pools ; and, when the weather was clear and warm, animals of various kinds would fre- quently rise and sport about in them, or crawl from thence upon the ice to bask i . the warmth of the sun. A walrus rose in one of these pools clooe to the ship, and, finding everything quiet, dived down and brought up its young, which it held by its breast by pressing it with its flipper. In this manner it moved about the pool, keeping in an erect posture, and always directing thd face of the young toward the vessel. On the slightest movement on board, the motlier released her flipper and pushed the young one under water ; but, when every- thing was again quiet, brought it up as before, and for a length of time continued to play about in the pool, to the great amusement of the seamen, who gave her credit for abilities in tuition which, though possessed of con- siderable sagacity, she hardly merited." On one occasion, some of tiie crew of the Trent, having wounded a walrus, took to their boat, when they were assailed by a large number of walruses. These animals rose, snortiig with rage, and rushed at the boat ; and it was with the utmost difficulty they were prevented •iiUCHAN AND FRANKLIN. ^7 tuskH on the gunwale, or rush at it with their heaoH eant, that there was not time to load a musket Th» ..urser fortunately had his gun loaded, and th ten now 1 .]...' '! '"^''^''^ '' "P' ^»^' thrusting the r s whor .IT '' ^ '^^^^ *"^ formidablf wat bowels. Ihe wound proved mortal, and the animal ATTACK Br WALRC8E8. ell back among his companions, who imraediatclv desisted from the attack, assembled round him, anT „ ' moment quitted the boat, swimming away a hard as w.th«.e,r tusks, and assiduously preserved f-om sinidng'^ Many similar acts of compassion, on the partof thes. Observed. On one occasion, wnen several walrueea I 58 BUCHAN AND FRANKLIN. Wfte attacked upon a beach, near Magdalena Bay, the first discharge of muskets drove all those who could crawl into the sea ; but, immediately upon their panic subsiding, they returned to the shore and dragged their wounded companions into the water, either by main lorce, or by rolling them over with their tuaks. On the 28th of May, the weather being fo^gy and severe, with heavy falls of snow, the ships separated, and the Trent stood to the northward toward Magdalena Bay, the place of rendezvous, along the edge of the main body of ice : they met here, and, seeing it impos- sible to penetrate the marginal line of the ice, and the season being very early, the commander determined on passing a few days in that bay, in which they anchored on the 3d of June. The ice was in the cove and upper part of the harbor, but was in a rapidly decaying state, and, on revisituig their anchorage here in the beginning of August, it had intirely disappeared. Magdalena Bay is rendered consp" juous by four glaciers, the smallest two hundred feet above the sea, on the slope of a moun- tain. It is called the Hanging Iceberg, and seems, so Beechey says, as if a very slight matter would detach it from the mountain, and precipitate it into the sea. The largest of the four extends two or three miles in- 4nd : owing to the great rents in the surface, it haa been named the Wagon-way, from the resemblance of the fissures to ruts made by whf^-ls. Several glaciers similar to those were observed n *r Dane's Gut, the largest about ten thousand feet in length by two or three hundred feet in perpendicular height. In the vicinity of these icebergs a strict observance of silence is neces- sary the explosion of a gun scarcely ever fails to bring down one of these masses. Mr. Beechey says that on two occasions they witnessed avalanches on the most magnificent scale. !■■ BUCHAN AND FRANKLIN. gj " The first was occasioned by the dispKar^^ * .ct .( .bo„tl,ulf . „„„., dieCcefroLTe •'""'■ Immediately after the rcDortoftl., . '^'"°'- ;..in. u,„.d^r „ae ..ea:^';:::: its oVr jn (glacier), and in a few seconds more iLn imm * trokea „, ,,„ head.on, i^Tth^s rxfe ^^ ofthe launch, supposing themselves beyond the re Jh oT nfluence, quietly looked upon the s'ceno, when p'es wave h ! '""P^*^'^ ^"^^ ^^y t^« -cceeding Ty exam „ed tL'b T ^/^^^^''--t ^ad subsided^ lucy exammed the boat, and found her so badly stove the^dttln^e J U radtentarrtt^JL " '"^^^"^" found it to be ninety-six feet " ^ ' ''"^'' """^ In viewing the same glacier from a boat af « ^- ♦ a .cond avalanche too'k place, wTic^atr^l: ttrnT^e grat,ficat.on of witnessing the creation, as it werlof ! Bea .ceberg: an opportunity which has occurred to few though .t is generally understood that such ln«f can only be generated on shore ""°'*"'^ quietlies's oflTb " " T"''''^ '"^ ^'^' ^^^^ ^^e quie ness of the bay was first interrupted by the noise of the falhng body. Lieutenant Franklin and myse f had approached one of these stupendous walls ^fic and were endeavoring to search into the innermost r ece^ of a deep cavern that was near the foot of the glacieT wh we heard a report as if of a cannon, and, furn nj to the quarter whence it proceeded, we perc;ived an .rnn.ense piece of the front of the berg sliding down Lm the height of two hundred feet at least into^he sea, an" dispersing the water in every direction, accompanied Jy m 92 BUCHAN AND FRANKLIN. a luud, grinding noise, and followed by a quantity ol water, which, being previously lodged in the fiasurcs, now made its escape in numberless small cataracts ovei the front of the glacier." After describing the disturbance occasioned by the |)lunge of this enormous fragment, and the rollers wlii^n swept over the surface of the bay, and obliged the Dorothea, then careening at the distance of lour miles, to aright, by releasing tiie tackles, !»e thus proceeds : " The piece that had been disengaged at lirst wholly disappeared under water, and nothing was seen but a violent boiling of the sea, and a shooting up of clouds of spray, like that which occurs ut the foot of a great cataract. After a short time it reappeared, riiising its head fidl a hundred feet above tlie surface, with water pouring down from .-ill parts of it; and then, laboring as if doubtful which way it should fall, it rolled over, and, after rocking about sonje minutes, at length became settled. We now approached it, and found it nearly a quarter of a mile in circumference, and sixty feet out of the water. Knowing its specific gravity, and making a i'air allowance for its inequalities, we computed its weight at 421,660 tons. A stream of salt water was still pouring down its sitles, and there was a continual cracking noise, as loud as that of a cart-whip, occa- sioned, I suppose, by the escape of fixed (confined) air." Mr. Beecliey confirms what has frequently been found and noticed — the mildness of the temperature on the western coast of Spitzbergen, there being little or no sensation of cold, though the thermometer might be only a few degrees above the freezing point. The brilliant and lively effect of a clear day, when the sun shines forth, with a pure sky, whose azure hue is so intense as to find no parallel even in the boasted Italian sky, aflords. BUCIIAN AND FRANKLIN. 98 h. Mr. Becchey s opini..,, a full compenHution for the doudy and nunty weather, when the hills are clothed w h new-fullon snow and all appears dreary and doso- lite. Ihe rad.al.on of the nun, he observes, in some sheltered Situations, is so powerful, during two hours o.! e.thor sule of noon, that they frequently observed the therfnometer upon the ice in the offing at 5«° C2' fJYo . and once at midnight it rose to 73°, although i'a ho shade at the same time it was only .Go. Honce 1 funnd vanet.es of Alpine plants, grasses, and lichens Buch as ,n the n,ore southern aspects flourish in g "ai luxunance ; thoy are here found ascending to a consid erable ho.ght, "so that," says Beechoy, 'we hav f e- qnently seen the reindeer browsing at an elevation of nltoen hundred feet." On account of the mildness of the temperature, the Bhore of Spuzbergen are frequented by multitudes of animals of vanous descriptions. " I-Vom an early hour m t.:e morrmg u„til the period of rest returned, the Hhores around ,s reverberated with the merry cry of the ht le auk w.hocks, divers, cormorants, gullj, and other aquatic bmls; and, wherever we went, groups of waT T; "t"'f "' ''" '""' '""'f^''^'^ *••-"• Playlul roar ^v.th the husky bark of the seal." The 1 ttlo auks or rotges (the ,./.. alle.) are stated to be so numero^tha we have frequently seen an uninterrupted line of them xtend.ng full alf-way over the bay, or to a distance thn y have fallen at one shot. This living column nnght e about six yards broad and as many^deep so inat, allowing sixteen birds \o a cubic yard, there wou d be ourmdhonsof these creatures on the wing at one time. This number, ho adds, appears very large • yet wnen it is told that the little rotges rise in such .nultitudos as to darken the air, and that^inhoris 94 BUCIIAN AND FRANKLIN. 1 it.- Jlfttinctly i/Klible at a distance of four miles, the estimate will not appear to be exaggerated. At Vogel Sang and Cloven Cliff, between which is Fair Haven, wherein the ships anchored, the surround- ing islands are described as clothed with licliens and other rich pasturage for reindeer, which creatures are here so abundant (upon Vogel Sang in particular), that this island alone supplied the expedition with forty car- casses in high condition, the fat on the loins being from four to six inches thick, and a carcass prepared foi dressing weighing two hundred and eighty-fivo pounds. These fine creatures showed evident marks of affection for each other, " They were at this time in pairs, and when one was shot the other would hang over it, and occasionally lick it, apparently bemoaning its fate ; and, if not immediately killed, would stand three or four shots rather than desert its fallen companion." " This compassionate conduct," continues Beechey, "it is needless to say, doubled our chance of success, though I must confess it was obtained in viol.'ition of our better feelings." Those animals are said to take to the water freely, and swim fron-. one island to another. The boats of the Trent took four, which they wished to retain alive ; but they were so wild that they broke their slender limbs, and inflicted other serious wounds, so that it became necessary to put an end to their suffer- ings by killing them. At one of the islets near Vogel Sang were also tho King Eider-ducks, in such numbers that it was impossi- ble, almost, to walk without treading on their nests, which they defended witfi determined resolution. If driven off by foxes, or other large animals, they hastily draw the down of the nest over the eggs, and glue it with a yellow fluid, not only to preserve the warmth of the eggs, but that^ being of so offensive a nature, the flIJCIIAN .\ND FIUNKLIN. g^ iR^xes would not touch tho eggs tainted with it. Po,e« and bears arc everywhere found on the shorn , n.oico; and tho sea about Spitzberl is at » ."" a^ the .and, fro.n the multituro/bTZairlt: ).igffcrH, malmouks, kittiwukes, and the Test of thn nibe while the amphibious ani.a.s and Z^i^:^ •oth he .CO and the water, from tho huge w ale to I " " "te oho on which it feeds, swallowing perhl " llleA^uteSrt^he'Ut^^^-^*^'^^^^^^ t'.ose within t^o'Il^ : t rrriV'"'^'^"^ '^^'" bo BtiIln...SH, silence, and solitude "^''"''' '' "ater. I„ going westerly thev foil in ^-,1, ^ whalo-ship., ,y „,„■„„ tho/lear/ed;!a "the t rr I-induig, from the view afforded by the hills th.f .• otn ot July, and sailed as far as 80" 15' N., where T Li ''V. ,r 96 flUClIAN AND FRANR.LIN. the same linponotrablo barrier obHtnictod their furthoi progreHH. On the roiiowiiifjf duy, however, ho rapid had been the motion of the ice during the night, thai chcnnols of water were rdiservod in every quartor, and the wind was favorable for proceeding ah>ng one of thr open channels, Captain Hnchan h)Kt not u moment in pUHhing hiH ship into one of theHC openings, Hitreading every bai' his masts would bear, and was cheerfully followed by his enterprising consort, to the great joy of all on 1,'oard. In the cvcJiing, however, the channels began to close again, and the vessels were soon beset and pressed dose by the packed ice. This was the end (»f their voyage northward, and the latitude gaini'd was 80" 34' N. In vain thoy labored two days in drag ging the vessels with ropes and ice-anchors ; for, though they had Ijft the ice behind them, the current had car- ried them back to the southward three miles, and it was clear that all attempts to get one mile further to the northward would bo vain. Captain Buchan being now satisfied that he had given the ice a fair trial in the vicinity of Spitzbergon, resolved on standing over toward the coast of Greenland. IIjiv- ing succeeded in getting the ships to the edge of the pack, and sailing along it, a violent gale of wind came on so suddenly that thoy were at once reduced to storm staysails. The ice was setting fast upon them, and the Dorothea being nearest to it, in order to escape imme- diate shipwreck, it was deemed necessa y to take refuge among it. The Trent followed her example, and dashed into the "unbroken line of furious breakers, in which :i-menso pieces of ice wore 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 greatesl difficulty we could make our orders heard by the crew '' M,: CDCHAN ANT) FRANKLIN 97 pestuous ocean." ° *"® *^">- of the great 'J con,, f '," '" ^"■P^'i""" "ith that Have aS: Ve " 'S::' °"''' ■»■»■' «-«% ore. preserved tl 3 f 'T """""^ ~"'''<^'' *<' tap,„i„ Beechev sf;r °""" ''°'' "^'"■'*"- "Ot conceal ti pridoT !»■ ■ °"°""''° ' ""* ' ""1 decisive Jein^lh f '"/"""^^''''g «>= bold and eoa,„.„der o/^ ttif vcri^rHtrl^ '- '"■a own\„,d", a^d" „,r, i;:;rc'r-r;f '^--f ™o^"::i:r;re\r^r"?^^^^^^ I«l.t ice, ca:e in vLe f co^^f t T,*^ """"^ «"' 'Captain Beochey proceeds to give a vivir? .n 7 account of the stito of fh„ i • ^"'^ graphic boll, which in tlJ L ' . r '° *"■'"• *" 'be ship's wnicn ,n 11,0 heaviest gale of wind had never sln.ct to r:;^::;:";f " ™nti„„aii, that itw::::™ lo release .. e st.ps, which were so disabled that thl Wl 98 BUCIIAN AND FRANKLIN. Dorothea waa in a foundering condition. They mad':> the best of their way to Fair Haven in a sinking stale, where they repaired their damages as well as they could ; it was obvious, however, there was au end to any further attempt as regarded the main object of the expedition. The Trent being the less damaged of the two, Lieutenant Franklin requested that he might bo allowed to proceed alone in the ezeoution of the service. This could not be acceded to, as, in the event which nad occurred. Captain Buchan was directed by his in- structions to take command of the Trent, provided her consort was rendered unserviceable ; had he done so, the' Dorothea, unaccompanied in her way home, might iiave risked the lives of her crew in a ship so shattered and unsafe. It was therefore decided that both should return home ; and on the 30th of August they put to sea, and on the 22d of October arrived at Deptford. BITUATIOV OF THE TRKMT. CIIAPTEK IV. PABRY'n FIRST VOYAQP —rn., SOUND. -P„,NCE REGENT'S iNLPr""^''**"' ™«'"'<'K LANCASTER V".LK »I.ANa- WINTER .J^R.'^V*""""''"' C«ANNKI,. 1 L.Z. THEATRICALS. _„R^,«,^„ ^°^«;«««- SCHRVr. _ s^OW BUNONESn PEDITION. ""^ °«^ T»= ICE.-RKTORN OF THE EX- oponinff so soacions unA • ^anca^ter Sound, an qmtted, appeared inadl S' to "1, ""T'' tains," which had baired tie „ "■ *'""" Ro»B, were affirmed I, v. „ , '"L"^"''"" "' ^ir Joho abortive veyal to be ,'° ''"" '""^ P"' '" ">e ion was v„,y dee dediv °° T '""*"■ ''''■« "P"- «.cond i„ eoLanf ^^ '""T^ '''''■»"'• Parry, the him, that he might J | V „'""!;';*"'.'"'' ■■"'™^"='' '» bopes, and the J„f [hl"Uer„::'t^' "" °"" »'«"- of t«0 to„.::*d h t;.! "1: '"^ Griper g„„.bri^, Lid'ion. These shin. Je ^' '""""""''"'I l>y Lieut. ♦^r the navig:L:':r,,nrfs:;":T -= '°-'-"-' with ample provision, for two ver* ■"" .""-^ *""' "r.nti.se„rh„tics,a„deve:;zr:hrs:s J 00 PARRY'S FIRST VOYAGE. ! .i! ' the crews to endure the most extreme rigors of a polw winter. Lieut, Parry, dostined to outstrip all his predecessors in the career of northern discovery, weighed anchor at the Nore on the 11th May, 1819, and on the 20th rounded the remotest point of the Orkneys. He endeav- ored to cross the Atlantic about the parallel of 58", and, though impeded during the first fortnight of June by a course of unfavorable weather, obtained, on the 15th, from the distance apparently of not less than forty leagues, a view of the lofty cliffs composing Cape Fare- well. On the 18th the ships first fell in with icebergs, the air being also filled with petrels, kittiwukes, terns, and other winged inhabitants of the northern sky. lie now made an effort to push north and west, through the icy masses, in the direction of Lancaster Sound ; but these suddenly closed upon him ; and on the 25th both vessels were so immovably beset, that no power could turn their heads a single point of the compass. They remained thus fixed, but safe, when, on the morning of the second day, a heavy roll of the sec loosened the ice, and drove it against them with such violence, that only their very strong construction saved them from severe injury. The discoverers, therefore, were fain to extricate themselves as soon as possible ; and, resign- ing the idea of reaching Lancaster Sound by the most direct course, resolved to steer northward along the border of this great icy field till they should find open water. In this progress they verified the observation of Davis, that in the narrowest part of the great sea, misnamed his Strait, the shores on each side could be seen at the same moment. Thus they proceeded till they reached the Women's Islands and Hope Sanderson, in about latitude IS". As every step was now likely to carry them further from their destinatirn, Parry dete^ PARRY'S FIRST VOYAGE. 101 mined upon a dosperato push to the westward. Favored *n h a .nodorate breeze, the ships were run into he detachod p,ecos and floes of ice, through which they were heaved with hawsers ; but, the obstacles becoming always more insuperable, they were at length completely be«et and a heavy fog coming on, made t1,em Zo^ll to take advantage of any favorable change. Yet in the course of a week, though repeatedly ^and sometime dangerously surrounded they warped their way f^om separated them from an open sea. By laboriously saw- ing through this obstruction, they finally penetrated he ut'z:: ^°' ''^ ''' ''''-' ^'-^ ^' '-' -*-^>-"^ The navigators now bore directly for Lancaster Sound and on He 30th July found themselves at its cJra„ce' They felt an extraordinary emotion as they recognized was guarded .ware that a very short time would decide ihe fate of their grand undertaking, tk ""^^eciae ]^■,^A u 1, unaeriaking. They were tanta- Ined. however, by a fresh breeze coming directly down the sound, which did not suffer them to make more thin a very slow progress. Still, there was no appearance of obstruction either from ice or land, and even'L heavy well wh,eh they had to encounter, driving the wate^ repeatedly in at the stern windows, was hailed T an ««Hhcat,on of open sea to the westward The Hecla left the Griper behind, but still without making any great way herself, till the 3d Au^usr when - easterly breeze sprang up, carrying hoC^^Z rapidly forward. A crowd of sail was set, and thlyprl ^o.ded triumphantly in their course. The' minds of'^I were filled with anxious hope and suspense. The mas" heads were crowded with officers and men, and the sue cssive reports brought down from the highest pLnlcle .■■ 4 102 PARRY'S FIRST VOVAGE. w called tlio crow's nest, were eagerly listened to on dock, Their path was still unobstructed. Thoy passed various headlands, with several wide openings towards the north and south, to which they hastily gave the names of Croker Bay, Navy Board Inlet, and similar designations ; but these it was not their present object to explore. Tlie wind, freshening more and more, car- ried them happily forward, till at niidniglit they found themselves in longitude 83° 12', nearly a hundred and fifty miles from the mouth of the sound, which still retained a breadth of fifty miles. The success of the expedition, thej' fondly hoped, was now, to a great extent, decided. The Ilecla at this time slackened her course, to allow her companion to come up, which she did in longitude 85°. Thoy proceeded together to longitude 86° 30', and found two other inlets, which thoy named Burnet and Stratton ; then a bold cape, named Fellfoot, forming apparently, the termination of this long line of coast The lengthened swell, which still rolled in from the north and west, with the oceanic color of the waters, inspired the flattering persuasion that they had already passed the region of straits and inlets, and were now wafted along the wide expanse of the polar basin Nothing, in short, it was hoped, would henceforth obstruct their progress to Icy Cape, the western bound- ary of America. An alarm of land was given, but it proved to arise only from an island of no great extent. However, more land was soon discovered, beyond Cape Fellfoot, which was ascertained to be the entrance to a noble recess, extending on their right, which thoy named Maxwell Bay. An uninterrupted range of sea still stretched out before them, though they were sorae- wrhat discomposed by seeing, on the south, a line of PARRY'S FIRST VOVAOE. JQ^ continuous ice , but it left an open passage, and they '•oped to find ,t merely a detached stream ^ A httle space onwards, however, they discovered w. h deep d,smay, that this ice was joined to a com- c o„sed the channel, and joined the western point of Maxwell Bay It behoved them, therefore, immedt ately to draw back, to avoid being en.bayJd in the Teat- :'t : Tr i "''"" ^ ^'^-^ -^ -^ *•- bea ng. Tf.e oflicers began to an.use themselves with ^u tless attempts to catch white whales, when the weather clea,-ed, and they saw, to the south, an open mght lead to an unencumbered passage in a lower ftude steered in this direction, and fo^und himsel a visible termmafon ; and to the two capes at its en- trance he gave the names of Clarence and Seppings The manners, finding the western shore of this inlet g.-eatly obstructed with ice, moved across to the f e n, where they entered a broad and open channel The coast was the most dreary and desolate t y had ever beheld, even in the Arctic world, presenting jJZ a semblance either of animal or vegetable life. Vnvi^ ^on was rendered more arduous, from the entire^rregu- larity of the compass, now evidently approaching to the magnetic pole, and showing an excess of variation which they vainly attempted to measure, so thatihe oi.inacles were laid aside as useless lumber They sailed a hundred and twenty miles up this inlet and Its augmenting width inspired them with correspond^ H.ff hopes; when, with extreme consternation, they suddenly perceived the ice to diverge from its parallel course, running close in with a point of land which appeared to form the southern extremity of the eastern 4 fm r i 1 !■; -r 104 PARRY'S FIBfll VOYAGE. ahore. To this foreland they gave the name of o'ap» Kater. The wcBtcrn horizon also appeared covered with heavy and extensive floes, a bright and dazzling ice-blink extending from riglit to left. The name of the Prince Regent was given to this spacious inlet, which Parry strongly suspected must have a communication with Hudson's Bay. He now determined to return to the old station, and watch the opportunity when the relenting ice would allow the ships to proceed west- ward. That point was reached, not without some diffl* culty, amid ice and fog. At Prince Leopold's Islands, on the 15th, the barrier was as impenetrable as ever, with a bright blink ; and from the top of a high hill there was no water to be seen ; luckily, also, there was no land. On the 18th, on getting once more close to the northern shore, the navigators began to make a little way, and some showers of rain and snow, accompanied with heavy wind, pro- duced such an effect, that on the 2l8t the whole ice had disappeared, and they could scarcely believe it to be the same sea which had just before been covered with floes upon floes, as far as the eye could reach. Parry now crowded all sail to the westward, and, though detained by want of wind, he passed Radstock Bay, Capes Ilurd and Hotham, and Beechey Island ; after which ho discovered a fine and broad inlet leading to the north, which he called Wellington. The sea at the mouth being perfectly open, he would not have hesitated to ascend it, had there not been before him, along the southern side of an island named Cornwallis, an open channel leading due west. Wellington Inlet was now considered by the officers, so high were their hopes, as forming the western boundary of the land stretching from Baffin's Bay to the Polar Sea, into which they had little doubt they were entering. For PARRY'S FIRST VOYAGE. 108 this reason, Lieutenant Parry did not hesitate to give to tho great clianiiol, which was understood to effect bo desirable a junction, the merited appellation of Barrow's Strait, after tiie much-esteemed promoter of the expedi- tion. A favorable breeze now sprang up, and the adven- turors paKHcd gayly and triumphantly along the exten- eive shore of Cornwallis Island, then coasted a larger island, named Bathurst, and next a smaller one, called Byam Martin. At this last place they judged, by some experiments, that thoy had passed the magnetic merid- ian, situated, probably, in about 100» west longitude, and where the compass would have pointed due south instead of due north. The navigation now became extremely difficult, in consequence of thick fogs, which not only froze on the shrouds, but, as the compass was also useless, took away all means of knowing the direction in which they sailed. They were obliged to trust thut the land and ice would preserve the same line, and sometimes em- ployed the oddest expedients for ascertaining the pre- cise point. They encountered, also, a compact floe, through which they were obliged to bore their way by main force. Notwithstanding all these obstacles, they reached the coast of an island larger than any before discovered, to which they gave the name of Melville. The wind now failed, and they moved slowly forward by towing and warping, till, on the 4th September, the lieutenant could announce to his joyful crew that, having reached the longitude of 110» west, they were become entitled to the reward of five thousand pounds promised by Parlia- ment to the first ship's company who should attain that meridiaa. They still pushed forward with redoubled ardor, but soon found their course arrested by an impenetrable barrier of ice. They waited nearly a fortr I ■^*' i lOfl PARRY'S FIRST VOYAGE. night, In hopes of overcoming it, till, about tlio 20th, th(!ir Hltuatioii l)ocivino alarming. The youiijy i(;»' lj««gan riipiilly to form on tlio smraco of the watcMri, retarded "Illy l>y vviiidH and hwoIIh, mo tliat the comniaiiilinf,^ ofli- rer was convineed that, in the event of a wingh' lioiir's cahn, lie would be frozen up in the midst of the sea. No option was therefore left but to retin-n, and to choose between two apparently good liarborH, which had been recently passed on Melville Island. Not without didiculty he reached tluH place on the 2tth, and decided in favor of the more wcKtern haven, an afl'ording the fullest security ; but it was necessary to cut his way two miles through a hirgo tloe with which it was encumbered. To eflect this arduous operation, the sea- men marked with bourding-pikes two puralli'I lines, at the (listani-e of somewhat more than the breadth of the larger shij). They sawed, in the first place, along the path tracked out, and then, by cross-sawings, detached large pieces, which were separated diagonally, in ordei to be floated out; and sometimes boat-sails were fas tencd to them, to take the advantage of a favorable breeze. On the 2Gth the ships were established in five fiithoms water, at about a cable's length from the beach. For some time the ice was daily cleared round them ; but this was soon found an endless and useless labor, and they were allowed to be regularly frozen in for tlie winter. Parry then applied himself to name the varied group of islands along which he had passed. He called them, at first. New Georgia ; but, recollecting that this appel- lation was preoccupied by one in tiie Pacific, he gave the title of the " North Georgian Islands," in honor of his majesty George III., whoso reign had been bo emi- nently distinguished by the extension of nautical ant' geographical kiiov/ledge. n ' .'!■ 'i- PARRY'S FIRST VOYAGE 109 Hunting parties occasionally went out and procured a lew reindeer; but a migration of these animals tx-k place before the close of October, leaving behind them only wolves and foxes to keep the party company dur- ing the long winter months. Even the polar hare so common in the Arctic regions, never once showed itself en Melville Island in the course of the winter The musk-ox, also very common during its proper season, arrived on Melville Island in the middle of May by crossing the ice from the southward, and quitted ii by the same way on its return towards the end of Septem- ber On the 15th the last covey of ptarmigan was met with ; and on the same day were seen fifteen deer all ying down, except one large one, probably a stU : this, after the rising of the rest, seemed to guard the animals in their flight, frequently going round the herd, sometimes striking them with his horns to make them go on, which they appeared not much inclined to do Even seals were not found in this neighborhood; but whales of d.fleront kinds were commonly met with • gulls and ducks, however, so numerous in Davis's Strait and the Georgian Isla..ds, condescculed not to visit Melville Island, but " two or three specimens of a cat- erpilar were obtained, one of which was brought to Eng.and;'_of course as an Arctic curiosity. One large white bear, having pursued Captain Sabine's ser- vant to the slup, was shot at and wounded, but made his escape; it was the only one met with during the Btayo the party, but described as being more purely white than any tl.ey .ad before seen. A Lble willow a saxifrage lichens, and stunted grasses, constitute pretty nearly the/ora of Melville Island The total privation of game of any kind now afforded ew excursions for the exercise and amusement of hun' .ng. Parties, however, had occasionally been sent out 110 PARRY'S FIRST VOYAGE. shortly after tbo taking up of their winter quarters One of these did not return on board before sunset, as strictly ordered, and the cousequeucc is stated to have been as follows : "John Pearson, a marine belonging to the Griper, who was the last that returned on board, had his hands severely frost-bitten, having imprudently gone away without mittens, and with a musket in his hand. A party of our people most providentially found liim, althoiigi! tlic night was very dark, just as he iiad fallen down a bank of snow, and was beginning to fuel that degree of torpor and drowsiness which, if indulged, inevitably proves fatal. When he was brought on board, his fingers were quite stiff, and bent into the shape of that part of the musket wiiich he liad been carrying ; and the frost had so far destroyed the anima- tion in his fingers on one hand that it was necessary to amputate three of them a short time after, notwith- standing all the care and attention paid to him by the medical gentlemen. The effect which exposure to se- vere frost has in benumbing the mental as well as the corporeal faculties was very striking in this man, as well as in two of the young gentlemen, who returned after dark, and of whom we were anxious to make inquiries respecting Pearson. When I sent for them into my cabin they looked wild, spoke thick and indis- tinctly, and it was impossible to draw from tliom a rational answer to any of our questions. After being on board for a short time the mental faculties appeared 'gradually to return with the returning circulation ; and it was not till tlien that a looker-on could easily per- suade himself that they had not been drinking too freely." So early as the 29th of October the theimometcr waa down to twenty-four degrees below zero. It was uoi? PARRY'S FIBST VOYAGE. jj | aistressing to touch any metallic substance with the naked hand ,n the open air; it produced a feeli"^ of .n onse heat, and took off the skin. If the oye-piecf o a telescope touched the face, it occasioned an intense bunung pan. ; the remedy was to cover them and o h r instruments wuh soft leather. The uiScers, notwith standn.g indulged themselves in walking for ;n hou or two H. the middle of the day, in the depth of win er even when the thermometer was down to forty degrees or even hfty degrees below ^ero, without exp^eriencL much mconvemence from this intense degree of cold provided always that there was no wind ; but the east breeze inade the exposure to it intolerable The commander, finding himself and his ships shut in for a long and dreary winter, devoted his !tten iln w>th a mixture of firmness and kindness, to miti^at^ those evds which, even in lower '.titude , had often rendered an abode in the Arctic regions so f^tal and to economize both the fresh provisions and fuel From the first. Parry was aware that nothing acted more strongly as an antiscorbutic than to keep the men s m.nds in a lively and cheerful state. Armnl! ments were accordingly made for the occasional per- formance of a play, in circumstances certainly very remote from any to which the drama appeared congi ^nal. Lieutenant Beochoy was nominated stage-mL peiformeis. Ihe very expectation thus raised amon^ ihe sadors, and the bustle of preparing a room for the purpose were extremely beneficial ; and when the Norti, Georgian Theatre opened with "Miss in li r TonH," these hardy tars were convulsed with laughter The A rcfc management was extremely popular. The] .fficers had another source of amusement in the North (.eorgian Gazette, of which Captain Sabine beca.«e I 112 PARRY'S FIRST VOYAQR editor, and all were invited to contribute to this chroi-i cle of the frozen regions. On the 1st and 2d of February the sun was looked for, but the sky was wrapped in mist ; however, on the 3d he was perceived from the maintop of the Ilecla. Health was maintained on board the ships, by enforced exorcise and other means, to a surprising degree. Early in January, iiowever, Mr. Scallon, the gunner, felt symp- toms, first in tlie legs, and then in the gums, tiiat de cidedly indicated the presence of scurvy, of which the immediate cause appeared to bo the great collection of damp that had formed around his bed-place. At this alarm, all the antiscorbutics on board — lemon-juice, pickles, and spruce-beer — were put into requisition ; a small quantity of mustard and cress was also raised from mould placed over the stove-pipe ; and such was the success of these remedies, tiiat in nine days the patient could walk without pain. "Some of our men," says Parry, "having, in the course of their shooting excursions, been exposed for several hours to the glare of the sun and snow, returned at night much aflected with that painful inflammation in the eyes occasioned by the reflection of intense light from the snow, aided by the warmth of the sun, and called in America ' snow blindness.' This complaint, of which the sensation exactly resembles that produced by large particles of sand or dust in the eyes, is cured by some tribes of American Indians by holding them over the steam of warm water ; but we found a cooling wash, made by a small quantity of acetate of lead mixed with cold water, more efficacious in relieving tlie irrita- tion, which was always done in three or four days, even in the most severe cases, provided the eyes were carefully guarded from the light. As a preventive of this complaint, a piece of black crape was given to tach jrlit Oi PARRY'S FIBST VOYAGE. jjg man. to be worn as a kind of short veil attached to tl e hut wh.ch we found to be ve:,^ serviceable is m more convenient mode, adopted by some of the office s wa. ou„d equally efficacious ; this consisted nt.!; i^e.t..4esand-!::;:s:t:n.S;f,^-^-'^- attention was now turned to flm n,<. ^ fot^nerai from the ice Bv the T^f) \ Ir T^ °^ extrication far cut it fmm ^ ^^ ^^^y *'"' ««^'»«» had so float bi ^ tl"'".' '''' ^'^P^ '^^ *« ^"- them to noat , but m the sea ,t was still immovable PaJ^v'in'ln"'' "' ?""'■"' "^^*^«" "^' ^-P'oyod by ::^^:rs«n^yr::ef:s^^^^^^^ and that the moss was very lux^Lt "o', ^ ZTd day they saw a pair of ducks, and killed seven ptar" gan; sorrel and saxifrage wore abundant The paZ' very extensive, dreary, and uninterestinff level nlain r; awl r»:a vr" ""^ *i"^ °^«-n^. wj;,. t: ui ravines and foggy weather, continued for fl.rno Amvcd at Bushman's Cove, in Liddoii', P„lf .1 wostor,. «Mo of MelvlUc Maid, .t p ^fc"!"':: I "f tto^plea«a„.es. .„d most habilabjo spot. w. L^ 114 PARRY'S FIRST VOYAGE. Bocn id the Arctic regions, the vegetation being mor«» abundant and forward than in any other place, and the situation Hholtored and liivoiabh; lor ganio." Tiiey found here a good deal of inoHs, grass, dwarf willow, and saxifrage, and Captain Sabine met witii a ranunculus in full flower. TIiub we see that even in this, the inoHt desolate region of the earth, the superiority of the western coast predotiiinates. The hunters saw and fired at a musk-ox, but did not kill him ; they saw also several golden plovers. On the IfHh of June they reached the ships, and were complimented by their ship- mates on their good looks, and as appearing in more robust health than when they departed. "Having observed," says Tarry, "that the .sorrel was now so far advaneinl in foliage as to be easily gathered in sufficient quantity for eating, 1 gave orders that two afternoons in each week sliotild be occupied by all hands in collecting the leaves of this plant : each man being recpiired to liring in, for the present, one ounce, to be served in lic-i of lemon-juice, pickles, and dried herbs, which had been hitherto issued. The growth of the sorrel was from this time so quick, and the quantity of it so great on every part of the ground about the harbor, that we shortly after sent the men out every afternoon for an hour or two ; in which time, besides the advantage of a healthy walk, they could, witlu)ut difiiculty, pick nearly a pound each of this valu- able antiscorbutic, of which they were all extremely fond. " Ky the L'Otli of June, the land in the immediate ueigliborhood ef the ships, and especially in low and Bheltored situations, was much covered with the hand- some purple flower of the xaxifraga oppuxilifulia, which was at this time in great perfection, and gave something like cheerfulness and animation to a scene hitherto indeacribably dreary in its appearance. PARRY'S FIRST VOYAQE. Hfi "ThoBud(lonno.8 with which the changes take pluc. . un„g the short «ea«on which may be culfod sununor „ this chmato, must appear very striking when it ia r«. mon.l>ered that, for a part of the Grst week J,. ;: were under the necessity of thawing artificiallytlo nowwh.ch we made use of for water during the ea 1. pait of our journey to the northward ; that, during the «ccond week, the ground was in most part; so w tand swan.py that we could with difficulty travel ; and that Imd we not returned before the end of the t ,ird week we should probably have been prevented doing so for Borno tune, by the impossibility of crossing the IZnll w.thout great danger of being carried away by I'tor .•ents,-an acculent that happened to our hunthfg purtVes on one or two occasions i„ endeavoring to return w, their game to the ships." ' the wIVh""', "' ''"'"' '''''' "''^^ everywhere formed ; he water lowed m streams, ar.d even in torrents, which r ndercd hunting and travelling unsafe. Ther were also channels i„ which boats could pass ; yet IroZh out us month and the following, th'e gre^t'co've; 1^ .^m the. ..undn.g sea remained entire, and kep/'tho On the 2d of August, however, the whole mass by broke up, and floated out, and the explorers had now Un the 15th they were enabled to make a certain advance after which the frozen surface of the ocean assumed a more compact and impenetrable asZtZn :l"o7 itfT^'T^^f^^-'^- '^'- officerTrsce Bomc of the lofty heights which bordered the coast- 116 PARRV'S FIRST VOYAGE. Dundas, and in the distance a bold coast, which they named Banks's Lund. As even a brisk gale i'roni the east did not produce the slightest niovcnioiit on the glassy face of the deep, they were led to believe that on the other side there must be a largo body of land, by which it was held iu a fixed state. On considering all circumstances, there appeared no alternative but to make their way homeward while yet the season per- mitted. Some additional observations were made, as they returned, on the two coasts extending along Bar- row's Strait. Parry's arrival in Britain was hailed with the wannest exultation. To have sailed upwards of thirty degrees of longitude beyond the point reached by any former navigator ; to have discovered bo many new lands, islands, aud bays ; to have established the much-con- tested existence of a Polar Sea north of America ; finally, after a v/intcring of eleven months, to have brought back his crew in a sound and vigorous state, were enough tf- raise his name above that of any other Arctic voyager. J • ; BSQUIM,\rX SNOW-IItlT. CHAPTER V. FRANKLIN'S FIRST I.AND KXPKDITION. - INCIDKIfTH l..^„.. SKVKK.TY OP TUB WKATII.t» ""' ^^"'"''"''T*- " "ACK'S JOURUKV.- FACTORY. "•■■-••.jr. AHRIYAL AT TOBK Ix September of the same year that Parry sailed, an overland expedition started from York Factory, Ilud- «on H Bay, under charge of Sir John Franklin, accompa- n.ed by Dr. (now Sir John) Richardson, two midshipmen. -Messrs Back and Hood, -and Uepburn, a seaman, with the object of exploring the north coast of America to Its eastern extremity from the mouth of the Copoer- mine. There was a chan.e tnat Parry might make' for he coast ,n h.s ships ; and, if so, the two parties would have cooperated with mutual advantage. On the 1 9th of January, 1820, Fr°anklin set out in company with Mr. Back, and a seaman named Hepburn with provisions for fifteen days stowed in two sledges' on then- journey to Fort Chipewyan. Dr. Richardson.' M. Hood, and Mr. Connolly, accompanied them a shorj distance. After touching at different posts of the com- pany, they reached their destination safely on the 26th March, after a winter's journey of eight hundred and fifty-seven miles. The greatest difficulty experienced t y the travellers was the labor of walking in snow- Bhocs, a weight of between two and three pounds being constantly attached to galled feet and swelled ankles Of th« Btate of the temperature during this journev 118 FKANKMN'S FIU8T LAND EXPEDITION. there is no record, for a renson expliiined hy Friuikliu, who pays ihut "this evening (IHth of Jannury) we found the mercury of our thermometer had sunk into the bulb, nnd wiim frozen." ( )n tlie ir)th of April the first sljower of rain fell ; and on the 17tli the thermometer nwe to 77° in the simde. The return of the swans, ('ccse, and ducks, now >,'ave certain indieations if »Dring. Tiio warm weather, l)y the sudden melting of ♦,' e -mow and ice, deluged the face of the country. Mr. t ' u! says; "The noise madf by the frogs which this ii ii.idatiou produced is almost incredible. There is strong reason to believe that they outlive tJie .severity of winter. They have often been found frozen, and revived by warmth ; nor is it possible that the multitude which inces.-'antly tilled our ears with their disconiant notes could ha i been matured in two or three days." Captain Franklin also notices the resuscitation of fishes after being frozen : " It may be worthy of notice here, that the fish froze as they were taken out of the nets, and in a short time became a solid mass of ice, and by a blow or two of the hatchet were easily split open, when the intestines might be removed in one lump. If, in this completely frozen state, they were thawed before the fire, they recovered their animation. This was particularly the case with the carj) ; and we had occasion to observe it repeatedly, as Dr. Richardson occupied himself in examining the structure of the dif- ferent species of fish, and was always, in the winter, under the necessity of thawing them before he could cut them. We have seen a carp recover so far as to leap about with much vigor after it had been frozen for thirty-six hours." It may be stated that the same efli'ct U produced on the insect tribe. Franklin and his party, increased by the addition cf FRANKLIN'S FIE8T LAND EXPEDITION. 121 Sixteen Canadian voyageurs, interpreters, &c., left Fort Cl..pewyan .n July. 1820, for Tort Ente;pris , on Wb or Lake more than five hundred miles dLant. Here af or wallung eighty miles to get a look at the Coppe"' n. ne, they wintered, while Mr. (now Sir George) Back returned on foot tn TT'nrf n\ • v^cui^e; x>acK transit nf!l • ? . <^'»Pe^vyan, to expedite the transit oi stores required fnr fhi^ n^^.* > At thp «n^ ffl ^"^'^.^'^ *"« next year's operatbns. A the end of five months he rejoined his companions after a journey which put his powers of endurance to a severe test. cuuuiauce lo a Some interesting instances of Indian generosity are tney, but you are not.'" Back, in this dreadful journey, was not only exposed the danger of perishing in some of the lakes which they had to cross on cot. On a narrow branch of the S a!^ "'J'lry or another occasion the ice bent so that it required the utmost speed to avoid falling th olh wli.ro It gave way. as it seems to have done at vefy Htep he took. In short, it was little less than nZZ Jous consKlenng the season and the severity of the wniter, that he over returned safe; which, howevcM- h. had the good fortune to do on the 17tl. of March, w'hcn ho arrived at Fort Enterprise, whore, ho says, '.I had L' r"r"''"1''"°^ my friends all ia good health after a . absence of nearly five months, during which •me I had travelled eleven hundred and four i^iles o snowshoos, and had no other covering, at night, in the 122 FRANKLIN'S FIRST LAND EXPEDITION. woods, than a blanket and deor-skiu, with the thermom- eter frequently at — iO", and once at — 57", and some- times passing two or three days without tasling food." Franklin gives the following statomont in regard to the severity of the weather in Deoenibor: "The weathe duiing this month was the coldest we oxperieni^(!d dur- ing our residence in America. The thermuinet>.r sank on one occasion to 51" below zero, and never rosa beyond 6" above it ; the mean for the month was — 29°-'?. Di/iing these intense colds, however, the atmosphere was generally calm, and the wond-cutters and others went about iheir ordinary occupations with- out using any extraordinary precautions, yet without feeling any bad eflccts. The heat is abstracted most rapidly from the body during strong breezes ; and most of those who have perished from cold in this country have fallen a sacrifice to their being overtakmi on a lake, or other unsheltered place, by a storm of wind. The intense colds were, however, detrimental to us in another way. The trees froze to their very centres, and became as hard as stones, and more difficult to cut. Some of the axes were broken daily, and by the end of the month we had only one left that was fit for felling trees." The aurora borcalis made its appearance frequently, with more or less brilliancy, but was not particularly remarkable ; in the month of December it was visible twenty-eight of the long nights. The Indians, it appears, have nearly destroyed the fur-bearing animals ; and so scarce is the beaver become, that in the whole journey to the shores of the Polar Sea and back, one single habitation, and one dam only, of that industrious and ingenious creature, were met with. Among the many interesting anecdotes that have beer* told of this aiimal, Dr. Richardson relates the following , f"RANKL[x\'S FIRST LAND EXPEDITION. 123 ' One day a gentleman, long resident in this coun- try, esi)ied five young beavers sporting in the water loapuig upon the trunk of a tree, pushing one another' oft, and playing a thousand interesting tricks. He approaciied softly, under cover of the bushes, and pre- pared to fire on the unsuspecting creatures ; but a nearer approach discovered to him such a similitude between their gestures and the infantile caresses of his own chddren, that he threw aside his gun. This "-en- tleman's feelings are to be envied, but few traders in furs would have acted so feelingly." On the last day of June, 1821, the whole party having dragged their canoes and baggage to the baidc of the Coppermine, -a tedious and fotiguing service, — em- l)arked on the rapid stream, and reached the sea on the 18th July. The main object of the expedition then commenced; and, witli two birch-bark canoes, each manned by ten men, and fifteen days' provision, Prank- lin paddled to the eastward. Proceeding along the coast on the inside of a crowded range of islands, they encamped on shore after a run of thirty-seven miles, in which they exporienc(-d little inter- ruption. The coast was found of moderate height, easy of access, and covered with vegetation ; but the islands were rocky and barren, presenting high clifls, of a col- nmnar structure. In continuing their voyage;, the dan- gers which beset a navigator in tiie.^:e dreadful polar solitudes thickened gloomily around them. The coast became broken and sterile, and at length rose into a high and rugged promontory, against which some large masses of ice had drifted, threatening destruction to their slender canoes. In attempting to round this cape the wind rose, an awful gloom involved the sky, and the tlumder burst over their heads, compelling them to encamp till the 124 FRANKLIN'S FIRST LAND EXPEDmON. Btorm subsided. They then, at the imminent risk of having the cauocB crushed by the floating ice, doubled the dreary promontory, which they denominated Oape Barrow, and entered Detention Harbor, where they landed. Around them the land consisted of mountains of granite, rising abruptly from the water's edge, desti- tute of vegetation, and attaining an elevation of four- teen or fifteen hundred feet ; seals and small deer were the only animals seen, and the former were so shy that all attempts to approach within shot were unsuccessful. With the deer the hunters were more fortunate, but these were not numerous ; and, while the ice closed gradually around them, and their little stock of pro- visions every day diminished, it was impossible not to regard their situation with uneasiness. Rounding Cape Kater, they entered Arctic Sound, and sent a party to explore a river upon the banks of which they expected to find an Esquimaux encampment. All, however, was silent, desolate, and deserted ; oven those hardy na- tives, bred amidst the polar ices, had removed from so barren a spot, and the hunters returned with two small deer and a brown bear, the latter animal so lean and sickly-looking that the men declined eating it ; but the oflScers boiled its paws, and found them excellent. Proceeding along the eastern shore of Arctic Sound, to which they gave the name of Banks's Peninsula, the expedition made its painful way along a coast indented by bays, and in many places studded with islands, till, on the 10th of August, they reached the open sea; and sailing, as they imagined, between the continent and a large island, found, to their deep disappointment, that, instead of an open channel, they were in the centre of o vast bay. The state of the expedition now called for the most Berious consideration upon the part of their commander. FRANKLIN'S F[RST LAND EXPEDITION, 125 So much time had already been spent in exploring the sounds and inlets, that all hope of reaching Repulse Bay was vain ; botii canoes had sustained material injury ; the fuel was expended ; their provisions were sufficient only for three days ; the appearances of the setting in of the Arctic winter were too unequivocal to be mistaken ; the deer, which had hitherto supplied them with fresh meat, would, it was well known, soon disappear ; the geese and other aquatic birds were already seen winging their way to the southward ; while the men, who had up to this moment displayed the utmost courage, began to look disheartened, and to entertain serious apprehen- Bions for their safety. Under these circumstances, the leaders resolved to return. After spending four days in a careful survey of the bay, they terminated their exploration at a spot which, with literal truth, was named Point Turnagain, a distance, reckoning the indentations of the shore, of five hundred and fiftyfive geographical miles. To attempt to reach the Copper- mine so late in the season would have been fatal to the whole of the party ; they, therefore, made fur Hood's River, discovered by them a few days previously, up which they had ascended to the first rapid by the 26tb of August. Two small portable canoes were then con- Btructed from the two larger ones, for the purpose of crossing rivers on the journey now before them ; and on the 1st of September, they set off on a straight course for Fort Enterprise, one hundred and fifty miles distant The flitigues and privations endured on this route ar« scarcely to be paralleled ; short of food, ill supplied with clothing, and exposed to the howling severity of the climate, the escape of any one of the number appears almost a miracle. Some days, when there was nothing to eat, and no means of making a fire, they passed 5ntn-ely in bed ; on others, after a weary and exhaust II 4: I I ■ i26 FRANKLIN'S FIRST LAND EXPEDITION ing travel, their only nourishment on halting for tlie night was tripe de roche, or rock-tripe, a Hpecies of lichen, a plant of most nauseous taste, and the cause of cruel bowel complaints to the wliolo partv. Daily they became weaker, and less capable of exf -iie of tne canoes was so much broken by a fall, tn.\\ ' .a burned- to cook a supper; the resource of fisl.L.g', too, wlj denied them, for some of the men, in the recklessneaa of misery, threw away the nets. Rivera were to be crossed by wading, oi in the canoe ; on one of these occasions Franklin took his seat with two of the voya- geurs in their frail bark, when they were driven by the force of the stream and the wind to the verge of a fright- ful rapid, in which the canoe upset, and, but for a rock on whicii they found footing, they would there have per- ished. On the 19th, " previous to setting out, the whole party ate the remains of their old shoes, and whatever scraps of leather they had, to strengthen their stomachs for the fatigue of the day's journey. These," adds Franklin, " would have satisfied us in ordinary times, but we were now almost exhausted by slender fiire and travel, and our appetites had become ravenous. We looked, however, with humble confidence to the great Author and Giver of all good for a continuance of the support which had hitherto been always supplied to us at our greatest need." A day or two afterwards the remaining canoe was left behind ; no entreaties could prevail on the men to rarry it further. Dr. Richardson, too, was obliged to abandon his collection of plants and minerals, from inability to endure the burthen. The killing of five small deer at this time, however, enabled them to rest for a couple ot days to recruit their exhausted strength. On the L'6tb they canre to the Coppermine, the crossing of which, owing \^ devoured our shares, as it was the hrst morsel of flesh any of us had tasted for mile y unless, mdeed, the small, gristly particles whch we found occasionally adhering to the pounded bones n ay be called flesh." Richardson brought the melan cho y ,ntell,gence that Mr. Hood and the Iroquois we'^ ^oth dead. Michel, in a fit of sullen spite! to wl h ."c,v,hzed natures are liable, had shot t'he ;ounrand parted , and h,s demeanor towards the two survivors becommg more and more threatening, the doctor, und he .mpenous inst.nct of self-preservation, took upon ..msolf the responsibility of putting the Indian to dea h l.y a pistol-shot. As afterwards appeared, there was reason to bel.eve that two of the missing vo;ageurs Ld also been murdered by the Iroquois ^ davT?te?'F;;-'l "?' 7'''''''^ P'-^^^y ^^'^d on the second y ;«;'• R'chardson's arrival at the fort. At last, on IH. ni, of November, relief came, borne by three In- dians sent bv Mr B-irk Ti,« ,«„ selves mn«f ' f : "messengers proved them- tlves most kind, assiduous attendants, "evincing humamty that would have done honor to the mosclif ued people." And, with good fires and sufficient food. 130 FRANKLIN'S FIRST LAND EXPEDITION. the Bunbrors began to recover strength. A week later, they were able to set out for Fort Chipowyaii, where they remained until June of the following year In July they reached York Factory, from whence they had started three years before; and thus terminated a jour- ney of five thousand five hundred and fifty miles, during whicli human courage and patience were exposed to trials such as few can bear with fortitude, unless, as is peon in PYanklin's interesting narrative, it arises out of i*!ianco on the ever-sustaining care of an Almighlv rrovidence. CHAPTER VI. - SNOW IcxT J v~ ''""'""^'''"- - »'""■""'• - --voyB .orK».r. PARHEUA. -n,Tnn» hom^. -..abrv's TDIBI. VOVAGK. Thk poBsibility of onten.g the Polar Sea having -een proved by Parry's fi:.t voyage, it was consiS that the north-west passage ,night probably be effected "a lower latitude than that of Melville Island wl re ti.e icy burner had proved i.npassable. Parry arcord- |;;gly was sent out a seeond tin.e with the Uecla and "• ry m May, 1821. with instructions to make for R^ pulse Bay by way of Hudson's Strait. The forn er eve" l.av,ng been u ly examined, it was supposed tha ol |>pon..g would be found leading fro J it to the ocel Parry, now promoted to the rank of captain, hoisted MS flag on board the Fu,y, while Captain Lyon already .l-t.ng„,shed by his services in Africa, rece ved he -.nn.a,K of the Hecla The equipment, he victual ,g :; h t : t. "' '^^ ^■^^^^'"' ^^-« ^" accon.;;! s Ine adventurers quitted the Nore on the 8th of May 821, passed through the Pontland Frith and by Ca^^ nroniitau"^i;t"^"'--^r--^^^^^^^ oiraii. larrj, accustomed as he waa to 1 11, *1' 132 PARRY'S SECOND VOYAGE. viows of polar doHolutioii, wan struck witli tlio oxceort iiij,'ly dreary UHpect which tht'HO Hhorcs pn^HCiitcd. Tin- niikcd rockH, the hiiow still covcrinp the vullcys, and the thick fogs that hung over them, rendered the ficei.<. iudcHcribal.ly gloomy. Tlie whipH were hoou Hu.roundeil by icebergH, amounting to the number of fifty-four, ono of which rose at least two hunnsects displaying the most gaudy tints, so that ho sa.lors m.ght lK..e fancied themselves in s^me hap- .or chmate had not the mighty piles of ice in the l-rozen Strait told a different talo. i 134 PARRY'S SECOND VOYAGE. Having passed Gore Inlet, the discoverers found themselves among those numerous ialos described by Middleton, which formed a complete labyrinth of various shapes and sizes, while strong currents setting between them in various directions, amid fogs and drifting ice, rendered the navigation truly perilous. However, one channel was observed, by which the mariners at last made their way through this perilous maze. No soonei had they reached the open sea, than, being obliged to run before a strong northerly breeze, they were much disheartened to find themselves, on the 3d of Septem- ber, at the very point which they had left on the Gth of August. All the interval had been employed in the merely negative discovery, that there was nothing to discover. The commander soon reached the northern coast, and resumed his task, which was rendered very tedious by the necessity of examining every opening and channel, in the hope that each might prove the desired passage into the Polar Ocean, lie first explored a In.rge inlet, the name of which he gave to Captain Lyon ; then a smaller one, which was named from Lieutenant Ilopp- ner ; and by connecting these with Gore Inlet, he com- pleted his delineation of the coast. The seamen had the pleasure of opening a traffic with a party of Esquimaux, whose first timidity was soon overcome by the hope of being supplied with some iron tools. In the course of tliis transaction, the surprise of the crew was roused by the conduct of a lady, who had sold one boot, but obstinately retaitied the other, in disregard of the strongest remonstrances as to the ridicuhnis figure siie in consequence made. At lengtti suspicion rose to such a pitch, that, all courtesy being 6et aside, her person was seized, and the buskin pulled off. Then, indeed, it proved a compU^te depository of PARRY'S SECOND VOYAGE. 233 Tr!Zf''"Tr' *^"' ^'"'"^ "" '^«« "'^" t^« spoons and a pewter plate secreted within its capacious cavity The end of September now approached, and Parrv foun-1 himself suddenly in the depth of winter A , the so t or pancake ,ce on the surface of the deep. The obstacle thereby occasioned was at first so slight as to be scarcely felt by a ship before a brisk gale; but t eontnnully increased, till at length the veLl rollnl from «de to side, became like Gulliver bound by h! feeble hands of Lilliputians. At the same time he vanous p.eces of drift-ice, which were tossing in the sea without had been cemented into one great field called "the ce," that threatened eveiy moment to be down upon the brigs and dash them in pieces. Unde these circumstances, the navigators could no longe even attempt to reach the land, but determined to saw to the heart of an adjoining floe, and there take up the,r wmter quarters. There was about half a mile to penetrate, wh,ch, in the soft state of the pancake le was not very laborious. It was, however, tZl pleasant, as .t bended like leather beneath their f e^ and caused them sometimes to sink into the wa e ' An observation of Parry shows that the Arctic cli- mate, equa ly with our own, is influenced by a chang of the wmd. Thus, on the 20th ." October when he w.nd was N. N. W., the thermometer fell to iT^^ i^' voe..ngtotheS.E.onthe24thand25th.it Trtl ■ , r ^'^ P«««'l''y." he says, "incur tne charge aflect. ,on m stating that this temperature was mufh the r£ hlr '^'"f ? *° "^ ' '"* '■* ''' — rtheless. ^anLe T ''""""^^ '''* ^"^ complained of the cUnge. rins m explamed by their clothing, bedding J 36 PARRY'S SECOND VOYAGE. fires, and other precautions against the seventy of the climate, having been once adapted to a low degree of cold, an increase of temperature renders them oppress- ive and inconvenient." Another circumstance is men. tiunod, which may servo to confirm a conjecture which das long been maintained by some, that an open sea, free of ice, exists at or near tiie pole. "On the 2d of November," says Parry, " the wind, freshened up to a '^•ale from N. by VV., lowered the thermometer before .nidnight to — 5", whereas a rise of wind at Melville Island was generally accompanied by a simultaneons rise in the thermometer at low temperatures. May not this," he asks, " be occasioned by the wind blowing over an open sea in the quarter from which the wind blows, and tend to confum the opinion that at or near the pole an open sea, free of ice, exists ? " Parry was now frozen up for another winter in the midst of the Northern Sea, and he forthwith applied himself to make the necessary arrangements, with that judicious foresight which had been already so conspic- uous in the same trying circumstances. As the result of experience, not less than of several ingenious con- trivances, the ships were much more thoroughly heated than in the former voyage ; the provisioning, too, was more ample, and antidotes against scurvy still more copiously supplied. The Polar Theatre opened, on the Otii of February, with " The Kivals." The two captains appeared as Sir Anthony and Captain Absolute; while those who personated the ladies had very generously removed an ample growth of beard, disregarding the comfortable warmth which it alTorded in an Arctic cli- mate. The company were well received, and went through their performances with unabated spirit. But the discomfort of a stage, the exhibitions of which were PARRY'S SECOND VOYAGE. 13« attended with a cold thirty degrees under the lieozinff point, became rather severe. The sailors found for themselves a more sober and useful, as well as efficacious remedy against ennui. i aey established a school, in which the better instructed undertook to revive the knowledge of letters among •use who had almost entirely lost the slight tincture that they had once imbibed. Those hardy tars applied themselves to their book with ardent and laudable zeal, an. showe I a pride in their new attainments like that o. little boys in their first class. At Christmas, sixteen well-written copies were produced by those who, two nionths before, could scarcely form a letter. Amid these varied and pleasing occupations, the shortest day passed over their heads almost unobserved, especially as the sun did not entirely leave them. Captain Lyon never saw a merrier festival than was celebrated on board. The first day of the new year is described as bein- 5 very severe one in the open air, the thermometer down to — 2- , and the wind blowing strong from the N W on which it may be observed, that the effect of a strong breeze on the feelings, even in temperate climates, is well known, but at low temperatures it becomes pain- lul, and almost insupportable. " Thus," says Parrv '' with the thermometer at -55°, and no win" separated from that along which they were sailing. This feature, agreeing with the indications of Iliglink, flattered them that they were approaching the strait exhibited by her as forming the entrance into the Polar Basin. They pushed on, full of hope and annnatinn, and were further cheered by reaching the small island of Igloolik, which she had described as situated at th(! very commencement of the passage. Accordingly, they soon flaw the strait stretching westward before tliein in long perspective ; but, alas 1 they discovered at the same moment an unbroken sheet of ice from shore to shore, crossing and blocking up the passage ; and this nut a loose accidental floe, but the field of the preoding winter, on which the midsummer sun had not produced the slightest change. Unable to advance, they amused themselves with land excursions in diflerent directions ; and Parry at length determined, on the 14th August, with a party of six, to undertake an expedition along the frozen surface of the strait. The journey was very laborious, the ice being some- times thrown up in rugged hummocks, and occasionally leaving large spaces of open water, which it was neces- sary to cross on a plank, or on pieces of ice, instead of boats. In four days they came in view of a peninsula terminuted by a bold cape, the approach to which was guarded by successive ranges of strata, resembling the tiers or galleries of a commanding fortification. The v^arty, however, scrambled 'o the summit, whence thcj fARUY'S SECOND VOYAGR 141! ei.Joyed a nx.flt gratifying epectaclc. Thoy were at tl.o narrowest part ofthoBtrait, Lore about two miles across witl, a tide or current running through it at the rate of two miles an hour. Westward, the shores on each side receded, till, lor three points of the con.pass, and an.id a clear horizon, no land was visible. Parry doubted not that from this position he beheld the Polar Sea into which, notwithstanding the formidable barriers of ice which intervened, ho cherished the mc.st sanguine hopes of forcing his way. Ue named this the Strait of the Fury and Ilecla. He now lost no time in returning to the ships, where his arrival was very seasonable ; for the opposin- bar- ner, which had been gradually softening and breaking into various rents and fissures, at once almost entirely disappeared, and the vessels next morning were in open water. On the 2l8t they got under weigh, and, though retarded by fogs and other obstructions, had arrived on the 26th at that central and narrowest chan- iiol which the commander had Ibrmerly reached A brisk breeze now sprang up, the sky cleared, they dashed across a current of three or four knots an hour and sanguinely hoped for an entire success, which would compensate so many delays and disappointments, buddonly, it was announced from the crow's nest that ice, in a continuous field, unmoved from its wintei Btation, occupied the whole breadth of the channel In .'ill hour thoy reached this barrier, which they found suit, porous, and what is termed rotten. Spreading all Iheir canvas, they bore down upon it, and actually forced their way through a space of three or four hundred yards : but there they stuck, and found their progress arrested by an impenetrable mass. From this point dunng the whole season, the ships were unable vi 1* 14G PARRY'S SECOND VOVAGE. advance a single yivril ; nor had the crews any ineani of exerting their activity except in land journeys. Captain Lyon undertook an expedition southward, to ascertain if any inlet or passage from sea to sea in this direction had escaped notice. The country, however, was so filled with rugged and rocky hills, some a thou- sand feet high, and with chains of lakes in which much ice was floating, that ho could not proceed above seven miles. Though it was the beginning of September, the season was only that of early spring ; and the buds of the poppy and saxifrage were just unfolding, to be pro- ma* urely nipped by the fast-approaching winter. More satisfactory information was derived from another excursion made by Messrs. Reid and Bushman, who penetrated sixty miles westward along the southern coast of Cockburn Island, till they reached a pinnacle, whence they saw, beyond all doubt, the Polar Ocean spreading its vast expanse before them ; but tremendous barriers of ice filled the strait, and precluded all ap- proach towards that great and desired object. It was now the middle of September, and the usual symptoms of deer trooping in herds southward, floating pieces of ice consolidated into masses, and the thin pancake crust forming on the surface of the waters, reminded the mariners not only that they could hope for no further removal of the obstacles which arrested their progress, but that they must lose no time in pro- viding winter quarters. The middh; oi' the strait, at the ppot where they had been first stopped, occurred as the station whence they would be most likely to push future discovery ; but prudence suggested a doubt, whether the ships, enclosed in this icy prison, with such strong barriers on each side, might ever bo able to effect their extrication The chance of being shut up here for eleven months, amid the privations of an Arctic i'ARRVS SKCOND VOYAGE 14, 01 heart than m tho two fbnnor voiin vvr.. 1 i ol the drama, or even of tho 8cf,o..l 1 4i • "' "^ '.o.h or w..eri.and,ti!;:r do :;.:.::;::; seven weeks of the sun's cheerin,. beanL. On e 2 I of December refraction still showed, fron. tho deck of ho ury, about the sixteenth part of his .ii.sk. A the New U.ar, Arcuru.aud Gapella, stars of the /irst n,arit„,r were, v.s.le half an h..nrbe,ore and anern-:;'"^ tf. 5th of January, 1823, the horizon was so bL.tlv Huilu^ed w,th red, that they hoped ere long to s ' t e «"..'s orb burst /brth ; but a fortnight of thfck fb« occ. r::^^;^''""r'"-- «'--^«'Mi.esk;t: ; -leared, they saw hnn rise, attended by two parhelia. PAnilGLIA. splendor of th,s cheering spectacle. One of these par- 148 rAUnVS SECOND VOYAGE. holia was very bright and prismatic, being thrown upon a thick cloud ; t!ie other scarcely perceptible, having a blue sky as its back-ground. To each of these raock Buns bright yellow bands of light were attached, aa ghown in the diagram. The sailors found at Igloolik a colony of Esquimaux, who received them at first with surprise and some de- gree of alarm ; but, on learning they were from Wintei Island, and intimate with its tenants of last season, they welcomed them as familiar acquaintances. The crews spent the winter with them on a friendly footing, and rendered important services to many individuals during a period of severe sickness. The spring proved unfavorable. Captain Lyon at- tempted to penetrate across Melville Peninsula, but found the road so barred by steep chains of mountains, that he was obliged to return in nineteen days, without any discovery, except of tv/o rapid rivers falling into the sea near Igloolik. Lieut. Iloppner accompanied a party of Esquimaux to Cockburn Island, but could not make his way to any distance inland. It was the 7th of August before they were able, by severe sawing, to reach the open sea ; by which time Parry had renounced the hope of effecting anything important during the short remnant of this season. He formed, however, a very bold plan, which was to bring all the stores of the other vessel on board the Fury, and Avith it aJone to lirave a tliird winter in the polar regions, hoping that the succeeding summer might be more propitious. But. as ho was preparing to carry this too daring prqj(,'ct into efl'ect, a report was made that symptoms of scurvy had broken out on several of the crew, whose pliysical strength appeared to be generally impaired by the two hard winters through which they had passcul. This left uo choice ; and, in compliance with the general opinion PARRY'S THIRD VOYAGE. 149 Of Ms officera, he forthwith began his voyage home- The ships were drifted about in a stormy sea, covered with .ce, for twenty-four days ; but, being It h^st favored Shetland '^'''"' ''''■ ^^"^^^ "' ^^^ ^ound. Two attempts had thus been made, each to a certain po.nt successful, but both arrested nu.ch short of tie complefon of the grand enterprise. The govornn at home however, were not willing to stop sho n tl-u sp.„^ed career. The western^.tremif f M i vile Island and the Strait of the Fury and Hec a t poared to be both so blocked up as to afford liUlc h^ J- but Pnnce Regent's Inlet seemed more likely lead o a Prosperons issue. A passage through this cllnel ou d b„ng the ships to the great sea bounding he urthern coast of America, that had been seen from he tra.tment.oned above, and by which there was he an-est prospect of reaching, by the most direct .-oute the waters of the g,-eat Pacific. To follow up t'c^e v.ews, Parry was again fitted out i.. the Ilecla ; wl le m the accdontal absence of Captain Lyon, the Fury was n. rusted to Lieutenant, now Captain, I oppn J who h..d taken an active part in the operations of' the prece<^ing voyage. of Mlv'mf "' T ""' ^'" """'''''''' «" ^''« ^9fh of June A ti" "" '" '^'"''^'^ ^^™* ''^ *''« "-'^le of June. As the season, however, chanced to be pecu- ar y ngoruus, it was not till the lOth of September at after .•epoated .-epulsos and severe strainir^. they ca^^ght a ^•.ew of the bold and magnificent shores oT Waster Sound, in which a few solitary icebergs were at,ng After this they thought themselves fo'rtunate v^Lon, by push.ng their way through many miles of ^'f^'mm.. 150 PARKYS THIIU) VOYACiK, ncwly-forincd ice, tlicy roacliod Tort Howcii, in time to miiko it their winter (lUiirtorw. Here they reniuinctl until tlie 20tli of July, 1S25, when tli(! voyaj^c was resumed, hut unth-r very dis- ciuiaging eireunistances. (Jreat accuniuhitiuiiH id' ito rendored it ahnost iinpossihh' to advance ; the Fu'y was driven on sliore, and al)andoned, tliong'li most ol lier stores were sav(;d and pih'd on the beucli ; and the Iloehi returned to Enghmd with a double complement t>r men and oflicers. This was the least successful oi" Parry's voyages, but there is a lact connected with it which deserves to be recorded : it proved that the anxiety and diillculty consequent on the loss of power in the compasses need no longer exist. The placing of u small circular plate of iron in the liiu; of no direction of the ship, an 1)1 ,K. SCORKSBY'S DISCOVERIES. igy v^ore oamollcd with bods of snow and ice, and in the intonor niountair.s rose beyond i^.o.u.tainH, till they -n.'Itcd m tno distant horzou. 1.,c boach of this capo was found nearly covered with the nests of terns, ducks, and other tenants of tho Arctic air, in some of which were young, over whom the pa- rents Itept watch, and, by loud cries and quick, vehc- which hovered round. ^ were" in'is-"' ;"'P"''^^"t.;"--«"os made by Scoresby vere ,n 182.. when ho sailed in the ship Baffin, of three ^u^c^andt^n^^^^^^^^ vt led t^^ ' h T "' ' '""'" fi«l"-ng-ffround, he was led to he eastern coast of Greenland -a tract ^^. uo^unknow,. unless at a. .w points which ^^ ut 1 had approached ; and it for-acd a. continuous line ^;::S:n:r"^' ^"''^••^^-"^-- -'pp-1 to hav^ On the 8th of June, in W 6' north latitude, the coast was dKscoverod, extending fn.n. north to south abo^ -oty m es; and of which tho n.ost northeri; po H. s concluded to be that named on the charts G^t lamkos s I and, while d.e most southerly appeared to nudson's Ilold-with-IIope. ScoresbVe'Sltl how,, er. to mount some of Us crags, which no European f *ll IG8 SCORESllVS DISC0VK1UE3. foot had evor trodden, was defeated by an impassable barrier of fee ; and a aimilai one having closed in behind him, he was obliged tj sail back and forward several days through a narrow channel. During this interval lie had a good opportunity of taking the bearings tiiul directions of the principal objects on land. The lati- tude, as given in the maps, was tolerably coirect, and was, indeed, his only guide in tracing the positions; for the longitude, after the most careful observation, was found to differ seven degrees from that in the best charts, and ten degrees from what is found in those usually supplied to the whale-fishers. The country was generally mountainous, rugged, and barren, bearing much resemblance to Spitzbergcu, though less covered with snow. Scoresby followed the usual system of naming the more prominent objects in the territeiy embraced by his discoveries. The two principal bays, or inlets, were designated Captain Kater and Sir Walter Scott ; while two spacious forelands, or projecting peninsulas — the former supposed to be an island — were assigned to Dr. WoUasLon and Sir Everard Home. Otlicr bays and capes were bestowed on some of the author's personal friends. lie now made a movement eastward, in search of whales, of which he found no traces in the vicinity of land. On the 19th of July the navigators came in view of a range of coast of a very bold and peculiar character, extending about forty miles. It presented a mountain chain from three to four thousand feet high, rising at once from the beach in precipitous cliffs, which termi- nated in numberless peaks, cones, and pyramids. In one instance there appeared to rise six or seven tall parallel chimneys, one of which, crowned wilh two ver- tical towers, was called Church Mount. This coast SCORESBY'S DISCOVERIEa l(jy received the name of Liverpool, while to the mountain, wa. ff,ve„ that of Roscoe. The range of shore temi nated at Cape Hodgson ; beyond whicl however. tC ng south-west, they descried three other promonloies • listtrr^'V"'''''"*-'^^"^" «- appellation of Capi Lister, Cape Swainsoii, and Cape Tobin Here Scoresby landed ; when he found the beach much lower than that further to the north, and consist! 'ng, m a great measure, of loose, stony hills. After Home examination, he came, near Cape Swainson, to an enclosure similar to those which the Esquimaux con! struct for their eummer huts, and within which were hc.llow structures, like bee hives, such as they use for Resuming his course at sea, and still holding south westward, he now discovered a spacious inlet, to which in looking upwards, no boundary could be seen While penetrating this opening, he observed another sound branching to the northward behind the Liverpool coast and supposed to form it into an island. The opposite Bhore of this entrance was named Jameson's Land, from he eminent professor of natural history in Edinburgh «eyond Cape Hooker, the southern point of the coast just described, another large inlet stretched towards the north, to which was given the name of Basil Hall It had every appearance of converting Jameson's Land into an island; and the coast to the westward of it received the name of Milne's Land. Between Cape Leslie, constituting the northern point of that coast and Cape Stevenson, on the opposite shore, the original opening continued to stretch into the interior, without any appearance of a termination. There appeared a Btrong presumption that, instead of the continuous masB ot land which our maps represent, Greenland composea only an immense archipelago of islands To this great j^^' Y^ V :! 170 SCORESBVa DISCOVERIES. inlot, the ontrarice of which was boumlcd by Cupo Tobin im the north, and Cape Brewster on the Boutli, tlio iiav igator gave the name of his father, though posterity will prnliahly l)0 apt to associate witli himself the name of " Scorcsby's Sound." Tiiese coasts, especially that of Jameson's Land, were found richer in plants and verdure than any others seen on this occasion within th<; Arctic circle, and almost meriting the distinction of Greeidand. The grass rose in one place to a foot in height, and there were mead- ows of several acres, which appeared nearly equal to any in England. But nowhere could a human being bo discovered, though there were everywhere traces of recent and even frequent inhabitation. At the foot of certain clifls, named after Dr. Noill, were several ham- lets '>f some extent. The huts appear to have been winter abodes, not rc.istructed of snow-slabs, like the cells of the Esquimaux of Hudson's Bay, but resembling those of the Greenlanders, dug deep in the ground, entered l)y a long winding passage or funnel, and roofed with a wooden frame overlaid with moss and earth. The mansion had thus the appearance of a slight hillock. Near the hamlets were excavations in the earth, serving as graves, where implements of hunting, found along with the bones of the deceased, proved the prevalence here of the general belief of savage nations, that the employments of man in the future life will exactly resemble those of the present. On emerging from this largo sound, and proceeding southward, Scoresby discovered another continuous range of coast. Disappointed as to any appearance of whales on this coast, he again steered to the northward, where ice- bergs surrounded him, amounting at one place to the number of five hundred. This course brought him iu a zllpfc* IMAGE EVALUATrON TEST TARGET (MT-3) /. {./ fc ^ 1.0 I.I 1.25 IIIM Mil 12.5 1^ 1^ ill 2.0 1.4 1= 1.6 ^. <^ /a ^>. W< Photographic Sciences Corporation 23 WEST MAIN STREET WCDSTER,N.Y. U580 (716) 872-4503 r^ i\ ^ ^^ ^^ K <^.^<> ' i ""J Humphrey Drvyn„ , f Z'"""'"' '"''='■ "™<'1 Sir the...e^e.«„.,/;„:::s„:;;:r-::t-';f4.'.'. Scoresby afterwardB approached more closeT!7r n.ng Island, and penetrated a acund between [and .1°' ">a,„ connected apparently with Hurrywlt n would have been happy to examine more of the G„ the ship was not his own, and his dutv to ht ' Soi'rwit',: rh t- --' -*-^^^^^^ sen being t alrrd Ir"'""""""" ' «'^' «'« »»»■ -%ed f„ -ur:;:rats -^:"tt"„n":"f MP -^mefet ""■""""' ""*' appLed :■„ * ' °'"""' "^ "0" ««™k. and three taken, which 174 CLAVERINO. at once rendered the ship full-fished, and placed him among the most successful adventurers of the year. He could, therefore, return with satisfactory feelings ; and the pleasure of the voyage homeward was only alloyed by the occurrence of a violent storm off Lewis, in which Sam Cliambers, one of the most esteemed and active of his crew, was washed overboard. To these discoveries some additions were made next year by Captain Clavcring, who was employed by the BrUish Admiralty to convey Captain Sabine to different stations in the Arctic Sea, for the purpose of making observations on the comparative length of the pendu- lum, as affected by tlie principle of attraction. Clavcring sailed on the 3d of May, 1823, and on the 2d of June arrived atllammorfest, in Norway, where he landed the philosopher with his tents and instruments. The observations being completed, ho weighed anchor on the 23d, reached the northern coast of Si)itzbergen, and fixed on a small island between Vogel Sang and Cloven Cliff for further operations. lie left this coast on the 22d of July, and steered for the eastern shores of Greeidand, of which he came in view on the 5th of August. The scene appeared the most desolate he had ever beheld. Tlie mountains rose to the height of several thousand feet, without a vestigo of vegetation, or tlie appearance of any li'-'-ig cieature on the earth or in the air. Even the dree y waste of Spitzbergen appeared a paradise to this. He landed his passenger and the scientific apparatus on two islands detached from the eastern shore of the continent, which he called the Pendulum Islands, and of which the out- ermost point is marked by a bold headlard rising to the height of three thousand feet. Wliile Sabine was employed in his peculiar researolies, the other surveyed a part of the coast which lay to the CLAVERING 175 noi tliward, beinjj the first which Scoresby saw. It lay at some distance, with an icy barrier interposed ; but was found indented with deep and spacious bays, sus- pcctod even to penetrate so for as to convert all this range of coast into a cluster of ishmds. The inlet whicii the former navigator had assigned to Sir Walter Scott was believed by Clavering to be that discovered by the Dutch mariner, Gale Ilamkes ; but we have not ventured to remove this last from the more northerly position preferred by the scientific whaler. Other openings, which occurred in proceeding towards the north, were named by the captain Foster's Bay, Ardin- caple, and Roseneath Inlets ; and he saw bold and high land still stretching in this direction as far as the seventy-sixth degree of latitude. In regard to the natives this commander ^va8 more fortunate than his predecessor, who saw only their deserted habitations. On landing at a point on the southern coast of Sir Walter Scott's Inlet, he received intelligence of Esquimaux having been seen at the dis- tance of a mile, and hastened thither with one of his officers. The natives, on seeing them, immediately ran to the top of some rocks ; but the English advanced, made friendly signs, deposited a mirror and a pair of worsted mittens at the foot of the precipice, and then retired. The savages came down, took these articles, and carried them away to the place of their retreat ; but they soon allowed the strangers to approach them, though their hands, when shaken, were found to trem ble violently. By degrees confidence was estiblished. and they conducted the visitors to their tent, five feet high, and twelve in circumference, composed of wood and whalebone. Their aspect and conformation, their bouts and implements, exactly corresponded to those observed by Parry and Lyon iu Hudson's Bay. A ohild, I 178 PARRY'S POLAR VOYAGE. after being diligently cleared of its thick coating of dirt and oil, was found to have a tawny, copper-colored skin. Tlie natives wore astonished and alarmed beyond measure by the effect of fire-arms. A seal being shot, one of tham was sent to fetch it. He examined it all over till he found the hole made by the ball, when, thrusting his finger into it, he set up a shout of aston- ishment, dancing and capering in the most extravagant manner. Another was prevailed upon to fire a pistol ; but instantly, on hearing the report, started and ran back into the tent. The observations were not completed till the begin- ning of September, when the season was too late to allow Clavcring to gratify his wish of making a run to the northward. Nor did he extricate himself from the ice witiiout some severe shocks ; but nevertheless, after spending six weeks at Drontheim, he entered the Thames about the njiddle of December. After the abortive voyage of Buchan and Franklin, in 1818, no further attempt was made to reach the pole in ships ; but a plan was devised to accomplish that object in vehicles drawn over the frozen surface of the ocean — a scheme first suggested by Scorcsby, who endeav- ored to prove that such a journey was neither so vision- ary nor so very perilous as it might appear to those who were unacquainted with the Arctic regions. Ilis suggestions did not, for a considerable time, attract attention ; but at length Captain Parry, after hia three brilliant voyages to the north-west, finding reason to suspect that his further progress in that direction was hopeless, turned hia thoughts to the probability of penetrating over the frozen sea to the pole. Combining iScoresby's ideas with his own observations, and with a series of reflections derived by Captain Franklin from hie extensive experience, he submitted to the Lords of PARRY 8 POLAR VOYAGE. ]77 tho Admiralty tJ.e plan of an expedition over the polar ce. Their lordships, having referred this proposal to the council and committee of the Royal Society, and received a favorable report as to the advantages which Bcence might derive from such a journey, anpliod them- selvea w.th their usual alacrity to supply the captain with everything which could assist him in this bold undertaking. The Ilecla was employed to carry him to the northern coas of Spitzbergen, where she was to be secured in a safe harbor or cove ; and with her were sent two boats, to be dragged or navigated, according to circumstances, from that island to the pole. These boats being framed of ash and hickory, covered with water-proof canvas, over which were successive planks of fir and oak, with a sheet of stout felt interposed, united the greatest pos- sible degree of strength and elasticity. The interior was made capacious, and flat-floored, somewhat as in troop-boats ; and a runner, attached to each side of the koel, fitted them to be drawn along the ice like a sledge Whees were also taken on board, in case their use sliould bo found practicable. The advontur(.rs started on the 27 th of I^Iarch IS^I and on the 19th of April entered the fine harbor V Ilammerfest, in Norway, where thoy remained two or three weeks, and took on board eight reindeer, with a quantity of picked moss for their provender. Departinir on the 11th of May, they soon found themselves amont the ice, and met a number of whale-ships. On the 13th they were in view of Hakluyt's Headland, when the captain endeavored to push his way to the north-east ■n the track of Phipps. The vessel, however, was soon oomplecely beset, and even enclosed in a large floe, which ■earned her slowly along with it. As every day was now an irretrievable loss, Parry ^'Sl.^. % 178 PARRY S Pt»LAR VOYAGE. became impatient in the extreme, and furmcd a plan tc p'ush oflF northward, leaving the ship to find a harbor for herself, where ho truHtcd, on his retnrn, to trace her out. But the survey of the route in the proposed di- rection was most discouraging. In consequence of some violent agitation the preceding season, tlie ice had been piled up in innumerable hummocks, causing tiio 8«a to resemble a stone-mason's yard, except that it contained masses ten times larger. This state of the surface, which would have rendered it impossible to drag the boats more than a mile in the day, was found to prevail for a considerable space with little interrup- tion. The current, meantime, continued to carry the ship, with the floe to which she was fastened, slowly to the eastward, till it brought her into shoal water. Parry lowered a boat, and found some heavy masses of ice attached to the bottom in six fathoms ; after which ho felt it quite out of the question to leave her with a diminished crew, dnd oxposc^d to so much danger, aris- ing from the combined difficulty of unsurveyed ground and ice. The conclusiim was therefore irresistibly forced upon his mind, that a secure harbor must be Bougiit for the vessel before setting out with the boats. No choice was then left but to steer back for the coast of Spitzbergen, where he unexpectedly lighted on a verj'^ convenient recess, named by him Ilecla Cove ; and it proved to bo part of the bay to which an old Dutch chart gives the name of Trcurcnborg. The animals met with here during the Ilecla's stay were principally reindeer, bears, foxes, kittiwakes, glaucous and ivory gulls, tern, eider-ducks, and a few grouse. Looms and rotges were numerous in the offing. Seventy reindeer were killed, chiefly very small, and, antil the middle of August, not in good condition. PARRY'S POLAR VOYAGE. 179 They were usually met with" in herds of from six or eight to twenty, an.l were most abundant on the west and north skIoh of the bay. Tliree bears were killed, llie vegetation was tolerably abundant The neighborhood of this bay, like most of the north- ern shores of S,)itzbergen, appears to have been much visited by the Duteii at a very early period. There are thirty graves on a point of land on the north side of the REINDEER. bay ,he bodies are usually deposited in an oblonff wooden coffin, which, on account of the cffficulty of •I'gging the ground, is not buried, but n.^ely covered by large stones ; and a board is generally placed near tl'^> head, havinp., either cut or painted upon it the -mo of the deceased, with those of his ship and 'com .u.uidor. and tin, month and year of his buriai. Several of those wore fifty or sixty years old ; one bore the date of 1738 ; and another, which Parry found on the beach 180 PARRY'S POLAR VOYAGE. to tlio oastwunl of Ilccla Cove, that of 1690; tlio in Hcriutioii (liHtinclly appearing in prominent relief, occa- Bioned by the preservation of the wood by tlio paint, while the unpainted part had decayed around it. It was now the '20th of June, and the best of the Beanon had been spent in beating backwards and for- wards on these ice-bound shores ; he therefore resolved, without further delay, to prosecute the main object of bis enterprise ; and, though scarcely hoping to reach the pole, he determined, at all events, to push as far north as possible. He took with him seventy-one days' provi- sion, consisting of pemmican, biscuit, cocoa, and rum. The spirit of wine, as the most portable and concen- trated fuel, was alone used for that purpose. There were provided changes of warm clothing, thick fur dresses for sleeping in, and strong Esquimaux boots. The reindeer, and also the wheels, were given up at once, as altogether useless in the present rugged state of the ice ; but four sledges, constructed out of the native snow-shoes, proved very convenient for dragging along the baggago. On the 21M of Juno the expeditionary party quitted the ship, and betook themselves to the boats, amid the cheers of thoir associates. Although all the shores were still frozen, they had an open sea, calm and sincoth as a mirror, thnnigh which, with their loaded vesscis, they advanced slowly, but agreeably. A Iter proceeding thus for abor/, eighty miles, tlioy reached, not, as they had hoped, the main body of the ice, but a surface intermediate between ice and water. This couU; rrither DC walked !ior sailed over, but was to be passed by the two methods alternately ; and it was on such a strange and perilous plain that they had to land, in order tr commence their laborious journey toward the pole. Parry doscribis in an interesting manner the singular PARRY'S POL.iR VOYAGE. IgJ mode Of travelling, which they were compelled to adopt The first Ht<.p wuH to convert night into day -to begin rhuB while they had quite enough of hVht thev avo, ed the Hnuw-glare, and the blindnesn which it ually produccH ; besides, the ice was drier and harder b uh tho,a; and they enjoyed the greatest warn.th though they were a little annoyed by denno and Ae- qu<,.n fogH. Thus their notions of night and day beca ne .averted Several of the n.o,. declared that they neve knew n,ght fron. day, during the whole excursio.f They .ciily late ,„ the evening, and. having performed their devotions, breakfasted on warm cocoa and biscuit ; then drawing on their boots, usually either wet or hard' frozen, and which, though perfectly dried, would have been equally soaked in fifteen minutes, the party trav- to d Lr T."' '""' "" ' ""'^ ''''' "-^-'^''t stopped todne. They next accomplished an equal journey i„ wha was called the afternoon ; and in the evLing, th .lb '" ff;"^^'-^^^""'- •" t''« -^ornius, baited as for the mglt. After applying themselves to obtain rest and comfort, they put on dry stockings and fur boot, cooked something warm for supper, smoked their pipes' told over their exploits, and, .orgetting the toils of tl.;. day, enjoyed an interval of ease and gayety ; then, well wrapped ,n their fur cloaks, they lay down in the boat ather too close together, perhaps, but with very tolero: Me com ort ; and in due time the sound of a bugle roused them to their breakfast of cocoa, and to a rep^ tition of the same arduous duties. The progress for several days was moct slow and laborious The floes were small, exceedingly rough »nd antersected by lanes of water, which could not be ■ f 1 , ^^1 1 . r;y 1 ^^^H '^ ' ■ ':"'• 182 PAIIRY'8 POLAR VOYAOK. oroHscd without unloiiding tho houtH. It was commonlj necoHHiiry to convoy tlicne uml tlie HtoroH by two HtujjoB ; and the HuilorH, being obligfd to rotiiin for tho Hccond portion, hud to go tlin-o timcH over tlic Hiini«> gronnd. SoinolinuJH they won- obb'gcd to intiko threi; HtugoH, tind tliiiH to i>iiHs over it live times. There fell as much ruin us they hud experienced dur- ing the whole cour.se of seven yours in the K>wor luti- tude. A grout doul of tlie ice over wiiich they truvollod wus formed into nun>l)erU'SS irregular needle-like crys- tals, standing upwurdw, and pointed at both ends. Tho horizontul surface of this purt hud Honiotinies the up- peurunce of greenish velvet, while the vertical sections, when in a compact state, resembled the most beautiful satin spur, ami asbestos when going to pieces. Tiiese peculiar wedges, it was supposed, wore produced by the drops of rain piercing through tho superliciul ice. The needles at first utVorded tolorubly lirm footing ; but, becoming always more loose and movable as the sum- mer advanced, they ut last cut the boots and foot as if thoy had been pen-knives. Occasionally, too, there arose hummocks so elevated and rugged that the boats coidd only be borne over them, in a direction almost perpendicular, by those vigorous operations called " a standing pull and a bowline haul." The result of all this was, that a severe exertion of five or six hours did not usually produce a progress oi above a mile and a half or two miles, and that in a wind- ing direction ; so that, after having entered upon tho ice on the 24th of June, in latitude SI" 13', thoy found themselves on the 29th only in 81° 23', having thus made only about eight miles of direct northing. Parry Boon relin(]uished all hope of reaching the pole ; how- ever, it was resolved to push on us fur as possible ; and the party coming at length to somewhat smoother ic« PAIUIYS POLAR VOVAQE. 18a ...d IarK,.r flocH. mad. rathor lu-tt-r proKioHH. Wl.ilo and Liout KuHs immWy p«Hlu,d ur, to tl»> ..thcr o.kI to -.rtan. the hent c..u.-He. On roud.i,., the oxtrclnity hoy conuMonly nuMu.tocl the lurKcst l.u.nmock. whon.o Ley bohcld u night of which nothing could oxo.od tho .oannoHH. Tho eyo rested nolely upon Ice. a.,d 1 ^ hid Ml (lonHo and diHmul fogs. ^ One warm day, two dies on tho ice were regard.. w.th a dogroo of attention that woul.l have been lud - croua un.lor other circum«tance8 , and e<,n«IIy important was the Mght of an aphLs Uurealis, i„ a hu.guid Htate u .undred n.es away from land. Amid iL J 'of nanimato desolation, the view of a passing bird, or o -co m any peculiar shape, excited an intense interest w .ch they smiled to recollect; but they were pr nc .' pa iy chee.3d by viewing the two boats in tho dista J t».o moving .gures of the n.en winding with their sledge among the hun.n.ocks, and by hearing tho sound of '•-"nan vo.ces, which broke the silence of thi, frlen w.hlerness. The r.i,. ...d the increasing warnUh o l" oason .ndeed, gradually softened the ice and s o v but th.s only caused the travellers to sink deep r It' every stop. At one place they sank repeatedly'thrre ot, and re,,un-ed three hours to n.ake a hundred yards Having attained 82° 40'. ,hey began to hold it as a ixe j point that their efllnts would be crowned with sue • es - far as t<, reach the eighty-third parallel. This po hldt ";,"7""' '"" ^'"""'"^ -■'-'• - the 2L>d. 1 ev m avelled seventeen miles, the greater proporti .n of "-avo.able change, which baffled all their exertions l^own to the U.th, the wind had blown steadily Ln i'o south, which, though without aiding then m 7 bad at least checked the usual movemcft of tl e ^ ' 184 PARRY'S POLAR VOYACE. 1 . ' * ■• that direction. On the last of thepc days, h(>wov< :, a breeze sprang up from the north, which opened, indeed, a few hmes of water; but this. It waa feaiod, could not compensate for the manner in which it must cause the loosened masses of ice, with the travellers upon them to drift to the southward. This eflect was soon found to take place to an extent still more alarming than had l«een at first anticipated ; for, instead of ten or twelve miles, which they reckoned themselves to have achieved northward on the 22d, they were found not to have made qui*e four. This most discoaraging fact was at first concealed from the sailors, who only remarked that they were very long in getting to the eighty-tliird degree. The expedition was now ffist approaching the utmost limits of animal life. During their long journey of the 22d, they only saw two seals, a fish, and a bird. On the 24th only one solitary rotge was heard ; and it might be presumed that, from tlicnco to the polo, all would be a uniform scene of silence and s.olitude.» The adventur- ers pushed on without hesitation beyond the realms of life ; but nov, after three days of bad travelling, when their reckoning gave them ten or eleven miles of prog- ress, obseivation showed them to be four miles south of the position which they occupied on the evening of the 22d — the drifting of the snow-fields having iu that time carried them fourteen miles backward. This was too much ; and to reach even the eighty- third dcj^ree, thougti only twenty miles distant, wr.s now beyond all reasonable hope. To ask the men to undergo such unparalleled toil a. id haidship, with tiie danger of their means being exli.iustcd, while an invisi- ble power umiid what tiieir most strenuous lal)ors af^complished, was contrary to the \ iews of theii con- siderate commander. In short, he det(.rmined that they should take a day of rest, and then set out ou their PARRY'S POLAR VOYaoE. 185 return This resolution was communicated to the crew, rho, though deeply disappointed at having achieved 90 l.nle, ncqu.esced in the necessity, and consoled them- selves w.th the idea of having gone further north than any previous expedition of which there was a well- authenticated record. Tlio furthest point of latitude reached was on the 23d and was, probably, to 82° 45'. " At the extreme poin^ of our journey," says Parry, "our distance from the io^r' '"'"""' ^""'^'•^J ^'"1 «evcnty-two miles in a ^. 8 W. direction. To accomplish this distance we had traversed, by our reckoning, two hundred and M.nety-two miles, of which about one hundred were por- lormed by water previously to our enteiincr the ice As we travelled by far the greater part of our distance on the ice three, and not unfrequently five, times over wo may safely multiply the length of (be road by two and a half; so that our whole distance, on a very mod- erate calculation, amoui:ted to five hundred and eightv gcogrr^phical, or six hundred and sixty-eight statute miles, being nearly sufficient to have reached the pole ■" a direct line. Up to this period we had been pai^ licuiar.y lortiinate in the preservation of our health " Their day of rest (July 2Uh), before starting to return u-as one of the pleasantosf, they had experienced upon tlie icp ; the thermometer only from 31° to 36° in the shade, and 37° in the sun ; no bottom with five hundred i.itl oms of liae. Tic ro'.urnwas equally laborious as the going on f and in some respects more unpleasant, from the incroas-' i"g softness of the ice and snow — depriving them of c.nhdence in any spot on which they placed their boats T persons, and ofton sinking two or three feet in an -nstant. On the Ist of August some recent bear-tracks wore seen, and, soon -'"ter, Bruin himself appeared • but, 186 PARRY'S POLAR VOYAGE. ihou^'h iittompts wore made to draw him within sfCTi- slint, ho osraiH'd uiiliarmed. Hut. en tiio 4th, a fat hear ^l^l\'H?Sh^. 'iW '<-*/i '^^\« 5* fl ■■fn ,'n POLAR BKAU. A'.is shot Liy Lieut. Ross: and "the men woro hyiii^ steaks, durinj;^ tlie wliole day, over a large fire made of tiie bIul)hor." To some tlio coiise(iuoiico oi' their indul- j;-oiice was an indigestion. On tiie 10th anotlier lioui" was killed : " and our enoampnient," says Parry, " l)ecame so like an Esquimaux estahlishtnont that we were obliged to shift our place upon the l!oo in the course of the day, for the sake of cjeaidiness and com- fort." At length, on M-e 11th of August, I'arry and his party 'leard the sound of the surge r)r<}aking against tl:e exte- rior margin of the great icy field. They were soon launehed on the open sea, and reachi'd Table Island, where a supply of broad had been dei)osited ; but Bruiu PAUUY'S POLAR VOiAGE. 187 ad chs.overed it, and devoured ti.e whole. They Ibund huuever some accommodations, while the stores left' tt 21 i " '"'^ "''"^ '^^'" 'i"""*^' ""disturbed. On tht 21st the navigators arrived in Hecia Cove from -hence, soon afterwards, they sailed for Kngl^aJd Such was the result of the first and only attemnt to ponetrate to the pole over the frozen surface'ot d'eer touaids the fulfilment of tlunr intention; yet thero --nothm, in U.e details ,u.t gi^^^^ tl-o en crpnse. as in.possiblo, or even to render it very - e-b e. The unfavorable issue was evidently 1^^ '- the advanced season of the year, when the thaw and -msecuent dissolution of the ice had made grea L -.and^a^t^e materials of the great noiLrn^l,:. 1^'- ' !;^>miC''f*''>'ffT^=i-— ^^ CHAPTER IX. Bllft'S BECOHD TOYAGE. — nor.STKINBOIlO. — DISCO ISLAND. I.AIICABTK« iOORD. BOOTHIA. — DISCOVErtV OF TIIR FCHY'S STORES. — DANGER- OUS NAVIGATION. PREPARATIONS FOR WINTERING. — VISIT FROM ESQUIMAUX. — EXCURSION. — SECOND WINTER IN TUB ICE. — THE MAO- NETIC POLE. — TIIIKD AND FOURTH WINTER. — ABANDONMENT OF TUB VICTORY. — MEETING WITH A WHALER. Next in chronological order is the expedition equipped at the cost of Sir Felix Booth, and conducted by Captain Ross, and his Jicpliew, ConimiunK-r (afterwards Sir James) Ross. They sailed in JNIay, 1829, in the Victory, a vessel fitted with a steam-engine, in addition to her sails, so as to be able to navigate in calm weather, or in baffling winds. The object of the voyage was to search for the north-west j)assage, as Parry had done before, by some opening leading out of Regent's Inlet. On the 22d of July they entered a bay which opened into two magnificent inlets, bordered by rocks of impos- ing form ; and every spot, not absolutely a precipice, was covered with such bright verdure as to justify the appellation of Greenland. In sailing upwards, the unex- l)ectcd appearance of a Danish flag surprised the crew, and they learned that they were now near a settle- ment belonging to that nation, called Holsteinborg. The governor had seen the masts above the rocks, and apprehensive of their being those of a vessel in distress, kindly sent an oiler of aid. The party were immediately ROSS'S SECOND VOYAGE. 139 conducted to the village, where they had a hospitable reception, with entertainment such as they li tTe e^ pected on those droaiy shores Thc^ here found a disabled vessel, and from it replen- o the '7,r"'" r" ^P"" ^'^^ P'-"^^^-- -- -ised to the,r fu 1 complement. Some boots and gloves were obtained from the natives, and the governor made a "seiul present of six Esquimaux dogs and? Jt^ ^^'^ ^^' discoverers sailed to the northward; and on the moruino- of thp 9SfK +i.„ * , tains of n;«n. /"SOI the jsth the stupendous moun- tauis of D.sco Island, long enveloped in mist, burst on the,r view, only a few miles distant The range nearest he shore was entirely free from snow, and tlfe interL liills were but partially covered il.ro ill 7 almost equally clear; and, though fo"; ceb^^,::: observed, yet, as the navigators approached the fati;! oeset in 1 824, not a vestige of ice was perceived Thev seas of England, or even of the Mediterranean • the men threw off their jackets, and worked in ^dr shirts relTsl^t^ "'■ ''"""^T- ''-''-' -™' times recouKse to the engme, though, from practical def-cts uti^rciCncr ^'^"^"'^ '''-^ -•-^-^' - ^ Sound, and reverting to the blame imputed to 1 r„ t .ot av,ng explored it, the captain observe' that from nav„a.„,s of ,ho great... ,m. Z .,• ^ "^'ffl; 190 ROSS'S SECOND VOYAGE. from his had been expressed by any one of his oflBccra, who, if they entertained any such, were unquestionably bound to have stated it. The ice, moreover, hiy then BO thick that he could have penetrated but a lew miles further. Now, however, he sailed through tiic middle of the strait, perceiving scarcely any trace of ice or snow, unless on the tops of the lofty mountains. The ther- mometer stood at 40°, while the sensible heat was so much greater that they felt it agreeable to dine witiiout a fire, and with half the skylight removed. For two days they made only a slow and laborious progress, by the aid of steam ; but, on the 9tli, a welcome breeze sprang up from the east, and, all sail being set, on the 10th they passed Cape York, after wliicli the land begins to turn southward, and, with the opposite coast of North Somerset (Boothia), forms the broad opening of Prince Regent's Inlet. This being the channel by whioli Rosa hoped to accomplish his passage, he immediately steered across, and reached the western shore on the afternoon of the 11th, between Cape Seppings and Elwin Bay. In sailing southward along this coast, some heavy gales were encountered ; and the ice having been broken oft' in the various forms of streams, packs, and bergs, the full difficulties of Arctic navigation began to be experienced. These were increased by the near ap- proach to the magnetic pole, so that the compass ceased to traverse ; and the bearings could he ascer- tained only by observations on the sun, which was often obscured by heavy fogs. The navigators made their way, however, and on the 12tli descried the place of (he Fairy's wreck, with the poles of the tents standing. They hastened, with intense interest, to examine this spot. The hull of the ship, which was left on the Leach, had disappeared, without even a vestige remain- [lyij ROSS'S SECOND VOFAGE. 193 «ng. The moving masses of ice had either carried it out 'n a h(,dy or broken it into fragments and scattered .t as dnft-wood over the surrounding sea. But it was an ample con.pensation to find that the canisters of preserved provisions, after being exposed during four years, were in as perfect condition as if they had been newly prepared. The tightness of these vessels had prevented the bear from smelling the rich feast they contained for him, and to which otherwise he would soon have forced his way. The wine, spirits, sugar, bread flour and cocoa, were, with little exception equally good, and the sails were found in complete pres' ervation. After taking in all the provisions they could conveniently stow, raising their stock to two years and three months' supply, the accumulated pile seemed Bcarcely diminished. Here. also, they procured a store 01 coal. Crossing now the broad mouth of Crcsswell Bay thev reached on the 15th of August, a cape to which the name of Garry has been attached, the furthest point seen by Parry. The land trended in a south-south west direction, which, with kv^ variations, it continued to follow. Deprived of all aid from the compass, and ofteu enveloped in fogs, they worked their way slowly, amid many difSculties and frequent dangers, being obliged to steer merely according to the direction which the wind, or even the floating ice, had, in the last clear mterval, been observed to pursue. While mountains of ice were tossing around them on every side thev were often forced to seek safety by mooring themselves to these formidable masses, and drifting with them sometimes forward, sometimes backward. In this man' ner on one occasion, no less than nineteen miles were lost in a few hours ; at other times they underwent fre quent and severe shocks, yet escaped any serious dam • In 194 ROSS'S SECOND VOYAGE. t^M.^-: ago. Uo88 concoivcs that his littlo bark, merely by its moderate draught of water, was much better fitted for Bucli a iiiivigatioti than the hirger vessels employed in previous expeditions, and that those of Parry would have been shattered to pieces by the rocks over which the Victory was carried in safety. On several points of this coast they observed Esqui- maux tents, — at one place twenty in number, — but none of the natives. Many whales appeared on the surface of the water close to them, without showing any appre- hension of man. Among the leading features of the coast was Brent- ford Bay, of considerable extent, with some fine harbors, thirty miles beyond Cape Garry. Here the captain landed, displayed his colors, and, drinking the king's health, took possession, in his majesty's name, of the land, to which he gave the name of Boothia. Under all impediments, in the course of August and September, he worked his way along throe hundred miles of undiscovered coast, and to within two hundred and eighty miles of the point which Franklin had reached. ITere the land, taking a westerly direction, Boemed to alTord the fair promise of a passage between the country now surveyed and the continent of America. But, by the end of September, snow began to fall thick ; the thermometer sank far below the freezing-point, while ice in largo masses was closing around them. They therefore considered themselves fortunate when, in a spacious bay between a rocky island and two icebergs, they found a station in Felix Harbor, in which, after due arrangements, they could reckon on passing the dreary season in security. On the 7th of October, by sawing through the ic<,', the vessel was placed in the position where it could be most advantageously lodged for the winter. On the ROSS'S SECOND VOYAOE. 195 and, except some occasional points of rock "nothin. but^c.0 ,a.,in, and .onoton'ou. dn„ a:d\ve:S extent of snow was vi«il,le." Tho temperature, which l.ad been ranging between 10" and 22°, rapidly fe nd. on the night of tho 20th, descended asSow al 9- under zero or 4 1" ),..i-.... h e • the end of f o '^ fteoz.ng-point. and. before me end of the month, was at —16° H prepari„g for tho gloom and rigor of this long Xi a. :. ""^'" '^"'^ -P-vements even upon th! Um.rau arrangements of Parry. The upper deck ^v,ng been covered two feet and a half Ten wih no. ,t was trodden down to the consistence^ so d gravel walk. It was then roofed with canvas which "t enow that hud been formed around the vessel th-s completely fencing it in on every side. The vapo f om he steam-kitchen and oven, instead of being allied to pread through the cabins, was conveyed by ape'tur s '. the upper dock, over which were placed to rec ile -n tanks, with tho open side downwards, where oon froze, and the ice wa. cleared out once a week 'y ndi I" ^^'%^P--^-"^« -- preserved perfec ly /.and , was not necessary, as formerly, to keep them ap r tmT"-"" "' T' "" ^''^^ *« P^-t th: vapor fiom Irorzing on their sides; that of 45° was ionnd quue sufficient for health and comfort and such of the men as had been exposed to the atmos- at in n^loo 7 "' "'''^''"^ '" P-""^"^^ combustion Habere it was unmed.ately warmed, and, instead of chiU- jtp. 196 IlOSa-S SECOND VOYAGE. Ing, Bcrvfid to heat and dry the room. Tlio strongth and BpiritH of the crow were supported by regular mealH and conBtunt occupation. Divine Bcrvice wan duly per- formed, and religious inBtruction diHpenfied at a bcLooI held every Sunday evening. On the other nightB a school also was attended. The stock of proviHions, on examination, was found Buflicient for two years and ten months at full allowance, a quantity which could easily be nuinaged so as to last three years. Fuel was equally abundant. The oidy article deficient was spirits, of which there was oidy one year's full supply ; but this want the commander by no means regretted, being satisfied that their habitual use impaired the strength of the scavian, diminished his power of enduring culd, and rendered him mure liable to scurvy. lie was gratified, therefore, when the crew cheerfully consented to their being withheld, unless on special occasions ; and he considers this circumstance as having remarkably contributed to the preservation of their health. Traces of Esquimaux had been observed on different parts of the coast, but none had been hitherto seen. At length, on the morning of the 9th of January, 1830, a party were discovered. Ross immediately proceeded to the spot, upon which they retreated, but soon re- turned with a body of their companions, ranged in a line of ten in front and three deep, one man being detached, who appeared to be sitting in a sledge. The captain, having sent for his nephew and some of the crew, desired them to remain behind, while he walked toward the Es(iuiiiiaux, who were armcu with spears and knives. He hailed them by the well-known national Balutation, Timal tima! which was shouted by them in return. The navigators then advanced, and, throwing away their guns, called out, Aja, tima! upon wLicb ROSS'S SECOND VOYaOE. i97 tI.o otherB to8«e(l tl.dr knives and spearH in the air .-«pcat.ng the shout, .\fa/ and oxtonding tl.dr i.unds t« Bhow that they had now „o weapons. As thoy stoo Ht.ll, huwoyor, the discovorcrs approached, and en.'- braced all those in the front line, stroking thoir dross and rec'Iyiuff in their turn this customary greetinir' I he.r gratification was tosti.lod by laughing, clamor, and r/f , ^ri'"'''- '^*'"« '"" «-"fid-'"co was at once established between the two parties. Next day the discoverers visited "this people at their own village, which consisted of twelve snow huts, con. p2v tT- "!'/'™' '"'""'"■ ^' *^"«« «^««'-vcJ by i^uiry. 11„8 tnbo were thought, on the whole, to bo .leaner and bettor dressed than those more to the north- buried in the snow -a precaution not before noticed among any Esquimaux. "oucta ^ VVhilo the British remainc-d on these shores, they no d frequent intercourse with this and other parties of natives. Some of the places about Repulse Bay being named and described, they showed an intimate acquaint ance with them, stating that they had recently joun.ey d from that quarter. Two of them. Tulluahiu and Ikm ' i.k, drew a sketch of the lino of coast by which they had travelled and this was amonded by a learned lady, Tir- iks.u. Iho general result proved to be. that between the present station and Ropnise Bay there intervened a very extensive gulf, of which the limits were Melville Peninsula on the east, the American coast on the south and the country in which they now were, on the west. ' Ihe grand question, whether there was any navigable op(Mnng further westward, could not be then ascertained, aiough they had reason to believe that, if there was it must be very narrow. The strongest interest, however «^as excite,/ oy the ar.-ounts given by another party of m Ml 198 ROSS'S SECOND VOYAGE. great the '1, and of a btrait which westwa it was hoped might lead into u. On tlic 5th of April, therefore, when the rigor of winter had somewhat abated, Commander Ross, with Mr. lilai.ky, the chief mate, and two native guides, undertook an expedition to explore it. Tlie weather being still very inclement, they were frequently obliged to pause and seek refuge from the drift, when the Esqui;iiaux in half an hour erected snow hits, which afforded tolerable shelter. Unluckily the fire necessary for heat and light, melting the walls of this frail tenement, enveloped them in moisture, to avoid which they were obliged to creep into their fur bags. After a difficult journey of three days, they reached a bay facing the westward, and, on proceeding a short dis- tance iidand to the south and south-east, discovered a very extensive lake, called by the natives Nci-tyel-le, whence a broad river flowed into the bay. On their return to the coast, the guides pointed out a lofty cape, beyond which there was said to be a vast sea, the termi- nation of which could not be descried. Tliey declared, however, that a tract of land, or isthmus, connecting the territory on which ihey stood with the continent of America, would render it impossible for the vessel to roach the western sea in this direction, or otherwise than by a channel considerably noi'lh of her present station. The journey so far had issued only in disappointment. They learned that, on the coast nearest tliem, facing the eastward, there was a place called Shagavoke, where the water rushed through a narrow strait with extraor- dinary rapidity. Hence arose hopes that this tide might come from the opposite sea, and afford a char.nel through which the ship could be worked. Hut, on examiuation, this idea proved fallacious, and (very idea ROSS'S SKCOND VOYAGE, 199 of a passage south of the ship's present station T.aa renounced. It was to the north that all hopes of finding the desired {.assage were now directed. So far how ever, as they were personally able to exannno the land ,te aspect was unpromising, and the most intolli- ffon nahvos intimated that the only channel was in u Ijiuch more northerly quarter, supposed to be no other ItUr '' """^' '^'^^'^ ^^'-'y ^'^^ '^'--'^ Before prosecuting further discoveries in this direc t.on another journey was resolved upon to the west- ward, boyond the isthmus, to trace the coast of Amonca as it extended along the newly-discovered sea 'Hieyhus hoped to reach Cape Turnagain, and to con^ ncct then- discoveries with those of Franklin The younger Ross again set out on the Hth May, with three companions, eight dogs, and provisions for twentv-ono days ; and on the 19tl, having crossed the great m'iddlc ake of the isthmus, he reached his former station on the western sea. The first view of it was celebrated bv three loud and even joyous cheers, though tempered with rogretatthe diminished prospect of ever boing.b^o to navigate it. Having to spend the night here, they contrived a more comfortable sleeping-place, by ex- cavating a sort of burrow in the snow, roofing it with their skin boat, and placing a block of snow as a door After passing Cape Isabella, formed of gray graniie /ive hundred feet high, the party travelled along the coast west and north for twenty miles. On the morning of the 21st of May they discovered, behind a lofty point, an udet, which, from its breadth and the different char- ucter of 1(8 opposite coasts, afforded the hope that it tnignt open into the Polar Ocean. They theivforf aia 30th of September, 1833, the Isabella left Davis's Straits, and on the 11th of October reached Stromiicss, in Orkney. On Koss's lauding at Hull, on the 18th, such crowds were attracted that he could with difficulty reach the inn. Ho proceeded next day to Loudon, and, having reported himself to the Admiralty, was presented, on the morrow, to his majesty at Windsor /}.C\^ -:j^ '"^'H,n/h:^^^ TUK PTAKUIUAN CHAPTER X. iACK'.LAMO «X,.KD.T,0.,._AKU,VAL AT K0.1T W.LMAU. - ANWDOt. «, A ...OK PA..rV.-K.UVKM..-..K.V.Ur.-A«CK«T Or H.VKH,. - AVLMK,. ..AK«._W.NrKU «.. HTKUH. _ HTAUV.NO .ND.ANH. _ ,„«„ t0..i.. _ .NKWS OK UOHS'H HAKKTV. _ KXVmt CANOK-MAN. - B.gO.MAU, ni.*|.NDH. -TUK TULKW-KB-CI.O... -THK POLAU 8KA. - HKTUUN TO K««. LAND. -BACK H VOfAUK ,N TI.K TKUKOU. _ ,,KM A..K AULH •■En.LB AllOX. THK IPK. -.,OMK.,VAUD HOUND. _ OKABB AND ILUP^ON-g mBCOVKBU.. Ro88'8 protractoa stay of tour years in the inl.oHpita- Me north .riducod tho govornmont to Hond out an expe- r. King, snrgeon and naturalist, ho left England in February, 1833. At Mon- troal ho engaged three artillery-men and Komo voya- geurs, and embarked on the St. Lawrence in two canoes At the Sault de Ste Mary, on the 1 1th of May, they pur- chased a third canoe, and commenced coasting along the northern shores of Lake Superior. On the 20th they arrived at the Hudson's Bay Company's establish- ment, Port William. Passing tho height of land which separates the waters will, h flow into Lake Superior from those which enter Hudson's Hay. the three canoes proceeded rapidly on their ever-changing and romantic route, at times dash- ing down rapids, then crossing small lakes, or making «low progivss ah.ng small and shallow rivers, so that portages were often necessary. 214 BACK'S LAND EXPEDITION. It is related by Back, that, not many years ago, » c»noe was pursuing its way quietly down one of the streams through which the Arctic exploring party was now passing. It was approaching one of the many port- ages with which these streams abound, and the bowman and steersman were standing erect at stem and stern, casting quick glances ahead and on either side as they neared tlie waterfall which obstructed their progress The approach to the landing-place was somewhat diffi- cult, ow'ng to a point of rocks which projected into the stream, in the direction of the fall, and round which point it was necessary to steer with some dexterity, in order to avoid being drawn into the strong current. The fearless guides, however, had often passed the place in former years in safety, and, accordingly, dashed at the point with reckless indiflerence, their paddles flinging a circle of spray over their heads, as they changed them from side to side, with graceful but vigor- ous rapidity. The swift stream carried them quickly round the point of danger, and they had almost reached the quiet eddy near the landing-place, when the stem of the canoe was caught by the stream, which in an instant whirled thom out from the shore, and carried them downwards with fearful rapidity. Another mo- ment, and the gushing waters dragged them, despite their most frantic eflbrts, to the verge of the waterfall, which thundered and foamed among frightful chasms and rocks many feet below. The stem of the canoe overhung the abyss, and now the vuijar/t'urn plied their paddles with the desperation of men who felt that their lives depended on the exertions of that terrible minute. For a second or two the canoe remained stationary, anc' seemed to tremble on the brink of destruction ; and then, inch by inch, it began slowly to ascend the stream. The danger was past ! A few more nervous strokes, 1 -i A Pall TiiRouaH a Crevasse. [215J BACK'S LAND EXPEDITION. 217 *nd the trembline barlr nhnt i;i,^ o ^"^^ "'^6 aa arrow out of fho lunng these short seconds, in the bosoms of thTcare' On the 6th of June the canoes arrived at Fort Alex w .Tpr/'n?' r ^ ^^"^'^^'•" ^^^-"^^^^ «^^^k« and Mr ?5, ^^^^^"«^ S->P««n- Inuring this period .0 and Mr. king made some observations on the dip of he needle, while the men busied themselves in unpack .»g and drying the provisions and packages. ^ The mosquitos here were very numerous and annoy, even fho *^;'"^^"^«' "«- ^he lakes. Back says, that this t m . - '" '"* '""^"^" "'^' -^y «f ^-aping .8 torment.ng msect. Their usual mode is to throw with pam. Back thought of killing them by smoke • that he should be so unlike the old chief, who would not destroy a single mosqnito." By the "old chief" was meant Sir Tohn Franklin, of whom Back says : '' It iTv tllT'"^ T'" *" '"' ' '^ • ^"^' ^'-"^'' teased y thom beyond expression, especially when engaged aking observations, he would quietly desist from his u u.k, and pa lently blow the half-gorged intruders from h.s Lands: 'the worid was wide enough for both ' " Leaving Fort Alexander on the 11th of June Back coasted Lake Winipeg, toward Norway Ilotise where he arrived on the Uth. Here he obtained the requisite e.mber of voyagours and attendants, amounting f. 218 BACK'S LAND EXPEDITION. eigliteen in all ; and, in high spirits, they started for iheh winter quarters on the eastern shore of Great Shive Lake. On the 2l8t of July they arrived at Portage La Loche, the high ridge of land which divides the waters running into Hudson's Bay from those flowing into the Arctic Ocean. Here they had to carry their canoe and bag- gage over the ridge, a distance of fourteen miles — a tedious labor, wliich consumed eight days. Of the scenery at this place Mr. King says: " Within a mile of the termination of the portage, a most exten- sive and magnificent scene burst upon our view, and we discovered ourselves, through an opening in the trees, to be on a hill upwards? of a thousand feet high, and at the brink of a tremendous precipice. We were cer- tainly prepared to expect an extensive prospect, bat tlws beautiful landscape before us was far superior to any- thing that could be anticipated from the nature of the country wc had hitherto seen. At a depth of two hundred fathoms below the summit on which we stood, the Clear Water River was to be seen winding its ser- pentine course in beautiful meanders for thirty miles, broken here and there, and interrupted by intervening woods ; while ' the tall pines dwindled as to >hrabe. In dizziueps of distance ! ' " The valley, at once refreshed and adorned by the smooth pellucid stream, was embanked by two parallel chains of hills extending towards the west, till it becatno lost in the purple hue of distance. The inclining heights, here and there covered with stately forests, and occa sionally interspersed with barren spots or promontories of the most luxuriant verdure, were beautifully contrasted BACK'S LAND EXPEDITION. 219 with the icinerated tinge which overspread vast tracts of couutry whore once the dense forests had been cou- Bunied by fire." The party arrived at Fort Chipewyan the 29th of July ; at Fort Resolution, on Great Slave Lake, the 8th of August. Here, having obtained all possible informa- tion from the Indians relative to the course of the northern rivers of which he was in search, he divided his men into two parties, five being left as an escort for Mr. McLeod, and four being appointed to accompany himself m search of the Thlew-ee-choh or Great Fish River, since named after Back himself. On the 19th of August, Back and his men began th„ ascent of the Hoar Frost River. Its course was a series of the most fearful cascades and rapids. Almost im- pervious woods of stunted firs, bogs, and swamps occasioned great trouble to the party. They arrived at ength, in an open space, where the scene was one' of barrenness and desolation : crag was piled upon cra^ to the height of two thousand feet from the base, and the course of the river here, in a state of contraction was marked by an uninterrupted line of foam. Rapid now succeeded rapid ; scarcely had the party surmounted one fall than another presented itself, rising like an amphitheatre before them to the height of fifty feet. They, however, gained at length the ascent of this turbulent and unfriendly river, the romantic beauty and wild scenery of which were very remarkable ; and after passing successively a series of portages, rapids' (oils, lakes, and rivers, on the 27th Back observed froni (ho summit of a high hill a very large lake, full of deep bays and islands, and which has been named Aylme. Lake, after the Governor-General of Canada at that tune. The boat was sent out, with three men, to search fur the lake, or outlet of the river which they discov , I! 220 BACK'S LAND EXPEDITION. ered on the second day, and Back himself, during their absence, also accidentally discovered its source in th« Sand Ilill Lake, not far from his encampment. Yielding to that pleasurable emotion which discoverer." in the first bound of their transport, may be pardc i' .. .' 'U- dulging, Back threw himself down on the L- ^.id drank a hearty draught of the limpid water. On the 30th of August they begaji to move toward (he river, but, on reaching Musk-ox Lake, it was found impossible to stand the force of the rapids in their frail canoe, and, as winter was approaching, their return to the rendezvous on Slave Lake was determined on. At Clinton Golden Lake some Indians visited them from the chief Akaitcho, who had been a guide of Sir John Franklin. Two of these Indians remembered Back, one having accompanied him to the Coppermine River on Franklin's first expedition. At the Cat or Artillery Lake they had to abandon their canoe, and perform the rest of the journey on foot over precipitous rocks, through frightful gorges and ravines, heaped with masses of granite, and along narrow ledges, where a false stop would have been fatal. At Fort Reliance the party found Mr. McLeod had, during their absence, erected the frame-work of a comfortable residence for them, and all hands set to work to complete it. After many obstacles and difficulties, it was finished. Dr. King joined them on the 16th of September, with two laden batteaux. On the 5th of November they exchanged their cold tents for tlie now house, which was fifty feet long by thirty broad, and contained four rooms, besides a spa- cious hall in the centre, for the reception and accommo- dation of the Indians, to which a sort of rude kitcher. was attached. An observatory was constructed at a short distance, BACK'S LAND EXPEDITION 221 Knerein certa.n mysterious and complicated instrumenta were fixed and erected ; iron in all forms being carefully excluded and a fence run round it to guard it more vf. loctualiy from the men, as they walked about with their M-uns, ice-chisels, and axes. Here Back and Mr Kinjr "semperaturo of 102° below freezing point. The suflerings of the poor Indians at this period are described as frightful. " Famine, with her gaunt and l>')iiy arm," says Hack, " pursued tliem at every turn withered their energies, and strewed them lifeless on the cold bosom of the snow." It was impossible to afford relief out of their scanty store to all, but even small portions of the mouldy pemmican intended for 222 BACK'S LAND EXPEDITION. the dogs, unpalatable as it was, were gladly received, and saved many from perishing. "Often," adds Buck, " did I share my own plate with the children, whose helpless state and piteous cries were peculiarly distress- ing. Compassion for the full-grown may or may not be felt, but that heart must be cased in steel which is insensible to the cry of a child for food." To add to the distress of Back, he received informa- tion that his friend Augustus, the affectionate Esquimaux interpreter who had accompanied him on a former jour- ney, hearing of his being again in the country, set out from Hudson's Bay, in company with a Canadian and an Iroquois ; they lost their way, were separated, and poor Augustus fell a sacrifice to famine. His remains were found on the barrens not far from the Riviere k Jean. It appeared that the gallant little fellow was retracing his steps to the establishment, when, either exhausted by suffering and pi-ivation, or caught in the midst of an open traverse in one of those terrible snow-storms, which may be almost said to blow through the frame, he had sunk to rise no more. " Such," says Back, " was the miserable end of poor Augustus! a faithful, disinterested, kind-hearted creature, wlio had won the regard, not of myself only, but, I may add, of Sir John Franklin and Dr. Richardson also, by qualities which, wherever found, in the lowest as in the highest forma of social life, are the ornament and charm of humanity." At this critical juncture, Akaitcho made his appear- ance with an opportune supply of a little meat, which in some measure enabled Back to relieve the sufferers around him, many of whom, to his great delight, went away with Akaitcho The stock of meat was soon ex hausted, and they had to open their pemmican. The officers contented themselves with the short supply of half a pound a day, but the laboring men could not do BACK'S LAND EXPEDITION 223 With less than a pound and three quarters. The cold now set in with an intensity which Back had never be- fore experienced, — the thenno.neter, on the 17th of January, being TO' below zero. "Such, indeed," he Bays, " was the abstraction of heat, that, with eiLrht large logs of dry wood on the fire. I could not get the thermometer higher than 12» below zero. Ink and paint froze. The sextant cases and boxes of seasoned wood, principally fir, all split. The skin of the hands became dry, cracked, and opened into unsightly aid smarting gashes, which we were obliged to anoint with grease. On one occasion, after washing my face within three feet of the fire, my hair was actually clotted with ice before I had time to dry it." The hunters suffered severely from the intensity of the cold, and compared the sensation of handling their guns to that of touching red-hot iron ; and so excessive was the pain, that they were obliged to wrap thongs of leather round the triggers, to keep their fingers from coming into contact with the steel. The sufferings which the party now endured were great, and, had it not been for the exemplary conduct of Akaitcho in procuring them game, it is to be doubted whether any would have survived to tell the misery they had endured. The sentiments of this worthy sav- age were nobly expressed — " The great chief trusts in us, and It 18 better that ten Indians perish than that one white man should perish through our negligence and breach of faith." About the middle of April preparations were begun for their intended journey to the sea-coast ; but on the 25th a messenger arrived bringing to Back the welcome intelligence of the safety of Ross and his party. His feelings at this news are thus described: "In the ful- ness of our hearts, we assembled, and humbly offered i IT ■ I' 224 BACK'S LAND EXrEDniON. ,1 , up our thanks to that morciful Providcnct which, in the beautiful language of Scripture, hath said, ' Aliuo uwn will 1 hriug again, as I did sometime from the deeps of the sea.' " On the 7th of June, Back and Mr. King left Fort Re- liance for the Polar Sea. Their boat, thirty feet long, was placed on runners, and dragged over the yet un- melted ice of the lakes and swamps. A singular fact in regard to temperature is mentioned. About the end of May, just before they set out, the weather was sub try, the temperature in the sun being 106°! an extraor- dinary contrast to that of January Hth, when it was 70° below zero. They now experienced some cold and foggy weather. McLeod, with a party of Indians, was sent on ahead to hunt and make caches of the meat, to be picked up as the main party behind came up to them. On the 28th of June they were fairly launched on the head waters of the Thlew-ec-choh. From this time til! their approach to the sea, a constant succession of falls, and rapids, and cataracts, more or less obstructed their progress, and, as Back says, " made him hold his breath, expecting to see the boat dashed to shivers against some protruding rocks amid the foam and fury at the foot of a rapid." In passing down one of these, where the river was full of large rocks and bov/lders, the boat was obliged to be lightened ; and Back says, " ''. stood on a high rock, with an anxious heart, to see her lun it. Away they went with the speed of an arrow, and in a moment the foam and rocks hid them from my view. I Iieard what sounded in my ear like a wild shriek : I fol- lowed with an agitation which may be conceived, and, to my inexpressible joy, found that the shriek was th« triumphant whoop of the crew, who had landed safely ill a small bay below." In short, strong and heavy ifc BACK'S LAND EXl'EDITION. 22b 'ap.ds, with falls and whirlpools, kept tho men, for "ighty or ninety milfe. iu a constant state of exertion and anxioty. . n«' gives an instance, on one occasion, of tho consura- mute sJnllol De Cl.arloit. a halfbreed can„e-r..an, who rar our rickety and nliattered canoe down four success- 've rap.ds which, under less able n.anaj,^ement, would have whirled it, and everybody in it, to certain destruc- tion Nothing could exceed the self-possession and nicety of judgment with which he guided the Irail thing along the narrow line botwe n the high waves of the orrent and the returning eddy. A foot in either direc tion would have been fatal ; but, with the most perfect eaBe, and, I may add, elegant and graceful action, his keen eyes fixed upon the run, he kept her true to her course through all its rapid windings " On the 13th of July a gli.npse of sunshine tempted he captain to halt for the purpose of taking observa- nonHu'f ; " *'' "'" ^'^"^ ^"^'^^«^' ^''^ "-" -«re permitted to scour the country in pursuit of deer and musk-oxen which literally swarmed in the ban-en grounds Ihe hunters soon returned with four fine bucks, which afforded them an agreeable change from the customary meal of pemmican a/or' w '"'^.VT ^'^ '^' ^^" ^^ ^"'^ '^"ffJtude 106- casterlvT; , ^ •". ^^""' *''" ''''' ^'^'^ ^« ^-^e an casteily bend, which perplexed them much; causing tCr'T'^r'' to whether it would ultimately lead hem to the Frozen Sea, or terminate in Hudson's Bay In any case, they had nothing for it but to push on ; and he.r abors were rewarded by their finding that the nver trended again in a northerly direction and their opes wero further increased by the discovl-ry. on the H|th of July, of some old Esquimaux encampments. On.., indeed, they thought they saw tents of the Esqui- 220 BACK'S L;VWD EXI'EDITION. Diiiux alioud ; but, on a neiirer iipproach, they tiiiiiotl oul to 1)0 suiue luxiiriiiiit cluinpH of willi»w8, wliidi wc^t liihiibitcd by thouHiviidn of ^cfHo, wliich liiitl HcUtoleil the spot u« convi'iiioiit for tho opt'iiitioii of caHtiiig th i fciithnrH, ThniisuiulH upon thouHaiiiiH of the most excel' h'ut quilirt were found scuttered over the sund. A euri- ouH feature in tliis part of the country was the number of huge bowlder-HtoneH, not only in tlie river, but on tlie very pinnacles of tiie liij^iie^t iiillH. On the 28th of July they met tho fuHt Escpn^naux, who, as usual on tlieir first seeing Kuropeans, exliibiteij consternation by shouts, yells, anti'is, and gesticula- tions ; under the impression, appan-ntly, that by so doing they would frighten their new vifulors away. The boat continued tit approach the shore, despite tiio brandishing of spears and other belligerent demonstra- tions ; whereupon the whole nation formed in a semi- circlo round the spot where the boat grounded, and stood on the e saw, the instrument whereby this sudden eifect had been produced, was bei.t double, and in that position forcibly detained by the body it had severed." A pice of tho base of the ship's ice-cradle, however still clung to her, and continued to do so till the 13th and when it did break up, it did not set her free. On llie contrary, she slowly rose, heeled over to port, and I i BACK'S VOVAGE IN THE TERROR. 2n Beemed for some moments to be entirely capsizing. Those of her company wiio were on board felt suddenly as if on the verge of eternity. Yet tliey evinced no coniusion, and cleared off and provisioi,ed the boats with astonishing coolness and promptitude. She went 60 completely on her beam ends, that no man in her could move without holding on; but she went no fi;rther. A submerged ice-mass, whose end was con- gjaled to her bottom, and whose other end projected right out from her, was the cause of her overturn, and It now held her (inn in her perilous position. Officers and men beheld it with awe, and set promptly and ener- getically to the arduous task of sawing it off. They worked from eleven o'clock in the forenoon till two in the following morning, afraid that a squall might arise and r-in them ; and when at last they had only ten feet more to saw, but were compelled by fatigue and drowsi- ness to go in quest of a short repose on the deck suddenly there was a grating sound of breaking ice, and' before a word could be spoken, th^ ship sprang free' and entirely righted. The cheering of tho crew was vociferous, and their joy unboundfjd. Four months, all but a day, had the ship been in the grip of the ice ; and lunr, after a romance of perils, and x cycle of providen- tial deliverances, she was again subject to the control of man. The last Bconeg we have described touk place in the vicinity of Charles Island, about midway between Cape Comfort and the mouth of Hudson's Strait. The query was naturally raised, whether anything could now be done to prosecute the object of the expedition ; but the ship was found to be far too shattered to go again in her present state into collision with the ice, and a serious doubt soon arose whether she should be able to cross the sea to a British harbor. There was noth- ]0 242 DBASE AND SIMPSON'S DISCO VERIEa ing for it but to run her, with all possible speed, toward home. She was utterly crazy, and broken, and leaky ; and not even her perilous tumbling among the ice-masses around the dismal Cape Comfort and the horrid Sea- horse Point were more perilous than the struggling, staggering, water-logged voyage which she made across the northern Atlantic. She at last reached the north- west coast of Ireland, gradually sinking by the head, and was run ashore in Lough Swilly on the 3d of Sep- tember ; and, had she been three hours longer at sea, she would certainly have gone to the bottom. Her whole frame proved to be strained and twisted ; many of her bolts were either loosened or broken ; her fore- foot was entirely gone ; and upwards of twenty feet of her keel, together with ten feet of her stern-post, had been driven over more than three feet and a half on one side, leaving a frightful opening astern for the free ingress of water. Well, therefore, might her crew, when they afterwards looked on her as she lay dry on the beach at low water, express astonishment that ever they had floated back in her to British shores ; and ample occasion had they to cherish adoring gratitude to the all-powerful and all-benevolent Being who had preserved them. Almost simultaneously with Back's expedition in the Terror, in 1836, the Hudson's Bay Company resolved on completing, if possible, the survey of those portions of the northern coast which Franklin and Back had failed to reach. This service was intrusted to Messrs. Dease and Simpson, two of their employees, with a party of twelve men, who were instructed to descend the Mac- kenzie River, and, on arriving at the sea, endeavor to follow tne coast to the westward, either by land or water, as weather and other circumstances permitted, to the pomt at which Beechey turned back. They were after- DBASE AND SIMPSON'S DISCOVERIES. 243 wards to explore to the eastward from Point Turnagaii, .of Frankliu ; to determine whether Boothia Felix were a peninsula, as Ross supposed, or an island ; and then to push on in the same direction to some known point whicl- had been visited by Back. In July, 1837, they had reached Return Reef, where Franklin was stopped. Beyond this all was new. Two large rivers were discovered, the Garry and Colville, the latter more than a thousand miles in length. Although in the middle of the dog-days, the ground was frozen lo hard at four inches beneath the surface, that they could scarcely drive in their tent-pegs. So keen was the north-easterly wind, that " the spray froze on the oars and rigging ; and out in the bay the ice lay smooth and solid, as in the depth of a ::unles3 winter." Yet even here a few flowers cheered the eyes of the travellers, and enlivened the stubborn soil. On the Ist of August^ further progress by water being impracticable, — they had gained but four miles on the four previous days, — Mr. Simpson, with some of the men, continued the jour- ney on foot, while Mr. Dease and the others remained in charge of the boats. The walking-party, after two or three days' travel, fell in with a number of Esqui. maux, from whom they hired an oomiak, or family-canoe, in which to pursue the voyage along the lanes of open water occasionally visible close to the beach. On the 4th, after passing the mouth of a large, deep river, " I saw," says Mr. Simpson, " with indescribable emotions, Point Barrow stretching out to tlie northward, and enclos- Ing Elson Bay, near tiie bottom of which we now were." riiis, it will be remembered, was the furthest point attained by the Blossom's barge in 1826, an exploit com- memorated by naming the bay after Lieut. Elson, one of the ofBcers in command. Tho party returned to the winter station on Great m m mst-i s^ t£jtaL ■ '' ' 244 DEASE AND SIMPSON'S DISCOVERIES. Bear Lake, and, while there, received instructions to renew their search to tlie eastward, and were informed of Sir G. Back's expedition, with which they were, if posaible, to communicate. They were descending the Coppermine in June, 1838, in pursuance of these in- Btructions, when the stieam was swollen by spring floods, and encumbered with floating ice ; and, in shoot- ing the numerous rapids, " had to pull for their lives, to keep out of the suction of the precipices, along whose base the breakers raged and foamed, with over- whelming fury. Shortly before noon, wo came in sight of Escape Rapid of Franklin ; and a glance at the over- hanging cliffs told ns that there was no alternative but to run down with full cargo. In an instant," continues Mr. Simpson, " we were in the vortex ; and, before we were aware, my boat was borne towards an isolated rock, which the boiling surge almost concealed. To clear it on the outside was no longer possible ; our only chance of bafety was to run between it and the lofty eastern cliff. The word was passed, and every breath was hushed. A stream which dashed down upon us over the brow of the precipice, more than one hundred feet in Iieight, mingled with the spray that whirled upwards from the rapid, forming a terrific shower-bath. The pass was about eight feet wide, and the error of a single foot on either side would have been instant destruction. As, guided by Sinclair's consummate skill, the boat shot safely through those jaws of death, an involuntary cheer arose. Our next impulse was to turn round to view the fate of our comrades behind. They had profited by the peril we incurred, and kept without the treacherous rock in time." Tliey had navigated but a short distance along the coast when r,, y were stopped by ice, and lingered n;.iny days at Boatnaven, in a state of utter hopelessness. The DE4SE AND SIMPSON'S DISCOVERIES. 245 time for returning had arrived ere any real work had been accomplished. At length, on the 20th of Au-ust Mr. Simpson started with seven men for a ten days' walk to the eastward, on the first of which they passed i'omt Turnagain, the limit of Franklin's survey in 1821 By the 23d they had toiled onwards to an elevated cape' nsmg from a sea beset with ice ; and, the land closing all round to the northwards, further progress seemed to be impossible. - With bitter disappointment," write8 Mr Simpson "I ascended the height, from whence a vast and splendid prospect burst suddenly upon me Ihe sea, as if transformed by enchantment, rolled its free waves at my feet, and beyond the reach of vision to the eastward. Islands of various shape and size overspread its surface, and the northern land terminated to the eye in a bold and lofty cape, bearing east-north- east, thirty or forty miles distant, while the continpntal coast trended away south-east. I stood, in fact, on a remarkable headland, at the eastern outlet of an ice- obstructed strait. On the extensive land to the north- ward I bestowed the name of our most gracious sover- TH^p'^Mf''""- ^'' ""^^"'■" ^'^^ble extremity I called Gape Pelly, in compliment to the governor of the Iludson's Bay Company." In 1839 they were more successful, and, favored with mild weather and an open sea, they sailed through the narrow strait that separates Victoria Land from the ma,n. On the 13th of August they doubled Point Ogle the lurthest point of Back's journey in 1834 ; an event winch tcnninated the long-pursued inquiry concerning the coast-hne. They had thus ascertained that the American continent is separated from Boothia to the westward of Back's Estuary. The survey was now ocmplet^. A day or two later, the partyf with flag" fly-ng, crossed to Montreal Island, in Back's Estuai^ ;§ 248 DEASE AND SIMPSON'S DISCOVEKIES. where thoy discovered a deposit of provisions which Back bad left there five years previously. The penimi- can was unfit for use ; but out of several pounds of chocolate, half decayed, the men contrived to pick stiffi- cient to make a kettle-full of acceptable drink in honor of the occasion. There were also a tin case and a few fish-hooks, of which, observes Mr. Simpson, " Mr. Deaso and I took possession, as memorials of our having breakfasted on the identical spot where the tent of our gallant, though less successful precursor, stood that very day five years before." They had now obeyed their instructions to the letter ; the coast-line was determined, and connected with what was previously known U> the eastwaut. It was time to think of returning, but it still remained a question whether some part of Boothia might not be united to the continent on the eastern side of the estuary. Doubling, therefore, its eastern promontory, thoy passed a point of the continent which they named Cape Britannia, and another called Cape Selkirk, and proceeded toward some islands in the Gulf of Akkoleo, so far ar to satisfy themselves that they were to the eastward of any part of Boothia. By the 20th of August they had sailed far enough to see the further shore, with its capes, of the Gulf of Boothia, which runs down to within forty miles of Repulse Bay ; and they then turned back. On their return, they traced sixty miles of the south coast of Boothia, where at one time they were not more than ninety miles from the site of the magnetic pole, as deter- mined by Sir James Ross. A long extent of Victoria Land was also examined ; and, on the 16th of Septem- ber, they once more happily entered the Coppermine, after a boat voyage of more than sixteen hundred milcB, the longest ever performed in the Polar Sea CHAPTER XI. -Zw7or ""^-«*»"' "^ P'-KNTT.-BI.KrOE TKAV.U.INO. -8»0W-H0n8K8.-aKTUnN._„OKWED INTEREST IS TUB DlSCOVEBr or A N0«TH.W«8T PAS8A0K.-THE EREBC8 AND TEBB0R.-8.H JOHN FRANKLIN 8 LAST VOVAGE. — MYSTEBr OF DIS FATE. The supposed great bay, extending from the furthest point reached by Messrs. Dease and Simpson, eastward to the Fury and Hecia Strait, now became an object of intense interest. The mystery which overhung the northeast corner of the American mainland seemed, at last, to be almost revealed. Let but the coast-line from the mouth of the Castor and Pollux to the eastern ex- tremity of the Gulf of Akkolee be examined, so as to connect the discoveries of Messrs. Dease and Simpson with those of the second voyage of Parry, and those of the second voyage of John Ross, and all would become plain. In 1846, accordingly, the. Hudson's Bay Company fitted out an expedition to cflVct this object ; and Dr Joiin Rae was appointed to the command. He was just the man for it : he was surgeon, astronomer, steers- man, and leader to the party ; had spent several years m the service of the company ; and added to his other attainments the not unimportant accomplishments of a first-rate snow-shoe walker and a dead shot. On the 8th of October, Rae landed at York Factory, after a canoe journey of about two months' duration' ''»W,.^ 218 RAE'S LAND KXPEDITION. through the interior, from Canada. Here he wintered and, on the 12th of June, set" sail in two boats, with six men to each, along the shores of Hudson's l^ay, wliich are hero low, flat, and uninteresting. On tlie '27tli they landed at Churchill. They found the people hero en- gaged in killing white whales, which are often seen rolling their bulky forms up the rivers that How into the l)ay. Their llesh is used as food for dogs, the house in which it is kept being called the blubber-house ; to liiid which house, especially in summer, the simple direction, " follow your nose," is sufficient. Having taken on board Ouligbuck, an Esquimau.x interpreter, and the son of Ooligbuck, a sad thief, who nad a peculiar fancy for tobacco and buttons, they left Churchill July 5tli, 1846. During the day they passed the Pau-a-thau-kis-cow river, where they were overtaken by fhree Esquimaux, in their kayaks. These little canoes were propelled by their vigorous occupants so Bwiftly, that they easily kept up with the boats, while Bailing at the rate of four miles an hour. The kayak is about twelve feet in length, and two in breadth, taper- ing off from the centre to the bow and stern, almost to a mere point. The frame is of wood, covered with seal- skin, having an aperture in the centre, wliich barely admits of the stowage of the nether man. They are used solely for hunting, -and, by means of the double paddle, are propelled through the water with the veloc- ity of the dolphin. No land animal can possibly escape when seen in the water ; the least exertion is sufficient to keep up with the reindeer when swim,: ing at its utmost speed. The uvmiak, or women's boat, is much clumsier, elower, and safer, more in the form of a boat than a canoe, and is used to convey the female porti >\\ of the communitj' and their families from one part of the coast i wr^' ■Tj'^ rrT\ 1 1 . , 1 . ^ H 1 RAJbl'S LAND EXPEDITION 36; 10 another, being propelled by the women, who us9 Bmiill puddloH for tlio purpose. On the 13th, ClioHterfield Inlet was paBsed. VValrusea were hero seen. " They were grunting and bellowing," says Kae, " making a noise which I fancy would much resemble a concert of old boars and buflaloes." At the head of Kopulse Bay, where they landed on the 25th, they fell in with more Esquimaux, and procured froni them some sealskin boots. When about to put on a pair of those boots, says Rae, " one of our female visit- ors, noticing that the leatiier of the foot was rather hard, took them out of my hands, and began chewing them with her strong teeth." By this process they were softened for the wearing. They quitted the head of Repulse Bay, in latitude 66° 32' north, and succeeded in conveying one of their boats to the southern extremity of the Gulf of Akkolee, in latitude 67' 13' north. They found a chain of lakes lying across the isthmus, and derived great aid from it in the conveying of the boat. They proceeded ahjng the coast of the Gulf of Akkolee till the 5th of August, and they observed the tides to be, on tlie average, far higiior than in the Polar Sea, but exceedingly irregular, and varying in rise from four to ten feet ; and already they began to entertain a strong presumption that Boothia, after all, is a peninsula of the American main- land. But they were utterly baffled in their progress by ice and fogs and northerly winds, and felt obliged to return at about latitude 67* 30' north, and spend the winter at Repulso Bay. There they built a house, and procured a stock i provisions by hunting and fishing, principally reindeer and salmon ; and, excepting what was used for cooking, they had no fuel throughout the winter. The sporting-book for September showed thai they had been diligent : sixty-three deer, five hnres. wm i-F-- t f 252 RAE'S LAND F-XPEDITION. i>ne Bftal, one hunflrnd ftixl seventy-two piirtriclges, and one hundred and Hixtccn Bulmon and tront, having been hroiight in. On the 5th of April, 18t7, six of the party again started north with sledgCB, drawn hy dogs, and travelled along the west shore of the Gnlf of Akkoleo ; and, on the I8th, they reached the vicinity of Sir John Ross's most southerly diacoverieB. The question of the sup- posed communication with the Polar Sea was here to be set at rest. They decided now to strike off from tho coast across the land as nearly north as possible ; and they had a tiresome march through snow, and across three small lakes ; and, at noon, when near the middle of another lake of about four miles in length, they ascer- tained their latitude to be 69» 26' 1" north. They walked three miles more, and came to still another lake ; and, as there was not yet any appearance of the sea, Rae gave orders to the men to prepare their lodgings, and went forth alone to look fur the coast. He arrived in twenty minutes at an inlet of not more than a quarter of a mile wide, a; id traced this westward for upwards of a league, and there found his course once more obstructed by land. Some rocky hillocks were near, and, thinking he saw from the top of these some rough ice in tike desired direction, he inhaled fresh hope, pushed eagerly on to a rising ground in tho distance, and there beheld stretched out before him an ice-covered sea, studded with innumerable islands. But it was the sea of Sir John Ross, the Lord Mayor's Bay of the disastrous voyage of the Victory ; and the islands were those which Sir John had named tho Sons of the Clergy of the Church of Scotland. Rae, therefore, had simply crossed a peninsula of the Gulf of Akkolee ; and thus did he ascertain that the shores which witnessed the MAE'S LAND £X {'EDITION. 253 woos of the Victory, tljp oaatorn slioios of Boothia, arn continiiouH with tlio muinlinid of America. On this expedition, "our usual niod(!," Bays Rao, " of pieparinj? lodgings for tlio night was as folhnvB : As Huon m wo liad solcctod a 8p(-f fur our Hiiow-houso, our EBfjuimaux, assiHtod by ono or nioru of tiio inon, coinmoncod cutting out hlocits of 8nc»w. When a sufB- ciont number of tlieso hud !)Cfn raiwcd, the builder oom- menced hia work, his aswistanta Hupplyin^r liim with the material. A good roomy dwelling was tlms raised in an hour, if the snow was in a good state for building. Whilst our principal mason was thus occupied, another of the party was busy erecting a kitclKMi, which, although our cooking was none of the most delicate or extensive, was still a necessary addition to our establishment, had it been only to thaw snow. As soon as the snow-hut was completed, our sledges were unloaded, and every- thing eatable (including parchment-skin and moose-skin shoes, which had now become favorite articles with the dogs) taken inside. Our bed was next made, and, by the time the snow was thawed or the water boiled, as the case might be, we were all ready for supper. When we used alcohol for fuel (which wo usually did in stormy weather), no kitchen was required." Sir James Clarke Koss, who figured in the voyage of the Victory as Commander Ross, says, " Mr. Rae's description of the inlet ho crossed over to in the south- east corner of Lord Mayor's Bay, accords so exactly with what I observed whilst surveying its shores, that 1 have no doubt of his having reached that inlet on which I found the Esquimaux marks so numerous, but of which no account was published in Sir John Ross's narrative." Rao appropriately named the peninsula Sir John Ross's Peninsula ; and the isthmus, connecting it with the mainland, and flanking the inlet, Sir James 254 RAE'S LAND EXPEDITION. Ross's Isthmus. The latter is only one milo broad, and has three small ponds ; but it bears evident marks of being an autumnal deer-pass, and, therefore, a favorite resort of the Esquimaux. Rae had thus reached the g^oal of his vsrishes. A progress to the furthest point reached by Messrs. Dease and Simpson was not attempted, for it was now ascertained that this must comprise a journey over land, and either a voyage across a large land-locked 08tP'>iiy, or a coasting along its shores ; and for these the explorers had neitlicr time nor resources. They forthwith began to retrace their route to the fort at Repulse Boy. All the caches of provisions which had been made during the outward journey were found quite safe, and thus afforded them a plentiful supply of food. On the mdrning of the 5th of May they reached sort a Esquimaux dwellings on the shores of Christie's Lake, about fifteen miles from Fort Hope. "At two p. m on the same day," says Rae, "we were again on the march, and ardved at our home at halfpast eight p. m., all well, but so black and scarred on the face, from the combined effects of oil, smoke, and frost-bites, that our friends would not believe but that some serious accident from the explosion of gunpowder had happened to us Thus successfully terminated a journey little short of six hundred English miles, the longest, I believe, ever made on foot along the Arctic coast." On the 12th of May, at the head of a similar party, Rae set out to examine the east side of the gulf; and on the 27th, in a bewildering snow-storm, he readied his ultimatum, at a headland which tliey called Cape Cro- zier. But, during a blink of the storm, he gol a clear view of a headland nearly twelve miles further on, which he called Cape Ellico, and computed to bo in lat- itude 69" 42* north, and longitude 85" 8' west, or withiu FRANKLIN'S LAST VOYAGE. 255 about ten miles of the Fury and Ilecla Straits. " Ouf journey," says Dr. Rae, " hitherto had been the most fatiguing I ha(i ever experienced ; the severe exercise, with a limited allowance of food, had reduced the whole party very much. However, we marched merrily on, tightening our belts, — mine came in six inches, — the men vowing that when they got on full allowance they would make up for lost time." On the 12th of August the whole original party embarked at Repulse Bay, and on the Slbt arrived at Churchill. The return of Captain Sir James Clarke Ross, in 1844, from his brilliant career in the Antarctic Ocean, gave a sudden stimulus in England to the old craving for the discovery of a north-west passage. The ships Erebus and Terror were now famous for their fitness to brave the dangers of the ice, and could be rcequipped at com- paratively small cost. Naval officers and whale-fisher- men and hardy seamen were fired with the spirit of adventure. Statesmen panted to send the British flag across all the breadth of the Polar Sea ; scientific gen- llemen longed for decisions in terrestrial magnetism, which could be obtained only in the regions around the magnetic pole ; and, though merchants and other utilita- rians could never again regaid the old notion of a com- mercial highway to the Indian seas through Behring's Strait as worthy of consideration, yet multitudes of the curious, among all classes of society, were impationl to have the veil penetrated which had so long hid from the world's wondering gaze the mysteries of the ice-girt archipelago of the north. The very difficulties of the enterprise, together with the disasters or failures of all former expeditions, only roused the general resolution. Sir Jolni Barrow, Secretary to the Admiralty, had for thirty years been the fervent advocate of every enter- prise which could throw light on the Arctic regions, and "ki-ri**' ^fl 256 FRANKLIN'S LAST VOYAGR had incessantly bent in thatdiroclion (ho powerful inflii ence which he wieldod ; and now again was ho at hia vocation. Lieut. Col. Sabine, also, wlioso opinion car- ried much weight, declared "that a final attempt to Jnake a north-west passage would render the most important service that now remained to be performed toward the completion of the magnetic survey of the globe." The Lords of the Admiralty and the Council of the Royal Society gave a formal assent ; and Sir John Franklin, the hero of eomc most i)crilous exploits 'vithin the Arctic circle, who now stood out to view as the likeliest man to conduct the desired enterprise, had said in 1836, and continued to say still, "that no 8(>r- vice was nearer to his heart than the completion of the Bui-vey of the north-west coast of America, and the accomplishment of a north-west passage." Tli(> Erebus and the Terror were ordered to be got leady. Both had braved all the perils of the Antarctic expedition under Sir James C. Ross, and the latter was the ship of the terrific ice-voyage of 1836, in Hudson's Bay. They were the best-tested and the best-appurte- nanced vessels which had ever faced the frozen regions ; and each was now fitted with a small steam-engine and screw-propeller. Sir John Franklin was appointed to the chief command, and hoisted his flag in the Erebus ; and Captain Richard Crozier, who had been the distin- guished colleague of Sir James C. Ross in the Antarctic voyage, was appointed to the Terror. So many naval officers volunteered their services, that, had all been ac- cepted, they might themselves have completely manned •-he ships. The total number of persons put on board was one hundred and thirty-eight : and they formed as select, resolute, and experienced a body of adventurers as ever went to sea. The transport Daretto «unior, also, under the command of Lieut. Griffith, was laden FRANKLIN'S LAST VOYAQE. 257 with oulstoros, to be discharged into the shipa in Davis's Strait. The official instructions to Sir John Fran] Sandwich Islands and Panama, and to put an officer ashore at the latter place with despatches. The ships sailed from the Thames on the 19th of May, 1845. The Erebus and the Terror received the tiat.suort's stores, and dismissed her in Davis's Strait, and [hen hj,d ahi.mdant provisions of every kind for three years, besides five bullocks. They wero seen by the whaler Prince of Vfales, on the 26th of July, moored to an iceberg, waiting for aa opening through the long vast body of ice which extends along i;.e middle of Baf- fin's Bay. They were then in latitude 74° 48' north, and longitude GG" 13' west, not far from the centre of Baffin's Bay, and about two hundred and Um miles from th^ entrance of L.uij;.ster ffoind. CHAPTER XII. .".KTT ,X UK„AHD TO rRANKU.V AND M,S 8......S. - TBRKK MHM,,. T.0N8 OP 8EAUCH SKNT OW. _ KK.,..KTT ANH MOOUK'h K.XPKmT.O.M BT BEIIR.NQS STRAIT. -.18 RKTURN. _ R.cHAKnSoN 8 A.VI, RAK's >.A.n KXi.LORAT.O.NS.-SlR J. C. „088's EX..KmTIO.V ,>V LANCA8TKR SOUND. -THE EXl-LOREUS RETURN UNSUCCESSFUL. - UEUT. PULl.EN, KHOM THE ..EHR.NO STRAIT EX.-F.mTION, A8CE.WD8 TUB M ACKENZ.E. - RETUR V TO THE ARCTIC SEA AND UACK.-THE SEASON OK 1850. - ppm.EN's AHR,- VAL IN KSOLl ID. TowAUD the end of the year 1847, anxiety l.e-an to be felt in regard to the fate of Franklin and hi.s men Xot a word had been heard Ironi them since thoy had l>oen seen by the Prince of Wales whaler : and appre- hension became general that they had shared a similar fate to the Fury of Sir Edward Parry, or the Victory of Sir John Ross. The government, therefore, promptly determmed to send three expeditions in search of them. The ^ first was a marine expedition, by way of Rch- ling's Strait, to be conducted by Captails Fl'Miry Keliett -f the ship Herald, of twenty-six guns, then in the Pacific, aided by Commander Tlu.mas E. L. iinoni, in the Ph ver, surveying vessel : and this was desio-'nod to relieve Sir John Franklin and his companions in til.' event of their having gone through the north-west pas.sage, and stuck fast at some advanced point of the l'"lar Sea. The second was an overland and boat expe- dition, to be conducted by S.r John Kichardson, to descend the Mackenzie River, and to examine the coast eastward to the Coppermi.ie ; and this was designed to afibrd relief in the event of the adventurers having 262 KELLEH AND MOORK'S KXPKUITION. taken to tlioir I oats wcstwartl of tlio Norlliorn Archi pcliigo, ami forced their way to t!io Amorican continent. Tlio tliird was a marine expedition, to bo condiictec! by Sir Junics Clarke Ross, witii tlio sliips Enterpriso and Inves.i{^utor, through Lancaster Sound and Barrow'H Strait, to examine all the tracks of tho missing ships westward as far as they could penetrate into the archi- pelago ; and this was designed to all'ord relief in the event of the adventurers having been arrested either in tlie very throat of tho supposed passage, or at sonio point on this side of it, and of their attempting to retrace their steps. This plan of search seemed com- prehensive and noble, and was carried with all possible promptitude into execution. The Plover loft Sheerness on the Ist January, 1818 ; but, being a miserable sailer, did not reach Oahu, in the Sandwich Islands, till tho '22d August. She was then too late to attempt, that season, any elBciont operations witliin the Arctic Circle, and she passed on to winter (jnarters at Nnovel, on tho coast of Kamtschatka. The Herald, meanwhile, had receivec' instructi(jn8 from homo, and gone nortliward as far as Cape K.rusensteri:, in Kotzobue Smnid, the appointed rendezvous. But, not being prepared to wiiit(>r there, nor prepared fur explorations among ice, she returned, in autumn, to the Sandwicli Islands. On the 80th June, 1819, the Plover left Nr)oveI, and on the 1-lth July anchored ofl' Chaim'sso Island, at the bottom of Kotzobue Sound. Next day she was joined by the Herald and by the Nancy Dawson, the latter a yacht ix'longing to Robert Shedden, Esq., who, in the course of a voyage of pleasnn^ round the globe, got intelligence in China of the intended expedition through lii'hritig's Strait in search of Sir John Franklin, and nobly resolved to lievote liis vessel uiid himself to its aid. On the ISth tlie three vfmisso ; on • KELLKTT AND MOOIIE'S EXPEDITION. 203 the 20tl. they were off Cape Lisburn ; ami <„. the 25th txpoditioii, uiulcr Lieut. Pullcn p.I!tii!r 7/r"'"" "" '^^•*^'"^ *« ^-'-'^t the overCr' " . ^"'''"^ ''''"•'^' ^^''"' t'-«« -^ the h St t :^P"'^'- "-»-• Sir John Rieh.rd«o,, and to inst.tuto search and provide s,.ccor for the missiu^ ad^-.„turerHon the likeliest part of the coast and n2 and west of the Mackenzie River. It consisted of 2 He aid s p.nnace, decked over, and three other boa a d co„,p,,,,a tu-enty-five n,en, and had nearly tl: mentis provisions for its own use., besides five case of pemnucan for the use of Sir John Franklin's par ;Bu was accompanied also by Mr. Shodden in his ;ach was d,recte , after proceeding a certain distance' ng the coast ,n.shore, to return to a rendezvous with t e P over at Chamisso Island, but at the san.e time t. d s! pa c froHMts furtljest pointa detachment in two wha e- a ntf I. t ' ""^f"^'^'^"^' '">'"--'l t-y i''o.-t Hope and 1 oik i-actory, m the summer of IS50 The Herald and (l,e Plover, in the mean while, bore no. th reached the heavily-packed ice. Thoy sailed ometnnes along the edge of this, and sometime h.ongh streams and among floes, till the 2Hth,whc' tlY/'<-''l P'-oceed no further, on account of the p^. '^ t unpenetrableness of the pack. They were then in ;.tu.io 72» 51' m.rth, and longitude 'l6ao 4S- wit li .cv. as far as it co„M be seen from the n.ast-head, . e ,1 .v..,v west-sonth-wostward; yet, while densoi; c^mpaef for leagues distant, seemed to bo broken by a w.ite.-hne n. the northern horizon. On the 28th the •Inps came again to the la.ul, arul the Herald b«-e 2ni KiM,i:n' AM) MDoui/s i:.\iM:i>rni>N. iti to rxaminc Waiiiwright's Inlet, \vliilc CunHnanilcr Mcxirt' wctit on mIhuo, cri'dcil ii mark, iiml Imri'',! a liottic containing information almiil tlic lioals '\\\\s |)liu'i>, unhappily, wa.n found too s*lniIIo\v to iillonl liarhor- np' ; ('1«{' it would liavr proved an excollent retreat, on account, at once, of itn liij^di latitinle, of it^ heiii;^ ii roHort for reinilecr, of tlic fritiidlincw of tlio mitivcj^, and of tliero beiiij,' no nearer Inirlior to the soutii tlian Kotzc- Iiuc'h Sound, wliilo oven tliat place was regarded liy the ice-mastcrs aM an unsafe wintering (juarter. Fi'om the 1st of August till the 17th, Cape Lishurn beii.g afipointed ior a rendezvous, the ships made !ie(i^e explorations in various directions near shore, and away northward as far as they c(udd penetrate. On the l"th the Herald discovered a new territory. " At forty minuies pasi nino," on that ihiy, says (Japtaiii Kellott, " the exciting report of ' Land lio ! ' was made from tlie mast-head : both mastdn^ads were soon after- wards crowded. In runiniig a course along the j)ack toward our lirst discovery, a small group of islands was rejuirted on (Uir port-beam, a considerable distanco within tlie outer margin of the ice. Still more distant than this group (from the deck), a very extensive and liigh land was reported, which 1 liad been watdiing for some time, anxiously (.waiting a report from some one else. Then? was a fine dear atmosphere (hucIi a one as can idy be seen, in this climate, except in the direc- tion '/f this exl«'udcd lanil), where the chmds lolled in numerous immense masses, occasionally leaving the very lofty peaks uiu'api)ed : when; could be distiiictly Been columns, pillars, all very broken, which is rliaraiv teristic of the higher headlands in this sea — Kast Caji(! anil Cape Lisburn, for example. With the exception of *he north-east and south-(>ast extremes, mme of llie lowei land could be seen, uidess, indeed, what I took, at first, KKLLUn AND MUOIIK'S J;Xl'KbIT[ON. 265 f..r ft Hinall p^rouf. of iHl.iu.lH witl.in tlio puck odj^c was a point of (l.iH groat luml. TIuh isliu.,!, <„ point, was diHtatit twei.ty-(Ive milcg from the «iiip'H tra.k ; i.i^rl.or partH of tlio luud Mooruod not Iohb, 1 connidcr, than nixty When wo hove to off tho fiiBt lar.d soon., U.o northern exttenic of the ki I ind Hhowed out to tho eastward fur a n,on,ent, and ho ch-ar as to cause some who had nf the date, that ho fell a victim to his excessive t'xertiuMs during the noble Rervice. He died, ei-ht .„ t<'n w.'rkf. after, at Mazatlan. On the Ist of September tho two ships and the yacht rende.vnnse,! in Ivot.ebue Sound. Upwards of a fort- nighl was now spent in maky.g an interesting c xrdor* tion up the iJucklan I River, and in establishing frie.db I ^v^ IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) 7 ./c> (/ ^ % i1j> V <»
-s-*-,-^ *.•;/,■ W^f^ii^'ftmi 266 RICHARDSON'S AND RAE'S EXPLORATIONS. relations with the natives. The wliolo month of Sep- tember was remarkably fine, the frost to the latest so light as not to arrest the streams, and strong winds generally blowing from the cast. The Plover prepared to winter in Kotzebue Sound, with the view of making further researches, and received from her consort a» much provisions as she could stow or take care of. And on the 29th September the Herald and the yacht weighed anchor, and stood away for the south. On the 10th July, 1850, the Herald again joined the Plover at Chamisso Island ; and the two ships then set out together on another exploration. They proceeded northward till they sighted the pack-ice, and then sepa- rated — the Herald to return in quest of another and stronger expedition which had sailed from England, and which we shall afterwards have occasion to notice ; and the Plover to prosecute the search eastward along the coast. Commander Moore, by mci-ns of his boats, made minute examination of all the inlets between Icy Cape and Point Barrow ; he and his men suffered se- verely from exposure to cold ; but they were entirely unsuccessful in the object of their search. The two ships again fell in with each other off Cape Lisburn on the 13th August ; and Captain Kellett eventually gave full victualling to the Plover, ordered her to winter in Grantley Harbor, and then, toward the close of the open season, returned through Behring's Strait on his way to England. Thus, in October, 1850, ended this first west- ern searching expedition, without having thrown one ray of light on the probable fate of Sir John Franklin. The second searching expedition was the overland one, under the command of Sir John Richardson. In preparation for it, several boats, seven tons of perami- can, large quantities of other provisions and stores, five seamen, and fifteen sappers and miners, wrre embarked -rr~~p — "~j — 'w 1 ' ' ^^^^B .. t RICHARDSON'S AND RAE'S EXPLORATIONS. 269 at Gravesend, on board of ships of the Hudson's Bav Company, ou the 4th June, 1847. Sir Johi, Kichardson and Mr. Rue left Liverpool on the 25th March, 1848 and succeeded in overtaking Chief-trader J.^oil, in char-e of the boats and the men, at Methy Porta-e, on the 20th Jane. The whole party reached the last portage on Slave River on the 15th July, and there they divider* into a seaward or exploring party, under Sir John Kiel, ardson and Mr. Rae, and a landward or auxiliary party under Mr. Bell. The seaward party comprised three boats, with full loads of pemmican, and eighteen men and immediately embarked. The landward party com' prised two boats and the stores for winter use, and were directed to make the best of their way to Great Bear Lake, to coast round its w^-tern shore, and to establish a fishery at its west end, near the site of Fort Franklin, for tho convenience of the seaward party, in the event of itt, naving to return up the Mackenzie ; to erect, at its Dorth-eastem extremity, near the influx of the Dease Rivor, suitable dwelling-houses and store, houses f(jr winter quarters ; and, in the beginning of September, to despatch a well-tried Cree Indian and a native hunter to the banks of the Coppermine, there to hunt till the 20th of that month, and to keep a diligent outlook for the arrival of the boats. The seaward party reached the sea on the 4th of August. On their way down, they put ashore, at Fort Good Hope, the lowest of the company's posts on the Mackenzie, three bags of pemmican for the use of any party from the Plover, or from Sir James Ross's ships who might reach that establishment At Point Separa-' tion, also, which forms the apex of tne delta of the Mac- kenzie, they deposited one case of pemmican and a bottle of memoranda, and letters for the use of Sir John Franklin's party, burying them in the circumlerencA of 270 RICHARDSON'S AND RAE'S EXPLORATIONa i_v!. a circle with a ten-feet radius, from the point of a broad arrow painti-il on a eignul-post ; and they afterwarcis did the same thing, or simihir, on Whale Island, at the month of the Mackenzie ; on Point Toker, in latitude 69» 38' north, and longitude 132° 15' west ; on Capo Bathurst, tlio most northerly point between the Mac- kenzie and the Coppermine ; and on Cape Parry, at the east side of the entrance of Franklin Bay. The explorers encountered head winds throughout most of tlieir progress of eight hundred miles or up- wards, from the exit of the Mackenzie to the mouth of the Coppermine ; and they always kept near the shore, and landed at least twice a day to cook, occasionally to hunt, often to look out from the high capes, and com- monly, at night, to sleep on shore. Immediately off the efflux of the Mackenzie they had an interview with about three hundred Esquimaux ; and at many subse- quent pouits they communicated with other parties, who were assembled on headlands to hunt whales, or scattered along the coast in pursuit of reindeer and water-fowl. The Esquimaux were confiding and frank, and all said that no ships had recently appeared on the coast ; and those west of Cape Bathurst further said that during tlie preceding six weeks they never saw any ice One fellow alone, in answer to inquiries after white men, said, " A party of men are living on that island,' pointing, as ho spoke, to Richard's Island. As Rich- ardson had actually landed there on the preceding day, he ordered the interpreter to inform him that he knew that he was lying. lie received this retort with a smile, and without the slightest discomposure, but did not repeat his assertion. Neither the Esiiuimaux nor the Dog-rib or Hare Indians feel the least shame in being detected in falsehood ; and they invariably practise it, RICHARDSON'S AND liAE'S EXPLORATIONS. 271 If they think that they can thereby gain any of tlicii petty ends. Even in their familiar intercourae with each other, the Indians seldom tell the truth in the first instance ; and if they succeed in exciting admiration or .istonishnicnt, their invention runs on without check. From the manner of the speaker, rather than by his words, is his truth or falsehood inferred ; and often a very long interrogation is necessary to elicit the i«al fact. " The Esquimaux," says Richardson, " are essen- tially a littoral people, and inhabit nearly five thousand miles of seaboard, from the Straits of Belleisle to the Peninsula of Alaska ; not taking into the measurement the various indentations of the coast-line, nor including West and East Greenland, in which latter locality they make their nearest approach to the western coasts of the Old Worid. Throughout ihe great linear range here indicated, there is no material change in their language, nor any variation beyond what would be esteemed in England a mere provincialism. Albert, the interpreter, who was born on the East Main, or western shore of James's Bay, had no great difficulty in understanding and making himself understood by the Esquimaux of the estuary of the Mackenzie, though by the nearest coast-line the distance between the two localities is at least two thousand five hundred miles. "The habit of associating in numbers for the chase of the whale has sown among them the elements of civilization ; and such of them as have been taken into the company's service, at the fur-posts, fall readily inio the ways of their white associates, and are more indus- trious, handy, and intelligent, than the Indians. The few interpreters of the nation that I have been acquainted with (four in all) were strictly honest, and adhered rigidly to the truth; and I have e^ery reason tc believe that 272 RICHARDSON'S AND RAE'S EXPLORATIONa v.|. ■ within their own community the rights of property are hold in great respect, even the huntinj-grouncls of fami' lies being kept sacred. Yet their covetousness of the property of strangers, and their dexterity in tliioving, are remarkable, and they seem to have most of the vices, as well as the virtues, of the Norwegian Vikings. Their personal bravery is conspiQuous, and they are the only native nation on the North American continent who oppose their enemies face to face in open fight. In- stead of flying, like the northern Indians, on the sight of a stranger, they did not scruple, in parties of two or three, to come off to our boats and enter into barter ; and never, on any occasion, showed the least disposi- tion to yield anything belonging to them through fear." The Esquimaux winter huts are thus described : "These buildings are generally placed on points where the water is deep enough for a boat to'come to tiie beach, such a locality being probably selected by the natives to enable them to tow a whale or seal more closely to the place where it is to be cut up. The knowledge of this fact induced us generally to look lor the buildings when we wished to land. The houses are constructed of drift-timber, strongly built together, and covered with earth to the thickness of from one to two feet. Light and aii' are admitted by a low door at one end ; and even this entrance is closed by a slab of snow in the winter time, when their lamps supply them with heat as well as light. Ten or twelve people may seat themselves in the area of one of these houses, though not comfortably ; and in the winter the imperfect admis- sion of fresh air, and the effluvia arising from the greasy bodies of a whole family, must render them most disa- greeable as well as unwholesome abodes. I have been told that when the family alone are present, the several members of it sit partly or even wholly naked " RICUARDSO.VS AND RAE'S EXPLORATIONa. 273 The explorers met floes of drift-ice for the first tim« after rounding Capo Parry, but they encountered then. more numerously as they approached Dolphin and Union Strait On the 22d of August they had a strong gale from the west; and on the next morning they found themselves hemmed in by dense packs, extending as fur •is the eye could reach. The weather had hitherto been genial, but now it passed into perpetual frost, with fre- quent snow-storms. The expedition henceforth got on with great difficulty ; and when thoy hud penetrated well up the west side of Coronation Gulf, they were engirdled by rigorous winter, and felt compelled to abandon their boats. They, therefore, were unable to fulfil a portion of their official instructions, which directed them to examine the western and southern shores of VVollaston Land, lying north-west of Coronation Gulf • and during eleven days, from the 2d till the 13th of beptember, they travelled by land, up the valley of the Coppermine, to their appointed winter home at Fort Confidence, at the north-eastern extremity of the Grea. Bear Lake. Next summer Sir John Richardson returned to England. ^ In his official report to the Secretary of the Admiralty bir John says : " In the voyage between the Macken- zie and Coppermine, 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 unoN sei-ved 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 sum- laer ; and its closely-packed condition when we left it on the 4th of September, made it highly improbable ■ 274 RICHARDSON'S AND RAE'S EXPLORATIONS. that it would open for ship navigation lutor in th« Boaaou. " I regretted oxtromcly that the state of the ice pre- vented ine from crossing to Wollaston Land, and thun completing, in one season, the whole scheme of their lordships' instructions. The opening between Wollas- ton and Victoria Lands has always ap[)eared to mo to possess great interest ; for through it the Hood-tide evi- dently sots into Coronation Gulf, diverging to the west- ward by the Dolphin and Union Strait, and to the east- ward round Capo Alexander. By the fifth clause of Sir John Franklin's instructions, ho 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's Strait as open as when Sir Edward Parry passed it on four previous occasions, 1 am convinced that (complying as exactly as he could with his instructions, and without looking into Welling- ton Sound, or other openings either to the south or north of Barrow's Strait) ho pushed directly west to Capo Walker, and from thence south-westwards. If so, tlio ships were probably shut up on some of the passages between Victoria, Banks', and Wollaston Lands. " Being apprehensive that the boats I left on the coast would be broken up by the Esquimaux, and being, moreover, of opinion that the examination of the open- ing in question might be safely and efficiently performed in the only remaining boat I had fit for the transport from Bear Lake to the Coppermine, I determined to intrust this important service to Mr. Rae, who volun- teered, and whose ability and zeal in the cause I cannot loo highly commend. He selected an excellent crew, all of them experienced voyageurs, and capable of find- ing their way back to Bear Lake without guides, should any unforeseen accident deprive them of their leader Bin J. C. ROSS'S EXI'EDITrON. 276 fn the month of March (1819) a Hufficiont supply of peminicuii, uiid othor nccoNsary Htoroo, with the equip, monts of the boat, were transported over the snow on dog-HlcdfrcH to a navigable part of the Kendall River and loft there under the charge of two men. As soon as the Doase broke up in Juno, 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 possi- ble, cross from Cape Krusenstern to Wollaston Land, and endeavor to penetrate to the northward, erecting signal-columns, and making deposits on conspicuous headlands, and especially on the north shore of Banks' Land, should he bo fortunate enough to attain that coast. He was further instructed not to hazard the safety of his party by remaining too long on the north side of Dolphin and Union Strait, and to be guided in liis movements by the season, the state of the ice, and Buch intelligence as ho might obtain from the Esqui- maux. He was also requested to engage one or more families of Indian hunters to pass the summer of 1850 on the banks of the Coppermine River, to be ready ti assist any party that may direct their course that way.'' Mr. Rae repeated his elaborate and perilous mission in the summer of 1850. The third and most important of the three searching expeditions of 1848 was the marine one conducted by Captain Sir James Clarke Ross. This comprised two superb ships, — the Enterprise, of four hundred and sev- enty tons and seventy men, and the Investigator, of four hundred and twenty tons and seventy men, both as strong ah they could be made, and furnished with svery possibh appliance. Each was provided with a f^rew-propelhd steam-launch, thirty-one and a half feet A 276 SIR J. C. ROSS'S EXPEDITION. 11 long, and capnblo of an average fipocd of eleven milei •n hour. Captain 11 J Bird was appointed to the com- mand of th(; InvcHtigator. Tlio Hliips were inHtnicted to proceod together to the head of Barrow's Strait ; and the Enterprise, if possible, to push on to a wintering, place about Winter Harbor or Banks' Lan'l, while the InvoHtigator should try to find harborage somewhere about Garnier Bay or Capo Rennell. Parties were to go from the Enterprise along respectively the eastern and the western shores of Banks' Land, to cross Sir John Richiirdson's expedition on the mainland ; and parties from the Investigator were to explore the coastH of North Somerset and Boothia. Tho expedition left the Thames on the 12th of May, 1848, and entered BiifRn's Bay early in July. A letter was written by Sir James Clarke Rim, from the Danish settlement of Upernavik, on the 1 2th of July, stating that if, after pasHing a second wirjter at or near Port Leopold, he should get no intolligence of Sir John Franklin and his party, he would send the Investigator home to England, and prosecute a further search in the Enterprise alone. The Lords of the Admiralty took alarm at the possible, or even probable, consequences of this excessive heroism, and ordered the North Star store-ship, under command of Mr. James Saunders, to get ready with all speed to take out instructions and supplies to tho expedition. Her prime object was to be the repleiu'shing of the expedition's stock of pro- visions, and the enjoining of the Investigator not to return to England in the way Sir James C. Ross had indicated, but to remain in company with the Enter- prise ; and if the North Star should not succeed in promptly fulfilling this object, she was instructed to land the supplies at the furthest prominent point sht- could readily reach, and by all means to keep her**'-''' SIR J. C. R088 8 EXPEDITION. 277 free from bcHctmeiit in tlio ico. and to retiini licforo tlie cloHO of the HouHon. Slio Hiiilt'cl from tlio TliumoH on tlio leili of Muy, IMli, and did not roturu that HoaBon ; and she iilso hfcamo a nnhjoct of much {)ul)Iio anxiety. The Entoipri«o and tho Invi-Htigctor hfft Upornavik on tho 13th of July, 1848 ; and, after runni.ig through on intricate archipehigo near tho mainland, they arrived, on tho 20th, ofi- Capo Shackleton, and there made fiiHt to a grounded iceberg. Tliey were joined there l)y tho Lord Gambier whaling-ship, whoso master informed them that, having run to tho southward with tho rest of tho whalers, and having carefully examined tho pack, ho had found it all so close, compact, anu heavy, as not to afford tho slightest hope of any ship being able to find an opening through it that season to the west. Ho had, therefore, returned to tho north, and expected that all the other whalers would soon follow him ; and he had a very confident hope that ho should get round the north end of the pack by the first week of August. But " the middle ice," as this great barrier along Baffin's Bay is called, has ever put the wits of the whale-fishers to the severest trial. The earliest date at which it has been passed in any year is the 12th of June ; the latest at which it has been found impassable is the 9th of Septem- ber ; and the average date of the first ship of the season passing it is about the 13th of July. But in 1848 it could bo passed only with extreme difficulty, and only by far rounding to the north ; and, as was afterwards ascertained, the first and almost oidy vessel which then got past it was tho Prince of Wales, of Hull, on the 6th of August, about latitude 75". Early on the morning of the 2l8t of July, the expedi tion cast off from the iceberg, and began to tow their way through loose streams of ice toward some lanes of Witer in the distance. But both on th's day and on tho m^: 278 SIR J. C. ROSS'S EXPEDITION. following few clays they made slow proj,Tcss, and were- often in difficulty. On the morning of the L'Otli, when they were off the Thiee Islandb uf Baffin, in latitude 74' north, at the clearing away of a fog, tliey saw the Lord Gainbier ",t some distance, standing under aU sail lo the southward — the unusually bad state of the ice having overturned her master's hopes, and altered hi,3 purpose, They pursued their course northward amid much per- plexity ; and, though still fully expecting to bore their way through the pack, they wore so excessively retarded by calms and barriers, as soon to lose all hope of being able to accomplish any considerable part of their mission before the setting in of winter. They spared no exer- tions, but forced u progress, and even drove on at the expense of danger. On the 20th of August, during a strong breeze from the north-east, the ships, under all sail, bored through a moderately ♦liick pack ot ice, studded with perilously large massf^s ; and they sustained severe shocks, yet, iiappily, did not receive any serious damage. They gained the open water on the afternoon of that day, in latitude 75^° north, and longitude 68° west, and then r^teered direct for Pond's Bay. That, as is well known, is the giand scene of the whale-fishery ; and thither the expedition went to inquire of any whaler's crew who might have got across to the west, and also of the Esquimaux who annually visit that locality, whethei they had seen anything of the missing advontureis. On the 22d of August they approached the ,shor*>. about ten miles south '"f Pond's Bay, and sa^/ lli? maic pack so closely pressed lioine to the land, some three or four miles further south, as to leave no rooi i for ships nr boats to pacs. They next stood in to the bay, and paused within half a mile of the points en which the Esquimr.ux are known to have their summer residences • SIR J. C. KoSS-S EXPEDITION. 27n and they fired guns every half-hour, and closely e-xan.- ined "very part of the shore with their glasses, but did not get sight of a si.igle human being. They then went rlowly to the northward, and sometimes could not hold their own with the current, and always kept so close to the land that neither boats nor persons could escapp their notice, yet still were unsuccessful. On the 26th they arrived off Possession Bay, at the south side of the entrance of Lancaster Sound. A party thorc went ashore to search for traces of Sir John Frank- lin having touciied at that general point of rendezvous, iMjt they found nothing except a paper recording the visit of Sir Edward Parry, in 1819. The expedition now sailed along the coastof Lancaster Sound, keeping close in-shore, scrutinizing all the seaboard both from the deck a;id from tlie mast-head, and fully expecting every hour to see those of whom they were in search. Every day thoy threw overboard, from each ship, a cask con- taining piipers of information of all their proceedings ; and in every fog they periodically fired guns, in every tirno of darkness thoy burned rockets and blue lights, uid at all times thoy kept the ships under such easy sail that any boat seeing the signals might have reached thorn. The drift of the information in the casks told toe missing adventurers that no assistance could be given them at Pond's Bay, or anywhere else on the west coast of Baffin's Bay; that the Enterprise and the Investi- gator wore on thoir way to form a depOt of provisions ■it Port Leopold : and that, if the adventurers would ^r- on to that place, they would either find one of the fillips there, or sec, along with the provisions, a notice "('whore she might be found. ^ On the lat of September the expedition arrived off Cape York, at the east side of the entrance of Princa Regent's I.;!,>t. ,\ party was there sent a-hore. under 280 Sm J. C. ROSS'S EXPEDITION. very diflBcult circumstances, to seek for Sir Jonn Frank lin's company, or for traces of them, and to set up a conspicuous mark, with a paper containing similar in- formation to that in the casks. From Cape York tho expedition stood over toward North-East Cape, till they came to the edge of a pack about fourteen miles broad, lying in the way to Leopold Island, and too dense for them to penetrate. They wished to get with all possi- ble speed to Port Leopold, to fnlfd the promise made in their notices, and were glad to observe that the pack which now arrested them was still in motion, and might be expected soon to go to pieces under some favorable change. But, that no available time might be spent in inaction, they stood away, in the mean time, to the north shore of Barrow's Strait, to examine its numer- ous inlets, and to seek for a retreat harbor. They thoroughly explored Maxwell Bay, and several smaller indentations; and they got so near the entrance of Wel- lington Channel as to see that it was firmly and impen- etrably barred from side to side by ice, which h^d not been broken up that season. Even Barrow's Strait was embarrassed by a greater quantity of ice than had ever before been seen in it at the same period of the year. They now stood to the south-west to seek for a har- bor near Cape Rennell ; but they found a heavy body of ice extending from the west of Cornwallis's Island, in a compact mass, to Leopold Island. They coasted along this pack during stormy and foggy weather, and had difficulty during the nights in keeping the ships from being beset. With the thermometer every night at 15°, you .g ice formed so rapidly, and became so thick, as to defeat all their efforts to pass through some of even tho looser streams. Yet, after several days of anxious and arduous toil, though the pack still lingered about Leo- pold Island and North-East Cape, they succeeded in SIR J. C. ROSS'S EXPEDITION. 281 ^tting through it, and entered the harbor of Port Leo- pold on the 11th September ; and, had they not got i„ on that day. they w„uhl not have got in at all ; for, on ho following night, the main pack ca.ne close home to the land, and completely sealed the mouth of the harbor. They were happy i„ i.aving reached Port Leopold, both for their own sake and for the sake of their niis- 8.on. They had doubted whether the anchorage would be good ; but they found it excellent, and saw at once hat there could not be a better wintering place for the Investigator. Nor could there have been a fitter local- ity for making a grand deposit of provisions, and preparing a temporary retreat for any of Sir John rrankhn s company who might be entangled among the mtricacies of the archipelago. Port Leopold is situ ated at the junction of the four great channels of Lan- caster Sound, Bairow'B Strait, Wellington Channel, and Prince Regent's Inlet, and lies closely adjacent to any route which Sir John Franklin could have been likely to pursue in the event of his having had to retrogress from he vicinity of Cape Walker ; so that a lodgment in it by the present expedition could scarcely escape the notice of any of Sir John's company who might happen to bo proceeding from any part whatever of the archi- pelago toward Baffin's Buy. An effort was made to bring the Enterprise out, with the view of her going westward to some harbor nearer Cape W alker. But she was irretrievably ice-bo. nd Iho pack which closed the harbor's mouth never ,nce afforded a chance for the egress of even a boat ; and across the isthmus, as far as could be discerned from the neighboring heights, the same extensive mass of heavy nummocky ice, which repelled and limited the expedi- tion 8 movements before entering, remained immovable 282 SIR J. C. ROSS'S EXPEDITION. and formed a firm barrier all the way over to the ■hore of North Somerset. Even if the Enterprise had got out, she could not have proceeded far ; and in all probability would either have been perilously beset in the pack, or compelled to sail away from it to England. On the 12th October, therefore, the two ships were laid fast in their wintering position, within two hundred yards of each other. The earliest days after entering the harbor were de voted to the landing of a good supply of provisions upon Whaler Point. In this service the steam-launch proved of most eminent value, not only carrying a large cargo herself, but towing two deeply-laden cutters at the rate of four or five knots through the sheet of ice which then covered the harbor, and which no boat, unaided by steam, could have penetrated beyond her own length. Tiio crews spent the dead of winter in a similar manner to those of former Arctic expeditions. But they probably felt much depressed by thinking on the fate of those whom they had been unsuccessfully seeking, and they had to contend against a rigorous cold, prolonged unusually far into the spring ; so that, though they had more comforts, better appliances, and much richer fruits of experience, than the crews of Sir Edward Parry's and Sir John Ross's ships, they were not by any means so healthy. During the winter a great many white foxes were taken alive in traps, and, iis thoy are well known to travel great distances in search of food, they were fitted with copper collars, containing engraved notices of the position of the ships and di'pots of provisions, and then set at liberty, in the hope that they would be caught by the crews of the Erebus and the Terror. In April and the earlj' part of May short journeys "vere made to deposit small stores of provisions wew- SIR J. C. ROSS'S EXPEDITION. 2H3 ward of Cape Clarence, and southward of Cape Sep. pings. On the 15th May a party of thirteen, headed by Sir Janios C. Ross, and taking with them forty days' provision, and a supply of clotiics, blankets, and other necessaries, on two Klodgos, started on an exploiatory journey to the south. They were accompanied for five (lays by a fatigue party of nearly thirty, under Captain Bird. Their object was to penetrate as far as possible in the direction which Sir John Franklin was instructed first to pursue, and to make a close scrutiny of every bay and inlet in which any ships might have found shelter. They got on with difficulty, and did their work with much toil, yet went resolutely forwaid. The north shore of North Somerset trends slightly to the northward of west, till it attains its highest latitude, ihe highest latitude of continental America, a few miles beyond Cape Rennell ; it thence trends slightly to the southward of west till it rounds Cape Bunny ; and then it suddenly assumes a direction nearly due south. From high land adjacent to Cape Bunny they obtained a very extensive view, and observed that all Wellington Chan- nel on the north, and all the space between Capo Bunny and Cape Walker on the west, were occupied by very heavy hummocky ice ; but that the frozen expanse south- ward, along the west flank of North Somerset, was smoother. They proceeded to the south, tracing all the indentations of the coast, and heroically enduring great exposure and fatigue, but not without the pain and delay of several of their number becoming useless from lameness and debility. They stopped on the 5th of June They were then too weak to go further, and had con- rimed more than half of their provisions ; and they encamped for a day's rest, preparatory to tlieir return. Their brave leader and two of the men, however, went onward to a vantago-ground about eight or nin« i 284 81B J. C. ROSS'S EXPEDITION. \--ii ! -if <" , 1 miles distant. This extreme point of the journey is the western extremity of a small high peninsula, situated in latitude 12° 38' north, and longitude 95° 40' west. The atmosphere at the time was peculiarly clear, and would have carried the eye to land of any groat elevation at the distance of one hundred miles. But the most dis- tant visible cape in the direction toward Boothia and Victoria Land was not further off than fifty miles, and lay nearly due south. Several small bays and inlets intervened, and though, perhaps, not forming a contin- uous sweep of the sea, they prove Prince Regent's Inlet at Cresswell and Brentford Bays to be separated from the western ocean by a very narrow isthmus — a dis- tinct natural boundary between North Somerset and Boothia. The party resting at the encampment were not idle. Lieut. McClintock, who headed them, took some mag- netic observations, which had great value, on account of the near vicinity of the place to the magnetic pole. Two of the men pierced the ice, and found it to be eight feet thick, and set in a stick for ascertaining the state of the tides ; and all the others who could work erected a large cairn, into which was put a copper cylinder, containing all requisite information for the guidance of any of Sir John Franklin's company who might journey along that coast. The time for expecting those missing ones there that season, on the supposition of their having abandoned their ships in the vicinity of Melville Island, had almost or altogether passed. The thaw had commenced, the suitable conditions for travel- ling were over, and the present explorers had, at least, the satisfaction of knowing that no wanderers from the Erebus and the Terror then lay unheeded or perishing on the coast of North Somerset. The explorers began their return journey on the 6tb SIR J. C. ROSS'S EXPEDITION. Zfih June They forced their way through various diflS- cultics, and arrived at the ships on the 23d. They were 80 worn and injured, that every man of them, from some cause or other, wont into the doctor's hands foi two or three weeks. One of the assistant surgeons too, had died ; several men of both crews were severelj ailing ; and the general health was far from good. During the absence of the large exploring party in North Somerset, three small ones were despatched by Captain Bird in other directions. One, under the com- mand of Lieut. Barnard, went to the north shore of Barrow's Strait ; another, under the command of Lieut Browne, went to the east shore of Prince Regent's Inlet ; and the third, under the command of Lieut. Rob- inson, went to the west shore of that ndet These parties were comparatively a short time away ; yet all — especially tlio last, who penetrated several miles beyond Fury Beach — suflered from suow-blindnesa, sprained ankles, and debility. Preparations were now made for leaving Port Leo- pold. The season -was far advanced, and a strong desire was felt to have the ships as soon as possible si t free, in order to push them on toward the west. But something further was first done to extend the appli- ances of the place as a refuge for the missing adven- turers. A house was built of the spare spars of the ships, and covered with such of the housing-cloths as could be wanted. The depot of provisions and fuel was raised to a sufficient quantity to serve for a twelvemonth. And the Investigator's steani-laancb was lengthened seven feet, and made a fine vessel, capable of conveying the whole of Sir John Franklin's party to the wlndcj-ships. The crews were ill able to work the ships o^t of the oarbor, and to set them once more before the breeze • , Ik ,r"i 286 SIR J. C. ROSS'S EXPilDITION. u but thoy wont with a will to the tawk. The season wa< fur advanced, and exceedingly unpromising, and seemed clearly to demand the utmost promptitude and strenu- ousness of exertion. At a time when most other nav> gable parts of the Arctic seas were open, Port Leopold continued as close as in the middle of winter. Not a foot of water waa to be seen on the surface of the sur- rounding ice, except only along the line of gravel about the harbor's mouth ; aud small prospect existed that any natural opening would occur. The crews were obliged to cut a way out with saws. All hands that were at all able went to work, and made a canal two niMes in length, and suflBciently wide to let the ships pass outward to the adjacent sound. They did not complete this till the 15th of August, and then had the mortiflcation to see that the ice to seaward remained, to all appearance, as firndy fixed as in the winter. But it was wasting away along the shores, and it soon broke up, and gave promise of a navigable channel. The ships got out of the harbor on the 28th of August, exactly one fortnight less than a twelvemonth from the time when they entered it. They proceeded toward the north shore of Barrow's Strait, with the view of making further examination of Wellington Channel, and of scrutinizing the coasts and inlets westward to Melville Island. But they were arrested about twelve miles from the shore by fixed land-ice, which had remained unbroken since the pre- vious season, and which appeared to extend away to the western horizon in a uniform heavy sheet. They were in a loose pack, struggling with blocks and streams as they best could, and they kept hovering about the spot which afforded the greatest probability of an open- ing. But, on the 1st of Septeml>er, the loose pack waa •uddenly put in commotion by a strong wind, and it i^^^^H r 1 1 ■ « * 1 ! ' 1 t 1 n 1 SIR J. C. ROSS'S EXPEDITION. 289 camo down upon thorn and beset them. During two ot three days the heavy masses at times severely squeezed them, and rideos of hummoclis wore thrown up all »round them, and then the temperature fell nearly to zero, and congealed the whole body of ice into a solid mass. The crow of the Enterprise were unable, for some days, to unship the rudder, and when at last they released it, by means of the laborious operation of saw- ing away the hummocks which clove to the stern, they found it twisted and damaged ; and, at the same 'time, the ship was so much strained as to increase the leakage from three inches iu a fortnight to fourteen inches in day. The ice now remained for some days stationary. The lighter pieces had been so interlaced and imbricated by pressure, as to form one entire sheet across the whole width of Barrow's Strait, and away eastward and west- ward to the horizon ; and all the blocks mid strata below them were so firmly cemented by the extreme severity of the temperature as to seem little likely to break up again that season. The ships appeared fixed for the winter ; and who could tell whether thoy niight not be exposed to a series of as terrific perils as those which so often menaced the Terror with destruction in her awful ice-voyage of 1836 ? On the wind shifting to the west, the crews, with a mixture of hope and anxiety, beheld the whole body of ice beginning to drive to the eastward, at the rate of eight or ten miles a day. Tiiey made all possible efforts to help themselves, but made them in vain, for no human power could have moved either of tlie ships a single inch. The field of ice wliich held them fast in its centre was more than fifty miles in circumference. It carried them along the south shore of Lancaster Sound, and then went down the west side of Baffin's IS 290 Biu J. c. iioss's i;xi'i:DnioN. ppi ."i ir i ■1 '3i i; i i •■it 1 ' I 7 '.V 1 * : y ^ ■ 1 1 '! ifedlMMRifiWwB mM 1 ^'^^iA| 1 ■«■: i-™ 1 Bay, till they wcro abreast of Pond's Bay, and there ii tliroatoiKMl to prc<'i|)il!ito thorn on a barrier of icebergs. But, just in till! very criniH of their alarm, it wan rent, as if by some unseen power, into innumerable fragments, and they were set ahnost miraeuhjuwly free. The crews sprang? from des[)air to hope, aiul from inaction to enerj;y. All sail was set, and warjjs weie run out from eaeh (juarter to work the ships past the heavy floes. The Investigator got into open water on the 2lth, and the Enterprise on the iiSth. " It is impo.s- Bible," says Ross, "to convey any idea of the sensation we experieuced when wc louml ourselves once more at liberty ; many a heart poured forth its praises and thankagtvings to Almighty God for this unlooked for deliverance." The harbors of Ballin's Bay were now all closed by ice, and the coyrse to the west was barred by the pack from which the ships had just been liberated. The expedition, therefore, had no alternative but to return to England, and they arrived ofl" Scarborough on the 3d of November, 1849. Thus ended the third of the government explorations in search of Sir John Franklin. Lieuteiumt Pullen, who, it will be remembered, was despatched from the Plover on tlic western coast, and ordered to extend his search to the mouth of the Mac kenzie, ascended that river and reached Fort Simpson on the 13th of October. Here ho wintered, and, while on his way to York Factory, the following spring, re- ceived instructions by express to attempt a passage in boats across the sea to Melville Island. He immedialeiy hurried back, and, on being supplied with four thou ,iti ] five hundred pounds of peinmican and jerked venison by Rao, descended the Mackenzie. The season of 1850 proved more severe, however, than that of the previous year. Pullen found the sea, from the Mackenzie to 9\n .1. C. ROSS'S EXPEDITin.V 801 (npo n«thurBt, covered with ni.hrokon ire. n flinnl) rlinn. nel only exJHting in-shore, fl.rotiffh which ho thnvulod his way to the vicinity of the cupe. Failing jn finding H paNHiigo (Mit to Bcn to the n<.rth of Cape U.itlmist, lio f<'rn«im-d in its vicinity, watching the ice f..r an open, tug. until the approach of winter compelled him to retnrn to the Mackenzie. He had n-ached the sea on the '2'2i\ of July, and ho did not qnit it til! the iHt of Septen.her. An ho ascended the Mackenzie, ice wai driving rapidly down. " It was one continned drill of ice and heavy finow-Htorms." " Ho reached Fort Simi- flon on the 5th of October, and arrived in England tu take command of the North Star, and join the expedition under Sir E. Belcher. CllAPTEil XUI. -mi 3PIN.ON8 IS REGARD TO THE FATE OF FUAHKLIN. — CLIMATK. — IIESCCKCXI OF OAME. — RF.WAIIDS OFFEIIEL'. — REl'OUTS FROM WHALERS. Rg. NKWED EKARCHES.— COLUNSON AND m'cLURE. — RAE's INSTRnCTlONS. — OTUER EXPEDITIONS, PDULIC AND PRIVATE. — GRINNELl'g EXPEDI- HON. — MEETING IN THE ARCTIC SEAS.— TRACES OP FRANKLIN.— GRAVES. — SLEDGING PARTIES. — RETURN no::E. It was the opinion of Sir John Richardson, Iho former companion of Franklin, that his plans were to shape his course, in the first instance, for the neighborhood of Cape Walker, and to push to the westward in that parallel ; or, if that could not be accomplished, to make his way southwards, to the channel discovered on the north coast of the continent, and so on to Behring'g Strait ; failing success in that quarter, he meant to retrace his course to Wellington Sound, and attempt a passage northwards of Parry's Islands ; and if foiled there also, to descend Regent's Inlet, and seek the passage along the coast discovered by Messrs. Dease a.nd Simpson Daptain Fitzjamcs, the second in command under Sir John Franklin, was much incline'd to try the passage northward of Parry's Islands ; and ho would, no doubt, endeavor to persuade Sir John to pursue this course, if they failed to the southward. In a private letter to Sir John Barrow, dated January, 18-15, Fitzjamcs writes: " It does not appear clear to me what led Parry down Prince Regent Inlet, after having got as far as VIelville Island before. The north-west passage is certainly to FATE OF FRANKLIN, 293 be gone through by Barrow's Strait, but whether south 01 north of Parry's Group, remains to be proved. I am for going north, edging north-west till in longitude 140°, if possible." Captain Sir John Ross records, in February, 184T, his opinion that the expedition was frozen up beyond Mel- ville Island, from the known intentions of Sir John Franklin to put his ships into the drift-ice at the western end of Melville Island ; a risk which was deemed in the highest degree imprudent by Lieutenant Parry luid the officers of the expedition of 1819-20, with ships of a less draught of water, and in every respect better calculated to sustain the pressure of the ice, and other dangers to which they must be exposed. The expedition certainly did not succeed in passing Behring's Strait ; and, if not totally lost, must have been carried by the drift-ice to the southward, on land seen at a great distance in that direction, from which the accumulation of ice behind them would, as in Ross's own case, forever prevent the return of the ships. When we remember with what extieme difficulty Ross's party travelled three hundred miles overmuch smoother ice after they abandoned their vessel, it appears very doubtful a\ hether Franklin and his men, one hundred and thirty-eight in number, could poBsibly travel six hundred miles. In the contingency of the ships having penetrated eome considerable distance to the south-west of Cape Walker, and having been hampered and crushed in the narrow channels of the archipelago, which there are reasons for belie ing occupies the space between Victo- ria, Wollaston, and Banks's Lands, it is remarked by Sir John Richardson, that such accidents among ice are seldom so sudden but that the boats of one or of both slii|)s, with provisions, can bo saved ; and, in such an event, the survivors would either return to Lancastei 294 FATE OF FRANKLIN. Strait, or make for the continent, according to theh nearness. Colonel Sabine remarks, in a letter dated Woolwich, 5th of May, 1847 : " It was Sir John Franklin's inten- tion, if foiled at one point, to try, in succession, all the probable openings intt) a more navigable part of the Polar Sea. The range of coast is considerable in which memorials of the ships' progress would have to be sought for, extending from Melville Island, in the west, to the great sound at the head of Baffin's Bay, in the east."' Admiral Sir Francis Beaufort, in his report to the Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty, Nov. 24, 1849, ob- serves : " There are four ways only in which it is likely that the Erebus and Terror would have been lost — by fire, by sunken rocks, by storm, or by being crushed be- tween two fields of ice. Both vessels would scarcely have taken fire together ; if one of them had struck on a rock, the other would have avoided the danger. Storms in those narrow seas, encumbered with ice, raise no swell, and could produce no such disaster: and, therefore, by the fourth cause .ilone could the two v(>ssels have been at once destroyed ; and, even in that case, the crows would have escaped upon the ice — as happens every year to the whalers; — they would have saved their loose boats, and reached some part of the American shores. As no traces of any such event have been found on any part of those shores, it may, therefore, be safely afiirmed that one ship, at least, and both the crews, are still in existence ; and, therefore, the point where they now are is the great matter for consid- eration, " Their orders would have carried them towards Mel- ville Island, and then out to the westward, where it is therefore probable that they are entangled amongst FATE OF FRANKLIN. 295 islands and fee. For, should thoy have boon arrested at some intcrmedialo place, — for instance, Capo Walker, or at one of the northern chain of islands, — tliey would, undoubtedly, in the course of the three following years! liave contrived some method of sendirig notices of tlieir position to the shores of North Somerset or to Barrow's Strait. " If they had reached much to the southward of Hanks's Land, they would surely have communicated with the tribes on Mackenzie River ; and if, failing to get to the westward or southward, they had returned with the intention of penetrating through Wellington Channel, they would have detached parties on the ice towards Harrow's Strait, in order to have deposited statements of their intentions. The general conclusion, therefore remains that they are still locked up in the archipelago to the westward of Melville IslanV" Captain Sir George Back, in a letter to the Secretary of the Admiralty, December Ist, 1849, says : " You will be pleased, sir, to impress on my Lords Commis- sioners that I wholly reject all and every idea of any attempts on the part of Sir John Franklin to send boats or detachments over the ice to any point of the mainland' eastward of the Mackenzie River, because I can say, from e.xp(M-ienco, that no toil-worn and exhausted party could have the least chance of existence by going there. On the other hand, from my knowledge of Sir John Franklin, — having been three times on discovery together, — I much doubt if he would quit his ship at all, except in a boat ; for any attempt to cross the ico a long distance on foot would be tempting death ; and It is too laborious a task to sledge far over such an uneven surface as those regions generally present. That great mortality must have occurred, and that one ship may be lost, are greally to he fcan.,! ; and, as on all 296 FATE OF FRANKLIN. former oxpetlitiona, if the survivors arc paralyzed hy the doprcssing attacks of scurvy, it would then ho impossihle for them, however desirous they might be, to leave the ship, which must thus become their last most anxious abode. " If, however, open water should have allowed Sir John Franklin to have resorted to his boats, then I am persuaded he would make for either the Mackenzie River, or, which is iiir more likely, from the almost cer- tainty he must have felt of finding provision, Cape Clarence and Fury Point. I am aware that the whole chances of life, in this painful case, depend on food ; but when I reflect on Sir John Franklin's former extraor- dinary preservation under miseries and trials of the most severe description, living often on scraps of old leather and other refuse, I cannot despair of his finding the means to prolong existence till aid be happily sent him." In regard to the advantages of an exploration by the way of Behring's Strait, Sir John Eichanlson writes : " The climate of Arctic America improves in a sensi- ble manner with an increase of western longitude. On the Mackenzie, on the 135th meridian, the sum- mer is wanner than in any district of the continent in the same parallel ; and it is still finer, and the vegetation more luxuriant, on the banks of the Yucon, on the 150th meridian. This superiority of climate leads mo to infer that ships well fortified against drift- ice will find the navigation of the Arctic seas more practicable in its western portion than it has been found to the eastward. This inference is supported by my own personal experience, as far as it goes. 1 met with no ice in the month of August, on my late voyage, till I attained the 123d meridian, and which 1 was led, fronj FATE OF FRANKLIN. 291 ihat circumstance, to suppose coinci Jed with the west- ern hrnits of Parry's Archipelago. "The greater facility of navigating from the west has been powerfully advocated by others on former ocea sions ; and the chief, perhaps the only reason why the attempt to penetrate the Polar Sea from that quarter has not been resumed since the time of Cook is, that the length of the previous voyage to Behring's Strait would considerably diminish the store of provisions • but the facilities of obtaining supplies in the Pacific are now so augmented, that this objection has no longer the same force." It was urged that, though the crews of the Erebus and the Terror had provisions with them for only three years, they could make these serve, by reduced allow- ance, for a somewhat longer period, and would in all probabdity obtain large additions to them by means of their guns. The Arctic regio.is, far from being so des- titute of ammal life as might be supposed from the bleak and inhospitable cliaracter of the climate, are proverbial lor the boundless profusion of various species of the animal kingdom, which are to be met with in different l-'ahties during a great part of the year. The air is often darkened by innumerable flocks of Arctic and blue gulls, the ivory gull, or snow-bird, the kitt,wak,>, the fulmar petrel, snow-geese, terns, coons, dovekics, &c. The cetaceous animals comprise the groat Greerdand whale, the sea-unicorn, or narwhal the white whale, or beluga, the morse, or walrus, and the seal. There are also plenty of porpoises occasion- ally to be met with ; ami, although these animals may not be tl.e best of food, yet they can be eaten. Of the land animals, we may instance the polar bear, the musk- ox, the reindeer, the Arctic fox, and wolves. Parry obtained nearly four thousand pounds' weight 298 FATE OF FRANKLIN. of animal foot! during his winter resilience at Melville Island ; Ross nearly the same quantity from buds alone, when wintering at Port Leopold. Sir John lliciiardson, speaking of the amount of food to bo obtained in the polar region, says : " Deer migrate over the ice in the spring from the main shore to Vic- toria and \\''ollaaton Lands in large herds, and return in the autumn. These lands are also the orceding- places of vast llocks of snow-geese ; so that, with ordi- nary skill in hunting, a large supply of food might be procured on their shores, in the months of June, July, and August. Seals are also numerous in those eeas, and are easily shot, their curiosity rendeiing them a ready prey to a boat-party." L» these ways, and by tishing, the stock of provisions might be greatly aug. mented ; and we have the recent example of Mr. Rae, who passed a severe winter on the very barren shores of Repulse Hay, with no other fuel than the withered tufts of a herbaceous andromada, and maintained a numerous party on the spoils of the chase alone for a whole year. With an empty stomach the power of resisting exter- nal cold is greatly impaired ; but when the process of digestion is going on vigorously, even with compara- tively scanty clothing, the heat of the body is preserved. There is, in the winter time, in high latitudes, a craving for fat or oleaginous food ; and for such occasions the tlesh of seals, walruses, or bears, forms a useful article of diet. Captain Cook says that the walrus is a sweet and wholesome article of food. Whales and seals would also furnish light and fuel. The necessity for increased food in very cold weather is not so great when the people do not work. Li March, 1818, the British Admiralty announced their intention of rewarding the crews of any w.ialing- RKWARDS OFFERED. 299 ships that brodgnt accurate information of the miseing expedition, with tlie sum of one hundred guineae or niore according to circumstances. Lady Franklin, also, o'.,uut the same time oflered rewards of two thousand and three thousand pounds, to be distributed among the owner, officers, and crew, discovering and aflbrding relief to her husband, or making extraordinary exertions for the above object, and, if required, bringing Sir John Franklin and his party to England. On the 23d of March, 1849, the British government oflered a reward of twenty thousand pounds "to such private ship, or by distribution among such private ships, or to any exploring party or parties, of any coun- try, as might, in the judgment of the Board of Admiralty, have rendered eflicient assistance to Sir John Franklin' his ships, or their crews, and might have contributed directly to extricate them from the ice." This, also, was meant mainly for the whalers, but was not pro- mulged till most of them had sailed, and had no adapta- tion to compensate owners and masters and crews pro- portionately to their losses on the fishery, and, there- fore, did not produce any effect. In the spring of 1849 Mr. Parker, master of the whaling-ship Truelove, carried out from Lady Franklin ft supply of provisions and coals for the possible use of the missing expedition, and landed them on the con- spicuous promontory of Cape Hay, on the south side of Lancaster Sound. In 1849 Dr. Goodsir, brother of the assistant surgeon of the Erebus, embarked in the whaling-ship Advice, of Dundee, on her annual trip to Baffin's Bay, in the hope that he might get early intelligence of the missing expe- dition. Mr. William Penny, the master of the Advice, was well known for enterprise and energy, and had made strenuous efforts, in 1834, to assist Sir John Rose mm !ffi|j„ -:.. m ^ ^^ - ; flBs' i 1 : . ■ ' "rl ! ^ 4 .'•':'' '■'h i'fm^p! .:M i. '■■■: . 1 ' ""^;. i laHH^HH i 300 COLLINSON AND MCLURE. and his party, and now folt fon-itl and generons zeal to be useful in tho allair of Sir Jolin Franklin. They pro cooded in the ordinary manner of a whaling cruise, yet ponotrated into Lancaster Sound, and proposed to go as far as Prince Regent's Inlet; but were stopped, on the '1th of August, by a linn, compact barrier, extending 'luite across, in crescentic outline, from Gape York, on the south, to the vicinity of Burnet's Inlet, on the north. They were only seven days within sight of the shores of Lancaster Sound, and saw 'itiw other parts of them than such as had been closely scrutinized by the Enterprise and the Investigator ; yet they searched them with a keen eye, and deposited on them several conspicuous notices. The demand for new researches now became pressing. Three great divisions of search were adopted. These corresponded, in general sphere and character, to the three primary searching expeditions of 1848. One was marine, by way of Ik'hring's Strait ; another was over- land, to the central northern coasts ; and the third was marine, by way of Baiun's Bay. The ships Enterprise and Investigator were refitted with all possible speed, to go round South America, and up to Behring's Strait. Captain Eichard Collinson was put in command of the Enterprise, and Commander ArClurc, who had served as first lieutenant of the Enter- prise in the recent expedition under Sir James C. Ross, was put in command of the Investigator. The ships were provisioned for three years, and supplied with bal- loons, blasting appliances, ice-saws, and many other contrivancei- for aiding their movements and vesearch. Each, also, was provided with a pointed piece of mech- anism, iibout fourteen pounds in weight, attached by a tackle to the end of the bowsprit, suited to be worked from the deck, and capable, by means of a series of sud- den falls, to break ice of any ordinary thickness, and Il rOLLlNSDN AND M-('i,i;m;. aoi open a piisaiif,'o throtigli a Ooe or li(jlit pack. The sliips, though dull KailtTs, wore tiio only ones lit for the ser- vice which c;oiil(l be got promptly ready ; and, in order tn expedite their pnjgress, steamers were put in requisi- tion to tow them in more than one part of their voyage, and particularly through the Magellan Strait, the Wel- lington Channel, and on to Valparaiso. They sailed from riymouth Sound on tlie 20th of Jan- uary, 1850. The captains had minute orders for there guidance on the way to Bohring's Strait, and with ref- erence to the previous expeditions of the Herald and the Plover ; and were also furnished witli memoranda, sug- gestions, and conditional instructions, for their aid in the polar seas ; but, with the exception of two or three general conunands, bearing comprehensively on the grand object of their mission, they were left almost entirely to their own discretion, after they should enter the ice. They were told to reap .all the advantage they could from the experience of the Herald and the Plover ; to form a depot, or point of succor, for any party to fall back upon ; to retain the Plover, and get her replen- ished from the Herald, and send her a wintering and cruising on nearly her former ground till the autumn of 1853 ; to keep the Enterprise and the Investigator steadily in each other's company, and onward as far as safety would permit to the east ; to cultivate the friend- ship of the Esquimaux, and induce them to carry mes- fiages to the Hudson's Bay Company's settlements ; to throw occasionally overboard tin cylinders containing information, and to use every precaution against getting into any position which might possibly hold them fast till their provisions should become exhausted. Both ships made a comparatively speedy passage to Behring's Strait. On the 29th of July tlie Enter.irise coached the western end of the Aleutian Cliaiii ; on the J02 nAE'S INSTRUCTIONS. 1 1th of August she reached the island of St. Lawrouce ; mid on the 16th of August fell in with the ice. But the weather was thou so unfavorable, and the ice so thick, that Captain Collinson abandoned a purpose which ho had furniod to attempt to penetrate that season to Capo Bathurst. After several Gncounters with the ice, ho reached Grantlcy Harbor, and there found the Plover preparing for winter quarters, and was next day joined by the Herald. On consulting with Captains Kellett and Moore, he determined, instead of wintering in tho north, to proceed to Ilong Kong, there to replenish his provisions, and not to set out again for tho north till at least tho first of April, 1851. The Investigator was later in getting through tho Pacific than the Enterprise ; and Commander Moore, of the Plover, writing at sea, in latitude 51° 26' north, and longitude 172" 35' west, on the 20th of July, gave a sketch of his intended opera- tions, and said that no apprehension need be enter- tained about his safety till the autumn of 1854, as he had on board full provisions of every kind for three years after tho first of September, and intended to issue, in lieu of the usual rations, whatever food could be obtained by hunting parties from tho ship. Dr. Rae, it will be remembered, was left by Sir John Hichardsoii to attempt to overtake, in tho summer of 1819, an unaccomplished part of the objects of the over- land expedition of 18-18. This had special reference to tho examination of the coasts of Victoria Land and Wol- laston.Land; and now that Sir John Franklin's ships were believed to have certainly gone beyond Capo Walker, and to have probably bored their way south- westward to some position between that place and the mainland, this was deemed to be much more imi)ortant ttian before. Eariy in 1850 instructions were despatched to Dr. Rao, by Governor Sir George Simpson, of thp AUSTIN'S EXPEDITION. 303 IIudson'B Bay Company, requiring him, in the ovoiit of hfs explorations of 1819 having boon unsiiccoHHluI, to organize anotlior expedition for the aummer of 1850. This was to ponctrato further, to range more widely, and to examine the coasts of Banks's Island, the coasts around Cape Wallcor, and tiio nortii coast of Victoria Land. Two small parties, at the same time, were to proceed westward on tlie mainland in the direction of Point Barrow ; and one of these was to descend the Mackenzie, and explore the coast to the west of it, while the other was to pass on to the Colville River! and to descend that stream to the sea ; and both were to induce the natives, by rewards and othcmise, to prosecute the search, and spread intelligence in all direc- tions. Dr. Kae was particularly instructed to keep an ample supply of provisions, clothing, ammunition, fish- ing-tackle, and other necessaries, at Fort Good Hope, as that seemed an eminently probable retreat to which parties of the missing o 'Venturers might try to force their way. But in most other matters, and especially in all the details of the expedition, he was left solely to his own discretion. The expedition equipped by the British government for renewed search by way of BaHin's Bay and Lancas- ter Sound comprised two strong teak-built ships, — the Resolute and the Assistance, — and two powerful screw- propelled st<>am-vessel8 — the Pioneer and the Intrepid. These ships had a tonnage, the former of five hundred, and the latter of four hundred and thirty tons, and were alike strong, commodious, elegant, and admirably ap. purtenanced. The steam-vessels had strength and adaptation not only for towing the ships in open chan- nels, but fur conllicting with the perils of the polar seas. And forcing a passage through small floes and thin packs of ice. Captain n. T. Austin was put in cora- u Ml- ■i' 301 ROSS. -PENNY. niand cf the RoHolutc, Captuiii E. Oniniatipy of the AsHistanco, and Lieut. Slicrarcl Ortboriic of the Pioneer. Multitudes of olllcers nobly vied as vohinteers to obtain the subordinate appointments ; and some of the most oxperiencod whalo-fishers wcro obtained for the fore- castle. The instructions given were similar in scope and spirit to those of the Uehring's Strait expedition, and did'ered chiedy in adaptation to the diflerent route. Die expedition sailed in the spring of 1850. An expedition under the command of the veteran Sir John Koss was equipped by a public subscription, toward which the Hudson's IJay Company contributed live hundred pounds. This consisted of a schooner- rigged vessel of one hundred and twenty tons (which Sir John called tiie Felix, ii, honor of his late patriotic friend, Sir Felix 15ooth), and of a small tender, of twelve tons, called tiio Mary. They were provisioned for eighteen months, and they set sail in the latter part of April. Sir John was in excellent spirits, as full of fire and daring as in his younger years ; and he enlisted in his service an old expert Esquimaux interpreter. His plan was to proceed as quickly as he could to Barrow's Strait to commence operations at Cape Ilotham, on the west side of the entrance of Wellington Chiinnel ; to examine all the headlands thence to Banks's Land, and then, if still unsuccessful, to leave the IVLary there as a vessel of retreat, and to push the search in the Felix alone during another year. An expedition also was equipped at the inst.ance of the devoted Lady Franklin, wholly by her own zeal, and mainly at her own expense. This was put under the command of Mr. Penny, formerly master of the Advice whale-ship, and consisted of a fine ship of two hundred and twenty-five tons, calhul The Lady Franklin, and a new clipper-brig of one hundred and twenty tons, named the FonsvTirs expedition 305 Sophia Tho lurgor vchbcI waH fitted up at Aberdeen, Biid the Bmullcr one at Diuidco -— both with great celer- ity, and ill a Htylo of tlio bent poHsiblo adaptation to ar* Arctic voyago ; and they also Bailed in the Hprinp: «' 1850. Their proposed plan of procedure was Hoinewhat coincident with that of the government expedition ; yet entirely indepcndei.t, except in the way of coiiperatioi- or mutual aid, and liable to bo much controlled or mod ified by circumstances. Another expedition, supplementary to the preceding, was equipped at tho instance of Lady Franklin. She herself defrayed about two thirds of the cost of it, by means of selling out of the funds ail the money which she could legally tjuch; and her friends defrayed the rest. The ordv vessel was tho Prince Albert, a schooner-rigged craft of ninety tons, but as fine a littk structure as ever " walked the waters," and strength ened and fitted in tho most artistic way for bufleting tho perils of the Arctic seas. She was commanded by Commander Charles C. Forsyth, of tho Royal Navy ; and was served in a variety of capacities, most laboriously and dexterously, by Mr. W. P. Snow, -both volunteers, who washed no compensation but the honor of the en- terprise. The object was to examine tho shores of Prince Regent's Inlet and the Gulf of Boothia, and to send out travelling parties to explore tho west side of the land of Boothia down to Deaso and Simpson's Strait. At the time when Sir John Franklin sailed, a belief was general that Boothia was an island, and that Prince Regent's Inlet communicated with the Polar Sea through Deaso and Simpson's Strait; so that, in the event of his being baffled in finding a north-west pas- sage by way of Capo Walker, or up Wellington Chan- nel, he would very probably enter Prince Regent's Inlet, vvith the view of passing round tho south of Boothia 20 306 DE HAVEN.— NORTH STAR. rience the present expedition. The Prince Albert sailed from Aberdeen on the 5th of June. An expedition also was equipped in America. This was got up mainly by the exertions and at the cost of Henry Grinncll, Esq., a merchant of New York, but was put in order and sent forth by the United States Navy department. It consisted of two vessels, the Advance and the Rescue, of respectively one hundred and twenty-five and ninety-five tons ; and was put under the command of Lieut. De Haven, who had served in the United States Exploring Expedition, under Commo dore Wilkes, in the Antarctic seas. It sailed from New York on the 24th of May, and was accompanied for two days in his yacht by Mr. Grinnell. Its object was to push promptly forward, in any way it could, in the di- rection of Melville Island and Banks's Land ; to winter wherever it might happen to stick fast, in the pack, or out of the pack ; and to move on and make search as long as it might be able, in any direction which should ofier most promise of success. The North Star transport, which left England in 1849 to convey stores to the expedition under Sir James C. Ross, may in some sense be regarded likewise as one of the exploring ships of 1850. She became beset in Mel- ville Bay on the 29th of July, 1849, and gradually drifted till the 26th of September ; and being then abreast of Wolstcnholme Sound, and able to bore a way through tho loosened ice, she pressed up to the head of that sound, and there wintered in lat. 76° 33' N., being the most north- erly position in which any vessel, except Dr. Kane's, has been known to be laid up. She lost four of her crew during tho dismal seclusion of the Arctic night, but not from causes attributable to the climate ; and she found a large proportion of the preserved meats she had brought from England to be of had quality, and was obliged tc led his of but tea the red der in no ew ;wo to dl- iter , or as uld 8-19 C. !0f Jel- 'tcd tof tho ind, rth- has row not id a :ght I tc ■A -J 306 DE HAVEN.- NORTH STAR. Hence the present expedition. The Prince Albert sailed from Aberdeen ou the 5th of June. An expedition also was equipped in America. Thia was got up mainly by the exertions and at the cost of Henry Grinnell, Esq., a merchant of New York, but was put in order and sent forth by the United States Navy department. It consisted of two vessels, the Advance and the Rescue, of respectively one huiiared and twenty-five and ninety-five tons ; and was put under the command of Lieut. De Haven, who had served in the United State - Exploring Expedition, under Commo dore Wilkes, in the Antarctic seas. It sailed from New York on the 24th of May, and was accompanied for two days in his yacht by Mr. Grinnell. Its object was to push promptly forward, in any way it could, in the di- rection of Melville Island and Banks's Land ; to winter wherever it might happen to stick fast, in the pack, or out of the pack ; and to move on and make search aa long as it might be able, in any direction which should offer most promise of success. The North Star transport, which left England in 1849 to convey stores to the expedition under Sir James C. Ross, may in some sense be regarded likewise as one of the exploring ships of 1850. She became beset in Mel- ville Bay on the 29th of July, 1849, and gradually drifted till the 26th of September ; and being then abreast of Wolstenholmo Sound, and able to bore a way through tho loosened ice, she pressed up to the head of that sound, and there wintered in lat. W 33' N., being the most north- erly position in which any vessel, except Dr. Kane's, has been known to bo laid up. She lost four of her crew during the dismal seclusion of the Arctic night, but not from causes attributable to the climate ; and she found a large proportion of the preserved meats she had brought from England to be of bad quality, and was obliged to PROGRESS OF THE EXPEDITIOI^. 309 put the surviving crew upon two-thirds allowance She got out of WoIstenholn.0 Sound on the 1st of Angus 1850 passed through "the middle ice " in the cLr of the 8th left despatches there, and arrived at Leopold on the 13th. She found that harbo full of ice. and wa not able to land stores at it, and with great diilicuTy ornmunjcated with the shore by boat, to leave a noti cl find tTl , ' "'"*"'"* *°"^^^ P«^* ^^«^«--. but found that place entirely blocked with ice : and then stretched across out of the inlet, and spoke first the Lady Franklin, and afterwards the Felix, and got intel- .gence from them of the great searching operations of that season. She next proceeded to Navy Board Inlet and there on the mainland, behind Wollaston Island' she put ashore her surplus stores of fuel and provisions' She had suddenly to scud away before a gale ; and, run- ning out of the mid-channel of Lancaster Sound, on the -Stii of September she arrived in Scotland. The several expeditions of 1850 np Baffin's Bay en- countered enormous difficulties from " the middle ice " and the Melvillo Bay barrier. Though the ships sailed f om widely different points at widely different periods they nearly all got into view of one another, and mosi were for some time closely in company. All were at several times arrested or beset ; and the best and largest spent five weeks in eflecting a northward distance of tlnrty miles. The perils which they braved were only n degree or two less terrible than those of the Te.ror in Hudson s Bay in 1836. The crews of the smaller ves- sels were repeatedly all prepared, with their bundles and loose stores, to leap on the ice from expected ship- wreck and to betake themselves to sledging or foot- travelhng for escape to the land. The environment by massive towering icebergs, was sometimes so complete 310 THE PRINCE ALBERT. !r.«i' as to exclude every perceptible outlet, sometimes so close as almost to rub the ships, and sometimes so un- steady or whirling as to threaten overwhelming somer- sets. Some whaling-ships which got early to the north, though commanded by the most <\. " "tioeu masters, and manned by the most select cr^ » ' 3d about and sailed back to the south, fully bcliev. ■ ^ .he ponet-ation of Melville Bay that season to be either an impossibility or practicable ordy at fearful hazards. The expedition ships, however, were little, if at all, daunted, conscious of possessing higher powers, and resolutely determined to get on. Tlie means which they used for forcing their way comprised all the known methods of boring, tracking, and cutting, and were sometimes efiected with prodigious labor and indomita- ble perseverance ; and they comprised also, in the case of the British government expedition, the smashing of all thin floes, and sometimes the perilous assault of thick ones, by the impetus of the steamers. The smaller vessels of the private expeditions might have seemed incompetent for such rough work ; but, thuugli ill able to attack, they were well able to run and maiiccu. vre ; and, on tlie average of the voyage through the ice, they were found t(j be fully as safe, and more than fully as manageable, as the large ships. Tiie little Prince Albert, in particular, did wonders , and on one occasion, disdaining to lie ice-fast, she made a daring attack upon a neck of ice which lay between her and an open piece of water. With a tremendous blow, that for the moment made her rebound and trem- ble, she struck the ice in the exact point, and rent it into fragments. The steamers, for a long way, accelerated the prog- ress not only of the government ships, but also of the Felix and the Prince Alliert, by towing them through f! MOVEMENTS OF THE SHIPS, nil I pervious masses of loose ice, and by forcing a passage tlirough impediments. One of the scenes, described by Snow, in this part of the voyage illustrates its arduous- ness and novelty : "We came to a heavy nip, and all the vessels had to be made fast to a floe until a pas- sage could be cleared. The Pioneer, immodiately on casting off the Resolute's tow-rope, was directed to dash at the impediment, under full power. This she did boldly and fearlessly, rushing stem on, and fairly dig. ging her bows into it in a most remarkable manner. Backing instantly astern, and then again going ahead,' she performed the same manoeuvre, fairly lifting herself up on end, like a prancing war-horse. By this time the nip was too heavy to be so broken, though both the steamers had previously cleared many similar impedi- ments in that manner. It was now, however, necessary to resort to other means ; and, accordingly, parties from every ship were sent on the ice to assist in blowing it up, and removing the fragments as thoy got loosened. The same p'an as that, I believe, adopted in blasting rocks, was here pursued. Powder was sunk to a certain depth, a slow match applied, and at a given signal Ignited. Due time was allowed, and then the enormous masses would be seen in convulsive movement, as though shaken by a volcanic eruption, until piece upon piece was sent in the air, and the larger bodies wore completely rent int.) innumerable fragments. The steamers then darted fonvard, and with warps dragged out the immense blocks that had been thus dissevered Several efforts had to be made by blasting and forcing the ice before a passage could be cleared." On the 14th of August the Lady Franklin and the Sophia wore for a little while in company with the other ships, and then, amidst deafening cheers, stood away, •iMder all sail, to the west. On the following night! 312 MOVEMENTS OF THE SIIIP3. when the little fleet wore off Cape Dudley Diggea, th« Intrepid, the Assistance, and the Felix, parted company to make a search in Wolstcnholme Sound. On the 15th the Pioneer, the Resolute, and the Prince Albert, were quite into the " North Water," away from the ice ; and on the 16th Captain Austin announced his intention to call at Pond's Bay and Possession Bay. He expressed a wish that the Prince Albert would examine the south shore of Lancaster Sound from Cape Hay onward ; and stated that the Intrepid and tho? Assistance would ex- amine the north shore, and . Dmc to a rendezvous with the Resolute somewhere about the mouth of Wellington Channel. Early on the 21st of August the Prince Albert arrived off Port Leopold. A landing was effected with great difficulty in a gutta-percha boat, and could not have been effected at all in any ordinary boat. The house constructed by Sir James C. Ross was found much rent in several places on the top and at the sides, but other- wise in excellent order, and quite fit to be a temporary retreat to any forlorn or cast-away Arctic adventurers. The stores were abundant and in prime condition. The steam launch seemed a noble little vessel, in which a brave-hearted party might venture anywhere, and was so placed that she could very easily be run into the sea. But not a trace was found of the visit of any wanderer from the Erebus and the Terror. The Prince Albert now stood away down Prince Re- gent's Inlet ; and towards evening, when she was glid- ing past the ice of Batty Bay, her crew wore startled for a moment into a thriP of hope. The men on deck thought they heard a gun fired on shore ; the officers ran to scrutinize the land through their glasses aloft ; the vessel was steered closer to the bay ; the howitzer was cleared away, and fired ; but not the slightest sign MOVEMENTS OF THE SHIPS. 313 Of life could be seen ; not the faintest answering sound J.as heard. The supposed shot had been n^e^i; the falling of a p.ece of rock, or the collision of some heavy masses of ice. "^ Next morning the vessel was off Fury Beach, a,.d in to t V- ifZ^''"" ^^' % cleared away, she proved to be in a bight of the ice. within a fey. yards of a con- tmuous heavy, hummocky expanse, which contained "ot as far as ,t could be seen from the crow's nest, one pool or crack, or the slightest promise of an open: ,g. The officers examined this long and anxiously, and w. ^e forced to conclude that any attempt to penetrate it tnat ,r'"r J"l- , ^' ^Pr^'^ticable. They gloomily but Irresistibly felt the specific object of their voyage the examination of the shores of Boothia, to be iLted, and saw at once that they must turn about and lose little time in returning to Britain. But they resolved fiist to look at some of the most accessible shores and headlands about the throat of Barrow's Strait, and a brief way up Wellington Channel. During twenty-four hours, Mr. Snow, with a sn.all boat party, made a romantic land search of the coast around Batty Bay. and on to Port Leopold ; and he found the latter place Jar more blocked up than on the 2l8t and did not get away from it without enormous labo; and difficulty. When he again reached his vessel they had to stand well away to avoid collision with a heavy sounds When they got a little way into Barrow's whTch'ff ^rT ""'"'"^' "^'^* ^'^"^^^^ *h^'» ^ ««hooner, wh ch they first supposed to be the Felix, but afterward found to be the American brig Advance. On the mormng of the 24th, they were standing across to Cape Hu d, under a clear sky and with a moderate breeze, -rhile a hea^•y pack was visible from the crow's nest 3n MEETING IN THE ARCTIC SEA3. extending all along the coast of North Somerset, from outHide of Leopold Island on the east, to the vicinity cf Cape Rennell, whore it appeared to enlarge, and began to take a curved direction toward Cape Ilothain. The Advance was still behind them ; the Lady Franklin and the Sophia were to windward, stniggling along shore in the vicinity of Radstock Bay ; and, as the day wore on, throe more ships were obberved at the mouth of Wellington Channel. An hour before noon of the 25th, when the Prince Albert was off Cape Spencer, her officers saw that she must stop. An extensive pack was then a short dis- tance ahead, broken oidy by a few lanes of water, through wiiich the ships in advance had evidently passed ; and the wind was blowing in a direction, happily, quite favorable forcan-ying these ships rapidly on to the regions of most desirable search, but fitted also to make a prompt closiire of the pack against any return that season to the east. If the Prince Albert should now go forward more than a mile or two, she might be suddenly canght by the ice, and helplessly and tiselessly shut up for the winter. At noon, tliorefore, she bore up when about midway between Cape Spencer and Point Innes ; and then Mr, Snow won* to the mast- head to take a last view of the position and seeming prospects of the several exploring vessels. Cape Ilotham was seen to the west enveloped in a thick haze. The Assistance appeared some distance tj the north-east of it, endeavoring to get to it, seemingly either in a hole of water or along a lane. The Lady Franklin was not flir from the Assistance, but, proba- bly, about mid-channel, either working toward Cape Ilotham, or trying to get right away to the west. The Sophia, also under all sail, waa some distance astern of the Lady Franklin, and more to the east. The Re» ;rRACES OF FRANKLIN. gjg cno was fltill further to the eant, co,.Hi,le,al,ly i„.«horo «..d apparently beset. All these vessels were amona heavy ,co The Advance could no. be seen, but wl! supposed to be behind one of the points of land ; ami H ... was afterwards spoken in the vicinity df Cape i ilev doso n.-8hore fast to an iceberg. Tl^o Intrepid, too' was no then visible, but had been seen in the rnorning! All Wcli.ugton Channel, as far as the eye could reach as mied w.th one solid pack, broken only hero and U.m, by a small lane. Some high land, .,^,rk^ ^^ and fnn.y fron haze and distance, was seen toward Cape Bowden trending apparently to the north-west One heavy pack extended athwart ail the south-west and seemed to be impenetrable. The only clear wate; visible lay nnmediately around the Prince Albert, and backward along the way by which she had come On the same day, soon after the Prince Albert had urned her bow homeward, a flag-staff, like a signal- post, was observed on Cape Riley. The oflicers. sup. pns,ng th,s to have been set up by a party from some ..ne of the exploration ships, sent a boat ashore to usee, ,„, ^, t ,t meant. A cylinder was found at the I ag-stafr, containing a notice that the officers of the Assistance and the Intrepid had landed on Cape Riley ;•" the 23d: that they had collected there distinct traces of an encampment by some party belonging to to royal navy of Britain ; that they had found trLs of the same party on Beechey Island, and that thev purposed to proceed thence to Cape Ilotham and Capo \V alker, in search of further traces. The little boat-party from the Prince Albert were too zealous to be satisfied with this mere notice. They luoked eagerly around, and soon observed five spots on which tents seemed to have been fixed, and also -.btained a piece of navy rope, a piece of canvas, a chip n 316 TRACES OF FRANKLIN. of timber, aiul ti nurnbor of mout-boiios. TIioso, ali poor ttiul pitiiu) though thoy miglit H(!otn of tiioiiiHi'lvcH, Hoomed to throw ho perceptible a liglit on at least the conimeiicement of tlie mystery of tlie ' uiiltliii uxpodi* tion, that tlioy were eHteemed a precious prize. The Prince Albert arrived at Aberdeen on the Ist of October ; and the relics from Capo Riley were speedily sent to the Admiralty, and subjected there to a rigorous scrutiny. The piece of rope was found to be of navy^yard manufacture, not later than 1841 ; the piece of canvas to have a corresponding character ; the chip of timber to have a recent cut, with seemingly an European axe ; the tneat-bones to bear exactly tlio marks of a ship's provisions used about five years back ; the reported tent-marks to be nearly such as might bo expected from a party making a long slay for the purpose of scientific observation ; and the entire circumstances of the traces on Cape Riley unaccount* able by any known or supposable event, except a pro- longed visit, in 1845 or 1840, by a party from the Erebus and the Terror. The first traces of the missing ships were discovered by Captain Ommanoy, in the Assistance, at Cape Riloy, on the 23d August, 1850. The cape is a point at the eastern entrance of Wellington Channel ; about three miles west of it rises the bold abrupt coast of Beechey Island ; and between the shores of this isle and the mainland lies a bay to which extraordinary interest is now attached. On its coast were observed numerous eledgo-tracks ; and at Capo Spencer, about ten miles from Cape Riley, up Wellington Channel, the party discovered the ground-place of a tent, the floor neatly paved with small smooth stones. Around the tent a number of birds' bones, as wi.ll as remnants of meat-canisters, seemed to indicate that it TRACES OF FRANKLIN. 817 had bcon itilml.ite.l for Bomo tiiuo uh a shooting station and » look-(,nt place, for which latter purpoHc it was Hdmiral.ly chfiHcn, comtnauding a good view of Barrow's Strait and Wellington Channel. Son.o Hledge-tracks led northward for about twenty miles, but the trail ceased south of Capo Bowden, and an empty bottle and a piece of newspaper were the last things found. The results of examining Becchey Island niUHt bo given in more detail. Lieut. OHborno says : " A long point of land slopes gradually from the south- em blufls of this now deeply interesting island, until it almost connects itself with the land of North Devon, forming on either side of it two good and commodious baya. On this slope a multitude of proHcrved-meat-tins were strewed about ; and near them, and on the ridge of the slope, a carefully-constructed cairn was dis- covered ; it consisted of layers of fitted ti'is. filled with gravel, and placed to form a firm and soiid foundation. Beyond this, and along the northern saoro of Beechey Island, the following tracea were c'.ien quickly dis- covered : the emliuukment of a house, with carpenters' and armorers' working-places, washing-tubs, coal-bags, pieces of old clothing, rope,— and, lastly, the graves of three of the crew of the Erebus and Terror, bearing date of the winter of 18t5-6. We, therefore, now had ascertained tfie first winter quarters of Sir John Franklin. " On the eastern slope of the ridge of Beechey Island a remnant of a garden (for remnant it now only was, having been dug up in the search) told- an interesting tale ; its neatly-shaped, oval outline — the border carefully formed of moss lichen, poppies, and anemones, transplanted from some more genial part of this dreary region — con- trived still to show symptoms of vitality ; but the seeds which, doubtless, t!iey had sowed in the gard.n, had • decayed away. Nearer to the beach, a heap of cinders j f ■■• i - L TRACES OF Fil,\.NKLIN and scraps of iron showed the armorers' working-place and, along an old water-course, now chained up by frost, srveral tubs, constructed of the ends of salt-meat caslis, left no doubt as to the washing-places of the men of Franklin's squadron. Happening to cross a level piece of ground, which as yet no one had lighted upon, I was pleased to see a pair of cashmere gloves laid out to dry, with two small stones on the palms to prevent their blowing away ; they had been there since 1846. I took them up carefully, as melancholy mementoes of my missing i'riends. In another spot a flannel was discovered ; and this, together with some things lying about, would, in my ignorance of wintering in the Arctic regions, have led me to suppose that there was consid- erable haste displayed in the departure of the Erebus and Terror from this spot, had not Captain Austin assured me that there was nothing to ground such a belief upon, and that, from experience, he could vouch for these being nothing more than the ordinary traces of a winter station ; and this opinion was fully borne out by those officers who had, in tlie previous year, wintered in Port Leopold, one of them ahserting that people left winter quarters too well pleased to escape, to care much for a handful of shavings, an old coal-bag, or a washing-tub." The most interesting traces of winter residence were the graves of P'ranklin's three seamen. Each gravo was marked by an oaken head and foot board, and the inscriptions wore as follow : "Sacred to the memory of J. Torrington, who de- parted this lifi' January Ist, 1846, on bctard of 11. M. S. Terror, aged 20 years." " Sacred to the memory of J. ITartncll, A.B., of H. M S. Erebus, died January 4th, 1846, aged 23 years TRACES OF FRANKLIN. 319 Ihu8 sailh Ihe Lord of Hosts, Consider your ways.— Haggai 1 : 7." "Sacred to the memory of Wm. Braine, R.M., of H. M. S. Erebus, died April 3d, 1846, aged 32 years. (Ihoose ye this day whom ye will serve. — Josh. 24 : 15." Lieut. De Haven, of the Advance, landed on Cape Riley on the morning of the 25th August, where he examined the traces of Sir John Franklin, before de- scribed, and erected a second signal-post. On the same day the Prince Albert visited the place, and by her, as we have seen, the flrst intelligence of the discovery was carried to England. Afterwards Captain Penny and his officers examined Beechey Island and the whole neighborhood very carefully and minutely. But the thorough search made by all these parties failed to discover any memorandum or record to indicate Frank- lin's past eflbrts or future intentions. All that could be learned from the traces discovere( was, that Franklin's ships wintered, in 1845-6, on thi south side of Beechey Island, and tiiat three of his men died at that point. The mortality does not exceed that of previous expeditions ; and wo may therefore conclude that the expedition was in highly effective order when it left that anchorage, with only a moderate inroad into its stock of preserved meats, the seven hundred empty tins found on the island forming but a small proportion of the twenty-four thousand canisters with which the ships were supplied. IIow long Franklin's ships remained at Beechey Island, when and under what circumstances they left, and what course theypersued, were mere matters of conjecture, as to which various opinions have been formed. Some ex- perienced officers believed that the expedition did not leave its winter anchorage till the end of August or beginning of September, 1846. It was also inferred, from 'I 320 SLEDGING PARTIES. some appearancoH, that it loft suddenly; that probably a great and unexpected disruption of the ice had sum- moned the crews to resume progress in the ships ; but this was contested by other officers of equal experience, who contended tliat there could have been no hurry in removing from Becchey Ishind, as everything bore the stamp of order and regularity, utterly forbidding the idea that Franklin had been forced away by the ice. On the 8th September, 1850, most of the searching vessels got once more free from the ice, and unfurled their sails in open water, along the south side of Corn- wallia Island. They bore boldly away, in the hope of penetrating well to the west, but were soon arrested by a vast floe, which extended from the south-west end of Griffith Island, as far as the eye could reach. They kept close to this, and strove with it, from the 10th till the 13th, and then began again to get forward ; yet pro- ceeded only a short distaiice, amid great embarrassment and severe exertion, when they were compelled to stick fast for the winter. The government ships were locked up in the ice between Cornwallis Island and Griffith Island ; and all the others were sufficiently near to admit of easy communication among the whole squad- ron. Arrangements were early made for performing explor- atory journeys with sledges in spring. Captain Aus- tin superintended those for the lands and islands along what may be called Parry's Strait, — the band of sea westward from Barrow's Strait to Melville Island, and the north end of Banks's Land ; and Captain Penny un- dertook to conduct the search of Wellington Channel. Sledges were sent out, before the severest period of the winter, to place provisions in depot for the use of the explorers in spring ; and exercises of walking and sledgo- dragging were afterwards, in all favorable weather, prao SLEDGING PARTIES, 321 ti8e M SLEDGING PARTIES. 327 rery matcMal importance to the people. They travelled when the cold was so intenae that bottles of water, ear- ned by the men in their breasts, froze after an hour or 80 ; salt pork broke like suet, and rum thickened. This journey made it certain that Franklin had not passed west of the Parry Islands. The other two parties moved in higher latitudes, and were stopped a little west of Sabine Island, yet they traversed tracts and encountered incidents of hii interest. ° The parties of less limited range than the " extended " ones deposited provisions, set up marks, made obser- vations, ascertamed positions, and effected minor ex- plorat.ons ; and were absent during periods of from twelve to Uurty-four days. They may seem to have had oas,er work than the others; yet they suffered more ZT/' .7-.r ^"'"'' '''"' t-onty-eight of their men were frost-b,tten, and one died from exhaustion and cold. The ex ended parties got back in good health, and neech^d only a little rest and comfort to repair the eflccts of their privation and fatigue. But not one of all the parties, near or remote, obtained the slightest race of the missing adventurers ; and Captain Austin, after rece.nng and considering well the reports of all arrived at the conclusion that the expedition under Sir John Franklin did not prosecute the object of its mu^sion to the southward and westward of Wellington The sledge-parties for the exploration of Wellington Channel amounted to six, and comprised forty-one men and were officered by Captain Stewart, Messrs. Marshal!,' Re.d and J. Stuart, and Surgeons Sutherland and r. .odsir. They started on the Hth of April, under the fireneral superintendence of Captain Penny ; but thev •oon encountcrpd «overe weather, and were buffeted ■ 1^ 328 BLEDGINQ PARTIES and baffled by it for a series of days, and compelled tc return ; and on the 6th of May, after Hpcc'iil prayer to God for support, tiiey again started. Some courHed so *'ur and so cnrvingly as to make a near approach to tho most northerly of Captain Austin's parties ; and all figured largely and respectably in the Kquadron's aggre- gate of exploits. But their chief feat — the feat, at least, of those on the channel and west of it — was a discovery whicli put a stop to their progress toward the north, and gave an entirely new complexion to tho search in which they were engaged, — t!ic discovery of a wide westward strait of open water, lying along the further side of the lands which flank Barrow's Strait and Parry's Strait. Captain Penny personally shared in this discovery, and made great exertions to follow it up. The explor- ers, proceeding up Wellington Channel, arrived in latitude 75° 22' at Cape Duhorn, and thence ten miles north-westward to Point Decision. Penny, on tlio 15th of May, went from this point, over the ice, north-vest by north, to an island wliich ho called Bailie Ifami'.- ton Island. The ice was in a very decayed state ; and on the 17th, after travelling round the island, first i;> r. luirth-oasterly aiid next in a north-north-westerly direc- tion, he arrived at tho open strait, saw in it twenty-five miles of clear water, and discovered a headland fifteen miles distant, west by north, over-canopied by a dark sky, which indicated an expanse of open water on tho further side. This point was found to be in latitude 7(5° 2* and west longitude 95' 55' ; and the strait received the name of Victoria Channel. Penny hastened back to the ships for a boat, and used every exertion to have one promptly mounted on sledges and sent forward ; but he did not get it up to tho strait >vithout vast effort, and some tantalizing delays But i I •i ■ u 't . ? RCTURN HOME. 328 •t length he launched it, loaded it. and pu«h«d off. He had procoodod only ton miloB. when ho was obliged to «oek refuge in a bay from a westerly gale and a t rong ' oud «oa ; an.l ho afterwardn contended much anS tlZ 7f "•"' "'^' ""'■•^^"^"^'" -'"J^ -'J rapid tdc« yet ho Hucceeded in exan.ining three hundred and ten rn.les of coast, and did not desist till his stock p uv-ons began to fail. H,. p„t about on the 20th o< July and made Ins way to the ships amid constant ram and tempest, insomuch that, iu the route over the ice, he had to ford rapid streams. Penny thus ranks high as a discoverer ; but as to the Zoth ' rf ';' '" '''^""*"'-^«' ''« »>-' ^" his labor for nothing. He iound not a trace of the Erebus and the Terror ; yet he confirmed his convictions that they ctanneT' "' ^'^'"'""'"" "'"'"^'' ^"^ ^'^^ V-*-'' The American explorers wore prevented from taking any part m the searching operations of the spring, by l.e,r expenoncingthe same kind of involuntary ejeclioJ^ from Lancaster Sound which befell Sir James Ross's ex- pod.tion m the Enterprise and the Investigator. Their vessels were frozen in opposite Wellington Channel, and were carried thonce to the east, slowly and rigidly and ." stern defiance of all possible resistance by man, to a point south of Cape VValsingham. They drifted a linear distance of at least one thousand and fifty milen and sutTerod much from the commotion of the ice. and were not set free till the 10th of June. Captain Austin seems to have concurred with Sir John Koss ,n the opinion that the Erebus and the Terror had gone back to Baffin's Bay. After the failure of searches or iurther traces of them west and north of the mouth of Wellington Channel, Austin supposed that they probably tried to reach the Polar Sea through Jone.'s ■I ' 330 RETURN HOME. Sound, which opens off the north side of the upper pari of Badiu's Bay. He accordingly went ronnd to thai phice witli liis two steamers, and ex[)lorcd it. Jle found it about eixty miles wide at the entrance, — a widtii which greatly exceeds that given it in the Admiralty charts ; and lie sailed about forty-five miles up its Bouthern shore, and was there arrested by a fixed bar- rier of ice ; and he then sailed along the face of that barrier, twenty-five miles, to the northern shore, and traced that shore down to the entrance. But he saw nothing to indicrite that the Erebus and the Terror had been there ; and ho judged, from well-defined appear- ances to the west, that the sound is closed by land not very far above the point which he reached, and has no comnuuiication with the Polar Sea. lie then thought all furtlier attempts at exploration either uselet's or incoiisistent with his instructions, and set sail for Eng land, where he arrived in the autumn of 1851. !! ' I i - -,,; v;-"*-- i: , -~,.^^^ .;^J '^^ra^^r^ ^^,^„^^,^,^ w^i:^- ■ i i^^ . .■ i/r'^s' ■ iff ■;.'"'■■'■":',« 'iC-'. «^,,,^.«,^ .-, —'^-^^f^:^^: ^ ^^W.hS ^^i'^ V ,_,-■■. ^^*g3^V.-;. "^^..^l^^^^ ■ . ■ sT^ "r** .*'*.* •■'"'t^- r-^i^iu-'-^'*'-*'^' -■-■■"-^ \ ^^^p^ . ' ," ■ *" f* " ~ "' * ■ i-- ^ r H>,.-^-i ? '• ^-.-^^a^ CHAPTER Xl\ II-m'G sketched generally in the last chapter the pro- rcss of the vessels which cooperated, in 1850, in pros- ecuting the search for Sir John Franklin from the direc- tion of Baffin's Bay, we shall now take np each expedi K.n separately, and present such further details ac may tend to add interest and completeness to our history of tlieir proceedings. Ofthe four vessels comprising the squadron of Com- modore Austin, and also of the Prince Albert, w have already related all that is important, concluding with tlu'ir safe return to England. Sir John Ross, in the Feli.K discovery yacht, with her tender, the Mary, after obtaining an Esquimaux iuter- ["•'•ter at IIolsteinl.org, and calling at Whah- Fish islands, proceeded northward through Waygat's Straits ami overtook Commodore Austin's squadron on the Uth of August, 1850. Arrangements were made with that olhcf.r for a combined examination of every part of fh<> easlern side of a north-west passage, in which it was probable that the missing ships could be found. On the 332 SIR JOHN ROSS'S VOYAGE. 13th of August, in company with Lieut. Cator in the Intrepid, Ross held communication with a party of Ea- quimaux near Cape York, who told him a story, the purport of which, according to his interpreter, was that in the winter of 1846 two ships were crushed in the ice in the direction of Cape Dudley Digges, and afterwards burned by a fierce tribe of natives ; and that their crews, some of whom were described as wearing epaulets, were subsequently killed by the natives. Although Mr, Petersen, the interpreter attached to the Lady Franklin, which lay a few miles off', wholly discredited this story, and gave a translation of the Esquimaux com- munication wholly at variance with the other, it was thought of sufficient consequence by Capt. Austin to merit an investigation. Meantime the further informa- tion was received that a ship had passed the last winter safely housed in Wolstenholme Sound. A party, taking both intorpretors, was accordingly sent to examine Wolstenholme Sound ; and by them it was ascertained that the ship which wintered there was no other than the North Star, and tliat in all probability that circum- stance was the whole foundation of the Esquimaux Btury, whatever it might have been. Nevertheless, Sir John Ross, who was long ago noted for "jumping at conclusions," still seems to have had a lingering belief that in this wild tale he had learned the fate of the Erebus and Terror. It was perhaps this belief which led him soon after to announce his intention of return- ing to Eiiglantl : and even after his arrival there he is said to have adhered to his theory that Franklin and hi.s companions perished in Baffin's Bay. He pressed on to Capo Riley, however, before leaving the field of discov. ery, and bore his part in the search there made foi traces of the missing navigators. There is little more to relate concerning his expedi- CARRIER-PIGEONS. 333 tion. The only results of which we have any account are stated by himself to be that he was able to make " many important corrections and valuable additions to the charts of the much-frequented eastern side of Baf- fin's Bay, which," he adds, "has been more closely ob- served and navigated by this than by any former expe- dition ; and, much to my satisfaction, confirming the latitude and longitude of every headland I had the opportunity of laying down in the year 1818." One interesting incident, however, is worthy of men- tion before we take leave of Sir John Ross. When he left England on this expedition, he took with him four carner-pigeons belonging to a lady in Ayrshire, intend- ing to liberate two of them when the state of the ice rendered it ..ecessary to lay his vessel up for the winter, and the other two when he discovered Sir John Frank- lin. A pigeon made its appearance at the dove-cot in Ayrshire, on the 13th of October, which the lady recog- nized by marks and circumstances that left no doubt on her mind of its being one of the younger pair presented by her to Sir John. It carried no billet, but there were indications, in the loss of feathers on the breast, of one having been torn from under the wing. Though it is known that the speed of pigeons is equal to one hun- dred miles an hour, the distance from Melville Island to Ayrshire, being, in a direct line, about twenty-four hun- dred miles, is so great, that evidence of the bird having been sent ofi" as early as the 10th of October was required before it could be believed that no mistake was made in the identification of the individual that came to the dove- cot. It was afterwards ascertained that Sir John Roes despatched the youngest pair on the 6th or Tth of Octo- ber, 1850, in a basket suspended to a balloon, during a W. N. W. gale. By the contrivance of a slow-match, the birds were to be liberated at the end of twenty-four a 334 SUTHERLAND'S SCIENTIFIC OBSERVATIONa hours. The reader can form his own opinion as to the identity of the pigeon in question. We have already alhided to Captain Penny's expedi- tion, fitted out by Lady Franklin. Ilis little vessels, tiie Lady Franklin and the Sophia, entered Davis's Strait on the 26th of April, 1850 ; but they did not get into the open water at the head of Baffin's Bay until the 18th of August. Nearly four months they were squeezed about among the drifting ice in this tedious and terrible passage, sometimes closely wedged on the shore-ice, and sometimes tracking by manual labor through the breaking pack. Some facts of a scientific interest are mentioned by Dr. Sutherland, who accompanied Penny. The first great difliculty the Arctic voyager has to contend with is the capricious state of the navigation in the grand approach to the Polar Sea. The melting of the ice and rnow in the north of Baffin's Bay pro- duces a continuous stream of water, which flows stead- ily to the south. As soon as this current leaves the projecting points at the head of the bay, a thin film of ice is formed on it. This ice gets thicker and thicker as it moves southwards, by congealing new layers of sea-water on its under surface, and by storing up snow and sleet above, until it becomes what the whaler calls the middle-ice of the bay. In winter it extends from shore to shore ; but in summer it is separated from the Greenland coast by an open lane of water, in conse- quence of its connection with the fringe of land, ice be- ing dissolved where northerly winds prevail. An open space of water is always left by this southward drift of the ice-pack fit the northern extremity of Baffin's Bay; the extent of the space varies, however,- with the season. In winter, it is diminished by the shooting out of (I. land-ice towards the drift, and the quickened forra- atio.. of the y»uiig ice ; in summer, it is increased by the OLAaEllS AND ICEBERGS. 333 breaking up of the land-ice, and the arrest of the forma- tion of young ice. The great object of the marinei bound to Lancaster Sound is to push his way through the open lane of water along the Greenland coast, and to get round the northern extremity of the drift ice. But he finds this to be no easy task: every southerly gale crushes the ice in upon the shores of the bay, and squeezes any unfortunate vessel chancing to be placed therein before it, often wedging it up immov- ably, or even breaking it to pieces under the violence of the nip. The only resource of the captive voyager, under such circumstances, is to seek a refuge beneath the lee of some iuige ice-mountain that has grounded a Qiile or two off the land, or to take timely warning, and cut docks in the solid land-fioc, into which he may re- tire when thj pressure comes. The driving iceberg is, ho\/ever, a fearful neighbor, if the water prove not shallow enough to arrest its movement ; for it will then sometimes pltmgh its onward way through miles and miles of field and pack ice, heaving up the frozen masses before its tremendous impulse, and sweeping every- thing away that opposes its course. According to Dr. Sutherland, there is more chance of an easy passage to the open water at the head of Baf fin's Bay early in the season, before the shore-ice is much broken, and when the middlo-ice moves away from it bodily, without any intervening detritus, than later in the season, when there is a greater quantity of loosened ice to be packed into the channel. The entire length of the Baffin's Bay coast of Green- land is indented with bays and fiords, towards which gla- ciers descend from the higher interior land. At Cape Farewell the termination of the glacier-ice is still miles away from the sea ; between Cape Farewell and Cape Vork, the land, devoid of the incursions of glacier-ic«, S36 aLACIERS AND ICEBERGS. gets narrower and narrower. North of Capo York tlio ice-stream projects into the sea itself, even beyond the line of prominent headhinds. It is from this region that the vast icebergs, drifted out into the open Athmtic by the southward current, are derived ; for it is a singuhir fact that there is no glacier-ice along the shores west- ward of Lancaster Sound. All tlic snow which there falls, even so far north as 7t° latitude, escapes to the sea in streams of water, carrying with them vast quan- tities of mud and shingle. The land on both sides of Bar- row's Strait is composed of limestone ; but Greenland, and the coasts which form Davis's Strait, Baffin's Bay, and Lancaster Sound, where the fallen snow is retained for ages befire it slips, ac the solid glacier, back to the ocean, are ali made of hard crystalline rock. Dr. Suth- erland thinks that this difference of mineral constitution may in some way affect the temperature, and so deter- mine the abundance of glaciers in the one position, and their absence in the other. Wt^ may here remark that the ice which obstructs tho navigation of the Arctic seas is of two kinds : the ono produced by tiie congelation of fresh, and the other by that of salt water. In those inhospitable tracts, tho snow, which annually falls on the islands or continents, being again dissolved by the progress of the summer's heat, pours forth numerous rills and limpid streams, which collect along the indented shores, and in the deep bays enclosed by precipitous rocks. Tiiere this clear and gelid water soon freezes, and every successive year supplies an additional investing crust, till, after the lapse, perhaps, of several centuries, the icy mass rises at last to the size and aspect of a mountain, commensurate with the elevation of the adjoining cliffs. The melting of the snow, which is afterwards deposited on such enormous blocks, likewise contributes to their growth , GLAaERS AND ICEBERGS. 337 and, by filling up the accidental holes or crevices, it renders the whole structure compact and uniform. Meanwhile the principle of destructicjn has already be- gun its operations. The ceaseless agitation of the sea gradually wears and undermines the base of the icy mountain, till at length, by the action of its own accu- mulated weight, when it has perhaps attained an alti- tude of a thousand or even two thousand feet, it is torn from its frozen chains, and precipitated, with a tremen- dous plunge, ir.to the abyss below. This mighty launch now floats like a lofty island on the ocean ; till, driven southwards by winds and currents, it insensibly wastes and dissolves away in the wide Atlantic. Icebergs have been known to drift from Baffin's Bay to the Azores. Such is believed to be the real orig-in of the icy mountains or icebergs, entirely similar in their formacion to the glaciers which occur on the flanks of the Alps and the Pyrenees. They consist of a clear, compact, and solid ice, having the fine green tint, verging to blue, which ice or water, when very pure anc. of a sufficient depth, generally assumes. From the cavities of these icebergs the crews of the northern whalers are accustomed, by means of a hose or flexible tube of canvas, to fill their casks easily with the finest and softest water. The projecting tongues of the glaciers are not dis- solved where they extend into the sea, but broken off by a species of "flotation." Heavy spring-tides are driven into the head of the bay, and up the fiords, by strong southerly winds ; and the buoyant ice is heaved up by the rising water, and broken off from its parent stream. The floating power of large masses of ice must ue enormous. Dr. Sutherland observed upon a small island, at an elevation of forty feet, a block of granite that measured sixteen feet in length, and must have contained at least one hundred and eighty-six tons 0/ 32 338 GLACIERS AND ICEBERQS. BoliJ rock ! Ilo calculated that a cube of ice, forty feet across the side, could easily have curried ofl' this burden in water seven fathoms deep. Icebergs thus broken off from the parent glacier were often observed tumbling about in the sea. Some of these were four times bigger than St. Paul's Cathedral, and shrouded themselves in a veil of spray as they rolled over, emitting sounds that could only bo compared to terriflc thunder-peals, and turning up the blue mud from depths of two and three hundred fathoms. Oscillations in the sea were pro- duced by such disturbances, which, after travelling a dozen miles, pounded into fragments the ice-field on which they ultimately fell. While icebergs are the slow growth of ages, the fields or shoals of saline ice are annually formed and destroyed. The ice generated from melted snow is hard, pellucid, and often swells to an enormous height and dimensions. But the concretion of salt water wants solidity, clearness, and strength, and never attains to any very considerable thickness. It seldom floats dur- ing more than part of the year ; though, in some cold seasons, the scattered fragments may be surprised by the early frost, and preserved till the following summer. Captain Penny's expedition reached the entrance of Wellington Channel on tiie 25th of August. On tho 1 ith of September young ice formed round the ships ; and they were compelled to take up their winter quar- ters in Assistance Bay, near the south-west point of Wellington Channel. Captain Austin's squadron, of four ships, was fi.xed on Griffitir Island, a few miles further west. November 7th, the sun was beneath tha horizon at noon, the thermometer was seven degrees below zero, and the sea-ice three feet thick. January 13th, mercury froze for the first time. At the end of January the ice was five feet thick. The sun ro«« If 'I il M 'I '■f 338 Or.ACfFRS AND ICliBKRQS. •oliii rock ! lie calcul.ited that a cube of ice, forty foet acro88 the side, could easily have carried off thiu *>urdea in water seven fathoma deep. Icebergs tli.ia broAcn off from tijc parent glacier were often ebserved tumbling about in the Bca. Some of these were four times bigger than St. Paul's Cathedral, and (•hroudod themselves in a veil of spray as they rolled over, emitting sounds that could only be compared to terrilic thunder-peals, and turning up the blue mud from depths of two and three hundred fathoms. Oscillations in the sea wore pro- duced by such disturbances, which, after travelling a dozen miles, pounded into fragments the ice-lield on wliich tliey ultimately fell. While icebergs are the slow growth of ageS; the fields or shoals of saline ice are annually formed and destroyed. The ice generated from melted snow ia hard, pellucid, and often swells to an enormous height and dimensions. But the concretion of salt water wants solidity, clearness, and strength, and never attains to any very considerable thickness. It seldom floats dur- ing more than part of the year ; though, in some cold seasons, the scattered fragments may be surprised by the early frost, and preserved till the following summer. Captain Penny's expedition reached the entrance of Wellington Channel on the 25th of AugUNt. On the 1 ith of September young ice formed round the ships ; and they were compelled to take up their winter quar- ters in Assistance Bay, near the south-west point of Wellington Channel. Captain Austin's squadron, of four ships, was fixed on Griffith's Island, a few miles further west. November 7th, the sun was beneath the horizon at noon, the thermometer was seven degreea below zero, and the sea-ice three feet thick. January 13th, mercury froze for the first time. At the end of January the ice was five feet thick. The sun ro«e i^ WLMiiR CLIMATH 941 •bovo the «outhor., horizon fur an i„«tant at n^on February 7rt.. February 2.Uh wuh the coMcBt Zy ,■ Trr'-" '""''*"*^ '"'>'-«^''' •^'---^^ bolow zero ApMl Jd the ICO wu« Hovon feet thick. Jn the beginuiug o My ,t attained it. maximum thicknosn of «even U^H "»o .nchee. June 12th, the thormometor ro«o to 55- '■« l.-Khent po.nt of th« season. Two days after the - ruin fell. At the end of Juno smalf Ht:;ams water began to iiow IVom the land. A t the end of .July the sea-.ce was dinunishe,! to a thickness uffbur ii-ot by .0 mel. ng of the upper surface. August 8th, the bay' «co broke up, and set the shipn free, after elevc-n months' c one detention. Fo.r day« afterwards, the young ICO began again to form on the sea at night ll..o.:fj..out this winter of intense cold, the tempera- <•" • of the sea remained nearly uniform. It never sank HO low as twenty-nine degrees. A hole was kept open t u-ough the ,ce. near the ships, for the purpose of observjng the water, as well as fbr noticing he rise and fall of the tides. The ice invariably increased i thickness by additions to its lower surface. As the «oa-water froze a considerable portion of its salt was separated from ,t, and blown along the surface of the 'oe, nn.vmg w.th the frenh-fallen snow as it went. On this account snow-wreaths could never be used fo. ■nelting u.to water; the snow on the land often con turned races of salt, miles away from the sea. The sea-.ce hardly ever contained more than one quarter the quant.ty of salt found in an equal volume of 'ea-wlter rhe uitenor of the ships was warn.ed to between My and fifty degrees. This was found to be the ..ffhcs h„nt of safety ; in it, the hoar-frost was never thawed in the bods : the blankets and night-caps of the nlirr ^ I'^T' ---eniently'to th'e l^' pUnks. With a higher temperature, the vapor of the mmmi I ' . iMg expedition wer?, however, found. The Lady Franklin and Sophia loft Assistance Bay, homeward bound, on the l'2tli of Au- gust ; five weeks afterwards, they wore in the Tliames. We have seen that Mr. Grinnell's expedition was undertaken with two small brigs — the a Jvance and the Rescue. The Advance was intended originally for <.ar- rying heavy castings from an iron fouiulery. Both vcs- nels were strengtliened with great skill and at large nRST GRINNELL EXPEDITION. 3-17 expense for tl.c Arctic service. The vos.seIs we,e pUced under tl.o command of Lieut. De Haven JU, officers consisted of Mr. Murdoch, «.ilin^.-,„aster ; D- !<- K. Kane, surgeon and naturalist ; an.! .^fr. Lovell midshipman. The Advance had a crew of twelve meii when she sailed ; but two of them complaining of eick- ness, and expressing a desire to return home, were left at the Danish settlement at Disco Island, on the coast ot Greenland. The expedition passed the eastern extremity of New- foundland, June 3d, 1850, ten days after leaving Sandy llook, and then sailed cast-north-east, directly for Cape Comfort, on the coast of Greenland. The weather was generally fine ; and only a single accident occurred on the voyage to that country of frost and snow Off the coast of Labrador ;; .y met an iceberg making its way toward the tropics. The night was very dark ; and the Advance, going at the rate of seven or eight knots an lour, ran against the huge voyager, and lost her fib boom. •' The voyagers did not land at Cape Comfort, but urn.ng northward, sailed along the south-west coast of Greenland, sometimes in an open sea, and sometimes in .0 mulst of broad acres of broken ice (particularly in Davis 8 btraits), as far as Whale Lsland. From this place a boat, with two officers an.i four sean.en, was sent to Disco Island, a distance of about twentv-six n'.l.'s, to a Dar.ish settlement there, to procure 'skin clothing and other articles necessary for use durino- the ngors of a polar winter. The officers were entertained at the government house, while the seamen were cm- urtably lodgcl with the Esquimaux, sleeping in Im- I'^^.js at night. Tlu.y returned to the ship the following «luy, and tj > expedition proceeded on its voya^^c \Mien pjuis. g- ihe little Danish settlement of Uper- fip. hhr/ ' m 348 FIRST GUINNELL 1;XI>ED1T1«)N. navik, tlicy woro boardcHl by natives for the first t'liic. Tlioy were out in government wlialo-boiits, hunting' for (lucks and seals. These hardy chihlren of the Arctic Circle were not shy, for through the Danes, the English v,-halers, and govtrnment expeditions, they had become acciuainled with nien of other latitudes. When the expedition reached Melville Bay, which, on account of its fearful character, is also called the Devil's Nip, the voyagers began to witness more of the grandeur and perils of Arctic scenes. Icebergs of all dimensions came licaring down from the polar seas like vast squadrons, and tlie roar of their rending came over the waters like the booming of the heavy broad- sides of contending navies. They also encountered Mnmense floes, with oidy narrow channels between : and at time.-, their situation was exceedingly perilous. On one occasion, afte* heaving through fields of ice for Cwe consecutive weeks, two immense floes, between which they were making their way, gradually approached each other ; and for several hours they expected their iiuy vessels — tiny when compared witli the mi.;-hly ■ Je' ■. aroiind them — would be cruslied. An immense c /'' "ice, six or eiglit feet thick, slid under the Rescue, H';ii,^ her almost " high and dry," and careening h(;r partially upim her beam ends. By m<^ans of ice-anchors (large iron iiooks) they kept her from capsizing. In this position they remained about sixty hours, when, with saws and a.\es, they succeeded in relieving her. The ice now opened a little, and tliey finally warped through into clear water. While they wore thus con fined, polar bears cain(> around them in abundance, greedy for prey, and the seamen indulged a little in the perilous sports of the chase. Tlie open sea continued but a short time, Avhen the} again became ent;ingled among bergs, floes, and hum "»£&. rtfSm'w^Si^^w% FIRST GtUNNELL EXPEDITION. 349 mncks, and encountered the most fearful perils Snmo umcs to Hoes a..d to masses of hummock. On one of of almost thirty feet. Fortunately tho^.'.^ o.ont.e case, d. not close u;t^;.:;;:,Z:::\.^^^^ and the poor cook was hauled on board more dead thl al'vo, from excessive fright. It was i his '.^^ region that they first encountered pack-ice .,.. .t ti.^wereloekedin.omthenhtoS;e2^^^^^ jauit 1 unco Albert, under Captain P^rsvth -m,! t, fe-ther the three vessels were anchored. I fr aw . to an nnmonse field of ice, in sight of the D;vi;;i^i : l"ffl», ocl-y peak, situated in latitude W 2'>' ':. now about thirty n.iles distant, and, with fhe'dark 1 lU a jacent presented a strange aspect wheal t white and "-littenno. ti i , "ucit, au was of rock w." r ^- , " ^"""^ "'"^ *''^' '""« '"•« »''»««"« ^^ nle the Pnnce Albert essayed to make a more vo ' ^-t. o u,c:on„o.tre. They soon discovered the men to vm' ' 6*50 FIllST GRINXELL EXrEDITION. be Esquiriiiuix, wlio, by sigiiB, professed gi\'iit I'rioml- slifp, and (.'iidoiivored to got the voyagers to accompany tliein to tlieir homes beyond the bills. Tlicy declined ; and, as soon as they returned to the vessel, the expedi- tion again pushed forward, and made its way to Cape Dudley Diggcs, which they reached on the 7th of August. At Cape Dudley Digges they sighted the Crimson CiilTs, a name suggested by the patches of red snow, which in the distance impart a rose-hue color to the acclivities. These lofty cliff's are of dark brown stone. It was a magnificent sight, in that cold region, to see such an aj)parently warm object standing out in bold relief against the dark blue back-ground Ok' v polar sky. This was the most northern point to which the expedi- tion penetrated. The whole coast which they had passed from Disco to this cape is high, rugged, and barren, only some of the low points, stretching into the sea, bearing a species of dwarf fir. North-east from the cape rise the Arctic Highlands, to an unknown altitude ; and, stretching away northwarvl, was the then unex- plored Smith's Sound, filled with impenetrable ice. From Cape Dudley Digges, the Advance and Rescue, beating against wind and tide in the midst of the ice- lieMs, made Wolstenholme Sound, and then, changing their course to the south-west, emerged from the fields into the open waters of Lancaster Sound. Here, on the ]Sth of August, 1850, they encountered a tremendous gale, which lasted about twenty-four hours. The two vessels parted company during the storm, and remained separate several days. Across Lancaster Sound, the Advance made her way to Harrow's Straits, and on the 2'2d discovered the I'vince Albert on the southciii shore of the straits, near Leopold Island, a mass of lofty, pre cipituus rocks, dark and barren, and hooded and draped MRST QRINNELL EXPEDITION 361 with snow. The weather was fine, and soon the officorg and crows of the two vessels met in friendly greeting. Those of the Prince Albert were much astonished at the encounter. They had left the Americans in Melville Bay on the Cth, pressing northward through the pack ; and could not conceive how they so soon and safely penetrated it, when the Prince, though towed by a steamer, had made such poor progress. Captain For- syth had attempted to reach a particular point, where he intended to remain through the winter; but, finding the passage thereto completely blocked up with ice he had resolved, on the very day when the Americans appeared, to return home. The two vessels remained together a day or two, when they parted company, the Prince Albert to return to England, and the Advance to make further explora- tions. Off Leopold Ishind, on the 23d of August, the Advance took the lead through the vast masses of float- ing ice. " The way was before them," says Mr. Sno« , of the Prince Albert, who stood upon the deck of the Advance ; " the stream of ice had to be either gone through boldly, or a long detour made ; and, despite the heaviness of the stream, they pushed the vessel through in her proper course. Two or three shocks, as she came in contact with some large pieces, were unheeded ; and the moment the last block was past the bow, the officer Bang out, ' So ! steady as she goes on her course ; ' and came aft as if nothing more than ordinary sailing had boon going on. I observed our own little bark nobly M!:)^nng in the American's wake : and, as I afterward ky.med, she got through it pretty well, though not with- out much doubt of the propriety of keeping on in such piocedure :.fter the ' mad Yankee,' as he was called by c ir mate," FromI^.,^^U Island the Advance proceeded to the .^0jy^ 352 FIRST GRINNELL EXPEDITION. 4r» north-west and on tho 25th reachod Ciipe Riley, anuthoj amorphous n)asH, not bo regular and precipitate as Leopold Iriland, biit more lolty. Hero a strong tide, setting in to the Hhore, drilted tho Advance toward the heach, where she stranded. Around hor were small I'orgs and large masses of floating ice, all under tho inllneiice of the strong current. It was aliout two o'clock in tho afternoon when she struck, iiy diligent labor in removing everything from her dock to a small tloe, she was so lightened, that at four o'clock the next morning she floated, and soon everything was properly replaced. Near Cape Kiley the Americans fell in with a portion of an English expedition ; and there also the Rescue, left behind in the gale in Lancaster Sound, overtook the •Advance. There was Cuplain Penny, willi the Sophia and Lady Franklin ; tho veteran Sir Jolin Ross, with the Felix, and Conirnodon! Austin, with his flag-ship the Resolute. Tog-ther the navigators of bnth nation,} o.xplored the coast at and near Cape Riley, and on tho 27th they saw in a cove on the shore of Reechey Island, or Beechey Capo, on tho east side of the entrajico to Wellington Channel, unmistakable evidence that Sir John Franklin and his companions were there in April, 1846. There they found the articles known to belong to Franklin's ships, as described in the preceding chap- ter. They also visited the graves, tho inscriptions on which we have already given. How much later than April 3d (tho date upon one of the heail-boards) Franklin remained at Beechey, cannot bo (letern)ined. There were evidences of liis having gone northward, for sledge-tracks in that direction wcr'» visible. It was the opinion of Dr. Kar.e that, on tho breaking up of the ice in the spring, Sir John Franklin passed noithward vrith his ships through Weirngion iy FIRST GRLNNKLL EXl'JJDITION. 863 Chani.ol into tlio grtvit polar basin, anj that ho diil not rotiini. This, too, was tlio opinion of Captain Penny who zcalouHly urged the Uritinli government to Bend a [...worful screw steamer to pass through that channo. and explore the coasts beyond. iving Beechey Capo, the American expedition forced its way tlirongh the ice to Harlow's Inlet, where they narrowly escaped being frozen in for the winter They endeavored to enter the inlet, for tho purpose of ADVANCE AND RESCUE IM IlARI.uw's I.VI.IT. making it their winter ciuarters, but were prevented by the mass of pack-ice at its entrance. It was on the 4th of September, 1850, when the Advance and Kescue arri\ ed at Barlow's Iidet ; but 23 ' .^■>lm^' IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) 1.0 I.I '- !■■ mil 2.5 2.2 2.0 1.8 Photographic Sciences Corporalion // 1.25 1.4 J4 ■^ 6" — ► # ;\ ... "^w ^ \ 23 WEST MAIN STREET WEBSTER, N.Y. 14580 (716) 875-4503 /% "**• ^ ^ # f£^< % i^ 354 FIRST GRINNELL EXPEDITION after remaining seven or eight days, tney abandoned tbc attempt to enter. On the right and left of the entrance were dark rocks, in the centre the frozen waters, and beyond, a range of hills. There was much smooth ice within the inlet, and, while the vessels lay anchored to the " field," officers and crew exercised and amused themselves by skating. On the left of the inlet they discovered a cairn (a heap of stones with a cavity), eight or ten feet in heijrht, which was erected by Capt. Ommaney, of the Englisii expedition then in the polar waters. Within it he had placed two letters, for " whom it might concern." Commander De Haven also depos- ited a letter tiiere. It is believed to be the only post- ofBce in the world free for the use of all nations. The rocks here presented vast fissures made by the frost ; and at the foot of the cllfT on the right that powerful agent had cast down vast heaps of dibris. From Barlow's Inlet the American expedition moved slowly westward, battling with the ice every rood of the way, until they reached Griffin's Island, at about 96° west longitude from Greenwich. This was attained on the 11th of September, and was the extreme westing made by the expedition. All beyond seemed impene- trable ice ; and, despairing of making any further dis- coveries before the winter should set in, they resolved to return home. Turning eastward, they hoped to reach Davis's Straits by the southern route, before the cold and darkness came on ; but they wore doomed to disap- pointment. Near the entrance to Wellington Channel thej became completely locked in by hummock -ice, and BOOL found themselves drifting with an irresistible tide up that channel toward the pole. Now began the most perilous adventures of the navi- gators Tlie summer day was drawing to a close ; the diurnal visits of the pab sun worts rapidly shortening, FIRST QRINNELL EXPEDITION. 355 and soon the long polar night, with all its darkness and horrors, would fall upon them. Slowly they drifted in those vast fields of ice, whither, or to what result, they knew not. Locked in the moving yet compact mass ; liable every moment to bo crushed ; far away from land ; the mercury sinking daily lower and lower from the zero figure, toward the point where that metal freezes, they felt small hope of ever reaching home again. Yet they prepared for winter comforts and winter sports, as cheer- fully as if lying safe in Barlow's Inlet. As the winter advanced, the crews cf both vessels went on board the larger one. They unshipped the rudders of each to prevent their being injured by the ice, covered the deck of the Advance with felt, prepared their stores, and made arrangements for enduring the long winter, now upon them. Physical and mental activity being neces- sary for the preservation of health, they daily exercised in the open air for several hours. They built ice huts, hunted the huge white bears and the little polar foxes,' ?.nd, during the darkness of the winter night, they an- :ged in-door amusements and employments. Before the end of October, the sun made its appear- ance for the last time, and the awful polar night closed in. Early in November they wholly abandoned the Rescue, and both crews made the Advance their perma- nent winter home. The cold soon became intense ; the mercury congealed, and the spirit thermometer indi- cated 46° below zero. Its average range was 30" to 35°. They had drifted helplessly up AVellington Chan nel almost to the latitude from whence Captain Pennj saw an open sea, supposed to be the £reut polar basin where there is a more genial clime than that which inter- venes between the Arctic Circle and the 75th degree Here, when almost in eight of the open ocean,\hat mighty polar tide, with its vast masses of ice, Puddenly 356 FIRST GRINNELL EXPEDITION. ly i I • I ■ i *' ebbed, and our little vessels were carried back, as resist- lessly as before, through Barrow's Straits, into Lancaster Sound. All this while the immense fields of hummock- ice were moving, and the vessels were in hourly danger of being crushed and destroyed. At length, while drift- ing through Barrow's Straits, the congealed mass, as if crushed together by the opposite shores, became more compact, and the Advance was elevated almost seven feet by the stern, and keeled two feet eight inches, star- board. In this position she remained, with very little alteration, for five consecutive months ; for, soon after entering Baffin's Bay in the midst of the winter, the ice became frozen in one immense tract, covering millions of acres. Thus frozen in, sometimes more than a hundred miles from land, they drifted slowly along the south-west coast of Baffin's Baj', a distance of more than a thousand miles from Wellington Channel. For eleven weeks that dreary night continued, and during that time the disc of the sun was never seen above the horizon. Yet nature was not wholly forbidding in aspect. Sometimes the aurora borealis would flash up still further northward ; and sometimes mock suns and mock moons would appear, in varied beauty, in the starry sky. Brilliant, too, were the northern constellations ; and when the real moon was at its full, it made its stately circuit in the hea^^ens without descending 'ow the horizon, and lighte.l up the vast piles of ice with a pale lustre, almost as vivid as the morning twilights of more genial skios. Around the vessels the crews built a wall of ice ; and in ice huts they stowed away their cordage and stores, *■ > make room for exercise on the decks. They organized a theatrical company, and amused themselves and the offi- cers with comedy well performed. Behind the pieces of nutnmock each actor learned his part ; and by means of FIRST GftlNNELL EXPEDITION. 357 calico they transformed themselves into female charar> ^ors, as occasion required. These dramas were acted upon he deck of the Advance, someti.nes while the t e. mometer indicated 30» below zero ; and actors and audi- ence highly enjoyed the fun. They also went out in par- ties dunng that long „ight, fully armed, to hunt the polar '>ear, the grim monarch of the frozen north, on which occasions they often encountered perilous adventures, rhey played at foot-ball, and exercised tiiemselves in drawing sledges heavily laden with provisions. Five hours of each twenty-four they thus exercised in the open air, and once a week each man washed his whole uent^ ' ---water. Serious sickness was conse. quently avoided ; and the scurvy, which attacked them soon yielded to remedies. ' Often, during that f-.,v.ul night, they expected the disaster of having their vessels crushed. All through November and December, before the ice became fast, they .lep ,n their clothes, with knapsacks on thei; backs and sledges upon the ice, laden with stores, not knowing at what moment the vessels might be demol- «hed, and tho.nsolves forced to leave them, and make heir way toward laud. On the 8th of December, and the 23d of January, they actually lowered Jieir boats and stood upon the ice, for the crushing masses were naking the timbers of the gallant vessel creak, and its decks to rise in the centre They were then ninety miles from land, and hope hardly whispered an encour- aging Kloa of hfe being sustained. On the latter occv sion, when officers and crew stood upon the ice, with the ropes of their provision-sledges in ihcir hands, a terrible Hnow-drift came from the north-east, and intense dark- less shrouded them. Had the vessel then been crushed all must have perished. A strange picture might have been seen on ChristmaB i 358 FIKST GRINNELL EXPEDITION. ,,•11 day, 1850, by a spirit who could have roamed from end io end of the icy continent, and taken it in at a glance. No less than ten Arctic discovery-ships were winior- iiig within a few hundred miles of each other. Under Griffith's Island lay her majesty's ships tlie Resolute, Assistance, Pioneer, and Intrepid ; in a small bay in North Devon were securely sheltered Captain Penny's two brigs; the Investigator lay in Prince of Wales Strait ; and at the mouth of Lancaster Sound, drifting helplessly in the pack which had borne them already twelve degrees to the eastward, were the two unfortu- nate ships of the Grinnell expedition. But this was not all. Only three to four hundred miles from the Investi- gatcr'a winter quarters, Mr. Rae was waiting on the border of Great Boar Lake for weather that would a! low him to start on his land journey. And, in all human probability, Sir Juhn Franklin's ships, the Erebus and Terror, lay imbedded in the ice, desolate and abandoned, somewhere off the north coast of King William's Land. But where were the men who sailed in them — the ob- jects of so many expeditions and so much anxious hope ? Dr. Kane, who wrote a deeply interesting account of the first Grinnell expedition, says, under date of Febru- ary 28th, 1851, when, for some days, the average tem- perature was 53 degrees below zero : " Cold as it was, our mid-day exercise was never interrupted unless by wind and drifc-storms. We felt the necessity of active exercise ; and, although the effort was accompanied with pains in the joints, sometimes hardly bearable, wt; man- aged, both officers and crew, to obtain at least three hours a day. The exercise consisted of foot-ball and sliding, followed by regular games of romps, leap-frog, and tum- bling in the Inow. By shovelling away near the vessel, we obtained a fine bare surface of fresh ice, extremely glib and durable. On this wo constructed a FIRST QRENNELL EXPEDITION. 35& Bkatlng-ground and admirable elidea. I walked regu- larly over the floes, although the snows were nearly impassable. With all this, aided by hosts of J^gienic resources, feeble, certainly, but still the best at my command, scurvy advanced steadily." On the 21st April Dr. Kane encountered a bear on the ice, on which ho remarks : " We are at least eighty miles from the nearest land. Cape Kater; and channels innumerable must intervene between us and terra firma. Yet this majestic animal, dependent upon his own pred- atory resources alone, and, defying cold as well as hun- ger, guided by a superb instinct, confides himself to these solitary, unstable ice-fields. " Parry, in his adventurous polar efi'ort, found these animals at the most northern limit of recorded observa- tion. Wrangell had them as companions on his first Asiatic journey over the Polar Ocean. Navigators have also found them floating upon berg and floe far out in open sea ; and here we have them in a region some seventy miles from the nearest stable ice. They have seldom or never — if we except Parry's Spitzberiren experience — been seen so far from land. In the great majority of cases, they seem to have been accidoiitally caught and carried adrift on disengaged ice-floes In this way thoy travel to Iceland ; and it may have been 80, perhaps, with the Spitzbergen instances. " There is something very grand about this tawny savage : never leaving this utter destitution, this fnVid inhc3pitableness ; coupling in May, and bringing forth ir. JL.isimas time; a gestation carried on all of ii below zero, more than half of it in Arctic darkness ; living in perpetual snow, and dependent for life up.,,, u never-ending activity ; using the frozen vater as a rait to traverse the open seas, that the water unfrozen may yield him the means of life. No time for hibernat,",, has this polar tiger ; his life is one great winter." 300 FIllST GllINNKLL KXPKDITION. i * I Eiuly ill Kohrumy llie iioitliern horizon Ik^j^iiii to he utrt'uluHl with gorgoous twilight, the hcriiM of tho ai)proiichiiig huh : iiiul on tho 18tii hiH diHC fii-Ht iippoiircd above tlic liorizon. Ah {h(> golden rim rose above tin! glittering Hnow-drift.s iind pilcH of ice, three hearty cheers wiJiit up from those hardy niarinerH, and tliey entluisiiistieiiliy welcomed their d(;liverer from th(! ehainH of frost. Day after day tlin sun roHe higher and higher, and vast masses of iee b(>gan to yield to his fervid inllu- eiices. Tii(! scurvy disappeared, and from tlnit time, until their arrival iioino, not a man suflered from sick- ness. As tiiey slowly drifted through Davis's Straits, and the ice gave indications of breakiiig up, the voy- agers nnide preparations for sailing. The IJescue was reoccupied (Alay 12th, 1S51), and her stern-post, wiiich had been broken by th(> ice in liarrow's Straits, was repaired. To accomplish this, they were obliged to dig away the ice, which was from twelve to fourteen feet thick around her. They re-shipped their ru ice. This event was very sudden and appalling. ]t began to give way on the fitli of June, and in the space of twenty minutes the wliol<> mass, as far as the eye could reach, became one vast held of moving tloes. On the loth of June, 1851, they emerged into open water a little south of the Arctic Circle, in latitude 65' 30'. They immediately repaired to Godhaven, on tlir? coast of Greenland, where th(>y re-fitted, and, unapf)alhd by the perils through which they had just passed, they once more turned their prows northward, to encounter amnv tlie ice squadrons of Ratlin's Bay. Again thoy travcr.sed the coast of Greenland to about the THd degiee, when they bore to tho westward, and on the Tth and 8th of July passed tho English whaling- fleet near the Dutch FiiiST Giu.\M;r,L Kxi'KDirroN. 36] iHlah.ls. ()„wanl they pn-HHO.! (l,n,„j.l, f),,. acc.mu.Iat- i"K i'«' <"• l{umi.'H iHl.ind, where, on tl.c lltl,, thoy were jomnl l,y tl... l',i„,, Albort, the. ..»t u,,o„ un.,thor cruiHo IM'.V •■.M.t.nu.'d in c.rnp.iny until tho :U\ of Augnnt, ivh.-n llH- .An..Tt departed (or tho wentward, .hitcMniinod to try 1 1.0 inoro Houthern passugo. [fcro again the Anieri- i-unH ..nconntorod vast fields of hmnnio(J<-icc, and were NnLjccled to the most itnn.incnt perils. Tho floating ice UH ,f rnov.Ml by adverse currents, tnn.l.Ied in huge inasses' iu.d n-an-d upon the sides of the sturdy little vessels ■ko nu.nsters of the deep intent upo,> destruction llM-se .Masses l,.„ke i.i the bulwarks, and sometimes fell over up<.., the decks with te.rible fo,co, like rocks rolle.l over a plain by mountai.i ton-ents. The noise was f^..arfuI_H„ deafl...i.>g that the mariners could Hcarcely hear each other's voices. The sounds of these roll.ng m.usses, together with the reding of the iceborgs float...g ..ear, a..d the vast floes, pioduced a di.. like tho discharge of a thousand pieces of ordna..co upon u field of battle. Flndi.ig the north a..d west closed against furlh t progress, by in.pe.ielrable ice, De Have., was balked- and, tur.,i.,g his vessels homeward, they came out i..to UM open sea so.newhat crippled, but not .•. plank seri- ously starte.l. During a stor.n off tho ba.iks of New- foiL.dla.id, a ll.ousa..d n.iles f.-om New Yo.-k tho vessels parted compa..y. The Adva..ce arrived safely at the Navy Yard, at Brookly.., on the 30tl. of September 1851 • .•u.d the Rescue joined her there a few days aftonva.-(r oward the close of October the goven,n.e..t .•esig..e,l the vessels into the hands of Mr. G.-i.,..ell, to be used in ether service, but with the stipulatior. that they wore to I'O subjc-ct to the order of the Secretary of the Navy in the sprmg, ,f required for another expedition in search of Sir John Franklin. hi ■1-4 \i CHAPTER XV. rag princk alukrt RBrirren by lady rRANKUif. — mb. kksskdt thb COMHANUKll. — DKI'AIITIIUK OF THK VE8SKL. — CrKBNAVIK. — TRIAL OF CARRIKK-rinKONS. — ni.HAHTRODS SKPARATIO!*. IIBLIKK AND RKCNIOif. — PRKPAUATIONS PllR WINTKHIXO. — WINTKB JOURNKYS. — VISIT TO rORT UEACII TUB UllAND JUL'RNEY. — SBVBBB OALK. — THK JURy'S STORKS. — DOQS. — CAIR.NS NOT ALWAYS 8KE.f. — CAPS WALKBR. — IIKTIIRN TO HATTY BAY. — HOMBWABD BOUND. — BELLOT. RAB's LAND JOUR.NKY IN 1AM. i ! < r TiiK (liscovtM-y of the traces of Franklin's visit to Point Kiley, the account of which waa brought homo by the Prince Albert, gave encouragement for a renewal of the search. On the 3(1 of Juno, 1851, the Prince Albert, which had been refitted by Lady Franklin for the pur- pose of exploring the shores of Prince Regent's Inlet, set sail from Stromnesa. She was under the command of Mr. William Kennedy, formerly in the service of the Hudson's Bay Company, and who has published an interesting narrative of his adventures. The Prince Albert had been well strengthened for encounters with ponderous masses of ice. Along her sides, from the keel to about two feet above the water- line, there was a doubling of elm planking of fully two and a half inches thick, intended not only to fortify the hull of the little vessel, but to preserve her sides from the tear and wear of sailing through, and rubbing against, sharp, rasping pieces of ice. The b(w and stern-post were sheathed with wrought iron a quarter of an inch tliick, and a broad strip of thick sheoliroc BKLLOT. - HEPBURN. 36 Hor hold w.i8 a perfect labyrinth of croBs-boams a„d maHH.vo fasteningH. to onaMo her to withstand tho ovU conBequences of a "nip ; " .„d the arrangomontB goner Uy were conducted in a manner which'whilo it^•nd;- cated tho dangerous nature of tho service, also served o assure er crew that noth:.g had been left undo o winch could .n any way conduce to their comfort and She was supplied with several boats. One was mado of gutta-percha, and another of mahogany; the third l>CM,g a small dinr;y, of tho ordinary kind She had a so one of Ilalkett's Mackintosh bo.ts, and a tL kayak made m im.tation of those used by the Esquimaux Dressed moose-skins and parchment, to be c^^erd durmg the voyage into moo^asins, snow-shoe dg- «Iedge-traces, &c., were abundantly supplied ' Pro- vision for two years was put on board, and part of thi. consisted ofa ton and a half of pemmican. The ship's company consisted of eijrhteen in all ,•„ goon. Bellot was a spirited young officer from the rench navy, whose romantic love of adventure led hi to offer h,s services to Lady Franklin in the search which had now been going on for some years Ue Buon proved himself to bo in ev^ry way a most useful ::,::;! ^"^^ ^" '--/" the nation t. which he Among -he crew, who were all picked men. there was John ITopburn, who will be remembered by ev >ry reader o Arctic travel as the faithful attendaift o/ lir John Hanklin during his first adventurous, and ;,, some respects tragic journey, through North imerici C Wrn s spirit was fired with an trresistible desire to ^sis^ 'i( 364 OPERNAVIK. 1.1 ill Hoarching for tho hero with whom, in liis youth, he had shared tho porils of tho wildenicflB ; and now, in hin old ago, ho waH going to fuco a wilder form of perils on the ice-ladon wators of the Polar Sea. Another of tho men had travelled with Dr. Kae, on hiu lirHt expedition to Repulno Bay ; and another had accompanied Sir John Kichardson in his lioat journey through the into- rior of America. Lady Franklin herself was present to Bee the vessel ofl". She took an affectionate leave of officers and crew ; and the Prince Albf'rt bounded from the shore and stretched out into the wide Atlantic, tho Union-Jack at her peak, and tho French Hag, in honor of Lieutenant Bcllot, Hying at tho fore. On Sunday, the 24th of Juno, they descried tho coast of Greenland on tho distant horizon. In Baffin's Bay they were .isited by the captains of two whaling-vessels, who created great excitement by telling thorn of the discovery of Franklin's winter quarters in 1845, with tho details of which the reader is already acquainted This information induced Kennedy to direct his course to Upernavik, tho Danish colony on the west coast of (Jreenland, partly for the purpose of taking in additional supplies for the use of tiie winter travelling parties, but chiotiy with the hope of gaining further information of tho recent discoveries, from tho American searching vessels which had wintered in the pack. In this, how- ever, he wiip disappointed. Of Upernavik, which he reached June 10th, 1851, Kennedy K.iys : " It is one of that interesting group of little colonies with which the enterprise of the Danes has dotted the west coast of Greenland. Here, ccm- sideraMy within tho Arctic Circle, we found a Christian conmiunity, not only living, but, after a fashion, thriv- ing. We were informed by the governor that there wore, even at this early period of tho season., one thoussuid UPERNAVIK. 365 Dan^h tons of o. an.l bluhbor Btorod, fn„„ the produce of tho «u,„,„er fiHlu.ry. There waH likowino villoZ dcce .n every direction of an abundance of volon . ' ui'uui mem, Jrom bemir coverpd wifh tar from top to bottom, - appearing, fofall t IT d l.ko BO n.any upturned herring-boats, ready, on any emergency, to take to tho water. ^ "A party of the Esquimaux, attached to the nottle- ment, had come in with the produce of some hunt n^ excurH.on in which they had been engaged; an wa! much Htruck with their intoliife.uce, and their wdlLrad comfortable, and healthy appearance. This. I le n ed was ma great measure due to the benevolent into st a st^on I'u ^^^'!^''"'"«"* '" ^''«- l^«'-'f- There is not a station, I was g.ven to understand, along tho whole coast of Greenland, which has not its mis^-onary and ts schoolmaster for the instruction of the natives Jnd .udgmg from what we saw and learned at Upen. "k ho Dan>Hh exchequer is not without materiaUn s bi stantud proofs of the gratitude of the poor - /.„ Jr Thus .nstructed, cared for, and their energes diHrip!i„ed and d.rected, the Esquimaux of Greenland give m "y tTei r;-' 'Te r""^"^' "' ^^^■•^'"•^ the%rod:c Tr tbeir hunts and lisheries to Denmark." At this place six large Esq.u'maux'dogs, for dragline Bledgos were purchased. A few pairs of selsk^ boots, Hhoes. and trousers, a la Esguimat^, ^ore also procured, and tho Prince Albert proceeded or. her voyage. The much-dreaded "middle ice " was reached soon alter leaving, and four days were spent in asstg hrough .t to the western side of the bay. during whicS time tho men were constantly employed in sailing, boring, puBfting, thumping, a-id warping -not unfro- 3U6 CARRIER-HGHONb. — ESQUIMAUX. quently exposed to the perilous nips, which pre Bomo times productive of such dire consequences. At this point in the voyage It was deemed advisable to test the powers of some carrier-pigeons with which they had been provided ; but the poor birds refused to take the long flight to England, and resolutely persisted in reiurning to the ship again, after a short survey of the icy region in which they were let loose. During the passage ot the middle-ice, a large quantity of provisions had been got up on deck, to be ready in case an unfortunate crush should sink the vessel. This was now re-stowed in the hold, on getting into the comparatively clear western waters of Baffin's Bay. One evening about this time, while they were sailing quietly among beautiful and fantastically forme'd frag- ments of ice, which obliged them frequently to deviate a little from their course, a shout was heard ranging through tlie "aim, still atmosphere, and very soon four Esquimaux paddled out to thorn in their seal-skin koyaks They speedily clambered on board, and one of the crew happenhig to have some slight knowledge of English, a vigorous flow of query and reply commenced, in the course of wliich much useful information as to the nature of the coast and inlets was obtained. One, especially, proved to be an expert draftsman, and by means of a bit of chalk drew on the deck the outlines of various parts of the coast, which were of some service. Tlie progress of the vessel was wow much interrupted by ice and contrary gales. All atte npts to readi Cape Riley, and, subsequently, to f.ito'- Leopold Harbor, were completely frustruted. Far an the eye couM reach down the west side of Prince Regent's Inlet, — which Tv'as to be the scene of their searching operations, — huge barriers of ice met the view. The voyagerr p ished boldly m amongst it, however, and succeeded DISASTROUS SEPARATION. 367 after a tortuous course, in reaching Elwin Bay, which they found quite closed up. Batty Bay and Fury Beach were next visited, where they met with similar disap- pointment, and where they also perceived that the 'ce-. between which and the shore they had been sailing.- was setting down upon them ; so they were obliged to beat a hasty retreat, in order to escape being crushed to pieces. It was now obviously fruitless to attempt the western side of the inlet under present circum- Btances ; so they put about and ran for Port Bowen on the eastern shore, which was comparatively free from ice Here they found traces of the party which wintered at this spot with Sir Edward Parry, in 1825 To winter here, while all their intended work lay on the other shore of the inlet, was quite out of the ques- tion; BO It was resolved at all hazards to attempt a landing again. Accordingly, on the 9th of September they recrossed the strait, and succeeded in approaching close enough to the shore to render an attempt to land somewhat feasible. The gutta-percha boat was there, fore got out, and Kennedy, with four of his men, jumped into her and rowed for tlie beach. This they reached without difficulty, by means of a narrow lane of open water winch was opportunely discovered. On ascend- ing the cliffs of Cape Seppings, Kennedy found, to his joy, that the harbor of Port Leopold was quite free from ice, and, if the ship could maintain her position for a few hours longer, he had no doubt of being able to effect an entrance. On descending to the beach, however he found, to his consternation, that the passage by which they had entered was blocked up. The boat had not been fastened to the beach, but to a large piece of ice, which, with the whole body of tne pack, was drifting dovvn the inlet, carrying boat, ship, and men, along rith It. To make matters worse, night was coming on, 'M t,i' Im: 368 DISASTROUS SEPARATION. aud nothing could be seen or heard around but hug« masses of ice grinding, toHsing, and rearing furiously on every side. To return to the ship under these cir- cumstances was out of the question ; so they made for the shore as fast as possible, dragging the boat along with them. On reaching it, they pulled the boat up and turned it over so as to form a kind of shelter from the night-air, and then prepared to pass the night under it, although little sleep was anticipated ; for, besides the anxiety occasioned by their strange position, their clotlies were almost covered with ice, and they had no blankets or coverings of any kind. From his former experience in Arctic scenes, Kennedy knew the danger of falling asleep under such circumstances ; and, notwith- standing the strong desire that he and his men felt to indulge in repose, he only allowed them to rest for an hour at a time, obliging them during the remainder of the night to keep in active motion. With the dawn of the following morning the shivering party scrambled to the top of the highest cliff of Cape Seppings, but not a vestige of the vessel was to be seen I The consternation of the poor men, who were thus cast away on this bleak shore, may be imagined. Without provisions, scantily clad, no vessel, and an approaching hyperborean winter, their condition seemed forlorn indeed. One fortunate circumstance, however, cheered them not a little ; and this was the fact that, two j'ears before. Sir James Ross had left a deposit of provisions at Whaler Point, on the other side of the harbor. Should this be found in good condition, there was every reason to hope that they might manage to pass the winter in at least some degree of comfort. Thither, therefore, Kennedy and his four men now directed their steps. A short walk brought them to the spot, whore, to their great joy, they found the provisions just as they BilBi^BHt,!! ' ( 1 ma DISASTBOUS SEPARATION. 371 Lad been left, and quite good, with the exception of a cask of tallow, a case of chocolate, and a barrel of bis- cuit, whicli had been destroyed, and their contents de- mohshed, by the bears and foxes. A house erected by Sir James Ross was also found in pretty good conditioi being only a little damaged in the roof. Near to thu there was a flag-staff, to which a cylinder was attachod containing a notice of the deposit of provisions, and rt the future intentions of the party by whom they had bc(v» left. " It was now," says Kennedy, " the 10th of Septe.-H ber. Winter was evidently fast setting in, and, from th.'* distance the ship had been carried during that disatu trous night, — whether out to sea or down the inlet w« could not conjecture, — there was no hope of our being able to rejoin her, at least during the present season, There remained, therefore, no alternative but to make up our minds to pass the winter, if necessary, where we were. The first object to be attended to was the erect- ing of some sort of shelter against the daily increasing inclemency of the weather ; and for this purpose the launch, left by Sir James Ross, was selected. Her main- mast was laid on supports at the bow and stern, about nine feet in height, and by spreading *two of her sails Dver this a very tolerable roof was obtained. A stove vas set up in the body of the boat, with the pipes run- ning through the roof; and we were soon sitting by a comfortable fire, which, after our long exposure to the wet and cold, we stood very much in need of." Kennedy now arranged his plans for the future. To undertake a long winter journey over the country on foot had been his original inten the increasing [lower of the sun and lengtli of the days though the country retained its wintry aspect for months afterwards. Abcuit the middle of I'diruaiy , 1 S,")2, every- tliing being in a proper state of advancement fur the rommenceinent of the " grand J urney," p.cparatiouH KENNEDY'S JOURNEY. 381 for an imrnediato start were made ; and, on the 25tb of that monJ., oquippod with snow-shoos, sledges and dogs, they left tlie vessel. " ' The party which now set out were a detachment of five men under the co,„mand of Kenne.ly. These were to be oilowed in a few days by another detaclunent under Bellot, who was to be waited for at Fury Beach' whence the whole, amounting to fourteen men, were to start upon hitherto untrodden ground. They were es- cmlo.l us far as the south point of Batty Bay by part of he sh.p s company, who were to ren.ain beJ.ind. At t „s p„„,t they separated ^vith many kind farewells and three hearty cheers, after which they were soon lost to each other m the mist. During the_ first part of the journey, the equinoctial ga OS blew with great violence. They wore frequently |lota,ned for whole days at a time in their encampn.ent hy these herce winds, from whose oitter iury th,>y were however well protected by the snow.hon>g frost-bitten -the strong wind, in this b.stance l>oi.ig the cause rather than the degree of temp.Tatnre' for 1„« was co,.iparatively moderate. On the morning of (he .Ma lull of an hour or so enticed us (n bundle np and lash our sleigh. Xo sooner had we do„e this and prnceedM a short distance, than the gale came on with HMloubled fury, in c,u,sequence of which we had to hasten back to onr snow retreat, and were g^ad 3S2 KENNEDY'S JOURNEY. mr enough to have been still so near a slieltor when caught by it, as we had much difficulty in keeping on our feet, from the violence of tlie whirling eddies that came Bweepiiig along an exposed headland near us. Such was the force of the v/ind, that column after colunm of whirling spray was raised by it out of a continuous lane of water, more than a mile broad, which the present gale had opened out along the coast, at the distance of oidy a few yards from our present encampment. Aa these successive columns were lifted out of the water, they were borne onward with a speed scarcely less rapid than the 'wings of the wind ' itself. "Whilst de- tained here, we narrowly escaped being buried by an infant avalanche ; a hardened mass of snow of several tons' weight having been disengaged from the summit of the cliff above us." So severe did this part of the road prove, that the sledges, moccasins, and snow-shoes, were severely dam- aged. On the whole party being collected at Fury Beach, it was found necessary to send back to the ship for additional supplies. They were mtich indebted here to the old stores of the Fury, wliich were found to '^9 in excellent preservation, although they had lain for thirty years exposed to the weather on the shores of these icy seas. The journey on which they had now entered would occupy, it was supposed, about throe montlis, during which time they hoped to survey upwards of a thousand miles. It was found, upon calculation, that six men could not carry a sufficient quantity of provisions to sustain them for so long a period ; so the plan was adopted of taking fourteen men as far ns Brentford Bay, from which point eight of the travellers were to return to the ship, while the remaining six would pro KENNEDY'S JOURNEY, 383 ecfcd onwards witli as much as they could possibly drag or carry of tiic necessaries of life. Among tiieir provisions and equipments, procured from tlio old deposit at Fury Beach, were seven liun- dred and fifty pounds of peramican, one small sack of flour, live gallons of spirits of wine, a hundred and twenty pounds of coal, four bags of biscuits, and various knives, saws, astronomical instruments, &c. Of these old stores of the Fury, Kennedy says, he found the provisions "not only in the best preservation, but much superior in quality, after thirty years of exposure to the weather, to some of our own stores, and those supplied to the other Arctic expeditions. This high state of preservation I cannot help attributing in some measure to the strength and thickness of the tins, in which the preserved meats, vegetables, and soups, had been placed. The flour had all caked in solid lumps, which had to be regr ..nd and passed through a sieve before it was fit for the cook's hands. In other respects it was fresh and sweet as ever, and supplied us with a stock of e.xcellont biscuit." Those articles, with the tackling and sledges, made altogether a total dead weight of about two thousand pounds; the whole being lashed down, to the smallest pos- sible compass, on four flat-bottomed Indian sledges, two of which were drawn by the five dogs, assisted^by two of the men, the otiier two being dragged by the rest of the party. It was a fine, clear, mild day when they started, and they found the travelling very good at first, the beach being flat, and the ice sufficiently smooth to admit of proceeding with facility. Fortune, however, seldom favors Arctic travellers long. They soon found their bright sky overcast, and the mild breeze changed into t cold, bitter, frosty gale. Under these circumstances 'f1 , .11 384 KENNEDY'S JOURNEY. 'it I t' ' I ■ M I ' Hi?! they travelloJ from day to day, enduring it as stoically as possible, and making up to some extent for their dis- comfort wliile travelling by enjoying themselves beneath their snow-burrows during the few hours allotted to re- pose. The frost-biting of their fiiccs, however, became at last so intolerable, that they fell upon the expedient of protecting the parts most vulnerable by means of sundry curious and original kinds of coverings. "For the eyes," says Kennedy, "we liad goggles of glass, of wire-gauze, of crape, or of plain wood with a slit in the centre, in the manner of the Esquimaux. For the face, some had cloth-masks, with neat little crevices for the mouth, nose, and eyes ; others were muflled up in the ordinary chin-cloth, and, for that most troublesome of the fticial members, the nose, a strong party, with our always original carpenter at their head, had gutta-percha noses, lined with delicate soft flannel." These contrivances, though admirable in theory, proved complete failures in practice. They were ultimately discarded, wiLli the exception of the chin-cloths and goggles. Tjie daily routine of operations was as follows : They rose at six, but did not dress — having slept in theii clothes, that operation was unnecessary ; then they breakfasted ; after which came the bundling up and lashing of the .sledges, and the harnessing of the dogs — the latter operation always being accomplished amidst considerable uproar. Then came the start ; Kennedy leading the way, Bellot following, and the party in a string bringing up the rear. So on they wont, over iiill and dale and along shore, from morn till night, stopping every hour for five minutes to rest the men and breathe the dogs, and halting, when opportunity oflered, to find their latitude and longitude. The construction of a snow-hut, and the consumption of the evening meal, KENNEDY'S JOURNEY ^80 concluded the labors of the day, which wore seldom over before nine or ten e-i night. On the 6th of April thoy arrived at Brentford Bay and the fatigue-party began their retrograde journey to the ship. At tliis point Kennedy discovered a strait running westward, which was found to separate Nortii Somerset from Boothia Felix, and was named Bellot Strait, in honor of the gallant y6ung Frenchman, who had secured the affectionate regard not oidy of the leader of the party, but also of all the men. Thence Kennedy crossed over Victoria Strait to Prince of Wales Land, naming the most prominent headlands, bays, and islands. Nu merous tracks of deer, wolves, bears, and musk-oxen, were seen ; but none of the animals themselves, except one bear, which came incautiously close to the snow- hut, and was chased away by the dogs. On the 17th April the thermometer indicated -f-22 ; "a temperature," says Kennedy. " which, to our sensa^ tions, was absolutely oppressive. One of our dogs, through over-exertion, combined with the unusual heat! fainted in his traces, and lay gasping for breath for a quarter of an hour ; but, after recovering, went on as merrily as e-er. These faithful creatures were perfect treasures to us throughout the journey. They were all suffering, like ourselves, from snow-blindness, but did not in the least relax their exertions on this account. The Esquimaux dog is, in fact, the camel of these north- em deserts ; the faithful attendant of man, and th« sharer of his labors and privations." During a great portion of the journey the men wero much annoyed by snow-blindness, caused by the fierce glare of the sun upon the snow ; and this was rendered all the more unbearable by the sharp winds which pre- vailed so much, and dashed the drift into their eye«. 38G KENNEDY'S JOURNEY. The country over which they travelled was generally very flat, rendering it a mutter of no small dilticulty to keep their westerly course, the compasses being of lit- tle use in such close proximity to the magnetic pole. Their great hope in travelling westward was, that they should meet with a sea which would conduct them northward to Cape Walker, and so enable them to ascertain whether or not there was any promising west- ern channel or strait through which Franklin might have penetrated. After thirteen days' marcLing, however, they reached the hundredth degree of west longitude without meeting with the wished-for ocean ; so it was resolved to turn their steps northward. "Being now satisfied," says Kennedy, "that Sir James Ross had, in his land journey along the western shore of North Somerset, in 1849, mistaken the very low and level land over which we had been travelling for a western sea, I felt no longer justified in continuing u western course. Whatever passage might exist *o the south-west of Cape Walker, I felt assured must now be on our north. I determined, therefore, from this time forward, to direct our course northward, until we should fall upon some channel which we knew must exist not far from us, in this direction, by which Franklin might have passed to the south-west." The weather still continued boisterous and change- able. Tlic channel of which they were in search was nowhere to be found. Scurvy, too, began to show itself among the men ; so it was resolved to turn eastward again, and proceed towards the channel laid down to the east of Cape Bunny, which they resolved to follow up to Cape Walker. During the march they met several herds of deer, and succeeded in shooting a few brace of ptarmigan. As they had no means of cooking them, however, they KENNEDY'S JOURNEY. 387 adopted the practice, common among Indians, of freez- ing them, and, while in this state, eating them raw ; and wo arc assured that a "frozen ptarmigan, after a hard day's march, is by no means an unwelcome addi- tion to an Arctic traveller's bill of faro 1 " At last they arrived at Cape Walker. Its bold and conspicuous headland first met their gaze on the 4tli of May ; but lie/e, as at Fury Beach, they were doomed to disappointment. Not a sign of Franklin's expedition having visited the spot was to be met with. Bollot carefully followed the windings of the rough ice outside the beach, in order to have a commanding view of the cliffs, while Kennedy searched along shore ; but all with- out success. Ignorant that he had been preceded by Captain Austin's parties, Kennedy mistook the large cairn they had erected for a part of the cliff, and actu- ally walked over a smaller one deeply covered with snow, without for a moment suspecting that the spot had been previously visited. If the laige cairns, formed by the parties of Ommaney and Osborne the previous spring, could thus bo overlooked, might not signals erected by Franklin have been equally undistinguishable amid the deep snow which enveloped this bleak and rugged coast ? Their stock of provisions now getting very low, Ken- nedy's party were obliged to go on short allowance ; and, to make it last longer, they fed the dogs, from this time forward, on " old leather shoes, and flvg-ends of buffalo robes" — on which, we are told, "they thrived wonderfully." It is added that one old snarling brute, who had received the name of Boatswain from the men on account of his ill-nature, " never seemed thoroughly to enjoy his meals till put upon a course of old shoes." From this time the men grew worse and worse with scurvy ; but were much revived by lighting upon a 388 KENNEDY'S JOURNEY. M- Bmall ddp6t of provibions, which hud been left near Capo McClintock by Sir James Rush, in 1819. This enabled thorn to etart again with vigor fur Whaler Point, which tliey reached on tho 15th, and ut which place they remained until the 2Tth, making free use of the lime-juice, cranberries, etc., which were deposited there. After being sufficiently restored, they started on their return to tho ship, which they finally reached on the 30th of May, having been absent ninety-seven days, during which time six men with live dogs had travelled about eleven hundred miles, dragging, for most of tho way, two thousand pounds' weight, sleep- ing in snow-houses, encamping at times on frozen seas, and rarely having fire when they halted to recruit. The travellers found that all had gone on well at Batty Bay, in their absence. Nothing now remained but to get tlie ship clear of ico and return homo. But there was little as yet in tho appearance of ico or land to indicate that Juno had returned, except the falling in of some of the snow-houses. Gradually, however, tho fierce glare of the sun began to make itself folt ; and, on the 6th of August, after some sawing and blasting, tho imprisoned vessel was liberated. On the 19th Ken- nedy reached Beechey Island, where he found tho depot- sliip North Star, attached to SirE. Belcher's expedition, engaged in sawing into winter quarters. On the Tth of October, 1853, tho Prince Albert arrived in England. In concluding his narrative, Kennedy remarks of tho young Frenchman who was associated with him, and whoso subsequent fate, in connection with the history of Arctic discovery, is interesting : " To Mr. BoUot, my constant companion, not only do I owe the most valuable assistance from his scientific attaiimients, but his amial)lo qualities have cemented a deep personal regard; which can only end with my life." ILVE'S LAND JOURNEY. 389 Meanwhile researches from tl»e North American coaBt were renewed by Mr. Rae. Ho left Fort Confidence, on he Co,,permi.ie, April 25th, 1S51, with four men and hreo sledges drawn by dogs. Rouclm: j the coast .May Ist, he fonnd the ice favorable for travel. On the 5th he landed at Douglas Island, and on the 7th gained the opposite shore. Traversing it to the oast, until ho reached 110» W. longitude, where his survey „,ot that ol Dease and Simpson, he retraced his steps, and ad- vanced west until he turned Cape Baring, past latitude 70 , and longitude in» W. Fvum some elevated ground m this neighborhood high land could be seen to the north, but none was visible to the west. He got back to his provision station on the Ketidall River upon the lOlh of June, having travelled ei^ht hundred and twenty-four geographical, or nine hundred and forty- two English miles, in forty days. In this lengthened journey his arrangements were much the same as during his survey of Committee Bay. He slept in snow houses, and. as he advanced, buried provisions to servo for his return. In the months of July and August he explored the coast of Victoria Land, east and north, in boats- marking every indentation, from the 101st to the llTth degreeof longitude — an achievement, under the circum. stances, of which any officer might be proud. On this newly-discovered coast ho met many parties of Esqui- maux ; but his inquiries as to the grand subject were all fruitless. The American coast had now been dili- gently examined, from the entrance of Behring's Strait to the head of Hudson's Bay ; and the conclusion was. tnat Franklin never reached so low a latitude ^^SSw' CHAPTER XVI. Um BDWARD nKLCHEIl'B EXPRDITION. AlllllVAL IM DACKIN'H HAT.— THB AUEKICAN WIIAUKB. — AKRIVAI- AT IIKKCIIKY ISLAMO. — SBAllCB COBMKJtCKD. INOI.KI-|Kt,D'M VOVAUK. — TllllKK UOKK KXl'KDITruNH. — lllai,RKlKLI)'H llKfL-llH NKWS FIIOM U'CLUIIK. — I'AllltV AND KIIAKK- LIN.— u'ci.iniK's KXI'I.OHATIONR AI>VK.VTHUK8 WITH KSVIl'IMADX. — PKItll.0U8 NAVUIATION.— lllSCOVBUr OF TUB NOIITlI-WrHT l'ASHA(iK,— PBRSONAL I'KIULS. — AUUNDANCR Of OABK. — WlNTKIl gOAIMKllB. — iLKOCE-PARTIKS.— STILL FnoZKM OP. PLA."» OP BgCAPB. The iiiioxpcctca and somewliat premature return of the Bquadroiis uiKk'r cuminiuul of Captains Austin and Penny, in the autumn of 1851, increased the universal desire that the mysterious fate of Sir John Franklin's expedition should bo thorougldy investij^ated. The interesting details brought back of tiie discovery of Franklin's winter quarters on Beechcy Island, in 1S45- 46, revived the hopes that had begun to fade rapidly away. The opinion of those engaged in the sledging operations of 1851, that the missing ships had pro- ceeded up Wellington Channel, and entered the open sea discovered by Captain Penny, and believed by him to bo the great polar basin, — and the .nipposition that the lost ones might still be imprisoned, and alive, in its gloomy solitude of ice, — all tended to influence the public mind in favor of a continuance of the search. Accordingly, in the spring of 1852, another expedi- ti'in — the most extensive that had yet sailed for tho polar regions — was fitted out, and placed under tho command of Sir Edward Belcher. This squailron con- sisted of five vessels — tho Assistance, the Resolute, SIR EDWAllD DKLCIIERS EXI'EDITION. Xfl tho North Star, mid two Htt aiiicrs, the Piorioor ixnd iiy, pur- Intf(,-|)id. Those Hot sail in April for JJallhi'H J{..^ poHM.jr to make Heochoy UUmd their lioad-quurtorH, u'lioMco the vurioiifl vuhhoIh were to Het out, Heparately or t..Kether, as migiit bo thought hoHt, to search tho neighljoring coasts. The Assistance and Pioneer wero directed to sail up \V..llington Churuiel. under tho com- >"and ..r Sir Kdu-ard H,.h.hor. The other two wore to proceed, unih-r Captain Keliett, to Melville Island, there to dejx.sit provisions for the use of Captain C.llinson fttid Commander M'Clure, should these gentlomon bq Buccessfnl in making the passage from Hehring's Strait," for which they had set sail, it will bo rememb.Ted, in January. 1850. Tho North Star was to remain at iJci'cl ey Island, as a depftt store-ship. The squadron sailed from England on the 28th April, 18r,L>. On the (ith of July it was making its way through' the ice in Baflin's Bay, in company with a fleet of whalers, which wore there beset. Caught at the head of a bight in the ice, with the Assistance and the Pio- neer, tho Keaoluto was, for the emergency, docked there : and, by the ico closing behind her, was for a while detained. Meanwhile tho rest of the fleet, whah'rs and discovery ships, passed on by a little lane of water, the American whaler McLcllan leading. The North Star, of the English squadron, followed the AfcLellan. A long train stretched out behind, — whalera and gnvernment ships, as they happened to fall into lino, — a long throe quarters of a mile. It was lovely weather,' ami, though the long lane closed up so that they could neither go back nor forward, nobody appie- hendod injury, till it was announced, on the morning of the Tth, that tho McLellan was nipped in tho ice, and her crew were deserting her. Sir Edward Belcher sent his carpenters to examine her, put a few charges of "m 392 SIR EDAVARD BELCHER'S EXPEDITION. powder in the ice to relieve the pressure upon her, and by the end of the day it was agreed that her injuries could be repaired, and her crew went on board again. But the next morning there was a fresh wind, tiie Mc- Lellan was caught again, and the water poured into her, a steady stream. She drifted about, unmanageable, now into one ship, now into another ; and the English whale- men began to pour on board, to help themselves to such plunder as they chose. At the captain's request, Sir Edward Belcher, to put an end to this, sent sentries on board ; and ho also sent working parties, to clear her as far as might be, and keep account of her stores. In a day or two more she sank to the water's edge, and a charge or two of powder put her out of the way of harming the rest of the fleet. After such a week spent together, it will easily be understood that the New London whalemen did not feel strangers on board one of Sir Edward's vessels, when, as we shall see, they found her " ready for occupation," three years and more afterwards. On the 10th August the squadron reached its ap- pointed head-quarters at Beechey Island. The season was remarkably open ; Wellington Channel and Bar- row's Straits were equally clear of ice. On the Uth Sir E. Belcher, with the Assistance and Pioneer, stood up the channel : and the following day Capt. Kellett, with the Resolnte and Intrepid, sailed in open water for Melville Island. In this position we leave the expedition for the present, and proceed to give au account of the next that entered the field. In consoquence of the report, set afloat by Sir John Ross, on the authority of his Esquimaux interpreter, that Fratd.', Karrauve oj th. iSiconri Gnnndl Expedition, vol. i., pa-o in 394 INQLEFIELD'S EXPEDITION. with the heavy gale that now blew, was the most pn> dent step I could take. The rest of the 2'7th and the following day were spent in reaching, under snug sail, on either tack, whilst the pitiless northerly gale drove the sleet and snow into our faces, and rendered it pain ful work to watch for the icebergs, that we were contin- ually passing. On this account, I could not heave the ship to, as the difficulty of discerning objects rendered it imperative that she should be kept continually under full command of the helm. The temperature, 25", and the continual freezing of the spray, as it broke over the vessel, combined with the slippery state of the decks from the sleet that fell and the ice which formed from the salt water, made all working of ropes and sails not only disagreeable, but almost impracticable ; so that I was not sorry when the wind moderated. " By four a. m., of ihe 29th, it fell almost to a calm ; but a heavy swell, the thick fog and mist remaining, precluded our seeing any distance before us ; and thus we imperceptibly drew too near the land-pack off the western shore, so that, a little after Mr. Abernethy had come on deck, in the morning watch, I was called up, as he said that the ship was drifting rapidly into the ice. Soon on dock, I found tliat there was no question on that score ; for even now the loose pieces were all round us, and the swell was rapidly lifting the ship fur- ther into the pack, whilst the roar of waters, surging on the vast floe-pieces, gave us no very pleasant idea of what would be our flite if we were fairly entrapped in this frightful chaos. The whale-boat was lowered, and a feeble eflbrt made to get her head oil" shore ; but still ir. we went, plunging and surging amongst the crushing masses. " While I was anxiously watching the screw, upon whicli all our IiDpes were now centred, I ordered the INGLEFIELD'S EXPEDITION. 395 boiler, which had been under repair, and was partly disconnected, to be rapidly secured, the fires to be >gh ed, and to get up the steam ; in tke mean Le the tackles were got up for hoisting out our long-boat and every preparation was made for the worst. ^E^Ll'm toned w,th h,s utmost might ; ice-anchors were laid out and hawsers got upon either bow and quarter, to keep the sh,p from driving further in; but two ho^rs mus^ alapse before we could expect the use of the enl Eager were the inquiries when unll the steam be Tv and wood and blubber were heaped in the furnace to get up tue greatest heat we could command. ''At last the engineer reported all was ready; and then, warpnig the ship's head round to seaward we screwed ahead with great caution ; and at last found ourselves through God's providence and mercy, relieved from our difficulties. It was a time of the deepest su' pense to me ; the lives of my men and the success of en r expedition depended entirely on the safety of the screw and thus I watched, with intense anxiety, the pieces of' ice, as we drifted slowly past them; ani, pasl'th word to the engineer, < Ease her,' 'Stop her,' ,1 h huge masses dropped into the wake, we succeeded with much difficulty, in saving the screw from any sei ou Dnght from abrasion against the ice " Besides penetrating one hundred and forty miles urther than previous navigators, and finding an op«n ea sretcnng northwards, from Baffin's Bay, to a ease latitude of 8O0, Captain Inglefield diLv L^d Strl an " IT "^''' "'^^' ^« "*--' ^"-hison a.y to Greenland. I„ addition to the shores of the polar basin, he more accurately surveyed the eastern ■ t 396 THREE MORE EXPEDITIONS. iido of Baffin's Bay, from Carey's Islands to Cape Ale* ander, ollon remaining on deck the four-and-twenty hours round — for night there was none. lie entered Jones's Sound, but was stopped by the ice, and came to the conclusion that there is no available channel from the sound into tlie polar basin, though there is possibly some narrow frozen strait. Inglefield then made for Beechey Island, where he arrived on the Uh September, and where he met the North Star, the depot ship of the Admiralty expedition. Thence, after a short delay, he shaped his course homeward. In spite of the advancing season, he examined a considerable part of the western coast of Baffin's Bay ; and, though sorely beset on more than one occasion, managed to get tiirough, and reached Stromness on the 4th of November — exactly four months from the date of his departure from Woolwich. It is hardly nccessarj'^ to add that Inglefield's investi- gations established the utter falsity of the story told by Sir John Ross's int^'rpreter. In the beginning of the year 1853 three expeditions were fitted out, partly to continue the search for Frank- lin, and partly to reinforce the vessels already in the field of action. The Rattlesnake, under Commander Trullope, and the Isabel screw-steamer — again refitted by Lady Franklin, and placed under the command of Mr. Kennedy — sailed for Behring's Strait, in order to carry supplies to Captains CoUinson and M'Clure. Mr. Rae was again despatched to the Isthmus of Boothia, to make a further examination of the coast in that quarter ; and Commander Inglefield was sent to Barrow's Straits, with the Phwnix and the Lady Franklin, to reinforca tiie squadron under Sir E. Belciier. Mr. Griimell, of New York, aided by Mr. Peabody, of London, also fitted out an expedition, under the command of Dr. E. K. Kane, and sent it ta explore the passages leading out TIDINGS OF M'CLURE. 397 of Baffin's Baj into the unknown ocean around the pole. In the autumn >n853 the deep interest of the British nation was arouse i by the return of Captain Inglefield, in the Phoenix, with despatches conveying the intelli- gence that the north-west passage had at length been discovered by Captain M'Clure, of the Investigator, who had passed through Behring's Strait, and sailed to within a few miles of the most westerly discoveries made from the eastern side of America, at which point he had been frozen up for more than two years, and where his ship still lay, unable to advance or to retreat. No vessel had yet made the entire passage ; but, from the two extreme points of discovery, on either side, parties from the Investigator had walked over the frozen ocean ; and one gentleman — namely, Lieut. Cresswell, the bearer of despatches from Captain M'Clure — had sailed from England, entered Behring's Strait, and returned again to England by the Atlantic Ocean, hav- ing thus passed through the long-sought north-west passage. This interesting intelligence, coupled with the an- nouncement of M'Clure's safety, concerning which much anxiety had begun to be felt, was joyfully received ; and Lieut. Cresswell, the bearer of the good news, was treated with marked attention in England. At a public dinner, given him in his native town of Lynn, Sir Edward Parry, who was present, made some remarks on the probable fate of Sir John Franklin, which will be read svith interest in tliis connection : " While we are rejoicing over the return of our friend, and the probable return of his shipmates, we cannot but turn to that wliich is not a matter of rejoicing, but rather a matter of sorrow and regret — that there has not been found a single token of our dear long-lost Franklin and 398 SIR EDWARD TARRVb OPINIONS. his companions. Not only has tliivt been the case in tlii expoditiiHi in wliicli Lieut. Gurncy Crcsswcl! lias been ongaj^cd, but 1 understand it to be the case with Sir Edward iJeleher, who has gone up the Wellington Inlet, t be found, because •cs where 1 certainly thou;.'Ii' at Beeehcy Island wo .. ■ •anklin passed the in-ht winter when he went out. ere we found three graves of his men, — and that is, up to the present moment, the oidy token whatever we have received of him. I do consider it a most mysterious thing, and I have thought of it as much as anybody. I can form but a single idea of the probable fate of I'^'ranklin. 1 do not agree with our friend Gurney Cresswell about the prob- ability of both ships having gone down, and nothing been seen of them, because, although it is true that nothing might have been seen of the ships themselves, 1 do not believe the crews would have all perished at one moment. 1 think there is that stuff and stamina in one hundred and thirty Englishmen, that, somehow or other, they would have maintained thein- selvbs as well as a parcel of Esquimau.x would. They would have found the Esquimaux, and there would have been something like a trace of them, if they had been on earth. Tiie only thing which 1 can suggest is this : Wellington Strait was discovered by myself, t)n the expedition 1 spoke of. It is a large opening irom Lan *«ister Sound. " When I was going up westward from Melville Island, we saw Wellington Strait perfectly free from ice, and so 1 mark<"d it on my chart. It was not my business to go north as long as 1 could get west, and, therefore, we ran |)ast and did not examine it ; but it has always been a favorite idea of those who imagined that the north-west passage was to be easily made by going north. That, we know, was the favorite \ii«!i of I I BIB EDWARD PARRY'S OPINIONS. 101 Franklin ; and we know he did intend, if he ?ould not get westward, to go up Wellington Channel. We have it from his own lips. My belief is still that, after the first winter, he did go up that channel ; and that, having Btoum power (which I had not in my time), it is possible ho may have gone up in a favorable season ; for you cannot imagine anything more different than a favorable and an unfavorable season in those regions. You oau- uot imagine the changes that take place in the ice there. I have been myself sometimes beset for two or three days together by the ice, in such a way that from the mast-head I could not see suflacient wa er to float that bottle in ; and in twenty-four hours the. was not a bit of ii V.I years old : do you think wo ought to lot him go ? * i said, ' He is a litter man to go tliaii any I know ; and if you don't let him go, the man will die of disappoint ment.' lie did go, and has been gone eight years ; and, therefore, I leave to yourselves to con sider what is the probability of the life of that excellent and valuable man. In the whole course of my experience I have never known a man like ^Vanklin. 1 do uot say it because he is dead — upon tt: principle de mo7iuis nil nisi bonum ; but 1 never knew a man in whom diflerent qualities were so remarkably combined. In my dear friend Franklin, with all the tenderness of heart of a simple child, there was all the greatness and magnanimity of a hero." To this touching tribute, from the lips of a fellow- navigator, we append the following beautiful lines, quoted by a writer in one of the British quarterly re- views : " Whore is h« 7 — wbere 7 Silence and (larkDest dwell About him ; aa t soul cut off from men : Shall wo behold him yot a citizen Of mortal life? Will ho return to toll (Prisoner from Winter's very citadel Broken forth) wliat ho before has told, again How to the hearts and handa of resolute men, God aiding, nothing is impossible ? Alas ! the enclosure of the stony wave Is strong, and dark the depths of polar night ; Vet One there is omnipotent to save. And this wo know, if comfort still we crave, Into that dark he took with him a light — The lamp that can illuminate the grave." It will be remembered that Captains Collinson and M'Clure sailed for Behring's Strait in 1850, through which, in connection with the Plover and Herald, the/ endeavored to pass, but without success, except in tl« case of the Investigator (Captain M'Clure), which waa M'CLURE-a L'XPLORATIONSI. 403 Been on the 4th August, 1S50, bearing gallantly into tho heart of the "polar pack." The EnteipiiHe (Cap. tain ColliuHon), finding it impossible to follow, sailed to llong-Koiig, and vviiitor"d there ; but in Alay, 1851, returned to Behring's Strait, and succeeded in entor- ing tho ice. Tho Plover remained at Port Clarence, as a reserve for these two vessels to lall back upon, while the Herald returned to England. From that date nothing was heard of these two vessels, until the arrival of tho Phoenix, with the despatches of Captain M'Clure, bringing assurance of the safety of tho Investigator. ( n parting company with the Herald in llehring's Strait, in July, 1850, Captain M'Clure stood to the north north-west, with a fresh breeze, with tho intention of making the ice, which was accomplished on the 2d of August. During several days tiie Invjstigator battled with tho foe — now boring through densely-packed masses, and then winding among the lanes which opened here and there as the currents or winds acted upon the pack. Occasionally they struck with consid- erable violence, but succeeded, at length, in rounding Point IJarrow, and discovered clear water on the after- noon of the Tth — so far ahead, however, that it could only be soon from the " crow's nest." Hundreds of walruses were seen huddled together on the ice, like sheep in a fold. M'Clure seems to have been rather favorably impressed in regard to these ani- mals, on account of the aflection shown by the mothers for their young. He would not allow them to be sliot. The most remarkable feature of the walrus consists in two tenth, or tusks, which project in a curved line fiom the upper jaw, and are nearly two feet in length. Tnoy are of beautiful wliite bone, almost equal to ivory, and much used in the fabrication of artificial teeth. ' The front face, when seen at a little distance, bears a striking t J ll iSJ it-aH 1' Hi ■ill i to 1 404 M'CLURE'8 EXPLORATIONS roHcmblunJC to the human ; and its appearance w bu» pcctod to have BometimcH given liso to th« fanciful reports of •norniaida in the northern seas. Tlio walrus is monogamous, and the mother -.ringH forth her young only ono at a birth, either on tho shore or on the ice. Like all the cetaceous tribes, to which tho walrus in allied, ho is disposed to bo peaceful and harmless. Tarry describes tho supine security with which a num- bur of them lay on tho ico, piled over each other, with- out discomposing themselves at tho approach of a party armed for their destruction. In Spitzbergen, however, where they have been long the object of chase to tho Ilussian hunters, they aro reported to keep very strict watch ; it being said that one stands guard while the others sleep. Even when sensible of danger, they aro not forward to face it, but rather shun the attack by rushing beneath the ice, while those behind, with their tusks, urge forward their companions. Yet, when thoy arc compelled to combat, they give battle with the utmost coolness and courage ; they then stand firm by each other, rush in one united body against the boats (as in tho attack on tho Trent's boat, page 71), and, ijtrik- ing with their tusks, endeavor to overset them. When repulsed, too, they repeatedly rally, and in the end yield only to the fire-arms of Europeans, or to the strat- agems of the Esquimaux. Maternal tenderness, and the determination with which the female defends her young, are equally conspicuous in them as in the whale species. The walrus must live near open water. "The wind," writes McClure, " almost immediately failing, tho boats were all manned, and towing com- menced amid songs and cheers, which continued, with unabated good-humor, for six hours. Being in perfectly clear water in Smith's Bay, a light air springing up, we workc.l to tho eastward. At two a. m. of the 8th, being I M'CLURE'8 EXPLORATIONS. 405 off Point Drew, I sent Mr. Court (hccoikI muster) on fihore to orcct a cairn, and bury a notice of our having passea. Upon landing, wo were met by three natives, who at firHt wore very timid ; but, upon exchanging bigns of friendBhip, which conBisted of raising the arms three times over the head, they approaclied the boat, and, after the pleasant salutation of rubbing noses, became very communicativo ; when, by the assistance of oui valuable interpreter, Mr. Miertsching, we found tiio tribe consisted of ten tents (this being the only approach to their numbers ho could obtain) ; that they had an-ived only three days previously, and that they hold commu- nication with a party inland, who trade with the Russian Fur Company." They had observed us the evening before, and had thought our masts wore trees in motion, and wondered at the sight. The natives seen hero had spent their lives between the Coppermine River and Poini, Barrow ; and, from the circumstances of their not 'laving met with any of Franklin's party, M'Cluro ooncludes that the latter could not have been lost on these shores. " The coast," Bays h' " is inhabited throughout, and the natives are, to all appearance, a kind and merry race ; and, when we gave them presents, through the medium of the interpreter, we told them that we were looking for our lost brothers, and if they saw any white men in distress thoy were to be very kind ; to which they assented by saying that they would, and would give them ' plenty of deer's flesh.' " So narrow was the passage of open water between the ice and the shore, along which the Investigator had to pass, that she had great difficulty sometimes in tack- ing, — requiring to do bo, in some places, nearly every ten minutes ; and, on one occasion, they actually took the ground while " in stays." Fortunately the bottom Mil'': 406 M'CLURE'S EXPLORATIONS. was soft clay, and thoy hove off again immediately Gradually, however, the lane widened, the reaclioa became longer and longer, and all apprehension of being forced on shore was soon over. On the 10th of August, 1850, they passed the mouth of the Colville River, the influence of which stream was found to extend twelve or fourteen miles out to sea ; the surface, at that dis- tance from shore, being of a dirty mud-color, and scarcely salt. At this part of the coast they again fell in with natives, who came off in two baidars, to the number of thirty. A very animated and curious scene ensued. A vigorous barter was immediately commenced, after the curiosity of the wondering Esquimau.x with regard to the ship was satisfied. Tlieir imitative propensity was rather oddly brought into play during the traflic. See- ing the sailors cut the tobacco into pieces, to give in exchange for salmon-trout, they at onco began to do the same with the fish ! but were soon checked in this, and were obliged to succumb to the white men. During the afternoon, while standing along a low flat island, a pair of seal-skin iaexpiessibles were observed fluttering from the top of a pole, held up by a number of natives, who took this method of intimating their desire to receive a visit. In obedience to the signal, the boats were lowered, and pulled in to the shore. The Esquimaux appeared to regret their temerity, how ever ; for, on the near approach of the sailors, the inex pressibles were dropped, and the whole tribe fled. Ai usual, however, they regained courage on observing thi friendly gesticulations of the white men, and soor. approached them, tossing up their arms, and makii.g other signs of friendship ; ending, at last, by rubbing noses with, and affectionately embracing, the gallant tars. M'CLURE'S EXPLORATIONS. 407 These poor people had never seen white men before : they had no article of European manuiUcture about theii persons, and spent their lives in hunting walruses and seals on these low islands during the summer months, retiring to their warnt residences on the mainland during winter. After holding some communication with them, through the medium of the interpreter, Captain M'Clura left them, having first made them a few presents, and, among other things, a boat's ensign, in commemoration of the first man-of-war whose flag has floated over these sterile regions. The magnificence of this latter gift quite astounded them, and caused them to rush tumult- uously to their canoes to carry it olT to their women, who were encamped on another island close at hand. Some of these primitive people were apparently addicted to stealing. While M'Clure was placing some presents in the right hand of a chief, in token of good will, he felt the fellow's left hand in his pocket. The Esquimaux, however, laughed heartily when they were caught in their thefts ; and so the Englishmen thought best to do the same, and not allow peccadilloes to mar the harmony of their intercourse. Coasting along, as they found opportunity, the voy- agers advanced slowly — sometimes with much and some- times with little water — till the morning of the 13th when the ice closed round, and hemmed them in com- pletely. In this dilemma, the boats were sent to sound, and shortly returned, reporting a practicable passage in three fathoms water Unfortunately, they hit on a spot with only two and a half fathoms, and so were soon fast ag'-ound. As it turned out, however, the bottom was sandy, so that no damage was done to the ship ; but ot"j of the whale-boats, which contained part of the ciM-^o taken out to lighten the vessel, upset, and tleven susks jf salt beef were lost. This was a serious lose at "'''"' pm 408 M'CLURE'8 EXPLORATIONS. such a time. After five hours' hard work, they got once more into deep water. In this way they continued to coast along the margin of the pack for about four or five hundred miles, when it became somewhat more open. It was now resolved to shape a course to the north-north-west for Banks's Land. In doing this, however, they were frequently obliged to alter, and often to retrace their course, owing to the deceptive nature of the lanes of water, and the perplexing fogs that constantly prevailed, obliging them to proceed chiefly by soundings. On the 2l8t of August they passed the mouth of the Mackenzie River, and made the Pelly Islands. Soon after, they reached Warren Point, where natives were seen on the shore ; and as M'Clure wished to forward despatches by them, if possible, to the Iludson's Bay Company's posts on the Mackenzie, the bo*ts were ordered out. M'Clure believed the natives to ha/e been in connection with these posts, and expected a friendly reception from them. " Great, therefore," says he, " was my surprise, upon approaching the beach, to find, instead of being greeted by the usual friendly signs, that two savages, with gesticulations the most menacing, having bended bows, with arrows on their strings, and one with a large knife, which he brandished most signifi- cantly, waved us ofi". Taking no heed of these hostile demonstrations, we pulled in; they retreated, yelling furiously. Upon our reaching the beach, we made the same signs of friendship which wo had used with the Esquimaux further west, but without any effect, until joined by tlio interpreter, who was in full native costume. This gave them confidence, and, upon his explaining our friendly intentions, they approached ; but when within about thirty yanls, remarking some muskets which the boat's crew had, their fury revived. To pacify thom. M'CLURE'S EXPLORATIONa 409 they woro laid upon the ground, where they became the object of a cautious examination. Still unsatisfied, thej beckoned to take them to the boat. Seeing that uoth. ing short of this would allow of any communication, 1 Bent them away, when they approached, and permitted us to examine their bows and arrows." It was found that these Esquimaux had no communica- tion with the Mackenzie, in consequence of their being al war with the neighboring tribes, and having had several skirmishes with the Indians of that quarter. This may in some measure account for their fierce dispositions, 80 very difierent from those previously met with. A flat brass button was observed suspended from the eai of one of the chiefs of this tribe ; and, on being ques- tioned as to where he got it, he replied that "it had been taken from a white man who had been killed b^ one of his tribe. The white man belonged to a partj which had landed at Point Warren, and there built s« house ; nobody knew how they came, as they had no boat; but they went inland. The man killed had strayed from the party, and he (the chief) and his son had buried him upon a hill at a little distance." No satisfactory or intelligible reply could be got as to when this event occurred. M'Clure remained at this place for a short time to investigate the matter, out only found two huts, which, from the rottennes" of the wood of which tlioy were built, appeared to be of a very old date indeed. The grave of the white man was not found. All along this coast they met with parties of natives, wiio almost invariably showed a hostile front on their first appearance, and as invariably became amicable after a little coquetting. In these inter%-iew8 they had frequently curious scenes, especially in the distribution of presents tc some natives near Cape Bathurst, whn 410 M'CLURE'S EXPLORATIONS. i i could scarcely be restrained when the gai^dy gifts v»erc presented to their longing eyes. Mr. Miertsching, the interpreter, was always of the greatest use on these occasions, and won so much the esteem of one old chief, that, in tlie fulness of his heart, he prayed him to stay with the tribe forever ; and, by way of inducement tc do so, prcsentcil him with his daughter, a pretty girl of about fifteen, to be his wife, assuring him, at the same time, that a tent, and all the etceteras of an Esquimaux establishment, should be given to him along with her I They were frequently invited to partake of native hospitality in the shape of roasted whale and venison, besides salmon, blubber, and other Arctic delicacies. Great numbers of whales were seen about this time ; also a polar bear on a fragment of ice. On the 5th of September, the hopes of the navigators were suddenly raised, and as speedily cast down again. " The weather," says M'CIure, " which had been squally, accompanied by a thick fog during the early part of the day, cleared towards noon, when a large volume of smoke was observod about twelve miles south-west. ... As divers opinions were in circulation respecting its proba- ble cause, and the ice-mate having positively reported that from the crow's nest he could distinguish several persons moving about, dressed in white shirts, and observed some wliite tents in the hollow of the cliff, I certainly had every reason to imagine they wore a party of Europeans in distress ; for I was convinced that no travellers would remain for so long a period as we had remarked the smoke, for their pleasure : therefore, to atisfy myself, equally as others, I determined to sei d a boat on sliore, as it was now calm. The first whalo- b...u, under Lieut. Cresswell, with Dr. Armstrong and Mr. Miertsching, was despatched to examine into the Si M'CLURE'S EXPLORATIONS. 411 cause, who, on their return, reported that the smoke oiniinated from fifteen small mounds of volcanic appear a.ice, occupying a space of about fifty yards, the place ^^t^ongly impregnated with sulphur, the lower mounds being about thirty feet above the sea-level, the high- est about fifty feet. The laud in its vicinity was blue clay, much intersected with ravines and deep water- courses, varying in elevation from three hundred to five hundred feet ; the mark of a reindeer was traced to a small pond of water immediately above the mounds. Notice of our having landed was left, which would not long remain, as the cliff is evidently rapidly crumbling away. Thus the mystery of the white shirts and tents was most satisfactorily explained," At four A. M. of the 6th they were off the small islands, near Cape Parry, bearing north-cast-oy-north, with a fine westerly breeze. The same day, high land was observed on the port-bow, on the western shore of which the main body of the ice rested. This was the first sight obtained of terra incognita Hitherto they had been sailing along a shore wl-.L.. nad in former years been surveyed, on foot and in boats, by Franklin, Back, Dcaso, Simpson, and others ; although, indecdi theirs was the first ship that had sailed in these waters ;' but the land which now appeared to them on the left bow was quite new. Accordingly, they hove to, and landed and took possession in the name of her majesty, calling it " Baring's Island," in honor of the first l-nd of the Admiralty. Tlio south cape of this land, a hue, Dokl headland, rising almost perpendicularly to the height of about a thousand f(;et, was named " Lonl Nei- son's Head." The latitude was found to bo 71» 6' north, h.ngitude 123" 0' west. A note of their progress being deposited here, they returned to the ship and sailed along the eastern coast, as being freer from ice thau (I 412 M'CLURE'S EXPLORATIONS. that on the west. It was afterwards found tliat the land taken possession of, instead of being an island, was the Boutlicrinnost point of tlic shore wiiich had been named " Hanks's Land," by Parry, in 1820. The name Baring Island was accordingly changed to Baring Land. " We observed," writes M'Clurc, " numerous traces of reindeer, hare, and wild-fowl. Moss, and divers species of wild-flowers, were also found in great abun- dance ; many specimens of them, equally as of other subjects of interest to the naturalist, were selected, wii'n much care, by Dr. Armstrong. From an elevati(iii obtained of about five hundred feet, we had a fine view towards the interior, which was well clothed with moss, giving a verdant appearance to the ranges of hills that rose gradually to between two thousand and three tliousand feet, intersected with ravines, which must con- vey a copious supply of water to a large lake situated in the centre of a wide plain, about fifteen miles distant. The sight to seaward was favorable in the extreme : open water, with a very small quantity of ice, for the distance of full forty miles toward the cast, insured good progress in that direction." At noon, September 9th, 1850, observations placed the Investigator only sixty miles from Barrow's Strait. " I cannot," writes M'Clure, " describe my anxious feelings. Can it be possible that this water communi- cates with Barrow's Strait, and shall prove to be the long-enught north-west passage ? Can it be that sd hinnble a creature as I am will be permitted to perform what has bafiled the talented and wise for hundreds of years ? But all praise be ascribed unto Him who hath conducted us so far in safety. His ways are not our ways : nor the means that He uses to accomplish his ends within our comprehension. The wisdom of the world iK foolishness with Him " T^and was observeil to M'CLURE'S EXPLORATIONS. 413 the eastward, to which M'Clurc gave the name of Prince Albert's Land. Several remarkable peaks ap- poared to be of volcanic origin. On the 16th the Investigator was making ^low progress toward Barrow's Strait; and on the 17th oC September, 1850, they reached their most advanco.l position, in latitude 73» 10' north, and longitude 117' 10' west, about thirty miles from the waters of that series of straits, which, under the names of Melville, Barrow, and Lancaster, communicate with Baffin's Bay. At this tantalizing distance the ship ceased to drift,, and the ice appeared to have reached a point beyond wliich some unknown cause would not allow it to proceed The heavy pack of Melville Strait, lying across the head of the channel, was supposed to be the reason of the ice of Prince of Wales Strait ceasing to move on to the north-east ; and the impassable nature of the pack in the same direction, in the following year, confirmed this hypothesis. On the 9th of September M'Clure tells us he had de- bated in his mind whether to abandon all hope of reach- ing Barrow's Strait that year, and retrace his course southward in search of a wintering place, or to hold on, so lar as he might, and run the risk of wintering in the pack. " I decided," he says, " on the latter of these two courses ; " and the consideration which influenced him in this difficult choice was, " that to relinquish the ground obtained through sc much labor and anxiety, for the remote chance of finding safe winter quarters, would be injudicious, thoroughly impressed as I was with the absolute importance of retaining every mile to insure any favorable results while navigating these seas." Besides this, it was desirable to hold as advanced a position as possible, in order that the spring eledgo- III ill I 414 M'CLUUE'S EXPLORATIONS parties in 1851 might be at once set to work upon nen and unsearcliccl coaet-lines. The smallest pools of water nowbccama rapidly cov- erod with ice ; the eider-duck, the hardiest of Arctic birds, was last seen on the 23d of September. On tho 2nh, the temperature being then at zero, preparations were begun fur housing over the ship. These proparationa were made under circumstances that might well Bhako the nerves of a strong man. As the ice surged, the ship was thrown violently from side to side, now lifted out of water, now plunged into a hole. " Tho crushing, creaking, and straining," says Captain IM'Clure, in hia log, " is beyond description ; the officer of tho watch, when speaking to me, is obliged to put his mouth close to my ear, on account of the deafening noiao." The olliccra had just time to congratulate themselves upon the escape from past dangers, and to express gratitude at having lost only thirty miles of latitude by the drifting of the pack, when a change of wind set it all again in motion. The 28th was spent in breathless anxiety, as, h(>lplesa in their icy trammels, they swept northward again toward the clifl's of Pxincess lloyal Island. These clilTs rose perpendicularly from the sea at tho part against which the ship appeared to be setting, and, as the crew eyed them for a hope of safety, if the good craft sliould be crushed against their face, they could see no ledge upon which even a goat could have estab- lished a fuoting, and an elevation of four hundred feet precluded a cliancc of scaling them. To launch the boats over the moving pack was their sole chance, — and that a poor one, rolling and upheaving, as it was, under tho inllnencc of wind, tide, and pressure. " It looks a bad job, this time," inquiringly remarked one of tho sailors, as he assisted another in coiling down DISCOVERY OP THE NORTH-WEST PASSAGE. 415 neatly a frozen hawser. " Yes I " was the rejoinder, aa the other shaded his eyes from the driving bi'ow, and cast a glance at the dark cliff looming tluough the Btorm, " the old craft will double up like an old basket when eho gets alongside of them rocks I " The Investigator's hour was not yet come, however ; and, wheu within five hundred yards of the rocks, the ice coach-wJieeled her along them, and finally swept her past the islands upon the eastern side. No water was in sight from the mast-head; yet onwards they drifted slowly, and on the 30th became again stationary, in latitude 72° 50' N., and longitude 111" 55' W., very nearly as far north as they had sailed o fortnight before. " On the 8th of October," says M'CIure, " our per- plexitios terminated with a nip that lifted tlie vessel a foot, and heeled her four degrees to port, in conse- quence of a large tongue getting beneath her, in which position we quietly remained." Ilere the Investigator passed the winter of 1850-51. From the 10th to the 21st of October, preparations were made to despatch a sledge-party to the northward to reach Barrov/'s Strait, and get assurance of the fact of the discovery of a north-west passage. A remarka- ble rise of temperature to 24° plus of Fahrenheit, from 2° minus, with the wind blowing fresh from norlh-easl, would soom to indicate that the winter of this region is modified by the warm air from the open water of Bar- row's Strait. This sudden change was far from pleas- ant to the crew ; and the old hands warned the novices against " being fools enough to pull their clothes off on account of such a bit of sunshine ; for, perhaps, in an hour's time Zero would bo about again." On the 21st October, 1850, M'CIure started for Bar- row's Strait, with a sledge manned with six men ; but ii 416 M'CLURE'S EXPLORATIONS. broko down before they had proceeded far, and the/ had to scud to the ship for another. It did not reach thcni till the next day. After some difficulty in crossing ridges of broken ice, tliey reached vast fields of smooth ice of the present season's formation ; and here a new obstacle awaited them. The autumnal snow had accu- mulated upon the surface of these young ice-fields, and, weighing them down, caused the sea-water to flow through sufficiently to render the under part of the enow almost as tenacious as clay. The fatigue of haul- ing two hundred pounds apiece over such a rote' .vas excessive. Unfortunately, no water could bo had, and the crew sufllerod much from thirst ; for every handful of snow which they thrust into their parched mouths augmented rather than assuaged their sufferings, as it contained more or less of the salts of the sea-water. On the 24th a cape was seen at what appeared a dis- tance of twelve miles, and every man now dragged with a will, in the hope of reaching that night the end of his iournoy ; but, after seven hours' labor, the cape still retained its original position, and they seemed net a mile nearer to it. M'Chne then saw thr.c he bad been much deceived in its apparent distanct. owing to the clearness of the atmosphere, and that thirty miles was a nearer estimate than twelve of the probable length of their march. After a night's rest, and another hard day's work, they were still two miles off the cape, when night closed in, obliging them to halt and encamp. Though disappointed in not sighting Barrow's Strait on the 25th, they were all much cheered by the multiply- ing proofs around them of its close proximity. Away to the north-east they already saw th;it wonderful oceanic ice described by Sir Edward Parry in his voyage to Melville Island, in 1819. The latitude was now 13" 25' N. The morning of the 26th October, 1850, was fine and discovj:uy of t«e north-west p.vssaqe. 417 cloudloHB. It wan with no ordinary foeliiiga of jo> and gratitude that M'Cluro and his party started before Bun rise to obtain from tho ndjacuTit hill a view of that Boa wliich connected their diacoveries with those of Sir Edward Parry. Ascending a hill six hundred feet above llio sea-level, they patiently awaited the increase of liglit to reveal the lomj-suurjhl-for north-west pasmye /rmn the Atlantic to the Pacific Ocean. As the sun rose, tho panorama slowly uivciled itself. First tho land called after Prince Albert showed out on an easterly bearing ; and, from a point since named after Sir Robert Peel, it evidently turned away to the east, and formed the northern entrance of the channel upon that side. Tho coast of Banks's Land terminated about 'twelve miles further on than where the party stood ; and thence it turned away to the north-west, forming tho northern coast of that land, the loom of which had bet n so cor- rectly reported by Parry more than thirty years before. Away to the north, and across the entrance of Prince of Wales Strait, lay tho frozen waters of Barrow's, or, as it is now called, Melville Strait ; and, raised as they were at an altitude of six hundred feet above its level, the eye-sight embraced a distance which precluded the possibility of any land lying iu that direction between them and Melville Island. The north west passage was discovered ! All doubt as to tho water communication between the two great oceans was removed ; and it now alone remained for M'Clure, his officers and men, to pcrfpct the work by traversing the few thousand miles of known ground between them and their homes. The position of Mount Observation, from which the important discovery had been made, was ascertitinsd to be in latitude 73° 30' 39" N., longitude lli° 89^ W 27 418 M'CLUIlll'S EXPL0ILVT10N8. 1; ■1 Wt Tho trav(>llrrH onranipetl that night on Capo Lord John RnsBcll, and cliccrcil hiHlily an they roaoheil tlio Hhores of HaiTow'H Strait. A mimic bonliro, of a hroiy party, Hhould they pass near, or of attracting tho attention of sonio one on board tho vohsoI by firing my fuwling-pioco. Unfor- tunately, I had no other ammunition than what it was loaded with ; for I had fancied, when I left tho Bledge, that tho two charges in tho gun woidd bo all I should bo likely to require. After waiting for an hour patiently, I was rejoiced to see through tho mist the glare of a blue light, evidently burnt in the direction in which I had left the sledge. I immediately fired to denote my position ; but my fire was unobserved, and, both barrels being dis- charged, I was unable to repeat the aignal. My only hope now rested upon the ship's answering ; but noth- ing was to be seen ; and, although I once more saw, at a greater distance, tho glare of another blue light from tho sledge, there seemed no probability of my having any other shelter for the night than what tlio floe afforded. Two hours elapsed ; I endeavored to see the faco of my pocket-compass by the light of a solitary lucifer match, which happened to bo in my pocket ; but in this hope I was cruelly disappointed, for it fizzed and went out, leaving mo in total darkness. " It was now half-past eight ; there were eleven houre of night before mo, a temperature 15' below zero, bears prowling about, and I with an unloaded gun in my hands. The sledge-party might, however, reach the ship, and, finding I had not arrived, search would be made, and help be sent ; so I walked to and fro upon my hummock until, I suppose, it must have been eleven o'clock, when that hope fled likewise. Descending i 'ii! M '! '[ H ;i la .1 420 M'CLURE'S EXPLORATIONS. from the top of the slab of ice upon wliicli T had clanv bored, I found under its lee a famous bed of Boft, dry snow ; and, thoroughly tired out, I threw myself upon it RESTING IN THE SNOW. and slept for perhaps three hours, when, upon opening my eyes, I fancied I saw tlie flash of a rocket. Jump- ing upon my feet, I found that the mist had cleared off, and that the stars and aurora borealis were shining in all the splendor of an Arctic night. Although unable to see tlie islands or the ship, I wandered about the ico in different directions until daylight, when, to my great mortification, I found I had passed the ship fully the distance of four miles." Retracing his steps, M'Clure reached the Investigator on the 31st October, very tired, but otherwise none the worse for his rough and dangerous exposure to a \vin- ter's niglit in 73° north latitude. A few hours after- wards the sledge arrived, and great was the rejoicing on board at the news confirming the discovery of a north-west passage. During the absence of the captain and his party, the officers of the Investigator had nut been idle. Upon the adjacent shores of Prince of Wales Strait they DISCOVERY OF THE NORTH-WEST PASSAGE 421 puccoeded in killing a fine herd of musk-oxen, consisting of three bulls, a cow, and a calf, and yielding a supply of twelve hundred and ninety-six pounds of solid moat. During the first fortnight in December the temper- ature of the external air ranged from 23° to 31° below zero, whilst between decks from +40° to +50° was t.ie average. From the 9th January, 1851, to the 16tli, was the coldest period on board the Investigator — the thermometer showing 40° to 50° below zero. Early one dark and icy morning in January, a man named John Eames was walking out upon the floe, when he saw a small lierd of reindeer trot by. " It is pretty evident," says M'Cln-o, "that, during the whole winter, animals may be found in these straits, and that the want of sufficient light alone prevents our larder being stored with fresh food." " Subsequent observa- tion," says Commander Osborne, " has completely over- thrown the idea that the reindeer, musk-ox, or othei animals inhabiting the archipelago of islands north of America, migrate southward to avoid an Arctic winter. Throughout Banks's Land, Melville Island, Bathurst, and Cornwallis Land, there have been found indubitable proofs of the reindeer, boar, musk-ox, marmot, wolf, hare, and ptarmigan, — in short, all the Fauna of these climes, — wintering in the latitudes in which they are found during the summer." A raven, which had haunted the ship during the period of cold and dark- ness, left it before the sun reappeared, and his departure was sensibly felt by every one on board. Early in March, 1351, a whale-boat was carried on sledges, with much labor, to the Princess Royal Island, and a depot established of three months' victualling for the entire crew. In April three sledges were laden irith provisions for six weeks, and, with six men to each eledge, were sent on difl'orcnt courses. One sledge, J l JHl i ,l 'P WW > WW I «JW g W 1 4; 422 M'CLURE'S EXPLORATIONS. 'S i commanded by Lieut. Uaswell, was directed to proceed to the south-east, following the coast of Prince Albert's Land, toward the land soon north of Dolphin and Union Strait, and named by its discoverer WoUaston Land ; another sledge, under Lieut. Cresswell, was to follow the coast of Banks's Land to the north-west ; whilst the remaining party, with Mr. Wynniatt, was charged with the duty of examining the coast of Albert Land to the north-east, toward Cape Walker. On the 18th April tho several parties, with their sledges, left the ship to search for traces of Sir John Franklin and his men. They returned, after intervals of from three to seven weeks, but without having found any traces of the miss- ing navigators, or gained any contributions of moment for geographical science. The most important incident seems to have been Lieut. Ilaswell's encounter with some Esquimaux, who said they had never before cast eyes on a white man. Copper of tho purest descrip- tion seemed to be plentiful with them, for all their im- plements were of that metal ; their arrows were tipped with it, and some of the sailors saw a quantity of it iu a rough state in one of the tents. ^M'Cluro afterwards had some friendly interviews with these people, in whose decaying prospects he became quite interested. As spring advanced, signs of a change began to mul- tiply. First came a seal at the hole in the floe kept open near the ship in case of fire ; then a large polar bear ; and, lastly, hares and ptarmigan. Among the startling narratives of Arctic escapes, few exceed that of Whitfield, one of the hunters, who lost his way in a snow-drift, and was found within a yard of tho tent, stiff and rigid as a corpse, his head thrown back, his eyes fixed, his mouth open and filled with snow, his gun slung over his shoulder, and his body being fast buried in a snow-wreath. When happily brought to DISCOVERY OF THE NORTH-WEST PASSAGE. 423 himself, lie related that whilst struggling with the snow. Btom he felt a chill, and then a fit came on, during which he imagined people came close to him ; he had partially recovered, and, discovering a track, had nearly reached the tent-door, when he was overtaken by another fit, and had sunk down, a yard from the tent- door, in the attitude of supplication in which he was found. Had not one of the hunters looked out of the door by chance, he must have been frozen to death in that position, within a yard of a place of refuge I There was great joy on board the Investigator from the 10th to the 14th of July, 1851. The floe had com- menced breaking up, and on the ITth the good ship cast off, — only, however, to be caught in the pack-ice, and once more drifted with the crushing floes against the Cuffs of Princess Royal Island. Finally she drifted to the tantalizing distance of twenty-five miles from the waters of Barrow's Strait. Further than that, no efibrt could advance the ship ; the young ice at nights had already begun to form again, the sun once more set at night, the pack-ice closed up the exit, and M'Clure was obliged to give the passage up as a hopeless thing, and to retrace his steps, in order that, by going round by the south of Banks's Land, he miglit try and reach Melville Island from that direction. It was a truly grievous position to be placed in, to be within some thirty miles of a clear sea, wliicli, had they once been able to pass into, they could have reached England the same summer, — and to have to ^urn back witli the prospect of another winter in the polar regions. But the ice was as inexorable as if the Isthmus of Pan- ama had stood between them and the Atlantic ; and llioro was no help fur it. At first matters went on well, in their southerly progress ; not a particle of ice wan mot frith, Floes, hummocks, and the huge i)i!es u[ iou thai fringed the coast, had alike disappeared. mmmmmimiimimmmil mm 424 M'CLURE'8 EXPLORATIONS. On the 24th of July they had nearly readied Point Armstrong, upon which the ice was resting. Ilcre their course was checked. There was much drift-wood on the beach, of large dimensions, mostly American pine. The cutter was consequently despatched for a load, and Bome of the pieces appeared so fresh that the carpenter was of opinion that two years was the extreme of their quitiing the forest. " The wind, veering to the west- ward during the night," says M'Clure, "set large bodies of ice into tiie water we occupied, which was rapidly filling. To prevent being forced on shore, wo were obliged, at eight a. m. of the 25th, to run into the pack, where we drifted, according to the tide, about a mile and a half from the beach ; but, during the twenty- four hours, made about two miles and a half to the north-east, from which, when taken with the quantity of dril-wood that is thickly strewed along the beach, 1 am of opinion that on this side of the strait there is a slight current to the north-east, while upon the opposite one it sets to the southward, upon which there is scarcely any wood, and our progress, while similarly situated, was in a southern direction. We continued drifting in the pack, without meeting &ny ubstruction, until ten a. m. of the 1st of August, when a sudden and most unexpected motion of the ice swept us with much velocity to the north-east, toward a low point, ofl" which were several shoals, having many heavy pieces of grounded ice upon them, toward which we were directly sotting, decreasing the soundings from twenty-four to nine and a half fathoms. Destruction was apparently not far distant, when, most opportunely, the ice eased a little, and, a fresh wind coming from the laiul, sail was immediately made, which, assisted by warps, enabled the ship to be forced ahead about two hundred yards, whiili shot us clear of the ice and the point into sixteen Li::. il DISCOVERY OF THE NORTH-WEST PASSAGE. 425 and a half fathoms, in which water we rounded the e'noiils ; the ice then again closed, and the ship becama fixed until the 14th of August, when the fog, which since the previous day had been very dense, cleared, and disclosed open water about half a mile from the vessel, with the ioe loose about her." The diflSculty of clearing away large masses of ice was, to some extent, obviated by blasting. " Previously to quitting the floe," says M'Clure, " I was desirous of trying what effect blasting would have upon such a mass. A j:ir containing thirty-six pounds of powder was let down twelve feet into the water near the cen- tre ; the average thickness was eleven feet, and its diameter four hundred yards. The result was most sat- Isfactory, rending it in every direction, so that with ease we could effect a passage through any part of it." Cape Kellett was roi nded with some little difficulty, the ship passing between the edge of grounded ice and the coast. The land was now so low that the hand lead-line became for a while their best guide ; the sound- ings happily were regular, and, aided by it and a fair wind, they advanced apace to the northward. Through- out the 19th of August, 1851, the ship sometimes ran as much as seven knots per hour, the width of the lane of water in which they were sailing varying from three to five miles. Noon that day found them in 13" 55' north latitude, and 123° 52' 30" west longitude; and already did M'Chire count upon extending his voyage to the north of Melville Island, and then striking for some strait or sound leading into Baffin's Bay. That night, liowovcr, a sudden and remarkable change took place. They had just crossed Burnet Bay, within Norway and Robilliard Island, when the coast suddenly became as abrupt and precipitous as a wall ; the water W4S veiy deep, — sixty fathoms by the lead-liue within 426 M'CLURE'S EXPLORATIONS. four hundred yards of the face of the cliffs, and fifteen fathoms water when actually touching them. The lano of water had diminished to two hundred yards in width where broadest ; and even that space was much ham- pered by loose pieces of ice aground or adrift. In some places the channel was so narrow that the quarter-boats had to be topped up to prevent their touching the cliffs upon the one hand, or the lofty ice upon the other ; and so perfectly were they running the gauntlet, that on many occasions the ship could not " round to," for want of space. Their position was full of peril ; yet they could but push on, for retreat was now as dangerous as progress. Th*^ pack was of the same fearful description as one they had follen in with in the offing of the Mackenzie River, during the previous autumn ; it drew forty and fifty feet of water, and rose in rolling hills upon the surface, some of them a hundred feet from base to sum- mit. Any attempt to force the frail ship against such ice was of course more folly; all they could do was to watch for every opening, trust in tiie mercy of God, and p'lsh ahead in the execution of their duty. If the ice at such a time had set in with its vast force against the sheer cliff, nothing, they all felt, could have saved them. Enough has been said to give a correct idea of the peril incurred at this stage of the voyage, without en- tering into minute details of the hair-bieadth escapes hourly taking place ; but one instance may be given as a sample of the rest. After the 2nth of August the In* vostigator lay helplessly fixed off the north-west of Banks's Land ; the wind had pressed in the ice, and foi a while all hopes of further progress were at an end. On the 29th of August, however, a sudden move took place, and a moving floe struck a huge mass to wKkh i DISCOVERY OF THE NORTH WEST PASSAGE., 427 " the ship had boon secured, and, to the horror of those on board, sucli was the enormous power exerted that the mass slowly reared itself on its edge close to the Hhip's bows, until the upper part was higher than the fore-yard ; and every moment appeared likely to be the Investigator's last, for the ice had but to topple over to sink her and her crew under its weight. At the criti- cal moment there was a shout of joy; for the mass, after oscillating fearfully, broke up, rolled back in its origmal position, and they were saved. Hardly, however, was this danger past than a fresh one threatened ; for the berg to which the ship was se- cured was impelled forward by the whole weight of the driving pack toward a low point of land, on which with fnghtful pressure the great floes were breaking up, and piling themselves tier upon tier. The Investigator had no power of escape ; but every hawser was put in re- quisition, and hands stationed by them. An attempt to blow up a grounded berg, upon which the ship was dnvmg, only jjartially succeeded ; the nip came on, the poor ship groaned, and every plank and timber quivered from stem to stern, in this trial of strength between her and the ice. '• Our fate seemed sealed," says M'Clurc ; and he made up his mind to let go all hawsers. Tho order was given, and with it the wreck of the Investi gator seemed certain: all the leader hoped for was — tj use his own words — "that wo might have the ship thrown up sufficiently to serve as an asylum for the winter." If she should sink between the two con- lending bergs, the destruction of every soul was inev- itable. But, at the very moment when the order to "let go all hawsers " was given, and even before it could be obeyed, a merciful Providence caused the berg, which nost threatened, to break up, and tho Tnvostigator was ffmammmmmmmm'mB 428 M CLURE'S EXPLORiVTIONS. once more saved ; though still so tightly was slio beset, that there was not room to drop a lead-line down round the vessel, and the copper upon hur bottom was hang- ing in shroda, or rolled up like brown paper. By mid- night the ice was statioiuiry, and everything quiet. They were now upon the north-west extreme of Banks's Land, and here officers and men rambled into the interior, which tiiey did not find so sterile as the view from tlie sea hud led them to expect. Traces of musk-oxen and deer abounded, and both were seen ; but perhaps the most extraordinary discovery of oil was a great accumulation of fossil trees, as well as frag ments not fossilized, lying over the whole extent of the land, from an elevation of three hundred feet above the sea to its inmiediate level. Writing on the 21th of August, M'Clure says : " I walked to-day a short dis- tance into the interior ; the snow that had fallen last night lay unthawed upon the high grounds, rendering the prospect most cheerless. The hills are very remark able, nuvny of them peaked, and standing isolated from each other by precipitous gorges. The summits of these hills arc about three hundred feet high, and nothing can be more wildly picturesque than the gorges which lie between them. Vvom the summit of these singularly- formed hills to their base, abundance of wood is to be found ; and in many places layers of trees are visible, some protruding twelve or fourteen feet, and so firm that several people may jump on them without theii breaking: the largest trunk yet found measured one foot seven inches in liameter." Again, on September 5th, some miles from the hills just alluded to, M'Clure says : " I entered a ravine some miles inland, and found the north side of it, for a deptn of forty feet from the surface, composed of one raasa of wood similar to what I had before seen. The VVCHER IN THE BAY OF MERCY. 42& whole depth of the ravine was about two liuudred feet. The ground around the wood or trees was formed of 6arKl and shingle ; some of the wood was petrified, the remainder very rotten, and worthless even for burning." At a subsequent pcnod, Lieutenant Mechain met with a similar kind of fossil forest in Prince Patrick Island, nearly one hundred and twenty miles further north. This phenomenon gives rise to speculation as to some period in the world's history when the absence of ice and a milder climate allowed forest-trees to grow in a region where now the ground willow and dwarf birch have to struggle for existence. On the 1st of September, 1851, winter appeared to have overtaken the Investigator in her forlorn position ; but on the 18th the wind veered, and the ice went off from the coast, carrying the ship with it, drifting her to the northward. On the 19th, having got free of the ice which clung to her sides, the ship got into a lane of water stretching eastward ; and, on the 22d, rounding Cape Austin, fairly entered into Melville Strait A*! length, on the 24th, they found themselves in a large bay at the western extremity of Banks's Land, and, seeing that it was impossible to round its north-eastern horn, M'Clure made up his mind to winter whore he was ■, and, in token of his gratitude for his many provi- dential escapes, he appropriately called the place " The Bay of Mercy." That night they were firmly frozen in. It wa? now certain that they would have to spend another winter in the ice. With slight exceptions, the arrangements made were much the same as those of the previous winter. The allowance of food was reduced, to moot the contingency of an escape from the ice not being eflccted the following year ; but this inconvenience was, to some extent, obviated by its being discovered fm m'n m mimmm ■ iii ^ ! 430 M'CLUUf/S EXPLORATIONS. tliaL tlif \iA^ teemed with tlccr and haros. "As there appeared much game in the vicinity " writes Captain M'Cluro, "and tiio woathir continu. •.! mild, shooting parties were established in diU'ercnt directions between the Dth and 2;]d of October ; ho tliat, with wliat was killed fr.im the ship (ms> .ji.Mply of fresh provisions at the commencement of the winter consisted of nine deer, fifty-three hares, and forty-fuur ptarmigan, all in fine condition, the former having from two to three inches of fat." The herds of dncr and troops of liares tliat congregated on the broad plains of dwarf willow, reiiidecr-moHs, and coarse grasses in the interior, are described as perfectly marvellous. Wolves and foxes also abounded, and, as cold and darkness increased, tlie Ibrmer, pressed by hunger, used to haunt the ship to a disagreeable extent; and the sad prolonged hoAvl of these gaunt creatures in the long nights added, if possible, to the dismal char- acter of the scene. Two ravens also established them- selves as friends of the family in Mercy Bay, and used to trick the ship's dog out of his meals by enticing him away, Hying a few yards at a time, he running at them till they had got him some distance away, when thoy would make a direct flight back, and have done got.d execution before the niortilicd dog detected the imposi- tion practised upon him, and rushod back again. "In consequence of our favored position," says M'Clurc, " the crew were enabled to ramble over the liills jilinost daily in quest of game, and their exertions happily supplied a iVesh meal of venison three times a fortnight, with the exception of about three weeks in January, when it was too dark for shooting. The small game, such as ptarmigan and hares, being scarce, were allowed to be retained by the sportsmen as private property. This healthy and exhilarating exercise kept irUNTINQ PARTIES. 431 as all well and in excellent spirits during another tedious winter, so that .on the let of April we had upwards of a thousand pounds of venison hanging at the yard-arms." i\IuHk-oxcn were very numerous. They were found to be very ferocious, and great danger sometirnea iittc'iided the attacks. They wcro easily approached, but when wounded they ran headlong at their assailant. On one occasion. Sergeant Woon, of the marines, while in pursuit of a wounded deer, unexpectedly met a couple of musk-bulls, which he succeeded in wounding. Having expended his siiot, as one of the wounded and infuriated monsters rushed towards him, he fired his " worm " when at a few yards, but without much eflbct. The animal continued his advances, evidently, however, weak from loss of blood, till he had reached witliin six feet, when he put his head to the ground, as if for a final rush. As his last resource, the sergeant fired hia iron ramrod, wliich, entering behind the animal's left shoulder, passed through the heart and out at the right flank, dropping him lifeless. December found the crew of the Investigator passing tiieir tinjo cheerfully in their far-distant home in Mercy Bay. The month came in with a succession of those tremendous snow-storms, which are, perhaps, the most frightful visitations of the polar regions. But, after the new year (1852) began, the - oather was fine, with a keen and steady cold of from seventy to eighty degrees below the freezing-point of water — a temperature which severely tests the vital energies of man. Yet, wliat with cheerfulness, exercise, and regular habits, the crew were in good health. One of the hunting parties had well-nigh proved fatal to a colored man serving on board the ship. Ue had wounded a deer, and chased it till a fog came on, and VI 432 M'CLURE S EX PL( J RATIONS. ho loHt hirt way. It was in Jiiiiuury, und tho weiithcf was bitterly cold ; tho poor follow began to fancy him- Bclf frozen to death, and lost hirt witH entirely. While in this state, Sergeant Woon met nim, and ofl'ered to lead him to tho ship. Tho negro, beside himself with terror, could not be made to understand anything, and stood crying and shuddering till ho fell down in a fit. The sergeant waited till ho was restored, and then cither carried him on his back or rolled him down hills and hummocks for ten long hours, till ho got him within a mile of tho ship. But tho sergeant was by this timo exhausted. He exerted all his powers of eloquence upon the negro to induce him to walk. Tho poor creat- ure only begged to bo " lot alone to die." Finding all his arguments unavailing, tlie sergeant laid him in a bed of deep snow, and, with all his remaining strength, ran alone to tlie ship, lie procured assistance directly, and, returning to the place where he had left tho negro, found him with his arms stiff and raised above his head, his eyes open, and his mouth so firndy frozen that it required great force to open it to pour down restora- tives. He was alivo, however, and eventually recov- ered, though his hands, feet, and face, wore much frost- bitten. This case, and a similar one already related, illustrate, in a striking manner, not only tho effect of intense cold on the body and mind, but also how much the safety of tho former depends on the exercise of tho latter. On tho 5th of February tho sun was seen above the horizon, and tho sportsmen became more successful, scarcely a day passing without a deer or hare being shot ; and keen must have been the hunger of those sportsmen, for more than one of them, when, after a long and weary walk, he shot a deer or hare, refreshed himself with a draught of the animal's hot blood, or by A THIRD WINTER APl'ROACHINO. 433 eating a nuiiitbful or two of tho raw meat. The wolvei hud also become cxccodingly bold, uiid talow aro told of til*.' 8port»iniaii pulling ut uno cud uf u Hlaiii deer, and klie wolves at the other I On tho llth of April, 1862, a sledgo oxcurBion waa n\ado t(i Winter Harbor, Melville Inland, — the old winter quartern of Sir Edward Parry, — and notice found of Lieutenant M'Clintock's having been there from the west, tho previous summer. M'Clure here depoHitcd a notice of his own visit, under the Hamo cairn that had protected tho notice left by iiis predecessor. It is remarkable that, shortly after M'Cluro's visit to this spot, a sledge-party from the Enterprise, which had wintered at tho south end of Prince of Wales Strait, after having been up to near its northern extremity, and having been foiled, like tho Investigator, in getting into Melville Strait, actually visited tho same spot, without either party knowing that the other was so close, so great is the difficulty of meeting one another in regions like those of tho Arctic archipelago. Although tho sportsmen continued to meet with great success, and at one period no less than twenty head of deer were hanging up round the ship, yielding a thou- sand pounds of meat, scurvy began to show itself, and to make marked progress among the crew. On the 1st of July there were six men in their beds, and sixteen had evident symptoms of debility, with incipient scurvy. On the 16th open water was seen in tho straits, but the ice in the bay prevented their getting to it, and on the 24:th thii lead of wafer had closed / It became too obvi- ous that the winter was again sotting in. All hope of delivcranco for another season was cut off I "On the 20th of August, 1852," says M'Clure, "the temperature fell to 27°, when the entire bay was com- pletely frozen over; and, on the 21111, the temperature 38 liMi K> I' i \ 1? I i i i % IKi^^ 4 1 »|n ^ i 434 M'CLURE'3 EXPLORATIONS. fell to 19", 60 that the whole aspect was chocrluss in the extreme. The young ice was two and a half inches thick, so that the whole bay might bo safely porarnbii lated. Indeed, the summer was fairly gone, for the uplands were all snow-covered, the wild-fowl all de- parted, and the flowers, which gave cheerful variety to this bleak land, were all withered. The very season might be considered as one long, sunless day, as since the latter part of May the great luminary had been scarcely visible, or his influence scarcely felt upon ^hose icy masses which block Barrow's Strait entirely across ; nor do I imagine that the Polar Sea had broken up that season, as not a drop of water had been seen in that direction. "During July, and the early part of August, the crew were daily employed gathering sorrel, of which there was a great quantity upon ^he hills in this vicinity. Eaten as a salad, with vinegar, or boiled, when it resembled spinach, it was found a most admirable anti- scorbutic, and a great benefit to all, ^ ;ing exceed- ingly relished ; but this hardy and miserable herbage could not withstand the rigorous summer beyond the 15th of the month. " For several days the ice had been perfectly station- ary, and no water visible in any direction, that along the clifls of Baidvs's Land being frozen ; so that I felt assured that the winter had fairly set in, and all hopes of any release this year were totally annihilated, the young ice being five inches thick. Having previously determined what course I should adopt under circum- Btances thus unfavorable, upon the 8th of September I announced my intentions to the crew of sending half of them to England next April, with all the oTicers not in charge of stores, via Bailiii's Bay (taking the boat from Capo Spencer) and the Mackenzie, detaining the re- GALLANT RESOLVE. 435 mainder witli the hope of extricating the vessel (lining the summer of 1853 ; or, failing that, to proceed with sledges in 1854 by Port Leopold, our provisions admit- ting of no other arrangement. " Althoagii we liad already been twelve months upon two thirds allowance, it was necessary to make prepara- tions for meeting eighteen months more ; a very severe dep:ivation and constitutional test, but one which the service we were employed upon called for, the vessel being as sound as the day she entered the ice ; it would, therefore, be discreditable to desert her in 1853, wher a favorable season would run her through the straitj and admit of reaching England in safety, where the successful achievement of the long-sought-for and almost hopeless discovery of the north-west passage would be received with a satisfaction that would amply com- pensate for the sacrifices made and hardships endured in its most trying and tedious accomplishment. This statement was well received, and its execution will, I hope, be carried out without difficulty." It is due to Captain M'Clure to reproduce one passage in the dispatch which he had prepared to send home with the land parties he was about to forward in the spring of 1853. " Should any of her majesty's ships be sent for our relief, and we have quitted Port Leopold, a notice, con- taining information of our route, will be left on the door of the house at Whalers' Point, or on some conspicuons position. If, however, no intimation should bo found of our having been there, it may at once be surmised that some fatal catastrophe has happened, cither from our being carried into the Polar Sea, or smashed in Bar- row's Strait, and no survivors left. If such be the case, — which, however, I will not anticipate, — it will then be quite unnecessary to penetrate further to the we8^ ;$r'm^ V I I: 436 M'CLURE'S EXI'LORATIONS. ward for our relief, as, by the period that any vessel could reach that port, we must, from want of provi> eions, all have perished. In such a case, I would submit that the oiBcers may be directed to return, and by no means incur the danger of losing other lives in quest of those who will then be no more." The ship was banked up with snow and i;i-used over on the 18th of November, and every preparation made for spending a third winter in this region of icy desola- tion. The spirits of the crew, however, did not flag. Resort was again had to the hunting expeditions which had occupied and cheered them so much in previous years, and their larder was kept well stocked with pro- visions. The wolves so harassed the deer, that the latter poor creatures actually fled to the ship for pro- tection. " The hares and ptarmigan," writes M'Ouro, "have descended from the high ground to the sea ridges, so that a supply of game has been kept up during the win- ter, which has enabled a fresh meal to bo issued twice weekly, and the usual Christmas festivities to pass off with the greatest cheerfulness. As it was to be our last, the crew were determined to make it memorable, and their exertions were completely successful ; each ■ mess was gayly illumiiiated and decorated with original paintings by our lower-deck artists, exhibiting the ship in her perilous positions during the transit of the Polar Sea, and divers other subjects ; but the grand features of the day were the enormous plum-puddings (some weighing twenty-six pounds), haunches of venison, hares roasted, and soup made of the same, with ptar- migan and sea pies. Such dainties in such profusion I should imagine never before graced a ship's lower-deck ; any stranger, to have witnessed this scene, could but faintly imagine that he saw a crew which had passed I PLAN OF ESCAPE. 437 upwards of two years in those dreary regions, and three entirely upon their own resources, enjoying such excellent health — so joyful, so happy: indeed, such a mirthful assemblage, under any circumstances, would bo most gratifying to any oflScer ; but, in this lonely situation, I could not but feel deeply impressed, as I CDutemplated the gay and plenteous sight, with the many and great mercies which a kind and beneficent Providence had extended toward us, to whom alone is due the heartfelt praises and thanksgivings of all for the great blessings which we have hitherto experienced in positions the most desolate which can be con- ceived." So another winter passed. The spring again returned, and the season rapidly approached when the crew was to divide, and the travelling parties were to set out on their long and perilous journeys : the one to return home by the way of the Mackenzie River and Canada ; the other to proceed to Cape Spencer (where a boat and provisions had been deposited), and thence by Barrow's Strait to make their way to the nearest inhabited coast. That these journeys would prove long and dangerous in the extreme, could not be doubted ; for the return parties were composed of the most weakly hands, thirty of the healthiest men being retained to stand by the ship with the captain, and brave the rigors of another Arctic winter. But, while M'Clure and his gallant comrades were thus about to resort to their last desperate expedient for comiaunicating with tho civilized world, relief was at hand of which they had little expectation. Provi- dential circumstances interposed to do away with the necessity of committing their forlorn hopes to the snow and ice deserts of the polar regions. These extiaor- dinary circumBtances will be narrated in another chaj. ter. wmmam llHi CHAPTER XVII. VOTAQR OF TBE BEfiOI.UTE ANI> INTRKrin. — ARRIVAL AT DEALT IgLARD. — BLBDGE-PAUTIES. — PARRV's SANDSTONR AGAIN. — NEWS FROM TH« 1NVK8TI0AT0U. — IMll'S JODRNEV. — MEETINO WITB u'CLORB. RETDRIT TO THE RESOLUTE. — MORE DEATHS REI'ORTED. — ABANDONMENT OP TBB INVKSTIGArOR. — A WEARY SfMMER. — CUESSWELL BENT WITH DIS- PATCHES. — INCIDENTS IN TUB VOYAOB OP THE PHlENIX. — LOSS OP THB BREDALBANE TRANSPORT. — DEATH OP BELLOT. BIS AUIAULB CHAR- ACTER. TDB PUCENIX AND TALBOT SENT OCT. A parent's solicitude for his son saved the crew of the liivestigator. We must now again take up the story of Sir Edward Belcher's expedition, which we left at Beechey Island on the 15tli of August, 1852, just sep- arating into two divisions, — one to proceed north, the other west. It is the westward division with which we have now to do. It was suggested to the British Ad- miralty by Mr. Cresswell, who had a son with M'Clure, that that part of Belcher's expedition which was des- tined for Wellington Channel should bo directed upon Melville Island, as it was the opijiion of General Sabinb and Captain Kellett that if Captains Collinson and M'Clure were unable to reach that island with their ships, still they would push in there with their sledges. The senior lord of the Admiralty saw the soundness of Mr. Cresswell's views ; and the Resolute and Intrepid, under Captains Kellett and M'Clintock, were ordered to proceed to Melville Island. In nearing Assistance Bay, only thirty miles from Beechoy Lsland, at which point Captain Kellett was to leave a depot, the Resolute grounded, was left with but SLEDGE PARTIES. 439 gevon feet of water, thrown over en her starboard oilge, and almost lost. At midnight, however, she was got off, leaving sixty feet of her false keel behind. Kullott forged on in her, leaving dt'jpots hero and there a? he proceeded ; and at tlio end of the summei had reached Melville Island, the westernmost point at- tained by Parry in 1820. Kellett's associate, Capt. M'CIintock, of the Intrepid, had cf-mmandcd the only party which had been hero since Parry, having come over with sledges from Austin's squadron, in 1851, as the reader will remember. The Resolute and Intrepid came to anchor off Dealy Island, the place selected for their winter quarters ; and then Capt. Kellett and his officers, with great spirit, began to prepare for the extended searching parties of the next spring. Officers were already assigned to the prop _ d lines of search ; and in order to extend the searches as much as possible, and to prepare the men for the work when it should come, sledge-parties wore sent forward to make advanced depots, in the autumn, under the charge of the gentlemen who would have to use them in the spring. One of these parties — the "South line of Melville Island " party — was under a spirited young officer, Mr. Mecham, who had seen service in the last expedi- tion. He had two sledges, the Discovery and the Fear- less, a di'pot of twenty days' provision to bo used in the spring, and enough ibr twenty-five days' present use. All the sledges had little flags, made by some young lady friends of Sir Edward Belcher's. Mr. Mecham's bore an armed hand and eword on a white ground, with the motto, "Per mare, per terram, per (jlaciem." Over mud, land, snow, and ice, they carried their burden ; and were nearly back, when, on the 12th o[ October, 1852, Mr. Mecham visited "Parry's Sand- ■»%■■■; ' - 440 A DISCOVERY Btonc," near Winter Ilarbor, where he had been biddtin to leave a record. He went on in advance of his party, meaning to cut tho date, 1852, on the stone. On top of it was a small cairn, built by M'Clintock the year before. Mecham examined this, and, to his surprise, a copper cylinder rolled out. " On opening it," he says, " I drew out a roll folded in a bladder, which, being frozen, broke and crumbled. From its dilapidated ap- pearance, I thought, at the moment, it must be some record of Sir Edward Parry ; and, fearing I might damage it, laid it do'vii with the intention of lighting the lire to thaw it. My curiosity, however, overcame my pru- dence, and, on opening it carefully with my knife, I came to a roll of cartridge-paper with the impression fresh upon 'hi seals. My astonishment may be conceived on finding it contai~ od an account of the proceedings of her majesty's ship Investigator since parting company with the Ilerald (Capt. Kellett's old ship), in August, 1850, in Behriiig 8 Strait: also a chart which disclosed to view not only the long-sought north-west passage, but the completion of the survey of Banks's and WoUaston Lands. I opened and endorsed Commander M'Clintock'a dispatch, and found it contained the following addition? : ' Opened nntl copied by his old friend and messmate, upon this date, April 28, 1852. Rodekt M'Clure. ' Pp.rty all woU, and return to Inrestigator to-day.'" A great discovery, indeed, to flash across one in a minute ! The Investigator had not been heard from for more than two j'oars. Here was news of her not yet nix months old ! The north-west passage liad been dreamed of for throe centuries and more. Here was news of its discovery, — news that had been known to M'Clure for fw < years ! M'Clure and M'Clintock were A FORLORN HOPE. 441 iicutcnants together in the Enterprise when she was sent after Sir John Franklin, in 1818, and wintered to- gctliet in lior at Port Leopold. Now, from diflcrent hcinispheres, they iiad come so near meeting at this old block of sandstone ! Mr. Mecham bade his mate build a new cairn, to put the record of the story in, and hur- ried on to the Resolute with his great news. It thus became known to Kellett and his companions that the Investigator had been frozen up in the Bay of Mercy, only one hundred and seventy milns from their own position. It must have been a sore trial, to all par- ties, to wait the winter through, and not even get a msssage across. But, until winter made it too cold and dark to travel, the ice in the strait was so broken uj. that it was impossible to attempt to traverse it, even with a light boat for the lanes of water. So, the differ- ent autumn parties came in, and the officers and men entered on their winter's work and play, to push off the winter days as quickly as they could. The system of travelling in the fall and spring abndges materially the length of the Arctic winter as Ross, Parry, and Back, used to experience it ; and it was only from the 1st of November to the 10th of March that Kellett's party were left to their own re- sources. Late in October one of the Resolute's men died, and in Deo 'Hibor one of the Intropid's ; but. ex- cepting these cases, tlK;y had little sickness — for weeks no one on the sick-list ; — indeed, Capt. Kellett saye that a sufficiency of good provisions, with plenty of work in the open air, will insure good health in the Arctic climate. As early in the spring as he dared risk a tra\ elling party, namely, on the 10th of i\Iarch, 185S, ho scrt what thov all called a forlorn hope across to the Bay of Mercy, to And traces of the Investigator ; fo they !■ ."« ■ 442 PIM'3 JOURNEY scarcely ventured to hope that she waa still there. Thie start was earlier by thirty-five days than the early par tics had started on the preceding expedition. But it was every way essential that, if M'Clure had wintered in the Bay of Mercy, the messenger should reach him before he sent off any or all his men, in travelling par- ties, in the spring. The little forlorn hope consisted of ten men, under the command of Lieut. Pirn, an ofllcer who had been with Kellett in the Herald on the Pacific side, had spent a winter in the Plover up Behring's Strait, and had been one of the last men whom M'Clure and his crew had seen before they sailed into the Arctic Ocean, to discovei, as it proved, the north-west pas- sage. Lieut. Pim started with a sledge and seven men un- der his own immediate command, and a dog-sledge with two men under Dr. I'Dinvillc, the surgeon, who was to bring back the earliest news to Captain Kellett There was also a rclicf-slcdge to accompany the party a por- tion of the way. Pini's orders were to go at once to the Buy of Mercy in search of the Investigator ; if she was gone, to follow any traces of her, and if possible to communicate with her or her consort, the Enterprise. One of the sledges broke down soon after the party started, and they had to send back for another. 15ad weather came on, and compelled them to encamp on the ice. " Fortunately," says the lieutenant, " the temper ature arose from fifty-one degrees bflow zero to thirtjp six beiow, and there remained ; " while the drifts accu mulatod to such a degree around the tents, that witliii thorn tlie tiiermometer was oidy twenty below, and when they cookrd rose to zero. Tlioro they lay three days, smoking and sleeping in their bags. On the fourth day a new sledge arrived from the ship, and they got under way again. Thus far they wc-e running ■MMHMi PIM'S JOURNEY. 44A •long tho shore ; but they soon sent back the relief-parly which had brought tho new sledge, and a few days after set out to cross a strait, some thirty miles wide, which, when it is open (as no man has yet seen it), is ono avenue of the north-west passage discovered by these expeditions. They got on slowly, and with great difficulty. Only three miles the first day, four miles tho second day, two and a half the third, and half a mile the fourth ; this was all they gained by most laborious hauling over the broken ice, dragging one sledge at a time, and some- times carrying forward tho stores separately, and going back for the sledges. Two days more gave them another eight miles, but on tho seventh day of their passage across this narrow strait the great sledge slipped off a smooth hummock, broke one runner, and brought the party to a stand-still. Having now nothing but the little dog-sledge to carry them on, — with the ship a hundred miles off, and the thermometer at eighteen below zero, — the two oflicers had some discussion as to their future proceedings. Dr. Domvillc, whose sledge, the James Fitzjames, was still sound, thought they had best leave the stores and go back ; but Lieut. Pim, who had the chief command, thought otherwise; so he took the James Fitzjames,' with the two men belonging to it, and pushed on, leav- ing the doctor on the floe, but giving him directions to take th6 broken sledge back to land, and there wait for him to return. On went the lieutenant and his two men, over ice, over hummock, — feeding their dogs on preserved meats for want of game, — until they left the strait behind, aiid came to Banks's Land. Still they found no game. Pim was taken sick, and for a whole day was obliged to remain shut up in the tent. A few hours' sleep r© i:^iM^ IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) fe -T/^.^^t-^ 1.0 I.I 1.25 i ^ Ilia :^ 1^ 12.0 14 1 1.6 6" Photographic Sciences Corporation 23 WEST MAIN STREET WEBSTER, N.Y. 14580 (7'6) 872-4503 446 MEEima WITH M'CLURE freshed him, and the party started on again A.t last, after many weary days' travel, they got upon the Bay of Mercy. No ship was in sight. Right across the bay went the lieutenant to search for records, when, at two o'clock p. ii., one of the men saw something black in the distance. Pim looked through his glass, and made it out to be a ship. Forthwith the whole party proceeded as fast as possible toward it. Pim, hurrying along, soon got in advance of the sledge, and walked on alone. On the 6th of April, 1853, the little crew of the In- vestigator was in low spirits : one of their comrades had just poisoned himself. All hands were preparing for the separation which was to take place in the follow- ing week, and were looking forward with gloomy fore- bodings to their slender chances of escape, when an event occurred, which we give in M'Clure's own words : " Whilo walking near the ship, in conversation with the first lieutenant upon the subject of digging a grave for the man who died yesterday, and discussing how we could cut a grave in the ground whilst it was so hardly frozen (a subject naturally sad and depressing), we per- ceived a figure walking rapidly towards us from the rough ice at the entrance of the bay. From his pace and gestures we both naturally supposed, at first, that he was some one of our party pursued by a bear ; but, as we approached him, doubts arose as to who it could be. He was certainly unlike any of our men ; but, recollecting that it was possible some one might be try- ing a now travelling-dress preparatory to the departure of our sledges, and certain that no one else was near, we continued to advance. " When within about two hundred yards of us, the strange figure threw up his arms, and made gesticula- •11 ^ MEEHNU WITH M'CLJRE: 447 Honsrc,cmblmgth„.e „,ed byE,,„i„au., besides .hout lug at the top of his voice words which from tk. ° j « _i„te.se oxcite^eat of the mol t 's Tded Mr rface^r:srbSrarebCr:r:v:t7e*"' we gallantly stood our ground, and, had the skies fallen ZIT >, """"■'^meat of relief being close a. 're i'c «1"™ r '•"''"'' '° '« "» wl^bin thl iTtriotrdii^^T^^^^^^^^^^^ rushed forTe hatt J tf""* °' ■"™' «>^ "'"y »" was aotuall^^tf S IdMr^ ?f " "~^' Despondency fled the sh^, anVu „rp:^"' ™ ^ welcome — pure hpnrf^ ^ "° received a • Rendered black by the lamp^^ok, in hi, fnt iili^ 11: J iiii 448 ABANDONMENT OF THE INVESTTOATOR. was at first inclined to favor M'Clure's plan of endear oring to save the Investigator ; but on the 2d May Lieut. Cresswell arrived from her with the report of two more deaths. Then it was arranged that Dr. Domville Bliould go back with M'Clure and hold a survey on the health of the crew ; that those who were unfitted to stand another winter should be ordered home, and that the healthy should have their option of going or re- maining. The result was that only four men were will- ing to remain, though the ofiiccrs all gallantly volun- teered to stand by the vessel. Boats, stores, &c., were accordingly landed to form a d^p6t for the use of Collin- son, FraTiklin, or any other person who might happen along, and on the 3d June, 1853, the colors were hoisted to the mast-head, and officers and crew bade a last farewell to the Investigator. They arrived at Dealy Island on the 17th, and wore accommodated on board the Resolute and Intrepid. Kellett's plan was to send them down to Beechey Island in the Intrepid at the first breaking up of the ice. More than half his crews were out on searching expeditions when the Investigator's men arrived. Parties under M'Clintock, Mecham, and Hamilton, were searching every foot of land to the north and north-we^ of Mel- ville Island. They all came in at last, having found no traccH of Sir John Franklin. Finding that nothing more could ; done in a north-west direction, Kellett deter- mined to take both vessels to Beechey Island as soon as the ice would admit. All his arrangements were made for starting at any moment. He built a store-house on the island, stocked it well with provisions, and left in it this record : " This is a house which I have named the ' Sailor's Home,' under th« especial patronftge of my Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty. " Here royal sailors and marines are fed, clothed, and reoeive double p»y for inhabiting it." LOSS OF BREDALBANE TRANSPORT. i 449 All the other usual expedients were resoried to to while away the time; but after the excitement of the search- nig parties was over the summer passed drearily The loe showed no sign of breaking up. Mr. Roche, mate of the Resolute, who had been sent down to the North Star for provisions, returned unexpectedly, having been to Beechey Island and back, a distance of six hundred miles, in six weeks. Capt. Richards arrived from North- umberland Sound, bringing news from Belcher's divi- eion. Little else occurred to break the monotony Meanwhile Lieut. Cresswell had been sent down to Beechey Island with dispatches for the Admiralty There he had the good fortune to be taken on board of the Phoenix, in which, as we have seen, he returned to England, bringing the first news of the safety of the Investig itor, and the discovery of the north-west pas- sage. Before we proceed further with the adventures of the companions whom he left at Dealy Island, there are some other matters of interest connected with this voyage of the Phoenix, which it will be well to relate in this place. One of these is the loss of the Bredalbane trans- port, by one of those terrible " nips " which are so often encountered in the polar seas. This occurred near Cape Riloy, on the 21st August, 1853, and was witnessed by the crew of the Phoenix, in which vessel the Bredalbane's crew took refuge. It shows how very easily a vessel may be destroyed in the Arctic regions, without a ves- tige being left behind to tell the tale. We give the incident in the words of Mr. Fowckner, the agent for the ship, who was on board at the time : "About ton minutes past four the ice passing the Bhip awoke me, and the door of my cabin, from the I)res8ure, opened. I hurriedly put on my clothes, and, on getting up, found some hands on the ice endeavor- 29 460 LOSS OF BKEDALBANE TRANSPORT. 'ii Mi ,1 t , ; ■ >t f. 'i iiig to save the boats, but these were instantly crushoil to pieces. I went forward to hail the Phoenix, for r.cn tc save the boats ; and whilst doing so the ropes by which we were secured parted, and a heavy nip took the ship, making her tremble all over, and every timber in hei creak. I looked in the main hold, and saw the beams giving way ; I hailed those on the ice, and told them of our critical situation. I then rushed to my cabin, and called to those in their beds to save their lives. On reaching the deck, those on the ice called out to me to jump over the side — that the ship was going over. 1 jumped on the loose ice, and, with diflSculty, and the assistance of those on the ice, succeeded in getting on the unbroken part. After being on the ice about five minutes, the timbers in the ship cracking up as matches would in the hand, the nip eased for a short time, and I, with some others, returned to the ship, with the view of saving some of our effects. Captain Inglefield now came running toward the ship. He ordered me to see if the ice was through the ship ; and, on looking down in the hold, I found all the beams, &c., falling about in a manner that would have been certain death to mo had 1 ventured down there. It was too evident that the ship could not last many minutes. I then sounded ti.e well, and found five feet in the hold ; and whilst in the act of sounding, a heavier nip than before pressed out the starboard-bow, and the ice was forced right into the forecastle. Every one then abandoned the ship, with what few clothes he could save — some with only what they had on. The ship now began to sink fast, and from the time her bowsprit touched the ice until her mast-heads were out of sight it was not above one minute and a half. From the time the first nip took hei until her disappearance, it was not more than fifteen micutes." rri DEATH OF BELLOT. 451 But the saddest episode in Arctic history that Ingle- field had to report was the death of Lieut. Bellot. the gallant young Frenchman who t.cted so prominent a part in the voyage of the Prince Albert, under Kennedy. Bellot's zeal and enthusiasm had led him again into the regions of ice and snow, under Inglefield. While there, ho volunteered to lead a party over the ice, in August,' J 853, to Sir Edward Belcher's squadron, which was at that time near Cape Beecher, in Wellington Channel. This party consisted of four men — namely, Harvey, Johnson, Madden, and Hook, On Friday, the 12th of August, he started, with his little band, from Beechey Island (at which place the North Star was lying), in charge of dispatches from Captain Pullen. At this season of the year travelling on ice is always considered dangerous, both on account of its decayed condition, and its liability to separate from the shore and break up. Accordingly, Pullen cau- tioned Bellot to keep as close to the eastern shore of Wellington Channel as possible, and provided the party with one of the light India-rubber boats, which could be easily dragged on their sledge, and without which, rA such a season, it would have been very unsafe to travel. That evening they encamped about three miles from Cape Innes. Next day they made considerable progress, and when night approached made their bed upon the broken ice over which they had been plodding during the day. This was near Cape Bowden. On the follow- ing day, which was Sunday, they passed a crack about f >ur feet wide, running across the channel. During all this time no doubts were entertained as to the safe con- dition of the ice ; and Bellot, in his usual encouraging way, cheered on the men, and put his shoulder to the tracking^lines, saying that he wished to get to a cape which was seen a good way ahead, and which he called 462 DEATH OF BELLOT. 1%. m i Capo Orinncll. Near this it was desirable to oiicamp in-shoro, if possible. On arriving at the cape, it was found that there was a broad bolt of water between the ice and the shore. This would have been a matter of little moment, had there been no wind, as they could have easily crossed it in the boat ; but there was unfortunately a strong breeze blowing from the south-east, which curled up the Burface of the cold black waves in a very ominous way. There was no help, however ; so the boat was launched, and Bc'Uot endeavored to reach the shore in it alone, intending to convey a line by which the remainder of the party and the provisions might be dragged over. In this attempt he failed, the violence of the gale being too much for him ; he therefore returned to the ice, and ordered Harvey and Madden to get in and attempt the passage together. This tliey did, and were suc- cessful in landing ; after which they began the opera- tion of passing and repassing the boat between the ice and the shore, by means of lines. In this way three loads were landed from the sledge, and the party on the ice were hauling the boat oS" for a fourth, when Mad- den, who had hold of the shore-line, and was up to his middle in the water, called out suddenly that the ice was on the move, and driving off shore. It was evi- dent that he could not hold the line longer without being dragged into deep water ; so Bellot called ont to him to let go, which he did. Bellot and his two men then hauled the boat on to the sledge, and ran it up to the windward side of the ice, intending to launch it there and make for the shore. Ere this could bo accomplished, however, the ice, whose motion was rapidly increasing, had drifted so far from the shore as to render all idea of reaching it hopeless It may be imagined with what feelings Madden and iiiiijui DEATH OF BELLOT 463 narvey now hastened to an eminence, and watched then- comrades drifting out to eea on a floe of ice with a bitter breeze urging them further and further from hope of escape, and deeper among the drifting ire During two hours they sat thus watching them, until at last they were lost to view amid the driving snow. When last seen, the two men were standing by the sledge, and Bellot on the top of a hummock. Madden and Harvey now descended to the shore and instantly began their return-journey to the ship' They walked round Griffin Bay, with very little provi- sions and reached Cape Bowden, where they remained to take some rest. While there, two men were seen hastening toward them. To their great surprise and joy, those proved to be Johnson and Hook, who had almost miraculously escaped from their perilous position on the ice ; but their sad countenances too truly told that their companion, the bravo young Frenchman, was gone. After getting a little refreshment, the whole party now returned to their ship, which they reached in safety though not without much difficulty and severe privation! The melancholy fate of poor Bellot cannot be better told than by giving it in the words of Johnson, who was with him on the ice at the time of his death " Wo got the provisions on shore," says he, " on Wednesday. the nth After we had done that, therr remained on he ice Hook Lieut. Bellot, and myself, having with us the sledge. Mackintosh-awning, and little boat. Com- menced trying to draw the boat and sledge to the south- ward, but found the ice driving so fast that we left the sedge and took the boat only; but the wind was so «trong at the time that it blew the boat over and over VVe then took the boat with us, under shelter of a piece of ICO, and Mr. Bellot and ourselves commenced cutting ill 454 DEATH OF BELLOT. an ice-houso with our knives for eholter. Mr. Bellot sat for half an hour in conversation with us, talking on the danger of our position. I told him I was not afraid, and that the American expedition was driven up and down this channel by the ice. He replied, ' I know they wore ; and when the Lord protects us, not a hair of our heads shall be touched.' " I then asked Mr. Bellot what time it was. He said, ' About quarter past eight a. m.' (Thursday, the 18th), and then lashed up his books, ar.d said he would go and see how the ice was driving. He had only been gone about four minutes, when I went round the same hum- mock under which we were sheltered to look for him, bnt could not see him ; and, on returning to our shelter, saw his stick on the opposite side of a crack, about Sve fathoms wide, and the ice all breaking up. I then called out ' Mr. Bellot ! ' but no answer — (at this time blowing very heavy). After this, I again searched round, but could see nothing cf him. " I believe that when he got from the shelter the wind blew him into the crack, and, his south-wester being tied down, he could not rise. Finding there was no hope of again seeing Lieut. Bellot, I said to Hook, ' I 'm not afraid : I know the Lord will always sustain us.' We commenced travelling, to try to get to Cape De Haven, or Port Phillips ; and, when we got within two miles of Cape De Haven, could not get on shore ; and returned for this side, endeavoring to get to the southward, as the ice was driving to the northward. We were that night and the following day in coming across, and came into the land on the eastern shore a long way to the northward of the place where we were driven off. V/e got into the land at what Lieut. Bellot told us was Point Hogarth. " In drifting up the straits towards the Polar Sea, we ri & rrs DEATH OP BELLOT 455 ■aw an iceberg lying close to the shoio, and found i( on the ground. We succoodod iu getting on it, and remained for six hours. I said to David Hook, ' Don'l bo afraid ; wc must make a boat of a piece of ice • •Accordingly, wo got on to a piece passing, and 1 had a paddio belonging to the India-rubber boat. By this piece of drift-ice we managed to reach the shore, and then proceeded to where the accident happened. Reached ,t on Friday. Could not find our shipmates, or any provisions. Went on for Cape Bowden, and reached it on Friday night." When the Esquimaux heard of Bellot's death they Bhed tears, and cried "Poor BellotI poor BellotI" Two years before, he had seen an Esquimaux dragging himself painfully over the ice, with a broken leg. To call the carpenter, give him directions to make a wooden log for the poor fellow, and to teach him to walk with it were matters of course for the generous young French- man ; but they were unusual kindnesses for a white man to show to an Esquimaux, and the simple-hearted peo- plo remembered it when they cried " Poor Bellot I " Poor Bellot I -his was a brave, a generous, and a kindly heart. His talents and energy were deeply appreciated by the nation to which he had volunteered his services ; and his affectionate, manly disposition had endeared him to the comrades with whom he had spent so many stormy days and nights in the regions of ice and snow. The howling blast of the north, and the dark waters of the polar seas, are sweeping over his mortal frame; but an imperishable wreath — a tribute of gratitude and affection, twined by the hands of France and England — shall rest upon his brow for- ever. Mr. Bellot is another added to the list of those brave enthusiastic spirits, that have been thus prematurely 466 DEATH OF DELLOT. ' t ;.'i ■natchod away, and wrapt In the cold otnhraco of the Arctic Boas. The Eiigliah have oxproHSfd tlioir Benne of his BorviccH and his virtues by a Bul)8cripti()n for hfa family, and for a inonuinont to bo orcctud to liia memory in Urceiiwich IIoHpital. Capt. Inplefu'ld, in his stoamor tho Phoenix, accom- panied by tho Bailing-vcHBol Talbot, was sent to the Arctic regions again in 1854, with dispatchen and sup- plies for Sir E. Belcher. There wo uhali hear of him again in tho courBe of our narrative. H-'-ii CHAPTER XVIII. fH. nwOLDTl A«0 ,„TBEP,a-B,..T >10A,»._W,»T« « TM PiCl -BOTH V.M«,^ *BAMOO»BD._„„.c„.„-» «xrLOBAT.U«. _ ,«m, or .T„„<^„„. _,„.,„ „ „,,„ „„^,„^^ ...AH0.-ABA.0 ;! B«CDBT I.LAKO.- ARRIVAL OF TO. Pm«,X AND TAWOT. - R.TUR, T0TA8«._BA3i UPBDITIOir. _ R,UCI Or FRAHKUH.- AI»0«Mo«'i Thr Resolute and Intrepid, with their inmates, inclu* ing the sixty men from the Investigator, remained ico- bound at Dealy Island during tho best part of the summer of 1853. At last, on tho I8th of August a strong galo blowing ofl* shore broke up the ico Tho vessels at onco got under way ; by night they were at sea, and the navigators congratulated themselves that they were now fairly making progress towards home. 1 ut withm twenty.four hours they were brought up bv the pack of Byam Martin Channel ; and there they lay watching for an opening to dash across to Bathurst Land and run for Beechey Island under its lee. Day after day passed. The drifting pack presented no available opening. Winter was fast advancing The prospect of escape before another season began to ook gloomy. Still, the navigators did not abandon tho hope ; but they occupied themselves in securing game as a provision against the coming winter. This they found in abundance, espocially musk-oxen ; and some ten thousand pounds were obtained and frozen 4n attempt was finally made to force through the pack- 'i!^ ( V - 458 TUE RESOLUTE AND INTREPID tf--^ but on tlio 9th of September the vessels became firnilj imbedded in the newly-formed ice, and, a north-west gale forcing' the pack upon them, they were fairly beset, and obliged to go whither it and Providence listed. Two months they wore drifting helplessly, auidsi great perils. Right pleased was Kellett to find that after the 12tii of November the ships were at rest, having reached a point about due east of Winter Uarbor, Melville Island, in longitude 101° west, — an admiralio position for an early escape in the ensuing season. Here they passed the winter of 1853-4, — long months of darkness and weariness, but with no worse mishap than the loss of one officer, who died on tho 14th of November. The log-book of that winter is a curious record ; the ingenuity of the officer in charge was well tasked to make one day differ from another. Each day hao the ilrst entry for " ship's position " thus : " In the floe off Cape Cockburn ; " and the blank f( r the second entry thus ; " in the same position." Lectures, theatriculs, schools, etc., whiled av; ay the time. The spring of 1854 arrived. M'CIure and his crew started with sledges on the 14th of April for Bcechey Island, to find a resting-place on board the North Star and at the d^pot. Kellett made arrangements to con- tinue the search. While thus engaged, he received a letter from Si:- Edward Belcher, suggesting that, rather than risk the dotcntioa of another season, he should abandon his ships and meet him (Belcher) at Becchey leland before the 26 ih of August. Kellett remon- strated, stating that the vessels were in a favorable position for escape ; that tliey had abundance of pro- visions, and that parties concerned in deserting ships u'lder such circumstances " would deserve to have the iackets taken off their backs " Then came a j^ouitive REMAINS OF ESQUIMAUX HOUSES. 459 Two distant travelling parties were already out on searching expeditions. Word was left at a proper point ur then- guidance. Then, having fitted the Intrepid'a .igu^es BO that she could be got under steam in two hours having stored both ships with provisions, and made them ,n every respect " ready for occupation," Kel- lett ordered the hatches to be calked down, all hands h'e 15t Ti"' '^'^ *'^ ^""^"*^ ^"^ I"*-P^d, and o, he 15th of May, 1854, thoy started, with sledges, for Beechey i„,„d where their unexpected arrival lused much surprise to the officers and crew of the Investi- gator, who had preceded them. All this time the other division of the squadron onsistmg of the Assistance and Pioneer, under ^; Ldward Belcher, which, as we have seen, Liled north n the day before Kellett sailed west, namely, on the 14th of August, 1852, had been engaged in eiolmW Wellington Channel. Having roaolL^Z^otT^' and ongi ude ST" west, the vessels came to ancho; .n a locality near Cape Beecher, which was chosen fo hir winter quarters. Boat and sledge explorations to On Z7.Z T" ^'^"^•"^"^^d «n the 23d of August. On the 25th, when rounding a point where the coast :: S 1"^- " "^^-^--•^' ^^- -mains of seve: ^^cll-b ult Esquimaux houses were discovered. " Thev ground, fi U,d in between by about two foet of fin. ?ravel well paved, and, withal, presenting the appeal: ance of great care -more, indeed, than I am will 11 at rib,, to the ..de inhabitants or migrator^Efq,! maux Bones of deer, wolves, seals, etc., were nun.er- •>"s. and coal was found." There is no mention of any ll 460 BELCHER'S EXPEDITION. ih search having been made for a record, though hi all j)robal)ility tliis was not neglected ; yet tlie abser.cc of any cairn would seem to render it unlikely that such a document existed. The explorations led to the discovery of various lands, to the most extensive of which the name of North Corn- wall was given, and of several islands washed by a sea open to the north, which Belcher regarded as the polar basin. The name of Victoria Archipelago was given to ft group of islands in 18° 10' ; and the easternmost, form- ing the channel which communicates with the Polar Sea, was named North Kent. On the 2d of May, 1853, the north-cast division of the sledging-parties left the ship, and soon reached the limit of their discoveries of the previous year. During this journey Belcher pushed toward North Cornwall and Jones's Strait; but was unexpectedly stopped beyond Cape Disraeli, about the end of thti month on which he set out, by the early disruption of the ice. " Tiie sight which I obtained from this cape," says he, " elevat(!d six hundred and eighty feet above the f.ca, led me to hope for better success due east. On tliat course we pn-ceeded three days on a smooth floe, making thirty-six miles, when we reached, on the 18th, the entrance of a splendid channel. Fog had for some time worried us with indistinct glimpses of the approaches ; but, as it now cleared oil", and the sun enlivened the scene, we were regaled with such a mag- nificent view of successive beetling headlands c n either side of the channel, and extending for about twenty miles, that it really became a puzzling matter tu iiiul names for them. Of one thing I felt quite convinced — namely, that we were now really in Jones's Channel. The latitude, the direction, the limit ir longit\ide to CELCIIER'S EXPEDITION. 461 which we could SCO, or.ly required a., extennion of sixtv «ues to load to the cairn erected by Captain Austin's party flie roughness of the frozen pack now com- pelled us to take to the hu.d, and we advanced easily five or 8.x miles, when a further stop to our pnZ res8 was opposed in the shape of an abrupt glacier and he mortifying discovery that its base was washed by he sea, wlale the ofl'-lying pack was rotten and tumbling asunder. "Not easily daunted, it was determined to try an overland route, and avoid this unfortunate hole, as we then thought It. Provisions, etc.. were strapped on. and we soon started to view what we had to contend with before deciding on our ultimate mode of action. The hd s continued increasing in height as we advanced until they reached fifteen hundred feet. We then descended and took up another position at nearly the Bume height us the last bluff, wlien we encamped for tne night All our hopes were crushed I Between us and the distant bluff the open sea prevailed on the 20th of May! The horizon was streaked with open sailing-ice and all communication cut off for sledges, ine biufl, distant sixteen miles, was clearly the turn- boyrdtt '"'' '^'"'''' ^'''"""* ' "' '""'^ ""'' ^'«^^'« More thP-^ once their hopes were raised, during the return-journey, by the discovery of the remains of structures that had evidently been made by human hands, yet not, apparently, by those of Esquimaux. • Onr progress was tantalizing, and attended with deep interest and excitement. In the first place, I discov ered, on the brow of a mountain about eight hundred feet above the sea, what appeared to be a recent and a very workmanlike structure. This was a dc^me, - or rather a double cone, or ice-house, -built of very heavy -,4. 462 BELCHER'S EXPEDITION - i ■'1 ' and tabular slabs, which no single person could carry It consisted of about forty courses, eight feet in diam eter, and eight feet in depth, when cleared, but only five in height from the base of the upper cone as wo opened it, " Most carefully was every stone removed, every atom of moss or earth scrutinized ; the stones at the bottom also taken up ; but without finding a trace of any record, or of the structure having been used by any human being. It was filled by drift snow, but did not in any respect bear the appearance of having been built more than a season. This was named ' Mount Discovery.' " A short time afterwards he writes : " Leaving our crew, pretty well fatigued, to pitch the tent and pre- pare the customary pemmican meal, I ascended the mountain above us, and discovered that we really were not far from our old position of last year, on Cape Hogarth, and had Cape Majendie and Hamilton Island to the west, about twenty miles. " My surprise, however, was checked suddenly by two structures rather in European form, and apparently graves ; each was similarly constructed, and, like the dome, of large selected slabs, having at each end three eeparato stones, laid as we should place head and foot stones. So thoroughly satisfied was I that there was no delusion, I desisted from disturbing a stone until it should bo formally done by the party assembled. "The evening following — for where the sun is so oppressive to the eyes by day we travel by night — we ascended the hill, and removed the stones. Not a trace cf human beings ! " Thus Belcher and his men travelled about during the whole season, exploring the coasts around Wellington Channel, now on foot, and then in boats, a« circum |j.._.ii^_. BELCHER'S EXPEDITION. 463 staiicee permitted, but without discovering any clue to the fate of Sir John Franklin. Belcher differs from M'Clure and other explorers in regard to the abundance of animal life in Arctic climes. " By extraordinary good fortune," he says, "bears might fall in the way of the traveller ; but, having killed and eaten his proportion I much doubt if his strength would enable him to drag the remains until another piece of similar good fortune befell him. The assertion, therefore, of any 'teeming or abundance of animal life ' in this north-eastern dis- trict, is utterly untenable." On his return from this journey, Belcher first learned of the safety of Captain M'Clure and his crew in the Bay of Mercy. The ships were liberated from the ice on the 14th of July. Belcher did not persevere in his attempts to push further north, notwithstanding his belief in an open Polar Sea, but shaped his course for Beechey Island. Cape Majendie was reached at an early day. Some time was then spent in surveying the Bays of Baring and Prince Edward, when the further advance of the ships was stopped by a solid floe of ice. After much warping and blasting to no purpose, in which many serious risks were encountered, the vessels were beset for a second winter (1853^) at the southern horn of Baring's Bay. When the spring came, Sii Edward's whole thoughts seem to have been turned towards getting himself and crews safe back to England. Ee determined, at all events, that they should not remain another winter in the ice. With this view, he sent the order to Captain Kellett, which we have related, and proceeded to manage his own vessels in a similar spirit. Ou the 6th of August, 1854, the Assistance and Pioneer broke out of their winter quarters, and advanced 464 INQLEFIELD'S VOYAGE t¥: m slowly down the channel. The ice in Barrow's Strail broke up at the same time, and by the 22d the floe of Wellington Channel was open for fifteen miles north of the strait. A belt of ice, only twenty miles in extent, and that much cracked, was all tha<^ remained between the ships and the waters com.nunicating with ^he Atlantic ; yet it was determined to abandon the vessels, and, on the 26th of August, 1854, both the Assistance and Pioneer were deserted, and the crews made their way to Beechey Island. Kellett and M'Clure, with the men under their com- mand, were there awaiting them. The searching parties had come in during the summer, and, on the l2th of June, Lieutenant Mecham had brought from Princess Royal Island news of the Enterprise, the first that had been heard from her since 1851. He had found records left by Collinson, as late as August, 1852, in which the latter announced his intention to follow the channel between Wollaston and Prince Albert's Land. Kellett was in favor of remaining and sending parties to his relief ; but Belcher was bent on going home. All the officers and men of the Assistance, Pioneer, Resolute, Intrepid, and Investigator, accordingly got on board the North Star, and had just made sail when the Phoenix and Talbot, under Inglefield, hove in sight, rounding Capo Riley. A distribution of the crews was made among the three vessels. On the 6th of September they reached Disco, and on the 28th of September, 1854, were all safely landed in England. The outward voyage of I'lglefield on this occasion seems to have had its fall share of dangers. After safely crossing the Atlantic in his steamer, the Phcenix, accompanied by the sailing vessel Talbot, he proceeded up Baffin's Bay, speaking some whalers by the way, aud touching at Lievely for coal, which is abundant in Lii.;i' INOLEFIELD'S VOVAOE 465 these regions. Ice eoon began to reta»d them, but they were enabled to break through it much more easily (han were the navigators of former years, in conse- quencp of the power of steam, which has greatly altered the m-jde of progression even in the regions of the north, not only by enabling the vessels to wend their way among loose ice in calm weather, but by g.' ing them the power of charging the opposing masses under full eteam, and so smashing a passage in places where, (brracrly, the unwieldy sailing-ship would have been detained for weeks, and perhaps set last for the winter. "For ten days," says Inglefield, "we pushed on through heavy ice, blasting, boring, charging the nips, and making but slow advance, the bay-ice, forming strong every night, much retarding our progress ; and, on the 17th of August, we were closely beset at the rdge of a large floe some milej in extent. Luckily, a strong gale from the westward broke up the edges'of this floe, and, on the weather moderating, slacked the ice sufficiently to admit of our pushing through, and on the 19th we were fortunate enough to get into the west water." After this he proceeded to Wollaston Island, where he found that a depot of provisions had been discovered by the Esquimaux, and almost entirely broken up. "Deeming it beneficial for the service upon which I was employed, and acting under the discretionary orders with which their lordships have been pleased to supply me, I determined upon examining the d(:'pot near Wollas- ton Island, deposited by the North Star, in 1850. For that purpose I made the south shore of Lancaster Sound, and, on the 21st, about 8.30 p. m., we passed neat enough to Cape Hay to observe the coals deposited there, in 1849, by Captain Parker, of the Truelove. Ob- servinji- that the stafi" and two casks containing letter* 30 i %m 466 INGLEFIELD'S VOYAGE. and provisions were missing, I landed, and found tliut no trace remained of tlieso but a portion of tl»e hea-l of one of them, and some broken preserved meat-tins. Tlio coals, too, had been cither carried away by the Esquimaux or the ice, there being only twenty-one bags, A little after ten we rounded Cape Castloroagli, and Boon found the remains of the North Star's dep6t. Anchoring in five fathoms, we lashed the Talbot along- side, and on landing I found that this spot had also been visited by the Esquimaux. They had not only plundered it of all that was useful to them, but hua showed a reckless wantonness in the destruction of every remaining article. " Of the six hundred and eight casks and cases that were landed by Mr, Saunders, only one hundred and fourteen remained ; and each had been stove for the examination of their contents, which consisted of flour, peas, Scotch barley, oat^meal, and tobacco. Finding the flour only partially destroyed in each cask, I deter- mined on embarking all that still remained ; and the whole was sliipped off to the Phoenix, with ten tons of patent fuel, which latter I did not hesitate to embark, as Sir Edward Belcher had sent a vessel two years before to examine this depot, and directed her commander to take the whole of the coal from the neighboring point." From this point, the Phoenix and Talbot sailed to Cape Warren der, at which place they were very nearly lost. Captain Inglefield went ashore to examine a cairn that ho had erected there the previous year. Returning on board, lie found a strong westerly breeze with ebb- tide, which prevented much headway being made ; so they returned to seek anchorage for the night in Dundas Harbor. " Unfortunately," says Inglefield, " when pick- ing up a berth, we struck soundings in fifteen fathoms, »nd, immediately after three, both ships grounded on a CAPTAIN COLLINSON. 467 mud bank, and the tide falling, every exertion to .et the PhoBn.x afloat proved uselcBs, though the Talbot ^as warped off into deep water, where, both her bowe anchors beu,g let go. the chain of the email one was passed mto the Phcnix's quarter hawse-hole, anla heavy ,tr brought upon it. At three the following morn.ng the strong breeze broke the ice away from ike head of the bay. and. driving out. took the Phcenix on her starboard broadside, and laid her over on her beam ends, forcing her still further on shore, and tearing off the whole of the false kee!. The Talbot, though pushed again on the bank, escaped any damage from the ice being sheltered by this vessel, which was to windward ot her. The day flood proving only a half-tide, we remained immovably fixed until the evening, by which time all the boats of both vessels had been iaden wS heavy stores to lighten this vessel = and I am happy to say that, about 11 p. h., both ships floated off into deep water, with no other damage than I have stated " on^hJTffiT p 'P^'f "^'^^ *he searching expeditions on he Baffin's Bay side of the continent, excepting only that of Dr. Kane, to which we shall devote a se;arate chapter. ,t remains for us to complete the historv of the other expeditions that proceeded by way of Bohring's Strait To connect the thread of onr narrative, we must remind the reader that we left her majesty's ship Enter- prise Captain Collinson, consort of the Investigator in «ie Pacific Ocean. She reached the latitude of Icy Cape September 22d, 1850 ; when, meeting the pack- ice, she went south for a warmer climate, so as to be ready to resume operations in the season of 1851. AH that Collinson knew of the position of M'Clure was a report from the Plover that the Investigator had been seen, under a press of canvas, steering northward, off Wamwright Inlet. Unfortunately, one of the rumors 4G8 LIEUTENANT BAllNARU'S MURDER. r.4. i connectad with this report induced CoUiiison to allow an enterprising^ young oiriccr, Lieutenant Barnard, tc bo landed in the Russian nortli-west American settle- nientH, in order tu inquire into the truth. In carrying out this Bcrvice, Harnard was brutally murdered, in February, 1851, by Indians, in a surprise of one of tho Russian posts, called Darabin redoubt, not fur from Norton Sound. Tiie sad catastrophe is briefly told in the handwriting of poor Barnard, in the annexed not« to Dr. Adams : " Ueah Adams ; I am dreadfully wounded in the abdomen ; my entrails are lianging out. I do mt suppose I siiall live long enough to see you. Tho Cu-u-chuo ludians uiado tho attack while wo wore in out bods. Boskoy ia badly wounded, oiid Daruhin is doad. " I tliink my wound would have been trilling h\:\ I had medical advice. I am in groat pain. Nearly all tho natives of tha village are murdered Bet out for this place in all haste. JouN Baunaiid." The hand-writing of this note betrayed tho anguish which the gallant writer was sufl'ering, and parts of it wore nearly illegible. On the 29th of July, 1851, Collinson, in the Enter- prise, rounded Point Barrow, steered up Prince of Wales Strait, and here, on Princess Royal Island, dis- covered the Investigator's depflt, and a cairn containing information up to June 15th, 1851. Passing on, the Enterprise, on the 30th of August, reached tho north end of the strait, but only to be foiled in any attempt to pass beyond it. Collinson now decided on taking a course exactly similar to that of his more fortunate pre- decessor, M'CIure ; but, on the 3d of September, little thinking that the Investigator had preceded him in hia intended course, he found, to his surprise, on Cape Kellett, a record placed there on August 18th. The ice was now too close for him to push on ; and, no harbor fit for winter quarters offering itself as high as latitude RETURN OF THK ENTKIUMllSE. 469 U oi nortli, Collinson boro up, and eventually wintered his Bhip on ll.o eastern side of the entrance of Prince of \Valo8 Strait. Thence ho pursued his explorations in Iho neighborhood of Banks'H Land, Albert Land, WoU laston Land, and Victoria Land, concerning the geoera- phy of which ho obtained much valuable information At Cambridge I3ay. in Wollaston Land, where the l-nteiprirto i)as8ed the winter of 1852-3, ho saw in tho po88eH.sion of tho Esquimaux a piece of iron and frag. meat of a doorway, or hatch-frame, which it is thought must have belonged to tho Erebus or Terror; but this trace led to no further discoveries, nor was anything ascertained in regard to the fate of Sir John Franklin The Enterprise was absent longer than any of tho other searching expeditions, and was equally distin- gmshed by the ability, heroism, and endurance, displayed by her officers and crew; but, as their adventures are similar tc those already related, we do not think it necessary to give them in more detail. Long after tho people of England wore assured of the safety of M'Cluro they continued to feel anxiety regarding the fato of Collinson. But the latter had the good fortune to retrace his steps by the way he came, and brought his ship and crew safely back to England. In the mean time, tho Plover, the other vessel of the Pacific squadron had also reached home in safety. Mr. Kennedy, ia the Isabel, who sailed in 1853 to carry assistance to Collin- son, was shipwrecked on the coast of South America, where his crew having mutinied and deserted, his voyage was abandoned. Shortly after tho return of Belcher and M'Cluro, with tho crews of their deserted ships, another note of inform- ation was sounded from the Arctic regions, but ita tone was very sad. The Montreal Herald of October 21st. 1851, published a letter from Dr. Rae to the gov *-':mm 470 DR. RAE'B DISCOVERY. .'(! ■* ernor of tho IIudBoii'B Bay Company, giving an account of tho oxploration from which ho had jiint returned From this letter, whicii was dated Yorlt Factory, 4th August, 1851, it appeared that Kao readied liis old quarters, at Repulse Bay, on tho 16th of August, 18f/3, and there passed the ensuing winter. On the .^ 1st of March, 1851, his spring journey commenced. On the 17th ho reached Pelly Bay, where he met Ksquimuux, from whom ho obtained several articles which wore identified as belonging to various members of Sir John Fratiklin's party. Tho possession of these articles by tho Esquimaux was accounted for by a story which is related in tho following extract from Dr. Rae's journal, published soon after his arrival in England : " On the morning of the 20th wo were met by a very intelligent Esquimaux, driving a dog-sledge laden with musk-ox beef. This man at once consented to accompany us two days' journey, and in a few minutes had deposited his load on tho snow, and was ready to join us. Having ex- plained to him my object, he said that the road by which he had come was the best for us ; and, having lightened the men's sledges, we travelled with more facility. We were now joined by another of the natives, who had been absent seal-hunting yesterday, but, being anxious to see us, had visited our snow-house early this morning, and then followed up our track. This man was very communicative, and, on putting to him the usual questions as to his havint^ seen 'white man ' be- fore, or ii'iy ships or boats, he replied in the ne/ritive ; but said that a party of ' ^ 'b' i( -n, 3' had died of starvation a long distance to the west of where we then were, and beyond a large river. lie stated that he did not know the exact place, that he never had been there, and that he could not accompany us so fa»-. The sub- KAE'S DISCOVKRV 471 •lanc.3 of the information then and Hubscquontly obtained from various sourcea was to the following eil'ect : " In the Hpri.iff, four winters past (1850), while aomo Munnaux families wore killing seals near the north Bhoroofalargo island, named in Arrowsmith's charts King William's Land, about forty white men were seen travelling in company southward over the ice, and drag- gnig a boat and sledges with them. They were passing along the west shore of the above-named island. None of the party could speak the Esquimaux language so well as to bo understood, but by signs the natives wore led to believe that the ship or ships had boon crushed by ice, and that they were now going to where they ex- pccted to fi.id deer to shoot. From the appearance of the men — all of whom, with the exception of an ofllcer were hauling on the drag-ropes of the sledge, and looked thin — they wore then supposed to bo getting short of prov.H.ons ; and they purchased a small seal, or piece of seal, from the natives. The officer was described as being a tall, stout, middle-aged man. When their day V journey terminated, they pitched tents to rest in. " At a later date the same season, but previous to the disruption of the ice, the corpses of some thirty persons and some graves were discovered on the continent, and five dead bodies on an island near it, about a long day's lourney to the north-west of the mouth of a large stream, which can be no other than iiack's Great Fkh River (named by tiie Esquimaux Oot-koo-hi-ca-lik), as its do- scription and that of the low shore in the neighborhood of Point Ogle and Montreal Island agree exactly with that of Sir George Back. Some of the bodies were in a tent, or tents ; others were under the boat, which had been turned over to form a shelter ; and some lay scat- tered about in difTerent directions. Of those seen o-i the island, it was supposed that one was that of an Meet . .,•-• .'■ , 472 RLLI 'KL.N. 'i (chief), as he had a teieocope .t.^, ped OAor nis shout ders, and a double-barrelled ojun hi;/ underneath liim. " From the mutilated state of many of the bodies, and tl-'j cont -nts of the kettles, it is evident that our wretched countrymen had been driven to the dread altprnative of cannibalism as a means of sustaining lif^j. A few of the unfo ruinate men must htive survived u' til the arrival of the wild-fowl (say until the end of May), as shots were heard, and fresh bones and feathers of geese were noticed near the scene of the sad event. " There appears to have been an abundant store of ammunition, as the gunpowder was emptied by the natives in a heap on the ground out of the kegs or cases containing it, and a quantity of shot and ball was found below high-water mark, having probably been left on the ice close to the beach before the spring ccjmmcnccd. There must have been a number of telescopes, guns (several of thtm double-barrelled), watches, compasses, &c., all of which seem to have been broken up, as I saw pieces of these diil'erent articles with the natives, and I purchased as many as possible, together with some silver spoons and forks, an Order of Merit in the form of a star, and a small silver plate engraved ' Sir John Franklin, K.C.B.'" I)r. Rae concludes by expressing the opinion that no violence had been ollered to the suiferors by the natives, but that they wore starved to death. The f(i1h)wing is 1 list of the articloR obtained from tiie Es(iuinianx : One silver table-f(3rk — crest, an animal's licad with wings extended above ; three silver table-forks — crest, a bird with wings extended ; one silver table-spoon — crest, with initials " F. R. ]s\. G." (Captain Crozier, Ter- ror) : one silver table-spoon and one fork — crest, bird with laurel-branch in mouth, motto, " Spero vivliora ;" one silver talile-spoon, . no tea-spoon, and one dessert- RAE'S LETTER TO THE TIMES. 473 fork -crest, a fish's head looking upwards, with laurel- branches oil each side; one silver tahle-furk — initials, " n D S. G." (Harry D. S. Goodsir, assistant-surgeon! i^rebus); one silver table-fork — initials, "A M'D " (Alexander M'Donald, assistant-surgeon, Terror); one silver table-fork — initials, " G. A. M." (Gillies A Mac- bean, second master, Terror) ; one silver table-fork — .niti^ds, "^ J. T. ; " one silver dessert-spoon - initials, " J.S.P." (John S. Pcddie, surgeon, Erebue) ; around sdver plate, engraved, " Sir John Franklin, K C B •" a star or order, with motto, "iVe6"a&:?jeraferren<,G R III MDCCCXV." On obtainipg the above information. Dr. Rae instantly hastened to England, for the purpose of preventing any further expeditions being despatched in search of the lost navigators. Ilis report, as might have beeu ex- pected, was subjected on all hands to criticism and com- inent. Lfany were of opinion that the information ob- tained did not warrant the conclusion that the whole party was lost. Some of the criticisms made on his report induced Er. Rae to take up the pen in self-defence • and m a letter which he addressed to the editor of the Lo7idon lYmes we find the following remarks, which come u-ith great weight from one who, of all others, is most competent to speak authoritatively. They were written in reply to an attack made upon hini by a gen- tlenr.an who had a relative with the lost expedition, and serve to show how difficult it is to form a correct judg- nient on subjects of which we have not had personal •-•xporience. " It is asked by your correspondent," says Dr. Rae, where Esquimaux can live, where Dr. Rae's party could li/ul abundant means, what should prevent Sii John Franklin and his party from subsisting too ? ' " No man but one perfectly unacquainted with the 474 RAE'S LETTER TO THE TIMES. ■ subject could ask such a question. At the seasou when Sir John Franklin's party was seen travelling over the ice, the seal-holes are covered by snow, and can only bo discovered by the acute sense of smell of the native dogs ; and, after the seal-hole is discovered, much pa- tience, experience, and care, are requisite to kill the seal. As soon as the snow thaws (say in June) the seals show themselves on the ice ; but they are then so dif- ficult of approach that not one of my men (Ouligbuck, the interpreter, excepted), although they often made the attempt, could approach near enough to shoot any of these animals. " I wintered at a part of the Arctic coast remarkable by its geographical formation for the abundance of deer during the autumn migrations, but only then ; and it was at that time that we laid up oui winter stock of food ; but it was hard work even for us (all practised sportsmen, picked men, and in full strength and train- ing) to collect a suflBciency. " That portion of coimtry near to and on which <» portion of Sir John Franklin's party was seen is, in the spring, notoriously the most barren of animal life of any of the Arctic shores ; and the hw deer that may be seen are generally very shy, from having been hunted during the winter by Indiana, on the borders of the woodlands. To prove this scarcity of game, I may add, that during my spring journey of fifty-six days' duration, one deer only and a few partridges were shot by us. " It is asked by your correspondent, ' Why the un- fortunate men should have encumbered themselves with silver forks and spoons and silver plates ? ' &c. The total weight of tlie silver forks and spoons could not be more than four or five pounds at the utmost, and would not appear much when divided among forty persons ; »nd any officer who has ever had the misfortune to RAE'S LETTER TO THE TIMES. 475 abandon his sliip or boat anywhere, but more particu- larly in the Arctic sea, knows how apt men are to en- cumber themselves witli articles far more useless and bulky than a few forks and spoons. I suppose, by ' sil- ver plates,' your correspondent alludes to the silver plate with Sir John Franklin's name engraved thereon, and which may possibly weigh half an ounce, — no great addition to a man's load. " Again, your correspondent says, ' that the ships liave been abandoned, and pillaged by the Esquimaux.' In this opinion I perfectly agree so far as regards the abandonment of the ships, but not that these ship were pillaged by the natives. Had this been the case, wood would have been abundant among these poor people. It was not so, and they were reduced to the necessity of making their sledges of musk-ox skins folded up and frozen together, — an alternative to which the want of >vood alone could have reduced them. Another proof that the natives had very little wood among them may be adduced. Before leaving Repulse Bay, I col- lected together some of the most respectable of the old Esquimaux, and distributed among them all the wood we could spare, amounting to two or three oars and some broken poles. When these things were de- livered to them, I bade the Esquimaux interpreter, who ppeaks both his own and the English langnage fluently, .0 ask whether they or their acquaintances near Peliy Bay had now most wood. They all immediately shouted -J'lt holding up their hands, that they themselves had .Tiost. I need scarcely add that, iiad the ships been found by the Esquimaux, a stock of wood sufficient for many years for all the natives within an extent of Hcveral hundred miles would have been obtained." From all this it will be seen that the evidence of Dr. Rac went to show that the fate of thirty-five men of the 176 ANDERSON'S JOURNEY expedition had been but too surely ascertained ; but there wore yet one hundred and three to be accounted for. No one, familiar with tlie history of Arctic din- covery, could entertain much hope of ever seeing the gallant crews of the Erebus and Terror alive ; but then; was every reason to believe that the trail had been iit last struck, and that in a short time we should have the melancholy satisfaction of at least knowing how, when, and where, they perished. For the purpose of ascer- taining this, of obtaining the papers of the lost ships, and of burying the remains of their crews, if they should be found, the British government resolved to send out a land expedition to follow up the search of Dr. Rae. A party was accordingly organized in tne summer ol" 1855, and placed under the command of Mr. James Anderson, chief factor of the Hudson's Bay Company ; Dr. Rae, to whom the command was first offered, hav- ing declined it, on account of ill-health. Anderson's expedition started from Fort Resolution on the 22d of June, 1855, and commenced the descent of the Great Fish River in three canoes. They were unaccompanied by any interpreter. On the 30th of July, at the rapids below Lake Franklin, three Esquimaux lodges were seen, and numerous articles, belonging to a boat-equi- page, were there found — such as tent-poles, paddles, copper and sheet-iron boilers, tin soup-tureens, chis- els, and tools of various kinds. The occupants of the lodges, all but one of whom were women, said (by words and signs) that these things were obtained from a boat, and that the white men belonging to it had died of starvation. Pushing on again, the party reached Point Beaufort, and at last Montreal Island. There they found somo chain-hooks, tools, rope, bunting, and a number of sticks strung together on one ( f which was cut tlu* ANDERSON'S JOURNEy. 477 namo of " Mr. Stanley " (surgr..,. of the Erclnis) ; also chips, shavi„gs, ends of plunk, etc., apparently sawed by anskiUul hands. On one the word "Terror" was carved. It was evident to Mr. Anderson that this was the spot where the boat was eut up by the Esquimaux ; but not a vestige of human remains could be discov- ered, or a scrap of paper. Point Ogle was next exam- ined, and small articles of a similar character were also lound there ; but with no other result. On the 8th of August, 1855, the party began to re- trace their steps, having seen no Esquimaux, except the few at the rapids before mentioned, and having been unabhi to roach King William's Land. This information was received in England early iii 185(J, and was confirmatory of Rao's supposition that the Grout Fish was the river on which the party he hoard of had retreated ; but, so far as the particulars of their fate were concerned, it left the wliole matter as w.nvh involved in mystery as ever. ¥ i. I- CHAPTER XIX. JBCOND aaiNNKLI- KXI'EDITION. DU. KANE'S PLAM. — DKPAJITUBK. W THB ICE. — SEABCH FOB A HABBOB. — FROZEN IS. — TEMl'ERATURK. ■- • !«( IBENTS. — LOSS 01' DOfiS. — DlBASTnOCS SLEDOINQ-l-AUTy. TBI RESCUE. — MRETINQ WITH E.SQUISIAUX. — DiaCOVERIES. — ATTEMPT TO REACn BEI.CnER'S SQUADRON. — ANOTHER WINTER. — PRIVATION AND «RIL. — AllANDONMRNT OF' THE VESSEL. FAREWELL TO THE ESQUI- MAUX. — IN SAFETY. - BEPOBT TO NAVY DEPARTMENT. THE OPEN POLAR SEA. — CHABACTBR OF DR. KANE'S ADVENTURES. — HIS PUliLISHED NABUATIVE. TnK expedition under the command of Dr. Kano BiiikKl from New York on the 30th of May, 1853. It consisted of eighteen chosen men, besides the com- mander, embarked in a small brig of one hundred and forty-xbur tons burden, named the Advance, which was furnished by Mr. Grinnell, other expenses being con- tributed by Mr. Peabody and several generous indi- viduals and societies. Dr. Kane's predetermined course was to enter the strait discovered the previous year by Captain Inglefield, at the top of Baffin's Bay, and to push as far northward through it as practicable, lie engaged the services of a native Esquimaux, of the name of Hans Christenscn, at Fiskernaes, in Greenland, and then crossed Melville Bay in the wake of the vast icebergs with which the sea is there strewn. These huge frozen masses are often driven one way by a deep current, while the floes are drifted in another by winds and surface-streams, disruptions being thus necessarily caused in the vast ice-fields. The doctor's tactics were n EusHA Kent Kane, M.D. 'V:..^kl I»#. J * 1 r ! ^^B i ,1 '.1. If DR. KANE'S EXPEDITION, 481 to dodge about in the roar of these floating ice-ninuii. tains, holding upon them whenever adverse winds wert troublesome, and pressing forward whenever an oppor- tunity occurred. Dr. Kane's plan was based upon the probable exteu- Hion of the land-masses of Greenland to the far north — a fact at that time not verified by travel, but sustained by tiie analogies of physical geography. Grc(>nland, though looked upon as a congeries of islands connected t)y interior glaciers, was still regarded as a peninsula, whose formation recognized the same lawa ^s other peninsulas having a southern trend. Believing in the extension of this peninsula nearer to the pole than any other known land, and feeling that the search for Sir John Franklin would be best promoted by a course that might lead most directly to the sup- posed northerly open sea. Dr. Kane advanced, as in- ducements in favor of his scheme : Terra Firma as the basis of his operations ; a due northern line which would lead soonest to the open sea ; the benefit of northern land to check the southern drift of ice ; the presumed existence of animal life ; and the cooperation of Esqui- maux, whose settlements were supposed to extend far up the coast. The good ship Advance entered the harbor of Fisker- naes, on the Ist of July, " amid the clamor of its entire population assembled on the rocks to greet us." On the 16th of July she passed the promontory of Swartehuk, or Blackhead ; and, on the 27th, Wilcox Point ; icebergs showing themselves on all sides, and rendering the nav- igation of Melville Bay full of danger. On the 2d of August they were fairly in the ice, and beset by fogs. It was only at times that the floes opened sufficiently to allow the ship to make her way through them. At midnight of the 3d. however, they got clear of the bay 81 482 DR. KANE'S EXPEDITION. and of its diffiouUics, Dr. Kuiio taking credit t( hiniseli for liiiviiijj^ cnbctod lliis by iin outHJdc pasHiigo. The North Wiiter, tho highway to Sniitli'.s Sound, was now fairly before; thcni. On the .Oth tliey passed Sir John Ross's " Crimson ChfTs," and tho patehes of red snow could be seen clearly at tho distance of ten miles from tho coast; and on the 7th they doubled Capo Alexander — the Arctic pillars of Hercules — and passed into Smitli's Sound. Arriving at Littleton ' Island, they deposited there a boat with a supply of stores, liot far from tho vestiges of an old Esquimaux settlement. On tho 8th they again closed with the ice, and wore forced into a landlocked cove. Tho dogs, of which they lind more than fifty on board, began to bo very tr jublesome ; they would devour almost everything that came in their way, from an Esquimaux cranium to a whole feather-bed ! The men tried to shoot some wal> ruses, but the rifle-balls rebounded from their hides like pebbles ; and it was only by accident that they found tho carcass of a narwhal, with which to appease the poor dogs for a time. All attempts to work tho vessel seaward through the floes proving unsuccessful, it was resolved to try for a fur- ther northing by following tho coast-lino. But, although even warping was had recourse to, this also was followed by but very trifling success. On midnight of the 14th they reached the lee side of a rocky island, which, from the shelter it aflbrded, was designated " Godsend Ledge." It was, however, destined to bo so but a short time. On tho 20th it came on to blow a hurricane ; the haw- sers parted one after the other, and the ship was left at the mercy of the winds, waves, and ice, combined. It was a most trying timd, and the party underwent many perils ere they found temporary shelter beyond a lofty DR. RANK'S KXl'KDITION. 483 capo, and under an iceherg that anchorod itseH between them and the gale. The point to which they wore tliuH unccromoniously driven was ten miles nearer the polo than Godsond Lodge ; and on the 22d, the storm havinfr- ahatod, the men wore harncsHod to the tow-lines, and they hogan to track along the ico-belt off the coast, warping also at TBACKINO ALONO THE ICK-llKl.T. times, but with so littlo effect that, on the 29th, Dr Kane rushed on ahead with a small boating-party for a personal inspection of the coast. After twenty-four hours' toil, the boat had to be exchanged for a sledo-e with which they also got on but slowlv, passing Glacier Bay, Mary Minturn River, — the largest known in North Groetdand, being about throe fourths of a mile wide at its mouth -Capes Thackeray and Francis Hawkes, to Cape George Russell, from whence could be seen the great glacier of Humboldt, Cape Jackton on the one side, and Cape Barrow on the other, and be- tween them a solid sea of ice. The galla.it captain returned satisfied that he had seen no place combining so many of the requisites of a good wn.ter harbor as the bay in which he had loft the Advance. So he gave the orders to warp in between two islands They found seven fathom soundings and 484 DR. KANE'S EXPEDITION. « perfect Hlioltor from the outside ice ; and thus tlio liv tie brig was laid up in Van ReiiHseluer Harbor, near a group of rocky islotH, in the Bouth-fastciii curve of a liuy, where hIic wiin I'rozen in on September lOlh. All obHorvatory was erected odjacent to the ship, and a thermal register was kept hourly. Tlie moan annual temperature at this spc.t appears to bo two degrees lower than that of Melville Island, according to I'urry. The lowest lemperaturo was observed in February, when the mean of eight instruments gave seventy degrees Fahrenheit. ChIoroA)rm froze, essential oils become partly solid and liquid, and, on February 21th, chloric ether was congealed for the first time by natural tern- peri*uro. For astronomical observations, a transit and 'heodolite were mounted on stone pedestals, cemented by ice. The longitude was based on moon culminations, corroborated by occultations of planets, and the solar eclipse of May, 1855. The position of the observatory was found to be in lat. TS" 37', and long. 70° 40' 6". Magnetic observations, both absolute and relative, were also kept up. An excursion was made ninety miles into the interior, when its further progress was arrested by a glacier four hundred feet high, and extending north and west as far as the eye could reach. As to the sledging outfit, they kept on reducing it, until at last they came to the Esqui- maux ultimatum of simplicity — raw meat and a fur bag. For the time being, a man thus becomes a mere animal, only with another animal's skin for a cover. Parties were organized for establishing provision d(^p6t8 to iacilitate researches in the spring, and more than eight hundred miles were traversed. The Green- land coast was traced for one hundred and twenty-five miles to the north and east, and the largest of the three depots along the coast was formed on an island in lat im *i Ll.i 1 >r> '' i DR. KANE'S EXPEDITION. 485 70" 12' 6", and long. 65» 25'. Darkness arrested these proceedings on November 20th, and the sun continued one hundred and twenty days below the horizon. One of the first incidents that occurred was setting the ship on fire in an attempt to exterminate the rats with carbonic-acid gas. It ended in nearly asphyxiating the commander and two or three others. The next inci- dent was one of the dogs going rabid — a phenomenon usually supposed to be associated with the heats of Bummer. Great inconvenience was experienced in the sledge-excursions, and in making " caches " of provi- sions in this region, from the frequent ice-cracks, or cre- vasses, as the Swiss would call them, and into which dogs, sledges, and travellers, were sometimes tumbled, at the imminent risk of being carried below the ice by the current — not to mention the danger to health of an in?- mersion with the thermometer many degrees below zero. The point at which the party were wintering, it is to be observed, was in a higher latitude than the winteWng- stations in the Arctic archipelago ; and, except on Spitz- bergen, no Christians are known to have passed a win- ter so near to the pole. The darkness was so intense that it necessarily entailed inaction ; and it was in vain that they sought to create topics of thought, and, by a forced excitement, to ward off the encroachments of dis- ease. The thermometer fell to ninety-nine degrees below freezing roint. Human beings could only breathe in 8uch a temperature guardedly, and with compressed lips. The influence of such severe cold and long intense darkness was most depressing. Most of the dogs died of affections of the brain, which began, as in the in- Htance of some of the men of the Investigator, with fits, followed by lunacy, and sometimes by lock-jaw. Their disease. Dr. Kane remarks, was as clearly mental as in the case of any human being. Fifty-seven died with 486 DR. KANE'S EXPEDITION. fcai these symptoms. The loss of his dogs sorionsly affected Dr. Kane's plans : new arrangements liad to be formed, which, owing to the smallness of the party, deprived UOG-SLEDGE. of the dogs, were necessarily restricted. The addition of four (logs, contributed by Esquimau.x, permitted the operations to bo considerably extended. Out of nearly three thousand miles traversed, no less than eleven hundred were made with tlie dog-s!edge ; and during the following year Dr, Kane himself travelled fourteen hundred miles with a single team. The month of March brought back perpetual day. The sunshine had reached the ship on the last day of Febru- ary ; they needed it to cheer tliem. The scurvy spots that mottled the faces of almost all gave sore proof of the trials they had undergone. The crew were now (March, l854) almost unfitted by debility for arduous work, and only six dogs remained of nine splendid New foundlunders and thirty-five Esquimaux dogs. " An Arc- tic night and an Arctic day," Dr. Kane emphatically re- marks, " age a man more rapidly and harshly than a year anywhere else in all this weary world." Sometimes, in their excursions over the ice, the men had to drag the eledge, and flounder through snow-drifts in which they eauk at every step nearly over their legs. Va. KANE'S EXPEDITIOlf. 487 SLEDGE-PARTr. In order to ascertain whether it were practicable to force a way over the crowded bergs and mountainous ice of the frozen area toward tlie north, Dr. Kane now organized a party of the strongest men, wlio volunteered their services for the labor, placing himself at their head • and, on the 19th of March, sent out an advanced corps to place a relief cargo of provisions at a suitable dis- tance from the brig. On the ninth day of their absence the latter encountered a heavy gale from the north-eaot ; the thermometer fell to fiffy-seven degrees below zero, and the ice-ridges became so obstructed by snow aa to prevent their depositing their stores beyond fifty miles from the brig. By the 31st three of the members of this advance party returned to the brig, swollen, haggard, and hardly able Uy speak. They had left four of their number iu a tent on the ice, frozen and disabled. On being iuihimtd ot the disaster. Dr. Kane started for the rescue with nine men, under the direction of Mr. Ohlsen, one of the returned party, whose previous exposure, however, Lad rendered his services aa a guide almost useless. We will here quote the commander's own graphic words: "We had been nearly eighteen hours out withoat 'i 488 DR. KANE'S EXPEDITION. I 'I water or food, wlien a new hope cheered us. I think It was Hans, olt Esquimaux hunter, who thought ho eaw a broad sledge-track. The drift had nearly effaced it, and we were some of us doubtful at first whether it was not one of those accidental rifts which the gales make in the surfiice-snow. But, as we traced it on to the deep snow among the hummocks, we were led to footsteps ; and, following these with religious care, wo at last came in sight of a small American flag fluttering from a hummock, and lower down a little Masonic ban- ner hanging from a tent-pole hardly above the drift. It was the camp of our disabled comrades : we readied it &fter an unbroken march of twenty-one hours. •• The little tent was nearly covered. I was not ari;ong the first to come up ; but, when I reached the tt-nt-curtain, the men were standing in silent file on each side of it. With more kindness and delicacy of feeling than is often supposed to belong to sailors, but which is almost characteristic, they intimated their wish that I should go in alone. As I crawled in, and, coming upon the darkness, heard before me the burst of welcome gladness that came from the four poor fellows stretched on their backs, and then for the first time the cheer out- side, my weakness and my gratitude together almost overcame me. ' They had expected me ; they were sure I would come I ' " Wo copy entire Dr. Kane's spirited account of the retreat of the party, now consisting of fifteen souls : " It was fortunate indeed that we were not inexpe- rienced in sledging over the ice. A great part of our track lay among a succession of hummocks ; some of them extended in long lines fifteen and twenty feet high, and so uniformly steep that we had to turn them by a considerable deviation from our direct course ; others that we forced our way through, far above our heads in DK. KANE'S EXPEDITION. 489 height, lying in parallel ridges, with the space betweeu too narrow Ibr the sledge to be lowered into it safely and yet not wide enough for the runners to cross with' out the aid of ropes to stay thorn. These spaces too were generally choked with light snow, hiding the openings between the ice-fragments. They were fear- ful traps to disengage a limb from ; for every man knew that a fracture, or a sprain even, would cost him his life Besides all this, the sledge was top-heavy with its load • the maimed men could not bear to be lushed down tight enough to secure them against falling off. Notwith- standing our caution in rejecting every superfluous bur. den, the weight, including bags and tent, was eleven hundred pounds. " And yet our march for the first six hours was very cheering. We made, by vigorous pulls and lifts, nearly 11 mile an hour, and reached the new floes before we were absolutely weary. Our sledge sustained the trial admirably. Ohlsen, restored by hope, walked steadily at the leading-belt of the sledge-lines ; and I began to feel certain of reaching our half-way station of the day before, where we had left our tent. But we were still n.ne miles from it, when, almost without premonition, wo all became aware of an alarming failure of our energies " I was of course familiar with the benumbed and almost lethargic sensation of extreme cold : and once when exposed for some hours in the midwinter of Baf- fin's Bay, 1 had experienced symptoms which I com- pared to the diffused paralysis of the electro-galvanic shock. But I had treated the deepy comfort of freezing as something like the embellishment of romance. I had eviderrie now to the contrary. " Bonsall and Morton, two of our stoutest men, came to me, begging permission to sleep ; ' they wore not cold : the wind did not enter them now : a little sleep pi u 190 DR. KANE'S EXPEDITION. was all they wanted.' Presently Hans was found nearly stiff under a drift ; and Thomas, bolt upright, had bis eyes closed, and could hardly articulate. At last, John Blake threw himself on the snow, and refused to rise. They ''i "*• nompiain of feeling cold ; but it was in vain t.. • rcstled, boxed, ran, argued, jeered, or repriman 1 , : an imm'-diate halt could not be avoided. " We pitched our tent with much difficulty. Our hands were ,too powerless to strike a fire : we were obliged to do without water or food. Even the spirits (whiskey) had frozen at the men's feet, under all the coverings. We put Bonsall, Ohlsen, Thomas, and Hans, with the other sick men, well inside the tent, and crowded in as many others as we could. Then, leaving the party in charge of Mr. McGary, with orders to come on after four hours' rest, I pushed ahead with William Godfrey, who volunteered to be my companiou. My aim was to reach the half-way tent, and thaw some ice and pemmican before the others arrived. " The floe was level ice, and the walking e.\cellent I cannot tell how long it took us to make the nine miles ; for we were in a strange sort of stupor, and had little apprehension of time. It was probably about four hours. We kept ourselves awake by imposing on each other a continued articulation of words ; they must have been incoherent enough. I recall these hours as among the most wretched I have ever gone through : we were neitlier of us in our right senses, and retiiined a very confused recollection of what preceded our anival ut the tent. We both of us, however, remember a bear, who walked leisurely before us, and tore up as he went ajumper tiiat Mr. McGary had improvidently thrown off the day before. Tie tore it into shreds and rolled it into a ball, but never offered to interfere with our prog- rtiss. 1 remember this, and with it a confused senii- '! I- I" i • DR. KANE'S EXPEDmON. 49] ment that our tont and buffalo-robes might probably share tho same fate. Godfrey, with whom the memory 01 tins day s work may atone for mui.y faults of a later time, had a better eye than myself; and, looking some miles ahead, he could see that our tent was undergoing the same unceremonious treatment. I thought I saw it too ; but we were so drunken with cold that we strode on steadily, and, for aught I know, without quickening our pace, ° "Probably our approach saved the contents of the tent ; for when we reached it the tent was uninjured, though the bear had overturned it, tossing the buffalo- robes and pemmican into the snow; we missed only a couple of blanket-bags. What wo recollect, however and perhaps all we recollect, is, that we had great diffii culty ,n raising it. We crawled into our reindeer sleepmg-bags, without speaking, and for the next three hours slept on in a dreamy but intense slumber. When I awoke, rny long beard was a mass of ice, frozen fast to the buffalo-skm : Godfrey had to cut me out with his jack-knife. Four days after our escape, I found my woollen comfortable with a goodly share of my beard still adhenng to it. "We were able to melt water and get some soup cooked before the rest of our party arrived : it took them but five hours to walk the nine miles. They were |^^on>g well, and, considering the circumstances, in won. derful spu-its. The day was most providentially win.l- l."Bs, with a clear sun. All enjoyed the refreshment we had got ready : the crippled were repacked in their robes ; and we sped briskly toward the hummock-ridges which lay between us and the Pinnacly Berg "The hummocks we had now to meet came properly umh^r th,. designation of sqr.eezed ice. A great chain of bergs stretching from north-west to south-east, mov III I* f < 1 i 1 i 1 \' 1 t' 1 492 DR. KANE'S EXPEDITION. ti'- f- 1 - f - ■-■:- ^^ ^4te 1 [i t t ■ i fiM' i. ! ■■ 1 1 :L :ji ■ 1 ing with tho tides, had compressed the surfrice-floes ; and, rearing them up on their edges, produced an area more like the volcanic pedragal of the basin of Mexico than anything else I can compare it to. " It required desperate efforts to work our way over it — literally desperate, for our strength failed us anew, and we began to lose our self-control. We could not abstain any longer from eating snow ; our raoutiis swelled, and some of us became speechless. Happily, the day was warmed by a clear sunshine, and tho ther- inom(!ter rose to — 4° in the shade ; otherwise we must have frozen. " Our halts multiplied, and we fell half-sleeping on the snow. I could not prevent it. Strange to say, it refreshed us. I ventured upon the experiment myself, making Riley wake me at the end of three minutes ; and I felt so much benefited by it that I timed the men in the same way. They sat on the runners of the sledge, fell asleep instantly, and were forced to wake- fulness when their three minutes were out. " By eight in the evening we emerged from the floes. The sight of the Pinnacly Berg revived us. Brandy, an invaluable resource in emergencj', had already been served out in table-spoonful doses. We now took a longer rest, and a last but stouter dram, and reached the brig at one p. m., we believe, without a halt. " I say we believe; and here, pcrliaps, is the most decided proof of our sufferings ; we were quite delir- ious, and had ceased to entertain a sane apprehension cf the circumstances about us. We moved on like men ill a dream. Our foot-marks, seen afterward, showed tliat we had steered a bee-line for the brig. It must have been by a sort of instinct, for it left no impress on the memory. Bonsall was sor t staggering ahead, and reached the brig, God knows how, for he hud fallen DR. KANES EXPEDITION. 49,T repeatedly al the track-lines ; but he delivered, with punctilious accuracy, the messages I had sent by him to Dr. Hayes I thought myself the soundest of all • for I went through all the formula of sanity, and can recall the muttering delirium of my comrades when we got back into the cabin of our brig. Yet I have been told since of some speeches, and some orders, too of mine which I should have romembered for their absurd- ity, if my mind bad retained its balance "Petersen and WL pple came out to meet us about two miles from the br. .. They brought my dog-team, with the restoratives i had sent for by Bonsall I do not remember their coming. Dr. Hayes entered with judicious energy upon the treatment our condition called for; administering morphine freely, after the usual frictions. He reported none of our brain-symp- toms as serious, referring them properly to the class of those indicationa of exhausted power which yield to a generous diet and rest. Mr. Ohlsen suffered some time from strabismus and blindness ; two others underwent amputation of parts of the foot, without unpleasant consequences ; and two died, in spite of all our efforts This rescue-party had been out for seventy-two hours We had halted in all eight hours, half of our number sleeping at a time. We travelled between eighty and mnety miles, most of th« way dragging a heavy sledge. The mean temperature of the whole time, including the warmest hours of three days, was at minus 41».2. We had no water eicept at our two halts, and were at no time able to intermit vigorous exercise without freezing. "ApriU. Tuesday. —Four days have passed, and I *m again at my record of failures, sound, but aching still in ^very joint. The rescued men are not out of 1-.', ■ * 494 DR. KANE'S EXPEDITION. danger, but their gratitude is very touching. Pray God that they may live I " Tiio lirst appearunce of the Etiquiinaux ia thus d^ Bcribod : " We were watching, in the morning, at Baker's deatl»-bcd, when one of our decit-watch, wiio had been cutting ice for the nielter, came hurrying down to the cabin witli tlio report, ' People hollaing ashore I ' I went up, followed by aa many as could mount the gang- way ; and there they were, on all sides of our rocky harbor, dotting the Know-shores, and emerging from the blackness of the clifl's — wild and uncouth, but evi- dently human beings " As we gathered on the deck, they rose upon the more elevated fragments of the iand-ice, standing singly and conspicuously, like the figures in a tableau of the opera, and distributing themselves around almost in a half-circle. They were vociferating as if to attract our attention, or, perhaps, only to give vent to their sur- prise ; but I could make nothing out of their cries, except ' Iloaii, ha, ha I ' and ' Ka, kaah I ka, kaah I ' repeated over and over again, " There was light enough for me to see that they brandished no weapons, and were only tossing their heads and arms about in violent gesticulations. A more- unexcited inspection showed us, too, that their numbers were not as great, nor their size as Patagonian, as some of us had been disposed to fancy at first. In a word, I was satisfied that they were natives of the country ; and, calling Petersen from his bunk to be my interpreter, 1 proceeded, unarmed, and waving my open hands, toward a stout figure, who made himself conspicuous, and seemc^d to have a greater number near him than the rest. He evidently understood the aiovemert ; for DR. KANE'S EXPEDITION. 490 ho At once, liko a bravo follow, leaped down upon the flo-;, and advanced to meet mo fully half-way. " I[e was nearly a head tailor than myself, extremely poworful and well-built, with swarthy complexion, and black eyes. His dress was a hooded capute or jumper, of mixed white and blue fox-pelts, arranged with somo' thing of fancy ; and booted trousers of white bear-skin,' which, at tlie end of the foot, wore made to terminate with the claws of tho animal. " I soon came to an understanding with this gallant diplomatist. Almost as soon as we commenced our parley, his companions, probably receiving signals from him, llocked in and surrounded us ; but we had no diffl- oulty in making them know, positively, that they must remain where they were, while Motek went with me on board the ship. This gave me the advantage of nego- tiating with an important hostage. " Although this was the first time he had ever seen a white man, he wont with me fearlessly, his compan- ions staying behind on the ice. Hickey took them out what he esteemed our greatest delicacies — slices of good wheat broad, and corned pork, with exorbitant lumps of white sugar ; but they refused to touch them They had evidently no apprehension oi open violence from us. I found, afterward, that several among them were singly a match for the white bear and the walrus, and that they thought us a very pale-faced crew. " Being satisfied with my interview in the cabin 1 sent out word that the rest might be admitted to the slnp : and, although they, of course, could not know now thoir chief had been dealt with, some nine or ten of them followed, with boisterous readiness, upon the bidding. Others, in tht mean time, as if disposed to give us their company for the full time of a v-sit l)rought up from behind the land-ice as many as fifty-six' i 496 DR. KANE'S KXI'EDITION. /^^^B 1 6ne (logH, with tlieir Hledgos, uikI Hocured lliotn withir two hundred foot of the brig, driving thoir hincos itit and plants, and birda, and birds' eggs, became moid common. They spent a week to regain etrengili at bo productive a spot, which thej designated as " Provi- dence Halt." At the Crimson Cliffs they again got a plentiful supply of birds. On the 21 st of July they reached Cape York, and made immediate preparations for crossing Melville Bay, which was a';complibhed with great labor and suffering. Once more they were nearly starving, when a great seal came providentially to their succor. Their feet were ro swollen that they were obliged to cut open their canvas boots. The most unpleasant symptom was that they coidd not sleep. On the 1st of August they sighted the Devil's Thumb. Hence they fetched the Duck Islands, and, passin^^ to the south of Cape Shackleton, landed on lerra Jirma. Two or three days more, and they were -under th5 shadow of Karkamoot. "Just then a fiimiliar sound came to us over the water. We had often listened to the screeching of the gulls, or the bark of the fox, and mistaken it for the ' Iluk ■ of the Esquimaux ; but this had about it an inflection not to be mistaken, for it died away in the familiar cadence of a ' halloo.' " ' Listen, Petersen ! Oars — men ? "^^Tiat is it ? ' and he listened quietly at first, and then, trembling, said, in a half-whisper, ' Dannemarkors I ' " It was the TJpernavik oil-boat, and the next day they were at Upernavik itself, after being eighty-four days in the open air. They could not remain within the four walls of a house without a distressing sense of suffo- cation. From Dr. Kane's report to the Navy Department we quote the summing up of the results of the expediti(m. They embrace : Dll. KANE'S EXPEDITION. 616 " I. The survey and delineation of the north coast of Greenland to its termination by a great glacier. ^ " 2. The survey of this glacial mass, and its exten. eion northward into the new land named Washington. "3. The discovery of a large channel to the north- west, free from ice, and leading into an open and expanding area, equally free. The whole embraces an iceless area of four thousand two hundred miles. "4. The discovery and delineation of a large tract of land, forming the extension northward of the Americau continent. " 5. The completed survey of the American coast to the south and west, as far as Cape Sabine ; thus con- necting our survey with the last determined position of Captain Inglcfiold, and completing the circuit of the straits and bay heretofore known at their southernmost opening as Smith's Sound." The view of the open sea referred to was obtained by William Morton, from a precipitous headland,— the furthest point attained by the party, in latitude 81» 22* N., and longitude 65" 35' W., at an altitude of five hundred feet above the sea. The reasons assigned by our author for regarding it an iceless open sea are the following: " 1. It was approached by a channel entirely free from ice, having a length of fifty-two and a mean width of thirty-six geographical miles. " 2. The coast-ice along the water-line of this channel had been completely destroyed by thaw and water- action ; while an unbroken belt of solid ice, one hundred and twenty-five miles in diameter, extended to the south. "3. A gale from the north-east, of fifty-four Lours' duration, brought a heavy sea fron that quarter, with- out disclosing any drift or other ico. I 516 DR. KLINE'S EXPEDITION. "4 Dark nimbus clouds and water-sky invested the • north-eastern horizon. " 5. Crowds of migratory birds were observed throng- ing its waters." There is much in Dr. Kane's wonderful narrative to remind the reader of the story of old William Barentz, who, two hundred and fifty-nin? years ago, wintered on the coast of Nova Zembla. His men, seventeen in number, broke down during the trials of winter, and three died, just as of the eighteen under Dr. Kane three had gone, Barentz abandoned his %'essel, as the Ameri- cans abandoned theirs, took to his boats, and escaped along the Lapland coast to lands of Norwegian civiliza- tion. The Americans embarked with sledges and boats to attempt the same thing. They had the longer jour- ney, and the more difficult one, before them. Barentz lost, as they did, a cherished comrade by the wayside. But one resemblance luckily does not exist: Barentz himself perished — Dr Kane lived to write an account of all that he suffered in a noble cause. No mere abstract of his narrative can give an idea of its absorbing inter- est. His book is above all coinmon praise, oa account of the simple, manly, unaffected style in which the nar- rative of arduous enterprise and firfn endurance is told. It is obviously a faithful record of occurrences, made by a man who was quite aware that what he had to tell needed no extraneous embellishment. Theie is, how- ever, BO much of artistic order in the mind of the nar- rator, that the unvarnished record has naturally shaped itself into a work of distinguished excellence upon literary grounds. The scenes which it describes are so vividly and vigorously brought before the reader, that there are few who sit down to the perusal of the narrative but will fancy, before they rise from the eu ^^M i' 1 1 1 'wt iB 1 H 1 DR. KANE'S EXI'EDITION. 519 grossing occupation, their own flesh paralyzed by the cold one hundred degrees greater than frost, and their blood scurvy-filled by the four months' sunlessness It is only just also to remark, that there is unmistak- able evidence, in the pages of this interesting book, that the doctor was no less eminently gifted for the duties of his command than he has been happy in his relation of its history. Every step in his arduous path seems to have been taken only after the exercise of deliberately matured forethought. A few illustrations must be gleaned, from the many that are scattered through the pages of his journal, to direct attention to this honorable characteristic. When the doctor had formed his own resolution to remain by the brig through the second winter, he made the following entry, under the date of August 22 : "I shctU call the officers and crow together, and make known to them, very fully, how things look, and what hazards must attend such an effort as has been proposed among them. They shall have my views unequivocally expressed. I will then give them twenty- four hours to deliberate ; and, at the end of that time, all who determine to go shall say so in writing, with a full exposition of the circumstances of the case. They shall have the best outfit I can give, an abundant share of our remnant stores, and my good-by blessing." On the 6th of April the Esquimaux auxiliary, Hans, was gone to Etah, with a sledge, to seek a supply of walrus-meat, when, as we have already stated, William Godfrey deserted from the ship ; and, the commander suspected, with somd sinister design upon Hans and the sledge. Dr. Kane then wrote : " Clearly, duty to this poor boy calls me to seek him ; and, clearly duty to those dependent men calls me to stay. Long and uncomfortably have I pondered over +he8e opposing calls, b'lt at last have come to a determination. Hans } • 6:o DR. KANE'S EXPEDITION was futhful to mo ; the danger to him is Iinmincnt, the diingcr to those loft behind only contingent upon my failure to return. With earnest trust in that same Supervising Agency which has so often before, in graver straits, interfered to protect and carry me through, 1 have resolved to go after Hans." The Esquimaux lad was proof both against the vio- lence and the seduction of the deserter. The com- mander found him invalided, but safe, at Etah. Hans, however, did not return to Fiskernaes with the expedi- tion. His fate is involved in romance. Venus Vietrix nas a representative even in frost-land. The reader must go to the pages of Dr. Kane to know what became of Hans. When the preparations for the final escape were under consideration, the following record was made in the doctor's journal : " Whatever of oxecutive ability I have picked up during this brain-and-body-wearying cruise warns me against initnature preparation or vacil- lating purposes. I must have an exact discipline, a rigid routine, and a perfectly thought-out organization. For the past six weeks I have, in the intervals between my duties to the sick and the ship, arranged the sched- ule of our future course ; much of it is already under way. My journal shows wha! I have done, but what there is to do is appalling." Appalling as it was, the heroic man wiio had to look the necessity in the faco was equal to the position. There can be no doubt that it was "the exact discipline, the rigid routine, and the pcrfei\' Ihoucjht-out organization," which restored the Bixteen survivors of the expedition to civilization and their homes. CHAPTER XX. ACTIOH or CORORUg. — RBLISF EXPEDITION IN 8KARCD or DR. RAIia. — HAltTSTEIN TBK COMMANDRR. — ICR ENCODNTRRS. — gRABCDBg. — TBI LOST rOCJID. — NARRATIVE BT JOHN K. KANE. — ICEDRROS. — UIKDB. — ERgOIHAUX. — THE UEETINO. — TUB RESOLDTB. iTOCNO BT AUBKKAH WHAliER!). — IMTEKNATIONAL C0DUTES1E9. The apprehensions caused at home, by the detention of Dr. Kane and his party, produced u resolution of Congress, approved February 3d, 1855, authorizing tlic Secretary of the Navy to despatch a suitable steamer and tender fov the relief of the absent voyagers. The bark Release and the steamer Arctic were accordingly procured and equipped, Lieut. Ilartstein having been appointed to the command. lie was accompanied b'- a brother of Dr. Kane. They reached Lievely, I^le of Di ,co, Greenland, July 5th, 1855, having encountered tl'j first iceberg in latitude 51° 30' north, longitude 51° 4.yl' west. With seaman-like generosity, Ilartstein, in his letter from this place to the Secretary of the Navy, says : " To avoid further risk of human life, in a search so extremely hazardous, I would suggest the impropriety of making any efibrts to relieve us if we should not return ; feeling confident that we shall be able to accomplish all neces- Bary for our own release, under the most extraordinary circumstances." Entering the closely-packed floe of Melville Bay, tbf %% •■.■|;', t B22 THE KANE RELIEF EXPEDITION. relief vessels forced a passage into the North VVatei on the murni'ig of the ' "^th of Au|ru8t. Passing in good view of the coast from Capo York to VVolatonholme Ishind, liartaloin, in the stoamor, examined Ciipe Alex- ander and Sutherland Island. Passing on to the most north-weeteru point in sight (Point Pclhani), he noticed a few stones heaped together, which, on examination, gave assurancfi of Kane's having been there ; but no clue was aflorded. Pushing on to latitude 18"' 32' north, the steamer was opposed by a solid, hummocky field of very heavy ice, to which no limit was visible, inter- spersed as i* was with bergs, all diifting to the south- ward. Taking now a retrograde course, they examined Capo Ilatherton and Littleton Island, and finally took refuge under a projecting point, some fifteen miles north- west of Cape Alexander. Here they were startled by the hail of human voices. Going on shore, they found u party of Esquimaux, and among them various articles that must have belonged to Dr. Kane and his men. An examination of the most intelligent of the natives led to the understanding that Dr. Kane, having lost his vessel somewhere to the north, had been at that spot, with his Interpreter (Carl Petersen), and seve. een others, in two boats and a sled, and, after remaining ten days, had gone south to Upcrnavik. After some more reconnoitring of the coast, Ilart^ stein, in the Arctic, found himself firmly beset by the ice, and thought, for a time, he was in winter quarters ; but, after twenty-four hours' heavy battering, he got out. After having made nearly the whole circuit of the northern part of Baffin's Bay, with the exception of a deep ice-locked indentation between Capes Cowbermere and Isabella, he returned, and, in company with the Release, examined Possession Bay and Pond's Bay, 6ring guns, burning blue-lights, and throwing up root- I .^ MR. J. K. KANE'S NARRA TIVK. 523 etB. llo now ilotcrminod to proceed to Uponuivik, and, if lie did nut tlioro find tho tnisslng party, to procoiMl nort'i again, and winter in tlio ico. This was soon fonnd tc bo unnecessary. At Lievely the missinjj; party woro received with niaiiy welcomoH on board the vesKols sent for their relief. We will leave it to Mr. John K. Kane, the brother of the doctor, to narrate, in hia animated account of tlic relief expedition, the manner and the inci- dents of the encounter. The article, portions of which we quote, was originally contributed to Puhiam's Mag- azinc; and conveys, in a novel and spirited style, much interesting description and information in regard to the latitudes visited. At Etah the relief expedition came in contact with the Esquimaux who had befriended Dr. Kane ; and Mr. J. K. Kane selected one of tho most forward and intel- ligent of the natives, ;i boy named Mayouk, and endeav- ored by signs to get some information from him. Wo present the following in Mr. Kane's own words : " Mayouk was very quick in understanding us, and equally ready in inventing modes of conveying intelli- gence. Lead-pencil and paper were called into requisi- tion. I took out my note-book, drew a rough sketch of a brig, and showed it to him. lie, at once, said 'Dokto Kaycn,' and pointed to the north. I then drew a reverse 1 sketch, and pointed south. But Mayouk, chakingtJiis head, began to sway his body backward and forward, to imitate rowing ; then said Dokto Kayen again, and pointed south. On this, I drew a whole fleet of boats, and invited him to point out how many of these he referred to. He took the penci': from my hand, and altered the sterns of two into sharp- pointed ones, and then held up two fingers, to indicate that there were two of such. I now drew carefully two whale-boats ; he made signs of approval, as much as to 62-k MIC J. K. KANL'a NABIUTIva pny that wiia the thing ; ami, iiicoiitiiiL'titly sqimttiiig down, iniitattvi the? voico and gcHturcH of a tlnjr-iliivi'r, ( lacknig un imaginary wliip, ami crying liup-hnp-iiui), at tho top of hin voico. Aftur which poiformanco, ho laughed irnmoderutoly, uiiil, again puMiting Bouth, Haiti Dukto Kayen. " I waH not certain as to his moaning ; but, on my drawing a picture of a dog-tcain, ho went through tho wiiolo performance afresh, and Hhowed the mont extrav- agant Higns of delight at being underHtood. We found out how many dog-sledges and how many men there were of tho doctor's party, in tiie samo manner. Wo examined several other natives separately, and they all tuld the same story ; nor could we confuse them as to tho ninnber of men and boats ; they were all clear on that head. Nineteen, they made it, neither more nor less. We tried our best to make them say that tho hoats had gone north, and the vessel south ; but with- out success. Mayouk, on one occasion, being hard pressed, stopped his ears, so as, at least, to secure him- self from being supposed to assent to what he had nut learning or language enough to controvert. " At length, a bright thought struck him. lie ran down to the beach, and got two white stones ; laid them on the ground, and, pointing to the floating masses of ice in the bay, signified to ua that tlicHe rep- resented the ice. Next, he took a common clay pipo of Mr. Lovell's, and, pointing to the north, said, vomiak Booak, or big ship, ' vomiak sooak, Dokto Kayen.' lie next pushed the pipo up between the pebbles, and then pressed them together till the pijie was crushed. Lastly, he pointed to tho south, and began imitating the rowing of a boat, the cracki?ig of whips, and the hup-hupping of a dog-driver, vociferating, at intervals, ' Dokto Kayen, Vie I he ! he t ' We tried our best to find uut how long '(' ! ^3^ I; -'^'' §jRM*^&:A_Mff»\ The Dead Motiieu and The Dead Motiieu and her Cuus. I MR J. K. KANE'S NAP^UTTVE. 525 it had been since the Dokto Kayens had loft them for It was evident that this was their name for the whole party ; but we could not make them understand Thev would only tell us that their guests had been with them for some time. This they did by pointing to the south, and then following the track of the sun till it reached the north ; then, after stretching themselves out on the ground, and closing their eyes, as if in sleep, would again point to the south, rise up, go down to the lake and pretend to wash their faces. The gesture lay in pretence only, however, for they seemed to regard the vvaslung of the Dokto Kayens as a remarkable religious observance. It certainly was not one which had been practically ingrafted into their own formulary of good works. These unsophisticated children of the frost-land never wash off dirt, for the simple reason that of dirt, as such, they have no conception or idea. "Improvidence is another trait of these 'fresh chil- dren of impulse.' We were at their village as late as the 19th of August. Yet, although the auks were flying round them in such quantities that one man could have been able to catch a thousand an hour, they had not enough prepared for winter to last two days They were all disgustingly fat, and always eating, -perhaps an average ration of eighteen pounds per diem,— yet they had lost seven by starvation during the last winter though relieved, as far as we could make it out, by the Dokto Kayens. "They suffer dreadfully from cold, too ; yet there is an abundance of excellent peat, which they might dig during the summer. They know its value as fuel and are simply too lazy 'o stack it. The little auk, which forms their principal food, may be said also to be their only fuel. Indeed, it quite fills the place which the seal holds among the more southern Esquimaux. TheJi 626 MR. J. K. KANE'S NARRATIVE. clothes are lined with ita skins, they burn the fat, and. Betting aside the livers and hearts, to be dried, and con Bunied as bonbons during the winter, they eat the meat and intestines cooked and raw, both cold and at blood heat. " They are very hospitable ; the minute we arrived, all hands began to catch birds and prepare them for us. Tearing off the skins with their teeth, they stripped the breasts to be cooked, and presented us with the juicy entrails and remaining portions to eat raw, and stay our appetites. The viands did not look inviting to us, who had witnessed tlieir preparation ; but they appeared 80 hurt at our refusing to eat, that we had to explain that it was not cooked but raw birds we wanted. This was satisfactory. They set out at once to catch some for us ; and in a few moments three of them were ou their way down to our boat loaded with birds. " Though all the natives had told us that Dr. Kane's party had gone southwards after leaving their settle- ment, still we were far from certain that tliey Iiad con- tinued their progress in that direction, and Captain Ilartstein was for some time in doubt as to the course which we ought to pursue ; whether we should return at once to Upernavik by our old track, or run across the bay and examine its western .oast. He finally determined on ue latter, believing thut, if Dr. Kane and his party had gone down the eastern coast, they would by this time either have been lost in Melville Bay, or safely arrived at Upernavik ; while, on tlie contrary, if they had tried to reach the English fleet in Lancaster Sound, being ignorant of its desertion, they miglit be there now in a starving condition. " We reached Capi. Alexander without any incident worthy of note, and, after searciiing its barren rocks to nopurpose, built a cairn, and in it deposited the record MR J. K. KANE'S N.UIRATIVE. 627 ^f our wai t of success. We next ran down to Suthe»« land Island, took up our now useless fiag-stufi; and tore down the cuirn we had placed there on our way up There was a poor little white fox watching us from the .'ocks above, while we were at work, evidently wonder- ing what it all meant. He came so close that we could have knocked him down with a boat-hook, but we let mm alone; we were not short of provisions, and had no time to convert him into a specimen. " We pushed on through rain and fog to Hakluyt Island, where we found our comrades of the Release, and spent a few hurried hours in their company. " The red snow, that Dr. Kane bus described in his narrative, was abundant here ; and wherever between the ledges of the rock there was a chance lor soil, a tiny httle horseradish sprang up ambitiously through the irost, with leaves no oigger than your thumb-nail. Ihe miniature plant, flower, root, and all, might have nlled a very moderate tea-cup. "It is hardly worth while to tell of our efforts to find' Captain Inglefield's Esquimaux settlement in Whale Sound. It was the old story of fog and drizzle, ice and- sleet. We gave it up, and, taking the Release in tow,, bent our course for Lancaster Sound. "But the ice, the everlasting ice! We were more than two hundred miles off when it caught us. It was heavier than any wo had seen even in Melville Bay For some days it held us like flies in amber, in spite of tails, with now and then a puff to fill them, and all the Bteam that Newell could raise in his boiler. It was indeed, a meroy that a gale caught us at last, or we might have been there still. We drove before it, the ice keeping us company, as if loth to lose us, and, find- ing that we could not reach Cape Isabella, mtxde a detour to Possession Bay. it m 628 MR, J. K. KANE'S NARRATIVE, ■Pi 1 " Pond's Bay, as it ia called, seemed to all of us loth' iiig else I)iit an extension of Admiralty Jnlet. We kept along- its north coast for thirty-five niiles, and could see, periiaps, forty miles further, but without finding its westernmost shore, A visit to an Esquimaux village, some twenty miles up the bay, was the only incident. The men, with a single exception, were out on their hunting-parties ; but the women were there, as commu- nicative in their unknown dialect as any we had met of the grosser sex. They were certainly no beauties, and their costume was a little extravagant even for the Esquimaux fashions, as we had seen them. They had their faces tattooed with lampblack, in a set of dotted lines, radiating from the corners of the mouth ; and their very long wide boots were hitched, awkwardly enough, by a loop to the waistband of their seal-skin trousers, "They appeared to be of a superior race to the Greenland natives. They were larger and stronger, their kayaks were better built, and they had much more roomy torits. " The whole of Pond's Bay showed one dreary, in- hospitable coast-line. We were all of us glad when our commander gave the order to make for the eastern coast of Baffin's Bay. " Wc had an eight-knot breeze, and were not more than two iiundred miles from Upernavik. There was every chance of the wind continuing, so that we confi- dently expected to reach that port in the course of the week. We thought we were to the southward of the pack ; and the heavy sea, which made us all sea-sick after our long exemption from rough water, strengthened this conviction. But we were mistaken. The very next day it was before us, an impenetrable barrier. There was no help for it ; we had to run further to the south — how much further it was hardly worth while to MR. J. K. KANES NARllATIVE. 629 guess. It was no very diflScult matter, you would think, to run along the edge of the ice till we came to the end of it, and then run across. But this ice had all the irregularities of a coast : large inlets and bays run- ning into it, and capes projecting just where you do not expect to meet them ; and, over and over again, after rur.iiing for a whole day, just as we were sure we had reached its southern boundary, we would find ourselves in a cul-dc-sac, with the ice on both sides of us. At last we came to a dead halt. We were fairly in the pack — it was before us, behind us, and on both sides of us. " Day after day passed, and we found we were drift- ing to the south, fairly glued in. There are only two incidents that I speak of in or about this pleasant little travel. One was just as it began. It was a meeting with an ancient whaler, the Eclipse, of Peterhead, with a jolly old Captain Gray, who insisted on all hands making a trial of a regular Scotchman's hospitality, and tossed half a dozen hams after us into the boat, when we refused to take the half of his cabin stores. The other was the gale that ended it. It was loss pleasant at the time ; but, like some other things that I have met with in this world, its effects were better than its promise. What a night it was ! The bark ran into an iceberg, and came very near being lost. She fired thirteen guns for assistance, but the crashing and grind- ing was so tremendous that, though we were not tnree quarters of a mile off, and the wind was blowing directly towards us, we did not hear one of them. I never shall forget the melancholy figure she presented on joining us next morning. We felt quite a glow of sympathy for the poor Release, till Captain Ilartstein's hailing our steamer with the information that our cutwater looked 34 B'' !!!»■■ i Jlia J_Ji 530 MR. J K. KANE'S NARHAITVE. like a prize-fighter's nose. We then remembered that we, too, had a niglit of it. " After this gale we had little or no more trouble with the ice ; one or two trifling detentions of a few days brought us to the open water. We had drifted so far to the south that Lievel}' was nearer than Upernavik, and Captain 1,'artstcin determined to put in there. Wo had a heavy gale the night after we left the ice ; but so glad were we all to get clear of it, that I heard no com- plaints about rough weather. It cleared away beauti- fully towards morning, and we were all on the deck, adnn'ring the clear water, and the fantastic shapes of the water-washed icebergs. All hands were in high spirits ; the gale had blown in the right direction, and in a few hours we should be in Liovcly. The rocks of its land-locked harbor were already in sight. We were discussing our news by anticipation, when the man in the crow's nest cried out, ' A brig in the harbor ! ' and the next nn'nute, before we had time to congratulate each other on the chance of sending letters home, that slie had hoisted American colors — a delicate compli- ment, we thought, on the part of our friends, the Danes. " I believe our captain was about to return it, when, to our surprise, she hoisted another flag, the veritable one which had gone out with the Advance, bearing the name of Mr. Henry Grinnell. At the same moment, two boats were seen rounding the pt)iiit, and pulling towards us. Did they contain our lost friends ? Yes ; the sailors had settled that. 'Those are Yankees, sir; no Danes ever feathered their oars that way,' said an old whaler to me. " For thosH wJio had friends among the missing party, the few minutes that followed were of bitter anxiety ; for the men in tKe boats were long-bearded and weather MR. J. K. KANE'S NARRATIVE. 531 beaten ; they had strange, wild costumes ; there was no possibility of recognition. Dr. Kane, standing up- right in the stern of the flrst boat, with his spy-glass elung round his neck, was the first identified ; then the big form of Mr. Brooks ; in another monsent all hands of thorn were on board of us. "It was curious to watch the effects of the excite- ment in diflerent people, — the intense quietude of some, the boisterous delight of others ; how one man would become intensely loquacious, another would do nothing but laugh, and a third would creep away to some out- of-the-way corner, as if he were afraid of showing iiow he felt. Uow hungry they all were for news, and how eagerly they tore open the home letters ; most of them, poor i'ellows, had pleasant tidings, and all were pro- pared to make the best of bad ouep.. We were in the harbor, with a fleet of kayaks dancing in welcome around and behind us, before the greetings were half ended, for they repeated themselves over and over again. " Our old friend, Mr. Olrik, was with the newcomers, and as happy as the rest. Ilis h )spitality, when wo reached the shore, was absolutely boundless ; and his house and"table were always at our strvice. Altogether, I never passed three more delightful days than those last days at Lievely. Balld every night ; feasts and junketings every day ; and, pleasantcst of all, those dear home-like tea-tables, with shining tea-urn and clear, white sugar, round which we sat, waiting for the water to boil, and talking of Russia and the Czar, and the world outside the Circle ; while Mrs. Olrik would look up from her worsted-work, and the children pressed round me to see the horses and dogs I was drawing for them. It was enough to make one forget his red flannel shirt and rough Arctic rig ; Melville Bay and the pack m ' r.r I^Mi 1 w --'S ■ ')32 MR. J. K. KANE'S NAliilATIVE. ■ocmed fiibles. The Daiiiah doctor, too, arrived from FiHkernaes, a very iiitelligont goiitlcmun, and wo talked away bravely to Iiim in bad Latin. He brought i8 % present of remdoer-moat, — a now dish for some of ub, tasting like a cross between Virginia rnoiintiiin mutton and our reniuiylvauia red deer. But our stay in Lievely ended. The propeller got up steam, and, taking our bark and the Danish brig Marianne in tow, steamed out of the harbor. All the inhabitants of the town wore on tbo shore to see tho last of US. Our visit had been as memorable an incident to them as to ourselves. Where ten dollars is a largo marriage dower. Jack's libciaiity of expenditure seemed absolutely royal. There wore moistened eyes among them, for they arc essentially kind-hearted ; and even tho roar of our cannon, in answer to tho Danish salute, though it resounded splendidly among the hills, was scarcely lieeded, as they stood, with folded arms, watch- ing us disappear in the distance. We carried Mr. Olrik quite out to sea before we bade him good-by ; and it was not until the next morning that the Marianne cast loose. " Wo reached home without any incident worthy of note, except that the Esquimaux dogs we had on board did nothing but howl during the whole voyage, — an amiable peculiarity, which still characterizes the single specimen of which I am at present the happy possessor. There he goes — I hear him now." The return of Hartstein with the survivors of Kane's expedition closed for a time the record of the search for Sir John Franklin. Never was there such a disastrous state oi tijings in the Arctic regions : six ships loft in the ice ! Tho Investigator at Mercy Bay, the Eesolute and Intrepiu FINI-rxOI OF THE UE80LUTE. S33 «l Mt'lvillo IhIuiiU, tlio AsHistance and Pioneer iu Wcl llKgton Cliannol, and the Advance in Sniitli's Sound, to b6 added to the Erebus and Terror, wliicli there was ro^Hon to believe had been lelt years before soniewhoro Id tho Btrait of James Romh. The Arctic archipelago w*fl studded with abandoned ships! None conid have imagined tiiat any of these gallant 8)>ip8 would ever carry sail again ; or tliat we might not truly say of each of tliein, in tho words of Dr. Kane. "Tho ice is round her still," But of one of these vessels there is a further story to tell ; and, as it recounts a kindly interchange of courte- sies between the two nations which vied with each other in heroic, thougli fruitless eflorts, to rescue tho missing navigators, it will form a pleasant interlude in our narra- tive. In the month of September, 1855, the whaler George Henry, Captain Buddington, of New London, Connecti- cut, was drifting along, beset by the ice, in Baffin's Bay, when one morning the captain, looking through his glass, saw a large ship some nft( n or twenty miles dis- tant, apparently working her way towards him. Day after day, while helplessly imprisoned in the pack, ho watched her coming nearer and nearer. On the seventh day, the mate, Mr. Quail, and three men, were sent to find out what she was. After a hard day's journey over the ice, —jumping from piece to piece, and pushing themselves along on isolated cakes, — they were near enough to see that sho was lying on her larboard side, firmly imbedded in the ice. They shouted lustily, as soon as they got within hailing distance ; but there was no answer. Not a soul was to bo seen. P'or one moment, as they came along- side, the men faltered, with a superstitious feeling, and hesitated to go on board. A moment after, they had •#1^ IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) /. 1.0 I.I ■ 50 ""*= ■ ^ fuu>- 1.8 L25 llll 1.4 lli:r= 1.6 y; ^ /2 >> 0/m # ^ Photpgraphic G Sciences brporation 23 WEST MAIN STREET WEBSTER, N.Y. 14580 (716) 872-4503 m.s '^ 634 FINDING OF THE RESOLUTE. i vho, . having accompanied me on my return from my first expedition, and after remaining with me for two years now go back with me on this second voyage. I enter upon this undertaking with the liveliest hope of success. I shall not, like previous explorers, set my foot on shore ior a few days or weeks, or, like others, journey among men whose language to me is unintelligible. I shall live for two or three years among the Esquimaux, and gain their confidence; and I have the advantage of under- standing their language and of making all my vishea known to them." The second expedition of Hall occupied more than five years, instead of the two or three years which he had anticipated. During the last three years he wivs com- pletely shut out from communication with home. Up to 18(>7, he wrote as opportunity aflbrded to his fast friend and warm supporter, Henry Griiinell. In 1868, when he fully expected to sail for home, no whaling-vessel came back from the Arctic seas, and he was compelled to linger another year in that region. Late in 1869 he returned and was received with plaudits not less warm than those which had welcomed Kane, fifteen years before. Congress, in a few mouths, passed a bill making adequate ' api)ropriations for a national expedition to the Arctic re- gions, to be placed under the direction of Captain Hall, but of this we shall speak in detail in our next chapter' telling all that is known of the Polaris and her, in somJ respects, disastrous voyage. Captain Hall's letter, or report, to Henry Grinnell, Esq dated Repulse Bay, June 20, 1869, states in detail the in'l tormation he had gained, and the relics he had secured of the Franklin expedition. The information it is not ne-' cessary to recapitulate here, as it is inainlv corroboratory oi what Rae and Anderson bad already obtained (sea ^mtUfmii^SSt SEARCniXO FOR POSSIBLE SURVIVORS. 575 Chapter XXVITT). StiP., we make a few brief extracts which wc deem sufficiently interesting to be worth the space they occupy: "This (lay I have returned from a sledge journey of ninety days to and from King William's Land. It waa my purpose, and every preparation was made, to make this journey last season, but my attention then having been called to Melville Peninsula, in the vicinity of Fury and Hecla Straits, where native report had it that white men had been seen, I directed my expedition there, by way of Am-i-tokc, Oog-lik Isle, Ig-loo-lik, with the ardent liope and expectation of rescuing alive some of Sir John Franklin's lost companions. The result of the journey wiis the finding of the tcnting-place of a few white men and a stone pillar they had erected close by it at the bot- tom of Parry Bay, which is some fifty miles south of the western outlet of Fury and Hecla Straits, and the visiting rtf several places where white men and their traces had lieen seen by natives of Ig-loo-lik and vicinity in or about the years 1866-67. I also gained much information from the natives of Ig-loo-lik, North Oog-lik Isle, and there- abouts. . . . "The result of my sledge journey to King William's Land may be summed up thus: None of Sir John Frank- lin's companions ever reached or died on Montreal Island. It was late in July, 1848, that Crozier and his party, of about forty or forty-five, passed down tiie west coast of King William's Land, in the vicinity of Cape Herschel. The party was dragging two sledges on the sea ice, which wiis nearly in its last stage of dissolution, one a large sledge laden with an awning-covered boat, and tlic other a small one laden with provisions and camp material. Just before Crozier and party arrived at Cape Her, redly would have seen it. In and about this boat, besides the many skeletons alluded to, were found many relics, most of them similar in character to those McClintock ha« enumerated as having been found in the boat he discov- ered. . . . " The same year that the Erebus and Terror were aban- doned one of them consummated the great Northwest pas- sage, having five men aboard. The evidence of the exact number is circumstantial. Everything about this North- west passage ship of Sir John Franklin's expedition was in complete order ; four boats were hanging high up at the ship's sides and cue was on the quarter-deck ; the vessel was in its winter housing of sail or tent cloth. This vessel was found by the Ook-joo-lik natives, near O'Reilly Island, lat. 68 deg. 30 min. north, long. 99 deg. 8 min. west, early in the spring of 1849, it being frozen in the midst of a smooth and unbroken floe of ice of only one winter's for- mation. . . . " To complete the history of Sir John Franklin's last expedition, one must spend a summer on King William's Land, with a considerable party, whose only business should be to make searches for records which beyond doubt lie buried on that island. I am certain, from what I have heard the natives say, and from what I saw myself, that little or nothing more can be gained by making searches th' fe when the island is clothed in its winter garb, for the Es(juimaux have made search after search, over all the ccast of King William's Land, on either side, from its Bouthern extreme up to Cape Felix, the northern point, for anything and everytliing that belonged to the com- panions of Sir John Franklin, and these searches have been made when the snow had nearly all disappeared from the land. " My sledge company from Repulse Bay to Kn)g Wil- liam's Laud consisted of eleven souls, all Esquimaux ii Mr ' 678 DANGER FROM THE NATIVES. Although they are us untamable aa eagles by nature, yet by their aid alone I was enabled to reach points otherwise inaccessible, and when there to gain much important in- formation relative to the fate of Sir John Franklin's ex- ])cdition. I tried hard to accomplish far more than I did, but not one of the company would, on any account what- ever, consent to remain with me in that country and make a summer search over that island, which, from informa- tion I had gained of the natives, I had reason to suppose would be rewarded by the discovery of the whole of the manuscript records that, had accumulated in that great ex- pedition, and been deposited in a vault a little way inland or eastward of Cape Victory. Knowing, as I now do, the character of the Esquima'jx in that part of the country m which King William's Land is situated, I cannot wonder at nor blame the Repulse Bay natives for their refusal to remain there, as I desired. It is quite probable that had we remained, as I wished, no one of us would ever have got out of the country alive. How could we expect, if we had got into straitened circumstances, that we should have received better treatment from the Esquimaux of that country than the one hundred and five souls who were under the command of the heroic Crozier, some time after the lauding on King William's Land ? Could I and my party, with reasonable safety, have remained to make a summer search on King William's Land, it is not only probable that we should have recovered the logs aud journals of Sir John Franklin's expedition, but have gathered up and entombed the remains of nearly one hun- dred of his companions, for they lie about the places where the three boats have been found, and at the large camp- ing-place at the head of Terror Bay and the three other places that I have already mentioned. In the cove, west Bide of Point Richardson, however. Nature herself has opened her bosom and given sepulture to the remains of the immortal heroes that have died there. Wherever the t ■ r HONORS TO THE DEAD. 579 Esquimaux have found the graves of Franklin's corapan- icns they have dug them open and robbed the dead, leav- ing them exposed to the ravages of wild beasta. On Todd's Island the remains of five men were not buried, but after the savages had robbed them of every articlft that could be turned to any account for their use, their dogs were allowed to finish the disgusting work. " "Wherever I found that Sir John Franklin's compan- ions had died I erected monuments, then fired salutes and waved the Star-Spangled Banner over them in memory and respect of the great and true discoverers of the North- west passage. " I could have gathered great qi xntitics — a very great variety — of relics of Sir John Frat^klin's expedition, for they are now possessed by natives all over the Arctic regions that I visited or heard of, from Pond's Bay to Mackenzie River. As it was, I had to be satisfied with taking upon our sledges about 125 pounds' total weight of relics from natives about King William's Land." »!i' ■"*! .■ u IS! CHAPTER XXIV. •lirK l':..ARIS Kxi.K,.l,,„N._r„AIUCTl:K OK THE VESSEL. - ITS OUTKIT Crkvv and OrnoKHs-lT I.kaves New York ,k Ju,.r, 1871. -Arrn VAr, AT, ANP nKPARTlRE KBOM, UPKRNAVIK. - REACHES THE IlKiWEST LATlTll.lC KVKU ATTAI.NKI. _ VAl.UAIir.K DiSCOVKRIKS. - WiNTER OOAR- TKKS IN T„ANK-(;n„ IlAKnoR, r>o,.AR,S RaY. - CaPTAIN IFaU/s StEDOR KxPr.oRATioNs.-II,s Death anh Solemn Burul.- Subsequent Move- ments OK THE Polaris until a Gale separates her from the Party CN THE ICE-RAKT. As we have intimated in the foregoing chapter, on Captain Hall's return from his second expedition, the in- terest in Arctic explorations became intense tluoughout this country, and Congress, echoing the prevalent senti- ment, determined to fit out and send a well-appointed ex- pedition, under the command of the now renowned Hall, and ai)propriated a considerable sum for the purpose! Without entering into i)rosy details, we will but remark the steamer Polaris was selected, thoroughly equipped, completely pre .isioned, manned with a fine crew and a full corps of efficient officers api)ointed. The vessel waa probably the finest and the best calculated for the enter- prise that has ever gone into the Arctic regions ; but oue fault has been tbund with her, and that was a deficiency in steam-power. And everything was done that her com- mander's vast experience could suggest to make her out- fit, supplies and crew just what their grand mission de- manded. The gallant captain's own estimate of the pros- pects of this voyage may be gathered from his own words, uttered while the vessel, etc., were in course of prepara- tion. "I have demonstrated in my own person that white 680 Ui M foSJ. iECRETARY ROBESON's ORDERS. 588 men can live, with no extraordiimry sufnrings, for yean in tl»o depliia of the Arctic regions. I imvc lived there for yeiins, and ciin teach my aHHocintes how to do ho. Upon this new cx[)editiou I shall be anijily provided with all means for a thorough exploration. I shall have with me a scientific observer, a naturulijit fully qualiiied to report upon everything in his department, and an artist and photographer, who will be able to depict everything relating to the Arctic regions. Thus abundantly sup- plied, and aided by my own experience of more than ten years, I think that I shall be able to accomplish some- thing worthy of the means placed at my disposal." Secretary Robeson on June 9th, 1871, issued his official orders to Captain Hall ; ho conveyed them in a letter written in his characteristic style — dignified and explicit, and yet kind and showing a lively interest in the expedi- tion and a full appreciation of ita importance and its dan- gers, aa well as of the peculiar fitness of the captain to lead in the vast undertiiking. Accompanying the Secre- tary's letter was one frf/ra President Henry of the National Academy of Sciences, with comi)lete detailed instructions f<»r the making of scientific researches and the keeping of an accurate and intelligible record oi observations. The Polaris lefl the Washington Navy Yard on the following day for New York, arriving at the Brooklyn Yard on the 14th. The equipment and final preparations for the hazardous enterprise were pushed rajjidly forward, and on the 28th Captain Hall wrote the Secretary that the Polaris was " now ready for sea, and will sail to-mor- row." He added: " Before leaving port, I cannot forbear expressing my great obligation to you fbi the intelligent and generous manner in which you have provided for the expedition in all respects. The ship 1ms been, under your directions, strengthened and prepared lor the special service upon which she eaters in +he most approved man ner, and is supplied with every appliance to make the 58t DEPARTURE FROM NEW YCK. expedit.on a success. The officers and crew of the ship are all I could desire, aud the iirovision made for the sub- sistence and protection of all on board is the best that could be devised. Your generous response to every legiti- mate request I have made in regard to the ship's outfit demands the expression of my warmest gratitude. The only return I can make now is the assurance of my deter- mination, with God's blessing, that the expedition shall prove a success, and redound to the honor of our country and to the credit of your administration." We have quoted thus largely, deeming it simple justice to put on record Captain Hall's just estimate of the Sec- retary's "intelligent and generous" care in discharging his duty in fitting out the "United States expedition toward the North Pole." Confident of his ability to cope with the usual perils of polar navigation and life, and fully appreciating the un- expectedly liberal facilities now at his command, little did he dream of the sad eclipse awaiting his earthly hopes on the eve of their qomplete fruition. His own bright anti- cipations did not cast into shade the universal expecta- tions of the people of the entire ountry. There was but one opinion in all minds, but one sentiment in all hearts ; pveu the constitutionally timorous and the innately doubt- ful were inspired by confidence aud trust ; those who sel- dom take interest in such matters were scarcely outdone by the naturally enthusiastic lovers of adventure and dis- covery. In fact, the entire heart of the nation beat iu unison iu joyous certainty of the success of the Polaris ex* pedition, aud in wishing the daring voyageurs a prosper- ous voyage, a fruitful exploration and a happy return, when, on the 29th of June, 1871, the staunch steamer moved from her berth at New York to dare the ice- bergs, fields and floes of the frigid latitudes. The din of the cannon fired as a farewell was almost drowned iu the chcer,s of the multitude who witnessed her departure '■ . <.^K'i ■-!!■ Captain !S. 0. Uuuuimutum. -11^' 1,' ARRIVAL AT GREENLAND. 583 w she proudly went forth, with her colors flying in all tht'ir beauty. The day was beautiful, everything propi- tious, the omens seemed all favorable. A writer in one of the publications of the day expressed the views of all the people when he said, " There is every reason to hope that he (Hall) will be able to solve the remaining problens relating to the Arctic regions. If there be, as there is good reason to suppose, an open sea surrounding the North Pole, and if that sea is accessible to man, by land or by water, we can hardly doubt that Hall, certainly the first of white men, and most likely first of all men, will make his way to it." Captain Hall had for his sailing-mas- ter Captain S. O. Buddingtou, who had commanded the whaler George Henry which first took him to the shorea of Greenland. Captain Tyson went on board the Polaris at the last moment before leaving, at the. earnest solicitation of Cap- tain Hall, to whom he waa most loyally devoted, and who induced Secretary Robeson to commission him as assistant navigator — a somewhat anomalous position, but it waa readily accepted by Captain Tyson, who attested hia readiness to go in any capacity. Captain Hall also took with him again his Esquimaux friends, Joe and Hannah. The Polaris had a safe and pleasant passage, and ar- rived on the coast of Greenland in due time. Touching at Holsteinborg, July 31st, the captain availed ' imself of an opportunity to forward a letter to the Secretary of the Navy. He had touched at Tiscanaes to endeavor to se- cure the services of Hans Christian, the experienced dog- driver and hunter of the Kane and Hayes expeditious, but learned that he should find him at Upernavik awaiting the Polaris. The captain was well received by the au- thorities at the Danish ports, who made cordial offers of Buch aid as he might require. On the 3d of August tho Polaris steamed for Godhavn (Port Lively), in the Island of Disco. Here the mind of Capttiiu Hall was much re- 58(3 IMPRISONED BY THE ICE. lieved by the arrival of the United States transport Con- gress, which he had expected to meet earlier, at Holstein- borg. On the 17th the Polaris again weighed anchor for Upcrnavik, where she arrived the next day. Hero the captain succeeded in finding and engaging Huns Christian, and he and his family came aboard ; he ftlso engaged Jen i, a Dane, who had been a valu- able worker in the Hayes expedition. On the 21st, having secured dogs and such other supplies as were requisite for the work before him, Captain Hall fairly entered upon active operations. Steaming across Mel- ville Bay, the Polaris entered Smith's Sound. Thence she passed through Kennedy Channel. Thence again she pushed on into what was supposed to be Kane's Open Polar Sea ; Captain Hall found this to be only a moder- ately large bay, and he named it Polaris Bay. Farther on, he discovered another bay or strait, about thirty miles across ; this he called Robeson Channel or Strait, in honor of the Secretary of the Navy. Up this channel, he suc- ceeded, August 31st, in reaching a higher latitude than any vessel had before attained — 82° 29'. The energetic captain made several efforts to work his steamer still farther up, but found it impossible ; vast floes and fields stretched quite across the strait, and completely blocked up the passage. The Polaris became imprisoned in some of these huge fields, and drifted with them down to al)out 81° 30', when the captain succeeded in extricating her, and steered into a small cove in Polaris Bay, in latitude 81° 38' ; in this cove, on September 3rd, the captain anchored his gallant steamer for the winter. The name of this harbor was suggested by a very narrow escape iVom total shipwreck in seeking its grateful shelter; so imminent was the peril that everything was got in readi- ues: to abandon her at a moment's notice. But, " Thank God !" the captain succeeded in saving hor and taking her into safe quarters, and he recognized the divine Hand in AN EXPLORING TRIP. 587 the ejpape by calling the naven Tlmiik-God Harbor. Aa it ofTen happens, a berg which was formidable enough Itself to have destroyed the steamer proved a valuable help m her extremity, and to this Hall gave the appell» tion of Providence Berg. With the Polaris in safety, Captain Hall began imme- diate preparations to prosecute hia discoveries by means ot sledges. He first erected some huta and an observa- tory, and made such other arrangements as would con- duce to the comfort of his men, and at the same time enable his scientific assistants to make their observation3 and pursue their investigations into the natural phenomena of polar latitudes. Having completed all the arrange- ments, Hall started on October 10th on an exploring trip with two sledges and fourteen dogs, taking with him his first mate, Mr. Chaster, his friend Joe, and Hans. The journey occupied two weeks, during which they traveled almost incessantly. On October 17th they reached lati- tude 82° 3', and here paused, having on the way dis- covered a lake and a river; following the serpentine course of the latter, they had ..,.e lo a bay fully thirty miles in extent, which Hall named Newman Bay; here there were two capes, the southern of which, " a high, bold and noble headland," he called Sumner Headland, wh'ile to the northern he gave the name of Brevoort Cape. Find- ing the mouth of Newman Bay open, and the ice of Robeson Strait in motion, it was impossible to pursue the Bledge journey up the strait, while the mountainous nature of the land on the north made traveling in that direction impracticable. Hence, on the 18th, they started on their return to Thank-God Harbor. The farthest point of land discovcr^ed byHall on this sledge excursion was in lati- tude 83° 5'. but he has left no description of that Ivins beyond 82= 3'. * Captain Hall's main object in this sledge journey was to find a direct and feasible route by which he might hi tlie 688 CAPTAIN hall's illness. spring reach or nearly approach the North Pole. Tl§»iigh disappointed partially in this, he yet hud the satisfuctiou of setting foot on land farther north than any Aviiite man had before attained, and of discovering a channel which he had reason to believe might prove favorable, in the spring and summer, to the consummation of his great am- bition of reaching the pole itself. But ere the spring ho went on a longer journey, to a brighter, more genial clime than that of his earthly hopes. On the 24th of October the party reached the vessel, very much fatigued, but all apparently in good health. Shortly after his arrival, however, the captain found him- self quite indisposed, though, not at all alarmed at his symptoms, he did not seek the surgeon, but sought rather the steward and asked for a cup of coffee, thinking that would allay the nausea and dizziness that were distressing him. A very brief extract from the testimony of the steward at the investigation by Secretary Robeson, re- ferred to hereafter, will serve to show the first impressions of that acute observer on the incipient stage of the cap- tain's illuess : " He came back on the 24th of October : I met him in the gangway and shook hands with him ; he seemed pleased with the way things had been going while he was away ; presume he had a good account from Cii]3- tain Buddington; he thanked the men for conducting themselves so well while away ; when he came into the cabin, the heat seemed to affect him very much ; the tem- perature in the cabin was about 60 to 70 degrees ; outride it was about 15 to 20 degrees below zero ; I think the change of temperature affected him ; he asked me if 1 had any coffee ready; I told him there was always enough under way down stairs in the galley; I asked him if he would have anything else ; he said that was all he wanted; I went down stairs and got a cup of cofiee; I did not make the coffee ; I told the cook it v as for Captain Hal] ; he drank white lump-sugar iu his coffee; never cared for DEATH AND BURIAL OF CAPTAIN HALL. 689 milk ; he then took a hot bath, a foot bath, with a sponge ; he did not complain of feeling unwell when he drank the oup of coffee ; said he felt tired, and soon after lay down for the night ; I don't think he was sick that night ; he might possibly have been sick without my knowing it ; not until a couple of days afterward he had the doctor attend to him ; he was not a man to take much medicine ; Dr. Bessel attended him ; I think it was on the third day when he took to his bed ; he was taken down suddenly ; I thought it was the heat, and the doctor said it waa apo- plexy ; he might have been paralyzed before he died ; i do not remember about that ; there were a few times when I thought he seemed to be getting well ; I saw him sitting in the cabin dressed and writing; I asked Mr. Morton how he was ; we did not eat in that cabin then ; we had another place for dining, and I didn't go in very often through the day; I did not see him die, but saw him ehortly afterward." He rallied and appeared in a fair way to recover. Indeed, he got so much better that he partially resumed- his command. But his convalescence was transient and deceptive, and, in the act of issuing an order to some of his men, he had a relapse. From this second attack he did not rally, but waa almost continuously delirious, until, on the 8th of November, he passed from the scene of his heroic efforts to his eternal home, "Thank-God Harbor" proving to him the port of embarkation for "the bourne whence no traveler returns." Three days later, the cold, frozen shore of Polaris Bay was the scene of a sad ceremony; a solemn cort6ge com- posed of those who had dared the perils of the Arctic Seaa and lands under his command bore the remains of Captain Charles Francis Hall to their rest in the grave cut in the icy ground; here, assembled around the rude coffin, they join- ed in the solemn Burial Service of the Protestant Episco- pal Church, read by Mr. Bryan. Over his grave they planted a small American flag. Thus, in the sleep of the 590 RESULTS OF THE EXPEDITION. cold gnive, floats above him the beautiful flag ho loved lo well ill life. And now, in the soil of the cold, cheerless land to the exploring of which he had devoted his best years, repose the mortal part of one of the most intrepid, most poi-sever- ing of tiie many great men whose names are recorded in the annals of fame, and his native laud, which honored him living, in the midst of its grief at his early death, can- not but feel a justifiable pride in pointing to his record aa that of one of her noblest sons. Ere we follow the Polaris in her subsequent career, let us pause to note what the brave, dauntless, persevering Hall had done for his country's honor, and what he had contributed to the stores of the world's knowledge of those regions that have for so many years claimed the absorbing interest of all civilized lands. In doing this, we shall repea* some facts before recorded in these pages; but a recapitula- tion will serve to present in a single picture the triumphs of this great man, and will enable us to realize that, though cut oflT by an inscrutable Providence ere he had reached the goal himself had set, he yet did not live in vain. l£ow nearly he had attained his purpose, how closely he approached to unfolding the secrets of the Polar Seu and Land, we can easily estimate, even from the imi)orfect data accessible. The geographical results of the expedition may be sum- med ^up briefly as follows : The open Polar Sea laid down by Kane and Hayes is found to be in reality a sound, which Captain Hall named Polaris Bay. This sound is of considerable extent, formed by the somewhat abrupt expansion of Kennedy Channel to the northward, and broken by Lady Franklin Bay on the west, and on the east by a large inlet, twenty miles wide at the opening, and certainly extending far inland. Its length was not ascertained, and Mr. Meyer thinks it may be in fret a strait extending till it communicates with the Francis H Solemn Burial or Cai'taim Hat,!, amidst the Snows o^ thm Far North. ■ •i t'M . ! io91J F j ^^^^^^v^^^H ^HI3 ( i K It RKSULTS OP THE EXPEDITION. 633 Joseph Sound of thfi Gormnnia ami TTnnsa expedition, and with it