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The last of the Govornmont expeditions in search of rr.'!iiled southward hy the current, luitil one liy one they wi-re onished. The last and oidy surviving plup arrived in Oclobcr, in latitude (U°, iu Davis' Straits, and the crew escaped to tlie land near CajJO Farewell, IIG in niunl)er, out of 150 men, who only a few short mouths bclbre were looking forward to a happy rctuini to their homes. Late in tin- summer, the weather mild and the nights short, and ^vith steam-power at command, we had no occasion for nuich anxiety about this ico, but determined to push direct for Fi'ederickshaab, and with a i'air wind v/e steered to pass within sight of Cape Farewell. On the night of tlie loth Jnly, we were becalmed, and on tlio following da}' Ave steamed slowly to the north-westward, amidst countless numbci-s of sea-biids. At dayliulit the coast of Greenland showed out in all its wild ma'xniiicence. Cape Farew(.'ll l.iore north 45° east, distr.nt twcnty-tivc miles; but from the peculiar iormation of the adjacent land the actual cape is diliieult to distinguish. Hitherto v,'e had not seen the Spitzbergen ice; and Ave hoped that Ave miirht folloAv the coast round to Frederickshaab Avithout obstruction ; but in the course of tlie forenoon a sudden lldl iu the temperature of the sea, Avith a haziness in the atmosphere to the nortliAvard, indicated our approaeli to ice. Straggling and Avater-Avashed pieces Avere soon mot Aviih, and in the evening the distant murniTir of the sea, as it broke upon the edge of ice-floes, Avarned us of our being near to a pack. "We made but little progress during the tAvo folloAving days, the Avind-j being from the northward, and a dense ice-fog rolling doAvn from the pack. On the 17th, Frederickshaab bearing N. 28° E,, distant fifty miles, avo deter- mined upon endeavouring to push through the pack ; and after lieing at times completely l)eset, and Avith a constant thick fog, Ave escaped into the inshore Avater, Avith a fcAV slight rubs, having been carried by tlie drifting body of ice nearly thirty miles nortliAvard of our port, "We sounded upon thcTallert bank ; and on the fog lifting, the great glacier of Frederickshaab was revealed to us, and Ave bore aAvay lor the harbour, Avhich Ave reached on the lOtli. "We had a little difHculty at first in making out the entrance to Frederickshaab ; but a native kyack coming out to meet us, avo Avere soon escorted in by a fleet of these small canoes, "We found the natives busily breaking up the A\Teck (if an a>andoned timber ship, Avhich had drifted to their harbour, Avith a feAV of tlu; IcAver tiers of cargo still in her ; and another AV]-eck Avas said to be lying upon the Tallert bank — the same Avreck, it is said, Avhich Prince Napoleon had boarded on his homcAvard passage in the Atlantic the previous year, and had left a record on her to prove the currents round Cape FarcAvell, The Danish authorities, ever ready to assist vessels entering the Green- Land ports, supplied us Avith everything in their poAver, and after piu'chas- i 4i i 4 THE SEARCH FOR SIR JOHN FRANKLIN. 99 ,1.! ;it 10 ICG :VQ led 'cr on [n- '1 inc ,some coil-fisU from tlie natives, v/e proceeded on our voyngo. Ou li'uving Fredericksluui]), wc; oxpcrieiicfd stroiij^ nortlx Aviuds, iiuil had to li'Mt up between tlie pack and the land, until olF the settlement of Fisker- uaas, on Jnly 2Sv(\. The teniperaturo of the sea then rose iVoai 05° tn -10° Falu'cnhi-it; and seeing no ice, we considered that wc were past the limits of tlie Spitzhergen stream. Finding that; our foretop mast- head was sprunu, we ran into Fislccrnaas, to repair it. "Wv ])urchased more cod-lish at Fiskernaas, at an almost nominal price. Thuse lish are very plentiful, and the Danish authorities annually collect a1)out oO,0()0 from the Esipiimaux, to lie dried, and again served out to them in the winter, the habits of the natives being so improvident, that they will not make this provision lor themselves. Having made a few magnetic and other observations, we sailed for Godhaab to procure a passage home I'or one of our seamen, Avho. it was fi-ared, was too ill in health to stand th.e rigours of an Arctic winter. We met the Danish schooner coming out, and the captain kindly received our invalid on board, and took our letters for home. Outside Godhaab lie the Koku Islands, upon which Egede first landed in 1721, and commenced recolonizing Greenland. The mainland here is divided into four fiords, the largest being Godhaab Fiord (or Baal's Iviver on old charts), which extends up to the inland ice, and ujjon the shores of which arc still to be seen many ruins of the ancient Scaudma- vians. Upon the Koku Islands we were near leaving the Fox, for in coming out, the wind fell suddenly calm, and the steam being down, we were drifting with a strong tide fast upon the rocks, and vre only just towed the ship clear with all our boats. We now steered for Diskoe, and after passing some magnificent icebergs, one of which we found by measiu'ement to be 270 feet above the sea, we saw the precipitous clilfs of the island, entered the harbour of Godhavn at night, and sailed on the following day for the beautiful fiord of Diskoe, where a smart young Es(piiniaux, Christian, by name, was received on board, as dog-driver to the expedition. We had not time to examine this fine fiord, Avhich has never been explored, and which is thought to be of great extent; nor had we time to visit the Salmon liiver; but- -.au* guide brought us a few fish, and with salmon-trout and ptarmigan i' r brealdlist, and a bouquet of flowers from the ladies of Godliavn iipon the giui-room table, we had no cause to complain of the Arctic regions so far. We next steered for the Waigat Straits, intending to take in coals from the mines there. As we passed Godhavn, the Esquimaux guide seated himself m his kyack on the deck, and, notwithstanding a rough sea, he was launched out of the gangway at his own request ; a feat wondcrfid to us, but evidently not strange to him, as he paddled away to tlie shore without further notice. The native kvack is so small and crank, that the natives cannot get in or out of it alongside a ship ; but are generally pulled up or lowered Avith it in the bight of fwo ropes' ends. As v>'e approached the Waigat, thousands of eider ducks covered the water, and we shot many of the younger ones, but the old birds were too 5—2 100 THE SEAKC'II roll Sill JOHN FHANKLIX. craOy for us, and kept out of riiiigc. "Wo now rcvoi- lost an oppovlnnity of adding to our stock of IVosli jAOvisions, -whicli alirady began tf make a sliow ill till' ripglriff, •wIuto 'nvo could feast our eyes upon salmon, rider clucks, luoms, cod-fish, [)tarmigan, and seal IxH'f, besides two old goats, tliat Ave had piu'chased at Frederukshaab. "We entered \]\v. "Waigat on Au'nist J3rd, on a beautiful dav; and for Avild and desolate nrrandeui-, I suppose these straits have no equal — lolly, rugged mountains here abruptly facing' the sea, or there presenting a sloping moss-covered declivity — mountain torrents, ami the small streams, which, leaping over the very summits, at an elevation of 3,000 to 4,000 feet, appear from beneath like threads ol" spun glass. In some plac(>s may be seen the foot of a glacier high up a ravine, as if t]u>re arrested in its course, or not yet grown sulFi- cicntly to lill up the valley, and bring its blight down to the sea ; in other places beautiful valleys, green and grass-clothed, where the hare and ptarmigan love to pass their short summer Avith their young broods. The sea itself is scarcely less picturesque than the land ; for thousands of icebergs, of every size and fantastic form, cast off from the ice-streams of the mainland, sail continually in these beautiful straits. We found the coal mine without difTiculty, the scams of eoal cropping out of the cliffs under which Avc anchored. It was a very exposed position, and the ground hard ; the only safe way to lie would be Ity making fast to a piece of gi'ounded ice, if one can be found, as anchors will not hold. In the I'arly spring the ice-foot forms a natural wharf, and the coals may be collected, and at high water the boats can go alongside to receive the sacks. Now that steam has been introduced into the whale fisher}', these coal mines must sooner or later become much frequented, and it is to be hoped that so valuable a resource will be taken advantage of. If moorings could be laid down, and natives from the opposite settlement of Atenadlnk employed to collect coals in readiness for embarkation, a ship might readily fin up in a few hours. "We had scarcely completed our coaling, when the weather began to threaten, the barometer fell, and shortly aflor noon it blew almost a gale from the southward. Our anchors soon began to jump over the ground, and the drift ice to set in. Steam was immediately got ready, and we ran througli the straits to the north-westward. Passing the mafrnificent headland of Swarten IMj, Ave touched at the settlem(>nt of Pi-oven to purchase dogs and scal-bcef, and then bore aAvay for Upernavik, steering close along the coast, and intending to attack the breeding-place of looms, at Saunderson's Hope ; but a strong sonth-Avest Avind and high sea pre- vented our sending in the boats. Arrived off Upernavik, Ave obtained more dogs, and having left our last letters for home, Ave bore aAvay, on the afternoon of August G, to try to cross Baffm's Bay. "NYe Avere noAV fairly aAA'ay from the civilized world, and all that wc could look forward to, or hope for, Avas a speedy passages through the middle pack of BafHii's Bay, a satisfactory finish of the Avork before us on the other side, and a return the folloAving year to England. We had a fine THE SEARCH FOR Sill JOHN FRANKLIN. 101 I I I s J (lve, in thi ilillowing spring, tin' <'Xtraonlitiary mystery of Frank- lin's fate. How thesi! hopes were to be disappointed that year the socpiel will .diow. It is well for lis that we cannot know what the morrow may bring ioi-th. During August 7 and 8, wc steered out diu' west from Upernavik to try to cross in that j'arallel of latitude ; but on the I'vem'ng of the lallir day, the keeimess of the air, the icc-bliid-c ahead, and the fast increasing number of bergs, pirepared us for seeing the INFiddle I'aek. In iiie evening and during that night we passed streams of loose sailing ice, and on the iiiorning of the Sth further pirogress was sto]i[M'il by inipene trable fhjes. This was in lat. 72" 40' north, long. 59° 50' west. Getting clear of the loose ice in tlie ]iack edge, we steered to thi' north- v,-,'U'd, t(i Idok l\ack into the head of ^Melville Bay. The season was passing away, and wilhoTit an early change to v.ind and a continuance of it from the northward, we were almost without a hope. In the evening we visited tlie glacier, but the debris of shattered ice, and the imuTmeralile bergs and floe pieces, prevented our getting ch^sc to its base. It was a beautifully calm night; not a sound to be heard, save the crashing (jf some enormous mass rent from the face of the glacier, or distant rumbling of the vast inland ice, as it moved slowly dov.'u tovrardd the sea. Far away OA^cr the continent, nothing but the surface of glacier could be seen, exc(?pting here or there a mountain peak, showing u[) through the ice; and the bright glare of the ice-blink shot up into the sk}', giving a yellow tinge to the otherwise deep blue vault of heaven. Flights of ducks winged their way to the southward, reminding us that it was the season when those desolate regions wore deserted, and that we should be left alc'ue. Our distant ship was lying so surrounded with huge and loAy T)ergs, that only her masthead could be seen through an opening ; and a low melan- choly howling (such as an Esquimaux dog alone loiows how to make) occasionally broke upon the car — for our dcgs had aU gone up to the very top of a lofty berg, and Avere thus expressing their home-sick longings, and, perhaps, a foreboding of the unhap)py fate that awaited many of them. We lay secured to the iceberg until the IGth August, Avhen the wind changed to tho north-eastward, and the floes began to move off the land 102 TnE SEAKCTI FOR Sill JOHN FRANKLIN. miJ to Hoparntc. Now t>r never were we to get tlircUi^li; fur to Io.m' thin opportunity would have wlint us out Crom crossing lliat year, !ni(l liavo lilV 111 no oflicr rcHonrco tlian to return to (Jrociiliiiid for llie winter. M'CIiatoek w;n not the ni:m to tiu'ii haek from liis worlc, l)Ut would rather risk everythiiiLj tlian leave a eliauce of our thus jiasnin,!.^ an inactive, winter. Till! Jui.r w;is tlierelorc! steered into a [JroniisiuLi; lead or lane of water, and nil sail made to (he hreezo. Wr were in liigh sj)irits, ;uid talked ('t' getting into the west water on the nioirow. l'>ut at iiighl a dense fog can hi on, tlic wind shilled to the southward, and the ilooH again Ixgnu to close upon and around us. 'riiero was no lielp lor ns — wt^ were beset, and it .nppeared hopelessly so; liir the season was fast jtassing away, and tht; new ice I M ginning to form. On the 17th the wind increased, and the weatlier was dark and dreary. AVe struggled on for a few shi[)'s lengtlis by tlio power of steam and canvas, nnd at night \:v. mislilpped tlie rudder, and Hired the screw, in anticipation (X a squeeze. During the three Aveeks following we lay in this position, endeavouring, by every means, to move the ship towards any visible pool or lane of water. Once oidy did our hopes revive. On Septendx-r 7, the wind had ;igain lieea from llie north-westward; the ice had slackened, and we ninde a final and desperate attempt to reach sonu^ water seen to the nortliward of us. "We •were blasting with gimpoAvder, heaving, .and Avarping during the whole day, but at night the iloes again closed. "We had not now even a retreat; the tinker liad come roimd, as the seamen say, and sohh'rcd us in ; and from that time until tJie 17th of April, 18.'')^, wc; never moved, excepting at the mei-cy of tin; ice, and dritled liy the v.'inds and currents. We liad lust all connnand f>ver the sliiji, and were freezing ia the moving pack. Preparations for the winter were now made in earnest. We had thirty large dttgs to feed besides ourselves, and we lost no opportunity of shooting seals. The sea-birds had all lelt lor the soutlnvard ; and the bears, which occasionally eauK? to look at the ship, we coidd not chase, from the yet broken state of the ice. Pi-ovisions were got up upon deck, sledges and travelling equipages prepared, lioats' ci-ews told off, and every arrangement made by tlie Captain in the event of our being tiu'ncd out of the shiji. As the winter ad\anced, the ship was housed over "with canvas, and covei-ed with Know; and v;e had made up our minds for a Avinter in the pack and a drift — whither ? This v.-e could not tell, biat we argued from the knoAvn constant set to the southward, out of Ratfin's Sea and Davis' Straits, that if our little shi]) siuvived through the winter, wc should be released in the southern T'art of I)avis' Straits durim; the following: summer. We wore then in latitude 7")° 2-1' north, longitude G 1° 31' v.'cst, and westward of us coi;ld he seen a Ibrmidable line of croundcd bercjs, towards which, by our observations, we were driving. Our next eight months Avero passed in a manner that Avould hi) neither interesting to read nor to relate; but a fcAV extracts from a private journal Avill shoAv our mode of life. Sept. 16. — We passed the groiuided bergs last night, after considerable I I I T1IE PEAriCII lOIJ Sm JOHN FUAN'KLLV. \r:\ nr.xu'ty, for wo It'UfcJ uc miglit bo dilvi'iuigaiu.st tin in. \Vr ■.aw tlio lloc.s cpiiiinp; aiul tt'iivitiir tij> as mkI bi'loro tlic i)loxi.^li ; aiul liad 'wv c; mo in C(»nlact wltli tliciii, tlio sliip imist liuvo bi'rii instantly (loslrnynl. Wv inw (lit all (lay Icnj?, by the Hiiles nt'tlic watcr-ixuils, with (nir rillcs, and hhoot llio seals ill tho head wlioii tlioy Cdino up to brLUtlio; llu'y aro now getting flit, and do not .sink so rcarlily as in tin? suninicr. Oct. 17. — We (btaini'd cood observations, nnd found tliat wo liuvo drii'iid noi'lli-west (".") miles, since tlio li'ttli Inst. It lias been blowing: liai'd iVi 111 ti.o south-eastward, ;i!id wo consider that wo li;ive thus been carrii'il helplessly alonjj by the ollect ol'a sin;.,do gale. iV(;;'. »*. — A l)oar canio lo look at the sliij) at nl;,dit, and ( ur {]('j:a soon cliased him on to some tliin ici', through wliich ho brol.o. AH hand.i tui'ued (lit to Hoo tlio i-]i(irt, and n( tv.'itlist.inding flie intense eeld iiiraiy ( f the jie.j le did not wait to ]iut on their e\ti-a elotlies. 'I'lie bear was dispateli 'd with our lilies, .-libr inaking soiuo ro.sisl.'iiieo, and inaiiuin;^ .several ot' the dogs. Wo liavo not seen the sun to-day ; he has now taken his llnal dep.'irturc from these. latitinh's. It is getting almost too daik to .. Wo asceiid the masthead, to the crow's-nest, every morning, to look • out lia* water, for oiu- dogs are getting ravenous, and we want I'ood for tliem. Dcrcmhct' 4. — Poor .Scott died last night, and was buried through th(2 floe this (n'oning, all handn drawing his eartiily remains upon a sledge, and the ollicer.s walking by the sid.'. It was a bitterly ciJd night, the temporal lire oh° lielow zi ro, with a fre.--li wind, and tin be.iutil'iil paraselene (ominous of a coming gale) lighting us on (>ur way. 'Ihe iee has been mere f]uiet lately, and we are becoming more reconciled to our imprisonment. A reading, writing, and navigation schtiol has commenced, and our Captain loses no o])portuiiity of attending to the amusement .'ind recreation of the men, so necessary in this dre;;i'y liti,'. litsiiles th(> oi-tlinary duties of •sloaniiig tiie sliip, the men arc exercise;! in building snow houses, and pre- paring travelling equii)age. JJcceiuher 21. — The v/inter solstice. We have about Iiiilf an liour'.s partial daylight, by which the type of The Times newsjiaper may bo just distinguished on a board iacing the south, where, near Uiion, a slight glimmer of light is rcfrac^ed above the liorizciu, whilo in the zenith and n()rlhw;ird the stars are .shining brilliantly. In the al»sence of liijJtt and shade we cannot see to Avalk over the ice, for the liununocks can scarcely be distinguished from the floe; all presents a unilbrm level suriiice, and, in AvaUving, one constantly liills into the lissures, or runs lull butt against 104 THE SEARCH FOR SIR JOHN FRANKLIN. tlie lilocks (if ice. Wo must now, thcrefcuv, he content witli an hour or two's tramp aldnuside, or on our snow-covered deck luider housing; and, during tlie renuiiuder of the day, we sit behiw in our little cabin, which has now cysfallized by the breath condensing and iVeezlng on the bulkheads, and we eiideavour to read and talk away the time. But our sulyeets of conversation are miserably worn out ; our stories are old and ofb-repeat(.'d ; we start impossible theories, and we bet upon 'he results of our new observations as to oxir progress, as we unconsciously ch-ift and drift before the gale. At night we retire to our beds, thankful that another day lias p;issed ; a diMihlike stillness reigns around, broken only by the ravings ot eoine sleep-talker, the tramp of the Avatch ujiou deck, a passing bear causing a general rousing of our dogs, or a simultaneous rush of these poor ravenous creatiu'cs at our cherislu'd stores of seal-beef in the shrouds; and, as we listen to the distant groaning and sighing of the ice, we thank God that we have still a home in these terrible wastes. Dccc/nhcr 28. — DiU'ing Divine service j'cstei-day, the wind increased, and towards the afternoon we had a gale from the norlh-westward, attended wiili an unusual rise I'f temperatui'c ; to-day the gale continues, with a wai'm wind from the X.N.W. "Thv Danish settlers at Upernavik, in Xorth Greenland, are at times startled by a similai sudden rise of temperature. During the di'pth of whiter, when all nature has been long irozen, and the sound of falling water almost forg<'tfen, rain will fall in torrents; and as rain in such a climate is attended ^\\^l every discomlbrt, this is looked upon as a most luiwelcome phcnomeuiin. It is called the ]Vi(nii South-east Wind. Now, if the Greenlauders at Upernavik are astonished at a Avarm South-east Wind, how nnich rather nuist the seamen, frozen up in the pack, be astonished at a warm Xo)ih~irest Wintl. Various theories have been stai'ted to accoiuit for this phenomenon ; but it appears most probable that a rotatory gale passes over the ])lace, and tiiat the rise in temperatiu-e is due to the direciiou i'wnw which the Avhole mass of air may come, viz. from the southward, and not to the direction of wind at the time." Let us miw return to the narrative, lor c>iu' days were now becoming mere re]H'i it iens ef each other. We saw no change, nor did wo hope for any until tlu' spring. Gale followed gale; and an occasional alarm of a disruption in the ice, a bear, or seal hunt, formed our only excitement; indeed, we s^imetimes hoped lor some crisis, were it only to break the dreadtid monotony of our lives. Our walks abroad atrortled us no recrea- tion ; on the contrary, it was really a trying task to spin out the time neces- sary l"er exercise. Talk of a dull turnpike-road at home ! Are not the larks singing and the farm boys whistling? Bnt with us what a contrast ! Our walks were without an object ; c>ne had literally nothing to see or hear ; turn north, south, east, or west, still snow and hununocks. You sec a little black mark waving in the air: Avalk to it — it is a crack in a hummock. You think a berg is close to you; go to it — still a hummock refracted through the gk cm. The only thing to do is to walk to windward, so as THE SEAllCII FOU SIR JOHN FRANKLIN. 105 to be certain of returning sale and not ri-o.stl)itt(_'n, to pick out a smootli place, and form imaginary patterns with 3'()ur footprints. Pliilosopliera would bid us think and reflect; but if pliilusophers were shut up wiih us amid the silence and darkness of an Arctic winter, they Avould probably do as we did — endeavour to get away from their ihonghts. By the 2'.)th of January, we had drifted into latitude 72° -IC north, longitude ij2° west, and by th(! aid of refraction we saw the sun for the first time since November 2. We ought indeed to have greeted him on a nicridian fu" westward of our present position, but it had been Dut of power to do more this year, and we could only hojie for more success in the next. The weather had now become in! ensc'y cold, the mercury was frozen, and the spirit thermometer registered -10° lielowzero. We had great difUculty in clearing our lied-places of ice, and our blankets froze nightly to the shi})'s side; but we had the sun to shine upon us, and that made amends for all. What a difTerent world was now bi'fore o;u* eyes! Even in those dreary regions where nothing moves, and no somuls are heard save the rustling of the snowdrill, the ell'ects of tlie liright sun are so exhilarating that a walk was now (piite enjoyable. If any one doubt how necessary light is for our existence, just let him shut himself up for three months in the coal-cellar, with an u.ndergi-ound passage into the ice- house, where he may go for a change of air, and see if he Avill be in as good health imd spirits at the end of the experiment as belbre. At all events, he will have obtained the best idea one can form at home of' an .Vrctic winter in a small vessel, save that the temperature of the Arctic ice-hoUHO is — Kl^, instead of + 32°, as at honu; ; only 72° diilerence ! On the 14th of February some of us wadked out to where the ice was opening to the northward, and saw a solitary dorekie in winter phnnage. These beautif'ul little birds ap[)ear to winter on the ice. The Avater, appearing deep black from the long absonce of any relief from the eternal suow, was rippled by a strong wind, and the little waves, so small as to be compared to those of the Serpentine at home, sending forth to us a new, and, conse([uently, joyous sound, induced us to linger long by the side of the small lake — so long, that we were only reminded, l>y our faces beginning to freeze, thut we were at least tlu'ce miles Irom the ship, a gale blowing with thick snow-drift — besides no chance of getting anything for the jjot. A memorable day was the 2Gth of February, when we ftpened tlio skylight and let in daylight below, where we had been living Ibr four months by the light of our solitary di^'S. The change was indeed wonder'' ']. and at first uncomfortalile, for it exposed the manner in whieh we had ueen content to live. With proper clothing you may laugh at the climate, if not exposed too long without food. It is not the cold out.-,idc that is to ])C feared, but the damp, and plague-engendering state of things below. This can only be guarded against by having good fires and plenty of liglit. Tov/ards the latter end of March, the ice was getting very miquiet, and we liad frecpient disruptions close to the ship. On tho night of the 106 THE SEARCH FOR SIR JOHN FRANKLIN. 25l1i cf March, a wide fissure, ■wliich had been opening and closing dvn'in'jf the previous fortnight, closed -with such force as to pile up tons and tons of ice Avithin forty yards of the ship, and shattered our old floe in a line with our dock. The nip]»ing continued, and on the following night a huge block was luu'led within thirty yards from us. xVnother such a night and the little Fox would have been knocked into luciler matches, and we slui;ild have lieen turned out upon the floe. April Avas ushered in with a continuance of heavy northerly gales; wc were constantly struggling wit h the ice. "Wc were three times adi-ift, and ex- pecting to see our ship destroyed ; and on the night of the 5th, the Hoes opened, and as their edges again came together, they threatened to tear everything up. "We were on deck throughout the night ; our boats and dogs were cut off from \v.\ but with great exertion wc managed to save the dogs, although we neai-ly lost some of our men who went in search of them. We that night secured the ship by the bower chains, and we afterwards had a lew days' (piiet. On the lOlh we raw the mountain peaks about Ca}ie I^yer, on the west side of ]")avis' Straits, the first land seen since the ].rcvious Octolier. We had drifted into lat. CG° 5' N., and long. 58° 41' W. ; and we hoped that after passing Cape Walsingham, the pack would cpen out. Oa A}'ril 17, in a heavy storm, a general brcaking-up of the ice took place, and we were turned completely out of our Aviuter dock, and into an apparently open sea. A scene of Avild confiision ensued ; the llocs were drivimj; aminst each other in all directions, and the wdiole ocean of ice appeared in commotion, while a blinding snow-drill distorted and mag- nified every surrounding object. Our first care was to save our dogs; but as an Esquimaux dog always expects either a thrashing or to be put in harness Avhen a[i]iroached by a man, and the poor creatures Avere terror- stricken Avith the storm, they ran Aviklly about OA'er the ice, and many of them Avore oljliged to be abandoned to their fate, after sharing the perils of the Avinfer Avith us. On lioard the sliip, preparations Avere made to get her luider command ; ior avc Avcre driving doAvn upon the h.'e, and into loose ice, Avhere our men could not have rejoiwed us Avith the boats. We shipped the rudder, and soon got some canvas upon the vessel, and having got th(i men and boats safely on board, Ave steered to the eastAvard, and really thought th-at Ave Avere released. A dark Avater-sky hung over the eastern horiztm, and Ave thought that Ave Avere not iar iWnu the open ocean. r>ut Ave h;wl not proceeded more than some seventeen miles, Avheu at midnight Ave came to a stf)p])age. It Avas fearfully dark and cold, and Avith the greatest dilllculty Ave cleared the masses of ice. The Avater space in Avhich Ave Avcu'ked the ship became gradually less and less; Ave ficAV from side to side of this fast decreasing lake, until at last Ave had not room to stay the vessel. By 4 a.m. Ave Avere again lieset. We noAV commenced a second drift Avith the pack, Avhich took us doAva to latitude 04° north, and longitude 57° Avest, on the 25th April, Avhen, tOAvardd midnight, a SAvell entered into the pack, and gradually increased, THE &EAi{Cir roil siii joiin franklin. 107 •or- c.f trils to mcl lats. land ,rd, Ipcu llu'U L'lnd pee to •iwu Jion, until till' ice comnienct'd churning up around tlio vessel, and dashing against her sides. These violent shocka continued througluuit the mornii''.g, and really sei':ned as if tluy Avould soon destroy the ship. However, by the power of steam, we got the vessel's head towards the swell, and with a fitrong tiiir wind, we commenced pushing out. Aiter many narrow escapes I'rom contact with the icehei'gs, Ave were l>y night in comparatively open water. We Avcre free I arid steered a course lor the settlement of Ilol- Bteinborg, in Greenland, to recruit, and to prepare for anotJier attempt. AM'.at a change on the Ibllowing morning ! Not a jiiece of ice could be seen, save a lew distant bergs. We once moi'o had our little ves>ul dancing imder us upon the vratcrs, innumerable sea-birds ilew aroiuid i;s, and the vciy sea, in contrast to its late frozen surface, appeared alive with seals ;;nd whales. All nature seemed alive, and we felt as if wc had risen from the dead ! In the evening, the snow-covered peaks of Sukkertoppeu vreri! seen, and on the 2Sth of April, we moored in llolsteinlx.o'g harbour. Our anchors had not been down, nor had our lect touched the land since the ."j'd of August. Ice-bound and imprisoned, we had drifted upwards of 1,200 miles. Need it be added how thankful we Avere to that kind Pro- vidence Avho had Avatched oyer us, and under Ilim to oui- gallant Captain, to Avhose unremitting attentions to our comforts and safety Ave OAved ciu' health and deliverance ! The Avinter in Greenland had been very severe, and the country Avas Klill snoAV- covered, and Avithout an indication of spring. The natives Avere scarcely aroused from their Avinter's slcH>p, and all our expectations of \-enison and ])tarmigan leasts soon A'anished. Very fcAV reindeer had yet been taken, the season not commencing before July, Avhen the Inmters go up the fiords and kill them by thousands iur the sake of their skins alone, leaving their carcasses to be devoured by \\hi avoIvcs, Our men, hoAvevcr, Averc bent upon enjoying themseh'es, and as Jack's Avants are foAV, Avith the aid of a couple of tiddlers and some l)ottles of grog, they kept up one contimious ball — patronized by all the fair Escjuimaux damsels — in the dance-house on shoi-e. The Avhole ])opulation had turned out to meet us We Avcre entertained by the kind-hearted dames upon stockfish and seal-beef, and such luxiii'lcs as they could afford, Avilh a hearty Avelconie to their neat and cleanly houses ; and Ave in our turn endeavoured to do the hospitalities on board the Fox Avith pickled pork and preserved cabbage. It Avas ncAV life to us, Avho had been confined so long in our little den, thus to mingle Avith these friendly people. Never AA'as sympathy more needed. We arrived hungry and unshaven, our faces beo-rimcd AA'itli oil-smoke, otu- clothes in tatters; the good Avomen of Hoi- steinltorg Avorked and washed for us, repaired our sadly disreputable Avar(h-obes, danced for us, mng to us, and parted fi-om us Avith tears and a fcAV little -ri^sents by Avay of souvenirs, as if Ave could ever Ibrget them. We AATote a I'eAv hasty letters, hoping that they Avould reach home in the autiunn, and sailed once more upon our voyage. We Avished to call at Godhavu for another Esquimaux and some more lOS THE SEARCH FOR SIi; JOHN FRANKLIN. dogs, Ix'sulrs a few .stores, of •\vlilcli wc stood iu ncod; so, sailing up tlie coast, "we arrived olF the harbour on the niglit of May 10, but an iin- penetrtible .■stream ot" loose ice blockaded the entranci". It Avas a ■wild night, and snowing heavily; sea, air, ice islands and icebergs seemed all mingled in one connnon haze. We endeavoured to haid off the land, and near niidnight Ave narrowly escaped destruction upon an ir-land, v/hich, seen suddenly on the lee-beani, -was at lirst taken for a berg. We all thought our ship must be dashed upon tlie rocks, and Ave Avere only saved by the presence of mind and seamanship of our Cay)lain, Avho never hit the deck, and Avore the ship Avithin a few yni'ds of the sh(>re. AVe ancho.'X'd next day at the ANTiale-lish Islands, and fell in tliere Avith the Jiiiic and Heroine Avhalers, Avhose captahis gave us a true Scotch Avelcome, and ransacked llieir ships to find some little coinfii'ts for us. We again tasted the roast beef of old England. From the; ishmds. Ave cro.ssed to Godhavn, Avhere finding the harbour still fnll of ice, Ave hauled into a rocky creek out.side, a perfect little dock just capable of holding the ship, but exposed to southerly Avinds. By the ifjlii of ^lay Ave Avere prejjarcd for another and final attempt to accomplish our mission, and to try our fortunes in the ice. Vic Aver • certahily sober(.'d doAvn considei-ably liy our late severe Ic-'son ; but although, less confident in our own poAvers, a steady detei-minatii ii to do our best preA'ailed throughout the ship. Pa-ssing again through the Waigat, we stopped at the coal-deposits to fill up Avith fuel, and Ave shot a fcAV ptarmigan Avhile thus detained. We next stopped at Saunderson's Hope, '•the Ca[)e where the fowls do breed," but it A\'as yet too early lor v'J'J^, and as the looms had no young to protect, they flcAV away in thousands at every discharge of a gun ; Ave got but fcAV of these, in oin- opinion, delicious birds. On the 31st, Ave made fast to an icebei-g off Upernavik, to aAvait the breaking up of the ice in ^AlelAillt! Bay. When Ave Avere in these latitudes the previous year, all things living Avere migrating soutli- Avard, Ijut noAV con.-:tant flights of sea-birds streamed nortliAvanl, night and day, toAvards their breetling-pLices and feeding-groimds, and by sitting on the rocky points, and shooting them as they passed, Ave could genei-ally make a liiir bag. We Avere noAV almost subsisting on eider ducks and looms. On June the Gth, avc connnenced our ice-struggles in Melville Bay, endeavouring, aceordhig to the usual mode of navigation, to ])iish up, betAveen the main pack and the ice still attached to the kind, on all occasions Avhen the Avinds moved the pack out, and left a space, or lane of Avater. While thus foIloAving up the coast, on the 7th, Ave ran upon a reef of sunken and uid^noAvn rocks, and, on the tide falling, we lay over in such a manner as to threaten to fiU upon the Avater again rising. We sncceeded, LuAvever, in heaving off Avithout damage. After many escapes from being squet'zed by the ice closing upon the land, and after three Aveeks of intense labour, avc reached Cape York on Jmie 2Gtli, We there conunimicated Avith the natives Avho had so much assisted Dr. Kane, Avhen he Avintered in Smith Sound. These poor THE SEARCH FOIl SIR JOHN FRANKLIN. 109 creatures live upon tlic flcsli of tlic bear, seal, and walrus, Avliich tliey kill upon the ice with bono spoars. They are, perhaps, the only people in the world liviiiL,' upt.n a sea-coast wiihout boats of any kind, and are so coni- jiletely isolated, that, previous to their being first visited in 181. S, ihry considered themselves to be the only peojile in the world. Dr. Kane left among them a Greenland Esipiimaux, "Ilans," with his canoe. They tnld us that Hans was married, and was well, but that they had aten the boat, besides manv of their u.iir^, when huncrry, during the last winter. "We ir.vited them on board, and tlu-y saw all our treasures of wood and iron ; but they appeartd to covet mori; than all, our dogs, and a few light pieces of wood, lit for spear-handles. "We sent tlu-m away rejoicing over a few presents of long knives and lu'cdles, and they continued to dance and brandish the knives over their heads until we were out of siixht. Passing Cape Dudh-y DJggs, w(! land(.'d at a brcH-ding-jilace of rotges (little auks); the birds were sitting in nivriads upon the ledges of the cliffs, and we shot a great many; but oui- time was too precious to wait long, even tor fresh tbod, and so we bore away. We were considr'rably liathed with ice-iloes in crossing over towards Lancaster Sound, and we did not reach tliat side until July 12. Near Cape Ilorsburgh we found a small and enterprising family of natives, who had crossed over to this l^arren land fiom Pond's r>ay, two years previously, in search of better hunting gro^md. These poor pef'ple could give us no inft)rmation of the missing ships; so we merely stopped to give them a few priiscnts ; we then steered for Pond's Bay, li-(>m whence we had hc'ard rumours of wrecks and wreck-wood being in the poss( ssion of the natives. In crossing Lancaster Sound, we were completely beset in the pack, and were even tlu-eatened witli another drift cait to sea like that cf last year ; we fortxmately escaped, however, from the gi'l}) of the ice, after being carried for seven days in a helpless state, and as I'ar as Cape Bathurst, before we could regain connnand over oiu- ship. At the entrance to Pond's Bay, we foimd an old woman arid a Itoy living in a skin tent, their tribe being some twenty-five miles up the inlet, at a village on the north side. This village, called Kapawi'oktolik, could not be reached ''y land, on account of the jtreci]iitous eliirs facing the sea. The iidet Avas, however, yet fidl of ice, and Captain M'Clintocl; endeavoured to reach the natives by sledge. In the meantime, we on board were employed in collecting sea-birds from the ncighboiu'ing bi-eeding cliffs of Cape Grahame Moore. We also frequently visited the land to collect cochlearia, or scurvy-grass, which groAV luxuriantly abu;it the old Escpiimaux encampments. A trade was commenced with the old lady on ghorc ; for we found that, concealed among the stones, she had a nund^er of narwhales' horns, teeth, and blades of whak'bone, of which she would only produce one at a time, by way of enhancing the value hy its apparent scarcity. Around her tent were snares set in all directions for catching birds, and she had a large quantity of putrid blubber lying en cache, which was her principal food and fuel. The boy brought us a hare, which liu 110 THE SEAKCII FOl? SIR JOHN FRANKLIN. had shcit ■with lii.s bow and arrow. Japtain ]M*Cliutock having failed to reach tlie village, owing to thu ico heing all adrift in the inlet, lie deter- mined to take the ship there if possil)Ie, and to take the old woman as i)il<>t. We ran alcngsitlc her tent, which slic soon packed np with all her worldly riches, and came on board thoroughly drenched with the rain, which had jxinred in torrents all day. Our people managed to rig her out in some dry clothes; the poor boy was made sung in the (Migiiic I'oom, an I the old lady vohmtarily tuok her station as pilot upon the drck throughout the night, and was veiy anxious to point out the beauties of her comitry, and the " pleasant sleeping places." AVe could only get withui eight miles of the village, owing to there being fast ice in the inlet ; so, securhig the ship to it, the Captain arid Ilobson started over the ivc\ On board the ship we hoped to have a quiet Sunday, but a numl^er of right-whales pl'iying round the vessel, and pushing their bac]:s under the ice, constantly broke away the rotten edge; to Avhich wc by. "Wc were thus kept constantly beating up again to it ; and in the evening, al)out six or seven miles of the ice coming aAvay in one Hoc, and tiuiiing romid u])on us, we were forced tipon the south slun-e of the inlet, and momentarily (>xpec;ed being driven ujion the rocks; but afler blasting the ice with gunpowder for nearly two hours, in order to gain every inch, we got clear just as we were totiching the crrouud. The next morning (August 2) the Captain and party returned. They had a mo.-t interesting trip, and described the village as situated in a most rom;tntic spot, close upon the shore, at the foot of a. deep valley tilled with a glacier, which completely overhung the .settlement, and threw jets of water almost to the tents. The natives were delighted to see them, and, in answer to the inquiries through the interpreter (Mr. Petersen), they said that two old wrecks Avere lying four days' journey southward of Cape Bowen — jM'obably in Scot's Inlet. These two ships came on shore together many years ago. They also confirmed an account from our lady pilot of an old wreck lying to the northward in Lancaster Sotmd, one day's journey from Cape Hay, or, as they call it, Appak (l)rceding-place of birds). The wood in their piossession aviis now accounted for, as also their great anxiety to pr.icure saws, which they always asked for in barter. These Vv-rec^ks were not those we sought, and we had no occasion to delay our voyage l)y looking at them. The natives di'cv/ a rough chart of the interior of this unknown country. They especially pointed out the salmon rivers, and the hunting and sleeping places, and gave a feAV general ideas of the profile of the land, and the main directions of the dilFerent channels which intersect it ; describing North Devon as an island, and shoAving a Avatcr communication Avith Igloolik, Avherc Parry Avintered. Wc had noAV set nt rest all rvunours of Franklin's ships being in the neighljourhood of Pond's Bay; and having made a feAv observations for the sttrvey of the place, Ave departed for Beechey Island, regretting that the Avlialeshipa had not been Avith us to profit by the number of fish Ave had seen. As we entered Lancaster Sound, five huge bears sat Avatching a dead Avhule ; 1 THE SEARCH FOR SIR JOHN FRANKLm. Ill jther iOtof xietv i-ecks .ivage lor of and rofilo s-liich ivatcr w set )d of f the ships As lule ; J they sat upon (lifrcrcnt piocus of ice, apij)ar(.>utly laklng tiirn.> to fcotl, and tyv-idonlly afraid of each other. AVe shot a couple of tliein, but one escaped • over the ice after a long chase, although desperately woiuided. The next nmnuiig (xVugust 7) the Aviud increased to a perfect storm from th(! casiwanl ; tlie fog was, as seamen say, as thick as ]iease-soup;*'\Te rnuld see nothing; and compasses being here useh'ss, avc had to trust to our juck rather tlian good guidance foi- keeping in the fairway. We saAV very little ice, but the sea ran so high upon the 8th, that avo thought it prudent to lie-to i'or some liours. On tiie 10th, a herd of walrua was seen off Cape Felfoot, upon a piece of sailing ice, and lying so close an to completely cover it. The ship was run close alongside, and several were shot, but vre did not succeed in getting one ; fi)r, inde: .^ instantaneously killed, they always Avriggle off the ice and sink. The only practical method of getting a Avah'us is Avith a gun-harpoon from a boat ; as yet Ave had shot only one during ou)' A'oyage. Steering round Cape Hurd in a thick fog, Av^e struck ou an unknoAvn shoal, but soon backed off again, and let go the anchor, as Ave could not see our position. About midnight the fog lilted, and Ave proceeded. A large bear Avas seen SAvinuning round a point, and Avas shot ; and shortly after, one of the men fell overboard : he Avas picked up i-ather exhausted Avith his cold bath, and }ierliaps a little alarmed at bathing in company Avith polar bears. "We anchored next day oil' Cape Kiley, Avhere the Bi-edalbane aa\is lost, alter Captain Inglefield liad landed some of her stores and coals. We fomid that the bears had been anmsing themselves Avith the provisions, and had eaten out the bilgea betAveen the hoops of many of the casks. They evidently had a particidar relish for chocolate and salt pork (avo lioped they lilced it), and had taken the greotest trouble to throAV eveiything about. We visited the .stores at Beeceyh : they had been stored and housed Avith extreme care. A violent gale had passed over the place, for the door of the house Avas bloAvn in and the entrance full of snoAV, but notliing Avas damaged excejiting some 1)iscxiit. We also Adsilcd the graA-es, so often described, yet ever interest- ing, of the poor felloAvs Avho died in FrankUn's fu'st Avinter (quarters, and Aii^ose conu-ades Ave Avere noAV seeking. Our coaUng from Cape IJiley Avas completed by the 15th, and Ave Avere glad to leave that exposed and dangerous place. We had been considerably troubled Avith di-ift ice, and on the loth Ave drove half across the bay, Avith both anchors di>wn, and had to moor to a piece of ice grounded close to the ship. We crossed to the hoiTse rit Beechey, and there kmded a handsome tombstone (sent out by Lady Franklin), in memorial of Sir John Frankhn and his companions. It Avas placed close tii the monument erect(;d by their shipmattis to the memor)'' of poor Bt^llot ;md those Avho had died in the previous sevarching expeditions. Taking in such stores as Avere actually necessary, and having repaired the house, Ave crossed over to Cape Ilotham tor a boat (left there by Penny), to re])lace one of om-s Avhich had been crushed by the ice. Wellington Channel appeared to be clear of ice, and a jumping sea, fron: the soutliAvard, gaAe us promise of clear Awater in that 112 THE SEARCH roil sill JOHN FRANKLIN. dirccliim. On iIk; I7ili, ■we ^vo^c' .s;illiiig down Vvv\ Snuiul ■with a fresh ■wind, and currying cvciy rag of canvas. Passing Limestone Islimd and Cape (ij'anite, we began to tliink lliat, we sljould go i-iglit tln'ougli, for as yet no ice cindd be peen ahead; but tlie soufliern sky looked liright and icy, wliile, in ccjutrast, a darlc gloom Ining over the waters we liad Icfb in tiie uoi-tliward. Still \vv sailed on merrily, and were already talking of }y«. and ■y pros- lircctioii 'in-i/ ^vaa lis most r to the . The all om- ling out, d see no red in a t Avas set the next a strong oceeding ;e really anging, a lis such y dashed the Hoes had she iiore like ear, after Borac considerable anxiety, and carried out of the straits, wo. reluctantly went back to the anchorage we had left. Night and day we now earnestly watched liellot Straits, but tlioy remained choked with the ice, Avhich apparently drove backwards and forwards with the stream. "We made another desperate attempt on the 25th August, and hung on, at imminent risk, in a small indentation about two-thirds tln-ongli, and close imder the precipitous cliffs. Wi; were soon driven out of this again by the ice; yec so determined was our Captain to get through, that he then thouglit of pushing the ship into the pack, and driving with it into the western sea. We found, however, that the western entrance must be blocked, for the ice did not move fast in that din-ction. We could now do nothing but wait a change; and to employ the time, Ave siiiled down the east coast of I'joothia iiir some forty milts, to land a depot of provisions, hi case Ave should require, in the following Avinter, to communicate Avith the natives about Port Elizabeth. Navigation Avas noAV very cold and dreary Avork : Ave struggled back to Bellot Straits against strong north Aviiids, sleet, and snow, and Avithout compass, chart, or celestial objects to guide us. Vhe Ca[)tain next Avent aAvay in a boat, determining, Avhen stopped, to travel over laud to the Avestern sea to examine the actual state (jf things there ; and Young Avas sent to the southAvard for five days Avith boat and sledge, to ascertain if another passage existed Avh ere a promising In-eak in the land had been seen. The Captain returned to the ship on the 31st, bringing Avith him a fine fat buck ; he had reached Cape Bird by Avater and land, and brought us a favourable report of Victoria Straits. Our hopes of getting thnnigh Avere again raised. Young returned unsuccessful from the south ; no otlier strait existed, but only an inlet, extending some six miles in, and a chain of lakes thence into the interior to the south-AvestAvard. Young saw only one deer, Init many bears Avere roaming about the coas*-. On the Gth September Ave made another dash at the straits, and this time succeeded in reaching a rocky islet, tAA'o miles outside tne Avestern entrance; but a barrier of fast ice, OA'-er Avliich Ave could see r dark icatrr-sJcJ/, here stopped us. Moored to the ice, Ave em])loyed ourselves in killing seals, hunting for bears, and making preparations for ti-avelling. Young was sent to an island eight miles to the south-Avcst, to look around; and on ascending the land, he Avas astonished to sec Avater as far as the visible horizon to the soutliAvard in Victoria Straits. AVhile sitting doAvn, taking some angles Avith the sextant, he 'ackily turned round just in time to see a large bear craAvling up the rocVs to give him a pat on the head. lie seized his rifle and shot him through the body, but the beast struggled doAvn and died out of reach, in the Avater, and thus a good depot of beef Avas lost. Ilobson, Avho, for some days, liad been employed canying provisions on to this island, started on the 25th Avith a party of seven men and tA\-o dog-sledges to carry depots as far as possible to the vSoutliAvard, and the Captain placed a boat on the islet close to the ship, in case Ave should have to leave for Avintcr quarters beli're liobson's retiun. 114 THE SEATlCri FOR SIR JOHN FRANKLIN. Tho wiiift'r now set in nipully, m.'W ici; wan fa^t iticroasing, ainl tlie wcatlicr vow sovoro; all navigatinn was at an ciul, and tho barrior diifsidt^ of us had iii'ViT miivcil. "Wv had now no hopos of getting further, ,"iid an no harbnnr t'xist«'(l wheni wo won-, wc had Tiotliing fur it hut to seek our winter hi'inc in l?iHot Straiffl, and finish oxu' wf.rk in the following winter and pjtring. So leaving llobson to find his way to us, wo ran hack thrrmpli Bellot Straits towards a harbour that wo had discovered and named Port Kennedy. The straits were already covered with (-•fiun, and almost imua- vitrable, but- we reached the harbour at midnight on th(> 27th, and vun lli(> ship as fir as possible into the new ioe which now filled it. The /'e.i; h.ad done her work until the Ibllowing sunnner. No opportunity was now lo^t of procuring fresh food. The deer were migrating southward and a few Avere shot as they passed. liut the hnnting was very precarious; tho deer were travelling, and did not stop much to feed ; there was no cov3 were also sliot, bwt we were altogether disappointed in the resoiures of the country. "We luul, however, a fair stock of bear and seal ilesh for oiu* dogs and ourselves to liegin upon. On the Cth October TFobson returned, having reached some fif>y miles Aovm. the west coast of Tioothia, but was there stopped by the yet 1)roken- up state of the ice. Finding that we had left Cape Bird, and that Bellut Straits were impassable for the boat, he travelled back to the ship over thtJ mountains. The people were; now clearing out the ship, landing all supei-- fluous stores, and building magnetic observatories of snow and ice, bcsid vs hunting for the pot. We once more buried the ship with snow. On tlie 2-l:th, Hobscni again started for the south-westAvard, to follow up h.is last track, and to endeavour to push his depots further on. lie. returned to the ship on November C, liaving experienced most severe weather, and gi-eat dangers fi'om the imquiet state of the ice. Wh( n encamped near the shore, in latitude 70° 21', the ice broke suddenly away from the land and drilled oi:t to sea before the gale, carrying them offAvitli it. ThoyAvcn-e perched upon a small floe ]uece, and aAvide crack separated the tAvo tents. Dense snoAV-drift heightened the darkness of the night, and they could ntit possibly tell in Avhicli direction they Avcre driving. The next morning they found themselves fifleen miles from Avhere they had pitched the previous evening. By the mercy of Providcmce a calm succeeded, and they escaped to the land over the ice Avhich immediately formed. So thin Avas this neAV ice, that they momentarily expected to "break through. By great exertion llobson saved the depot ; and finding it impossible to do any more, he landed the provisions and returned to the fhip. Our autumn travelling A\'as noAV brought to a close. A depot of provisions Avas to haA'o been carried by Young across Victoria Straits, but this was given up as evidently impracticable. "We sat doAvn for the Avinter, praying that Ave might be spared to finish our Avork in the spring. Tho AA'hole sliip's company marched in fmieral procesi»ion to tlie shorii THE SKAUCII roll Slli JOHN TUAXKLIN. 115 [iving. i they calia liatc'ly [ed to [ntlinu': Ito the IpC-t of js, but pntrr, Iprini:'. on tin- lOili Novi'iiiluT, bearing upon u slcdyci tlir mortal n'tiiaius of poor ]Mr. Ulaiiil (our diicf ciigiinATj, ulio was loiuul dead in l)is bed on the 7tli. Tlu'bniial scrviet? liaviiig been road, he ;vas deposited in his frozen touib, on wlilili till' nild llowers will never grow, and over which his relations can ntvi'i- nicuin. AVe were all on boanl almost as one I'amily, and any one taken iVom us was missed as I'lie IVom the fireside at home. It wasi long Tii'fni'e this sorrowful ireliiig throughout the ship could ue shaken off. ( >n ilu' Mill the sun disapjieared, and wo were left in darkness; our skylights had long breii covered ovtr with snow, and by the light of our solitaiy dip we tried to pass the weary hours by reading, sleejiing, and smoking. We were frozen in, in a line harboiu', surrounded by lofly granite hills, and on these were oecasionally found a few ptarmigan, hares, and Avild Ibxes; whenever the weather permitted, or we could at all see our w.iy, we Avandered over these dreary hills in search of a Iresh mess. We varied our exercise with excursions on tlie ice in search of bears. But although exercise was so necessary for our existence, yet from the wiiida drawing through the straits and down our harboiir as tlirough a funnel, there were many days, and even weeks, when Ave could scarcely leave the ehip. The men set fox-tra]!S in all directions, and Mr. Petersen set seal-nets under the ice. The nets were not successful, but the traj)S gave an ol)jectfor a walk. ^lagnetic observations were carried on throughout the winter ; — flie reading of one instrument, placed in a snow-house some 20U yards from the .ship, being registered every hour night and day. On some of the wild winter nights, there wa.s some risk ingoing even that distance from the ship. Christmas and New Year's, days were si)ent with such rejoicing as in our situation we covdd make, and we entered upon the year 1S5U with good liealth and spirits. Oiu' dogs, upon which so much depended, were also in first-rate condition, and not one of them had died. The .sun returned to us on January I'Ulh; the daylight soon liegan to increase; and by February 10th, we were all ready to start ujion or.r first winter journey. Bad weather detained us until the 17th, wi:eii Captain M'Clintock and Young both lell the ship; the Captain, with only two companions, ]\Ir. IV'tersen (interpreter) and Thompson as dog-driver, to travel down the west coast of Boothia, to endeavour to obtain inlormation, preparatory to the long spring journeys, from .some natives supposi d to live near the magniHjc pole. Yoimg was to cross Victoria Straits with a depot of provisions, to enable him in the spring to search the coast of Prince ot Wales Laud, wdierever it might trend. lie returned on March 5. The Captain's party hove in sight on iJie 14t,h, and we all ran out to meet him. lie had found a tribe ol natives at Cape Victoria, nc'ir the magnetic ])ole, and from them he learnt that some years ago a large ship was crushed by the ice, olF the north-west coast of King Wilhara Land; that the peopde had come to the land, and had travelled down that coast to the estuary of the Great Fish liiver where they had died upon an island (Mi>ntreal T.sland) ; the natives had sptai's, bow.s and arrows, and other implements made of wood, be;^ides a quantify of silver spoons no THE SEAUCFI FOU Sm JOHN FRANKLIN. mill forks, wlilcli tlicy said they liiul iirociii-cil (ui flic island (more pfohalily by hartiT from otlior trilicn). It was now fvidciit that we wci'c oa the right track, and with ihl.s importuiit iulormalion CiipUun ^I'L'liiitoi'k rt:turnc(l to tin- ship. Our \viiiti(Ct'meal with one sledge, by a .sort of fox-and-goose calculallon. Dr. "Walker, who had also volunteered to go down for the provisions left on the east coast in the autumn, and nov; not recpiirrd there, returned about tlie same time. "With the informati(>n already olitaiiu'd, and which fiiily accounted for one ship, Captain ]\['Clintock saw no reason flir changing tlie original plan of .search, viz., that he shoidd trace the I\Iontreal Island and round King William Land; that Ilobson should cross from the magnetic pole to Collinson's farthest on "Victoria Land, and tbllow uj) that coast; and that Young should cro.ss "Victoria Straits and coimect the coast of Prince of "Wales Land with either Collinson's farthest on "\'ictoria Island or Osl)oriu,''.s farthest on the west coast of Prince of Wales Laud, according as he might discover the laud to trend. Young was also to connect the coast with BroAvne's farthest in Peel Sound, and e\[)lore the coast of North Somerset from Sir Jaiiu's Ivoss's farthest (Four River r>ay) to Bellot Straits. This would complete the examination of the wliolo luiexplored countly. The travelling parties were each to consist of four men drawing one sledge, and six dogs Avith a second sledge, Ix-si'lcs the officer in charge, and the dog-drivi'r. By the aid of depots, already carried out, and from the extreme care Aviih which Captain jM'Cliutock had prepared the ti'avelling cquijiment, and had reduced every ounce o{' unnecessary weight, Ave ex- pected to be able to be absent from the ship, and Avithout any other resource, for periods of from seventy to eighty days, and if necessary even longer. The Captain and Ilobson both started on the 2nd April, and Young THE SEAUril FOR Sill JOHN FI'vANKLLV. 117 one :uul tllG i'lling ex- Ltlier even joung got away iipon tlii' 7tli. Tlii' Fox was K 'I in cliarj^c of Dr, Walker (surgeon), ami thrci' or I'uiir invalids, who were unfit Tor tlii' liitij^uos ol" travelliiig. Altlitiiiirh wc all ii'lt niucli excited at tlu' real cununencoment of our actlvo Work, and interested in these dei.jirtures, this was lu'rhaps the most jiainrul period of our voyai^e. \\\> had hitherto acted in concert, and all the daiiyi i of our voyage had been .shared together. We w^rt.; now to ho Heparateil, and lor three months to travid in detaeh( d jiarties over tiie ice, without an opportujiity of hearing of each other until our return. It was liki' tlie lirrakuig up of a liappy liunily, and our oidy consolation lav in the hopi' tlial when we again met it wovdil he to rijoicci over the discovery of the lost ships. Nothing of'iiilrj'i'st occurred on hoard during our absence; liut one of the in\alids, poor lilackweli, Jiad been getting gi'adually wor.se, and died of sciu'vy on -luiie II, the very day on which llobson returneih The Captain and llol)son travelled together as liu- as Cape Victoria. There lliey learnt the additional news that another .shi[) !iad drilled on sliorc on the west coast of King William Land in tin; autunui of the .same year in which the first shij) was crushed. Captain .M'CIintock, now knowing that both ships had been neen olf that coast, and that on it the traces must be found, most generously resigned to llobson tlic llrst ojipor- tunity of searching there, instead of crossing to Victoria Land, as originally intended. Cai)tain I\I'Clintock then went down the east side towards tlie Fish liiver. Near Cajie Norton, he liiund a tribe of some thirty or forty natives, who a])peared nuich pleasi'd to meet the strange white people. They answered readily any iu([uiries, and concealed nothing. They pro- duced ."^ilver spoons and fi)rks, and other relics from the lost shij»s, and readily l)artered them for knives or needles. They Avere acquainted with the wreck, ■'■•hicli they .said Avas over the land (on the soutli-west coast), and for yi'ars they had coUected wood and valual)les from it, but they had not visited it lijr a long time. They had seen Franklin's ])enple on their march southward, but had not molested them. They .said that they had seen one human skeleton in the ship. Proceeding on his route, Captain JM'Clintock next fovmd a native family nt Point liooth, near the south-ea.st extreme of King William Land; these natives gave him the additional inf(>rmation that the ri'mains of' some of the lost peojile would be found on Montrc^al Ishuid. Having searched ^Montreal ""^sland and main land in the neigh- bourhood without finding other traces than a few pieces of copper and iron, and now having connected the search from the north with Anderson's from the south. Captain M'Clintock proceeded to examine the shoi-es of Dease and Simpson Straits, and the .southern shore of King William Land. N<\ar Cape Ilerschcl, the Captain's party found a human skeleton ui)on the beach as the man had iiUlen down and died, with his face to the ground ; and a pocket-book, containing letters in German which have not yet been deciphered, was found close by. The large cairn, originally built by Simpson, at Cape Ilerschel, had been pulled down, probably by the natives, and if any record or docunient had ever been placed therein by Franklin's people, they were noAv lost, for 118 THE SEARCH roil sni john franklin. none could he found -witlini or around the cairn. Passing Cape ITcrschel, Cajjtain ]\I'Cl'ntock travelled along the hitherto unknown shore, and dis- covered it to extend out as far as tlie meridian of 100° West. There all traces of the natives ceased,* and it aj^peared as if they had not ior many years livi'd or hunted beyond that point ■which Avas named Cape Crozier (aiK^r Cnptain Crozier, Franklin's second in cnnnnand). The land then trended to the north-eastward, and about twenty miles from Caj-e (Irozier, M'Clintock found a boat, which had only a f^iw days previously been examined by Ilolison from the north, and in it a note left by Ilobson to say that he had discovered the records of the Erehas and Terror, and arter travelHng nearly to Cape Ilerschel Avithout finding further traces, had returned towards the Fee. Captain M'Clintock, irom the south, had now connected his discoveries with those of Lieutenant Hobson, to whose very successful journey we will no^v turn. Parting from the Captain at Cape Victoria, Hobson crcissed to Cape Felix, and near that point he fcjtuid a cairn, around which Avere quantities of clothing, blankets, and other indications of Franklin's people having visited tluit spot, and probably formed a deput thore, in the event of their abandoning their ships. Anxiously searching among these interesting relics without linding any record, Hobson continued along the .'^hore to Cape Victciria, where, on ]May C, he discovered a large cairn, and in it the first authentic aecoiuit ever obtained of the history of the lost expedition. It was to the lullowing effect: — That the Erchus and Terror had ascended Wellington Channel to latitude 77"^ north, r.nd had returned Avest of Cornwallis Island to Beeehey Island, Avhere they spent their first Avinter, 18-45-4G. Sailing thence in the ibIloAving season, they Avere beset, on September 12, 1840, in latitude 70° 5' north, longitu.le 98° 23' Avest. Sir John Franklin dial on June 11, 1847; and on the 22nd of A])ril, 1848, haA'ing, \m to that date, lost by death nine olficers and iifteen men, both ships Avere aliandoned in the ice, five lengues north north- west of Point Victory. The survivors, lOG in mnnber, had landed, tmder the command of Captain Crozier, on the 25tli April, at Point Victory, and Avould start on the morroAV (April 20) for the Great Fish liiver. Another record Avas also iumid, sttiting that previotisly, on the 21th May, 1847, Lieutenant Grahame Gore and Mr. Charles DesVceux, mate, had landed from the ship, Avith a i)arty of fix men. The record did not slate lor Avhat reason they had landed ; but from the nundier Avho finally abandoned the ships, this party must have returned on board, and it is probable that they merely landed to examine the coast. Quantities of clothing, cooking, and Avorking implements AA'ere scattered about neai* Point Victory, and a sextant, on Avhich Avas engraved the name of Frederick IIornbA', Avas Ibund among the debris. Collectino; a f^iw of the most inti'i't'sting of these relies to take Avith him upon his retiun, Hobson then pushed on t(j the soutliAvard, and Avhen near Cape Crozier he discovered * Tlic waiidciiiigs of the Ei-ciiiiiiuuix may be traced by the circles of stones by which tlicy keep down then- slcin siuiinier teats. THE SEARCH TOR SIR JOHN FRANKLIN. 119 the boat above mentioned, by a snuiU stanchion just showing up above the snow. Clearing away the snow, he found in the bottom of the boat two hiunan skeletons, one of which was imder a heap oi' clothing. There were also watches, chronometers, silver spoons, money, &c., Ijesides a number of Bibles, prayer and other religious books ; and although one of the Bibles was underlined in almost every verse, yet not a single v.'riting was found to throw further light upon the history of the retreating parties, Tl.'ere Avere two guns, one bai'rel of each being loaded and cocked, as if these poor fellows had been anxiously longing for a passing bear or i'ox to Siive them from starving; for nothing edible was found, save some chocolate and tea, neither of which could su^iport life in .such a climate. Lieutenant Hobson, ha\*lng searched the coast btyond Cape Crozier, returned to the ship on June 11, in a very exhausted state, lie had been sulfering severely tVom scurvy, and was so reduced in strength th;it hv could not stand. He had been for more than forty days upon his sledge, carried in and out of the ti^it by his lirave companif)ns, and his suflerings nnist have licen Ixyond description. Thronghout his joiu-ney he had only killed one bear and a few ptarmigan. Captain M'Clintock returned on board the I'^x on June 19, having been absent eighty days. He brought with liim a nimilier of relicw, and had minutely examined every cairn and the whole coast of King William, He supposes that the wreck of the ship, unless upon some oif-lying island, has been run over Ity the ice, and has disappeared ; as he saw nothing of it. He made most valuable discoveries in geography, and surveyed the coast from Bellot Straits to the magnetic pole, besides having travelled completely round King William Island, and tilled up its unknown coasts. Bt^sides his other instruments, he carried with him a dip cii'cle, weighing 4.0 lbs., with which he also made most valuable observations. Yomig had crossed Victoria Straits (now Frariklin Straits), discovered M'Clintock Channel, and proved Prince of Wales Laud t(j be an island ; having reached the jioint which Captain Sherard Osborn came to fi-om the north. Owing to the very heavy character of the ice, he had failed in crossing IM'Clintock Channel, and returned to the ship on June • ^'"' '^o:?"- ..i \ i;'.<) ^~jz -t — T.-TTi .,r_rcm I fM ■ *-S''*.,.. .11... J.i..i , -> rt ,, '''* \v- \mJ I •I .^^„M;' "--x fuxxAyn 1 V"I''''H •-^' "■".'■««..(.»<' 1...*. Oil"- ""T?',t£M-,'V- «"/"'"-"■ «•' '^^ C'^*^''^ BOO T k I A i J - V .Id*. )= Siiiipxn', i ^^-^:^. '— JT-#^ \<- Maiiu.ll 1'' .,1 tIT 1) S <» .V ">| J N^^^ a^^ '■ lllj,-' hi nr„ry Hu,l...jf^ ^*^^V!__i Jtmli . dT7ii»i!*fffki^ IMf, I'ld I I I I I . I I L ■ oil fhinK-liji'y i>l(-/*r/iiVl4>rt unjtuilituf tit* thi Nttrth ll>vf Ilti.va^f iii \ <• II A I ST \httumo the TRACKS OF THE YACHT FOX .lo S|i 11 I .■ ll r .1 1. > I. ail.. I' I- ,1 11 1. I . ji [ lilldri' \\iv rlMiiitiilJicI III' CAI'T? M'.C 1,1 STOCK. H.X. ly; ^ »,«.,. »„,/ \ O; H.NI.SH.PS EREBUS * TERROR \''\ IS4». ir-^i^^ irt,-.; lolrtSl). J 1 r- ■»" r "i ' r- \ 1- - i ' I -I - I- T r t fib' 7()" ^ 1 i 00' Eu^'ravpil for "The Coi-iiliill Mflgaziue" Siuiti 7<>- IKl '^ '>-t!^'^v>."' . \ ■'■;■ •I ""/*■ :2 -i. V. _ 7 .Vm/ .)i tJ7^3il\.UttJn HUH 1) A y 1 s N?l' I ; — J i_j ^ ;— I 1 ^ ^ ' „,vl N'.'l. \M.V Uav ''""-r , . ~J, A,/' "''/. / , »;,K^ "•^" ll<»W Sr HT SllMKimUT / f' / ^S^ i/^'-- ] mxiTUlA i \, . f-Kl.lX V .. ^ tWoj ly:'^: Jiny*;^!*^'^ .-•T r?3.J nt'-V ^- ry." ^'f. («^- 0^^ ) ^ — '"t -^ \''*'jj^ >.i;!SV' , l'''*^*'^'^. 3-.^^^^ ^^-i*4 ^•■. Ttif phnriftal L.f\ilini:< ^-iirmtvtrti Y.iih prr Br.™.. I'* N «) T E S 7(r Jh^ oif/vkiltyi * hittr>r\\ir.i tntrA'.r. il/i./ f^^ itilUVf of til ^ '<•••.»/■/ //- ii ry^tutrkahh Ur [iri/i tlntuifih H.ifrin ■■fit ,trt tiiJfin;Hii.ii.*t.>' .li.'i'ovfrfd iinH f.r ti-Sif .f.f^ttti.'rJin " /.■t4A 1 ' 1 ^ '"■■^j. ^, ' 'Iri V -v V V„ y..A A ; lo inai). 70' r N^J ftrtliutttiri ot' iHirf iir' thtif ..'(/»/>//,■ ' A- ^', ii-"->(- '^. v '^^^■i,, o <• N j> •T^'.iA»i r.ihol 1497 , •«»• -i..-T - J. lr . r— XI.- J .r_T_-trrr - t-tar. -r^rr ail" --X--I ~-i^r 20' The ("oriiktiil Mrtyaziur"' Smilb.Eliipr ^: 'o l.tDuUm . ti. .'tniitlifLr /r' K-t.t/ fi.rh' /^ n.tit THE SEARCH FOR SIR JOHN FRANKLIN. 121 tho cnpincs into working order, nnd di'tcrniiucd to drive tlicni himself, lur wiilinut steam we could reckon Ujiou nothing. iJuly pas.sed away, and during the iir^t week in August wo could still sec cue luibroken surface of ice in IJegent Inlet; from the highest hill not a ,^;]'<>onful nf water could be made out. We were getting rather anxious, lur had we been detained another winter, we nmst have abandoned the ship in the Ibllowing spring and trusted to our fortunes over the ice. Ilowevi'r, a g.'ile of wind on the 7th and 8th of August caused some disruption in the ini.r, ibr tm the morning of the 9th a rejxn't came down from tlu' hills that a i' id of water was seen imder the land to the northward. Steam was i:nmcdiately made, and pushing close past the islands, we were eiial)led to woik np the coast in a narrow lane of water between it and the pack. We reached the north side of Cresw(.'ll Bay on the following day, but, till' wind changing, we saw the j)ack setting rapidly in upon the land, and it had already closed upon Fury I^eaeh. Our only chance was now to seek M grounded mass of ice, and to hang on to it. We were indeed glad to get a li'.tle rest, and especially for our captain, who had not left the engines ft>r iwenty-four hours. But we lay in a most exposed position on an open ccast without an indentation, the pack closing in rapidly belbre the wind ai:il tiireatening us with the same fate as befell the Fur)/ when she was diiven on the shore about seven miles from our present posititm. Hanging cin to this piece of ice with every hawser, we saw it gradually melting and breaking away, and at spring tides it began to float. On the Ifitli the gale shifted to the westward, and blew off the land ; we watched the ice gi'adually easing off, and directly that we had room, we cast off xuider storm-sails, and succeeded in getting out of Regent Inlet and into Lancaster Sound on the following day. We entered Godhavn, in Greenland, on the night of Augi;st 20, and not having heard from our friends for more than two yi-ars, Ave did not even wait lor daylight for our expected letters. The authorities on shore kindly sent all they had lor us at once to the ship, and I suppose that letters fiom home were never opened with more anxiety. Having a few repairs to do, especially to our rudder, which, with the sj^are one, had been smashed by the ice, we remained a day or two to patch it up for the jKissage home. Then leaving Godliavn on the 1st September, although the nigh wei-e extremely dark, and the weather stormy, with many b(.'rgs drilling about, we passed down Davis Strait without incident, and, rounding Cajie Farewell on the 13th, we ran across the Atlantic with strong, fair winds. Captain M'Clintock landed at the Isle of Wight on the 20th, and on the 23rd the Fox entered the docks at Blackwall. Our happy cruise was at an end, and by the mercy of Providence we were permitted to land again in England. f