IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) ^/ y.^ :/. % 4^ 1.0 1.1 11.25 itt Ui 12.2 ^U4 /: ^.^' _g— . CIHM/ICMH Microfiche Series. CIHM/ICIVIH Collection de microfiches. Canadian Institute for Historicai IMicroreproductions Instttut Canadian da microraproductions historiquas 1980 Technical Notes / Notes techniques The institute has attempted to obtain the best original copy available for filming. Physical features of this copy which may alter any of the images in the reproduction are checked below. D Coloured covers/ Couvertures de couleur L'Instltut a microfilm* le meilleur exempiaire qu'll lui a At6 possible de se procurer. Certains d^fauts susceptlbles de nuire A la qualit6 de la reproduction sont notte ci-dessous. 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Las Imagas sulvantas ont it* raprodultas avac la plus grand soln, compta tanu da la condition at da la nattat* da I'axamplalra filmi, at an conformity avac las conditions du contrat da fllmaga. Tha last racordad frama on aach microflcha shall contain tha symbol — ^ (moaning CONTINUED"), or tha symbol V (moaning "END"), whichavar appllas. Un das symbulaa suivanta apparaftra sur la dar- nlira Imaga da chaqua microflcha, salon la cas: la symbols — ► algnlfia "A 8UIVRE", la symbols y signifia "FIN". Tha original copy was borrowad from, and fiimad with, tha kind consant of tha foliowi.^g institution: Library of tha Public Archlvas of Canada IVIaps or platas too larga to ba antiraly Inciudad in ona axposura ara filmed beginning in tha upper left hand corner, left to right and top to bottom, as many frames as required. The following diagrams illustrate the method: L'exemplaira fiimi fut reprodult grAce A la ginirositi da i'itablissament prAteur suivant : La bibliothAqua des Archives publlques du Canada Las cartes ou lea planches trop grandee pour Atre reprodultes en un seui clichA sont filmAes A partir da I'angia supArieure gauche, da gauche A droite et de haut en bas. en prenant la nombre d'images nAcessalra. Le diagramme suivant iliustre la mAthode : 1 2 3 1 2 3 4 6 6 CO in (lO 1-1 'ri 4-1 Si 1 i^ I/) <0 10 ' !« — ii nniniwfc.i LONDON : raiNrEO bt william clowbs and sons, uuit£D, STAMFOltU 8IUGET A>'I> GUAKIMa CUUiW. G US B r II ^^5^1 TABLE OF CONTENTS. PAOR Letter from Aduiral Sir G. H. Richards to the Editor .. ix THE JOURNAL. PROLOGUE. Abstract of the Search to 1850 — State of Arctic Knowledge — Books Consulted — Admiralty Orders — Officers and Crew . . . . 1 SECTION I. England to Magellan Straits.— January-April, 1850. Fitting out — Leave England — To Magellan Strait .. .. .. 34 SECTION II. Magellan Straits to Sandwich Islands. — April-June, 1850. Leave the Strait — Sandwich Islands .. .. .. .. .. 52 SECTION III. Sandwich Islands to the Polar Sea. — June-August, 1850. Behring Strait — To the Polar Sea — At Port Clarence .. .. 57 SECTION IV. Port Clarence and Icy Cape. — September, 1850. Return to Point Barrow — Port Clarence again — At Michaelowski . . 70 SECTION V. To Sitka. — October-November, 1830. i 'ii,-': In Behring Sea — The Aleutian Islands— At Sitka — The Yukon River 83 IV CONTENTS. SECTION VI. To Hoso KoNO.— NovEMBEB, 1850-ApiuL, 1851. PAOK Leave Sitka — At Sandwicli IslandB— Hnnalae Bay — At Ilong Kong — At Bouin IttlaDds — Account of Bonin Islands .. .. 98 SECTION VII. To Pout Clabencb— Behrino Stuait.— May-July, 1851. Bt'hring Sea— Anadyr Gulf— Lieut. Barnard's Death— At Tort Clarence 119 SECTION VIII. To Bauixg or Banks Island. — July-September, 1851. Behring Strait to Point Barrow— Point Barrow to Cape Bathurst — Prince of Wales Strait — South side Baring Land — West side — Proceedings of the Investigator — Proceedings of Eastern Ex- peditions 135 SECTION IX. Prince op Wales Straits.— Septemder, 1851-April 1852. Anchored in Walker Bay — Winter Preparations— Examine Minto Inlet — Winter Occupations — Aurora .. ,, .. .. 164 SECTION X. Exploring Parties. — April-June, 1852. Sledge Expedition? — On Board the Ship — Sledge Journal, North — Sled;ze Journal, South — Sledge Jounial, Melville Island — On Board the Ship .. .. 180 SECTION XL Dolphin and Union Straits. — July-October, 1852. Description of Walker Bay — Leave Prince of Wales Strait— Prince Albert Sound — Turning P^astward — Dolphin and Union Strait — Coroi.ation Gulf— Dease Strait — Arrive at Cambridge Bay . . 220 SECTION XII. Cambridge Bay.— October, 1852-Ap.ul, 1853. At Cambridge Bay— Getting the Ship p;ioat— Oross Dease Strait- Amusements — Health, Occupations, Natives — Spring Expedi- tions — Proceedings of Eastern Expeditions 243 PAOB 258 CONTENTS. SECTION XIII. Victoria Straits. — April-Jult, 1853. Note on Victoria Strait — Sledge Journal — Record of Doctor Rac — Furthest North — On Board Ship — Finlayson Islands — Relic of Frunklia's Ships .. SECTION XIV. Return \Ve8Twari>. — Auoust-September, 1853. Leaving Camhridje Bay — Remarks on Esquimos — Description of Carabridj^e Bay — Game and Vegetation — Coronation Gulf — Dolphin Union Strait — Cape Bathurst — Off Mackenzie River — Blocked in Camden Bay .. .. .. .. .. .. 281 SECTION XV. Camden Bay. — October, 1853-July, 1854. Autumn Exjieditions— Winter Arrangements — Expedition North — Romanzoff Mountains — Native Names .. .. .. 304 SECTION XVI. Return to England. — July, 1854-May, 1855. Leave Camden Bay — Cape Halkett — Wbaleboat Journal — Pass Point Barrow — To Port Clarence — Return to Point Barrow — Port Clarence — To Hong Kong — To Cape of Good Hope — On the Missing Ships — Cape to England .. .. .. .. 319 Table I. Prevalent Winds by Nos. of Days Table II. Thickness of Ice .. 342 .. 313 . . I L ,:.j EPILOGUE. Reception at Home — Committee on Awards — Voyage of the. Fvx — On Polar Exploration .. .. .. .. .. .. 352 VI CONTENTS. NOTES TO THE JOURNAL. No. 1.- n 2.- » 3.- »» 4.- n 5.- » C- If 7. » 8.- i> 9.- If 10.. fi 11.- If 12.- fi 13.- «f 14.- ff 15.- >f IG.- ff 17.- ff 18.- If 19.- ff 20.- ff 21.- ti 22.- »i 23.- ff 24.- ff 25. If 26.- ff 27.- If 28.- ft 29.- ft 30.- It 31. ff 32.- ft 33. ft 34. ft 35. If 36. If 37.- PAOI -Fitting Out ■ • . . . . 35 ■Scientific Apparatus .. 39 Pacific Ocean .. .. 64 ■Captain Kellett's Letter .. 55 Flensing .. 58 Captain Kellett's Records .. 59 and 67 •Ice Blink— Water Sky .. 61 Separation of the Ships Appendix 355 Eskimo Ik)ats • * t • • • 74 Oflicers at Michaelovski • • • • • • 78 Lieutenant Barnard's Death . . • . • . . 130 Point Barrow .. .. 140 ■Stones in Ice . . ■ • • ■ • 143 Cajw Halkett . . > • • • • • 146 Low Land, North American Coast .. Appendix 361 The Mackenzie Piiver Appendix 362 H.M.S. Investiiffttor .. • •• • • 100 Eastern Expeditions .. • 162 Balloons and Pigeons • . • . • 168 ■Effects of Cold • • • • • 176 ■The Aurora Boreal is.. Appendix 364 ■SU'dgo Travelling Appendix 368 ■Turning East ■ • • • • • 233 Magnetic Compass . . . 238 Arctic Winter on Board Ship Appendix 391 -Health Appendix 398 ■Eastern Expeditions .. .. 255 Personal Troubles Appendix 402 Victoria Strait .. 259 -Polar Ice . . . . . . . . Appendix 405 -Breaking up of Ice . . Appendix 412 -Eskimos Appendix 418 -Animal and Vegetable Life . . Appendix 424 -Gun[)owder in Ice Appendix 429 -First Letters from Home .. 331 -Cypher in the Times . . . . . . . • 337 -Mr. Miertsching, the Interpreter .. Appendix 432 Tb( S.V Atl W( Ch Ho Co CONTENTS. vu THE MEMOIR OF ADMIRAL COLLINSON. CHAPTER I. OviNQiiAM School. Tho Foundation PAOK 430 CHAPTER II. H.M.S. Cambhidoe, 1823-27. S.W. Caist, America ,. CHAPTER III. H.M.S. Chanticleer, 1828-31. Atlantic Ocean — Pendulum Observations 442 .. 449 CHAPTER IV. H.M.SS. .^TNA, Medea, Sulphur, 1831-39. West Coast Africa — Mediterranean — West Coast America .. .. 459 CHAPTER V. Chinese War and Survey, 1840-46. Chusan — Canton — Amoy — Ningpo — Shanghae — Nanking .. .. 469 CHAITER VI. At Home, 1846-49 and 1855-62. Holyhead — Royal Geographical Society — Royal United Service Institution — Canada .. .. .. ., .. .. 494 CHAPTER VII. The Trinity House, 1862-83. Constitution of Corporation — Fog Signals — Eddystone Lighthouse — Buoyage — Final .. 'A viii CO.WTKNTS. MAPS, &c. Sketch of H.M.S. Enterprine .. Map of the World — Northern Ilemisphero „ — Soutlicru Hemisphere I^hring Strait .. West Arctic America . . Central Arctic America North Arctic America Portrait of Admiral Sir It. Collinson .. lofnce lilh jmfje. at end qf book. *• ti to/ace page 57 61 , 153 „ 255 at btf/innih if Memoir. It MEMORANDUM. The TiiEnMOMKTER is reckoned by the Fahrenheit scale, unless other- wise stated. CoMPARiHOM OF TiiEKMOMETRio ScALES (from CJuimbera's Encyclo- padia): Zero Fahrenheit.. 82° 77° Reanmar Centigrade 122° 212° The Mile8 are Geographical miles, CO to a degree of latitude, unless otherwise stated. Winds are designated by the direction from which they come. Currents are designated by the direction in which they go. Ships and Native Words are printed in Italics. ( i^ ) *^* The following letter from Admiral Sir G. H. Richards to the Editor, written after perusal of the proof-sheets of this book, is here inserted with his permission ; and forms a fitting though perhaps too kindly a preface to it. 56, Lexham Gaudenb, October 2nd, 1889. When I first knew that it was your intention to publish the Arctic Journal of the Enterprise, I confess that I almost doubted the wisdom of the step, after the lapse of nearly forty years : since then, through your kindness, I have had the opportunity of closely studying the proof-shpdts as they have come from the press, and I do not hesitate to say, that my views on the subject have entirely changed. The work will not now probably awaken that thrilling interest in the mind of the general reader which it would have done had it been published at the time, when a strong feeling existed among almost all classes in favour of Arctic enterprise : but it is a record of patient endurance and unflagging persever- ance, under difficulties and trials which have perhaps never been surpassed, and it cannot but prove a solid and brilliant addition to the many like deeds per formed by the seamen of the navy of this country. By those who knew your brother this narrative will, I believe, be recognized as a fitting monument of his whole life. b I X LETTER FROM ADMIRAL RICHARDS. There are comparatively few who are competent to pro- nounce a correct verdict on the merits of the various Arctic Voyages of modern times; fewer still perhaps at the present time who can form an entirely unbiassed judgment. My own view has always been that the voyage of the Enterprise was the most remarkable of them all. There was no turning back, nor, in the mind of the leader, any thought of turning back, until all resources had been exhausted. In its relation, no exaggerated or sensational pictures are drawn : a ' plain unvarnished tale, almost too plain. Of how many others can this be said ? When, in the spring of 1853, Kellett's parties from Me^vDlp island joined hands with M'Clure's at Banks Land, over 180 miles of frozen sea, and when a messenger from the latter was pushed on to Beechy Island by sledge, and by a piece of good fortune carried on to England the same year, the whole country rang with the discovery of the North-West Passage, which in reality was not the discovery ; the voyage of the Investigator was indeed unique, and stands alone in the annals of Arctic discovery ; she reached from the west within 120 miles of the furthest of Parry's sliips from the east, more than thirty years before. Her meeting with the travelling parties from the Resolute was the single instance where pre-arrangement for combination in Arctic service had proved successful ; and but for this meeting her crew would in all human probability have met with a similar fate to those of Franklin's a few years earlier ; but they could no more be said to have discovered the North- West Passage than could that great Arctic navigator in 1846. Honours were conferred, and deservedly so on M'Clure, CoUinson's gallant second, for his daring and successful enterprise ; but why the leader was thrown into the cold shade of neglect, almost of contumely, when two years luter he returned having accomplished far more, and was only unfortunate in not finding Franklin's parties (as M'Clure had found LETTER FROM ADMIRAL RICHARDS. zi Kellett's) when he reached almost in sight of their lost ships, is only to be accounted for by one of those gusts of popular impulse, which at times blind men's understandings, and obliterate their better judgment, until in the end injustice becomes more expedient than honourable recantation. Your brother was too modest a man to seek to have his own claims asserted, and he maintained a dignified silence under treatment happily rare in the Navy (for which, how- ever, an amende was made after long years *) : he was far too generous and unselfish not to concur and to rejoice in the honours which were bestowed on his second, who, but for his chiefs unsuspicious and trusting nature would never have had the opportunity of making himseK famous. In awarding the palm for the discovery of the North-West Passage there were susceptibilities to be studied, which the men of the time were not strong enough to disregard, and a compromise was offered which history will not ratify ; but will probably pronounce the verdict that the Passage has not been accomplished at all; that the most northern route between the two oceans was found to exist but oiot navigated, by the combined efforts of Parry in 1819 and M'Clure in 1852, and the more southern one by Franklin in 1846 and Colliuson in 1853 ; two of the parties not living to know the completion of their labours. It is no injustice to the gallant men who traced the inter- mediate portions of the Arctic Seas by boat or sledge (including Franklin himself), from Heame and Mackenzie to Eae, to exclude them from any direct claim to the discovery of the North-West Passage ; it is no detraction from their labours and their sufferings, which will be remembered until Arctic history is forgotten. Believe me, very faithfully yours, (Signed) Geo. Henry Richards. • See p. 500. €:i)e Ancient iHariner. ii And now there came both mist and snow, And it grew wondrous cold ; And ice, mast high, came floating by, Green as an emerald. And through the drifts the snowy clifts Did send a dismal sheen, Nor shapes of men nor beasts we ken — The ice was all between. The ice was here, the ice was there, The ice was all around. It cracked and growled, it roared and howled, Like noises in a swound! At length did cross an albatross, Through the fog it came; As if it had been a Christian soul. We hailed it in God's name. The ice did split with a thunder-fit; The helmsman steered us through! — COLERIDGB. JOURNAL OF H.M.S. ENTERPRISE. 18r)0-1855. PROLOGUE TO THE JOURNAL. The story of the ill-fated expedition of Sir Jolin Franklin to discover the long-sought North-west Passage in 1845, and of his mysterious disappearance, and of all the painful and laborious endeavours made to find him for ten long years, would form a subject for " An Arctic Epic " to some British [)oet. Ik '^e dark and dreary region, spread with thick fields and mountain heaps of impenetrable ice ; in the numb- ing cold ; in the dead silence of space where scarcely the foot of man or beast has trod since it was created, fitly called by the natives " The Land of the White Bear," and of him only ; in the daily hard labour of advancing a few miles on little food, a constant struggle for life against the bitter elements ; and perhaps most of all in the imprisonment of dim-lighted cabins for three or four months out of the twelve in each year, the poet would find abundant illus- trations of the daring and endurance, and the skill and the self-sacrifice of British sailors, both officers and men. To attempt any such undertaking is as much beyond the powers of the present writer as it is beyond the scope of this book. The only object proposed in the following pages is to place on record the story of one of those many unsuccessful endeavours, in the very words put down by the commander of it from time to time during its progress. And the excuse for venturing to bring an Arctic subject before the public iigain^ after all these years of sileiice, is chielly in the fact 2 CAPTAIN COLLINSON'S JOURNAL. that it is one of the few of those expeditions which have not been so recorded ; thus leavinLj a sort of hiatus in the story of that epos, a small blank which was due mainly to the character of that commander, who, from certain circumstances, was most unwilling to put himself and his work in any way before the public. Now, however, that the commander has himself gone to that haven where neither cold nor heat nor storm nor stillness will trouble him any more, it has seemed desirable to some friends and comrades of his life that the blank should be filled up. And tliis is done gladly by his relatives as a further memorial of that life and character. It is hoped that its being given in the precise form in which it was periodically written by bin self, will, in the eyes of the reader, be an additional interest and excuse for publication. The general story of that weary search for the lost expedi- tion, fruitless till the last forlorn hope, was told at the time so fully by many hands, that it is only necessary now to give a brief abstract of it, for the convenience of the reader, ftnd for the better understanding of the origin and object of the particular expedition herein narrated. The Erebus and Terror, under Sir John Franklin and Captain Crozitjr, went into the Arctic seas in the summer of 1845, by way of Baffin Bay and Lancaster Sound, under instructions to try and penetrate westward and southward, in the direction of Behring Strait. As they were fully provisioned for three years, no great anxiety was felt about them in 1846 and 1847. But when nothing was heard in the course of the latter year, the general feeling among all classes, scientific, naval and official, induced the Government to send two other vessels, which were the same two whose subsequent voyage is herein recorded, the Enterprise and the Investigator, under Captain Sir James Ross and Captain Bird, to follow on Sir John Franklin's route. This expedition experienced one of the most unfortunate lots that ever befell Arctic voyagers. Starting in June, 1848, they only succeeded during that season in penetrating Lancaster Sound and Barrow Straits as far as Port Leopold. During the winter they explored the north part of Peel Sound and Prince PROLOGUE. liegent's Inlet, without finding any trfce of the two missing ships; and in 1849 they were still more unlucky, fo" they got caught in the ice-floes, and carried out by the drift, nolens volens, into Baffin Bay, whereupon Sir James Ross thought it better to come home. As the three years for which Sir J. Franklin's expedition was provisioned were now passed, the failure to obtain any account whatever of it from any source, roused a strong feeling in the country, and the Government responded to that feeling by determining to prosecute a vigorous search both from the side of Baffin Bay, and from Behring Strait. Sir James Ross's two ships, the Enterprise and Investigator, were refitted with all haste, to sail as soon as possible round Cape Horn to Behring Strait, and Captain Collinson and Commander Maclure were appointed to them. And in the course of 1850, no less than four vessels were sent by Ijaffin Bay, the Resolute, the Assistance, the Intrepid and the Pioneer (two screw steamers), under Captain Austen and Captain Ommaney ; in addition to which several other vessels were sent by private enterprise. First must be mentioned the Prince Albert, under Captain Forsyth, sent by the talented and devoted Lady Franklin, whose name is almost as much associated with the Arctic seas as that of her unfortunate husband. This vessel went by Baffin Bay. Then Mr. W. Penny, an experienced Arctic voyager, was authorised by the Admiralty to take two small vessels, the Lody Franklin and the Sophia, in the same direction. Then also, the old Arctic navigator, Sir John Ross, was not to be left behind ; he took two small vessels, the Felix and Mary, in the same direction. And finally, a generous and sympa- thetic citizen of the United States, Mr. Grinnell, sent two vessels, the Advance and the Rescue, up the same way. Besides all these, H.M.S. Plover was stationed at Behring Strait under Commander Moore, and the Herald under Capt. Kellett, then surveying in the Noith Pacific, was ordered to assist on that side. And further, it should have been mentioned, the Government had authorised the Hudson's Bay Company to send special parties to the north coast of B 2 !N I ill ■ , 1 ^ , 4 CAPTAIN COLLINSON'S JOUIiNAL. America, of whom two noted explorers, Sir Jolui Eicjliardsoii and Dr. Rae, went in 1848, and the latter remained in those parts until 1851. Thus, in the season of 1850, there were in all fifteen vessels taking part in the search for Sir John Franklin's expedition : eleven on the Baffin Bay side, and four on the Behring Strait side, besides one or two land parties. It was, therefore, reasonably to be hoped that in the course of that year or the subsequent year all questions concernintr the Arctic seas ; not only the fate of Sir John Frankli^i's party, but the moving cause of all such expeditions, the North-west Passage, would be cleared up. How fiir they ill failed in elucidating the former will appear in the course of the narrative. It will probably be generally agreed upon, now that the glamour of the North-west Bassage is somewhat faded, that the fortunate settlement of that question, does not compensate for the failure to save Sir Jolm Franklin's party, which we know now might have been accomplished. Enterprise and Investigator Expedition. As the general idea upon which all these search expedi- tions were started has been given, we can now bring tlie dramatis 2^<^T^^nm on the stage, and give the outline of the plot of the particular search expedition by way of Behring Strait which forms the subject of this book. The Enterprise and Investigator returned from Baffin Bay in November, 1849 ; and in the beginning of December they were ordered to be refitted for the voyage to Behring Strait : no loss of time in that respect. It was the strategy that was unfortunate, not the equipment ; these two small sailing ve.^ ols (of about 380 tons and 340 tons respectively) built and strengthened to resist the crushing ice, and therefore neces- sarily sluggards in a seaway, were expected to traverse the Atlantic, round the stormy Horn, and run the length of the Pacific, up to Behring Strait, a distance of about 20,000 miles, between January 20th and August 1st, a period of a little less than 200 days ; a narrow calculation for such vessels I. PiWLOaUE. s jToing ovov such a course ; the o ''y assistance given them lieing some inefficient steam power through tlie Straits of Magellan. Had there been a predetermination to follow up Franklin from the first, as he was followed up afterwards, the subsequent costly expeditions would not have been needed. The two vessels did leave the River Thames January 11th, 1850, and parted finally from England at Plymouth January 20th. The Investigator proving slower than her companion, they separated, to meet again at the Straits of Magellan; after which they parted again, to meet no more. The Enterprise arrived at the rendezvous in Behring Strait about the middle of August, to find that her slow consort by a fortunate boldness had got before her, and had gone into the Arctic sea, but that she herself was already too late, the ice gate at Point Barrow being closed for that season. If a month's steam towing could have been applied on this occasion it would have made the difference between success and failure in the object of the search. The Enterprise wintered at Hong Kong for the sake of the climate and the supplies, and returned to the ice gate in good time in 1851, that is to say in the middle of July ; and in the course of the next two months was fortunate in pene- trating along the north coast of America and up the Prince of Wales Straits ; but only to find that her consort had been able to do exactly the same thing in the year before, and had thereby become the discoverer of the last link in the long laboured chain of the " North-west Passage." The Enterjyrise, unable, as was her consort, to cross the narrow ice barrier that prevented the completion of the passage, tried back southward and round the west side of Banks Island ; and there again found that her consort was before her, but never came up to her, and never knew till three years after that the Investigator was left on the north side of that island, a monument of her own discovery. Finally the Enterprise wintered at the south end of Prince of Wales Straits. In the spring of 1852,— in those seas the spring is the season for explorations with sledging parties over the ice ; nojt H Kl ^^m 6 CAPTAIN COLLINSON 8 JOURNAL. a work of swiftly sliding over smooth .surface, but of slow and painful dragging of heavy loads amid frozen waves of huge hr.rd ice blocks, — in this spring, the parties from the Enterprise explored the coasts adjacent to the I*rince of Wales Straits, and one officer succeeded in crossing to Melville Island, but by a fatality that seems inherent to Arctic voyages, he just missed communicating both with the records of the exploring parties from Baflin Bay expeditions, and with those of the Investigator. In the summer of 1852 — the season practicable for sailing in the Arctic sea ; that is to say, the months of August and September — the Entcrp'ise, having failed to get north or west, succeeded in working her way through the narrow channel along the north coast of America to the eastward as far as Cambridge Bay — a voyage of no small difficulty, owing' to the dense fogs and non-effective compass — and wintered there. In the spring of 1853, the sledge parties of the Enterprise made their painful way up Victoria Straits as far as Gates- head Island, and once more found that they had been fore- stalled, tliis time by the indefatigable Dr. Eae (of the Hudson's Bay Company). Finding also that the strength of their sledge party was not equal to the ruggedness of the great ice hummocks in that part of the strait, they returned. Thus by a like mischance to Dr. Eae's, by going along the west side of the strait instead of the east, they both missed the discovery of the remains of Franklin's expedition, which were found there by Captain M'Clintock four years after. But the Enterprise would have remained another winter, and would have attempted the passage through Victoria Straits to the north, if it had not been for the discovery, just at that time, that the supply of coal put on board in England was short of what had been intended : they were therefore obliged to retreat westward to a part of the coast where drift- wood for fuel could be procured. This was a great dis- appointment, because otherwise both ship and crew were in good condition for work. t. PROLOaUR , T In the summer of 1853, therefore, they worked back through the narrow clilficult passage westward, but were stopped by the beginning of the winter ice in Camden Bay, near Point Barrow, and thus compelled to remain one more winter in the isolation of the Arctic sea ; fortunately with a good supply of drift-wood. In the spring of 1854, an attempt was made to explore by a sledge party due northward into the open sea ; but the quantity and ruggedness of the ice hummocks, 30 feet high, proved too great a difficulty. In the summer of that year, the Entcr^yrise at last came through the ice gate again, and communicated once more with the civilised world, after a complete isolation of more than three full years. Even then her commander had the intention of returning into the ice after completing with fuel and provisions, to look after his lost consort, of whose fate, and of the rescue of the crew by the expeditions sent in 1852 by Baffin Bay, he first heard at Behring Strait. She then returned home by way of China and the Cape of Good Hope, and having thus circumnavi- gated the globe, as well as endured that unusually long seclusion in the Arctic seas, she reached England in May, 1855, an absence of five years and four months, sound in herself and healthy in her crew. And not to find the lost ships after all ! after all that long endurance, that anxious navigation, that laborious sledge searching, nothing, not a record, not a rumour of the missing expedition, except one small piece of wood, picked up in Cambridge Bay : a bit of a cabin door, thought so doubtful at the time as to afford no guide to further search, but wliich subsequent knowledge seems to show had certainly drifted from the Erebus and Terror, when they broke up in Victoria Straits in 1848. The most distressing rebuffs in these searches were due to following up vague reports leading only to disappointment, and to the missing of slight clues which proved afterwards to be correct indicators. A fatality seemed to dog the steps of every expedition in those years of search, by which they were led away from the true Erection, and whicli was in great measure caused by the 8 CAPTAIN COLLINSON'S JOURNAL. absence, at the startinj^ of Franklin himself, of all provision for following him up if necessary. lint if the Enterprise failed, as tlioy all failed, in the j»n!at object of the voyage, she had some special results to look back upon with peculiar satisfaction. Alone and entirely on her own resources she had remained for more than three full years in those trying seas, and had penetrated further in the true direction of the search than any other vessel ; in the course of which she had shown the practicability of navigating along the whole of the north coast of America, and had further demonstrated that to be the only probable line, difficult as it is, by which a North-west Passage can ever hope to be accomplished; then she had got herself nearer than any other vessel to the most advanced position of any ships from the other side, and moreover in two different lines of passage : first, by Prince of Wales Straits to Parry's ship (the Hccla, 1821), and second, by Victoria Straits to Franklin's ship (1848); and lastly, after this long trial, she had brought herself home with her crew in good health — a result of no slight consideration, when wo know that in the course of those same years no less than five of Her Majesty's ships were abandoned in those same Arctic seas, and their crews conveyed home in other vessels. When we look through the pages of this Journal to discover a cause for this exceptional endurance of man and ship, we do not find much of a character different from other expeditions at the time, either in the life or work of the Enterprise. We find, indeed, throughout the Journal, as also in his private letters, continual evidence of the devout feeling of the commander in expressions of gratitude to Almighty God for the preservation of their lives on many an occasion of extreme peril, from the crusliing of the ship between masses of ice, and for the welfare of the crew in times of severe trial from hard work and exposure. Such expressions must naturally rise in the heart of any com- mander who has to meet the frequent risk of life and death to all his crew that is present in Arctic voyaging ; but there is something more than that in the tone of the Journal. It 1.- a c Gi Bji th to th( 40 set ag; [\ vnoioniTR. is tlio tono of a man who fwl.s that lie has the i>ower to copo with th(! (lillicultios Ijoforo him as far as man can d and warmth and amusements, must he aUowed to the character of the captain for the condition and tono of the crew during those live years. State op Arctic Knowledge in 1850. It will probably be convenient to the reader to have recor»led here the state of knowledge about the Arctic seas where Sir John Franklin went, at the time of the departure of the EnUrp'isc and Investigator. On the eastern ur Baffm Bay side, little more was known than had been discovered by Captain Tarry in 1821 : that is to say, that there existed a navigable channel by Lancaster Sound and Barrow Strait to Melville Island, with several large opf-nings leading from it northwards,* also navigable to all appearance; and on the south side of it, a navigable channel, Prince Regent's Inlet, leading di n as far as the Gulf of Boothia ; and another inlet. Peel Souinl, was ailded by Captain Sir James Eoss in 1848, and believed to be closed at the south end. From Melville Island Parry had seen Banks Land 00 miles to the south-west. On the loestern or Behring Strait side, the coast of Asia and North America was know]i, but (except one island discovered by the Herald in 1840) as far as could be judged, there was an extensive sea north of it, from Behring Strait to Cape Bathurst (long. 128^ W.). This was presumed from the character of the ice, which is exceedingly massive, up to 40 feet in thickness, and forced by the action of successive seasons, breaking up the fields of ice and jamming them against each other, into ridges of hard b.ocks, 30, 50, and I • ' % ' [in f Ml '^. . rSl ,^, ^H 'v , f IIH U ■ kWM ii' m 10 CAPTAIN COLLINSON'S JOURNAL 'II even 100 feet lii<,'li ; in(licatin<^ in many cases an action of many seasons. This character of ice has hwu always found associated with lar','e seas, within the Arctic circle. It must also be noticed, that during the Arctic summer, the navigable summer, there is almost always a lane of open water along this coast, between the solid fields of ice and the shore, varying in breadth from 3 or 4 to 50 and even 100 miles. This is kept open partly hy the stream of warmer water always flowing froai liehring Strait eastwanl, and partly by the warmer frefih water coming down the American rivers. Sailing ves As have to steer and tack their cautious way along this lane, avoiding on the one hand the shoals and rocks of the coast, and on the other the moving floes of ice detached from the main pack. The breaking away of these floes leaves lanes and pools of water in the pack, which entice vessels astray for days into blind alleys. Sailing vessels thus lose many days which a steamer would save, and a steamer can force her way through lloea which stop a sailing-ship. In Arctic language, ajloe is a detached piece of ice, though it may be a mile across ; when these floes are frozen together into one extensive and immovable field, it is called tJie jiack. On the south or American side, besides the actual coast- line, it was known that there was land opposite to it, from the Coppermine Kiver to the Back River, forming for the most part a narrow channel along which only boats had as yet passed. The region between tlds channel and the northern channel (Barrow Strait) was unknown, and it was into this that Franklin was directed to go. Thus we may say that in 1850, while the eleven ships on the Baftin Bay side werei to searcli from the north and east of this region, the four ships on the Behring Strait side were to attack the same region from the south and west side. The Call to Action. Captain CoUinson had returned in 1846 from service in the Chinese War of 1840-3, and from the survey of the coast pnoionuK 11 nf China, and was staying at hia tatlior'a houao (Tho Rectory, I'oldon, CO. Durham), in 1849, when he received the folI()win<» very unexpected note from his hydrographic chief and good friend Captain Beaufort: — "Admiralty, Doc. 10, 1849. " Dear Collinson, " It has been finally determined that tho Fntcrprvtc and Tnveatifjntor should renew their searcli for the Erchua and Terror^ but now by liehring Strait instead of by UaHin r»ay, and tliey are therefore prejiaring with tlio greatest despatch, as there will not bo more than sufficient time to ensure their reaching the ice by tho 1st of August. There will be a conmiander to each sliip, and a captain to com- mand the expedition, and I am desired by their Lordships to offer that berth ic you. " Nothing can be more flattering than such an offer as touching their confidence in your talents and zeal — and if you assent I would suggest to you tho propriety of coming as soon as possible to " Yours tnily, "F. BEAUi-ORT." One can readily imagine the excitement produced in tho pleasant country parsonage by such a note, and the con- flicting feelings brought out by it. At that time the search for Sir John Franklin and tho discovery of the North-west Passage, was the one great enterprise in the minds of the naval world in this country, and the desire '^o take part in it was strong among all officers who by an^ previous service had any sort of claim to be considered in the selection. But the friends of the aspirants did not always look upon it with the same feeling : the Arctic Sea was still a mare incognitum, replete with dangers unusual even to the British sailor, more terrible than those of war, and without its glory and its profit. Added to these drawbacks, there was, in this case, the knowledge that the age and infirmities of the father and mother made a long and uncertain absence almost like a final separation. But again, in this case, the father was one I - r^ 12 CAPTAIN COLLINSON'S JOURNAL. ! wliose seiiqe of duty was as strong as his trust in the Divine protection, and the mother's high spirit and imagination con- trolled the natural allbction of her age and disposition. So the result was that the captain left the same day for London to accept the appointment, with expressions from his home that may he judged from another note received by his father two days after from Captain Beaufort : — " nothing could be more confident than their Lordships, that whatever can be done by skill and energy, and by high and noble feeling will be achieved by him — and if anything were wanting to rouse and stimulate those feelings, he would have it in the encouraging voice of his affectionate but patriotic father and mother." Part of these hopeful anticipations were fulfilled in the safe return of the Enterprise after an unexampled voyage, and in the presence of an almost unbroken family to greet the commander. But " Half the prayer was granted by the gods, The other halt" dispersed among the winds," as we shall see. The ships were too hastily equipped, one of the most serious deficiencies (as it turned out) being the absence of the second commander of the Enterprise; these and other ill-fortunes turned what might have been the one fully successful expedition of the search, into two disjointed and unlucky failures. One more letter from Captain Beaufort — the last of his many kind services to Kichard CoUinson, for he retired from his post before the return of the Enterprise — written on the eve of its dejjarture, shows the deep interest he took in its present expedition, and the warm-heartedness of the chief towaids his young surveying friend. " Admiralty, Jan. 15, 1850. *' My peak Cci^LixsoN, " I was in hopes to have found a quiet half -hour for saying a few last words to you on the eve of a voyage in which 1 feel far more deeply interested than in any that memory brings to niy recollection. It was a bantling of my own ; its rnoLOGUE. 13 object a noble effort of ntitional humanity ; its means as perfect as we have had time and wit to make them; its rewards tlie glowing sympathy of every man, w^oraan and child in the country, and indeed in all countries: and all this in the hands of a man whose career I have marked with more than common interest; whose conduct while conncfted with this department has been one continuous cour- of cheerful and fruitful effort to do even more than his duty ; with whose family I feel it a source of pride to be acquainted ; and on whose friendship I joyfully reckon, if I live long enough to enjoy 't after his return. " But 1 have not a peaceful moment for that purpose ; and therefore many little things in the way of ideas and crotchets that have been germinating in my brains must remain there, unless indeed they may go halting across the Isthmus of Panama to you ; I could not, however, let you go without giving you my blessing, and assuring you of the hearty friendship and affection of " Yours faithfully, " F. Beaufort. " To the Baffin Bay vessels I shall give directions to have skilful riflemen prepared to bring down any balloon the;y may see coming from the westward.. " Lxive a cordial enibmce for me to my beloved old friend Franklin." Acknowledgments. In preparing this Journal for publication, it seemed desirable to supplement it with some notes, for the ex- planation of certain matters, which would not otherwise perhaps be clear to the ordinary reader, and also for the purpose of showing its connection with the other branches of the great search, going on at the same time. And in some cases these notes have been amplified so as to give the best information available as to the duties and arrangements peculiar to Arctic explorations, which it is hoped will add to the interest of the one expedition itself. Towards this object, and in all mutters connected with the V>! 1^; t-: i I 14 CAPTAIN COLLINSON'S JOURNAL. \ !! publication, the Editor has received most kind and valuable assistance and encouragement from such* of the old Arctic notables as he had to ai)]ily to. The three foremost of these authorities to whom he is indebted are Lieut.-Colonel John Barrow, Admiral Sir George Ilichards, and Admiral Sir Leopold M'Clintock. Admiral Sir George Eichards is the highest living authority on Arctic subjects, from his great experience, and the high position (as hydrographer) he held at the time of the last Arctic expedition under Captain Nares. The Editor is in- debted to his extensive knowledge and good judgment for much information and advice, especially in the compilation of the notes, without, it must be understood, making him responsible for any opinions therein expressed. Lieut.-Colonel John Barrow was the friend and supporter of all the principal Arctic officers of the days of the search, as his eminent father, fc. if John Barrow, was to the generation before that. He has placed at the Editor's use all the papers, books and articles in that house which is a museum of Arctic travel, and has in addition given him the kindly assistance of his own personal recollections and private papers con- cerning that period of Arctic exploration. Admiral Sir Leopold M'Clintock won the prize in that great expedition of ten years' duration; like the wise Ulysses, after the mighty men of war had retired from the scene unsuccessful, he went in single-handed, and with the experience and knowledge of the past labours, followed direct on the clue already obtained, and cleared up the mystery of the lost ships ; and well he deserved his fortune, by his long persistence in the search, and his assiduous exertions to improve the appliances towards it. He has given the Editor the benefit of his experience in various matters connected with Arctic exploration. The Editor has also to thank the Admiralty for allowing him to resort to their archives for information, and not less the officers of that labyrinthine Eecord Office for their ungrudging trouble, and especially the hydrographer. Captain Wharton, for his ready assistance. He has been likewise greatly indebted PROLOOUE. 16 to the Eoyal Geographical Society for the permission to use their library and maps, and to the officers of the lloyal United Service Institution for their kindly aid ; and lastly, he has to thank various friends and public officers for help and advice. Books Consulted. Some short notice of a few books relating to that period of Arctic explorations, and of some subsequent voyages, may be useful to future travellers in these regions. ON THE EXPEDITION ITSELF. Captain S. Oshorn's North-west Passage. Blackwood, 185G and 1865. Dr, Armstrong's Narrative of Voyage of H.M.S. Investigator. Hurst & Blackett, 1857. Tliese are the only two books hitherto published con- cerning that expedition by Behring Strait in 1850. They are both cleverly and amusingly written, and give grapliic and perhaps ratlier too seisational descriptions of the adventures of the one ship they treat of. Osborn was quite qualified to talk about Arctic voyaging, having sailed with Austin in 1850, and Belcher in 1352; and Dr. Armstrong had scientific knowledge and power of description. Both books lose value by the exaggerated tone of laudation of the acts of the Investigator in discovering the North-west Passage, which runs throughout them to the exclusion of the real object of the search, and by the unwarrantable freedom of their criticisms on their superior officers. Some of these on the commander of the expedition have been commented on in the notes to the Journal. ON THE SEARCH GENERALLY. Mr. J. Broiun's Search for Sir J. FranUin. Stanford, 1860. This should be first mentioned, as it contains the most complete and carefully compiled account of the whole business that has been published. Having bceu commenced 16 CAPTAIN COLLIN SON'S JOURNAL. Ijoforo the search was conipleted, tliere is a good dual of criticism and conjecture which became obsolete when f^e addition was made to it of M'Clintock's final voyage. ]>ut the records appear accurate and the opinions were proved to be sound. The present Editor has been indebted to his fortunate acquaintance with Mr. Brown's son, Mr. J. Allen Brown, for his advantages in being able to study that useful record, and for other assistance in his work. Sir E. Belcher's Narrative of the Voyage of H.M.SS. Assistance and Hcsolnte, 1855. Tliis was the great search expedition on the eastern side, which was sent in 1852, and of which Captain Belcher was the commander. He was a clever nautical surveyor and had a very ingenious mind ; but he certainly was not a good historian of expeditions. These two volumes are naturally occupied chiefly with the proceedings of his own division of the expedition ; but the greater part of those consist of the sayings and doings and reflections of Sir Edward himself, and these are sometimes not remarkable for point or accuracy. Great allowance, however, must be made for his bad con- dition of health during the whole period; the same faults, though, are to be found in his former work, the account of the long exploratory voyage of H.M.S. Sulphur in tlie Tacific, 1835-42. Nevertheless there are a large number of observations collected in the Arctic book, on many matters, nautical, meteorological, geological, and others appertaining to that region, which will make it always a valuable addition to A.rctic literature. *. ' : i-i^ MacdougalVs Voyage of H.M.S. Resolute. Longman, 1855. Mr. Macdougall was master of the Resolute in the above great expedition of 1852-4 ; and, as one might expect from his wide and responsible duty, his book is valuable on account of the record of practical details of the various doings going on in and out of the ship during the voyage. These are given with such a plain painstaking accuracy, and ou PROLOGUE. 17 siich a variety of subjects, owing to his exceptional oppor- tunities, that they will be always worth consulting by future voyagers in those seas. Osborn's Arctic Joiirnal. Blackwood, 1852 and 1865. This is by the same Captain Sherard Osborn before mentioned, and contains various notes and reflections con- cerning his Arctic voyages and of the search generally. It is written in a pleasant, flowing, and somewhat sensational style, and may be considered as the popular account of the matter, and therefore to be taken citm grano — especially as regards the criticisms on his superior officers. M'Clintock's Discovery of the Remains of Sir J. Franklin's ' Expedition in the Fox. Murray, 1859. This, as the last act of that ten years' laborious search, and the successful one, will always be the most interesting of the whole series of records. Interesting also on account of the painful circumstances of its birth, and of its short but most eventful life, and of the valuable information compiled in it, as well as of the sad clearing up of that national episode. In the appendix is an exceedingly useful outline of Arctic geology, with a good geological map by the surgeon of the expedition, Professor Haughton, of the Dublin Uni- versity. The Parliamentary Blue Books. During the whole period of the search there were issued from dme to time, by the Government, records of the pro- ceedings, in the form of the official reports of the officers, and their various notes of the transactions. Some of these were •'rom committees of enquiry held upon certain of the expeditions, or from the formal courts-martial upon the com- manding officers who had abandoned their ships in the ice. These voluminous productions contain buried in their ample folds a quantity of detailed information on many subjects connected with Arctic travelling very valuable to such future voyagers as will go through the labour of extracting c 18 CAPTAIN COLLINSON'S JOUJiNAL. t ! li : Hi the ore from the mass of matrix. A choice specimen is tlie one on Sir E. Belcher's expedition, containing the great sledge journeys to the north of the Parry Islands, and which is among Arctic books what an iceberg is among the floes of Baflin Bay. ON OTHER ARCTIC VOYAGES, It had been the Editor's intention to give an abstract of the state of Arctic discovery at the present day, as it is some time since stock has been taken of that business, but the inexorable logic of the publisher cut off that idea in its prime. However, as some of the works consulted have been used in the Notes to the Journal, a brief account of them may be interesting and perhaps useful. Sir John Barrovfs Arctic Voyages, 1818 to 1846. Sir John Barrow was the father of modern Arctic explora- tion ; it was his devotion to the subject that revived the idea of it in this country, after the termination of the great war in 1815 ; and, as Secretary to the Admiralty for a great many years, he was of course greatly influential in inducing the Governments of the day to send out the expeditions both to the Arctic and Antarctic regions between that time and 1845, when Sir J. Franklin started on his last voyage. The student of Arctic travelling will find in this book good and interesting abstracts of the principal travels in that time : I'arry's three voyages in 1819-27, the Primus in Arctis ; Franklin and Dr. John llichardson and Captain Back to the North American Coast in 1819-27 ; and Back's two journeys in 1833 and 1836 ; Messrs. Dease and Simpson's boat voyages along the North American Coast in 1836-9 ; and Sir James Ross's expedition to the Antarctic in 1839-43. , Payer's Voyage of the Tegcthoff {Austrian Navy), 1876. (English Translation.) After the sorrowful issue of the Franklin search in 1859, there was a reaction against Arctic enterprise in this country; but Germany, Holland, Denmark and Sweden PROLOGUE. 19 carried it on to the North of Europe for scientific objects And in 1871 and 1872 Austria-Hungary, on the pressure of scientific men, authorised two small expeditions in those parts, under the direction of Lieutenant Weyprecht, a very scientific officer, with Lieutenant Payer of the Austrian Navy to assist him, who wrote the account of the voyages. They reached, or rather were carried, frozen in the pack, to 82° north latitude, where they discovered a group of islands, which they properly called Franz Joseph Land after their Emperor ; and then they had to abandon their ship and work a weary way in boats, over ice and water, to Nova Zembla : one more evidence of the inefficiency of small isolated expedi- tions for Arctic exploration. There were scientific results, no doubt, but hardly commensurate with the expenditure of body, mind and spirit. ; Nares's Expedition to the North of Smith's Sound, 1875-6. Great Britain was not going to be left behind altogether in the race to the North Pole. The continental expeditions, but more particularly those of the United States up Smith's Sound, stirred up the British sea lion, who had always con- sidered the North Pole as his particular property. And by 1875 the woes of the great Franklin search were worn out, and a desire for action set in. The Government, moved by the representations of scientific societies, and feeling the national pulse, put out an expedition which for completeness in ships, in officers and in men, in scientific preparation and in general equipment, has probably never been equalled ; and the two ships, the Alert and the Discovery, were taken up to the north end of that long channel beginning with Smith's Sound at the head of Baffin Bay. Never was one of the extensive family of Smith so immortalised as whe: Captain Baffin threw the name into what he thought was the tnd of all things in that quarter of the Polar regions ; it has proved instead to be the beginning of every- thing, the gate of the highway to the Pole. But not even this splendid expedition was prepared to face two successive winters on the shore of a sea of perpetual mountain ice, in c 2 20 CAPTAIN COLLINSON'S JOURNAL. the latitude of 83" north ; and they had to retreat with little more than the satisfaction of demonstrating, as Captain Nares expressed it, that 60 miles of Polar pack are insuperable. Professor NordcnskiokV s Voycufc from North Cape to Behring Strait. (Translated.) Macniillan, 1881. Tlie Swedish professor had already made some voyages to the east coast of Greenland, and to Spitzbergen, from which he brought back a store of scientific observations, such as constitute the true fruits of Arctic travel. He was now seized with the desire of attempting the " North-east l^assage," that is to say the voyage along the north coast of Europe and Asia, from the North Cape of Europe, to Behring Strai'-; which had never been accomplished, though often tried. In 1878 he started with one good steam vessel, the Vega, and three others accompanying part of the way; a private expedition with some help from the Government. And thanks to his own experience and to the favourable conditions of the Arctic Ocean on that coast, he nearly got through in one season; and did succeed in 1879, this being the first vessel that ever arrived on the Chinese coasts from Europe by the north. His book is a store of sound scientific observations on all subjects connected with those Arctic regions. Greely's Scicntifie Expedition hy Smith's Sound. United States, America, 1885. The people of the United States had shown a decided interest in the search for Sir John Franklin, and various private expeditions were sent from that country during its progress, and subsequently, with the object of carrying on the exploration up Smith's Sound. Between 1856 and 1869 several expeditions under Kane, Hayes, and Hall penetrated up that channel ; but being small and isolated and di pending on private means (mainly from Mr. Grinnell, U.S.), they were inadequate for the enterprises they under took, and suffered great difficulties and privations. PROLOQUE. 21 In 1875 Lieutenant Weyprecht (Austrian Navy) had proposed a scheme of international observations in the Arctic and Antarctic regions ; and after several conferences on the subject, it was agreed by the Governments of various states to carry on simultaneous scientific observations, meteorological and electric, at fourteen different stations, during the years 1881-2. The United States Government selected Discovery Bay (where Nares' consort ship wintered in 1875) ; and in 1881, under the direction of the Signal Department of the U.S. Army, a biuall party of three officers and twenty men were landed there. They were never relieved, owing to want of due arrangement, and had to make their way back to Smith's Sound in boats; eight survivors were rescued in the summer of 1884. Be- sides the observations for which purpose they were sent, they made some valuable explorations in Grinnell Land, and reached along the north coast of Greenland to the farthest north yet attained by man, 83° 23' (3 miles farther than Markham in 1876). The book is valuable from the interesting information contained in it ; but readers of other countries must regi'et, when they take up the volumes, that the passion for huge- ness in everything, which seems to be epidemical in the States, has now extended to their books. . • Captain dc Long's ( U.S.N.) Voyage North of Behring Strait, 1879-81. This is another example of attempting great undertakings with imperfect means; it was a partly private expedition, sprung from the adventurous disposition of the captain, under the influence of the temptation of open water north of Behring Strait, which offered a hope of reaching nearer to the Pole in that direction. He had not, however, realised the danger of the combined effect of the warm current coming through Behring Strait, meeting a colder current coming from the west. When they got north of Herald Island, they were caught in the pack, and drifted backwards and forwards for fifteen months, having made during that 22 CAPTAIN COLLINSON'S JOURNAL. \\ \ ■1 ' time only 200 miles to the north-west of Herald Island. There they found some islands to the north of the New Siberian Isles ; and there the ship was crushed by the ice, and they had to make their way in boats to the main- land of Siberia, landing on the delta of the River Lena. But out of a party of twenty-eight persons, twenty had perished from work, exposure, and hunger, before they found relief. ON ARCTIC GEOGRAPHY. Arctic Papers, published by the Royal Geographical Society, 1875. When Captain Nares' expedition was in preparation, both the Admiralty and the Royal Geographical Society compiled, from various sources, papers containing an epitome of the information then available on every subject connected with the Arctic regions. The book published by the latter body contains information suitable to the work of navigating and exploring, being obtained from the accounts of the principal voyagers in different parts of the Arctic seas. It is a sort of guide-book, complete (considering the short time allowed) up to that date. A full account of the Esquimos by Mr. Clements Markham (late secretary to the R.G.S.) is in it. The Arctic Manual, published by the Admiralty, 1875. This is a more ambitious work, and one of more lasting value. It contains scientific information and disquisition thereon by well-known experts of the day, on the various branches of natural science, as far as their action wi i at that time known, in the Arctic regions ; and being divided into chapters according to the different branches — Meteorology (including tides and ice), Geography, Geology, Natural History, Electricity, &c. — it formed, and will form no doubt for a good many years to come, a valuable little encyclopedia of Arctic science. PROLOG OE. Sir John RicJiardson's Boat Expeditions, North Coast, America, 1848-51. Sir John Richardson's Account of the Polar Regions, 1861. These two books, by that well-known scientific traveller of those days, contain much scientific information, on various branches of natural science, and ethnology, still most valuable to the Arctic traveller and student of Arctic regions. «« CAPTAIN COLLJNSON'8 JOUJiNAL. EXTRACTS FROM THE ADMIRALTY ORDERS TO CAPTAIN COLLINSON. By the Commissioners for executing the Office of Lord High Admiral of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, &c. 1. Whereas the efforts that have been made during the two last years to relieve the Ercbu^ and Terror have failed, and all access to the Parry Islands has been prevented by the accumulation of ice in the upper part of Barrow Straits ; and whereas it is possible that the same severity of weather may not prevail at the same time in both the eastern and western entrances to the Arctic Sea; we have now deter- mined, in a matter of such moment, to send an expedition into the Polar Sea from the westward, and having a full confidence in your zeal and skill, we have thought proper to appoint you to the command of Her Majesty's ship Enterprise, and also to place under your orders Her Majesty's ship Investigator, both of which vessels having been duly fortified against collision with the icp equipped for the Pol£ir climate, by warm-air apparatus, and furnished with provisions for three years, as well as a large supply of extra stores ; you are now required and directed, so soon as they are in all respects ready for sea, to proceed to make the best of your way to Cape Virgins, in order to arrive at Behring's Straits in July. 2. At Cape Virgins, the Commander-in-Chief in the Pacific has been desired to have a steam vessel waiting for you, and by her you wUl be towed through the Strait of Magellan and the Wellington Channel, and on to Valparaiso. At that port, you will use the utmost dispatch in \. .cering and refreshing your crews, and in fully replenishing your bread and other provisions and stores ; and having so done, you will again use your best exertions to press forward to the Sandwich Islands. 4 There is only a bare possibility of your reaching those ADMIRALTY OltDERS. 85 Islands in time to moet with Hor Majesty's ship Herald, iindor the command of Ci .itain Honry Kellott, but if that should be the case you wiL receive from him not only every assistance, but much useful information touching your passage to the Strait, and your further proceedings to the northward. It is still more improbable that Her Majesty's ship Plover, should be there ; but wherever you fall in with her, you are hereby directed to take her and Commander Moore under your orders. 5. At the Sandwich Islands you will find addition. J orders from us for your guidance, which we propose to forward from hence by the Panama Mail of next March ; but if none should arrive, or if they do not in any way modify these directions, you will enforce the greatest dili- gence in revictualling your two vessels, in procuring if possible the necessary Tjquimaux interpreters, and in making all requisite preparations for at once proceeding to Behring's Straits, in order to reach the ice before the 1st of August. 7. We consider it essential that after entering the ice there should be a depot or point of sue 'our for any party to fall back upon. For this purpose, the Plover is to be secured in the most favourable quarter, as far in advance as can be found, such as Wainwright Inlet or the Creek at Hope Point, but if they be unsafe, and none other discovered nearer to Barrow's Point, then at Chamisso Island or any part of Kotzebue Sound which may afford the necessary shelter. 12. On detaching the Plover to take up her winter quarters, you will direct Commander Moore to remain there until you join him, or, failing your return to liim until the end of the summer of 1853 ; when, but not till it is absolutely necessary for securing the Plover's passage through the Aleutian group of Islands, he is to quit Behring's Straits. 14. In the event of your having to winter your ships on the continent or Esquimaux shores, you will probably meet with some of the wandering tribes, or with Indians. With i m \ ^ CAPTAIN COLLINSON'S JOURNAL. ' I these you will cultivate a friendly feeling, by making them presents of those articles to which they are apt to attach a value ; but you will take care not to sufifer yourself to be surprised by them, but use every precaution, and be con- stantly on your guard against any treacherous attack. You will also, by offering rewards, to be paid in such a manner as you may be able to arrange, endeavour to prevail on them to carry to any of the settlements of the Hudson Bay Com- pany an account of your proceedings, with an urgent request that it may be forwarded to England with the utmost pos- sible dispatch. 16. We leave it to youi judgment and discretion as to the course to be pursued after passing Point Barrow, and on entering the ice ; and you will be materially assisted in this respect by what you will learn from Captain Kellett, if he should be fallen in with at the Sandwich Islands, as well as from the observations of Sir Edward Parry and Captain Beechy, contained in the Memoranda of >vhich we send you copies. «««««« 17. You will further be supplied with all the printed Voyages and Travels in those Northern Eegions ; and the Memorandum and Instructions drawn up by Sir Jolni Richardson as to the manners and habits of the Esquimaux, and the best mode of dealing with tliat people (a copy of which is also sent), will afibrd a valuable addition to the information now supplied to you. 18. We deem it right to caution you against suffering the tWQ vessels under your orders to separate, except in the event of accident or unavoidable necessity ; and we ilesire that you keep up the most unreserved communications with the com- mander of the Investigator, placing in him every proper confidence, and acquainting him with the general tenor of your orders, and with your views and intentions from time to time, so that the service may have the full benefit of your united eflbrts in the prosecution of such a service ; and that in the event of any unavoidable separation, or of any accident ADMIRALTY ORDERS. 2T to yourself, Commander M'Clure may have the advantage of knowing up to the latest period all your ideas and designs relative to the satisfactory completion of this undertaking. 19. We also recommend that as frequent an exchange may take place as conveniently may be of the observations made in the two ships ; that any information obtained by the one be as quickly as possible communicated for the advantage and guidance of the other. 20. In case of any irreparable accident happening to the Enterprise, you are hereby authorised to take the command of the Investigator, and to make such arrangements for the officers and crews as may be most consonant to the Rules of the Service, and most conducive to the objects of the Expedition. 22. On your reaching England, you will call on every person, in both vessels, to deliver up to you all their logs, journals, charts, and drawings, but which, they may be informed, will be returned to them in due time. 23. With respect to your search proving fruitless, and your finally quitting the Polar Seas, as well as your securing your winter quarters towards the close of any one season, we cannot too strongly impress upon you the necessity of the utmost care and precaution beinp exercised in withdrawing in time ; so as in no case to hazard the safety of the ships, and the lives of those entrusted to your care, by your being shut up in a position which might render a failure of provisions possible. We feel it unnecessary to give you more detailed Instruc- tions, which might possibly mbarrass you in a service of this description ; and we have therefore only to repeat our perfect reliance on your judgment and resolution, both in doing all that is possible to relieve the missing ships, and in with- drawing in time, when you come to the painful conclusion that your eflforts are unavailing. 24. You will bear in mind that the object of the Expe- dition is to obtain intelligence, and to render assistance to Sir John Franklin and his companions, and not fur the pur- 11 28 CAPTAIN COLLJNSON'S JOURNAL. 1 pose of geographical or scientific research ; and we conclude these orders with an earnest hope that Providence may crown your efforts with success, and that they may be the means of dispelling the gloom and uncertainty which now prevail respecting the missing Expedition. I Given under our hands, this 15th day of January, 18f 0. (Signed) F. T. Baring. J. W. D. DUNDAS. To ElCHARD COLLINSON, Esq., C.B., Captain of Her Majesty's ship Enteriwise at Devonport. By command of their Lordships. - - (Signed) J. Parker. .. ie le OFFICERS AND CHEW. 29 PREVIOUS ARCTIC SERVICES OF THE OFFICERS OF H.M.SS. ENTERPRISE AND INVESTIGATOR. Enterprise. Captain Collinson. — A full record of his services will be found in the latter part of this book. Lieut. George A. Phayre. — No previous service in the Arctic seaa. Retired as Captain, 1873. Lieut. John J. Barnard. — With Capt. Sir Jas. Ross's expedition (1848), in Investigator. Killed 1851. Lieut. Charles T. Jago. — No previous service in Arctic seas. Retired R. Admiral. Surgeon Robert Anderson. — Served in Investigator, 1848. Mate, M. T. Parkes. — No previous Arctic service; promoted Lieut, in Enterprise, 1851. Assist.-Surgeon Edw. Adams. — Served in Investigator, 1848. 2nd Master, Francis Skead. — No previous Arctic service. Now Harbour Master, Port Elizabeth. Clerk in Charge, Edward Whitehead. — Served in Enterprise, 1848. Died 1851. Investigator. Commander Robt. Le M. McClure. — Commissioned Lieut, in 1837. Served on the Canadian lakes, and in the West Indies. 1st Lieut, of Enterprise, 1848. Promoted Captain, Oct. 26, 1850 (on discovery of N.W. Passnge). Knighted in 1854 ; gold medal Royal Geographical Society. Servetl in China 1856-61.— Made O.B.— Died, Oct. 1873. Lieut. William II. Haswell. — No previous Arctic service. Retired V. Admiral. Lieut. Samuel G. Creswell. — Served in Investigator, 1848, as Mate. Surgeon Alex. Armstrong, M.D. — No previous Arctic service. Subsequently K.C.B., LL.D., F.R.S., and Director Genl. Med. Dept. Retired 1880. Mate, II. H. Sainshury. — Died 1853. Mitte, Robt. J. Wynniatt. — Served in Sulphur (Capt. Belcher), 1843-7. 2nd Master, Stephen Cowrf.— Served in Enterprise, 1848. Subsequently Harbour Master, Shanghai. Assist.-Surgeon H. Piers. Clerk in Cliarge, J. C. Paine, 30 CAPTAIN COLITNSON'8 JOUIiNAl. o t— I ^ CO ^-; <0 IQ Eb 00 ^H CI— 1 f-^ o te ) -3 .5 -2 . rabbi 850. Lieu Ef ^ bt O ^".S -i? *S -u> «<5 "S O -J 00 * CO -"i^ -- . 2 • rH . 03 .ZC .p^ M PEh OQ • a . « . W)bD . to ^ g ra • -e C4 ta rJ^ rd J . M •2 g c5 ,5 '2i5 d bcp ,2 "-•'-'& g s fl' 1 3hard Csllins^ A. Phayre . J. Bernard . T. Ja-;o T. Legg . T. Parks . Skead . Atkinson . Arbuthnot .N.Wise . bert Anderso . Adams T. Turner . . Whitehead 3. Woodward m. 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OS 9 Q " ■i»i I' uW SECTION II. Magellan Straits to Sandwich Islands. A'pril 2Qth. — In the middle watch we took advantage of the smooth water to point our top-gallant masts, and after 4 the effect of tlie swell from the Pacific increased rapidly. The Investigator was made fast astern of us by two 6-inch whale lines, one of which stranded at 7 ; but by slacken- ing speed we managed to send our stream cable to her and caught a turn just as the second whale line parted ; we then veered the gig astern with a second whale line and got it on board of her with some difficulty, the swell being so heavy that the vessels frequently took a sheer, and the boat narrowly escaped being upset by the tightening of the stream cable. At 8 Cape Pillar bore S. by W. i W., and being favoured by a light air from the eastward all sail was made, notwithstanding which the height of the waves brought every now and then so fearful a strain upon the tow ropes, that it was impossible to hope they would hold on much longer. All we looked for was that before they carried away we should be so far from the land as to enable the Gorgon to, proceed with one vessel and return in time to extricate the other. This fortunately happened, the stream cable and whale line by which the Investigator was being towed both carrying away at 11 ; so we proceeded on alone till 1.30 p.m., when I sent the Gorgon back to our consort and directed Captain Paynter to tow her off shore till midnight and then rejoin us. The wind chopped round to the N.W., and at 5 a.m. 21st, reduced us to treble-reefed topsails ; however, we had made sure of our offing and were fairly in the Pacific. It had been contemplated that the most advisable route to pursue would have been to turn to the north after rounding ia50.] LEA VE TUE STRAITS. M Cape Tamar, and passing through Beaufort Bay inside of the ishmds up to the Gulf of Penas. Captain Paynter, however, being of opinion that in some parts of the channel he could only take one vessel at a time even in tine weatlier, and that with a strong breeze against us ho could not make way with two vessels in tow, it became a matter of doubt whether wo should not lose time. I had not, however, made up my mind on the subject, and most probably had the wind come in from the westward I should have taken the inshore channel, but the light air in our favour induced me to get into tho open sea at once. Having thus got into the Pacific, I may say a word or two on the comparative advantages of this passage over that round Cape Horn. To fore-and-aft rigged vessels it will be, I have no doubt (notwithstanding the wrecks that have occurred), a favourite route, and I shoul< icommend them to take the northern channel so far as they are able, and not encounter the swells of the Pacific until they reach the Gulf of Penas ; but in a square-rigged vessel I should infinitely prefer the lottery of Cape Horn, feeling assured that although some lucky runs have been made through the straits, yet in the average the other will prove the shorter of the two, and certainly with less risk. The difficulty of the passage commences at Cape Froward, where the tides leave you ; up to that point it merely amounts to professional skill. The Magdalen and Cockburn Channels are certainly then open to you, and would secure your being to the west- ward of the Horn, but the scattered rocks between St. Paul's and Noir Island would place a ship in a very critical situa- tion during short daylight. Should the vein of coal prove good at Point Arenas, and the Chilian Government establish a steam tug, the straits will then, I have little doubt, prove the more advantageous route ; but even in that case vessels must expect detention at the west end, owing to the preva- lence of gales of wind against which a ^team vessel could not tow ; and our passage (the Enterprise being ten days and the Investigator four in the straits) must be considered as more than ordinarily good, having been favoured by uncommonly I 64 CAPTAIN COLLINSON'8 JOUENAL. CJuke ! ! |i ! fine weather. The transit from the Pacific to the Atlantic can be more easily effected, and the seaman has only to cal- culate whether he has daylight sufficient to reach one of the harbours or to run through Crooked Eeach, to assure himself of a passage without danger or delay. April 21st. — The wind increased on the morning of the 21st, reducing us to treble-reefed topsails. The Gorgon rejohied us on the afternoon of the following day ; the sea was too violent to admit of communication, and her fuel being nearly expended, I made the signal to part company on the 23rd. Westerly winds prevailing, our progress was sadly delayed, and we were compelled to pass to the eastward of Juan Fernandez, nor was it until we reached the 26th degree of latitude on the 13th of May that we obtained easterly winds ; these hung to the northward of that point, and we did not obtain the regular trade wind until in the 11th parallel.* i i ' The Pacific. — Ca{)tain Osborn quotes from the Investigator's journal, the quiet and lonely character of the Central Pacific Ocean : no ships, no creatures even to be seen ; and such the even tenor of their way, that neither Investigator nor Enterprise drew in canvas while crossing it, or indeed until they got into the Arctic Sea. Enterprise, Aug. 27th (73° N.), " reefed topsails — first time since 32° S. — 11,300 miles." Investigator^ July 26th (Behring Strait), "studding sails down — first time since Sandwich Islands," and indeed since lat. 17° S. A month later in the same year the present writer crossed from Tahiti to Honolulu in a schooner of 30 tons in the vain hope of catching the ships at the latter bland, and in a month's voyage only lay to once. — [Ed.] The Equator was crossed on the 7th of June in longi- tude 120° W. ; and the N.E. trade wind met us in the 6th degree of north latitude and carried us up rapidly to the Sandwich Islands, when, as usual in their vicinity, variable winds were experienced. On the 22nd Mauna Koa was seen bearing S. 55 W. 84 miles ; running along the north face of Maui, we came to, off Honolulu, at 9.30 p.m. on the 24th. Here we found H.M.S. Sioift with despatches waiting our arrival, and with her assistance and that of the natives hauled the fbip into the harbour next morning. Captain Kellett I found had proceeded to the north a month previous, /T 1850.] SANDWICH ISLANDS. «6 but left behind him for our use a set of charts and sailing directions, which were likely to prove most useful.* Among these was a private letter from Captain Kellett, dated May 20th, 1850, which contains so much useful advice that some extracts may well be given : — " If you should be obliged to pass through the Aleutian group, by all means pre^fer the Straits of Seguan (Amouchta) ; they are wic ^„ * ^^e, and free from races, which none of the others are. I have passed through them ; you will iind a very good description of them in the book I have left for you, translated from the French by my purser." Notice of this passage was left for the Investigator, and she took the hint and went through it, and thereby gained three weeks over the Enterprise. She arrived at Honolulu a day after her consort left, who had waited five days for her. " That you will be very late is beyond a doubt. You can hardly reach the ice before the middle of August ; at that time there is a very percep- tible breaking up of the season. These seas may be navigated by a jolly- boat during the months of July, June, and part of May, but I experienced strong and frequent gales in the month of August, with a very short uneasy sea. The weather improves again early in September. . . . " Y ir object being to get to the eastward, it is to be considered which is the best route. . . . From all we know, and from the natives' account, the ice collects and packs heavily on Point Barrow — opens but for a short time, and not every year. " I believe that the vicinity of a river is to be avoided by all means as a wintering station. The ice I see was once forced completely over the island on which Fort Good Hope ivas situated. . . . " From this (the mouth of the Mackenzie River) to get you into the Atlantic [Kellett's lively spirit had already pierced the unknown region between the American coast and Barrow's Strait], it is pretty certain that ships of your size could not pass by the route of Simi»on. It is obvious, therefore, that you would be obliged to get directly north so as to avoid Victoria, Wollaston's and Banks' Land, which may either be one great land or a mass of islands : by this route also you would almost ensure your friends not being to the westward of you. You are now at Parry's Islands — gtt home as fast as possible by the old track. ... By following the coast you will be exjiosed to being beached; almost impossible to avoid it. . . . " I have no faith in the sea being clear for any time by the fact of not seeing ice, for in these seas at least packed ice can.,. . he seen more than ten miles. . . . " As for a Polar basin — there may be one, but well filled with lumps of ice. Wrangell's always coming to open water proves nothing, from the circumstance of its not being visible at a greater distance than ten miles. . . . "Arctic voyagers can tell you when they ure apiiroaching ice, at a U 56 CAPTAIN COLLINSON'S JOURNAL. [July ! considerable distance, by the hlink^ and also when in the pack, of open water by the sky. ... I am not trying to make you believe that these appearances are humbug, but that they may be carried too far by an imaginative mind. ... " I consider that when the sea is open clear water will always be found in the meridian of East Cape, farther north than on any other. . . . "You will bear in mind in wintering in any of these ports, that a vessel, choosing her time for leaving the Sandwich Islands, will always get into Behring's Sea long before the vessel wintering there is free of ice. The Plover y within forty hours' sail of Kotzebue Sound, having cut cut through 1^ miles of 5-foot ice, only reached there twenty hours before me. "Beechey says that a vessel would require to enable her to winter there good anchors and cables. For goodness sake don't try that, for if your anchors and cables hold, the ice would pass right over you. . . . " Your sincere friend, " Henby Kellett." Kellett was "dear Coil's" sincere friend, and had been so through sunshine and through rain for many a year. He was a warm-hearted and lively Irishman, with the quick perception of his countrymen, and perhaps, too much of their desire to please everybody for a naval captain ; too quick in his judgment sometimes, as we see in his dictum about Simpson's route and Victoria Land. But this letter evidently much influenced both Collinson and M'Clure, for they both tried to follow its advice, and "get directly north," and M'Clure nearly reached those " Parry Islands," but stuck there instead of getting home " as fast as he could."— [Ed.] We set to work to complete our water and provisions, and with assistance from Captain Aldham managed to find time to give our men a run on shore, where I regret to say some of them got into trouble by attempting to take some of their ship- mates out of prison, where they had been put for violation of a law that they were unacquainted with. I appealed from the decision of the magistrate to the King in Council, but was unable to obtain a hearing previous to our departure, and therefore compelled to leave the matter in the hands of our Consul, General Millar, who I felt sure would see the business properly adjusted. ■m hondon.: Samptm Zow, Karttm, SearU, A Kiringtnn To ftuM paffg 57. urmtaTttf » I i SS^itf !• 1 B I S cy ChsBloao* ■ohi J*^ «i;i»r MM-* f>. i?fe P") Norton B ^y^: i»'-«t;J C3>' .o*-* "O ,»•' ,^" 15 '^§OUlfi^">f » ,■ Saurntl.j,^ 1\ ;'** H-'' m 'ti .//.Btnnanc^ Fiulolik o» ^(tt !iiP^ 4-. m n^" 'SI I'' m *n at C.IftwgrOuxtn Affe « a",4A V7 M trie, A Rtyrn^txiTi.. t I8B0.] LEAVE SANDWICH ISLANDS. 67 SECTION III. 1 Sandwich Islands to the Polar Sea. Having experienced the kind hospitality of General Millar, and been a witness to the anxiety, even in this out-of-the- way corner of the globe, which was felt by all the foreign residents in the relief of our missing ships, we cast many an anxious look to leeward in hopes of seeing our consort ; but as the season was far advanced I determined on pro- ceeding alone, trusting that our detention in communicating with the Herald or at the edge of the ice would give her time to rejoin us. Our provisions and water being complete, we put to sea on the morning of the 30th June, receiving the good wishes of the French frigate Bayonnaise as we passed under her stern. I then bore up for Oneechow, intending to lay in a stock of yams, which, owing to the demand in California, were scarce at Honolulu. Bounding the south point of the island, we hauled up under its lee for Yam Bay, and sent two boats on shore, which returned at noon, having procured but a few ; in fact, the demand for labour in California, together with the number of natives employed in the American whaling fleet, has nearly depopu- lated these islands, which under proper care would prove an admirable garden for the supply of the mining district. Making aU sail, we left Bird Island to the westward, and followed the Blossom's and Herald's track. As we hauled to tiie north after running down our longitude, the trade wind left us, and we were vexed with light baffling winds, scarcely making any way until the 12th July, when we had a fine breeze for forty-eight hours ; but it again left us, and we remained becalired until thfe morning of the 18th, thus seeing our summer waste away. \ - % li :■ I 58 CAPTAIN COLLINSON'S JOURNAL. [A0O. After crossing the 40th parallel we fell in with the fogs mentioned by Cook, but as a compensation, bringing with it a fine south-westerly wind which rapidly carried us past Attoo, but agfin, in latitude 57°, we suffered detention by calms and light airs for a week, nor did we make the island of St. Lawrence until the 11th of August, when a fine breeze carried us through Behring Strait ; passing three American whalers, one of which appeared to be flensing." " Flensing is the term for part of the process of extracting the hlubber from the whale. — [Ed.] Another under whose stern we passed close, in hopes of obtaining some information respecting the Herald or Flover, but owing to an indiscreet use of the speaking trumpet we could not understand what he said. On the 3rd of August, while becalmed, advantage was taken to fill a water-bottle at the depth of 148 fathoms ; the temperature of the sea there being 34*5°, and at the surface 50°; the bottle could be seen at 9 fathoms, and the current was scarcely perceptible ; the boat's head being W. by S.; lat. 58° 1' N., long. 183° 28' W.; colour of the sea. Fig. 5 in Hayes' 'Nomenclature of Colours,* Plates 33 and 34. At 5.30 am., August 12th, East Cape bore N. i E., and the weather, although gloomy with squalls, cleared up at times, giving us occasional glimpses of the Diomede Islands and Cape Prince of Wales ; at noon East Cape bore N. 60 W. 11 miles ; on this bearing it appears very like an island, the isthmus connecting it with the continent being so low as not to be visible even from the mast-head. After we had passed the cape, three boats were seen under sail in shore ; the weather being very hazy with rain we could not make out what they were, and I was very much inclined to bear away and communicate, but seeing they did not alter their course x felt assured they had no desire to communicate, and consequently could not belong to the expedition; and an hour now of the season being valuable we continued our course, making good progress, with the wind from the east 1850.3 BEIIRINQ STRAIT. 59 all night, and shaping a course for Point Hope, the first of Captain Kellett's rendezvous. I had little doubt but that we should fall in with the Herald in the morning. August IWh. — We made the land on the weather bow at 3 . 30, and soon found we had been set not only to the north, but also to the west, and could not fetch Point Hope. Hauling up for ' le Asses' Ears (the second rendezvous) the wind headed as off, and we only reached Cape Lisburne.* * Another piece of ill-luck. Kellett had told him in his Honolulu letter that he would leave three bottles, containing information for him, at Point Hope, Cape Lisburne, and Wainwright Inlet. Had the Enterprise found either of these on her way north, she would have learnt that the Investigator had gone in ahead of her, and would probably have deter- mined to push on past Point Barrow to join her consort, instead of returning as she did to the south. When she did find the one at Point Hope on her return south (August 31st), she subsequently went north, again to look after the Investigator. — [Ed.] Here we anxiously scanned the horizon for the Herald, and the shore for any sign of a mark, but without success, and I was about to proceed on to Wainwright Inlet (the last rendezvous) when Dr. Anderson pointed out what appeared to him to be a whitewashed mark. I left the ship at 11.30 to examine it. We found the cliffs sur- rounding the cape inhabited by a colony of loons, that flew past us in flocks of hundreds, without apparently making any diminution in the numbers remaining. On landing, the whitewashed mark proved an ice cliff at the bottom of the gully, and while I had the ship's name painted on the rocks and attempted to ascend the hill. Dr. Anderson and Mr. Whitehead, who were with me, set to work loon-shooting, they knowing from experience that the birds in question were capital food. The disintegra- tion of the cliff by the action of the frost soon stopped my progress, there being scarcely a stone on which you could rely for either a firm grasp or tread; so getting into the boat and expending another half-hour in getting loons, we commenced our return on board, and had got scarcely half- way off, when our attention was attracted by a loud shouting on the summit of the cliffs under which we had landed. 60 CAPTAIN COLLIN SON '8 JOURNAL. [Auo. and we presently made out three person^. Having by aid of tlie glass satisfied myself that they were natives, I could not afibrd to lose any more time, more particularly as our means of communication must have been very vague; so with some reluctance we got on board at *? . 30, and having thrown a cask overboard with information, bore away for Icy Cape, the long low point of which we saw at 8 p.m. At 10 we threw another cask overbo^ru i*nd hauled to the eastward. August 15th. — The morning proved thick, and knowing we were somewhere in the neighbourhood of Cape Collie, we anxiously looked for some mark wherewith to recognise it, but the low cliffs were so much alike that it was impossible to make out the land. While in the act of hauling off to wait for clearer weather, it fortunately lifted, and we just caught sight of a tall post, which I felt assured must be the Herald's mark. The day being thick and lowering, I did not like to leave the ship embayed as we were, and accordingly sent the Senior Lieutenant, Mr. Phayre, who landed and walked up to the post, which turned out to be the same native mark described in Captain Kellett's journal last year. Footprints both of moccasins and shoes were seen, and part of a boat's gun- wale, painted, showing that both natives and Europeans had been recently on the spot. Seeing something like a mound on the opposite side of Wainwright Inlet, Mr. Phayre crossed and searched in vain for any information. He re- turned at 3 . 30 p.m., and we made all sail to the north. To THE Polar Sea. August 16th. — Thick foggy weather with a light breeze from the N.E. The temperature of the sea indicated our approach to the ice, and at 7 a.m. we fell in with one large and two or three small pieces ; we were then steering W.N.W. true, and hauling up north so as to feel the edge of the ice. The temperature of the sea, however, again increased, and it was not until 10 that any more ice was seen ; now it became frequent, and at length we tacked at the edge of a closely ^^^^Kt'i £ XondoA/i Samp^on^LoWf Jtforwton', Smar-le^ A Rwa%^to Tofkcai MAP OF wmmffmi amebiica. .showing the (rarks of H.M5. Enterprise AND Invei^tioator in 1850-54. Taktnfhoin the Aitmiralfyn^aii of Oi»Heal0 of ti longitude I to orui uwJt, ami. corrcettti tn 18S2. Thei7XU!lt.of1h»Rnlerprise 13 eolo\wmd-riA, fnvestiyatnr bltu> nirnr are liihrn futrtfy from an M.S. triush. ehnri andpartfy thmi.theJ'ariyHiperf ofWSF.. LatuL of unknown Oeol/igy is tinted, tkut t ' '^ NOTl Tht general Une nfthe Ugkter park, ice at ffts tirn* i* on the seaward, tide of the traeka, hutthia is not Ota heavy impenstrablr parh which Li furthsrstUltg smawrarrt. [ ow, tfanttDH,, SearU, » Jtivmgtmu, TS.W«.nflr,ljtfu I J 1 1850;] TO THE POLAR SEA. n packed lot, which could have been sailed through ; but as we could not see far enough to detect what was beyond, no object could have been gained by going into it.' ^ Ice Blink and Water Sky. — These are two names for the respective appearances in the sky wliich indicate to experienced Arctic voyagers the existence of a field of ice or a great expanse of open water in that jiarticular direction. According to Captain Kellett these appearances are not always to be trusted ; or rather, we may say, it requires much experience and good judgment to interpret them accurately : for they are real, because quite natural phenomena, being simi^ly the reflection in the sky of what is on the sea. In the case of ice, the reflection has a bright yellowish tinge ; the word " blink " is an adaptation from the Danish Greenlanders, signifying really the whiteness of ice or snow, but it is (in English) fairly expressive of the reflection of such whiteness in the sky. ' After all it is only an indication of what exists for a distance of about ten miles. In the case of oi)en sea, the reflection is of a dark cloudy character, and appears to be more dependable as to the actual existence of water, but not as to the extent of it ; for a small lane or pool in the ice will make a show in the sky. And there is another valuable indicator of water, in the vapour that so frequently arises from it, especially when the ice is forming and breaking up. This vapour, from some effect of it on the light, generally assumes a dark appearance ; and being carried by the wind for a considerable distance, is a more distant as well as a safer guide to the existence of open water. Another indication of open water is the temperature of the wind, which is, of course, higher coming from water than from ice or snow. Mr. M'Dougal (Resolute) mentions a remarkable false ice blink seen to the south of Byam Martin Island in August, 1854, which gave the idea of the pack being within a few hundred yards, although they knew there was open water for miles in that direction. — [Ed.] n The weather cleared up shortly after this, and we were enabled to see what we had to deal with. The whole sea seemed full of streams of ice, that is to say, small pieces congregated together with open lanes between. The wind being light, we worked round them, making our way to the north-eastward ; we got our whale boats out from the skids, and the crow's nest aloft, and the ppike plank across.'** '" Spike plank is the term for a gangway made for the pilot over the deck.— [Ed.J At midnight we were in the centre of a stream of t : I ! I 62 CAPTAIN COLLINSON'S JOURNAL. [Aug. rotten ice that scarcely detained the ship at all, ^oing 5*5 knots. . •' August 17t7i. — This morning after clearing some large pieces and seeing heavy packed ice to the westward, we got into open water, in which we sailed for fourteen miles and had a perceptible swell from the eastward. The wind being at 3, and varying from N.N.E. to E.N.E., weather uncommonly thick. Standing to the N.N.W., at 8 we were again in sailing ice, which compelled us, in consequence of the increasing size of the floes and their becoming more closely packed, to hark back at 9 . 30 after experiencing some heavy thumps. The fog cleared away at 1 p.m., and we loand ourselves in a lane of clear water 10 miles wide with a clear sea to the N.E. and S.S.W., the ice heavily packed to the westward. Our observations placed us 100 miles N.W. by N. from Point Barrow, and we found 45 fathor - of water, muddy bottom. The wind died away and we scarcely moved until the morning of the 18th August, when a light air springing up from the westward, we steered again for the north, and by 7 were again surrounded by floe pieces, which being in motion involved the likelihood of being beset, and induced me to haul out while we could. At 9.30 we were again in clear water and stood to the southward, the weather being very hazy, scarcely able to see a cable's length ; having made the edge of the ice at noon, we kept along it to the N.E. ; at midnight we were so closely surrounded that we had to lower a boat to get her head round ; at 5 the fog rose, and we found ourselves close to the pack edge, with open water only to the S.S.E. ; in that direction we hauled out, skirting the eastern edge in search of an opening. At noon, having run 26 miles, we found the pack trending more to the ep^uward, along which we ran, sailing through loose pieces and keeping the main body in sight without detecting any open water to the N.E., and in the afternoon we passed some large floes to the southward of us. August 20th. — At 4 a.m. Point Barrow bore due south 25 miles, and, after rounding the point of the pack, we had the gratification of seeing no ice to the eastward, and the 1850.] TEE POLAR SEA. 63 temperature of the sea rose to 40°, and we had no bottom with 60 fathoms ; we thought ourselves fairly on the way to Banks' Land or Melville Island, for which a course was shaped. We were, however, compelled to keep away to the southward at 9 o'clock, finding ourselves embayed in a horse- shoe, round which very heavily packed ice could be traced from the crow's nest. Having run through the stream off its eastern horn, we once more found ourselves in open water, and stood again to the east, keeping the pack in sight to the north. August 21sL — At 4 a.m. we found the ice stretching across our bows from E.N.E. to S.E. by S., on which we tacked to the north, as the ice was not visible in that direction ; and a thick fog occurring, it was only made out by running into it, which we did at 6 a.m., and then stood out to the S.E., so as to examine the upper part of the bight. On arriving at its edge we ran along inside the line of ice, endeavouring to push easterly, but the increasing closeness and the size of the floes edged us off to the southward : some of these were 25, and one or two as much as 30 feet above the water. Towards noon the fog cleared off, and we found ourselves much encumbered, the prospect to the eastward being decidedly against our pro- gress in that direction. Pools of water were seen certainly, and we attempted several times to push our way into them, but were constantly warned by the ice ma*-*^ from the crow's nest that the close pack would stop our progress. At 8 o'clock we were within 30 miles of the land, and no water to be seen in that direction from aloft. I was therefore under the necessity of determining whether I would attempt the inshore passage. A careful perusal of the Arctic voyages along the north coast of America, as well as a personal com- munication with Sir George Back, who was kind enough to give me the benefit of his experience previous to leaving England, had fully convinced me that I could look for no place of safety for a vessel oJ the Enterprise's draught of water nearer than Cape Bathurst, which I could scarcely hope to reach previous to the winter setting in, and the ice closing on the shore. I therefore reluctantly ga^'^o up the examina- 4-W ,'(., • 1 64 CAPTAIN COLLINSON'S JOURNAL. [Aug. tion in this direction, and made my mind up to turn the edge of the pack further to the west, where Captain Kellett had penetrated last year, and seen a promising opening, and where Captain Moore had reported the loom of the land. But as a person always feels the importance of having the opinion of others in aid of his own, I addressed the following order to the officers : — Gentlemen, It is my direction that you give me your opinions as to our future progress to the eastward under the following form : — • Practicable or not. In Shore. Off Shore. Signature. Not. Not. Not. Not. Not. Not. Not. Not. Not. Not. Not. Not. Not. Not. Not. G. A. Phayre. John Barnard. F. Skead. = Geo. Arbuthnot. i John Atkinson. Eemarks. — Having traced the pack in a south-easterly direction for 145 miles, from latitude 72° 45' N., and longi- tude 159° 5' W., and being compelled to retrace our course to the S.W. 50 miles, in consequence of its taking a trend in that direction, leaving no signs of an opening towards the E. or S.E., the only open water being from S.W. to N.N.W., we consider any further progress to the eastward to be wholly impracticable off shore. With respect to our getting to the eastward by pushing in that direction in shore, the following facts are to be con- sidered: — 1st, the wind is directly foul; 2nd, the weather has just become foggy ; 3rd, the ice is closely packed as far as the eye can reach (an extent of 10 miles), reducing our distance from the shore to 15 miles, together with the great improbability of our being able in a heavy ship on a shallow coast, with a very doubtful passage and a foul wind, to make any easterly progress ; and 4thly, no place for anchorage being nearer than 500 miles. All these things being con- 1850.] IN THE POLAR SEA. ''■\ f^ sidered, we are of opinion that any further attempt to get to the eastward by running to the south-westward looking for open water would be a useless waste of time. H.M.S. Unterprise, Aucrnst 21st, 1850. I,atitude, 71° 42' K ',.ongitude, 154° 29' W. G. A. Phayre, Lieutenant. John Barnard, Lieutenant. F. Skead, 2nd Master. George Arbuthnot, Ice Mate. John Atkinson, Ice Mate. This report afforded me some satisfaction, although I shoukl never hesitate to take the responsibility in these cases on my own shoulders ; yet the urgent need of aid, that our missing friends must by this time be in, rendered it abso- lutely necessary that we should persevere so long as hope remained ; and we had yet sufficient time remaining to enable us to get in with any land that might be discovered to the north, and, once established there, our travelling parties would have been in a better position for exploring than on the continent ; but still it was with extreme regret I retraced our steps along the pack edge to the westward, intending to push through, if possible, at the point where we had first fallen in with the heavy ice on the 17th. Aufjust 22 id. — The morning proved very hazy, and con- tinued so throughout the day, but we managed to catch a glimpse occasionally of the ice to the northward. The 23rd fortunately proved finer, and we then found the main pack trending north and south, the ice at its edge being much closer than it was four days ago ; this compelled us to go southward. We worked close along its edge, expecting each tack to find an opening fit for our purpose, but without success ; and it appeared that, when we first made the ice on the 16th, wc must have run close along the edge of this body without being aware of it. August 2A.th. — The fog cleared away and showed us the packed ice still trending to the southward and eastward, while to the north ai^d ♦\ast we had a perfectly clear sea. I there fore made a long boainl towards Point Barrow, intpiid- i ' 66 CAPTAIN COLLINSON'S JOURNAL. [AUQ. ;l! 'in r '■■■■ ing to examine it, but, the wind heading us off at noon, I again tacked to the southward. Towards evening we got again in with the ice, and, the fog again reducing our limit of vision to two cables' lengths, we had some difficulty in probing our way ; but, believing we must be very close to the southern end, we continued on until 8 p.m., when the fog becoming yet denser, and it being nearly impossible to move the ship in any direction, we made fast to a large floe and filled nine tons of excellent water. The weather clearing up at mid- night, we cast off and made sail, but did not S'^oceed in extricating ourselves by boring through these closei/ packed floes until 4 p.m., August 25th, when we reached open water. At 8 p.m. we turned the southern point of the pack, wliich we found to be in 71° 10' N., or twenty miles to the southward of where we had found it on the 16th. August 27th. — Eunning along the southern edge of some closely packed floes and occasionally through the loose streams, the walruses, wliich had hitherto been very scarce, became numerous, and were seen laying on the ice in herds of from three to twenty. At noon the edge of the ice trending to the north, we joyfully hauled up in that direction. The wind increasing with a short sea, induced us to reef our top- sails, being the first time we had done so since leaving the parallel of 32° S., during which time we had been over a space of 11,303 miles in 116 days, a period of distance and fine weather combined, I believe, unprecedented in the annals of navigation. August 28th. — Early in the morning we tacked off the edge of some heavy floes closely packed, the main line trending W.S.W. and E.N.E. (true). During the forenoon a bear was seen, and we continued working along the edge easterly, look- ing for an opening without success. Here we reached our furthest point north in 73° 23' N., and longitude 164° W. In the afternoon the pack edge trending more to the southward, we got much encumbered by endeavouring to get through it to the eastward, straining our eyes in that direction in the hope of seeing either land or water. Finding, however, the further we entered the more compact it was becoming, I hauled out 1850.] IN THE POLAR SEA. m to the west at noon, being compelled to come to the conclu- sion that this season had passed away without our being able to do anything towards the succour of the missing expedition. Getting into open water, we skirted along the edge of the ice, leaving it to the eastward. Here we saw two bears, and coming upon a herd of walruses, as delay no longer inter- fered with our duty, the two whale-boats were sent, and suc- ceeded in capturing three. The tusks of one measured 23 inches, and the weight of the head and neck was 107 lbs. ; the hide, without the flippers, 208 lbs. Eeserving the best part of the carcases, we found ourselves in possession of about 1200 lbs. of good wholesome food, and three casks of blubber. Turn South. August 30• I f . ! 70 CAPTAIN COLLIN SON '8 JOURNAL. [Sept. SECTION IV. Tort Clarence and Icy Cape, September 2nd. — At dawn we weighed and stood towards the entrance of the harbour ; the wind proving very light, I left the ship with the intention of examining the channel, and seeing whether the Plover's position would suit for winter quarters for the Unterpiisc ; leaving orders to anchor close off the bar in 4^ fathoms, and then send the second master to assist me in buoying the channel. Finding the latter very shoal and the channel not only narrow but crooked, I dropped one or two buoys and went inside Grantley Harbour to judge whether it was a fit place for us, and that our labour in getting in might not be thrown away. On getting on board the Plover I found that the Enterprise was on shore on the bar, the officer in charge having very improperly, and against the advice of Mr. Martin, run for the outer buoy instead of anchoring as I had ordered him. I accordingly made the best of my way back on board of her, and, having laid out the stream anchor, hove her off without any damage. The wind in the evening freshened from the S.W. and brought in a considerable swell, causing us to be very thankful that the ship was extricated from her awkward situation. September 3rd. — The morning set in with bad weather, and we were unable to send the boats away until the afternoon, when Mr. Skead was despatched ti amine the north shore of Port Clarence with a view of seeiDg whether any position existed along it which would afford us the required shelter. I took Mr. Arbuthnot (ice mate) with me inside of Grantley Harbour, so as to have his opinion on the likelihood of the Enterprise being able to remain here during the winter 1850.] AT PORT CLARENCE. n without risk of being crippled for the ensuing season; and finding it to be his opinion, as well as Captain Moore's, that, notwithstanding the long exposure towards the upper end of the harbour, there was every likelihood of our being able to remain afloat, I proceeded to the examination of the entrance and laid down buoys to direct our course in. Mr. Skead returned in the evening without succeeding in the object for which lie had been sent. September Ath. — At 4 a.m. we got under weigh with a light air, which soon left us, and we commenced warping towards the bar ; when within a mile of it, the breeze again sprang up and we made sail, steering for the outer buoy ; before reaching the second one the ship grounded in 15 feet, and on examination it was found that the water had fallen 4 feet during the night, which must have been occasioned by the wind changing from north to south, as no rise and fall beyond a few inches had taken place by the beach previously ; and, finding that a buoy we had laid down in 3^ fathoms the evening before had now but 2J^ fathoms, I determined on keeping the ship outside until a more extended examination sliould convince me that I should be able to get the ship out next season without liability to detention; this, however, proved to be a work of more labour than we imagined, and after several ineffective attempts it became evident that it would be necessary to lighten the ship. Fortunately the Herald arrived in the afternoon, and we experienced the benefit of a friend in need ; a great quantity of provisions and stores were sent to her immediately ; a Bower anchor and chain laic out, and our chain cables payed overboard, where the ship could pick them up, but we did not succeed in getting the ship afloat until the afternoon of the 5th September, having removed rather more than 100 tons. The Plover, coming to our assistance, was unfortunate to get on shore, but both vessels were eventually got afloat without any harm occurring saving the wear and Lear of ropes and men. On the 6th Sept iber, while the ship's company, with the assistance of the Herald's people, were employed picking up o sx^. IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) 1.0 I.I US "^ i» Kii 12.2 !!f HA "^ L£ 12.0 lit w u I: I ^U4 '^ Hi 1 C" 19 CAPTAIN COLLINSON'S JOURNAL. [Sept. I'i k^l 1*' 1 i: i 1 i ' ! u our anchors and chains and restowing the holds, Kellett and myself carefully examined the channel, and, coming to the conclusion that considerable delay might take place in getting the ship out early next season, I had to forego the arrangement I had entered into, viz., that of taking the Plover's place for the winter, and permitting her to go to the southward to recruit. This determination having been come to (which caused great disappointment throughout the vessel, as we had made our minds up to pass a winter in these latitudes), no time was lost in completing and storing the riovcr for three years, which with the building of a house occupied us until the 13th. On the lOLh I visited Point Spencer and Cape Riley with a view of seeing whether sufficient shelter could be obtained at either of these places ; and having satisfied myself that there was not sufficient protection for the Enterprise outside of Grantley Harbour, I determined to go to the north and spend the remainder of the season about Cape Lisburne ; so that, in the event of anything occurring to the Investigator or any of the missing expedition making their appearance, we should be nearer at hand, and save the boats a trip across Kotzebue Sound. The Herald, I found from Captain Kellett, had been to Michaelowski to obtain information from the Russian authorities relative to establishing a communication with the Polar Sea, by means of their posts in the interior. From the information he was able to obtain (which, however, was not satisfactory owing to the person lately in charge of the fort having left in the annual vessel, and the Governor at present being totally unacquainted with the country), it appeared that they had no trading post on the head waters of any river emptying itself into the Polar Sea, and therefore he considered that attempts to search the Arctic Ocean by this rc'.ite would prove futile. During our stay here we were several times visited by the natives in their skin boats, but being so thoroughly occupied we had not leisure to barter, and, finding they were inclmed to take advantage of the confusion while we were on shore to pilfer, we were compelled to turn them out without 1850.] TO THE NORTH AGAIN. 73 ceremony. This required some time to explain, and it was only a day or two before we left that they communicated with us a3 freely as with the other ships. The encampment was fixed on the north spit between the two harbours, and we had latt»^rly as many as five or six boats, each containing eight or ten people, who were somewhat under the control of two chiefs; from them we obtained reindeer's meat in small quantities and fish. Herrings were abundant, but unless you were fortunate enough to be present at a haul, and got them fresh from the water, they were immediately split open and anointed with seal oil so as to preserve them for their winter store. Being much occupied, and but few hands to spare, we only tried our seine once, and then with but little success. September \Uh. — Having completed our water, taken my farewell of Kellett, and entrusted our despatches to the Herald, we weighed with a light breeze from the eastward, which died away during the forenoon, and continued light and variable until 3 p.m. the next day, when it freshened from the northward, and we continued to work to wind- ward under the lee of Cape Prince of Wales until 4 a.m., September 16th, when we steered out into the straits, and after making several boards without gaining anything to windward, owing to the current and short uneasy sea, we bore up at 10, and reached smooth water under Cape York, where we anchored in 10 fathoms 3 miles from the shore ; icing's Island bearing S. 12° E., and Cape York N. 72° E. Here we rode very quietly, notwitlistanding squalls, which were violent during the night. On the morning of the 17th September we were visited by an oomiak with seven natives bound from King-a-ghce to Port Clarence; thej"^ produced some inferior skins for sale, and after remaining a couple of hours returned to the shore and commenced tracking their boat to the eastward. They were aware of the vessels being in Port Clarence, and confirmed several of Captain Beechey's names, giving us in addition that of Ipnook for Cape Y'ork, and Chunnermuck for the beach opposite to which we were anchored. '•• t^JH 74 CAPTAIN COLLINSON'S JOURNAL. [Sept. Tlie wind moderating a little, we sent a boat on shore for firewood in the afternoon, and some of the officers went with their guns in hopes of picking up a ptarmigan or deer. September 19th. — At midniglit the wind having lulled, we weighed and passed Cape Prince of Wales at 8 a.m. In the afternoon it drew round to the southward, and, although 7 or 8 miles from the shore, we were visited by two oomiaks, one was on her way from King-a-yhce to the Diomede Islands, the other came off for the express purpose of traffic, both eventually returned to the American shore." " FsQuiMO Boats. — Kayak or kaiak is a common name for a canoe throii>;hout the Esquimo people, but it generally signifies a small canoe for one person. Its framewmk is of bone, covered with sealskin, leaving only an opening in the middle of the deck covering for the occupant : it is about 16 feet long, and weighs 45 lbs. {Armstrong). Captain CoUinson got one at Cambridge Bay weighing 26 lbs. Baidar is a large canoe, of wood or bone framework, covered with dressed skins, and flat-bottomed ; about 24 feet long, 3 to 4 feet broad, with seats across {Armstrong). Umiak or oomiak, a still larger canoe, used jnenerally for car-}ing the women and children and goods from one part of the coast to the other {Arctic Papers). They described the jpopulation of thf 'omede Islands as about 300, and had evidently been in communication with the whalers, as they asked for rum under the denomination of strong water ; and, on being given half a pint in exchange for four walrus tusks, the head man pressed the bottle to his breast and stroked it down with every symptom of affection. This was the first instance that spirits had been enquired for, or even liked when offered. The boats were fitted with a low sail made of walrus intestines, and patched here and there with all kinds of materials. One of them had got an iron cringle from some ship, which was lashed to the mast- head and used as a fair leader for the halyards. By way of adding to the buoyancy of the oomiak and rendering thera less liable to upset, inflated sealskins were suspended over the side. .1850.] 75 Return to Point Barrow. Sej)tember 20th. — Running to the north at the rate of three or four knots per hour, we made Point Hope early in the morning, but having light winds it was afternoon before we were close up to it, and were visited by eight oomiaks, con- taining between sixty and seventy people, who made them- selves quite at home, and proceeded to barter their bows, arrows and spears, together with their furs, for tobacco and beads. They had also evidently been in communication with vessels before, although we could not recognise a single indi- vidual of the party that were on the point when we visited it on the 1st inst. Lucifer matches were in great demand, and some good sable skins were obtained for two boxes. They gave us a pressing invitation to visit them on shore, and left the ship (after having had a most riotous barter) very quietly on being told. One of the party had the leprosy* all were filthily dirty, covered with vermin, some of which were transferred to our people, and caused the greater part of the purchases to be thrown overboard. September 2ist. — We passed Cape Lisburne at 10 a.m., and shaped a course for Icy Cape, the wind being still from the southward, and the temperature at 38°. Many were sanguine that there was yet enough of the season left to reach Point Barrow, and ascertain whether the deep water Captain Moore had found in Elson Bay would afford us a locality for winter quarters. Scptemhcr 22nd. — At 4 a.m. the wind shifted to the north, and it was 5 p.m. before we obtained sight of the fishing stages on Icy Cape from the crow's nest ; we then stood to the westward in order to get an offing in the event of the wind coming from that direction, which a falling barometer led us to expect. Nor were we mistaken, for it freshened on the 23rd from that quarter, reducing the temperatui"e to 16°, and coatiiig us with a mass of ice. At 6 p.m. we were under reefed courses, treble-reefed main, and close-reefed fore top- sail. This bad weatber continued throughout the twenty-four hours. P" T^ \* 76 CAPTAIN COLLINSON'S JOURNAL. [Oct. September 24th. — At 6 p.m. it moderated a little, aud we made sail to the N.E., but the ice accumulated so fast upon our bows and sponsons, increasing the top weight of the ship and causing her to labour very uneasily, that our people were employed to chip it away ; this, however, proved no ordinary labour, and, it being evident we were too far north for this season of the year, I bore up at 4 a.m. for Cape Lisburne, off which we remained the next day, and were then driven to take shelter under the lee of Point Hope by a gale from the N.N.E. September 26th. — Here we remained until the 30th, ex- periencing very bad and cold weather, the thermometer never rising above 25°, and falling as low as 18°, rendering our bows, sponsons, and rigging a perfect mass of ice, which we beat off from time to time, but occasionally it was so thick that the only part of the anchor to be seen was the outer pea. September SOth. — So soon as the weather moderated we took a close look at Point Hope, and, seeing no signs of any of our friends there, we felt quite assured that the season for navigating the sea to the northward was gone for this year, and there was no chance of any ship or boat emerging from the ice. I bore up for Port Clarence, and arrived at 4 p.m. on the 2nd of October. From Captain Moore we learnt that the thermometer with them had fallen to 15°, and ice 7 inches thick was formed in the inner harbour, thus winter making its appearance this year three weeks earlier than it did last season in Kotzebue Sound. Fortunately a thaw occurred and enabled us to communicate without difficulty and complete our water. On the 4th of October we swung the ship for local attraction, and were ready for sea on Saturday morning, having supplied the Plover with such wai'm clothing and stores as we could spare, but were detained by thick weather and snow showers. • The weather on the 6th of October being somewhat similar, I remained, and in the afternoon sent our people on shore for a walk, they having been much confined to the sliip, and a I860.] POST CLARENCE AGAIN. 77 long voyage before them. In the afternoon the wind sliifted to the S.W., and, as we could not embark them by reason of the surf on the beach, they took refuge on board the Plover. During the period of the Plover* s stay in Kotzebue Sound, and subsequently during Captain Moore's expedition to Poiiiit Barrow, he from time to time" received reports relative to wlute men and ships having been seen on the coast between Point Barrow and the Mackenzie; the substance of which, according to the date on which they were received, is as follows i — \st. Captain Moore, November llfh^ 1849. — Tlie natives of Buckland River in Kotzebue Sound report that some northern people who had been trading with them had seen two vessels answering to the description of the Erebus and Terror ; that they had been boarded by natives inhabiting the coast to the eastward of Point Barrow about the latter end of the sunnuer of 1848, that they were working to windward against a westerly wind. After they had* been on board for some time the water began to shoal, when the ships went about and stood to the northward, after which they were not seen. 2nd. Mr. Pirn, at Michaelowshi Redoubt, March, 1850, — Reports that two officers and eight men had been on a river named Ek-ko, within thirty -five days' travel of Michaelowski Redoubt ; tliat they were in a very distressed state, having bartered guns and ammunition for provisions. ^rd. Captain Moore, ffotham Inlet, March 4th. — The natives of Hotham Inlet reported that four strange natives had arrived from the northward, who had told them that there were some white people at a place called Kopak (which is apparently near to Point Barrow), where they were building a vessel. Ath. Captain Moore, May \st — Four natives from the north- ward visited the Plover in Kotzebue Sound, one of whom, having come from the vicinity of the Noa-tok, says that he fell in with a party of natives, who told him that there was a vessel and a number of people a long way to the northward, with whom they had bartered knives. He also showed the 78 CAPTAIN COLLJNSON'S JOURNAL. [Oct. wooden model of a knife he had seen in the possession of one of these people, which was marked with the letter L. 5th. Captain Moore, Point Harrow, July 27th, 1850. — The natives of Point liarrow report that a number of people dressed like ourselves had arrived at a river called Kapak, that they were now dead and buried by the natives there. 6. I'll 90 CAPTAIN COLLINSON'S JOUBNAL. [Nov. agreeable evening. All appeared to take a very great interest in our proceedings, and to be desirous of affordinrj all the assistance in their power. We had most pressing invitations to dinner every day at 1 o'clock, when the principal officers assemble, and meet the Governor in a very handsome suite of rooms, set apart for that purpose in Government House. Intimacy was immediately established among the officers notwithstanding the difficul'y of communication. The long period we had been at sea had worn out a great portion of our running rigging, and I gladly availed myself of the dockyard instead of having recourse to our whale lines, which we should have been compelled to reeve, had we not obtained a supply of rope. The Governor ordered one of his four bullocks to be killed for our use ; permitted us to make a selection of such spars and planks as we required, and take what firewood we pleased. Not doubting but that we should pay for all we received, I made my demands without reserve ; but on the day of settlement I found that he would not permit anything to be charged that was the produce of the colony, and only accepted payment for such articles as had been imported from Europe. It is impossible to say enough in favour of the kindness and hospitality we received on every hand ; it left an impression which I am sure will never be effaced from the memory of any officer in the Enterprise. Captain Tebenkorf also showed me all the charts and discoveries which had recently been made under his ad- ministration ; and in a most handsome manner presented me, for the use of the expedition, with a map of the Russian dominions both in Asia and America, whicli he had just completed, and had engraved at Sitka. By his aid, as well as that of the Governor (both these officers having been employed in exploring expeditions on the western side of Behring's Sea), I was enabled to obtain a correct impression of the situat'on of the Eussian posts in the interior. Captain Eosenberg, I found, in anticipation that some assistance would be required by the expeditions in search of the Urebtcs and Terror, had directed that eighteen natives of 1850.] AT SITKA. 91 the Aleutian Islaiids and twenty kayaks should be assembled in readiness to proceed to f'e north ; ind pointed out the advantage these men possess over Europeans, in speaking a dialect of the same language, and living upon the same food as the Esquimaux. Besides being good hurters, and armed vith nmskets, they manage these kayaks with such dexterity that the principal portions of the researches of the Eussians to the north had been carried on throu h their means. I therefor 3 gladly availed myself of his offer, and begged that that he would order them to be sent to the north by the annual vessel in the spring, where they would be required to reinforce the Plover's crew, should it be deemed necessary to send that vessel to pea, and at the same time require a party to take charge of the house and provisions in Grantley Harbour ; or, should it be practicable to reach the Polar Sea by the route Lieutenant Barnard was investigating, to form a portion of that expedition. I also received some very useful information from Captain Dodd of the Beaver. The Hudson Bay Company, it appeared, pay annually a tribute of 2000 beaver skins to the Eussian Company for permission to trade among the islands fronting the coast, as far north as the line of demarcation between the two countries. The Beaver, besides supplying the different posts, and collecting the furs, trades herself, and performs two or three voyages every year, going as far north as the Lynn Channel. Here Captain Dodd had on two occasions received letters from Mr. Campbell of the Mackenzie Eiver district, who, by advancing up one of its western tributaries, had established himself on the fork of a large river, and was give 1 to understand by the natives that another of the Mackenzie gentlemen, Mr. McMurray, was located on the same stream, ten days' journey below him. Combining this information with that of Lieutenant Sagoskin, an officer of the Kussian Navy, who ascended the Kwipak from Michael- ovvski, and with the reports of white men having been seen on the river above them, it became evident to Captain Tebenkorf that the two rivers were identical. In this opinion I perfectly agreed, and proceed to give what may be con- 1^' 02 CAPTAIN COLLINSON'S JOURNAL. [Nov. sidered rather as the rpr.iilts of hio investigation, but expressed in my own language. Lieutenant Sagoskin's report was published in two volumes, accompanied by a map, at St. Peters) »urg, in the year 1848, and is entitled, " Survey of Part of the Russian Dominions in America in 1842, 1843, 1844." The Kunpak (now the Yucon) empties itself into Behring Sea through five moutlis, all of which are shoal, and extend from latitude 02' to 63' 25' N. The branch ascended by Lieutenant Sagoskin, and the one at present used by the Eussians in their communication with the interior, is the northern, from whence the river trends to the S.E. 120 miles; and in latitude 61° 50', and longitude 162° 45', the southern mouth separates from the main branch, wliich is here two miles wide. It then turns to the N.N.E. 240 miles, where it is joined by a tributary from the north. Nulato or Durabhin (the furthest Russian post in the interior) is situated on the right bank of the river, fifteen miles below the junction of this branch, and is in latitude 64° 42' N., and longitude 158° W. This portion of the river is called by the natives YuJc-hana. The launch, following its windings and ascending against the stream, is usually thirty-five days in reaching Durabhin from Michael- owski ; but the post can be reached in five days from a small establishment in Norton Sound, opposite to Besborough Island, and this is the route usually taken during the winter, dogs and sledges being used. The main branch of the river, 15 miles above Durabhin, pursues an easterly course ; Lieutenant Sagoskin's personal examination terminated at Koggoia, in latitude 05° 35' N., and longitude 158° 40' W. ; but the examination has been further carried on, by subordinate officers, and a large lake reached, in latitude 66° 10' and longitude 148° W. ; from thence, according to native information, it pursues an easterly direction for another 180 miles ; and here on the left bank of the river, in latitude 65° 30' N., and just to the east of the boundary line of the Russian territory. Captain Tebenkorf has placed a Hudson Bay post, which there is little doubt ill 1850.] THE YUKON RIVER. 93 is the one established by Mr. McMurray, who Jins reached the Yuh-hana, by ascending the Porcupine* branch of the Mackenzie ; and it is also probable that he is to the west of the boundary line. The river then pursues a course to the southward of east, passinj^ through two lakes ; until in latitude GG° N. and longitude 130° 30', we arrive at the junction of the Pelly Fork and Lewis River. Here Mr. Campbell, ascending by the Peel River from the Mackenzie, has established himself, and by means of the natives has entered into a communication with Captain Dodd on board the Beaver in the Lynn Cliannel. The latter kindly per- mitted me to make a copy of a chart, whicli the natives who brought the letter drew for him ; by which it appears, that on a river emptying itself into the west branch of the Lynn Channel there is a native town called Chilcat. By ascending this river and a short portage, the whole journey occupying seven days, they reach a lake called Korosack, from whence issue the head waters of the Lewis River (eventually the Vuk- Juina and Ktvipak); descending which, in two days tliey reach the Chutartsze Lake, from whence by the river to Mr. Campbell's post they are live days. The return to Chilcat, owing to the swiftness of the river, is always made a route overland, to the westward, and occupies fifty days. Mr. Campbell, in his letter to Capt. Dodd, estimates his latitude as 62° and longitude 136°, but I am inclined to think that Captain Tebenkorf s position, given above, is more likely to be true. The main point I arrive at is, that the Colville and Ymi-con, or Yuk-hana, are not identical, and that the former being thus deprived of two-thirds of its watershed, will not afford so ready an access to the Arctic Ocean; whether, however, the Esquimaux ascend it, and communicate with Durdbhin, will be ascertained by Lieutenant Barnard. I am more inclined to think that the Esquimaux portion of the trade reaches that post by the Buckland River natives and the northern branch of the Yiik-hana, as it was from these people that Captain Moore first obtained information of * TLc Porcupine is now known to be a bninch of the Yucon. I M CAPTAIN COLLINSON'S JOURNAL. [Nov. I ; . .111 S ii i',.i white men having been seen in the interior ; and by his account, several of the Esquimaux from the northward, instead of resorting to Michaelowski, carry on a barter with the liuckland River people at Hotham Inlet annually. On the 8tii November, we swung the ship to ascertain the local attraction of tlie compasses, and being a day behind the llussian calendar, we omitted the 9th, so as to make our Sunday agree with that of the garrison. The governor honoured us with a grand entertainment on the 10th, upwards of forty officers being assembled for the purpose. On Her Majesty's health being drank, the fort saluted with thirty-one guns. The same compliment was then paid to the Emperor, and the governor then proposed " Success to the expeditions in search of Sir J. Franklin," taking the opportunity to express that he was not only ordered by the Emperor, and authorised by the company, to afford all the aid in his power, yet he also felt assured that it was the feeling not only of himself, but every person under his command, to do their utmost to promote the success of our undertaking. The fort then fired another salute of twenty-one guns. Having completed our water, and incurred a debt of gratitude almost impossible to repay, we were ready for sea on Tuesday, but did not eventually get away until Thurs- day morning. The day previous to our sailing a brig hove in sight, but owing to bad weather the steam vessel could not take her in tow, and she was compelled to go to sea again. We had, however, the satisfaction to leave our kind friends with the great cause of their anxiety removed, as she proved to be the missing vessel. The news acted like an electric shock throughout the garrison. All had either friends or relatives in the vessel, and those bound home knew that the period of their departure was at hand. November 14th. — The steam vessel took us in tow at 8 a.m., the governor and all the officers coming on board to take their leave; and we parted with so strong an impression, not only of the attention which had been shown in supplying our wants, but also of the personal kindness we had received. iar)0.] 8iTKA SETTLEMENT. 95 she an bher ome ..m., ;ake ion. ^mg that I am sure the recollection of it will remain for ever engraven on our memories. Nor was the governor's gene- rosity confined td the officers, but the ship's com})any, besides the bullocks, received a quantity of rice, culavances* and butter, as well as a ton of potatoes, which enabled me, notwitlistanding tbe long time we had been at sea, to look upon the passage across the Pacific without fear of scurvy. The Indians have lost a great many of their native habits, and becoming more civilised, are rapidly losing that bold and fearless character which rendered the greatest caution necessary when entering into an intercourse with them. They are, however, still confined to the beach north of the fort, and opposite the village an old vessel with a formidable row of carronades is still moored, in order to assist the guns of the garrison should they prove unruly. The huts are miser- able affairs and abominably dirty, yet one or two boasted windows, and occasional articles of furniture. The hideous lip ornament has almost entirely disappeared, and the hunting coat of skin given way to a dirty blanket, which deprives the savage of his outward characteristic, and at once proclaims the superiority of the white man. Occasionally sixty or seventy canoes arrive with furs for barter, and there are still a good many furs collected in the neighbourhood. The half-broeds are now numerous, and have proved them- selves useful artizans. One, ii. particular, has perfected himself not only in the management but also the con- struction of the steam-engine, and is now head engineer to the establishment. In the cathedral, also, I was shown some paintings executed by them, evincing not only con- siderable skill, but ability. The buildings of the settlement, being composed entirely of wood, soon acquire a dinginess from the constant rain, so that it loses much of its picturesque appearance from the sea on a closer inspection. Besides the new Government House, which was in progress on my last visit, a new cathedral and jetty have been built. The houses are spacious and comfortable, but being fitted with double windows and • A kind of V^e^vru A^ m 96 CAPTAIN COLLINSON'S JOURNAL. LNov. I I warmed by stoves, there is a want of ventilation, to which I am inclined to attribute tbo ^'reat morUility which has taken i)laoe among the chihlren. The incessant rain renders out-of-door exercise almost impracticable ; in fact there are no walks except the public garden, which is tastefully laid out; but nothing will flourish here apparently, notwith- standing all the care bestowed upon it, except the fir, which grows in a niDst luxurioui manner, clothing the steep sides of tho surrounding hills to their very summit, while every little rock or islet boasts of its clump of trees. On a former occasion I had thouglit it the most picturesque place I had ever seen ; it lias all charms of a fjord, with the grandeur of Alpine scenery. The peaks outvie those of Rio Janeiro in their nigged outline, and like them, are clothed with a forest to their summit. The most extraordinary thing is that there is no soil, the incessant rains and abrupt declivity of tho mountains have left nothing but pebbles behind ; all attempts at clearing or cultivation have failed; and the garrison are as completely isolated by the forest as if they were on an island. The establishment, besides the governor, who is usually a captain in the Navy, consists of two or three lieutenants, besides other naval officers, who having married in the colony, have resigned their commissions in the Imperitd Service, and taken situations under the company. These, as occasion requires, take command of the different vessels by which the governor maintains the communication with Kodiak, the northern ports, and the Sea of Okhotsk, where they receive their communications from St. Petersburg, while others are sent occasionally to the Sandwich Islands aT;d California ; and an attempt was made this year to open a trade with the northern ports of China. Annually a vessel belonging to the company leaves Russia early in the spring, laden with flour and stores ; and having called in the Thames for the principal portion of their hardware and trading articles, reaches Sitka in the autumn ; and then embarking the furs that had been collected during the previous year, returns by the same route, viz.. Cape Horn. 18fiO.] SITKA SETTLEMENT. 97 Wc had an opportunity of seeing pa^-t of the cargo ready for embarkation, and feasted cmr eyes on silver fox, sea otter, and other rich furs, the amazing value of wliich suri'rised us. Among the suite attached to tlie governor was a meth. — Throughout the wliole of the IGth we re- mained immovable, and in the afternoon experienee7 fathoms, dark sand and mud. At night three haidars came off; we found they used bone runners for transporting their haidars across the ice. Having been regaled with some tobacco, they remained on 1851.] ANADYR QULF. 125 board and took somo rest after their labour. Wo had, however, the misfortune to lose Mr. Whitehead, clerk-in- charge, during the middle watch, and I was but too glad to get them away from the ship. He had been f^uliering for a considerable time from rheumatism, which had almost rendered him a cripple, and was scarcely able to do any duty all the time we were at Hong-kong ; previous, however, to our departure from there he rallied considerably, and a medical consultation on his case being hold, they arrived at the conclusion that he was in a fit state to go, with which I was very well pleased, as having served in the ship under Sir James Koss, his experience would have been of value, and I had also every reason to be well pleased with the manner in which he had discharged his duty. It was, therefore, with very melancholy feelings that we bore his body across the floe and committed it to the deep. We made a little way to the eastwarcl, and early on the 20th four baidars came off. We soon found that they knew the Plover and some of the officers' names. At noon Cape Tchutskoi bore N. 64' E. 25 miles. We were evidently among looser ice and got a distant glimpse of St. Lawrence. At 8.30 p.m. the ice closing, and being unable to turn to windward, we funed sails and made fast to a floe, and were visited by a party of natives from Port Providence, who soon showed that the Plover had passed the winter of 1848 among them, as they knew the names of all the officers. They were of course especially well treated, and received several presents as tokens that their kindness tc '>ar countrymen had not been forgotten. Towards morning, June 21st, the wind drew from the north and we cast off, giving the natives to understand that we should see the Plover in a few days. By noon we were abreast of Cape Tchutskoi, and had a fine view of the land and the entrance into Port Providence, which from an excellent sketch supplied by the Herald we could easily identify. What, however, gladdened us more was the dark blue line trending along the coast to the north- ward, assuring us that our long hoped-for land watt, .vas in sight at last. The afternoon being very clear, we could m ^r • ■\\ h| H ! i 11 ^ii 1 i 1 ii;ti ■1 ii h i 1 1 : ! 126 CAPTAIN COLLINSON'S JOURNAL. [June make out several sail under the Island of St. Lawrence; they appeared hampered, however, by the ice, being under easy sail standing to and fro. Three native boats came off at night, and being calm we made fast to a, sconce. . JuTie 227id. — A light air from W.S.W. enabled us soon to make sail again ; o \ at 3.40 a.m. we had the satisfaction to emerge into open water, and find the ship once more yielding to the impulse of lier canvas without the obstruction which had tantalised us nearly three weeks. We had a good look at the entrance of Port Dundas, and I hove to for a short time out of compassion to a haidar, the owners of which were paddling might and main to get up with us. We were going 5 knots again, and it was quite a pleasure to watch the ripple from her bow. In the afternoon we got again amongst some heavy floes, and a thick fog coming on, were compelled to make fast an hour before midnight. At 6 a.m. the fog lifting, we made sail, but soon found our progress obstructed by the ice ; however, both King Island and Cape Prince of Wales were in sight, and therefore I de- termined to push across to the American side at once, instead of keeping in the land water to the westward. The floes, however, proved much larger (some being six to eight miles in circumference) than any we had yet met with, and the ice occasionally totally obstructed our progress. June 25th. — At noon on the 25th King Island bore S. 65 E., the current setting 11. 0*2 per hour, and the depth of water being 28 fathoms, grey sand. The ice being vslack, we made some little advance on the 26th by working and warping out of one hole into another; and had by noon got well up with the Diomede Islands, being in lat. 65° 12' N., and long. 190° 54' E. The afternoon being clear, we had both continents in sight; that to the westward was very distinctly reflected in the clouds. We did not succeed in making so much way on the 27th, and at 6 p.m. being overtaken by a fog, which did not permit us to see our way from hole to hole, were compelled to make fast, and found the current setting to the N.W. • 6 per hour, and we were in 20 fathoms dark sand. 1851.] ARRIVE AT BEHRINC STRAITS. 127 At 7 a.ni. it cleared somewhat, and enabled us to move, giving us also a glimpse of the Fair Way Rock, bearing N.E. by K 5 miles. The wind failing in the afternoon, we clewed our sails up, and commenced warping to the east- ward, as I began to fear the northerly set might carry us too close or between the Diomedes. At night we saw three sail to the N.E. June 29th. — We continued warping all night, and suc- ceeded in clearing Krusen stern Island without experiencing any pressure, having a '^ile to spare ; the ice was, however, thrown up on the beach with great violence. Two native boats came off from the islands, in which were natives of both continents ; we could not make out to which side the islands belong, but they are no doubt a favourite haunt for the walrus fishery. At 6 p.m. we secured to a floe, being in 29 fathoms, dark sand. The current set as follows : — 8 p.m. N. by E. (true) 1 • 2 per hour. Midnight „ „ 1*0 „ 4 a.m. N. „ 0*8 June SOth. — At 5 we cast off and recommenced our labour of working and warping to the eastward, and at 6 p.m. were rewarded by getting into open water on the American shore ; but having been set considerably to the north of Cape Prince of Wales, commenced working to the sc uthward between the ice and the land. July 1st. — The wind remaining southerly, we made but small progress during the 1st against the southerly current ; and the bank laid down by Captain Beechey narrowed our channel, and kept us out in the stream. It shoals rapidly, but the least water we had :vas 4j fathoms. The Investigator, I learnt, had been pooped, and shipped a good deal of water on it last year. On the morning of the 2nd we saw two sail to the south- ward ; and at noon Cape Prince of Wales bore S. 4' W. 18 miles, and the wind drawing to the westward, we were enabled to lay along the land. At 3.30 p.m. the captain of ^%:^y » m¥ I 128 CAPTAIN COLLINSON'S JOURNAL. [July the Nancy, of Havre, came on board. He had got the ship on shore during the fog on the low point of Cape Prince c" Walec, and not thinking the ice yet sufficiently open to follow his vocation, determined to accompany us into Port Clarence, in which he was joined by his consort, the Lagoda, the latter having also received some damage about the cut- water, by the pack coming in upon her while at anchor. As we were rounding Cape Prince of Wales, several oomiaks were seen going to and fro, from King-a-ghce to the edge of the ice, walrus-fishing. One or two orsook their occupation and visited us, when, much to our gratification, we recognised one of the women we had picked up in Norton Sound ; she was no less pleased, and soon made herself quite at home. Keeping the shore aboard, we ran along under Cape York ; and at 3 a.m., July 3rd, had the gratification to exchange numbers with the Plover in Grantley Harbour. Poet Clarence. Captain Moore was soon on board, but I found he had painful intelligence to communicate, and when we got below I had the great grief to hear that Lieutenant Barnard had been cut off by the Indians. It appears that he remained at Michaelowski until the close of the year, when, taking advantage of the return of the Governor of Durabbin (the post in the interior), he accompanied him, leaving Mr. Adams and Thomas Cousins at Michaelowski. On his route he wrote two letters from Kaliska (a small station in Norton Sound opposite to Besborough Island), dated the 1st and 3rd of January, ac- quainting Captain Moore with his proceedings, and the favourable disposition of the natives, from whom he had received a report of a vessel being wrecked in the neighbour- hood of Point Br.rrow. On the 25th of February Mr. Adams at Michaelowski received a note from him, with the informa- tion that he was dangerously wounded, and that the post had been attacked by the Indians. Mr. Adams immediately 1851.] LIEUT. BARNARD'S DEATH. 129 started for the interior, but before he reached Durahhin Lieutenant Barnard had died of his wounds. It appears that on their arrival at Diirahbin the Governor sent out two men on a trading expedition to the northern branch of the YuJchana (or Yukon) ; these men never returned, and rumours reached the post that they had been cut of£ This, however, appeared to occasion no alarm, and the post was neither stockaded, nor does it appear they even took the precaution of securing the doors of the houses. The establishment consisted of two p'^'iarate dwelling places, with a cooking shed between them ; one being appropriated to the Governor, in which Lieutenant Barnard was lodged, and the other constituted the barracks of the men. The Governor, on going out of his house early on the morning of the 15 th of February, was suddenly set upon and instantly murdered by a party of Indians, who then rushed inside and opened the door of the room in which Lieutenant Barnard and the interpreter were then sleeping, and his bed being unfortunately opposite the door, they must immediately have set upon, and most likely severely wounded him before he was able to make any resistance. A powerful struggle then took place, his double-barrelled gun being found broken in the stock ; and the interpreter aiding him, they managed to clear the house, and the Indians (the alarm having been given in the barracks by a woman who from the cook- house witnessed the murder of the Governor) took to flight ; halting, however, to wreak their vengeance on a tribe of friendly natives who were located near the spot, and putting all to death they laid their hands on. The interpreter, who was also wounded, got a boy to carry the intelligence to Alichaelowski, and Lieutenant Barnard was just able to wTite a few lines to Mr. Adams, acquainting him with his condi- tion, and after lingering a few days, expired. The people who perpetrated this atrocity were part of a tribe of Indians on the northern branch of the Yukhana, through whom the Russians were in the habit of trading with the Esquimaux of the Buckland Eiver. What occasioned it it is difficult to say ; whether it originated in a quarrel with the two traders, and K ]tiv n ■ Hi ill 130 CAPTAIN COLLINSON'S JOURNAL. [July the Indians, fearing to be called to account for their death, determined to be beforehand, or whether encouraged by the faulty security in which the garrison were living, remains yet to be known. "We, alas ! had to lament the loss of one who had gained universal esteem, and I had to undergo the painful consciousness that the expedition was deprived of one of its most valuable officers, and one whom I could ill spare." " Lieut. Barnard. — The murder of this officer by the Indians was one of the heaviest of all the misfortunes experienced by the Enterprise, and, perhaps, the most depressing to its commander. This quite accidental loss of one of his best officers was enough to daunt a less resolute man, as an event ominous of future trouble. He writes to Sir K. Beaufort (the Hydrographer) : " I have to lament the loss of an able and intelligent officer, to whose ability and goodness of disposition I had looked forward as one of the main stays of the. expedition. . . . These are severe tnals which it has pleased Almighty God to inflict — murmur we must not, but steadfastly do our duty, in the fervent hope that He will eventually bless our endeavours." That part of North America then belonged to Russia ; and one of their fur-trading stations was at Michaelowski, in Norton Sound. In the course of the winter 1850-1, Lieut. Barnard went with the annual Russian party to the station of Nulato {Durahbin) on the Yucon River. The Russians were on such good terms with the Indians in those parts, and Nulato being not one hundred miles from Michaelowski, the station was unpro- tected by any palisade. But some cause for a hostile feeling of the natives against the Russians must have existed, for a Russian employe, sent by Barnard to a native village only twenty miles up the Yucon, was at once attacked by them and killed, and, immediately, a party of the Indians proceeded to the Russian station and attacked it. Very little defence would have checked them, for they only killed two white people, the Russian chief and Lieut. Barnard, and that was because they got into their house (it being early morning); and then a f^w shots dispersed them ; an extraordinary part of this affair was, that on the evening before, they attacked and burnt another Indian village only one mile from the station. Such a calamity, totally unexpected by the Russians, could not have been preguarded by the British officers ; but it told severely on the subsequent career of the expedition, and must have often come back to -[Ed.] the commander's thoughts.- The interpreter (who was well known, having served both in the Herald and Plover) under Mr. Adams' care recovered of his wounds, but previous to our arrival had died at Micha'.lowski. Captain Moore early m the spring detached 1851.] AT PORT CLARENCE. 131 Lieutenant Cooper and Mr, Bourchier to Michaelowski ; the former unfortunately becoming frost-bitten, was compelled to remain at Kaliska, where he was joined by Mr. Adams on his return from Durabhin. Mr. Bourchier managed to make his way back to the Plover, but Lieutenant Cooper and Mr. Adams had only reached that vessel on the 1st Inst., having been brought over in the Plover's launch, which Captain Moore sent for that purpose as soon as the ice opened. 1 had also the mortification to find '^oth withstanding the care taken by Captain Kellett in rem.v .ng all the men who were likely to be afliicter" with scurvy) that the Plover's ship's company had suffered severely during the winter, having had no less than eighteen scorbutic cases, and that altogether they had passed a very uncomfortable time, being frequently visited by heavy gales of wind ; which I presume will account for the ice being found so much further to the southward this season. On inspecting her people, they appeared at present in very good health, having been living on fish, venison, and ptarmigan the last three months ; but it was evident to me, that unless means occurred of changing the greater portion of her crew, another winter could not be passed without very serious consequences. I therefore determined, in case no man-of-war should arrive previous to the close of the season, to send her to the southward, and I came to this conclusion the more readily, because by her having passed two winters on this coast, a good understanding had been established with the Esquimaux ; so that I could almost feel assured that any Europeans in distress would be forwarded by their aid along the coast, and maintained until they could reach Michaelowski, where I directed Captain Moore, after making a cache in Grantley Harbour, to deposit the greater portion of his provisions. On holding a survey upon her hull, the carpenters also reported that the dry rot had spread so extensively, that in their opinion she was unfit to go among the ice, and therefore the idea of placing her at Point Barrow, where she would have been more useful, had to be abandoned. * K 2 '^r i Ij )> tf 140 CAPTAIN COLLINSON'8 JOURNAL. [JULt Noon 2 p.m. . 6 p.m., 14^ (sand) 10 p.m. 13 » Midnight. N.E. by E. (true) 1*8 per hour. E.KE. „ 1-3 N.E. by E. „ 21 E.N.E. „ 1-3 EN.E. „ 1-5 » » ilii if m . I ' !' ! h: i PCINT B.VRROW. The current after 6 a.m. carried us further from the land- water, and amongst the brash ice were some heavy floe pieces ; we therefore unshipped our rudder. At 10.40 a.m. I could see over Point Barrow into Elson Bay from the crow's nest, and made out the boat harbour on this side distinctly.^' ^^ Point Babrow. — This is the turning-point and gate of the passage eastward. Owing to tlie turn of the land here to the east, the current coming from Behring Strait runs pretty strong round the point, and being also a warm current, it keeps a narrow channel of water, more or less open, between the main pack and the shore ; but at the same time it brings along with it floes of ice, detached during the summer from the pack, and which are often grounded in the shallow water about Point Barrow. A sailing vessel is, therefore, generally in danger in rounding this point of being carried by the current against one of these grounded floes, sometimes 40 feet thick ; or, on the other hand, in trying to avoid that Scylla, she may fall into the Charybdis of touching ground on the varying shoals ; and a vessel brought to a stop in such circumstances becomes an obstacle against which the mighty floes rush in their course and rear up over each other mast high. Captain Collinson speaks of their escape from it in a {trivate letter, as " leaving a thankful remem- brance on my mind, which yet vividly pourtrays the scene, eidianced as it was by the shouting and waving of two hundred Esquimaux, who had put off' from the point in the hope, perhaps, of benefiting by our disasier." The Investigator found the same difficulty in 1850 ; and, as Kellett pointed out, the passage is sometimes entirely blocked with these floes during the whole of the open season. Directly after passing the point there is a greater breadth of channel and more space to work the vessel ; .and this freer passage continues to the Mackenzie River, where the eff'ect of that flow of warmer water creates another change. It is a happy tribute to the labours of the two Barrows, father and son, who assisted so greatly in Arctic exploration, that the two ice gates into the American Arctic seas, on the east and west sides, are both called by their name. — [Ed.] 1851.] POINT BARROW. 141 Our appearance created great sensation among the huts, and we could see a great number of people running about, besides numbers embarking in the oomiaks. As we came up with the Point we got sight of some hummocky ice, 50 or 60 feet high, which soon showed by the rapid manner in which we closed it that it was .;:^">und. Our situ ation was very critical, for the current evidently increased in rapidity, and if the ship touched either the ground or the ice aground, the most serious consequences might be expected. Most providentially, a fresh easterly wind sprung up, to which we made all sail, laying them aback, but the ice was so closely packed, that it had no effect at present ; the pack, however, appeared rather more loose nearer to the shoal, when our canvas might be of service. In a short time, by watching the large floe pieces that were ahead of us, I saw that none ever came in contact with the ice aground, but after advancing within two cables' lengths, were carried along parallel to the barrier. Our only fear then was, that there might not be sufficient depth of water for us at that distance from it. Before our time came, we could see a narrow lane of water between us and the barrier. Having made our approach within two cables, and finding 20 fa ^ihoms depth of water, my mind felt relieved, and I could now in some measure enjoy the scene on the barrier, on which nearly a hundred natives had assembled, shouting, waving, and trying to keep up with the ship, which the rapid rate we were driving at, and the rugged nature of -he ice they were on, would not permit. Some in vain sought a place where they could cross on to the packed ice we were in, but the lane of water, although narrow between it and them, ran like a mill stream ; others, embarking in their oomiaks, paddled down in the clear water between the barrier and Point Barrow, which was about one and u .lalf mile wide, and thus getting ahead of the ship, perched themselves on the pinnacles so as to get a good view ; and most likely with the same feeling that used to animate the Cornish wreckers in olden times. We were, however, not destined to be a prize to them this time, but drifted on to the E.N.E., parallel to the shoal. ii)i :'i m K 1 » 142 CAPTAIN aOLLINSON'S JOURNAL. [July and never more than a quarter of a mile from it, but not having less than 12 |athoms of water ; so that it must be very steep to. At 6 p.m. the barrier took a trend more to the east, and the ice slackening a little, we increased our distance from it by a cable's length, but were soon again close beset. The following is the set of the current throughout this day, but at times we v>ere travelling faster over the ground, sometimes approaching, but never I think exceeding, three knots : — 10 a.m. . . N. (true) l-3perhuu:. Noon, 32 fms. of water, N.E. by E. „ I'S „ 2 p.m., 24 „ „ E.KE. „ 1-3 „ 8 p.m., 14^ „ „ N.E. by E. „ 2-1 10 p.m. 13 „ „ N.N.E. „ 1-3 » Midnight E.N.E. 1-5 » July 2^th. — At 1.30 a.m. we closed the barrier nearer than we had done yet, and I believe would have lost our bowsprit had not the ship answered to the canvas which was set ; as it was, we passed very close, and had 11 fathoms of water. Immediately we had rounded this point we got among loose pieces, and so managed to get away from that which was aground. The depth of water, however, proved very irregular, and gave me some anxiety, as the shoal laid down by the Nancy Dawson was in our route ; we, however, never got less than 10 fathoms, and at 8 a.m. shipped our rudder. At noon we could see the land to the southward, but were making slow progress, the ice being again very close. During the afternoon we were frequently beset, and found the current on these occasions (much to our mortification) setting to the westward. During the 27th of July the ice opened at times, permit- ting us to make a little progress, but I don't think, notwith- standing all our studding sails and all our heav' .g with the windlass, we got ahead above a mile, nor could we perceive any current. Throughout the whole of the 28th we remained immovable except for an hour about noon, when we managed to warp 1851.] INSIDE POINT BARROW. 143 her through one or two holes. The depth of water varied from 13 to 11 fathoms, muddy bottom. On the ice, which was much broken up, were many shells {Nymphacea), which at first we supposed might have been brought there by the birds ; but coming alongside a floe on which were three large stones from 30 to 50 lbs. weight (greenstone), we could arrive at no other conclusion than that the mass we were alongside of, surrounded by ice as far as the eye could reach from the mast-head, had been in contact with the shore this season. The nearest land was ten miles distant, thus we had a curious proof of the extraordinary manner in which the floes are turned about and intermingled, and this at once gave a clue to all the dirty ice we had come in contact with last season." '^ Dust and Stones in Ice. — The phenomenon of the layers of dust in the body of the thick ice, which puzzled the captain of the Enterprise, — " The quantity of dirty ice excites the surprise of those who are accustomed to Polar navigation. Nearly a third of what we have seen is coloured with a fine impalpable powder" — (letter to Sir F. Beaufort, Aug. 31st, 1850), received some explanation from Nares' Expedition, 1875 ; during which they observed that at times when a continuance of dry weather had cleared the ground partially of snow, a strong wind would blow the fine particles of sand out on to the ice, and that duripg the summer this dust, heated by the sun, would eat into the ice. The circular holes mentioned by some voyagers are probably due to this action. Occurring in the body of thick ice seems to indicate a duration of several summers and winters. The larger stones found in ice at a distance from the land, appear to be due to the action of the floes, when driven by wind and tide on to a sloping beach ; they drive up the shingle before them until it topples over oa to the surface of the floe, and is then carried off on it when a change of wind or tide occurs. These boulders would sink into the ice during the summer, and fall through if it melted sufficiently. Dr. Rae (' Proceedings,' Physical Society), mentions another way in which boulders of all sizes get into ice floes. The shore ice, especially when forming, rises and falls with the tide, and at low water frequently rests on the beach. Any boulders it rests on gradually become frozen to the underside of the ice, and are lifted with it at high water ; and as t^ ice thickens they become imbedded in it, and may be carried out to sea. Then in the summer, the upper part of the ice melting, exposes the boulders in the body of it. {Arctic Manual.) There is another discolouration of both ic and sea which was investi- gated by Dr. Brown, and which he found due to minute jilants (Diato- moce«) ; these were of black, brown, and green colours, according to the i^. «?' ■I;; 144 CAPTAIN COLLIN SON'S JOURNAL. [Ado. different species, and extending for many miles, several miles wide, in Baffin Bay. Feeding on these are minute Crustacem and Medusse, on which again the whales feed. These Diatomacese adhere to the underside of the ice, and by their heat form small holes in it, and are found in quantities in the ice, when it is thrown up in hummocks. (^Arctic Manual.) — [Ed.] i!!'H'li I July 2^th. — We remained alongside the stones all the 29th, and could not get away from them, notwithstanding all our efforts. In the afternoon the current, which had hitherto been imperceptible, took a south-easterly bias. We had a thick fog early on the 30th, but when it cleared away we had the satisfaction to find the land somewhat closer, Point Barrow from the crow's nest bearing S.W. by S. by compass ; and what was of more importance to us, open water to the south not more than three or four miles distant. We, however, scarcely made any way till the afternoon, when by warping and boring we got into such loose stuff, that at 9.30 I shipped the rudder. It was, however, past 2 a.m. on the 31st that we got into the land- water, the edge of the pack being in 7^ fathoms. The temperature of the sea immediately rose from 32° to 37°, and eventually reached 46° during the day. As we stood into the land, which was from throe to four miles distant, the water shoaled very gradually, and at 3.40 we tacked off the easternmost islet visited by Captain Moore last year, being iD 3^ fathoms, and less than a mile from the shore. Continuing to work to the eastward between the ice and the shore, which consisted of low sandbanks, with a large expanse of water between them and the main, we reached Point Tangent at noon. From the crow's nest many deer were seen, and I could plainly make out the cliff on the east bank of Dease Inlet. The mainland was very little elevated above the sea, its unevenness only being distinguishable by the numerous tarns. To the east of Point Tangent we found a pole stuck up, which I sent Lieutenant Phayre to examine. Nothing, however, of a European character was found about it, and it is most likely an Esquimaux guide post when the snow falls. Ht4%*- 1851.] POINT BARROW TO CAPE BATmiRST. 14r> Auf/mt 1st. — Making short boards off to the pack, which at times was not more than three, while at others it was eight and nine miles from the land, in which case the water gradually increased to 9 fathoms ; in the afternoon two haidars came off, from whom we purchased some geese and reindeers' flesh, tobacco as usual being the main object witli them. Neither Mr. Adams or Cousins could understand them, showing how much the dialects differ along the coast. August 2nd. — In the morning watch of the 2nd two more oomiaks came alongside, having a number of geese, a few ducks, and some venison, wdiich were regularly exchanged for tobacco, and after a little difficulty we persuaded them to come on board. Dr. Anderson, finding one of the women had a box inside her deerskin coat, induced her to produce it, on which, much to his astonishment, he found a wooden cnulle hollowed out, in which was deposited one of the dolls so prettily dret:sed and fitted up for the expedition by Mrs. Washington ; there was no mistaking it, even had its name "Harriette" not remained still pinned on it. I had un- fortunately not taken notice of the young ladies' names, when I gave them away, otherwise I should have been able to identify exactly where it had come from. I had, however, only parted with them at Point Hope and Tort Clarence, and taking the nearest of the two, this article of European manufacture must have travelled rather more than 400 miles since September last, a proof of the migratory habits of these people. Besides one or two useful presents, I added " Clemence " to '' larriette." Having the wind from the N.N.W. we were able to lay along the land, but were soon driven closer in shore by the packed condition of the ice ; the day being dull and misty, no observations could be got, which was the more provoking as by our reckoning we were sailing over Cape Halkett. In crossing Harrison Bay the weather still remained thick, so that we never saw anything of the Felly Mountains. As we approached the Colville the colour of the water changed and it became evidently brackish. Owing to the hazy state of the atmosphere we could not see into the mouth of the river, which !lf ,.,'i i •■■!■ * "iir 4 i i;!-'^' i 11 Iliii m ' t nil 146 CAPTAIN COLLIN SON'S JOURNAL. [Aug. I much regretted ; on one occasion, however, we tacked in 9 fathoms on our inshore leg. The main body of the ice was as far as ten or twelve miles from the land ; many large floes were, however, strewed about this space, and the ice became cleaner and more compact. At noon by our latitude, which was a pretty good observation, we were two miles inland ; the coast line, therefore, of this point and Capo. Halkett I have placed five miles further south than Simpson.^* " The position of Cape Halkett and adjoining coast, in latitude, has been corrected accordingly in the later Admiralty charts. — [Ed.] At 10.30 p.m. we passed over a ridge with 6 fathoms on it, the water inshore deepening to 7^. The wind continuing from the eastward, we passed the whole of the 4th August in working to windward, between the ice and the shore. The land-water was now become strewed with large floe pieces, which caused us to lose much gi.'ound. Off lieturn Eeef several of them were aground, and a current driving past them to the westward ; in the short tacks we were compelled to make (the main body of the ice being closer here than we had yet seen it), we had the misfortune to fall foul of one piece, and by the shock carry away our anchor stock. The haze, which had been very inconvenient yesterday, thickened this morning into a fog, ana afLer beating about som^ time without making anythinr^ to windward in consequence of having to bear up so frequently to avoid the floes, I made fast to a large one at 11 a.m. and took in some water, getting our anchors well up and as much out of the reach of the ice as circumstances would admit. With the horizon on the floe we got a very good latitude, nothwithstanding the fog, which however cleared off at 1 p.m., and the Eomanzoff Chain opened to our view. With the exception of the highest peak no snow was to be seen upon them ; and thankful at last we had picked up some landmarks whereby to fix the ship, and enable us to lay down the coast line with a little more accuracy than an eye-sketch, the necessary angles for determining the position of the most remarkable peaks were obtained. True south of us, distant about tvo miles, was a 1851.] POINT n ARROW TO CAPE DATUURST. 147 low shingle bank, beyond which we could see Point Anxiety ; and to the westward, lying from two to four miles from the main, the low chain of islets, along which we had been working in the haze, could be traced as far as Chandos Point. Making sail and working along shore, we found the sand- banks continuous to the Lion Eeef ; on some of them were ice hummocks and mounds 10 to 20 feet above high- water mark ; and now we began to see driftwood on the beach in great abundance. Inside the banks the water was entirely free from ice, with the exception of a few grounded pieces; otf the N.E. point of almost all of them the ice remained yet aground. We reached the Lion Eeef half an hour before midnight, and were then overtaken by a rain squall from the S.E., which gave us a welcome lift of twelve miles to the eastward before it left us, which it did shortly after 2 a.m., August 6th. At 7, it being calm, and our boats unable to gain ground against the current, we came to with the kedge, and found it to be running W. by N. (true) 0*5 per hour. At 9.30 a breeze from the N.E. brought some heavy floes down upon us, and we had a difficulty in getting our anchor, and then made slow progress against both wind and current The water shoaling more rapidly than usual, in one of our inshore tacks we took the ground in stays, and while we were endeavouring to heave off with a kedge, a squall similar to the one last night came to our aid, and we got afloat at 8.45 p.m. This breeze was more violent and accompanied by lightning, causing an increase of 20° in the temperature of the air. It continued fresh until mid- night, we running before it, and avoiding the loose pieces of ice with some difficulty owing to the rain, through which however we got a glimpse of Flaxman Island, wiiich appeared about 20 feet liigh. Towards the forenoon of the 7th, the wind drawing by west to north, the atmosphere became very clear, giving us a fine view of the whole range. To the east of Flaxman Island there are four sandbanks, and then a broad opening, opposite to which is the entrance of a large lagune. Barter Island, which we came up with at 8 a.m., and m t 111'! ran along within a mile of the shore, in 4 fathoms^ li'r. '! iv ;< ! I' iv ii >1il i I; i 148 CAPTAIN COLLINSON'S JOURNAL. [Aua. had much driftwood on it and several hut3. At times we thought we heard the natives, hut we never saw any. Tlie r.iain body of the ice was pretty close to I'oint Manning, but having a leading wind, we did not exj)erience the same difficulty in getting past it as we did at Point Anxiety. Under the cliffs, which are from 30 to 40 feet above the sea, and the highest land we had seen yet at the sea- side since we left Point Barrow, was a sleigh." See Note 15, Appendix : Low Land, American Coast. The wind chopping to the N.E., brought with it so thick a fog, that we were obliged to make fast to a floe at 4, and here we remained until 10 p.m., wlien it cleared sufficiently to see our road among the numerous floes. The current during the time we were fast ran N.N.E. (true) 0*5 per hour. A fog again compelled us to secure the ship at 3 a.m., August 8th, but clearing away again at 9, we made another start ; the wind being light obliged us to keep a boat ahead, to prevent lier falling off. At 5.30 p.m. there being little or no wind, recourse was had to warping, which we continued but with small result until 1 a.m., when a W.S.W. air enabled us to make sail, but we had great difficulty in steering the ship. Two black whales were seen, and the ice appeared now to be leaving the coast, so much so that at noon we were in 17 fathoms of water, and sliortly afterwards passed through a stream of driftwood trending N.N.W. and S.S.E. The current at the surface ran E. by S. (true), 0*5 per hour, and at 10 fathoms N.N.E. -} E., 0*2 per hour; the temperature of the sea rising to 49° left us little doubt but that we had now reached the influence of the Mackenzie." See Note 16, Appendix : Kiver Mackenzie. Our westerly wind as usual came to us in the middle watcli, to which we spread all sail, finding ourselves almost in an open sea, scarcely any ice to be seen. At 7, August 10th, however, we came up with heavy floes, pretty closely packed, and I began to fear we had done wrong in forsaking the land, and that we had thus lost a fair wind ; but after making one I M '^A*Uw 1851.] POINT D ARROW TO CAPE BATIIURST. 149 tack, trusting to a water sky, we pushed in among tlieni, and were soon rewarded by getting in sight of blue water the other side, and at 1 p.m. emerged again into the open sea, having no ice whatsoever in sight to the eastward. Inshore (the land was now 28 miles off), we had a few straggling ])ieces, and the depth of water was 28 fatlioms. Falling calm at 9 p.m. the current was tried, and found to set W.S.W. (true) 0*7 per hour. Before midnight a light north-easterly air sprang up, but we were obliged to keep a boat ahead constantly to prevent the undertow sweeping her head to leeward. The breeze freshened during the forenoon, and we hailed a short jumping sea as indicative of a wide expanse of water to the eastward ; we made long boards reaching off to the pack, and occasionally entering the bights in hopes of discovering land to the northward. On the 12th August, the wind again falling, we again experienced a great deal of difficulty in steering ; notwithstanding the boats ahead and all our trimming of sails, she turned round and round with us several times. The wind still falling light in the afternoon, we sliifted our suit of sails so as to be ready for the autumn breezes. We made little or nothing on the 13th, and the weather being thick got no observations. In hopes of getting more out of the current, I stood on towards the land in the afternoon, and tacked in 15 fathoms probably about 12 miles from it, and at 10.15 p.m. tacked inshore off some large floe pieces. Getting an observation on the 14th, we found our true position 19 miles to the south- ward and westward, part of which (although a large allowance had been made in consequence of the difficulty of steering) may be owing to error. The weather cleared up and we could see Herschel Island to the southward, with a quantity of ice to the westward of it ; the British, Buckland, and liichardson Mountains were also in sight ; and from the crow's nest the ice could be traced from N.E. round by north to W.S.W. The 15th proved thick with drizzling rain, and we got no observation ; and at 5 p.m. we tacked to the southward off the ice. During the IGth we had again great trouble to keep the ship's head to windward, and getting \\i' ! ■ l:k| ■'■-■■il M tl :i l' ! I ill II 160 CAPTAIN COLLINSON'S JOURNAL. [Aug. some poor observations, had the mortification to find that we had been driven to westward of our position on the 11th. We found the water deepen very suddenly, getting no bottom with 140 fathoms on our offshore tacks among heavy floes; and standing inshore 10 miles, had 35 fathoms. On the 17th August, the wind came from the shore, enabling us to make way to the eastward, but bringing with it a thick fog ; we got embayed iu u floe, and were for a short time in a very awkward predicament, i.e., alongside of it with a nasty swell running, Mr. Atkinson, however, cleverly managed to jump on the ice, and fixing an anchor for us, we soon gave her stern way by bringing the whale line to the bowsprit end, and she tailed clear without doing herself any harm. The fog clearing off we got sight of the land, but losing our breeze had again the same difficulty in steering. At noon we had 130 fathoms mud, and in the afternoon picked up a drift tree 68 feet in length, apparently not long in the water. On the weather-side of most of the floes driftwood was washed, and during the day we passed tlirough several streams of it. At 4 a.m. on the 18th the edge of the ice trended N.N.E. and S.S.W. ; we got but indifferent observations and sounded in 145 fathoms. A south-westerly wind however came to our aid, and enabling the ship to move through the water above three knots, we w^ere at lengtli able to steer her. On its dying away again on tlie 19th August I tried Lang's rudder, in hopes that would keep her head in the right direction, but althouu'h the boats were ahead she would have her own way. We found the current as follows : 2.30 a.m.,E. by N. (true) 1-0 per hour. Noon, N. by E. „ 0-5 „ 5 p.m., S. W. 0-7 A westerly air sprung up at 9 p.m., which increased towards the morning, and we found ourselves at 6.30 in 11 fathoms. At 9 we got sight of the Pelly Islands bearing S. 25 E. true, and at noon saw another island to the E.N.E. of them. In the afternoon a second was seen. Our observations place them in : 1851.] POINT BARROW TO CAPE liATIIURST. IT)! and Latitude GO" 37' N., and Longitude 134" 32' W. G9°39'N., „ „ 134° 10' W. They were but little elevated above the sea, and between them there was some lieavy ice apparently aground. At 0.30 p.m. the current set W. by S. i S. 0*6 per hour. „ 11 „ .. .. W.byS. 0-4 „ „ 2 a.m., 21st „ „ W. by N. 0-3 In the afternoon, August 21st, we came up with and passed through some loose streams. The wind failing again on the 22nd, we had the same trouble in steering the ship ; but on this occasion no current was perceptible either on the surface or at a depth of fathoms. At noon we were in 69° 49' N. and 132° 58' W. A remarkable knob on the land (which whea the mist would admit we had never lost sight of since making the Pelly Islands) bore S. 16 E. true ; and we were in 7 fathoms water, which shoaled to 4 at 1 p.m., when we tacked to the north, and reached the pack edge after a N. by E. (true) course of 12 miles. On our inshore tack, after 10 miles run, we again got into shoal water, having 3J^ fathoms coarse sand and black specks. On standing in again, we passed over the bank, getting not less than 4f fathoms, the depth inshore being 6^ fathoms. The limit of the bank easterly will therefore be 132° 30', and it lies 30 miles to the north of Toker Point. In the afternoon we had smoother water, getting probably somewhat under the lee of Cape Dalhousie, and stood into 6 fathoms, being then 16 miles from the land. Making a long leg to the nortli of 38 miles, after passing among loose floes we tacked, at 11.40, off what looked very like the pack edge ; and then going into the shore fetched the sandy point off Cape Brown, getting 5 fathoms 2 miles from the beach. A remark- able knob on the land bore S. 3° 13' E. ; the bottom, generally speaking, was mud. but every now and then we had a cast with sand and broken shells. On reaching off 34 miles, we could distinctly trace the ice, from E.N.E. (true) b^'^ N. to S.W. On the 25th August, we passed among loose 't— 'f ■"'1 - ^■1 r \ )■■!! mm II 152 CAPTAIN COLLIN SON'S JOURNAL. [Ai'o. pieces, but much wasted, some of it, however, being still very compact. Cape Bathukst — Tuun North. On the 2r)th a southerly wind enabled us to steer a course, and was too precious to be wasted in looking' into Cape Uiithurst; so makinj^ all sail, wo were soon not only goini,' 7 knots, but had actually run out of sight of every particle of ice. At 1 P.M. the Booth Islands and Capo l*arry were seen, on which we sliaped a course for WoUaston Lind. During the first watch we had every appearance of land to the north of us ; and before midnight had the satisfaction to find it was not Cape Flyaway, and hauled to the northward to close it, getting no bottom with 100 fathoms of line. August 2Qth. — As we approached the shore we could plainly make out three separate ridges or islands, terminating to the westward in a bold perpendicular head, to which the name of Cape Erebus (now Nelson Head) was given. At noon we were in 70° 54' N. and 120° 59' W., and at 5 p.m. got soundings in 78 fathoms, red clay. The wind remaining light and baffling, until the morning, when it settled to the northward, we worked to windward, and tacked at 4 . 40 a.m. in 9 fathoms, about 4 miles from the shore, along which were ice cliffs ; standing in again at 8 . 45, we tacked in 7 fathoms, 2 miles from the beach, which the hills approached by a gradual slope. A few straggling pieces of ice were off the land, but otherwise the sea was perfectly open. At noon, August 27th, we were in latitude 71° 27', and longitude 120° 3' ; shortly after which land was dis- covered to the eastward. After making a short tack, we stood towards it, and at 7 were less than a mile from the southern end of a low island (on which a bear was walking), and had 5:^ fathoms. Inside of the island was a deep bay, the bottom of which could not be seen. Then crossing over to the western shore, we ascertained that the gulf or strait was 25 miles wide, and had 90 fathoms in mid-channel ; therefore worth exploring. In the morning, August 28th, we had uqt made much progress, and from the crow's nest I i 9 ' ■ ' ft K V fi-, ' i si^ ■ 1 h"'' iiff i ^'k ." ■ i ; fii^, .' ll ii '•11 fiR .' ». I i m 130' 74 ^ 125° UO" ^^c B E A IT F OR T E A Very old emit impeTvetrahle tea -PCelcLa . .«i MAP OF allowing the tracks oP KM^. Enterprise ANo Investigator in leso-sA. 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IBSX H^i^', Gr e ■ Vj "tt^ C jWworflLiA iow Plains o F VAIiH iAX (Tl01TIX,f« ■Hi %. c.c ■•%. ^ (J)ease S, StTTtpaimlSSH) V I c 'I a 11 1 A. IVtlU^son If and in & r^onalion (MlT Al A Jl I> e;tF,dfvard^ Bhrran n f^ i,t^ %$- ^««^' ^ ;as Jtortber/ •iffiti&§ijM ^^. JB«eohsf **»a«i, >'. -.*«^/' ■>anitaa ^Rotk3 ■ o » B^d. Sarut3t\ SieepC *»4 ,. j^f^tfSishin^tffny <^^. ^jgjoitnell f^gy ^ f*«rr«/*t • otfTwi^:' Mfjlwuu*'f r^LeopcUL I WORTH REOBNT 74 Sio M E R S E T r iiriiErr -V, PasleyBay BOO Galesh»ad.l| C.Kicliolas avyJTu/njnoil jf Bay • St, _. f I r-mm _■ i^^m >h ) ^ii i i^ ■ I f E onrfitude West 110° tTom.Greenwic'h SmpSOQ Stir ^f^'^^ (ymofyz v^ *«*, a Gnanit > nocw ^laide rVuW^ Cre swell " jjg Bay re. Carry n .)e(;bi«5s: »CSeoresby r CJbytBrhury CJEatep ^£c%mB? ^JCartErUf | I 2051 lao rB J Vi- fflrwrB- He*' j ING WILLIAM LASTD ^'i*'*?'^ •cC X «^ r^'cs." La CBrrcchtl .« iLAID i •■SiKaring Land to the north ; but I could not see Melville Island. FuitTiiEST North. Our furthest point reached in that direction, August 31st, was lat. 73° 30', and long. 114" 35' W., and to the eastward in lat. 73° 25' we reached 114° 14' W. long. Bearing up at 3 a.m., with the determination of putting the ship into a small bight we had noticed on Baring Land ; when, however, we reached it, we found it choked with ice since the previous afternoon ; the ice was streaming very fast on both sides of the strait, and we now found it much further inside than it Wets yesterday. During the forenoon we passed a bottle, but got nothing for our pains in picking it up. I then hauled across the strait to examine what promised to be a protected bay, but on sounding it was found too shallow. As we were now within 40 miles of the Investigator's winter quarters, and therefore could not expect to do more than re-examine the same ground she had done, I came to the conclusion of running for Cape Erebus, and looking for a harbour «3n the western side of Baring Land; all sail was made accordingly, and at 3 a.m., September 1st, a boat was sent to the Princess Eoyal Islands to deposit information and obtain a little water, some of that we had got from the flies having turned out brackish. The current, which had aided us in our progress northerly through the straits, at an average of 2 knots per hour, now assisted our return, and is therefore caused by the wind. At 8.45 p.m. we rounded the S.E. point of Baring Land, off which were still the same floe pieces w^e had seen before ; and on one of them was a bear, which (our dogs l)eing much in want of food, besides the chance of affording a fresh meal to ourselves) I could not resist tlie temptation of striving to get. Mr. Phayre, iu the whaler, succeeded in shooting him in the water without difficulty. We then hauled to the westward for Cape Erebus (Nelson Head). Our days had now begun to show symptoms of closing, and not wishing to pass what appeared to me to ^oraise a good harbour, I hove to during part of the middle I; ! iil' i 1, i i II If' 1^ 11 :, £• LJol^Ji r . . J 72- ino CAPTAIN COLLINSON'S JOURNAL. [Seii'. . J 70 5J' / J watch ; and when daylight broke sufficiently wo kept along shore, and now found the land continuous, and not broken into islands, as I had imagined when we first made it. At 6, September 3rd, I left to examine what appeared to be an inlet inmiediately to the east of Cape Erebus. On landing it proved to be a large lagoon, with two shallow outlets ; about the shores of it were a great many musk ox heads, apparently very old ; but the tips of some of the horns having been cut off with a sharp instrument, showed that man had been here. We also found an old paddle, much weather-worn, con- siderably above high-water mark, besi' es which the heaps of stones in the vicinity of the skulls were evidently caches ; but no recent traces of natives were seen. Several flowers were out in great beauty, giving me a more favourable opinion of the climate and soil than I had hitherto. Having established the fact that there was no shelter here for the ship, I returned on board at 10.45, and we made sail round the cape, which is a very remarkable headland, being of a totally different character from the adjacent country. The cliffs rise very abruptly from the sea to the height of 800 feet, being streaked red horizontally, which I found in the course of my morning's walk proceeded from the presence of iron ore. At the distance of 2^^ miles from shore we had 117 fathoms water. Our observations place it in 71° 03' N., and 122° 50' W. The land, on rounding it, was found to trend to the north. The wind continuing to blow from the north- ward and westward, we had to work to windward, and found the coast very steep to. The clitis soon began to lose their elevation north of the cape, and at length entirely dis- appeared, giving place to round hills, on which there was a good deal of j^rass. Light and baffling winds kept us in sight of it during September 4th ; but on the morning of the 5th the wind coming from the eastward enabled us to steer a course along sliore. I sent Mr. Phayre in the whaler in shore of us to examine any bights that might afford shelter to the sliip, and also to prevent our missing any marks which might be erected. Keeping in 11 fathoms about 2 miles from the shore, we soon saw two bears on the beach ,fl 1851.] SOUTH SIDE DARING LAND. IR- ahead of the boat. Lieutenant Jago being on the hills walking, Mr. Phayre landed one man to warn him, and then ran along under sail towards them. The cub took inland, and the mother, after receiving the discharge from the boat, took to the water. The former being turned by Mr, Jago and Neptune, came down to the beach, where the dog kept him at bay in the most capital style, sometimes jumping over him, until at length he also took to the water, on which the dog immediately followed, and we sent a boat from the ship, which soon despatched him; while a third boat pursued and killed the mother, she having then got nearly two miles from the land. The chase altogether was very exciting, as from the ship we had a perfect view of the operations of all parties. A second cub was afterwards seen on tlie beach, but having expended an hour in the chase, I could not afford to lose any more of our fair wind. Shortly after noon we came in sight of a larg? expanse of water inland, which pre -"ised to afford the desired harbour, I sent a second boat t^ examine, but both returned at 4.30, having found a s .low bar across the entrance. We then altered our course cc the westward, to pass outside of a long low projecting spit, opposite to which we were at 11.30 p.m., when I hove to for daylight. September Qth. — When it broke, we found ourselves opposite to a deep bight, the southern extreme of which w. lormed by a long low narrow tongue, but little elevated alwv^e the sea, and curved at the end.* Entering the bay and finding it shallow, with several sand-banks, two boats were despatched to examine it. One going to the eastward, found the channels between the sands all too shallow to admit the ship; the other, finding a cask with a notice from the Investigator on the spit, returned immediately. It was dated on board of her August 18th, and by it we learnt that she had left the Prince of Wales Straits on the 16th, so that she must have doubled Cape Erebus only ten days before we sighted it, and had the wind at that time been from the eastward, instead of the west, * Cajx! Kellctt. :iif -M i 1 if 'Hi I m ■m -ii 'I l s :)4| I -'it 3 r 14 H i I -i . 72 _ TO j1 M" erf — 168 CAPTAIN COLLINSON'S JOUIiNAL. [Seit. I should probably have explored the west face of Baring Land, instead of entering the Prince of Wales Straits ; and then most likely we should have fallen in with her. The point appearing sufficiently curved to afford us shelter for the winter, I then determined to employ what remained of the season in pusliing north, and depositing provisions for our exploring parties. On running out of the bay, we had the misfortune to get on shore on a sand ridge three miles from the north point '. the bay, and which had apparently deep water inside of it. This occurred at noon, but it was 7 p.m. before we extricated ourselves from a very unpleasant position; providentially the water was very smooth, but had there been any swell she must have bumped very hard, as the bottom was sand. On making sail, we found the coast now shoal to, not getting more than 5 fathoms, and being six miles from the land. Hauling to the westward, we soon found ourselves among floes of heavy ice, apparently but recently broken up. On the 7th of September at 4 a.m., the packed ice extended from N. by W. to W.S.W. At nine we were off a small islet, and found the main body of the ice close to it, and the open water so strewed with floes, as to render it very doubtful whether we could turn to windward among them. I therefore determined on returning to the south, believing that a westerly wind would cut off our retreat to the only harbour we had seen, and leave us exposed on a shoal shore. I sent Mr. Phayre, therefore, to erect a mark, and deposit twenty days' provisions for eight men, with infor- mation of our proceedings and of my intentions. The islet, which I named after the Terror, is in lat. 72° 52' K, and long. 125° 24' W. ; it is about 180 feet high, being one mile from the main, and has a sandy spit extending south-easterly from it. A point of land bore N. J E. true from it, but the intervening coast could not be traced. The ice mates were of opinion that the ice here had only just left tlie coast ; and not finding any notice from Capt. M'Clure, I came to the con- clusion that, finding the pack close in with the land, he had followed its edge to the southward and westward, with a view of tracing the influence of the Mackenzie on it, and 1851.. WEST SIDE BAIilNO LAND. 169 i thus exploring the intervening sea between us and I'oint Barrow as far as it would admit. At 10 p.m. we got back into more open water, but finding ourselves in 5;^ fatlioms with an easterly swell, I hauled off shore into seven and eight. We got back into West Bay the next afternoon, and came to an anchor half a mile from the north-east end of the spit. I then sent a boat to sound inside. Mr. Skead on his return reported a sufficient depth of water, but that it was exposed ; and recollecting the rapid way in which we had seen the bight at the north end of Prince of Wales Strait fill, I came to the same conclusion. We weighed at daylight, and stood up into the S.E. corner of the bay, the channel between the sandbanks in this portion of it not having yet been examined. The boat, however, returned with the report that there was only ten feet of water between them ; I had, therefore, to relinquish the idea of wintering here ; and now I fell back on the inlet we had seen at the entrance to the Prince of Wales Straits, which had promised, like it, to lead into the Arcliipelago of Victoria, Wollastou, and Prince Albert Lands. We therefore stood out, and had a narrow escape in passing the spit, off wliich the sand runs in ridges, evidently turned up by the heavy ice grounding, and rendering it impossible for a person to judge on which side he is likely to find deeper water. We had a cast under 3 fathoms, but under the favour of God she did not strike ; getting an offing, I kept more to the west, sighting the ice on our off shore tacks, and thus tracing it as far as Tl"^ 15', wlien the pack edge was to the eastward of 127°. The wind freshened considerably from the south-eastward on tlie 10th of September, bringing with it an uneasy sea, which led me to congratulate myself on being extricated from among the heavy floes, which the period of darkness now would have rendered difficult to avoid. During the lltb, the wind moderating, we made some progress to the south- ward, sighting Cape Erebus in the afternoon. Being close in shore during the forenoon of the 12th, I sent Mr. Phayre to get a turn of water, and leave information of where it was likely we would be found. The Cape bore S. G5 E. 22 miles Ml I , 3' ii m erf- IGO CAPTAIN COLLIN SON'S JOURNAL, [Sept. at noon, but it was 10 p.m. before we rounded it, and l)oro away for Bear Island, which we reached at noon on the 13th. A long ground swell rolling in, and getting very uneven soundings, compelled me to haul off, and on sending a boat we found the anchorage under it too open. Towards night the wind fell, and at 4 a.m. the whaler was sent to examine the inlet. We remained becalmed until noon, when we were enabled to follow ; and at 4.30 Mr. Skead returned with the welcome intelligence of having found a well protected anchorage, in which we came to at 7.45 p.m."' ^^ " The I.>'VEStigator, 1850-.')!. — After iho Investigator \\nr\Gi\ from tlie Herald on July 31, 1850, slie had tho good fortune to get through tlic ire gate at Point Barrow on August 5ih, being thus tho first ship to navigate the channel along the North Amcriciin coast; though not the first to |>a!-s Point Parrow, Mr. Shedden having succeeded iu doing so in the Nancy Datvson yacht in 184'J. it is a good evidence of the; difli- culty f'f navigating that channel even in a favourable season, that she took the same time to reach Cape Bathurst as did the Enterprise in August, 1851, namely, twenty-five days, the distance direct being 700 miles: a passage wliich a steam vessel would have done in less than a week. It is the absence of favourable winds and the resistance of the ice floes which waste the opjjortunities of sailing ships in Arctic seas. She tried to get M. before reaching Cape Bathurst, but was stopped liy tlie solid pack, after working along a Luie of water for one hundred miles from land. She found an open sea, as did the Enterjyrise next year, opposite Cape Parry, probably due to the turn of the warm easterly current up towards the Prince of Wales Straits; and worked up those straits to near the northern entrance. But there the stream of the ice floes which come through the channel between Banks Land and Melville Island and down the straits, completely barred further advance, altliough it was the most favourable time of a favourable season. She wintered near Princess Poyal Islands in the open channel, in the midst of the pack ice: a situation M'Clure had expressed his resolve to adopt, but which after Jiis exj)erience that winter, he avoided on the next occasion. Several other vessels have i)assed an Aictic winter in the midst of the open ice field, beyond the shelter of land, without serious injury; but the record of the Investigator shows that it is a situation of perpetual anxiety and ceaseless danger; more especially at the setting of the ice in September, and at its breaking up in July, but also during the winter from the movement of the ice by the tides a currents. And she did not get free till August 16th, 1851. The Captain, however, had his reward. On October 26th, 1850, he reached, with a sledge party, the north-western point of the straits, and from a height of GOO feet looked over a stretch of ice, hilly enough, but 1851.] PliOCEEDINOS OF THE INVESTIGA7VR. 161 unbroken by laml, upon that Molvillo Island, from which, thirty years befiiio, Captain E. Parry had lirHt soon the point M'Oluro was tlion standing oil. Tlioiif^h it was sixty miles distant, no Arctic sailor could doubt that thq only obstacle to prevent the Investigator reaching it was the field of ice bt'fore him ; and, therefore, that he veritably saw with his own eyes thq hist link in the N.W. Passage which had been sought in vain by British Huauien for more than two hundred years. And as he himself had ju8|; successfully made some 1200 miles of that chain of discovery, it was $ proud moment for that daring commander. But alas ! for bumau ambition ; he had no sooner grasped the object of his desires iu coming to the Arctic seas than he discovered its absolute nsolossness. No seaman could look on that field of ice hummocks, and knowing that it covered a far greater thickness below water, without feeling that no ship could expect to cross it but at some exceptional season of rare occurrence. 'I his was the verdict of Parry when ho discovered it iu 1821, and of M'Clintock when he saw it in 1851 and 1853, and of CoUinsoa in 1851, and the Invest iyator herself still remains on that side of it, a jierpetual evidence that although it is a N.W. Passage it is not one which could ever be available for any ordinary navigation. So in 1851 she turned back down the Prince of Wales Straits again, and then, full of the prevalent idea at that time of getting to the N.W., M'Clure worked his way round the west side of Banks Island, along the narrow channel of water between the massive pack and the shore ; a channel which is found in summer along the coast of almost all Arctic lauds, and which appears to bo formed partly by the action of the tides, and partly '^y the currents ; in this case undoubtedly by a branch of the warm current from IJeliring Straits coming along the main coast of America, as is evidenced by the drift timber along the shores of Banks Island, which could only come from that coast. As the Investigator came to the north of the island she met with the huge ice hummocks like little bergs, peculiar to the open Polar Ocean, and which are continually driving through the straits between Banks Island and Melville Island into Melville Sound beyond. After more than the ordinary escapes from being crushed between the exceptionally massive moving floes, she was finally ice- bound in an inlet on the N. coast on Sept. 23rd, 1851 ; to which, in acknowledgment of their providential escape, the Commander gave the name of the Bay of Mercy, and there her timbers remain, as far as we know, to this day. During those fortunate two months of August and September, 1850 and 1851, the Investigator had done much to enlarge our geographical know- ledge of the N.W. coast of America, besides discovering the Prince of Wales Straits and the insularity of Banks Land, and a N.W. Passage. The Enterprise has an equal merit in most of these discoveries, having made them in ignorance of the information obtained by her consort, and even of her intentions as to the course she proposed to pursue ; but in such explorations the old rule of " First come, first served " is the only one by whi'- a government can be guided in dispensing the regulated M I] m ''I I m 1 'n Tii V.S^, IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) ^0 /- r/ M ^ ^ 1.0 I.I 11.25 u lii 12.2 L£ 12.0 SI u iiiSi U 11.6 > <^*' ■^ '/ '^.V^ '^ 162 CAPTAIN COLLINSON'S JOURNAL. [Sept. J 101 rewards for such disooveries. What the Enterprise was entitled tn and did not get, was an aclinowledgmcnt of the merit, under peculiar ditli- cultics, of having made the same discoveries, and more extensive un that an ex- pedition fully prepared to prosecute an extensive search northward should be despatched in 1852. Attached, to Captain Austin's expedition were two small vessels under the command of Mr. W. Fenny, a famous Arctic whaling voyager ; he explored WelliDgton Channel up to Baillie Hamilton Island, and fountl no traces ; although we now know that Franklin's shi|)8 went up that channel in 1846 much farther north than that island. Mr. Penny's vessels returned with Captain Austin. Inhere were also two private expeditions up Baffin Bay in 1850, one consisting of the Prince Albert under Captain Forsyth, R,N., and tlie other of the Felix and Mary under Sir John Ross. The Prince Albert examined Prince Regent's inlet and returned in the autumn of 1850, but sailed again in 1851 under Mr. Kennedy, and wintered 1851-52 in thu same !nlet, and explored it as far as Bellut Straits, returning home in 1852. Sir John Boss wintered 1850-51 at Cornwallis Island, and returned in 1861. None of these vessels tound any traces of Franklin's expedition. And there was also the United States Expedition under Lieutenant de Haven, which went up Baffin Bay into Ikrrow Straits in 1850, and was caught in the ice in the autunm of that year, and had an astonisliing experience of a winter in the open pack, having been carried up Wellmg- 1851.] PROCEEDINGS OF EASTERN EXPEDITIONS. 163 ton Chnnnel, and then down it, and out through Barrow Straits into Baffin Bay, and down that Bay as far as the Arctic circle before they were liberated from the ice in the summer of 1851. And, lastly, 'there were the land and boat exploring parties. Com- mander PuUen {Plover) from Behring Straits to the Mackenzie River in 1849, and towards Cape Bathurst in 1850; in returning from Capo Bathurst westward in the latter year, PuUen passed the Mackenzie Eiver a day after M'Clure in the Investigator had passed it going eastward. Such were the mischances of Arctic exploration. And Dr. Rae (Hudson's Iky Co.) began his long series of searches on that northern coast, ending in the discovery of the true traces. In 1851 he explored from Prince of Wales Straits to Victoria Straits and found the first of those traces, some ]iicct s of wood in the latter straits afterwards confirmed to be part of the iiii.ssing ships. But land or boat exploring parties are not prepared to winter on that coast ; he therefore had to return south, and did not finally succeed in following up the clue he had got till 1854. Thus it happened that in the winter of 1851-52 of the thirteen vessels which had been engaged in the search, only three remained, the Enter- prise in Prince of Walts Straits, the Investigator on the norih of Banks Island, and the Prince Albert in Prince Regent's Inlet ; and none of them were aware of the presence of the others. — [Ed.] I :i:;:P] l;^.4;l'.i h ■ [ h i i M 2 164 CAPTAIN COLLIN SON'S JOUHNAL. [Sett. 70 / SECTION IX. Prince of Wales Straits. Winter 1851-2. September \5th, — Havinj^ come to the conclusion that tliese would most likely be our winter quarters, the secontl' whaler under Lieutenant Parkes was despatched to examine the north-east side of the inlet ; the bottom of which we had not distinctly seen ; and also to erect marks on the point opposite Bear Island (Hamsay Island), so as to direct any parties travelling along the coast to us. At daylight I reached the summit of the hill over our anchorage, and found we were inside a projecting point in the centre of the bay, the bottom of which I could not see on either side ; but about half a mile to the north-east was the narrow entrance to a very good harbour. The bays also east and south of us appeared more eligible position- than where we now were. Leaving word with the seniv.: lieutenant to send out a shooting party, and to warn them that the ship would most probably move southward and eastward, unless I found the inlet near us deep enough to admit the ship, I set out to examine them. First looking at the harbour near us, I fijund only ten feet of water at the mouth, so it would not do. Then going to the southward, at the distance of two miles, I turned up the eastern arm, which proved to be three miles long and one and a (quarter across, with a small cove on either side of it. After taking a look at it from the hills, and putting up four hares, I found it would suit our purpose well. There was 10 fathoms of water close to the beach, and not far off a small tifrn ; with a run of fresh water in the head of the bay. The only 1851.] ANCHORED IN WALKER DAY. 165 objection was its being open to the westward ; on examination of the beach, however, I did not detect either surf or ice- marks ; and therefore returned on board at 10 . 30, and at 2 we were at anchor in the spot I intended the ship should occupy during the winter. Our shooting party not returning, some men were sent to look for them, and these coming on board without having seen anything of them, the third whaler was sent to our former anchorage, and brought them on board at 3 a,m. ; they had shot two hares, which, picking up drift- wood enough, they had cooked for supper. September IQth. — The ship was heeled over, in order to enable the carpenters to get at the copper, which for five streaks down was much jagged; a party were employed cutting turf and building an observatory. On the 17th I commenced the survey of the bay, and went out towards the entrance, where, on the south side we had seen a remarkable liill ; from it, which I found to be twelve miles from the ship, I had a good view of the surrounding country, and saw that there was a deep bay to the south- ward of us ; I also got sight of the second whaler returning from Bear Island, along the north shore. On getting back to the ship, I found the shooting party had fallen in with a number of natives, who were much frightened, but one of them was prevailed to accompany them to the ship, and after being on board some time and receiving several presents, went away vrell satisfied. During the dark, we fired muskets every two hours, to point out our position to the whaler. On the 18th September the survey was continued, but I kept in the neighbourbood of the ship in hopes the natives would pay us a visit. On ascending the hiUs on the south side I found the inlet I had seen yesterday ran up quite as deep as the one we were in, and that to all appear- ance a narrow neck of land only separated the two bays. We got a flagstaff up on the hill over the ship, both as a mark for our own people, and a guide for any persons who might wish to come to us. I left early this morning with Mr. Adams with the intention of looking after the natives; following up tlie I It I It til M lirV 73 70 %J /! K 166 CAPTAIN COLLINSON'S JOURNAL. [Sept. valley, at the head of the bay for five miles, we then climbed the hills to the southward, and took a long circuit without succeeding in our object ; but had a very good look at the country, which appeared to abound in lakes, some of which were very deep ; we also got sight of ten deer, who tantalised us by permitting an approach within musket shot, but got scatheless away. From the top of the hills, from whence I obtained a much better view to the southward than before, I could not see the end of the inlet to the southward. On my return I was glad to find that Mr. Parkes had come back; and Mr. Skead started to erect marks, and to explore to the southward as far as seven days would admit. Mr. Parkes had reached Bear Island, and traced the northern shore of the bay, thereby settling the fact that we were on Prince Albert's land, and erecting two good marks with information as to our position. On the 20th September I walked across the isthmus to the southward, and soon came in view of what appeared to be too great an expanse of water for a lake ; and on reaching its shores the tide-mark and driftwood proclaimed it to be the sea, although some of my party were not convinced, so completely land-locked was it, until they tasted it. We saw five more deer, and found we could accomplish the distance from sea to sea in little more than an hour, nor had we occasion to ascend any hill above 200 ft. high. September 21st. — Sunday was spent quietly ; some of our people walking out in the afternoon fell in with the native tents, which were not far from us, and must have been pitched since we were out looking for them on Friday. On Monday I took a tent with me, and camped over in Souih Bay, so as to carry my triangulation out in that direction. On board, tiiey had plenty of occupation in lightening the ship, so as to enable the carpenters to get at the iron plates about her bows, some of which were destroyed by the heavy blows she had got, in forcing her way through the ice. A party of natives came down on the 23rd, and appeared much afraid of the water, showing some reluctance in getting into the boat. I returned just as they were 1851.] WINTER PREPARATIONS — WALKER BAT. 167 leaving, but saw enough to confirm the report that they Ixjlonged to the Winter Island or central tribe, which we found by Captain Washington's vocabulary and their costume. They did not appear to be very well off as to food or clothing, and but few aiTows were tipped with iron. September 2\th. — On Wednesday Mr. Jago left the ship to collect driftwood, which was more abundant on the beach in South Bay than about us. On board we were employed about our housing, and on shore turf-cutting and house- building; and commenced the issue of bread in lieu of biscuit. Mr. Skead returned on the 26th September, having cir- cumnavigated South Bay (Minto Inlet), which he found to be sixty miles deep and rather more than twenty miles across at the entrance. On the southern point of it, which for the sake of distinction I have named Point Wollaston, he found a notice deposited by one of the spring parties from the Investigator, dated on board of her at the Princess Royal Islands, April 21st. This party had also been to the head of the bay, as not far from it part of a pemmican tin was found. I was glad to get the boat back, as in the bay ice had begun to form, and I feared might stop their return. On Saturday the ship was swung for local attraction, and we found our compasses totally useless with the ship's head at south, and very sluggish in their movements. The variation with her heatl west was 44° -25 E. and with her head east 120° -31 E., tliat on shore being 78° • 50 E. In the afternoon Mr. Jago re- turned, having stacked a good quantity of wood in South Bay. Sunday found all our preparations for the wirlxjr well forward, and was spent as usual, those men who chose being allowed to walk in the afternoon. On Monday morning I resumed the survey, while the first and third lieutenants went over to South Bay on a shooting expedition for three days. We cleared out a portion of our main hold, and landed the casks so as to leave ample room around Sylvester's stove, wliich was now lit for a short period every day. The 30th September was employed in the same manner, and I had now got nearly all the data I required (ii ) I 'It :1^&l-. m ' ' 168 CAPTAIN COLLINSON'S JOURNAL. [Oct. Mit' 78 - ■ ^ for the survey of the bay, with the exception of tho soundings. The month closed without the bay having been frozen over, but the ice was already thick enough on the lakes to enable us to walk across them ; the transparency of which and clearness of the water enabled us in most cases to see the bottom distinctly, as well as some fish. October. — One of the men, George Deverill, marine, return^ ing from Mr. Phayre's shooting party on the 2nd, with six hares, left again with another day's provision for tliem. The next morning Mr. Parkes came on board with the distressing information that he had not been seen. Mr. Jago had set out early in the morning to relieve Mr. Phayre at the tent, which would increase the party over there to eleven men and two officers. I also camped Mr. Skead out in another direction, but we got no tidings of him that day. At daylight on the 4th I left with another party, and after a long round, and attempt to trace his footmarks, reached the South Bay encampment at noon, without success. My only hope now was that he had reached the native encampment, which was in one of the bights in South Bay, and whither Mr. Skead had gone in search of him. The salt water ice in the head of the bay was sufficiently firm to permit us to cross it. While resting ourselves the ship fired three guns, thereby giving us the welcome intelligence that the man had been found. On my return I found that he had come on board from the northward and eastward, and could give no account of how it was he had missed liis way ; and as the day was clear, the only conclusion I could come to, although strenu- ously denied, was that he had stupefied himself by drinking some of the spirits he was taking across, a bottle of which was broken. On the 7th of October, we made a trial with our balloons, and sent up a large and small one, which went away in a north-westerly direction very cleverly.^* " Balloons. — "The balloons as a more novel attempt for distant signalising, or rather, intercommunication, were a subject of deep interest. The plan was simple and ingenious, the merit tf the idea as applicable to 1851.] WALKER BAY— BALLOONS. 109 the relief of Sir Jolm Franklin, by communicating to him intoUigcnco of the i)08ition of the searching j'arties, being duo to Mr. Shopi^crd, C.K. It was 118 follows : a balloon of oiled silk, capable of raising about a jxiund wei:4lit wlifn inflated, was filled with hydrogen evolved from a strong cask fitUxl with a valve, into which, when required for the jmrix>se, a certain quantity of zinc filings and sulphuric acid was introduced. To the base of the balloon, when inflated, a piece t.f slow match five feet long was attached, its lower end being lighted. All along this match at certain iotervals pieces of coloured paper and silk were secured with thread, and on them the information as to our jiosition and intended lines of search were Tirinted. The balloon when liberated sailed rapidly along, rising witlip,;, and as the match burnt the pai)ers were gradually detached, and falling, spread themselves on the snow, where their glaring colours would soon attract notice, should they happily fall near the \ioor fellows of tlic Erebus aiid Terror. The farthest distance from the point of departure at which any of these papers were found, as far as I know, appears to have been about fifty miles." (Osborn's Arctic Journal.) Extract from letter from Mr. Shepixjrd to Capt. Collinson, March, 1850 : "A balloon 5 ft. diameter carried 2500 printed slips, and distributed 1200 of them over the South of England by a slow match at every five or six miles; iMissing from London over Woolwich, Chatham, Maidstone, Dungeness, having travelled 120 miles at the rate of 35 miles an hour." In the Enterprise several of these balloons were sent off during each winter ; and went off " cleverly," but no results are recorded as to the finding of any of the printed papers. A sketch of one is in M'Dougall's voyage of Besolutc. Carrier Pigeons. — Though not employed in the Enterprise, the follow- ing notice about them in Arctic voyaging will bo useful. " Next, as a means of communication, came carrier pigeons; When first proix»sed iu 1850, many laughed at the idea of a bird doing any service in such a case, and mUj}\t have lauglied yet had not one despatched by Captain Sir John Ross, from his winter's quarters in 1850, actually reached its home, near Ayr in Scotland, in five days. It wjis done on the 5th of October, 1850, from Assistance Harbour ; two birds duly freighted with intelligence and notes from the married men were put in a basket, and attached to a balloon in such a manner that, after consuming a certain ({uantity of match, the pigeons would be launched into the air to commence their flight ; when we heard of this the opinion prevalent was that the birds would be frozen to death. We were mistaken ; for in about 120 hours one of these birds, as verified by the lady to whom it bolongeil, reached her house and flew to the nest in which it had been hatched in the pigeon- house ; it had, however, by some means or other, shaken itself clear of the packet entrusted to its charge. This marvellous flight of 3000 miles is the longest on record." (Osborn's Aixtic Journal.) Sir John Richardson mentions the above feat (Expeditions 1848-51) with some doubt as to the identification of the bird. Captain Nares to<.)k some in 1875, but they all died during the first winter, and he considered 170 CAPTAIN COLLINSON'8 JOURNAL. [Oct. \i j 10 it tiHvlcsd to attempt cominunicatlun in this inanDor in a country entirely new t<) tiiom, and in whicli tlioy wonld BufTor gieatly from cold and absence of fowl. — [Ed.] In the evening I got my first moon culminations. Wo sent up two more balloons loaded with papers contain- ing information as to our locality and the deposits of the provisions ; and witli a small mortar I measured a base by sound, so as to give a temporary scale to my plan of the harbour. We had a strong wind from the east, with the barometer as low as 29*.^4 inches on the 10th, which induced us to spread our main deck housing the next day. A native visited us on the 14th, bringing with him two trout. The ptarmigan appeared in L.rge packs on the 17th, affording our people good sport and several good meals. We began now to have a difficulty in making our way tlirough the sludge ice to the shore, but it was the 21st before we could walk from the ship, and on the following day I m(;asured a base on it. Two more balloons were sent away on the 23rd, which after hovering about some time, took a S. by E. direction. On the 24th of October M'e cut the ship into 5 fathoms of water, 300 yards from the shore. Our first fox was trapped the next day, and turned adrift with a collar on his neck. On the 27th of October, the sea ice being strong enough to bear our sleighs laden, I set out provisioned for ten days, with the view of examining South Bay, in the south-east corner of which was a bight that Mr. Skead had not seen the bottom of. Mr. Parkes accompanied me with another sleigh and three days' provisions, to bring the wood stacked by Lieutenant Jago. We got our sleighs across the isthmus without much difficulty, having more trouble in crossing the lakes than in any other portion of our route, the ice on them beiiig so slippery that it was almost an impossibility to walk except in moccasins. Our dogs, however, made up for it, three of them dragging the sleigh themselves when we arrived at a smooth tract. We reached the sea ice in two and a quarter hours, and as we continued our route towards the mouth of the harbour, wc 1H51.] EXAMINE MINTO INLET. 171 met with two sleighs and nine Husk is, including children, and ptirchiised a small (juantity of venison from them. We found this arm of South Jlay to bo eight miles long, running north and south, with several islets and many coves, affording harbours within narbours. On arriving at its junction with the inlet Mr, Skead had examined, we found the ice all in motion, and several pools of water close to us. Getting our dinner under a cliff head at the east side of the entrance, we set forward again, but almost immediately fell into a crack ; the dogs refusing to jump baulked the sleigh, and thus we got our clothes and some of our provisions wet, so were compelled to camp where we were and dry our skin dressea and blanket bags as best we could. Driftwood being scarce, and our fire an economical one, we succeeded b»it indifferently. •Setting out again the next morning, we got two miles round the point, when the ice became so rotten that the slci<,'h sank through, and I began to fear we should lose all ; however, by (quickly unloading we got it to a firmer spot, and then, seeing that we could not proceed at present without great hazard, 1 had to give up my excursion. So taking two men with me I ascended the highest hill near, and got a round of angles, sending the sleigh back to our last night's camping place. After joining them and getting some refresh- ment, we started homewards, reaching Mr. Parke's encamp- ment at 7 p.m., who, I found out, had got a large stock of wood together, with part of which we got up a good fire, and got our blanket bags thawed. On our route to the ship next morning we found the Huskis camped in snow houses on the banks of one of the lakes, where they were now employed fishing ; liaving cut holes through the ice and attracted the fish by some glittering object, it was speared. Some they had procured thus were ten and twelve pounds weight, two of which we purchased for an awl and two needles, and found them to be salmon trout, and capital eating. The next day, Mr. Phayre went part of the way across the isthmus with the sleighs and dogs, where he met Mr. Parkes, and getting a load of firewood from him, returned at 4. Four I ■I 172 CAPTAIN COLLIN SON'S JOUItNAL. [Nov. i If ' :' h , III w natives (a portion of the party encamped on Isthmus Lake), came on board. One, an old man, rather infirm, and coiii- pellod to go about with two sticks, had begged hard for a boarding pike, which I hod promised him if he wouUl come on board, and now I gave him his choice either of that or a knife; the latter was preferred. His name was Ip-yee-ra, and he appeared to be the leading man of this portion of the tribe. Two of the i)arty with him were his sons-in-law, and the fourth was liis wife ; far from a handsome 8 cimen of her sex, but uncommonly desirous of picking \ the wee things about the decks. The party altogether amounted to twenty-five individuals. Prevailing winds during the month of October, 1851 : — Calm Vble. N. N.E. E. S.E. 8. 8.W. W. N.W. (true) 4^ i 4t 71 9 1 U I U * =31 days. An hourly register of the tide pole, and a two-hourly register of the barometer and thermometer, was commenced at this period. November 1st. — On Saturday Mr. Phayre brought over another load of firewood, and Mr. Parkes and his party returned. On Sunday the natives again visited us, and remained at first very quietly during Divine Service, but went away before it was concluded. We got all our wood across by the 4th, consisting of six sleigh loads in all. On the 5tli I went with a sleigh to the north side of the harbour, in order to connect Mr. Parkes' survey with mine. On our route we found the natives encamped near our first anchorage. The snow houses have certainly a very clean and comfortable appearance when first built, but they soou get abominably filthy. During the following day they were joined by another portion of the tribe whom we had not yet seen, and among these men we found a small axe and part of a pemmican tin, which showed they were the party who had met with the Iiivcstitjator s people in the spring. On the 7th of November they crossed the bay to the southward, and built their huts on that side, about three miles from the ship, mustering in all eight sledges. They visitt'd 1851.] WINTEIi FN WALKER DAY. 173 us on the 8th, and wo tried to tempt them with saws ami knives to part with some of their venison, but only succeeded in i^ettinf^ a small (pumtity iV)r our do^s. They evidently had not been successful this season, and had nothin;^ to spare. Some amon,!^ the tribes were of very dilferent features to the otliere, the face beinjf oval and the nose aquiline. They numbered between forty-five and fifty all told, and had with th(!m children of all a«,'es. We now bejran to ])uild snow walls about the ship, to protect her in some measure from the drift, and bank(!d her sides up 118 lii^'h as the sponsons. On clearinj; our fore-peak, we had tlio discondurt to find the dry rot nuikin<:j its appearance, and hiul to cut away to sound wood in many jdaces. A regidar .system with rej^ard to the washing of our clothes was com- monced, and carried through the winter, by devoting one day to each (juarter watch, and one day to the oflicers. We managed to dry by far the greater portion round about the hot iiir pipes in the main hold. The men always brought what Uiey had washed to divisions in the morning, which ensured their having a clean suit weekly, and also that they were thoroughly wrung. Having a sjtare cabin on the port side of the lower deck, it was devoted to the airing of the bedding, each man's bed-clothes being spread daily in rotation. The sun disappeared on the 18th of November, and our daylight fast failing us, the quarter-deck housing was spread oil the 22nd. We kept ourselves supplied with lake ice for water by means of our dogs, the sleighs making from one to two trips daily according to the weather. The school was cstaltlished the last week in the month, one watch being permitted to attend in the forenoon, the other in the after- noon, while two petty officers were appointed to a.ssist any who might choose to improve themselves as bailors and shoe- makers. Both natives and deer appear to have left us, and scarcely any ptarmigan or hares are to be seen. Notwithstanding all the labour and fatigue, our deer-stalking proved unsuccessful, .and we were without venison for our Christmas fare ; which, judging by our first essay in August, I certainly had expected. ,r.i, " "f?!,*- I. 'T"- wm I i ■ t I J I; ■ 4 174 CAPTAIN COLLINSON'S JOUliNAL. [Jan. 74 72 Nor did we see that the natives killed more than one. Durintr October, scarcely a day passed without their being fallen in with, but they seldom permitted approach within rifle-range. The bitch we had brought from the Plover, pupped, pro- ducing a litter of nine, six of whiiih we kept, but one being overlaid by the mother was killed. The other five promised well, although we could not anticipate being able to use them as a team in the spring. Prevailing winds during the month of November, 1851 : — Calm Vhle. N. N.E. E. S.E. S. SLW. W. N.W. (tmc) 9 li 1 4i Hi 2 i i * = 30 days. December.* — In December the practice of sending all hands out for a walk on Thursday forenoons was commenced, while tlie afternoon of the same day was given to them to make and ni3nd their clothes. Mercury froze on the 10th, and afforded us an opportunity of correcting the scale of our thermometers, none of which agreed, and some were twenty degrees in error. Finding a lack of occupation, a skittle alley was built of snow alongside, which soon became a favourite resort, affording hot only healthy exercise, but giving tliein something to do of their own accord. Sometimes coming off from the observatory, with the temperature below —30°, 1 have heard the balls rolling at midnight. Our daily routine of duty dwindles into little more than bringing ice from tlie lake, clearing away snow-drift, cutting out the tide and fire- hole, and getting up provisions. Three foxes were trapped and turned adrift with information. Christmas came to enliven us with its cheering recol- lections, and I had the satisfaction to find but two men sick, only one of whom (the sergeant of Marines, suffering under a disease of the chest, and who had been three months under medical treatment), was unable to do justice to tlip double rations which our ample supplies permitted me to issue. The game list since leaving Port Clarence showed as follows : — 3 bears, 1 deer, 45 hares, 21 foxes, 4 seals, 524 loons, 21 gulls, 4 ducks, 29 ptarmigan. • See N' tc 25, Ajipendix. -JJ*few:*r mi.] WINTER OCCUPATIONS. 175 Two ravens visited us occasionally and apparently were now the only living beings left except the foxes. Prevailing winds during the month of December, 1851. Calm Vble. N. X.E. E. S.E. S. S.W. W. N.W. (true) 8i i 2i 2* 4} 2 21 2 1 4J = 31 days. A very remarkable feature is the height of the barometer (mean 30 • 85) on the three last days of November and the two first days of this month. January 1852. — On New Year's Eve it was announced that the Wollaston Theatre would open on the following Thursday, and accordingly our dramatic performances com- menced on that day. Our mustard and cress seed was also sown. Some hares having been seen, tlie game laws were relaxed, and an arrangement made that two men from each mess in rotation might go out, the proceeds of the day's shooting belonging to them, instead of going to the general stock. This answering well both as an inducement to take exercise, and adding every now and then something to their allowance, one of the empty snow huts on the south side of the Bay was cleared, and a c€u;Jie made of a buffalo robe, fuel, and a small quantity of provisions, that any parties caught in a suow drift, or otherwise prevented from returning to the ship, might have a place of refuge. On the 17th the day- light had so far returned as to induce me to have my skylight cleaned of the frost and a double sash fitted, by which means I had the satisfaction of putting out my lamp for an increasing period each day ; and being the only part between decks, where the daylight yet could be admitted, it proved a comfortable change to the sergeant of Marines, who ^■as still incapable of taking exercise on deck. The sun made its appearance at the flagstaff on the 24th January. Three deer having been seen, and our shooting parties frequently bringing in something, gave us great encourage- ment; so much so that I had to issue stringent orders relative to the period of their return. Our theatre also having once been set going, and the bills printed by the press, supplied from the Hydrographic Office for our balloon papers, succeeded better and better each representation, and gy ^L '',.'! %l 1 n"] '• ' ' « :>; -'■ ^^H ■ W' 1' m 1 ' ■ ,i'.l4l?lM '^ I 1 ; til .1 '' i :.■' : ) MB 176 CAPTAIN COLLINSON'S JOURNAL. [Feb. Thursday night hegan to be looked to mth some expectation. Two wolves walked across the Bay on the 28th inst. Our mustard and cress would not come up, and one of our pups was killed by falling down the hatchway. Prevailing winds during the month of January, 1852. Calm Vble. N. N.E. E. S.E. S. S.W. w. N.W. (true) lOJ 1 2.i 2* 4i 1 * 1 2* 5 = 31 days February. — A trap was fitted with slabs of ice, after the plan mentioned in Captain Lyon's narrative (1823), in hopes of catching the wolves, who we were desirous should not interfere with our manorial rights as far as the hares were concerned, and we attributed our success in shooting in some measure to the fact of having either caught or dispersed all the foxes. Some experiments on the velocity of sound, at the temperature of —36°, were made on the 11th, and on a trial of some of our rockets, which had been exposed to the cold throughout the winter, tliey proved useless as well as one brought from our magazine 20 ** Effects of Cold. — Sound. —Captain Parry in his third voyage (to Prince Regent's Inlet) mentions the carrying on of conversation at a distance (over ice) of 1*2 niiles, thorniometer being lb° Fahr., baro- meter 30°, weather calm ; owing, he consideref high refraction at the low temiwrature of —18°. ibscTvaliou 1852.] EFFECTS OF COLD— AURORA. 177 Nov. 4. — Apparent altituiO 1334 Ibe. 149 158 138 170 160 161 Not weighed 165 Each provided himself, in addition to the clothes he had on, with 1 pair shoes, 1 pair boot hose, 2 pair stockings, 1 pair mitts, and 1 knitted frock, and 1 pair of drawers for every two men. . . 'fS ■>.i 'I:;- M % m i, '.? 'I' : !1l ■ • if. i m I '• r, \S1 TOB 186 CAPTAIN COLLINSON'S JOURNAL. [May Before I proceed to give my own journal in detail, and abstract the reports I have received of the other parties, tlio meteorological register and the transactions on board the ship during tlie latter part of April and the month of May will be entered.' 8ee Note 2, Meteoroloyical Obaervationt. The ship's company being reduced one-half, the port mess tables were removed, as well as tlie school table ; and the issue of biscuit in lieu of flour commenced. Tlie carpenters were occupied in shipping the skid beams over the quarter- deck; and overhauling the bends, which we found much splintered by the ice of last year. Part of the deck under the galley being found unsound, it was replaced. Three small balloons were sent up on the 21st, vhich took a northern direction. Towards the end of the month a shootuig party provided with, a tent was established about 4 miles from the ship. The weather was fine enough on the 28th for the housing to be spread to dry. Two small and one large balloons were sent up on the 30th, which went away to the north. One of our pups was missing, and supposed to be carried away by the wolves. On the travelling parties leaving, the game laws were re-established. Ma^. — The forecastle housing was removed on the 3rd, on the afternoon of which day a heavy fall of snow occurred. The carpenters were employed caulking the u^per deck and the bends ; and the sliip's company bringmg the running rigging on board from the house. One of the sheet anchors was got on board, and put down the main hatchway. Two balloons were sent up on the 7th, which took an easterly direction. The first deer was killed on the 14th, and according to an arrangement I had made, the whole of the first and half the second were to be the property of the persons killing them. In this instance the two men who got it, Kimble and Mayew, waived their claim, and it was divided among all hands, weighing 43 lbs. May 14:th. — At 10 p.m. William Driver (ship's cook) de« 1B5"] ON BOARD THE SHIP. lar parted this life. Ho had been suffering from general debility, ftnd was too old a man for such an expedition ; but being an old shipmate of iiiine, and considering that the duty he would have to perform would not call for much exposure, he was entored. I had left him very ill, and scarcely could hope ever to see him again. On Sunday afternoon Mr. Phayre performed the melanclioly duty of consigning his body to the earth ; a grave being dug on the top of the hill, not far from the flagstaff. Two balloons were sent up, one of which apparently dropped near at hanrl, the other took a northerly direction. The head of the mainmast was got aft ft. 10 in., and the mizenmast 1 ft. 2 in., which I thought would improve her staying in a sea way, the only fault we had to find with her. On the 25th Mav anot}'or fox with a collar on hia neck was trapped; and the same evening the Esquimaux encamped on the ice about 2 miles from the ship. On visiting them they were found to be the same party that had left us in November. After visiting the ship the next day they removed their encampment to the westward. The starboard foreyard arm being found sprung, it was got down and fished. Prevailing winds during the month of April, 1852 : — Calm -Vble. N. N.E. E. S.E. S. S.W. w. N.W. (true) 6 2i i 9 bi U * u * ^ = 30 days. During the month of May : — Calm Vble. N. N.E. E. S.E. S. S.W. \v. N.W. (tp-"') 9i f 1} 6 6J 1 1 3i U = 31 ,8, Sledge Journal, North. {Journal while absent from the ship with the Entcrjirise sleigh.) Note. — The symbols hero used are those often adopted by observers for the days of the week ; they are taken from the planets, and signify as follows: % Venus, Friday; \} Saturn, Saturday; Sunday; 5 Monday ; $ Mars, Tuesday ; 5 Mercury, Wednesday ; % Jupiter, Thursday. The wind numbers and the weather letters are those of Sir P. Beaufort's seales, which are now generally used. — [Ed.] ? April \Uh.— Winds— 'E.^:E., 2-4. Weather— h.c-\i,c.(\. \i I i i .! % H '.1 1 j it I I .1 ,1- , li M 70 / ei "L 188 CAPTAIN COLLINSON'S JOURNAL. [April Made good — Course, W. Distance, 13*4 miles. Distance traversed — 17 miles. Hours under weigh, 8.40. The Resolution and ourselves left the ship at 6.40 ; accom- panied by a fatigue party of nine men, who returned to the ship at 12,15. We camped on Pemmican Point at 4.30; about which the ice was thrown up in hummocks. Mr. Parkes, who had left us at noon to shoot, returned with a hare at 5.30. The period of our meals, and the allowance per man, were arranged as follows : — Morniny, before starting, 1 pint of cocoa, i lb. of biscuit, ^ lb. of pork. Noon, ^ lb. of biscuit, i lb. of pork, i gill of rum. Night, after camping, ^ lb. of preserved meat, | lb. of preserved potatoes, 1 pint of tea, i gill of rum, \ lb. of biscuit. In addition to wliich I usually added, unless something hpd been shot in the ^ourse of the day, \ lb. of pemmican, wiiich added to the flavour of the preserved meat, and likewise filled our kettle. h Aivril 17th.— Wind— S.K, 2 to 4 and 6. Weather— b.cm and b.c.q. Made good — Course, W. by N. i N. Distance, 11*6 miles. Distant traversed — 15 miles. Hours under weigh, 7.50. Started at 6, came among hummocky ice at 7.30. Snow heavy. Hare tracks very numerous Eeached Bear Island Point (now Eamsay Island) at 12.30, and got to the depot at 1.10 p.m. Here Mr. Parkes and Charters, who had left us in the morning to shoot, rejoined, bringing two ptarmigan with them. Picking up our provisions, and leaving one day's bread and potatoes for each sleigh, we set forward and got some large pieces of firewood. We halted for the night at 4.50. April L^th. — Wind and Weather — 3, b.c. 1, b.m. Made good — Course, N. ^ W. Distance, 8 miles. Distance traversed — 12 miles. Hours under weigh, 9. Left camp at 6.50. Drag heavy, particularly to Besolution. Gave her the dogs at noon. Ice thrown up in Immmocks to seaward of us, and many cracks across our track, into which the sleighs frequently fell, notwithstanding all our care. Fortunately, although so heavily laden, they sustained no I 1852] SLEDGE JOURNAL, NORTH. 189 damage. Camped at 4.50. Mr. Parkes shot two ptarmigan. Gowan and Davidson affected with snow-blindness. }> April 19th. — Winds and Weather — o.o.s. S., 2, b.nL Made good — Course, N. ^ E. Distance, 8 • 5 miles, instance traversed — 12 miles. Hours under weigh, 9. Started at 7. Many cracks in the ice, but the drag not so heavy as yesterday. At 5 p.m. we camped in sight of the mark that was pwt up where we landed on the 28th of August. Mr. Parkes got three ptarmigan. ^ April 20th. — Wiiuls and Weather — S. 4, b.c.m. S. 6. Made good — Course, N.E Distance, 7 miles. Distance traversed — 13 miles. Hours under weigh, 7.45. Left c^mp at 6.30, reached the mark at 7.35, got some driftwood, saw the marks of Huski tents, and also a camping spot of the Investigators people. Shot a ptarmigan, and crossetl the footmarks of a bear. Camped at 3.35 on a low islet at the entrance of a large lagoon, and about 3 miles beyond the spot where the party embarked on the 28th of Aujnist. Resolution did not come in until 5.35. § Ap^ 21st. — Wind and Weather — N., 3, cjn. Made good — Course, N.E. by N. Distance, 14 miles. Distance traversed — 17 miles. Hours under weigh, 10, Moved 6.45. Koad heavy, ice broken up in smaU hum- mocks, snow l^'xag loose among them. Lost sight of the land at 10.40 ; saw it again at 2.15. Camped at 5.50, 8 or 9 miles from the shore. Resolution dropped two boarding- pikes : had to send back 3 miles for them. Snow on the ice 5 J inches deep. Left eye affected with snow-blindness, ¥ AprU 22nd. — Wind and Weather — N.,6 to 8, o.m.q. Thick weather, too inclement to move, remained in camp all day. i iti J - .1-* i I ■. :;!■; i !(/, h > ' vm 192 CAPTAIN COLLINSON'S JOURNAL. [May . Distance traversed — 10 miles. Hours under weigh, 10.50. Started at 6.40. Better travelling than yesterday ; passed bear and fox tracks ; got in with the land, a lo>v point, at 2.20, and left ten tins of preserved meats. Large pieces of driftwood here. Hester slightly frost-bitten. Camped at G.30. }) May 3rd. — Wirid and Weather — N.E., 4, b.c.m., N.E., 7, o.m. Made good — Course, N.E. by E. Distance, 7 miles. Distance traversed — 11 miles. Hours under weigh, 9.15. Started at 7.15, passed several hare tracks, and a deep bight at 9.30 ; came up to a point at 2 p.m., low coast line. Firewood of a large size. Camped close to the shore at 5.30. Murray's feet numbed ; eyes better. i May 4th. — Winds and Weather — N.E., 7, o.m.q. Snow-drift ; remained in camp all day ; 5 p.m. more mode- rate ; formed a cache of 50 lbs. of bread ; 1 tin of pemmicau ; 28 lbs. of preserved meats ; 18 lbs. of dogs' food ; 20 lbs. of potatoes ; 5 lbs. of cocoa ; 8 lbs. of sugar, and 25 lbs. of flour. 5 May 5th, arrive at Feel Point ? Winds and Weather — S.W., b.c.m., 4. Made good — Course, E.N.E. Distance, 10*5 miles. Distance traversed — 15 miles. Hours under weigh, lOj^. Started at 6 a.m. Resolution parted company for Melville Island. Daddy and Sandy accompanied us, while Joe went with the other party. Hitherto we had taken the dogs day and day about, but Sandy and Daddy would not admit Joe to come near our tent, and some serious fighting took place in consequence, in which Joe got so severely bitten that he had not been in harness for five days. At 9 we passed a sharp peak, apd at 1 we got among hummocks 20 feet high, evi- deritly not this year's ice, through which we reached the shore with some difficulty, keeping on the land where the jjeach would admit of it ; the sea-ice being so full of deep cracks that some serious falls were experienced ; we camped at 5.30, and just before were much astonished by seeing six hares come trotting up to us. Not having seen any game 1852.J SLEDGE JOURNAL, NORTH. 193 lately, the guns had been cleaned, but not reloaded, and while that was doing we kept the dogs as quiet ns possible. One of them actually came within seven paces of us, when Mr. Daddy could no longer be restrained, but giving tongue dispersed them all ; nor did we get one that night, although many excursions were made. On the mud cliffs, just over cur encampment, were a great quantity of cockle shells, apparently recent, and therefore most likely carried up by the l)irds. y. May Gth. — Wind and Weather — N.E., 2, b.c. Made good — Course, E. by N", i K Distance, 12 '4 miles. Distance traversed — 16 miles. Hours under weigh, 10.15. Murray shot a hare ; started at 6.30 ; ice hummocky the first four hours, then smooth ; came to a low point at 11, and got some firewood, observed the meridian altitude, and afternoon sights for time ; camped at 5.45. 9 May 1th, at Chimher Point ? Wind and Weather — S.W., 3, b.c.m. Made good — Course, E.N.E. Distance, 13 miles. Distance traversed — 16 miles. Hours under weigh, 10.5. Started at 6.40 a.m. ; got a.m. observations and the meri- dian altitude at noon. At 10.15 came in with pinnacle ice and deep snowdrift between; made for. the land, and kept along it inshore of the hummocks, the hills having left the coast. At 2 p.m. we got sight of the Investigator's beacon. I found the stumps of two posts fourteen paces apart driven into the ground, a 'iable and a half from the beach ; they were much weather worn. Drift-wood of a large size was more plentiful along this beach than we had seen elsewhere. We camped at thf foot of the ridge, on which the beacon is, at 5.45. From it I got a round of angles and true bearing, and we left here 14 lbs. of preserved meats and 7 lbs. of potatoes. A large mass of ice (30 feet high) was laying aground off the point. Charters shot a ptarmigan. f? May 8th, — Winds and Weather — N.N.E., 3, o.m. Made good — Course, N.E., 3. Distance, E. ^ S., 11*5 miles. Distance traversed — 17 miles. Hours under weigh, 10.30. k ; ■ 1 , if r 1 : ! ; . . ( *i > \ I is! iMM MMM o«Mi 194 CAPTAIN COLLIN SON'S JOURNAL. [May H ^:i 74 72 4u 5J 70 ' Started at 5.30 ; kept along the beach, against which high ice was upturned ; raising the mud behind them into hillocks four and five feet high ; no gravelly beach, as hitherto, but mud intermixed with sharp stones. Only one piece of firewood was picked up to-day. The ice hummocks appeared to be a favourite resort of the hares, either for salt licks, or on account of the grass seeds and willow leaves lodged among them by the wind. Murray kiQed two. Ice on the shore heavier than any we have yet seen ; snow loose ; ankle deep ; travelling heavy ; camped at five. May ^th. — Winds and Weather — W.S.W., 4, b.cra. , Made good — Course, S.S.E. Distance, 9 miles. Mstance traversed — 16 miles. Hours under weigh, 9.45. Started at 6.45 ; came to a point at 9 ; hills here close to the shore ; beach mud, upturned by the ice hummocks ; no rolled stones ; ice heavily packed off it. Got meridian alti- tude a.m., and p.m. sights for time. Camped at 5.20 ; hills f of a mUe inland. Some parts of this day's journey we were travelling over a lagoon, and oftentimes were at a loss to know whether we were on ice or land. Coast line tending to the south. D May 10th. — Winds and Weather — W., 2, o.m. Made good — Course, S. by W. Distance, 9 miles. Distance traversed — 15 miles. Hours under weigh, 8. Started at 8.30 ; on the ground during the forenoon ; hills f of a mile inland and about 300 feet high. Afternoon on the ice; apparently a lagoon. The sea ice not so heavily packed on the shore as yesterday. Camped at 5.15. Made a cache of bread, 30 lbs. ; potatoes, 14 lbs. ; preserved meat, 6 lbs. ; pork, 32 lbs. ; rum all but six days. (J May 11th. — Winds and Weather — W., 4, b.c. Made good — Course, S.W. by S. Distance, 9 miles. Distance traversed — IQ miles. Hours under weigh, 7.40. Marshall shot two ptarmigan. Started at 7.30 over a lagoon ; crossed low table-land at 10 ; got the meridian altitude. Halted at 4 ; hills 4 miles inland. Appearance of land to the eastward ; got afternoon sights and angles. ^ May 12th.— Winds and Weather— N.W., 2-4, h.G.m. 1852.] SLEDQE JOURNAL, NORTH, 195 Made good — Course, S.E. by S. Distance, 13*5 miles. Distance traversed — 17 miles. Hours under weigh, 7.40. Started at 8.20. Saw the land distinctly to the eastward and found we were in an inlet ; got into the ice at 9, and took an easterly course. Camped at 4, inside some open hummocks, 20 feet high ; recent bear tracks ; got p.m. sights. Tf. May 13^/?, at Glenclg Bay, . Winds and Weather — S.W., 3, b.c.m. Made good — Course, N.E. by N. Distance, 12 miles. Distance traversed — 14 miles. Having determined to employ this day in exploring in both directions ; I set out at 5.30 with Charters and Marshall to the north-eastward. A bear and two cubs crossed our track about half a mile oft". They appeared to be working to and fro across the bay, as every 3 or 4 miles we again came on their trail. At 11.30 we were still on the ice, and about 8 miles distant from the point forming the east entrance of the bay, which I had hoped to reach, but finding that impos- sible, the meridian altitude and a round of angles were obtained from our present position. Made good — Course, S. ^ W. Distance, 14 miles. Distance traversed — 16 miles. Hester and Murray were sent up the bay. Having accom- plished 14 miles they saw what they took to be an island opposite a cliff point, and the inlet now took an easterly turn. It is, however, very difficult to distinguish between low land and the watpr, they may therefore have been in the bottom of the bay. Gowan, Bosquet, and Davidson having during the forenoon cut a hole through the ice, which was found to be 6 feet thick, and the water 5^ fathoms deep, went on shore in the afternoon, and put up a mark depo- siting informatioxi. Gowan then mounted the hills and corroborated Hester's statement relative to the trend of the inlet. The shore was 8 miles from us, much further than I had anticipated. Afternoon sights and true bearing were got. 9 May 14:th. — Return. ¥' bt: r- :::;■:■ -M ■ KM 2 196 CAPTAIN COLLINSON'8 JOURNAL. [May % TO / Winds and Weather — S. by E., 2, b.m. Made good — Course, N. by W. Distance, 13 miles. Distance traversed — 17 miles. Hours under weigh, 7.55. Started homewards at 9.35 ; got the meridian altitude and true bearing at noon. Camped at 4.30, and dug a hole in the ice, found it 5 feet 6 inches thick ; snow on the top 1 foot 3 inches ; depth of water 6^ fathoms. There must be a con- siderable space of open water here during the summer, as in our track we came across now and then water-worn pieces. Our bread being exhausted, we had none for supper. *? Maij 15th. — Wiiuis and Weather — 0, b.c.m. Made good — Course, N. Distance, 14 miles. Distance traversed — 17 miles. Hours under weigh, 8 hrs. Started at 7.45 Charters too ill to walk ; put him on the sleigh ; f;ot to the shore at 8.45 ; no ice hummocks ; reached our depot of the 10th at 10.45. Ice now hummocky on the beach. Charters able to walk. Camped at 4.45. May IQth. — Made good — Course, N.N.W. Dist., 10 m. Distance traversed — 18 miles. Hours under weigh, 9.45. Started at 6.30 ; ice heavily packed close to the shore in masses 30 feet high ; reached camp of the 9th at noon, about which a bear had been prowling ; got meridian altitude ; a warm afternoon. Camped at 5.15. 3) May 17th. — Winds and Weather — N.W., 4-6, b.c.m. W., 5. Made good — Course, W. Distance, 11 miles. Distance traversed — 16 miles. Hours under weigh, 8.55. Gowan killed a ptarmigan. Started at 7.15, and at 3.15 p.m. reached the Investigator* s post. Picked up our preserved meats and potatoes, and got sights for time. Camped at 5.10, among abundance of firewood, being the first we had met with since the 8th. $ May 18^/j.. — Winds and Weather— Q, o.m. E.N.E., 7, o.m. Made good — Course, W.S.W. Distance, 12*5 miles. Distance traversed — 17 miles. Hours under weigh, 8.50. 7.10, started ; 8, came to hills close to the beach and a bight; 10.20, got on low land and obtained firewood; 11.45, 1852.] SLEDGE JOURNAL, NORTH. 197 passed a point ; 4, came in with low land again — hills 4 miles inland ; 5, camped. § May l^th. — Winds and Weather — E.N.E., 3, b.c.m. vble. 8. Made good — Course, W. by S. ^ S. Distance, 13 miles. Distance traversed —18 miles. Hours under weigh, 8.30. Started at 7.45, came on to the ice at 8.45, and passed a point at 9 ; got observations for time and true bear- ing, p.m. light fall of snow. Camped 5.15, under Depot Hill. ¥ May 20th. — Return to Peel Point ? Winds and Weather — S.W., 2, b.c. N., 1, b.c. Made good — Course, W. by S. i S. Distance, 6 * 5 miles. Distance traversed — 9 miles. Hours under weigh, 4.15. Bosquet shot a ptarmigan. I went to Depot Hill, 1 mile inland, 600 ft. above the sea, no rocks in situ ; crossed the recent tracks of 5 musk oxen. Started at 8.20, and arrived at the rendezvous at 12.35. Go wan got a hare and 4 ptarmigan ; Marshall, 2 hares, 2 ptarmigan, 1 snow-bunting ; Murray, 1 ptarmigan. We had sun enough now to take the frost out of our blanket bags, which were hung up to air. Being two days before the appointed time I had assigned for the return of the Resolution, we could look forward to as many days' rest. May 2\st. — Winds and Weather — E.N.E., 3, b.c. Observations for time, true bearing and latitude were obtained. Having a. good supply of firewood we got a comfortable wash and a change of clothes, the men washing their flannels. With our flour and pemmican cakes were made to eke out our bread, the frying-pan acting as a girdle. Men out throughout the 24 hours, but got nothing with the guns to-day. h May 22nd. — Winds and Weather — E.N.E., 4, b.c. 6, o.m.q. The snow melted on the sides of the large stones, enabling us to get a drink for the first time without a fire. Two men out ^hooting all day — crossed deer-tracks, but only got a u /.■' ! > '; ! ! W'sk 1 i^,.= V 5:^ J], '■: » .>!■ ;. il, ■ ., , i A^ ■ ■, ■<■ - " i 'JU- yih ;?■' ,,'r < ftSBMi mJH| p^'PI V ' ' "^ ' ' ' ' »■ '■' ') ' e^S: ' ■■■ J HS' 1' 11 |ll \: M W i ' Im ■ |;|: •], i ■ r' 1 - Wt 1 :-ttir ■ ■ ill! i 198 CAPTAIN COLLINSON'S JOURNAL. [May isA- snow-bunting. The Resolution not arriving, it was my intention to have gone after her in the afternoon, but it proved squally. May 2^rd. — Winds and Weather — S., b.c.m. Made good — Course, N.E. by N. Distance, 18 miles. Distance traversed — 20 miles. Hours under weigh, 9.45. Started at G.15 a.m. ; 8.20 saw a black object on the ice, which we took to be the Resolution. Leaving our sleigh we set out towards it at a rapid rate, when, much to our dis- comfort, it turned out to be a seal. Ifeturning and picking up our sleigh we again set forward, getting the meridian altitude and true bearing. Saw a bear and 2 cubs. Camped at 5 p.m., about 7 miles from Baring's Land. }) May 2Uh.— Winds and Weather— ^.S.E., 3, b.c. Made good-^Conise, N.N.E. by E. Distance — 13 miles. „ „ S.W. by S. „ 13 miles. Distance traversed — 15 miles. „ „ 15 miles. The dogs barking at 4 a.m. roused us up in the hopes that it would prove to be our companions ; on looking out, how- ever, it turned out to be a bear. The musquets were outside the tent near the sleigh, but were soon got in and loaded with ball; Daddy in the meantime keeping the animal at bay, and annoying him so much that he frequently turned round with a spring. The dog had a narrow escape, as we found his back scratched by the claws. Sandy kept at a distance, which surprised us all, as he was generally looked upon as the first in the fray, and Neptune's principal antagonist. After 9 or 10 shots from Hester and Marshall, all of which took effect in the forequarter or muzzle, the great brute rolled over ; but we should not have got him if it had not been for the manner in which Daddv stuck to him, as after the first two discharges he made off, and we were only able to get ahead of him again by the dog worrying him. When he fell he was three-quarters of a mile from the tent, and when we first saw him his footmarks were 19 paces from the door. Having cut off his head, and brought the sleigh for his carcase, we got it to the tent; and K'llniwnwu.-:!^ 1852.] LOOKING FOR RESOLUTION 8LED0E. 109 then gettinj^ our breakfiist I started at G with Bosquot and Gowan to the E.N.E., leaving the remainder to ilay our prize. At 9.20 we came upon the meeting of two fields, the ice being raised in a continuou'3 line as far as the eye could reach, into a ridge about 4 ft. high. At 10.20 we came upon the Resolution's second night's encampment after leaving the depot, about which a bear and foxes had been prowling. I then took an easterly course until 11.30, in hopes of crossing their homeward bound track. The day being fine we could see both shores very distinctly, and made no doubt but that Mr. Parkes would make for Prince Albert's Land at once, and in that case ho might have passed to the south of us yesterday. Therefore, after straining my eyes in vain, and casting many a longing look in the direction of Melville Island, I turned back at noon, after getting the meridian altitude and a round of angles. We passed about 3 miles from a point on Baring's Laud, the N.E. end of which is low and shelving. In walking back we found we could only make out the tent 6 miles off. After dinner I sent Hester and Davidson to the eastward, in hopes they might have come up since our return. They went 8 miles, but came back without seeing anything. $ May 25t7i. — Winds and Weather — E.N.E., 5, b.c. Made good — Course, S.W, by S. Distance, 18 miles. Distance traversed — 20 miles. Hours under weigh, 8.20. Building a pyramid of snow, and sticking the bear's ribs, with a small portion of firewood, on top of it, we set out at 7.10 on our return. The bear we found had followed up our trail 7 miles. We reached the depot at 4, but found no signs of Besolution* I had made arrangement with Mr. Parkes that either sleigh was to wait 48 hours over the period allotted for the rendezvous, which was all our pro- visions would admit of. We had certainly the bear's carcase to fall back upon, but on examination of our stores I found we had but 15 lbs. of bread and 5 lbs. of potatoes left. In the Resolution's cache we found 28 lbs. of bread and * Had we gone direct insshoro instead of towards the depot, we should have fallen in with them. ~i,'l ■v\ 200 CAPTAIN aOLLINSON'3 JOURNAL. [M AY 72'- 70 /' at K 21 lbs. of potatoes. To 8 lbs. of this latter wo helped ourselves, to assist in taking us to tho l*rincess I^)yul Islands. 5 Miuf 2C/A. — Leave Peel Point. Wiiuls aiul Weather — 0, b.c.ni. Made good — Course, S.W. by W. ^ W. Distance, 13 miles. Distance traversed — 1 8 miles. Hours under weigh, 9.40. Before starting at C.50 many a wistful look was cast to the eastward. The day being fine we had a good view of tho land, and found our depot was placed nearly in the centre of a long low beach. The hills receded inland 5 miles, then rising in two ridges to 700 and 800 it. The meridian altitude and a round of angles were got. Tlie track of several deer were passed, all coming from Baring's Land. Some ptarmigan and two seals were seen, as well as the footmarks of a bear, and numerous hare tracks, which appear to cross the ice in troops. Camped at 5.30 p.m., and got a small quantity of fuel. If. May '21th. — Winds and Weather — E.N.E., 2, o.m. Made good — Course, S.W. by W. Distance, 11 miles. Distance traversed — 17 miles. Hours under weigh, 8.30. Started at 7.20. Hills near the beach all the forenoon — a bight with hummocks of ice at 1 p.m. At 2 we came upon a long beach, which I recognised at once, and found we had missed our 10 tin depot. As it however consisted entirely of meat, our bear's flesh rendered us independent. It was palatable, but uncommonly tough. The smallest portion of its own fat gave it anything but a pleasant taste to me. Having got together all the firewood we could, we left the shore, and came in sight of the Princess Eoyal Islands at 3.30. Camped at 5.30. I suffered much from snow blindnes''. 9 .' 28^7i. — Princess Royal Islands. Wiit^s and Weather — E.N.E., 2, o.m. Made good — Course, S.S.W. Distance, 11*5 miles. Distance traversed — 18 miles. Hours under weigh, 9.15. The weather this morning, although overcast and misty, 1852.] 8LEDQE JOURNAL, NORTH. SOU WU8 not too thick to prevent our object being seen and enabling us to make a straight co' rse for it. One of the objecta of my anxiety, the having to search for the islands in a fog, was removed. We got amongst the humraocky ice at 10 ; saw a seal and some geese, and reached the depot at 5.45, which we found had been visited by a bear, who had dug up the RcHohit ion's ii-' il Lf Mil- ls: ! I mi 220 CAPTAIN COLLINSON'S JOUBNAL. [July 11=^ SECTION XL Dolphin and Union Straits. Summer, 1852. July. — The natives had got some deer and a quantity of geese, some of which they could now afford to part with, and was bought accordingly. The latter had been caught while moulting. Finding also that they were in the habit of catching fish through holes in the ice, a party was established for that purpose on the lakes. They had not, however, much success, the fish not biting readily, and our people not having patience with the spear. The flagstaff was brought on board and the sails bent; but it was not until the 16th of July that the ship moved in her icy cradle, and eventually tended to the wind on the 19th. The communication with the shore now became difficult, there being a lane of coast water into which the dingy was put, and cruised about principally under the charge of Mr. Atkinson, picking up ducks and driftwood. The former, as will be seen by our game return, were very plentiful, and their skins much sought after by the natives. On the 18th we were obliged to take up our tide-pole, the ice becoming too rotten to permit its being visited. We began also to make use of our whale boats to land and embark the fishing and shooting parties. On the 21st Mr. Phayre sent word in from Isthmus Lake that the ice on it had nearly all disappeared, and the fish were rising in numbers ; that if he had the seine witli Halkett's boats he might be able to do something. Lieut. Jago accordingly took them across the following morning, and the experiment succeeded admirably. The two india- 'll-^' I 1852.] WALKER BAY. 221 rubber boats, the smaller taking the large one with three men, and a 45-fathoms seine in tow, laid it out very well ; and from this period one watch went to the lakes every day. A good fish dinner was there served to them, and the remainder brought on board, and issued in Heu of the usual allowance at the rate of 3 lbs. for 1. Sorrel also began to make its appearance in abundance, and parties were sent to collect it. Musquitoes began to be troublesome. The surgeon, assisted by Mr. Adams, having prepared a collection of birds, now began to turn his attention to the flora, and I was quite surprised at the number and variety he collected. Several butterflies, spiders, and other insects were obtained. We attempted to get at our lower rudder pintle by diving, but the cold would not admit of our remaining loi.y enough under water to succeed. So the rudder was shipped on the 29th. The ice remained close outside, but inside the bay was entirely broken up. A piece of driftwood left on it nearly in the centre of the bay, IJ mile from the ship, was brought under the bows. At times we had clear water to the opposite shore, and in the course of three or four hours the bay would again be full, rendering it necessary to launch the boats from pool to pool. Several showers of rain gave us hopes that the period of our liberation was not far distant. In fact, thiufTs looked so promising for a move, that I sent the topgallant yards up on the Ist August. Prevailing winds during the month of July : — Calm Vble. N. N.E. E. S.E. S. S.W. W. N.W. (true) 9i i 3i 3i 1 li i J 6* 5i =31 (lays. The carpenter having made an outline sketch of a human skeleton, it was placed on the grave of our deceased ship- mate, in hopes that it would deter the natives from disturbing his remains. They paid us a last visit on the 3rd, and we parted very good friends. We would have been better pleased could they have abstained from stealing. There is, however, great excuse for them ; such riches they had never seen before : pieces of iron hoop, empty preserved meat tins, old clothes, &c., were still eagerly sought for. In considera- m; 'i m • !>>j 11' i IH If m^ 222 CAPTAIN COLLINSON'S JOURNAL. [Auo. tion of the many bows and arrows that had been purchased from them, I presented them as a last gift with one of the small spars we had obtained at Sitka, which would nearly supply the whole tribe. It is very difficult to say where they wintered, but I do not think they went further than the inlet Mr. Jago explored. Leaving us as they did on the 9th of November, and the sun disappearing on the 18th, there was but little daylight left. That they went round Point WoUaston is, I think, almost proved to a certainty by the cylinder deposited by Mr. Skead having been removed ; and that they had been in communication with the party met by Lieut. Jago is also, I conceive, evident by the fact of his seeing Hongkong beads in their possession. My belief is that they wintered on the islands to the north side of that inlet he ex- plored, where tide and wind would occasion cracks throughout nearly the whole winter, and whence they obtain seals. Several skins full of blubber were on their sleighs when they first returned, of which Mr. Phayre purchased five, making us rather more than 60 gallons of oil. Fuel they are totally independent of, and a snow-drift affords them material for a winter habitation, the most elaborate of which would not occupy the family more than a day in erection. While with us they were constantly on the move, the tent seldom re- maining two days in the same position, unless for lake fishing. In one particular, that of having no means of going upon the water, they differed I believe from all the Esqui- maux that have yet been met with. They were, however, perfectly acquainted with the name and use of the kayak, distinguishing it from the oomiak by the double paddle. The one I had I never received a request for, while the huski sleigh we had obtained from Capt. Moore was eagerly coveted. Our party certainly did not exceed 50 ; Mr. Jago met with 100 ; and these were the northernmost portion of the tribe, as beyond the parallel of 72° 10' N. in the Prince of Wales Straits, we met with no recent traces of them on Prince Albert's Land. 1852.] WALKER BAY. Description of Walker Bay. 223 On going to the top of Flagstaff Hill on the morning of the 5th of August I thought the ice sufiBciently open. So embarking our dogs, and stopping the fishing party, we got under weigh, glad to go, but really regarding with some affection a spot which had proved very comfortable winter quarters for us. I must now describe it and the adjacent locality, to which, however, I am only entitled to affix temporary names, as the honour of the discovery belongs to Capt. McClure. Beginning on the north with Bear Island. It is low (120 feet), 2 miles from north to south, and 1 from east to west, lying not quite 3 miles from the main. Mr. Parkea got one line of soundings between the two, carrying from 7 to 4 fathoms ; but no vessel ought to run through the channel without further examination, as we found the soundings in the ship very irregular to the south- ward of the island. It is in lat. 71° 35' 2" and long. 119° 6'. When in its neighbourhood, both sides of the Prince of Wales Straits can be seen, if the weather be at aU clear. Prince Albert's Land opposite trends to the north- ward, and to the eastward, the Point not being above 40 feet above the sea. Nor do the hills rise until 4 leagues to the north of it. Our winter quarters lay nearly due east from the island 27 miles. From Bear Island Point (off the S.E. end of wliich there is a patch of black rocks) to Pemmi- can Point the distance is 8 miles; the intervening coast receding to the northward, forming a bight exposed to the southward and westward. The latter is a low peninsula, jutting out 2 miles to the west of a bold bluff (Parkes Bluff), which is a conspicuous landmark, the hills behind it rising in iiree table ridges ; and further inland is a cluster of five small cones, on the summit of what is the highest land we have yet met with in this country (probably 1500 feet). The bluff, the table-land, and these peaks form a guide to the bay before Bear Island will be seen. The width of the bay opposite Parkes Bluff is 6 miles ; the southern shore ...{(•.ilCf- ^^ ') in )i." * 224 CAPTAIN COLLINSON'S JOUIiNAL. [Auo. • i' ' I ■'ill (Cape McClure) terminates south-westerly in a table bluff, off which I am inclined to think a shoal runs. On its N.W. face is a remarkable dome hill (Mount Phayre), and on the same shore, 8 miles to the E.N.E., is Crag Point, which has all the appearance of an old castle or artificial mound. Three miles beyond Parkes Bluff is Point Anderson, a low cliff, terminating in a shingle point : the coast-line on the north shore then takes a turn to the northward and east- ward, forming Jago Bay, and which is called by the natives Ta-ku-nin-ga. It appeared to us that the ice opened here earlier than in our winter quarters, and that the ship could have gone to sea four days before she did from Winter Cove. Due east, 4 miles from Point Anderson, forming the southern side of Jago Bay, is a very remarkable headland, Skead Bluff, under the east end of which the ship first anchored. Skead Bluff lays N.N.E., 3 miles from Crag Point, the latter being shoal to. East, a little southerly, from Skead Bluff, is Point Atkinson, which is also shoal to. Point Arbuthnot lies to the south of it IJ mile, forming the entrance to Winter Cove, on the north shore of which we wintered, and which the natives call Ka-ma-hi-nih. Off Point Arbuthnot is an islet, separated from the main by a boat channel ; and to the southward of it is a well-sheltered spot : the entrance to it will however require examination, as the edge of the shoal-water extending easterly from Crag Point has not been defined. On the north side, between Point Atkinson and our anchorage, is a small cove, in which there is as much as 4 fathoms ; but I thought it too confined for the ship. Our flagstaff was erected on the hills immediately north of the ship, and its position will be known by the pile of stones, and also the grave of William Driver. It is in lat. 71° 36' 4" and long. 117° 41' W. The variation was 81° 21' E., and the dip 86° 39' N. at the water-side in June, 1852. From the Flagstaff Hill, on very clear days during the winter, I have seen Bear Island, Bear Island Point, Pem- mican Point, Parkes Bluff, and Skead Bluff, all of which 1852.] DESCRIPTION OF WALKER BA Y. 225 show outside one of the other ; but on the southern side Crag Point prevents Cape McClure being seen. Opposite our anchorage on the south shore is Dome Hill ; the road to South Bay lay to the eastward of it, and about its base were the lakes whence we obtained our fish. South Bay (Minto Inlet), the entrance to which is formed between Cape McClure (Cape Eichards) on the north, and Point Wollaaton to the southward, is 23 miles wide at the entrance, ana runs back 55 miles to the eastward. Point Wollaston terminates in a low shingle point, the cliffs rising about half a mile inland, and so rounded off, that when abreast it is difficult to distinguisli. I believe the native name for it to be Ka-nal-go-ah Its position is 72° 3' N, and 118° 20' W. On the north shore, 10 miles inside Cape McClure, is Fish Bay, where we lay from the Stii to the 14th of August : it is exposed to the south and westward, and the ice came in upon us three times. One mile to the east is a small islet, and one mile further the opening to the inlet which we commu- nicated with from our winter quarters. It is 7 miles deep, and is beyond a doubt the best wintering spot* in this vicinity. I should recommend the N.W. corner, both for the convenience of shooting and fishing. At the mouth it is 2 miles wide ; the southern point is a black precipitous cliff, with an islet off it. In the upper part of the bay are several islets, and some rocks. A ship will do well to feel her way by her boats, as we obtained few or no soundings in it. To the east of Black Cliff 4 miles are two islets ; and 13 miles further the bay separates into two arms, the point of separa- tion being a high cliff, with an elevated range of hills behind it, and an islet below. The north inlet terminates in a large lagoon. The bottom of the southern one was not seen ; there are however two islets in it. The entrance to it lays 38 miles from Point Wollaston, a portion of the intervening coast- line being cliffs. Information respecting the depots of pro- visions and our movements was deposited in nine remarkable spots about these bays. The geological feature about our winter quarters is for the rA (n ) :': -^ 1 t -i^T- iu,L 226 CAPTAIN COLLINSON'S JOURNAL. [Auo. main part blue limestone, which the action of the frost in many instances, and particularly about the summit of the hills, had split into large flagstones, but we could discover v. > organic remains. On the summit of the table-land north of us traces of volcanic action appeared. In South Bay, sand- stone began to mix freely with the limestone, the latter assuming a yellow tinge. On the beach in Fish Bay was a block of lava, with broad veins of quartz in it. Proceed to Sea. August 5th. — Having sent a boat to see whether there was water enough for the ship between the ice and shoal off Point Atkinson, we got under weigh at 9.30. We had, how- ever, light and baffling winds, which prevented our getting further than Skead Bluff by 4 p.m. ; within a cable's length of which we were compelled to anchor, the channel not being wide enough to work through. Getting a start from the northward, we weighed again at 5, and running through a crack, got into a large pool ; but it was 8 a.m. on the 6th before we reached the open water, and then had the mortifi- cation to find that there was a large body of ice to the seaward of us. We, however, rounded Cape McCiare, and stood to the southward towards Port WoUaston, in hopes of keeping in the land-water. Being well in with th 3 land to the east, about 6 miles off the point, I sent Mr. Phayre on shore, with the double purpose of seeing whether there was open water to the southward and to collect firewood. The boats returned at noon with a load each, but with a very unfavourable report as far as regarded our progress, the ice being closely packed on the point, not even leaving a boat channel. We employed the remainder of the day in collecting fuel, and in the evening I ran over to the north shore, wishing to avoid the ice that was coming down from the head of the bay. We got over by 9 p.m., and being off a cove which promised to afford shelter, by dint of towing we anchored in it, at 1 a.m., August 8th. Kemaining quiet on Sunday, except a walk on the hills to 1852.] LEA VE PRINCE OF WALES STRAIT. 227 examine our locality, and look at the ice outside: I found we were in a very advantageous situation, commandin;.' a good 8ea view, having a large lake within a mile of us, and a convenient watering place. On IV. ;nday morning I went to the eastward, so as to bring up our triangulation, and found we were only 2 miles from the entrance to the inlet with which we had communicated overland. Mr. Parkes was- sent to the westward, to sound off the points, in the event of the ice compelling us to give them a close shave, and to pick up what drift-wood he could. The third whaler and dingy were employed in the bay, scouring its shores for fuel; and Mr. Jago carried the seine and Halkett's boats across the land to the lake, which was found to be 6 miles in circum- ference, extending to the N.W. corner of the inlet ; from which it was separated by a narrow isthmus. During the forenoon the ice came into the bay, and brought a heavy strain upon the cable, urtil it took the shore, when the pressure was relieved ; but we all experienced considerable difficulty in getting back to the ship ; the ice being in that condition that you could not walk on it, and only force the boat through with time and labour. The fishing party having been successful, the other watch was sent the following day, August 10th ; the ice showing no signs of opening to seaward, but coming in and going out of our bay with the wind ; sometimes so completely filling it, that our dogs got off to the ship on it. Finding the ship too light and by the stern, we took off 4 tons of stone ballast. A cairn also was built on the headland on the west side of the bay, and information deposited. August 12th. — The day being calm, Mr. Parkes had capital success with the seine, bringing on board 560 lbs. of fish, some of which weighed 30 lbs., and proved excellent. We did not get out until 10.30 p.m. on the 14th, when we again stood towards Point WoUaston ; but finding there was no land water off it, we commenced tracing the pack edge westerly ; the sea, however, appeared to be full of ice, affording a strange contrast with what we had witnessed a fortnight later last season. After trying one horseshoe after Q 2 n «f; f ; ' i CAPTAIN COLLINSON'S JOURNAL. [A ro. another, and finding our progress blocked, we wore actimlly set fast, on the raorninfj of tlio IStli, by young ice. At 3.45 p.m. the current set S.S.W. true 0-4 ])er hour. August 19 r 230 CAPTAIN COLLINSON'S JOURNAL. [Skpt. Tliere was, however, now some land-water, which opened every day more and more to the southward ; and at noon of the 5th of September we had got so far to the south as to make out the island at the entrance of the straits, but there was still a great body of ice about it. It was now beginning to get so dark that we were compelled to heave to for four hours, being unable to see our way among the floes and through the lanes. In the morning the weather proved thick, but we made some southing, and the fog fortunately clearing up at 11, we got sight of the bluff end of the island, and were enabled to shape a course up the inlet, and making all sail we passed the Black Eock at 4 p.m. ; the ice, however, being still lose and heavy, we were compelled to shorten sail at dark. The following moriiing the floes became more open, and at noon we got sight of Investigator Island, in approaching which we were compelled to haul to the southward, getting very uneven soundings. At 3 p.m. Mr. Phayre landed, and deposited information at the cairn ; we then worked to the eastward up the inlet, the ice being so open as to enable us to carry sail all night. Making a long board to the southward, so as to determine the separation of Victoria and Wollaston Lands, we came upon some ice apparently aground about 6 miles from the shore, and tacked off it, the water shoaling to 10^ fathoms. Getting in with the south shore during the forenoon, Mr. Phayre was sent to put up a mark, and returned at 3 p.m. with some drift wood. The coast-line here consisted of a succession of low hills (100 feet), covered with fragments of yellow limestone ; 5 or 6 miles inland they attained an elevation of 800 feet, and presented a continuous range iu an east and west (true) direction. We continued working to the eastward along the shore throughout the night, standing off into 31, and in into 17 fathoms. • At 8 a.m. on the 9th of September, something like a mark was seen on a ^oint, which on examination proved to be an old Esquimaux cache. During the day the wind failed us, T1 mm% 1852.] PRINCE ALBERT SOUND. 281 and unfortunately returned when too dark to ascertain its direction by the land. There being no sun, and our compasses actually useless, we spent the whole of the 10th in working to windward against a fair wind. I had my misgivings early in the morning that we were still on the south shore, but not seeing either of the marks Mr. Phayre put up, I began latterly to think we were right. A ruddy sunset again produced a doubt, and a sight of the stars at 10 p.m. confirmed our error ; when, as if to show how unworthy we were not to have made out when we had a fair wind, it died away, and before morning returned to its old quarter, the N.E. We then hugged the north shore, determined if possible not to let such a mishap again befall us. On the morning of the 12th of September we found what appeared like islands in the centre of the sound, and passing between them and the north shore, low land ahead of us rose, and from ^he crow's-nest I could almost see it con- tinuous. Eetracing our track, we hauled across to the southern side, and being baulked there in like manner I sent Mr. Phayre to examine an inlet with a view of anchoring the ship, and sending exploring parties into both arms. It proved too shallow and too much exposed ; and after picking the boat up we had the mishap to get aground working out. There was some swell, and a fresh westerly wind, which most providentially for us hauled to the southward; and just as the boat was on the point of dropping the stream anchor, she backed ofif. After making numerous short tacks, and spending a very uncomfortable night, I ran into the north bight again, and despatched Mr. Phayre to look for anchorage in it, as we had passed over some uneven ground at the entrance, and it was not a fit place to enter without previous exam' ion. In the meantime finding shelter under the lee of a point, the ship was anchored, and I went to the top of a hill, from whence I could distinctly make out that no channel existed in this direction. :i\ m mm 232 CAPTAIN COLLINSON'S JOURNAL. [SeIT; ij^HQ I.- i ; , ■ ' 'Im^H 1, u lijli ; Turn to the East. I had therefore to consider now what to do. To remain where we were would be out of everybody's way. To return to our last winter quarters, we might be useful in the event of any parties entering the Prince of Wales Straits ; but as it was evident that the people whose traces Mr. Parkes had met with on Melville Island were not Europeans, neither was it likely they had been in communication with any of our people (as in that case, instead of avoiding, as was the im- pression both of himself and party, they would have gladly come into communication with him), I did not 'think we could be so useful there as in the Dolphin and Union Strait. Hoping there was yet sufficient of the season left to reach the Coppermine Eiver, where we should be in a good position to succour any parties who might have come to mishap, after entering the Strait between Capes Bunny and Walker (N. end Peel Sound), I could not afford to lose any time. Unfortunately the sun never showed out during the fore- noon, and I was therefore under the necessity of quitting the head of the bay with very indifferent over-sea observa- tions, and no true bearing. To the best of my judgment, however, the cairn we erected, wMch is on a hill about 300 feet high, is in lat. 70° 22' K and long. 112° 3' W. The northern portion of the inlet extended 12 or 15 miles further to the eastward in narrow arms surrounded by low land, when the hills again rose, but did not in this direction exceed 500 feet in height; while both on the north and south sides of the sound the ridge rises to double that height. On the southern shore were several islets, affording apparently a well-protected anchorage; and in the bay where we were Mr. Phayre found a very well sheltered spot in which we could have wintered. The point we landed on was named Point George, it being the anniversary of the birthday of the son of Mr. Arbuthnot (who landed with me). Numerous caches showed it to be a favourite resort of the natives, but no very recent traces of them were seen. The lakes were all frozen over liard enough to bear, -.■S^rMiUiK 1852.] TURNING EASTWARD. 233 which was not the case a fortnight later last year, and then we were 70 miles to the northward. Vegetation very sparse and stunted.'^^ 2» TuHNiNQ East.— Not till the 13th of September, 1852, did the captain of the Enterprise make up his mind to carry the search eastward ; and even then he undertook it chiefly because every other course appc<»red to he either hopeless or impracticable ; his own final argument was, that no vessels nor persons of any sort were to be found at Melville Island (little knowing that his dear friend Kellett was there looking for him), and he turned his head eastward with hesitation, and with no thought that he was about to open up a new route through the Arctic Sea, and como almobi; .• ithin sight of the veritable objects of the Search. It was fortunate as it turned out that he found no notice anywhere of the direc- tion in which the Investigator had gone ; for he said afterwards that had he known it, he would have followed her again round the west of Banks' Island. In fact, that narrow channel that lies along the North Coast of America was, from its earliest discovery, considered impracticable for siiips. It had been traversed from end to end in boats and canoes by various explorers, beginning with Hearne and Mackenzie, its first discoverers ; Franklin, Back, Richardson, Dease, Simpson and Rae had all tried it in one part or another, and had all come to the conclusion given by Sir John Barrow (Arctic Voyages, 1818-46), that it was navigable by boats and canoes only, the eastern part being especially dangerous from the narrowness and rocky character of the channel, and also from the constant fogs and storms during the navigable season. And we see that that practical sailor, Kellett, warned Collinson off it ; and that other Arctic navigators considered it impracticable and useless to attempt it from either side. The bold adv^enture of the Enterprise in entering this discredited pass in the Arctic Sea fully confirmed all the former records as to its troubles and dangers, and yet demonstrated practically that it is navigable for ships ; and it even gave the captain the conviction that it was the one most favourable line in which to look for a useful north-west passage. Of dangers and troubles there were plenty : constant thick fogs (arising doubtless from the warm easterly current); compasses virtually useless from Capo Bathurst eastward, very variable winds, neither sun, stars, nor laud to be seen, ship drifting nobtidy knew in what direction, sharp plutonic rocks rising sheer out of the water ; but with one great advantage throughout, a tolerably open sea. So great is the gift of a clear water channel in Arctic voyaging, that Captain Collinson did not hesitate to 4«)se, after he ha. ■> ii; Li'-it' ii'ii 238 CAPTAIN COLLINSON'S JOURNAL. [Sept. mid- channel, or if anything, as we supposed, over towards the north or weather shore, we ran the ship aground in the act of staying at 2.30 r..m. Fortunately being the weather "'lore, the water was smooth, and she came off after some labour at 3 o'clock. The bay ice, liowever, had begun to make wherever the water was not disturbed, and showed that the season for navigation was nearly at an end. I certainly thought I had given the ship room for any shift of wind, but unless the stars or sun are out, or you can see the land, you are perfectly at a loss to know which way the ship's head is, and the only guide we had was the trust that the wind would prove constant during the eight hours dark. Making sail we passed a small islet close to the shore, by which I presumed the scene of our mishap was Byron Bay.''* ^ The Magnetic Compass. — It is not yet known what is the source of that peculiar attractive force which exists in the substratum of our globe, and which causes iron bars, when charged with electricity and freely suspended, to point towards the North Pole in whatever part of the globe they are placed. The direction, however, is not precisely to the North Pole of the earth, but to a point near it, at 96° 45' 48" W. longi- tude, and 70° 5' 17" N. latitude. This pdnt was discovered by Captain James Eoss in 1830 by the circumstance that the magnetic needle pointed directly downwards. Hence, in voyaging by the magnetic compass, correction has to be constantly made for the variation of the needle (it is called a needle, though it is really a slight pointed bar of iron) frcm the true north. And this correction is complicated by the variation varying, not only according to latitude and longitude, but from year to year in the same place ; and there is even a daily variation, which two latter changes seem to indicate that this magnetic or electric force has some connection with the other heavenly bodies. Moreover, as every material hotly exercises some magnetic infiuence, but especially soft iron, the magnetic needle is easily affected by the proximity of masses of this metal ; and, of course, as the position of any iron in a ship changes with respect to the needle, as the ship's head changes, this influence is a very troublesome one to deal with. But the Arctic voyager has a still further difficulty with his compass. The nearer the approach to the magnetic pole, the more the needle turns downwards towards the earth ; and the voyages within the Arctic circle are all so near to it that this "dip," as it is called, is considerable; and this, or the proximity of the pole, appears to give such an uncertainty to the action of the needle, that a very little external influence renders it qiiite useless for purposes of navigation. Complaints of this defection, and of the difficulties arising from it, arc to be found in all Arctic 1852.] DBASE STRAIT. 239 travels. And it becomes very seriouB in the fojis which are so frequent during the Bailing season ; out of sight of land, witiiout the sun and witljout the compass, with a slack current and a changeable wind, the poor voyager gives himself up in charge to the ice floes. Discovery of the Magnetic Pole. — "On the shoies of the sea to the west of Boothia Felix, Sir James Eoss made observations of declination and dip, and calculated the position of the magnetic pole. " On reaching the calcu' ted position attempts were made to deterraino the magnetic meridian by iuspeuding a dipping needle, first by means of a single fibre of silk, and afterwards by a single fibre of flax, and also by finding in wii m i 5 fl I « .■ ■' > mi*' I i: I pwm ' ! 'lis* I V 242 CAPTAIN COLLINaON'3 JOURNAL. [Oct. ship, and loosening her sides from he ice. Wo got all tho strain a threefold purclmso of 4-inch whale lino would stand, but without success ; and when the tide began to leave us, <,'nt out our chain cables on tho ice, which as yet would scarcely bear them. The best bower anchor was put into the pinnace on the ice, and all the stores removed from the carpenter's and boatswain's store-rooms, the starboard bread-room cleared, and tho fore-hold clean swept. But greatly to our discomfort we found at high water (Oct. 3rd) that the tides had begun to take off. Under these circumstances I determined to forego our labour, as the constant exposure to wet was beginning to have an efl'ect upon our people. Since we had been ashore, I had issued half a pound of pork in addition to the daily rations, whicli sent them to work in the morning with a meat breakfast. The sludge about the ship was 10 and 12 ft. deep ; and sucli was its consistency that immediately a block of ice was cut out and removed, the hole filled, and having exactly the same appearance as the firm ice, many of the men fell in. Five natives made their appearance, and being brought alongside, one of them, the eldest, after some hesitation, consented to come on board ; and after getting him down into my cabin and making him some presents, he felt reassured, but it was evidently their first communication. On the 4th of October a shooting party was sent out and fell in with the native encampment. On board we surveyed our chain cables, hauled three of the boats up on shore, and erected a flagstaff. I8f)2.] AT CAMIiRlDGE BAY. MS SECTION XII. Cambridge Bay. Winter, 1852-3. The ice being now in a fit state for a travelling party, Lieutenant Jago was sent to the S.E. point of Victoria Land, with directions to trace the coast-line and erect marks on Cape Colborne, and such other points as would be likely to guide persons to the ship. One large and two small balloons were sent away with papers describing our present positions, and the places where provisions were deposited.* The shoot- ing parties brought in ptarmigan, but were unsuccessful after deer, although many were seen. On the 6th of October, the morning being fine, I set out for Mount Pelly, which for the first two days the haze had prevented our seeing, and led me to the uncharitable surmise that the mountain had been made for the Director.f Now, however, there was no mis- taking Mr. Simpson's ace nracy ; and I have great pleasure in bearing testimony to the value of his chart, being only sur- prised with the means at his command, he could have accom- plished so much. Making straight for the mountain, at the distance of less uhan a mile, we got off the sea-ice on to low land, and crossing the isthmus, 2 miles wide, came on an inlet which forms a capacious and excellent harbour ; putting up a large pack of ptarmigan, out of which we got two, we then crossed the inlet, which proved from 2 to 3 miles wide ; and after a sharp walk of four hours, over a low but undu- lating country, abounding with lakes, we reached the smm.mit " See Note 19, p. 168. t Sir John Telly was Director of the Hudson Bay Company. Messrs. Deasc ami Simpson (of the Iludsort Bay Company) surveyed this coast by boat iu 1836-7. 1{ 2 I i' H ilH '4 w \'\ \ 1 • E) ■M --ii-^-i- h\ i- !" 244 CAPTAIN OOLLINSON'a JOURNAL. [Oct. 'f' at noon, which the aneroid proclaimed to be 800 feet high. Unfortunately the white misty haze, pec\iliar to Arctic regions, had begun to spread, enveloping everything with a sameness, the only objects standing out in relief being the ship, and a blue hole of water in Dease Strait. The extremities of the points, islands, lakes, and liills, formed one mass of confusion, wiiich it was impossible to separate, and it was useless to put up the theodolite ; so building a mark and partaking of a very cold collation, we made the best of our way back, fearing the mist might occaeion the loss of our way. The hill is, how- ever, a very remarkable one, rising very steep on its southern and eastern faces ; the summit is nearly level ; at its western foot was apparently a very extensive lake. A balloon was sent up, and a fawn weighing 46 lbs. brought in by the shooting party. On the 7th of October I commenced the survey of the bay, digging holes through the ice to obtain soundings, it being of a convenient thickness (5 inches) for that purpose. Parties were out shooting, collecting turf and stone ballast. The follow- ing day was spent in the same manner, and a base measured. Mr, Jago returned on the 9 th, having traced the East Coast round by Cape Colborne to Point Back, and here finding a deep inlet, he took advantage of it to return to the ship, crossing an isthmus 18 miles wide. Bay ice was collected close in shore, and the inlet was frozen over ; but the sea to the eastward was still one vast expanse of water. The deer had accumulated in large herds on the peninsula, waiting for the ice to form a bridge for their passage to the continent ; on their trail were several wolves, and a party of natives were hanging about them, from whom he purchased a couple of very good Jogs. Some of the deer crossing the ice occasionally within gun- shot, we got our two twelve pounders out, with a view of trying the effect of shrapnel shell. After church on the 10th of October, nine natives came on board (not the same party that had been w'th us on the 3rd) ; but they had evi- dently been acquainted with our peaceable intentions, and though showing some alarm, soon acquired confidence. iira'iiu 1852.] GETTINO THE SHIP AFLOAT. 245 The tides having begun to make, we commenced cutting a canal astern of the ship. The frost had now penetrated 3 feet iuto the sludge, rendering the operation very tedious. The whale lines and hawsers were got from out of the holds and store-rooms, and coiled on the ice. Each day the canal was cut, and at high water a strain brought upon the purchase, and immediately the water began to fall, we set to work to lighten her, clearing the main and after-holds. A^ 6-inch whale line was rove through a top block fast to one of our largest ice anchors astern, and one end being brought to the capstan, the other was secured to one of our quarter bollards, whUe the threefold purchase on the cable was brought to the windlass ; we broke the ice anchor, and then put down our heavy kedge. In order to clear the sludge away, large wooden scrapers were fitted, but it appeared a labour of Sisyphus. We tried to cock her by sallying from side t^ side, and by mast-head purchases, but it was not until 11.30 a.m. on the loth of October that she came astern as far as the ice was cut. Twenty-five natives visited us, and proved very well-behaved, which was so far fortunate, as nearly everything was out of the sliip on the ice. Small things such as were likely to excite their cupidity were carefully hid ; but the casks, iron hoops, and meat tips, must have been a great temptation ; no attempt, however, was made to thieve, and they earned for themselves the reputation of honest men. By the 18tli we were well '.float, and commenced taking in our provisions and stores. A continuation ol this labour, however, would have given me a sickly crew for the winter, and therefore I reluctantly gave up our canal cutting on the 2oth of October, and had to rest content with 17 feet water under the bows, and 24 ^'eet under the stem. Our situation was exposed from S.E. to S.W., but I hoped, ere the ice should be in motion in the spring, we should be able to get into a well protected little cove less than a miic from us. Being fixed for the winter, the main deck and forecastle housings were spread. The natives continued to visit, but notvithstanding all my endeavours, we did not succeed in geting any venison or fish from them, until my steward m i 1 iM':' 246 CAPTAIN COLLINSON'S JOURNAL. [Ni ov. (Bulkely) being out shooting, fell in with one of their sleighs crossing the inlet, on which were several fine fish, one of which he succeeded in purchasing for a knife ; and he returned on board with what we at first took to be a large log of fire- wood on his shoulder, but proved a salmon 39 lbs. weight. This opened the traffic ; but they brought a very little, although I made a great display of our wealth and ability to purchase. In re-stowing our holds, the after part of the main was left vacant, so as to admit two tier of hammocks ; and a platform being laid over the tanks, eighteen men were berthed down there during the winter. On the 1st of November I set out with a sleigh and seven men to visit the continent, making direct for Cape Alex- ander; the first 4 miles proved very rough travelling; but we than got on smooth ice, and camped at dusk about 6 miles from the largest Finlayson ; setting t again the next morning, and finding the day likely to prove hazy, at 9 I despatched Hester and Chartres to Cape Alexander, and struck in with the sleigh for Cape Trap. On getting within a mile of the islets off it, we found the ice very rotten, and fearing the sleigh would fall through, I camped where it was firm. So soon as we had our dinner, Gowan and French were sent to walk along the coast to the eastward, as far as day- light would admit, looking for cairns and depositing infornia- t:"'n: the latter having been with Mr. Parkes on Melville Island, may be said personally to have connected the link ■ between the discoveries of Sir E. Parry and those of the American Continent. In the meantime I erected a mark on the largest islet, and upon the Cape, but was disappointed in my hope of obtaining a round of angles, the weather being too hazy to use the theodolite. We fell in with several old caches, and saw one or two hares. At dark neither of our parties had returned, and I began to fear the Western one might be benighted. We had, however, but just sat down to supper, with the intention of going out to look after them, when they made their appearance. The latter, on their passage to Cape Alexander, passed two low rocky islets to ^e south of Finlayson, which escaped isimpson's notice, and ililkr 1852.] CROSS DBASE STRAIT. \m caused me to think how very fortunate it was we had not taken that passage on the night of the 24th of September. Having thus distributed notices of our whereabouts along '25 miles of coast, we set out on our return the next morning, and camped within 10 miles of the ship, which we reached at 11.30 the following day, having passed a very cold night, and getting two of our party slightly frost-bitten by the bleak wind in our faces. One of our new dogs ran away from us in the morning, and showed a strong instance of their sagacity. He had made his escape from the ship several times previously, and was brought back by the natives, and knowing his propensity, he was tied up every night ; but this night, thinking he could not tell his way, as we were camped in the middle of the strait, I desired him to be cast adrift. In the morning when I got up he was there, and the day so hazy we could scarce see the land. However, while we were at breakfast he set off, and on following his footsteps some distance, I found that he was making straight for the Huski camp. Mr. Jago left the ship the same day as I did, and succeeded in purchasing 373 lbs. of good venison, and 200 lbs. of dog's meat. The natives also visited the ship daily, bringing with them small quantities of fish and venison. A balloon was put up on the 2nd of November, and a fox caught and turned adrift with a collar on his neck.^* See Note 25, Appendix : Winter Occupations. The ship's side was banked up with snow, and we attempted to get our hempen stream cable, but found the sludge frozen to the depth of 4 feet; I had therefore reluctantly to abandon it for the winter. The upper deck was this year covered with 6 inches of snow, and the surface gravelled. A large porch was built opposite to the entering port, and the fire-hole in it used for the tide-pole. Two ravens were seen on the 13th of November; the observatories being finished and the boats covered in, the pinnace, one cutter, two whale boats and dingy, being placed ou the ice near the ship instead of on shore : the skittle alley ft ■' iPil n 'iHB. CAPTAIN COLLINSON'S JOURNAL. [Dec. !< ■■ was commenced, and being roofed with slabs of ice, and gravelled, formed a very superior place to that of last year. The light beginning to fail, and there being much more snow- drift than last year, the quarter-deck housing was spread oil the 24th, The deer had aU left us : the ptarmigan became . scarce, and but one hare shot. The weather, however, was generally too bad to admit of shooting parties going out. On the 27th of November we had the novel spectacle of seeing the sun and full moon pass the meridian within half an hour opposite to each other, both being about the same altitude. Our theatre opened with great dclat on the 2nd of December, and was to be continued every fortnight. On the 9th three natives visited us, being the first we had seen since the 10th of last month : they were admitted below, given something to eat, and shown a place in the square of the main hatchway on the orlop deck, where they were to sleep ; and after enjoying the singing, dancing, and fiddling on the lower deck, they went to bed very quietly. Friday morning, however, being the weekly day for the inspection of the men under arms, they unfortunately took alarm on the muskets and cutlasses being got out of the arm racks, and went off before I was aware of it. However, on the 23rd of December we had a Adsit from fifteen more, who, no doubt, had heard of the hospitable treatment the others had received, and were admitted below ; we tried to explain to them that we had accommodation for three or four to sleep, but that we could not accommodate the whole party. Some preserved meat and rice was given them to eat, and they all took their leave in the course of an hour. Several articles were, however, secreted and stolen by them on this occasion ; and this, with the bad odour which the high temperature (to them) of our lower deck caused their persons to reek with (all of them being in a violent perspiration), induced me to forbid their being admitted between decks unless on special occasions. On the 16th of December, being our theatrical night, in addition to the ' Beggar's Opera,' which was very fairly performed, we were favoured with a very handsome Para seleufc (irapa ae\r)V7)) : threo falsu moons appeared, ont'. on each side, and one vertical 1852.] AMUSEMENTS — NA TIVES. 249 with a bright arch nearly connecting the three. Above the vertical one was the segment of a smaller circle, the lower portion of which only was! seen. The skittle alley proved a great resource to our people, giving them healthy exercise in a spot protected from the wind, which seldom admitted of our going abroad. Seeing that something was required to aid it, a billiard room was built, the table being formed of blocks of snow, the upper surface of which was puddled, and an ice rim frozen round it ; fresh water was then poured upon it, which froze into a compact sheet ; but many air-bubbles appearing on the surface, it had to be scraped ; the pockets were then cut ; and finding our ice cusnions were not sufficiently elastic, the carpenter was not to be balked, but getting a walrus hide, and stuffing it with oakum, he made capital cushions ; and then finding the grape-shot we had recourse to for balls too heavy, he produced some made out of our lignum vitce, which, considering he had no turning-lathe, quite surprised nie. I do not suppose any of the men had ever played at billiards before, so they could not complain of the table ; but the thing took admirably, and gave them what I wanted, occupation off the lower deck of their own accord. Mercury froze on the 15th of December, and the whole of the remainder of the month proved very cold, reducing its mean temperature 10° beh w that of March, the coldest month last year. On the 26th of December 11 natives visited the ship; hitherto they had arrived from the westward, now they came from the continent, which, considering the short duration of daylight, must have been more than two days' journey. Another party of 25 came on the 29th ; we tried to persuade three of them to remain, and two having been left behind, when the main body went away, I had them invited below ; but after the party had gone upwards of a mile, two of them returned in much alarm, having their knives ready in their sleeves ; the app(iarance, however, of their comrades from below reassured tliein, and they went away satisfied no harm was intended. Among thv. oarty were several boys, some not more tiian 12 years old; and it was quite surprising to \ I u\ ri i 1 ■({ ! 2C0 CAPTAIN GOLLINSON'S JOURNAL. [Jan. see with what impunity they bore the cold, nor did they appear tired, never sitting down or taking any rest on their arrival. At the close of the year we had 5 men upon the sick report, and I had every reason to be thankful that the health of the ship's company, generally speaking, was good, though not equal to what it was last year. As yet the scourge we had most to fear, had not made its appearance virulently ; some cases had occurred among the officers. Mr. Woodward (boatswain) was under treatment 33 days ; M" Arbuthnot (ice mate) 15. In Mr. Waldron (carpenter) it was combined with acute rheumatism. Mr. Atkinson (ice mate) was also slightly affected, and Wm. Driver (ship's cook) was afflicted with it in addition to other diseases when he died in May last. Sergeant Jeffery also suffered slightly from it ; he had been already 482 days under the surgeon's care, with pulmonary consumption ; now, however, he was able to get about and perform a portion of his duty. Three of the men ill at present were doubtful cases, but as yet the disease was not confirmed in them. Our casualties in frost- bites were as follows : — in the sick list under a fortnight, 9 cases ; between that and a month, 2 ; 1 case, 93 days ; 1, 115 days ; 1, 83 ; and 1, 103. In the last four cases the knife had to be used, but without material detriment except in one instance ; but these latter, although capable of doing their duty about the ship, were not fit for a long travelling party. The general abstract of the daily number on the sick list is given, by which it appears that seven per cent, is our average 26 See Note 26, Appendix : Health. 1853. — At the commencement of the New Year the school was established and the game laws relaxed, each person being now permitted to shoot on his own account. On the 7th we had a gaiig of no less than 40 natives, who, no doubt encouraged by wee things occasionally picked up, now began to be rather troublesome, occasioning a quarter watch to be constantly looking after them. They generally returned after an absence of 48 hours, bringing nothing with them for list is is our n school being 7th we doubt J began h to be iturned hem tor 1853.] HEAL TH- - OCCUPA TI0N8—NA TIVES. 251 barter and requiring incessant vigilance. By distracting the attention of the sentry, they managed to get into the observatory, and stole a candlestick, which was not reported to me until 6 days subsequently, and the opportunity lost of discovering the offender. However, warning was given that in cases of theft somebody would be punished, either Huski for taking, seamen or marine for permitting. This led to greater vigilance, and by way of showing we were in earnest the sentries were armed with cutlasses. One impudent young fellow, noticing the pocket in which I generally carried beads, buttons, and halfpence for the children, made several attempts to introduce his hand. I showed him that it would lead to punishment, but the temptation was too great ; before, however, the hand could be withdrawn, mine was across his face ; the blow was either more severe than I intended or else claret flows more freely in cold weather ; this treatment made him rather indiguanc at first, but he soon came to his proper senses, and was ' ' g'iven a ring, which produced iibundance of ko-wan-na ad teymas. The upper limb of the sun showed itself on the 8th of January after an absence of 39 days. Towards the middle of the month we had much bad weather, which prevented our getting out, and also the natives from coming to us ; but ou the 26th they returned ; ' ome parties were much better behaved than others. On v e 27th we had a little girl, who I am sure could not have been above eight years old, who being taken much notice of, the next morning we had children of all ages from infancy to manhood. One little boy of four years old was attired in a bear skin suit of one piece, which served for hat, stockings, and everything else ; how he got into it was a mystery at first, until his mother showed the invention. One small thing, not yet capable of walking, poked out its naked hand every now and then from its mother's hood, where it was carried at the back of the head, tiie temperature being at the freezing-point of mercury, that is to say 71° below the freezing-point of water. How they could possibly endure it was quite surprising. I narrowly escaped being frost-bitten, by merely taking off my mitts to SI 1 1 : ) I i j; ''1 '■ i ■■ r ■ 1 t .1 ■ ! ' i i :'S ' ''1 i ll 1 \ -: i ., ;f ^i- II *lt CAPTAIN COLLIN SON'S JOURNAL. [Feu. Mau. give them a few beads. Great temptations were offered them to bring us venison or fish, but they evidently had it not to spare. Their clothes, however, wliich were remarkably good, they were very desirous to dispose of, taking any old suit of ours eagerly in exchange. A fine healthy ruddy appearance, however, showed there was no lack of food, and they afforded a strong contrast to our people, on whom the second winter and severe season, together wit^ long exposure to candlelight, had given quite sallow complexions. The month proved one of the, if not the, coldest ever passed in these regions, the mean temperature being — 38°. In February we commencec the examination of our preserved meat rooms, and found 12 per cent, (a very large number) of our tins destroyed owing to their being packed in bulk in too large quantities. Fortunately we had a large supply, and therefore were not under the necessity of reducing the allowance, while the condemned provision did for feeding our dogs. The roof of the billiard room proving rather too low, the walls were raised 5 feet, and panes of transparent ice inserted in the sides, by wliich we obtained daylight sufficient to play. On the 10th of February the thermo- meter against the ship's side rose to +26°, and we had the sun 7 hours above the horizon ; the water ran upon the bulwarks on the 21st. Towards the latter end of the month we commenced making a caclie on a reef, one mile to the south of the ship, and collecting stone ballast. One native visited us on the 26th. On the 1st of March a man, his wife and 2 boys came on board and remained until noon. We commenced putting our sledge gear in order, and furling the quarter deck housing; on the 14th a skylight was fitted to the main hatchway. Shooting parties obtained little or nothing, and a nearly constant breeze caused the cold to be severely felt, obtaining' for our present winter quarters the name of Windy Nook. We began to get our stone ballast alongside, and the cache being finished, the following articles were deposited on 1853.] SPRING EXPEDITIONS. 368 Simpson Eock. Biscuit, 100 lbs. ; pork, 320 lbs. ; oatmeal, 2 bushels ; sugar, 30 lbs. ; tea, 5 lbs. ; chocolate, 20 lbs. j rico, 30 lbs. ; with a quantity of ammunition and some presents. " . On the 20th of March we availed ourselves of a visit from the natives to purchase 3 dogs ; and on the 21st Lt. Jago, with two sleighs, was dispatclied across the land to Point Back in order to select the best route, and lay out a portion of tlie provision for tlie long parties. He returned on the 23rd, not having reached the sea on the opposite side, but reporting the land travelling good. Sufficient daylight for our balloons being now apparent, several were sent away towards the close of the month. On the 28th 3 sleighs left the ship with provisions for the long parties. I accompanied them as far as the depot, finding the land but little elevated above the sea and interspersed with uuineroiis lakes. Then leaving Lt. Jago to carry the pro- vision 4 days' journey farther, I returned to the ship on the 80th. In the meantime the spirit-room was cleared, and a strict examination of the provisions tliere stowed took place ; the coals were removed to the coal-bunkers, and a quantity of stone ballast put in their place. The weather not admitting of my departure earlier, I left on the 2nd of April in order to examine the Finlayson Islands, and reached them on the following day. Unfortunately the weather remained very thick, and my provisions being ex- pended, I was compelled to return on the 7th, without accomplishing my object, having only obtained one round of angles. I was also disappointed in not meeting the natives, as this appeared the direction from which they usually came, but no recent traces of them were seen, although numerous caches, and stones stuck up so as to decoy the deer, showed they are places of great resort at some season. On the 6th, while on the largest island of the group, 4 deer crossed from the continent to the north, being the first we had seen this season. Lt. Jago returned the sanio afternoon, having carried a large portion of our provisions 5 days' journey to the eastward. ■A II w ■t;, I'll ;i ? ^W ''I'll ' iHI' 1 ' ' 1' ;| r rh j! f 264 CAPTAIN COLUN SON'S JOURNAL. [April I ought not to enter upon our Bummer occupations without taking leave of our theatre, which closed for the season on the 26th of last month, having been carried on with sucli success as to call for a weekly performance instead of every fortnight. Great credit is duo to all ])artie8 concerned ; but especially to the manager, Vincent Jiulkely (ray steward), wlio entering fully into the spirit i)f the business, got thruugli a world of difficulties, producing each night some novelty, and attracting unbounded applause ; in fact seldom, I believe, were more ends got from the simple means we had for the purpose, as no preparation had been made either in England or Hongkong. The occupation and enjoyment which it gave were both productive of good, without I am glad to say, any counter-check. During my last absence the after-hold was restowed and the provisions examined, the coals in it being removed to the bunkers, and ballast put in their place.'^'' " Eastern Expeditions, 1852-4. — While the Enterprise vvaa worldiiiJ! her way to the eastward along the coast of North America, quite ignorant of the position of her consort, and of the proceedings of Captain Austin's ships, a great stir had been made at homo on the return of those sliips. And a still more elaborate expedition was dispatched to the eastern side iu the spring of 1852. The Assistance (Captain Sir E. Belcher, and Com- mander G. H. Richards) with a steam tender, the Pioneer (Lieut. Osborn) ; and the Resolute (Captain Kellett, just returned from Behriug Strait), with its steam tender, the Intrepid (Commander M'Clintock), and a depot ship, the North Star (Commander PuUen), to be followed to Beechey Island by the steamer Phoenix (Commander Inglefield). In point of organisation and equipment, and plan of search, this was a model expedition ; the one fault in it was, that unfortunately it went in the wrong direction. There was to be a central dep6t (the North Star) at Beechey Island, from which two vessels (Resolute and Intrepid) weie to go westward to Melville Island, and two vessels (Assista7ice and Pioneer) northward up Wellington Channel. Both divisions were, of course, to look primarily for the missing expedition ; and now in addition, for the two ships on the western side. Sir F Belcher added another excellent arrangement by fixing a rendezvoui. be touched at by the exploring parties of both divisions, so that they hhould keep up connec- tion with each other. And, lastly, the Phoenix was to communicate with Beechey Island from England every summer till they returned. And s( far as concerns exploring, and communicating, and providing, and observing, the whole was admirably carried out. Of course, they mm M f;! ;!« : m ' [Al'IUL Lthout jon on L such ' every I ; but ward), iiruii^'h ovelty, )ulievi!, lad for bhcr ill oyinunt t I am ^cd and oved to s working 3 ignor^ ^ M .•\ i\ •^ :\ \ N^^ ^X o ^'^ ^J^ o ;\ -i^. ^ Lnndon. i Scanpstm, Low, .Wiarvixm.f Stoflt, i Tofacepag^^SS. ampsan. Low, Marstm, Stto-U, A SMMtrnv. rS.VHiUtT.UA 11 I 1853.] PROCEEDINOS OF EASTERN EXPEDITIONS. 255 found no trace of Sir John Franklin's ships ; but they found and rescued the crow of the imprisoned Investigator. The expedition did not arrive at Bcecbey laland till August 11th, 1852, having been much detained by ice in Baffin Bay, this having been a bad season in the Arctic ticas. The northern division (under Sir E. Belcher) wintered in Northumliorland Sound, at the N.E. comer of Wellinfiton channel. The western division (under Kellett) wintered at Dealy Island, on the south 8i 111 some of which we had used successfully in our Sylvester's stove during the winter. The main deck housing was furled OL the 26th. On the 1st of May the thickness of the ice in the bay had increased to 8 feet 2 inches. The thermometer in the sun on the bulwarks had once risen to 73°, but the nights were still very cold with much hazy weather, the mean temj)era- tiire of the month of April being 3" below zero, while last year it was 10' above. Rain occurred on the lOtli. On the Queen's birthday an extra allowance of provisions was issued ; and the following (lay the Enterprise sleigh, under charge of George Fowler, (luartermaster, was dispatched to meet the party returning from the eastward. Towards the close of the month the ship was visited frequently by the natives, who had now evidently returned in considerable numbers to our locality ; they had, however, little or nothing to spare, nor could our sportsnu^i lis yet obtain more than an occasional ptarmigan. Sledge Expedition to Victoria Strait.'* IT,„ * Victoria Strait. — The VictorU St nvit, lying between Victoria Liiid nnd Kinj; William Island, proved eventually to bo tlio central [toint of interest in the ten years' search for tlie Franklin expedition. The few and slight traces of the lost ships (snhsenuent to their wintorinp; at rnechey Island, 1845-'I6) that wore noted in the course of tlio searcli,' poiuted in the direction of those straits;. Several of the Arctic officers concerned in the search, and some others, notably Mr. J. Brown, advo- cated its pursuit mainly in that quarter, but the majority of the ex|)orts in those matters were in favour of tho north or west direction, on account of the supposed impracticable character of the S.E. channels; and thus those slight indications of the track of tho missing ships did not receive tho attention they were afterwards found to bnve deserved. The first of these traces was in October, 1 '. from tho whaling sliijis in Baffin Bay, who had heanl from the Esqnimos about Ponds Bay, that two ships had been frozen in for four years on the west side of Prince Hegent Inlet, and two more frozen in for one year on tho cast side of it. Sach rei)orts an ong the Esquimos become greatly distorted in character and in date, and it becomes difficult to extract any reasonable residuum of truth from tht-m, especially when their language is not well undorstotKl. But from Hulmetpient knowledge it is (piite prol»able that tho al)ove report s 2 ^ir n :!!t i m lit 260 CAPTAIN COLLINSON'S JOURNAL. [Apml appliod to the two sbipfl uf Franklitra ex|X)dition, nnd to tbo two sbipi of Sir James Romi'ii expedition in 1848. Tlie next trace was in April, 1861 ; a piece of a small flagstaff with line and copper tacko, having the Government mark, and another piece of a stanchion belonging to a ship, found in Parkes liay at the 8.W. corner of Victoria Strait by Dr. Rae. He considered they came from the nortb, as the flood tide came from that direction ; and that for the same reason there would probably be found a passage from Peel Sound to Victoria Strait by which the missing shipa might have attempted to come. The next was in July, 1863 ; a part of a frame or door of either a companion hatch, or a temporary observatory, with the Government mark on the copper nails, found on the Finlayson Islands in Dease Strait by Captain CoUinson ; and which he thought might have come from the missing ships. The flood tide in these straits comes from the eastward. Two good Arctic authorities. Sir F. W. Beechey and Sir J. Richardson, had recommended examination of this region in January, 1850, believing that there was sea communication between Barrow Strait and Victoria Strait, and that Franklin's ships might have been caught in the ice and carried down one of these channels. In general, the current in Melville Sound Bets to the east, and would carry the drift ice down such channels if they existed, to the north end of Victoria Strait, where its further passage would be blocked by the narrowness of the Strait. We now know that this was exactly what happened. Three sea passages have been found between Melville Sound, Barrow Strait, and Victoria Strait; one by M'Glintock Channel, one by Peel Sound, and one by Prince Regent Inlet and Bellot Strait. The Erebus and Terror were carried down one of these channels and beset in the ice north of Victoria Strait, abandoned there in 1848, and their crews endeavoured to make their way southward to the American Continent ; and their remains were found, some by Dr. Rae in 1854, but mainly by Captain M'Clintock in 1859, along the coast of King William Island and the mouth of the Back River. It was, therefore, unfortunate, as it turned out, that the attention of the searching expeditions was diverted from this part of the area of search ; and that both Captain CoUinson and Dr. Rae looked doubtfully on the relics they found, although they wera nearer the object of their search than any other parties. Indeed, Dr. Rae, without being aware of it, gained the honour of most nearly eflfecting the north-west passage by sea, by getting his boat within 50 miles of where the Erebus and Ttrror were abandoned. The captain of the Enterprise, it is true, was in difiSculties in 1853 about fuel, which compelled him to return westward; but had the probability of finding the missing ships in that south-east part of the sea been more felt by the Arctic authorities, he would, no doubt, have gone in that direction earlier. On his voyage home in 1855 he heard at the Gape of Good Hope of Dr. Rae's getting, in 1854, some undoubted relics of the lost expedition from the mouth of the Back River; and ihipaof 1th liue piece of . cori.or norll), e reason Victoria either a ernment D DeaM ve come from the jhardwn, belieTing ria Strait, 1(1 carried He Sound lis if they ir passage k.now that sen found ; one by » Regent down one ibandoned jouthward ne by Dr. the coast tion of the >f search; Illy ou the ieir search jrare of it, jge by sea, [error were bs in 1853 tt bad the jof theses I have gone beard at lundoubied liver; and 1863.] NOTE ON VICTORIA STRAIT. ht immediately came to the conclusioQ that the ships had ootne by the way imagined by Dr. Richardson, to Victoria Strait. And he ■ays in his journal, that if they (in the Enterprise) had possessed the means of understanding the natives in Oambridge Ray (tho iuttirpreter of the expedition, Mr. Miertching, had been accidentally left on board the IttvettigcUor), they would have got a clue from them which would have induced him to pass over to Boothia and examine its westeni face instead of examining the east coast of Victoria Island. Rut, although the natives at Cambridge Ray apparently wished them to understand that there were ships to the east of them fast in the ice, and drew a chart to illustrate it with the usual cleverness of the race, as thin chart turned out to bo incorrect, a doubt was thrown on the whole story, and no further thought given to it. Thus these two explorers were unconsciously close on the track of the object of search, and both bad the ill-luck to go along the west side of Victoria Strait, passing only 30 miles from the spot on the opposite side where there was lying all the time the boat containing the last remaining corpses of the Franklin expedition. It was even a closer chance with the sleighs of the Enterprise^ for the captain had intended one sledge to go up the other side of the strait, and was only deterred from sending it by the rou<;;hne8S of the ice, which necessitated the presence of both together. The Victoria Strait has also another element of interest to Arctic friends, in being the most probable line of traffic from east to west in those seas, if such a line should ever be wanted. The captain of the Enterprise came to this conclusion after his exploration in 1852-3. It is founded on the fact that the narrow channels are generally more clear of ice in summer than the open sea ; and this is caused by the greater force of the tides and currents in those channels. The prevalent currents and winds in the Arctic regions being from west to east, the great massive floes of Polar ice are drifted from the Arctic Ocean through M'Clure Strait and Melville Sound, and down M'Clintock Channel, but are stopped by the narrows of Victoria Strait and Rarrow Strait. Rut the current goes on through Rarrow Strait and Rellot Strait to Raffin Ray. Another easterly current comes along Dease Strait ; but in the tortuous chaunels about King William Island these easterly currents are somewhat counteracted by the flood tide, which comes from Raffin Ray through Bellot Strait, and meets the flood tide fix)m Rehring Strait about Corona- tion Gulf. The general effect of this meeting of tides and currents, and checking of the massive ice floes, is, that the narrow channels in that S.E. region have only new, or one year ice, in them, which is usually cleared away in summer. It has been said that if Sir John Franklin's ships had chanced to get into James Ross Strait (E. of King William Island) they would have come through by Simpson Strait, and Dease Strait to Behring Strait.— [Ed.] The outfit of our sleiglis remained nearly the same as last year, with the exception that we had got a new one made on ^ -1 .5i| M A I lilLiiil * ^ : 262 VArTAJN COLLINSON'S JOUliNAL. [ApRa II board, wliicli was named the Royal Albert ; and havini,' sacri- ficed one of our large ice saws in order to make runiiers (iw t\\ii Resulution being shod with iron hoops was found to run heavy), we had tlie satisfaction of finding she answered very well, although not equal to the two fitted at Woolwich. The question of our fuel, as we oould not look forward to picking up any drift wood on this occasion, had caused us much anxiety ; but af^'T many trials under the gunner's mate, we managed to comp some fire balls, which, with the ther- mometer at — 30°, thawed and boiled 8 pints of water in half an hcur, the material only weighing | of a pound. After a good trial in laying out our dejwts, wo found that 3 Ihs. weight of this composition, with the assistance of one stave of a cask, sufficed to cook the two meals each day fur 8 men. Tlie following are the articles an«l the proportion wo found ])cst suited to our purpose : — Juuk ... 70 lbs. /'' ' ■ Oil ... . 6 gall. ' Saltpetre . . IJ lbs. Rosin ... 3 lbs. The rosin and saltpetre were dissolved in boiled oil, tI»o junk cut into 6-inch lengths and well soaked, being dipped twice after they are cold, and then rolled up in old wrappers or bread bags. We found loss would do as the weather grew warmer; and the only inconvenience was that it required more attention from the cook ; and that the smoke and soot, as we could seldom afford water for washing more than once a week, dirtied our blanket bags. A slight alteration was made in the scale of victualling; the following being the allowance determined on to each sleigh per day : Bread, 8 lbs. ; pork, 4 lbs. ; pemmican, 4 lbs. ; preserved potato, 4 lbs. ; rum, 2 pts. ; tea, 4 ozs. ; sugar, 1 lb. To make 100 lbs. Provisions for one Sleigh for forty days. * Bread, 320 lbs. ; pork, 160 lbs. ; pemmican, 160 lbs. ; potatoes, 10 lbs. ; rum, 12 pints ; tea, 40 lbs. ; sugar, 160 lbs. ; * Tills calculation appears to take into account tbo depots, as it d(x» nut agree with the daily allowance. m 1868.] SLEDOE JO URNAL — VICTORIA BTRA IT. 263 dogs' meat, 160 lbs. ; fuel, lOO lbs. ; 3 kettles ; 1 stove ; 3 muskets ; which, with the tent, floor-cloth, racoon skin, buffalo robes, 5 boarding spikes, 8 blanket ba^'S, axe and saw, men's clothes and ammunition, including the packages they were stowed in, amounted to nearly 17 cwt. ; but as a cunsidurable quantity had been already deposited in advance, I calculated that our heaviest load would be 15j^ cwt. In consequence of illness a slight change took place in the crews, and they were manned and commanded on this occasion as follows : — Enterprise. VicUma. Royal Albert. Capt. Collinson. Lieut. Jago. Goo. Fowler, Quartor- Ily. Hester, Capt. Jas. Rich, B. mate. master. Coxwain. Rd. lliumas, ship's Wm. Smith, A.B. Wm. Oowan, A.R cook. Wm. Wilson, A.B. Wra. Murray, A.B. ThoB. Cousins, Capt. Hy. Sergeant, A.B. Wm. French, A.B. M.T. Wm. Scott, Officers* Jiio. Chartres, A.B. A. Ball, A.B. cook. Geo. Wonman, A.B. Jos. Wiggins, A.B. Chas. Elmore, A.B. Wm. Marohall, A.B. Geo. Dovereli, M. Chas. Carrol, A.B. , Wm. Jefferson, A.B. Jas. Mayhew, M. Doys. / Sandy. Fngan. Cribbage. Da»ldy. Bill. Hook. Bevis. „ Jacka. Hatchett. Journal while absent on the E. Coast of Victoria mth the Enterprise, Victoria, and Royal Albert Sleighs. , , April 12th. — At 7.40 a.m. we left the ship and got on to the land at 10.15, whence we had fair travelling, and camped 1 mile south of the Pilot knob at 5. April 13th. — Started at 7.40 a.m. The sun being obscured, mistook our route and kept at first too much to the eastward, reached Long Lake at 10, then had good travelling over it ; but in the afternoon came on stony ground, and did not reach the salt water at Rae Inlet until 4.15. Camped at the first depot at 5. April 14:th. — Started at 7.30 a.m. Rae Inlet runs N. and S. 2^ miles; the islet is nearest to the W. shore, the !i II ■ ■ 1 St Ml. i P^H !^^B ':^^H l^^^^^H i 'fi^l l^^^^l 1 a ^^^^^H 1 1 :iiii jmW^ III ,i 264 CAPTAIN COLLINSON'8 JOURNAL. [April channel between us and it being under a mile. The coast line outside the inlet trends immediately to the E. Got the meridian altitude and true bearing at noon ; passed over last year's deer tracks ; road good ; camped at 5. Got the dip of the needle. April 15th. — Started at 7.30 along a low coast ill defined ; at noon abreast of a bight ; ice packed all the way in shore of us ; crossed an old fox track or two ; camped at 5 about 3 miles from the shore. Parhelion at sun-down. Two of the Victoria's snow blind. April IQth. — Started at 7.45. Came upon the junction of two floes at 10 and again at 1 ; heavy pressure here. Camped at 5.15 April 17th. — Started at 7.30 over good travelling ground ; passed old bear tracks ; came to the Wyvil depot at 11. Jtoyal Albert left 5 days' provision ; picked up the remainder and proceeded at 12.30 ; hauled out of bight at 3.30 ; ice becoming packed ; low land to the E.S.E. connection not visible ; camped at 5.15 close to the barrier, which appeared to extend all the way to the shore, and was impracticable with our heavy loads. April l^th. — Started at 7.30, making an E.S.E. course; got the meridian altitude ; in the afternoon among rubbly ice ; hauled out S. by E. and camped at 5. Land apparently connected from S. by E. to E.N.E. April l^th. — Started at 7.30. Koad better, but only able to make a S. by E. course. In the afternoon hauled to the S.E., and latterly E.S.E. ; bear tracks seen ; camped at 5. April lOth. — Started at 7.30, steering E. ; low cliffs to the N. four or five miles distant ; got the meridian altitude and true bearing at noon. P.M. course E.N.E. ; crossed a heavy barrier at 4.30, bea* and wolf tracks about it; land now trends to the N.E. ; camped at 5.10. April 21st. — Started at 7.30. Course N. by E. ; road good ; got meridian altitude and true bearing. Came in to the shore at 3 and camped at 3.45. Deposited bread, 80 lbs. ; potatoes, 40 lbs. ; pork, 41 lbs. ; rum, 3 gallons 3 gills ; tea, 3 Jbfj. ; sugar, 10 lbs. ; fuel, 2 packages ; dogs' meat, 1853.] SLEDOE J OURNAL— VICTORIA STRAIT. 265 18 lbs. Received 5 days' provision for the Enterprise and Victoria from the RoycU Albert, the latter re(jeiving oruers to return to the ship and meet me 5 days' journey to the east- ward on the Slst of May. Exchanged Chartres for Elmore, the former having a sprain. April 22nd. — Started at 7.30, Bai/al Albert's crew helping us through the rubbly ice ; 8, they returned ; 9, broke one of the Enterprise's runners, sent Murray after the Royal Albert, fished the runner, and sent the empty sleigh to be exchanged. Noon, Hester returned with the Royal Albert, loaded her and pjoceeded at 1.10. Course N. by E. ; crossed bear tracks. Ice much shattered, but travelling good on the whole. Low land one mile to the west ; passed a cliff at 430, the land thence trending apparently more to the westward. April 2'ird. — Started at 7.30, travelling good ; occasional barriers requiring the crews of both sledges to get one over. Crossed bear tracks ; came up to the junction of the new and old ice at 2.30 ; camped and sent out four parties, who re- turned in the evening, reporting the ice impracticable for sleighs from E. to W. by N., forming a similar barrier to our progress as was experienced last year by the Resolution, between Banks Land and Melville Island. Here there was scarcely such a thing as a level spot to be seen, but a most confused jumble of angular pieces, many of which were upwards of 20 feet high, while the snow between them laid so loose that we frequently sank up to the middle, and only extricated ourselves by our hands. April 24:th. — Started at 7.30, making a S.W. by S. course. Murray sick ; 12, unloaded the sleighs and carried half the cargo at a time across a barrier a cable's length wide. Struck in for the shore and came upon rubbly ice at 3 ; took half the load off and got to the beach at 3.30 ; returned for the remainder, and camped at 4.30. April 25th. — Started at 7.30 ; came upon a low shingle point at 9.30 ; camped, weather being too severe to proceed. April 2Qth. — Detained in camp all day by bad weather. April 27th. — A ptarmigan seen. Started at 7.45; very cold, travelling pretty good ; occasionally obliged to employ iiii in ♦ ' ■ I i I rm V ^66 CAPTAIN COLLINSON'S JOURNAL. [May both crews to one sleigh. At 1 came across the barrier and struck in again for the shore, made a W.S.W. course, passed a bear track, reached the shore at 3, and camped at 4.45. Ap-il 28th. — Detained in camp by bad weather. April 29th. — Started at 7.30. Course W. along shore; 9, came to a point, on which were five caches, circles of stones showing summer encampment, and a small piece of drift wood ; land trending to the S.W. ; struck off through the barrier to the N.W. ; noon, going N., ground smoother ; 1.30, saw the land to the N.E. ; 4.30, crossed a barrier; 5.15, camped ; several bear tracks. - ' - » April SOth. — At 4, Jefferson saw a bear within a quarter of a mile of the tents, which the dogs started after and drove off; they all returned with the exception of Daddy, and we left our encampment with a heavy heart at 7.30 ; road not good, rough ice, got the meridian altitude and true bear- ing ; 1.30, came upon a low point on which large stones were pressed up by the ice, much old ice off it ; camped opposite the centre of a bay at 5, near to a large piece of ice ; at 10 p.m., greatly to our joy. Daddy came back. May IsL — Started at 7.30 ; came upon a cliff point at 11.10. Left 32 lbs. of pork, 32 lbs. of pemmican, 64 lbs. of bread, 32 lbs. of potatoes, 2 lbs. of tea, 8 lbs. of sugar, rum 3 gallons 2 pints, 4 packages of fuel, 8 tins of dogs' meat ; got the meridian altitude. Passed another point at 2 ; ice pressed much up on the shore from here ; camped at 5. May 2nd. — Started at 7.30 ; made a N. course along a low coast until noon, then N.N.W. ; much rubbly ice ; picked up a small piece of drift wood and an egg shell. May Srd. — Started at 7.45, over better ground ; 10.30, on a low islet, no other land visible ; noon, a point E., hauled out for it ; 3.30, came upon rough ice ; camped at 6. May 4th. — Started at 7.40 ; 8, saw the point bearing S.E. ; passed over it at 9 ; picked up 4 pieces of drift wood, one of which was 3 feet 6 inches long, and part of a stump 8 inches in diameter ; course now E.N.R ; came under a bluff 150 feet high, at 11 ; travelling fair but weather very hazy, objects often not visible at two cables length ; eytis bad. -!',<■. '•'•*■ 4. -ii; 1853.] BECORD OF DOCTOR RAE. 267 May 5^A.— Started at 7.30 ; course N. by E. and N.N.W., along a low shore, travelling pretty good ; at 2, coast line trending N.N.W. ; left a depot of four days' provisions, and struck through the barrier, making a N. course ; ice much broken up, travelling bad; camped at 5.30. Land from N. by E. to N.W., then a gap of 3 points, and continuous to depot point. May Qth. — Started at 7.30, steering N.N.W. over bad ground ; 10, came upon a smooth surface ; bear tracks very numerous, saw one ; Lt. Jago, Marshall, and Eich went after it without success. A low point, N.E. by E. ; 1.30, came up to it and found a cairn apparently not long built, coast trending E.N.E. and N.E., scarcely elevated above the sea ; 3, saw two more cairns, one near the beach, the other a mile inland ; found nothing in their vicinity to indicate by whom they were built ; land very low, no soil, fragments of yellow limestone and rounded boulders of granite. A few birds' nests of seaweed and moss ; camped at 5.30 ; got the magnetic dip and force. May 7th. — Started at 7.15, coast trending N. by E., vi t-y low ; crossed fox tracks. A warm day ; camped on a point at 5.15. May 8th. — Started at 7.30, along a low shore ; left the beach at 9.30 ; caijie in sight of a beacon at 10.30, bearing N.N.W. ; got to it at 1.30, and found a paper containing the following notice : " A party of 10 men and 2 officers of the Hudson's Bay Company descended the Coppermine river in the latter end of June, in two boats. Found a channel of open water along shore on the 5th of July. Came along the coast eastward as far as Cape Alexander ; were detained there some days as the ice in the strait was still unbroken. Then crossed over by the Finlayson islands to Victoria land, which was found to run nearly E. to long. 102° 40'^ when it turned up to the north. There is a deep and irregular shaped bay between lat. 69° 15' and 69° 40' N, in long. 102° 3'. The boats were arrested by ice in lat. 69° 43' and 101" 24' (?) W. long. A walking party traced the coast 35 miles further nearly due N. The only particular ! 1 m 888 CAPTAIN COLLINSON'S JOURNAL. [May worthy of notice was an island seen about 5 miles long, and 4 miles from the shore. Much of the ice was still unbroken and was pressed close to the shore by a continuance of north- easterly winds, which will pn>bably make our return difficult. JSa far as regards the object of the cxpeHtion, a search for Sir Juhn Franklin and party, we were quite unsuccessful. " John Rae. Chief Factor. H. B. Co., " Commanding the Expedition. *• Lat 70" 2* 30" N^ long. 101" 18' (?) W. " 13th August, 1851. •* Note. — ^To-morrow I return to the boats. "J. R." Thus we became acquainted that our field of research had been examined ; but having eight days' provisions left we set off with the hope of extending the exploration seventy miles further, and camped at 5.15. May 9th. — ^Left at 7.30, making a N. course along a low shore ; at 10.30 it trended W.N.W., and seeing a point or island bearing N.K by N. we struck off for it, but coming upon very bad ground at 1.30, the water showing near the heavy pieces, and the snow being very loose, we made but little progress, and camped at 5, after a hard day's labour. Furthegt North. — May IQth. — Murray shot a ptarmigan. Started at 7.30, and after some labour, but not so difficult a • road as yesterday afternoon, we came upon the land at 9.15. A small islet one mile to the W. of where we landed. Making a ea^he of 4 days' provisions, we kept N.N.E., N., N.W., and W., until 2.30 p.m., when on ascending a lull it became evident that we were upon an island, with no land in sight, except in the direction we had come from. The appearance of the pack to the N.E., N., and N.W. forbid all hope of penetrating even with our light load through it ; so building a cairn, which our observations eventually placed in lat 70" 26' N. and long. 100" 47' W., and depositing infor- mation, we retraced our steps to the south-eastward, camping on the land at 5.15 and obtaining the magnetic dip and force.^" See Note 30, Appendix : Polab Ick. 1853.] FURTHEST NORTH. 269 Return JimrMy. — May Wth. — Started at 7.30, steering E.S.E., then S.S.E. ; came to the depot at 10, and kept a westerly course until noon, by which we avoided in some measure the difficult road we came by, being to the W. of it about two miles. In the afternoon we were enabled to keep W.S.W., and latterly, S.W. by W. ; travelling bad in several instances, and pools of water about the large masses of ice ; camped at 5. May I2th. — Started at 7.30 ; came to the shore at 9 ; and leaving four days' provision at a large boulder of granite (9 feet cube), we then made a W. by S. course along a low coast; at 12.30 we came upon a point which was a little more elevated above the sea, the highest part of it being 60 feet ; from here the coast trended to the S. of W., but seeing land bearing W.N.W. we struck off in that direction and came upon a low spit at 2, inside of which old ice was heavily packed. At 2.30 we got a sight of a bear, and loosing our dogs, they brought him to bay, and he was soon dispatched, proving a male of the first year, but in very poor condition, having scarcely any fat on him at all. We camped at 3 in order to flay him while warm. May ISth. — Our provisions being exhausted, I remained in camp in order to obtain the dip and force, and observations necessary to determine our position. Lieut. Jago left with two men towards the W.N.W., while Hester with another was sent to trace the mainland to the S.W. ; both parties to erect marks. They both returned in the forenoon, the land proving nearer than we imagined. The land Mr. Jago reached proved to be an island, with another beyond it, and the appearance of land to the W.N.W. Hester reached a cliff-head, whence the land continued its south-westerly trend, the sea between him and the island visited by Mr. Jago being closely packed with heavy hummocks of ice. The day being misty prevented their seeing far. Our tent proved to be in 70° 12' N., and longitude 101° 40'. May 14:th. — Having determined on travelling by night on our return, we set off at 8.10 p.m., and got to the depot at 12.20, whence we struck across the low land in a S^J). i I* • 1 if 270 CAPTAIN COLLIN SON'S JOURNAL. [May direction, and came tx) the sea-ice at 4.30, camping at 5.30 a.m. Leaving at 7.30 p.m., and steering a S.S.E. course, we reached Rae's beacon at 10.15, and left a cylinder, and after a S.E. by E. course, reached the south shore of the bay at 1 a.m., May 15th, along which we proceeded until 5 a.m , making a S. course. Before starting, observations for our position, the dip and force were obtained; camp broke up at 8 ; travelling S. by W. over good ground. May 16 f* :i ft^ '„- ^ h -y I -: OHB -ii .•'■ >i[ 290 CAPTAIN OOLLINSON'S JOURNAL. [Auo. i i ■ track used by the Esquimaux in the migration to and from the largo lake. To the eastward of the inner harbour the coast-line of Victoria trends to the westward of south ; some few sound- ings were obtained in the cracks along shore before the ice broke up, and the channel between it and Simpson is apparently open. Along this coast are several islets and shoal inlets afifording good boat harbours, and at the dif tauce of 5 miles is a long low point apparently shoal to ; ^ere the coast takes a sudden turn to the eastward, trending fii3t S.E. 3i miles, and then east 7 miles to Cape Colborne. Tber" is a sunken rock bearing N. 25° E. 2*8 miles from the low point ; when upon it Simpson Rock bears N. 40" E., summit of Flagstaff Island, N. 24° R, Mount Augusta, N. 45° W., Finlayson bluff, W. 3° S. We obtained no soundings in its vicinity, and therefore cannot say whether it is connected with the shore or not. Lieutenant Jago, who followed the coast-line round beyond Cape Colborne, found it trend east instead oi N.E., and at the distance of 20 miles entered Eae Inlet, which has an islet at its entrance, and, running back 4 miles to the westward, forms another very good harbour ; from the head of which he crossed over land to the head waters of Camb-.dge Bay, the distance as the crow flies being 20 miles. At this period the deer were waiting for the freezing over of the straits, and had assembled in large herds; he estimated the total number seen in the course of his journey at 1500. Afterwards, in the first week in November, when crossing to the American Continent, we fell in with the footmarks of several hundred ; there is therefore little doubt that the Finlayson Islands and this peninsula are the usual crossing places in the autumn; the distance of the latter from the main is 10, and of the former 7 miles.^ See Note 33, Appendix : Animal and Veoetablb Life. The vegetation was much more scanty than at our last winter quarters, and there appeared little or no soil ; we dug up and used as fuel a considerable quantity of peat, but it ,;ll 1853.] <7^Jlf£: AND VEGETATION. 201 was very inferior as an article of fuel. Tlio climate evidently, althouf ' we were a degree and a half more to the southward, was m -re severe ; scarcely any willows were seen, and o^ our arrival we found old ice aground on the lee or southern side of the straits and bays, which was not the case at our former winter quarters. Ducks and ptarmigan were more numerous, hares scarce, and owing to the open nature of the country we were very unsuccessful with regard to the deer, tl ough numerous. The hills are covered with small a.:gular fragments of yellow limestone, which appeared in situ only at Mount Pelly and in Rae Inlet ; on the beaches were rolled stones of porphyry, basalt, and greenstone, the latter very compact. I found shells, apparently not very ancient about 20 feet above the present mean tide-level ; and the coast-line in several instances showed traces of three ancient beach marks, by which I am inclined to think the sea here is subsiding. It is high- water upon F. and C. days at 11^ hours, and the rise and fall varied from feet 7 inches to 2 feet 4 inches. The set of the tide was so irregular and so dependent on the wind, that I cannot 'lay whether the flood comes from the east or the west. The oa^terly set certainly prevailed after the ice was in motion, as it disappeared in that direction, and lodged on the western shore. m Ship under Weigh for the West. The first star seen this season made its appearance on the 9th of August, so that our days began to darken before we had moved from our winter quarters ; this is perhaps the most serious difficulty o be overcome in accomplishing the passage from the Atlantic into the Pacific. A considerable quantity of open water having made to the westward, we weighed at 5 a.m. on the morning of the 10th, and tried to work into it, but the narrowness of the channel between the ice and the reef, together with the current, prevented our gaining anything to windward, and after one or two narrow escapes from getting aground, I had to return to our anchorage at 9. IT 2 292 CAPTAIN COLLINSON'S JOURNAL. [Auo. ■;j lit : ;■? Ii ihe afternoon the wind drawing round to the north per- mitted us to get out when we found an open sea to the westward. Nothing is more surprising than the sudden disappearance of the ice in this manner. I do not think there was a single individual in the ship that expected we should be able to move the night previous, yet in less than 24 hours there is not a fragment of ice to be seen in the direction we are bound. The wind proved light and variable, and we made but little progress, and during the forenoon of the 11th were driven by the current so far to the eastward as to sight Cape Colborne; ..from the mast-head we could perceive the pack resting oii its base, but we could not trace it across to the continent. The breeze increasing in the afternoon enabled ua to beat the current, and we succeeded in reaching the Finlayson Islands by 4 a.m. In working through between the large island and the reefs south of it, a rock awash 2i^ cables to the southward of the former was discovered. During the forenoon we were enveloped in one of those harassing thick fogs, infinitely more impene* able to the vision than the darkest night ; the wind unfortunately left us opposite to the centre of the island, and the water being too deep for anchorage, it became questionable at one time whether the current would not carry us back into Cambridge Bay, or in its attempt to do so lodge us upon one of the many reefs about these islands. Providentially the wind came to our aid, and dispersing in some measure the fog, we were enabled to feel our way along the shore of the continent, but did not succeed in getting round Cape Alexander until 1 a.m. on the 13th of August; that Cape apparently is not steep to, as a considerable quantity of ice yet remained in the slack water to the east of it. Making all sail we hauled across the strait to the Victoria shore, and passed Byron Bay at 8 a.m. Our fair wind failed us at noon, but we made progress against the current, only, however, succeeding in passing between Bate and Kellet Islands at noon on the 16th. Then getting a slant of wind from the N.E. we made rapid progress, reaching Miles' Islets at 7 p.m. ; here, however, we came in with the 1853.] CORONATION GULF. 293 ice, through which we were enabled to reeve, until we reached Douglas Island, when it was so closely packed as to block our further progress, and subject us to the vexation of having a fair wind without being able to make use of it. On the 17th of August, after several ineffectual attempts to get to the southward, where we hoped the influence of the Copper- mine Eiver would occasion open water, we tried the north shore and succeeded in getting into the land water on it, but almost immediately afterwards took the ground on a reef about 2 miles from the shore. The kedge anchor coming home, we had recourse to the stream and hove off, the cable parting just as the ship started. After recovering our anchors we continued to work to the westward, crossing over the shoal in 7 fathoms, and obtaining deeper water in shore of it. As we approached Point Becher (Lady Franklin Point ?), our channel narrowed, and it became evident that the passage between it and Douglas Island was blocked as close as ever. We, therefore, made our way again through cross ice to the southward, and after trying in all directions were frequently close beset ; the ice opening now and then enabled us to maintain our position pretty well until the 20th, when we were carried away in the pack to the S.E. at the rate of 1 mile per hour ; thus utterly helpless, we gradually shot past the Bayfield Islands, and approached the archipelago named after Sir E. Home. At midnight we were close to a reef on the nor^ri side of an islet, nearly midway between the two groups, but by the mercy of God 'passed it without touching, having 12 fathoms of water, when within a cable's length of it, and 51 immediately afterwards. The current then carried us farther to the southward, and at noon we were opposite the south end of the archipelago, and about 4 miles rom it with little or no drift. In the afternoon the ice slackened off, but not sufficiently to warrant our making sail, until day broke on the 22nd of August, when we made sail and bored through into a lane of water by 5 a.m., which extended up to the Saunders Islands ; on reaching them we found a close pack, but had the gratification to see the land water over it under Mount Barrow, but which we did not f*ii 5f ll' 294 CAPTAIN OOLLINSON'S JOURNAL. [Aug. get into until 6 p.m. ou the 23rd of August, and were opposite Cape Krusenstern at half past 10, when being unable to see our way amongst the sconces,* and fearing to get beset by taking a wrong lead, I hove-to for daylight. When morning broke the wind had got round to the east- ward, and we made all sail. The soundings were very irregular, but the least water we passed over was 6^ fathoms, and to the north the low reef between Lambert and Douglas Islands (which we had seen last year) was seen with a close pack to the north of it, apparently filling the whole space between it and Point Becher. Our fair wind failed us at 8, but the tide favouring us we made good progres. itil noon, when we were abreast of the west point of Lambert Island, and the wind then failing we dropped alongside a large floe, to which I made fast. Finding, however, that we were rapidly setting to the eastward, I sheered off and came to with the bower ; unfortunately the act of sheering gave the floe a slew and brought the point of it across our hawse ; the cable cut into it immediately and there became fixed, notwithstanding all our efforts to free it. After veering to 60 fathoms and driving a considerable distance, I began to fear our windlass would not stand the strain, and therefore slipped ; although we had a boat under the bows in readiness to pick the buoy up as soon as it came from under the ice, it never showed, and the buoy of the anchor having been riarried under water, in consequence of the buoy ropes being dragged through the mud, we were without the means of knowing the exact spot where the anchor was. However, we came to in the vicinity, and as soon as the tide slackened set to work to sweep for it, but without success ; while so occupied a second floe came across our bows, but as the tide was nearly done, I did not fear but that we would be able to shove it clear while the ship was tending ; in this I was mistaken, as the tide turned rapidly, and we found ourselves with our head to the eastward, and the floe more firmly fixed than ever. As it was improbable that the strain could be borne when the tide made, no time was lost in trying to ship the cable over • Sconce, " a bulwark," Johnson ; used here as aa isolated mass.— [Ed.] 1853.] DOLPHIN UNION STRAIT. 295 the floe by means of a 6-inch whale line, which we succeeded in doing ; in fact, the armourer was putting the bolt in when the tide brought another piece of ice upon us ; the whale line parted, and we had the mortification to see the end of our second chain run out of the hawse. [Thus losing two bower anchors in as many hours.] Before the sheet cable was bent, and that anchor stocked, we had drifted 6 or 7 cables, and at length brought up close to a large piece of ice, which proved to be aground in 6 fathoms of water ; as soon as we ascertained there was sufficient water alongside of it for U8, we weighed, and hung on under its lee, thereby avoiding all the floes that floated past us. At midnight, being slack tide, we shifted round to the eastern side, and I intended when daylight broke to have dropped up to our buoy, and picked up the second if not our first anchor ; the morning, however, proved so very thick that we could not see the length of the ship, nor did it clear off until the western tide had made so strong as to preclude any hopes of reaching the buoy before noon. A disinclination to leave two anchors and cables behind me, without making another attempt to recover them, made me hesitate at first, but the impression that the advanced period of the season rendered it more imperative not to lose 12 hours of a fair wind, prevailed. Accordingly as soon as we could see our way through the mist, which was shortly after 7 a.m., I slipped from our friendly floe, and made all sail to the westward. At 10 Sutton Island bore north of us ; shortly afterwards the fog again enveloped us, and our com- passes being still useless, we kept unfortunately to the north- ward of the mid-channel course, and shortly after 1 p.m. came in among ice ; when the sun came out and enabled us to correct our course, we found ourselves nearly into the land water on the Wollaston shore, and had to haul to the south- ward through the pack, which was fortunately loose enough for us to reeve through until we reached the open sea on the American shore. At 8 p.m. the wind faLed us, and when it sprung up again, being unable rightly to tell its direction, we were compelled to wait for daylight. In the afternoon the if. 296 CAPTAIN COLLINSON'S JOURNAL. [Auo wind drew round to the S.W., and we made all sail out of the straits, running through loose pieces of ice. The carpenter finished the anchor stock on the afternoon of the 27th, and we had the satisfaction of seeing two serviceable anchors at our bows. The weather continuing very hazy gave us only occasional glimpses of the land, and we ran close past Clerks Island vrithout being able to distinguish it. August 2^th. — Our compasses now began to traverse, giving us the means of maintaining our course in the absence of the sun or stars. Towards midday the wind drew round to the westward, and I made a long stretch to the northward, reaching within 30 miles of Cape Erebus (Nelson Head), which in the evening we saw the loom of. In the morning we got sight of the land to the southward, which I hoped would prove to be Cape Parry. But on obtaining the longi- tude I found we had been set to the eastward, and were in Damley Bay. In the afternoon the wind backed round again to the southward, and by 10 p.m. we were abreast of Moore Islands, and could make out a dark shade between us and the continent ; when opposite to them we shoaled the water to 20 fathoms gravel, and then got 35 mud, and afterwards 22 gravel ; so I am inclined to think that shoal ridges wUl be found extending easterly from them and the Cape. I esti- mated our distance at 5 nules. By midnight we were past Cape Parry, and were making good way at the rate of 6 knots per hour. By my observations the Cape is nearly a degree (of longitude) or 18 miles too far to the East upon the charts ; which error probably arose during the circumnaviga- tion of Franklin Bay, and Sir J. Richardson not having a chronometer with him, had no means to correct his reckoning. When oflf the Cape we fell in with several heavy pieces of ice, being the first we had met with since leaving the Dolphin and Union Straits. During the 30th of August we came in among loose streams, which in the course of the day became so cross as to compel us to seek a clearer road in shore, affording a strange contrast with the state of the ice here at the same 1863.] CAPE BATEUR8T. 297 period two years ago, when the pack was 30 miles from the land; now, to all appearance from the mast-head, it was resting on Trail Point. We managed, however, to push to the westward through floes, which however gradually increased in size until 11 p.m., when, being unable to see the leads, we were compelled to wait till daylight. On its breaking I found the view to the westward so unpromising as to induce me to prefer working into the land- water ; while doing so we fell in with a bear and succeeded in shooting him. It was 4 p.m. before we reached the open water, and got at the same time into 13 fathoms water, being about two miles from the shore. In several of the ravines a column very like smoke was seen, but it may have been mist thrown up by the eddy wind under the high cliffs. At 7.30 we could see over the low spit at Cape Bathurst, and made out several Esquimaux tents on it; after we had passed their encampment they launched an oomiaJc and followed us as long as we could see ; I would have stopped for them, but easterly winds had been so few and far between that I could not afford to lose even an hour; and was also desirous of rounding the BaiUie Islands before dark. This we accom- plished shortly after nine, and then got a fresh wind out of Liverpool Bay : the darkness combined with heavy cross ice compelled us to shorten saU, and make short boards in an open space until day broke, when we bore away through a heavy stream, and reached a comparatively open sea in the course of the afternoon ; the temperature of it rising to 36 gave us hopes that we had reached the warm water of the Mackenzie; several whales were seen both yesterday and to-day. On the morning of the 2nd of September, being calm, an easterly set of 1 • 2 per hour was experienced. At 5 a.m. the wind sprung up from the N.W., to which we made all sail on the starboard tack, and nhortly afterwards pa. ed two bears on a large floe : at 10.30 we got sight of the land, and during the afternoon made short tacks among straggling pieces, and seeing a piece of drift-wood occasionally. The wind con- tinued light, but drew round to the S.E. by noon on the 3rd of September, bringing a thick fog, which however cleared ') = j 296 CAPTAIN COLLINSON'8 JOURNAL. [Sept. off towards sunset, and gave us a view of the Richardson Mountains ; but we saw nothing either of the Pelly Islands or our discoveries in 1851. Towards midnight the breeze again failed us, and we experienced the same difficulty as before in this neighbourhood in steering the ship ; but little progress consequently was made on the 4th of September ; but on the 5th we passed Herschell Island. Here we were however barred by a close pack at midnight, and when day- light broke were compelled to retrace our steps, and tried without success to get into a lane of open water to the west- ward of the island. The wind failing, the current drove us back to the eastward of the island again, having 29 fathoms, about 4 miles from the shore. When the breeze sprung up from the westward, we endeavoured to hold our own by working to windward ; the closing of the ice put a stop to this on the morning of the 7th of September, and we made fast to a large floe, taking advantage of a pool of fresh water on it to fill our water tanks. On the 8th the wind got round to the N.E., and caused the ice to slacken ; we cast off at half- past 3 a.m., and tried to get into a lane of water to the N.W. The fog clearing off gave us a glimpse of the land, which proved to be Point Kay, by which we found we had been driven back altogether 40 miles since midnight of the 5th. By 8 a.m. we reached within half a cable's length of the land- water, and during the forenoon, by warping pieces out of the road, were within half our own length of it ; but here the floes being aground, and not affording sufficient depth of water over the tongues of ice for the ship to pass, we were completely baffled, nor could all our sawing and blasting effect our escape ; but as fast as we got a tongue separated and the channel open, the floes closed, and from the immediate vicinity of the ship I could not make use of heavy charges of gunpowder. With a galvanic battery and simultaneous discharges of six or eight 8 lb. charges we should, I have no doubt, have effected our escape. Bickford's fuse, although answering its purpose admirably, cannot be regulated with sufficient nicety.^ See Note 34, Appendix : Gunpowder in Ick. 1853.] OFF MACKENZIE BIVEB. m While thus occupied, expecting every trial to see a suc- cessful result to our labours, four kayaks came off {rom Point Kay, and after a little hesitation came on board, when a few presents soon quieted their fears. The Idbrety costume, and dialect proclaimed them to be of the western tribe ; and the gratitude for jmall quantities of tobacco showed that the use of this weed has spread along the coast since 1825, and proves that the traffic from Michaelowski in Norton Sound reaches 1000 miles along the coast. From all I could make out, I understood them to say that they had seen one ship and two boats. In the afternoon the women came off in an oomiak, and we obtained a few fish and a little venison. Notwithstanding . our endeavours to show them that our blasting was not intended to alarm them, they went off shortly after one of our explosions, and did not again return. All this time we had the mortification to be losing a fine fair wind ; but all our devices were unavailing till noon of the 9th of September, when we effected our escape, and got along shore inside the grounded pieces, which for several miles were closely packed, and edged us at last into shoal water; on rounding one point we got into 2| fathoms; fortunately she never touched, and on approaching Herschell Island we found an open lane, and at 4 got into a large expanse of open water opposite to it. The ice had so far cleared away as to permit our running all night. A fog, however, unfortunately overtook us shortly after daylight, and we got alongside the weather edge of a large floe, which it took us three hours to extricate ourselves from. The ice proving very close we hauled to the southward, in hopes of getting clearer leads in shore, and by noon were about a mile off the low narrow sandbank which fringes the coast to the east of Point Manning ; the pieces here were thickly strewed and most of them aground. At 5 p.m., in attempting to bore through what appeared to be a slack point, we got fixed, and could not extricate ourselves until the following morning, when the ice suddenly broke up and liberated us. The rudder being unshipped, the foresail was set in hopes of V ; ; -■; '-C : '■r-jft 1 i^,r ii 1 '^B ■1 i II mBb p ^^Ik ' ■ ■' ''ii 1 ^B ^'i ii N 11 800 CAPTAIN COLLINSON'S JOURNAL. [Sept. wearing her round before the water became too shoal; but as she did not pay off I was compelled to come to. T!ie state of the ice to the westward was very unfavourable, but being unwilling to lose an opportunity, we weighed after shipping the rudder, and with some difficulty accomplished 8 miles; when our progress was effectually barred, and we brought up under the lee of a heavy floe, aground in 4^ fathoms, to which we made fast with three whale lines, and rode out a strong breeze, proving that a grounded floe is a good anchor. We had, however, the melancholy coii- teii-plation that the ice every hour was packing closer, and had to sigh for a foul wind. The wind having moderated somewhat by noon of the 12th of September, but the ice to the west forbidding our progress, the boatswain and carpenter were sent to the sandbank (about a mile distant) for drift-wood. With some difficulty they found a lead into it, and brought off seven boat-loads, which made me some amends for our delay, fuel being the only article we were seriously in need of; the spring examination of provisions and stores having proven that by neglect we had not taken on board the quantity demanded at Woolwich by 18 tons. The ice not permitting our progress, the visits to the sandbank were continued next day ; it proved to be a narrow strip of sand scarcely above water, but such was the deposit of wood upon it, that the carpenter reported we had made no im- pression. Among other 'pieces he found one sufiiciently large to make us a topmast ; but, on proceeding to trim it, it was found partly decayed on the lower side, but made a very good plank. Mr. Phayre's dog Neptune was sent on shore for a run, but, either owing to want of water or some other cause, he fell in a fit and died, causing general sorrow on board, where he had made himseK a great favourite. In one or two places the wood was piled up by the Esquimaux, and one grave was seen. The main- land appeared 1^ mile distant, and the water apparently shallow between the sandbank and it. The ice appearing on the move, I did not send the boats 1853.] TO CAMDEN BAY. m. away on the morning of the 14th of September, and cast off from the floe at 9. On hauling to the north we managed to find a lane, and fortunately got through a very narrow channel into a nearly open sea in Camden Bay, Thus running along cheerfully, and calculating the number of hours, if our fair wind held, that would restore us to the civilised world, we occasionally got a sight of the land through the fog, and seldom lost sight of the pack to the northward, the depth of water varying from 5 to 7 fathoms. At 6 we got sight of f laxman Island, but abreast of it was a long point of ice aground, against which floes had become entangled, so as to render it necessary to pass between it and the island ; in attempting this we got into 2| fathoms, when I hauled out, and just saved her from going on shore by one of those fortunate chances which have occurred more than once in my nfe, and render me, I trust, grateful and mindful of God's mercy. The ground was soft, but a ground swell was setting in, which must have done us considerable damage ; and the wear and tear to the health of the people in getting her afloat would have been a serious commencement to our third winter : seldom has my mind been relieved from a weightier burden than when the head yards swung in stays, and she was clawing off shore. .. ' On a careful look from aloft, I had every reason to think that there was not water sufficient for us, even were we round the point ; and therefore looked out for a large grounded floe, where we ftiight lie secure, and wait the issue of a change of wind. We accordingly made fast on the western side of one aground in 7J fathoms. When morning broke I sent Lieutenant Jago to examine the open water the other side of the ice. The boat rounded the point in 2 fathoms, and, after hauling to the north, got into shoaler water, and eventually grounded ; the ice had therefore proven our safe- guard, but the easterly wind had so packed it on the western horn of Camden Bay as to render our escape doubtful. Still we clung to the hope that it would change, and that a few hours' southerly or westerly wind would effect our release. sen CAPTAIN CGLLIN80N*8 JOURNAL. [Sbpt. Camden Bay. I Two bears took the water from the floe opposite, and swam up within a cable's length of the ship. The lowering of a boat on the port side alarmed them, and they swam so fast as to get to the packed ice before the boats could turn them, and then pursuit was out of the question. Although ungainly in their gait, it is quite surprising to see the rate at which they make way over rough giound. The temperature of the sea fell to 28*^, and loose pieces of ice drifting down on the close pack, gradually filled our hole up. The floe to which we were fast war apparently spht into two, forming a dock, into which I moved the ship on the morning of the 16th of September, as the pieces crossing under the stern now passed close to us. Thus we remained, a fine favourable wind proving our bane, until the 22nd, when it fell calm, and I moved her across our now complete dock, for egress was barred, to what I hoped would prove the weather side, and a better position for making sail from. The ice slacked ofl" a little ; but the wind again prevailed in its old quarter, when it all closed, and a considerable number of loose pieces had now collected to the eastward of our floe. On the 26th of September young ice made over our hole, and gave me warning that we were most probably fixed for the winter. I accordingly reduced the allowance of rum to half a gill, and tea and sugar one-sixth. These were the only articles, except fuel, of which we had not abundance. The former we could spare better than anything else, the reduced allowance being in fact the established allowance of the Navy ; the reduction was occasioned by our being suppUed with spirits over proof, which, in the course of our long voyage, had not only evaporated, but become weaker ; a considerable quantity of tea had been used by our travelling parties in lieu of cocoa; and the sugar proved deficient in weight, owing, I presume, to the frost having penetrated, and extracted the moisture. The inconveniences thus w;ere slight, and there still was issued, in addition to the allowance, I lb. of 1853.] BLOCKED IN CAMDEN BAY. 303 beef on salt meat days, and the same quantity of barley, rice or carrots on preserved meat days. A light westerly wind on the 27th of September fanned our hopes, but it did not freshen sufficient to break up the young ice. Some pieces drifted from the eastern edge of the floe, and in the evening of the 29th a crack in the newly-formed ice (now two inches thick) in our dock took place, which led me to expect some pressure. After a little uneasiness all became quiet, and we became convinced our liberation would not be effected until the spring. 804 CAPTAIN OOLLINaON'3 JOURNAL. [Oct. lii SECTION XV. :. Camden Bay. Winter and Spring, 1853-^4. Our patent fuel for the travelling parties had made an inroad into our stock of oil — fortunately a large sui)ply of candles had been as yet but little resorted to ; and, on exami- nation, I was glad to find that we should not be subject to serious inconvenience on that score. Sir J. Franklin's remarks on the scarcity of drift-wood after passing Flaxnian Island rendered it necessary to be very economical with this article, until we could ascertain the practicability of increasing our store. One or two pieces were seen on the ice not far from us, and, as it was now sufficiently firm to bear, a party was sent out on the 1st of October, and brought in a good- sized log. On the 3rd, the water to the eastward of us having completely closed up, I left the ship, accompanied by three men, for the shore ; after nearly an hour's bad walking, we acceeded in getting off the packed ice on to the new ice, and reached the shore about 5 miles from the ship, where 1 had the gratification to find abundance of the article I was in quest of. On our way back we fell in with a reef, or sandbank, at the distance of haK an hour from the main, and which appeared to be a continuation of the shoals extending easterly from Flaxman Island ; on it was one very large tree, and a considerable quantity of smaller wood. By following the smooth ice, we had a good path until within 20 minutes' walk of the nhip. On the 4th of October Lieut. Jago was despatched witu two sleighs for wood ; one of the crew becoming, however, exhausted, but one load was brought to the depot at the edge of the rough ice ; in the afternoon 1863.] AUTUMN EXPEDITIONS. 305 anothor party was despatched, but we found the daylight barely sutticient for two trips a day. ■ '■ October 'ith. — The next morninf? I left the ship, provisioned for eight days, with the intention of reaching Barter Island, and opening a traific with the Estiuiinaux. At noon we came to the shore at a low point, on which was a summer hut ; and then, pursuing a course along shore, left Boulder Island outside of us. Several foxes and one wolf were seen prowling about after the ducks ; wo picked up six or eight with their heads torn off. The ice now became very thin, and one spot being still open, we found fifteen pintail ducks on it so exhausted aa to be unable to fly. During the afternoon we came upon a heap of ice 15 feet high, consisting of pieces about 4 inches thick piled on top of one another, which led me to think wo must be opposite the mouth of another river, a thaw in which luid moved the newly-formed ice over a shoal, and caused it to pile in this extraordinary manner. The weather was^ however, so hazy as to prevent our seeing far. At 5 we reached a low cliff, from whence the coast range of hills rose immediately. The following day proved fine, and the mist clearing away gave us a good view of the Eomanzoff range. After crossing a long shallow bay, we came at 10 upon a shingle point, on which were ten small and one large hut, all so casually constructed as to assure me they were only temporary aDodes ; then continuing our course along shore to the westward, we crossed fresh bear tracks, and on the cliffs I met with a footprint resembling a wolfs, bnt much larger. At noon we reached another point, on which were several residences ; recent footmarks and chips showed they had been tenanted but a short while hoiore. Then crossing what is most probably the mouth of another river, but very shoal, we camped on low ground, over which a bear had been tramping. On the 7th of October we had to contend with a fresh easterly wind and thick weather, which, instead of improving, became worse. Seeing several of the men frost- bitten about the face, I was induced to camp at noon. The weather did not permit our moving the following day, which was passed most uncomfortably, everything being saturated X pi "ffiTI^IH 306 CAPTAIN COLLINSON'S JOURNAL. [Nov. with moisture, and the cold insufficient to extract it. Tlie dogs finding our pork-bag open, helped themselves ; and on going to the sleigh for our breakfast, we found our four days* allowance vanished. The easterly wind and the drift pre- vented our moving also on the 9th of October, nor, during the whole time we were camped here, could we see much more than a cable's length. The we "ler still remaining thick, we retraced our steps on the morning of the 10th of October, and camped on the site occupied by the ten huts. Foot and keel marks were yet visible on the shingle, and I fancied I detected a sleigh track ; it did not however extend to the ice. The large house under the lee of which we camped, appeared to be used as a banjo-shop, as we found the frames of two tam- bourines, which, after replatdng them with a few presents, I made bold to carry away. The 11th also proved a bad day, the wind having now freshened from the westward, and the sun being obscured, I had nothing to steer by, and was but too glad when we came upon our old track, which led us two miles beyond the heap of ice, when it became obliterated. Taking the wind for our guide, we came in with the shore at half-past 2, but being unable to recognise the locality, and knowing we could not be much more than half a day's journey from the ship, I camped in hopes of better weather in the morning, and fearing to lose my way among the sea ice. The wind blew very violently during the night, and we were roused up about 4 by the two men at the mouth of the tent reporting that vhey were lying in 6 inches water ; with considerable difficulty we managed to get the tent door opened, and found ourselves silted up, the tent being nearly buried. While breakfast was cooking it was dug out, and we started in a thick fog, hoping to come across our own, or the tracks of the sleighs wooding ; seeing land through the haze to the north of us, I at first took it to be Boulder Island, but shortly afterwards found that it was part of the main, and that we were most probably in the mouth of the Canning. So striking across the land in nearly a north direction, which a casual glimpse of the sun enabled me to 1853.] COLLECTINO FIREWOOD. 307 take, we again reached the fee, having dragged the sleighs over nearly two miles of low ground, interspersed with several lakes ; steering N.W., from the shore, we shortly came among hummocks of ice, and, the fog lifting, got sight of the ship at 11, and arrived on board at half-past 1. All suffered from frost-bites, and the wet condition we had been in since our departure ; fortunately nothing serious occurred, and we had only to lament that our troubles had not been rewarded by accomplishing the object we had in view, nor had I been able to do anything with regard to the survey of the coast. Winter Arrangements. On board they appeared to have experienced better weather, and had been able to carry on the wooding, fetching off' nearly every day two sleigh-loads. The pinnace was hoisted out and put on the ice at a litth distance from the ship in the eveat of fire. As we had now wood suited for the purpose, a large caboose was built around the fore hatchway ; and when the weather did not admit of the men going for wood, the main hold was cleared, and the deck-load of provisions got out. The weather continued so inclement, I bef an to fear we should not complete our stock of wood before the days proved too short ; consequently after the 22nd of October four sleighs were sent every fino day, which took every disposable hand, except those disabled by sickness, who kept the watches. It was not, however, till the 7th of November that we succeeded in depositing within a mile of the ship 76 sleigh-loads, which I calculated would last us till the spring. The sky appeared constantly loaded with mist, so much so that I was unable to obtain sights for time, to rate the chronometers, before the sun had gone too low for the artificial horizon. The condensation of the lower deck also proved worse than we had experienced previously, making me fear very seriously for the health of the people. By building a ventilator over the main hatchway, we got rid of a portion of it ; but all our remedies proved ineffectual to remove the constant drip, compelling us to wipe the lower X 2 11 iiBii m ur i ■ill 309 CAPTAIN COLLINSON'S JOURNAL. [Dec; deck beams and overhead in the officers* cabins constantly. Sixteen men were berthed in the orlop deck over the main hold, and thereby enabled to keep their blankets dry, and tlie bedding of two men was spread out every day at the back of Sylvester's stove. ' i : ,<'.■: .)■:." '.w •' On the 4th of November we had to deplore the death of another shipmate, Wm. Greenaway, A.B. He had been suffering for a considerable time, being afflicted with dropsy in addition to scurvy, and the surgeon had despaired of saving his life for a considerable period. His body waa committed to the deep the following afternoon. Thia deprivation reduced our sir : list to four, only one of which was a serious case. The remainder of the crew appeared in better health than at this time last year ; and all symptoms of scurvy, with the exception of a slight case (the assistant surgeon), had disappeared. A solitary duck, apparently nearly exhausted, flew past us on the 5th of Novemljer; during the previous week we had noticed two large flocks going to the westward, and had procured a few, wliich were reserved for the sick. Our wooding being completed, an observatory and the snow houses alongside were commenced. On the anni- versary of the Prince of Wales' birthday, half a pound of pemmican and a quarter of a pound of potatoes was issued in addition to the allowance. The following day we ex- perienced a severe gale from the westward, which induced me to spread our housings, which I had hitherto kept below, wishing to enjoy as much light as possible. As we had experienced some violent winds from the westward, a snow wall was built across the quarter-deck, just before the niizen- mast, which, rising as high as the housing, effectually sheltered the deck. Our daily routine presented less to enliven us than either of the preceding years, the shortness of the day forbidding access to the shore; it Was fortunate that there was some occupation in bringing in wood from the depot and sawing it up, besides building our snow houses; but Btrong breezes prevailed so frequently, that I doubt even ■' *nm 1853.1 t T WINTER AHliANGEMENTS. :> 309 had we been closer in shore much game woiild Tiave" been obtained. •• .; >■■•!> ■ V i- The ice alongside the starboard side gave way'urider the weight of our porch and skittle alley, and compelled us to remove tlie site of the latter to the floe, where it and a billiard-room were commenced. The transit house opened into the latter, which afforded me a sheltered walk during' the intervals between the mooQ and stars transits, but owing, to the drift and cloudy atmosphere I obtained but few observations. ... The theatre opened on the 1st of December, with ' Hamlet ' and the ' Irish Widow ' ; the stage being moved a little further forward gave the performers more room, and some attempt was made in introducing a little scenery ; so the performance went off with great eclat Mercury froze as early as the 4th, being three days earlier' than the first, and eleven than the last year. The temperature remaining low until the middle of the month, and as October, and November had both proved colder than the preceding > years, and the ice was thicker by 2^ inches, I began to fear we were going to experience a severe season. Easterly winds, however, prevailed during the latter portion of the: month, bringing with them milder weather, the mean tem- perature proving —25'', which is 5° warmer than las' year, and 8J^° colder than the first. ; "We had no venison for our Christmas fare, but I issued half a pound of pemmican and a pint of wine, upon which the people made a very good dirmer, and fared nearly as well as the officers, as our private stocks were now almost exhausted. The dogs came in for the greater portion of the hind leg of a bear, which had been reserved for the occasion, but although fresh, was pronounced not to ecpial either Sir J. Kichardson's admirable pemmican or Mr. Gamble's excellent, preserved meat. '/^' * -• " ■ • . • . • ' ^ • ,,,.., ^. The state of the ship's company's health was, as will be seen by the opposite page, a subject of great congratulation.''* Ste Note 26, Appendix : Health. 'V m ! ; 1 \'.'r- r.v 310 CAPTAIN COLLINSON'S JOURNAL, [Jan. Mar. i\ The sick list had contained but a solitary individual for a considerable period, and this was a case of consumption, which had been under the surgeon's hands upwards of a twelvemonth. The mean for the twelvemonth is 3 * 9 or 6 • 5 per cent., that of the previous year being 7 per cent. ; so I have every cause to close this book ( Vol. I. of MS. Journal) with heartfelt thanks to Almighty God, who has preserved us, I hope, to praise and glorify His name. R.C. Vol. JI. of MS. Journal. During the early part of January, 1854, part of the funnel of Sylvester's stove required to be replaced, which occupied the armourer three days, and gave us an opportunity of seeing the great benefit we derived from its admirable construction. The heat which it diffused immediately throughout the ship and its effect in compensating the moist atmosphere was at once apparent. Owing to hazy weather and strong winds, our lower deck, though warmer than in the preceding years, was considerably more wet, and great inconvenience was experienced in the cabins from constant dropping. We had recourse to swinging stoves, and tried several means to improve the ventilation, but without success ; fortunately the month proved a very mild one indeed, the thermometer rising on one occasion to + 27°, and enabling the people to get up a game of rounders by way of variety. On the 17th of January, the days having lengthened sufficiently, we made an attempt to increase our stock of fuel, and got in four light sleigh-loads, from the large tree on the reef, which proved to be 94 feet long, and 14 inches in diameter at the smaller end. The weather, although warm, proved so windy, that we only procured one other load before the dose of the month. A succession of westerly winds accumulated a heavy snow-drift under the bows, under which the ice gave way, surprising everybody, the general impres- sion at first being that the pack was in motion. In February we managed to eke out our stock of oil, by boiling down two casks of bears' grease, and got therefrom a 1854.] EXPEDITION NORTH. mn' seasonable addition, although it had a flavour very different from Mr. Atkinson's preparation. A trial was also made to recover some of the wood, which was frozen in by the ice giving way under the heap at the depot, by blasting with gunpowder ; but 20 lbs. had no effect, and the weather proving very severe, there being but four days during the whole month that would admit of the people going for wood, I had to draw upon our stock of coal. The mean temperature of the month proved to be — 31° 8'. On the 9th of March, to enjoy the light, we furled the quarter-deck housing, which at once diffused cheerfulness, and we began to look upon the summer as coming. Prepa- ration for the departure of the *< ■ elling parties also caused occupation ; but the wind continued to blow, frequently with violence, so that our c »*amunication with the shore was very limited. On the 23rd the main-deck housing was furled, and our theatre closed for the season, having again been a source of occupation and amusement. Having completed the moon culminations for the month, the transit instrument was taken down in the beginning of April, and the carpenters fitted up the transit house as a place of shelter for the shooting parties, which, from the convenience of a window and a stove inside, would prove more comfortable than a tent. As we were now more likely to be actively employed, and owing to our distance from the shore had little chance of obtaining game, I increased the ration of pork from | to 1 lb. The shooting party bringing back seven ptarmigan on the 15th of April, the house was put upon shore on the 17th, the carpenters and party staying there during the remainder of the week. Spring Expeditions. We had been quite prepared for departure, but the weather was so unpromising, that I did not set out until the 25th of April, and then with three sleighs, two of which were equipped for six, and the third for twenty-seven days, we struck due north, hoping soon to come upon large floe pieces, and find a w m 312 CAPTAIN COLLIN SON 'S JO UliNAL. [Apr. Mat more promising road. The sleighs, even with the distributed load, complained, and several severe falls were experienced by the men. At 10 a.m. the following morning, finding our prospect of further advance, unless the road speedily assumed a smoother aspect, extremely hazardous, I halted the sleighs, and pushed on through a confused mass of hummocks, from which the snow-drift, owing to the prevalence of easterly and westerly winds, lay in ridges directly across our path ; so that our progress in either of those directions might have Ijeeii practicable ; but the difficulty of mounting the steep sides of the ridges, and the strain upon the sleighs in their descent, forbade all hope. I therefore returned, and with sorrow gave up an attempt which, independent of the main object of the expedition, I had looked forward to with much interest ; thinking that, with anything like a favourable road, I should reach 73° N. lat., and settle the question with regard to the open sea, which certainly does not appear to exist here in the same manner as it does to the north of the Asiatic Continent. Scarcely had we turned when one of our sleighs broke down, and we were compelled to bring our loads back by relays. One of the men also got so severe a fall as to be picked up insensible ; not being missed, he lay for some time where he had fallen, and we had difficulty in restoring the warmth. The shooting party at the house managed to pick up a few ptarmigan, but the blustering weather hindered our commu- nication. On the 15th of May I set out in hopes of finding the Canning, and reaching the summit of the Eomanzoff chain ; we traced the coast-line easterly, but the snow proved too deep to discover the embouchure of the river. I accord- ingly, on the second morning, struck inland, and found the ground in many places bare, with pools of water. At 2 miles from the beach the hills rose suddenly to the height of 60 feet, and then formed a table-land, with occPMonal broad water-courses, in which were rolled stones and stunted willows. The table-land was clothed with coarse grass, and we came upon the recent trail of three deer and a glutton in chase. Ptarmigan were numerous, and we picked up 30 during the day. The 17th proved foggy, and we had to 11'!' '1 I! It 1854!] .1 ? BOMANZOFF MO UNTAINS. 'D 313 grope our way, but at 3 p.m. reached a steep acclivity, where I camped, feeling assured we were not far from the foot of the chain. The western face of our hill was very abrupt, and the haze preventing our seeing the bottom, added to tl deception ; our rise had been scarcely perceptible until the last half mile, but on reference to the aneroid, I found we were nearly 1000 feet above the sea. Much to our surprise here we found the recent track of a bear. If a i)olar one, the mark%ould betoken a cub of the second year, but I was not aware that they were in the habit of straying so far from the sea-shore. • /' ''--■ ^' " i'' ,■.-.',.'' [•?.;■ ^■: The mist cleared off in the morning, and showed the range rising like a wall close at hand. Leaving the tent I set out, and crossing the valley, reached the foot of the range in an hour and a quarter, the aneroid showing a height of 1600 feet. In another half-hour we gained a steep face, the sides rising at an angle of 35°, the soil totally disappearing, the mountain being built of sharp, but not large, fragments of sandstone, piled by nature in a manner that I am sure would have excited Mr. Eendel's admiration. Up this, by aid of our hands, we climbed ; but getting enveloped in a mist, we were brought to a standstill on a narrow shelf, where moss and lichens were growing and Tripe de Roche flourishing. Traces of reindeer were found, which I suppose resort here for food when the snow in the plains lays too deep. Occa- sionally through the mist we obtained a glimpse of the peaks to the E. and W. of us, which in this view showed a very steep face to the southward ; I am therefore .inclined to think the range is very narrow. After waiting a considerable time without any prospect of its clearing off, I had to re- linquish our further ascent, fearing to lose all trace of our track. The aneroid showed 28 * 100, which, compared with the barometer on board, will give 2250 feet ; I estimated the summit as 700 feet above us, but that was not one of the highest parts of the chain. We found our way back with some difficulty, and on the ridge where the tent was pitched, came upon a patch of red clay. I moved the camp to the north-eastward, hoping a clear day would give me another 314 CAPTAIN COLLINSON'8 JOURNAL. [June I opportunity for a visit; but a thick haze veiled eve. y thing, and I got on board on Saturday, without having obtained one of my principal objects, viz., an extended view to the north. Finding the ptarmigan were getting scarce about the house, I despatched Mr. Jago to our last camping place, whence he bagged and brought on board upwards of 20 dozen, besides what were consumed by the party during the week. On Sunday, the 21st of May, all our invalids were dis- charged to duty, and the fact of having no one on iihe sick report had occurred so seldom previously, that I issued j^ lb. of pemmican and i lb. of potatoes per man, and upon Her Majesty's birthday i^ lb. of pork and ^ pint of wine was issued. Pools of water began to make upon our floe, and I took advantage of them to fill up our water at once, fearing when the ice became more porous it would prove brackish. On the 1st of June the dingy was dragged on shore, as a stand-by for the shooting parties, in the event of the rush from the rivers breaking the ice away from the shore. Our deck-load this year was carefully arranged in small casks suited to our boats. Mr. Jago brought back as the result of his second week's sport, fifteen dozen ptarmigan, and the third week ten dozen, with seventeen ducks and four geese. The boatswain and carpenter were sent out the following week, but the weather proving hazy, returned-empty handed. In attempting to esta- blish a second shooting party to the westward, Halkett's boat capsized ; fortunately both the men could swim, but we lost some provisions and ammunition. The punt was established as a ferry-boat, as the water had increased considerably, and in a strong breeze Halkett's boats could not face the sea. On the 19th of June the pinnace and cutter were hoisted in, and the eastern shooting party were directed to bring their tent back with them, as there was not only a broad gap of water abreast the ship, but the ice both to the east and west was flooded to the depth of 2 and 3 feet. On Saturday the eastern shooting party returned, bringing with them fifty-seven ducks ; but Mr. Jago, owing to a strong 1854.] POSTAL BUTTONS. 815 breeze, was not able to cross until the following afternoon, when he brought sixty-seven ducks and two ptarmigan. The ice was much honeycombed between us and the land-water, so that, until the latter approached us nearer, I detained the shooting parties. In the course of the week the dingy was sent to the house, and brought away all except the frame- work, and one covering, which, being old, I left for the benefit of the natives. On the evening of the 1st of July a large party of the natives were seen coming towards the ship from the eastward, but owing to the difficulty of finding a road, either on foot or for the oomiaks, they did not reach the ship until half-past four the following morning. On one of the boys were several buttons, with an inscription : " Gone N.E. of Point Barrow Investigator August 1850, Enterprise August 1851, Plover at Port Clarence 1852, squadron with steamers search- ing K and W. of Parry Islands 1852, depots of provision Refuge Inlet, Port Leopold, and Admiralty Inlet, in Barrow Straits." In a short time a printed paper, dated H.M.S. Plover, July 4th, 1853, Point Barrow, was produced ; and gave us the information that our consort had not been heard of, and con- sequently she was most likely to the north of us, on the west coast of Baring Land, whence, in all probability, the bad season of 1852 had not released her. As we had met with a great quantity of ice about Cape Bathurst in 1853, it might happen that she had not made her escape last year. I therefore determined to open a communication with Captain Maguire as soon as the ice would admit a boat to proceed to the westward. Our new visitors, forty-one in number, in two oomiaks, soon made themselves quite at home ; they were not, how- ever, so well behaved as our acquaintances of Victoria Land, showing a strong disposition to appropriate every article. They brought a good many fox and brown bear skins, but neither venison nor fish ; these, however, they promised to return with, and produced three muskets, one of which had a date, 1850, on the lock ; a few cartridges and some ball, both of which were highly prized, were given them, and a promise of more when they brought something in return. ■. * ■ H mB 316 CAPTAIN COLLINSON'S JOURNAL. [July Paring the time we were performing Divine Service they set out; and fearing their thievish propensity would not stand the temptation of our tent on shore, a party were despatched after them, and got to the edge of the ice just in time to save the oars, mast, sail, &c., of the dingy, which they had taken to their oomiaks. A tliick fog set in, which prevented our watching their movements. The house had, however, caught their attention, and when the weather cleared off, we found no signs of it ; fortunately all that wjis not intended for them had been removed, otherwise I should have had occasion to have recourse to harsh measures ; it however showed the necessity of maintaining a watchful eye over their proceedings. i . x' .■';■ , i I , On the 5th of July, the day being clear, I left with three men, in order to select a position for a mark, and to obtain some observations for the elevation of the Komanzoff chain. We took with us Halkett's boat, which had been invaluable ; but in consequence of constant use during the preceding years, was now Ijecome considerably worn and patched. On reaching the edge of the ice, and seeing that the shooting party had not paid any attention to the dingy'a recall, and come off from the tent to us, we pushed off, intending to paddle across, the distance being rather more than a mile- We had not, however, gone far when a breeze sprung up, and a hole burst in our boat, fortunately a floe was at hand, on which we were but too glad to remain until the dingy came to our aid. The snow having now cleared away, I had a good oppor- tunity of seeing the country, and soon discovered that what en our arrival we had taken for the eastern bluff of Flaxman Island, was in reality the embouchure of the Canning. The river taking a westerly trend, confirmed our error, and it is my opinion now that the Staines is an outlet of the same, and Brownlow Point will be found a large island. The mouth of the Canning is half a mile wide, and apparently shallow, with sand-banks; in coming on shore we had to leave the boat three-quarters of a mile from the beach, and wade on shore, crossing one of tliQ mouths into which the mm 1854.] NA TIVE NAMES, :V,ri'li:> 317 If river was divided, but never obtaining more than 2 feet of water. Althouj^h the da}, was fine the stream was not rapid. The flowers were out iii all their beauty, and showed a varierjated carpet of blue, purple, and yellow. The ice still remt .led packed upon the sand-banks to the E. and W., and in no j)lace was there so much water as immediately opposite to the ship. . . . ' . \ . On the 8thof July we experienced one of the westerly squalls, which caused the thermometer to rise 6°, and produced great havoc in the ice at its edge. On the morning of the 10th it appeared sufficiently opsn off Point Brownlow to permit the whaleboat to get round it. We launched her into the water, and at noon she was provisioned for 29 days, and despatched under the command of Lieut. Jago for Point Barrow. We bent sails and cables the following day ; and on the 13th the natives, 16 in number, each in a Icayalc, returned ; they brought very little with them for barter, and demanded a much larger price than I was inclined to give them. All however went off in a good humour ; they gave us specimens of dancing and singing, and our play-actors, donning their pantomime dresses, created great amusement. I got the names of several places along the coast, and have placed a query against the locality of which I am doubtful : — The Mackenzie Village between it and Point Kay Point Kay Eeef E. of Herschell Island Herschell Island Barter Island . Fishing station this side . Village visited by me in the autumn . About 7 miles S.E. by E. from the ship Eomanzoff Chain .... Canning Kiver .... Flaxman Island .... Imna ? Pe-ock-cha. Te-kec-ra. Ke-yuc-ta-zia. Ke-yuc-ta-huc. Noo-na-miaou. Ac-but. Noo-na-ma-luk. Noo-woo-a. Chud-loo-o-sak. Kook-Doak. Kapagillok. u I Sid CAPTAIN COLLINSON'8 JOURNAL. [JotiT Between Point Barrow and Flaxman Island ..... Point Barrow ..... Beyond Point Barrow . , Chegea. Noo-wook. Ot-kia-mik-miot. On the 14th of July, the land-water being so close as to be reached without much labour, the boatswain was sent with the seine ; but unfortunately mistaking the directions given to him, he missed the mouth of the Canning, and finding the beach too shallow tried a lake, but without success. As it was evident the pack about the ship would not hold long together, the tent was embarked. 1854.] LEAVE CAMDEN BAY. S19 SECTION XVI. Return to England. . 1854-5. Camden Bay to Point Barrow. On the 15th of July the ice in the centre of the pool, which had been frozen ever since our arrival here, measured 4 feet ^ inches, but it had wasted much more in many places, and there were several holes tb'ough it. At 2.30 p.m. the pack was in motion, and the sIk^^ drifting slowly to the eastward ; the saws were got over, and the ship cut out of her dock, so as to take advantage of any opening ; which occurred the next morning, when we cast off and made sail into the land- water, but were brought up off Point Brownlow, where the pack was resting on the shore, as well as upon Flaxman Island. In the evening the wind freshened from the eastward, and the floe we were fast to started half a cable's length, when it again brought up in 4 fathoms water. On the 18th the ice slackened off, but not sufficiently to admit of our progress to the westward. "We employed the interval in getting on board some firewood, and again tried our seine, but with little success. A westerly squall occurred in the evening, raising the temperature 14°, which speedily dispersed the pack, and opened a promising lead towards Flaxman Island, which I only waited an abatement in the violence of the wind to take advantage of. At 1 a.m., however, the floe started, and we made sail, plying between the ice and the shore ; in attempting to pass between the point of the pack and the shore, we got into our own draft, and were under the necessity of seeking into it, hoping to get hold of a grounded piece ; which, after an ineffectual attempt, we succeeded at 7 p.m., but not until u ft 1* J 320 CAPTAIl^ COLLINSON'S JOURNAL. U CLT lii:: we had drifted as far to the eastward as our winter quarters, and found part of our dirt-heap within half a mile of the place it had been deposited. An easterly wind sprang up shortly after 1 p.m. on the 20th of July, when we cast off; but in tending the ship one of our warps gave way, the ship fell into a bight into the floe, and we were detained a considerable time in extracting her. The delay was so far fortunate, that it enabled our Barter Island friends to pay us another visit ; and we soon found out that they had several strangers with them, the chief of whom produced i paper, on which was written : — '* The printed slips of paper delivered by the officers of H.M.S. Flover on the 25th of April, 1854, to the Eat Indians; were received 27th of June, 1854, at the H. B. Company's establishment. Fort Youcon ; supposed Lat. 66° K, Long. 7° 55' W. (? 137°). The Eat Indians are in the habit ot making periodical trading excursions to the Esquimaux along the sea-coast. They are a harmless, inoffensive set of Indians, ever ready and willing to render every assistance tliey can to whites. • (■ ■ "Wm. Lucas Hardisty, " Fort Youcon, June 27th, 1854." " Clerk in Charge, A w i ^ »* . (' These people were entirely different-featured from the Esquimaux, and were clad in blankets, and wore as necklaces and ornaments through the septum of the nose, the eye e quaws (Dentalium), which are mentioned by Simpson in his narrative, and which form the currency on the N.W. coast of America. They were a quiet, well-behaved people, and I was sorry to turn them away somewhat unceremoniously ; but the ship, having cleared the floe, began to move through the water at a rapid rate> which endangered the oomiak coming in contact with pieces of ice ; and they at length shoved off, loaded with several useful presents, and a tin cylinder containing information. They appeared, like the natives of Sitka and Vancouver Island, to place a value on some papers of vermilion, while our friends the Esquimaux m 1854.] .FLAXMAN ISLANDS. 321 were much more intent on blue beads. It is no doubt from them, and most likely from the Youcon establishment, that the latter obtained the firearms, as each of the men who visited us on this occasion was armed with a musket. At 8 p.m. the E. end of Flaxman Island bore S.S.E. 4 miles ; but we now found the pack too close in upon the sandbanks to permit of our pas^'isf between them, and were compelled to take the most o^^n lead to seaward, being brought up at 11.30 by a pack much water-worn, but ap- parently not yet moved from its winter position. The ship drifted in it towards the morning slowly to the westward, and, the fog clearing away so as to afford us a view of the lanes of water, we made sail at 1 p.m. on the 21st of July, and forced our way from one hole to another until 2 a.m., the 22nd, when the wind chopped round to the westward, and, the ice being too close to turn to windward, we made fast to a grounded piece 20 feet high. In the course of the forenoon the ice opened sufficiently to admit of a boat reaching the reef, and a mark was erected on it, with information for Lieut. Jago, in the event of our passing him in a fog. The weather remained too thick to see our way until the afternoon of the 24th, when we very soon got into a comparatively clear sea, which continued until 8 p.m., when the wind changing to the westward, and a close stream, prevented our making any progress ; and after tacking to and fro for four hours, and gaining no'ground, I made fast to a piece at midnight ; but it proved afloat, and it was not until 3 a.m. that we got alongside of a piece that remained firm : fearing the floe would start, I kept sail upon her until 8 a.m., when, the breeze increasing, we furled sails. In the first watch it moderated sufficiently to send a boat ashore and erect a mark, which was done on what I think is Eeturn Eeef. During the 26 th of July the wind again freshened from the S.W., and started floe at 9, when we cast off, and grappled another; but it shortly broke up, and it was not until 3 p.m. that we got the ship secure to a solid piece. On the 27th the wind went down, of which I took advantage to obtain the dip and variation on the floe. At i't\ (II > '. ' ru ♦' lii!; :fv,l Mi 322 CAPTAIN COLLIN SON' 8 JOURNAL. [July 5 p.m. a south-easterly wind sprung up, on which we cast off, and nearly lost two of our men by a floe capsizing. One was fortunately near enough to receive assistance by a rope from the ship, and happily for the other a sufficient part of the floe remained steady enough for him to maintain his footing. Neither could swim, and, encumbered as they were by boots and heavy dresses, their escape was at one time very doubtful. We turned to windward round a grounded point, and then pushed through a loose pack into a sea-stream, in which we bade fair to make a straight course for Jones Island ; but the wind chopped round again on the morning of the 28th of July, and, after in vain endeavouring to work to windward, we made fast at noon near the weather edge of a large floe. The westerly wind continued throughout the 29th, and, some loose ice coming down, we experienced some pret,aure ; but by getting the saws over soon cut her free, and hove her into a better dock. On the 30th the wind fell, but the ice con- tinued to go fast to the eastward. At noon several natives were seen coming to us from the westward, and, on their arrival, we soon found out from their dress that they were from Point Barrow. Several printed notices from the Plmer, dated the 1st and 2nd inst., were produced, and upon the back of one of them was the following information from Lieut. Jago : — ' " July 17th, 2 a.m. — Encamped on the ice, not being able to get along, either in shore or off". The boat is greatly strained, and I think, if we get much more launching, we shall not be able to return till we fall in with some ship to repair her. . , - '♦ C. T. Jago, • • , "Lieut." " Drew Point, Enterprise boat. There are three tins of pemmican at Berens Point." ' • - . . They also brought us sufficient venison for a general issue, and some geese. They appeared per' ^dy familiar with my name, and from one of the boys, who had apparently been to sea in the Plover, and could speak a few words of English, we got some confused information of his having been at Port [JCLY ist off, lewaa J from of the ooting. f boots >ubtful. d then licli we but the of July, ard, "we .e. The d, some ire ; but her into ice con- 1 natives on their |liey were le Plover, upon the ion from 2 able to strained, all not be LT her. 0, Lieut." fe tins of eral issue, with my ly been to If English, len at Port 1854.] CAPE HALKETT. ^§3 Clarence. A considerable portion of the Illustrated London News for May, 1851, containing, among other things, an account of the opening of the Grand Exhibition, waa produced and eagerly perused ; and a fragment of another newspaper, dated October, 1852, gave us just glimpse enough into the transactions of the civilised world to render our anxiety to hear what had been done during the last three years all the keener. A breeze sprung up from the eastward, increasing sufficiently at 6 p.m. to warrant an attempt to push through the pack ; we cast off, and, after some trouble, got into a lane of water by midnight, and ran along the southern edge until 4 a.m., when the wind headed us, and the space becoming too confined for working, together with hazy weather, induced me to make fast at 8 a.nL, 31st of July, to a large grounded floe, in 6 J fathoms. "When the weather cleared up at noon, the land was in sight to the southward, but at a considerable distance ; the pack between us and it and to the westward looked very unpromising, there being but few holes of water in it. On the afternoon of the 1st of August, the wind freshened to a gale, and soon began to make havoc in our pack ; the floe we were fast to was a very heavy one, and remained firm throughout the breeze, which lasted without intermission till the afternoon of the 4th, when it hauled to the north, and the land-water was now quite close to us. On the morning of the 5th we cast off, and stood in to the southward. The water deepened immediately on leaving the floe from 5f to 9 fathoms, from whence it shoaled gradually to 5, when we were about 2 miles from a low sandbank, to the west of Jones Island. Finding we were making little or no progress, I sent the boat to erect a mark on it. We continued beating to windward between these sandbanks and the ice without gaining ground, until the afternoon of the 6th of August, during which time whales were very numerous. An easterly wind, to our great comfort, sprung up at 4 p.m., and we shaped our course for Cape Hilkett. In the morning watch of the 7th, whilst rounding a point of ice, we passed Y 2 ) 1 f i^i 824 CAPTAIN COLLINSON'S JOURNAL. [July I suddenly from 3J to 2^ fathoms, but by hauling out at once to the northward, escaped without touching the ground. Towards the afternoon the wind freshened, and, having a clear open road, we made the most of it, and reached Point Barrow at 1 a.m. on the 8th of August. We soon made out the house, but seeing nobody on shore I hove to, and was about to send a boat, when we saw the first whaler comins off imder sail. Mr. Jago was soon on board, and gives tlie following narrative of his proceedings : — Journal of Whale-boat. — Camden Bay to Point r Barrow. - "July Wth. — Eeccived orders from Captain CoUinson to proceed to Point Barrow with the first whale-boat and six- men, in order to communicate with H.M.S. Plover. Left the ship in winter quarters in Camden Bay about noon, and at 1 p.m. started from the ice in the land-water ; light airs from the eastward with cloudy weather ; 4 p.m., brought up by the ice being close to a shingle bank, but as there was water inside I had the boat launched across and proceeded ; 7.50, rounded Point Brownlow ; 9.30, finding the ice close and newly broken off, hauled the boat on she e, and pitched the tent about 8 miles past Point Brownlow, Light winds from the northward and eastward and cloudy. "July llth. — 4.20 a.m., started, with light winds varying from N. to E., reeving and launching amongst close ice; 9.30, unloaded the boat, and launched across Lion Eeef ; 10, proceeded imder sail to the westward. Fresh wind from the eastward and thick weather. Passed inside Foggy Island. " July Vlth. — 5.30 a.m., off Point Anxiety. Ice close to Point — ^launching over do. ; noon, the ice stiU remaining close, and the weather becoming thick, hauled the boat on shore and encamped. *'July ISth. — 4.30 a.m., started, launched the boat over heavy ice until 11 a.m., when we got into the open water of Yarborough Inlet; light wind from S.E. with fog; 4.30 p.m., came to a point, where the ice was pressed up on the 1854.] WHALE-BOAT JOURNAL. 825 beach. Rounded Point Heald at midnight. Water shoal, boat very leaky. Saw the Franklin Mountains. " July 14:th. — 7 a.m., landed on a reef for the purpose of repairing the boat. At noon started again, with a light wind from the eastward and cloudy ; current going to the west ; 1 p.m., passed Return Reef ; sailing and poling to the west- ward between the reefs and the shore ; ice close to the reef on the off shore side ; 11 p.m., wind light and variable from W.KW. Ice setting to the east^^'a^d. "July 15th. — 6.30 a.m., landed at Point Milne; found the ice close to the shore ; 10.30, started, launching the boat over ice; 0.30 p.m., got into open water; wind westerly; under sail, working to windward ; observed a mark erected on Point Berens ; landed to examine the same, and found it was made by a party from the Plover in 1854, with three tins of pemmican buried 10 feet N.E. of it; 7 p.m., started again, wind hauling round to the eastward through north, shaped a course across Harrison Bay ; 10 p.m., landed on a reef about 10 miles to the westward of Point Berens to examine a pole, but found only marks of encampments. Buried the following articles : — Halkett's boat, a sledge, boat's rudder and slings, 56 lbs. of damaged bread in a black bag. 11 p.m., left the reef ; light wind from eastward with thick fog ; passed through a few streams of ice. "July IQth. — Found the ice getting close, kept the boat in shore. At 7 saw the land ; noon, rounded a point, water very shoal ; wind fresh from eastward, with occasional showers ind fog. Some huts seen on shore, also some oomiaks coming off. Standing to the N.W. through streams of ice. " July 17th. — Fresh breezes from eastward and cloudy ; 2 a.m., encamped on a floe of ice, about 3 miles off shore. Some Esquimaux from Point Barrow visited us, with intelligence from the Plover, which had wintered there, dated 2ud of July, 1854. Got under weigh, launching the boat over ice into land-water, ^hich we managed to reach by 10 p.m ; 11.30, encamped on the land. Thick fog, with fresh breeze from the eastward, but inclined to go down. M f^aa wnh ! I -I ;; .. S CAPTAIN COLLINSON'S JOURNAL. [Auo. "July 18 333 m m our return : by the interference of the two chiefs they wore brouj^ht back, but unfortunately were already cut up and ruined. Kaimoki was established in possession of the excel- lent ' ouse built by the Rattlesnake, which I hope will be the means of preserving it from being pulled to pieces, and also be a protection to the Herald's pinnace, which, with the gear complete, was left on the beach, for the benefit of any shipwrecked crew. Being desirous of adding an oomiak and kayak to the two specimens I had already got for the British Museum from Cambridge Bay and Barter Island, Captain Maguire concluded a bargain with Omatoke, giving, in lieu of the former, one of the double-barrelled carbines supplied to the Plover. This, it appears, was the price given by Captain Moore to Kaimoki for one before. Leave Port Clarence for Hong Kong. Both vessels were ready for sea on the 14th of September, but a southerly wind detained us until the morning of the 16th, and all, I think, were glad to have a little more com- munication before we started. We had light winds ; but at midnight, having reached half-way between Point Spencer and King Island, Captain Maguire left us, and the Plover parted company for Oahu. The wind drew round to the northward, enabling us to leave King Island to the southward : in the evening it fell calm, and, springing up towards night from the S.W., we made but little progress, ' • • As the skid boats interfered very much with our obser- vations for variation, a platform 6 feet above the deck was made for the Azimuth compass. On the 20th of September we were off the N.E. point of St. Lawrence Island, which is a steep bluff; but a little to the S.E. of it is a low gravel spit, on which are numerous huts ; we passed about three miles from the huts in 15 fathoms water. The 180th meridian was passed on the 23rd, when the date was altered to the 24th, so as to assimilate our time with that of the Eastern Hemisphere. ■**.^- i I J, I ■ i wl^^H ■ I ™m( ■ W" '' ^HH ■ 11 334 CAPTAIN COLLINSON'S JOURNAL. On the 29th of September we had a distant view of the island of Attooi, which rises suddenly from the sea, and attains a great elevation. The weather continued unsettled after entering the Pacific, until the 14th of October, when in lat. 38° we got the N.E. trade. The winds previously holding to the west, prevented our getting through the Kurile Islands into the Sea of Okotsk ; and, as we were now to the southwaia oi Matsmai Straits, I gave up all idea of getting into the Korean Sea. ; On the 16th and 17th of October we felt the effect of the Japanese current, the difference between observation and reckoning amounting to 43 miles in the 24 hours, thus corroborating the account given in Captain Cook's voyage. The temperature of the sea fell on the latter day to 66°, and rose again on the 18th to 74°. By shaping a course more to the southward, we ran out of the current until the 21st of October, when South Island, or Onosima, was seen ; and, being compelled to pass west of it, we found that we had again got under the influence of the coast stream, our observations the following day showing a set to the N.KE. of 51 miles in the 24 hours. South Island is not above 3 miles in circumference, rising suddenly from the sea to the height of 500 feet, and is densely wooded. With our glasses on the north and west sides we could detect no signs of inhabitants, but on rounding the island after dark a light was seen more than half-way up the hill on the south side. The northerly set carried us in sight of Fatsizio the following morning. It rises in conical peaks to the height of 2000 if not 3000 feet. The large island has a considerable quantity of level ground, not much elevated above the sea ; but the peaks being enveloped almost constantly in a mist, prevented our obtaining all the observations I could have wished. We, however, place South Island, or Onosima, in 32° 20' N., and 139° 54' E. ; and Fatdzw in 33° 7' N., and 139° 42' E. By standing to the eastward we got out of the current, passing through a strong rippling between 8 and 9 p.m., and experienced a set of 18 miles only to the K by E. daring the following 24 hours. It will, therefore, most probably be found to have as wtil defined an edge as ^m I' 1854.] TO HONG KONG. 335 the Gulf Stream. The set of the currents will, however, be seen by reference to the following page.'' See Note 2, Meteorological Ohsebvations, p. 41. On the 26th of October, at 2 a.m., in lat. 28° 15' N. and long. 130° 10' E., lights were seen to the northward ; but whether they were on shore, or belonging to fishing vessels, a squally and rainy night prevented our determining. We continued to run on 25 miles further, when, just as day broke, we were brought up by the land, and compelled to keep to the southward, the loom of it extending to the E.N.E. as far as the limit of vision from the mast-head. We then ran along the coast at a distance of from 2 to 5 miles until noon, obtaining no bottom with 60 fathoms. Then in lat. 27° 39' N. and long. 129° E. the land turned to the north. Several patches of cultivated ground were seen as we coasted along, and near the south point three populous villages with boats on the beach were seen. In the afternoon two low islands were seen to the southward, and a conical rock to the north. We had therefore traced the land for 75 miles, where on Arrowsmith's chart (corrected to 1844) Crown Island only appears. They do not appear to form one island, as many indentations were seen ; but they are most likely all connected by coral reefs, the water being discoloured between them. In the course of the day an American vessel passed us, bound to the northward, and upon my arrival at Hong Kong I learnt that this is now the usual passage from the Pacific into the Ciiinese Sea by the Shanghai trade. On the 29th of October made the island of Haiian, having experienced a northerly set since entering the China Sea, thereby showing that the equatorial cuirent, on striking the Philippine Islands and Formosa, takes a northerly trend, sometimes running at more than 3 knots per hour, and that in the face of the N.E. monsoon. At noon on the 31st we passed Pedro Branca, and anchored at the entrance of the Lycemun Passage at midnight. Weighing at daylight on the 1st of November, we ran through the Lyeemmiy and made our number to the Winchester, who had some difficultv !:iB 19 ' i 1 1 •1 V" t *' -\ V ■* ■»! ; 1 • 1 J' ^i m Kit::.' 336 CAPTAIN COLLINSON'S JOURNAL. [N. ov. in making out what we were, as the signal-books had been changed, and the number we hoisted corresponded with that of the Endipnion in the new books. The wind falling light, Sir James Stirling sent the boats of the squadron to tow us to an anchorage, and kindly greeted our return to civOised society with thrcs cheers. We were soon in possession of the news of war with Eussia, and that the Admiral with the squadron had just returned from Japan. Leave Hong Kong for Cape of Good Hope. We remained in Hong Kong until the 18th of November, and then, embarking twenty invalids from the hospital ship, we made sail for England. The relaxation and run on shore did our men more damage than all the exposure to the northward ; our sick-list, from none on our arrival, soon amounted to nine, besides t invalids, several of whom where in the last stage of dysentery ; and during our passage down the China Sea, fou]' of them, and Mr. Turner (who had been appointed clerk in charge from the Encounter, under the hope that he would be well enough to perform the duty on the passage home) fell victims to the disease. We passed to the east of Natunas, and then shaped a course for Caspar Strait ; but, getting baffling winds with an easterly set, could not fetch to the westward of Billiton. I therefore ran through the Carimata Passage, not thinking at this time of year to iind the western monsoon so violent in the Java Sea ; but, after attempting to beat to the west- ward for three days, which the current and the ragged con- dition V f the copper on our bottom prevented, I bore away for Bali Strait, passing the east end of Madura on the 8 th of December. Owing to light winds and strong north-easterly current, we did not reach the entrance to the strait until the 12th, when, having obtained a pilot, we beat through the narrows, and, after anchoring for the tide, reached Bango- Wangle Eoads at 8.30 the same uvening. This place is much frequented during the monsoons, the Dutch vessels from the Spice Islands, Borneo, and aU the w ¥1 ! [Nov. id been til that g lig^^t, tow us iivilised »n of the ^rith the ovember, I ship, we shore did )rthward ; jd to nine, last stage Jhina Sea, nted clerk -. he would ige home) shaped a s with an lilliton. I thinking so violent the west- agged con- bore away the 8th of th-easterly itrait until hrough the led Bango- Insoons, the md all the 1854.] TO CAPE OF OOOD HOPE, 337 ports on Java east of Batavia, calling to fill their water, and take their final departure for Europe. There is a convenient jetty for landing, and an abundance of supplies.^' 3" Cypher Notices in thb ' Times.' — Before he left home the captain of the Enterprise devised a simple mode of communication with his family, which he would be more likely to get wherever he happened to touch during his uncertain voyage than by the ordinary private letters, which must necessarily be sent by special vessels to fixed points. This was by putting a cypher notice in the Times newspaper on the Ist of every month, as that was a publication more likely to be met with all over the world than any other document, public or private — a mark ot confidence in that leading member of the British press, which was considering all things, fairly justified by the result. The cypher employed was a very easy and a natural one for a sailor ; it was simply using the ordinary signal-book of the Eoyal Navy, substi- tuting letters of the alphabet for the numbers. Thus a vocabulary was at once provided, accessible only to certain persons, and the key of wliich was known only to himself and his relatives. From the time of his departure until his arrival in England in 1855, an advertisement in this cypher was reguliirly inserted in the Times on tiie 1st of every month, giving him a brief notice of the welfare of his family. Unfortunately, his peculiar movements prevented his receiving any benefit from this caro and forethought until he finally re-issued from the ice in 185+. In 1850 he was within reach of ordinary letters, and in 1851 be disappeared from sight and knowledge virtually for three years. It was on his way home, at the little known port of Bango- Wangle, in the Straits of Bali (S. of Java), that he first benefited by the invention ; and there he found four advertisements at once, giving him the latest news of his friends ; an evidence of the diffusion of that renowned paper which would have been both gratifying and, perhaps, surprising to its managers had they known of it. — [Ed.] Leaving Bango-Wangie on the 17th of December, we got out of the strait without difficulty, but experienced light winds with a strong easterly set until the 24th ; when, in 10° 34' S. and 117° E., we obtained a southerly wind, with a westerly current of at times nearly 2 miles per hour. The temperature fell below 80° on the 1st ; during our passage down the China Sea and in the Bali Strait it stood frequently at 88°, proving very oppressive, not only to the invalids, but also to our own people. On the 16th of January we lost one of our shipmates, J. E. Davidson. He had been suffering under a pulmonary I * }• i? IS ' 11 338 CAPTAIN COLLINSON'S JOURNAL. [Jak. complaint for the last two years, and the surgeon more than once had despaired of his life ; but on our egress from the ice he rallied, and was able to perform day duty. On arrival at Hong Kong, with a caution both from the surgeon and myself, he was allowed to go on shore during the daytime ; but, unable to withstand the temptation, he fell into excess, which weakened him so that he was unable to stand the change of climate. On the 20th we had to deplore the loss of another, William Simpkins, A.B. In the course of last winter he had an awkward fall, while bringing a piece of ice on board, which crushed his hand, and deprived him of the use of his fingers for a considerable period. He had, however, been able to perform light duty, but after leaving Bango-Wangie symptoms of dropsy appeared, which eventually carried him off. On the opposite page will be found the daily number on the sick-list throughout the year 1854,^* the mean being See Note 2fi, Appendix : Health. 3'18or5*4 per cent. The small number will appear the more surprising when it is recollected that we had no oppor- tunity of invaliding men or sending them to the hospital, all of which greatly diminish the number of sick in the general service. In this case 3, if not 4, of the most sickly would have been discharged at the commencement of the year ; and all tends to show how wonderfully man is adapted to all climates, as well as the value of men being removed from temptation ; the average number daily on the sick-list in October being 0*48, while in November it increased to 3*70, and during December to 7 • 23. On the 29th of January, in 33° 30' S., and 30° 30' E., we passed through a line of foam with sea-wrack, trending N. by W. and S. by E., but experienced very little current, until we reached 34° S. and 27° E., when it set to the W.S.W. 88 mUes in two days. In 35° S. and 24° E. it set to tlie S.E, at th'^ rate of 1 mile per hour ; and on the 4th of February we had a distant view oi the coast of Africa, experiencing a north-easterly set of 1 mile per hour. On the 5th we passed 'WV re tlian :om the L arrival 5on and aytiuie ; 3 excess, tand the William I had an rd, which lis fingers n able to symptoms )ff. lumber on Lean being appear the i no oppor- iospital, all [the general Lckly would . year ; and tpted to ah toved from sick-list in |sedto3'70, )o 30' E., "we bk, trending btle current, the W.S.W It to tlie S.li. lof February Iperiencing a th we pa^se*^ 1855.] ON THE MISSING SHIPS. 339 Cape L'Agulhas, and shaped a course one point and a lialf to the south of the Cape of Good Hope. But, the wind proving light, this was not sufficient for the indraft cf False Bay, as in the course of the following forenoon we found ourselves off Danger Point, and only 6 miles from the shore. "While here a steam vessel from the eastward passed, and on communicating gave us the unexpected intelligence of Dr. Eae's discovery of the relics from the missing ships. No doubt, had we possessed the means of understanding tlie natives in Cambridge Bay, we should have got a clue from them which would have induced me to pass over tu Boothia and examine its western face, instead of examining the east coast of Victoria Island. Mr. Arbuthnot (as will appear in the latter part of the first volume of my journal) seemed to think they indicated a ship being to the eastward of us ; but, as the chart they drew at his request did not at all accord with what we afterwards found on our spring journey, I thought the whole information erroneous, more particularly as but two articles were seen in their possession which could have come from a boat or vessel ; these I paid a high price for, and every encouragement was given to bring in more.^' See Note 29, Victoria Strait, p. 259. On a careful consideration of the circumstances I am now inchned to think that the vessels, after being carried away from Beechey Island in the spring of 1846, were never again hberated from the pack, and thus carried into Peel Inlet, its hummocky nature and frequent disruption preventing their having any communication with North Somerset or Cape Walker ; that, on the provisions becoming short, the ships were abandoned somewhere in the vicinity of the magnetic pole, and the crews made for Back's Eiver, when the rough nature of the ice only admitted the strongest of them reaching Simpson Strait, and that, at too late a period to accomplish their journey through the Barren grounds, previous to the migration of the deer and other game; and that they re- mained on the sea-shore in the hope of getting fish and seals, or food, froiT' the Esquimaux. z 2 340 CAPTAIN COLLINS0N*8 JOUltNAL. [Feb. May t itilw.. m The paucity of European articles found among the tribe by us, leads me to the belief that the Esquimaux themselves have not reached the vessels, otherwise the materials from them would have spread in the course of three years in greater abundance along the coast. The necessity of keeping both sleighs together, owing to the difficulty of the road, prevented my detaching one, as was my original intention, to the Boothian side, in which case their trail would most probably have been fallen in with. This is so far unfortunate, ^ s with our moans we should have been able thoroughly to investigate the locality in the summer of 1853. We arrived at Table Bay at 6 a.m. on the 7th February, and in the course of the day I went to Simon's Bay to wait on Commodore Trotter, calling at the Observatory on my route, where my arrival created great astonishment. On the 9th the magnetic instruments were compared at the Observatory, and I obtained from Mr, Maclear (the Astronomer Royal) upwards of 200 corresponding observations for our moon culminations, which, considering that wo were two years without nautical almanacs, and were upwards of 100° apart in latitude, and nearly half the globe in longitude, is a remarkable number. The new transit circle had just come into play, and will add greatly to the utility of the Observatory, about which the shrubs and trees have now sprung up luxuriantly, affording a pleasing contrast to the barren appearance it presented in 1829, when I first visited it. Leave Cape of Good Hope for England. During our stay in Table Bay we had many visitors, not- withstanding the motion, and, having given all our men another run on shore, the ship was swung for local attraction on the 17th February, but from lack of wind we were unable to put to sea until the following morning, and then narrowly escaped the Whale Rock in a fog. On the 28th we arrived at St. Helena, and found, much TTTHI 1855.] CAPE TO ENGLAND. 341 to our astonishment, that the Sitka, with the Plover's ship's company, had sailed for England only the previous Saturday. Leaving St, Helena on the afternoon of the 3rd March, we reached Ascension at 1.30 a.m. on the 9th, having, I regret to say, lost another of our shipmates, J. Wiggins, A.B., on the passage ; he was a great favourite with everybody on board, and his loss much lamented. At Ascension the magnetic observations were made, and the ship SAvung, and, having received eight turtle from Capt, Kitchin, we sailed the following day, crossed the line in 19^° W. on the loth, and made the Island of Corvo on the 8th of April. On the 14th, in lat. 45°, and long. 16°, we caught a north- easterly wind, which continued, with little intermission, until the 25th, when it ceased for a few days, and then sprung up again with greater fury. On the 2nth we fell in with the wreck of a lower mast with the topmast attached, in lat. 49° G' N., and long. 12° 43' W., app". / but a short time in the water. The win ontinued strong, and the ship, in consequence of the rough state of the copper from collision with the ice, made but little progress to windward, so that it was not imtil the 5th of May that we got a sight o£ Old England. IBI^ End of the Journal. m wh P ' w 1 J M I— < Ph U2 I— I -^ <1 ft m «5 w 00 ai - ^ Ml* 3- 00 H* CO 3? « - 1 h 1 00 1 <1 HN H« HN iH H« IH «* H* r-l HN C4 ^ ;2^ t»t) O © HN o O iH Ml* 1^ rH ^ OS CO 1-1 ^ rH «o rH 1— ( HI* © eo HN rH pi -♦I o O W* H* © «* o © CO o H« HN H* © © HN © © o o © CM O o HN o O W CO I-H Ml* eo HN IH o H* OS § HI* rH 5z HN HN I-l © IN H* (M HN 04 rH H* (N H« H« H* © rH © HN n Cakbrisgb Bay. 1852-53. l-( to o ft JZ5 So S, E 3 eo W* «* (0 HN «5 H* H* HN HN Ml* H* KW rH .2 HN H* © © O © H* IH HI* eo «* MM H* W CO ■* H« ^ H* eo Ml* 00 ■* H* 00 Hn «o ^ Ml* I— 1 Ml* H« eo « ^ eMi eo HN 00 H* OS CI H* HI* ■* w* H* OS eol* «H< 00 10 H* 1— ( HM Ml* HN H* HN I-l H* H* H* rH Ml* eo ■* « CO l-H i-t M* HN HN iH iH H* CO HN r-1 eS- HN rH H Ml* r-4 ^ H* Hn IH M* 04 HN pH H* eo HN IM HN 04 » H K CO H* CO HM Ml* IH HI* I-H eJT U) Ml* 1—1 HI* HN rH iH« IM rt © r-C eg" ^ HI* CO Ml* C4 H* « Ml* 1-k HI* M* eo CM (^ -*> Ml* HN IM Ml* I-H Ml* eo m* HN H* eo ^ ^ "Walker Bay. 1851-52. CO o «- tH 'A o 1 OS H* 00 H« O iH H* OS eo «o H* OS H* eo ^ eo iH > M* H* i-H Ml* iH HN H* H* . a - oH* CH* & I !? I-l H* fH HN HN eo w* (N HN HN eo Ml* HN eo N M (CI* H* (N Ml* HN H* H* l-H © HI* > ■ O 1 1 5 « 343 mmf\ F«M -f • • • S • • ^ ■^ a < 1 TABLE II. Thickness of Ice. H.M.S. Enterprise. Date. October November December • • • • • January February . . , , March April May June . July . August September Walksb Bay. 1851-52. O'O" 0'6" 2' 10" 4' 4" 5' 5" 5' 7i" 5' 3" 5' 1" 4' 10" Caubridob Bat. 1852-53. 2'0" 2' 8" 3'0" 5' 2" 4' 2" 2' 7" 4' 2" 5' 6" 5'1" 3' 9" 4' 3" 3' 7" Cakdbn Bat. 1853-64. I8t. 0* 7" „ 2' 2" „ 2'U" „ 4'0" ,.5 6'0" „ 6' 2" » 7'Oi" 7' 2" ,, 4' 7" w I; 344 CAPTAIN COLLINSON'S JOURNAL, EPILOGUE TO THE JOUllNAL On the 17th May, 1855, the Enterprise arrived at Shecrness, 5 years and 116 days since she left the Thames, of which rather more than 3 years had been spent in the ice without communication with the outside world. Some idea of tho track covered by the Enterprise can be realised by the record in the Journal on arriving at Hong Kong, February 1851 ; — " Since we left Plymouth on tlie 20tli of January, 1850, we have gone over 35,225 miles of sea; have traversed the Atlantic Ocean fiom lat. 49 N. to 52 S., and the Pacific from 53 S. to 73 N., and circumnavigated two-tliirds of the globe ; having been 343 days at sea and 48 at anchor." The accompanying chart of the -world illustrates this and the further track up to 1855. The commander was received by his relatives and personal friends, not only as one who had been lost and was found again, but as the successful navigator of Arctic channels hitherto considered impracticable for ships, and who, though he had failed in the object of his voyage, had gone about it in the way to deserve the success he just missed obtaining. At the rectory down in the north there had been great anxiety duiing those 3 years of total silence, intensified, as it went on, by age and illness ; and by November 1854 it had deepened into fear that there would be no meeting between the parents and the beloved son. On his own birthday, to the sick-i ^ came the life-giving news, recorded by the father in his Journal, " Oh, joy 1 this evening brought a tele- gram from the Admiralty, announcing his arrival at Port Clarence ; " which was followed by a note from the then First Lord] to a sister of the Enterprise's captain : — 1855.] RECEPTION AT HOME. 345 "Dear Madam, " As a proof of my kind feelings and goodwill, let me have the pleasure of announcing to you the safety of your gallant brother, I sincerely congratulate you on this happy end to your natural and praiseworthy anxiety. " I have, &c., "J. E. Graham." But his professional chiefs did not so receive him ; in official eyes the merit of this long and able conduct of a diflicult enterprise was wiped out by the troubles of discipline and personal disputes which he brought home for them to settle. The Admiralty were by this time tired of the search and its great cost, and had no desire to add to their diffi- culties by parading courts-martial before the public. In whatever manner such Courts awarded justice, the Admiralty would suffer; whereas, if they could be avoided, nobody would suffer but the complainants. Great pressure was put upon him from high quarters to allow all matters that had occurred of this kird to be compro- mised ; but it was only after some time that he consented. His own sense of what was due to the proper discipline of the Service, added to the extra labours and anxieties caused by these troubles, made him feel that such a course was wrong, both for the Service and for his own credit. And, finally, the qualified consent which he gave was interpreted so liberally by the Admiralty that he felt liimself put in a wrong position. Thus a coolness between the Admiralty and the Enterprise expedition occurred, and, unfortunately for the commander, the one official who knew him well and understood his character, Sir Francis Beaufort the Hydrographer, had re- tired from public service. There was no acknowledgment on the part of the Admiralty of the work done Ijy the Enterprise, and that omission added greatly to the feeling of disappoint- ment at having been so near to the object of search and yet missing it. A Committee of the House of Commons was then sitting to adjudicate the awards to be given for the discovery of the North-west Passage ; and Captain Collinson % ii IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) 1.0 I.I 11.25 t^t2B |25 ■so ^^~ ■■■ ■^ K^ 111 £ b& ■ 2.0 tjuu '^-r '/ K ^ cv 846 CAPTAIN COLLINSON'S JOURNAL. m- sent in a representation on the part of the Enterprise, claim- ing not the discovery, but other services towards opening a practicable north-west passage, as deserving of some recog- nition. These services were strongly supported before the Committee by Sir Roderick Murchison (then President of the Royal Geographical Society), who quoted a paper by Admiral Beaufort to the same effect, in which he said : " When future navigators dash through (this passage), to whom will they look back as their real pioneers ? Banks' Straits and Investigator Straits will never be attempted by them, but a few hours' fair wind and fine weather would run down the track of the Enterprue from the westward, and lead direct up Peel Sound, through which the Erebus and Terror must have passed. Those, then, are the men whom future navigators will honour as the hond fide discoverers of the North-west Passage ; let the name of the discoverer of the North-west Passage be for ever linked to that of Sir John Franklin." To which Sir R. Murchison added : " That is the opinion of persons who understand the subject much better than myself; and the Americans think that the route Captain ColUnson has taken is likely to become the course wliich whalers and other ships will follow for mercantile purposes." The Committee, however, came to the conclusion that the Investigator was the only vessel which fulfilled the conditions that had been laid down by Parliament many years before, for entitling explorers to receive the reward then determined on for discoveries towards a North-west Passage ; and they awarded £5000 to Captain M'Clure, with £5000 to his officers and crew. The reason why tliey did not award the whole £15,000, as settled in 1818, was no doubt that the terms in which it was then prescribed implied an approach from the eastern side only. The Committee further made honour- able mention of Captain Kellett and Captain CoUinson, these two officers having been particularly brought to their notice for special services in connection ^vith the subject of their inquiry. Lady Franklin had also made a representation to the Committee, to the effect that from the relics of her husband's expedition, which had then been found by Dr. Rae, 1855.] COMMITTEE ON AWARDS. Hr it appeared almost certain that Sir John Franklin had dis- covered a north-west passage by Boothia, before Captain M'Clure's discovery. But the Committee thought they could not take into consideration a probability that had not been cleared up. And, lastly, the Committee recommended that some honorary reward, in. the form of a medal, should bo given to all those ofQcers and men who had participated in the search. This Committee was somewhat limited by its instructions, which were to report on the reward due for the services of " The Expedition to the Arctic Seas commanded by Captain M'Clure " ; but in truth there was no expedition commanded by Captain M'Clure, and whatever expeditions there were, were for the discovery of Sir J. Franklin's ships, and not for that of the North-west Passage. Captain Collinson, in his evidence before the Committee, went far to determine their report by stating that the course Captain M'Clure followed was consistent with the instructions he himself had given that officer : but he allowed that he had never contemplated the possibility of M'Clure's arriving at Beliring Straits before the Enterprise, and had therefore given no instructions to meet that contingency. The result in Captain Collinson's mind was a deep feeling that the very long and peculiar services of the Enterprise had not been rewarded by any fitting recognition on the part of the Government ; and this feeling was never altogether re- moved by any act of the authorities; so, after completing the official records of his Expedition, he retired to his home in the north, and never again applied to the Admiralty for any active service. The only Government employment he subsequently had was in some mixed committees on general service matters. He was rewarded otherwise, by the opinion of his brother officers and scientific friends, as to the value of the work done during this voyage. The Royal Geographical Society gave him their gold medal in recognition of his eluci- dation of the passage along the North- American coast, as well as of his other scientific reports ; and he was a member 348 CAPTAIN COLLINSON'S JOURNAL. 1 z i of their council for many years. In his own country he was received with acclamation, the distinguished son of a greatly respected father ; and other public professional societies were glad to obtain his practical experience and good judgment. But his interest in the Arctic seas never subsided : and it was immediately brought into action by the determination of the high-spirited Lady Franklin to clear up the doubt that still covered her husband's fate. He took an active part in the powerful representation to the Government, made by a large number of tlie principal scientific men of the day, that this duty should be undertaken by the nation. And, when the Government finally decided against any such scheme, Captain CoUinson was one of the earnest and active sup- porters of Lady Franklin, in sending out a private vessel, the Fox, under Captain M'Clintock, to make the attempt. The Voyage of the Fox, 1857-9. This was a very hazardous undertaking; the vessel was small for the purpose, only 177 tons, and went alone, with a crew of twenty-four, all told ; it hid, however, the advantage, possessed by none of the former great national expeditions, of a definite clue as to the direction in vvliich to look, and it had the security of b*^ing commanded by Captain M'Clintock, the most experien Arctic voyager of his day, with the assistance of the able and enterprising seaman. Captain (now Sir) Alltu Young : and finally, it had steam power. Her small size, however, very nearly brought her into the same condition of helplessness as has befallen so many of these little Arctic ships. During eight montlis of the first winter she was a prisoner in the ice in liafiin Bay, and was only released in the spring of 1858 to begin again at the mouth of the bay. This was her probation ; on the second trial, after being stopped in Peel Sound, she got through Prince Kegeut's Inlet down to the east end of Bellot's Straits, and half-way through them, before being stopped by the imi>enetrable ice in what is now Franklin Strait. In the spring of 1859 came the final success of all those 1857.] VOYAGE OF THE FOX. 349 years of extensive searching: and the long-sought relics were found in the corner of the Arctic seas to which slight unheeded indications had been pointing, but wliich till that time had never been fully examined. On the west coast of King William Island was found a boat, and the remains of some bodies, and many articles belonging to the two ships, and, what was most precious of all, a short notice written hastily on the printed form generally used for such purposes, giving the only definite information about their proceedings found during the whole search. It was to the eifect that the two vessels had gone up Wellington Channel from Beechey Island, in the summer of 1845, as far as latitude 77°. That they had wintered at Beechey Island in 1845-6, as was already known. That in September 1846 they were beset in the ice in lat. 70° 5', long. W. 98° 23' (though by what channel they got there was not stated). This position is about 15 miles KW. of the N. point of King William Island. A subsequent notice on the same paper stated that the two ships {Erebus and Terror) had been deserted 5 leagues N.W. of Victory Point, in April 1848 ; that Sir John Franklin died in June 1847 ; and that all the people left out of both ships, 105 in all, had landed on King William Land, and intended to make for the Back or Fish Eiver. The character of the articles found, and their scattered state, gave the discoverers the impression that the ships had been hastily deserted, doubtless from a sudden breaking up of the ice in the spring of 1848 ; although they had rema^^ed during the whole of the summer of 1847 fixed in the ice near the same spot. The native account was that one ship had been crushed by the ice, and no goods saved out of her ; and that the other had been driven ashore : nothing, however, was found by the discoverers confirming this last report. As to the ultimate fate of tlie 105 officers and crew, wlio started to make for Back Kiver, the other remains found by M'Clintock's parties, near the mouth of that river and on the way to it, confirmed too surely the statement of the natives that they all perished of hunger and exhaustion. The provisions of the sliips must have been exhausted, and there was little food to be found. 360 CAPTAIN COLLINSON'8 JOURNAL. Had they left notices of their movements in Barrow Strait, the Enterprise (which got so nearly to the spot in 1853) might, when under Sir James Eoss in 1848, have saved some of them, and so prevented the heaviest sacrifice that the North-west Passage has cost Great Britain. Thus it appears that in the summer of 1846 Sir J. Frank- lin's ships had reached a position in Victoria Strait from which he knew, by his previous travels along the coast of North America, that there was an unbroken water-way to Behring Strait ; which water-way was proved by the Enter- prise, in 1853, to be navigable for ships from Behring Strait to Camden Bay, or to within 180 nautical miles of the last position of the Erebus and Terror: and in 1853 Captain Col- linson could have confirmed Sir J. Franklin's knowledge, by having passed up from Camden Bay to the north of Victoria Straits on the ice, in liis sledges — as, indeed, could also Dr. Eae, who went up the Strait in boats in 1851, and thereby most nearly of any Arctic traveller accomplished a North- west Passage by water. Hence it may be fairly said that in 1846 a discovery of a North-west Passage was made by Sir J. Franklin precisely similar to that discovered by Captain M'Clure at Banks' Island in 1850, the Enterprise having had the extraordinary fortune to assist as it were in both dis- coveries, without being able to claim the merit for either. Thus then ended the epos of the great search for Sir J. Franklin ; the final scene being the assembly of the prin- cipal Arctic notables in Westminster Abbey to witness the completion of a monument to the memory of that enter- prising and unfortunate voyager erected by liis devoted widow. Inbcbiption on the Monument. " Not here : the white North hath thy bones ; and thou, Heroic sailor soul ! Art passing on thine happier voyage now, Towards no earthly goal." — Tennyson. Whether the North-west Passage will ever prove to be worth the lives and the money expended on it by the British 1859.] ON POLAR EXPLORATION. Government is a question which probably few persons now would answer in the affirmative. But we must not conclude too hastily, from that one consideration, that those expeditions have been of no value to our country. Begun in a time of profound peace, they assisted greatly during those forty pacific years in keeping up a spirit of enterprise in the Navy, and providing an object on which the energies of our seamen could be well employed. As that sagacious Arctic voyager. Admiral Sir G. Eichards, himself no devotee to the North-west Passage, well observes in his excellent preface to ' Captain Nares' Voyage in 1875,' it is through such means that " a band of officers and seamen were trained in a school, the stern necessities of which have been instrumental in forming and fostering those qualities of fortitude and habits of self-rehance and self-denial, which are certain to tell with effect at some period of a seaman's career, and which no maritime nation can afford to hold lightly." Money and even lives are well expended upon such enterprises, by a country which has to depend so greatly for its actual exist- ence on the character of its seafaring population, although they bring little material return for the expenditure. But another object, of more general interest, has been put forward in support of a continuation of Arctic exploration : and that is the advancement of our knowledge of natural phenomena and of the laws of nature. The general excite- ment caused by that long search produced a corresponding action in other countries, and was followed by a. succession of expeditions from various states for the further exploration of the Arctic seas, and especially of penetrating nearer towards the Pole. That ultimate goal of Arctic ambition bade fair to replace the North-west Passage as the next prize for the contention of restless travellers ; but a wise and experienced explorer, Lieutenant Weyprecht of the Austrian service, judiciously called attention to the more practicable and useful benefits to be obtained from the Arctic regions. In the introduction to Lieutenant Payer's * Account of the Voyage of the Tegethoff in 1872-4,' there is given the address of Lieutenant Weyprecht (who commanded that expedition) to Ivjl 352 CAPTAIN COLLINBON'B JOURNAL. t a meeting at Gratz in 1875, in which he points out that " the I'olar regions offer greater advantages — in certain important respects — than any other part of the globe, for the observation of natural phenomena, such as Magnetism, the Aui-ora, Meteorology, Geology, Zoology, Botany." And he strongly impresses this leading idea, that " the main purjwse of Arctic expeditions is not geographical knowledge, but the extension of knowledge of phenomena ; " and he lays down the three following aims for such expeditions in their order of importance : — First The knowledge of the laws of nature. Second. Geographical discovery, extending the fields of scientific investigation. TJiird. Minute Arctic topography. Lieutenant Weyprecht's exertions have already produced fruit, in the series of simultaneous observations taken by several countries in Arctic and Antarctic regions in 1881-2 ; and his ideas have this great merit over the former plan of operations, that they can and indeed must be carried on regularly and continuously, and with comparative ease and safety, advancing step by step from the known to the unknown, and assimilating as they go all the information to be got out of the region they are in. And, as regards economy and certainty of result, such a system of Arctic or Antarctic exploration is decidedly superior to that hitherto employed by almost all countries — namely, of dispatching isolated expeditions to penetrate as far as possible at once, and without relation to or connection with other expedi- tions, and without assured arrangements for relief onoe, ixpedi- 1 > I'lr if, APPENDIX. NOTES TO THE JOUKNAL. 2 A ( 3GC ) APPENDIX. NOTES TO THE JOUENAL. BY THE EDITOR. Note 8, p. 68 : Separation op the Ships. In the two accounts of the voyage of the Investigator on this oxpcili- tlon — one l»y Captain Sberard Oslwrn, and one by Dr. Arinstronir, surgeon of tiie ship, and both published in 1857 — there are expressions implying that during the voyage from England to Beliring Strait the Enteri^-uie had rather deserted her consort, and had thereby acted in a contrary spirit to tlie imi»ei-ative orders of the Admiralty ; and had thus justified Com- mander M'Clure in taking advantage of the 0|>iK)rtutiity of iiis arriving first at the ice to go in at once without waitin>: for his senior officer. These jiubli8heatche8. This is more bounden on the Editor, as there is some reason to believe that the 8e{)aration of the two shii« injured Captain Collinson in the eyes ot' the Admiralty, and that it destroyed the favourable chance there was of discovering the object of their search. Immeiliatcly on leaving Plymouth it was found that the Investigator 2 A 2 350 JS0TE8 TO THE JOURNAL. ;!=■■ was a alower Railcr than the Enterprise. Captain Collinson thus records hw docision on this : — " Investigator carried away hor fore-topmHst in carryin}; sail to keep us company. Thinlning W. of tlie o(>a«t Htroam, proxflin^ forwanls towa'tls Melville Island. In the event of meeting land, it is mu^t )>r(il)al)le that I would ptiraue the nouthorn shnn*; but cunMpicuouH niarkH will be ert'Ctvd if practicable, and infurniation buriwl iit a lO-fixtt ra«liuH. "As it is nocosHnry to Ix) jjn'paied for the contingency of \onr not lieing able to follow, by the ice closing in or the severity of t'le woailu^r, you will in that case keep tlie InvfsHyator as close to the edge of the pack as is consistent with her safety, and remain there until the s'.>iiHon compels you to depart, when you will l»x)k into Kotzebuo Sound for the Plover^ or inlormatiou regarding her position; and having d('i)oHito;e a twelvouioiith's provision, you will proceed to ViilparaiHo, replenish, ayd return to the Straiis, bearing in mind that the months of June and July are the most lavourable. A letter from the Hydrographer rvlative to the variation of the compass is annexed, and you will bear in mind that the value of these observations will be greatly enhanced by obtaining the variation witli the ship's head at every second or fourth ]K)int round the compass occasionally, and she should be swung fur deviation in harbour as often as opi)ortunity may ofl'er. " Should you not find the I'lover, or that any casualty has liapi)encd to render her inefHcient as a depot, you will take her ])lace ; and, if (as Captain Kellett supixjses) Kotzebiie Sound has proved too exposed for a winter harbour, you will proceed to Grantlcy Harlwur, leaving a notice to that cfTcct onChamisso Island. The attention of your ofiicers is to be callearras!iing, to proceed to Ca|ie Lisburne in the hope of meeting him in that vic.nity. I can scarce venture to hope that, even under very favourable circumstances, I shall be so fortunate. It is, therefore, uiulcr the probable case that this vessel may form a detached [mrt of tho ex^je- Note 8 : 8EPAHATI0N OF THE SHIPS. 359 (lition, that I foci it my duty to statu tho coarHC which, under 8uch a contingency, I Hhall endeavour to purflue." Then lie gfJCH on to lay down Hcheniefl for hJR n'.ip for tht next two yi-arfl, tending in the direction of the N.W. of Melville iHland — not a word alx)ut following the line indicated hy hia Henior cuuHort. Then, on arriving at Kutzetmc Sound (a littlu S. of the rendezvous, Cape Linburne), he writes again to the Admiralty : — ♦« Juiy 28iA, 1850. " I have not wen anything of the Entfrpriae, nor is it my intention to l<«e a moment by wailing off CaiKJ Lisburno, but shall use my best endeavour to carry out the intentions contained in my letter (jf the 20th.'' At Cape Lisburne he met tho Herald, and endeavoured to |)ersuado Captain Kellett that the Knterpriac nmst have gone on into the ice ; but that ofhcer, knowing Captain Gollinson well, was certain he would not have gone into the ice witliout leaving some instructions for his conwirt; nwjreover, as the Inveatii/atur had left the Sandwich Islands only two days after tho Euterpruc, and had made a quick [>a8sage by a shorter route, if; was most probable that she was now in advance ul that vessel. In fact, the Enterprise was 44 days in going from the Sandwich Islands to the rendezvous at Cajw Lisburne, and the Investigator was only 28 days; thus, by boldness and good fortune, the Investigator had gained the ad- vantage over the Enterprise of about tho same numl)er of daya that tho latter had been detaine«i waiting for her consort in the previous part of the voyage. It is remarkable that the Enterjmse should have missed l)oth the Plover and tho Herald on her first passing up Behring Strait, and also have missed finding the noticas left by Captidn Kellett. This ill- fortune was due to fogs and bad weather. So Captain Kellett hesitated to let the Investigator go; and then M'Clure cut the knot by sailing away: iu fact, tho two shi[)s were only a few hours together, and never at anchor. 'ITiis was certainly a very strong step for the junior vessel of an expe- dition to take ; and however much the boluness and ability of Captain M'Clure may be acrature at Mackenzie River 49°. The mouth of the Mackenzie is favourable for producing this effect, being an estuary gradually opening, and with many low islets. TTie benefit of wanner water to uavigaturs is marred by the fogs, which frequently come from the air being colder thaa the water. The dense fogs continually arising iVom this and other sources during the navigable season have been one of tlie greatest causes of delay and trouble to Arctic voyagers in all parts of the Arctic seas. Drift Timber in Mackenzie River, The Mackenzie is said by Sir J. Richardson to be the principal, if not the only, river on that coast which brings down any considerable quautity uf drift timber. It is by far the largest of those rivers, and Comes irom farthest south. The latitude of its source, which is well in the bosom of the Rocky Mountains, marks the line of watershed between the streams that flow into the Atlantic and those that flow into the Arctic Sea. And, as it flows also through a comparatively fertile soil, its banks are well covered down to near its very mouth. Hence, from source to mouth, it is well charged with timber. This drift timber is spread along the shores of the channels on the North American coast, both to the east and to the west, but chiefly to the east ; and is carri* d up ttie west side of Banks Island and up Prince of Wales Strait, thereby marking the prevalent current. It is sometimes of great si?:e : the Investi- gator foimd a trunk in the sea big enough for her mainmast, and the Enterprise got one 68 feet long. And it is found in great quantities. In the autumn of 1853, the Enterprise (which had come from the eastern \raxXs on pur|X)3e to get at the drift supply of the west) found about Camden bay, which lies between the Mackenzie and the Colville Rivers, enough for the ship's consumption during the winter. One trunk was 94 feet long and 14 inches diameter at the small end. The action of the mass of driftwood coming down every summer upon the coast is a pood existing illustration of the way in which the alluvial parts of the laud have been formed. As the shoals made by the sand and mud Ironi the Note 16 : MACKENZIE RIVER. 363 rivers rise t< ards the surfaco, the dri t timber lodges uix)n them and consolidates them, and raises them above the surrace ; the ice floes then grounding on these shoals, an:e about this extensive and splendid aerial action, and the belief that an investigation of it will lead to important discoveries in electricity and magnv^tism, is one of the strong arguments useii by scientific persons in favour of further Arctic and Antarctic expeditions, and, in fact, is considered by various high cou- tiuental authorities to be the chief object of such expeditions. The state of knowledge on the subject, and which has not been much increased since that time, is epitomised in the Arctic Manual, published by the Royal Society in 1875. The name, Aurora Borealis, implies that it has some connection with the cold atmosphere of the northern regions, which ia c. , „ . . jtg Electric and Magnetic Connection. M. de la Rive (Archives Sc. Physiq., tome 41) says :~ " M. Lemstrom established, by a great number of facts, that the Aurora is due to atmo- spheric electricity ; . . , this light is the consequence of electric dischai^es, NOTES TO THE JOURNAL. 1 i v\ which in these regions, oonntantly chargpd with moisture, ojiemto bIowIv and continnously. ... He «how8 that terrcbtrial magnetism plays in this .|>henomenon only a very secondnry part, giving to the streamers a certain direction." Observations by M. Wijkander (StuedUh Expedition, 1872-3) : — •' The observations i^ree in showing that the air conducts electricity very eaiiily at relatively high temperatures, and to this is due the absence of thunder and the existence of the Aurora. This is said to be ■,.,;: .1 '^j_,'i' ■lii t-J'. .'.'.r-. J .■ ■» «■'■ . j_ ••♦ 'i ■ ,iri.,-.^tecial occasions. They were emph)yed with sledges of sizes from two dogs to seven or eight. A good example of their value on emergency was shown in June, 1854, when a seven-dog sledge brought Captain Kellett (who was ill) from the Resolute to the Assistance, 150 miles, in 24 hours. Lieut. Payer (Austro-IIungarian Expedition, 1H72) does not agree in this sort of condemnation of dog sledges. He employed several in his sledge expeditions about Franz Joseph Land, in teams of two and four dogs, and calculated that they could draw 2 cwt. each ; on one occasion two dogs drew a sledge wei'Thing 4 cwt. altcg'-thur, over level snow, so fast that the men had ri difiiculty in keei»iiig up with them ; the men, however, were worn th work and privations ; and these were not Esquimo dogs, but from Vienna, and not trained to the work. He considers that Newfoundland dogs are better than Esquimo ; and with them he is of opinion that dogs, or a combination of dogs and men, are better than men alone for sledge work ; because a dog can draw nearly as much as a man, and does not require the equipment of a man. Now the equipment in an eight-man sledge weighs about 70 lbs. per man ; and forty days' food at 2:J lbs, per day (per man or dog), which is the allowance he thinks necessary to preserve the strength, would weigh 110 lbs. per head. Hence a sledcte for four men and four dogs could carry more food than an ei iht- man sledge. Dr. Kane (American Expedition, Smith's Sound, 1856) and Dr. Hayes (American Exj)edition, Smithes Sounds 1860) both employed Esquimo dogs. But we must recollect that in all these three last-named exj)edi- tions the vessels were small and the crews few in number, bo that many could not be sparec for each sledge. And when we read the records ot 2 B 370 N0TE8 TO THE JOURNAL. j if^ their journoys, tho immunso lalK)i)r and anxiety that full on tbcso few men, and the trouble and dilliculty created by tho wildneHH of tbo do^'H imd their great tiickuetis, which HceniH an inevitable acconipaninieut of mvero sloil^o work, and the coni|Mtrativoly short jouruuyH they were able to make, we feel inclinetl to agree with tlie Kn^liuh expertH, that dogH Hliould be Wked on an itccetMorieH oidy, thoii<;h ah very valuable accesHorieH. One of tho best exHinpleg of the use of dog Hledgos waH in the Greely Exi)edition {Nwth of Smith's Hound, 1881-4). Tliat party took with them twenty-five Enquiino dogs, of whom fifteen died of disease, but were fortunately repLiced by nine pupi>ieH born during the winter Hojourn. Lieut. Greely recommends small tt. ColliuHon recoinmendH stout bilge piects to bo added to wliale >)oatH, m one of hia in the voyage from Camden Hay tu Point liarrow (-July, lHr)l) was ma«le nearly useles!* by the wear of ii^e and Hhingle. In August, lHr)2, on the breaking up of the ice, he made a little llut-bottonuHl punt, after the model of the Chinese Sanp» ... » • • 13 9 13 9 9 mIn. HOC. 2 40 4 24 3 54 3 21 6 mIn. 80C. 4 48 8 48 10 7 12 16 ') Alcohol . »» • Stearine . Tallow . -32° >t i» »> »» Fuel for 11 Persons. Temp. -32". Alcohol. Stearine. To boil Tea or Cocoa (13 pints) To dissolve Snow (10 pints) . „ „ (8 pints) . Supper (Preserved Meat) Evening Grog (10 pints) oz. 6 15i oz. u 21i 29 it 2 B 2 J72 NOTES TO TEE JOURNAL. (^H ^H^B^^HjA|j|i 1 !;^H iljf ( ^Hl' ifl StM^ ktm j^J^^^B Bj< ' i l[^l ^^^^I^^H ' ii II I 1^ 1 Commander M'Clintock found that to boil snow from —40° required twice the time to boil it from frei-zing point. On the whole, therefore, we may consider that an allowance of 5 oz. per head per day (of steariue or alcohol) is sufficient for a sledge party in the Arctic Circle for all purposes : Greely recommends 6 oz, M'Clintock prefers stearine, on account of the danger of breaking the bottle of alcohol and so losin<; it all. Sir E. Belcher made stearine candles or cakes for sledge use, of two parts whale oil Hod one part stearine, eight inches diameter, with several wicks. He also found a copper lamp (a simple cup), with six lips for wicks, very effective. In the United States Greely Expedition (1881) they used little but alcohol as strong and pure as procurable. It was carried in two-gallon vessels, from which it was jioured into india-rubber bottles for use. They used a field lamp with five wicks, in a tin cylinder, with two pots ove ;t ; with this apparatus, 4 oz. of alcohol produced 2i quarts of water from snow ai —30*^' in sixteen minutes, and boiled it in ten minutes more, and at the same time made IJ quart of water in the upper pot: which appears to be more than M'Clintock gut out of stearine. Greuly nensibly remarks that too quick cooking is not economical. They complained of tlie smoke of stearine being unljearable, but they lost some alcohol from accidents. To meet this difficulty of fuel, Capt. Collinson made experiments with a mixture of oakum, oil, rosin, and saltpetre ; f lb. of this composition would thaw and boil 8 pints of snow in half an hour : 3 lbs. of it i)er day was enough for eight men (see Journal, p. 262). But even with the most compact fuel (alcohol) it was often not practi- cable to do more than just Avarm the food, and sometimes it had to be eaten cold — cold in the Arctic sense, which means frozen as hard as stone. When the pemmican has to be broken in bits, and the spirits taken in a solid form, dinner becomes a practical joke rather too ps'nful to be enjoyed. And the parched sledge-man must beware of taking snow to relieve his thirst — it only scarifies the mouth. Pemmican. Pemmican is the mosi condensed form of food for Arctic travelling; originally invented by the Is'orth American Indians, it was perficted in our Naval Victualling Yards ; and as manufactured expressly for this expedition by the Arctic explorer. Sir John Richardson, it consists of pure lean beef meat, cut in thin pieces and dried in a malt kiln by a fire of oak-wood till friable, then ground in a malt mill to a grated state, and mixed with equal weight of melted beef suet or lard with some sugar, and well incorporated. Put into tins of 40 or 85 lbs. when warm, and when cool filled up with melted lard, and soldered up. Three-fourths of original weight lost in drying : cost Is. lid. per lb. (From Br. Armstrong and Mr. M^Dougall.) It appes"^ to keep for an indefinite time, as long as it is not exposed to the atmosphere. Captain Nares speaks favourably of pemmican biscuits. Note 22: SLEDGE THAVELLINO. 373 Commauder M'Clintock's parties lived a great deal on pemmican, and he cousiders it the most sustaining food for hard work. Commander Kicliards' men asked for it on one occasion in preference to fresh venison, and he says, " I believe a man can do more work on pemmican than on any other kind of food." Pemmican, however, requires an education to appreciate it; and it has to be mixed with currants and herbs or sugar to raake it go down at first. One of its advantages is, the facility of getting it into an edible condition ou t' march ; frozen pemmican put into a pot of snow and set on the lamp luoduces a sort of soup quicker than any other kind of food. This must not be confounded with that delicious comix)und "Arctic Soup" as described in the following recipe by Mr. M'Dougali. Recipe for Arctic Soup : First melt your snow ; then boil the water ; then put into it (for eight men) eight pieces of salt beef of 8 ozs. each (and well frozen) ; let them simmer for ten minutes ; then put in 8 ozs. of flour. Take out the Ijeef and serve the soup while tepid. Seasons. The best season for sledge work, according to the British experi- ence, appears to be from the middle of April to the end of May, when tlie ice is still firm and the temperature moderate. Before that it is too cold, and in June large cracks begin in the ice, impeding progress greatly. On gootl ice, fifteen miles a day can be made with a light sledge without overtaxing the men. But good ice is the exception in the Arctic sea ; it is rarely that the path is not crossed by successive lines of hnriraocks ("Arctic hedgerows" so called) formed by the collision of flot-8 in summer; and these are often of such height and cliaracter as to turn the march into an Alpine climb, in which the loads have to be transjwrted in pieces, involving three and four trips over the same ground. It is work of this kind, perhaps done in a bitter freezing wind or a snow-storm, which exhausts the men and breaks their spirit, from the slow progress. To avoid these hummocks, they keep close to tbe shore, where the ice is generally new, that is, of one season, and therefore smoother. This is what is called " land ice," and forms a belt between the shore and the great floes, which latter are commonly stmnded in shallow water at some distance from the land, that is, comparatively shallow water, for floes have been found aground in twelve fathoms. The autumn travelling was considered to be the worst ; and it was only undertaken for the object of placing depots of provisions on an intended route for the use of the main parties in the sprinsc. In the autumn the daily increasing cold chills the party ; clothes and coverings get more and more damp from the condensation, and become more and more frozen into boards. In June the snow begins to melt and produces a sort of slush on the ice which is very troublesome to sledge travellers. Sir E. Belcher speaks of the depressing effect of dragging a sledge for several hours through ten inches of water ; and sometimes these lakes of melted snow on the ice are waist-deep j but such depths do not occur till July. prr ! 1:1! 374 NOTES TO TEE JOURNAL. Lieutenant Payer (Aitstrian Expedition, Nova Zemhla) prefers the autumn season for sledge work, on account of the extreme cold in the early spring, and afterwards of the thawing of the snow and the breaking up of the ice. Lieutenant Greely (United States Expedition, Smith's Sound) began laying out his depots in Febru.ary, 1882, and started his main parties in March ; he also carried on sledgins; late in the autumn : the use of dogs gave him some advantage in traveUing so early and so late. Snow Blindness. Another trouble in this part of the work is the snow blindness, caused by the reflection of the sunlight from the snow, generally covering the whole field of ice; and which reflection virtually deprives men of the use of their sight for some days, and will return again if not guarded against. An intense and brilliant phase of this is when the sun is about 20° above the horizon, at which time its reflection from the snow crystals is broken up into prismatic rays, and it produces the apjicarance all over the ice of what is called " diamond dust." Various appliances have been invented to protect the eyes from this action ; " nothing so effectual as a }iair of neutral tint spectacles " (R.) A good many journeys have been made at night (that is to say, when the sun is near or just below the horizon) to avoid this glare. The time for commencing this so- called night travelling is about the end of April, and it is continued on to the end of the journey on account *>f the heat of the sim in midday, which is oppressive under the circumstances, though the theiinometer may be at freezing point. Weights and Distances. In the British expeditions 200 lbs. per man, dragging, was considered a fair weight, though this may be raised to 250 lbs. per man for a short distance and on smooth ice. This limits the length of journeys (beyond the depots, v/hich are always deposited by auxiliary sledges on the route) to forty or fifty days' provisions, including going and re- turning, or about 400 miles altogether, the average daily march being about 10 miles. No allowance can be properly made for the lightening of the sledge by consumption of provisions, for the condensation and freezing of moisture from the bodies at night so accumulates in the wrappers, and sometimes never gets thawed and evaporated, that sledges have occasionally returned to the ship actually heavier than when they started ; sometimes even with the original weight of coverings doubled. Tlie average time on the daily mivrch was about eight hours, the rate of jirogress being therefore very slow — from one to two miles an hour; with a fair wind and smooth ice this mi^ht be doubled, but such excep- tions intensify the labour of the ordinary drajiging ; the difl't eiice between fair and foul may be expressed by the lines of the Latin poet, referring to a more serious journey : — " Facilis descensus Averni ; Sed rerocare gradum — hie labor, hie opus est." Note 22: SLEDGE TRAVELLING. m As the wanner temperature advanced, if we may speak «> of a maximum about freezing point, the day's or night's march was divided into two, of six and four hours respectively, with an interval of rest between them, and a greater daily distance was so obtained, with less fatigue to the men. Lieutenant Payer says ten hours' sleep and seven hours' march (with good food) increase the strength and weight. In the United States Expedition of 1881 (Lieutenant Greely), with the help of dogs, they constantly did 15 miles (geographical) a day ; and, on Lieutenant Lock wood's great journey to the " farthest north," he did 20 miles a day on the average, with an eight-dog sledge, the dogs diatiging about 100 lbs. each. It is imi)ossible to make any satisfactory comprison bc-tween this journey and Commander Markliam's towards the North Pole in 1876 ; but, judging by the records of the two journeys, the ice in Lockwootl's journey must have been much more favourable than in Mark ham's. Night in Tent ; on Sledge Journey. " The meal done, the tent was carefully swept out, the last sedulous arrangement of the ixjbbles, termed ' picking the feathers,' was made, and then a waterproof sheet spread to prevent our warm bodies, during the night, melting the frozen ground and wetting us through. "Then every man seized his bkuket bag, and popped thereinto his legs and ixxly, in order that the operation of undressing miglit be decently jierfunued, and placed jacket and wet b(X)ts carefully for a pillow. Lastly, tlie wolf-skin robes — oh, contractor of furs ! may you be haunted by the aroma of the said robes for your lifetime ! — brought along over and umier the jxirty, and all lie down alternately head and feet in a row, across the tent. Pi|ies are lighted, the evening's glass of groj; served out ; and whilst the cook is washing up, and preparing his things ready for the morning meal, as well as securing the food on the sletlges from I'oxes or a hungry bear, many a tou.;li yarn is told or joke is made. The cook rejKirts all right, hooks up the door, tucks in the fur robe, and seven jolly mortals, with a brown holland tent over their heads and a winter's gale without, try to nestle their sides ainougst the softest stones, and soon drop into such a sleep as those only enjoy who drag a sledge all day, with the temjjerature 30° below freezing iwint." — Osborn, Arctic Journal. Tlie Start. Tlie starting of a sledge exiwdition is a festal day in Arctic service. After tile dreary confinement of the winter, the reappearance of the sun is a veritable restoration to life; and soon after that event the prepara- tions for the spring jonnieys commence. The pros{)ect of a change from the monotonous ship life, and of seeing something new, and discovering nobody knows what, gives an attractive excitement to the sailor, and every man who has strength in him is ready to go. The officers told off to command the different sledges suf«rintend the fittings and cargo tif each, providing some special arrangement according to their own ideas. m [?ij i- I I rf ■ '! M 376 NOTES TO THE JOURNAL, A sledite is, by the nature of the service, a sort of independent command, and in a seaman's eyes bt comes for the time a ship. Each bears a name and a di8tiQgui8ljin<; fin most of the latter having been carefully pre- pared beforehand by some fair hands at home. On the appointed day for the start, which, to give importance and spirit to tlie duty, is generally the same for several expeditions, all the sledges are marshalled a little way from the ships, with everything stuwed and flj^s Hying ; then their officers and crews are assembled, as well as those who are to remain in the ship. The commandor of the whole ex|)edition then makes an address to the sleiige panics, ending with that duty, which is never forpf^tten by seamen, of praying to the Almighty Euler for protection and support to their undertaking; after which the sledges slowly wend their way across the field of ice, in their sevt-nil directions, with mutual cheers from each and from those left on board ; " and soon the flags are hauled down, and o silent earnestness uiure befitting to the occasion succeeds this momentary festivity" (li.). Recwds of Special Jovrneys. Among all the numerous sledge journeys of that epoch, those of the exjicditi 'ns under Captain Austin in 1851 and Sir E. Belcher in 1853 are i)erhaii8 the most remarkable. Commander Richards (now Admiral Sir G. Richards, K.C.B.), who explored the north coasts of the Tarry Islands in 1853, probably travelled more than any other officer; Com- mander M'Clintock (now Admiral Sir L. M'Clintock, F.R.S.) made one of the longest journeys, of 1030 miles altogether, and 105 days out, reaching to the extreme north of Prince Patrick's Island, in 1853 ; but the journey of Lieut<'nant Mecham to Prince of Wales Straits, where he found a record of the Enterprise, was the longest in distance, being 1157 miles, and 70 days out; but in this case the weights were lighter, and other circum- stances favourable. lu fact, the length of time out and the distance done depends on three conditions — fuel, ice and weather; fresh meat (from game) is a great support, but not indispensable. One of the most terrible sledge journeys ever performed, though only of six days, and of 50 miles, was by Com- mauder Richards, in 1854, from Baring Bay (Wellingtoi Channel) to Beechey Island. It was made in February, for a special purpose, and the temperature was always below — 40°. The men were so < isabled with the intense cold that they would hardly wait for their frozen n eat to thaw, and could hardly eat it when it was thawed, but threw ther isclves into their blanket bags, and even then could hardly sleep. It reiuired a week's ■ rest to recover them. Captain Parry, 1827. — There were two such journeys over the ice which will alwa^/s remain the most interesting, if not the most remarkable, of all performed in the Arctic seas ; and those are that of Parry from Spitzbergen towards the North Pole, in 1827, and that of Markham from the north end of Smith's Sound, in the same direction, in 1876; both conclusively proving the complete impracticability ol' the attempt to reach NcxTK 22 : SLEDOE TRA YELLING. 377 the Pole in that manner. Parry's was both a land and a water journey, for it was made in June, when the ice was breaking up. He took two boats, expressly made, with flat bottoms, and two officers and twelve men to each boat, each, when laden, weighiiigv3T53 lbs. They got to 82'' 45' N. lat., 19° 25' E. long., and then found that the great labour, with littlo result, was too much for the men. It was, in fiict, too late in the season. Tiie work of daily hauling the boats on to the floes, and launching thera again, and dragging the boats over the hummocks of ice — and to no purpose, for the whole field of ice was drifting south all the time — took all the go out of them. They were forty-eight days travelling, and the direct distance, out and in, was 570 miles. But, thanks to the good arrangements, no man was much the worse. 'I'wo curious questions arose on this voyage. One, common to all Arctic travelling, but increased as you go north, that is, the difficulty in summer time — whon the sun is always above the horizon — of knowing day from nif^ut, and therefore of telling when one day ends and another begins. Tl.is was met by Parry by having prepared beforehand watches marked to t venty-Four hours. The other point was that, supix)sing they arrived at the North Pole, if there was no land they would not know their way back again, as the Polar star, their only guide, would be over their heads. The magnetic needle, in such a situation, could not bo depended on. Commander Mirkham's journey, in 1876, was from the Alert (CaTptain Nares), then wintering on the coast, at the north-west corner of that long channel beginning with Smith's Sound. It was also in two boats, mounted on two sledges, with a sufficient crew to each to make the weight at starting 230 lbs. per man. It started early in April, anticipating that the return journey would be made afloat. But it was apparently as much too early as Parry's was too late, for durin;^ the whole way out there was nothing but solid ice, and intersected with hummocks of such size and ruggedness that the loads had to be carried piecemeal. For two miles of direct advance they went over ten. 'J'his labour, comhined with the cold (down to — 40°) and the snow and fogs, used up tlie life of the men. They reached 83° 20' 26" N. lat., and then had to give in. They got back to the ship in the middle of June, with only three men fit out of fifteen. " Like Franklin's party, the men fell down and died as they walked ; " the cold and the weariness and the hunger ate the life out of them day hy day. What renovation could such men get by resting and feeding when " their sleeping bags were sheet iron, and the curry-powder brass " ? Captain Nares came to the conclusion that 60 miles of Polar pack wore insuperable. Other Records of Sledge Travelling. No. 1. Investigator, October, 1850. (From Armstrong.) {Note. — It must be borne in mind that the Enterprise and Investigator were not well fittai out for sledge travelling.) —Seven persons ; out nine 378 NOTES TO THE JOURNAL. days; 80 miles out direct; from Princess Boyal Inlands to north end of Straits — 18 lbs. pemmican, 31 lbs. biscuit, 8 lbs. oatmeal, and chocolate. In this journey there was a w at of water, from want of fuel, and con- sequently the men were unable to eat sufTicient food. Ice comparatively smooth. Weight, 200 lbs. i)er man. No. 2. Enterprise, April 14th, 1852. (" Enterprise " and " Resolution " sledges : from Walker Bay to the North, Journal, p. 184r.) "Enterprise' bledge. — Eight persons; out fifty-two days ; 537 miles direct course travelled, out and in together. Boiled ptTk, 80 lbs.; preserved meat, 20 lbs.; jiemmican, 54 lbs.; biscuit, 160 lbs.; potatoes, 55 lbs. ; rum, 5 gallons ; sugar, 20 lbs. ; tea, 2^ lbs. ; cocoa, 10 lbs.; flour, 12^ lbs.; fuel, 50 lbs.; dogs' food, 40 lbs. (for three Esquimo dogs which hdijed to draw the sledge). N.B. — They had a oacAe of provisions on Princess Royal Islands to aid (from >vhich, preserved meat, 120 lbs. ; potatoes, 2G lbs. ; sugar, 19 lbs. ; cocoa, 8 lbs. ; dogs' meat, 84 lbs.). Daily AUowance. — Morning: Cocoa, 1 pint; biscuit, i lb.; pork, \ lb. Noon: Biscuit, \ lb.; I'ork, \ lb.; rum, ^ gill. Night: Preserved meat, ) lb. ; potatties, | lb. ; rum, h gill ; tea, 1 pint ; biscuit, i lb. ; and cither game or pemmican, i lb. N.B, — This comes to 2J lbs. per day (without tea, cocoa, or rum), which, for eight men for fifty-two days, wovdd come to 1040 lbs. ; whereas they only had 592 lbs. altogether of food on starting. But they took more from the cache on their return. This was a fairly favourable journey. Ice not very difficult, firewood plentiful ; game moderate, eighteen birds, four hares ; weather motlcrate ; a few frostbites and general snow-blindness, but none of the party disabled. It was from the south end of Prince of Wales Strait to the north end, aud then to eastward along the coast, and back to the ship. Total weight of sledge, loaded, 13 cwt., or 182 lbs. per man. The weight of the whole eight persons on starting was 1264 lbs, ; oil returning, after fifty-two days, it was 1205 lbs., being a loss of about 5 per cent. The second sledge (the " Resolution," under T^ieutenant Parkes) accom- panied the other as far as the north end of the Strait, and there parted, making direct for Cai^e Providence, on Melville Island. This was a journey of considerable hardsiiip, owing to the difficulties of the ice and the in- adequacy of the party ; midway across M'Clure Strait, Lieutenant Parkes was obligetl to leave the sledge on aocovmt of the hea^v hummocks, and at Cape Proviilence had to leave five of his party aud proceed with two ; then, just as he was on the point of communication with a party from the Investigator, he turned back from fear of the natives. Thus all that resolution by which he well deserved the title of his sledge, and all the privations aud sufferings of his party, were wasted, owing to this slight mischance. (Journal, p. 209.) . > . i-IS' ii' cocoa, ,; dogs' Note 22 : SLEDQE TRA VELLINQ. 379 tins slight Lieutenant Parkes appears to hav been promoted not long after tliis voyage, and was retired as a Commander in 1875. Tlie weight of the party of the " Resolution " sledge on starting was 1334 lbs. On returning one man was omitted in the weighing ; allowing a loss of 25 lbs. for him, as he was ill, the total weight would be 1293 lbs., and the total loss would be only about 3 j)er cent, for seventy- five (lays out, and a heavy journey. (The "Victoria" sledge: from Walker Bay to the South. Journal, p. 204.) The weight of the party of the "Victoria" sleHg© on starting was 1312 lbs. On returning, after forty-eight days out, and a comi)aratively easy journey, the weight was 1223 lbs., or a loss of about 7 per cent. EnterpiHse, April, 1853. ("Enterprise" and "Victoria" sledges, Journal, p. 202.) — From Camden Bay to Victoria Straits and back : — Total number of days absent 49 Number of days under weigh 45 Number of hours under weigh 274f Number of statute miles gone over 753 Average hourly rate, statute miles 2 Average rate daily made good, statute miles . . . . 12*2 No. 3. From Belcher's Narrative and Arctic Blue-hook, 1855. Asmtance (Captain Sir E. Belcher) and Pioneer (Lieutenant Osborn), 1853. The sledge expedition under Commander Richards, sent from North- umberland Sound to the north coasts of the Parry Islands in the spring of 1853, is one of the most remarkable for the length of it and for its organisation. No Kss than six sledges were marshalled to enable one to get 500 miles from tlie ship. Of these, three carried 550 rations each of the regulated kind, and were each manned by an officer and ten men. The first fed the whole party for seven days' march, then deposited a cache of provisions, and returned to the ship; the second then fed the party for eight days further, left a depot, and returned ; the third did the same, feeding the party for lour days more. The other three sledges carried 320 rations each, and were manned by an ofiicer and seven men each. One of these fed the now reduced party for six days further, left its depot, and retiu-ued to the ship. The two remaining sledges (under Commander Richards and Lieutenant Osborn) went on together for eleven days more, then Osborn returned, and Kichards started alone with his full supply of rations for forty days. Each sledge in returning did some exploring to fill up the gaps left in the advance, and replenished their provisions at the successive depots left. Thus Richards was enabled to reach the north-eas* promontory of Melville Island, having gone over some 400 miles from the ship on the way In the previous month a depot of 1200 rations was deposited by a special party under himself with a whale-boat and light ice-boat, at Cape Lady i;; :&v w r-. ^d '-•^\L I 1 I i 1 1;^ 380 xVOTJJS TO THE JOURNAL. Franklin. The whole quantity of provisions with the western sledge I)arty, therefore, amounted to 3810 rations each of the scale shown helow. Scale of VicttuUling, North-west Sledge Expedition, April, 1853, per Man per Day. — Pemmican, | lb. ; bacon, 6 oz. ; biscuit, J lb. ; concentrated rum, 3 oz. ; tobacco, 3^ oz. among eight ; biscuit dust, ^ oz. ; tea, \ oz. ; sugar, f oz. ; chocolate, 1^ oz. ; lime-juice, \ oz. ; pepper, salt, mustard, onion powder, 30 oz. for eight men for ten days. Fuel : seal oil or stearine, 2i lbs. for eight, or alcohol, 28 oz. These rations were in packages, eacli of ten days for eight men. Total Weight of Sledge. lbs. Equipment 557 Provisions for eight men for forty days 783 Cans and cases for „ „ 60 I man dragging. Notes of the Expedition. We have fortunately the detailed record of this sledge party by the leader himself, being some of the most valuable pages of that stupendous ]>aper hummock, the Arctic Blue-book of 1855 ; and all who have known G. H. Richards (as the present editor has for many years) would agree that he was (and is) an admirable example of the British sea officer, having the quiet resolution resulting from careful forethought and self-confidence, tlie strong sense of obedience to duty, the patient endurance, and with all tiie cheerful adventurous spirit and the social humour which are the essential ingredients of that British species of humanity. The plan so carefully matured was fully carried out. On this occasion the proof of the pudding was literally in the eating, for they got scarcely any game, and were therefore a fair example of the work that can be done by such parties! with none but their own resources. It is difficult, however, to compare the work done with the food, because of the depots, from which the returning parties all helped themselves. The total number of miles travelled by all of them, and the total quantity of provisions at the start, will be an approximate comparison (seep. 384). But Commander Richards' journey with his own sledge, from Cape Richards to the Resolute at Dealy Island, twenty days and about 170 miles, is a good criterion. Two matters must be taken into account in all these comparisons, which throw an imcertainty on the result. First, the varying weight of the load, which, however, is not so much as might be supposed, as the extraordinary quantity of frozen moisture collected in the equipment adds continually to it. so that some sledges return absolutely heavier than they went out. The other matter is, that every sledge carries some sort of sail, which, as we might suppose, is used on every possible occasion, and which sometimes not only " takes charge of the sledge," as tne commander expresses it, but taxes the powers of the men to keep up with it. On the Note 22: SLEDQE TRAVELLING. 881 other hand, the not unfrequent struggles among the hummocks (which some one compares to a confused heap of gigantic granite blocks), and through soft snow and water, counterbalance the easy days of fair winds. April 10th, 1853. — The six sledges left Northumberland Sound, and crossed over the heavy humraocky ice in the Queen's Channel to Capo LfiHy Franklin with a N.W. wind, the thetmometer — 3°. Then they coasted along the i-slands on the N.E. promontory of Bathurst Island, and had some trying weather; strong winds, heavy drifts of snow, rough ice, and the thermometer — 17° ; " the sledges at a little distance in the haze and drift were magnified into ships tossing about in a troubled sea." And when the air is clear the sunlight on the ice brings objects so near and the refraction is so wonderful, " that, even with our daily experience, we found disf ces we thought to be no more than 3 miles turn out 10." On the promontories of Bathurst Island they saw herds of reindeer, sometimes forty near together, but very shy, and they could not stop to stalk them ; plenty of hare tracks, but, alas ! no hares. On the N.W. sides of these promontories the ice hummocks were very large, indicating a great expanse of sea and a prevalent N.W. wind. April 2dth. — They reached Success Point, the rendezvous judiciously selected by Sir E. Belcher as a central point of communication between all the ships of the expedition. They had dipped into the bays they passed, to look for traces of the object of their search; and now they crossed over to Melville Island. ^fay 10th. — On the W. side of Melville Island ; " dragjjing heavy against the N.W. wind with snow-drifts," " began night travelling (to avoid the dazzling glare of the snow), but found it disagreeable at this early period, putting us back at least a fortnight in season." May IQth. — At Cape Colquhoun, near N.E. point, Melville Island. Here Lieutenant Osborn parted, and Commander Richards went on alone, " the men in good health and spirits, though weaker." At the extreme north point (most appropriately now called after himself) he met Lieutenant Hamilton from the Resolute coming to the rendezvous. And near this point he picked up some small pieces of drift-wood, pine with the bark on, " probably drifted from North America " (drift truly, hut at present, who shall say where from ?). Here he found plenty of good soil and vegetation. He now determined to go down Hecla and Griper Bay to communicate with Captain Kellett, as the coasts to the west of him were all under examination from the Resolute. And here his troubles began : " sprained my ancle, unfortunate at this time, as I rather require it " (rather !) ; "but with a bandage and a bamboo I kept ahead" (the commander generally walks ahead of the sledge to select the route). Then the weather, which had never been very good, turned very bad, and forced a growl out of the lame leader: "The curse of this country is the thick weather." " I can't recommend this land (sledge) travelling, you have no sun and no compass " (the compass throughout this part of the Arctic Circle is generally unreliable). On one occasion he only got an observa- I \ ■ r \* t I nr ' 382 NOTES TO THE JOURNAL. f'i I II' .1' I ' .I--'' ■'l'"' ji Hi •'i. P. 1 ;* \l .1/ ,.H I H'- ; tion of the sun " by sitting inside the tent, with the artificial iiorizon placed in the entrance on the bottom of a pemmican kettle filled with snow to steady it ; rather diflicult practice, and one which covered all hands inside with snowilrift." And, as a climax, the ice hummocks wero bigger than ever, " 50 feet high, and Hcem to have stood many thaws." At C&iM Mudge his crew were exhausted, and, as generally hapj)t'im on such occasions, they could not eat. Tried to make short cuts overland across points, with the result (the ground being often now bare of snow), " never follow the land, stick to the floe." At the head of Hecla and Grijxjr Iky they crossed over the neck of land to Dealy Island, where the Resolute wintered 1852-3 ; and during those few days it was a continual struggle with steep hills, narrow ravines, bare and rocky ground, and atrocious weather ; Sergeant Jeflferies of the Royal Marines (with a correct military salute) remarked, " Just like the Kyber Pass, sir, in 1841 " (in which memorable ex|)edition he had served, in the Line). These are some o he commander's reflec- tions on the spot : " Sleep we have been strangers to for some time, I feel myself in the evening very like an iron iwker (stiff and dry ?), only not so strong. Weighed, and steered wherever we could find suflicient snow somewhat in our proijer direction; travelling even in the snow- drift preferable to the wet tent. Such a first of June I never witnessed, having seen many." June A.th. — They got into the comfortable and kindly shelter of the Resolute; and the commander, revelling in the bill of fare at Dealy Island, "venison, musk ox, hare, ptarmigan," initios his comrades in Northumberland Sound chewing the cud of a " curried gull, or a steak off a walrus." Return Journey. On the return journey the bitter cold and gloom of adversity hiul disappeared, but the sunshine of prosperity proved almost more difficult to bear. "I look upon the sun now as my worst enemy," because he transforms the hard snow into a deep sludge. It was difficult to find what he calls "a comfortable floe," i.e. hard and smooth. "Soft snow knee-deep, boots breaking up, thick weather, north wind, temperature -t- 35° (oppressive after— 17°), dug the sledge outwith a shovel," — "dragging through 3 feet of snow with 6 inches of water between it and the ice, like 4J hours on a treadmill." The passage across Byam Martin Straits towards the end of June was " far the worst travelling we exj^erienced, prostrated the jwoiile," so much that he came to the conclusion that "early travelling is far preferable to June." In a walk on Bathurst Land he " got buried up to my knees in clay and snow, and, having no shovel to dig myself out with, thought it prudent to go back." Here, again, the big hummocks appeared. "This march reminded me of travelling through a thriving churchyard of the old school ; the hummocks are exactly the shape of well-made graves (of Note 22 : SLEDQE TEA VEILING. 383 plants, with dilapidated monuments in rock crystal), and very thick they lie." "Somolinies it took uh half an hour for a few yardH." "Wo have every variety of travellin;^, ice, water, Hludgo." "Water knee-deep (on the top of tlie ice, on Juno 30th), feet numbed, requires two houra in glt'cpin}^ ba.!» to find out you have feet; the (loo was covered with a sm, and anything but a calm one, the ice hummocks standing out like lines of islands." Arriving again at Success Point (the rendezvous), " We had a choice of ground to-night, either soft snow or soft clay ; chose tho latter as being a novelty — reminding us of the ap[)roach t a pig-aty of a November day." On the north jwints of Bathurst Island, the Bears had destroyed some of tho depots of provisions, showing a quite indiscriminating taste "for peniinican, bacon, boats, oars, and flags." Throughout this part tliero was ii succession of thick-weather days — that "curse," as he calls it, of Arctic Surveyors, — "got no angles for a long time, even taking the theo'lolite out and exjiosing it for four hours produced no change!" Could weather be denser ? By this time (July 4th) the streams were pouring down the ravines ; and the saxifrage, the one universal flower within the Arctic Circle, was beginning to show its delicate pink colour, "like peach-blossom." On the return journey they tried the plan of dividing the day's march into two parts, one of six hours and the other of four, instead of taking the whole ten hours in one march ; and Commander Richards says tlu-y gained several days by it, but that it is not so good in the early part of the year, as the labour and delay of breaking up the camp twice is distressing in very cold weather. July 6th. — They arrived at their last depot, Cape Lndy Franklin (N.E. corner Bathurst Island), one month from the Remlute. And notwith- standing the hard travelling " tho men were none the worse except ex- cessive fatigue and lame feet." (It is a pity their weights were not taken on starting and returning). Here they met a party from the Assistance, and crossed over the Queen's Channel again, this time with boats; the ice having partly broken up, leaving lanes of water between floes, cotn- I)elling a frequent landing and launching on and off the ice, during which " the wooden waterproof tray (on the sledge, under the cargo) proved good, floating the sledge across wide lanes of water." He records a remarkable instance of the strong and sudden action of ico when in motion : " In a few moments the floe, with a boat on it, was carried 100 yards, forced up the beach, and the boat turned over 20 feet above our heads, and tossed about like a nutshell, among tho broken pieces of ice twenty times her own weight, — and yet not injured, owing to her light weight and good build." And his final opinion of the Polar ocean, north of the Parry Islands, is, " That part of the frozen sea we have passed over is rarely, if ever, navigable for ships." On July 13th they arrived at the ship in Northumberland Sound. It must not, however, be sup^wsed that it is always that abominable fr^-i ;'f '■- 11 i I t'l 884 NOTES TO THE JOURNAL. thick weather and hummocky ico; often there are long BtretchcH of Bninot'h ice over which a fine wind carricH the Hledge quickly, and a (comparatively) pleasant atmoHphere gives life and Hpirit even in the world of ice and Hnuw. Neither must the reader take the idea, from the coinmandor's dry retlec- tions I have fwjlected, that he was a " j;rowler," for his disiiosition is precisely the contrary, and even in the worst of snow-drifts would encourage the cheerful pluck of his crew. Outward . Return On board Resolute Abstract of the Journey. Dayi. Maximum rat(> per day. Mean. 56 Fair wind, 17 miles. . . 8 uuies. 35 Double journeys, 22 miles . 11 „ 3 Total . . 94 Number of hours employed : Travelling, 835 ; resting, 1057 ; making cairns, Ac, 290. Total distance accomplished : 808 geographical miles. Game shot by whole party : Deer, 3 ; bears, 3 ; seal, 1 ; musk ox, 1 ; birds, 56. Maximum and minimum temperature: April 10th, —3°; 2l8t, —17°; May 18th, +40°; June 13th, +38°; July 4th, +47°. Abstract of all the Sledges. Sledges. No. of persons. Days absont. Liircct distance done. No. of rations on starting. Commander Richards • L' .tenant Oabom . . . "Reliance" "Success" " Lady Franklin " . . . "Enterprise" .... 8 8 8 11 11 11 94 97 62 33 23 10 808 922 600 300 220 83 din . ... 320 320 320 550 550 650 Deposited previously at Cape Lady Fran! 2610 1200 Tt »tal ration s at start 3810 N(de. — To the direct distance done must be added about one-fourth to get the actual distance passed over by the sledges on the march. The distuncea are taken from the Blue-booh, 1855. A part of Lieutenant Osboru's journey was by boat at the end of the Bunuuer. No. 4. From M^DougalVs Voyage of the Resolute, 1852-4, and from Arctic Blve- book, 1855. Resolute (Cap'ain H. Kellett)a(id Intrepid (Coiiimandcr M'Clintock), 1853. This sledge exptdition was sent from Dealy Island (south side of Melville Island) in the spring of 1853, to search the N.W. shores of Note 22 : SLEDGE TRAVBLLINO, Melville Island and of I'rinco Tatrick'n Island. It is specially intoresting from having Iwen under the charge of Conunander M'Clintock, who had particidarly turni'd IiIh attention to improving! the »ledgo travelling since the exjicdition of Sir James lloss in 1H48, when the arrangements were not nmch djlTeront from thoso under Parr^ in 1820. Tht) instructions given to him by Captain Kellctt were short and expressive, characteristic of that sagacious luid warm-hearted sailor. " I am glad to have at my disjKJsal an oflicer of your experience and tried zeal " (ho had been with Captain Austin's £xi>e r w ;. '.jl ■ 1 l' : 1'- •;'■ \ ■ '■ 'i /*, : \ , T""'T! :388 NOTES TO THE JOURNAL. Outward , Return , Abstract of the Journey. Days. Maximnm daily rate. 75 Fair wind, smooth ice, 17 m. 30 „ „ 21 m, Mean rate. 1 10*4 geographical mileS. Total . . 105 ■ Number of hourt employed : Travelling, 860 ; resting, 1403 ; lunch, 44; detained by weather, 167 ; cairns, &c., 49. Total distance accomplished : 1030 miles. Gone over by sledge : 1210 miles. Temperature. — Mean of Weeks : April 12-21, —4° ; April 21-May 3, -2-74°; May 3-10, +2°; May 10-31, +16-5°; June 1-6, +25°; June24-July 1, +32°; July 9-'" +36°. Maximum : July 4, + 51° ; wind S.E. Minimum : April 16, .4°; wind N.W. Crame Musk Ox. Deer. Hares. Seala. Birds. Total. rSeen . 94 124 2 18 215 — 'tshot .7 8 2 29 1629 lbs. (M'Dougall.) No traces of bears, and no animals north of 77° lat. This favourable supply of game, very different from Kichards', enabled him to be more liberal with his rations, and to allow latterly 1} lb. of pemmican daily. He speaks of the excellent effect on the men of this extra allowance. No. 5. Austro-Hungarian Expedition, 1872. Lieutenant Payer recommends tea, and condensed milk, and cofifee, on a sledge journey, as "indescribably refreshing." He found that a large amount of animal food produced thirst, and irritation, and weakness. He had an assortment of nationalities to deal with: German, Dalmatian, Tyrolese, Swedish and Esquimo. No. 6. United States Expedition, 1881, to the " Farthest North.'" This expedition was the result of the International Conferei.cjs held in 1879 for the object of establishing a series of synchronous observations round the Polar Circle. The United States undertook the work at the station of Lady Franklin Bay, north of Smith's Sound; and the signal department of the United States Army had the responsibility of all the arrangements. A party of twenty-four officers and men, all of the United States Army, were taken in a hired steamer to Lady Franklin Bay in 1881, and lelt there with the materials for building a hut and provisions for two years. During that time they not only made the required scientific observations, but explored with dog sledges in various directions. Tliis novel plan of carrying on Arctic work was, as far as concerns science, very Note 22: SLEDGE TRAVELLING. 389 successful ; the great sufferings aad losses of the party were due to bad inanageiijent elsewhere. The success was due mainly to the good quali- fications and character of the men composing it, and to the sagacity and management of the commander, Lieutenant Greely, U.S.A. (now Brigadier- General), and on the whole it offers an example of Arctic enterprise worthy of further elaboration ; there is, however, this objection to the hut plan, that you cannot possibly get away in it. Of the sledge expeditions made, that by Lieutenant Lockwood to the north of Greenland is the most ioujresting, both as a sample of sledging, and because it reached the farthest north yet touched by ma,n ; but being along the coast the whole way it does not belong to the same category as the adventurous exploits of Parry and Markham direct into the Polar Sea. Lieutenant LockwooiTa Expedition, North Greenland. — -Sledges. — One eight-dog sledge carrying 800 lbs. altogether ; dead weight, 256 lbs. ; food, 227 lbs. ; dogb' food, 300 lbs. ; with three men (one of them Esquimo). Four auxiliary sledges (Hudson Bay pattern) drawn by ten men altogether, each dragging about 200 lbs. The party started April 3rd, 1882, across Robeson Channel to Greenland, and at Cape Bryant they left the auxiliary sledges, and Lieut. Lockwood and his two companions went on alone with the dog sledge, and succeeded in penetrating along the North Greenland coast up to lat. 83° 23' 8", the highest latitude yet achieved by any person. They returned to Fort Conger (the permanent station) June lat, having been absent eixty days, during which they had made forty-six matches and had gone over 928 geographical miles, the direct distance being about 500 geographical miles, being an average of twenty miles c' ice traversed to a march ; the rate was 2 • 1 mUes per hour going, and 2 * 3 returning. . There was plenty of rough ice, but on the whole the travelling appears to have been tolerably good in respect of that important particular; though the view given of what is facetiously called " The Arctic High- way " (taken from a photograph) looks like a stone quarry covered with loose blocks, piled house-high. From their extreme northing, looking sixty miles to seaward, there was rubble ice, but no huge hummocks such as were found on the coast to the westward : a condition of ice which seems to imply more land to the northward. Considering the temperature and the rate of travelling, it was a very 6ne example of sledge work, and encouraging in the employment of dogs. That they returned in good condition, both men and dogs, was due, first to the character of the men, but also to the plentiful supply of food; besides the auxiliary sledges, there were depots of provisions planted before- hand, loid also some depots left by former expeditions on the Greenland coast. Lieutenant Lockwood thought that with a lighter sledge he could have got farther ; he made the attempt in March, 1883, with two sledges of ten dogs each, but was soon stopped by the totally unexpected obstacle of open water, llie direct distance accomplished in 1882 (about 250 miles out) was not, however, large for Arctic sledge work. Food. — The feeding recommended by Lieutenant Greely for sledge work ; ■ -^ r ^ i: .1'! 300 NOTES TO THE JOURNAL. ifras ftd follows: Meat (pemmtcan ll oz., rest bacon and gaitie), 22 oz.; bread, 10 oz. ; butter, 2 oz. ; vegetables, 4 oz. ; sugar, 2 oz. ; tea, chocolate, 1 oz. ; condensed milk, 1 oz. ; and canned fruits in the depots, as a change. Lime-juice in frozen lozenges, very refreshing. This excels the British scale chiefly in vegetables, butter and milk ; he lays great stress on the canned fruits. .) SI !•'!' ;) Ko. 7. .1 Dr. M^CormickyR.N., Surgeon in II.M.S. North Star, Expedit ion lS52-i . jj, _ (now Deputy Inspector-Oeneral, retired). .^ . ,, , This officer published in 1884 two volumes containing his experiences during the above exjiedition ; and also on the expedition by Captain Parry in 1827 to Spitzbergen, and on that to the Antarctic Seas in 1839-43, under Sir James Ross, in which he served as Naturalist and Geologist, tm well as Surgeon. They contain, therefore, the record of a consider- able Polar experience, and have besides the special attraction of a large number of clever sketches of Polar scenes by the author himself; of which those in the Antarctic Seas are particularly valuable. ' : - •; On matters connected with the subject of the present book, Dr. M'Cbrmick givefi a curious example of improvised shelter in snow travelling. While on a short land journey in the neighbourhood of Beechey Island, he and one companion, with two dogs, found themselves, by bad weather, cut off from their party, and compulled to remain all night without covering or food ; with their knives they cut a trench in the snow two feet deep, in •which they and the dogs lay all night, covered only with the coating of snow drifted over them ; and, although there Was a gale of wind with the thermometer at —32°, they had not even a frost-bite. In the matter of diet in the ice, Dr. M'Cormick recommends preserved tin meats and vegetables and bottled fruits, especially cranberries; hut not dried fruits ;• and malt liquor in preference to spirits. ' .-..■> He gives a recipe for Quinine Wine : — ■ 1 scruple of quinine in 1 scruple of citric acid, in a wineglass of water, added to a bottle of port or shetry. ..' ■ i *the latitude of the farthest point North reached by Lieut. Lockwood stated in the above note, and also at p. 21, is that given in Lieut. Greely's account of the expedition ; but in the oflBcial report of the expedition it is stated that " the mean 83° 24' is believed to be the latitude attained by Lieut Lockwood." . .)■■ I Hi ' ii Note 25 : WINTER ON BOARD 8EIR 391 ■■• : ■•".! r i ' Note 25, p. 247 : Arctic Winter on Board Ship. Housing the Ship sounds a comfortable operation to tho inexperienced, but to the Arctic voyager it bears a dismal import, signifying the absence of the sun for some months, and continual night for a part of that time. Every Arctic narrator bemoans this loss as the greatest deprivation of all the joys of civilised life in the dark north, and as a primary cause of the mula mens in malo corpore which comes from Arctic voyaging. Captain CoUinson, when asked on his return what was the greatest priva- tion he had felt, replied at once, " The absence of daylight." Sir E. Belcher (coming, however, to it in bad condition) says : " In this climate, under the insidious effects of olos^e confinement, absence of light, and, still more important, of the wonderful influence of the sun's rays, nothing but strong determination will keep a man in good health." The Enterprise (when in Walker Bay, 1851-52) lost the sun for 67 days; in Cambridge Bay for only 39. About Beechey Island it dis- appeared for some 90 days ; in Northumberland Sound for more than 100 ; but, on the north coast of Greenland, Captain Nares' expedition in 1875 saw no sun for more than four months. No wonder that tho melancholy operation of shutting out the last days of light is postponed as long as possible. For the first part of this operation (after the masts and sails have been well secured) was to cover the upper deck with a roof of felt, from 12 to 15 feet high, in the centre of the deck, and sloping to 6 or 8 feet at the side!*, so as to throw off the snow as much as possible. Then the hatch- ways were battened down, two or three smaller openings only being left to the lower decks ; and the upper deck was commonly covered all over with a foot of snow, with a layer of gravel on it to make a hard surface ; so that from that time they lived below by lamplight. Sir E. Belcher turned his ingenious mind to the improvement of this winter housing arrangement. The great discomfort and danger about it was the con- densing of the moisture, which fell in drops and streams from the woodwork, or froze into icicles and hoar-frost in all holes and comers, bringing out all the diseases latent in each body, and scurvy over all. Captain Belcher tried to remedy this in two ways. First, by checking the inflow of th*} outer air below decks, that of course being the con- denser of the moisture ; and, notwithstandi. j the "housing," the temjjera- ture of the upper deck was generally the same as the outer air, so that, every time any one passed through the openings from below, a rush of this bitter atmosphere came down, creating always a cloud of steam, and sometimes even a home-made shower of snow. Belcher built cabins of wood and two thicknesses of canvas, over the oienings, and ouvered passages from them to the gangway, and down the accommodation ladder I i ! ^ «' : [■ i 3d2 NOTES TO THE JOUBNAL. to the ice, so that the cold air had to traverse these passages before it went below. Secondly, in order to draw off the foul air, he placed the various stoves under the hatchways or openings, and carried up a large tube round each funnel up to the " houBing," thus providing a direct and warm channel for its escape. The main stove for heating the ship was " Silvebter's," which he condemns as expensive in fuel and inadequate; its principle was heating air, which was conveyed about the decks in pipes, but these pipes, being generally nearly horizontal, carried the warm air but a short distance. To improve this he placed the stove in the. lowest part of the ship ; and over the upper mouths of the above escape tubes he made chambers for the condensation of the moist air, a sort of hoar-frost catchers. The effect of these arrangements is noted by him at the end of January, 1854 (when ihey were more completely carried out) ; the temperature of the outer air being —57° (a very low mark for that latitude); the upper deck was ■—29°; the captain's cabin +40°; the main Uving deck +45°; the gimroom + 50° ; and between decks was comparatively dry. But there is evidently room for improvement in the matter still, for, in the winter of 1875-76, Captain Nares says the difiFerence between the outer and iimer air in his ship was 55° in October, and still " the moisture between decks is the most troublesome thing"; and his ships were ■warmed with hot-water pipes, " which diffuse the heat well." Belcher recommends the cabins to be placed amidships, and the stores along the sides ; but that implies a radical reform in a ship's constitution. The ship's sides were always protected with extra planking outside and inside, and felt lining (Parry had cork lining in 1820), but the penetrating power of the cold may be comprehended by Captain Nares' remark that the floating of his ship in water (and not cradled on ice) kept their en^'ine- room at +28°. To counterbalance this penetration a bank of snow several feet thick was always made round the hull outside. In the Enterprise, in 1851-52, an improvement was made in the felt housing by the introduction of glass windows as soon as the sun re- appeared ; so that a little daylight was thrown into the cabins, at a time when it would not have been safe to dispense with the housing altogether. And another useful application of glass was made with good effect, by fixing double sashes to the skylights of the cabin, which could therefore be kept open to daylight for a longer period than was possible with a idngle sash. Lieutenant Payer mentions that in a small vessel (the Tegethoff) there was a great difference in the temperature inside the cabin, that at the floor being +1°, while at 6 feet high it was +22° (Reaumur). Hie Qredy Expedition (1881-84) struck out a new line in Arctic travelling, by constructing a regular wooden hut, double boarded and covered with tarred paper, in which the whole party (25) lived two winters in lat. 82°. The chief advantage of it appears to have been in tho total absence of the condensed moisture, which is so great a trouble on board ship. The heated air escaped at once into the roof si>ace, and from ■TA Note 25 : WINTER ON BOARD SHIP. 88B that somehow into the open air, as it did not even condense in the roof. But it must be recollected tliey liad a good supply of fuel, having a coal mine within a few miles of the hut. On the whole, it appears to have been more healthy and more agreeable than the lower deck of a ship ; arising, no doubt, in a great measure from its interior being more open throughout, and not divided into little cabins. Winter Occupations. . • . With the departure of the sun go all out-door excursions; daily exercise in the open air becomes a duty, and not an attractive one, along a worn track in the snow, sometimes only lighted by the reflection of the stars from the white covering around. But at the beginning* and end of the dark season there are times of great splendour, when the refracted light of the invisible sun illuminates the sky with rich and warm colours. The aurora frequently displays its vivid coruscations, but these are more of scientific interest than of value as light. The chief source of light during this season is the moon, that '• presiding goddess of the Arctic winter," as Captain Nares calls her, and when she is above the horizon her refulgence is sufficient to give a sort of life to the solemn silence of an Arctic scene. The Arctic Night. — " Imagine yourself, reader, on the heights of Griifith Island, on the edge of a lofty tableland, which, dipping suddenly at your feet, sloped again to a sea of ice at a distance of some 500 feet below ; picture a vast plain of ice and snow, diversified by tiers of broken- up ice and snow wreaths, which, glistening on the one side, reflected back the moonlight with an exceeding brilliancy, whilst the strong shadow on the farther side of the masses threw them out in deep relief; four lone barques, atoms in the extensive landscape ; and beyond them, on the horizon, sweeping in many a bay, valley, and headland, the ghostly coast of Cornwallis Island, now bursting upon the eye in startling distinct- ness, then receding into shadow and gloom, and anon diversified with flickering shades, like an autumnal landscape in our own dear land, as the fleecy clouds sailed sloWly across the moon ; that moon, so sharp, so clear, the while riding through the heaven of deepest blue, richly illuminated by the constellations of the northern hemisphere." (Osborn, Arctic Journal.) It is the long continuity of the obscurity that produces the depressing effect, for the darkness is never like the black gloom of a mine. (Nares.) On midwinter day at noon (lat. about 72°) we could just read type similar to the leading article of the Tinies. (M'Clintock in Arctic Manual.) At Melville Island, " up to the shortest day of the year, the return of each successive day was very decidedly marked by a considerable twilight for some time about noon ; that on the shortest day being sufficient to enable us to walk about very comfortably for nearly two hours. There was usually a beautiful arch of bright red light in the southern horizon for an hour or two." (Parry, 1819, in Arctic Manual.) Mr. M'Dougall (Resolute, 1852) speaks gratefully of the cheering effect m rji '. » - - 1 ' It 11 ^ is |j^ 3M NOTES TO THE JOURNAL, of the moon in winter, which in those latitudes gave thom the full benefit of her beautiful light, remaining above the horizon for eight days and nights every month during the winter. Lieutenant Payer speaks strongly of the necessity of occupation aud of discipline during the imprisonment on board. Lieutenant Greely appears to have felt grei.tly the importance of discipline in Arctic service, and of continuous occupation. Even under their favourable circumstances during the first winter the gloom and absence of interesting occupation affected the tone and condition of the party. And, what was very remarkable, the two Esquimos they had brought from Danish Gretnland were more affected than the white men ; they had less resources in themselves. Imprisoned by the darkness, his party looked to the sun to release them, and the very turning of tlie winter solstice produced a change in them for the better. And yet they appear to have done more out-door work during the winter than almost any other Arctic travellers. Like other Arctic travellers, he expresses their gratification at the light on the southern sky heralding for many days the reappearance of the sun by luminous arches of the prismatic colours, growing brighter, until the red orb itself rose above the horizon. The Theatre. All life, animal and vegetable, disappears ; the last living creatures to depart from the Enterprise (as also from the Investigator) were two ravens, who thus confirmed their ubiquitous and enduring nature. The Arctic voyager may then say with truth that they " Leave the world to darkness and to me." It is then that there comes out with very strong effect the genial comradeship of the British sailor, and turns that solitary little house of life into a veritable English home. It was the kind and thoughtful disposition of Captain Parry, the first to daro the Arctic winter in his ship, which gave the tone to all the subsequent arrangements. The work of keeping the ship sweet and clean, always so methodically carried out on board ship, occupies a good part of every dark day, besides the scientific observations which have been carried on all the twenty-four hours, and for which a wooden house is generally built on shore, warmed by a special stove. After dinner, which alone marks midday, come exercise, recreation, and instruction, towards the two latter of which the officers give valuable and well-appreciated assistance ; but it is remarkable that none of these endeavours tell so well on the tone of the men, or rouses their co-operation 8o much, as the theatricals ; this raises a deep subject for the consideration of ethnographers when di8cus^ing the generally supposed dull and imsocial character of the true Briton. Arctic writers all agree that m contributions given at home towards these undertakings produced more valuable results than those for the dramatic performances, and it must be allowed to be a sign of strong vivacity in the British sailor to be able to Note 25 : WINTER ON BOARD SHIP. tm produce Something that gave interost and amusement to thflmseTvca and their officers during two or three months when everything was carried on by lami)light, and the means and appliances were few and far from appropriate ; and all of it under a climate such, that it was adver- tised in the playbills, as a peculiar attraction, that *' the temiKjraturo will be kept at 42°," i e. not lower, for 42" is a temperature wo should some- times be glad to feel in a London theatre. :■ ,:,, Ship Arrangements ill Winter. • : . " The upper deck was covered from stem to stern-post with A thick felt awning, fifteen feet high in the centre, and carefully secured down to the gunwale all round the ship. There were two doors with porches, so that the lee one could always be used. The decks were carefully cleared for exercise, and lighted sparsely with common-fat lamps with canvas wicks — pork fat, bear's grease, or whale blubber being indis- criminately used, but with the greatest economy. The lower deck and cabins were, of course, constantly lighted with candles and oil lamps ; and the ladder-ways were only left open for ingress and egress, but carefully secured with double doors, well weighted, to close immedi- ately upon persons going up or down. The sides and upper deck of tho ship were carefully covered over with snow as a non-conductor, and no apertures left ojien in bull's-eyes or skylights, except such as were thoroughly watched and under control for ventilation. Let us suppose that the breakfast-time has arrived, about 8 a.m. The hammocks have been carefully stowed away, the necessary ablutions performed, and tho savoury incense of Her Majesty's allowance of chocolate rises in a vapour, fore and aft, from all the mess tables : a pint of the invigorating beverage and a biscuit and a half constitute the meal ; and, from the jokes and merriment heard on all sides, you can vouch it to have been a satisfactory one. This over, we observe a general pulling on of warm clothing, and the major portion of officers and men proceed on deck, the rest clean and clear up between decks, search for and remove lumps of ice formed in cold corners during the night by the condensation of the breath of tho sleeping crew, and they arrange for the next meal of noonday. At a proper time a general muster takes place, called divisions, followed by prayers. Officers carefully inspect the men and every part of the ship to see that the former were proi:)erly clad, and the latter properly clean, and then all hands disperse for a couple of hours' light duty — duties which tho wisdom of Captain Austin confines to taking gentle exercise, supplying ourselves with pure snow to melt into water for drinking purposes, and keeping a hole open throiigh the floe so as to obtain sea-water in case of a 'fire on board the ships. Exercise at this severe and monotonous season was really a trying operation, but imperatively necessary, as we all learnt by experience. Knots of two or three persons would dash out with their faces covered and try a stretch to Griffith Island ; but, in general, a good walk under the shelter of our ships was preferred, the moon and stars lighting our midday exercise." (Osborn, Arctic Journal.) m .{4 p 11'. V^! rrr 396 NOTES TO THE JOURNAL. 1 1 Christmas. — The genial sailor in a climate which requires nearly double even that good allowance of animal fo;' /: . .'. ( : ' il 1^' :%:':.■ Note 26, p. 250 : Health. ' In the voyage of the Enterprise the captain waa attacked by scurvy in the first winter (1851-52), which showed itself by pains in the joints and black marks on the skin and soreness of the gums. During hig sltKlge exp«.'dition in the spring of 1853, the severe toil and anxious care brought it out again; he had found that lime-juice relieved the complaint, but they had none on that sledge journey. Lime-juice is on acknowledged remedy, but the presence of scurvy does not appear to depend on the want of that article, but rather on hard labour and anxiety of mind. This question was discussed by a committee of naval ofiBccrs on the return of Captain Nares' exi)editiou in 1877. His sledge parties suffered from this pest more than any others, and had no lime-juice. On the other hand, M'Clintock, Richards, and Rae carried no lime-juice in their sledge expeditions, which were all long and heavy, and had no scurvy, not, at least, of any consequence. Captain Nares' own opinion was that the chief cause of the terrible condition of his parties was the very severe work (in, we may add, a most depressing condition of weather), and the absence of fresh meat. But again wo find that the Investigator's crew in 1852-53 had no sledge work at all, and a fair supply of fresh meat from game, nevertheless scurvy began in the spring of 1852, and by the spring of 1853 every man in the crew was more or less scorbutic. They had, moreover, other troubles; they were obliged to be put on two-thirds ordinary (Arctic) diet in the winter of 1851-52, in consequence of a considerable loss of preserved meat (from the tins being broken) ; and in the winter of 1852-53 the officers even had to fall back on ship's rations, and the feeding of the crew may be judged by Osborn's fanciful description: "Breakfast, cup of weak cocoa and small piece of bread ; dinner, J lb. salt meat and bread ; supper, a cup of weak tea." Both those winters were particularly severe in the Arctic seas ; and they appear to have suffered exceptionally A-om the condensed moisture between decks. And, lastly, the spirit of the men became depressed by the apparent hopelessness of the prospect before them, they being ignorant of the arrival of Belcher's expedition. The totally unexpected appearance of Lieutenant Pim from that expedition, in the spring of 1853, acted like a charm on the condition of the crew ; nevertheless, when they arrived at the Eesohite there were only four men fit to remain another winter. ITiere, however, the feeling of being rescued, together with the better food and Ught work, restored them to even a better condition than the Bes^lute's own crew. The bodily effects of this disease are to induce stagnation in the blood, which acts on the whole system, the teeth become loosened, the gums and palate black and sore, the flesh softened, and the whole animation Note 26 : IIEALTIl. 399 reduced (M'Dougall). We cannot, thorofore, bo surprised that the m'nd i« also affected, and alao that, convoraely (as Parry obHerved), the pnsHions of the mind produce an astonishing effect both in inducing and in removing scorbutic symptoms. When we comi)are all these records and opinions, wo cannot but come to the conclusion tliat the condition of the mind has more to do with this scourge than either food, or work, or climate. That is to say, scurvy will come from inefficient feeding, or too hard work, or damp and cold ; but, if there is u healthy condition of mind, it will not bo severe, and will soon be removed. The Enterprise was a longer time in the Ico on her own resources (a materially mental point) than the Investigator, but her crow never seem to have lost the tone proper to the enterprise they were engaged in, that of searching for their missing countrymen. And if it had seemed right to their caj)tain to turn back again from Behring Strait in 1854, and re-enter the Ice Gate, it is tolerably certain, from all that wiis known afterwards, that his crow would have joined heartily in his feeling. The insidious disease, however, never left tho captain. Thirty years after his return it was still in his system, and so affected his teeth and gums that it finally exhausted his powers, from inability to get nourish- ment enough to meet his daily work. It is not so much the intense cold that affects the white man in the Arctic seas as the wind and wet. Nares says (1875, lat. 83° N.), " Dry cold — healthy crow.". In a.wind» —30" F. is tho lowest temperature bearable; and in March, 1876, he registered --74° F. " In a wind, covers for tho face are no good, they collect the moisture which froezef on them ; blinkers to windward are the best protection. In frost-bites, the circula- tion should bo restored gradually, and the best mode is to rub the part gently with the bare hand. In calm weather hands can be exposed without danger (for some time) with a temperature of —18°." In 1819 (the disastrous land jouiney of Franklin, Richardson, and Back, down tiie Coppermine River) it is recorded, " Thermometer —57° F., but calm; no protection required for the face ; and ordinary Arctic clothes sufficient ; although trees wore frozen through, and the chronometer stopped from the intense cold." ' ' ' ,. - On the voyage home, in 1855, the captain of the Enterprise expresses his gratification and his snrr^ije at tho remarkable health of his crew during those five years of extreme variation of climate and circumstances. In the year 1854, the third in Arctic seas, and which was begun in the ice and ended in the tropics, the average .lick-list was 5 * 4 per cent, of the crew, a small rumber considering that those three years they had no opportunity of invaliding or exchanging men. Out of the seventy-one men they had on board from first to last, that is between Janut^ry, 1850, and May, 1855, six died, but none of these from the effect of the climate or work alone, but in consequence of accidents or diseases unconnected with the voyage. ..,„..., ..■"'- '' There were, however, some men mutilated in their limbs by the action (1 i i I n 400 NOTES TO THE JOURNAL. V of frost, and probably several who sufiFered in after y^ars from the efifects of having had scurvy on this voyage. But on the whole, notwithstanding the dire results of heavy sledge work and of the gruesome winter, it is very remarkable how well the British sailor has stood the climate and the labour and the privations in all these Arctic voyages ; showing, as tlie captain of the Enterprise observes, how wonderfully man is adapted to all climates, and also the importance of men being removed from temptation. This latter danger was well illustrated on the return of the Enterprise in 1854 to civilisation : on entering Hong Kong, November 1st, there was jt a man on the sick list; before they left, on the 18th, there were nine. Food. — In the account of the United States Scientific Expedition (1881-84) to the north of Smith's Sound, by the Commander Lieuteiiaut Greely, U.S.A., there are some useful observations on food and clothing in Arctic travelling. His party of twenty-five persons (very well selected) lived two winters in Discovery Biiy, in a hut, and preserved good health and excellent tone, while performing some hard sledging. He adopted the following scale of diet (partly on the advice of Professor . Nordenskiold) : — Daily Allowance, per Head, at Fort Conger, 1881-4. Meats : — Fresh, «.e., musk ox, hares, birds, &c. . . 16'8oz. 1 Preserved : canned, pemmicftn, bacon, butter, milk, eggs, cheese . . . . lO'O „ Vegetables : — Meal, biscuit, maccaroni, rice, peas, beans . 13 '6 oz. Canned vegetables : onions, potatoes, tomatoes, beets, carrots, &c 10 "0 Fruits : — Dried apples, peaches, grapes, cranberries, rhubarb, &c., preserves and pickles Sugar and Syrup ...... -26-8 oz. Coffee, Chocolate, Tea Lifne-Juice about 4*0 oz. . I'O „ -23-6 „ 7-6 „ 5-3 „ 5-0 „ Altogether about 70" oz. This scale is considerably in advance of anything adopted in the English expeditions, and appears quite calculated to keep up the strength of the party under any circumstances. But Lieutenant Greely (after his experience) recommends more vegetables and fruits, and some good cider, and a little wine and rum. His party were certainly free from scurvy, and indeed they only succumbed to actual starvation and exposure in the third winter. Clothing. — Some notice of the kind of clothing usually worn in Arctic Note 26 : HEALTH. 401 travelling will be found in the note on "Sledge Travelling," and also on " Fitting Out" ; Vut the following observations of Lieutenant Greely appear valuable, as they have not been so distinctly put forward by others, although no doubt felt by all. He objects to skin garments, because they keep in the moisture, which, aff everybody allows, is one of the chief troubles of ice travelling. For ordinary work, he recommends first-class woollen undergarments, and heavy woollen overclothes; and, for sledge work, double suits of the underclothing, and woollen overclothes with a fine smooth surface to throw off the snow and frost, which accumulates fast on any rough surface ; with this latter object it is usual to wear fine canvas frocks and overalls outside of all. For the feet he recommends heavy close-knitted woollen socks with moccasins or Greenland boots, and fur inner soles to take the moisture of the foot. And for the hands, woollen mitts, with an outer pair of sealskin, and woollen gauntlets, without fingers, to cover the wrist. For the head a leather wool-lined cap, with ears. For sleeping, he recommends double bags of fur or felt, that is to say, large enough for two persons, in preference to single, as it gives more room and warmth ; and mattresses inflated with air. AvEBAGB Monthly SicK'Lists, H.M.S. Entebpbmb. 1852.— Om« o/ G3 Peraon*. Jan., 3*8; Feb., 3*3; Mar., 35; Apr., 7-1; May, 4*3; June, 3*2; July, 4-4; Aug., 4-6; Sept., 4'1; Oct., 5'3; Nov., 4*7; Dec., 3*5. Note. — ^The number in April was due to snow-blindnsss, frost-bites, &a, in sledging. 1853.— Ot^ o/ 60 Persons. Jan., 5-2; Feb., 4*2; Mar., 2*7; Apr., 4*2; May, 5*6; June, 5'1; July, 3-9; Aug., 4-3; Sept., 3-7; Oct., 4-5; Nov., 1*7; Dec., 1*7. 1854. Jan., 1-97; Feb., 3*71; Mar., 4-56; Apr., 5*77; May, 3*19; June, 2-8; July, 2-81; Aug., 1*07; Sept., 0*90; Oct., 0'48j Nov. 3-70. la November, at Hong Kong, they took invalids on board. Average Sick- List. K09. Percentage. July, 1851, to June, 1852 . . 3-35 5-5 „ 1852, „ 1853 . . 3-62 6-0 „ 1853, „ 1854 . . 3-48 5-85 Mean percentage, 5*78 ''. '. !-' J.-' ■' :.: :.. > ;• 2d r^'il 4 'fi I, . 402 NOTES. TO TUB JOURNAL. I. \ II i- \ ■ii i ■.^^ ^^ \,i /.T.iii.;} Ji/q ;^; ;-i; '-.«i;t ;;;v 'T^r»;i i-a f^\/iA v-jh; <<; ,/■'.•..:': vr f , v; 'Note 28, p. 258 : Personal Troubles in the Enterprise. The present Editor has no desire to raise the ghost of departed troubles, but it is impossible to give a true idea of the difficulties connected with this voyage without some mention of the disputes between the officers, and of the questions between them and the captain. Such troubles were, unhappily, not unknown in other Arctic vessels at that time. There appears to be something in that particular service — either the intense cold, or the poor feeding, or the close confinement between decks for several months without regular employment, or in all these together — that stirs up the bile and promotes bitter fee' igs comparatively unknown under the ordinary con- ditions of sea service. It might be supposed to be some form of that insidious Arctic enemy, the scurvy, which is known to affect the mind as well as the body of its victims. That warm-hearted man Captain Sir E. Parry says (on his second voyage in 1821) : " Tiie astonishing effects produced by the passions of the mind in inducing or removing scorbutic symptoms — those calculated to excite hope or impart pleasure to the mind have been found to aid in a surprising manner the cure of this extraordinary disease, and those of an opposite nature to aggravate its fatal malignity." It is therefore quite possible that the converse action may take place, namely, that incipient Scurvy may produce a tone of mind to which everything seems " out of joint." But the medical officers agree that the officers of an Arctic ship do not suffer from scurvy so soon or so severely as the men ; whereas the troubles arising from personal disputes occurred almost entirely among the officers. The m^n are generally described as most social and kindly disposed among themselves. Perhaps the care that is taken in selecting men for such service is not so strictly applied to officers. " Men for Arctic service," says Dr. Armstrong, " should be of a cheerful disposition, free from disease, ' without blemish, and without spot,* inured to the hfe of a sailor ; strong and active, with capacious chest, sound heart and lungs, stout muscular limbs, with a light active gait " — a tolerably exacting list. But the Doctor considers that it was fairly fulfilled in the Investigatar's crew, and therefore must have been A/ortiori in the Enterprise's. In the case of officers, however, who have to show an example to the men, ia courage, endurance, and spirit, the really important qualifications are not so much physical strength as-a cheerful disposition and a kindly heart and self-denying spirit. • • • ■"•^' it ,> • * Of the superior officers of the Enterprise, only one combatant officer and the two surgeons had been in the Arctic seas before ; they were therefore untried as to their capacity for standing that service. It is unnecessary, and it would be wrong, to enter now into any particulars of the troubles that arose on this head. The fault and complaints, when laid in cold blood Note 28: PERSONAL TROUBLES. 403 before officers in England in full health and spirit, doubtless seemed to tliem small, and sometimes even childish ; but to the actors, as to children, they unfortunately appeared very real, and had a serious effect on the undertaking; and we must recollect that in all personal quarrels it is generally the manner, and not the matter, which gives the provocation. In all such cases the one officer in the ship on whose shoulders every such trouble really falls is the captain. He stands alone; he has the final adjudication of every case. He cannot escape from the responsibility, whatever occurs. It is he who is answerable for everything that goes on in the ship, for the duty to be done by every officer, for every movement of the vessel Now, in the case of the Enterprise, it unfortunately happened that, by the end of the spring of 1863, at the end of the second winter — the second winter appears to be always the most trying one in the Arctic seas — there were some of the officers suspended from duty ; and the one lieutenant , . uo had served in the Arctic Regions before (and who, by all accounts, was a very amiable fellow) was killed before they entered the ice. Thus the captain was deprived of the assistance of some of his superior officers for the last two seasons, and a very great additional labour and responsibility was thereby thrown upon him. It can hardly be supposed that any man would deprive himself of this help under such circumstances except from a feeling of dire necessity. This very difficult and trying position of a captain in such cases is not probably fully considered by the officers when these troubles occur; and, in the case of the Enterprise, it does not appear to have been fully considered by the authorities in England at the final adjudication. The captain of the Enterprise was a man of most tender heart and generous disposition, but his strong sense of duty to the service gave him a decided and somewhat severe manner ; and the reserve that always envelopes the commander of a war-ship is neces- sarily increased under such circumstances. In a private letter from Hong Kong, in 1854, expressing his sorrow at the condition of his officers, he says: "It has given me a warning that discipline is essential to comfort." No one, however, reading his Journal, written during the voyage, would suppose that any difficulty of the kind had occurred throughout it. There is never any hesitation about undertaking any course or exploration that appeared desirable towards the discovery of the lost ships. His chief idea, on finally coming out of the ice in 1854, was to fill up with provisions and fuel, and go back to look for his consort and complete the search. On the return of the ship to England he was induced, by the pressure of high authority, to compromise the matter. But, in answer to some remarks in one of the newspapers at the time, he said, that if all the circumstances were known it would appear "that I only exercised the power entrusted to me when absolutely necessary." And in a private letter at the time he says he was drawn into the lamentable dissensions in an endeavour to settle amicably the disputes between the officers themselves. The cold reception given to him by the Admiralty, and the absence of 2 D 2 '- V 111 !i S li M\ 404 NOTES TO THE JOURNAL. any acknowleiigment of the services performed by the ship under his command, coming after these troubles, and after the other diHa|>(K)intmenta of the exijedition, had such a deep effect on him that he never would apply for another command in that service to which his whole life and thoughts had hitherto been given. By his contemporaries in the service, and by various public societies, his services in this expedition were well appreciated, and gained for him honom-s and position ; but those three years of hard work, great responsibility, and of peculiar personal isolation, and of final disappointment, affected his naturally strong constitution, and materially helped to hasten his end. " The law of a Polar expedition is obedience, and its basis is morality ** (t.e. self-denial). — Lieutenant Payer, Austrian Expedition. " By far the most important function of a Government in connection with Polar service is the selection of the commander of the expedition ; a rare combination of qualities is essential, and fortunately there is a sufficiently wide scope of selection in the Navy. This point once decided, the choice of his officers should be vested by the Admiralty entirely in him ; not necessarily his own followers, but no officer should be appointed without his entire concurrence. If there is any guile in a man, it becomes Intensified in this service ; for years, perhaps, there is no iwssibility of separation, no appeal, no safety valve. On return the commander is held responsible for failure, from whatever cause, and perhaps justly so ; the credit of success, it is true, mainly falls on him also, and assuredly all possible means should be placed in his hands for attaining it. The bare fact of an officer having j)reviously served in a Polar expedition should in itsdf constitute no claim for a further appointment on similar service. These remarks do not apply to the crew for obvious reasons; if the records of all Arctic service could be searched, it would bo found that quarrels among tliem rarely added in any way to the anxieties or responsibilities of the leader, and that punishments of any kind among them were almost unknown, more than one expedition could be named in which they were entirely so." — Note by Admiral Sir 0. iI. Richards. . ■ I' i> ' ' ^ ; ■ : •! ■ I ■ !..'*■>'■ ^■c-f--. <*'•'■■ : ..,u . : J '1 > j,»^ ,* ,M.. ; ? ■-.< ' I I'. •.'.. .= ;. ^ f NoTR 30: POLAR ICE. 406 r'i ' ftr ,v-' '•■'.■; • -f 7 '■] ., ... , ; , . .,1 ■, :. n I :. ^- -' -■' Note 30, p. 268 : Polar Ice. - - -*-. ^ (^Chiefly from the Arctic Papers, R. Oeographical t^.ocidy, 1875.) By this term is generally signified tiie ice which is formed during successive seasons in the more open parts of the Arctic Ocean, this being different in thicltness and in character from that formed iu bays and channels every winter and dissolved every summer. The difference is so marked and so constant, that the converse proposition has come to be accepted by many Arctic voyagers, namely, that wherever Polar ice is found it is an evidence i' "tself of an extensive area of ocean. The formation of li ice is described by Dr. Armstrong: First it appears as minute flocculi, which gradually become larger, and opaque, and globi t*; these by attraction ccilesce, and form a thin oily-looking film over the water. All additions in thickness to this film are made from below, and, as the thickness increases, the pressure consolidates the particles into a denser block; but it seems to be agreed that the salt in sea-water does not freeze altogether with the water, but forms crystals separately. The salt crystals near the surface form a fine coating on the top of tlie ice, and gradually evaporate ; but those in the body of thick ice remain in a sort of aix)ngy state. The more rapidly that ice freezes, the more salt will be enclosed in it. Sir E. Belcher, in 1852, watched the operation of the freezing of water in glass cylinders ; they were one foot long and one inch internal .diameter, filled with clear water at 50°, and submitted to a temperature of —24°. Vapour (of a smoky lambent appearance) flowed ofif for a considerable time alter the water was frozen and the ice had elongated itself out of the tube. During the process of freezing, the tube was placed in the focus of a strong reflecting lamp, which showed on a white ground behind the beautiful regularity of every motion. The crystallisation commenced from below, shooting its feather- like processes, signalising as it were (with its arms at 60° above or 120° l)elow) to the surface ; it in return replied by a similar signal, and inter- laced its branches downward at the centre. This was succeeded by a milky infusion, similar to that of water introduced into a solution of camphor in alcohol, and all became chaos. Repeating these experiments with salt water, and at higher temperatures, as the point of general con- gelation approached, peculiar stars were produced and rose to the surface, where they became attached to, and formed the general mass. Thus, we can understand that ice will vary much in character as well as in thickness. Young ice, containing all the salt crystals, does not afibrd good drinking water, but the upper parts of old ice, from which the crytitals have evaporated, give pure water. Again, the lower part of- thick ice, when exposed to a current of comparatively warm water, becomes 1 n 1 1 406 NOTES TO THE JOURNAL. !! I i*;*.i'. j spongy, and the water penetrates further in, and softens the body of the ice while the surface remains hard. Increment of Ice. — During the winter of 1853-4, Sir E. Belcher made observations of the gradual increment of ice, and gives the following table in his Journal : — . D«te. Thickness (incUes). Temperature daring interval. Mean. Maximum. Minimum. 1853. November 5 . . „ 25 . . December 5 . . . „ 15 . . „ 25 . . 1854. January 4 . . . « 14 . . . „ 24 . . . February 3 . . „ 13 . . „ 23 . . 18 28 36 39-5 44 54 51 54 59 63 67 o -25-7 -241 -.32 -28-6 -17 -37-2 -44 -47-3 -45-8 -35-3 o +2 -12 -19 -16 +26 -24 -27 -28 -33 -23 o -37 -36 '»' -40 ,.m -89. Hit - ..«/ -46 • :''• -45 i -»; -54 • ■' -59 -55 -45 i March 5 . . . „ 15 ... „ 25 ... 62 65 68 -32-7 -34-6 -29-6 -16 -19 -12-5 -45-6 -49-6 -43 ."- These three last observations appear to be distinct from tlie others. This table is not quite satisfactory ; in the original it is not always marked whether the temperature is + or — , it can only be inferred from the numbers ; and no comment is made on the actual decrease in thickness January 4-14. But, judging by the table, the rate of increment does not appear to follow the temperature ; the ice seems to increase rapidly up to about 4^ feet in thickness, after which the increment is tolerably uniform. But the ice does not reach its maximum thickaess in March ; in tlie Enterprise Journal, 1852-53, a thickness of 8 feet is recorded in May. This rate of increment is confirmed by observations made on board the Sesolute, Melville Island, 1853-54 (M'Dougall). Date. Thlcltnesa (inches). Date. Thickness (inches). 1853. September 10 . . November 15 . . December 16 . . 3 26 33 1854. January 3 . . . „ 21 . . . February 2 . . „ 15 . . March 15 . . . 54 62 \' 66 74 84 (See also end of Enterprise Journal, p. 343, table 2.) .' SToTE 30: POLAB ICE. • 407 )dyof the cher made wing table il. Minimnm. -37 -36 -40 -39 -46 -45 -54 ii) -59 ,,} -55 -45 '■''■ -45-6 -49-6 -43 others. not always nferred from in thickness ent does not apidly up to bly uniform, arch ; in the iu May. an board the ckness (indies). 64 62 66 74 84 , Lieutenant Payer (^Attstro-Hungarian Expedition, 1872) thinks the decrease of rate uf increment as the ice gets thicker is due to the less conduction of the air temperature through it to the water below. Weight of Ice. — Belcher also measured the weight of -, in 1852-53, with the followini; results : — Date. Till knees (Inches). Weight in lbs. of a cubic foot. 1852. October 26 . . . November 27 . . 1" 1853. January 1 . . . February 26 . . 17 26 42 , , . , . . . . > 53iooa. • , : ;: = ; ^^ 52 Taken frc»n the middle depth. 55 „ „ „ Which seems to show that as the ice gets thicker and older it becomes more dense. But the lower part appears to remain softer, for on April 9th, 1854, when the ice was 66 inches thick, he found the lower part of it rotten, " easily penetrated by a piece of wood ; " and the lowest 2 inches, loosely cohering crystals; having, as Admiral Eichards observes, the appearance of honeycombing. Taking the specific gravity of sea water in the Arctic Sea, at the surface, as 1*026 (M'Clintock, in Arctic Manual), the above weights show a variation in the weight of ice. from nearly 0*8 to 0'9 of that of sea water. This difference will account for the variety in the measure^ ruents in the proportions of ice above and below water made by Arctic voyagers. Sir E. Belcher considered that the usual law for the immersion of a level piece of ice was f the whole thickness. Lieutenant Payer (Austro-Hungarian Expedition, 1872) considers the specific gravity of sea ice to be 0" 91, but that tl^e proportion floating above water varies from ^ to J. ,iu .^i^ Ice is also thickened by the deposit of snow on it, which gradually. freezes into a solid coating. This of course gives good drinking water, and in the spring the melting of this snow coating, before the ice itself melts, forms pools on the surface, which much impede travelling, though they supjjly pure water. And this water soon eats its way into the body of the ice, and makes it soft and dangerous, although still thick and good in appearance, u .!.!;■.•;,;.-■. .< . ;.. . Mr. Clements Markham (Encyclop. Britannica, Ed. 1887) seems to think that the ice iu the Polar Sea is accumulating yearly, from the insufficiency of the outlets ; and that the rolling hills of ice, 100 feet high^ which have been found may be of great age. Captain Nares {Expedition 1875) gives a list of thicknesses of ice, that is, flat ice unheaped by pressure, which have been measured by Arctic voyagers. The thickest is from his own observation in the North Greenland Sea, lOOfcdt; then M'Clure's off Mackenzie Eiver, 80 fett; then Kane,- t>. ¥ ;.'l NOTES TO THE JOURNAL. Smith's Sound, 60 feet ; then Parry, Melville Island, 42 feet ; then Scoresby, Spitzbergen Sea, 26 feet. This is understood to be ice that has remained undissolved and uncrushed for several years, and has therefore accumulated in thickness year by year, both by freezing of water below and of snow above. Dr. Armstrong describes the massive floes met with off the north coast of Banks Island as of " a pearly blue," and of " flinty character," with a " rocky strength and hardness." Ice has a certain amount of elasticity in it. Commander de Haven (Orinnell Expedition, 1852) observed a table of ice 18 feet by 15 feet and 4 feet thick, which had curved over a chasm in a flo<;, forming an arch. And another block 50 feet long and of rectangular section, resting on other blocks near its two ends, and bent down by its own weight so as to form the arc of a circle {Arctic Manual). A floe is sometimes broken up by pressure from above. Sir E. Belcher records (March, 1853) that ice 7 feet thick was broken through by the weight of 15 feet of snow above it. ^ Hummocky Ice. The new ice of one winter is of course flat and smooth on the surface, but when it begins to break up in summer the pieces are carried against each other by the currents and winds, and, if there is any check, are piled on each other immediately in layers and hunmiocks of every shape and at every angle. The thicknans of ice formed in one winter in the Arctic seas is from 5 to 7 feet. A little piling of such together will Boon form a respectable mass. But that is only the beginning of Polar ice. Although a good deal of the ice, both old and new, is carried away by the currents in summer to warmer latitudes and re-dissolved there, much remains behind and is not melted, but is re-frozen together in the next winter and added on to. And this process may be carried on for several years in succession, every winter re-consolidating these masses and adding to them ; every summer breaking them up and heaping them upon each other to form still greater masses, which, between the suns of summer and frosts of winter, soon take the form of rough hillocks of ice. And, when we consider the great thickness of the fields of level ice, we begin to realise the frightful force of great floes, sometimes square miles in area, crashing against each other. Captain Nares compares it to the closing of the two sides of a dry dock upon a ship. And we are no longer surprised to hear that the ice covering of the great Polar Ocean, instead of being, as from our own experience we might imagine, one illimitable level field, is, wherever explorers have penetrated into it, a succession of level spaces alternating with ridges of ice hills 20 to 50 feet, and sometimes 100 feet high, and of every conceivable 'rregularity of form. It is this hummocky condition which has stopped all sledge travellers attempting to penetrate across the ocean ice wherever they have tried it: Parry, from Spitzbergen; Wrangel, from Siberia; Nares, from the north of Smith's Sound; and CoUinson, from the north-west coast of America — all had to give it up as m NoTB 30 : POLAR WE, ■ 409 ir E. Belcher hopeless; the mea were worn out with the severe labour and little result. And these fields of thick and ridgy ice are not confined to the open ocean. The currents carry the floes when broken up in summer along the various channels through the Arctic islands, and, wherever there is an expansion of sea room, there they congregate, and lay perhaps for years. Thus they sweep through M'Clure's Straits, keeping that passage almost constantly choked, and fill Melville Sound, and are then carried on to the south-east into Victoria Straits, where they stopped Franklin's progress in 1847. Dr. Armstrong describes the appearance of these massive floes very well, when the Investigator was coasting North America in Au^^ust, 1850 : " The formidable appearance of the ice was much heightened by the wonderfully refractive i)ower of the atmosphere, which, added to the extreme fineness of the day, produced an aspect of grandeur and peculiar beauty. The large floe pieces, detached from the main body, presented a beautiful appearance from the spotless whiteness of their picturesque and singular surface. Such huge masses piled on each other could only have been effected by the most colossal force. On the more distant pack refraction had exercised all its distorting power, making it appear a lofty impenetrable wall of crystal, and its outline required but little effort of the imagination to trace out the forms of churches with towering spires, castellated mansions, reflecting from their icy sides tints of iridescent hue. . . . The evening was mild, and clear, and serene ; there was a deathlike stillness and solitude, but associated with grandeur everywhere around. . . . The presence of our ship imparted a peculiar feature to the scene as she lay secured to a gigantic mass of that element which had lately so often endangered her safety. She appeared as if a captive in its icy grasp, as no trace of our entrance into this isolated pond, nor any way by which to effect an exit, was to be seen." ' • Floehergs. Captain Nares, when wintering on the north coast of Grinneli Land (1875-6), met with hummocks of such massiveness that he gave them the name of floebergs, to distinguish them from the regular iceberg. Lieutenant Greely, when he was subsequently in those parts (1881-3), observed these '* bergs " in the channel between Grinneli Land and Green- land, and, from their rectangular form and height above water (100 feet sometimes), and the character of the ice, came to the conclusion thac they were really icebergs proper. He gives a sectional sketch of one, which shows a stratification of ice and snow, the result, he thought, pf the annual deposit of suow on land, foiming an ice cap over it of imnpense thickness; similar, iu fact, to the supposed formation of the vast ice walla found in the Antarctic seas, which are thought to be detached from an ice cap of 2000 or 30U0 feet in thickness, covering a continent or archipelago about the South Pole. And Lieutenant Greely found foreign substances i" the strata of these " bergs," stones and deposits of birds, such as would I 410 NOTES TO THE JOURNAL. P be brought down by ice caps ; and, to explain the Bait found in thorn, he points out that the salt crystals exuded from salt-water ice are blown by the wind to considerable distances, so that snow inland is found to be salt. From all which Lieutenant Greely draws the conclusion that there is an ice-capped land at the North Pole from which these " floebergs" come. Almost all voyagers in the American Arctic seas have, however, observed on the difference between the huge hummocky ice, or " Polar ice," and the " bergs" which come from glaciers ; so that it is said there are no regular icebergs west of Baffin's Bay. And a distinct stratification has been often observed in ordinary salt-water ice, with foreign substances in it, the presence of which has been variously explained. It must also be remembered that in the lauds on both sides of that long channel north of Smith's Sound there are many glaciers of enormous size, from which possibly such special bergs as observed by Lieutenant Greely might have been derived. ' Perih of the Pack. • • ' ' ' ' ■ '' ' • '"'•* Every ship that sails the Arctic seas when and where these ice hills are in motion runs a daily, hourly peril of being crushed between the moving masses; and so many are the hairbreadth escapes recorded, that we cannot wonder Arctic voyagers feel more than other sailors the trust in the ' sweet little cherub that sits up aloft to keep watch for the life of poor Jack." One of the most imminent of those narrated happened to the Investiyator in September, 1851, while working round the north-west corner of Banks Land in the thread of a channel left between the moving pack and the rocky cliffs. At one time the passage was so narrow, with the ice cliffs on one side and the sandstone cliffs on the other, that the studding-sail booms, which project beyond the ordinary yards, had to be " topped up," to avoid striking on either hand. Soon after this the ship was made fast on the lard side of a floe which had grounded in 12 fathoms water, and was therefore an island of a precarious sort. Other floes sur- rounded the ship, and she was lifted up and listed over, embedded in a cradle of ice ; and for some days they were passive spectators of the attacks of ice monsters streaming by on their stranded friend, with shocks that made every timber quiver, and in a few minutes would pile a little inountain of ice upon their bows. A few feet difference in the direction, or a few minutes longer in the strain, and the hull would have cracked like a shell. Thanks to the solid strengthening done in the Naval Dock- yards, Her Majesty's ships have generally survived this natural ramming. One shock from a mighty floe drove both ice cradle and ship from 12 fathoms depth into 8. What a grinding force on the bed of the sea! And on one of the rock cliffs near them the ice was piled up to a height of 90 feet. But the Investigator did not get free from her Arctic cradle until she made a violent struggle with 250 lbs. of gunpowder under 16 feet of ice, which gave a shock to cradle, ship, and all, sufficient to make cracks in a floe from 35 to 67 feet thick, and then, with some heaves, and shakes, and groans, she settled again into her native element in its normal condition. '••;'. ' Note 30 : POLAR ICE. '411 Dr. Armstrong gives a clBver sketch of the Investigator in her ico cradle, whicii tells better tlian words what Polar ice is like. In looking at it one is not surprised that on several occasions the crew had the'** bags (in deck ready to escape to boats oa iho ice if the ship collapsed under the strain. A still more imminent escape, because on a still more terrible coast 800 miles further north, and exi)o8ed apparently to the circumpolr. sea, was that of the Alert, under Captain Sir G. Nares, in 1875-G. When lyin<^ behind a stranded Roe on the open coast, she had to wait, in helpless contradiction to her name, the shocks and movements of the Polar ico during a whole winter. The ice-masters of the expedition, when they found her condition, were astonished at the massiveness and power of the ice, the like of which they had never seen, and declared that the ship would never get out of her ice berth; which, says Captain Nares, she would not, if the removal of the ice depended on its decay by the sun's warmth. But she did, by its being drifted with the prevalent current into warmer seas and there dissolved. The same expression of astonishment was drawn from the ice-masters of the Enterprise (accustomed to Baffin's Bay ice) on penetrating the pack north of Behring Straits in 1850. "No passage for ships this way,^' is what is written largo on every entrance to the open Polar sea. Such is the dictum of all voyagers who have attempted to get to the North Pole by way of the ocean clear of all land. Whether this region of " thick-ribbod ice," which seems to realise the poet's conception of extremest eternal hopelessness, is after all only a belt, beyond which lies an ever-flowing Polar ocean full of life, ia still a question undecided. But at present the evidence as to the best way of crossing it, if it is to be crossed, is embodied in the pithy remark of one of the Arctic experts : " If you stick to the land, there you are, you know; but, if you get out into the open pack, why, where are you? " i> - . >2 I ,. .". : J •■» i'.' ■;'..- * ■ --^ ' -" .i ■ 'f t ■•; AlB NOTES TO THE JOURNAL. t;! f I Note 31, p. 281 : Breaking up and Eesetting of Ice. •' The ice was here, the ice was there, ' , ' ^ The ice was uU around ; ' ' It craciced and growled, it roared and howled. Like noises in a sviomqiX."— Ancient Mariner. If the poet Coleridge had been an Arctic mariner, he could not Imve expressed more graphically the scene on the breaking up of the winter ice in August and the resetting of it in Septenil)er every year. Indeed, from the middle of July to the beginning of October, that is, the wliole period in each season during which a ship witliin the Arctic circle can expect to be under sail (and not often so long), there is an almost con- tinual struggle with the moving floes. And no man can venture to predict from day to day when it will begin, or how far it will extend, or what will be the issue. In the evening tlio crew may retire to rest with a white field of solid ice around the ship as far as they can see ; in tlio morning it will be one expanse of dark water. And a movement in the ice may be going on day and night for weeks together, and during all the time with a succession of the fearful noises imagined by the jwet, and which have been described by those who have been kept awake by them, as the meanings of a dog — the cries of a wounded beast — the rasping of a titanic file — the rumblings of an earthquake — the blast of an explosion — or the roar of the thunder. All at once in the stillness of the night a startling crack is heard across the expanse ; and then begins tlie grinding sensation, so dreaded by Arctic mariners, the sign of general movement among the floes ; and which, if it reaches the ship, with the slow but irresistible force of great fields of ice many feet thick, may in a few minutes crush a large vessel between them. Then the ship begins to quiver and groan all over, and the crew stand on deck with provisions and clothes and boats, ready to take refuge even on the unstable surface of their enemy at the last moment ; and this scene of hanging between life and death may go on for hours, and be repeated day after day. WhaUng ships formerly got crushed every year in this manner, not being strengthened like the exploring vessels ; as Belcher's Expedition came up Baffin's Bay hi 1852 with the whaling fleet, two whalers got nipped ; in one the ice was forced in from both sides and met inside the ship ; the other sank in half an hour, the crew escaping on to the ice. The Resolute was raised 10 feet by the pressure of two floes. "Since the introduction of steam power into the whalers, there have been much fewer accidents of this kind " (R.). Formation of Hummocks. — Extract from the Report of Austro- Hungarian Expedition^ 1872-4, by Lieutenant Weyjirecht : — " With the exception of land ice, which clings to the coasts, and never reaches far out to sea, all ice — iceberiis as well as fields — is in constant , of Austro' NuTK 31 : ICE BREAKING UP. 413 iniition winter and 8«nnmcr; and this, ofl han been shown, Ih tlirough the liidiioiice of the wimln. The motion, however, ia a different one with •ilinoHt every field, and thus a certain preHHure results wherever two fields toucii ; thiH naturally leads to the breaking up of the fields, and the con- trnction of the ice during sudden low temi)eratures plays its part In a similar way. If one considers the great extent of the fields, sometimes of many miles, and their enormous masses, one can easily imagine the colossal foroes which are active in these phenomena and the greatness of their effectrt. When two fields meet, either by direct contact or by a coftch-wheeling process, a combat body to botly ensues, often lasting only a few minutes, but sometimes even for days and weeks. 'J'ho edges are then turned up on both sides, upwards and downwards, an irrogulir wall of ice, consisting of wildly mixed blocks, begins to build itself, the pressure increases more and more, masses of ice 8 feet long and Iroad are lifted 80 to 40 feet high» and then fall to make room for others. At last one of the fields begins to shift itself for some distance underneath the other one ; often they separate for a while, only to renew the struggle. But the end of it always is, that the intense cold unites all in one solid mass ; a single field results from the two ; and then the next storm or quick change of • nnperature cracks the new field in some other direction, and the pieces i * the old struggle. "During winter snow-drifts fill up smaller irregularities completely. As soon as the sun begins its action the crushing of the ice decreases, the winterly ice walls diminish considerably, immense masses of ice and snow are melted, and the resulting sweet water forms large lakes on the field. During the summer about 4 feet of ice are thus melted down from above ; in the following winter it grows below, and thus the whole of the ice is in an uninterrupted process of renovation from below upwards ; we may conclude that all the old pack ice is replaced by new in the course of two years. "Within twenty-four hours, and with a temperature of —37 '5** to —50° C, the new crust (of entirely fresh ice) becomes about a foot thick. A considerable quantity of salt freezes into the upper strata of the ice (when quickly frozen). The up|>er strata, on account of the salt they contain, attract moisture, and form a tough leathery mass which bends under the foot without breaking. After a time the salt crystallises out of the ice, and forms a layer over it, sometimes 2 inches thick.'" ^ Arctic Manual.') Dock Cutting. When it is evident that no i)rogres8 can be made, the next best thing to do is to get into as safe a position as possible. And one of the modes of effecting this, practised frequently by Arctic voyagers, is to cut a dock for the ship in a large or fixed floe of ice; so that, when the pressure comes, it will be expended on the ice and not on the ship. This dock cutting can only be effected in comparatively thin ice, that is, thin for Arctic climes, namely 3 or 4 feet. Mr. M'Dougall describes the lirocess: — j ,. ., , r - , ■ . ,,, ... _-;.,.N-,r i ill ! I !*■ m •414 . NOTES TO THE JOURNAL, '■ "The outline of th«! dock Is markod out on the ice rather larger thaii the vessel, and is cut through with ice saws. These are large and heavy steel saws (10 to 17 feet long, i to i inch thick, and 9 inches wide), and worked by a party of six or eight men, with a rope passing through a pulley suspended to a triangle, and which admits of 3 or 4 yards being cut without moving it. (In 3 feet ice, 10 feet can be cut in 3 minutes.— Belcher.) A diagonal line across the dock is also cut. If the ice cannot be moved after being so cut, small charges of powder (2 to 4 lbs.) in old preserved meat tins, protected from the water, and fired with Bickford's fuze, are lowered through holes to a few feet below the ice. The simul- taneouB explosion of several of those charges breaks up the larger pieces." (See Note on " Use of Gunpowder.") " With several parties at work, a dock in ordinary ice can be cut and cleared in less than an hour. It is so common a practice, that when the word "dock ship" is given the several parties are quickly marshalled with their implements, and make a lively and inspiriting work of it. In 1852 a dock was cut for the Resolute in 4 feet ice, 130 feet long, average 40 feet wide (with diagonal cut) in 50 minutes ; and the ship secured in it 20 minutes more." (M'Dougall.) And in July, 1853, a canal was cut for the Assistance 600 feet long and 60 feet wide, in ice apparently 2 to 7 feet thick, by sixty-four men in twelve hours ; but the ice was becoming rotten at that time of year. ' Every season, either in getting the ship into a b^.e nook, or in getting her out of it again, some cutting and blasting has to be done. Perhaps the longest canal in the ice ever cut by Arctic navigators was made by the earliest of these modern explorers. Captain Parry, in 1823 ; In order to get his ship out of winter quarters at Igloolik Island, he cut a channel for her, in ice from 12 inches to several feet in thickness, and for a distance of 4340 feet. There is a sketch of the ship passing through this channel in possession of General Sherer, late of Bengal Army. . ' Sailing in Ice. When the ship is under way, the anxiety and the labour still continue. She has to thread her way along lanes of water through the moving floes, with sometimes barely room to tack, receiving or avoiding shocks on either hand; sometimes from lack of wind, or fog, making fast to a substantial moving floe (as a protector or guide) ; or anchoring to a stranded floe on its shore side (as a fender); and watching, from that comparatively safe position, the moving masses come slowly up and delivering their charge against the fixed mass, with a shock felt through the vessel, and then crushing along its edge, and often rearing up a little mountain of ice close to her sides. " So fettered does the aspect of affairs become in a short time from slight causes in ice navigation at this season, that the delay of a few minutes may cause a ship to be immovably fixed ; or, on the other hand, a change in wind or direction of ■current may in equally short time cause as great an alteration in the pack — loose streams of ice detached — channels of water formed " (Arm- 1 Note 31 : ICE BREAKING UP. ilk stronor). All of which places a special strain on the commander, on whose instant decision may depend not only the success of the expedition, but the existence of the ship. The Beginning of Movement : Currents of Warmer Water. — The cause- of the sudden breaking up of ice In the autumn and of its very uncertain action is not yet clearly explained. It is apparently not due to the diroct action of the sun on the ice, for, although that might dissolve or break up the ice of one year, it is not powerful enough, or lasting enough, to produce great ^vnt on the accumul&ied thickness of several winters ; and, if it was, there would be no old ice in the Arctic seas. It seems to be the eifect of comparatively warm currents in the summer, continually disintegmting the imder portions of the ice. These wanner streams, which, whatever their cause, are continually flowing from the equator in the direction of the poles, and apparently more especially in. the direction of the North Pole, are naturally warmer when the sun ia on the side of the equator towards that particular pole, and will, in the, course of their progress north, lose less of their warmth at that time than during the winter months. That this is so is evidenced by the temperature of the water in the spring, under the ice, being often hifcher than that of the air ; which fact is also indicated by the prevalence of fogs over the Arctic seas at the same season. And the observations of Belcher and others, on the rotten character of the under ice in the hummer, seems to point to the same action of the warmer currents : " the appearance of the under surface of the floe in July and August very much resembles a honeycomb " (R.). The direct action of the sun, though it has an immediate pfect on the 8D0W covering the ice, does not so easily disintegrate the thick ice, well solidified through an Arctic winter. This appears to be due to the con- ductive quaUty of the older ice, and which probably increases with its density. In sledge travelling, the snow is always found warmer than the ice, and stones or earth warmer than the snow. Captain Nares observed that the heat of the sun passed through a layer of ice and affected wood underneath it. And in June, 1854, Captain Belcher observed that the sun melted the frozen mud, without having any apparent effect on the ice. Tidal Action. — Coupled with this continuous action of the warm currents of water is the alternating action of the tides, which has a distinct observable effect all over the known Arctic seas. Under its influence the ice rises and falls every day, and the pressure is sometimes very great. In 1853, in Northumberland Soimd, on a hole being made in 6 feet ice, for a tide pole, the water came up and covered the surface of the ice for a depth of 10 inches ; and, £ ' "s oscillating motion takes place from the beginning of the formation of the ice, cracks are necessarily made in it, and keep opening and cl(ffling during even the coldest parts of the winter. Ihere are also cracks in the more massive older ice, where the loose floes have been joined together again after the summer, and which are therefore more easily opened again by the tidal pressure. .... f: m it i 416 NOTES TO THE JOURNAL, : Sudden Changes. io ;, \m. Thus during the whole winter there is a continual pressure under the ice, tending to break it ; and, as soon as the ice becomes well disintegrated by the warm currents, this pressure breaks it up altogether. An unusually hi<;h tide, coupled, as it often is, with an unusually high wind, thoroughly completes the process, and moves a great expanse of ice in detached masses ; which, however, by another change of wind, and a colder tem- perature, may in a few days, or even hours, become re-consolidated into one great field again. ' This breaking up and resetting causes much trouble and anxiety in the early summer. The way to the land is impeded by pools of water on the ice from the melting snow, and by cracks too broad to be bridged over. These are particularly liable to be made l-cv veen the ship and the shore, because the ice in shore is generally groimded towards the end of the season, and therefore does not move much with the tide, and consequently a permanent crack, running more or less parallel to the shore, is always formed at the point where the floating ice joins tie groimded ice. In the first winter (at Northumberland Sound) Sir E. Belcher was caught in this way on a short excursion, on his sledges. The ice was not settled for the winter, and broke up, leaving him on an island without a boat ; he had to extemporise one out of the materials at hand. "This ice was totally unfit to travel on; we got to the island, after the sledges frequently breaking through ; and half an hour after the field we had travelled on was an open sea " (R.). In August, 1853, the Assistance and Pioneer, lying in Baring Bay, Wellington Channel, there being no appearance of water in the morning, by the evening had been carried out to seawards, ice pack and all, in a furious gale ; and for the next two months were drifted up and down the channel amongst the ice floes by the wind and tide. (The Assistance, with her holds cleared for winter and boats stowed overhead, was thrown on her beam ends, and lay so for some hours.) In the same month of the same year the Enterprise at Cambri^e Bay experienced a similar sudden change ; but happily for her in the converse direction (Journal, p. 292). Sometimes it is neither ice nor water, but a sort of sludge with a thin crystal varnish over it, impassable by ship, boat or sledge ; and when this happens in the cracks numerous immersions result. Half an inch of ice, if of considerable extent, will check a sailing ship, unless with strong free wind (Parry). Hfdkett's Boats. — At these times Halkett's india-rubber boats were found to be of great value ; light and flexible, they were easily carried across the firm ice, and were sufficient to convey the party across the open cracks. There is scarcely a rec^ of any of the voyages at that time which does not mention Halkett's boats with gratitude, for services like the above, as in some cases it was a question of life. They were 46 lbs. weiflht, and held four persons. Currents. — The remarkable voyage of the Tegethojf (Austro-Hungarian .(■: 'inant Payer considers that the efifect of the Gulf Stream penetrates at least to Nova Zembla. His observations showed that the ice melted from above, not from below : there was a distinct vertical decrease in the thickness, of 6 feet irom above, during the summer (lat. 79 near Franz Josef Land). This isolated vessel, of 220 tons and seventeen men, endured two winters in the ice in that high latitudcj deprived of the sun for 125 days each winter; and finally had to be abandoned, the crew making their way back to Nova Zembla in boats. 2 E liUi'li 1 1 9 ' '' ■ \ i R 1 I I i-ilil Iff im 418 NOTES TO THE JOURNAL. Note 32, p. 283 : Eskimos. Origin. The natives now inhabiting the Arctic coasts of America are commonly called by us Esquimatix ; but this is not a name known to the people themselves; it comes to us from the North American Indian word Esquimantsic, signifying "eaters of raw flesh," which is true of this people, being in fact a necessity of existence in that climate. That form of spelling arose from our getting the name from the French. Ethno- graphers now write it Eskimo. The term IJuski, so generally used by Captain Collinson for these people, is simply the sailors' abbreviation for Eskimo. Where they originally come from, and to which great family of the human race they belong, seems to be still undetermined. Some ethno- graphers have thought them to be a branch of the American Indians, from the similarity of structure of the language. But Mr. C. R. Markham, who has collected much information about them (Arctic Papers, Royal Geographical Society, 1875) gives good evidence that some of them at least migrated a long time ago from the Siberian coast, and are kindred to some of the tribes now living on that coast. Professor Nordenskiold, the well-known Swedish Arctic traveller, who has more lately been on both the Siberian and American coasts (Voyage of Vega, 1878-9), thinks that America is the original, or at least the earliest known home of the Eskimos, because the tribes now livii-g on the Asiatic side of the same race are few in number. But the story he himself gives of what is known about their ancient inhabitation of the Siberian coast, together with Baron Wrangel's account of the legend of their emigration from it to the American side, seems rather to lead to the conclusion that they were the prior occupants of Arctic Asia before the present races appeared on the scene. The appearance, and manners, and habits of the American Eskimos, as described by all travellers from Captain Parry to the present day, are more Asiatic than American. Sir J. Richardson (Polar Regions, 1861) says they have " broad egg-shaped faces, prominent but rounded cheeks, tapering foreheads, broad depressed noses, small oblique eyes, complexion nearly white, broad shoulders, short legs, small hands and feet." They are also described as a domestic, gregarious people, with strong family affections, mild and cheerful; intelligent and especially ingenious in handiwork of all kinds, including drawing, for which last accomplish- ment they ajipear to have a remarkable talent. Now these characteristics are very much the same as those of the Chuckches, or Tschuskis, or Tukotschis (as they are called by different travellers), now inhabiting the north-east coasts of Siberia, as described l'\ Note 32 : ESKIMOS. 419 by Professor Nordenskiold ; and whom he considers to be the people whc drove out the original Eskimo tribes from that coast. There are, how- ever, some familii's of undoubted Eskimo origin still inhabiting the Asiitic coast of l?eliring Strait. And Sir J. llicliardson quotes Frobisher and other early travellers, remarking on similarities between the Samoycds (who occupy the coast opposite Nova Zembla) and tlic Eskimos. The general opinion of ethnographers appears to be that the Eskimos are a branch of the great Mongolian family ; which is a tolerably safe admission for the present, as tlie whole of the North American Indians are supposed to be derived from that stock. Indeed, Professor Nordenskiold remarks on the similarity in appearance between many of the Chuckches and the American Indians. And that the Eskimos are the remains of an earlier wave of migration from Central Asia ; and that some centuries buck they were a large population spread over a considerable part of the coasts of North Asia and North America. The American Eskimos. The traditions of the American Eskimos themselves, and the remains found in various parts of that Arctic coast, point to a steady migration from west to east. And it is reasonable to suppose that this proceeded along the easiest line ; that is to say, across the neighbourhood of Behring Strait, and along the north coast of America, where they would find the most secure passage for their canoes. Accordingly we find that all Eskimo tribes from Beliring Strait to Labrador, though dififering in dialect, in character, and in power, are considered to be of the same stock, of successive waves of migration ; the more eastern, and therefore older emigrants, being more variated from the original. When this migration began there is no clear evidence to -show; but as they were found on the coasts of Labrador by the first European explorers in the fifteenth century, as regularly settled as the^ are now, it must have occurred considerably before tliat period. Sir J. Richardson consideis there is some evidence that the Eskimos in former times extended down the west coast of America as far as Vancouver Island, and down the east coast as fivr as the River St. Lawrence. This general idea accounts, so far, for the existence of the Eskimo on, the north coast of America, and gives a key to their ways of life, and to their general condition. They are a people who live by what may be called coast fishing; very different from the habits of the nomadic hunters in the interior of North America, as they are in appearance and manners. They are, however, so far nomadic, that they move in winter to huts in sheltered spots on the rivers near the coast, where they have a chance of getting game of some kind ; in the spring they begin fishing on the coast, and those who are opposite to Victoria and Wollaston Lands cross over the narrow channels on the ice, and 8j)end the summer in fishing and huntiii , on those lands ; for tlie land animals also cross over from the Continent, about the same time, to feed on the young plants, which are more luxuriant there. The nutives met by the Enterprise in the southern 2 E 2 •1^ 1 -s T hi 4 f. ' - ■; t -1 t •J 1. i 1 . 1 , i 1 i i r 420 iy^OT^S TO THE JOURNAL. parts of WoUaston and Victoria Lands appear to have been fair specimens of the American tribes. The remarks on them will be found in the Journal, in August, 1852, August, 1853, and July, 1854. These tribes, during the summer, live in tents supported on such pieces of wood as they find on the coast, and covered with skins ; it is remarkable that they have no canoes, which shows that they do not penetrate far into the interior of the Continent, or they would have reached the northern limit of forest trees. The Enterprise found no traces of their wanderingii further north than lat. 72°, and no recent traces of them have been found in Banks Land or north of Melville Sound; but more to the eastward they penetrate nearly to Lancaster Soiu d. To the westward, towards Behring Strait, the Eskimos, having been in greater communication with white people, are not so simple in habits nor so well behaved. The habits of these people, as must be expected in a community whose main business is to keep up the heat of their bodies, are extremely disagreeable, to say the least of it, to civilised persons ; and, probably from the same intense struggle for existence in that climate, the moral senses as regards truth and honesty are somewhat deficient. But all travellers, not only among the Eskiinos, but in Siberia among the Chuckches, bear testimony to their good humour and genial ways, in which they resemble their Mongolian kinsmen, the Chinese and Japanese ; all agree also they are unable to resist the temptation of appropriating other people's property at favourable opportunities. A further evidence of their non-American extraction is afiforded by the bitter enmity between the two peoples ; a state of feeling unfortunate for white travellers in those regions, because it produces a chronic state of fear of strangers of all kinds on both sides. At all events, this feeling of suspicion, combined with the absence of moral control, requires all travellers to be cautious in their dealings with the Eskimos. One of t'lo remarkable characteristics of hese people is their commercial zeal. There is, and has been from the first knowledge of them, a regular systeifi of communication for trade all along the line of their occupation. The objects of barter are passed on from tribe to tribe along the coast from Bdhring Strait to Labrador, until the products of the latter country are exchanged with those of llussia. An ingenious and successful mode of disseminating news during the great search for Sir J. Franklin's expe- dition was carried out by H.M.S. Plover, from Behring Strait, in the form of BRASS buttons stamped with short notices, which, being coveted by the natives, converted them into involuntary postmen. By this means the Enterprise first heard news of the Investigator and '^f the Eastern Expe- ditions, which news had gone from Melville Sound iv England in letter, by ship, and had returned, per electric telegraph, to the United States ; and from San Francisco to Behring Strait by letter and ship again ; and from thence it had travelled eastward once more on buttons, the various vessels concerned having been at the time within 300 or 400 miles of each other — one of the most curious instances of postal circumvolution. i Note 32 : ESKIMOS. 421 The Greenland Eskimos, This branch of tlio Eskimo people has not been included in the foregoing account, because they have a peculiar and interesting history of their own. Their own traditions are that, although they came from the west, it was not by the route of the North American coast and Labrador, but from the north. There is not now, nor apparently ever has been, any com- munication between the Lal'ador and the Greenland Eskimos ; the breadth and dangerous ice of BafTm Bay appear to have stopped the flow of migration from the westward. There is some evidence to sup[X)rt this tradition of an independent migration " north about." In the middle of the fourteenth century, when the Scandinavians had already occuj ied the west coast of Greenland, the Eskimos appeared suddenly, coming down the coast from the north. They were the ancestors of the people now occupying Greenland, and some of them are still inhabiting the coast as far north as Smith Sound. They are somewhat difierent from any of the American Eskimos, though undoubtedly of the same race. Their speech differs from that of any of the American branches more than it does among those branches them- selves, and is more approaching to that of the Asiatic Eskimo. And although they recognise the same name by which all the other branches call themselves, namely, Innuit, or En-yu-in, signifying men of the race, the Greenlanders also call themselves Kalalik, a word which seems to have some connection with the Siberian tribes. They are larger, stronger, and braver than the American tribes, and their habits are differtnt. 'J'hough they fish and hunt, ixA have abundance of reindeer, they do not use bows or arrows, nor canoes so much as some of the others, but sledges much more, and dogs to draw them. Then there have been found on the extreme northern lands of Greenland and the islands to the west many remains of their foimer occupation, and also on the north-east coast of Greenland, a position they could have hardly reached from the south. These remains are judjied to be very ancient, and there are no traces in any of those parts of occupation by any Eskimos of the present time. And, lastly, there are traditions among the Chuckches, now inhabiting tlie north-east corner of Siberia, that a whole tribe of former inhabitants of those parts, called OnkUon, or dwellers on the coast, and of another tribe called Omoki, to escape the invasion of the Chuckches, went away bodily in their canoes across the sea to the north-east. And the tribes about Point Barrow have a tradition that some of their ancestors went north from that part, and found these people living on isla-ds in good condition. Their houses. — But the most remarkable, and to ethnologists perhaps the most interesting, incident about these Greenland Eskimos is'their houses ; that is to say, of those of North Greenland, for the natives now living aboul, the Danish settlements in South-west Greenland have become a more civil- ised people. These houses are circular or oval in plan, and built of rough stones, converging inwards by overlapping courses tmtil they nearly meet I tii 422 NOTES 10 THE JOURNAL. overhead, and there the opening is covered by lar!j;e flat stones. They are partly sunk in tlie {ground, and the exterior is covered with soils or earth. The interior size is 8 to 12 feet across, and 5 or 6 feet high. This must not be confounded with a regularly arched dohie, though curved in form, the successive courses of stone being horizontal. The remains of similar stone houses have been found in many places on the islands to the west of Smith Sound ; a great many in Grinnell Land, especially on the west coast; at the north end of Wellington Channel and of Jones So- nd; ou Melville Island, and other islands north of Melville Sound; aru on the west coast of Banks Island. Between the latter place and the coast of Siberia there has been, as yet, but little exploratic of the sea ; but on the Eastern Siberian coast remains are to be found of stone huts corresponding in general to the above character ; and especially in one i)eculiarity, the entrance, which generally consists of a narrow passage cut through the ground, and covered over with stones and earth, either for warmth or defence. And also on the islands of New Siberia, remains of what are called "ancient Yourtes" have been found, of a similar idea, although con- structal of logs and [)lanks of wood, roughly shaped with rude implements. But the date of these is not determined. The remains of the Omoki tribe, found near the Kolyma River, appear to have been of a similar construction to these. This kind of construction, of a solid, permanent character, and well covered in, appears to be peculiar to the people we call Eskimos. The western tribes of these people, living about i'oint Barrow, construct wooden huts for the winter, similar in form and idea, and covered over with earth or moss, and having an imderground passage, low enough to enter below the floor of the hut. With them wood is plentiful and stones scarce. Again, the Eastern American Eskimos build huts of frozen snow-blocks, circular in plan, and domical in form. These are so well constructed, and have such a perfect and ehgant appearance, that they have excited the admiration of all Arctic travellers. They are not, however, rcjiular arched domes, as some have supi)osed, but the courses of snow blocks are all horizontal, converging inwards till near the top, where the small opening is covered with a slab of ice, the interior surface being smoothed oti to a regular curve ; identical, in fact, in jwint of construction, with the stone Irts of the world. In the Shetland and Orkney Islands there are some good examples of them. That fact, however, does not altogether prove the builders to be all of one race ; for if we have given a land of stones without wood, and no good implements to cut the stones, the simplest and easiest form of getting shelter would be a hut of that form and construction. Tlie above notices of the Eskimo jxjople have been obtained from the Arctic Papers, published by the lloyal Geographical Society in 1875; from Sir J. Richardson's Polar Regiom, 18G1; from Professor Nonien- skiold, 1881; and Lieutenant Greely, U.S.A., 1885, and from the account by Dr. Simpson, U.M.S. I'lover, in the Arctic Papers. '.M I t0'<: ii I! n 424 NOTES TO THE JOURNAL. Note 33, p. 290 : Animal and Vegetable Life. {Taken chiefly from the Arctic Manual.) Tlio places and times at which animals are to be found in considerable quantity in the Arctic seas are matters of great imi)ortance to the Arctic voyager, as well as of interest to the scientific investigator. And tlie nr...>"j. ■:,ats of animals are connectid with the vegetation appearing in different parts of these regions during the short-lived Arctic summer; for where the food is to be found there will the animals go. And this veget- able life is again interwoven with geological formations, and also with the climates of the various parts, each giving some indication of the existence of the others. In those parts of the Arctic regions north of America, there is one fairly general distinction that may be drawn in this respect : the climate on the western parts is milder than to the eastward ; and therefore both vegetable and animal life flourish better and extend farther northwards on the western side, wherever the geological conditions are favourable to it. Thus, reindeer, musk oxen, hares, and wolves, besides land and water birds, were found in fair quantity on Banks Island and the west coast of Prince Albert Land, on Melville Island, and Prince Patrick Island; whereas, on Prince of Wales Land, North Somerset, North Devon, and Wellington Channel there were comparatively few of any kind, scarcely any musk oxen. An exception must be made with respect to the channel N. of Smith Sound, on the west side of which, owing to geological con- ditions, musk oxen and reindeer were found up to the farthest northern land, though few in number. These variations appear to be due to special soil and climate, and to the subject of migration. The chief part of these Arctic islands belong to the geological formations of the Silurian, Devonian, and Carboniferous rocks, which are generally favourable to vegetation. Almost the whole of Greenland belongs to the primary formation of granite and schistose rocks, which are generally unfavourable to vegetation. Hero again an exception must be made of the south-west coast of Greenland, which has a milder climate, due to the warm current coming along it from the Atlantic, and also to some patches of more recent geological strata. Along this coast of Greenland there is a good deal of vegetation and a plentiful animal life ; whereas on the west side of Baffin Bay there is an absence of vegetable life and of land animals ; this latter failure of vegetation is owing to the character of the soil. The schistose beds and the highly laminated limestones of the Silurian strata are particularly barren of vegetation, and they extend from the mainland of America, through King William Laud, Boothia, Prince of Wales Land, and North Somerset. (Richardson, Polar lieyions.) The climate and the vegetable life are also modified by the currents of Note 33 : ANIMAL AND VEGETABLE LIFE. 425 warm water coming from the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans ; these currents, entering the Arctic seas by Behring Strait, and the Greenland Sea, have a tendency (arising from the rotation of the earth) to move in an easterly direction ; and they produce a higher temperature and a moister atmo- sphere along their course, favourable to vegetation. Hence the westerly sides of islands and promontories are generally warmer than the east sides, the warm currents being dodected along then». Migration. — Along the north coast of America, from Cape Bathurst eastwards, all the Arctic animals (except the nmsk ox) appear to migrate northwards across the narrow channel on to Prince Albert and Victoria Lands, and from them to Banks Island. The Enterprise obser ed deer crossing from the mainland in April, 1853, and again in August ',f the same year assembling in hundreds to recross back again over Dease Strait. And the Enterprise and Investiyator observed deer crossing Prince of Wales Strait both ways ; but it was the opinion of the officers of the latter ship that the main part of the animals, including musk oxen, en Banks Island, wintered there. There is no evidence of the crossing of animals (except bears) over that continuous channel extending from M'Cluro Strait on the west lo Lancaster Sound on the eaot, and consequently it is believed that all the animals found in Melville Island, Prince Patrick Island, and others adjacent, winter there ; this includes reindeer and mask oxen in consider- able numbers. All the Arctic animals, including deer and musk oxen, are found on the west coast of Greenland as far as Smith Sound, and also on the land west of that sound; and, although deer have been observed crossing that channel, it is believed that the main body of the animals winter in that extreme north-west land. It is also known that they winter on the west coast of Greenland. Animal Life. The White Bear — king of beasts in the Arctic Circle — is found evei/- where on sea and land, winter and summer, wherever there are land animals, seals or fish to feed on. He is a valuable prize to the Arctic traveller, for his flesh, his fat, and his skin; but he is also the one dangerous foe, for he is strong and fleet of loot, and takes a good deal of killing. His weight is much reduced at the end of the long winter, so that until towards the autumn he is not of much value as food or fuel. Captain Richards notes, on one of his sledge journeys in June, that a bear was not worth following, "he had not a day's fuel about him." Mr. M'Dougall {Resolute) gives the average weights of some of the animals useful as food in the Arctic regions ; these weights appear to signify the weight of useful meat obtained from them. Musk Ox : weight in summer, 340 lbs. ; average through the year, 160 lbs. This animal, though small in size, shows an amazing amount of couiage, and of intense passion when attacked. Its flesh is very palatable in general, but sometimes, especially when kpot too long, it has the taste . of musk, which gives it its name, and whit .s very disagreeable. lint 1^ I'll 11 ! "J '' ' 426 NOTES TO THE JOURNAL. ■ Reindeer: average weij;ht (50 to 70 llw. This animal Ih the most valiuihlo uno (uoxt to tlio kosiI) in the Arctic ref^ioiiH. Its tlesh ih excellent, aa \k i iiti •/;■, ( l.'io ) MKMont OV AI))1IHAL SHI \l COLIJNSDN. EDiToufAL Explanation. In the prcpiinition of this Momoir tlie Editor has to ex})ress his acknowlG(l^nieiits to various friends and colleagues of the late Admiral. The Deputy Master, Captain Sir Sydney- Webb, K.C.M.G., and tlio Secretary, Mr. I. Inglis, and other Officers of the Corporation of the Trinity House, have supi>lied him with information about the works carried on during the Admiral's tenure of office as Deputy Master, and con- cerning the constitution of the Corporation. To the Secretary of the lloyal Geographical Society (Mr. H. W. Bates) he is indebted for an account of tliat institution (compiled by Mr. C. Markham in 1881); and to the Secretary (Captain Burgess) and the Librarian (Colonel Day) of the lioyal United Service Institution, for cordial assistance. By the liberality of Major-General Brackenljury, C.B., RA., head of the Intelligence Department of the Army, and by the kindness of Major Murray of that brancli, he has had the opportunity of- consulting the records, lately compiled, of the ChineseWar of 1840-42, which is the most complete account of that afi'air that has been made. And for that chapter of the Memoir he has also been much indebted to the account of 'The Chinese War,' published in 1844, by Lieutenant Oucliterlony of the Madras P^ngineers, who did good service during the operations. Tliis was the fullest and best account of that war published at the time. In acknowledging the ready and valuable assistance given hy these gentlemen, the Editor must be careful to point out that they are in no way responsible for any opinions graited thereon. '> K '> •iif^i ! i ■ 1 ,'| : i- i 1 ' '1 r. 1- !, '' i mliij^ 4S» MEMOIR OF ADMIRAL COLLINSCJ. CHAriER I. OVINGHAM. The Foundation. " The lives of all [good] men remind us Wo c!in make our lives sublime,. And, departing, lejive behind us Footprints in the sands of time — • • " Footprints which i)erhaps another, ' Sailing o'er life's solemn main, ' Some forlorn or shipwrecked brother Seeing, may take heart again." The memoirs of any man who has been in the state service of the country should only be put before the public when either his services have been of exceptional value, or when his character affords a bright example to succeeding generations. In the case before us, that of Admiral Sir R. Collinson, there are neither extraordinary public services to recount, nor is there such a deeply impressive character to record, as would of either alone justify the publication ; but there is, nevertheless, a certain combination of those two require- ments. A long-continued and approved service of special kind, which seems to have been distinctly the result of a sound and well- trained character, and which affords an example of steady perseverance and self-discipline, has some lements in it of a kind likely to give support and encouragement to many an officer who finds his duties heavy and his prospects cloudy. His character and his services together are a fair illustration of the idea of life— not the highest, but the more general one — which appear-^ .0 have been in the mind of the poet Longfellow when he wrote 1 WIN on A At. 437 that " Psalm of Life," from wliich, with one pardonable altera- tion, the above quotation is taken. llichard Collinson's cliaracter was one fairly tyi)iciil of the well-bred Englishman of his day. His main characteristics were a ready porceptioh of the important points of any matter before him, and a plain strong sense of a practical way of dealing with it, fitting to the occasion. Added to these he had the inestimable advantage of a good training in the idea of duty to the Almighty Father and to his country, in a home unsurpassed for hearty affection and lively occupation ; further, he was blessed with the inheritance of a slight active frame, a good appearance, and a sound constitution. He had no accomplishments and no special gifts for any of the Sciences or Arts, so little indeed that to the last he re- gretted his want of faculty as a draughtsman ; and he was launched into the world at twelve years old, with very little learning of any kind : and yet his character and conduct very early brought him into notice, and gave him a status in the Navy which mere acquirements would have failed to substantiate. But, to appreciate fully the cliaracter of a man and its effect on his life, one should know something of the family from which he was derived. Eichard Collinson came of a good English stock on both sides. His father belonged to a family which for some generations had lived on their own property in Westmoreland, a specimen of the small inde- pendent farmers called " statesmen " in those counties ; and where some of them remain still, but unfortunately for the country, now in a condition of struggling against free trade. His father's father was a clergyman, and brought up his son to the same service ; and he, having had a good education at Winchester and Oxford (at which latter place his uncle. Dr. Collinson, was Provost of Queen's College), and being of a studious and yet practical mind, lived and died a " parish priest" (as he called himself), in the mining and manu- facturing district near Newcastle-on-Tyne ; remarkable in the diocese for his sound religious ideas and his sensible advice, and his kindly ways. ^J] !i, ■ ■ r The motlier belonged to two good ! / ^. ^ ^ '^^V IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) 1.0 I.I tii Ui 122 IS lio 12.0 K 18- 1^ il.4 il.6 ^>^ \ ^J> V '/ ' "^^ K^ 436 MEMOIR OF ADMIRAL COLLIN SON. m \lh families, the Kings of Bristol and the Bernards of Buck- inghamshire : the former of whom had, in the earlier days of the lleformation, given throe Bishops to the Church ; and the latter had supplied the Governor to the Province of Massa- chusetts at the time of their rebellion against the parent country, and also a more known person, the Sir Thomas Bernard who was one of the founders of the Foundling Hospital and of the Royal Institution. Coming of such fair English stock, the mother inherited the qualities of both : the refinement and love; of Art and interest in public life of the Bernards, with the simplicity and kindliness of the Kings, to which she added an unbounded generosity and charm of manner all her own. Of her it was said, by a good judge, when well past sixty, that " she was the only person he had known who had successfully cultivated the extraction of sunshine out of cucumbers." . .j ; ( Such a character, so well bred and nurtured, seemed designed by nature for the Naval Service of his country ; and yet it was an accidental circumstance that suddenly pitched him into it, straight from his first school. . . . • •• ■ • • Ovingham, " Dear old Ovingham," as its alumni spoke of it with fond recollection for years after their departure; and with good reason, for it was perhaps the most delightful of all the schools of that age for the young boys of the last two gene- rations. In those days education meant something besides book-learning, and Ovingham was distinguished in the counties of Northumberland and Durham for giving youngsters a sound training in its wider sense. The little village of Ovingham is placed on the north bank of the Tyne, abbut 12 miles above Newcastle. The " coaly Tyne," like all the streams of the two " carboniferous " counties, is remarkable for the picturesqueness of its valley from source to mouth, redeeming by its charm the unlove- liness of the rest of the land. During this century it is true that the thirst for converting the " black diamond " into yellow gold has laid a perpetual murky coating over sky and . ■ OVINQJIAM. 489 earth along its lower course, and has even invaded the pleftsant banks of Ovingham itself, but the upper regions of its two branches and their tributaries have their natural beauties still untouched, as may be seen, by any traveller along the railway? that follow their courses. Ovingham must have been always an important place on the river, on account of the ford there ; probably even in the Roman days, as the renowned wall came close to the river near that point. The banks rise from the river to a height of some 50 feet, pic- turesquely broken and wooded. Along the top of the north bank lies the primitive little village ; prominently in the centre stands the old church, quite Saxon in its character, and close to it, overlooking the river, is the house occupied by the Vicar, or " manse," as Northumbrians then called it. To the westward the ground falls to a subsidiary little valley, through which runs what we boys thought the " burn of, burns," full of every aqueous charm for our especial gratifica- tion ; and in the upper waters of which was a ravine clothed with wood, a good-sized plantation, no doubt, but to us a region of unlimited adventure and inexhaustible discoveries.. On the further side of this burn was a large farmyard, worked under the care of the Vicar's son, and a daily source of instruction and occupation to us ; and also, what was of still greater interest, the Vicar's own garden, abounding in delicious fruit trees. - . , On the opposite banks of the river, on a spur isolated by, ravines, stand the ruins of the Norman occupation of that country, characteristically on the south bank, and not, lik€| the Eoman wall, on the more dangerous north — Prudhoe Castle, an outlying possession still remaining of the vast dominion of the Northumbrian earls. Looking down on the river from the Vicar's garden "was a scene of perpetual delight and interest, in the ford and the ferry-boat ; always associated in our minds with the possi-, bility of having the oar put into our hands and so being compelled to ferry for ever after. And the deep and wooded pools above and below it were memorable to us, not for the iish drawn out, but for the little white bodies put in. > I •■ ;'■ |^^M|j <440 MEMOIR OF ADMIRAL COLLINSON. A *-' In the village were all the institutions of a i)riniitive northern hamlet : the wheelwright, who made our stilts ; the cobbler, to whom all new boys were sent to ask for some " strap oil " ; the goody shop where that hard-eating compound appropriately called " claggum " was produced ; the byres and the middens, and the village ovens ; and the little school, whei-e the church choir, three or four stalwart men, with pipe and fiddle, shouted and stamped in harmonious zeaL The school was kept by the Rev. James Birkett, then Vicar of the parish, but better known in Ovingham as "the Maister." When R. CoUinson was there he was an old man, having been keeping school for a good many years, during which the scions of all the Northumbrian and Durham houses had come thither, to receive their first training outside the domestic circle. Wliat book-learning was given them the present deponent, notwitlistanding his own personal experi- ence, recollecteth not; "a little Latin and less Greek," judging by subsequent light, and one of the three R's {" Wrighting/' as R. C. calls it), was evidently not in the course. In justice, however, to the "^.emory of the good Maister it must be recorded that in his reports he speaks of getting young Richard into Greek as Lioon as he has mastered the Latin Syntax. But o^ --ome other educations of character, dis- cipline, self-control, . ..igious tone, and healthy exercise, the old Maister managed to impress a good deal on his young pupils. A kindly old gentleman, with a hobby for making walking-sticks, which he could apply with effect on the palms of idle hands ; and greatly aided in his care of the boys by his wife, a handsome old lady with a stick, much respected and yet loved by us all. Whatever we failed to learn in school was compensated for by our zeal in acquiring out-of-door knowledge, in fishing and hunting birds and beasts of small degree, helping in the farm and orchard, keeping rabbits and building huts for them, and braving Tyne's waters on stilts. The boy was evidently loved by the old man, both for his conduct and character ; he writes to the father, " You have OVINOIIAM. 441 tlie hai)inness to be father to a son of a mild and humane disposition, and of intuitive abilities ; he outstrips his con- geners . . . God has indeed blessed you with deserving children." And, judging by his subsequent letters from far- off seas, the embryo admiral had a great love and respect for th,.* ;v • ]•.','. . . . . ^ ■'■■- ' - . ' .! ■• '• ■ * J: .1 .,: ly <.<) 1 =- 4r\ .i • '.rv' V „... ' ■ I - K M'l' T . . •. :. .. . . , • ''l ■' ■ " ,> - , ,, , . I I .li .■' ,t I. ... r r • f r" 4i2 MEMOIR OF ADMIRAL COLLINSON. I ; t M ; CHAPTEll II. (, • H.M.S. Cambuidge, , , , 1823-1827. ' * '*. '. • • . 1 . . / ' • .'.II,.. When Richard was about twelve years old, and still at Ovinghain, studying the art of keeping schoolmasters out and rabbits in, a Captain Maling, RK, happened to pay a vi.sit to the neighbourhood of Newcastle ; he was just appointed to a line-of-battle ship, the Cambridge, then fitting out for the racific Station, which at that period meant the west coast of South America. In tliose simple times, long anterior to competitive examinations, a post captain, when appointed to a ship fitting out, had a certain latitude about nominating midshipmen ; and Captain Maling having a vacancy in that class of his officers, offered it to a friend of his in the North for one of his sons. That friend for some good reason declined the offer, which was then suggested to the Rev. John Collinson, of Gateshead, he having at that time four sons of various ages. It is perhaps doubtful whether the studious clergyman would have entertained a proposal so different from his own life and training, but the spirited and loyal- hearted mother had no hesitation about giving up a son to serve his king and country on the high seas. It was, no doubt, a far greater pang to her than to the father to part suddenly with so young a boy, and one which many loving mothers would have refused to undergo; but her trust in doing what seemed the duty of the moment was great, and she was rewarded for it by the devoted love of the son she sacrificed for full fifty years afterwards. So the boy was fetched from school, and, without any hesitation on his own part, was taken straight away on the top of the " Highflyer " coach to London, and put into the gun-room of His Majesty's II.M.8. CAM BUI DOE. 443 ship Otuithrid'fe at Chatham — a simplo thou{,'li summary mode of uiiteriiij^ the Koyal Navy, which some lintannia (IK lets may envy ; they may be consoled with the reflection that the little Ovingham boy could hardly have passed any cxiimination whatever. While on this duty his father, or rather his enterprising mother, made another good stroke for the benefit of the boy. The Camh'iihjc was in want of a chaplain, and the mother, in the absence of her husband, persuaded one of his curates to accept the post, not, however, without assurance of his fitness fur it. The He v. Hugli Sulvin was indeed a remarkable man ill his way ; omnivorous in his learning, whether classical or scientific, and oblivious to the ordinary concerns of life, but withal so simple and earnest and kindly that he gained the regard and esteem of all he came in contact witk To such a man the attraction of visiting strange countries in a man-of-war counterbalanced the troubles of a sea life ; and in the end the adventure succeeded so well, that after a meri- torious service afloat he lived for many years an honoured; incumbent of a Greenwich Hospital living, at Alston in. Cumberland. From this time forward, during the whole active career of Richard Collinson, we have a record in most of his private letters, carefully preserved by his mother. He very soon took to his new life. The father writes : " Kichard in uniform,, looking healthy and handsome, and with his usual counte- nance. He thinks everything right — all amusement-— sleeping iu hammock —climbing masts. He no more minds going to sea than I do travelling from Newcastle to London, nor so much. Capt. JVialing says he never saw a boy take to it so well. I left him at six this morning ; kissed him and wished him good-bye ; he seemed a little melted, but in a quarter of au hour afterwards was fast asleep. You have, my dear wife,, made a fortunate destination for him." It was 3^ years, before the ship arrived in the Med way again, a long trial for so young a lad, especially one so fond of his happy home ;, but neither iu his letters nor in any other way did he show, anything but a determination to stick to the sea all his life. m ■^^Qi! \\ ll The voyage down the Channel was, of course, a trial ; seven days between Cliatham and Portsmouth was not a cheerful beginning ; but he consoled himself by being in his hammock in good company of several of his brother niids, and by the captain's wife being a joint sufferer. The regulations of the Service which permitted the presence of Mrs. Malin;,' (as a passenger) were of much benefit to the midshipmen, to whom she showed a thoughtful kindness during the cruise. His letters during this voyage are specimens of bad spelling and worse writing, such as would shock a Naval Ex- aminer in these days ; but there is in them the germs of the future surveyor, a quick and accurate observation of places and dates, and a self-dependence and willingness which led his superior officers to depend upon him ; and with these a decision which gave him a good place among his fellows. One of liis first displays of character was fighting another mid who said something disparaging about canny Newcastle. They touched at Teneriffe, Rio Janeiro, Monte Video, and then to Valparaiso, where their duties commenced. At that time the Spanish Government was making its final efforts to preserve its colonies in South America, and, although the British war vessels could not interfere directly, the good wishes of their crews, as indeed also those of the Home Authorities, were strongly in favour of the " Patriotic " side, as the colonists chose to designate themselves. The celebrated General Bolivar was then leading the Peruvian colonists on to independence, and several English officers were serving on the Patriotic side ; among them General Miller, to whom our young mid was indebted many years afterwards for assistance, ■when he was on his way to the Arctic seas, and General Miller was British Consnl-General in the Sandwich Islands. The young gentleman's observations on the Peruvians are not complimentary, but he had the acuteness to perceive that the Chilians would prove eventually the strongest people on tliat coast, owing to their more bracing climate; he had an op jortunity, however, on a subsequent voyage, of observing that the title of *' Patriot " does not of itself give independ- ence and energy to a people. T^^ n.M.8. CAMBHTDOE. 445 The ship's time was chiefly occupied in calling at the (lifrerent ports along the coast. After nearly a year of this he feels himself a sailor, and can remark that " the good ship Colli nson is getting her cargo in very fast, being when she left England only 4 ft. 10 in., now 4 ft. 11 in. exactly." The matter of height was rather a tender subject in reference to a younger sister, for a year after he says : " I top the officer over you, being 5 ft. 1^ in.," an assumption he found he had to draw back from on his return home. By April, 1826, he has quite made up his mind — " I would not change now for anything ; always preferred true blue to scarlet." And with the compla- cent superiority of a naval officer of fourteen he tells his sisters, •' I wish you could see a line-of-battle ship, it would be a very fine sight to you." On rounding Cape Horn again to return home, the feelings of the young sailor are roused by the grand combination of stupendous land and ocean scenery : " Through the Straits of Le Maire it was a most beautiful sight — the tremendous waves foaming along through the passage, the tops of the mountains covered with snow, and the land at the water's edge covered with trees in full bloom." The same letter gives exact dates and places, and other nautical records, which mark the budding navigator. He mentions the passage of H.M.S. Blossom, Captain Beechey, on her way to Behring Strait, in the hope of meeting Captain Parry, then attempting the North-west Passage, little thinking that about thirty years after he would be bound on a similar expedition to look for Sir J. Franklin. . , • • .. Altogether his letters show a considerable advance in thought and expression since crossing the Atlantic the other way three years before. Much of this was, no doubt, due to the attention paid to his educ^ition on board by the kind and learned chaplain. When middies were so young, a man-of-war was naval school, and the captain a sea warden; at least Captain Maling was; Richard writes gratefully of his kindness in allowing the midship- men to sit in his cabin from 6 to 8 p.m. to study, besides giving it up to them ia the morning for their regular lessons under the chaplain. The nature of these will 1 1 i i ¥ AM MEMOm OF admthal coiunson. |)rolial)ly surprise the cn«li;ls «>f the Jirilannia, lor our youiij; friend says : '* Mr. Siilvin won't let me go into French «»r Spanish until I have finished my Latin and Greek." When he did arrive at those modern tongues the result was not so satisfactory as he anticipated ; " I can't come this foreign lingo " — a conclusion that remained true to the end of his life. There was also mathematics, or so much of it as conduced to the better underetanding of navigation, and to that subject the young man took more kindly. It is also evi- dent, from his casual remarks, that he had carefully read tlie various books that had been given him on his departure ; and on more than one occasion he found the Latin he had imi)ibeil from Mr. Salvin and old Mr. Birkett of good service in interpreting with Spaniards and Portuguese priests. His peculiar qualities for sea service were already develo^/- ing themselves. A nautical surveyor, or navigator projHjr, should have a quick perception of the local conditions about him, and a good memory for the details of them ; he should also have staying power, i.e. a cool head and a resolute heart, for he is the pilot who has to weather the storm. \i. C, had tke germ of these qualities in him, and therefore he took lo surveying as a duck takes to water ; he was deficient, how- ever, in two other important points — Imagination and Art: two faculties which are, perhaps, out of place in a navigator ; nevertheless, the want of them both was a loss to him in after years, when he came to deal with other and higher duties. He had, however, enough imagination or native enterprise to have the ambition of rising to the top of the tree in the main or combatant line of his profession. . The Cambridge arrived at Sheerness in June, 1827 ; hut the young seaman, anxious as he was to enjoy the delights and the honours of his expectant family, was quite ready to j^o to sea again ; and, with the experience of three years' service, began to impress on liis father the necessity of using all the private interest he could raise to get him into another ship. In November, 1827, he being then sixteen years old, we find him on board H.M.S. Gloucester, at Sheerness, looking out for active service somewhere ; his professional instincts T" '*f n.M.s. CAMnninaE. 447 turned towards the Chanticleer, a small vessel then fittinf^ out for a special scientific voyage at Portsmouth, an»l his father, who never thonpfht of employing private interest for iiis own advancement, had no hesitation in urging it for his son. Personal influence in the matter of promotion and employment in the Army and Navy has always existed, and will continue to exist, because it is inevitable and really necessary ; but it was somewhat rampant at that time, owing to the number of officers still unemployed, in con- sequence of the sudden relapse from a violent war to a profound peace. Fortunately for the young na\igator, he had some in- fluential friends who helped to put his foot on the ladder of reputation ; the climbing up afterwards he managed to do pretty well by himself. The Vice-Chancellor of England, Sir L. Shadwell, was one of these, an old and dear friend, and subsequently connection of the family ; his house was the resort in London of all members of it coming in from the country on business, a no small advantage in those days of difiicult journeying ; and his personal and professional in- fluence greatly helped not only the sailor son, but another one after him, viz. the present writer, to get a good start in their lifelong professions. Another friend was Admiral Sir Byam Martin, also a distant family connection, and who, through the kindred families of Fanshawes and Stopfords, had powerful naval influence at that time; and who, moreover, at that moment was a high official in the Admiralty. It was he who, by his personal application to the captain of the Chanticleer, finally secured a berth for Richard CoUinson on board of her, and also enlisted the interest of the captain in the young aspirant, and thus virtually launched him in the surveying career by which he rose to honour. Moreover, the young gentleman had earned the good opinion of his late captain, who took an interest in him to the end of his life. He (Captain Maling) wrote to E. C.*s father, on his return home, of the sailor son : *' As excellent a good fellow as you could wish him to be. He has his first fault to commit with me ; on not one single occasion has he given me an oppor- 9 ' V 448 MEMOIR OF ADMIHAL COLLIN son. im tunity of finding fault with him. A bettcr-disposod lad, or one moi'o likely to do credit to his profession, never trod thu (lock of a ship. If he continues tiirough life what I have found him, his parents will have reason to be proud of him." Before, however, that desireil apiwintment took efiect, ft short jKjriotl of anxiety liad to be passed ; for the Ol(mcrsln- was suddenly orderetl to the coast of Portuj^al to assist (in the French sfiise, by looking on) at the war then in progrcHs between !)• Pedro and Dom Miguel for the throne. Happily for the state of mind of R. C, (fully expatiated on in his letters from Oporto), the Gloucester returned home before the Chanticleer was ready, and to his aj^reeabla surprise In; then found that a midshipman's berth in it had been all the while kept vacant expressly for him. i... 1^ . i I I. '*!» < « ','1 l-ii/ : :i:u.l ' «<> ' i' . .. 4 ' ii /''.(•" Vtf t;>'/('-» 'r^'V '^ j» b >-;i- ■"•..' rn* JLM.8. CnANTICLEER. 449 CHAFIEK III. H.M.S. Chanticleer. 1828-1831. About that time there was a considerable stir in the Naval Department of the State towards enterprises for scientific jmrposes. The sudden cessation of extensive war action in 181"), with the prospect of an indefinitely long peace ahead, threw upon the hands of the Government a great many ships and a multitude of men for whom no employment was to be found. This plethora of establishments wanting work went on, notwithstanding the economical sacrifice of men and material, for twenty years ; and during that period there came out of it at least this one counterbalancing good, that various works for the benefit of science in particular, but of mankind in general, were performed by the Government, which would otherwise never have go^ done at all. Under the friendly pressure of the Royal Society and other kindred instit tions, various expeditions were undertaken by the Admiralty for surveying, exploring, and making scientific observations ; and the energies of the Navy, so long turned to war, now found some opening in peaceful enterprises. From the termination of the great war we begin to date the renewal of Arctic Expeditions, and of the naval surveys and explorations which have since made British ciiarts the general guidtd of the ship world. This voyage of the CJianticlecr had two objects : one, to detennine closely the longitude of some of the chief places in the lines of sea traffic. It is easy for any one to find the latitude wherever he may be, if he can take the altitude of the sun with a sextant ; but to find the longitude requires 2 G 450 MEMOIR OF ADMIRAL COLLINSON. a good calculator and a good chronometer. What the navigator wants to find out whon he is on the high seas is what o'clock it is at Greenwich when it is noon where he then is ; for this gives him his longitudinal distance from Greenwich ; and to find this he carries with him a chronometer set to Greenwich time, and then by astro- nomical observations determines the exact moment of noon where he is. But chronometers, like all other clocks, are kittle cattle to deal with, having vagaries incomprehensible to sea captains; when therefore he can touch at a place of fixed longitude, he knows there ought to be a certain difference between Greenwich noon and the noon of the place, and can therefore judge how his chronometer is going, and proceed on his voyage with more certainty. For the effective determination of the longitudes the Chanticleer carried twenty chronometers. The other and more scientific object was to determine the rate of oscillation of a pendulum at various places lying between the equator and the poles. It had been accidentally observed that a pendulum-clock taken from Paris to near the equator lost time, i.e. the pendulum oscillated more slowly. Now a pendulum oscillates because of the attraction of the earth, and the force of this attraction is in proportion to the square of the distance from the centre of the earth. It was therefore reasonably concluded that the retardation of the pendulum at the equator proved that the diameter of the earth was greater there than at Paris ; and the corollary to that clearly was that the correct determination of the rate of 08cillati;„i of the same pendulum at a good mar^y places on the earth's surface would help to a knowledge of the correct figure of the globe. This c^edition therefore was something more than an ordinary surveying cruise. The officer selected to conduct this service was Captain Henry Forster, a man of high scientific character : he had been with Parry in his Arctic voyages both to look for the North- west Passage and to Spitzbergen, and was higlily thought of by that explorer ; and for his scientific acquire- IITP ! rr.M.S. OffANTICLEEIi. 4r.i ietermine lus places had been p,ken from lendulum es because attraction from the concluded or proved re than at that the the same !3 surface the globe. than an ^as Captain er : he had )ok for the was highly fie acquire- 1 ments he had received the special honour of the Copley Medal and the Fellowship of the Royal Socif !:y. Ho .appears to have been a good officer, l>ufc a reserved man, and was not in good health during this expedition ; his untimely death towards the end of it was mourned by all on board, and especially by Eichard CoUinson, to whom he was invariably kind and attentive. An exceedingly good and readable account of the voyage was published by the surgeon of the ship, Dr. W. H. B. Webster, at the time, " to which," says young Richard complacently, " we have all contributed our mites." The Chanticleer was a 10-gun brig (but barque-rigged), of 237 tons, with 15 officers and 42 men ; and though Richard Collinson speaks with pride of her being such a capital sea- boat, the Doctor informs us that her popular designation was "His Majesty's bathing machine." This was probably the happiest three years of R. C.'s active service ; the vessel was large enough to be fairly comfortable for her complement, and the number of officers (eight in the gun-room mess) sufficient to be a friendly party, as they appeared to have been. Here he made some fast friends for life, such as Lieutenant Austin (the first lieutenant), whom he afterwards served under, and Mr. Williams, whose services are mentioned by Dr. Webster. They left Portsmouth on April 27th, 1828, and touched at the Cape de Verd Islands for longitude observations, and from thence crossed the equator to the island of Fernando Noronha, off the coast of Brazil, and from there to Rio Janeiro, and then to Monte Video (August 15th to October 5th), where the first penduhim observations were made. These were taken by the captain and lieutenants, and as the number of oscillations had to be ascertained for a whole day of twenty-four hours, it was a work of patient care to avoid errors. Wherever these were taken a small wooden observatory was erected on land, and tents set up for the observers and guard. To the midshipmen wavS relegated the observations on the force and amount of declination and dip of the magnetic needle; in which young Collinson took a prominent part. 2 G 2 I r 462 MEMOIR OF ADMIRAL COLLINSOK The second pendulum observations were made at Staten Island, near Oape Horn (October 25th to December 21st). From there they touched at Cape Horn, and then, in order to make the most of the summer season of those latitudes, they went to their extreme south position, Deception Island, near Cape Possession, South Shetland, S. lat. G3° 26', and W. long. G4° 6' ; where they remained from early in January to March 8th, 1829. About latitude 60° they began to meet with those fleets of icebergs which are a distinguishing mark of the South Polar seas wherever they have been approached, and which are one of the great evidences to Arctic travellers of an extensive South Polar continent. On one occasion mope than a hundred were counted in sight. These are the advanced guard of the main body which appears to surround that continent like a mountainous wall of ice ; Dr. Webster mentions some 300 feet high, and since then other voyagers have in the ice- wall itself found greater heiglits above water; and as tlie Doctor calculates that one-seventh only of the total height is above water, what an appalling ideu gives us of the thickness of that coating of ice which appears to cover the whole of the Antarctic lands. The land at the South Shetlands appears to be mainly volcanic ; the mountains ri^e to a height of 7000 feet. Decep- tion Island is the crater of an old volcano, and our young friend Eichard writes of the curious effect of the white snow alternating with the black scoria. During gales of wind, which from their experience is the normal condition of things there, the volcanic ashes are blown about so as to alter the appearance of the hills ; and thus strata of ice are found below strata of ashes. A ship's gun they had brought on shore was buried 4 feet deep in one gale. And as there was an almost perpetual mist obscuring the sun, moon, and stars, and their tents were frequently blown down, the Antarctic regions were not looked upon with favour by the young gentlemen. The only relaxation was the catching of penguins, which " look at a distance like little children in white pinafores," and " invite you to kill them — running inland instead of to the sea," and are " as good as beef n.M.8. CHANTICLEER. 453 wheii on two-thirds rations ;" provisioning a 10-gun " bathing machine " was not so easy a matter then as now. The third set of pendulum observations was made at Deception Island, and then they went to St. Martin's Cove, at Cape Horn, where they remained from March 27th till May 24th, 1829, taking the fourth set of pendulum observa- tions. The South Shetlands gave them a final taste of their tempestuosity, by keeping the ship a week in getting out of the little harbour; "in 37 days' sailing we have beenlG hove to." The remarkable circumstance about Cape Horn is that the climate is much milder than one would expect from the icebergs and snowy mountains and tempests mentioned by voyagers passing it. Dr. Webster gives the explanation, — that it has a sort of private gulf-stream to itself, or rather a South Pacific stream, emanating doubtless from the equatorial regions, and flowing towards the South Pole, but diverted eastwards (similarly to the streams flowing towards the North Pole) by the effect of the rotation of the earth from west to east : an action which affects all streams flowing in a north and south direction, being, that the streams carry with them the velocity of the equatorial region into higher latitudes, where the relative rotation is slower, and thus they have a constant easterly trend. Hence, Dr. Webster points out, there is really little frost and snow at Cape Horn ; the vegetation is luxuriant, tropical birds, parrots and humming-birds, numerous ; the Fuegians (to the astonishment of travellers) are unclothed. But there is a great deal of rain ; the constant strong westerly winds coming over the warm sea deposit their burden of moisture on the mountains of the Cape, which rise to 2000 feet. And there is another effect of the frequent winds, valuable to voyagers, in the absence of fogs. These comparatively mild conditions extend to the Falkland Islands, though in a modified degree. But midshipmen can't live on humming- birds — *' We had to take it in turns to go fishing " to eke out His Majesty's rations — and they were exceedingly glad to see the Adventure, surveying ship. Captain King, arrive at St. Martin's Cove with provisions for their use. i- r 454 MEMOIR OF ADMIRAL COLLINSON. From Cape Horn the Chanticleer went across the South Atlantic to the Cape of Good Hope, 4200 miles in 27 days, carrying strong westerly winds all the way — no lack of " bathing " ; the Cape realised its original name by keeping them SLx days outside, unable to ^mter the harbour. Here they remained from June 27th to Dec. 13th, 1829 ; and the fifth set of pendulum observations was made, and also magnetic and meteorological obstivations and others for latitude and longi- tude. They had the advantage there of a good observatory, from which they obtained assistance, and where K. C. made friends, who helped him on two occasions afterwards, in the Plover and in the Enterprise. Officers and crew all enjoyed their long stay at the agreeable and, to them, luxurious Cape Town, after roughing it at Cape Horn. Dr. Webster remarks on the great difference between the indolence and half- civilised condition of the Spanish colonists at Monte Video, and the industry, order and neatness of the Dutch at the Cape. Great Britain had been in possession of it then for more than thirty years, but it was still, as it is indeed to this day, mainly a Dutch population. And they had brought with them from Holland the elaborate care and completeness of their race m their handsome houses, well-arranged streets planted with trees, and their orderly industry in the country ; and, he remarks, they had also brought with them the good nature and the hospitable, though somewhat rough, disposition of their race, a roughness which comes from a native dulness and want of refinement, which is more or less found in all the Teutonic peoples. Since that time the " Boer " of the Cape has earned for himself a fresh title to the proverbial character applied to that name. From the Cape they went to St. Helena, " that huge sea fortress," the cliff top of some mountain of a more primeval continent, of which it and Ascension are the two remaining fragments. Here, notwithstanding there being no port or shelter for ships, they remained from December 26th to February 10th, 1829-30, taking the sixth set of pendulum observations. Originally taken by the East India Company as a place of call for their ships, this island is still retained n.M.8. CHANTICLEER. 465 (like Ascens) i) by the British Government, as its oc(;upation by another Power would make a weak spot in the line of our communication eastw..rd. Then to Ascension, a somewhat similar rock rising out of the sea, but lower and more varied and habitable than St. Helena; equally, however, without any safe anchorage for ships. Dr. Webster remarks on the dry climate, which makes it a favourable sanitarium for the sick from the African coast. Here they made the seventh set of pendiUum observa- tions : from February 14th to June 6th, 1830. Then they crossed over to Fernando Noronha, a small island near Cape St. Roque, Brazil, which the Doctor describes as luxuriant in beautiful vegetation ; and made the eighth set of pendulum observations : June 12th to July 18th. Then to Maranham, a harbour on the coast of Brazil, where they made the iiinth set of pendulum observations : July 23rd to September 5th ; after which they entered the mouth of the Amazon River, up to Para, where the tenth set of obser- vations was made ; and also acquaintance was made with the native Indians of that river, of a " good firm copper colour, with long black hair, and intelligent, mild features, superior to the negro slaves," but the Doctor would probably have allowed that they are not superior to the negro race in vitality. From there they went to Trinidad, where they again luxuriated in the comforts of a British settlement, and re- mained a short time to make the eleventh set of observations. Then, touching at La Guayra, on the K coast of America, they went to Porto Bello, " a small but secure and accessible harbour " on the Atlantic coast of the Isthmus of Panama ; near the eastern terminus of both the existing railway and the canal now being constructed across the isthmus. Here they remained during January, 1831, making the twelfth and fined observations on the pendulum, and also en- deavouring to determine the exact difference of longitude between that place and Panama by observing simultaneously the flash of rockets fired from conspicuous hills on the isthmus. These, however, were not very successful, only. if li 1: •ntf 450 MEMOIR OF ADMIRAL C0LLIN80N. one set of rockets, fired from Gcgona, about midway betwe(in the two places, having been satisfactorily fieen. A few years afterwards, Captain Belcher, in the Sulphur, attempted tluj same experiment from the J*anama side, bat although he was more successful, ho came to the conclusion that it was not a satisfactory way of determining differences of longitude. Captain Forster's untimely death cut short the remainder of their expedition. While passing down the river Cliagres in a small canoe, he carelessly sat on the low and sliglit roofing over the centre of it, which, giving way under liim, precipitated him into the water, and although two of those with him immediately jumped after him, he disappeared under water, and his body was not found until some time after, when searched for by Mr. Collinson. The olhcers and crew of the CJiantidcer showed their feelings on the sudchni loss of their greatly respected head by putting a monument to his memory at Chagres. The Clmntidccr, then under the command of Lieut. Austin (who long after commanded the expedition in searcli of Sir J. Franklin in 1850), on her voyage lunne touched at Jamaica, Cuba, Bermuda, and St. Michael's, and arrived at Falmouth May 17th, 1831. Report on Pendulum Ohservatimis. .. > Dr. Webster gives in an Appendix a summary of the report on these observations made by Mr. Bailey, then I'resident of the lloyal Astronomical Society. There were four different pendulums provided for this expedition, and api)arently at each station three of these were swung ; ol)servations were also made before starting at London and Greenwich, and on returning at London " The most extensive series of pendulum observations ever made." Mr. Bailey gives a list of seventy-nine different sets of pendulum observations made by scientific men in different parts of the world, and says : " The results prove incontest- ably the powerful effects of local attraction on the pendu- lum, since the differences are, in many cases, much greater than any which would arise from error of observation." inp! II.M.a. CHANTICLEER. 46V " ThcHd ;iiow most clearly Umt thero is sonio local iiiflue'ico on the iM;ndulum, with the exact nature of which we are at present unacciuainted, and which baffles all our efforts to deduce the true fi;,Mire of the earth from pendulum exi)eri- inent made at a few places only." Again : " The fono of ^{ravity seems to be greater on islands situated at a distu^.co from the mainland than it is on continents. Such islands are for the most j)art of volcanic origin, and consequently formed of dense materials." From all these observations Mr. Bailey reports the following results : — Of tho Equatorial Diamt'ter. Three foreign voyagers, Leutke, Duperrey, 'j Freycinet, make the compression of the V earth at the poles to be about . . J Two English voyagers, Forster and Sabine, 1 make it about . . . . . j And Professors Bailey and Airey make the^ general result of all known experiments > (at that date) to be about . . ,) The results from measurements of arcs of^ longitude (Sir J. Barrow, Arct. Voy. 1818-46) being . . . An abstract of a report on Tke Chronometer Ohservationa for Longitude, by iJr, Tiarks, is also given in the Appendix. The reporter remarks on Captain Forster's skill and inde- fatigable industry : only two mistakes of any consetiuence. The chronometers irit to the enterj)rise whatever it was, and the more sedate North Briton supplying the perseverance and the thoughtful care. In a memoir of Kellett's services, Richard Collinson writes, " Fond of his jjrofession, a first-rate sailor, a good surveyor, ho delighted in hard work ; and when work was done was foremost in play." His character was now so well established in the Navy that he was not allowed even to visit his home, on leaving the JEtna ; he was seized iij)on immediately by his old " Clianty " friend, now Captain Austin, to join him in what was then a curious novelty in the Navy, a war steam vessel, the Salamander. He joined her in September, 1833, and " she sailed — I beg her pardon, steamed " off to the Tagus soon after, as part of the escoit to the young Queen of Portugal, Dona Maria. After a few months Captain Austin, and a good part of his olficers and crew with him, including Richard Collinson, were transferred to another and still finer specimen of the new craft— 'le Medea, just launched. The midship- man, as he still was, .seems to have taken kindly to the new invention, after getting over the sailor's objection to being in a " smoke-jack," and " little better than a stoker " ; but he never mastered the theory of the steam-engine sufficiently to fully enter into the new power thus given to all sea craft. Nobody indeed in those days realised that a total change in naval warfare had been thereby inaugurated. The Medea was a very fine war-boat for her day, and carried heavy guns of the time, and was, moreover (what all her successors have not succeeded in imitating), a good sea-boat, and a fast one; 10 days 5 hours from Plymouth to Malta, not a bad passage even in these days but she was a paddle-boat, which is a mm \ \ h 4G2 MEMOIR OF ADMIRAL COLLINSON. more ofToctive mmlo of applying stcam-pownr to propel a vessel through the water than the screw. It was also the pride of her captain, and apparently of all in the ship, to show tiy the rest of the Fleet that, notwithstanding the obnoxious funnel, a steamer could l>e kept as clean and trim as any other man-of-war. She joined the squatlron (two thnnv deckers and four other liners) in Vourla Bay (Gulf of Smyrna), where they were then making one of those periodical demon- strations about the Eastern question, which come round as surely as good and bad seasons. Here the Medea was an object of curiosity and admiration, both to the Fleet and to the people of the country. During these four years since he left the Chanticleer he had never ceased negotiating about getting his commission, through all the professional and private interest he couM raise — both of which were very good even in that day. This delay in promoting an officer so well recommended as he was may perhaps be a comfort to some young officers despairing of success in the service they have adopted, and his assiduity in not allowing his name to be forgotten may be an encouragement to them to persevere. After ten years' service he says, " I have never (saving and except the first month) regretted for one moment " (entering the Navy) ; but " I would not give a farthing for a fellow that could not say a good word for himself occai>ionally." And to those who feel that their inventive genius has been unwisely snubbed, the foUowin'' anecdote may be a salve : " Biddlecombe made soj^e improvement in water tanks, and sent it [to head- quarters], and received answer that he need not trouble his head any further about the matter. When he went to pass, Admiral Dundas, overhauling his logs, saw this ; so he said, ' Why did you not present it to the Board ? ' On his reply that he had done so and received such an answer, an inquiry was made, and it was found that one of the clerks had taken on himself to pronounce judgment, for which I am happy to say he got a good wigging." In April, 1835, the long-looked-for day arrived. " How the last week has passed I cannot tell — I can say there nre very Um II.M.S. MEDEA. 4(ta A»w Impiuor. Tho only alloy I have is leaving; my old ahlp- iiiiit(!8." (Tlu!ro wero several " Chantya" on board the Medai, particularly his dear tricnd Lieutenant Williams.) The young lieutenant left immediately, and found his way home through Italy. His qualifications in tho service as a nautical surveyor were now fairly established ; and being twenty-four years old, his personal character was pretty well formed. He had developed that self-reliance and capacity to hold his own, trusting to his own judgment, which came out more strongly ut'terwards, and which seems a necessary part of the character of any man who wishes to succeed as commander in a naval service. These qualities, combined with a strict notion about doing his duty, gave him a reserve and a quickness and severity of decision, really contrary to his inner nature, wliich, as his letters show, and as his private conduct always displayed, was of an affectionate and very generous disposition. His letters now have somewhat formal ex- pressions, indicating an absence of imagination and of facility of expression, curiously contrasting to the next in the family, a sister, who, witli some of his characteristics, had a con- siderable faculty of writing with a lively imagination. H.M.S. Sulphur. In the autumn of 1835, two vessels — the Sulphur, of .380 tons and 109 men, and the Starling, of 110 tons — were fitted out for a surveying expedition to the Pacific. They were to deterraiii he longitude of Eio de Janeiro, which we have seen had been tried by the Chanticlecry but apparently not satisfactorily, notwithstanding the twenty chronometers ; and to survey the west coast of America from Cape Horn up to Mount St. Elias, in lat. 60° N. ; and to make a variety of observations, magnetic, meteorological, and oceanic ; and even to make borings in the Coral Islands to ascertain the substratum. Captain Beechey had the command of the expedition : a man of great reputation as a scientific voyager. But a scien- > 1 1 1 1 ■ 1 1^ 464 MEMOIR OF ADMIRAL COLLINSON. \ tific man is not generally the best person to command a naval expedition even of a scientific character ; that position recjuiros a qualification for ruling men, and for practical sea- mans] lip, which such men are not likely to possess. And Captain liccohey was in bad health when he started, and had to return home in the summer of 1836, He was, however, very kind to the young Lieutcniant CoUinson. When that odicer, radiant with joy at having at length secured his com- mission, arrived in England in the summer of 1835, his fast friend, Captain Ijeaufort (the Hydrographer), received him very warmly, having, no doubt, been mainly instrumental in procuring that prize : " Go home now and see your frie: >3, and when you want employment, write to me." And so we find him in December installed on board tho Sulphur at Portsmouth as third lieutenant and assistant surveyor, a post coveted by young surveyors, not only for the honour, but for the solid addition of five or ten shillings a day to their pay ; this also the lieutenant appears to have owed to the representations of C-aptain ]ieaufort. A good part of his pleasure in joining this expedition on such un agreeable footing was that the consort, the Starling, was com- manded by Lieutenant Kellett, a happy coincidence of whicli we shall hear a good deal more when we come to the Cliina War. The fitting up for the first time of a lieutenant's cabin was an important event in the home circle, wliere there were a good many fair fingers eager to work for it. At the head of these was the mother, who had a quite marvellous faculty of divining what her sons would be most likely to want in any expedition they happened to be starting on. E. Collinson on this occasion thanks her for various useful things which he had intended to buy, — " You think of everything that I can possibly want." In accepting the appointment of assistant surveyor, he was much trouljled about his own capabilities for the post, and anxious to impress on Captain Beechey his deficiencies as a draughtsnmn ; and he contemplates rather despairingly his first serious attempts at " chat-t-building." The expedition sailed in December, 1835, and in passin}? T n'-K? T» n.M.S. SVLPIIUB. 465 down tho Atlantic followed much the same track as the Chanticleer in 1828, On arriving at the west coast of South America, he found his old friends " the Patriots " had not profited much ])y the independence they had been so anxious to obtain. Excepting the Chilians, who had already shown the signs of vitality which have subsequently made them so prosperous, he observes that u half-castes, who constituted the bulk of the population, appeared to be in a state of demoralisation, showing an indolent apathy to any advance in civilisation, and a want of energy to make use of the extraordinary rich productions of the country. The ultimate late of such a population is still a subject for serious inquiry hy the politicians of the civilised world. In March, 1837, Captain E. Belcher (late of the jEtna) joined the Sulphur, having been sent out to Panama to take the place of Captain Beechey. During the interregnum, Lieutenant Kellett had acted as commander, and Collinson as first lieutenant, as well as assistant surveyor ; which two othces he continued to hold under Captain Belcher, adding thereby greatly to his labours, and much to liis subsequent troubles. From previous circumstances the appointment of Captain Belcher caused some trepidation to the first lieu- tenant, as well as to others ; but the new commander behaved with the " greatest possible cordiality," — " No doubt the best man we have," — and all seemed prosperous under so able a head. We have the account of the rest of the work done by the Sulphur from the captain's own hand, published in 1843, on his return home from China. In this account, the variety and interesting nature of the notes and observations recorded are to a great extent spoilt hy the looseness of the expressions, and the frequent intru- sion of the commander's own personal doings : blowing that trunipet the lieutenant complained of before. They tried the experiment made by Captain Forster of determining differences of longitude at the Isthmus of Panama, by the simultaneous observation of rockets or explosions of powder ; but Captain Belcher came to the conclusion that " pocket Wiitcdios, carefully rated, are more trustworthy than rockets," 2 II 11 i \ 466 MEMOIR OF ADMIRAL COLLINSON. The electric telegraph has now superseded all such observa- tions. During the autumn of 1837 they coasted up North America to Mount St. Elias, which the lieutenant calls " the paragon of mountains — Vancouver's description of it, that the Eocky Mountains form a base from which it ' rises, is peculiarly correct." As it is a volcanic cone rising in solitary grandeur from the sea-coast to an altitude of 20,000 feet, we can appreciate this admiration. Captain Belcher mentions the strata of ice and mud in the coast cliffs, and the finding of " dirty " ice on high ridges of the mountain.* The British possessions (according to the assistant sur- veyor) then extended from San Francisco to Mount St. Eliasj. No doubt at one time they might have done so, and would still if British statesmen in accesses of weak generosity had not given away what really was not theirs to give. He also mentions the ever-hospitable Russian settlement of Sitka, of which he was long after to experience the liberality, and the even then superb character of their establishments ; all of which have now passed into the hands of the United States. At San Francisco Harbour they surveyed the whole of that great estuary, and the assistant surveyor says with pride that he trusts he has so fixed its longitude by moon and stars, that it will be for ever after considered as a geogra- phical milestone : a British legacy which it is to be hoped the great Western Eepublic appreciate. He expatiates on the immense advantages of the climate and country for the immigration of a white race, and anticipates (by fifteen years only) the location of a million of inhabitants in it. After this troubles began. Captain Belcher, with all his talents and energy, had some serious failings as a commander ; he was decidedly egotistical, and his good opinion of himself made him rather overbearing to those under him ; and he appears to have had some weakness which made him captious and excitable, and led" him into frequent troubles with his officers. Something not recorded must have occurred between him and Lieutenant CoUinson which roused these ill-feelings, * An interesting account of this mountain will be foand in the Alpine Journal for August 1889. H.M.S. SULPHUR. 467 and iiiduoed him to begin a treatment which at last became so unbearable that uhe lieutenant demanded a court martial for the defence of his honour. The Admiral of the Station desired to effect some satisfactory settlement of the case without having to appeal to that public tribunal, but the young lieutenant felt that the character he had earned during his fifteen years' service, for strict devotion to duty would be sacrificed if he consented to any sort of compromise ; so he was taken out of the Sulphur, and kept on board the flagship, waiting a passage home, in order that the case might be decided by the authorities in England. For some reason not explained in the records, he remained a whole year on board the flagship on the station, during which the favour shown to him by every one from the Admiral downwards was a fair evidence of the opinion on his case. This absolute loss of a whole year's work was a great additional sorrow, but it turned out to be a fortunate detention. He did not arrive in England till November, 1839 ; but he immediately set to work to consult his professional friends as to the course he should pursue to vindicate himself The general recommendation was to trust to his well-known character in the service. Captain Beechey wrote, " I do not think any testimonial of character can improve the high estimation in which he is held by all who know him. All speak of him with the highest encomiums of his amiable disposition and of his upright conduct." But no doubt Captain Beaufort and Captain Austin and other influential friends had been exerting themselves more decisively in his favour, for there is no record, public or private, of any decision at all in the matter by the Admiralty ; and within a month of his return he received an offer from Captain Beaufort to go out to the Chinese War Expedition, which was then commencing, as Surveying Officer to the Fleet. This was a highly honourable and very responsible post, the more so from being something new in naval warfare ; being considered as specially required on this occasion owing to the peculiar character of the operations expected. This offer naturally reinstated him in his own good 2 H 2 t i IJ.«Wl , 468 MEMOIR OF ADMIRAL COLLINSON. opinion, as it was felt to be a complete answer to all charges against him. On thi 18th of February, 1840, having been only two months at home, after all his troubles and anxieties, he joined H.M.S. Blenheim at Portsmouth, in which he was to have a passage out to China, and busied himself in col- lecting and testing the various instruments he required for his new duties. And it so happened that two years after leaving the Sulphur at Valparaiso, he met her again at Canton, but in an independent position, and in some measure on an equality with his late commander. CHINESE WAR. 469 CHAPTER V. The First Chinese War and Survey. 1840-46. , Preamble 1838-9. The first of our several attacks upon China was popularly known at the time as the "opium war," from its having originated by the action of the Chinese Government in endeavouring to stop the traffic of that article in their country. Opium is no doubt a very deleterious drug to be indulged in, worse in its consequences than even the con- sumption of spirits in this country ; and many good people in England from that time to the present have been indig- nant that the traffic in it should be encouraged in any way, or even permitted by our Government. But, notwith- standing all the endeavours of the Chinese Government to control it, it is still indulged in to an enormous extent in China ; and is even now produced in China itself in large quantities. About the time of our first war with China, these endea- vours took the forms of legalising it and prohibiting it alternately ; but whatever the form, opium continued to come in, because, as in the case of French brandy in the old smuggling days, all parties, high and low, official and private, connived at the traffic. And when smuggling was the order of the day, it was perhaps the most lucrative and splendidly organised business that ever defied the law. The opium clippers, bringing the drug from India to the coasts of China, were the fastest and best-found ships afloat, quite war-ships in equipment and armament. Tlie t ' \ i » m 470 MEMOIR or ADMIRAL COLLINSON. present writer once witnessed the process of the smiigglii)(f operation in one of the ir. ny little harbours of that coast. As soon as darkneas covered the waters, a large Jong boat rowed swiftly by some thirty men appeared alongside, and the crew jumped on deck. The Chinese purchasers made at once for the captain's cabin, and brought out their money, for prepayment was the rule, all taken by weight, gold and silver, of all countries, shapes and sizes; mean- time the crew had been packing the balls of opium (about the size of cricket balls) in sashes round their waists ; and in a few minutes all were in their boat again, and it dis- appeared swiftly in the darkness, to land on some desolate spot and scatter the precious balls all over the country; and before daylight the yacht-like clipper had disappeared also. During that period Canton was the only port at which foreigners were permitted to trade ; and though the foreign merchants were allowed to live under the walls of the city, they could only carry on their business through a certain company of Chinese dealers, called I'hc Honrj, or establishment for trade; and the foreign vessels were obliged to anchor in the river some forty miles below the town, in a channel called Whamima. The Chinese autho- rities treated the foreigners in the high-handed and super- cilious manner characteristic of the people, more marked of late years, since the monoply of the East India Company for trade had been abolished : for that great body had been looked upon in the East with respect, as being a government of some sort, incomprehensible indeed to Eastern ideas, as it was invisible to Eastern eyes, but possessed of the essentials of government, soldiers and ships. A captain in the Company's merchant service continued to trade in an old Company's ship, after the trade was fre , as a private adventure ; wlien he first appeared in the Canton Eiver in this more humble form, the Chinese pilot addressed him in the familiar lingo of his tribe : " Hi ya ! you Cappen Tom ! you come before time Company ship — what for you now come common ship, d you eye ? " m^ CHINESE WAR. m This habitual tone of superiority was fostered by the status of the only representative of British authority then in China, who had inherited the old Company title of " Superintendent of Trade," a concern beneath the dignity of a mandarin of any standing, however much he might personally profit by it. By the year 1839 the demands of the Chinese authorities with respect to the opium trade had reached such a pitch, that all other trade with the English was summarily stopped, some opium vessels were arbitrarily seized and confiscated, British subjects were imprisoned, and a demand made for the delivery to the Chinese authorities of all the opium then lying in the Canton Eiver. It was at this period of the affair that the British Government showed their habitual want of appreciation of the matter at issue ; and tlie hesita- tion that ensued was increased by the conduct of the opera- tions being placed in the hands of the Indian Government, who still were considered "Primus in Oriente." The then Superintendent of Trade, Captain Elliott, RN., not being prepared to fight the Chinese Empire, and being naturally of a peace-desiring disposition, endeavoured to temporise : a game at which he was no match for one of the most astute as well as the most ancient of Eastern powers. The Chinese authorities took a high hand, fortified the narrow parts of the river, blocked it by booms, prepared their war junks, boats, fire rafts, &c., and generally defied the British Government ; whilst in the meantime more than 20,000 chests of opium, valued at £2,000,000, were delivered up to them, and, to the honour of the mandarins, were actually destroyed. The Chinese Government was still at that time indulging in the traditions handed down from centuries of power and civilization, of their unir^ue and superior position in the world. The conquest of China by the kindred race of Manchus had no doubt added to this feeling, by introducing the more military tone of that powerful people ; but it had also introduced an element of weakness. Notwithstanding the two centuries of domination, the Tatar conquerors every- where in China were still the foreign rulers, and their authority in each great city was supported by a garrison of ll f >i m J^ j-'r .11 ! "1 1 SifTPir' j 472 MEMOIR OF ADMIRAL COLLINSON. Tatar troops occupying a distinct enclosure or sort of citadol. The Chinese proper are a peaceful race, obedient and indus- trious, but most material in their ideas and without spiritu- cility : they have no inherent objection to live in amity and commerce with other peoples, being social and good-humoured, and were on the whole perhaps more ready to assist the English than their own Government ; they got better i)ay for doing so, which goes a long way with a Chinaman. Tluis, there were two parties in the country, as concerned these dealings with the English ; and the Imperial Court, being, 'm its far-distant capital, entirely ignorant of the real state cf affairs at Canton, was influenced sometimes by the peace party and sometimes by the war party. A strong show of British naval and military power in 1838 or 1839, in one of the northern ports, conveying a determination to establish an equitable intercourse, and at the same time to be just and peaceful, would, judging by subsequent events, have saved much of the war operations, not only of that time but of the still more extensive ones on subsequent occasions. The first person apparently to perceive the full conditions of the affair was the then Prime Minister, Lord Palmerston ; it was due to his initiative that in 1840 a considerable naval and military expedition was prepared both from England and from India to act on the northern coast of China. And it was not only the extent of the operations required, but the peculiar character of them jointly naval and military, that had to be considered. The coast of China is intersected by a succession of harbours and outlying islands, and by large navigable rivers having broad embouchures ; the soil brought down by these numerous rivers appears to have been, during past ages, filling up the sea and connecting the islands into one expanse of level country, which for the most part is now highly cultivated and studded with populous towns carrying on an extensive inland traffic; and the many natural water channels have led the people to use this valuable means of communication to a great extent. The Grand Canal of China is a highway of traffic extending from north to south % CHINESE WAIt. 473 over the alluvial plain near the coast, and the intersections of this highway with the navigable rivers afford an access to it for sea-going ships. Hence tlie idea arose, on the suggestion of Lord Colchester (wlio had visited the country in Lord Amherst's Embassy), of entering the great river, the Yawj- tsc-kiang, with a naval force, and occupying the towns at the points where the canal meets it, as a means of producing an impression of British power on both the Government and the people ; and in the end the execution of this idea did produce the desired effect, though only after considerable expenditure in men and means, in attacking and occupying other places of less importance. The conditions, therefore, of the country offered an unusu- ally favourable opportunity for displaying the peculiar power of Great Britain in the use of joint naval and military oper- ations. The British Government were enabled to assemble in a few months, from England, from the Cape, from India, and from Ceylon, a considerable force of ships and troops : this force, as the resistance of the Chinese was found to be more determined than was expected, was gradually increased, until at the final advance up the Yang-tse-kiang it amounted to 20 war-ships (10 of which were line-of-battle), and 9000 land troops (iTnglish and Indian), carried in 45 transports. With this Armada they moved from point to point along the coast, virtually carrying their base along with them, appearing suddenly in front of a city, bombarding and assaulting it, afterwards occupying some secure position near it, then moving the main body on to another port and repeating the operation. To the Chinese the appearance of such a force must have been like the advance of the Turco- man hordes upon the refined civilization of the Byzantine Empire, or the invasion of the Eoman territory by Theodoric ; with this difference, that the Chinese soon found that the enemy they had to deal with was not only much more powerful in war than themselves, but exercised a humanity and consideration unusual in the East. The military power of the Chinese Empire was then virtually defunct ; though every city, and indeed almost every village, v/as enclosed in a \ 1, A ^ ' t" ■ • ' n": ■ ' \ \' 1 i 474 MEMOUi OF ADMIRAL COLLINSON. well-built wail, and tliere were large numbers of trained soldiers, with matchlocks and good cannon, besides bows and spears ; and though they made most strenuous efforts in pre- parations by sea and land, and in some cases showed a courageous devotion, they had been for so long unaccustomed to meet a powerful enemy, that the resistance was seldom prolonged. It is evident, therefore, that this character of warfare offered a very favourable opening to the newly-created Surveyor to the Fleet. He was to be the pioneer of the expedition, to sound and mark the way for the great ships up the channels, and therefore to be in the forefront of every operation. It was an unfortunate, but a characteristic defect in the British arrangements, that no special provision had been made for the peculiar duties of the expedition. As long as tlie troops were in the transports, they were under the care of the Navy ; they could not even land without nava' permission, but on the other hand when landed they were left to their own resources in an unknown country, and were to a great extent cut off from the base of their supplies. The operations suffered accordingly, and indeed in this matter, of the defect of a proper provision for the connection between the troops and transports in this kind of joint opera- tion, there still remains much to be desired. And in the case of the Chief Pilot of the Fleet, instead of providing him and his colleagues with small fast steamers, it was only after the first year that he had any vessel under his own command ; and that was only a sailing brig of some 200 tons, which had been a pilot boat in the Hooghly, and was therefore built to ride and not to sail. Happily for the war pilots the Chinese, among their peculiar ideas of warfare, considered it right to reserve their fire until they were fired upon, and thus the pioneers were generally able to pursue their reconnaissances without opposition from the enemy. .' , r Chusan — Peiho — Canton — 1840-41. In June, 1840, the main body of the expedition arrived at the Portuguese settlement of Macao, situated at the entrance ^^)l CHINESE WAR. 475 of the Canton River on the south-west aide ; it consisted of 6 war vessels, 4 steamers, and 22 transports, containing 3 English and 1 Indian regiment, with artillery and engi- neers, in all ahout 4000 troops. They sailed north immedi- ately to carry out Lord Palmerston's idea of occuping some place of importance ; and the place selected was the island of Chrisan, which lies close to the mainland, about 900 miles N. of the Canton River; a not very happy choice, as it turned out, being too outlying a position to produce the desired effect on the Imperial Government, and too large to be a desirable permanent possession. The Chinese were not prepared for this sudden move, and made but little defence; the real difficulties began after taking posses- sion, for the town taken was deserted by the Chinese, and difficulties arose about getting supplies and cover for the troops. Part of the expedition went further north in August, with the plenipotentiaries appointed by the British Government to treat with the Chinese Government, and anchored off the Peiho River, which comes from Pekin. Here they were met by Kcshen, a mandarin of the highest rank, and member of the Imperial Cabinet, and who is described as one of the most enlightened and reasonable officials of all those whom the British had to deal with. But with the weakness of an effete government, the great object of Chinese diplomacy was to persuade the invaders to go away from the neighbourhood of the Court ; and they succeeded, on the plea that the proper place to discuss the complaint of the British was at Canton, where the injury occurred. So by the end of 1840 we find the expedition concentrated in the Canton River again, excepting the force left in possession of Chusan, which, after considerable sickness and suffering, was now well supplied by the Chinese. The Surveyor of the Fleet had arrived at Chusan in the Blenheim in July, after its occupation, and was employed during the winter in making a survey of that httle archipelago of islands. • - . In the spring of 1841 the war party had got the ascendency at Pekin. The appearance of the British force on the north ili 1 > 47G MEMOIR OF ADMIRAL COLLINSON. \ coast had disturbed the calm created by the report of tlie Viceroy at Canton, whicli was to the effect that the bar- barians had been quashed in that province ; and accordingly that ofhcial, in compliance with Chinese custom, was made to suffer for his error by being degraded. The point and terseness of the sentence of degradation (wliich was found among tlie official papers at Canton) is worthy of Tliomas Carlyle : " You have caused the waves of confusion to arise, and a tliousand interminable disorders are sprouting ; in fact, you 'lave been as if your hands were tied, without knowing what to do : it appears that you are no better than a wooden image." The waves of confusion having broken on the shores of the Pcifu), the war party determined to put at Canton something better than a wooden image. But the proceedings of these new and more war-like authorities in delaying the settlement of the affair, while they were strengthening the defences of Canton and massing large bodies of troops in its neighbourhood, at last compelled the peaceable English plenipotentiaries to resort again to strong measures. Canton is about 70 miles up the river from Macao ; the river below the city is broken into several channels; tlie princi'^al one is 15 miles wide at the mouth, but about half- way up narrows at once to a channel 1^ to 2 miles wide, and some miles long, with small islands in it, the ground rising abruptly in small hills. This passage was named by the Portuguese " Bocca Tigris," cut down in Anglo-Chinese lingo to " The Bogue." Here the Chinese had always had forts, which they now strengthened and armed and manned. In January, 1841, a British force of 7 war-ships and 2 steamers, with 1400 men, went up the river and attacked and took the outermost of these forts, the Chinese troops making a fair defence under the circumstances. Upon this their authorities began to treat inmiediately ; but of this treaty the only two articles that were eventually carried out, were the evacuation of Chusan by the British, and the surrender of the island of Hong Kong to Great Britain. The evacuation of Chiisan gave encouragement to the war party, and Canton was further strengthened ; the remaining Bogue forts had 340 guns alto- OHINESB WAR, 477 <,'othGr inountod in tliem, and barriers of rafts and chain 3al)lo8 were stretched across the principal channel. In January two other surveying vessels appeared in the Canton River, the Sulphur and the Starling, from which Lieut. Collinson had parted two years before on the W. coast of America ; these, on their way home by China, had fallen into the stream of the war, and were immediately set to work to discover some channel by which the large vessels could get up to Canton ; for it was till then supposed to be impracticable. Kellett, in he Starling, found a passage at the Bogue forts practicable for battle-ships, which the Chinese had omitted to block up ; and on February 25th ten war-ships passed up by it, and the whole of the forts were taken. The Sulphur then piloted the war-ships up to the reach at the lower end of the city. Again the negotiations for treaty began, and again led to nothing but procrastination and a further increase to the defences of the city ; it was therefore determined that Canton itself should be taken. About this time Lieut. Collinson arrived from Chusan, and took part at once in the recon- naissances which were now made of the channels leading to the city. By a happy chance he never met Captain Belcher, but he was frequently with Kellett in the Starling. Canton lies almost entirely on the north side of the river ; it is a walled city, and on the N.W. side of it, beyond the waUa, are some eminences overlooking the town. From the upper end of the town a separate channel of the river led direct down to Macao, and as this was supposed to be im- passable for war-ships, it was not strongly fortified. It was therefore resolved to send a large body of troops in the vessels of lighter draught by this channel to land above the town and seiza those heights ; while the larger war-vessels, with other troops, forced their way up the main channel and landed at the foreign factories (which were at the lower end of the town and had been sacked by the Chinese mob). Kellett and Collinson explored this Macao passage in the Starling, and met with little opposition. On sending a warning to one fort, " about two hours after an interpreter |i li i 478 MEMOIR OF ADMIRAL COLLINSON. m came alongside to say that if we attacked the fort it was the intention of the Mandarin not to fire ' plums ' (i.e. shot), but that he hoped we would not come on too hot, because they wished to remove their traps." Kellett's account of this was that the messenger said : " He Number one Mandalee say supposee you no put pxum in gun he no puttee plum in — he makee facee fire — then go way." And that his reply was : " Tell the Mandarin he is a gentleman, and we shall be happy to see him to breakfast." Captain Belcher, in the Sulphur, explored the upper part of the Macao passage right up to the city, and selected the place of landing for the troops. In the course of one of the numerous engagements during April, Lieut. Collinson with his supporting force got up to the city, " and found the Plenipo' with a flag of truce up as usual. It appears to me a most strange policy that the victorious party should not compel the vanquished to hoist the white flag first." There was good evidence that the people of the place were not on the side of their Government. " In chasing a man- darin boat, the inhabitants readily pointed out the way she had gone, and heartily cheered our men when she was captured." The Viceroy Keshen reported to the Emperor that the Chinese at Canton would not assist against the English. On the 24th May (Her Majesty's birthday was saluted as usual to give notice to the Chinese that they were coming) the attack was made, and by nightfall the northern heights and the foreign factories were both in possession of the troops. Captain Belcher piloted the northern division, and Collinson that up the main channel. Fourteen fire-rafts were sent down upon the division in the main channel, some chained together, so as to catch across the bows of a vessel, but they were all pulled clear of the ships by the. boats ; forty-five junks were destroyed; there were some intricate channels to get through under 'ire,- and massive obstacles in the river, lines of bamboo caissons filled with stones, and also junks sunk ; " we destroyed sixty-four cannon, three of 10^ inches bore and 13 feet long." But the Chinese made little resistance when the war-ships came near. Next r CHTNE8E WAS. 479 morning considerable trouble and danger to the British force was occasioned by the procrastination between the Chinese authorities and the " Plenipo' " in coming to a distinct settlement; this delay, as the British troops were only about 2200, and the Chinese were 20,000, was an anxious time to the commanders. A final agreement was at last come to, and, under the pressure of the iinanswerable shot and shell, was carried out this time in full. The Chinese paid an indemnity of £1,200,000, besides the value of the injury done to the factories, trade was reopened on fair terms, and Hong Kong became a British possession. Among the promotions given for this success at Canton, Lieutenants Kellett and Collinson were made Commanders. ii t ; Amoy — Chusan — NiNGPO — 1841. The British Government had by this time realised that this Chinese affair was of larger importance than a mere settlement of trade at Canton : that it was, in fact, the begin- ning of a new epoch in the relations between China and the rest of the world ; and they had determined to persevere in the operations until the Chinese Government recognised that there was at least one foreign power with whom it was to their interest to be on terms of friendly equality. They had, therefore, sent out reinforcements of troops and ships, and what was of equal importance, a new plenipotentiary, the well ? nown Indian officer, Sir H. Pottinger, a new admiral, that fine seaman Sir W. Parker, and a new general, the gallant Sir H. Gough ; the latter, indeed, arrived in time to command at the capture of Canton. In August, 1841, the whole available force of troops and ships, leaving only a garrison for Hong Kong and a guard for the Canton Eiver, proceeded northward. There were three divisions of ships :— War-ships. Transports. 3 . . 7 under a War-ship. No. 1 Division 3 Steamers 6 8 and on board were the 18th, 26th, 49th, and 55th British regiments, with artillery and engineers, and a company of 11' (f , *{ 480 MEMOIR OF ADMIRAL COLLINSON. the 36tli Madras Native Infantry ; altogether about 2700 men. The first place attacked was Amot/, a large seaport on an island in an estuary about 300 miles north of Canton. Here the Chinese had made considerable preparations : mainly a lonfr battery near the entrance, built of granite, with casemated embrasures, and with a bank of earth against the face, and mounting ninety-sir guns. The Surveyor of the Fleet was now in his own little vessel, the Hooghly pilot boat, then called the Bentinch, which " he hopes to make worthy of her name"; and to complete his satisfaction Kellett was with the expedition in the Starling, the Sulphur having gone home from Canton. Admiral Parker 'r his despatch reporting this affair, says, '* The Bentinck was aj.^>ointed to sound the channel ahead of the Wdlesley (and had therefore to pass along the above battery), which Lieutenant CoUinson skilfully per- formed, and then gallantly anchored the brig within the entrance of the harbour." In two hours the Chinese batteries were silenced, for, in fact, with all their care and energy, they were unable to traverse their guns, and so could only fire usefully when a ship came directly in front of the guns. The small island of Koolongso opposite the town was taken pos- session of, and a guard of troops and ships left there, which was retained for some years, until the full completion of the final treaty. In September, 1841, the island of Chusan was retaken. Here again the Chinese had made extraordinary additions to the defences since it was abandoned by the British in February. Batteries mounting 200 guns had been erected, and the harbour was quite blocked against the entrance of ships. But they had not calculated on the landing of troops and guns outside the harbour, by which manoeuvre positions were occupied by the British force commanding the defences ; and thus taken in flank, the Chinese troops, an irregular sort of force, soon disappeared from the scene altogether, and the place was reoccupied, and retained until the full completion of the final treaty. The surveys of Lieutenant CoUinson came into good use on this re occupation, copies of it being distri- buted to the fleet. "I CHINESE WAB. 481 In October the main body of the expedition proceeded to Ningpo, a town of 600,000 inhabitants, on the mainland opposite Chusan, and a few miles up a navigable river. The entrance to the river (Chinhac) was well fortified on favour- able heights, and the river was piled, and defended by war- junks and gunboats ; some 14,000 Chinese troops, and 150 guns, both brass and iron, made in the place, after Engl'sh patterns. The ascent of this river gave good oppor- tunities to the Bentinck. Admiral Parker says, " Bentinck has rendered much valuable service in surveying. Com- mander CoUinson's exertions are unremitting; he is daily adding valuable information." And an equally gratifying recognition came from the Hydrographic Office in the in- crease of his surveying pay from 5s. to 20s. a day. After the capture of this place there was a lull in the operations during the winter ; but the surveyors were hard at work exploring the coast and channels preparatory to an advance up the Yang-tse-kianff. In the course of this service they had some skirmishes with the enemy : the Bentinck went up the Ningpo Pdver some 20 miles, in company v.ith a small force, and unexpectedly captured a town ; " by the spirited conduct shown by Captain Bourchier and Commanders Wi. son and Collinson," says the Admiral. In March, 1842, the Chinese commanders, conceiving by the inaction of the invaders that they were downhearted, made an attack on Ningpo, and actually got into the city, but paid very dearly for it, by meeting the fire of the artillery in the narrow streets ; this stopped any further attempts. The Surveyor was sent with the PhlcgdJion steamer and the Bentinck to explore a river 30 miles from Ningpo, and which leads from the town of Chnjnu to the capital of the province Hangclwu ; but lie found the tide too strong in it (llj^ miles an hour), and the water too shallow for naval operations. Having heard of his promotion, he writes, " I am now wedded to this expedition — never had a person such an opportunity of acquiring honour, and rendering himself use- ful." — " We had a most beautiful sight the night before last ; no less than 70 fire-rafts, all on fire, came down the river 2 I m i ill IP'' 1 '■|l !■ /( J 4&2 MEMOIR OF ADMIRAL COLLINSON. {Ningpo). They were Ijoats filled with * traw, among which rosin had been strewed and oil, with a couple of boxes of powder." — " I hope we shall have the means to fly at higher game, and that it will not be necessary to carry ruin and devastation into more places than can be avoided." The commanders of the expedition were waiting for reinforce- ments, with a view to the taking of Nanking. But in May, 1842, it was determined to take the town of Chapu. This was the first occasion on which the expedition came in contact with the real Tatar troops of the Empire, and the recorcd agree as to the superior quality of them, and their des- perate determination to die at their posts ; they killed them- selves (and their families) rather than fall into our hands. As Chapu was immediately evacuated again, the Surveyor says, " I cannot justify the attack, which without some ulterior object must certainly have somewhat of the buccaneer about it." But this affair brought credit to him and his friend and colleague Kellett. In the Admiral's despatch on the affair he says, " Commanders Kellett and CoUinson have been indefatigable in surveying every part we have had to navigate ; they succeeded in sounding out the channel during the night, thus enabling the ships to take up excellent posi- tions." And he mentions the spirited exertions of Lieutenant Bate of the Bentinck, who was to be Collinson's right-hand man and trusted friend for four years afterwards. Indeed Sir W. Parker thought so well of the Surveyors' work that he wrote a special despatch about it : "I avail myself of this occasion to express my opinion of the great advantage the expeditionary forces are constantly deriving from the zealous and able exertions of Commanders Kellett and CoUinson, and the surveying officers under them ; by which we are enabled to navigate the fleet and to approach the various points of attack with confidence." A good testimonial to the sagacity of the Hydrographer in providing such a branch of the undertaking. %^ CHINESE WAR, 483 Mil Yang-tse-kiang, 1842. Early in June, 1.842, the whole force advanced up the Yang-tse-Hang, upon the great ohjective point of the expe- dition. The reinforcements had now arrived, and the follow- ing very respectable naval and military body entered the mouth of this great artery ; had it appeared there two years before it would probably have saved much bitter feeling many lives, and great property. Naval Force. 10 Battle-ships. 5 Steam Frigates. 5 Smaller Steam Vessels. 2 Surveying Vessels. Military Force. 1st Brigade . 3i Regiments (British and Indian). 2nd „ " >t M » 3rd „ • " »» »> >» Artillery . . 5^ Batteries and 4 Companies (Lascars), Engineers . . 3 Companies (Madras). Conveyed in 5 Troop-ships and 40 Transports (comprising 3000 tons). Among the reinforcements was one regiment which brought much gratification to Commander CoUinson, the 98th, then under Colonel Colin Campbell (Lord Clyde) ; a subaltern in which was Lieutenant L. Shadwell (son of the Vice-Chan- cellor, and therefore almost a brother to a CoUinson), and who long after wrote the life of his distinguished chief Another subaltern was Lieutenant Wade, who afterwards by his re- markable knowledge of the Chinese and their language became Minister of Great Britain to the Court of China. There were also two Captain Edwards in the regiment, old friends and schoclfellows of the Comir'nder. The expedition did not go straight to NanJcing, but stopped to attack the large seaport town of Shangliae at the entrance of the river on the south side. It is about fifteen miles (geographical) up a smaller river, and therefore there was the same operation as at Ningpo, of first taking Woosung, at the 2x2 I 1, t 1 484 MEMOIR OF ADMIRAL COLLINSOK entrance. The Chinese ofl'ered no great resistance here, apparently not having expected an attack. The difficulties were mainly for the Surveyors in getting the large fleet safely along this great estuary. " The land in the neighbourhood of the entrance (of the Yang-tse-hiang) is very low, and the shoals and banks extend a long distance from the shore, so there are no marks by wliich to avoid them. Kellett's plan therefore was to anchor vessels, so as to guide the course for the deepest water. The Woosung batteries were somewhat similar to those at Amoy, and with this difficulty, that the channel (in the Shanghae Eiver) leading up to them is only two cables in width. This we sounded and buoyed during the night ; and as we dropped the last buoy, which was within 400 yards of the principal fort, the Chinese gave us three cheers. I retm-ned them many thanks for the comph- ment, and felt particularly obliged that they did not fire. The next morning, the wind being foul, the TennaHcrim steamer took the Blonde in tow, which vessel I was ordered to conduct into position ; the imfortimate Plover (as the Bentinck had now been re-named) being left outside the river as a beacon, and not allowed to earn a laurel for her new name, which new naipe, by-the-bye, I think a most rascally proceeding. We led in, being closely followed by the Corn- wallis (the flag-ship), conducted by Kellett. Both vessels got into position without accident, and were followed by Modeste, Columbine, Clio, and Algerine." Shanghae was taken a few days afterwards without any resistance ; part of the troops having marched by land from Woosung. The invaders were impressed here with the handsome appearance of the town, and the beauty of the private houses and their furniture. Shanghae is now one of the most important centres of foreign trade. On July G, 1842, the advance up the great river began. The city of Nankimj (the capital of the ancient kings of the Ming dynasty) is about 200 miles (geographical) above Woosung, on the south side of the Yang-tse-kiang ; for about half-way up that distance the river is more than five miles wide, with tortuous channels among sandbanks, then CHINESE WAR. 485 it narrows suddenly to less than a mile, and small hills appear on the vast plain. From this up to Chin-kiang-fu (60 miles geographical), and thence to Nanking (40 miles further), the channel continues from a quarter to two miles wide, and at the latter place is 24 fathoms deep. The Plover and the Starling had to keep ahead of the expedition the whole way, sounding out the channel and placing buoys to guide the ships. The progress of this immense" Armada" was sufficient of itself to terrify the Chinese, for it must have been one of the most imposing, as it was one of the most enterprising of war preparations ever made. The ships moved in divisions with spaces of one or two miles between each division. At about 70 miles above Woosung the tide ceased to act, and the ships had either to wait for a fair wind or to be towed. The Surveyor says the navigation was easier than they expected, and was not interfered with to any serious extent by the Chinese, who apparently had been expecting the attack to be made at Pekin. By the 20th of July the whole expedition was assembled opposite Chin" kiang-fu. This was the real objective point of the attack, because it is here that the Grand Canal debouches on to the river from both north and south, the object of the expedition being to blockade it so as to stop this great highway of traffic. Chin-kiang-fu is a very fine' walled city on the south side of the river, and here the Chinese, encouraged by the presence of a body of selected Tatar troops under a general of high character, had determined to make one more effort to drive back the invaders. The whole appearance of the place, as seen afterwards, displayed wealth and refinement, combined with great order and cleanliness. In the suburbs were country houses of the citizens handsomely laid out and furnished with the most tasteful of those elaborate articles such as now come from Japan to adorn our mansions in England. In raid-channel of the river lay the two islands, called for the richness of their appearance, both natural and artificial, the Golden and Silver Islands ; the surrounding country, broken by gentle hills, was so beautifully wooded that the name of Arcadia was at once given to it. -''■'A ■ ;tv?'AV V*«.f "' III-' . II.. I I Jl} i! .1 Hi 486 MEMOIR OF ADMIRAL COLLINSON. " Kinshan, or Golden Island, is a bijou of a place, situated in the middle of the river, and only about a quarter of a mile in extent ; it rises to the height of 200 feet very abruptly, the trees springing out from every crevice that has earth sufficient for the roots. At the top is a handsome pagoda. The Emperor's palace has gone much to decay ; his throne, however, is still to be seen, as also the Empress's. I regret exceedingly that the library, which was very extensive and in capital condition, was not secured before the peace, as it would have given us a valuable insight into Chinese learuing. All the books were in rosewood boxes. " There were also some magnificent books of plates pour- traying the Manchu conquest, and one with views of all the Emperor's palaces ; these were packed in japanned boxes, and covered with rich yellow satin. The margins of the pages rivalled our best albums in embossed figures and elegant designs, all neatly gilded." This magnificent scene of long ages of peace and content- ment was tc be stained with one more desperate act. The Chinese had posted part of their force four or five miles out of the city, and left the city itself apparently undefended, by which the invaders were led into a false security ; but their force was sufficient to overcome all defence, for the British troops were 12,000 strong, including seamen and marines, and the Chinese force in the city only about 2400; the strength of their force outside is not mentioned. While one brigade went to attack the outlying force, the other two brigades, by escalading the walls or blowing open the gates, got inside. The Tatars then most gallantly endeavoured to recover it, by a desperate fight in the streets, and when all failed, killed both themselves and their families. The capture of Chin-kiang-fu closed the hostilities of the war ; for although the expedition ascended to Nanking, there was no attempt at defence, and the High Commis- sioners appointed by the Emperor, after some fencing oft", came on board the flag- ship to make terms of peace with the British plenipotentiaries. Immediately after the taking of Chin-kiang-fu, the Plover and Starling, accompanied by a ^ DO', CHINESE WAR. 487 steamer, went on to within sight of Nanking, and the two Surveyors returned in the steamer to report. The wliole force got up to Nanking by the 8th of August ; but it was the 20th before the Chinese Commissioners finally gave in. Once more they attempted the procrastinating and shirking game, and it was only the actual landing of troops that finally convinced them that Sir H. Pottinger was not a man to be deceived by fine speeches. During the progress of the negotiations the British invaders had an opportunity of examining this renowned city. They were, however, on the whole disappointed ; the influence and the wealth oi Nanking had decayed, no doubt since the Imperial Court had been removed to Pekin on the Manchu conquest. Although the walls were of vast extent, four-fifths of the space enclosed was open ground, and the condition of almost all the ancient public buildings was dilapidated. In the suburbs outside the walls on the S.E. side were the monu- ments of the ancient kings, approached by an avenue of colossal stone figures of animals ; one of these sacred build- ings was the Hall of Ancestors, 250 by 200 feet, the roof of it being supported on wood pillars, and covered witli yellow tiles, richly glazed, so as to give a golden lustre to it outside. In the southern suburb, and not in the city as might be expected, was the renowned Porcelain Tower, which is fully described in Ouchterlony's ' Account of the War.' It was a pagoda (or sacred temple) of ten stories, and stood in the centre of an elevated quadrangle, forming a sort of pedestal to it, the whole height being (apparently) 200 feet, and the height of the tower itself 140 feet. The peculiar beauty of it consisted in its being faced both outside and in with bricks and tiles of the porcelain clay (kaolin) of various colours, some of which were moulded into figures and plants all properly coloured. The plan of it was octagonal, and each story had its little roof of glazed yellow tiles ; the tall pointed roof crowning it was surmounted by a pine-apple richly gilt, with gold chains hanging from it. From the corners of tha roofs of each story hung bells, and in each of the eight faces f ; 488 MEMOIR OF ADMIRAL COLLINSON. was a doorway witli a pointed arch. This beautiful monu- ment of Chinese art was destroyed during tlie Taeping rebellion, in 1850-63. On the 29th of August, 1842, the final treaty of peace was signed, and on that occasion a special meeting of the high officers on both sides with the leaders of the expedition was held on board the flag-ship, the Cornwallis. A picture of this meeting was painted at the time by an officer, and afterwards engraved : the two Surveyors of the Fleet, Kellett and Collinson, figure in it. The main terms of the treaty were that the Chinese Government should pay an in- demnity of £4,250,000, and that five additional ports should be opened to foreign trade. Thi^ treaty was carried out; but the Chinese Government were not yet prepared to give up their old exclusiveness and their ideas of superiority. It required two more expeditions, the last one in 1858-60, in the course of which the joint forces of the French and English captured Pekin, before the Imperial Court could be brought to understand their true position in the world with respect to other nations. Since that date the Chinese have greatly expanded their ideas, and are now begin- ning to take their place in the general comity of civilised States. But probably the first revelation to them of the beginning of a new era in their history a\ as the sight, by the vast population bordering the Yang-tsc-kiang, of that long succession of huge vessels, extending over a length of probably ten miles, slowly sailing into the interior of their hitherto inviolate country. Honours and rewards were given on the termination of the war. The two Surveyors were promoted to the rank of Post-Captain, and made Companions of the Bath. Admiral Sir W. Parker, in recommending them for this promotion, says, that " all difficulties have been overcome by the unre- mitting exertions of Commanders Kellett and Collinson, in advancing up 170 miles of river altogether unknown, and in which the rapid tides created unusual obstacles ;" and in mentioning their claims for the other honour, he points out that they had been employed from almost the beginning of WT m CHINESE SURVEY. 489 the war in every operation, and their services had been spoken of on each occasion with the highest commendation. They were also specially mentioned in the despatches of the plenipotentiary, Sir H. Pottiuger. They were promoted in December, 1842. The Survey of the Coast. The Plover and Starling immediately set to work to survey the Yang-tsc'hiamj from Nanking to the moutli ; and by the middle of November, 1842, they had completed it, and were at ChiLsan : " a work which will give more credit to Kellett and myself than all the Chinese actions that were ever fought." He had now begun to realise that there was another duty that came in his path, namely, the survey of the ports that had been opened to foreign traffic by the treaty ; and that he must not think of returning home at present : " I had rather continue my labours for two years ; the field is a rich one, and will establish a man's name for many a generation." — " I cannot with propriety offer to leave while there is a necessity for my services." Captain Beaufort had such a good opinion of his work as a surveyor, that he kept him there until he had finished the whole coast from Chusan to Hong Kong, which was not till the spring of 1846. In the summer of 1843 he was at Hong Kong, preparing the charts of his winter's work for transmission home. Hong Kong in the two years of its occupation had become a flourishing British settlement: this island was no doubt selected from its being the nearest harbour on the coast of China to Singapore ; but its occupation will no doubt involve some day the necessity of another and more secure harbour in the north of the Chinese dominions ; for the trade is now chiefly with the northern parts of China and with Japan, and Hong Kong Harbour has the military disadvantage of being formed and commanded on one side by the mainland of China. Chusan is certainly too large an island for the purpose we require : the Pescadores, on the west side of Formosa, and which were suggested by Lieutenant Collinson when on his 1' '1 f (I 400 MEMOIR OF ADMIRAL COLLINSON. way to China in 1840, would probably have met all the requiieraents of the time. The British merchants, feeling the insecurity of the Chinese ports, had flocked to Hong Kong, and had already planted along the northern shore of the island a line of those im- posing structures known over Eastern Asia as godoions (or goods depots), a style of building which gave rise at tliat time to a new denomination in architecture. Being con- structed, as everything else was done, under the superinten- dence of the compi-adore (or steward) of the establisliment, it was fitly called the Compra Doric Order. However incongruous in style, the upper floors which formed the sumptuous and most hospitable apartments of the princely merchants were complete internally. At this time Captain Kellett returned home ; " I am sorry to part with him, and regret that I am not accompanying him home. We have been so long together, and each year has increased my regard and esteem for him." A small schooner, the Young Hebe, was now added to the Plover, and put under the command of Lieutenant Bate, an excellent officer and a good man, and the lifelong friend of Captain Collinson. He lost liis life in leading the storming party at the assault of Canton in 1857. The main work of the survey now began. Nautical surveying is carried on similarly to land surveying by triangles ; only instead of measuring Ox calculating the sides of the triangles as the land surveyor does, the nautical surveyor lays them down at once on paper from the observed angles. Equally, however, with the land surveyor he re- quires that some one side of a triangle be actually measured in order to get a correct scale for his drawing. The sound- ings, which are so important a part of the chart, are obtained by passing in boats from one known point to another, the ships being of course one or more of these points, sounding the whole way as fast as possible ; but as it is often necessary to determine the position of a point in mid waters, the surveyor, staying the boat, takes the angles with a sextant between three or four known points, which enables him to fix the CHINESE sun VET. m position where the boat tlien is, on the clmrt. In tliis way the survey is carried along a coast, and in favourable positions they remain for some days, and take astronomical observations, with a transit instrument or a large theodolite, to determine the latitude and longitude ; which calculations are considered as fixing absolutely those positions, between which the rest of the survey has to be made to agree. Thus, it will be seen, nautical surveying is a more interesting work than land surveying, and offers a greater opening to the personal skill and powers of observation of an educated officer ; for tliere is scarcely any object or natural action in the heavens, or earth, or sea, that he has not to take perpetual cognisance of. It is also evident that much more depends on the skill of the officer, and indeed it is remarkable considering the simplicity and quickness of the proceeding, and the un- favourable conditions under which it has often to be carried on, how accurate the charts are. But there is always this danger, unknown to land surveying, that notwithstanding all their care some rock or shoal may lie beneath the waters undiscovered. In the course of this most interesting duty the survf»vors had many opportunities of intercourse with the Chinese authorities and people, and they report that they found them invariably civil and well-disposed, though shy of inter- course. The captain expresses himself in his letters as greatly impressed with the order and peaceful industry and highly-civilised condition of the sea-board of the Chinese Empire. Each of the surveying vessels had a Chinaman on board as interpreter, who were persons sufficiently edu- cated for their ordinary wan<-s ^n board, and also for enabling the surveyors to obtain the Chinese names for the places, which were all marked on the original charts in Chinese characters. It speaks well for the conduct of the officers and crews of the surveying vessels, that no quarrels or troubles with the Chinese occurred during the three years' survey ; a peaceable condition which was in a great measure due to the example of the captain. The chief interpreter of the forces during the war, Mr. Gutzlaff, spoke frequently to the ; \ 'If f 492 MEMOIR OF ADMIRAL COLLINSOK present editor, of the patient and forbearing behaviour of Captain Collinson, on many occasions, when he was with him in advance of the troops. On one occasion even the interpreter was roused by the perverse obstinacy of the Chinese. " Now," he said, '* Captain Collinson, it is time for you to be in a rage." " We'll wait a little," said the captain. In March, 1844, being in the Eiver Min (lat. 26°), he thought it proper to call upon the Viceroy of the Province of Fokien, who resided at Fuchoufu, the capital. " I sent the Young Hebe up off the famous bridge at Fuchoufu, and as it happened to be the Chinese new year, she was gaily dressed out in flags in honour of the festival, which appeared to give great satisfaction. The myriads that were constantly cruising round her was quite ridiculous. The curiosity to see the barbarian ship brought multitudes of well-dressed ladies afloat. I found several mandarins on board, to whom I expressed my wish to pay my respects to the Tsungtuh * of the two provinces. They said I could not see him unless I had some business. I then said I had done the State some service in taking two pirates. ... It ended in my saying I should present myself at the city gates on Monday morning. Accordingly on that day I landed with all the officers that could be spared; we were received by the Tactual* and ushered through a large body of armed soldiers to a room where a feast had been prepared for us. ... I said I had come to see the Tsungtuh, not to eat. We were then ushered in great state to another room, where we found His Excellency seated on a dais, chairs being provided for us. After a short interview, we took our leave. . . . The mandarins, to the number of forty, forming a line on each side of the path, bowed to the ground as we passed; the soldiers in the outer courts went down on their knees. Alto- gether the scene was most impressive. The mandarins were in full winter costume ; the magnificence of the furs and the * Tsungtuh means literally, General Superintendent, equivalent to Viceroy. TaoVai means "His Excellency of the Roads," commonly called Intendent of Circuit. CHINESE SURVEY. 493 gorgeous embroidery of the silks might occupy three pages of the Court Journal. "" In the summer of 1846 Captain CoUinson was again at Hong Kong, having completed the survey of the coast from Chusan southwards to Hong Kong, including the Pescadores Islands, but not Formosa. He was now allowed to return home in the brig in which he had earned so much distinction : he sailed from the harbour by the narrow passage of the Ljjccmun ; as the Plover entered it, a veil of mist suddenly fell upon her like a curtain, and she disappeared ; with that dramatic finale this episode in his life, the most momentous and most important, may be said to have ended. On September 24th, at Spithead, he writes: "I am greatly thankful to Almighty God for having preserved me to return liome, but above all I bless Him for providing me with such a home to go to." ■•1^. Ill * ^1' 494 MEMOIR OF ADMIRAL COLLINSON. CHAPTEE VI. At Home. 1846-49 AND 1855-75. On his return in 1846 from the Chinese Expedition, and after he had completed the charts and reports of his surveys on the coast of China, Captain Collinson had a good long vacation ; the first thorough rest since he entered the service twenty-three years before — during which he enjoyed with all the heartiness and affection of his disposition the comforts and the pleasures of the home in the little village of Boldon, lying between Newcastle and Sunderland ; together with the congratulations and attentions of the numerous branches of the family and of the friends and neighljours in the two counties. It was to him, as it occurs to probably most officers in the two war services when they approach the forties, the culmi- nating point of his active life, though not that for which he was most generally known. One of the most gratifying of the local testimonials was an entertainment given by the principal parishioners of Gateshead, the town opposite New- castle, where Captain Collinson's father had been Eector for nearly thirty years, and where almost all the brothers and sisters had been born and brought up. In 1847, he had a short duty on a Government Committee for examining into the local advantages of Holyhead Harbour as a national port of refuge. One of the questions to be con- sidered in this enquiry was the quality of tlie bottom of the harbour as a holding ground for anchors. With his usual determination to investigate himself every matter for which he had a responsibility, he went down to look at the bottom. " I went down twice last week with the diving helmet, once HOLTEEAD. 495 in ten and the other in seven fathoms, without experiencing much more inconvenience than if your ears had been soundly boxed, the effect of which has scarcely left me yet. Loaded with a weight of 150 lbs., I thought I should have gone plump to the bottom, but such is the difference of the gravity in and out of the water, that I literally had to force myself down the ladder. When down I could not see more than two feet, so that, instead of an inspection of the bottom, you had to form your opinion from what you felt." He received the expression " of the satisfaction of the Lords of the Admiralty at the ability and impartiality with which you have discharged the highly responsible duties assigned to you." The great breakwater at Holyhead was made, but whether it has proved to be worth the large expenditure of public money is a question probably still undecided. For two years more he remained at home, the one son of the remaining three available for giving support and personal devotion to his father and mother, who were now beginning to enter the period when the chief pleasure of life consists in the success and in the presence of their children. And then came, in 1849, the call to take part in the search for Sir J. Franklin's missing ships, as narrated in the former part of this book. On returning from the Arctic Expedition in 1855, and having no inclination then to seek other employment afloat as he had been in the habit of doing, he devoted himself again to the care of his old father and mother. And now the latter began to be repaid for the brave spirit in which she gave up her son, and for her ceaseless thoughts towards him during the thirty years of his service afloat. During every one of his voyages, wherever he was, and even when he disappeared from all ken for three years in the ice, she never ceased to write to him monthly. The slight chance of his receiving all the letters, was to her of little account compared with possi- bility of giving him the comfort of news from home; how he appreciated it we have seen in his Arctic letters. ^1 496 MEMOIR OF ADMIRAL COLLINSON. His father's life strength was now coming to an end, after fifty years of parish work. On the Sunday after he heard that his son who had been lost was found, as he repeated tlie verse, " Lord, now lettest Thou Thy servant depart in peace," his voice showed that he felt the personal application of the words. In 1857 he departed, and over his grave in the churchyard at Boldon was placed the epitaph chosen by himself, " Here lies a laborious Parish Priest." That happy home was broken up, and Captain CoUinson provided for his mother and sisters a new home at Ealing, near London; which was to rival the old one in family reputation. It began with a happy omen ; when the question of a name for it arose, the captain decided that the one proper designation for such a home was The Haven; it was not until they had settled in the house that they found the name of the little common on which it looked was Haven Green. And a Haven of refuge and rest it was from that time forth, not only to the home circle but to the whole family. So well established was it by the founder's care, that after his own departure it ceased not in its kindly functions. Here, after all the many perils and troubles of the sea, he found good anchorage for the remainder of his life ; so that over its door might have been Avritten, " Post tot nuufragia, po7'tum." When he settled down near London he began to look out for some occupation, and took an active part in the semi- professional societies of which he was a member, chiefly in the EoYAL Geographical Society. It certainly tells against the ideal faculties of the English race, tliat notwithstanding their love of maritime enterprise, as displayed tln-oughout their history, there was no kinsl of public Association for the pro- motion of geographical knowledge until this century. Associa- tions there were for the material benefit of the mariners' craft, but none for the general advancement of geography, until 1830, when a few of the more scientific travellers and sea captains, as Sir J. Barrow, Sir J. Franklin, Colonel Leake, Captain Beaufort, the geographer Horsburgh, and others, out of the modest matrix of a Geographical Club produced the Geographical Society. Even then not a success for many ROTAL GEOGRAPHICAL SOCIETY. 497 years, until in 1847, Mr, W. J. Hamilton, the President, took the broader view that " it is by the union of scientific truth with popular interest that geography will take hold of the public mind in this country ; " and he being fortunately followed by Admiral W. H. Smyth, a man who combined sound science with a love of general knowledge and of art, the Society began then to take the place in popular estima- tion which it has held with increasing credit ever since. Much was doubtless owing to the development about that time of our Colonial and Indian interests, in whicli process tlie Society has managed to occupy a prominent position, by affording to all classes of the community concerned in that development, a common ground on which to discuss the material matters of p - don, resources, climate, and popu- lation. Towrrds this the able and genial Sir E. Murchison, wlio was frequently President, piayed an important part, through his varied knowledge and high position. Mr. Clements Markham (Hon. Secretary), in his ' Fifty Years' Work of the Royal Geographical Society, 1881,' says, "Admiral Sir R. CoUinson was awarded our Founders' Medal in 1858 (for his Arctic Exploration). He has since worked hard for our Society as a most active Member of Council and Vice-President during eighteen years, from 1857 to 1875. In the latter year he was obliged to retire, owing to the pressure of his duties as Deputy Master of the Trinity House." The Hakluyt Society is an oftshoot from the Geographical, formed in 1847 for the purpose of printing rare and un- published voyages, and therefore called after the great historian of travels and voyages in Queen Elizabeth's reign. Captain Collinson joined it, and edited one of the many books of travel published by the Society, namely, the ' Three Voyages of Martin Frobisher.' The Royal United Service Institution is one of those semi-public associations of which we have many examples in England, and which arise from the combination in the English mind of a spirit of independent inquiry with a high respect for a thority. Two great Government institutions 2 K ;( m If i !. 408 MEMOIR OF ADMIRAL COLLTNSON. for the infirm officers and men of the two war services had existed for many years at Greenwich and at Chelsea, the former of which is now a college for the officers of the Royal Navy ; but it was felt that something more was wanted in connection with those two services for preserving the records of the deeds of the Army and Navy, and also for specimens of the weapons and war material of each age. In 1831 a Society was formed for these objects by the efforts of a few zealous officers of the two services ; among these may be specially mentioned Major-General Sir H. Douglas, Lieut.-General Sir Herbert Taylor, Captain Beaufort, R.N. (Hydrographer), Captain W. H. Smyth, R.N., and (for his great services in subsequent years) Lieut.-General Hon. Sir James Lindsay. Thanks to the support given to the scheme by King William IV. the Society obtained from the Government part of the premises they now occupy ; and in 1844 they had achieved so great a success among the officers of the Army and Navy that they were able to purchase the lease of the rest of their present abode in Whitehall. The breaking out of the military spirit over all Europe soon after the Crimean War, was strongly felt in England ; giving a fresh development and a new purpose to an institution of this kind. It was seen that it offered a favour- able and safe ground for the discussion of the manifold inventions and ideas which then began to pour forth in con- nection with all sorts of war purposes, naval and military. Papers for discussion on these subjects were now read at the Institution ; and the publication of them to the members in the form of a periodical journal, spread the knowledge of them over the Army and Navy, and at the same time formed a record not only of the subjects themselves, but also of actual war operations, available for future use. It has now taken such deep root in thp two services, and has been of such assistance to the responsible authorities in throwing light on such matters, that it has become one of the recognised institutions of the country ; nevertheless, at the present time of writing, though it has a very good name, it can hardly be said to have a secure local habitation. ROYAL UNITED SERVICE INSTITUTION. 499 In 1860 it was re-es*:ablished under a Royal charter as the " Royal United Service Institution," for the promotion of Naval and Military Art, Science, and Literature. It now contains a library of 20,000 volumes of profess! al works of all countries, and a very large collection of maps and chares, and a museum filled with objects of historic interest in connection with war. It has, in fact, owing to the re- awakening of the military ideas of the country, quite outgrown both the building and the original conception. An institution for these objects, although it should be mainly supported by the voluntary contribution of the officers, as indeed it is, and always has been, requires also both a moral and material support from the Government of the country, and which support is best given in the form of a suitable building. A short history of the Institution was compiled by the present Secretary, Captain B. Burgess, in 1887. Captain Collinson was one of the original members of the Institution, and was elected Member of the Council in 1858, and a Vice-President in 1870, which latter post he retained until his death in 1883. In 1875 he contributed a paper on " Experiments in Fog Signals for Nautical Purposes, recently made by the Trinity House." In 1861 he served on a mixed Committee of Army and Navy and Colonial Officers to report on the condition and probable use of certain lands in Canada, reserved or obtained at different times for defensive purposes. As the defence of Canada includes not only that of the seaboard, but also the whole frontier towards the United States, this inquiry in- volved the examination of establishments and places along the banks of the rivers and lakes which form that frontier ; practically, as far as this inquiry was concerned, from the sea to Lake Superior, a length of nearly 2000 miles. As is was therefore mainly a question of the defence of rivers and lakes, it was quite in Captain Collinson's particular line; and as he had friends in Canada at the time, notably the Commander of the Forces, General Sir Fenwick Williams of Kars, this little expedition was an enjoyment both profes- sional and private. His reports, without intention on his 2 K 2 i Jiflg I ,v. 'Ill ck8 off Plymouth. It had been known for some years that Smeaton's beautiful tower must come down ; not from any defect in its structure, for on taking it down it was found to be quite good after with- standing for more than a century the lieavy storms of that I !.■ MEMOIR OF ADMIRAL COLLINSON. sea, but because the rock on which it stood had become undermined and shaken by the shocks of the waves. The designs for the new lighthouse were made by the Chief Engineer to the Corporation, Mr. James Douglass, C.E., who for his good service in this national work received the honour of knighthood on its completion ; he, as is requisite for such a post, combined with his acquirements as a constructor, a knowledge of mechanical engineering, and of physical sciences generally, and of ships and the sea ; besides having had a good experience of lighthouse construction. A full account of the building was read at the Civil Engineers Insti- tution, by his son, Mr.W. T. Douglass, who was Superintending Engineer of the work, in November, 1883 ; and the discussion on it showed a high appreciation of the goodness of lioth design and execution. It was determined to make it nearly double the height of Smeaton's tower, both to escape more of the action of the waves on the lantern and to utilise the greater lighting power of the present day over a wider area. And in order to avoid the danger of injury to the rock, as well as to keep the existing light in operation during the reconstruction, a more secure part of the reef of rocks was selected. The peculiar difficulty of construction was that the reef is only awash at low-water spring tides, and therefore tlie lower part could only be carried on during two to three hours every day, and the frequent roU of the seas there made landing at all times precarious. An important change in the form of the tower was made by the introduction of a cylindrical base rising a few feet above high water and larger than the tower itself. The object of this was to break the force of the waves and prevent them running up the tower, which in Smeaton's occurred to so great an extent as to damage the top and even to shut off the light for a distinct interval. The success of this base was shown during a storm when both towers were standing. Sir J. Douglass, at the discussion, said that in a more exposed position he would make the base ten feet higher. The curve of the exterior of the tower is a very flat ellipse, •I1 THE TRINITY HOUSE. 611 though why that particular curve was selected does not appear. The Construction. — Tlie whole of the building is made of granite from the quarries of Dalbeattie in Dumfriesshire and De Lank in Cornwall, of which Sir J. Douglass said, " It would be impossible to procure from any quarries of the country a mass of granite of the same dimensions more perfectly homogeneous." The stones were cut to shape at the quarries, and as they were all dovetailed together, both horizontally and vertically, and as each course consisted of a different arrangement of rings, in order to obtain a vertical bond, the stones in each course varied in size and form. They were landed at Plymouth and carried to the rocks in the steam tender which took out the workmen every day ; the landing and hoisting was also done from this steamer, by an ingenious arrangement of blocks and chains ; and as they ran to a weight of two and three tons each, this adaptation of the steam-power of the vessel greatly facilitated the work. The first operations were of course the most troublesome, as the natural rock was hardly above low- water line. A central platform, 10 feet diameter, was first quickly built of small stones ; and then a coffer-dam of brickwork enclosing the base and rising a few feet above low water ; and to clear this of water each tide the pumps of the steamer were cleverly brought into use. The foimdation stones of the cylindrical base were sunk one foot into the rock. Another special feature of the work was the thinness of the mortar joints ; these were composed of the strongest Portland cement and grr 'f-e sand. The whole of the constructive work on the spot was done by daily labour under the direct superinten- dence of the officers of the Corporation ; this arrangement was undertaken in consequence of the high rates of the tenders received for the work, and it was not only, as might be expected, more satisfactory, but cheaper in cost, the whole amount being 23 per cent, less than the estimate. j ' '' % ||i!h iii " "'' •I I i I ' 512 MEMOIR OF ADMIRAL COLLINSON. The Lighting. There are three modes of producing light for tliis purpose now in use — electricity, oil, and gas ; and two principal modes of applying optical apparatus to concentrate the light — the catoptric, by reflection from opaque surfaces, and the dioptric, by passing it through glass lenses. Electric light, as applied to lighthouses, is obtained by passing a current of electricity from one carbon pencil to another nearly touching it. The intensity of this light is so great, with the power generally used for creating it, that Sir J. Douglass says it is 200 times (per square inch of focal area) that of the best oil or gas flame ; and it is not only the most powerful luminary, penetrating the greatest distance for coast light purposes, but it is the cheapest per unit of light produced. Indeed the greatness of its power is sometimes an obstacle to its employment ; for it is difficult to judge its distance, as can generally be done with oil light, by the intensity of the light seen ; so that in the English Channel, which has electric lights both on the French and English shores, it has been found to be so confusing, that at the Dungeness light oil has been substi- tuted for electricity. And of course it is only possible to employ electricity at places where the s.^am machinery, or caloric engir.e-powor required to make it, can be erected. Oil and Gas. — About the time when the Eddystone Light- house was rebuilt a controversy was going on between the Trinity House and the Dublin Commissioners of Lights as to the respective merits of oil and gas for this purpose. After a long series of experiments, the Trinity House came to the conclusion that oil gave as effective a light as gas, when used under equal conditions, and that oil was the most nvenient and the safest mode of obtaining the light. The oil gene- rally used by the Corporation is mineral oil, but in lighthouses on detached rocks, and in light vessels, a specially safe oil is used, having a flashing point as high as 250° F. The light put in the new Eddystone Lighthouse is one of ■■I'l THE TRINITY UOUSE. 613 the best examples of the most complete oil light at present in use. The burner used is about 8 inches diameter, having six concentric wicks, with spaces between them through which the air passes, and metal deflectors round the outside and in the centre, by which the flame is concentrated and supplied with air. A second similar burner is placed about 6 feet above the other, the consumed gases being conducted by special tubes into the roof of the lantern. These two burners are surrounded by vertical dioptric lenses, forming a little chamber of glass about 6 feet across and 12 feet high, in six panels, and therefore hexagonal in plan. The lenses are made according to the mode that has now been in use for many years; that is, not in one piece of glass of great thickness, but having a small solid centre, round which are separate concentric rings of glass, of such a cross section as to refract the light in the same way as if they formed part of a continuous lens. And there is a special arrangement of these compound lenses, in this case, the lens in each panel of the hexagon being divided in two parts vertically. And as there is a separate set of these lenses to each of the two burners, there are therefore twelve semi-lenses to the lower burner, and twelve to the upper one. The effect of these lenses, so divided in two parts vertically, is to send out from each burner through each semi-lens a beam of light, of a conical form, whose vertex angle is 7° ; the division of the lens makes a distinct interval of darkness between the two beams ; and the hexagonal arrangement of the panels makes a longer interval of darkness between every pair of beams. Thus from the two burners there are twenty-four of these beams of concentrated light flowing towards all points of the compass ; and by clockwork machinery the whole hexagonal chamber of lenses is made to re, 3lve at such a rate as to give a flash of light of three and a half 3econds duration, then an interval of three seconds of darkness, then another flash, and then an interval of twenty seconds of darkness. Tliis order of alternate flashes and eclipses forms the special characteristic of the Eddystone light. The size and number of the beams of light depend on the arrangement of the 2 L I ; 'Mm 514 MEMOIR OF ADMIRAL COLLINSON, lenses ; the length of the flashes and of the eclipses depends on the rate of rotation. The dioptric lens is now generally used for all important lights, because it enables the burners to be concentrated into one, and permits the utilisation of the whole light in any particular directions that may be required. In the lower chamber of the Eddy stone Lighthouse there is a catopf ic arrangement by wliich the light of a burner is reflectea in one direction to a shoal 3^ miles distant. The hexagonal chamber of the glass lenses is enclosed in another glass chamber, of circular plan, about 14 feet in diameter and 14 feet high, the glass of which is thick plate fixed in iron frames. This is called the lantern, and has to withstand the occasional impact of the salt water, and the force of the winds, and the rush of birds who at certain seasons in their passage are attracted by the light. The full power of each of the two burners is calculated at 950 of the standard candles; but the power of the whole concentrated light of both burners, when passed through the lenses, is calculated at 159,600 candles. This shows a remarkable advance in the knowledge of lighting since the time, one hundred years before, when Smeaton erected his tower, and lighted it with twenty-four tallow candles without any optical assistance, producing, it is calculated, a power equal to sixty-seven candle units. The only mechanical arrangement used in that lighthouse appears to have been a clock which struck the half-hours, telling the keepers when it was time to snuff the candles. At the Bishop Eock and Eound Island Lighthouses, Scilly Islands, double dioptric oil lights have been recently installed, having burners of eight and ten concentric wicks and lenses, nearly 50 per cent, larger than the first order dimensions of present use. The flashes from these appa- ratus, which are at present the most powerful oil lights in the world, have an intensity of nearly half-a-mUlion of candles. THE TRINITY UOUSE. 515 Memoranda of the Eddystone LiyhtJioasc. First work ou the rock begun . . , July 1878. Lantern first lighted up ... . May 1882. This period, less than four years, was one year shorter than the estimated time. Height of focal plane above liigh water . .133 feet. „ in Smeaton's tower . 72 „ Nautical range „ „ .17^ miles. Total cost, including plant . . nearly £60,000 being the cheapest, per cubic foot of masonry, of any recent important lighthouse. Kound the cornice of the serving-room under the lantern, the Corporation, true to the religious side of their institution, and with a thoughtful respect to the builder of tlie old tower, have inscribed the solemn warning wliicli was written on its walls : " Uxcept the Lord build the house, they labour in vain that build it." Buoyage. This is one of the many subjects appertaining to the Trinity House which turned up for special consideration during Admiral Collinson's time. A buoy is a floating mark anchored by a weight and chain to point out a danger in a channel. As long as vessels were moved by sails, and time was not so much considered, a few buoys only were necessary to mark the principal channels to a port ; but when the number of vessels increased and were chiefly propelled by steam under pressure of time, it became necessary to mark all the possible channels, and to mark them thoroughly for use by day or night. Hence followed the necessity for a variety of kinds of buoys to indicate the different channels ; and further came the principle, as stated in the report of the Committee of 1882, that the buoys must indicate not only the danger, but the path of safety. The Trinity House had before attempted to reduce the " Buoyage " under their control to a uniform system ; so that 2 L 2 III i '^\ !: 51G MEMOIR OF ADMIRAL COLLIN SON. a navigator would know, wliatovor port he was coming to, that a certain buoy indicated a safe channel in a certain direction from it, but as there were two other partly inde- pendent jurisdictions in this matter in the United Kingdom, their ideas could only be applied to a certain part of the coast. It was on the initiative of the Commissioners of Irish Lights in 1882 that the Trinity House moved again in the matter, with th i;" j^ct of establishing a uniform system of marking channels throughout the United Kingdom. With the agreement of the Government, a Conference was set on foot to discuss this matter, consisting of twenty members representing the following bodies: — The Trinity House; The Commissioners of Irish Lights; The Com- missioners of Scottish Lights ; The Admiralty ; The Board of Trade ; and the Conservancies of the Thames, the Humber, the Tyue, the Clyde, the Mersey, and the Tay, The Con- ference sat at the Trinity House, London, and was presided over by the Master, H.E.H. the Duke of Edinburgh. A committee was appointed to take evidence and submit sug- gestions, which consisted of ten representative members of the Conference, and the chairman of which was Admiral Sir E. CoUinson, as Deputy Master of the Trinity House. In the course of four months the Committee examined eighteen witnesses, chiefly master mariners and harbour masters, and during the next six months discussed the subject; and in March, 1883, made a report to the Conference, which in April confirmed the report, with some additions which had been left for their decision. The majority of the witnesses, as well as of the Committee and of the Conference, agreed in this main idea, that /orm of huoij rather than colour ought to be the distinguishing mark ; but as the form of buoys suitable for exposed channels is limited, it was necessary also to employ colour to distinguish the channels and dangers when numerous. With regard to the form, two miain kinds were agreed to, as especially dis- tinguishable from each other under various conditions, viz. : the can huoy (as it is called), being something of a barrel form, showing a flat top out of water ; and the conical huoij, showing THE TltlNITY HOUSE. 517 't fi a cono top out of water. With regard to colour, there was considerable difference of opinion : two " single " colours have been generally used, black and bright red, "single" signifying one uniform colour over the whole buoy ; but it was generally allowed that under many circumstances black and red cannot be distinguished from each other at sea. Parti-coloured buoys are also used, of black and white, or red and white, in stripes or chequers; these are liable to give a wrung impression from the effect of the white in making an apparent change in the form, but they were allowed to be necessary in order to provide the requisite variety. It was also agreed that, in order to indicate on which side of a buoy the safe channel lay, the buoys on the starhoard or right-hand side of a channel, when yoiruj into port, sJcall always he of one pattern, the conical, and of one single colour, black or red ; and that the buoys on the 2ioi't, or left-hand side of the channel, when going in, shall always he CAN huoys, and of a single or parti-colour, as may be deter- mined by the local authority. Some other special forms of buoys were agreed upon to mark particular points in complicated estuaries. And in order to make these rules generally applicable to coasting navigation, as well as to . harbour channels, it was agreed that the direction of the flood tide (which is always marked on charts) shall determine the starboard and port sides of a channel on the open coast, as regards the character of the buoys. Hence, in the future, a mariner navigating along the coasts and harbours of the United Kingdom, whenever he comes across a conical huoy of a single colour will know that it is on the starboard side of the safe channel when looking in the direction of the Hood tide ; and if it is a can huoy it is on the port side of the safe channel. It is a pity the two names for the buoys could not have indicated the respective sides, especially as those adopted are rather similar and somewhat arbitrary. A remarkable consensus of opinion, not altogether unknown in other inquiries of a similar character, a^ ,ared among the I II i C18 MEMOIR OF ADMIRAL COLUNSON. witnesses on this occasion ; namely, tliat they all agreed on the necessity of having one uniform system for the wluilii kingdom, but each (lualified that opinion with the proviso that his particular system should be the one selected. In the course of the Conference, Mr. T. Stevenson, the Consulting Engineer of the Scottish Light Board, put forward a plan for indicating the direction of the danger by the character of the buoy, which would bo applicable to all places and all countries. This was by having one form and colour of ])Uoy for the north side of a danger, one for the south side, one for the east side, and one for the west side ; four different forms and colourings which would answer for all purposes. Admiral Collinson gave some su|)])ort to.lhis idea by referring to the plan he adopted in taking the fleet up the Yang-tse-kiang River in China in 1842 : a black signal at a buoy signified, " Pass to the north ;" black and white vertical, " Pass to the south ;" black and white horizontal, " Pass to the east ;" white, " l*as3 to the west." These were frequently used, and no vessel got astray, though there were sixty-five sailing vessels and ten steamers. But, on considering the varied channels with which the Trinity House had to deal, he was obliged to abandon this idea ; and the Conference, after consideration, thought it was not sufficiently practical for the purposes they had to meet. Final. The work of the " Buoyage " Committee was the last public duty Admiral Collinson took part in. V had been evident that his vital power was greatly falling away for a year or two before, not by natural decay, but from a peculiar efiect of that insidious disease the scurvy. Excepting that latent enemy, he had been remarkably healthy during the whole of his active service, both by constitution and by habit. Far from being ascetic or unsocial, he was equally averse from all intemperance or from self-indulgence of any kind : he had suffered from climatic complaints, and on one occasion was so prostrated by fever that his doctor thought THE END. 519 his case hopeless, mid allowed him to take whatever he liked ; fortunately his natural constitution turned his thoughts to l)Ottled porter, which, to the doctor's surprise, restored him. To his last day he could boast that he had never paid a doctor's bill. But now the scurvy, which seems never to altoj^ether quit a body it has once ^ot a footing in, began to affect his teeth, and as from the same cause his gums were too tender to allow him to replace them, ho came under the condition of having to exist mainly on soft food, on whi(;h, though it is possible for a man to live for some time, he cannot do much work. Now, to men of Admiral CoUinson's habits and tempera- ment, work is life ; to those who urged him to give up some of his more responsible duties, he replied, "I should die without some duty, so I had better die doing it." This is the tone which has given its character to the British Army and Navy. Duty was, in fact, the watchword of his life. First to the Almighty Creator, — the duty of keeping himself ready and fit in body and mil 1 to take the part in life that might be assigned to him, and the corresponding duty of treating others as having the same imposed upon them. This feeling raised his thoughts above his own personal advancement, and gave him a trust that others with him were actuated by the same ideas. And Secondly, — the duty to his country and to his Sovereign as representing that country. This prevented him going out of his way to look for openings suited to his own wishes ; he took that which came to him in the way of his profession, as his appointed work, for the due completion of his part of which he was personally responsible ; and accordingly he devoted all his energies to carrying through the work in hand, whatever his own ideas about it might be, and to overcoming all difficulties in the way, whether personal or otherwise. This single- minded determination gave him a reserved and sometimes severe manner, as he expected the same devotion from all those associated in the work. And he had that special characteristic of active able-bodied people that he was not happy unless he was working himself with his own hands ; \\''. 520 MEMOIR OF ADMIRAL COLLINSON. he could not sit still and merely direct other people to work. Moreover, it had to be professional work, or at all events public work of some kind ; those recreative pursuits of many men in retirement, waiting, drawing, music or gardening, had no charms for him. He had, however, determined that 1883 should be the last year of his Deputy Mastership ; h'^'^, he done so a year before, his life would in all probability have been prolonged for some years. Whether it would have been a life of pleasure or even comfort is doubtful. If a remedy could have been applied to his gums some years before he might have continued doing efficient service for a good time longer, as he was otherwise healthy in mind and body. Notwithstanding however his failing strength, he continued in the performance of important public duty to within five months of his death, and that is as worthy a termination to an active career in the Queen's service as any officer could desire. He died in September, 1883, after lying a month between life anf" death in a state of half-consciousness. He was laid beside his dear mother and sister in Perivale Churcliyard, near Ealing, and over his tomb was placed a cross with an anchor bound to :"' t, and these consoling words : — "And so He bringeth them to the Haven where they WOULD be." I the end. i)i INDEX. IP II' A. AcKNOWLEDOMENTS, Editorial, 13, 435. Admiralty orders to Captain CoUin- son, 2-i. Advance schooner, U.S., 1850, 3. ^tna, H.M.S., voyage of, 459. Aleutian Islands, passage through, 55. American N. coast, no anchorage, 63. Anadyr Gulf, ice, 1851, 121. AxiMAL AND Vegetable Life, note on. Western parts mildest, 424 geology of arctic islands, 424 ciuTents of warm water, 425 migration of animals, 425. See also " Game." Animals : White bear, musk ox, 425 ; reindeer, hares and foxes, 426 ; f J )se and ducks, ptarmi- gan, 426; lemming, 426; whales, seals, walrus, fish, 426 ; game not dependable, 427. Vegetation : General character, limit of trees, saxifrage, 427 ; burst of growth in summer, 428 ; vegetation, Grinnel Land, 428 ; flora, Walker Bay, collec- tion, 221; vegetation, Cam- bridgt Bay, 290. Arctic seas, knowledge of, 1850, 9. Arctic Manual (Admiralty), notice of, 22. Arctic papers (R. G. Soc), notice of, 22. Arctic exploration, note on, by Admiral Richards, 351 ; note by Lieutenant Weyprecht, 351. Armstrong, Dr., notice of book, 15. Assistance, H.M.S., under Omma- ney, 1850, 3, 162 ; under Belcher, 1851, 254. Astronomical observations (Cape, 54), 340. Aurora Borealis, remarks on, 177. Aurora Borealis, note on, 364; zone of apjiearance, 364 ; appear- ance of, 365 ; electric and mag- netic condition, 366 ; Prof. Nor- denskiold's theory, 367. Austin, Captain H., 162, 451, 461. B. Balloons, postal, 41, 168, 170, 182, 186 ; description of, 169. Barnard, Lieutenant, reasons for leaving at Behring Straits, 78; , and Dr. Adams left at Michaelowski, 81 ; death of, 128 ; account of death, 129 ; note on, 130. Barrow, Sir J., notice of book, 18. Barrow, Lieut .-Colou(.>l J., 14. Barrow Point, nott ou, 140. li III 1 522 INDEX. m :., Bate, Captain \V. T., Royalut, Houg Kong, 1850, 108. , text in Enterprise^ 110, -, Chinese war, 482, 490. Bathurst, Cape, smoke in cliff, 297. Beaufort, Captain F., hydrographer, 11, 346, 460, 467. Beechey, Captain, 463, 467. Bebring Sea, best seasons for, 55; bad \X)Tts to winter in, 55; fine weather May, 120. Belcher, Captain Sir E., notice of book, 16. 460, 465, 477. JSentinck, H.M.S., 480. Blue-Books, Parliamentary, notice of, 17. Bonin Ir ids, entrance Port Lloyd, 112; cocount of settlement, 113; Bailey Islands, 117 ; good for pro- vision and fish, 117. Browu, Mr, J., notice of book, 15. Buttons, inscrilxid. 315. 0. Camhridge, H.M.S., voyage of, 442. See « Collinson." Cambridge Bay, description of, 287. Camden Bay, 302. Canning River, 316. Cator, Lieutenant, 162. Cattle nnd turtle killed, Enterprise, 1861, 121. Chanticleer, H.M.S., voyage of, 449. See "Collinson." Chinese Wak, 1840-42. — R. C. appointed surveyor, 467 ; ori- gin of war, 469; confiscation of opium, 471 ; plan of operations, 472; joint naval and military, 473 ; capture of Chusan, ("om- iiiissioner Keshen, Peiho River, 475; Canton, position of, 476; R. C. at Canton, 477 ; H.M.SS. Sulj^hur and Starling, 477 ; cap- ture of Canton, 478 ; capture of Amoy, 479 ; plenipotentiary Sir H. Pottinger, 479 ; Admiral Sir W. Parker, 479 ; General Sir H. Gough, 479; H.M.S. Bcntinck, Commander Collinson, 480 ; re- capture of Chusan, 480 ; capture oiNingpo, 481 ; capture of Chapti, 482 ; Admiral's report on Kellett and Collinson, 482 ; YangtseEiang Eiver, 483 ; 98th Regiment, Col. Campbell, 483 ; capture of Shang- hai, 484 ; Bentinck, renamed Plover, 484; advance up River Yangtse Eiang, 485 ; capture of Ching Eiang Fu, 485 ; Golden Island^ 486 ; Nanking, porcelain tower, 487 ; account of war by Lieut. Ouchterlony, I.E., 487; treaty of peace, 488 ; promotion of surveyors, 488 ; Survey of Coast, 489 ; Hong Kong, 1843, 490 ; Kel- lett returns home, 490; H.M.S. Young Hebe, Lieut. Bate, 490 ; nautical surveying, 491 ; Fu- choufu, visit to, 492; Plover returns to England, 493. Clothing, 38, 400. See also " Sledge Expeditions " and " Health." Coal, Formosa, 109. Collinson, R., Memoiu of — Col- linson, R., character and family, 437 ; Ovingham School, 438 ; H.M.S. Camhridge, Captain Ma- ling, 1823, Rev, H. Salvia, 442-3, R. C. midshipman, 443 ; survey- ing qualities, 446; Captain Ma- ling, opinion of R. C, 447 ; H.M.S. Chanticleer, Captain Fors- tcr, 1828, 449 ; objec ts of voyage. Captain Forster, 450; Monte Video, 451 ; Staten Island, Scath Shetlands, 452; Cape Horn, .jli- Tiiate of, 453 ; Cape of Goixi lloyo, Dutch population, 454; St. Helena H!( INDEX. 523 Island, 454 ; Ascension Island, Fernando Noronha Island, 455; Maranham, Iliver Amazon, 455 ; Trinidad, La Guayra, Porto Bello, 455 ; Panama Isthmus, death of Captain Forster, 456 ; return to England, 456; pendulum obser- vations, report on, 456 ; chro- nometer observations, 457 ; polar diameter of earth, 457. ColUnson, It., 1831-39, H.M.S. A'Jtna, Captain Belcher, Sir B. Martin, report on R, C, 459 ; Lieutenant Austin, report on E. C, 459 ; Captain F. Beaufort, 460 ; Captain Belcher, opinion of R. C, 460 ; Lieutenant Kel- lett, character of, 461 ; H.M.S. Salamander 461 ; H.M.S. Medea, Captain Austin, 461 ; R. C, commission as lieutenant, 463 , E. C, character at twenty-four, 463; H.M.S. Sulphur, Captain Beechey, 463; H.M.S. Suyrling^ Lieuteuant Kellett, 463 ; account of voyage by Captain Belcher, 465 ; Mount St. Elias, 466 ; R. C. leaves Sulphur, 467 ; Captain Beechey's opinion, 467. Collinsm, R., 1840-46.— See also " Chinese War." Appointed sur- veyor in Chinese war, )7 ; arrives at Chusan, 475; promotion to Commander, 479 ; promotion to post captain and C.B., 488 ; sur- vey of Chinese coast, 489 ; return to England, 493. ColUnson, B., 1846-55. — Holyhead Harbour, 494 ; appointment to Enterprise, 10. See Enterprise. On probable fate of Franklin, 1854, 261, 339 ; return to England, 341 ; reception at home, 344; repre- sentation to committee on awauls, 346; work on expedition o{ Fox, 348. ColUnson, li., 1855-83.— Removal to Haven, Ealing, 496; Royal Geographical Society, 496; gold medal Royal Geographical Society, 497 ; Royal United Service Insti- tution, 497 ; Canada, 499 ; promo- tion to Rear-Admiral and K.C.B., 500 ; local work. Army and Navy Co-oi)erative Society, 501 ; Younger Brother, Trinity House, 502 ; Polder Brotlier, Trinity House, 506; Deputy Master, Trinity House, 506. See " Trinity House.'' Last illness, 519. Colquhouu, Col. R. Art., 37. Committee on awards, North-west Passage, 346. Crew, Enterprise, 31. Crozier, Captain, with Franklin, 1845, 2. CuRHENTS : Pacific, 99 ; current strong to north, Behring Straits, 137 ; North coast America, 1851, 147, 150; Port WoUaston, 228; tides and currents, Victoria Straits, 261 ; tide, Cambridge Bay, 291 ; current, Cambridge Bay, 291 ; off Mackenzie River, 297; Japan Islands, 334; China Sea, 335; South Indian Ocean, 337 ; Cape of Good Hope, 333 ; Nova Zembla, 417. D. Dolphin Union Straits, remarks on. Drift-wood, 08 feet long, 150; Miuto inlet, 167, 172; Prince of Wales Strait, 182 ; Point Wol- laston, 226; Dolphin Union Straits, 235; Point Manning, 300 ; Camden Bay, 304 ; North American Coast, 302; Bank's Island and Prince Patrick Is- land, 363. ! fii %■ ills 524 INDEX. II E. Enterprise, H.M.S.— under Boss, 1848, 2 ; under Collinson, 1850, 3; abstract of voyage, 1850- 55, 4 ; England to Sandwich Islands, 1850, officers and men, 29; left Thames, 34; Enter- prise, Investigator, tonnage of, 35 ; strengthening, 35 ; heating, 36 ; pay of crew, 37 ; separation of ships, 38; Magellan Straits, arrive, 43 ; passage through first narrows, 44 ; second narrows, 45 ; junction with Investigator, 48 ; leave the Straits in tow of Gorgon, 50; part company with Gorgon and Investigator, 52, 54 ; Sand- wich Islands, arrival, 54. Enterprise, Polar Sea, 1850 : leaves Sandwich Islands, 57 ; failed to find Kellett's record, 60 ; in Polar Sea, 61 ; Barrow Point, 62 turning back, 64 ; furthest north 66; finds Kellett's records, 67 separation of Investigator, 68 meets Herald, Port Clarence, 71 could not winter Grantley Har- bour, 72 ; return to Point Barrow, 72; second return to Port Cla- rence, 76; note on separation from Investigator, 355 ; instruc- tions to Investigator, 356 ; Com- mander M'Clure, letters to Ad- miralty, 1850, 358 ; Investigator through Aleutian Islands, 358. Enterprise, Hong Kong, 1851 : leaves Port Clarence for south, 1850, 79 ; arrives Michaelowski, 80 ; leaves Michaelowski for Sitka, 83 ; pass through Aleutian Islands, 86 ; arrives Sitka, 88 ; leaves Sitka, 1850, 98 ; arrive tlanalae Ba}, 1850, 101; leave Haualae Bay, 1851, 105; across North Pacific, 106; arrive Hong K( 'ig, 1851, 107 ; distance run from England, 107; refitting. Hong Kong, 108 ; equipped for three years, 110; leaves Hong Kong, 1851, 110; arrives Bonin Islands, 112; leaves Bonin Islands, 119. See " Bonin Islands." Enterprise, Polar Sea, 1851 : sighted ice, 120 ; enter Behring Sea, 120 ; in Anadyr Gulf, 122; at Port Clarence, 128; leaves Port Cla- rence, 135 ; at Point Barrow, 140; Point Tangent, 144; at Bathurst Cape, 152; first sight Nelson Head, 152; Ramsay Is- land, 153 ; Prince of Wales Strait, 153 ; Princess lloyal Islands, 154; furthest north, 1851, 155 ; Nelson Head going west, 155 ; Cape Kellett, 157 ; Terror Island going south, 158 ; Nelson Head going east, 159 ; Walker Bay, first arrival, 160. Enterprise, 1851-52, winter ar- rangements, 172 ; sledge expedi- tions, 182 ; rigged mizen top- sail, 208 ; drifting from Walker Bay, 1852, 229; enter Prince Albert Sound, 230 ; turning east, 232 ; cuter Dolphin Union Straits, 234 ; last floe, September, 235; Coronation Gulf, 237; Dease Strait, 239 ; arrive Cam- bridge Bay, 1852, 240; ashore Cambridge Bay, 241 ; canal cut, October, 245; housing si)read, October, 245; covering deck, November, 247 ; deficiency of fuel, 259. See also "Sledge Expeditions," and "Winter on Board Ship." Enter j)rise, 1853: sledge expedi- tious, Victoria Strait, 259; Fin- kysou Islands, 277 ; getting ready foi si .1, 281 ; drifting in ice, 282 ; description of Cambiidge Bay. 286 ; leaves Cambridgo Bay, 291 ; ^1 INDEX. expedi- 59; Fin- inr; ready ice, 282 ; Ige Bay. Jay, 291 : passinc; Finlayson Island, 292 ; Coronation Gul f, 293 ; losing two anchors, 294 ; Cape Bathur&t, 297 ; Herscliel Island, 298 ; Flax- man Island, 301 ; frozen in Cam- den Bay, 1853, 302; sledge ex- pedition North, 311 ; Komanzoff Mountains, 316. Enterprise, 1854-5 : leaves Camden Bay, 319; Point Barrow, 324; clear of ice, 328; at Port Clar- ence, 330; returned to Point Barrow, 330 ; received home letters, 331 ; Port Clarence again, 332; leaves Port Clarence, 333; at Hong Kong, 335 ; at Bango Wangle, 336 ; at Cape of Good Hope, 340 ; extent of track, 1850- 51, 344; St. Helena, Ascension, 1855, 341 ; sight England, 1855, 341. Eastern Expeditions, note on. Eastern Expeditions, 1850-51, 162; H.M.S. liesolute. Captain H. Austin; Assistance, Captain E. Ommaney; Intrepid, Lieut. S. Osborn ; I'ioneer, Lieut. J. B. Cator, 162; first trace of missing ships; exploring parties; return home, 1851; Mr. W. Penny; Captain Forsyth {Prince Albert) ; Sir John Ross (Felix and Mary) ; Mr. Kennedy (Prince Albert) ; United States Exi^edition, Lieu- tenant de Haven, 162 ; Com- mander Pullen (R. Mackenzie), Dr. Rae (North coast of America), 163. Eastern Expeditions, 1852-54, 254 ; Assistance (Sir E. Belcher and Commander Richards); Pioneer (Lieutenant Osborn) ; liesolute (Cai)tain Kellett); /nfreptfi (Com- mander M'Clintock) ; North Star (Commander Pullen) ; Phoenix (Commander Inglefield). Exp^zring Expeditions, 1863 : north-east of Wellington Chan- nel (Belcher) ; north-west of Wel- lington Channel (Richards) ; Mel- ville and Prince Patrick Island (M'Clintock) ; to Investigator (Pim) ; to Prince of Wales Strait (Mccham), 1854, 255, 256 ; As- sistance, liesolute. Pioneer, In- trepid, abandoned, 256 ; liesolute, recovery of, 257. Erebus, Franklin, 1845, 2. Eskimos: Eskimo-boats, 74; oo- miak, Behring Sea, 84 ; Gulf Anadyr, 123, 125 ; Diomede Is- lands, 127 ; on board Enterprise, Behring Straits, 1851, 133, 135, 136, 137; traflic. North coast America, 145 ; of Winter Island, 1851, 167; Minto Inlet, 171; Minto Inlet snow-houses, 172 ; Walker Bay, 222; Cambridge Bay, 248, 249, 251; enduring cold, 251; Cambridge Bay, Kayak, 275 ; shooting, Cambridge Bay, 275 ; remarks on, Cambridge Bay, 283 ; same as Winter Island tribe, 283 ; a land people, 284 ; scarcity of wood, 284 ; houses, food, implements, 284, 285 ; ap- pearance, 285 ; chart drawing, Franklin ships, 286 ; traffic along coast, 299 ; western tribe, 299 ; Camden Bay, 315 ; native names, 317 ; news from Point Barrow, 1854, 322 ; boats purchased, 333. Eskimos, note on, 418; origin of name, 418 ; ITtiski, 418 ; origin of, 418 ; similarity to Asiatic tribes, 418; Chuckches, AIS. American Eskimos, habits, 419 ; trade along coast, postal but- tons, 420; movements of, enmity with Indians, 420. Greenland Eskimos, migration from north, habits, 421 ; tradi- tions in Siberia, houses, 421 ; -umerous remains, 422; re- f : .11 526 INDEX. hi : Rt ^^#' I^ mains in Sibcriiv, woodeu houses at Point Barrow, 42- ; snow houses, 422. F. Felix, schooner. Sir John Ross, 1850, 3. Felix and Mary, 102. Finlayson Islands, visit to, 1853, 277 ; description of, 277. Floe, 10. Fog, Point Barrow, 1850, 62. Food : provisions, special, for voyage, 35, 37 ; diet. Sir L. Playfair, 41 ; feeding. United States Expedi- tion, 1881, 400 ; meat preserved, loss of, Cambridge Bay, 252. See also "Sledge Expeditions" and " Health." Forster, Captain, 450. See " CoUin- son." Fox, voyage of, 1857-9, 348. Franklin, Sib John : last voyage, 1845, 2; discovered North-west Passage, Victoria Straits, 'ZGO. expedition, supposed notices of. Point Barrow, 1849-50, 77 ; first trace of, 1850, 162; traces of, 259; relic at Finlayson Islands, 278 ; ships, first news by Enter- prise, 339; Franklin, Lady, re- jjresentation to award committee, 346 ; voyage of Fox, 348 ; relics, discovery by M'Clintock, 349 ; monument to Sir John, 350. Franklin, Lady, schooner, Mr. Penny, 1850, 3. G. Game, See also "Animal and Vegetable Life." Game list, 1851, 174 ; plentiful. Walker Bay, 208, 220 ; Cam- bridge Bay, 291; plentiful, Camden Bay, 312, 314. Fish, Walker Bay, 220, 227; Cambridge Bay, 279, 283. Bcindcer disappeared. Walker Bay, 173 ; crossing Deaso Strait, 244, 290; meat from natives, Cambridge Bay, 247, 283. Seals, marked, hair, Behring Sea, 121. Whales, North Coast of America, 148 ; off Mackenzie River, 297 ; numerous. Cape Halkett, 323. Geographical Society, Royal, 496 ; gold medal to Captain CoUinson, 347. Oeolofjy, Princess Royal Island, 201; Walker Bay, 226; Cam- bridge Bay, 291 ; North Coast of America, 361 ; North Arctic America, 424. Qorgon, H.M.S., 43. Greely, Lieutenant United States, notice of book, 20, 388. Gunpowder in ice : examples of use, 122, 124, 298, 311 ; note on, 429 ; opinion of Captain CoUinson and Captain Belcher, 429; ex- perience in Investi(jatm; 429; memorandum on blasting ice, Admiral M'Clintock, 430; rule for charges, 430 ; cases for charges, 431 ; waterproof bags, 431 ; Bick- ford's fuse, 432. H. IIalkett's boat, 316, 416. Hrven, De, Lieutenant, United States, 162. Health : sick list end of 1851, 174 sick list, Cambridge Bay, 250 health of crew, 1853-4, 308 scui-vy. Enterprise, 1853, 274 sick list, December, 1853, 310 sick list average, 1852-54, 327 sick list. Enterprise, 3854, 338 monthly sick lists, Enterprise, 401 , note on, 398 ; scurvy, cause States, INDEX. 627 of, 398 ; scurvy, eCfect of, 398 ; scurvy in Investigator, 398 ; bear- able cold, 399 ; health of Enter- prise crew, 399. Herald, H.M.S. (Kellett), 1850, 3,71. I. Jaoo, Lieutenant, 29, 30, 20i, 2G3, 317, 379. Indians, Barter Islmd, 320; Mi- chaelowski, 130. Intrepid, H.M.S., with Austin, 1850, 3 ; 1850, 162 ; 1852, 254. Ice : ice blink and Avater sky, 61 ; floes, size of, 1850, 63 ; stones in ice, 122 ; and note 13, 143 ; floes damage anchor, 1851, 146 ; beariLv October, 1851, 170 ; safe thickness of, 179 ; melting, spri- . ..s^r Bay, 208 ; rotten, spi Z20 ; breaking up, 1852, 227; thickness, August, 1852, 228; bearing, September, October, 1852, 232, 241; thick sludge, September, 1852, 241, 242 ; thick- ness. May, 1853, 259; hum- mocky, Victoria Straits, 1853, 268. Ice breaking up, 1853, 281 ; sudden disappearance of, 292; honey- combed, 1854, 315; Table of thickness of, 1851, 2, 3, 343; melting, 417. Polar ice, note on, 405 ; formation of new ice, 405 ; salt crystals in ice, 405 ; increment of ice, 406 ; weight of ice, 407 ; snow on ice, 407 ; extreme thick- ness of ice, 407 ; elasticity of ice, 408; rummocks, formation of, 408 ; floes carried by currents, 409 ; floehergs, North Greenland, 409 ; salt in floehergs, 410 ; Investigator between floehergs, 1851, 410; Alert in floehergs, 1876, 411. Ice breaking up, note on, 412; sound of ice breaking up, 412 ; ships crushed, 412 ; hummocks, formation of. Lieutenant Wey- precht, 413 ; melting of ice, 413 ; salt in ice, 413 ; dock cut- ting, 414; canal cutting, 414; sailing in ice, 414; currents of w,arm water, 415; honeycombed ice, 415; conductive power of ice, 415 ; tidal action on ice, 415 ; sudden changes, 416 ; sludge, 416. Investigator, H.M.S. : under Bird, 1847, 2; under M'CIure, 1850, 3 ; voyage, 1850, 4 ; at Magellan Strait, 47; at Sandwich Island, 1850, 55 ; Investigator met Herald, 1850, 359; entered ice, 1850, 359; left Herald, 1850, 160 ; Prince of Wales Strait, 160; Winter Princess Royal Is- lands, 1850-1, 160; discover North-west Passage, 160; return south, 1851, Bay of Mercy, 1851, 161 ; record found, Melville Is- land, 255 ; crew to Ilesolute, 255 ; Lieutenant Pim to Investigator, 255; no news of, July, 1854, 315 ; news of, August, 1854, 328. Island, unmarked, Japan Sea, 335. E. Kellett, Captain, letter to Captain Colliuson about Polar Sea, 55; three records left for Collinson, north of Behring Straits, 59 ; Captain, 1852-4, 254, 256 ; Lieu- tenant, character of, 461 ; Lieu- tenant and Captain, 464, 477 (1811), 480, 482, 488, 490. Kellett Point, bad anchorage, 159. i< .*;■ i! I 8 528 INDEX. Long, dk, Captfiin, U.S.N., notice of book, 21. Loons,, good eating, 59, 137. M. M'DooaALL, Mr., notice of book, 16. M'Clintook, C- tain, notice of book, 17 ; Commander and Captain, (1850), 162 (1852), 254; Captain, voyage in Fox, 348. M'Clure, Commander, appointment to Investi(jator, 29, 30, 34. See Investigator. Captain, award for discovering North-west Pas- sage, 346. Mackenzie River, 148 ; note on, . 362; effect on sea, 362; drift timber in, 362. Magellan Strait, remarks on, 53 ; North passage from thence to Gulf of Penas, 53 ; difficulty of passage for sailing shijis, 51; Cliilian settlement, Sandy Point, 45, 46 ; Fortescue Bay, 48. Magnetic observations in Enter- prise, 39 ; compasses. Walker Bay, useless, 167 ; compass use- less, Prince Albert Sound, 231 ; compass useless. Dolphin and Union Straits, 238 ; magnetic pole, note on, 238 ; magnetic ob- servations, 258 ; compass, begins to traverse, 296. Maguire, Commander, 1852-54, 331. See Plover. Maling, Captain, 442. Markham, Commr., sledge expedi- tion, 187G, 377. Mary, schooner. Sir John Ross, 1850, 3. Mecham, Lt., 255. Medea, H.M.S., voyage of, 461. Medal, Arctic, recommended by award committee, 347. Meteorological observations in Enterprise, 41, 42; air, sampU's of, 39, 40; sound in cold, 176; cold effects of, 17G; refraction and freezing liquids, 177 ; snow thawing on housing, 1852, 184 ; season, cold summer, 1852, 227 ; cold great in winter, 1852-3, 249; mercury froze, 1851-3, 309 ; winds, table of, 1851-4, 342; tem- perature of snow, 397. Miertsching, Mr., interpreter, 50. 432. Miller, General, 444. Minto Inlet, examination of, 1851, 167 ; description of, 225. Moon-refraction, Cambridge Bay, 248. Moore, Commander, 1851, 128. Mustard and cress, 41. N. Nancy Daivson, schooner, 43. Nares, Captain, notice of book, 19, 409. Nelson Head, character of, 156. New World Steamer^ U, States, 49. Nordenskiold, Professor, notice of book, 20. North-west Passage, discovery of by Franklin. See also " Investi- gator;' 350. North American coast, note on, 361 ; Romanzoff Mountains, 361 ; Alaska Mountains, 361. 0. Officers op Enterprise, 1850, Arctic service, 29; list of, 30; selection of officers, note by Admiral Richards, 404. Ommaney, Captain E., 162. Osborn, S., Captain, notice of books, 15, 17; Lieutenant S., 162, 254. INDEX. 529 P. Pacific, trade wind, 54; passage across, 64 ; good weather in, 54. Pacific North, bad weather, autumn, 99, 100; bad weather, May, 119. Pack ice, 10. ice, first met, 1850, by Enter' prise, 60. I'arks, Lieutenant, 164; journey, Melville Island, 209. Payor, Lieutenant, Austrian Navy, notice ot book, 18. 388, 417. Pelly Islands, 150. Mount, Cambridge Bay, visit to and Lake, 276. Penny, Mr. W., 162. Personal troubles. Enterprise, note on, 402. Pigeons, carrier, account of, 169. Pioneer, H.M.S. with Austin, 1850, 3, 162 ; 1852, 254. Plover, H.M.S. Commander Moore, 1850, 3 ; state of, 1851, 131 ; relief of crew and service, 1851-4, 134 ; 1849, 163; left Point Barrow, 1854, 326; returned to Point Barrcw, 330 ; China, 1842, 484. Prince Albert, schooner. Captain Forsyth, 1850, 3, 162. Prince Albert Sound, head of, 231. Lieutenant Jago's report, 204. PuUen, Commander, 1849, 163, 254. K. Rae, Dr., 1848,4; 1851, 163; voyage up Victoria Straits, 260 ; finds relics of Franklin, 339. Rattlesnake, H.M.S., 330. Ravens, Walker Bay, departure, 175; return, 178; November, 1852, Cambridge Bay, 247. Rescue, schooner, United States, 1850, 3. Resolute, H.M.S., under Austin, 1850, 3, 162; under Kellett, 254. Richards, Commander, 1852, 254 ; sledge expedition, 1853, 379. Admiral, Sir G. H., letter to Editor, p. ix; note on selection of officers, 404. Richardson, Sir J., 1848, 4 ; notice of bookB, 23 ; arotio geology, 361, 862. Islands, grass, 237. RomanzofT Mountains Expedition, 312. Ross, Sir John, 1851, 3, 162. Ross, Sir James, 1848, 2 ; magnetic pole, 239. Russian territory. North America, sold to United States, 97. America. See "Sitka," " Yucon." 8. Salvin, Rbv. H., 443. Sandwich Islands, Hanalae Bay, 101 ; description, 105. Sanpan made, 1852, 228. Sitka, Mount Edgecombe, 88 ; Esquimo pilot, 88 ; assistance given by Russian Government, 88; and by lato Government, 89 ; and by Captain Dodd, Hudson Bay Company, 89 ; great kind- ness and liberality of Russians, 90; Aleutian islanders provided tc assist expedition, 91; notes on settlement, 95. Sledge Expeditions : 1852, laying depots. Walker Bay, 180, 181; south, equipment, 183 ; crew, 183; north, equipment, crews, 185; Journal, North, 187; Peel, Point, sledges part, 192 ; Investigator's beacon, 193; drift 2 M T Si 'I ' I 530 INDEX. \^ wood, Peel Point, 193; Glenelg Bay, 195; return, Peel Point, 197 ; snow molting, 197 ; search for Besolution sledgo, 199; re- turn. 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