w" \T ^ x^^ r IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) .^^ .^> c ^.% 4^ ^^ ^%p ^ I' !lim I LI 1.25 £ 125 us glM [22 iM 12.0 HI US 111 •» u 1.4 I m 11.6 Photographic ^Sciences Corporation y errata ed to int ine pelure, ipon A 1 2 3 32X 1 2 3 4 5 6 Elisha Kent Kane, M.IX Cafaai.n ^.harles Francis Hall* 'if j,'*f' W- a, , Pemis AMD EsoAf^ Amfimfmtmms I « NATIONAl RE50U»( THB RESOURCES OCT 26 1B64 / 31 A HI8T0BT or ALL THE RESEARCHES AND DISCOVERIES nr TBI FROZEIS^ BSGIOKS OF THE KOBTH, FROM THE lAKLlCST TIMES ; With 8k«tth« of Th. (M^ RoM«W. Hdboo, BiJbi, Behitag, Oook. Urn. PrMklli^ Parry. Back, Bm, MoOU«t«4i Itt^ Biyt% Hdl, ttd rtli«^ PMMm romnoM ot m* atone. By EPE8 SARHENT, ESQ. •oowmw wiw A oonrun Aim itiUAtti nifott or The PoLAEis Expeditiok FI8U} or loB. wo, »c., ito, By WILLIAM H. CUNNIKGTOir, WITH NUMEROUS ll-LU«f RATIONS •OLO ONLY BY tUBaOIIIPTlOII i^ILADELPHlAi SY3 COPYRIGHT Br John e. potter & ( ompant rHlLAOSUPHU. ' PREFACE. Paradoxical as it seema, that portion of the globe WB bhabit which is most cheerless, dreary and desolate, which is farthest removed from civilization, which produces but little calculated to benefit mankind^ which offers no attrac- tions to the tourist, and which has proved the grave of « many hardy spirito who have endeavored to explore its dark regions, has been for many generations past a local- ity of deep 9nd absorbing interest We allude, of course, to the northern zone or belt of the earth known as the arctic or polar regions. A sort of interest approximating- to fascination has always been manifested in this icy re- gion ; andat no former period in the world's history has it commanded a greater share of attention than at the present time, when the problem of an open polar sea is apparently nearing its solution. It will be the province of this work to give the reader comprehensive and interesting accounts of the various expeditions sent there in U" mterest of ^science generally, and navigation in particular^ tVom the' days of the North- men, in the ninth century, to the present time, with a full history of the *' Polaris Expedition'' under the late Cap- tain Charles Francis Hall, and an exhaustive narrative of the six months' unparalleled experience of the nineteen human beings, isolated from the world and drifting about at the mercy of the elements^ guided alone by the great arm of Crod. The work is the result of iiidustnous research, and only the most reliable material is used in its piroduction,. while the most rigid care is exercised iit av^ing the slightest exaggeratlcm. PREFACE. In covering thoroughly so large a field, we of course confine ourselves to facts that possess lasting interest, espe- cially in telling of the earlier expeditions.- We believe the work is written in a style to please the most fastidious taste, and yet to command the interest of all who peruse its wellnstored pages. It is not a series of disjointed sketches of the successive expeditions, but a connected, consecutive narrative, showing how, step by step, the dif- ficulties environing Arctic navigation- have been met and overcome, and discoveries have been made which have unraveled, one by one, many of the wonderful secrets of that region of mystery which surrounds the North Pole. The credit of each discovery is given impartially to the explorer who made it, and in every other particular full justice is done to each hardy, enterprising leader and to their sturdy followers who have bravely encountered the fearful perils which have appeared to envelop completely every attempt to i)enetrate the Polar Zone. Thei'c have ever been, and ever will bo, gallant adven- turous si)irits who are impelled to, rather than deterred from, enterprises by the hazards, the dangers and the Bufierings, that stand in the way.' And whatever some may think of the wisdom of, those who thus brave trial, suffering, peril — and death .itself— in their striving to fathom the mysteries of the Arctic Circle, none can fail to admire the daring men themselves or suppress a warm interest in their wonderful exploits. If those who read these pages find in the events, the incidents, the experiences, the ,perils and remarkable escapes, the actual disasters, and the results of the re* searches, herein recorded, a tithe of the absorbing interest, the absolute fascination, which has held the writer's mind ^ichained to his subject throughout, and caused him to forget the labor in the pleasures of the chronicler's tiisk, the book will serve its purpose — ^the amusement and the instruction of the public. We believe that none will PUEFACK. 9 Arise from a perusal of these unpretending annals without feeling that the time devoted to it has been well sjieut, and we also feel assured that those who read the book through will lay it down with the single regret that they have reached the end, and they will look forward with eager eyes to further developments in that most unattract- ive in itself, and yet strangely fascinating, portion of God's universe. There certainly will be further develop- ments. The Polaris expedition, with all its sad and dm- tressing features; the death of its gallant commander, after accomplishing so much, on the very eve of the great triumph he had labored so many anxious years to achieve; his solemn burial ^o far from home and kindred and friends, in the ice-girt shores of that frigid clime of per- petual cold; the almost incredible sufferings and perils of a portion of its crew in their six months' sojourn on the ice-raft, — all this and even more would not prevent repeated essays in the same direction. Indeed, it is more than probable that, despite suffering, peril, disaster and death, there will ever be sanguine projectors and daring explorers, who will not give over the idea until every attainable region of the Arctic Regions shall have been thoroughly explored, the mysteries all unraveled, and the nations of the earth made fully acquainted with the secrets of the Frozen Begions of the North. We hold our pen ready to indite the success and grand triumph of the hero who shall reach the North Pole itself; meanwhile, we rest content with the assurance that we tell in thii volume all that is yet known of The Wonders op the Abctio World. fT ILLUSTRATlOISrS. I'AOK EUll ft Kent Kane, M.D. Cftpt. Chariei Fraools Hall. Map of tho Polar Regluns 21 Belief of th^Bare ttz Expedition.. 89 Beat FtahlDR In the Arctic Seaa... 60 Sledge and Team of Dogs 78 Ice-Raft 70 Dragging a Boat orer the Ice 77 Auaulted by WalruMW 87 Superb Glacier in Magdalena Bay. 89 Situation of the Trent 98 Parry Sawing a Channel 107 Snow-Huts 116 Sir John Franklin 119 Becalmed 130 Domestic Life in Frigid Regions.^ 141 Parhelia 147 The HecU ~ 150 The Blossom at Anchor 155 Eider Duck 168 Musk Ox 165 Wild Duck 167 Scoresby Whaling among Icebergs. 171 Reindeer 179 Polar Bear 186 Close Quarters 187 Difficulties of Arctic Navigation... 191 Ptarmigan 210 Remarkable Rescue of Capt. Ross. 211 Perilous Escaps of the Vqyageurs. 215 The Terror Severely Nipped.^ 283 Fwlou Attack by Walruses. 24» 10 rASB The Erulm.i 260 Moore and his Fleet of Boats 267 ShoreH of the Polar Sea 287 Reindeer 391 Remarkable Iceberg ; 807 Sledging with Sails aud Kites !» Esquimaux Kayak 88(1 Among FioHting Icebergs 889 Advance and Rescue S5:i Kennedy and Men on an Ice-Raft. 369 Bear-Hunting 890 Resting In the Snow 420 Sledging across the Hummocks... 443 Esquimaux Canoe 450 Bird of Prey 477 The Faith, Dr. Kane's Boat 479 Tracking along the Ice-Belt 483 Sledge drawn by Dogs 480 Sledge drawn by Mon 48'< Hull of the Advance 49? The Forlorn Hope Equipped.^ 007 Catching Auks 613 Capt. George E. Tyson 51' Capt. S. O. Buddington SSH Capt. Hall and his Innuit Friendai 866 The PolarU 681 Solemn Burial of Capt. Hall 691 At Anchor 608 Ebeeing, or Joe 006 Yukiiitoo, or Hannah m..~m 007 Almost Washed Off.......... .~.. 01 On an Ice-Cake......~...». m.. Ot# ■^HKUaO'iUkiiKMUi.'.iMau'. . ^A.^Mif'iik^JUtkUi.-^ ..t^iJfe ' ij af tirilMt. CONTENTS. CHAPTER I. Aspects of i^e Arotio Regions. — Phenomena. — The Arctic Oceftn.— Earliest Explorers. — The Northmen. — The Cabots.— The Corte> reals. — Sir Hugh Willoughby. — Frobisher. — Sir Humphrey Gil- bert. — Davis. — Barents. — Hudson. — Baffin 17 CHAPTER II. Russian Explorations. — Deshneff. — Expeditions of 1711. — Fmitlesi Efforts. — Dapteff. — Behring. — His Shipwreck and Death. — Fate of the Survivors. — SchalaxofT. — Sledge Expedition. — Admiral Von Wrangell's Expedition „ 61 CHAPTERIII. Offer of Parliament. — Hearne's Journey. — Phipps. — Nelson. — Cook. — Mackensie. — Sir John Ross's First Voyage. — Buchan and ' Franklin.— Dangerous Situation of the Trent and .Dorothea. 71 CHAPTER IV. Parry's First iEx^edition. — Icebergs. — Passage through Lancaster Sound. — Prince Regent's Inlet. — Wellington Channel. — Mellville Island. — Winter Quarters. — Scurvy. — Snow Blindness. — Theatri- cals. — Breaking up of the Ice. — Return of the Expedition 99 CHAPTER V. Franklin's First Land Expedition. — Incidents. — Back's Journey.— Severity of the Weather. — Aurora Borealis. — Anecdotes. — Survey of the Coast. — Return Trip. — Sui.orings. — Murder of Mr. Hood.— Deaths. — Unexpected Relief. — Arrival at York Factory 119 CHAPTER VI. Parry's Second Voyage. — Arrival at Hadsoa'a Strait. — Repulse Bby. — BafBing Navigation. — Esquimaux Friends. — Arctic Cli- mate. — Froxen Up. — Amusements. — Iliglink. — Lyon's Journey.— Snow Huts. — Land Excursions. — Harbor at Iglooik. — Another Winter.— Parhelia.— Return Home. — Parry's Third Yojmip,..,^ 191 11 ili ! ; n<-' il-'.M h! 13 CONTENTS. CHAPTER VII. iA«a Lyon's Voyage. — Beecbey's Ex|ieditioD. — Franklin's Second Land Expedition. — Fort Franklin. — Winter at Great Bear Lake. — Em- barkation. — Separation of the Party. — Progress of Franklin's Division.— Attack by Esquimaux. — Return to Fort Franklin.— Richardson's Division. — Second Winter at the Fort 15 CHAPTER VIII. Seoresby's Discoveries. — Clavering. — Parry's Polar Voyage. — Rein- deer. — Heola Cove. — Boat and Sledge Expedition. — Night Travel- ing. — Hummocks. — Softening of the Ice. — Highest Point Reached. Polar Bear. — Return to the Ship. — Homeward Bound 104 CHAPTER IX. Ross's Second Voyage. — Holsteinborg. — Disoo Island. — Lancaster Sound. — Boothia. — Discovery of the Fury's Stores. — Dangerous Navigation. — Preparations for Wintering. — Excursion. — Second Winter in the Ice. — MagneticPole. — Third and Fourth Winter. — Abandonment of the Victory. — Meeting with a Whaler...' 188 CHAPTER X. Back's Land Expedition. — Arrival at Fort William. — Anecdote of a Canoe Party. — Franklin. — Scenery. — Ascent of Rivers. — Winter Quarters. — News of Ross's Safety. — Polar Sea. — Return to Eng- land. — Back's Voyage in the Terror. — Remarkable Perils among the Ice. — Homeward Bound. — Dease and Simpson's Discoveries.. 213 CHAPTER XI. Rae's Land Expedition. — Shores of Hudson's Bay. — Esquimaux Canoes. — Repulse Bay. — Snow-houses. — Return. — Renewed In- terest in the Discovery of a North-west Passage. — The Erebus and Terror. — Sir John Franklin's Last Voyage. — Mystery of his Fate. 247 CHAPTER XII. Anxiety in Regard to Franklin — Three Expeditions of Search.— Kellett and Moore's Expedition by Behrings Strait. — Its Return. ^Richardson's and Rae's Land Explorations. — Ross's Expedition by- Lancaster Sound. — The Explorers Return Unsuccessful.— Lieut. Pullen Ascends the Maokeniie. — Return to the Atretic Sea and Back.— The Season of I860.— Pullen's Arrival in England.... 261 CHAPTER XIII. Opinions in Regard to the Fate of Franklin. — Climate. — Rewards . Offered. — Renewed Searches. — CoUinson and M'Clure. — Rae's In- stmetions. — Other Expeditions. — Qrinnell's Expedition. — Meet- ing in the Arctic Seas. — Traces of Franklin. — Qraves. — Sledging Parties.— Return Home 299 1! CONTENTS. IS CHAPTER XIV. 9tm Farther PartioularB of the Searching Expeditione. — Rosa's Voyage. — Results. — Garrier-Vigeons. — Penny's Expedition. — Dr. Suther- land's Scientific Observations. — Olaciers and Icebergs. — Winter ' Climate. — First Grinnell Expedition. — Winter in the Arctic Ocean. —Breaking up of the Ice. — Return 331 CHAPTEB XV. The Prinoe Albert Refitted by Lady Franklin.— Mr. Kennedy the Commander. — Upernavik. — Carrier-Pigeons. — Disastrous Separ- ation. — Relief and Reunion. — Preparations for Wintering. — ^Win- ter Journeys. — Visit to Fury Beach. — The Grand Journey. — The Fury's Stores. — Cairns not Always Seen. — CapeWalker. — Return to Batty Bay. — Homeward Bound. — Bellot. — Rae's Land Journey. Ml CHAPTER XVI. Sir Edward Belcher's Expedition. — The American Whaler. — Ingle- field's Voyage. — Three More Expeditions. — Inglefield's Return.^ News from M'Clure. — Parry and Franklin. — M'Clure's Explora- tions. — Adventures with Esquimaux. — Perilous Navigation. — Dis- covery of the North-west Passage. — Personal Perils. — ^Winter Quarters.— Still Frozen Up.— Plan of Escape 309 CHAPTER XVII. The Resolute and Intrepid. — Parry's Sandstone Again. — News from the Investigator. — Pirn's Journey. — Meeting with M'Clure. — Re- turn to the Resolute. — Abandonment of the Investigator. — A Weary Summer. — Cresswell sent with Dispatches. — Incidents of the Voyage of the Phoenix. — Loss of the Bredalbane Transport. — Death of Bellot.— The Phceuix and Talbot Sent Out 4M CHAPTEB XVIII. The Resolute and Intrepid. — ^Winter in the Pack. — Both Veuela Abandoned. — Belcher's Explorations. — Remains. — Attempt to Reaoh Beechey Island. — Abandonment of the Assistance and Pioneer. — All Parties Assemble at Beechey Island. — Arrival of the Phoenix and Talbot. — Return to England. — Voyage of the Phoenix. — Collinson's Voyage. — Rae'a Expedition. — Reliei of Franklin. — Anderson's Journey 467 CHAPTER XIX. Second Grinnell Expedition. — Dr. Kane's Plan. — Departure^— Inei- dents. — Disastrous Sledging-Party^ — The Refoue. — Disooreriei* —Attempt to Reaoh Belcher's Squadron. — Another Winters- Abandonment of the Vessel. — In Safety. — Report to Navy De- partment. — The Open Polar Sea.. 4T8 n ;!i 1 14 CONTENTS. CHAPTER XX. m Action of Congresi. — Expedition in Search of Dr. Kane. — Hartitein the Commander.— Found. — Narrative of Kane. — Icebergs. — The Meeting. — The Resolute. — Found by American Whalerp. — Inter- national Courtesies. 5S1 OHAPTEB XXI. Lady Franklin Not Disheartened. — Voyage of the Fox. — More Relies Discovered. — ^A Record Found. — The Mystery Solved.— Voyage of Franklin 689 CHAPTER XXII. Death of Dr. E. K. Kane.— Dr. Hayes' Expedition. — Lectures. — De- parture of the United States. — A Sublime Sight and a Narrow Escape. — Port Foulk. — Sledge Traveling to Qrinnell Land.— Mount Parry and Cape Union. — Return .' 68S CHAPTER XXIII. Captain C. F. Hall. — Early Interest in Books of Travel and Ad- venture. — Becomes Interested in Arctic Exploration.— First Ex- pedition. — Joe and Hannah. — His Return, and Result of his Life in Oreenland. — Second Expedition. — Its Results 668 CHAPTER XXIV. The Polaris Expedition. — The Vessel. — Outfit.— Leaves New York. — ' Highest Latitude ever Attained. — Valuable Discoveries. — Thank- Ood Harbor. — Sledge Exploration. — Hall's Death and Burial. — A Gale separates the Polaris from the Party on the Ice-raft. 680 CHAPTER XXV. Onparalleled Sufferings and Providential Deliverance.— On the Ice. — The Field Broken. — The Polaris lost to Sight.— Efforts to Reach the Shore. — Thanksgiving Day. — Christmas and New Tear's Day. — The Long Night Over. — The Sun Appears. — The Floe Breaks. — The Party Scattered. — They take to the Boat, and get on a small Floe. — No Food, no Light — Washed Out. — Can- nibalism. — A Terrible Night.- The Crisis.— The Rescue.- In Port 807 CHAPTER XXVI. The* Polaris Adrift.— Qeoched.— Winter House. — Two Boats Built — Embarked, and going Southward. — The Crisis, and the Resoae. — ^At Dundee and at Waohington. — CapL Markham's Pisooverios. 699 TECHNICAL TERMS nOVUAB TO THB NAYIQATIOX AMOVO VOm, BiT-icn. — Ice newly formed upon the surfkce of the sea. The expiw^ cdon is, however, applied also to ice a foot or two in thickness. Besrt. — The situation of a ship when closely surrounded by ioe. BiOHT. — An indentation in a floe of ice, like a bay, by which nsms it is sometimes called. Bunk. — A peculiar brightness in the atmosphere, often assuming an arch-like form, which is generally perceptible over ioe or land cot* ered with snow. The blink of land, as well as that over large quan titles of ice, is usually of a yellowish cast. Bore. — The operation of "boring" through loose ice consists la enteiing it under a press of sail, and forcing the ship through by separating the masses. Bbash. — Ioe broken up into small fragments. Cache. — Literally a hiding-place. The places of deposit of proyision in Arctic travel are so called. CvLr. — A mass of ice lying under a floe near its margin, and, wheq disengaged from that position, rising with violence to the sur&oe of the water. — See Tonque. Cbow's Nhbt. — A small circular house, like a cask, fixed at the mast- head, in which the look-out man sits, either to guide the ship through the ice, or to give notice of whales. Dock. — In a floe may be natural or artificial : the former being simply a small "bight," in which a ship is placed to secure her from the danger of external pressure ; and the latter, a square space oat oat with saws for a similar purpose. Field. — A sheet of ice generally of great thickness, and of too great extent to be seen over from a ship's masthead. Fiord. — An abrupt opening in the coast-line admitting the sea. Flob. — The same as a field, except that its extent can be distinguished fh>m a ship's masthead. A " bay-floe " is a floe of ice newly formed. Flob-pibob. — An expression generally applied to small pieces of floes, not more than a furlong square. OiiAOiBB. — Amass of ice derived from the atmosphere, someUiiMi abutting on the sea. Odmmook. — A mass of ice risbg to a considerable hdght aboTS ths Jl TECHNICAL TERMS. i II i; 11 general level of a floe, and forming a part of it. Hummoeks are originally raised by ttie pressure of floes against each other. LOE-AMOHOR. — A book or grapnel adapted to take bold upon ice. lOE-BELT. — A continued margin of ice, which, in high northern lati- tudes, adheres to the coast above the ordinary level of the sea. lOEBEHO. — A large floating mass of ice detached from a glacier. lOB-FooT. — The Danish name of the limited ice-belt of the mort southern coast Land-iob. — Ice attached to the land, either in floee or in heavy grounded masses lying near the shore. Lank or Wateb. — A narrow channel among the masses of ice, through which a boat or ship may pass. Lkad. — A channel through the ice. A ship is said to ** take the right lead " when she follows a channel conducting her into a more navi- gable sea, and vice versd. Nipped. — The situation of a ship when forcibly pressed by ice on both sides. Pack. — A large body of ice, consisting of separate masses, lying dose together, and whose extent cannot be seen. Pancake-ice. — Newly-formed ice, assuming the peculiar conformation of numberless patches of " sludge," and giving the surface of the sea the appearance of a handsome pavement. Patch of Ice. — The same as a pack, but of small dimensions. Pemmican. — Meat cured, pulverized, and mixed with fat, containing much nutriment in a small compass. Bailinq-ice. — Ice of which the masses are so much separated as to allow a ship to sail among them. Bludge. — ^ce of the consistence of thick honey, ofiering little impedi* ment to a ship while in this state, but greatly favoring the formation of a "bay-floe." Btekim. — A long and narrow, but generally continuous, oollectiok of loose ice. ToMOUE. — A mass of ice projecting under water from an loeberg or floe, and generally distinguishable at a considerable depth of smooth water. It differs from a ** calf" in being fixed to, or a part of, the larger body. Tkaokino. — Towing along a margin of ice.' Watbr-skt. — A dark appearance in the sky, indicating " clear water *^ in that direction; and forming a striking contrast with the ** blink '* over land or ice. , TovRO-iCK. — Nearly the same as *' bay-ice," but generally applied to ^ce more recently formed than the latter. AKCTIC ADVENTURE CHAPTER I. AlPBOn OP THB ABCTIO REGIONS. — PHBITOXKITA. — THB ARCTIW OC&^ll.- BARLIBST BZPLORBBR. — TBB NORTHMEN. — THE CABOTR. — THB CORTfli REALS. — SIR HDQH WILLOTIOHBY. — FROBKiBBR. — SIR BU1IPHB1.T Olic BERT. — DAVIS. — BARENTC. — HUDSON. — BAFFIN. The varied physical aspect of the globe ofieis as much to charm or awe the eye of man as to minister to his comfort and well-being. From the glowing heat and gorgeous vegetation of the torrid zone, we move through all gradations of climate and feature, to the frigid regions of either pole, where perpetual ice and a depressed temperature present an extraordinary con* trast to the lands of the sun : from intensest heat we pass to intensest cold ; from the sandy deserts of the south to the icy deserts of the north. Yet there is as much in the frozen zone to impress and elevate the mind of the beholder as in the countries where nature (fis- plays herself in rich and exuberant loveliness. Beyond the seventieth degree of latitude not a tree meets the eye, wearied with the white waste of snow ; forests, woods, even shrubs, have disappeared, and giveu place to a few lichens and creeping woody plants, which ucantily clothe the indurated soil. Still, in the furthest north, nature claims her birthright of beauty ; and in the brief and rapid summer- she brings forth nmnerotu 18 ARCTIC PHENOMENA. II I flowen and grasses to bloom for a few days, until again blasted by the swiftly-recurring winter. In these regions certain mysterious phenomena exhibit their most powerful effects. Here is the point of attrao* tion of the compass needle ; and here the dipping nee- dle, which lies horizontal at the equator, points straight downwards. Slowly, in its cycle of nearly two thou sand years, this centre or pole of magnetic attraction revolves in obedience to laws as yet unknown. Two degrees farther toward the north is situated the pole of cold — a mystery like the former to science, but equally inciting to curiosity. If induction may be trusted, the pole of the earth is less cold than the lati- tudes fifteen degrees below it. Round the shores and seas of the aretic regions ice over accumulates : a circle of two thousand miles' diam- eter is occupied by frozen fields and floes of vast extent, or piled high with hugest forms, awful yet fantastic as a dreamer's fancy. Mountain masses — " Whose blocks of sapphire seem to mortal eye Hewn from cerulean quarries in the sky, With glacier battlements that crowd the spheres, The slow creation of six thousand years. Amidst immensity they tower sublime, . Winter's eternal palace, built by Time." Ilere the months are divided into long periods of day- light and darkness : for many weeks the sun sinks not below the horizon ; for three dreary months he appears DOi above it — " And morning comes, but comes not olad in light ; Uprisen day is but a paler night* Bat, in the absence of the great luminary, the vivid coi*uscations of ♦he aurora borealis illuminate the wintry landscape, streanu'ng across the skies in broad sheetc of TUL ARCnC OCEAN 10 light, flashing ia multi-colored rays, or quivering in faiut and feathery scintillations — a light that takes away the irksomoness of gloom, and makes the long night wondrous. The desolate grandeur of the scene is in many parts increased by the entire absence of anibiated nature ; in others the dearth of vegetation is compensated by superabundance of animal life. Wrangell tells us that '^ countless herds of reindeer, elks, black bears, foxc8„ sables, and gray squirrels, fill the upland forests ; stone foxes and wolves roam over the low grounds. £nor- mous flights of swans, geese, and ducks, arrive in spring, and seek deserts where they may moult and build their nests in safety. Eagles, owls, and gulls, pursue their prey along the sea-coast ; ptarmigan run in troops among the bushes ; little snipes are busy along the brooks and in the morasses ; the social crows seek the neighborhood of men's habitations ; and when the sun shines in spring, one may even sometimes hear the cheerful note of the finch, and in autumn that of the thrush." " There is," as observed by Lieutenant-Colonel Sa* bine, "a striking resemblance in the configuration of the northern coasts of the continents of Asia and Amer- ica for several hundred miles on either side of Behring'i Strait ; the general direction of the coast is the same in both continents, the latitude is nearly the same, and each has its attendant group of islands to the north : the Asiatic continent, those usually known as the New Siberian Islands ; and the American, those called by Sir Edward Parry the North Georgian Group, and sine* fitly named, from their discoverer, the Parry Islands. The rebemblance includes the islands also, both in gen** oral character acd latitude." With respect to the Arctic Ocean, a lato writer ez 20 THE NORTHMEN. I ' i:^l plains : " We may view this great polar sea as enclosed within a circle whose diameter is 40", or two tiioiisand four hundred geographical miles, and circumference seven thousand two hundred miles. On the Asiatic side of this sea are Nova Zembia and the New Siberiar Islands, each extending to aJ^out the *lQt\i degree ol latitude. On the European and American sides arc Spitzbergen, extending to about 80", and a part of Old Greenland, whose northern extremity is yet unknown Facing America is the large island washed by Regent's Inlet, Parry's or Melville's Islands, with some others, ic latitude 70" to 76", and beyond these nothing is known of any other land or islands ; and if we may form an opinion, by inspecting the general chart of the earth, it would be that no islands exist which could in any shape obstruct navigation." It is to these regions, and the labors of which they have been the scene, that we have for a short period to direct our attention. The history of Arctic explorations properly begins at « period earlier by several centuries than is generally believed. Careful researches promoted and carried on of late years by the Society of Northern Antiquaries of Copenhagen, and others interested in the subject, have established the fact, that Newfoundland, Green- land, and several parts of the American coast, were visited by the Scandinavians t — the Northmen and Sea Kings of old — in the ninth and tenth centuries. While Alfred was engaged in expelling the Danes from Eng- land, and bestowing the rudiments of civilization on his countiy, and Charles the Bald was defending his king- dom against a host of competitors, the daring sea-rovers were forming settlements in Iceland. • One hundred and twenty-five years later, a. d. 1000, Leif Erickson, as many antiquarians believe, led the way to the westward, and landed on the shores oi Mas THE NORTHMEN. ■achusetts, nancin^ the country Vinland, from the wild vines which grew in the woode. These adventurers made their way also to a high northern latitude, and set up stones, carved with Runic inscriptions, with the date 1136, on Women's Islands — in latitude 72» 55'— Baf- fin's Bay, where they were discovered in 1824. The colonists on the eastern coast of this great bay made regular trips to Lancaster Sound and part of Barrow's Strait, iu pursuit of fish " more than six centuries before the adventurous voyage of Parry," and carried on a trade with the settlers in Markland, as Nova Scotia was then called. Their numbers must have been considera- ble, for in Greenland there were three hundred home- steads or villages, and twenty churches and convents. They kept up intercourse with Europe until 1406, when it was interrupted by extraordinary accr mulations of ice upon their coasts ; and though 4he Danish govern- ment has made repeated attempts to ascertain their fate, it still remains in doubt ; the supposition is, that all have perished from privation or violence of the natives Spitzbergen, too, contained numerous colonists : graves are frequently met with on its shores ; in one place Gap- tain Buchan saw several thousands, the corpses of some of ftiem as fresh as when first interred, preserved by the rigor of the climate. These early explorers were unable to take full advan- tage of their American discoveries ; this was reserved for a later period. " Intervening," observes Humboldt, "between two different stages of cultivation, the fifteenth century forms a transition epoch, belonging at once to the middle ages and to the commencement of modem limes. It is the epoch of the greatest discov- eries in geographical space, comprising almost all de- grees of latitude, and almost every gradation of elevation of fhe earth's surface. To the inhabitants of Europe it i'l I I ii it 1 !ly true, as it is i^rfectly authenticated by evidence that can- not be gamsaid. We all know that the ice-girt shores of the Arctic Waters hold many secrets that relate to the brave, daring men who have hazarded life and lost it in the effort to seek out the natural secrets of that land of myj^ry. We know, too, that they hold the mortal r»^ 54 RET.ICS OF BAHENT?. m mains of many a hardy mariner and of spirited 'leaders in the perilous search for the North Pole. Among the many daring men who have biaved the icy terrors of Polar navigation, none have been more dar- ing than William Barentz, whose expeditions we chronicle) earlier in thb chapter. After twice returning iu safety to his native Holland, a third time this intrepid explorer went forth into those frozen w ilds, and this proved his last earthly enterprise; the expedition was disastrous in many respects, but chiefly in the death of its brave leader and of many of his equally brave followers. On the ice-bound coast of Spitzbergen, Barentz and his men found it necessary to land and spend a dreamy winter, and here they built huts for shelter and made them as comfortable as possible for occupancy by furnishing them from their vessel. When the winter was over, they found their vessel unfit for the voyage home, and being com- pelled to embark in their boats, had to leave their furni- ture, utensils, etc., in the huts. Three centuries nearly have passed away since the de- sertion of the quaint settlement. The years have come and gone over those silent witnesses to the presence of the ancient mariner and his sturdy crew. In all that time, as we may believe, no living thing has invaded the sacred solitude of this spot, haunted with the memories of that coming, long ago, of Barentz, and his men. Possibly, from a distance, the walrus and the seal may have gazed upon it, and from his rapid flight in the ether some Arctic bird of passage may have turned a curious eye upon the scene. But no dust has settled there ; no moth has stolen in to bring decay. Even the elements seem to have abated their severity and to have protected with a kindly hand the legacy left to their undivided keeping. The sequel almost partakes of the character of one of those tales wherewith the princess in the "Arabian Nights" deferred her threatened fate by whiling away the tedioua Hit RKLTCS OF BAUENTZ. 66 tveniug^ of her cruel caliph. One day, in the year 1870, Captain Carlsen bore shoreward in his sliip to this icy coast of Spitzbergen. He landed at the spot ^vhere Barents had landed before him, and to his perplexed eyes appeared the vision of the old encampment. The huts were still there, just as Barentz had left them nearly three hundred years before. In the rude hearth lay the relics of the long extinguished fire. Upon the shelf were books from the old Dutchman's library— a work on navi- gation, the latest edition published before he had sailed, and a hiatory of China translated ihto Dutch. Jugs and dishes, wherein had been prepared the drink and food of the ad- venturers, were scattered here and there, and even a pair of shoes were found which had belonged to a little cabin boy, who, as says the records, had died upon the voyage. Theie were also quaint engravings, and a curiouc mathe- matical in:: lent storm, which lasted for seventeen days. They found, though they had not kept up their sails, Ihat they had been driven back to 48" 18' of latitude. The scurvy now began to appear among them ; hardly a day passed without the death of one of the crew, and hands enough, in health, were scarcely left to manoeuvre the vessel. A return to Eamtschatka was resolved upon. After discovering and naming several capes and islands, they saw two which, by an unfortunate mistake, they took for the two first of the Kourilo Isles. By this they erred in their reckoning. They in vain took their course to the west ; the shore of Kamtschatka remained invisi- ble, and there was soon no hope, so late in the season, of making a port in that country. The crew, notwith- standing their sufferings from cold and continued rain, attended to their duty. The scurvy had already so far advanced that the steersman was conducted to the helm by two other invalids, who happened still to have the use of their legs, by supporting him under the arms. When he could no longer steer, from suffering, he was succeeded by another no better able to execute the labor than himself. Thus did the miserable crew waiste away into death. They were obliged to carry few sails, for they had not hands to reef them, if at any time it should be required ; and such as they had were nearly worn out, so that the slightest storm was sufficient to shiver them into threads ; in this case they could not be replaced from the stores, for want of sailors able to bend new ones. The rain was soon succeeded by snow. The nights now grew longer and darker, and they had now, in addition to their former precautions, to guard against shipwreck. The fresh water on board was rap> BKHRING. (;3 idly diminishi^ig. The labor of the ship became too hard for the few wlio were Htili able to be about. For some days the ship had remained impassive in tlie water, lying as the wind and waves drove her. On the 4th of November they again endeavored to Kail to the westward, without knowing in what hititude they were, or at what distance from Kamtscliatka ; but it was the only point on which a single ln»pe of their deliverance remained. The joy of the crew, when they carae in sight of land, may be conceived ; it was about eight o'clock in the morning. They attempted to approach, but they were still at a great distance, and could only see the tops of mountains covered with snow. As they drew nearer, night came upon them. It was judged best, therefore, to keep out to sea until Jay appeared, that they might not be exposed to ship- wreck in the dark. In the morning they found the cordage on the starboard side of the vessel had given t/ay. They could not, therefore, manage the ship much longer. A consultation was held. It was agreed that the ship was no longer manageable, that the water wan much diminished, and the sickness on board increased. The humidity had been succeeded by intense cold, of which the increase was now, from the season, to be expected, and life must soon become insupportable. It was, therefore, decided, at all risks, to make for the land, to save their lives, and, perhaps, their ship. The small sails were alone set, from the weakness of the mast, after the failure of the cordage. The wind was north ; the depth of water thirty-six fathoms, with a bottom of sand ; two hours after, they found twelve fathoms. They now contrived to get overboard an anchor, and run it out three quarters of a cable's length. At six the cable parted, and tremendous waves bore the ship upon a rock, where she Btruck twice, yet, in a !l % I'i 64 BEHRINQ. moment aft(M', they hail five fathoms of water. A rcc- Olid anchor was thrown out, and the cable again parted. They had no third anchor ready. While they were pre- paring to let go another, a huge wave lilted the vessel over the reef. In an instant she lay in calm water The anchor was put out, and she was safely moored in four fathoms and a half, with a sandy bottom, and only about three hundred fathoms from the shore. The next morning they discovered that, by a good providence, they had been led to the only spot where it was pos- sible they could have been carried over the ridge of rocks, and that twenty fathoms' distance right or left of the place high rocks rose out of the sea, against which they must have perished during the darkness of the night. Winter was now come. The crew, worn down with fatigue, reposed until mid-day, and then the boat was lowered. On the 6th of November, the second in command, Mr. Waxall, landed. They found the coun- try bjjinn, and covered with snow. A clear stream of excellent water, not yet . frozen, ran down from the mountains to the shore. No trees, or even shrubs, «vere visible. Firewood might be pbtained from what the sea had drifted on the land, but it must be collected froni under the snow. Hut or shelter there was none ; but they discovered near the banks of a torrent some deep hollows in the sand, which they prepared to clear out, and cover over with the ship's sails, so as to make a shelter, until they could construct cabins of wood. It was accordingly resolved to take the sick on shore the next day, as soon as places were prepared for them. On the 8t1i of November they were landed. Some died on being brought up into the air from below, oth- ers in the boat, and some upon getting ashore. The bodies of the dead, were instantly attacked by foxeSj 1:1 BEHRINO . 65 which came to their prey without fear, as if they had never before seen man. They were obligof^ to drive thoHO animals away from the corpses, the feet and hands of which were mangled before they could be interred. On the 9th of November the captain was landed, well secured from the atmosphere, and placed in a hollow by himself. The sick were all brought to the land in a day or two more ; but it was remarked that, of all who took to their beds in the ship, not one survived. These were principally such as were indif- ferent to existenre, or feared the disease, and suc- cumbed to it. Their disorder commenced with extreme lassitude, which made the person attacked spiritless, and i«idifferent to everything. A sort of asthma then cam^ on, which was felt on the smallest movement of the body. The person attacked preferred inactivity, and would rather lie down and die than move about. Soon after, the limbs were struck with severe pains, the legs became inflamed, the skin yellow, the body covered with livid marks, the teeth loose, and the mouth and gums bloody. Some of those attacked were nervous, and terrified at the slightest sound they heard Others seemed to eat heartily, and did not think them- selves in danger. They quitted their hammocks when they heard the order for going on shore, dressed them- selves, and believed they should quickly be well. On leaving the interior of the ship, and the close, corrupted air of the hold, and coming into the keen atmosphere, they speedily expired. Those survived who resisted the complaint so much IB not to take to their beds, — who kept in motion on their feet as much as possible, especially if they suc- ceeded, by natural lightness of temper, in driving away melancholy thoughts. The instances of successful re- sistance to the disorder were most observed in the offi- s 66 BEBRINO.— HI8 DEATH. cers of the ship, who were obliged to be on deck to look into everything. The captain, alone, of all the officers, died. His age and temperament inclined him to inactivity. lie took his friends, at last, for his ene- mies, and some oould not come into his sight, on that account, towards the close of his illness Two of the officers took the disease by remaining on board in the bad air of the hold, after the crew had quitted the ship, but they both recovered. Behring died on the 8th of December, 1741, od the island which now bears his name. He had a great passion for voyages and travels in his youth, and had seen many parts of the world, and a great deal of ser- vice. In a previous voyage he had sailed through the strait that bears his name. He had served under Peter the Great ; was made lieutenant in 1707, and captain* lieutenant in 1710. He was thus a seaman from his cradle, and was chosen to command the expedition from Kamtschatka on account of his previous services. He left his name a record to the end of time in the straits that separate Asia and America. His death was singular. He was almost buried before he breathed his last sigh. His men placed him in the most commodi- ous spot, the day after the disembarkation of the sick commenced. He was borne with great care into a sort of tent, upon or rather in the sand, and as well secured as possible. Every day he detached the loose sand from the sides of the place where he lay, so that he soon covered his feet with it. Those who attended him cleared it away, but at last he would not suffer them to do it any more. He showed anger if it were attempted, and by degrees had so accumulated it about him that when he died he was half covered. They buried him near the spot ; and the island is his iionument, bearing his name in the charts of all nations. FATE OF THE SURVIVORS wt Not lon^ after the death of the captain, the RuBsiaiifl ■aw their vessel wrecked before their eyes. It was their only means of escape from the dre *ry spot in which they were wintering. A storm aroae on tiie 20th of December, the cable snapped, and the ship came ashore almost close to whore the Russians were living. In the morning she was found buried eight or ten feet in sand, and oompletely shattered. The sea had spoiled a great proportion of their remaining pro- visions. Thh was £ fenrful 'asr^ Id them. They had now iwo impoi tiii't .objects to attain. The first was to dkitover «n wlvit part of the world they had been cast. Tho s^^cond, to find ib.i) means of sub- sistence. Fartioti i^ero seut out to ex|,lj.j:«. Aftfi an absence of three t!»>s. ^ne i-eturu^^id, and ovated thaA they had not pw(;oive«i the ioast irar.B of rat v., out they had seen a grer.t 'i umber ci' wYi^t ^ii'ore c^xPod in Ktirot- schatka seabeavers TNoy bw.d ulac £,«:«)i h (r;TPut nvini- ber of blue and white foxes, which showed no ^^gi^a of fear upon observing them. Hefic^'j they cc^clwdoo liiat the country on which they had lap.d<;>d was i>«M inhab- ited. They set out agalu more kx the iMt-tvior of the island, with the dcsi^rt to orosr Iho couutiy to the opposite side from that where ihny had ccnx} on shore. They found a high hill three or four lee.guee from the sea, and, ascenylin^; it, cor.li r,oe the sea both, to the eastward and westward of them, from which observa- tion they had no c!ou6t tb^y were upon an island. They found no trees, except a few willows on the sides of a rivulet. ■Having thus satisfied themselves they were upon an isi>nd, they proceeded to examine what stores and pro- visions had been left them that they could use. They first made a reserve of eight hundred-weight of fionr, which wus to serve as sea stock in their voyage to ■I 68 PREPARATIONS FOR RETURN. Ramtscaatka, after which they regulated the daily alluwancc of each person. Although thirty of the crew had died, there would not have been sufficient foi their subRistence, had there not been wild anima's oil the island to eke out their stores. The flesh of the beavers was hard and stringy. They killed a great number for their skins, of which they collected nine hundred. The surgeon had three hun- dred to his own share when they embarked from tlie island to return to Siberia. In the month of March no more beavers were seen, and in their places seals made their appearance. The flesh .of these animals they found disagreeable. They were relieved from the necessity of feeding -ipon them by killing sea-lions, the flesh of which they found excel- lent. The walrus, or sea-horse, was also taken, and served them for food. One of these, of eight hundred- tveight, was sufficient for fifteen days' consumption. The flesh was like beef, and that of the young ones not inferior to the best veal. The fat, which lined the flesh to the depth of three or four inches, very much resem- bled lard ; and the Russians used it as a substitute for butter. They filled several hogsheads with the flesh, which they salted, as part of their provisions for their future voyage. A whale came on shore during the winter near their habitation, and, being short of other food at the time, they cut out the blubber in square masses, and boiled it to separate the oil, which they ate. On the commence- ment of spring, a second whale was cast on shote in the same way, and then, rejecting the stale meat, they sup- plied themselves with that which was more fresh. Wlien the snow melted in the month of March, 1742^ these unfortunate men began to think of some means of return. They were forty-five in number The shief LAUNCH OF THE VE&SEL. 69 officer, Mr. Waxall, proposed that the old vessel should be pulled to pieces, and a new one constructed, of a size to carry them all. This plan was unanimously adopted. It was now the beginning of April, a favorable time to commence operations. All took their share in the work, and the entire month was employed in breaking up the wreck to obtain materials for the new vessel. Three Russian carpenters had die 1 since their arrival on the island, and there was not one left. A Cossack of Siberia, named Sawa Slaradoubzov, who had worked in the yard at Okhotsk, offered to construct the vessel if the proportions were given to him. He succeeded in laying down the new ship, a service considered of such importance, as well as ingenuity, that he was rewarded, on his return, by being elevated to the rank of Sinboiar* skoy, the lowest degree of nobility in Russia. On the 6th of May they began to construct their new ship. It wap forty feet long by thirteen broad. At the beginning of June it was ready for planking up, the frame being complete. It had but one mast and deck, a cabin was built on the pobp, and a cooking place in the forepart of the vessel ; it had four places for oars on each side. Many things were still want- ing, but they nevertheless proceeded to calk the planks, that the ship might be got ready for sea. They took care to construct a boat to accompany their vessel, capa- ble of holding nine or ten persons. They launched their vessel on the 10th of August, and called it the St. Peter, after the ship out of which ^he had been built. The shot and iron-work of the old vessel they employed for ballast in the new. The weather was fortunately calm for six days, during which time they got in the mast and rudder, bent the sails and took in their provisions. Their vessel drew five feet leater. All having embarked, they set cail on the 16th. t* 70 SCHALAROFF. I II '\i ■ i They cleared the rocks by the aid of their oars, aiid continued to row until they were about three leagues at sea, when they hoisted their sails with a slight breeze from the north. They found that their ship sailed and Worked as well as if she had been built by able work- men. On the 18th, they had a strong gale against them from the south-west. The fear of a storm made them fling a part of their ballast overboard. On the 2&th, they came in sight of Kamtschatka, entered the Bay of Awatska the next day, and on the 27th anchored in the port of Petropalatiski. In 1760, Schaiaroff, a merchant of Yakutsk, whose name is venerated throughout Siberia, determined on trying whether the passage attempted by Behring could or could not be accomplished. He persevered during three seasons, in defiance of mutiny and hardships innu- merable. He, too, was wrecked on the desolate coast seventy miles east of Gape Chelagskoi, and, with all his crew, died of starvation. Three years later, Sergeant Andrejeff conducted a sledge expedition across the ice to the Bear Islands ; his reports, which were much exagger ated, led shortly afterwards to the accurate survey of this and the adjacent country. Cook's exploration, of which we shall hereafter speak, led to another expe- dition on the part of the Russians, which sailed from the Kolyma in 1787, under Captain Billings; but the attempts made to navigate either to the east or the west were both defeated. Further efforts were made at inter- vals during the first qu^^rter of the present century, some of them mainly to search for the northern continent, whose existence, far in the Polar Sea, had so often been the subject of rumor. Last we come to the expeditions commanded by Lieutenant Anjou aAd Admiral von Wrangell, carried on also by means of dogs and sledges, from the year li! VON WRAN<3£LL. 71 1820 to :823; the latter taking the mouth of the Kolyma for his starting-point, the furiner the river lana These undertakings were especially promoted by the Ep' peror Alexander, and were conducted with all the care and skill warranted by an advanced state of science and p>hilosophy. They failed but in one par* ticular — the discovery of the northern continent. How diligently and perseverirjgly this was searched for, is best proved by the narrative. of perils endured, even to the risk of life, in the arduous enterprise. Three times was the frozen surface of the sea traversed with- out leading to any definite result ; on the fourth Jour- ney, in Mai'ch, 1823, Von VVrangell reached the latitude of 70" 51', longitude 176" 27' west — one hundred and five worsts in a direct line from the mainland. Sound- ings gave a depth of twenty-two and a half fathoms ; the ice here was thin and weak. More than once the party had only been saved from breaking through by the speed at which the dogs travelled over it. In the distance a screen of dense blue vapor — a certain indication of open water — was visible, on which the admiral remarks : " Notwithstanding this sure token of the impossibil- ity of proceeding much further, we continued to go due north for about nine wersts, when we arrived at the edge of an immense break in the ice, extending east and west further than the eye could reach, and which at the nari'owest part was more than a hundred and fifty fath- oms across. * * * * We climbed one of the loftiest ice- hills, where we obtained an extensive view towards the north, and whence we beheld the wide, immeasurable ocean spread before our gaze. It was a fearful and magnificent, but to us a melancholy spectacle. Frag- 'nents of ice of enormous size floated on the surface of the agitated ocean, and were thrown by the waves with «wful violence against the edge of the ice-field on the 72 VON WRANGELL li ! further side of the channel before us. The collisions were so tremendous, that large masses were every instant broken away ; and it was evident that the por- tion of ice which still divided the channel from the open ocean would soon be completely destroyed. Had we attempted to have ferried ourselves across upon one of the floating pieces of ice, we should not have found firm footing upon our arrival. Even on our own side, fresh lanes of water were continually forming, and extending in every direction in the fi°ld of ice behind us. With a painful feeling of the impossibility of overcoming the obstacles which nature opposed to us, our last hope van- ished of discovering the land, which we yet believed to exist." On returning from this extreme limit of their adven- turous journey, the party were placed in a situation of extreme risk. " We had hardly proceeded one werst," writes M. von Wrangell, " when we found ourselves in a fresh labyrini^h of lanes of water, which hemmed us in on every side. As all the floating pieces around us were smaller than the one on which we stood, which was seventy-five fathoms across, and as we saw many certain indications of an approaching storm, I thought it better to remain on the larger mass, which offered us somewhat mora security ; and thus we waited quietly whatever Providence should decree. Dark clouds now rose from the west, and the whole atmosphere became filled with a damp vapor. A strong breeze duddenly sprang up from the west, and increased in less than half an hour to a storm. Every moment huge masses of ice around us were dashed against each other, and broken into a thousand fragments. Our little party re- mained fast on our ice-island, which was tossed to and fro by th» waves. We gazed in most painful inac- tivity on the wild conflict of the elements, expecting \j re- and linao* :ting [73] it ,1 ' I h VON WRAiNOKLL. ViS every moment to be swallowed up. We had been three long hours in this position, and still the mass of ice beneath us held together, when suddenly it was caught by the storm, and hurled against a large field of ice. The crash was terrific, and the mass beneath us was shattered into fragments. At that dreadful moment, when escape seemed impossible, the impulse of self- preservation implanted in every living being saved us. Instinctively we all sprang at once on the sledges, and urged the dogs to their full speed. They flew across the yielding fragments to the field on which we had been stranded, and safely reached a part of it of firmer character, on which were several hummocks, and where the dogs immediately ceased running, conscious, appa- rently, that the danger was past. We were saved : we joyfully embraced each other, and united in thanks to God for our preservation from such imminent peril.'' More than once during this trip the party heard from the Tchuktches that land could be seen far away in the northern seas. The part of the coast alluded to was Gape Jakan, which the explorers afterwards visited ; but, although " they gazed long and earnestly on the horizon, in hopes, as the atmosphere was clear, of dis- cerning sbme appearance of the northern land," they "could see nothing of it." lOB-RAFT. ,l!!l r! OflAPTER III. CFFKA or PAHUAMBlfT HRARNE'S JOUBRET. — PHIPPS. — 1»EI^"X. — COOK.— UtCKENZIE. — 8IR JOHN ROSS'S FIRST VOYAOK. — BOCnAN A»(r FRANKLIN. — DANUEROCS SITUATION OK THE TRENT AND DOROTHEA. In 1743 the BritiBli Parliament offered a reward of twenty thousand pounds to any one who sliould sail to the north-west by way of Hudson's Strait, which passage, it was declared, would be "of great benefit and advan- tage to the kingdom." Between 1769-72 Mr. Hearne undertook three overland journ"tey8 across the territories of the Hudson's Bay Company, to the shores of the Polar Sea. He failed in the first two attempts ; in the third he succeeded in reaching a largo and rapid river, — the Coppermine, — and followed it down nearly to its mouth ; but, as there is reason to believe, without actually view* ing the sea. The proof of the existence of the river was the most important result of Mr. Hearne's labors ; for such scientific observations as be attempted are loose and unsatisfactory. In the following year (1773), in consequence of com- munications made to the Royal Society on the possi- bility of reaching the North Pole, Captain Phipps (after- wards Lord Mulgrave) was sent out with two vessels to effect this interesting object. He coasted the eastern shore of Spitzbergen to 80° 48' of latitude, and wan there stopped by the ice. With Phipps on this expe- dition was Nelson, the future naval hero of England, then a mere boy. Young as he was, he was on one occasion appointed to command a boat, sent out to PHIPP8. 77 explore a passage into the open water. It was the means of saving another boat from imminent danger. One of the officers had wounded a walrus. As no otho" animal has so human-like an expression of countenance, 80 also is there no one that seems to possess more of the passions of Invmanity. The wounded animal dived nnmediatoly, and brought up a ruinber of its compan- ions ; and they all joined in an uttack on the boat I'hey wrested an oar from one of the men, and it was with the utmost difficulty that the crew could prevent them from staving or upsetting her, till Nelson came up : and the walruses, finding their enemies thus rein forced, dispersed. Young Nelson exposed himself in • most daring manner. For a time Captain Phipps was so surrounded by ice, that he made preparations to abandon his ships. On the ?th of August the men began to haul the boata or«i f. ;; tt ^! rs COOK. — MACKENZIE. the ice. But on the 9th the ships were moved a little through some small openings ; and in the course of tho day the} got past the boats, and took them on board again. On the morrow a favorable wind sprang up ; all sail was set, and, after forcing their way through much heavy ice, tho ships cleared it, and gained the open sea. The season was now so far advanced that nothing more could be attempted, and the expedition returned to England. In 17*76 Cook sailed on the fatal expedition which cost England her famous navigator, with instructions to at- tempt the passage of the Icy Sea from Behring's Strait to Baffin's Bay. The clause of the act above referred to, wherein Hudson's Strait was exclusively specified, was altered to include " any northern passage" for ships ; and five thousand pounds was further voted to any one •A^ho should get within one degree of the pole. Cook, «vith all his perseverance, could not penetrate beyond Icy Cape, latitude YO* 20', where he found the ice stretch- ing in a compact mass across to the opppsite continent, v»hich he also visited, sailing as far as Cape North, on the coast of Asia. It would appear that expectations prevailed of the enterprising mariner's success ; for a vessel was sent to Baffin's Bay to wait for him, iu 1777, in charge of Lieutenant Pickersgill. One other journey within this century remains to be Loticed — that by Mackenzie, under sanction of the Hud- son's Bay Company, with objects similar to those cf Hearne. In 1789 he left Fort Chipewyan, crossed Slave Lake, and descended the Mackenzie River, a stream of much greater magnitude than the Coppermine, to an island where the tide rose and fell. But, as in the case of his predecessor, we have no certainty that he reached the ocean. Rivers, however, play an important part in Arctic discovery ; and it was something gained to kiu>w ^!i ROSS AND PARRY. 79 that tho Bca could be reached by their uicans. We maj bore observe, once for all, that these land expeditions, whose prime object has been to determine the northern coast'-line of America, are not to be confounded with the attempts to discover the north-west passage. The result of these discouragements was a cessation of naval researches, which continued for many years ; but at length a change took place, as sudden and inex- plicable as the accumulation of ice from centuries before which cut off tho Danish colonies in Greenland from communication with the mother country. In 1816-11, the Greenland whalers reported the sea to be clearer of ice than at any former time within their knowledge. This fact engaged the attention of the British Admiralty ; and the Council of the Royal Society were consulted as to tho prospects of renewed operations in the Arctic regions. Their reply was favorable ; and in 1818 two expeditions were fitted out — the one to discover the north-west passage, the other to reach the pole. Gap- tain (soon Sir John) Ross and Lieut, (soon Sir Ed- ward) Parry, in the vessels Isabella and Alexandei, were intrusted with the former of these objects. They were especially charged to examine the great openings described by Baffin as existing at the head of the vast bay which he so diligently explored ; and, in carrying out these instructions, the commanders found full reason to applaud the care and perseverance of the able navi- gator, who had preceded them by two hundred years. It must be remembered that we are now treating of a period when science put forward its imperative claims, and when, as at present, something more was recfuired than a meagre chart of a previously-unexplored coast, and graphic accounts of new countries and their inhab- itants. Astronomy, geology, meteorology, magnetism, tiatural history, were all clamorous for new facts, or fot so note AND PARRY. satisfactory tests of those already known ; and not only men of science, but the public at lar^e, looked with deep . interest to the results. The open state of the sea greatly facilitated the pur- puses of the expedition. On the iSth of April the navi- gators sailed down the Thames, and by the end of the month were off the Shetland Islands. On the 27th of May they came in view of Cape Farewell, round which, as usual, were floating numerous and lofty icebergs of the most varied forms and tints. On the 14th of June they reached the Whale Islands, where they were informed by the governor of the Danish settlement that the past winter had been uncommoaly severe ; that the neighboring bays and straits had been all frozen two months earlier than usual ; and tliat some of the channels northward of his station were still inaccessible, owing to the ice. On the ITth of June, in the neighborhood of Waygat Island, an impenetrable barrier obliged the discoverers ^to stop their course, making themselves fast to an iceberg, and having forty-five whale-ships in company. Observations made ashore proved this island to be misplaced on the maps by no less than five degrees of longitude. On the *lth of August, in the •ame latitude, a heavy gale sprang up, which, diiving the ice against the vessels, made a display of its terrible power. Providentially, when instant destruction was expected, the mass receded, and the ships, owing to the extraordinary strength of their construction, escaped without material injury. Proceeding along a high mountainous coast, the expedition came to a tribe of Esquimaux, who, of all luman beings, seemed to live in a state of the deepest seclusion. They had never before seen men belonging to the civilized world, or to a race different ftom their frwn. The first party whom the navigators approached ROSS AND PARRY. 81 •howed every siffn of alarm, dreading, as was after wards understood, a fatal influence from the mere touch of beings whom they regarded as members of an un* known species. They soon, however, acquired greator confidence, and gave the usual proof of it by making free with whatever they could carry away. Folio Aring the genorul usage, they have sledges drawn by large and powerful tcamH of dogs ; their chase is chiefly confini^d to bares, foxes of various colors, the seal, and the narwal. They rejected with horror the profiered luxuries of bis- cuit, sweetmeats, or spirits ; train-oil, as it streamed from various species of fish, alone gratified their palate. Captain Ross, swayed by national impressions, gave to this district the name of the Arctic Highlands. In the northern part of this coast the navigators ob^ served a remarkable phenomenon — a range of cliffs, the snowy covering of whirh had exchanged its qative white for a tint of deep crimson. The latest observa- tions on this red snow have established the vegetable origin of the color. Having now passed Gape Dudley Digges, the con;- modore found himself among those spacious sounds which Baffin had named, but so imperfectly described. They all appeared to him, however, to be either baya enclosed by land, or obstructed by impenetrable barriers of ice. He sailed past Wolstenliolme and Whale Sounds very quickly, v/ithout approaching even their entrance, concluding then to be blocked up with ice, and to aflbrd no hope of a passage. As these openings stretched towards the north, it must be admitted that they could not, in this high latitude, be considered vetj •favorable as to the object he had in view. He came next to Sir Thomas Smith's Sound, which BaflSn de- scribed as the most spacious in the whole circuit of diese coasts. This was regarded with greater attenticn ; 82 R08S AND PARRY but Captain Ross satisfied himself that h( had distinctly seen h, at the distance of eighteen leagues, completely enclosed by land. He soon arrived at an extensive bay, which had hitherto been unobserved ; afterwards to that which Baffin called Alderman Jones's Sound : but in respect to both, the ice at their entrance, and the apparent b^.^undary of high land in the interior, led, as in the other instances, to an unfavorable conclusion. The season was now somewhat advanced, the end of August approached, the sun set after an uninterrupted day of two months and a half,^and a thick fog rendered the lengthening nights more gloomy. The land, seen at some distance, consisted of very high and steep hills, presenting, however, some spots fit for human habita- tion. An opening forty-five miles wide, to the 80utl>- ward of a promontory which was named Cape Charlotte, was decided against on the uoual grounds. On the 30th of August the expedition came to a most magnificent inlet, bordered by lofty mountains of peculiar grandeur, while the water, being clear, and free from ice, pre «>ented so tempting an appearance, that it was impossi- ble to refrain from entering. This channel, which soon proved to be Lancaster Sound, was ascended for thirty miles, during which run officers and men crowded the l>'>pmaHt, filled with enthusiastic hope, and judging that ii aflbrded a much fairer prospect of success than any of those so hastily passed. Captain Ross, however, eoon thought that he discovered a high ridge stretching directly across the inlet; and though a great part of it was deeply involved in mist, a passage in this direction was by him judged to be hopeless. The sea being open, however, the commander proceeded ; but about twelve o'clock, Mr. Beverley, the assistant-surgeon, came down from the crow's nest, and stated that he had 4een the land extending very nearly across the entire BUCIIAN AND FRANKLIN. 83 bay. Hereupon, it is said, all hopes wore rcnQunced.. even by the most sanguine, and Captain Koss sailed on ward merely for the purpose of making avme niagneti- ^%\ observHtions. At three o'clock, the sky having cleared, the com- mander himself went on deck, when he states that he distinctly saw across the bottom of the bay a chain of mountains, continuous, and connected with those which formed its opposite shores. The weather then becom- ing unsettled, he made the signal to steer the vessels out of Lancaster Sound. On regaining the entrance of this great channel, Cap- tain Ross continued to steer southward along the west- ern shore, without seeing any entrance which afibrded equal promise. Cumberland Strait alone was similar in magnitude ; but, as it could lead only into the higher latitudes of Hudson's Bay, it afl'orded :ittle chance of a passage into the Arctic Sea. After surveying, there- fttie, some of these shores, he returned home early in October. Tlie captain arrived in England under the most decided conviction that Baffin's observations had been perfectly correct, and that Lancaster Sound was a bay, affording no entrance into any western sea. If even any strait existed between the mountains, it must, he conceived, be forever innavigable, on account of the ice with which it is filled. The Dorothea and Trent, commanded by Captain Buchan and Lieut, (afterwards Sir John) Franklin, com- prised the expedition destined for the pole. Franklin, ill i'egard to whose fate so much public interest was in subsequent years excited, entered the navj' in early life as midshipman of the Porpoise, one of the ships em- ployed by Captain Flinders on the survey of the coasts of Australia, and was wrecked in her. Next in the Polyphemus, as midshipman and roaster's mate, from H BUCIIAN AND FRANKLIN. m \ ill I Hi r l! ■! -11 1801 to 1808, he was in the fleet with SeUon at th€ i)attle of Copenhagen. He was next appointed acting* lieutenant in the Bedford ; and was lieutenant of the Bellerophon \u the battle of Trafalgar, in 1806, and also in the Bedford in the attack on New Orleans, in 1815, wliere he comnundod in the boats, was wounded, gazet- ted, and highly spoken of. He was considered a good nautical surveyor, well versed in the use of instruments, and a thorough seaman. Captain Beechoy, to whom we are indebted for an Interesting account of the present voyage, observes : "The peculiarity of the proposed route aftbrded oppor- tunities of making some useful experiments on the ellip- tical figure of the earth ; on magnetic phenomena ; on the refraction of the atmosphere in high latitudes in ordinary circumstances, and over extensive masses of ice ; and on the temperature and spc'cific gravity of tho sea at tho surface, and at vanous depths ; and on mete- orological and other interesting phenomena." The vessels sailed in April, 1818 ; Magdalena Bay, in Spitz- bergen, having been appointed as a place cf rendezvous, in case of separation. Though tins expedition, like that of Ross, was a fail- ure in its main cbject, yet, unlike the other, it was not owing to any want of exertion, zeal, or intelligence, in the two <;ommanderH or officers ; on the contrary, the two Giiips were supplied with some of those who, in fuluvo voyages, so gieatly distijignished themselves as to obtain the highest stops of promotion, and to receive ^n»norary rewards. The instructions directed that they were to make the best of their way into the Spitzbergen seas, where they should endeavor to pass to the north- ward, between Spitzbergen and Greenland, without stopping on either of their coasts, and use their best endeavors to reach the North Pole ; with a suggestion, BUCHAN AND FRANKLIN. H& that wheie the sea is deepest and least connected with the land, it will be found most clear of ice. On the 18th of May the ships encountered a severe g-ale, and under even storm staysails were buried gun- wiilc deep in the waves. On the 24:th they sighted Cheric Island, situated in lat. 74" 33' N., and long. 17* 40' E., formerly so noted for itp fishery, beinpf nmch frequented by walruses. For m.''08, in some sheltered situations, is so powerful, during two hours on either side of noon, that they frequently observed the thermometer upon the ice in the offing at 68", 62', 67* ; and once at midnight it rose to 73**, although in the shade at the same time it was only 36**. Hence are found varieties of Alpine plants, grasses, and lichens, such as in the more southern aspects flourish in great luxuriance ; theyare here found ascending to a consid' erable height, " so that," says Beechey, " we have fre- quently seen the reindeer browsing at an elevation of fifteen hundred feet.'' On account of the mildness of the temperature, the shores of Spitzbergen are frequented by multitudes of animals of various descriptions. " From an early hour in the morning until the period of rest returned, the shores around is reverberated with the merry cry of the little auk, willocks, divers, connorants, gulls, and other aquatic birds ; and, wherever we went, groups of wal- ruses, basking in the sun, mingled their playful roar with the husky bark of the seal." The little auks or rotges (the Alea alle) are stated to be so numerous, that " we have frequently seen an uninterrupted line of them extending full half-way over the bay, or to a distance of more than three miles, and so close together that thirty have fallen at one shot. This living column might be about six yards broad and as maay deep ; so that, allowing sixteen birds to a cubic yard, there would be four millions of these creatures on the wing at one time." This number, he adds, appears very large ; yet, when it is told that the little rotges rise in such multitudes as to darken the air, and that their chonw ii ■"*?>». IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) &^ '^ ^ ^ 11.25 ■^■2.8 US ■u 14.0 1.4 125 2.0 Mlj m 1.6 Photographic .Sciences Corporation 23 WeST MAIN STREET WEBSTER, N.Y. 145M (716) •72-4503 \ 4 •^ V *!» ^-V i\ '^ ^ ■ T ■i i 1 I^^B ^^^H ^B 1 f I 94 BUCHAN AND FRANKLIN. di'ptinctly Lidible at a distance of four miles, the estimate will not appear to be exaggerated. At Vogel Sang and Cloven Cliff, between which is Fair Haven, wherein the ships anchored, the surround- ing islands are desciibed as clothed with lichens and other rich pasturage for reindeer, which creatures are here so abundant (upon Vogel Sang in particular), that this island alone supplied the expedition with forty car- casses in high condition, the fat on the loins being from four to six inches thick, and a carcass prepared for dressing weighing two hundred and eighty-five pounds. These fine creatures showed evident marks of affection for each other. " They were at this time in pairs, and when one was shot, the other would hang over it, and occasionally lick it, apparently bemoaning its fate ; and, if not immediately killed, would stand three or four shots rather than desert its fallen companion." "This compassionate conduct," continues Beechey, "it is needless to say, doubled our chance of success, though I must confess it was obtained in violation of our better feelings." These animals are said to take to the water freely, and swim from one island to another. The boats of the Trent took four, which they wished to retain alive ; but they were so wild that they broke theii slender limbs, and inflicted other serious wounds, so that it became necessary to put an end to their suffer- ings by killing them. At one of the islets near Vogel Sang were also the King Eider-ducks, in such numbers that it was impossi- ble, almost, to walk without treading on their nests, which they defended with determined resolution. If driven off by foxes, or other large animals, they hastily draw the down of the nest over the eggs, and glue it with a yellow fluid, not only to preserve the warmth of the eggs, but that, being of so offensive a nature, the BUCHAN AND FRANKLIN. 05 foxes would not touch the eggs tainted with it. Foxes and bears arc everywhere found on the shore and on the ice ; and the sea about Spitzbergen is as much alivo nt« the land, from the multitude of burgomasters, stront jaggers, malmouks, kittiwakes, and the rest of the gull tribe, while the amphibious animals and the fish enliven both the ice and the water, from the huge whale to the minute clio on which it feeds, swallowing perhaps a million at a mouthful. In this respect of animal life, the Arctic regions of the globe essentially differ from those within the Antarctic Circle, where all appears to be stillni'ss, silence, and solitude. On the tth of June the ships left Magdalena Bay, and were hampered with fragments of ice, usually called brash-ice, which, as they proceeded, became thicker and more solid, and, indeed, impenetrable ; but a breeze opened and dispersed it, and carried the ships into clear^ water. In going westerly they fell in with several whale-ships, by which they learned that the ice in that quarter was quite compact) and that fifteen vessels were beset in it. Buchan, therefore, stood to the northward. They passed Cloven Cliff, — a remarkable isolated rock, which marks the north-western boundary of Spitzbergen, — and also Red Bay, when they were stopped by the ice closing the channel between it and the shore, and became firmly fixed. By great exertions, however, they got into the floe of ice, where they remained thir- teen days, whei the field began to separate, and to set to the southward, at the rate of three miles an hour, and the ships got into an open sea, where, however, they were not long permitted to remain, and took shelter in Fair Haven. Finding, from the view afforded by the hills, that the ic6 was driving to the northward, they again put to sea on the 6th of July, and sailed as far as 80* 15' N., wbero -,>>, i! 96 BUCUAN AND FRANRUN. i I- the Bame impenetrable barrier obstructed their further progress. On the following day, however, so rapid had been the motion of the ice during the night, that chuinols of water were observed in every quarter, and the wind was favorable for proceeding along one of the open channels. Captain Buchan lost not a moment in , pushing his ship into one of these openings, spreading every Bail his masts would^ bear, and was cheerfully ""Uowed by his enterprising consort, to the great joy f all on board. In the evening, however, the channels .jegan to close again, and the vessels were soon beset and pressed close by the packed ice. This was the end of their voyage northward, and the latitude gained was 80° 34' N. In vain they labored two days in drag- ging the vessels with ropes and ice-anchors ; for, though they had left the ice behind them, the current had car- ried them back to the southward three miles, and it was clear that all attempts to get one mile further to the northward would be vain. Captain Buchan being now satisfied that he had given the ice a fair trial in the vicinity of Spitzbergen, resolved on standing over toward the coast of Greenland. Hav- ing succeeded in getting the ships to the edge of the pack, and sailing along it, a violent gale of wind came on so suddenly that they were at once reduced to storm staysails. The ice was setting fast upon them, and the Dorothea being nearest to it, in ordei to escape imme- diate shipwreck, it was deemed necessa y to take refuge among it. The Trent followed her example, and dashed into the " unbroken line of furious breakers, in which '.I'tnense pieces of ice were heaving and subsiding with the waves, and dashing together with a violence which nothing, apparently, but a solid body, could withstand, occasioning such a noise that it was Mrith the greatest diificulty we c<^iuld mako nur orders heard by the crei* '* BUCHAN AND FRANKLIN. 97 '* No language,'' he says, ** I am convinced, can convey an adequate idea of the terrific grandeur of the eflfect now produced by the collision of the ice and the tem- pestuous ocean." But when the moment arrived that the strength of the little bark was to be placed in competition with that of the great icy continent, and doubts might rf^usonably have arisen of her surviving the unequal conflict, the crew preserved the greatest calmness and resolution. Captain Eeechey says : " If cv«. the fortitude of seamen was fairly tried, it was assui dly not less so on this occasion ; and I will not conceal the pride I felt in witnessing the bold and decisive tone in which the orders were issued by the commander of our little vessel (Franklin), and the promptitude and steadiness with which they were exe- cuted by the crew. Each person instinctively secured his own hold, and, with his eyes fixed upon the masts, awaited in breathless anxiety the moment of concussion. It soon arrived ; the brig, cutting her way through the light ice, came in violent .contact with the main body. In an instant we all lost our footing, the masts bent with the impetus, and the cracking timbers from below bespoke a pressure which was calculated to awaken our serious apprehensions." Captain Beechey proceeds to give a vivid and graphic account of the state of the ship, accompanied by a spirited and well-executed print, descriptive of her situation. "Her motion," he says, "was so great, that the ship^s boll, which in the heaviest gale of wind had never struck of itself, now tolled so continually that it was ordered to be muffled for the purpose of escaping the unpleasant association it was calculated to produce." After a few hours the gale ceased, and the pack broke up sufficiently to release the ships, which were so disabled that the T 98 BUCHAN AND FRANKLIN. Dorothea was in a foundering condition. They made the best of their way to Fair Haven in a sinking state, where they repaired their damages as well as they could ; it was obvious, however, there was au end to any further attempt as regarded the main object of the expedition. The Trent being the less damaged of th« two, Lieutenant Franklin requested that he might bo allowed to proceed alone in the execution of the service. This could not be acceded to, as, in the event which nad occurred, Captain Buchan was directed by his in- structions to take command of the TreLt, provided her consort was rendered unserviceable ; had he done so, the Dorothea, unaccompanied in her way home, might iiave risked the lives of her crew in a ship so shattered and unsafe. It was therefore decided that both should return home ; and on the 30th of August they put to sea, and on the 22d of October arrived at Deptford. KITCATIOM OF THE TU£.NT. CHAPTER IV. rikKBT'S riRBT TOTAQB. — ICEBERGS. — PASBAflB THROOOa LAHCiSTM ftOUIfD. — PRINCB regent's IMLET. — WELLIMeTOir CHANNEL. -— If BIr TILLS ISLAND. — WINTER QDARTBK9. — SCURVY. — SNOW BLINDNESS. — > THEATRICALS. — BREAKING DP OP THE ICE. — RETURN OP TUB EX« PBDITIOB. Much dissatisfaction was felt in England at the result of Ross's expedition, described in the last cliapt<'i- The grounds, in particular, on which Lancaster Sound, an opening so spacious, and in a position so favorable in respect to western discovery, had been so abruptly quitted, appeared inadmissible. The " Crokcr Moun- tains, " which had barred the progress of Sir John Ross, were affirmed by some who had borne part in the abortive voyage to be an ocular illusion. This opin- ion was very decidedly espoused by Lieut. Parry, the second in command. It was determined, therefore, that a ^'esh expedition should be equipped and intrusted to him, that he might fulfil, if possible, his own sanguine hopes, and those of the government. He was furnished with the Ilecla, of 375 tons, and a crew of fifty-eight men ; and with the Griper gun«brig, of 180 tons, and thirty-six men, commanded by Lieut. Liddon. These ships were made as strong as possible br the navigation of the Arctic seas ; and were stored with ample provisions for two years, a copious supply of anti-scorbutics, and everything which could enablf 100 PARRY'S FIRST VOYAGE. the crewB to endure the most extreme rigors of a polar winter. Lieut. Parry, destined to outstrip all his predeccsson* in the career of northern discovery, weighed anchor at the Nore on the 11th May, 1819, and on the 20th rounded the remotest point of the Orkneys. lie endeav- ored to cross the Atlantic about the parallel of 58*, and, though impeded during the first fortnight of June by a course of unfavorable weather, obtained, on the 15th, from the distance apparently of not less than forty leagues, a view of the lofty clififs composing Gape Fare* well. On the 18th the ships first fell in with icebergs., the air being also filled with petrels, kittiwakes, terns, and other winged inhabitants of the northern sky. He now made an effort to push north and west, through the icy masses, in the direction of Lancaster Sound ; but these suddenly closed upon him ; and on the 25th both vessels were so immovably beset, that no power could turn their heads a single point of the compass. They remained thus fixed, but safe, when, on the morning of the second day, a heavy roll of the sea loosened the ice, and drove it against them with such violence, that only their very strong construction saved them from severe injury. The discoverers, therefore, were fain to extricate themselves as soon as possible ; and, resign- ing the idea of reaching Lancaster Sound by the most direct course, resolved to steer northward along the border of this great icy field till they should find open water. In this progress they verified the observation <»f Davis, that in the narrowest part of the great sea, misnamed his Strait, the shores on each side could be seen at the same moment. Thus they proceeded till they reached the Women's Islands and Hope SandersoDi in about latitude 73"*. As every step was now likely to sarry them further from their destinaticn. Parry deter PARRV'8 FIRSr VfJVACK. 101 )pen ^tion Iscav be till |y to 3ter mined upon a desperate push to the westward. Favored with a inoderato breeze, the fihips were run into the detached pieces and floes of ice, through which thoy were heaved with hawsers ; but, the obstacles becoming always more insuperable, they were at length completely beset, and a heavy fog coming on, made them little able to take advantage of any favorable change. Yet, in the course of a week, though repeatedly and sometimes dangerously surroundcl, they warped their way from lane to lane of open water, till only one lengthened floe separated them from an open sea. By laboriously saw- ing through this obstruction, they finally penetrated the great barrier, and saw the shore, clear of ice, extending before them. The navigators now bore directly for Lancaster Sound, and on the 30th July found themselves at its entrance. Thoy felt an extraordinaiy emotion as they recognized this magnificent channel, with the lofty clifis by which it was guarded, aware that a very short time would decide ihe fate of their grand undertaking. They were tanta- lized, however, by a fresh breeze coming directly down the sound, which did not suffer them to make more than a very slow progress. Still, there was no appearance of obstruction either from ! ? or land, and even the heavy swell which they had to en:ounter, driving the water repeatedly in at the stern windows, was hailed as an indication of open sea to the westward. The Hecla left the Griper behind, but still without making any great way herself, till the 3d August, when in easterly breeze sprang up, carrying both vessels rapidly forward. A crowd of sail was set, and they pro ceeded triumphantly in their course. The minds of all were filled with anxious hope and suspense. The mast- heads were crowded with officers and men, and the sue ''<»B8ive reports brought down firom the highest pinuaclt 102 PAKKV'S FIRST V<)VA(»K. called the crow's nest, were eagerly listened to ou deck. Their path was still unobstructed. They passed various headlands, with several wide openin<>-s towards the north and south, to which thoy hastily gave the names of Croker Buy, Navy Board Inlet, and similar designations; but these it was not their present object to explore. The wind, freshening more and more, car- ried them happily forward, till at midnight they found themselves in longitude 83' l'/, nearly a hundred and fifty miles from the mouth of the sound, which still retained a breadth of fifty miles. The success of the expedition, they fondly hoped, was now, to a great extent, decided. The Uecla at this time slackened her course, to allow her companion to come up, which she did in longitude 86". They proceeded together to longitude 86° 30', and found two other inlets, which they named Burnet and Stratton ; then a bold cape, named Fellfoot, forming apparently, the termination of this long line of coast The lengthened swell, which still rolled in from the north and west, with the oceanic color of the waters, inspired the flattering persuasion that they had already passed the region of straits and inlets, and were nqw wafted along the wide expanse of the polar basin Nothing, in short, it was hoped, would henceforth obstruct their progress to Icy Gape, the western bound- ary of America. An alarm of land was given, but it proved to arise only from an island of no great extent. However, more land was soon discovered, beyond Cape Fellfoot, which was ascertained to be the entrance to a noble recess, extending on their right, which they oaniod Maxwell Bay, An uninterrupted range of sea still stretched out before them, though they were some- what discomposed by seeing, on the scuth, a line of I PARRY'S FIRST VOYAGE. 103 of cuntinuous ice ; but it left an open passage, and they hoped to find it racrely a detached stream. A little space onwards, however, they discovered, with deep dismay, that this ice was joined to a com- pact and impenetrable body of Hoes, which completely cn.osed the channel, and joined the western point of Maxwell Bay. It behoved them, therefore, immedi- ately to draw back, to avoid being embayed in the ice, along the edges of which a violent surf was then beating. The ofiScers began to amuse themselves with fruitless attempts to catch white whales, when the weather cleared, and they saw, to the south, an open sea, with a dark water-sky. Parry, hoping that this might lead to an unencumbered passage in a lower latitude, steered in this direction, and found himself at the mouth of a great inlet, ten leagues broad, with no visible termination ; and to the two capes at its en- trance he gave the names of Clarence and Seppings. The mariners, finding the western shore of this inlet greatly obstructed with ice, moved across to the east- ern, where they entered a broad and open channiel. The coast was the most dreary and desolate they had ever beheld, even in the Arctic world, presenting scarcely a semblance either of animal or vegetable life. Naviga- tion was rendfered more arduous, from the entire irregu- larity of the compass, now evidently approaching to the magnetic pole, and showing an excess of variation which they vainly attempted to measure, so that tht Diimacles were laid aside as useless lumber. They sailed a hundred and twenty miles up this inlei, and its augmenting width inspired them with correspond- ing hopes ; when, with extreme consternation, they suddenly perceived the ice to diverge from its parallel course, running close in with a point of land which appeared to form the southern extremity of the eastern 104 PARRY'S FIR8I VOYAGE. shore. To this foreland they gave the name of Gape Kater. The weotern horizon also appeared covered with heavy and extensive floes, a bright and dazzling ice-blink extending from right to left. The name of the Prince Regent was given to this spacious inlet, which Parry strongly suspected must have a communication with Hudson's Bay. lie now determined to return to the old station, and watch the opportunity when the relenting ice would allow the ships to proceed west- ward. That point was reached, not without some diffi* culty, amid ice and fog. At Prince Leopold's Islands, on the 15th, the barrier was as impenetrable as ever, with a bright blink ; and from the top of a high hill there was no water to be seen ; luckily, also, there was no land. On the 18th, on getting once more close to the northern shore, the navigators began to make a little way, and some showers of rain and sni^w, accompanied with heavy wind, pro- duced such an effect, that on the 2l8t the whole ice had disappeared, and they could scarcely believe it to be the same sea which had just before been covered with floes upon floes, as far as the eye could reach. Parry now crowded all sail to the westward, and, though detained by want of wind, he passed Radstock Bay, Gapes Ilurd and Hotham, and Bcechey Island ; after which he discovered a fine and broad inlet leading to the north, which he called Wellington. The sea at the mouth being perfectly open, he would not have hesitated to ascend it, had there not been before him, along the southern side of an island named Gornwallis, an open channel leading due west. Wellington Inlet was now considered by the ofiScers, so high were their hopes, as forming the western boundary of the land stretching from Baffin's Bay to the Polar Sea, into which they bad little doubt they were entering. For PARRY'S FIRriT VOYAOK. 105 thig rouRon Lieutenant Parry did not hcflitatc to pvo to thf) great channjl, which was underHtood t(t eflect ho desirable a junction, tlio merited appellation of Barrow's Strait, after the much-esteemed promoter of the expedi- tion. A favorable breeze now sprang up, and theadveii* tur(;rH passed gayly and triumphantly along the extcn- sivo shore of Cornwallis Island, then coasted a larger island, named Bathurst, and next a smaller one, called Byam Martin. At this last place they judged, by some experiments, that thoy had passed the magnetic nierid* ian, situated, probably, in about 100" west longitude, and where the compass would have pointed due south instead of duo north. • The navigation now. became extrenely difficult, in consequence of thick fogs, which not only froze on the shrouds, but, as the compass was also useless, took away all means of knowing the direction in which they sailed. They were obliged to trust that the land and ice would preserve the same line, and sometimes em- ployed the oddest expedients for ascertaining the pre- cise point. They encountered, also, a compact floe, through which they were obliged to bore their way by main force. Notwithstanding all these obstacles, they reache(! the coast of an island larger than any before discovtired, to which they gave the name of Melville. The wind now failed, and they moved slowly forward by towing and warping, till, on the 4th September, the lieutenant could announce to his joyful crew that, having reached the longitude of 110* west, they were become entitled to the reward of five thousand pounds promised by Parlia* ment to the first ship's company who should attain that treridiaa. They still pushed forward with redoubled ardor, hut soon found their course arrested by an impenetrable barrier of ice. They waited nefarly a fori» 106 PARRY'S FIRST VOTAQE. night, in hopes of overcoming it, till, about the 20th, their situation became alarming. The young ice began rapidly to form on the surface of the waters, retarded only by winds and swells, so that the commanding oflS- ccr was convinced that, in the event of a single hour's cahn, he would be frozen up in the midst of the sea. No option was therefore left but to return, and tc choose between two apparently good harbors, which had been recently passed on Melville Island. Not without difficulty he reached this place on the 24th, and decided in favor of the more western haven, as afibrdibg the fullest security ; but it was necessary to cut his way two miles through a large floe with which it was encumbered. To effect this arduous operation, the sea- men marked with boarding-pikes two parallel lines, at the distance of somewhat more than the breadth of the larger ship. They sawed, in the first place, along the path tracked out, and then, by cross-sawings, detached large pieces, which were separated diagonally, in ordei to be floated out ; and sometimes boat-sails were fas tened to them, to take the advantage of a favorable breeze. On' the 26th the ships were established in five fathoms water, at about a cable's length from the beach. For some time the ice was daily cleared round them ; but this was soon found an endless and useless labor, and they were allowed to be regularly frozen in for the winter. Parry then applied himself to name the varied group of islands along which he had passed. He called them, at first. New Georgia ; but, recollecting that this appel- lation was preoccupied by one in the Pacific, he gave the title of the " North Georgian Islands," in honor of his majesty George III., whose reign had been so emi- nently distinguished by the extension of nautical and geographical knowledge. I p PARRY'S FIRST VOYAGE 109 Hunting parties occasionally went out and procured a few reindeer ; but a migration of these animals took place before the close of October, leaving behind thein only wolves and foxes to keep the party company dur- ing the long winter months. Even the polar hare, so common in the Arctic regions, never once showed itself en Melville Island in the course of the winter. The musk-ox, also vciy common during its proper season, arrived on Melville Island in the middle of May, by crossing the ice from the southward, and quitted it by the same way on its return towards the end of Septem- ber. On the 15th the last covey of ptarmigan was met with ; and on the same day were seen fifteen deer, all ?ying down, except one large one, px'obably a stag ; this, after the rising of the rest,, seemed to guard the animals in their flight, frequently going round the herd, sometimes striking them with his horns to make them go on, which they appeared not much inclined to do. Even seals were not found in this neighborhood ; but whales of difl'erent kinds were commonly met with ; gulls and ducks, however, so numerous in Davis's Strait and the Georgian Islands, condescended not to visit Melville Island, but " two or three specimens of a cat- erpillar were obtained, one of which was brought to England" — of course as an Arctic curiosity. One large white bear, having pursued Captain Sabine's ser- vant to the siiip, was shot at and wounded, but made his escape ; it was the only one met with during the stay of the party, but described as being more purely white than any they had before seen. A feeble willow, a saxifrage, lichens, and stunted grasses, constitute pretty nearly the ^ra of Melville Island. The total privation of game of any kind now afforded few excursions for the exrrcise and amusement of hunt- ing. Parties, however, had occasionally been sent out no PAARV'8 FIRST VOYAGE. shortly afler the taking up of t^eir wiuter qusiiters One of these did not return on board before sunset, ati strictly ordered, and the consequence is stated to have been as follows : "John Pearson, a marine belonging. to the Griper, who was the last that returned on board, had his hands severely frost-bitten, having imprudently gone away without mittens, and with a musket in his hand. A party of our people most providentially found him, although the night was vciy dark, just as he had fallen down a bank of snow, and was beginning to feel that degree of torpor and drowsiness which, if indulged, uievitably proves fatal. When he was brought on board, his fingers were quite stiff, and bent into the shape of that part of the musket which he had been carrying ; and the frost had so far destroyed the anima- tion in his fingers on one hand that it was necessary to amputate three of them a short time after, notwith- standing all the care and attention paid to him by the medical gentlemen. The effect which exposure to se- vere frost has in benimibing the mental as well as the corporeal faculties was very striking in this man, as well as in two of tlie young gentlemen, who returned after dark, and of whom we were anxious to make inquiries respecting Pearson. When I sent for them into my cabin they lookfed wild, spoke thick and indis- tinctly, and it was impossible to draw from them a rational answer to any of our questions. After being on board for a short time the mental faculties appeared gradually to return with the returning circulation ; and it was not till then that a looker-on could easily por- Buade himself that they had not been drinking too freely." So early as the 29th of October the thei mometer wiia down to twenty-four degrees below zero. It was now PARRY'S FIRST VOYAGE. l]i ,4tstresBing^ to touch any metallic 6ub»i!xnco with the naked hand in the open air ; it produced a feeling of intense heat, and took oflf the skin. If the eye-piece ot a telescope touched the face, it occasioned an intense burning pain ; the remedy was to cover them and other instruments with soft leather. The oflBcers, notwith- standing, indulged themselves in walking for an hour or two in the middle of the day, in the depth of winter, even when the thermometer was down to forty degrees or even fifty degrees below zero, without experiencing much inconvenience from this intense degree of cold, provided always that there was no wind ; but the least breeze made the exposure to it intolerable. The commander, finding himself and his ships shut in for a long and dreary winter, devoted his attention, with a mixture of firmness and kindnesH, to mitigate those evils which, even in lower latitudes, had often rend«.'red an abode in the Arctic regions t") fatal, and to economize both the fresh provisions and f>el. From the first. Parry was aware that nothing acted more strongly as an antiscorbutic than to keep the men's minds in a lively and cheerful state. Arrange- ments were accordingly made for the occasional per- formance of a play, in circumstances certainly very remote from any to which the drama appeared conge- nial. Lieutenant Beechey was nominated stage-man- ager, and the other gentlemen came forward as amateur performers. The very expectation thus raised among the sailors, and the bustle of preparing a room for the purpose, were extremely beneficial ; and when the North Georgian Theatre opened with " Miss in her Teens," these hardy tars were convulsed with laughter. The Arctic management was extremely popular. Thh ifficers had another source of amusement in the North Georgian Gazette, of which Captain Sabine became 112 PARRY'S FIRST VOYAGE. editor, and all were invited to uun tribute to this chroii cle of the frozen regions. On the Ist and 2d of February the sun was looked for, but the sky was wrapped in mist ; however, on the 3d he was perceived from the maintop of the Ilecla. Health was maintained on board the ships, by enforced exercise and othcn- means, to a surprising degree. £arly hi January, however, Mr. Scallon, the gunner, felt symp- toms, first in the legs, and then in tiie gums, that de- cidedly indicated the presence of scurvy, of which the immediate cause appeared to be the great collection of damp that had formed around his bed-place. At this alarm, all the antiscorbutics on board — lemon-juice, pickles, and spruce-beer — were put into requisition ; a small quantity of mustard and cress was also raised from mould placed over the stove-pipe ; and such was the success of these remedies, that in nine days the patient could walk without pain. "Some of our men," says Parry, " having, in the course of their shooting excursions, been exposed for several hours tp the glare of the sun and snow, returned at night much affected with that painful inflammation in the eyes occasioned by the reflection of intense light from the snow, aided by the warmth of the sun, and called in America ' snow blindness.^ This complaint, of which the sensation exactly resembles that produced by large particles of sand or dust in the eyes, is cured by some tribes of American Indians by holding ther:^ over the steam of warm water ; but we found a cooHng wash, made by a small quantity of acetate of lead mixed with cold water, more efficacious in relieving the irrita tion, which was always done in three or four days, even in the most severe cases, provided the eyes wero carefully guarded from the light. As a preventi7e of ibis complaint, a pi^oe of black crape was given to each FABRY'S FIB8T VOYAOB. 113 BAn, to be worn aB a kind of short veil attached to the hat, which we found to be very serviceable. A dtill more convenient mode, adopted by some of the officers, was found equally efficacious ; this consisted in taking the glasses out of a pair of spectacles, and substituling black or green crape, the glass having been found to heat the eyes and increase the irritation. '^ On the 16th of March the North Georgian Theatre was closed with an appropriate address, and the general attention was now turned to the means of extrication froia the )oe. By the 1*1 1\ of May the seamen had so &Mr out it from around the ships as to allow them ta float ; but in the sea it was still immovable. This interval of painful inaction was employed by Parry in an excursion across Melville Island. The ground was still mostly covered with softened snow, and even the cleared tracts were extremely desolate, though checkered by patches of fine verdure. Deer were seen traversing the plains in considerable num-i bers. Towards the north appeared another island, to which was given the name of Sabine. It was found that those parts of Melville Island which wore clear of snow produced the dwarf willow, sorrel, and poppy, and that the moss was very luxuriant. On the second day they saw a pair of ducks, and killed seven ptarmi* gan ; sorrel and saxifrage were abundant. The party found pieces of coal imbedded in sandstone ; passed a very extensive, dreary, and uninteresting level plain, covered with snow ; and this kind of ground, with occa- sional ravines and foggy weather, continued for three .lays, during which they saw not a living animal, except one or two flocks of geese. Arrived at Bushman's Gove, in Liddon's Gulf, on the western side of Melville Island, the party found "one of the pleasantest and most habitable spots we bud y^t 114 PARRY'S FIRST VOYAGE. ■een in the Arctic regions, the vegetation being mortr abundant and forward than in any other place, and the situation sheltered' and favorable for game.'^ They found here a good deal of moss, grass, dwarf-willow, and saxifrage, and Captain Sabine met with a ranunculus in full flower. Thus we see that even in this, the most desolate region of the earth, the superiority of the western coast predominates. The hunters saw and fired at a musk-ox, but did not kill him ; they saw also several golden plovers. On the 16th of June they reached the ships, and were complimented by their ship- mates on their good looks, and as appearing in more rotust health than when they departed. "Having observed," says Parry, "that the sorrel was now so far advanced in foliage as to be easily gathered in sufiScient quantity for eating, I gave orders that two afternoons in each week should be occupied by all hands in collecting the leaves of this plant : each man being required to bring in, for the present, one ounce, to be served in lieu of lemon-juice, pickles, and dried herbs, which had been hitherto issued. The- growth of the sorrel was from this time so quick, and the quantity of it so great on every part of the ground about the harbor, that we shortly after sent the men out every afternoon for an hour or two ; in which time, besides the advantage of a healthy walk, they could, without difficulty, pick nearly a pound each of this valu* able antiscorbutic, of which they were all extremely fond, " By the 20th of June, the land in the immediate neighborhood of the ships, and especially in low and sheltered situations, was much covered with the hand- sonfie purple flower of the eaxifraga oppositi/olia, which was at this time in great perfection, and gave something like cheerfulness and animation to a scene hitherta iodescribably dreary in its appearance. PARRY'S FIRST VOYAGE. 116 " The suddenness with which the changes tuke place during tlie short seasun which may be called summer in this climate; must appear very striking when it is re* membered that, for a part of the first week in June, we were under the necessity of thawing artificially the enow which we made use of for water during the early part of our journey to the northward ; that, during the second week, the ground was in most parts so wet and Bwampy that we could with difficulty travel ; and that, had we not returned before the end of the third week, we should probably have been prevented doing so for some time, by the impossibility of crossing the ravines without great danger of being carried away by the tor- rents, — an accident that happened to our hunting parties on one or two occasions in endeavoring to return with their game to the ships/' By the middle of June, pools were everywhere formed ; the water flowed in streams, and even in torrents, which rendered hunting and travelling unsafe. There were also channels in which boats could pass ; yet, through- out this month and the following, the great covering of ice in the surrounding sea remained entire, and kept the ships in harbor. On the 2d of August, however, the whole mass, by one of those sudden movements to which it is liable, broke up, and floated out, and the explorers had now open water in which to prosecute their great object. On the 15th they were enabled to make a certain advance, after which the frozen surface of the ocean assumed a more compact and impenetrable aspect than had ever before been witnessed. The officers ascended some of the lofty heights which bordered the coast : but, in a long reach of sea to the westward, nc boundary was seen to these icy barriers. There appeared only the western extremity of Melville Island, named Gape .y 116 PABRV S eiKSl VUYAUE. DundaH, and in the dietanco a bold coast, which thej named Banks's Laud. As even a brisk gale from the cast did not produce the slightest movement on the' glassy face of the deep, they were led to believe that on the otlier side there must be a large body of land, by which it was held in a fixed state. On considering all circumstances, there appeared no alternative but to make their way homeward while yet the season per- mitted. Some additional observations were made, as they returned, on the two coasts extending along Bar> row's Strait. Parry's arrival in Britain was hailed with tlie warmest exultation. To have sailed upwards of thirty degi'ees of longitude beyond the point reached by any former navigator; to have discovered so many new lands, islands, and bays ; to have established the muoh-con* tested existence of a Polar Sea north of America ; finally, after a wintering of eleven months, to have brought back his crew in a sound and vigorous state, were enough i< raise bis name above that of any other Arctic voyager. ■MKTIMAUX SKOW-HUT. CHAPTER V. fKAPlUX'a riMT LAND EXi'BDITIO!!. — INCIDRNTB. — DACK'h J0T7RNI/. — •■v'lnrrr or tha wbathkr. — auroka doukalis. — anbcuotkb.'— •1>9VCY 'ir TBB COABT. — RKTCRN TRIP. — SUrrBKINQS. — MUBOBR Of MR. HOOD. — OBATBS. — UNBXPBCTBD R8LIEP. — ARRIVAL. AT YOM rACTURr. In September of the same year that Parry sailed, an overland expedition started Ihmi York Factory, Hud- son's Bay, under charge of Sir John Franklin, accompa* nied by Dr. (now Sir John) Richardson, two midshipmen, — Messrs. Back and Hood, — and Hepburn, a seaman, with the, object of exploring the north coast of America to its eastern extremity from the mouth of the Copper- mine. There was a chany ey en >le Lth wo of |ite he ce, lit tne ;re )n. we on iif- k. iuc kp [or let ^ i FRANKLIN'S FIB8T LANi/ t,XVh^DmOH. 121 sixteen Canadian voyageurB, interpreters, &c., left Fort Chipewyan in July, 1820, for Fort Enterprise, on Win ter Lake, more than five hundred miles distant. Here, after walking eigltty miles to get a look at the Copper- mine, they wintered, while Mr. (now Sir George) Back returned on foot to Fort Chipewyan, to expedite the transit of stores required for the next year's operations. At the end of five months he rejoined his companions; after a journey w}.vich put his powers of endurance to a severe t^ist. Some intere8 ; and most of those who have perished from cold in this country have fallen a sacrifice to their being ovHrt^ken on a lake, or other unsheltered place, by a storm of wind. The intense colds were, however, dctrininntal to us in another way. The trees froze to their very centres, and became as hard as stones, and nmre difficult to cut. Some of the axes were broken daily, and by the end of the month we had only one left that was fit fof felling trees." The aurora boroalis made its appearaiice frequently, with more or less brilliancy, but was not particularly remarkable ; in the month of December it was visible twenty-eight of the long nights. The Indians, it appears, have nearly d^8troyed thfe fur-bearing animals ; and so scarce is the beaver become, that in the whole journey to the shores of the Polar Sea and back, one single habitation, and one dam only, of that industrious and ingeniotis creature, were met with. Among the many interesting anecdotes that have beei* told of this aiimal, Dr. Richardson relates the followti^ ; fRANKLIN*S FIRST LAND EXPEDITION. 12.J 'One day a gentleman, long resident in this coun- try, espied five young beavers sporting in the water, leaping upon the trunk of a tree, pushing one another off, and playing a thousand interesting tricks. He approached softly, under cover of the bushes, and pnv pared to fire on the unsuspecting creatures; but a nearer approach discovered to him such a similitude between their gestures and ihe infantile caresses of his own children, that he threw aside bis gun. This gen- tleman's feelings are to be envied, but few traders in furs would have acted so feelingly." On the last day of June, 1821, the whole party having dragged their canoes and baggage to the bank of the Coppermine, — a tedious and fatiguing service, — em- barked on the rapid stream, and reached the sea on the 18th July. The main object of the expedition then commenced ; and, with two birch-bark canoes, each manned by ten men, and fifteen days' provision, Frank- lin paddled to the eastward. Proceeding along the coast on the inside of a crowded range of islands, they encamped on shore after a run of thirty-seven miles,, in which they experienced little inter- ruption. The coast was found of moderate height, easy of access, and covered with vegetation ; but the islands were rocky and barren, presenting high cliffs, of a col- umnar structure. In continuing their voyage, the dan- gers which beset a navigator in these dreadful polar solitudes thickened gloomily around them. The coast became broken and sterile, and at length rose into a high and rugged promontory, against which some largo masses of ice had drifted, threatening destruction to their slender canoes. In attempting to round this cape the wind rose, an awful gloom involved the sky, and the thunder burst 3vei thpir heads, compelling them to exaicamp tiU ih« 124 FRANKLIN'S FIRST LAND EXPEDITION. 'liliil Btorm subsided. They then, at the imminent risk of having the canoes crushed by the floating ice, doubled the dreary promontory, which they denominated Gape Barrow, and entered Detention Harbor, where they landed. Around them the land consisted of mountains of granite, rising abruptly from the water's edge, desti- tute of vegetation, and attaining an elevation of four- teen or fifteen hundred feet ; seals and small deer were the only animals seen, and the former were so shy that all attempts to approach within shot were unsuccessful. With the deer the hunters were more fortunate, but these were not numerous; and, while the ice closed gradually around them, and their little stock of pro- visions every day diminished, it was impossible not to regard their situation with uneasiness. Bounding Cape Kater, they entered Arctic Sound, and sent a party to explore a river upon the banks of which they expected to find an Esquimaux encampment. All, however, was silent, desolate, and deserted ; even these hardy na- tives, bred amidst the polar ices, had removed from so barren a spot, and the hunters returned with two small deer and a brown bear, the latter animal so lean and sickly-looking that the men declined eating it ; but the oflScers boiled its paws, and found them excellent. Proceeding along the eastern shore of Arctic Sound, to which they gave the name of Banks's Peninsula, the expedition made its painful way along a coast indented by bays, and in many places studded with islands, tul, on the 10th of August, they reached the open sea ; and saiJng, as they imagined, between the continent and a large island, found, to their deep disappointment, that, instead of an open channel, they were in the centre of o vast bay. The state of the expedition now called for the mioat serious consideration upon the part of their commander. FRANKLIN'S FIRST LAND EXPEDITION. 125 So much time had already been spent in exploring the sounds and inlets, that all hope of reaching Repulse Bay was vain ; both canoes had sustained material injury ; the fuel was expended ; their provisions were sufficient only for three days ; the appearances of the setting in of the Arctic winter were too unequivocal to be mistaken ; the deer, which had hitherto supplied them with fresh meat, would, it was well known, soon disappear ; the geese and other aquatic birds were already seen winging their way to the southward ; while the men, who had up to this moment displayed the utmost courage, began to look disheartened, and to entertain serious apprehen- sions for their safety. Under these circumstances, the leaders resolved to return. After spending four days in a careful survey of the bay, they terminated their exploration at a spot which, with literal truth, was named Point Turnagain, a distance, reckoning the indentations of the shore, of five hundred and fifty- five geographical miles. To attempt to reach the Copper^ mine so late in the season would have been fatal to the whole of the party ; they, therefore, made for Hood's River, discovered by them a few days previously, up which they had ascended to the first rapid by the 26tb of August. Two small portable canoes were then con- structed from the two larger ones, for the purpose of crossing rivers on the journey now before them ; and, on the 1st of September, they set ofl" on a straight course for Port Enterprise, one hundred and fifty miles distant The fatigues and privations endured on thifj route arc scarcely to be paralleled ; short of food, ill supplied with clothing, and exposed to the howling severity of the climate, the escape of any one of the number appears almost a miracle. Some days, when there was nothing to eat, and no means of making a fire, they passed entirely in bed ; on others, after a weary and exhaust f mi ';'ii 126 FRANKLIN'S FIRST LAND EXPEDITION. ing travel, their only nourishment on halting for the night was tripe de roche, or rock-tripe, a species of lichen, a plant of most nauseous taste, and the cause of cruel bowel complaints to the whole party. Daily they became weaker, and less capable of exertion ; one of the canoes was so much broken by a fall, that it was burned to cook a supper; the resource of fishing, too, was denied them, for some of the men, in the recklessooss of misery, threw away the nets. Rivers were to be crossed by wading, oi in the canoe ; on one of these occasions Franklin took his seat with two of the voya* geurs in their frail bark, when they were driven by the force of the stream and the wind to the verge of a fright- ful rapid, in which the canoe upset, and, but for a rock on which they found footing, they would there have per- ished. On the 19th, " previous to setting out, the whole party ate the remains of their old shoes, and whatever scraps of leather they had, to strengthen their stomachs for the fatigue of the day's journey. These," adds Franklin, " would have satisfied us in ordinary times, but we were now almost exhausted by slender fare and travel, and our appetites had become ravenous. We looked, however, with humble confidence to the great Author and Giver of all good for a continuance of the support which had hitherto been always supplied to us at our greatest need." A day or two afterwards the remaining canoe was left behind ; no entreaties could prevail on the men to i^ury it further. Dr. Richardson, too, was oblig<^ to abandon his collection of plants and minerals, froiii inability tc endure the burthen. The killing of five small deer at this time, however, enabled them to rest for a couple of days to recruit .their exhausted strenj^fr*. On the 26th they can:e to the Coppermine, the Ciossing of which, 3 wing t'O their weak condition, the loss of the canoe, FRANKLIN'S RRST LAND EXPEDITION. 127 and having to construct a rail of willow braiichcb, detained them until the 4th of October. Dr. Richard- son, actuated by the noble desire of niuking a lust cfibrt for the safety of the party, and of relieving his suffering companions from a state of misery, which could only terminate, and that speedily, in death, volunteered to make the attempt to swim across the stream, carrying with him a line by which the raft might be hauled over. " He launched into the stream," says FraLklin, " with the line round his middle, but when he had got to a short distance from the opposite bank, his arms became benumbed with cold, and he lost the power of moving them ; still he persevered, and, turning on his back, had nearly gained the opposite shore, when his legs also became powerless, and, to our infinite alarm, we beheld him sink. We instantly hauled upon the line, and he came again on the surface, and was gradually drawn ashore in an almost lifeless state. Being rolled up in blankets, he was placed before a good fire of willows, and, fortunately, was just able to speak sufficiently to give some slight directions respecting the manner of treating him. lie recovered strength gradually, and, through the blessing of God, was enabled, in the course of a few hours, to converse, and by the evening was sufficiently recovered to remove into the tent. We then regretted to learn that the skin of his whole left side was deprived of feeling, in consequence of exposure to too great heat. lie did not perfectly recover the sensa* tion of that side until the following summer. I cannot describe what every one felt at beholding the skeleton which the doctor's debilitated frame exhibited. Wlien he stripped, the Canadians simultaneously exclaimed, * Ah ! que 7ious sommes maigres / ' " They were now almost in. the last stage of starvation ; and, had 't not 128 FRANKLIN'S FIRST LAND EXPEDITION. M been for the exertions of Ilepburn in collecting tripe de roche, not one of them would have survived. On the 7th, when at twenty-four miles from Fort Enterprise, a division of the party took place : Franklin, with eight of the men, went on, while Richardson stayed behind at the encampment to tend on Hood, who was scarcely able to move. Hepburn remained with them. Franklin was most unwilling to part with any of his com- rades, but saw the necessity of doing so. " And, after,'' be says, " we had united in thanksgiving and prayers to almighty God, I separated from my companions, deeply afflicted that a train of melancholy circumstances should have demanded of me the severe trial of parting, in such a condition, from friends who had become endeared to me by their constant kindness and cooperation, and a participation of numerous sufferings." Three of the voyageurs, unable to proceed with Franklin, and Michel, an Iroquois, were permitted to return to the halting-place, where they would be at least certain of fire and rock-tripe ; but, with the excep- tion of the Indian, they perished by the way — not one of them was ever seen again. Franklin, with his five survivors, reached Fort Enterprise on the 11th. What a disappointment awaited them ! Instead of a cordial welcome from friendly hunters, and abundance of pro- visions, as had been promised, all was a blank ; the building was tenantless. A note was found. from Mr. Back, who had journeyed on in advance, i tating that he had gone in search of the Indians, and, if need were, to Fort Providence. This was but poor comfort for the famished travellers, who were obliged to take up their quarters in the dilapidated edifice. The rubbish-heaps concealed beneath the snow were searched for old skins, bones, or any kind of offal that might serve as food when stewed with rock-tripe. FRANKLIN'S FIRST LAND EXPEDITION. 129 >e. A good fire was a luxuiy seldom enjoyed, for they had Bcarcely strength to collect wood. Eighteen weary days were passed in these painful privations, when the monotony was interrupted by the arrival of Dr. Richardson and Hepburn. Their ema- ciated countenances gave evidence of their debilitated state. " The doctor particularly remarked the sepulchral tones of our voices, which he requested of us to make more cheerful, if possible, unconscious that his own partook of the same key." A partridge which Hepburn had shot was held to the fire, and then divided into six portions. " I and my three companions," says Frank- lin, " ravenously devoured oar shares, as it was the first morsel of flesh any of us had tasted for thirty-one days, unless, indeed, the small, gristly particles which we found occasionally adhering to the pounded bones may be called flesh." Richardson brought the melan- choly intelligence that Mr. Hood and the Iroquois were both dead. Michel, in a fit of sullen spite, to which uncivilized natures are liable, had shot the young and talented officer at the encampment where they had last parted ; and his demeanor towards the two survivors becoming more and more threatening, the doctor, under the imperious instinct of self-preservation, took upon himself the responsibility of putting the Indian to death by a pistol-shot. As afterwards appeared, there was reason to believe that two of the missing voyageurs had ilso been murdered by the Iroquois. Two others of the wretched party died on the second day after Richardson's arrival at the fort. At last, od the 7th of November, relief came, borne by throe In- dians sent by Mr. Back. The messengers proved them- selves most kind, assiduous attendants, " evincing humanity that would have done honor to the most civil- ized people.'' And, with good fires and sufficient food. 130 FRANKLIN'S FIRST LAND EXPEDITION. the Bufibrcra began to recover strength. A week later, thcj were able to set on* for Fort Chipewyan, wlicre they remained until June of the following year. In July they reached York Factory, from whence they had started three years before; and thus terminated a jour- ney of five thousand five hundred and fifty miles, dunng whicii human courage and patience were exposed to trials sucii as few can bear with fortitude, unless, as \e seen in Franklin's interesting narrative, it arises out of reliance on the evei-sustaining c«i*e of an Alniiglify Providence. Ill ii CHAPTER VL VAUT'b ■■COHB TOTAQl. — ABRITAL at HCMOJr'S ITBAIT. — KirOLU BAT. — BArri.IltO MAVieATIOM. — BSgOniAVZ rBIBBOS. — ABcrio y Ito to have acquired a very extensive knowledge of the Heas and coasts of this part of America. One female, in par ticular, named Iligliuk, who bore even among her coun- trymen the character of " a wise woman," was, after a little instruction, enabled to convey to the straiigora the outlines of her geographical knowledge in the form of a rude map. A pencil being put into her hand, she traced the shore from Repulse Bay with such a degree of accuracy as inspired great confidence in what she might further delineate. She then began to exhibit a coast reaching far to the north, being, in fact, the east- ern limits of Melville Peninsula. Next her pencil took a western direction', when her further progress was watched with the deepest interest; in the course of which she* represented a strait between two opposite lands, that extended westward till it opened on each side, and spread into an ocean apparently unbounded. This sketch, which promised to fulfil their most sanguine hopes, gratified the oflBcers beyond measure, and they loaded Iligliuk with attentions. Parry, gives an interesting account of the sudden appearance of an Esquimaux snow village near the ships. " If the first, view," he says, " of the exterior of this little village was such as to create astonishment, that feeUng was in no small degree heightened on accepting the invitation soon given us to enter these extraordinary houses, in the construction of tr'uich we observed that not a single material was used but snow and ice. After creeping through two low passages, having each its arched doorway, we came to a smaH circular apartment, of which the roof was a pe.'fect arched dome. From this three doorways, also arched, and of larger dimensions than the outer ones, led into as many inhabited apartments, one on each side, and the ether facing U8 as we entered. The interior of these 140 PARRY'S SECOND VOYAGE. presented a scene no less novel than interesting. The women were seated on the beds at the sides of the huts, each having her little fireplace, or lamp, with ail her domestic utensils about her ; the children crept behind their mothers, and the dogs, except the female ones, which were indulged with a part of the beds, llunk out past us in dismay. The construction of this mhabited part of the huts was similar to that of the outer apartment, being a dome formed by separate blocks of snow, laid with great regularity and no small art, each being cut into the shape requisite to form a substantial arch, from seven to eight feet high in the centre, and having no support whatever but what this principle of building supplied." These Esquimaux display much skill in fitting and sewing their dresses, and in the manufacture of canoes, weapons, and domestic implements. They eat little else than animal food, and, whenever they can get it, will devour from ten to twelve pounds of flesh or blubber in a day. Their only domestic animal is the dog ; de- prived of this useful creature, their existence would be extremely precarious. On the long journeys which they take in search of food, six of these dogs will draw a sledge with a load of half a ton fi*om seven to eight miles an hour during a whole day. Captain Lyon, in the middle of March, undertook a journey across a piece of land lying between the station of the ships arid the continent, which had been named Winter Island. The party were scarcely gone, when they encountered a heavy gale, bringing with it clouds of drift, and a cold so intense that they could not stop for a moment without having their faces covered with frostbites ; and their escape with their lives during the night and following day was nearly miraculous. Their •ledge, was lost in the snow. Some began to sink into a ht a on ed en Ith Ihe PARRY'S SECOND VOYAGE. 145 that dieadful insensibility which is the prelude to death by cold, and to reel about like drunken men. In fact, they had resigned almost every hope of escape, when, providentially, there appeared a newly-beaten track, which they determined to follow, and in ten minutes it led them to the ships. Their arrival there caused indescribable joy, as they had been nearly given up for lost ; while no one could be sent in search of them without imminent risk of sharing their fate. After various incidents, and unsuccessful attempts to free the vessels from the ice, they at length, on the 2d July, resumed their voyage of discovery. They had a favorable run through the entrance, which formed a continuation of Pox's Channel ; but a strong current from the north was still bringing down the ice with great force. The Hecla underwent some severe press- ures, and, within five or six hundred yards of the Fury, two large fioes dashed against each other with such a tremendous concussion, that numberless huge masses were thrown fifty or sixty feet into the air. The ves- sel, had she come for a second within the sphere of these movements, must have been crushed to pieces — happily she escaped. This current, however, was highly promising, since it could not be traced to the mouth of Hudson's Strait, and must therefore, they concluded, have come from the Western Ocean, which they were so anxious to reach. The ice passed by, and the ships proceeded with a favoring wind and tide. The shores began now to put on their summer aspect ; the snow had nearly disap- peared, and the ground was covered with the richest bloom of Arctic vegetation. The navigators came to a fine river named Barrow, which formed a most picturesque fall down rocks richly fringed with very brilliant plants. Here the reindeer sporting, the eider 144 PARRY'S SECOND VOYAaE. duck, the golden plover, and the snow buntinf^ sprcad- tug their wingR, produced a gay and delightful Bceno. On the 14th they reached the island of Amitiokc, which had been described as situated near the strait they were then endeavoring to attain. The discoverers now proceeded northwards, and saw before them a bold and high range of coast, apparent,y separated from that along which they were sailing. This feature, agreeing with the indications of Iligliuk, flattered them that they were approaching the strait exhibited by her as forming the entrance into the Polar Basin. They pushed on, full of hope and animation, and were further cheered by reaching the small island of IglooUk, which she had described as situated at the very commencement of the passage. Accordingly, they soon saw the strait stretching westward before them in long persp(H:tive ; but, alas ! they discovered at the same moment an unbroken sheet of ice from shore to shore, crossing and blocking up the passage ; and this not a loose accidental floe, but the field of the preceding winter, on which the midsummer sun had not produced the slightest change. Unable to advance, they amused themselves with land excursions in different directions ; and Parry at length determined, on the 14th August, with a party of six, to undertake an expedition along the frozen surface of the strait. The journey was very laborious, the ice being some- times thrown up in rugged hummocks, and occasionally leaving large spaces of open water, which it was neces- sary to cross on a plank, or on pieces of ice, instead of boats. In four days they came in view of a peninsula terp'.inated by a bold cape, the approach to which was guarded by successive ranges of strata, resembling the tiers or galleries of a commanding fortification. The party, however, scrambled to the summit, whence they I'AKllY'S SECOND VOVAGE. HI enjoyed a nu)Kt giatifyin^^ spoctucle. They wen? at llie naiTowcHt part of the Ht rait, here iihoiit two miles acroKs. with a tide or current riimiidg- throug-h it at the rate of two miles an hour. \V(»Htwanl, the whoriiM on each siih' receded, till, for three points of the coinpusH, and amid a clear horizon, no land was visible. Parry douhted not that from this position ho beheld the Polar Sea, into which, notwithstanding the formidable barriers of ice which intervened, he cherished the most sanguine hopes of forcing his way. He named this the Strait of the Fury and Hecla. He now lost no time in returning to the ships, where his arrival was very seasonable ; for the opposing bar- rier, which had been gradually softening and breaking into various rents and fissures, at once almost entirely disappeared, and the vessels next morning were in open water. On the 2l8t they got under weigh, and, though retarded by fogs and other obstructions, had arrived on the 26tti at that central and narrowest chan- nel which the comiiiander had formerly reached. A brisk breeze now sprang up, the sky cleared, they dashed across a current of three or four knots an hour, and sanguinely hoped for an entire success, which would compensate so many delays and disappointments. Suddenly, it was announced from the crow's nest that ice, in a continuous field, unmoved from its wintei station, occupied the whole breadth of the channel. In an hour they reached this barrier, which they found soft, porous, and what is termed rotten. Spreading all their canvas, they bore down upon it, and actually forced their way through a space of three or four hundred yards ; but there they stuck, and found their progress arrested by an impenetrable mass. From this point, during the whole season, the ships were unable ^ 10 146 PARRY'S SECOND VOYAGE ftdvaiice a kIii^Io yard ; nor had the crews uFiy inouiit of exerting their activity except in limd journeyH. Captain Lyon undertuuk an expedition Konthw.ird, to ascertaiu if any inlet or pansuge from isea to H<'a in this direction iiad escaped notice. The conntry, however, was so filled with rugged and rocky hills, some a thou- sand feet high, and with chains of lakes in whieh mucU ice was floating, that he could not proceed above seven miles. Though it was the beginning of September, the season was oidy that of early spring ; and the buds of the poppy and saxifrage were just unfolding, to be pre- maturely nipped by the fast-approaching winter. More satisfactory information was derived from another excursion made by Messrs. Reid and Bushman, who penetrated sixty miles westward along the southern coast of Gockburn Island, till they reached a pinnacle, whence they saw, beyond all doubt, the Polar Ocean spreading its vast expanse before them ; but tremendous barriers of ice filled the strait, and precluded all ap- proach towards that great and desired object. It was now the middle of September, and the usual symptoms of deer trooping in herds southward, floating pieces of ice consolidated into masses, and the thin pancake crust forming on the surface of the waters, reminded the mariners not only that they could hope for no further removal of the obstacles which arrested their progress, but that they must lose no time in pro- viding winter quarters. The middle of the strait, at the spot where they had been first stopped, occurred as the station whence they would be moat likely to push future discovery ; but prudence suggested a doubt, whether the ships, enclosed in this icy prison, with such strong barriers on each side, might ever be able to effect their extrication The chance of being shut up here for eleven months, amid the privations of an Arctic PARRY'S SECOND VOYAGE 147 irinter, appeared, at all events, a serioua coimldcration By roturning to Igloolik, they would bo ready to catch the carlicBt opening, which waH expected to take place on the eastern side, from whence a few duyu would bring them back to their present station. On the 30th of October, by the usual operatioii of flawing, the ships were established in a harbor at Igloo- lik. The ensuing season was passed with the most careful attention to the health and comfort of the crews ; but, though their spirits did not sink, there appears to have been, on the whole, less of gayety and lightness of heart than in the two former years. We hear nothing of the drama, or even of the school. In this position, north of Winter Island, they were deprived for about seven weeks of the sun's cheering beams. On the 2d of December refraction still showed, from the deck of the Fury, about the sixteenth part of his disk. At the New Year, Arcturus and Capella, stars of the first magnitude, were visible half an hour before and aftor mid-day. On the 5th of January, 1823, the horizon was so brightly suffused with red, that they hoped ere long to see the sun's orb burst forth ; but a fortnight of thick fog occa- sioned a disappointment. On the 19th, the sky having cleared, they saw him rise, attended by two parhelia, PARHKLIA. und botn crews turned out to enjoy the novelty and splendc>r oi* this cheering spectacle. One of these par- im ; 111! .ill ii 148 PARRY'S SLCOND VOYAGE. helia was very bright and prismatic, being thrown upon a thick cloud ; the -other scarcely perceptible, having a blue sky as its back-ground. To each of these mock suns bright yellow bauds of light were attached, as shown in the diagram. The sailors found at Igloolik a colony of Esquimaux, who received them at first with surprise and some de* gree of alarm ; but, on learning they T^ere from Wintei Island) and intimate with its tenants of last season, they welcomed them as -familiar acquaintances. The crews spent the winter with them on a friendly footing, and rendered important services to many individuals during a period of severe sickness. The spring proved unfavorable. Captain Lyon at- tempted to penetrate across Melville Peninsula, but found the road sc barred by steep chains of mountains, that he was obliged to return in nineteen days, without any discovery, except of two rapid rivers falling into the sea near Igloolik. Li^ut. Iloppner accompanied a party of Esquimaux to Gockburn Island, but could not make his way to any distance inland. It was the Ith of August before they were able, by severe sawing, to reach the open sea ; by which time Parry had renounced the hope of effecting anything important during the short remnant of this season. He formed, however, a very bold plan, which was to bring all the stores of the other vessel on board the Fury, and with it alone to brave a third winter in the polar regions, hoping that the succeeding summer might be more propitious. But, as he was preparing to carry this too daring project into effect, a report was made that symptoms of scurvy had broken out oa several of the crew, whose physical strength appeared to be generally impaired by the two hard winters through which they had passed. This left uo choice ; and, in compliance with the general opinion PARRY'S THIRD VOYAGE. 149 of his officers, he forthwith began his voyage home- wards. The ships were drifted about in a stormy sea, covered with ice, for twenty-four days ; but, being at last favored with a westerly breeze, they crossed the Atlantic, and on the 10th of October, 1823, arrived in Brassa Sound, Shetland. Two atteihpts had thus been made, each to a certain' point successful, but both arrested much short of the completion of the grand enterprise. The go'vemment at home, however, were not willing to stop short in theii spirited career. The western extremity of Mel- ville Island, and the Strait of the Fury and Hecla, ap- peared to be both so blocked up as to afford little hope ; but Prince Regent's Inlet seemed more likely to lead to a prosperous issue. A passage through this channel would bring the ships to the great sea bounding the northern coast of America, that had been seen from the strait mentioned above, and by which there was the fairest prospect of reaching, by the most direct route, the waters of the great Pacific. To follow up these views. Parry was again fitted out in the Hecla ; while, in the accidental absence of Captain Lyon, the Fury was intrusted to Lieutenant, now Captain, Hoppner, who had taken an active part in the operations of the precef'ing voyage. The expedition set sail from Northfleet on the 19th of May, 1824, and was in Davis's Strait by the middle of June. As the season, however, chanced to be pecu- liarly rigorous, it was not till the 10th of September that, after repeated repulses and severe straining, they caught a view of the bold and magnificent shores of Lancaster Sound, in which a few' solitary icebergs were floating. After this they thought themselves fortunate when, by pushing their way thrqugh many miles of 150 PARRY'S THIRD VOYAGE. 'M newly-formed ice, they reached Port Boweu, in time to make it their winter quarters. Here they remained until the 20th of July, 1S25» when the voyage was resumed, but under very dis* couraging circumstances. Great accumulations of Ice rendered it almost impossible to advance ; the Fury was driven on shore, and abandoned, though most of her stores were saved and piled on the beach ; and the Hecla returned to England with a double complement of men and officers. This was the least successful of Parry's voyages, but there is a fact connected with it which deserves to be recorded : it proved that the anxiety and difficulty consequent on the loss of power in the compasses need no longer exist. The placing of a small circular plate of iron in the line of no direction of the ship, and near to the needle, effects a compensation which keeps the latter in working condition. This con- trivance is due to Mr. Peter Barlow, of Woolwich, and Parry says, " Never had an invention a more complete and satisfactory triumph ; for to the last moment of oui operations at sea did the compass indicate the tru< magnetic direction. '' 4 CHAPTER VII. svoVa T^TAOB. — beechby's BXPEDrnoH. — fsakkuh'b BBOoim liin BUTBDlTIOlf. — FOBT rRABKUB. — WIMTBB AT OBBAT BBAB LAKB. — BMBABmATION. — SEPABATIOB OV THB PARTT. — PR0OBES8 OF FRANK- LUCB DirralOM.— ATTACK BY ESQlUfAVZ. — RETURN TO FORT FRABK« UN. — HivHAROBON'S DIYIBIOB. — BBOOBD WINTEB at THB FORT. CoNouKRENTLY with Pairy's third voyage, three other expeditions were undertaken, with the two-fold object of making the north-west passage and of completing the survey of the North American coast. The first, by Captain Lyon, in the Griper, was to proceed by Hud- son's Strait and Sir Thomas Rowe's Welcome to Re- pulse Bay ; then td cross over Melville Isthmus, and survey the coast of America as far as where Franklin left off, at Point Turnagain. The vessel sailed in June, 1824, but, being totally unfit for the service, except in the quality of strength, she was nearly wrecked on two occasions in the Welcome, and all on board placed in imminent peril of their lives ; and at last. Repulse Bay being eighty miles distant, the enterprise was aban- doned. The second expedition, in the Blossom, under the command of Captain Beechey, was despatched in 1825, to saiS round Cape Horn, and enter the Polar Sea by Behriiig's Strait, so as to arrive at Chamisso Island, in Kotzebue Sound, by the 10th of July, 1826, there to wait for the third expedition, under Franklin, of which more presently. " I ■ I 152 BEECHEY'S EXPEDITION, On the 2d of June, having left the Sandwich Islands, he shaped his course fur Karntschatka, and on the 2*7 th was becalmed within six miles of Petropalauski. The. best guides to this harbor are a range of high nroun tains, on one of which, upwards of eleven thousand feet in height, a volcano is in constant action. It was a ■erene and beautiful evening when they approached this remote quarter of the world, and all were struck with the magnificence of the mountains capped with pericn- nial snow, and rising in solemn grandeur one above the other. At intervals the volcano emitted dark columns of smoke ; and, from a sprinkling of black spots upon the snow to the leeward, it was conjectured there had been a recent eruption. From Petropalauski, Beechey sailed, on the 1st of July, for Kotzebue's Sound. " We approached," says he, " the strait which separates the two great continents' of Asia and America, on one of those beautiful still nights well known to all who have visited the Arctic regions, when the sky is without a cloud, and when the midnight sun, scarcely his own diameter below the horizon, tinges TVith a bright hue all the northern circlie. Our ship, propelled by an increasing breeze, glided rap- idly along a smooth sea, startling from her path flocks of aquatic birds, whose flight, in the deep silence of the scene, could be traced by the ear to a gi-eat distance.'* Having closed in witii the American shore some miles northward of Cape Prince of Wales, they were visited* by a little Esquimaux squadron belonging to Sr village situated on a low sandy island. The natives' readily sold everything they poBseiBed, and wei*c cheerful and good-humored, though exceed* ingly noisy and energetic. Their bows were more slen- der than those of the islanders to the southward, but made on the same principle, with drift-pine, assisted BEECIIEY'S EXPEDITION. im with tbongs of hide, or pieces of whalebone placed at the back, and neatly bound with small cord. Thfl points of their arrows were of bone, flint, or iron, and their spears headed with the same materials. Their dress was similar to that of the other tribes on the coast. It consisted of a shirt, which reached half-way down the thigh, with long sleeves, and a hood of rein- deer-skin, and edged with gray or white fox fur. Be- sides this they had a jacket of eider-drake skins sewed together, which, when engaged in war, they wore below their other dress, reckoning it a tolerably efficiei»t pro- tection against an arrow or a spear-thrust. In wet weather they threw over the fur dress a shirt made of the entrails of the whale, which, being well saturated with oil and grease, was water-tight ; and they also used breeches of deer's hide, and seal-skin boots, to the upper end of which were fixed strings of sea-horse hide. It was their fashion to tie one of these strings round the waist, and attach to it a long tuft of hair, the wing of a bird, or, sometimes, a fox's tail, which, dan- gling behind as they walked, gave them a ridiculous appearance, and may probably have occasioned the report of the Tschuktschi recorded in Muller, that the people of this country have tails like dogs. On the 22d of July the ship anchored in Kotzobue's Sound, and, after exploring a 'deep inlet on its northern shore, which they named Hotham Inlet, proceeded to Ghamisso Island, where the Blossom was to await Franklin. A discretionary power had, however, been permitted to Beechey, of tjiploying the period of hia stay in surveying the coast, provided this cc uld be done without the risk of misbing Franklin. Having, accord ingly, dire'^ted the barge to keep in-shore on the look out for the land party, he sailed to the northward, and, doubling Cape Krusenstern, completed an examinatioo 154 BEECHEY'S EXPEDITION. of the coast by Cape Thomson, Point Hope, Cape Li* bum, Capo Beaufort, and Icy Cape. As there were here strong indications of the ice closing in, and his instructions were positive to keep in open water, if pos- sible, he determined to return to Kotzebue's Sound, whilst he despatched the barge, under his lieutenants, to trace the coast to the north-eastward, as far as they could navigate. On this service the barge set out, on the ITth of August. She proceeded along the coast, and surveyed one hundred and twenty-six miles of new shore, until stopped by a long, low, projecting tongue of land, to which the name of Point Barrow was given, but without meeting or hearing any tidings of the expected overland party ; though 'it was afterwards ascertained that Point Barrow was distant only one hundred and forty- six miles from the extreme, point reached by Franklin. In the mean time Beechey returned with the Blossom to Kotzebue's Sound. There she remained at the an- chorage till October, when it became necessary to depart, to prevent her being frozen in for the winter ; and, after a cruise in the Pacific, she shaped her course once more for the rendezvous at Chamisso Island. Dur- ing the voyage to that point, where they arrived August 2tth, 1821, Beechey and his men had repeated inter- views with thf Esquimaux, whose h'abits and disposi- tion were in no respect different from those of the natives already described. They found them uniformly friendly, sociable, devotedly fond of tobacco, eager to engage in traffic, and, upon the whole, honest, though disposed to drive a hard bargain. On some occasions they attempted to impose upon their customers, by skins artfully put together, so as to represent an entire fish ; but it was difficull to determi' e whether they intended a serious fraud or only a piece of humor, foi to > W [165] FRANKLIN'S SECOND LAND I'XIMIDITUN. 157 they lau(rhed heartily when detected, and appeared to ' consider it a good joke. Their persons, houses, and c'jokery, were all exceedingly dirty, and their mode of salutation was by a mutual contact of noses ; sometimes licking their hands, and stroking first their own faces, and afterwards those of the strangers. The weather proved unfavorable for further operations ; there was very little open sea ; and, in endeavoring to push along the shore, the barge was wrecked, and sev- eral of her crew drowned ; and on the 6th of October Beechey was obliged to abandon further exploration, grieved and disappointed that he had not the satisfac- 'iion of bearing with him the adventurous party whom ne had been sent especially to meet. He arrived in England October 12, 1828, having been absent on his voyage three years and a half. The party under Franklin co/nprised the third of the expeditions to which we have referred. In 1824, Frank- lin, undeterred by the recollection of the fearful hard- ships endured in his former overland journey, proposed a second, which, descending the Mackenzie River to the sea, should there divide its force ; and, while one party explored the coast easterly to the Coppermine, the other should make its way westerly to Icy Gape, or, if possible, Behring's Strait. The project was duly sanctioned, and every preparation made to insure suc- cess, by building boats, providing scientific instruments, and supplying abundant provisions. Besides three strong and light boats, better suited to navigation among ice than bark canoes, a smaller one, covoteit with Mackintosh's prepared canvas, weighing o »iy eighty-five pounds, and named "The Walnut Shell'' was constructed for the purpose of crossing rivers. In the preparations nothing appears to have been omitted. Scientific instraments of all kinds, fowling i58 FRANKLIN'S SECOND LAND EXPFDITION. pieces and ammunitioii, marqucoB and tents, bedding, clothing, and water-proof dresses, flour, arrow-ront, maccaroni, portable soup, chocolate, essence of coflco, sugar, and tea, not omitting an adequate supply of that essential article for all North American travellers. pemmican, — were supplied. The officers under Franklin's orders were his old and tried companions and fellow-sufl'erers in the former journey, Dr. Richardson and Lieut. Back, with Mr. Kendall, a mate in the navy, and Mr. T. Drummond, a naturalist. Four boats, specially prepared for the pur- poses of the expedition, were sent out by the Hudson's Bay Company's ship. In July, 1825, the party arrived at Port Chipewyan. They reached Great Bear Lake in safety, and erected a winter dwelling on its western shore, to which the name of Fort BVanklin wat» given. To Back and Mr. Dease, an officer in the Hudson's Bay Company's service, were intrusted the arrangements for their winter quarters. Prom here a small party set out with Franklin down the Mackenzie to examine the state of the Polar Sea. The sixth day after their departure they passed the last of the fir-trees, in latitude 68** 40', these being succeeded by stunted willows, which became more dwarfish as they approached the sea. After the dis- sipation of a thick fog, the expanse of water to the northward was so great, that Franklin was inclined to think they had reached the siea ; and in this he was almost confirmed on reaching the shore of Elh'ce Island, where they *' were rejoiced at the sea-like appearance to the northward." " This point was observed to be in latitude 69" 14', longitudfe 136" 57', and forms the north- eastern entrance of the main channel of the Mackenzie River, which fi-om Slave Lake to this point is one thou- sand and forty-five miles, according to our survey." On FRANKLIN'S SECOND LAND EXPEDITION. 159 reaching Garry Island, they ascended the summit, and from it "the sea appeared in all its majesty, entirely free from i:e, and without any visible obstruction to its navigation, and never was a prospect more gratifying than that which lay open to us." Franklin had loft England under affecting circum- fitanccs. His first wife, who was then lying at the point of death, with heroic fortitude urged his depart- ure at the very day appointed, entreating him, as he valued her peace of mind and his own glory, not to delay a moment on her account ; that she was fully aware that her days were numbered, and that his delay, even if she wished it, could only be to close her eyes. She died the day after he left her. Uis feelings m^y b« inferred, but not described, when he had to elevate on Garry Island a silk flag which she had made and given hivn as a parting gift, with the instruction that he was to hoist it only on reaching the Polar Sea. On the 8th of September, Franklin and his party got back to their companions on Great Bear Lake, and pre* pared to pass the long winter of seven or eight months. On 5th October the last swan had passed to the south- ward, and on the 11th the last brown duck was noticed. On 6th M If the first swan was seen, and on the 8th the brown ducks reappeared on the lake. The mosses began to sprout, and various singing-birds and orioles, along with some swifts and white geese, arrived soon after. It is remarked by Dr. Richardson that the singing- birds, which were silent on the banks of the Bear Lake during the day, serenaded their mates at midnight : at which time, however, it was quite light. On 20th May the little stream which flowed past the fort burst its icy chains, and the laughing geese arrived, to give renewed cheerfulness to the lake. Soon after this the winter-green began to push forth its flowers ; and under 160 FRANKLIN'S SECOND LAND EXPEDITION. the incroaBing warmth of the sun's rays the whole face of nature underwent a delightful change. The huow grad* ually melted, the ice broke up from the shorcH of the lake, the northern sky became red and luminouH at mid- night, the dwurf-birch and willows expanded their leaves, and by the 3d June the anemones, the tusnilago, the Lapland rose, and other early plants, were in full Hower. On the 28th June thoy embarked upon the Mackenzie ; on the 4th July they reached that part where the river divides into various channels, and the two parties were to pursue different directions. The western branch was the route to be pursued by the boats of Franklin's party, and the eastern branch by those of Richardson : the former to proceed along the northern coast westerly as far as Icy Cape, where it was expectcMl to fall in with the Blossom ; the latter to examine the coast-line botween the mouth of the Mackenzie and that of the Coppermine. The parties now separated. On reaching the mouth of the Mackenzie, the western expedition came in con- tact with the Esquimaux. Franklin proceeded to open a communication with them. At first everything pro- ceeded in a friendly manner. Augustus, after deliver- ing a present, informed them that if the English suc- ceeded in finding a navigable channel for large ships, an advantageous trade would be opened. This intimation was received with a deafening shout; the boats were in a moment surrounded by nearly three hundred per- sons, offering for sale their bows, arrows, and spears, with a violence and perseverance which became at last troublesome, and Franklin directed the boats to be put to seaward. At this moment a kayak was upset by one of the oars of the Lion, and its unhappy possessor was stuck by the accident with his head in the mud, and his hee]« in FRANKLIN'S 8KCH)Nl) LANU EXI'KDIilON. IGl rs In »he air. He was instantly cxtricatod, wrnpt in a warm great-coat, and placed in the buut ; wliero, thiuigh ut first friglitened and angry, ho soon became roco/iciled to his situation, and, looking about, discovered many bales and other articles which had hitherto been carefully ccn- cealed. His first impulse was to ask for e>erythiiig he saw ; his next, to be indignant that his requests were not granted ; and, on joining his companions, he piopoHcd a plan for a general attack t\i\d pil'age cf both the boats. This scheme whj immediately 'jare'ed into execution ; and, though the pliviwlcttns H,t ^rh\ '.flecied to be partly in sport, matters soon aH« Lm^d a, serious complexion. Two of the most ^.ovv^'dui men, leaping on board, seized Captain Franklin, forccKl hvn to ,iii. b&twpei: t'ner//. ; and when ho shooK thorn .uV, a third tujk his «;.atl?n in front to catch I* a ann whiuovorhc attei^jptod to rviise his gun, or lay Iiis hand c.j liie l>ro.\a di'*g,»i:r which hung by his side. Durii»^ ihAn arirt»n!,' the two- bu;it« were violctitly dragu,ed to ihe chore, and h namoroiia party, stripping to the waist arid braiid-shing th 'ir long sharp knives, ran to (he K(;lian(;e, aiyd commGnne,.' a reg- ular pillage, handing tl;e urticloH to the -^ornei/i, vho, ranged in a row behind, (juickly conveyed then out of sigh^,. No sooner was the bow cleu-'ed of one set of n^arauders, than another party commennod Iheii opera- tions at the stern. The crew in the Lion were nearly overpowered, and thr.ir commander disarmed, when all at once the natives look iv their heels, and concealed themselves belo'nd the drift timber and canoes on the beach. This «iadd«n panic was occasioned by Captain Back, T( hvse boat at this time had been got afloat, com- Tienrling his crew to level their muskets. The Lion happily floated soon after ; and as both boats pulled off, Franklin desired Augustus to inform the Esquimaux thut II -j It i , 162 FRANKLIN'S SECOND LAND EXPEDITION. he would shoot the first man who ventured to approach within musket-range. An amicable Jeave was, however, afterwards takeri of these people, and on the 13th of July Franklin put to sea. On the 27th he came to the mouth of a wide river, to which, as it proceeded from the British range of mountains, and was near the line of demarkation between Great Britain and Russia, Franklin gave the name of Clarence. They were now in lat. 70° 6', long. 143° 56'. The further they advanced westerly the more dense became the fogs : the temperature descended to 35°, and the gales of wind became more constant ; at night the water froze ; and, the middle of August having arrived, the winter might here be said U. have set in ; the more early, probably, from the vicinity of the Rocky Mountains, and the extensive swampy plains between them and the sea. The men had suffered much, and on the 18th Franklin set out on his return to the Macken- zie, from the extreme point gained, named by him the Return Reef, in lat. 70° 24' N., long. 149° 37' W. About this time, as it afterward appeared, the Blos- som's boat, sent by Beechey from Behring's Strait, arrived on the coast, on which Franklin observes: " Could I have known, or by possibility imagined, that a party from the Blossom had been at the distance of only one ' hundred and sixty miles from me, no diffi- culties, dangers, or discouraging circumstances, should have prevailed on me to return ; but, taking into account the uncertainty of all voyages in a sea obstructed by Ice, I had no right to expect that the Blossom had advanced beyond Kotzebue Inlet, or that any party from her had doubled the Icy Cape." Franklin states the Gistance traced westerly from the mouth of the Mackenzie River to have been three hundred and sorenty-four miles, along one of the most FRANKLiM'8 S£COND LAND EXPEDITION. 163 dreary, miserable, and uninteresting portions of sea-coast that can perhaps be found in any part of the world ; and in all that space not a. harbor exists in which a ship *j<^>uld find shelter. On the 21st of September the party reached Fort Franklin, after a voyage of two thousand and forty-eight miles. Hero they had the happiness of meeting all their friends in safety ; the eastern d^achment had arrived on the Ist of September, after a most successful «7oyage. Richardson's party had been generally favored with fine weather. On one occasion a storm compelled them to take shelter in Refuge Cove, in lat. 69** 29', which they left the following day. At their halting-place on the 13th July, the doctor says : " Myriads of mosqui- tos, which reposed among the grass, rose in clouds when disturbed, and gave us much annoyance. Many snow- birds were hatching on t!je point ; and we saw swans, Canada geese, cider, king, .\rctic, and surf ducks ; several glaucous, sil- very, black-headed, and ivory gulls, to- gether with terns and northern divers. Some laughing geese passed to the north- ward in the evening, which may be con- sidered as a sure in- dication of land in that direction." On the 14th the party *;ook shelter from the fog and a heavy gale in a cove called Browell Cove, in latitude 70*, longitude 130" 19' With some interruptions, their sail of five hundred EIDER DUCK. 164 FRANKLIN'S SECOND LAND EXPEDITION. li'li)' miles, or nine hundred and two by the coast-line, from one river to another, afforded a pleasant voyage, during which they added somewhat to the stores of natural history, botany, and geology. A second winter passed at the fort. The cold wap intense, the thermometer at one time standing at 58* below zero ; but such a temperature even as this may be defied, with a weather-tight dwelling, plenty of pro- visions, and congenial companions. A series of mag- netic observations was commenced ; and, as the locality lay on the opposite side of the magnetic pole to that along which Parry had sailed in his voyages, some interesting results were arrived at. " It appears," says Franklin, "that for the same months, at the interval of only one year. Captain Parry and myself were roaking hourly observations on two needles, the north ends of which pointed almost directly towards each other, though our actual distance did not exceed eight hun- dred and fifty-five geographical miles ; and while the needle of Port Bowen was increasing its westerly direc- tion, ours was increasing its easterly, and the contrary — the variation being west at Port Bowen, and east at Port Franklin — a beautiful and satisfactory proof of the solar influence on the daily variation." In addition to magnetism, observations of the aurora borcaiis were also recorded, and the fact established that no disturbance of the needle (in that locality, at least) takes place during the play of the phenomenon. A course of lectures, too, on practical geology, was de- livered by Richardson — an eminently useful subject in a new district. And, as an instance of what a love for science may accomplish, when animated by a perse- vering and self-reliant spirit, we m .'.at not omit to men- tion Mr. Drummond, one of the party, who passed the winter alone at the foot of the Rocky Mountains, in a PB.\NKLIN'S SECOND LAND EXPEDITION. 165 .Iffiall hut erected by himself, where he collected fifteen hundred specimens of plants, and two hundred birds and quadrupeds, besides insects. These, though points of minor interest, \\]\ei\ compared with the grand objects of the expeditio.;s, serve, nevertheless to connect the individuals whose names they distinguish, by many links of sympathy and esteem, with unobtrusive thda- aands who can admire whore they caiin«»t imitate. MUSK OZ. r a m CHAPTER VIII. •OOBKfcBr'S 0ISC0VERIE8. — CLAVGRINO. - PARRY's POLAR VOTASB. THE REINDEER. — UKCLA COVE. — BOAT AND SLEDGE EXPEDITION. — NIOHT TRAVELLING. — HOMUOCKS. — SOFTENING OF THE ICE. — ORIFTIITa OF THE FLOES. — HIGHEST POINT REACHED. — THE POLAR BEAR. — RB TURN TO THE SHIP. — HOMEWARD BOUND. While Parry, under tlie auspices of the British gov- ernment, was engaged in his second attempt to effect the north-west passage, a private adventurer, Mr. Scoresby, was making a voyage towards the north pole, which must not be passed without notice. As early as 1806, this gentleman, who was bred a practical whaleman, had, in the pursuit of bis calling, penetrated to latitude 81** 30', being a degree higher than Phipps had attained, and only five hundred geographical miles from the pole. In 1817 he also made an excursion on Jan Mayen's Island. He had, on both occasions, made observations and explorations with an intelligent and scientific eye, very unusual among those who pur- sue a calling so rough and dangerous as whaling. At Mitre Cape he ascended to the summit of the sin- gular cliff of which it consists, and which is estimated 1o be three thousand feet above the level of the ocean. The view is described as sublime : on the east were two finely-sheltered bays ; the sea formed an immense unruffled expanse to the west, the icebergs rearing their fantastic forms, glittering in the sunshine ; the valleys SCORESBY'S DISCOVERIES. 167 WILD DUCK. ^ere enamelled with beds of snow and ice, and in the Interior mountains rose beyond fountains, till they m'flted in the distant horzon. luc beach of this cape was found nearly covered with the nests of terns, ducks, and other tenants of the Arctic air. in some of which were young", over whom the pa- rents kept watch, and, by loud cries and quick, vehe- ment movements, sought to defend them against the predatory tribes which hovered round. But the most important discoveries made by Scoresby were in 1822, when he sailed in the ship BaflSn, of three hundred and twenty-one tons, and fifty men, for the whale fishery. In search of a better fishing-ground, he was led to the eastern coast of Greenland — a tract absolutely unknown, unless at a few points which the Dutcii had approached : and it formed a continuous line with the shore on which the colonies of old Greenland, the subject of m\ich controversy, were supposed to have been situated. On the 8th of June, in H" 6' north latitude, the coast was discovered, extending from north to south about ninety miles ; and of which the most northerly point was concluded to be that named on the charts Gale Hamkes's Land, while the most southerly appeared to be Hudson's Hold-with-IIope. Scoresby's ambition, however, to mount some of its crags, which no European 1U8 SCOKESBVS DISCOVERIES. foot had ever trodden, was defeated by an impassable barrier of ice ; and a oirailar one having closed in behind him, he was obliged Id sail back and forward several days through a narrow channel. During this interval he had a good opportunity of taking the bearings and directions of the principal objects on land. The lati- tude, as given in the maps, was tolerably coirect, and was, indeed, his only guide in tracing the positions ; for the longitude, after the most careful observation, was found to differ seven degrees from that in the best charts, and ten degrees from what is found in those usually supplied to the whale-fishers. The country was generally mountainous, rugged, and barren, bearing much resemblance to Spitzbergen, though less covered with snow. Scoresby followed the usual system of naming the more prominent objects in the territory embraced by his discoveries. The two principal bays, or inlets, were designated Captain Kater and Sir Walter Scott ; while two spacious forelands, or projecting peninsulas — the former supposed to be an island — were assigned to Dr. WoUaston and Sir Everard Home. Other bays and capes were bestowed on some of the author's personal friends. He now made a movement eastward, in search of whales, of which he found no tra9e8 in the vicinity of land. On the 19th of July the navigators came in view of a range of coast of a very bold and peculiar character, extending about forty miles. It presented a mountain chain from three to four thousand feet high, rising at once from the beach in precipitous cliffs, which termi- nated in numberless peaks, cones, and pyramids. In one instance there appeared to rise six or seven tall parallel chimneys, one of which, crowned with two ver- tical towers, was called Ghurch Mount. This eoait SCORESBY'S D1SC0VER[E& 1G» recoived the name of Liverpool, while to the mountains was given that of Roscoe. The range of shore termi- nated at Cape Hodgson ; beyond which, however, steer- ing south-west, they descried three other promontorieH ; to these wore successively given the appellation of Cape Lister, Cupe Swaiiison, and Cape Tobin. Here Scoresby landed ; when he found the beach much lower than that further to the north, and consist- ing, in a great measure, of loose, stony hills. After some examination, he came, near Cape Swainson, to an enclosure similar to those which the Esquimaux con- struct for their summer huts, and within which were hollow structures, like bee-hives, such as they use fo* stores. Resuming his course at sea, and still holding south westward, he now discovered a spacious iniet, to which, in looking upwards, no boundary could be seen. While penetrating this opening, he observed another sound branching to the northward behind the Liverpool coast, and supposed to form it into an island. The opposite shore of this entrance was named Jameson's Land, from the eminent professor of natural history in Edinburgh. Beyond Cape Hooker, the southern point of the coast just described, another large inlet stretched towards the north, to which was given the name of Basil Hall. It had every appearance of converting Jameson's Land into an island ; and the coast to the westward of it received the name of Milne's Land. Between Cape Leslie, constituting the northern point of that coast, and Cape Stevenson, on the opposite shore, the original opening continued to stretch into the interior, without any appearance of a termination. There appeared a strong presumption that, instead of the continuous mass of land which our maps represent, Greenland composes only an immense archipelago of islands To this great 170 SCORESBY'S mscov£aiE& p^ inlet, the entrance of which was bounded by Cape Tobin on the north, and Cape Brewster on the south, the nav- igator gave the name of his father, though posterity will probably be apt to associate with himself the name of " Scoresby's Sound." These coasts, especially that of Jameson's Land, were found richer in plants and verdure than any others seen on this occasion within the Arctic circle, and almost meriting the distinction of Greenland. The grass rose in one place to a foot in height, and there were mead- ows of several acrea, which appeairedi nearly equal to any in England. But nowhere could a human being be discovered, though there were everywhere traces of recent and even frequent inhabitation. At the foot of certain cliffs, named after Dr. Neill, were several ham* lets of some extent. The huts appear to have been winter abodes, not constructed of snow-slabs, like the cells of the Esquimaux of Hudson's Bay, but resembling those of the Greenlanders, dug deep in the ground, entered by a long winding passage or funnel, and roofed with a wooden frame overlaid with moss and earth. The mansion had thus the appearanceof a slight hillock. Near the hamlets were excavations in the earth, serving as graves, where implements of hunting, found along with the bones of the deceased, proved the prevalence here of the general belief of savage nations, that the employments of man in the future life will exactly resemble those of the present. On emerging from this large sound, and proceeding southward, Scoresby discovered another continuous range of coast. Disappointed aja to any appearance of whales on this coast, he again steered to the northward, where ice* b^rgs surrounded him, amounting at one place to the niunb^r of five hundred. This course brought him in i^ 16 [171] SCOUraBY'S OlSCOVERIFA 173 few days within sight of lands stretching still higher than those recently surveyed, and connecting them with the others which he hud first discovcM'cd. There ap> peared two lurgo territories, soeniingly inHular, to which were given the names of Oanniiig uiid Traill ; and between them wus a most spticious inlet, named Sir Humphrey Davy. lie landed on Traill InIuii:!, and with incredible toil clambered to the top of a hill, where he hoped to have found a small plain containing a few specimens of Arctic vegetation ; but this summit wat steeper than the most narrowly-pitched roof of a houso ; and, bad not the opposite side be<>n a little smoother, he would have found much difficulty in sliding down. Beyond this island, and separated from it by a consider* able inlet, named ftfter Lord Mountnorris, was another coast, the pointed extremity of which received the name of Parry. This promontory being at no great distance from Gape Freycinct, which had been seen in the first survey, ther^ was thus completed the observation of a range of four hundred miles of coast, formerly ktfown only by the most imperfect notices, and which might, therefore, be strictly considered as a new discovery. Scoresby afterwards approached more closely to Can- ning Island, and penetrated a sound between it and the main, connected apparently with Hurry's Inlet. He would have been happy to examine more of the Green- land coast, having on one occasion had a fair prospect of being able to run southward to Cape Farewell ; but the ship was not his own, and his duty to hfs employers compelled him to turn in another direction. He had hitherto mot with much disappointment ; and, the sea* son being far advanced, he was apprehensive of being obliged to return with a deficient cargo. But, on the 15th of August, numerous whales appeared round the ship ; of these five were struck, and three taken, whioh 174 CLAVERINO. 1! at onco rendered the ship fuU-jiHhed, and placed liim Among the most successful adventurers of the year. He could, therefore, return with satisfactory feelings ; and tho pleasure of the voyage homeward was only alloyed by the occurrence of a violent storm off Lewis, in which Sam Chambers, one of the most esteemed and active of his crew, was washed overboard. To these discoveries some additions were made next year by Gaptiiin Clavering, who was employed by the British Admiralty to convey Captain Sabine to different Btations in the Arctic Sea, for the purpose of making observations on the comparative length of the pendu- lum, as aflected by the principle of attraction. Clavering sailed on the 3d of May, 1823, and on the 2d of June arrived atlTammerfest, in Norway, where he landed the philosopher with his tents and instruments.- The observations being completed, he weighed anchor on the 23d, reached the northern coast of Spitzbergen, and fixed on a small island between Vogel Sang and Cloven Cliff for further operations. He left this coast on the 22d of July, and steered for the eastern shores of Greenland, of which he came in view on the 6th of August. The scene appeared tho most desolate he had ever beheld. The mountains rose to the height of several thousand feet, without a vestige of vegetation, or the appearance of any living creature on the earth or in tho air. Even the dreary waste of Spitzbergen appeared a paradise to this. He landed his passenger and the scientific apparatus on two islands detached from the eastern shore of the continent, which he called the Pendulum Islands, and of which the out- ermost point is marked by a bold headlard rising to the height of three thousand feet. While Sabine was employed in his peculiar researches, the other surveyed a part of the coast which lay to the CLAVERINQ 17d northward, being tho firHt wliich ScorcHby saw. It lay it somn distance, with an icy burner intcrpuMod ; but wuH tbund indcMitt'd with deep and HpaciuuH buyH, huh- pected even tu penetrate so far uh to convert all this range of coaHt into a cluHter of isbindH. The inlet which tile former navigator had asHigned to Sir Walter Scott was believed by Clavering to be that discovered by the Dutch mariner, Gale Ilamkes ; but we have not ventured to remove this last from the more northerly position preferred by the scientific whaler. Other openings, which occurred in proceeding towards the north, were named by the captain Foster's Bay, Ardin- caple, and Roseneath Inlets ; and he saw bold and high land still stretching in this direction as far as tho seventy-sixth degree of latitude. In regard to the natives this commander was more fortunate than his predecessor, who saw only their deserted habitations. On landing at a point on the southern coast of Sir Walter Scott's Inlet, he received intelligence of Esquimaux having been seen at the dis- tance of a mile, and hastened thither with one of his officers. The natives, on seeing them, immediately ran to the top of some rocks ; but the English advanced, made friendly signs, deposited a mirror and a pair of worsted mittens at the foot of the precipice, and then retired. The savages came down, took these articles, and carried tlieni away to the place of their retreat ; but they soon allowed the strangers to approach them, though their hands, when shaken, were found to trera ble violently. By degrees confidence was estiblished. and they conducted the visitors to their tent, five feet high, and twelve in circumference, composed of wood and whalebone. Their aspect and conformation, their boats and implements, exactly corresponded to those observed by Parry and Lyon in Hudson's Bay. A child, I 176 PARBY*S POLAB VOYAGE. after being diligently cleared of its thick coating of dirt and oil, was found to have a tawny, copper-colored skin. The natives were astonished and alarmed beyond measure by the effect of fire-arms. A seal being shot, one of thbm was sent to fetch it. He examined it aU over till he found the hole made by the ball, when, thrusting his finger into it, he set up a shout of aston- ishment, dancing and capering in the most extravagant manner. Another was prevailed upon to fire a pistol ; but instantly, on hearing the report, started and ran ba^'.k into the tent. The observations were not completed till the begin- ning of September, when the season was too late to allow Glavering to gratify his wish of making a run to the northward. Nor did he extricate "himself from the ice without some severe shocks ; but nevertheless, after spending six weeks at Drontheim, he entered the Thames about the middle of December. After the abortive voyage of Buchan and Franklin, in 1818, no further attempt was made to reach the pole in ships ; but a plan was devised to accomplish that object in vehicles drawn over the frozen surface of the ocean — a scheme first suggested by Scoresby, who endeav- ored to prove that such a j(jrurney was neither so vision- ary nor so very perilous as it might appear to those who were unacquainted with the Arctic regions. His suggestions did not, for a considerable time, attract attention ; but at length Captain Parry, after his three brilliant voyages to the north-west, finding reason to suspect that his further progress in that direction was hopeless, turned his thoughts to the probability of penetrating over the frozen sea to the pole. Combining Scoresby's ideas with his own observations, and with a series of reflections derived by Captain Franklin from his extensive oxperionce, he submitted to the Lords of PARRY'S POLAR VOYAGE. 177 the Admiralty the plan of an expedition over the polar ice. Their lurd8hips, having referred this proposal to the council and conimittee of the Royal Society, and recoi\red a favorable report as to the advantages which science might derive from such a journey, aoplied them- selves with their usual alacrity to supply the captaiu with everything which could assist him in this bold undertaking. The Hecla was employed to carry him to the northern coast of Spitzbergen, where she was to be secured in a safe harbor or cove ; and with her were sent two boats, to be dragged or navigated, according to circumstances, from that island to the pole. These boats being framed of ash and hickory, covered with water-proof canvas, over which were successive planks of fir and oak, with a sheet of stout felt interposed, united the greatest pos- sible degree of strength and elasticity. The interior was made capacious, and flat-floored, oomewhat as Id troop-boats ; and a runner, attached to each side of the keel, fitted them to be drawn along the ice like a sledge. Wheels were also taken on board, in case their use should be found practicable. The adventurers started on the 2'7th of March, 1827, and on the 19th of April entered the fine harbor of Hamraerfest, in Norway, where they remained two or three weeks, and took on board eight reindeer, with a quantity of picked moss for their prov^ender. Departing on the 11th of May, they soon found themselves among the ice, and met a number of whale-ships. On the 13tb they were in view of Hakluyt's Headland, when the captain endeavored to push his way to the north-east, in the track of Phipps. The vessel, however, was sood sorapletely beset, and even enclosed in a large floe, which sarried her slowly alorg with it. As every day was now an irnjtrievable loss, Parrj 12 . h i 178 PARRY S POLAR VOYAGE. became impatient in the extreme, and formed a plan to push off northward, leaving the ship to find a harbor for herself, where he trusted, on his return, to trace her out. But the survey of the route in the proposed di- rection was most discouraging. In consequence of some violent agitation the preceding season, the ice had been piled up in innumerable hummocks, causing the sea to resemble a stone-mason's yard, except that it contained masses ten times larger. This state of the surface, which would have rendered it impossible to drag the boats more than a mile in the day, was found to prevail for a considerable space with little interrup- tion. The current, meantime, continued to carry the ship, with the floe to which she was fastened, slowly to the eastward, till it brought her into shoal water. Pany lowered a l)oat, and found some heavy masses of ice attached to the bottom in six fathoms ; after which ho felt it (jnito out of the question to leave her with a diminisliod crew, and exposed to so much danger, aris- irg from the combined diflSculty of unsurveyed ground and ice. The conclusion was therefore irresistibly forced upon his mind, that a secure harbor must be sought for the vessel before setting out with the boats. No choice w is then left hut to steer back for the coast of Spitzl>erg-en, where he unexpectedly h'ghted on a very convenient recess, named by him Ilecla Cove ; and it proved to b*^ part of the bay to which an old Dutch chart gives the name of Treurenberg. The animal" met with here during tlie ITecla's stay were principally reindeer, bears, foxes, kittiwakes, glaucous and ivory gulls, teni, eider-ducks, and a few grouse. Looms and rotgcs wore numerous in the offing. Seventy reindeer were killed, chiefly very small, and, intil the middle of August, not in good con ihe morning. Thus, while they had quite enough of light, they avoided the snow-glare, and the blindness which it usually produces ; besides, the ice was drier and harder beneath them ; and they enjoyed the greatest warmth when it was most wanted, during the period of sleep, though they were a little annoyed by dense and fre- quent fogs. Thus their notions of night and day became inverted. Several of the men declared that they never knew iiight from day, during the whole excursion. They rose in what they called the morning, but which wap really late in the evening, and, having performed their devotions, breakfasted on warm cocoa and biscuit ; then, drawing on their boots, usually either wet or hard frozen, and which, though perfectly dried, would have been equally soaked in fifteen minutes, the party trav- elled five or six hours, and a little after midnight stopped to dine. They next accomplished an equal journey in what was called the afternoon ; and in the evening, that is, at an advanced hour in the morning, halted as for the night. After applying themselves to obtain rest and comfort, they put on dry stockings and fur boots, cooked something warm for supper, smoked their pipes, told over their exploits, and, forgetting the toils of the day, enjoyed an interval of ease and gayety ; then, well wrapped in their fur cloaks, they lay down in the boat, rather too close together, perhaps, but vith very tolera- ble comfort ; and in due time the sound of a bugle roused them to their breakfast of cocoa, and to a repe- tition of the same arduous duties. The progress for several days was most slow and laborious. The floes were small, exceedingly rough, %nd intersected by lanes of water, which could not be 182 PARRY'S POLAR VOYAGE. crossed without unloading the boats. It was commonly necessary to convey these and the stores by two.stages ; and the sailors, being obh'ged to return for -the second portion, had to go three times over the same ground. Sometimes they were obliged to make three stages, and thus to pass over it five times. There fell as much rain as they had experienced dur* ing the whole course of seven years in the lower lati- tude. A great deal of the ice over which they travelled was formed into numberless irregular needle-like cryp- tals, standing upwards, and pointed at both ends. The horizontal surface of this part had sometimes the ap- pearance of greenish velvet, while the vertical sections, when in a compact state, resembled the most beautiful satin spar, and asbestos when going to pieces. These peculiar wedges, it was supposed, were produced by the drops of rain piercing through the superficial ice. The needles at first afforded tolerably firm footing ; but, becoming always more loose and movable as the sum- mer advanced, they at last cut the boots and feet as if they had been pen-knives. Occasionally, too, there arose hummocks so elevated and rugged that the boats could only be borne over them, in a direction almost perpendicular, by those vigorous operations called. ' a standing pull and a bowline haul." The result of all this was, that a severe exertion of five or six hours did not usually produce a progress ol above a mile and a half or two miles, and that in a wind* ing direction ; so that, after having entered upon the ice on the 24th of June, in latitude 81" I'J', they found themselves on the 29th only in 81" 23 , having thus made only about eight miles of direct northing. Parry soon relinquished all hope of reaching the pole ; how- ever, it was resolved to push on as far as possible ; and the party coming at length to somewhat smoother ica PARRY'S POLAR VOYAOH i«r. id and larger floes, made rather better progreas. While the boats were landing on one of these, the commander and Lieut. Ross usually pushed on to the other end, to ascertain the best course. On reaching the extremity, they commonly mounted the largest hummock, whence they bclield a sight of which nothing could exceed the dreariness. The oye rested solely upon ice, and a sky hid in dense and dismal fogs. One warm day, two flies on the ice were regardef with a degree of attention that would have been ludi- crous under other circumstances ; and equally important was the sight of an aphis borealis, in a languid state, a hundred miles away from land. Amid this scene of inanimate desolation, the view of a passing bird, or of ice in any peculiar shape, excited an intense interest, which they smiled to recollect ; but thty were princi- pally cheered by viewing the two boats in the distance, the moving figures of the men winding with their sledges among the hummocks, and by heaiing the sound of human voices, which broke the silence of this frozen wilderness. The rain and the increasing warmth of the season, indeed, gradually softened the ice and snow, but this only caused the travellers to sink deeper at every step. At one place they sank repeatedly three feet, and required three hours to make a hundred yards. Having attained 82° 40', they began to hold it as a fixed point that their efforts would be crowned with success 80 far as to reach the eighty-third parallel. This hope seemed converted into certainty when, on the 22d, thoy had travelled seventeen miles, the greater proportion of which was directly north. But there now occurred an unfavorable change, which baflBed all their exertions. Down to the 19th, the wind had blown steadily from the south, which, though without aiding them much, had at least checked the usual movement of the ice in 184 PARRV'S POLAR VOYAGE. that direction. On the last of those days, hovvovoi, a breeze sprang up from tlie north, wliich opened, indeed, a few lanes of water ; but this, it was feared, could not oompensate for the manner in which it must cause the loosened masses of ice, with the travellers upon then» to drift to the southward. This effect was soon i'ound to take place to an extent still more alurmiii*^ than had been at first anticipated : for, instead of ten or twelve miles, which they reckoned themselves to have achieved northward on the 22d, they were found not to have made quite four. This most discouraging fact was at first concealed from the sailors, who only remarked that they were very long in getting to the eighty-third degree. The expedition was now fast approaching the utmost limits of animal life. During their long journey of the 22d, they only saw two seals, a fish, and a bird. On the 24th only one solitary rotge wa« heard ; and it might be presumed that, from thence to the pole, all would be a uniform scone of silence and solitude. The adventur- ers pushed on without hesitation beyond the realms of life ; but now, after three days of bad travelling, when their reckoning gave them ten or eleven miles of prog- reRs, observation showed them to be four miles south of the position which they occupied on the evening of the 22d — the drifting of the snow-fields having in that time carried thetn fourteen miles backward. This was too much : and to reach even the eighty- thij-d degree, though only twenty miles distant, was now beyond all reasonable hope. To ask the men to undergo such unparalleled toil and hardship, with the danger of their means being exhausted, while an invisi- ble power undid what their most strenuous labors accomplished, was contrary to the views of their con- siderate commander. In short, he determined that they should take a day of rest, and then set out on theii i.ii PARRY'S POLAR VOYAGE. ]8I> return. Tl ib reBolution was communicated to the crew, who^ Miougli deeply disappointed at having achieved so littif, HiquieHced in tiie necessity, and consoled thorn- selves ,vit\ the idea of having gone further north than any previous expedition of which there was a well- autlienticatiMl record. The fuithcHt point of latitude reached was on the 23d, an«l was, probably, to 82" 45'. " At the extreme point of our journey," says Tarry, " our distance from the Ilecla was only one hundred and seventy-two miles in a S. 8® W. direction. To accomplish this distance we had traversed, by our reckoning, two hundred and ninety-two miles, of which about one hundred were per. formed by water previously to our entering the ice. As wo travelled by far the greater part of our distance on the ice three, and not unfrequently five, times over, wc m.ay safely multiply the length of the road by two and a half; so that our whole distance, on a very mod- erate calculation, amounted to five hundred and eighty geographical, or six hundred and sixty-eight statute miles, being nearly suflScient to have reached the pole in a direct line. Up to this period we had been par- ticularly fortunate in the preservation of our health." Their day of rest (July 2tth), before starting to return, was one of the pleasantes* they had experienced upon the ice ; the thermometer only from 31" to 36* in the shade, and 37" in the sun ; no bottom with five hundred fathoms of lino. Tl.e return was equally laborious as the going out< and in some respects more unpleasant, from the increa& ing softness of the ice and snow — depriving them of confidence in any spot on which they placed their boats or persons, and often sinking two or three feet in an instant. On the Ist of August some recent bear-tracki were seen, and, soon after. Bruin himself appeared ; but, I8A PARRY'S POLAR VOVAGE. tliongh !itt:'i.,' .? ;. POLAR BEAR. was shot by Lieut. Ross ; and " the men wore frying steaks, during the whole (iay, over a large fire made of the blubber." To some the consequence of their indul- gence was an indigestion. On the 10th another bear was killed ; " and our encampment," says Parry, ** became so like an Esquimaux establishment that we were obliged to shift our place upon the floe in the course of the day, for the sake of cleanliness and com- fort." At length, on the 11th of August, Parry and his party heard the sound of the surge breaking against the exte- rior margin of the great icy field. They were soon launched on the open sea, and reached Table Island, where a supply of bread had been deposited : but Bruin I'AlUiV.s l» H.All V)V\'li:. 187 had (liHCov(;red it, and dovourud the wlmlc. Tlioy Uniiitl, however, Home uccomriiudiitiuiiH, while the Htores K-lt at the Wurdeii l8land were Htill quite undisturbed. On the 2l8t the navigators arrived in llecia Cuve, fruin whence, soon afterwurdH, they sailed lor England. Such was the result of the first and only attempt to ptuietrate to the pole over the frozen surface of the deep. All the energy and hardihood of British seamen were exerted to the utmost, without making even an approach tt)wards the fulfilment of their intention; yet there seems nothing in the details just given to deter from the enterprise, as impossible, or even to render it V017 unfeasible. The unfavorable issue was evidently owing to the advanced season of the year, when the thaw and consequent dissolution of the ice had made great prog ress, and all the materials of the great northern llooi were broken up. o A>i^ ^ IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) 1.0 11.25 kit2A |25 mm m22 £[ |j£ 12.0 u Hiotographic Scifflices Corporation \ ^^' a7 ;\ \ • V 23 WBT MAIN STMIT WIBSTIR.N.Y. 14SW (716)872-4503 ^^ ^\ ^r\\ CHAPTER IX. ROM's SBCOITD TOTAGB. — B0L8TKINB0R0. — DISCO ISLAND. — LANCA8TRR UOtMD. — BOOTHIA. — DISCOVERT OF THB FORT'S STORKS. — OAITGBR- Oro MATIOATIOH. --PREPARATIOHS FOR WINTBRINO. — VISIT FROM BSQUIMAVX. — SXC1TRSI0N. — SECOITD WINTER IH THB ICE. — THB MAS- HETIC POLB.— THIRD AMD FOURTH WUTTER. ^ ABARDOBMBirT OF THB VICTORT. — MBBTINO WITH A WBALBR. Next in chronological order is the expedition equipped at the cost of Sir Felix Booth, and conducted by Captain Ross, and his nephew, Commander (afterwards Sir James) Ross. They sailed in May, 1829, in the Victory, a vessel fitted with a steam-engine, in addition to her sails, so as to be able to navigate in calm weather, or in baffling winds. The object of the voyage was to search for the north-west passage, as Parry had done before, by some opening leading out of Regent's Inlet. On the 22d of July they entered a bay which opened into two magnificent inlets, bordered by rocks of impos- in g form ; end every spot, not absolutely a precipice, wa covered with such bright verdure as to justify the *pl ellation of Greenland. In sailing upwards, the unex- pe( ted appearance of a Danish flag surprised the crew, and they learned that they were now near a settle- ment belonging to that nation, called Holsteinborg. The governor had seen the masts above the rocks, and apprehensive of their being those of a vessel in distress, kindly sent an ofier of aid. The party were immediately ROSS'S SECOND VOYAGE. 189 B l- rtonducted to the village, where they had a hospitable reception, with entertainment such as they little ex- pected on those dreary shores. They here found a disabled vessel, and from it replen- ished their stores and spars. The provisions were raised to their full pompleraent. Some boots and gloves were obtained from the natives, and the governor made a useful present of six Esquimaux dogs. On the 26th the discoverers sailed to the northward ; and on the morning of the 28th the stupendous moun- tains of Disco Island, long enveloped in mist, burst on their view, only a few miles distant. The range nearest the shore was entirely free from snow, and the Interior hills were but partially covered. Hare Island was almost equally clear ; and, though forty icebergs were observed, yet, as the navigators approached the latitude of 14®, near to where the Hecla and Fury had been beset in 1824, not a vestige of ice was perceived. They might have fancied themselves sailing on- the summer seas of England, or even of the Mediterranean ; the men threw oif their jackets, and worked in their shirts, without shoes or stockings. They had several times recourse to the engine, though, from practical defects, it never enabled them to sail above a mile and a half an hour ; and it was subsequently thrown overboard, as a useless encumbrance. On the 6th of August, a thick fog having dispersed, the coast was suddenly displayed, with all its highlands, among which Cape Byam Martin was conspicuous, cov. ered with snow. On reaching the entrance of Lancaster Sound, and reverting to the blame imputed to him for not having explored it, the captain observes that, from the deceptive appearances presented by bays and inlets, similar mistakes had been made by Cook, and other navigators of the greatest skill. No opinion differing 100 ROSS'S SECOND VOYAGE. from his had been expressed by any one of his oflBcers, who, if they entertained any such, were unquestionably bound to have stated it. The ice, moreover, lay then 80 thick that he could have penetrated but a few miles further. Now, however, he sailed through the middle of the strait, perceiving scarcely ,auy trace of ice or snow, unless on the tops of the lofty mountains. The ther- mometer stood at 40**, while the sensible heat was sc 'much greater that they felt it agreeable to dine without a fire, and with half the skylight removed. For two days they made only a slow and laborious progress, by the aid of steam ; but, on the .9th, a welcome breeze sprang up from the east, and, all sail being set, on the 10th they passed Cape York, after which the land begins to turn southward, and, with the opposite coast of North Somerset (Boothia), forms the broad opening of Prince Regent's Inlet. This being the channel by which Ross hoped to accomplish his passage, he immediately steered across, and reached the western shore on the afternoon of the 11th, between Cape Seppiugs and Elwin Bay. In sailing southward along this coast, some heavy gales were encountered ; and the ice having been broken off in the various forms of streams, packs, and bergs, the full difficulties of Arctic navigation began to be experienced. These were increased by the near ap- proach to the magnetic pole, so that the compass ceased to traverse ; and the bearings could be ascer- tained only by observations on the sun, which was often obscured by heavy fogs. The navigators made their way, however, and on the 12th descried the place of the Fury's wreck, with the poles iff the tents standing. They hastened, with intense interust, to examine this spot. The hull of the ship, wluch was left on the beach, had disappeared, without even a vestige remain- I o *4 § [Wl] -'■ ■/ ROSS'S SECOND VOYAGE. 193 I ing. The moving masses of ice had either carried it out in a body, or broken it into fragments and scattered it as drift-wood over the surrounding sea. But it was an ample compensation to find that the canisters of preserved provisions, after being exposed during four years, were in as perfect condition as if they hud been newly prepared. The tightness of these vessels had prevented the bear from smelling the rich feast they contained for him, and to which otherwise he would soon have forced his way. The wine, spirits, sugar, bread, flour, and cocoa, were, with little exception, equally good, and the sails were found in complete pres* ervation. After taking in all the provisions they could conveniently stow, raising their stock to two years and three months' supply, the accumulated pile seemed scarcely diminished. Here, also, they procured a store of coal. Crossing now the broad mouth of Cresswell Bay, they reached, on the l6th of August, a cape' to which the name of Garry has been attached, the furthest point seen by Parry, The land trended in a south-south-west dirjBction, which, with few variations, it continued to follow. Deprived of all aid from the compass, and often enveloped in fogs, they worked their way slowly, amid many difficulties and frequent dangers, being obliged to steer merely according to the direction which the wind, or even the floating ice, had, in the last dear interval, been observed to pursue. While mountains of ice were tossing around them on every side, they were often forced to seek safety by mooring themselves to these formidable masses, and drifting with them, sometimes forward, sometimes backward. In this man- ner, on one occasion, no less than nineteen miles were lost in a few hours ; at other times they underwent fre qnent and severe shocks, yet escaped any serious dam 194 ROSS'S SECOND VOYAGE. *>i5 > ■ age. lloss conceives that his little bark, merely by its moderate draught of water, was much better fitted for euch a navigation than the larger vessels employed in previous expeditions, and that those of Parry would have been shattered to pieces by the rocks over which the Victory was carried in safety. On several points of this coast they observed Esqui- maux tents, — at one place twenty in number, — but none of the natives. Many whales appeared on the surface of the water close to them, without showing any appre- hension of man. Among the leading features of the coast was Brent- ford Bay, of considerable extent, with some fine harbors, thirty miles beyond Capo Garry. Here the captain landed, displayed his colors, and, drinking the king's health, took possession, in his majesty's name, of the land, to which he gave the name of Boothia. Under all impediments, in the course of August and September, he worked his: way along three hundred miles of undiscovered coast, and to within two hundred and eighty miles of the point which Franklin had reached. Here the land, taking a westerly direction, seemed to afibrd the fair promise of a passage between the country now surveyed and the continent of America. But, by the end of September, snow began to fall thick ; the thermometer sank far below the freezing-point, while ice in large masses was closing around them. They therefore considered themselves fortunate when, in a spacious bay between a rocky island and two icebergs, they found a station in Felix Harbor, in which, after due arrangements, they could reckon on passing the dreary season In security. On the tth of October, by sawing through the ice, the vessel was placed in the position where it could be most advantageously lodged for the winter. On the V k. ROSS'S SECOND VOYAGE. I9A Mn, Hht^e appeared no longer a* atom of clear water ; and, ejcept some occasional points of rock, " nothing but on^ dazzling and monotonous, dull and wearisome extent of snow was visible. '^ The temperature, which had b^en ranging between 10° and 22", rapidly fell, and, on the night of the 20th, descended as low as 9* under zero, or 41° below the freezing-point, and, before the end of the month, was at — 16°. In preparing for the gloom and rigor of this long winter, Ross made some improvements even upon the admirable arrangements of Parry. The upper deck having been covered two feet and a half deep with snow, it was trodden down to the consistence of solid ice, and sand spread over it, till it resembled a rolled gravel-walk. It was then roofed with canvas, which was conducted over the sides till it united with a bank of snow that had been formed around the vessel, thus completely fencing it in on every side. The vapor from the steam-kitchcQ and oven, instead of bejng allowed tu spread through the cabins, was conveyed by apertures in the upper deck, over which were pla'ced to receive it iron tanks, with the open side downwards, where it soon froze, and the ice was cleared out once a week. By this plan the apartments were preserved perfectly dry, and it was not necess sy, as formerly, to keep them up to the temperature of 10 , in order to prevent the vapor from freezing on their sides ; that of 45° was found quite sufiScient for health and comfort, and a groat saving of fuel was in consequence effected. Two small ante-chambers were formed, and in the outer one such of the men as had been exposed to the atmos- phere were required to leave the clothes on which snow had fallen. The air necessary to produce combustion wab introduced by a copper pipe direct to the fireplace, where it was immediately warmed, and, instead of chill> T i»tt ROSS'S SECOND VOTAQB. tng, eerved to heat afid dry the room. The strength* and epirits of the crew were supported by regular meals and constant occupation. Divine service was duly per* formed, and religious instruction dispensed at a school held every Sunday evening. On the ether nights a school also was attended. The stock of provisions, on examination, was found BuflScient for two years and ten months at full allowance, a quantity which could easily be managed so as to last three years. Fuel was equally abundant. The only article deficient was spiiits, of which there was only one year's full supply ; but this want the commander by no means regretted, being satisfied that (heir habitual use impaired the strength of the seaman, diminished his power of enduring cold, and rendered him more liable to scurvy. He was gratified, therefore, when the crew cheerfully consented to their being withheld, unless on special occasions ; and he considers this circumstance as having remarkably contributed to the preservation of their health. Traces of Esquimaux had been observed on different parts of the coast, but none had been hitherto seen. At length, oh the morning of the 9th of January, 1830, a party were discovered. Ross immediately proceeded to the spot, upon which they retreated, but soon re- turned with a body of their companions, ranged in a line of ten in front and three deep, one man being detached, who appeared to be sitting in a sledge. The captain, having sent for his nephew and some of the crew, desired them to remain behind, while he walked toward the Esquimaux, who were armed with spears and knives. He hailed them by the well-known national salutation, Tima! Hma! which was shouted by them in return. The navigators then advanced, and, throwing away their guns, called out, 4/0i ^^a/ upon which I R0SS*8 SECOND VOYAG& i97 rho othern tonsed their knivos and spears in the air, repeating the ahout, Aja ! and extending their hands to show that they had now no weapons. As they stoo . B!ill, liowovor, the discoverers approached, and em- braced all those in the front line, stroking their dross, and receiving in their turn this custoniary greeting. Their gratification was testiiled by laughing, clamor, and strange gestures. Thus full confidence wab at once established between the two parties. Next day the discoverers visited this people at their own village, which consisted of twelve snow huts, con- structed in the same manner as those observed by Parry. This tribe were thought, on the whole, to be cleaner and better dressed than those more to the north- ward ; besides, they kept a store of seal and reindeer buried in the snow — a precaution not before noticed among any Esquimaux. While the British remained on these shores, they held frequent intercourse with this and other parties of natives. Some of the places about Repulse Bay being named and described, they showed an intimate acquaint- ance with them, stating that they had recently journeyed from that quarter. Two of them, Tulluahiu and Ikmal* Ilk, drew a sketch of the line of coast by which they had travelled, and this was amended by a learned *lady, Tir- iksiu. The general result proved to be, that between the present station and Repulse Bay there intervened a very extensive gulf, of which the limits were Melville Peninsula on the east, the American coast on the south, and the country in which they now were, on the west. The grand question, whether there was any navigable opening further westward, could not be then ascertained, chough they had reason to believe that, if there was it must be very narrow. The strongest interest, however, was excitei^ jy the accounts given by another party of 198 BOSS'S SECOND VOYAGE. |i I a ^eat sea lying to the westward, and of a strait which it was hoped might load into it. On the 5th of April, therefore, when the rigor of winter had somewhat abated, Oommander Ross, with Mr. Blatiky, the chief mate, and two native guides, undertook an expedition to explore it. The weather being still very inclement, they were frequently obliged to pause and seek refuge from th0 drift, when the Esquimaux in half an hour erected snow huts, which afforded tolerable shelter. Unluckily the fire necessary for heat and light, melting the walls of this frail tenement, enveloped them in moisture, to avoid which they were obliged to creep into their fur bags. After a difficult journey of three days, they reached a bay facing the westward, and, on proceeding a short dis- tance inland to the south and south-east, discovered a very extensive lake, called by the natives Nei-tyel-le, whence a broad river flowed into the bay. On their return to the coast, the guides pointed out a lofty cape, beyond which there was said to be a vast sea, the termi- nation of which could not be descried. They declared, however, that a tract of land, or isthmus, connecting the territory on which they stood with the continent of America, would render it impossible for the vessel to reach the western sea in this direction, or otherwiso than by a channel considerably north of her present station. The journey so far had issued only in disappointment. They learned that, on the coast nearest them, facing the eastward, there was a place called Shagavoke, where the water rushed through a narrow strait with extraor- dinary rapidity. Hence arose ' hopes that this tide might come from the opposite sea, and afford a cbacnel through which the ship could be worked. But, on ttxamination, this idea proved fallacious, and every idea PI ROSS'S SKCONI) VOYAGE. 190 y of a passage south of the Kliip's proHeut etulion ^as I'eiiounced. It was to the north that all hopes of finding the desired passaj^e were now directed. So liir, how- ever, as they were personally ahle to (vvan.iiiie the land, its aspect was unpromising", and the fnost intelli- gent natives intimated that the The party suffered, at first, a good deal from cold, against which their canvas covering afforded very ira perfect shelter. They contrived, however, to envelop it in a wall of snow, and set up an additional stove, which was so effectual that the '^eat of 61® could be maintained within. It was necessary to make a reduc- tion in the allowance of preserved meats ; bread was somewhat deficient ; and the stock of wine and spirits was entirely exhausted. However, as they had caught a few foxes, which were considered a delicacy, and there was plenty of flour, sugar, soups, and vegetables, a diet could be easily arranged sufficient to maintain the party in health and vigor. The winter, as it advanced, proved one of great sever- ity ; and, when the cold reached its utmost rigor, their slight walls could no longer keep the mansion in a com- fortable heat. The tempestuous weather made it impos- sible to take exercise in the open air ; and at length their patience appears to have been wearied out by this hmg and dreary imprisonment within the Arctic wastes. On the 16th of February, 1833, Thomas, the carpenter, died of scurvy — an event deeply regretted in itself, and regarded as a warning of what was too likely to befall the rest. Several of the seamen, in fact, became aflected with this cruel disease, of which Ross himself felt the 208 ftOSS'S SECOND VOTAOE. sure approach, by the return of pain in his old wounds. Their situation was becoming truly awful '.since, if they were not liberated in the ensuing summer, little pros* pect appeared of their surviving another year. In April and May, as soon as it was possible to travel, while yet the ice remained firm, it was necessary to carry forward an ample stock of provisions to the position of the boats, and there await the opportunities of release. Though the distance was only thirty-two miles, their reduced numbers, and the weight of the loads, obliged them to go over the same ground eight times, raising the space actually traversed to two hun- dred and fifty-six miles ; so that it afforded laborious employment for a whole month. They then returned to Somerset House, where they remained till the 8th of July, on which day the whole party quitted, without regret, this dreary home, and, though much encumbered by the transport of the sick, arrived, on the 12th, at their boat-station in Batty Bay. The aspect of the sea was now watched with intense anxiety, not unmingled with dread ; yet the very habit of observing and of speculating on their prospects — some daily mounting the neighboring hill, and others reviewing their report — kept their spirits in a state of salutary activity. The pursuit of feathered game, which always afforded the hope, and sometimes the reality, of a good supper, also enlivened their time. A month was passed in vain expectation ; when, at length, on the evening of the 14th of August, a lane of water ap- peared, leading to the northward. Next morning the seamen were in movement at an early hour ; and, hav- ing cleared the shore of the ice that obstructed it, they embarked the provisions and stores, and by eight o'clock were under way, with a favorable wind. At midnight they passed Elwin's Bay, and on the ROSS'S SFXOND VOYAGE. 209 I6th bad come to the furthest point reached in the pre> cediujf year, a spot which excited some painful recollec- tions. Uowever, though all passage to the east wud closed, there was still an open lane by which they could proceed northwards. In the evening of that day they were at the north-eastern point of America, and beheld the sea in that direction quite navigable, though encum* bered with ice. At three in the morning of the 17th they were in motion, making their way through the loose pieces, till, favored by a southern breeze, they turned the point of the solid mass which obstmcted the inlet, and saw the wide expanse of Barrow's Strait open before them. Wafted on as if by magic, they reached the opposite shore, which they sailed along to within twelve miles of Cape York, having made in this day seventy-two miles. In the two following they passed Admiralty Inlet, and came within six or seven miles of that called Navy Board ; after which they were detained four days by contrary winds, and obliged to reduce their allowance of provisions. On the 25th, however, they could again use their oars, and reached the east- ern side of Navy Board Inlet, where they found a good harbor for the night. At four in the morning of the 26th they were roused from sleep by the look-out man announcing " a sail," which, viewed through a glass, proved evidently to be a ship. All were presently in motion, and their hopes and fears were variously expressed. But they were detained by calms and light shifting airs ; and, a breeze spnnging up, the vessel made sail with a rapidity which left them hopelessly behind. About ten, however, they des ;ried another, which seemed to be lying to ; but she, also, soon bore up under all sail, and appeared to be fast leaving them. Happily, a calm succeeded ; and. by hard rowing, they approached so near that their sig^ 14 210 ROSS'S SECOND VOVAQE. nalH were perceived, when ehe was seen to hcavu to and lower a boat, which made directly towards them. ■ On its arrival, the mate in command asked it' thcj were in distress and had lost their vesHol, profi'ering hiF aid, stating, in answer to their inquiries, that he be- longed to the Isabella, of Hull, once commanded by Captain Ross, now by Captain Humphreys. On being told that tliu former person stood before him, his brain was BO puzzled that he declared the captain must be under a mistake, as he had certainly been dead two years. When satisfied, however, of the contrary, and that he was in the presence of the long-absent naviga- tor, he offered his hearty congratulations. Such was the effect of previous hardship, that few of Ross's men could sleep on a bed ; and some time was necessary to enable them to enjoy this and other accom- modations of ordinary life. On the 30th of September, 1833, the Isabella left Davis's Straits, and on the 11th of October reached Stromness, in Orkney. On Ross's landing at Hull, on the 18th, such crowds were attracted that he could with difficulty reach the inn. He proceeded next day to London, and, having reported himself to the Admiralty, was presented, on the morrow, to his majesty at Windsor 11 THB PTAKMIOAN -A- CHAPTER X. BAOK'I LAVD ■ZPBDITION. — ARRIVAL AT FORT WILLIAH. -> ARBODOTI •» ▲ CAMOB PARTY. — rRANKLIIT. — BCBITCRT. — ASCWTT Of RITBRS. — ATUf BR LAKE. — WINTBR QUARTERS. — BTARVIHO INDIARg. — INTBlf U COLD. --' MBW8 OF ROBS'S BAFBTT. — EXPERT CANOE-MAN. — BBQOIMAVZ FRIBNOS. — THE THLEW-BB-CHOH. —THE POLAR BBA. — RBTVRN TO BN0« LAND. <^ BACK'B VOTAOE IN THE TERROR. — REMARKABLE PERILS AMOMC THE ICE. '—HOMEWARD BOCND. -^ DEABE AND BIMPBON'b DIBCOVEBIBB. Ross's protracted stay of four years in the inhospita- ble north induced the government to send out an expe- dition to look for the absent party. Back, who was then in Italy, hurried home to volunteer his services ; his offer was accepted ; and with Dr. King, surgeon and naturalist, he left England in February, 1833. At Mon- treal he engaged three artillery-men and some voyar geurs, and embarked on the St. Lawrence in two canoes. At the Sault de Ste Mary, on the 11th of May, they pur* chased a third canoe, and commenced coastuig along the northern shores of Lake Superior. On the 20th they arrived at the Hudson's Bay Company's establish- ment. Fort William. Passing the height of land which separates the waters whi< h flow into Lake Superior from those which enter Iludson's Bay, the three canoes proceeded rapidly on their ever-changing and romantic route, at times dash- ing down rapids, then crossing small lakes, or making slow progress alohg small and shallow rivers, so that portages were often necessary. i I 214 BACK'S LAND EXPEDITION. I I It is rolatod by Back, that, not many years ago, a canoe was pursuing its way quietly down one of the streams through which the Arctic exploring party was now passing. It was approaching one of the many port- ages with which these streams abound, and the bowman and steersman were standing erect at stem and stern, casting quick glances ahead and on either side as they neared the waterfall which obstructed their prograss The approach to the landing-place was somewhat diffi- cult, owing to a point of rocks w))ich projected into the stream, in the direction of the fall, and round which point it was necessary to steer with some dexterity, in order to avoid being drawn into the strong current. The fearless guides, however, had often passed the place in former years in safety, and, accordingly, dashed at the point with reckless indifference, their paddlee flinging a circle of spray over their heads, as they changed them from side to side, with graceful but vigor- ous rapidity. The swift stream carried them quickly round the point of danger, and they had almost reached the quiet eddy near the landing-place, when the stem of the canoe was caught by the stream, which in an instant whirled them out from the shore, and carried them downwards with fearful rapidity. Another mo- ment, and the gushing waters dragged them, despite their most frantic efforts, to the verge of the waterfall, which thundered and foamed among frightful chasms and rocks many feet below. The stem of the canoe overhung the abyss, and now the voyageura plied their paddles with the desperation of men who felt that their lives depended on the exertions of that terrible minute. For a second or two the canoe remained stationary, ant' seemed to tremble on the brink of destruction : and then, inch by inch, it began slowly to ascend the stream. The danger was past I A few more nervous strokea. iw. ^-l.%> PSBILOUS £iCAP£ OF TH£ VoYAQEUBS. [216] BACK'S LAND EXPEDITION. 217 *Dd the trembling bark shot like an arrow out of the current, and floated in safety on the still water under the point. The whole thing, from beginning to end, was the work of a few seconds ; yet who can describe or comprehend the tumultuous gush of feelings created, during these short seconds, in the bosoms of the care- less voyageursf The sudden, electric change from tran- quil safety to the verge of almost certain destructicn — and then — deliverance 1 On the 6th of June the canoes arrived at Fort Alex- ander — situated at the southern extremity of Lake Winipeg. Here Back remained a few days, to await the arrival of Governor Simpson. During this period he and Mr. King made some observations on the dip of the needle, while the men busied themselves in unpack- ing and drying the provisions and packages. The mosquitos here were very numerous and annoy- ing. Of the sand-flies, near the lakes. Back says, that even the Indians do not contrive any way of escaping this tormenting insect. Their usual mode is to throw themselves on their faces to the ground, and to moan with pain. Back thought of killing them by smoke ; upon which Maufelly, his interpreter, expressed surprise that he " should be so unlike the old chief, who would not destroy a single mosquito.'* By the " old chief" was meant Sir John Franklin, of whom Back says : " It was his custom never to kill a fly ; and, though teased by them beyond expression, especially when engaged in taking observations, he would quietly desist from his work, and patiently blow the ha(f-gorged intruders from his hands : ' the world was wide enough for both.' " Leaving Fort Alexander on the 11th of June, Back coasted Lake Winipeg, toward Norway House, where he arrived on the 17th. Here he obtained the requisite cumber of voyageurs ana attendants, amounting tn 2\S BACK'S tANl; KXPEDITION. I eighteen in all ; and, in high spirits, they startod for iheii * winter quarters on the eastern shore of Great Slave LakOf On the 21st of July they arrived at Portage La Loche, the high ridge of land which divides the waters running into Hudson's Bay from those flowing into the Arctic Ocean, llere they had to carry their canoe and bag- gage over the ridge, a distance of fourteen miles — a tedious labor, which consumed eight days. Of the scenery at this place Mr. King says: " Within a mile of the termination of the portage, a most exten* sive and magnificent scene burst upon our view, and we discovered ourselves, through an opening in the trees, to be on a hill upwards of a thousand feet high, and at the brink of a tremendous precipice. We were cer- tainly prepared to expect an extensive prospect, but the beautiful landscape before us was far superior to any- thing that could be anticipated from the nature of the country we had hitherto seen. At a depth of two hundred fathoms below the summit on which we stood, the Clear Water River was to be seen winding its ser- pentine course in beautiful meanders for thirty miles, broken here and there, and interrupted by intervening woods ; while I'l < th6 tall pines dwindled M to ahnibi, In dizziness of distance ! ' ti The valley, at once refreshed and adorned by the smooth pellucid stream, was embanked by two parallel chains of hills extending towards the west, till it became lost in the purple hue of distance. The inclining heights, here and there covered with stately forests, and occa sionally interspersed with barren spots or promontories of the most luxuriant verdure, were beautifully contrasted ^r^ BACK'S LAND EXPEDITION. 219 ^th the icinerated tinge which overspread vast tracts of country where once the dense forests had boon con* Humed by fire." The party arrived at Fort Chipewyan the 29th of July ; at Fort Resolution, on Great Slave Lake, the 8th of August. Here, having pbtained all possible informa* tion from the Indians relative to the course of the northern rivers of which he was in search, he divided Ids men into two parties, five being left as an escort for Mr. McLeod, and four being appointed to accompany himself in search of the Thlew-ee-choh or Great Fisli River, since named after Back himself. On the 19th of August, Back and his men began thb ascent of the Hoar Frost River. Its course was a series of the most fearful cascades and rapids. Almost im- pervious woods of stunted fir.«», bogs, and swamps, occasioned great trouble to the party. They arrived, at length, in an open space, where the scene was one of barrenness and desolation : crag was piled upon crag to the height of two thousand feet from the base, and the course of the river here, in a state of contraction, was marked" by an uninterrupted line of foam. Rapid now succeeded rapid ; scarcely had the party surmounted one fall than another presen|;ed itself, rising like an amphitheatre before them to the height of fifty feet/. They, however, gained at length the ascent of this turbulent and unfriendly river, the romantic beauty and wild scenery of which were very remarkable ; and, after passing successively a series of portages, rapids, falls, lakes, and rivers, on the 27th Back observed from the summit of a high hill a very large lake, full of deep bays and islands, and which has been named Aylmei Lake, after the Governor-General of Canada at that cime. The boat was sent out, with three men, to search for the lake, or outlet of the river which they discor 220 BACK'S LAND EXPEDITION. . I 1 »red oij the hccoikI day, and Back liinisclf, during their absence, also accidentally discovered its source in the Sand Hill Lake, not far from his encampment. Yielding to that pleasurable emotion which discoverers, in the first bound of their transport, may be pardoned for in- dulging, Back threw himself down on the bank, and drank a hearty draught of the limpid water. On the 30th of August they began to move toward (he river, but, on reaching Musk-ox Lake, it was found impossible to stand the force of the rapids in their frail canoe, and, as winter was approaching, their return to the rendezvous on Slave Lake was determined on. At Clinton Golden Lake some Indians visited them from the chief Akaitcho, who had been a guide of Sir John Franklin. Two of these Indians remejnbered Back, one having accompanied him to the Coppermine River on Franklin's first expedition. At the Cat or Artillery Lake they had to abandon their canoe, and perform the rest of the journey on foot over precipitous rocks, through frightful gorges and ravines, heaped with masses of granite, and along narrow ledges, where a false step would have been fatal. At Fort Reliance the party found Mr. McLeod had, during their absence, erected the frame-work of a comfortable residence for them, and all hands set to work to complete it. After many obstacles and difficulties, it was finished. Dr. King joined them on the 16th of September, with two laden batteaux. On the 5th of November they exchanged their cold tents for the new house, which was fifty feet long by thirty broad, and contained four rooms, besides a spa> cious hall in the centre, for the reception and accommo- dation of the Indians, to which a sort of rude kitchen fras attached. An observatory was constructed at a short distance, BACR*S LAND EXPEDITION 221 wherein certain mysterious and complicated instruments were fixed and erected ; iron in all forms* being carefully excluded, and a fence run round it to guard it more ef- fectually from the men, as they walked about with their guns, ice-chisels, and axes. Here Back and Mr. King used to sit in solemn conclave for many an hour during the winter, closely observing the various interesting phenomena of earth and sky ; and awfully mysterious did this building appear to the simple Indians and voy- ageurs. Th(^y would approach as near as they dared, and, with their arms folded, brows knit, and heads down, would stand for hours wondering at the dead silence of its occupants, broken only at 'long intervals by such exclamations as "now " — " stop " — insomuch that they at last, after very mature and grave deliberation, came to the conclusion that they were " raising the devil 1 " As the winter advanced bands of starving Indians continued to arrive, in the hope of obtaining some relief, as little or nothing was to be procured by hunt- ing. They would stand around while the men were taking their meals, watching every mouthful with the most longing, imploring look, but yet never uttering a complaint. At other times they would, seated round the fire, occupy themselves in roasting and devouring small bits of their reindeer garments, which, even when entire, afforded them a very insufficient protection against a temperature of 102° below freezing point. The sufferings of the poor Indians at this v»eriod are described as frightful. "Famine, with her gaunt and bony arm," says Back, "pursued them at every turn, withered their energies, and strewed them lifeless on the cold bosom of the snow." It was impossible to afford relief out of their scanty store to all, but even ^mall portioDH of the mouldy pemmican intended foi ^22 BACK'S LAND EXPEDITION. 1 the dogH, unpalatable as it was, were gladly received, and saved many from perishing. "Often," adds Back, " did I share my own plate with the children, whose helpless state and piteous cries were peculiarly distress- ing. Compassion for the full-grown may or may not be felt, but that heart must be cased in steel which ia insensible to the cry of a child for food." To add to the distress of Back, he received informa- tion that his friend Augustus, the affectionate Esquimaux interpreter who had accompanied him on a former jour- ney, hearing of his being again in the country, set out from Hudson's Bay, in company with a Canadian and an Iroquois ; they lost their way, wei-e separated, and poor Augustus fell a sacrifice to famine. His remains were found on the barrens not far from the Riviere k Jean. It appeared that the gallant little fellow was retracing his steps to the establishment, when, either exhausted by suffering and privation, or caught in the midst of an open traverse in one of those terrible snow-storms, which maybe almost said to blow through the frame, he had sunk to rise no more. " Such," says Back, "was the miserable end of poor Augustus! a faithful, disinterested, kind-hearted creature, who had won the regard, not of myself only, but, I may add, of Sir John Franklin and Dr. Richardson also, by qualities which, wherever found, in the lowest as in the highest forms of social life, are the ornament and charm of humanity.'' At this critical juncture, Akaitcho made his appear* ance with an opportune supply of a little meat, which h) some measure enabled Back to relieve the sufferera around him, many of whom, to his great delight, went away with Akaitcho. The stock of meat was soon ex hausted, and they had to open their i>^n;mican. The officer? contented themselves with the short supply of half a pound a day, but the laboring men could not do BACK'S LANI^ EXPEDITION. 223 with less than a puund and three quarters. The cold now set in with an intensity which Back had never be- fore experienced, — the thermometer, on the Uth of January, being 70* beh)w zero. "Such, indeed," he says, " was the abstraction of heat, that, with ei^ifht large logs of dry wood on tiie fire, 1 could not get the tliermoineter higher than 12" below zero. Ink and paint froze. The sextant cases and boxes of seasoned wood, principally fir, all split. The skin of the hands became dry, cracked, and opened into unsightly and smarting gashes, which we were obliged to anoint with grease. On one occasion, after washing my face within three feet of the fire, my hair was actually clotted with ice before I had time to dry it." The hunters sufiered severely from the intensity of the cold, and compared the sensation of handling their guns to that of touching red-hot iron ; and so excessive was the pain, that they were obliged to wrap thongs of leather round the triggers, to keep their fingers from coming into contact with the steel. The sufierings which the party now endured were great, and, had it not been for the exemplary conduct of Akaitcho in procuring them game, it is to be doubted whether any would have survived to tell the misery they had endured. The sentiments of this worthy sav- age were nobly expressed— " The great chief trusts in us, and it is better that ten Indians perish than that one white man should perish through our negligence and breach of faith." About the middle of April preparations were begun for their intended journey to the sea-coast ; but on the 25th a messenger arrived bringing to Back the welcome intelligence of the safety of Ross and his party. IXia feelings at this news are thus described: "In the ful* uesB of our hearts, 'we aseembled, and humbly ofTered !•; I 224 BACK'S L.\ND EXPEDITION. up our thanks to that merciful Providence which, ia the beautiful language of Scripture, hath said, ' Mine own will I bring again, as 1 did sometime from the deeps of the sea.' " On the 7th of June, Back and Mr. King left Fort Re- liance for the Polar Sea. Their boat, thirty feet long, was placed on runners, and dragged over the j'et un- melted ice of the lakes and swamps. A singular fact in regard to temperature is mentioned. About the end of May, just before they set out, the weather was sul- try, the temperature in the sun being 106° ! an extraor- dinary contrast to that of January 17th, when it was 70* below zero. They now experienced some cold and foggy weather. McLeod, with, a party of Indians, was «ent on ahead to hunt and make caches of the meat, to be picked up as the main party behind came up to them. On the 28th of June they were fairly launched on the head waters of the Thlew-ee-choh. From this time till their approach to the sea, a constant succession of falls, and rapids, and cataracts, more or less obstructed their progress, and, as Back says, " made him hold his breath, expecting to see the boat dashed to shivers against some protruding rocks amid the foam and fury at the foot of a rapid." In passing down one of these, where the river was full of large rocks and bowlders, the boat was obliged to be lightened : and Back says, " I stood on a high ro(;k, with an anxious heart, to see her run it. Away they went with the speed of an arrow, and in a moment the foam and rocks hid them from my view. I heard what sounded in my ear like a wild shriek ; I fol- lowed with an agitation which may be conceived, and, to my inexpressible joy, found that the shiiek was th« triumphant whoop of the crew, who had landed safely in a small bay below." In short, strong and heavy BACK'S LAND EXPEDITION. 22b rapids, with falls and whirlpools, kept the men, for eighty or ninety miles, in a constant state of exertion and anxiety. Il« gives an instance, on one occasion, of the consum* mate skill of De Charloit, a half breed canoe-man, who " rar our rickety and shattered canoe down four success- ive lapids, which, under less able management, would have whirled it, and everybody in it, to certain destruc- tion. Nothing could exceed the self-possession and nicety of judgment with which he guided the frail thing along the narrow line between the high waves of the torrent and the returning eddy. A foot in either direc- tion would have be6n fatal ; but, with the most pcifect ease, and, I may add, elegant and graceful action, his keen eyes fixed upon the run, he kept her true to her course through all its rapid windings." On the 13th of July a g-lirnpHC of sunshine tempted the captain to halt for the purpose of taking observa- tions ; and, while he was thus engaged, the .men were permitted to scour the country in pursuit of deer and musk-oxen, which literally swarmed in the barren grounds. The hunters soon returned with four fine bucks, which afforded them an agreeable change from the customary meal of pemmicaift The latitude was 65" .38' 21" N., and longitude lOfi' 35' 23" W. At this place the river began to take an easterly bend, which perplexed them much ; causing great anxiety as to whether ft would ultimately lead them to the Frozen Sea, or terminate in Hudson's Bay. In any case, they had nothing for it but to push on ; a-nd their labors were rewarded by their finding that the river trended again in a northerly direction, and their hopes were further increased by the discovery, on the 16th of July, of some old Esquimaux encampments. Once, indeed, they thought they saw tents of the Esqui* 16 I i i I 226 BACK'S LAND EXPEDITION. Diaux ahead ; but, on a nearer approach, they turned out tu be some luxuriant clumps of willowH, wliich wort inhabited by thousands of geese, which hud Holected the spot as convenient for the operation of casting theii feathers. Thousands upon thoUHunds of the most exceU lent quills were found scattered over the sand. A curi- ous feature in this part of the country Wiis tite number of huge bowlder-stones, not only in the river, but on the very pinnacles of the highest hills. On the 28th of July they met the first Esquimaux, who, as usual on their first seeing Europeans, exhibited consternation by shouts, yells, antics, and gesticula- tions ; under the impression, apparently, that by so. doing they would frighten their new viqiiors away. The boat continued to approach the shoric, despite the brandishing of spears and other belligciesit demonstra- tions; whereupon the whole nation formed in a semi- circle round the spot where the boat grounded, and, stood on the defensive. Back, however, soon estab- lished friendly relations with them, by walking boldly up, unarmed, and alone, at the same time calling out Tima — peace — with great emphasis, tossing up his arms in true Esquimaux style, and, finally, shaking hands all round. This quieted them, and they soon mingled with the men, from whom they received a few buttons with great delight. '' A portage had to be made at this place, and the Esquimaux here aided th^m4n transporting their boats, to which Back's party were whollj'^ unequal ; so that to the natives he was indebted for getting to the sea at all. On the"29th of July, while threading their course be- tween some sand banks, with a strong current, they first caught sight of a majestic headland in the extreme dia* tance to the north, which had a coast-like appearance. BACK'S LAND J XPKlDinO% 227 This important promontory Back Bubnequentl ^ninod Victoria. " Thi-«, then," obHerves Buck, " nm' ne con sidercd as the mouth of the Thiew-ec-choh, wh h, aiHer a violent and tortuous course of five hundred uud thirty geographical miles, running through an iron-ribbed country, without a single tree on the whole line of its banks, expanding into five large lakes, with clear horizon, most embarrassing to the navigator, and broken into falls, cascades, and rapids, to the number of eighty- three in the whole, pours its water into the Polar Sea, in lat. 67* U' N., and long. 94' 30' W., that is to say, about thirty-seven miles more south than the mouth of the Coppermine River, and nineteen miles more south than that of Back's River, at the lower extremity of Bathurst's Inlet.'' For several days Back was ^ble to make but slow progress along the eastern shore, in consequence of the solid body of drift-ice. A barren, rocky elevation of eight hundred feet high was named Gape Beaufort. A bluff point on the eastern side of the estuary, which he considered to be the northern extreme, he named Gape Hay. Dease and Simpson, however, in 1839, traced the shore much beyond this. The difficulties met with here began to dispirit the men. They were almost without water, without any means of warmth, or any kind of warm or comforting food, and sinking knee-deep, as they proceeded on land, in the soft slush and snow. So damp was the weather that for ten days, while encamped on Montreal Island, they could not light a ppark of fire, or obtain a warm meal. The low, flat countrj' was the picture of desolation. " It was one irregular plain of sand and stones ; and, had it not been for a rill of water, the meandering nf which relieved tKe monotony of the sterile scene, one might have fancied cue's self in one of tbe parobed 22B BACK'S LAND EXPEDITION. plains of the East, rather than on the shores of tho Arctic Sea." With unflinching ardor did Back push forward, in the hope of reaching a more open sea, and connecting thoii discoveries with those of Captain Franklin at Point Tornagain. On the 7th of August they reached the extreme point of land which terminates the wide mouth of the river, and whence the coast trends to tho west* ward. This was named Point Ogle, and another cape, seen far to the west, was named Point Richardson. Several portions of the coast of Boothia Felix were also seen in the distance to the northward. Here they were cumpletcly ba£Qed in every attempt to advance. Back sent, however, a small party to the westward to trace the coast, which was all that could be done ; but they were only able to follow the shore about fifteen miles. The surface was level, and void of vegetation. They found, however, several pieces of drift-wood, one of which was nine feet long and nine inches in diameter, which the men jocularly called " a piece of the north pole." Back now resolved to retrace his steps. Before doing so, however, the British flag was unfurled, and the land taken possession of, with three enthusiastic cheers, in the name of His Majesty William IV. The latitude of the place was 68' 13' 67" N., longitude 94* 68' 1" W. In the middle of August they left the cold precincts of the Arctic Sea. In retracing his route Back ascended the high grounds which divide the northern from the southern streams. The Aylmer, the Artillery, and tho Clinton Colden Lakes embellish the landscape, and discharge their waters into the Great Slave Lake. Here he found a splendid cascade, of which he says : " The color of the wAter varied, from a very light to a BACK'S LAND EXPEDITION. 22U rery dark green ; and the spray, which spread a dim nogs abuvo, wus thrown up in clouds of light gray. Niagara, Wilberfurce's Falls in Hood's River, the falU of Kakabikka, near Lake Superior, the Swiss or Italian falls, although they may each ' charm the eye with dread,' are not to be compared to this for splendor of effect. It was the most imposing spectacle I had ever witnessed ; and, as its berg-like appearance brought to mind associations of another scene, I bestowed upon it the name of our celebrated navigator, Sir Edward Parry, and called it Parry's Falls." Of the Indians, Back gives, in his narrative, some interesting anecdotes. Once, speaking with the Gamarade de Mandeville, a potent Ghipewyan chi6f, regarding the due observance of certain moral precepts for his future guidance, the chief listened with most profound attention and gravity* When Back bad conclnded, he raised his head a little, and, with eyes fixed on the floor, said, in a low and solemn tone, " The chief's words have sunk deep into my heart, and I shall often think of them when I am alone. It is true that I am ignorant ; but I never lie down at night in my lodge without whispering to the Great Spirit a prayer for forgiveness, if I have done any- thing wrong that day." On the nth of September the return party met Mr. McLeod, according to appointment, at Sandy-Hill Bay. He had long been expecting them, and had spent many an anxious hour in watching the distant objects in the direction of their route. With this gentleman they returned to Fort Reliance, where they arrived on the 2Uli, " after an absence of nearly four months ; tired, indeed, but well in health, and truly grateful for the manifold mercies we had experienced in the course of our long and perilous journey." 230 BACK'S VOYAGE IN THE TERROR. II Preparations were soon set on foot to spend another printer in the wilderness. Once more the woods resounded with the woodman's axe, and the little rooms glowed with the blazing fires of wood. Again the nets wore set and the guns loaded, and the white man and the red ranged the woods in company ; while Back and Mr. King found ample and interesting occupation in mapping their discoveries and writing their journals. On the 28th of May, 1835, Back bade adieu to the polar regions, and returned to England, where he arrived on the 8 th of September, after an absence of two years and seven months. This was not the last of Back's labors. In 1836, at the instance of the Geographical Society, the British government equipped an expedition to complete the dis- covery of the coast-line between Regent's Inlfet and Point Turnagain. The ship Terror was set apart for the service ; and Captain Back, just returned from his great land journey, was appointed to the command. Th^ Terror left Chatham on the 14th of June, 1836. On the 29th of July, when a good way across the mouth of Davis's Straits, she came first in view of the ice. Tiie quantity of it was great, and one enormous berg pre- sented a vertical face of not less than three hundred feet in height. Occasional clear and pleasant runs were afterwards made, but, in general, the obstructions were incessant and tremendous. And, so early as from the Ist to the 3d of August, when the ship was near the vexed and foggy shores of Resolution Island, she had to bore and manoeuvre her way among dense floes, high packs, and surging whirlpools. On the 8th of August she was moored to a large ice- berg fQT protection from a gale. But the berg looked dangerous, and was anxiously watched by the oflBcers, lest it should capsize and overwhelm them. Early BACK'S VOYAGE IN THE TERROR. 231 next morning it was violently struck on the weather* side by a heavy drifting floe> and for some minutes it rocked and oscillated in awful menace of an overturn ; but a large piece fell with a splash into the sea from one of its corners, and providentially restored the equi- librium. On the 14th of August the Terror entered the nar^ rows between Salisbury Island and the north coast. A resolution was now taken to steer for the Frozen Strait The course for four days continued to be severe, yet afforded considerable promise. But, on the 18th, after the ship had worked for seme time in only one hole of water, she was arrested by a dense unbroken pack, of fearful extent and most wildly rugged surface. Ye't the ship pushed boldly into it, and very soon, to the sur- prise and joy of all, the stupendous mass went asunder, and disclosed a path through what seemed an impene- trable barrier. On the 23d of August they sighted Ba^ffin Island, which flanks the north side of the entrance of the Frozen Strait. But they found not a channel or a water- lane, even of the width of a brook, to invite them on. The scene everywhere around was a tumulated sea of ice, without one break, without one cheering feature, and with a surface so rough, and heaved, and peaked, that no human being could have travelled on it for more than a very brief distance. They all but abandoned expectation of ever getting into the Frozen Strait, and were now glad to attempt to work their way toward Southampton Island. They warped and bored, and spent many an hour in feverish excitement. On the 25th they made some little distance through a slack ; but at sunset they were stopped near an extensive floe, whtre, from the effects of pressure, some ponderous masses, not unlike the blocks of a Titaoian ruin, had been heaped r< 232 BACK'S VOYAGE IN THE TERROR. ' 'm li li up to the height of thirty feet. " The land, blue from distance, and beautifully soft as contrasted with the white cold glare of the interminable ice around, reflect" ing by the setting sun the tints of the intervening masses thrown into the most picturesquo groups and forms, spires, turrets, and pyramids, many in deep shade, presented altogether a scene suflScient for a time to cheat the imagination, and withdraw the mind from the cheerless reality of their situation." On the 6th of September, when they were firmly fixed about sixteen miles from Southampton Island, and saw some tempting lanes of water at no great distance, they fell to the spirited task of cutting a way through the ice by mechanical force. All the ship's company, offi- cers and men, seized axes, ice-chisels, hand-pikes, and long poles, and vied with one another in driving the blocks asunder, and in driving them away to the nearest pool. They at length succeeded in setting the ship free, and got her into a run of several miles toward the land ; but so early as next morning, they were once more "in a fix." High winds and foul weather at the same time came on, and seriously bewildered them, yet, on the whole, did them good service, by driving them slowly toward the shore. On the 14th of September, within about four miles of the Cape Comfort of Baffin, the ship became severely "nipped." A violent, agitative, landward motion pressed all the surrounding ice into the utmost possible compactness, raised much of it into ponderous pointed heaps of twenty feet and upwards in height, and jammed the ship with perilous tightness between the nearest masses. The hapless ship was for many days drifted .backward and forward along the coast, and away from it, over a range of about thirty miles, just as the wind or the cur- [233] BACK'S VOYAGE IN THE TERROK. 215 revt or the tide directed. The black frowning cliffs of Cape Comiort might have seemed to the most sluggish imagination to grin upon her in irony. She lay in the grip of the ice-masses as helplessly as a kid does in the folds of A boa-constrictor ; and once, when she slipped from that grip, or was hurtled into a change of position, she left her form as perfectly impressed behind her as if it had been struck in a die. The many old Greenland seamen on board all declared that they had never before seen a ship which could have resisted such a pressure. The perils, too, were increasing; and at length, on the 24th of September, the oflBcers unanimously ex- pressed a conviction, founded on the experience of the preceding thirty-four days, that all hope of making further progress that season toward Repulse Bay was gone. " ' Captain Back now resolved to cut a dock in the only adjacent floe which seemed sufficiently large and high to afford the ship fair protection. But, on the. very next day, by one of those extraordinary convulsions which are the last hope of the ice-bound Arctic voyager, the whole body of ice, for leagues around, got into general commotion, and burst into single masses, and, commenc- ing an impetuous rush to the west, tossed many blocks iuto heaps, ground others to powder, whirled all into a hurly-'burly, and bore away the ship like a feather toward the Frozen Strait. Nothing could be done by the crew but to await the issue ; and when the storm subsided, they found themselves midway between Cape Comlort and the entrance of the Frozen Strait, about three miles from the shore, without any prospect of either forcing their way into a harbor, or finding some little shelter in a floo. They were once more firmly beset, with the ad- ditional calamity of being so much tilted up, that the ftom of the ship lay seven and a half feet above the 236 BACK'S VOTAGE IN THE TERROR. horizontal, and the bow was jammed downward on the masses ahead. "Thus," says Back, "ended a month of vexation, disappointment, and anxiety, to me per* Bonally more distressing and intolerable than the worst pressure of the worst evils which had befallen me in any other expedition." After a long series of such trying vicissitudes, a time of repose followed. The long calm of winter seemed at last to have set in. Back, remembering the example of Parry, induced the ofScers to assist him in contriving some amusement for the men. Theatricals were got up, and the farce of Monsieur Ton son went off with hearty laughter and abundant plaudits. An evening school also was instituted, and kept vigorously going. But u startling event was at hand. The floe, which had been at once cradle, wagon, and bulwark, to the ship, now cracked and split to within about forty paces of it, and gave fearful omen of being ready to go to pieces. It had become a home to the crew, and had been made snug with snow-walls, snow- houses, galleries, and court-yard, which served well some of the best purposes of a deck. It still held to* gether, shattered and crazy, for three or four days, and carried them within sight of Seahorse Point, the south- eastern extremity of Southampton Island. Early on the morning of the 18th of February, there occurred, in rapid succession, first, a terrific crash on the eastern edge of the floe ; next, a hoarse rushing sound across it ; next, several severe shocks against the ship, and next, a visible rending of the floe right through the centre. The ship now began to strain and quiver; and she then heeled over to port, and relieved herself about six inches from an embankment which had been built against oer side. At this time the crashing, grinding, rushing n3i8e beneath the ship, and all over the fjoe, wore appall- BACK'S VOYAGE IN fllE TEaROR. 237 ing About two hours aflcr, a commotion like an earth* quake tqok place, and made cracks across the snow- bousea, galleries, and court-yard, and forced the ship to creak through all her timbers. A semi-circular rampart dI ice advanced from the opened sea beyond the floe ; und 6iiormous hillocky masses, some round and massy, and others like small packs, had broken loose, and seemed big with woe and ruin. At this awful moment the tumult suddenly ceased. But the ship was in a most perilous position ; the ice all around was so splin- tered and jagged, and so fissured and holed, that it could neither bear a boat nor be made a depository of provisions ; and the land was seven or nine miles dis- tant, and probably could not have been reached by even the expertest ice-man, who should have had nothing but his own life to take care of. On the following day the perils continued and in- creased, and on the 20th the^* reached a crisis. All the ice was again in motion, and one of its heaves broke up the floe along the starboard side of the ship, and threw down everything in its v ay. Some of the galle- ries now floated away, looking like tunnels ; and the ship herself was in open water, subject to the rubs and nips of the ice-masses. A little after, she was violently struck far below the water-line, and creaked hideously from stem to stern, as if she were abo.ut to go asunder. A.11 the crew were confounded, and even the poor sick went tottering aft, in an agony of terror. But the ship lifted herself fully eight inches from the pressure of a force which would have crushed a less strengthened rcssel tn atoms ; and the assailing ice-mass either passed in part beneath the bottom, or was wedged against the large masses at the extremities. For upwards of three weeks, similar scenes, and worse, weie frequent; and never on the polar seas was there a more marvellotii ! I i!l5| ■ I'li 'ill snCBBViaMSVll 238 BACK'S VOYAGE IN THE TERROR. scene of awful dangers without a catastrophe, und of providential deliverances, without any instrumentalit;y of man. The scenery was sometimos magnificently sol* enm, with such a perspective of moving, frowning, stu pendous towers and bulwarks, as few human beings have ever witnessed ; and often, on the coistrary, was it so enwrapped in fog, that its dreadful perils were much more readily heard than seen. On several occasions the ship was violently nipped, and lifted herself up vertically to more than twice the former height, and groaned from the severity of the un- der-pressure. Once the ice-masses near her came im- petuously on, and tossed their enormous weight against her, and threw her up and considerably over to star board. At another time the lateral pressure crushed the contiguous ice into debris, and threw up a huge mass fully nineteen feet above the general level, and rolled the adjacent floe into hummocks, mounds, peaks, splinters, walls, and ramparts. At another time, after some alternations of commotion and quiet, and when all bad symptoms of an uproar had disappeared, the vast contiguous masses suddenly started into tumult, rubbed and tossed one another in furious conflict, flung piece over piece till all was a chaos, made the ship rise up abaft and tremble through hull and rigging, and accom* panied the whole with such a whining, and screeching, and howling, as might have been taken for a revelry of demons. Worse scenes than even these followed ; and one of the chief of them will be best given in Back's own graphic words. After describing two remarkable escapes from the tremendous shocks of driving ice, hurled together like mountain masses by an earthquake, he observes: "On. the 16th of March another rush drove irresistibly on the larboard quarter and stern, and, forcing the ship BACK'S VOYAGE IN THE TERROR 23f , uiid of lentulily ntly sol- iiipf, stu II beings y, was it 3re miicb f nipped, ;wice the « >f the un- camc inv it against r to star } crushed p a huge ^evel, and is, peaks, ime, after I when all , the vast It, nibbed ung piece ip rise up nd accom* jreeching, revelry of wed ; and in Back's from the ^ether like ves: "On sistibly on the ship ahead, raised her upon the ice. A chaotic ruin fol lowed ; our poor and cherished court-yard, its wall and aichcd doors, gallery, and well-trodden paths, were rent, ■ind in some parts ploughed up like dust. The ship was careened fully four streaks, and sprang a leak as before. Searcel;^ were ten minutes left us for the expression of 5ur ast').iishment that anything of human build could outlive such assaults, when another equally violent rush :Jucceeded ; and, in its way toward the starboard quar- ter, threw up a rolling wave thirty feet high, crowned by a blue squo.'e mass of many tons, resembling the entire side of a house, which, after hanging for some time in doubtful poise on the ridge, at length fell with a, crash into the hollow, in which, as in a cavern, the after-part of the ship seemed imbedded. It was indeed an awfiil crisis, rend»n-ed more frightful from the misti- ness of the night and dimness of the moon. The poor ship cracked and trembled violently, and no one could say that the next minute would not be her la^t ; and, indeed, his own too, for with her our means of safety would probably perish." During all the period of disasters after the disruption of the floe, the ship was carried hither and thither over a range of from twenty-six to forty-eight miles north- west of Seahorse Point, and seldom further than about ten miles from the nearest land. But, after the 1 6th of March, she set pretty steadily toward the south-east, and kept a good deal nearer the shore. The officers, at a formal consultation, agreed that she now seemed liable to be lost at an^>" moment, and that a lightboat, with provisions, sh6uld, if possible, be landed to serve as a last resource, to communicate with the Hudson's Bay Company's factory, in the event of her going down. She still held marvellouslf firm, and continued to be cradled on a small piece of floe. On the 16th of April, !l I ^ ii i ! ' ' ' ' Hi ! 240 BACK'S VOYAGE IN TH£ TERROR. appiarently by some conflicting action of strong calm currents, she lost the sides of her cradle ; yet even then she retained the base of it, and was borne along on this as on>a truck. So late as the 20th of Juno, the i.hip still lay immov- ably fixed in tiic middle of a large floe, and, though dis- ruptions and openings then became common, at com- paratively small distances from her, she continued as firm in her cradle as in the beginning of February. No alternative offered but to cut her out with implements ; and this proved an enormous labor, and occupied all the crew till the 11th of July. On that day the men had paused to draw breath, when suddenly the ice-rock (>urst asunder, barely allowing them time to clamber up, in hot haste, for safety. " Scarcely," says Captain Back, " had I descended to my cabin, when a loud rumbling notified that the ship had broken her ice-bonds, and was sliding gently down into her own element. I ran in- stantly on deck, and joined in the cheers of the officers and men, who, dispersed on different pieces of ice, took this significant method of expressing their feelings. It was a sight not to be forgotten. Standing on the taff- rail, I saw the dark bubbling water below, and enormous masses of ice gently vibrating and springing to the sur- face : the first lieutenant was just climbing over tho stern, while other groups were standing apart, separated by this new gulf; and the spars, together with working implements, were resting half in the water, half on the ice, whilst the saw, the instrument whereby this sudden effect had been produced, was bei.t double, and in that position forcibly detained by the body it had severed." A piece of the base of the ship's ice-cradle, however, still clung to her, and continued to do so till the 13th ; and when it did break up, it did not set her free. On the contrary, she slowly rose, heeled over to port, and, BACK'S VOVAGi: IN THE TEllROll 211 iif;emcd for some momenta to be entirely cap.^izing. Those of her company who were on board felt suddenly as if on the verge of eternity. Yet they evinced no confusion, and cleared off and provisioned the boats with astoninhing coolness and promptitude. She went so completely on her beam ends, that no man in her could move without holding on ; but she went no fr.rther. A submerged ice-mass, whose end was con- g >aled to her bottom, and whose other end projected right out from her, was the cause ^f her overturn, and it now held her firnf in her perilous position. Officers and men beheld it with awe, and set promptly and ener< getically to the arduous task of sawing it off. They worked from eleven o'clock in the forenoon till two in the following morning, afraid that a squall might arise and ruin them ; and when at last they had only ten feet more to saw, but were compelled by fatigue and drowsi- Qes8 to go in quest of a short repose on the deck, suddenly there was a grating sound of breaking ice, and, before a word could be spoken, t)ie ship sprang free, and entirely righted. The cheering of the crew was vociferous, and their joy unbounded. Four months, all but a day, had the ship been in the grip of the ice ; and now, after a romance of perils, and a cycle of providen- tial deliverances, she was again subject to the control of man. The last scenes we have described took place in the vicinity of Charles Island, about midway between Gape Comfort and the mouth of Hudson's Strait. The query was naturally raised, whether anything could now be done to prosecute the object of the expedition ; but the ship was found to be far too shattered to go again in her present state into collision with the ice, and a «erious doubt soon arose whether she should be able to cross the sea to a British harbor. There was noth* 10 242 DEAS£ AND SIMPSON'S DISCOVERIES. I '! Ing for it but to run her, with all possible speed, toward home. She was utterly crazy, and broken, and leaky ; and not oven her periluus tumbling among tiie ice-masses around the dismal Cape Comfort und the horrid Sea- horse Point were more perilous than the struggling, staggering, water-logged voyage which she made across the northern Atlantic. She at last reached the north- west coast of Ireland, gradually sinking by the head, and was run ashore in Lough S willy od the 3d of Sep- tember ; and, had she been three hours longer at sea, she would certainly have gone to the bottom. Iler whole frame proved to be strained and twisted ; many of her bolts were either loosened or broken ; her fore- foot was entirely gone ; and upwards of twenty feet of her keel, together with ten feet of her stern-post, had been driven over more than three feet and a half on one side, leaving a frightful opening astern for the free ingress of water. Well, therefore, might her crew, when they afterwards looked on her as she lay dry on the beach at low v^ater, express astonishment that ever they had floated back in her to British shores ; and ample occasion hod they to cherish adoring gratitude to the all-powerful and all-benevolent Being who had preserved them. Almost simultaneously with Back's expedition in the Terror, in 1836, the Hudson's Bay Company resolved on completing, if possible, the survey of those portions of the northern coast which Franklin and Back had failed to reach. This service was intrusted to Messrs. Dease and Simpson, two of their employees, with a party of twelve men, who were instructed to descend the Mac- kenzie River, and, on arriving at the sea, endeavor to follow tne coast to the westward, either by land or water, as weather and other .circumstances permitted, to the pomt at which Beechey turned back. They were afte> DEASK ASl) 61Ml'8UN'd DISCOVERIES. 213 wards to explore to the eastward from Point Turna^uin uf Frunkliu ; to dctcriniiio whether Boothia Felix were a peninsula, as Ross supposed, or an island ; and then tid push on in the same direction to some known point which had been visited by Back. In July, 1837, they had reached Return Reef, where Franklin was stopped. Beyond this all was new. Two large rivers were discovered, the Garry and Colville, the latter more than a thousand miles in length. Although in the middle of the dog-days, the ground was frozen so hard at four inches beneath the surface, that they could scarcely drive in their tent-pegs. So keen was the north-easterly wind, that " the spray froze on the oars and rigging ; and out in the bay the ice lay smooth and solid, as in the depth of a sunless winter." Yet even here a few flowers cheered the eyes of the travellers, and enlivened the stubborn soil. On the 1st of August, further progress by water being impracticable, — they had gained but four miles on the four previous days, — Mr, Simpson, with some of the men, continued the jour- ney on foot, while Mr. Dease and the others remained in charge of the boats. The walking-party, after two or three days' travel, fell in with a number of Esqui- maux, from whom they hired an oomiak, or family-canoe, in which to pursue the voyage along the lanes of open water occasionally visible close to the beach. On the 4th, after passing the mouth of a large, deep river, " I saw," says Mr. Simpson, " with indescribable emotions, Point Barrow stretching out to the northward, and enclos- ing Elson Bay, near the bottom of which we how were." This, it will be r«membered, was the furthest point attained by the Blossom^ 8 barge in 1826, an exploit com* memorated by naming the bay after Lieut. Elson, one of the officers in command. The party returned to the winter station on Great li 244 DEASE AND SIMPSON'S DISCOVERIES. Ill II Bear Lake, and, while there, received instructions to renew their search to the eastward, and were informed of Sir G. Back's expedition, with which they were, if possible, to communicate. They were descending the Coppermine in June, 1838, in pursuance of these in- structions, when the stream was swollen by spring floods, and encumbered with floating ice ; and, in shoot- ing the numerous rapids, " had to pull for their lives, to keep out of the suction of the precipices, along whose base the breakers raged and foamed, with over- whelming fury. Shortly before noon, we came in sight of Escape Rapid of Franklin ; and a glance at the over- hanging cliffs told us that then^ was no alternative but to run down with full cargo. ' In an instant," continues Mr. Simpson, " we were in the vortex ; and, before we were aware, my boat was borne towards an isolated rock, which the boiling surge almost concealed. To :lcar it on the outside was no longer possible ; our only shance of safety was to run between it and the lofty eastern cliff. The word was passed, and every breath was hushed. A stream which dashed down upon us over the brow of the precipice, more than one hundred feet in height, mingled with the spray that whirled upwards from the rapid, forming a terrific shower-bath. Tlie pass was about eight feet wide, and the error of a single foot on either side would have been instant destruction. As, guided by Sinclair's consummate skill, the boat shot safely through those jaws of death, an involuntary cheer arose. Our next impulse was to turn round to view the fate of our comrades behind. They had profited by the peril we incurred, and kept without the treacherous rock in time." Thoy had navigated but a short distance along Ihe coast when they were stopped by ice, and lingered many days at Boathaven, in a state of utter hopelessness. The DBASE AND SIMPSON'S DISCOVElllliiS. 240 time for returning had arrived ere any real work had been accomplished. At length, on the 20th of August, Mr. Simpson started with seven men for a ten days' walk to the eastward, on the first of which they passed Point Turnagain, the limit of Franklin's survey in 1821. Ry the 23d they hud toiled onwards to an elevated cape, rising from a sea beset with ice ; and, the land closing all round to the northwards, further progress seemed -tn be impossible. "With bitter disappointment," writes Mr. Simpson, " I ascended the height, from whence a vast and splendid prospect burst suddenly upon me. The sea, as if transformed by enchantment, rolled its free waves at my feet, and beyond the reach of vision to the eastward. Islands of various shape and size overspread its surface, and the northern laud terminated to the eye in a bold and lofty cape, bearing east-north- east, thirty or forty miles distant, while the continental coast trended away south-east. I stood, in fact, on a remarkable headland, at the eastern outlet of an ice- obstructed strait. On the extensive land to the north- ward I bestowed the name of our most gracious sover- eign, Queen Victoria. Its eastern visible extremity I called Cape Pelly, in compliment to the governor of the Hudson's Bay Company." In 1839 they were more successful, and, favored wi£h^ mild weather and an open sea, they sailed through the narrow strait that separates Victoria Land from the main. On the 13th of August they doubled Point Ogle, the furthest point of Back's journey in 1834 ; an event wliich terminated the long-pursued inquiry concerning the coast-line. They had thus ascertained that the American continent is separated from Boothia to the westward of Back's Estuary. The survey was now complete. A day or two later, th6 party, with flags fly'og, crossed to Montreal Island, in Back's Estuary, 1 216 DEASE ASh SIMPSON'S DISCOVERIES. ill If [■ ill where they discovered a deposit of provisions which Back had left there five years previously. The pemmi- can was unfit for use ; but out of several pounds of chocolate, half decayed, the men contrived to pick suiB- ciont to make a kettle-full of acceptable drink in honor of the occasion. There were also a tin case and a few fish-hooks, of which, observes Mr. Simpson, " Mr. Dease utid I took possession, as memorials of our having breakfasted on the identical spot where the tent of our Q'ttUutit, though less successful precursor^ stood that very day five years before." They had now obeyed their instructions to the letter ; the coast-line was determined, and connected with what w;i8 previously known to the eastward. It was time to think of returning, but it still remained a question whether some part jf Boothia might not be united to the continent on the eastern side of the estuary. Doubling, therefore, its eastern promontory, they passed a point of the continent which they named Cape Britannia, and another called Cape Selkirk, and proceeded toward some islands in the Gulf of Akkolee, so far as to satisfy themselves that they were to the eastward of any part of Boothia. By the 20th of August they had sailed far 3nough to see the further shore, with its capes, of the Gulf of Boothia, which runs down to within forty miles of Repulse Bay ; and they then turned back. On their return, they traced sixty miles of the south coast of Boothia, where at one time they were not more than ninety miles from the site of the magnetic pole, as deter?- mined by Sir James Ross. A long extent of Victoria Land was also examined ; and, on the 16th of Septem- ber, they once more happily entered the Coppermine, after a boat voyage of more than sixteen hundred miles, thb longest ever performed in the Polar Sea CHAPTER XI. HAB'K lard BXPEDITIOW. — SHORES OF HUDSON'S BAT. — SSgDIMACX CiftNOBB. — RBPDLSE BAY. — GAME IN PLENTY. — BLEDOB TRAVBLUNO. — 8N0W-a0C8E8. — RETURN. — RENEWED INTEREST IN THE DISCOVERT or A NORTH-WEST PASSAGE. — THE EREBUS AND TERROR. — SIR JOHN franklin's liAST VOYAGE. — MYSTERY OF HIS FATE. The supposed great bay, extending from the furthest point reached by Messrs. Dease and Simpson, eastward to the Fury and Hecia Strait, now became an object of inlCDse interest. The mystery which overhung the north-east corner of the American mainland seemed, at lust, to be almost revealed. Let but the coast-line from the mouth of the Castor and Pollux to the eastern ex- tremity of the Gulf of Akkolee be examined, so as to connect the discoveries of Messrs. Dease and Simpson with those of the second voyage of Parry, and those of the second voyage of John Ross, and all would become plain. In 1846, accordingly, the Hudson's Bay Company fitted out an expedition to effect this object ; and Dr John Rae was appointed to the command. lie was just the man for it : he was surgeon, astronomer, steers- man, and leader to the party ; had spent several years in the service of the company ; and added to his other attainments the not unimportant accomplishments of a first-rate snow-shoe walker and a dead shot. On the 8th of October, Rae landed at York Factoiy, %fter a canoe journey of about two months' di:iration 248 RAE'S LAND EXPEDITION. through the interior, frum Canada. Here he wintered, and, on the 12th of June, set sail in two boats, with six men to each, along the shores of Hudson's Bay, which are here low, flat, and uninteresting. On the 27th they landed at Churchill. They found the people here en- gaged in killing white whales, which are often seen rolling their bulky forms up the rivers that flow into the bay. Their flesh is used as food for dogs, the house in which it is kept being called the blubber-house ; to find which house, especially in summer, the simple direction, " follow your nose," is sufficient. Having taken on board Ooligbuck, an Esquimaux interpreter, and the son of Ooligbuck, a sad thief, who nad a peculiar fancy for tobacco and buttons, they left Churchill July 5th, 1846. During the day they passed the Pau-a-thau-kis-cow river, where they were overtaken by three Esquimaux, in their kayaks. These little c'knoes were propelled by their vigorous occupants so swiftly, that they easily kept up with the boats, while sailing at the rate of four miles an hour. The kayak is about twelve feet in length, and two in breadth, taper- ing ofi* from the centre to the bow and stern, almost to a more point. The frame is of wood, covered with seal- skin, having an aperture in the centre, which barely admits of the stowage of the nether man. They are used solely far hunting, and, by means of the double paddle, are propelled through the water with the veloc- ity of the dolphin. No land animal can possibly escape when seen in the water ; the least exertion is sufficient to keep up with the reindeer when swimming at its utmost speed. The oomiak, or women's boat, is much clumsier, slower, and safer, more in the form of a boat than a canoe, and is used to convey the female porti'.in of the community and their families from one part of th« coast at Its RAE'S LAND EXPEDITION 251 to another, being propelled by the women, who use imali paddles fur the purpose. On the 13th, Chesterfield Inlet was passed. Walruses were here seen. " They were grunting and bellowing," says Kao, " making a noise which I fancy would much resemble a concert of old boars and bufl'aloes." At the head of Repulse Bay, where they landed on the 25th, they fell in with more Esquimaux, and procured i'rom them some seal-skin boots. When about to put on a pair of these boots, says Rae, " one of our female visit- ors, noticing that the leather of the foot was rather hard, took them out of my hands, and began chewing them with her strong teeth." By this process they were softened for the wearing. They quitted the head of Repulse Bay, in latitude 66° 32' north, and succeeded in conveying one of their boats to the southern extremity of the Gulf of Akkolee, in latitude 67* 13' north. They found a chain of lakes lying across the isthmus, and derived great aid from it in the conveying of the boat. They proceeded along the coast of the Gulf of Akkolee till the 5th of August, and they observed the tides to be, on the average, far higher than in the Polar Sea, but exceedingly irregular, and varying in rise from four to ten feet ; and already they began to entertain a strong presumption that Boothia, after all, is a peninsula of the American main* land. But they were utterly baffled in their progress by ice and fogs and northerly winds, and felt obliged to return at about latitude 67* 30' north, and spend the whiter at Repulse Bay. There they built a house, and procured a stock of provisions by hunting and fishing, principally reindeer and salmon ; and, excepting what was used for cooking, they had no fuel throughout the winter. The sporting-book for September showed that they had been diligent : sixty-three deer, five hures. 252 RAE'S LAND EXPEDITION. one seal, one hundred and seventy-two partridges, and one hundred and sixteen salmon and trout, having been brought in. On the 6th of April, 1847, six of the party agoir started north with sledges, drawn by dogs, and travelled along the west shore of the Gulf of Akkolee ; and, on tlie 18th, they reached the vicinity of Sir John Ross's ir.ost southerly discoveries. The question of the sup- posed communication with the Polar Sea was here to be set at rest. They decided now to strike off from the coast across the land as nearly north as possible ; and they had a tiresome march through snow, and across three small lakes ; and, at noon, when near the middle of another lake of about four miles in length, they ascer- tained their latitude to be 69" 26' 1" north. They walked three miles more, and came to still another lake ; and, as there was not yet any appearance of the sea, Rae gave orders to the men to prepare their lodgings, and went forth alone to look for the cotTst. He arrived in twenty minutes at an inlet of not more than a quarter of a mile wide, and traced this westward for upwards of a league, and there found his course once more obstructed by land. Some rocky hillocks were hear, and, thinking be saw from the top of these some rough ice in the desired direction, he'inhaled fresh hope, pushed eagerly on to a rising ground in the distance, and there beheld stretched out before him an ice-covered sea, studded with innumerable islands. But it was the sea of Sir John Ross, the Lord Mayor's Bay of the disastrous voyage of the Victory ; and the islands were those which Sir John had named the Sons of the Clergy of the Church of Scotland. Rae, therefore, had simply crossed a peninsula of the Gulf of Akkolee ; and thui 4id be ascertain that the shores which witnessed the UAE'S LAND EXPEDITION. 263 woos of the Victory, the eastern shores of Boothia, ai« continuous with the mainland of America. On this expedition, "our usual mode,** says Rae, *' of preparing lodgings for the night was as follows ; As soon as we had selected a Kpot fur our snow-house, our Esquimaux, assisted by one or more of the men, commenced cutting out blocks of snow. When a suflS- cient number of these had been raised, the builder com- menced his work, his assistants supplying him with the material. A good roomy dwelling was thus raised in an hour, if the snow was in a good state for building. Whilst our principal mason was thus occupied, another of the party was busy erecting ^ kitchen, which, although our cooking was none of the most delicate or extensive, was still a necessary addition to our establishment, hail it been only to thaw snow. As soon as the snow-hut was completed, our sledges were unloaded, and every- thing eatable (including parchiiieiit-skin and nioose-skiii shoes, which had now become favorite articlcH with the dogs) taken inside. Our bed was next made, and, by the time the snow was thawed or the water boiled, as the case might be, we were all ready for supper. When wo used alcohol for fuel (which we usually did in stormy weather), no kitchen was required.*' Sir James Clarke Ro8S, who figured in the voyage of the Victory as Commander Ross, says, " Mr. Rao's description of the inlet he crossed over to in the south- east corner of Lord Mayor's Bay, accords so exactly with what I observed whilst surveying its shores, that I have no doubt of his having reached that inlet on which I found the Esquimaux marks so numerous, but of which no account was published in Sir John Ross's narrative." Rue appropriately named the peninsula Sir John Ross's Peninsula ; and the isthmus, connecting it with the mainland, and flanking the inlet, Sir Jamea 254 RAE'S LAND EXPEDITION. Ross's Isthnms. The latter is only one mile broad, and has three small ponds ; but it bears evident macks of being an autumnal deer-pass, and, therefore, a favorite resort of the Esquimaux. Rae had thus reached the goal of his wishes. A progress to the furthest point reuched by Messrs. Dcase and Simpson was not attempted, for it was now ascertained that this must comprise a journey over land, and either a voyage across a large land-locked estuary, or a coasting along its shores ; and for these t)ie explorers had neither time nor resources. They forthwith began to retrace their route to the fort at Repulse Bay. All the caches of provisions which had been made during the outward journey were found quite safe, and thus afforded them a plentiful supply of food. On the morning of the 5th of May they reached some Esquimaux dwellings on the shores of Christie's Lake, about fifteen miles from Fort Hope. " At two p. m on the same day," says Rae, "we were again on the march, and arrived at our home at half past eight p. h., all well, but so black and scarred on the face, from the combined effects of oil, smoke, and frost-bites, that our friends would not believe but that some serious accident from the explosion of gunpowder had happened to us Thus successfully terminated a journey little short of six hundred English miles, the longest, I believe, ever made on foot along the Arctic coast." On the 12th of May, at the head of* a similar party, Rae set out to examine the east side of the gulf; and on the 27th, in a bewildering snow-storm, he reached his ultimatum, at a headland which they called Cape Cro- zier. But, during a blink of the storm, he got a clear view of a headland nearly twelve miles further on, which he called Cape Ellice, and computed to be in lat* itude 69** 42^ north, and longitude 86' 8' west, or within FRANKLIN'S LAST VOYAGE. 25d about ten iriileB of the Fury and Ilecla Straits. " Out jouriu'y," says Dr. Rue, " hitherto hud been the nioHt fatij^uing I ha(« ever experienced ; the severe exer(;iHe, with a Uniited allowance of food, had reduced the whule party very much. However, -we marched merrily on, tightening our belts, — mine came in six iftches, — the men vowing that when they got on full allowance they would make up for lost time." On the 12th of August the whole original party embarked at Repulse Bay, and on the 3Ut arrived at Churchill. The return of Captain Sir James Clarke Ross, in 1844, from his brilliant career in the Antarctic Ocean, gave a sudden stimulus in England to the old craving for the discovery of a north-west passage. The ships Erebus and Terror were now famous for their fitness to brave the dangers of the ice, and could be reequipped at com- paratively small cost. Naval officers and whale-fisher- men and hardy seamen were fired with the spirit of adventure. Statesmen panted to send the British flag across all the breadth of the Polar Sea ; scientific gen- tlemen longed for decisions in terrestrial magnetism, which could be obtained only in the regions around the magnetic pole ; and, though merchants and other utilita- rians could never again regard the old notion of a com- mercial highway to the Indian seas through Behring's Strait as worthy of consideration, yet multitudes of the curious, among all classes of society, were impatient to have the veil penetrated which had so long hid from the world'6 wondering gaze the mysteries of the ice-girt archipelago of the north. The very difficulties of the enterprise, together with the disasters or failures of all former ejcpeditions, only roused the general resolution. Sir John Barrow, Secretary to the Admiralty, had for thirty years been the fervent advocate of every enter- prise which could throw light on the Arctio re|pon8> and 266 FRANKLIN'8 LAST VOTAGB. ■m 1 had incessantly bent in that direction the powerful influ ence which he wielded ; and now again was he at his vocation. Lieut. Col. Sabine, alHo, whose opinion oar- ried much weight, declared " that a final attempt to make a north-west passage would render the most important service that now remained to be performed •ward the completion of the magnetic survey of the ,jlobe." The Lords of the Admiralty and the Council of the Royal Society gave a formal assent ; and Sir John Franklin, the hero of some most perilous exploits within the Arctic circle, who now stood out to view as the likeliest man to conduct the desired enterprise, had said in 1836, and continued to say still, "that no ser- vice was nearer to his heart than the completion of the survey of the north-west coast of America, and the accomplishment of a north-west passage." The Erebus and the Terror were ordered to be got fcady. Both had braved all the perils of the Antarctic expedition under Sir James G. Ross, and the latter was the ship of the terrific ice-voyage of 1836, in Hudson's Bay. They were the best-tested and the best-appurte- nanced vessels which had ever faced the frozen regions ; and each was now fitted with a small steam-engine and screw-propeller. Sir John Franklin was appointed to the chief command, and hoisted his flag in the £rebus ; and Captain Richard Crozier, who had been the distin- guished colleague of Sir James C. Ross in the Antarctic voyage, was appointed to the Terror. So many naval oflScers volunteered their services, that, had all been ac- cepted, they might themselves have completely manned 31 in the ko, or exposed Ic ajy violent contact with ii. You will then ami ;/uursoIf of the earliest opportunity o c*op.rii)f5 tlie iiaiiiiport of the provisions and stores with w^hicin «1v:j is charged i^i' the use of the expedition : and you aio then %o tojvll her back to England, giving to die agent or mastfi such directions for his guidance m may appear to y-^-i mo»t proper, and reporting by that opjiortunity your jvocoed- ings to our secretary for our iufcrmattoiri. You will then proceed, in the execution of yonr orders, into Baf- fin's Bay, and get, as soon as possible; id tlie v/estern side of the straic, provided it should appear to you that the ice chiefly pre.vri,f(s on the eastam side or near the middle, the object being to enter Lancaster Sound with as little de'ay as possible. " B'At; ,it uo specific directions can be given, owing to the position of the ice varying from year to year, you will,. of course, be guided by your own observations as to tiie course most eligible to be ti^en, in oidcnr tc 258 FRANELln S LAST VOYAGE. insure a speedy arrival in the sound above-mentioned As, however, we have thought fit to cause each ship t»; be fitted with a small steam-engine and propeller, to be asod only in pushing the ships through channels be* tween masses of ice when the wind is adverse, or in a calm, we trust the difSculty usually found in such cases will be much obviated. But, as the supply of fuel to be taken in the ships is necessarily small, you will use it only, in cases of di£Sculty. " Lancaster Sound and its continuation through Bar- row's Strait, having been four times navigated without any impediment by Sir Edward Parry, and since fre- quently by whaling-ships, will probably be found with- out any obstacles from ice or islands ; and Sir Edward Parry having also proceeded from the latter in a straight course to Melville Island, and returned without experi- encing any or very little diflBculty, it is hoped that the remaining portion of the passage, about nine hundred miles, to Behring's Strait, may also be found equally free from obstruction ; and in proceeding to the west- ward, therefore, you will not stop to examine any open- ings either to the northward or southward in that strait, but continue to push to the westward, without loss of time, in the latitude of about H^*, till you have reached the longitude of that portion of land on which Cape Walker is situated, or about 98* west. From that point we desire that every effort be used to endeavor to penetrate to the southward and westward, in a course as direct towards Behring's Strait as the position and extent of the ice, or the existence of land, at present unknown, may admit. " We direct you to this particular part of the Polar Sea as affording the best prospect of accomplishing the passage to the Pacific, in consequence of the unusual magnitude and apparently fixed state of the barrier of I'l;;!;' ^1 !:> FRANKLIN'S LAST VOYAGE. 259 Ice observed by the Hecla and Griper in the year 1820, off Cape Dundaa, the south-western extremity of Mel« villo Island ; and we therefore consider that loss of time would be incurred in renewing the attempt in that direction. But, should your progress in the direction before ordered be arrested by ice of a permanent appeai> ance, and should you, when passing the mouth of the strait betwen Devon and Cornwallis's Islands, have observed that it was open and clear of i J3, we desire tha'j you will duly consider, with reference to the time already consumed, as well as to the symptoms of a late or early close of the season, whether that channel might not offer a more practicable outlet from the archipelago, and a more ready access to the open sea, where there would be neither islands nor banks to arrest and fix the floating masses of ice. " And if you should have advanced too far to the south-westward to render it expedient to adopt this new course before the end of the present season, and if, therefore, j ou should have determined to winter in that neighborhood, it will be a matter for your mature delib- eration whether, in the ensuing season, you would pro- ceed by the above-mentioned strait, or whether you should persevere to the south-westward, according to the former directions. "You are wall aware, having yourself been one of the mtelKgent travellers who have traversed the American dhore of the Polar Sea, that the groups of islands that Htretch from that shore to the northward, to a distance Qot yet known, do not extend to the westward further (ban about the one hundred and twentieth degree of western longitude ; and that beyond this, and to Beh- ring's Strait, no land is visible from the American shore of the Polar Sea. In an undertaking of this description, much must be always left to the discreti ^n of the com* 260 FRANKLIN'S LAST VOYAQE. MM ^1 manding officer ; and, as the objects of this expcditioD have been fully explained to you, and you have already had much experience on service of this nature, we are convinced we cannot do better than leave it to your judgment." He was instructed, also, in the event of reaching Bchring's Strait, to proceed to the Sandwich Islands and Panama, and to put an officer ashore at the latter place with despatches. The ships sailed from the Thames on the 19th of May, 1845. The Erebus and the Terror received tho transport's stores, and dismissed her in Davis's Strait, and then had abundant provisions of every kind for three years, besides five bullocks. They were seen by the whaler Prince of Wales, on the 26th of July, moored to an iceberg, waiting for an opening through the long vast body of ice which extends along the middle of Baf fin's Bay. They were then in latitude t4* 48' north, and longitude 66* 13' west, not far from the centre of Baffin's Bay, and about two hundred and ten miles from the entrance of Lancaster Sound. I' li. CHAPTER XIL AIZIBTT Iir RKGARD TO rRAIfKLIIT A5D HIS SHIPS. — TBItEB CXKKDI* TIONS OF SEARCH SENT OUT. — KELL£TT AND MOURK's KXl'KUiTION BT BBURIIfO's STRAIT. — ITS RKTVRN. — RICHARDSON'S AND RAK's LAVO EXPLORATIONS. — SIR J. C. ROSS'S EXPEDITION BY LANCASTER SOVNO. — TUB EXPLORERS RETURN UNSUCCESSFUL. — LIEUT. PULI.EN, FROM TBI BEHRIxXG STRAIT EXPEDITION, ASCENDS THE MACKENZIE. — RETURN TO THE ARCTIC SEA AND BACK. — THE SEASON OP 1860. — PULLBN'S ARRI- VAL IN ENGLAND. Toward the end of the year 1847, anxiety beyan to be felt in regard to the fate of Franklin and his men. Not a word had been heard from them since they had been seen by the Prince of Wales whaler ; and appre- honsion became general that they had shared a similar fate to the Fury of Sir Edward Parry, or the Victory of Sir John Ross. The government, therefore, promptly determined to send three expeditions in search of them. The first was a marine expedition, by way of Beh- ring's Strait, to be conducted by Captain Henry Kellett, of the ship Herald, of twonty-six guns, then in the Pacific, aided by Commander Thonras E. L. Moore, in the Plover, survej'ing vessel ; and this was designed to relieve Sir John Franklin and his companions in the event of their having gone through the north-west passage, and stuck fast at some advanced point of the Polar Sea. The second was an overland and boat expe- dition, to be conducted by Sir John Richardson, to descend the Mackenzie River, and to examine the coast eastward to the Coppermine ; and this was designed to Aftbrd relief iu the event of the adventurers having I . U i'i 262 KELLETT Al^D MOORE'S EXPEDITION. taken to their boats westward of the Northern Archi- pehvgo, and forced their way to the American continent. The third was a marine expedition, to be conducted by Sir James Clarke Ross, with the ships Enterprise and Investigator, through Lancaster Sound and Barrow's Strait, to examine all the tracks of the missing ships westward as far as they could penetrate into the archi- pelago ; and this was designed to afford relief in thu event of the adventurers having been arrested either in the very throat of the supposed passage, or at some point on this side of it, and of their attempting to retrace their steps. This plan of search seemed com- prehensive and noble, and was carried with all possible promptitude into execution. The Plover left Sheerness on the 1st January, 1848 ; but, being a miserable sailer, did not reach Oahu, in the Sandwich Islands, till the 22d August. She was then too late to attempt, that season, any efficient operations within the Arctic Circle, and she passed on to winter quarters at Noovel, on the coast of Kamtschatka. The Herald, meanwhile, had received instructions from home, and gone northward as far as Cape Krusenstern, in Kotzebue Sound, the appointed rendezvous. But, pot being prepared to winter there, nor prepared for explorations among ice, she returned, in autumn, to the Sandwich Islands. On the 30th June, 1849, the 'Plover left Noovel, and on the 14th July anchored off Chamisso Island, at the bottom of Kotzebue Sound. Next day she was joined by the Herald and by the Nancy Dawson, the latter a yacht belonging to Robert Shedden, Esq., who, in the course of a voyage of pleasure round the globe, got Intelligence in China of the intended expedition through Behring's Strait in search of Sir John Franklin, and nobly resolved to devote his vessel and himself to its aid. On the l^th the three vessels left Chamisso ; on kell>:tt and modre's KxrKLirnjN. 213 the 20th they were ofF Cape Lisburn ; and on the 25tli, after having passed Icy Point, they despatched a boat expedition, under Lieut. Pullen. This boat expedition was designed to connect the proceedings of the present voyage with those of the ovei'.and expedition under Sir John Richardson, and to institute search and provide succor for the missing adventurers on the likeliest part of the coast and main- land west of the Mackenzie River. It consisted of the Herald's pinnace, decked over, and three other boats, and comprised twenty-five men, and had nearly three months' provisions for its own use, besides five cases of pemmican for the use of Sir John Franklin's party. But it was accompanied also by Mr. Shedden in his yacht. It was directed, after proceeding a certain distance along the coast in-shore, to return to a rendezvous with the Plover at Chamisso Island, but at the same time to des- patch from its furthest point a detachment in two whale- boats, well provisioned and equipped, to cx.tend tht search to the mouth of the Mackenzie River, and then to ascend that river, and proceed homeward by Fort Hope and York Factory, in the summer of 1850. The Herald and the Plover, in the mean while, bore away to the north, and on the 26th, in latitude 71" 5' north, reached the heavily-packed ice. They sailed sometimes along the edge of this, and sometimes through streams and among floes, till the 28th, when they could proceed no further, on account of the per- fi-ct impevetrableness of the pack. They were then in latitude 72" 51' north, and longitude 163" 48' west. The ice, as far as it could be seen from the mast-head, trended away west-south-westward; yet, while densely compact for leagues distant, seemed to be broken }»y a water-line in the northern horizon. On the 28th the ■hips came again to the land, and the Herald bore li 11 ;i I ^1 i ■i t 264 KFXLKTT ASD MOORE'S EXPEDITION. in to examine Wainwright's Inlet, while Oomniaridoi Moore went on shore, erected a mark, and buried a bottle containing information about the boutB. Thih place, unhappily, was found too shallow to aflord haibor- agfe ; else it would have proved an excellent retreat, on iccount, at once, of its high latitude, of its being a resort *br reindeer, of the friendliness of the natives, and (»f there being no nearer harbor to the south than Kotze- bue's Sound, while even that place was regarded by the ice-masters as an unsafe wintering quarter. From the Ist of August till the Hth, Cape Lisburn beiiig appointed for a rendezvous, the ships made actiire explorations in various directions near shore, and away northward as far as tliey could penetrate. On the 17th the Herald discovered a new territory. " At forty minutes past nine," on that day, says Captain Kellett, " the exciting report of ' Land ho I ' was made from the mast-head : both mast-heads were soon after- wards crowded. In running a course along the pack toward our first discovery, a small group of islands was reported on our port-beam, a considerable distance within the outer margin of the ice. Still more distant than this group (from the deck), a very extensive and high land was reported, which I had been watching for some tine, anxiously awaiting a report from some one else. There was a fine clear atmosphere (such a one as can only be seen, in this climate, except in the direc- tion of this extended land), where the clouds rolle«l in numerous immense masses, occasionally leaving the very lofty peaks uncapped ; where could be distiiiCtly seen columns, pillars, all very broken, which is charac- teristic of the higher headlands in this sea — East Cape and Cape Lisburn, for example. With the exception of the north-east and south-east extremes, none of the lowei land could be seen, unless, indeed, what I took, at first) KELLETT AND MOORE'S EXPEDITION. 265 for a small g;roup of islands within the pack edge was a point of this great huid. This island, oi point, was distant twonty-fivc miles from the ship's track ; higher parts of the land seemed not less, I consider, than sixty. When we hove to off the first land seen, tiie northorri extreme of the groat land showed out to the eastwani for a moment, and so clear as to cause some who had doubts before to cry out, ' There, sir, is the land quite plain.* " They afterwards ran up to the island, and landed upon it, and found it a solid and almost inaccess- ible mass of granite, about folir and a half miles long, two and a half miles broad, and fourteen hundred feet high. Its situation is latitude 71** 20' north, and longi- tude 175" 16' west. The distant mountainous land seemed to be extensive, and was supposed by Captain Kellett to be a continuation of the lofty range seen by the natives off Cape Jakan, in Asia, and mentioned by Baron Wrangell, in his Polar Voyages. In the vicinity of Cape Lisburn, on the 24th August, the Nancy Dawson, and the return boats of Lieut. Pullen's expedition, rejoined the Herald. They had searched the coast as far east as Dease's Inlet, and had there parted with the two whale-boats ; and had, at several points, made deposits of provisions, but had not obtained the slightest intelligence of the missing adven- turers. Mr. Shedden had been particularly active and dnring, and had many times put his yacht in peril. And, it is painful to add, though this is said in antici- pation of the date, that he fell a victim to his excessive exertions during the noble service. He died, eight oi ten w.3ek& after, at Mazatlan. On the Ist of September the two ships and the yacht rendezvoused in Kotzebue Sound. Upwards of a fort- night was now spent in making an interesting < xplora> kion up the Buckland River, and in establishing friendly ' I rl H H ■i';:i 266 RICHAllDSON'S AND RAE'8 EXPLORATIONS relations with the natives. The wliolo monlh of Sep- tember was remarkably fine, the frust to the latest so light as not to arrest the streams, and strong winds generally blowing from the east. The Plover prepared to winter in Kotzebue Sou!»d, with the view of muking further researches, and received from her consort as much provisions as she could stow or take cure of. And on the 29th September the Herald and the yacht weighed anchor, and stood away for the south. On the 10th July, 1850,. the Herald again joined the Plover at Ghamisso Island ; and the two ships then set out together on another exploration. They proceeded northward till they sighted the pack-ice, and then sepa* rated — the Herald to return in quest of another and stronger expedition which had sailed from England, and which we shall afterwards have occasion to notice ; and the Plover to prosecute the search eastward along the coast. Commander Moore, by means of his boats, made minute examination of all the inlets between ley Gape and Point Barrow ; he and his men suffered se- verely from exposure to cold ; but they were entirely unsuccessful in the object of their search. The two ships again fell in with each other off Gape Lisburn on the 13th August; and Gaptain Kellett eventually gave full victualling to the Plover, ordered her to wint.3r in Grantley Harbor, and then, toward the close of the open season, returned through Behring's Strait on his way to England. Thus, in October, 1850, ended this first west- ern searching expedition, without having thrown one ray of light on the probable fate of Sir John Franklin. The second searching expedition was the overland one, under the command of Sir John Richardson. In preparation for it, several boats, seven tons of pemmi- can, large quantities of other provisions and stores, five seamen, and fifteen sappers and miners, wrre embarked RICHARDS; )N'S AND UAli'S l!;Xl>[. >llAilUNS. 209. at Gravcsend, on board of ships of the Iludsun's Bay Coinpuny, on the 4th June, 1847. Sir John liichui'dson and Mr. Rae left Liverpool on the 25th March, 18(8, and succeeded in overtaking Chief-trader Bell, in ciiarj;*' of the I'oats and the men, at Mothy Portage, on the *20th J'cne. • The whole party reached the last portage on Slave River on the 15th July, and there they divider' into a seaward or exploring party, undei Sir John KicK ardson and Mr. Rae, and a landward or auxiliary party, under Mr. Bell, The seaward party comprised three boats, with full loads of pemmican, and eighteen men, and immediately embarked. The landward party com- prised two boats and the stores for winter use, and were directed to make the best of their way to Great Bear Lake, to coast round its western shore, and to establish a fishery at its west end, near the site of Fort Franklin, for th*> convenience of the seaward party, in the event of itu Having to return up the Mackenzie ; to erect, at its Dorth-eastern extremity, near the influx of the Dease River, suitable dwelling-houses and store^ houses for winter quarters ; and, in the beginning of September, to despatch a well-tried Gree Indian and a native hunter to the banks of the Coppermine, there to hunt till the 20th of that month, and to keep a diligent outlook for the arrival of the boats. The seaward party reached the sea on the 4th of August. On their way down, they put ashore, at Fort Good Hope, the lowest of the company's posts on the Mackenzie, three bags of pemmican for the use of any party from the Plover, or from Sir James Ross's ships, who might reach that establishment At Point Separar tion, also, which forms the apex of tne delta of the Mac- Renzie, they deposited one case of pemmican and a bottle of memoranda, and letters for the use of Sir John Franklin's party, burying them in the circumfereucA of ■i I 2V0 RICHARDSON'S AND RAES EXPLORAll tUS. I' ii I'liiii 't'l "I* ', ft circlu with a ton-foet radius, from the puiiit of a bruad arrow puiiit«'d on a 8igiial-po8t ; and they uftcrwarUs did the 8anie thing, or Hiniihir, on Whale luland, at the mouth of the MuckcMizio ; on Point Tokcr, in hititude 60" 38' north, and longitude J32** 15' wost ; on Cape BiithurHt, the most northerly point between the Mac- kenzie and the Coppermine ; and on Cape Parry, at tho east side of the entrance of Franklin Bay. The explorers encountered head winds throughout most of their progress of eight hundred miles or up- wards, from the exit of -the Mackenzie to the mouth of the Ci^ppermine ; and they always kept near the shore, and landed at least twice a day to cook, occasionally to hunt, often to look out from the high capes, and com- monly, at night, to sleep on shore. Immediately off the efflux of the Mackenzie they had an interview with about three hundred Esquimaux ; and at many subse- quent points they communicated with other parties, who were assembled on headlands to hunt whales, or scattered along the coast in pursuit of reindeer and water-fowl. The Esquimaux were confiding and frank, and all said that no ships had recently appeared 'on the coast ; and those west of Cape Bathurst further said that during the preceding six weeks they never saw any ice. One fellow alone, in answer to inquiries after whito men, said, " A party of men are living on that island,*' pointing, as he spoke, to Richard's Island. As Rich- ardson had actually landed there on the preceding day, he ordered the interpreter to inform him that he knew that he was lying. He received this retort with a smile, and without the slightest discomposure, but did not repeat his assertion. Neither the Esquimaux nor the Dog-rib or Hare Indians feel the least shame in being detected in falsehood ; and they invariably practise it. RlCIIAUblSON'S AND KAE'S EXPLORATIDNS. 271 if they think that they can thereby gain any of thoii petty ends. Even in their familiar intercourtie with each other, the Indians seldom tell the truth in the first instance ; and if they succeed in exciting admiration or (astonishment, their invention runs on without check. From the manner of the speaker, rather than by his words, is his truth or falsehood inferred ; and often a very long interrogation is necessary to elicit the :eal fact. " The Esquimaux," says Richardson, " are essen- tially a littoral people, and inhabit nearly five thousand miles of seaboard, frpm the Straits of Belleisle to the Peninsula of Alaska ; not taking into the measurement the various indentations of the coast-line, nor including West and East Greenland, in which latter locality they make their nearest approach to the western coasts of the Old World. Throughout the great linear range here indicated, there is no material change in their language, nor any variation beyond what would be esteemed in England a more provincialism. Albert, the interpreter, who was born on the East Main, or western shore of James's Bay, had no great dilTicnlty in understanding and making himself understood by the Esquimaux of the estuary of the Mackenzie, though by the nearest coast-line the distance between the two localities is at least two thousand five hundred miles. "The habit of associating in numbers for the chase of the whale has sown among then? the elements of civilization ; and such of them as have been taken into the company's service, at the fur-posts, fall readily into the ways of their white associates, and are more indus- trious, hand^r, and intelligent, than the Indians. The few interpreters of the nation that I have been acquainted with (four in all) were strictly honest, and adhered rigidly to the truth ; and I have every reason tc 'believe that 272 RICHARDSON'S AND RAE'S EXPLORATIONS. I fHs within Ihoir own community tlie rightH of property are hold in great roHpcct, oven tlio hunting-groundH of fumi- lio8 being kept sacred. Yet their covetouaness of tiie property of strangera, and their dexterity in t'lieving, are remarkable, and they aeem to have most of the vices, as well as the virtues, of the Norwegian Vilcings. Their personal bravery is conspiqiious, and they aro the only native nation on tlie North American continent who oppose their enemies face to face in open tight. In- stead of flying, like the northern Indians, on the sight of a stranger, they did not scruple, in parties of two or three, to come off to our boats and enter into barter ; and never, on any occasion, showed the least disposi- tion to yield anything belonging to them through fear." The Esquimaux winter huts are thus described : "These buildings are generally placed on points where the water is deep enough for a boat to come to the beach, such a locality being probably selected by the natives to enable them to tow a whale or seal more closely to tho place where it is to be cut up. The knowledge of this fact induced us generally to look for the buildings when we wished to land. The houses are constructed of drill-timber, strongly built together, and covered with earth to the thickness of from one to two feet. Light and air are admitted by a low door at one« end ; and even this entrance is closed by a slab of snow in the winter time, when their lamps supply them with heat as well as light. Ten or twelve people may seat tlemselves in the area of one of those houses, though n«)t comfortably ; and in the winter the imperfect admis* 8i«)n of fresh air, and the effluvia arising from the greasy bodies of a whole family, must render them most disa- greeable as well as unwholesome abodes. I have been told that when the family alone are present, the several members ofit sit partly or even wholly naked '* t\m RICHARDSON S AND RAE'S EXPLOttMl >N.S. 27:) The explorers mot floes of drlfl-icc for tlio first time ftflcr rounding Capo Parry, but they oncoiintorcd tlieni rnore nuniorously um they upprouclied Dolpliin and Union Straic. On the 22d of August they hud a Htrong gulo from the west ; and on the next morning they found themselves hemmed in by dense packs, extending as far HS the eyo couKl reach. The weatlier had hitherto been genial, but now it passed into perpetual frost, with fre- quent snow-storms. The expedition henceforth gj.»t on with great difficulty ; and when they had penetrated well up the west side of Coronation Gulf, they were engirdle- served by some of the numerous parties of Esquimaux on the look-out for whales. We were, moreover informed by the Esquimaux of Back's Inlet that the ice had been pressing on their shore nearly the whcjle sum* mer ; and its closely-packed condition when we left it on the 4th of September, made it highly iinprobabl(> II' % r,74 RICHARDSON'S AND RAE'S EXPLORATIONS. that it would open for ship navigation later in the season. " I regretted extremely that the state of the ice pre- vented me from crossing to VVolIaston Land, and thus completing, in one season, the whole scheme of their lordships' instructions. The opening between Wollas- t(»n and Victoria Lands has always appeared to me to posRoss great interest: for through it the flood-tide evi- dijntly sets into Coronation Gulf, diverging to the west- wanl by the Dolphin and Union Strait, and to the east- ward round Capo Alexander. By the fifth clause of Sir John Franklin's instructions, he is directed to steer south-westward from Cape Walker, which would lead him nearly in the direction of the strait in question. If Sir John found Barrow's Strait as open as when Sir Edward Parry passed it on four previous occasions, 1 am convinced that (complyitig as exactly as he could with his instructions, and without looking into Welling- ton Sound, or other openings either to the south or north of Barrow's Strait) he pushed directly west to Cttpe Walker, and from thence south-westwards. If so, the ships were probably shut up oq some of the passages between Victoria, Banks', and WoUaston Lands. " Being apprehensive that the boats I left on the coast would be broken up by the Esquimaux, and being, moreover, of opinion that the examination of the open- ing in question might be safely and etficiently performed in the only remaining boat I had fit for the transport from Bear Lake to the Coppermine, I determined to intrust this important service to Mr. Rae, who volun- teered, and whose ability and zeal in the cause I cannot loo highly commend. lie selected an excellent crew, all of them experienced voyageurs, and capable of find- ing their way back to Bear Lake without guides, should any unforeseen accident deprive them of their leader. ■St L ' Hi r iiiiii" • SIR J. C. ROSS'S EXPEDITION. 275 In the month of March (1849) a su£Scient supply of pernmicaii, and other necessary stores, with the equip- ments of the boat, were transported over the snow on dog-slodges to a navigable part of the Kendall River and left there under the charge of two men. As soon as the Dease broke up in June, Mr. Rue would follow, with the boat, the rest of the crew, and a party of Indian hunters, and would descend the Coppermine River about the middle of July, at which time the sea generally begins to break up. He would then, as soon as poHsi- ble, cross from Cape Krusenstern to Wollaston Land, and endeavor to penetrate to the northward, erecting signal-columns, and making deposits on conspicuous headlands, and especially on the north shore of Banks' Land, should he be fortunate enough to attain that coast. He was further instructed not to hazard the safety of his party by remaining too long « n the north side of Dolphin and Union Strait, and to be gui in having reached Port Leopold, both for their own sake and for the sake of their niis- sion. They had doubted whether the anchorage would be good ; but they found it excellent, and saw at once that there could not be a better wintering place ft)r the Investigator. Nor could there have been a titter Utcal- ity for making a grand deposit of provisions, and preparing a temporary retreat for any of Sir John Franklin's company who might be entangled among tho intricacies of the archipelago. Port Leopold is situ ated at the junction of the four great channels of Lan- caster Sound, Harrow's Strait, Wellington Channel, and Prince Regent's Inlet, and lies closely adjacent to any route which Sir John Franklin could have been likely to pursue in the event of his having had to retrogress from the vicinity of Cape Walker ; so that a lodgment in it by the present expedition could scarcely escape the notice of any of Sir John's company who might happen to be proceeding from any part whatever of the archi- pelago toward Baffin's Bay. An etibrt was made to bring the Enterprise out, with the view of her going westward to some harbor nearer Cape Vv^ilker. But she was irretrievably ice-bo* lul. The p;vck which closed the harbor's mouth never ">nce at!brded a chance for the egress of even a boat ; and across the isthmus, as far as could be discerned from the neighboring heights, the same extensive mass of heavy Qummocky ice, which repelled and limited the expedi* tiou's movemonts before entering, remained immovable, 282 SIR J. C. ROSS'S EXPEDmON. and fonnod a firm barrier all the way over to the ■bore of North Somerset. Even if the Enterprise had got out, she could not have proceeded fur ; and in ul) probability vrould either have been perilously beset in the pack, or compelled to sail away from it to England. On the 12th October, therefore, the two ships were laid fast in their wintering position, within two hundred yards of each other. The earliest days after entering the harbor were do voted to the landing of a good supply of provisions upon Whaler Point. In this service the steam-launch proved of most eminent value, not only carrying a large cargo herself, but towing two deeply-laden cutters at the rate of four or five knots through the sheet of ice which then covered the harbor, and which no boat, unaided by steam, could have penetrated beyond her own length. The crews spent the dead of winter in a similar manner to those of former Arctic expeditions. But they probably felt much depressed by thinking on the fate of those whom they had been unsuccessfully seeking, and they had to contend against a rigorous cold, prolonged unusually far into the spring; so that, though they had more comforts, better appliances, and much richer fruits of experience, than the crews of Sir Edward Parry's and Sir John Ross's ships, they were not by any means so healthy. During the winter a great many white foxes were taken alive in traps, and, as they are well known to travel great distances in search of food, they were fitted with copper collars, containing engraved notices of the position of the ships and dc'pots of provisions, and then set at liberty, in the' hope that they would be caught by the crews of the Erebus and the Terror. In April and the early part of May short journeyi vera made to deposit small etores of pnjyisions weiv BIB J. C. ROSS'S EXPEDITION. 283 ward of Gape GlardYico, and southward of Cape Sep* piii|^8. On tlio 15th May a party of thirteen, headed by Sir James C. Iloss, and taking with them forty days' provision, and a supply of clothes, blankets, and other necessaries, on two sledges, started on an exploiatory journey to the soutli. They were accompanied for five days by a fatigue party of nearly thirty, under Captain Bird. Their object was to penetrate as far as possible in the direction which Sir John P'ranklin was instructed first to pursue, and to make a close scrutiny of every bay and inlet in which any ships might have found shelter. They got on with difficulty, and did their work with much toil, yet went resolutely forward. The north shore of North Somerset trends slightly to the northward of west, till it attains its highest latitude, Ihe highest latitude of continental America, a few miles beyond Cape Rennell ; it thence trends slightly to the southward of west till it rounds Cape Bunny ; and then it suddenly assumes a direction nearly due south. From high land adjacent to Cape Bunny they obtained a very extensive view, and observed that all Wellington Chan- nel on the north, and all the space between Cape Bunny and Cape Walker on the west, were occupied by very heavy hummocky ice ; but that the frozen expanse south- ward, along the west flank of North Somerset, was smoother. They proceeded to the south, tracing all the indentations of the coast, and heroically enduring great exposure and fatigue, but not without the pain and delay of several of their number becoming useless froto lameness and debility. They stopped on the 6th of June They were then too weak to go further, and had con- rimed more than half of their provisions ; and they encamped for a day's rest, propa'-atDry to their return. Their brave leuder and two of the men, however, wont onward to a vantago-ground about eight or nine 284 SIR J. C. ROSS'S KX^'KDITION. miles dioiant. This extreme point'of the journey is the western cxtreniity of a snuill liigh peninsula, situated in latitude 12" 38' north, and longitude 95" ^O* west. The atmosphere at the time was peculiarly clear, and would have carried the eye to land of any great elevation at the distance of one hundred miles. But the most dis- tant visible cape in the direction toward Boothia and Yicton.i Land was not further off than fifty miles, and lay nearly due south. Several small bays and inlets intervened, and though, perhaps, not forming a contin- uous sweep of the sea, they prove Prince Regent's Inlet at Crc^sswell and Brentford Bays to be separated fronr the western ocean by a very narrow isthmus — a dis- tinct natural boundary between North Somerset and Boothia. The party resting at the encampment were not idle. Lieut. McClintock, who headed them, took some mag- netic observations, which had great value, on account of the near vicinity of the place to the magnetic pole. Two of the men pierced thd ice, and found it to be eight feet thick, and set in a stick for ascertaining the state of the tides ; and all the otheis who could work erected a large cairn, into which wac put a copper cylinder, containing all requisite information for the guidance of any of Sir John Franklin's company who might journey along that coast. The time for expecting those missing ones there that season, on the supposition of their having abandoned their ships in the vicinity of Melville Island, had almost or altogether passed. The thaw had commenced, the suitable conditions for travel- ling were over, and the present explorers had, at least, the satisfaction of knowing that no wanderers from the Erebus and the Terror then lay unheeded or pehbliing Dn the coast of North Somerset. The explorers began their return journey on the 6th SIR J. C. ROSS'S EXPEDITION. z86 Jane They forced their way through various diflB* culties, and arrived at the ships on the 23d. They wc-c BO worn and injured, that every man of them, from some cause or other, went into the doctor's hands foi two or three weeks. One of the assistant surgeons too, had died ; several men of both crews were severely ailing ; and the general health was far from good. During the absence of the large exploring party in North Somerset, three small ones were despatched by Captain Bird in other directions. One, under the com- mand of Lieut. Barnard, went to the north shore of Barrow's Strait ; another, under the command of Lieut Browne, went to the east shore of Prince Regent's Inlet ; and the third, under the command of Lieut. Rob* inson, went to the west shore of that inlet These parties were comparatively a short time away ; yet all — especially the last, who penetrated several miles beyond Fury Beach — suffered from snow-blindness, sprained ankles, and debility. Preparations were now made for leaving Port Leo- pold. The season was far advanced, and a strong desire was felt to have the ships as soon as possible st.t free, in order to push them on toward the west. But something further was first done to extend the appli- ances of the place as a refuge for the missing adven- turers. A house was buUt of the spare spars of the ships, and covered with such of the housing-cloths as could be wanted. The depot of provisions and fuel was raised to a suflScient quantity to serve for a twelvemonth. And the Investigator's steam-launch was lengthened seven feet, and n^ade a fine vessel, capable of conveying the whole of Sir John Franklin's party to the whale-ships. The crews were ill able to work the ships out of the aarbor, and to set them once more before the breeze ; MV IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) 1.0 I.I 125 IS 1^ 12.0 U& p^lii. 1 1.6 ^ 6" - ► # l# '/ Fhotograpdiic Sciences Corporation ^ v ^, SJ S> V 4^.^^ ^/^ ^k\ >. 33 WiST MAIN STMIT WfBSTU.N.Y. MSSO (716)872-4503 286 SIR J. C. ROSS'S EXPEDITION. .J-y.^. fl ll but they went with a will to the task. The season wm far advanced, and exceedingly unpromising, and seemed clearly to demand the utmost promptitude and strenu* ousness of exertion. At a time when most other navi- gable parts of the Arctic seas were open, Port Leopold continued as close as in the middle of winter. Not a foot of water was to be seen on the surface of the sur- rounding ice, except only along the line of gravel about the harbor's mouth ; and small prospect existed that any natural opening would occur. The crews were obliged to cut a way out with saws. All hands that were at all able went to work, and made a canal two miles in length, and sufficiently wide to let the ships pass outward to the adjacent sound. They did not complete this till the 15th of August, and then had the mortification to sec that the ice to seaward remained, to all appearance, as firmly fixed as in the winter. But it was wasting away along the shores, and it soon broke up, and gave promise of & navigable channel. The ships got out of the harbor on the 28th of August, exactly one fortnight less than a twelvemonth from the .time when they entered it. They proceeded toward the north shore of Barrow's Strait, with the view of making further examination of Wellington Channel, and of scrutinizing the coasts and inlets westward to Melville Island. But they were arrested about twelve miles from the shore by fixed land-ice, which had remained unbroken since the pre- vious season, and which appeared to extend away to the western horizon in a uniform heavy sheet. They were in a loose pack, struggling with blocks and streams as they best could, and they kept hovering about the spot which afforded the greatest probability of an open- ^ ing. But, on the 1st of September, the loose pack was f Qddenly put in commotion by a strong wind, and it cason WM id seemed id strenu* )thcr navi- rt Leopold ir. Not a f the 8ur- avel about isted that :ew8 were lands that canal two the ships sy did not m had the mained, to )r. But it oon broke inel. The f August, 1 from the Barrow's ination of :oast« and ;hey were J by fixed the pre- away to et. They id streams about the an open- pack was id, and it 1 ! ^ jq ' '■!,!' 'k 1 ''1 ,^! N. 289 came down upon them and beset Ihern. During two oi three days the heavy masses at times severely squeezed them, and ridges of hunmiucks were thrown up all around them, and then the temperature fell nearly to zero, and congealed the whole body of ice into a solid mass. The crew of the Enterprise were unable, for some days, to unship the rudder, and when at last they released it, by means of the laborious operation of saw- ing away the hummocks which '^ove to the stern, they found it twisted and damaged ; and, at the same time, the ship was so much strained as to increase the leakage from three inches in a fortnight to fourteen inches in day. The ice now remained for some days stationary. The lighter pieces had been so interlaced and imbricated by pressure, as to form one entire sheet across the whole width of Barrow's Strait, and away eastward and west- ward to the horizon ; and all the blocks and strata below them were so firmly cemented by the extreme severity of the temperature as to seem little likely to break up again that season. The ships appeared fixed for the winter : and who could tell whether they might not be exposed to a series of as terrific perils as those which so often menaced the Terror with destruction in hei awful ice-voyage of 1836 ? On the wind shifting to the west, the crews, with a mixture of hdpe and anxiety, beheld the whole body of ice beginning to drive to the eastward, at the rate of eight or ten miles a day. They made all possible efforts to help themselves, but made them in vain, for no human power could have moved either of the ships a single inch. The field of ice which held them fast in its centre was more than fifty miles in circumference. It carried them along the south shore of Lancaster Sound, and then went down the west side of Baffin's 290 SIR J. C. ROSS'S EXPEDrnON. I'" I, ■!■ Bay, till they were abreast of Pond's Bay, and there ii threatened to precipitate them on a barrier of icebergs. But, just in the very crisis of their alarm, it was rent, as if by some unseen power, into innumerable fragments, and they were set almost miraculously free. The crews sprang from despair to hope, and from inaction to energy. All sail was set, and warps were run out from each quarter to work the ships past the heavy floes. The Investigator got into open water on the 24th, and the Enterprise on the 25th. " It is inipos- sible," says Ross, "to convey any idea of the sensation we experienced when we found ourselves once more at liberty ; many a heart poured forth its praises and thanksgivings to Almighty God for this unlooked for deliverance." The harbors of Baffin's Bay were now all closed by ice, and the course to the west was barred by the pack from which the ships had just been liberated. The expedition, therefore, had no alternative but to return to England, and they arrived off Scarborough on the 3d of November, 1849. Thus ended the third of the government explorations in search of Sir John Frankliii. Lieutenant Pullen, who, it will be remembered, was despatched from the Plover on the western coast, and ordered to extend his search to the mouth of the M|ic- kenzie, ascended that river and reached Fort Simpson on the 13th of October. Here he wintered, and, while on his way to York Factory, the following spring, re- ceived instructions by express to attempt a passage in boats across the sea to Melville Island. He immediately hurried back, and, on being supplied with four thousand five hundred pounds of pemmican and jerked venison by Rae, descended the Mackenzie. The season of 1850 proved more severe, however, than that of the previous year. Pullen found the sea, from the Mackenzie to SI a .). C. ROSS'S EXPKDTTIOV 201 Cape Bathurst, covered with unbroken ice, a smull chan- nel only existing in-shore, through which he throudod his way to the vicinity of the cape. Failing in finding a passage out to sea to the north of Cape Bathurst, ho remained in its vicinity, watching the ice for an open- ing, until the approach of winter compelled him to return to the Mackenzie. lie had n^ached the sea on the 22d of July, and he did not quit it till the Ist of September. As he ascended j^fae Mackenzie, ice was driving rapidly down. " It was one continued drift of ice and heavy snow-storms." He reached Fort Simp- son on the 5th of October, and arrived in England tu take command of the North Star, and join the expedition under Sir E. Belcher. CHAPTER XIII. 3P1NIUMS IN REGARD TO TUP ,ATB OF FRAirKLIN. — CLIMATE. — RESOOKCZi or GAME. — REWARU8 OFFERED. — RRPORTS FROM WHALERS. — KB- MCWED 8BARCBE8. — COLLINSOM AND m'cLURE. — RAE'8 INSTRUCTIONS. — OTOER EXPEDITIONS, PUBLIC AND PRIVATE. — GRINNELL's EXPEDI« TION. — MEETING IN TUE ARCTIC SEAS. — TRACES OF FRANKLIX.— 6RAVES. — SLEDGING PARTIES. — RETURN HOME. It was the opinion of Sir John Richardson, the former companion of Franklin, that his plans were to shape his course, in the first i;i8tance, for the neighborhood of Cape Walker, and to push to the westward in that parallel ; or, if that could not be accomplished, to make his way southwards, to the channel discovered on the north coast of the continent, and so on to Behring's Strait ; failing success in that quarier, he meant to retrace his course to Wellington Sound, and attempt a passage northwards of Parry's Islands ; and if foiled there also, to descend Regent's Inlet, and seek the passage along the coast discovered by Messrs. Dease and Simpson Captain Fitzjames, the second in command under Sir John Franklin, was much inclined to try the passage northward of Parry's Islands ; and he would, no doubt, endeavor to persuade Sir John to pursue this course, if they failed to the southward. In a private letter to Sir John Barrow, dated January, 1845, Fitzjames writes: '' It does not appear clear to me what led Parry down Prince Regent Inlet, after having got as far as Melville Island before. The north-west pas'sage is certainly to FATE OF FRANKLIN. 293 be gone through by Barrow's Strait, but whether south 01 north ol'Parry'n Group, remains to be proved. 1 am for going north, edging north-west till in longitude 140", if possible." Captain Sir John Ross records, in February, 184*7, his opinion that the exi)edition was frozen up beyond Mel- ville Island, from the known intentions of Sir John Franklin to put his ships into the drift-ice at the western end of Melville Island ; a risk which was deemed in the highest degree imprudent by Lieutenant Parry and the officers of the expedition of 1819-20, with ships of a less draught of water, and in every respect better calculated to sustain tJie pressure of the ice, and other dangers to which they must be exposed. The expedition certainly did not succeed in passing Behring's Strait ; and, if not totally lost, must have been carried by the drift-ice to the southward, on land seen at a great distance in that direction, from which the accumulation of ice behind them would, as in Ross's own case, forever prevent the return of the ships. When we remember with what extreme difficulty Ross's party travelled three hundred miles over much smoother ice after they abandoned their vessel, it appears very doubtful whether Franklin and his men, one hundred and thirty-eight in number, could possibly travel six hundred ljIcs. In the contingency of the ships having penetrated some considerable distance to the south-west of Cape Walker, and having been hampered and crushed in the narrow channels of the archipelago, which there ire reasons* for believing occupies the space between Victo- ria, Wollaston, and Banks*s Lands, it is remarked by Sir John Richardson, that such accidents among ice are seldom so sudden but that the boats of one or of both ships, with provisions, can be saved ; and, in such an event, the survivors would either return to Lancastei 294 FATE OF FRANKLm. Strait, or make for tho coutineut, according to theii Deuriicss. Colonel Sabine remarks, in a letter dated Woolwich, &th of May, 1847 : " It was Sir John Franklin's inten> tion, if foiled at one point, to try, in succession, all tho probable openings into a more navigable part of the Polar Sea. The range of coast is considerable in which memorials of the ships' progress would have to be sought for, extending from Melville Island, in the west, to the great sound at the head of Ba£Sn's Bay, in the east." Admiral Sir Francis Beaufort, in his report to the Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty, Nov. 24, 1849, ob- serves : " There are four ways only in which it is likely that the Erebus and Terror would have been lost — by fire, by sunken rocks, by storm, or by being crushed be- tween two fields of ice. Both vessels would scarcely have taken fire together ; if one of them had struck on a rock, the other would have avoided the danger. Storms iii those narrow seas, encumbered with ice, raise no swell, and could produce no such disaster ; and, therefore, by the fourth cause alone could the two vessels have been at once destroyed ; and, even in that case, the crews would have escaped upon tho ice — as happens every year to the whalers ; — they would have saved their loose boats, and reached some part of the American shores. As no traces of any such event have been found on any part of those shores, it may, therefore, be safely affirmed that one ship, at least, and both the crews, are still in existence ; and, therefore, the point where they now are is the great matter for consid- eration. " Their orders would have carried them towards Mel- ville Island, and then out to the westward, where it is therefore probable that they are entang^led amongst FATE OP FHANKUN. 205 islands and ice. For, should thoy have boch arrested at some intermediate place, — for instance, Cape Walker, or at one of the northern chain of ialandn, — they would, undoubtedly, in the course of the three following years, have contrived some method of sending notices of their position to the shores of North Somerset or tn Barrow's Strait. " If they had reached much to the southward of Banks's Land, they would surely have communicated with the tribes on Mackenzie River : and if, failing to get to the westward or southward, they had returned with the intention of penetrating through Wellington Channel, they would have detached parties on the ice towards Barrow's Strait, in order to have deposited statements of their intentions. The general conclusion, therefore, . remains that they are still locked up in the archipelago to the westward of Melville Island." ^ Captain Sir George Back, in a letter to the Secretary of the Admiralty, December 1st, 1849, says : " You will be pleased, sir, to impress on my Lords Commis* sioners that I wholly reject all and every idea of any attempts on the part of Sir John Franklin to send boats or detachments over the ice to any point of the mainland eastward of the Mackenzie River, because I can say, from experience, that no toil-worn and exhausted party could have the least chance of existence by going there. On the other hand, from my knowledge of Sir John Franklin, — having been three times on discovery together, — I much doubt if. he would quit his ship at all, except in a boat ; for any attempt to cross the ice a long distance on foot would be tempting death ; and it is too laborious, a task to sledge far over such an uneven surface as those regions generally present. That great mortality must have occurred, and that one ship tuay be lost, are greatly to be feared ; and, as on all f 296 FATE OF FilANKLI!«. fornier expeditions, if the nurvivors are paralyzed by the depressing attacks of scurvy, it would then l»o impossible for them, however desirous they might be, to leave- the ship, which must thus become their last most anxious abode. " If, however, open water should have allowed Sir John Franklin to have resorted to his boats, then I am persuaded he would make for either the Mackenzie River, or, which is far more likely, from the almost cer- tainty he must have felt of finding provision, Gape Clarence and Fury Point. 1 am aware that the whole chances of life, in this patnful case, depend on food ; but when I reflect on Sir John Franklin's former extraor- dinary preservation under miseries and trials of the most severe description, living often on scraps of old leather and other refuse, I cannot despair of his finding the means to prolong existence till aid be happily sent him." In regard to the advantages of an exploration by the way of Behring's Strait, Sir John Richardson writes : " The climate of Arctic America improves in a sensi- ble manner with an increase of western longitude. On the Mackenzie, on the 135th meridian, the sum- mer is warmer than in any district of the continent in the same parallel ; and it is still finer, and the vegetation more Iuxuriant,.on the banks of the Yucon, on the i50th meridian. This superiority of climate leads me to infer that ships well fortified against drift- ice will find the navigation of the Arctic seas more practicable in its western portion than it has been found to the eastward. This inference is supported by my own personal experience, as far as it goes. I met with no ice in the month of August, on my late voyage, till I Attained the 123d meridian, and which I was led, fiom FATE OF FRANKLIlf. 297 that circumstance, to suppose coincided with the west- ern limits of Parry's Archipelago. "The greater facility of navigating from the west haa been powerfully advocated by others on former occa sions ; and the chief, perhaps the only reason why the attempt to penetrate the Puiur Sea from that quarter has not been resumed since the time of Cook is, that the length of the previous voyage to Bchring's Strait would considerably diminish the store of provisions ; but the facilities of obtaining supplies in the Pacific are now so augmented, that this objection has no longer the same force." It was urged that, though the crews of the Erebus and the Terror had provisions with them for only three years, they could make these serve, by reduced allow- ance, for a somewhat longer period, and would in all probability obtain large additions to them by means of their guns. The Arctic regiotis, far from being so des- titute of animal life as might be supposed from the bleak and inhospitable character of the climate, are proverbial for the boundless profusion of various species of the animal kingdom, which are to be met with in different 1 (calities during a great part of the year. The air is ol'teii darkened by innumerable flocks of Arctic and blue gulls, the ivory gull, or snow-bird, the kitt•^^ake, the fulmar petrel, snow-geese, terns, coons, dovekies, &c. The cetaceous animals comprise the great Greenland whale, the sea-unicorn, or narwhal, the white whale, or beluga, the morse, or walrus, and the seal. There are also plenty of porpoises occasion- ally to be met with ; and, although these animals may not be the best of food, yet they can be eaten. Of the land animals, we may instance the polar bear, the musk- ox, the reindeer, the Arctic fox, and wolves. Parry obtained nearly four thousand pounds' weight H I ' in! 298 PATE OF FRANKLIN. of animal food during his winter residence at Melville Island ; Ross nearly the same quantity from buds alone, when wintering at Port Leopold. Sir John Richardson, speaking of the amount of food to be obtained in the polar region, says : " Deer migrate over the ice in the spring from the main shore to V^ic- toria and Wollaston Lands in large herds, and return in the autumn. These lands are also the oreeding* places of vast flocks of snow-geese ; so that, with ordi- nary skill in hunting, a large supply of food might be procured on their shores, in the months of June, July, and August. Seals are also numerous in those seas, and are easily shot, their curiosity rendering them a ready prey to a boat-party." In these ways, and by fishing, the stock of provisions might be greatly aug. men ted ; and we have the recent example of Mr. Rae, .who passed a severe* winter on the very barren sliores t)!' Repulse Bay, with no other fuel than the withered tufts of a herbaceous andromada, and maintained a numerous party on the spoils of the chase alone for a whole year. With an empty stomach the power of resisting exter- nal cold is greatly impaired ; but when the process of digestion is going on vigorously, even with compara- tively scanty clothing, the heat of the body is preserved. There is, in the winter time, in high latitudes, a craving for fat or oleaginous food ; and for such occasions the flesh of seals, walruses, or bears, forms a useful article of diet. Captain Cook says that the walrus is a sweet and wholesome article of food. Whales-and seals would also furnish light and fuel. The necessity for increased food in very cold weather is not so great when the people do not work. In March, 1848, the British Admiralty announced their intention of rewarding the crews of any vv.ialhig- REWARDS OFFERED. 299 ships that brott^^t accurate information of the missing expcfiition, with the sum of one hundred guineas or more according to circumstances. Lady Franklin, also, about the same time offered rewards of two thousand and three thousand pounds, to be distributed among the owner, officers, and crew, discovering and affording relief to her husband, or making extraordinary exortions for the above object, and, if required, bringing Sir John Franklin and his party to England. On the 23d of March, 1849, the British government offered a reward of twenty thousand pounds "to such private ship, or by distribution among such private ships, or to any exploring party or parties, of any coun^ try, as might, in the judgment of the Board of Admiralty, have rendered efficient assistance to Sir John Franklin, [lis ships, or their crews, and might have contributed directly to extricate them from the ice." This, also, was meant mainly for the whalers, but was not pro- niutged till most of them had sailed, and had no adapta^ tion to compensate owners and masters and crews pro* portionately to their losses on the fishery, and, there- fore, did not produce any effect. In the spring of 1849 Mr. Parker, master of the whaling-ship Truelove, carried out from Lady Frankliji a supply of provisions and coals for the possible use of the missing expedition, and landed them on the con- spicuous promontory of Cape Hay, on the south side of Lancaster Sound. In 1849 Dr. Goodsir, brother of the assistant surgecn of the Erebus, embarked in the whaling-ship Advice, ( f Dundee, on her annual trip to i>affin's Bay, in the hope that he might get early intelligence of the missing expe- dition. Mr. William' Penny, the master of the Advice, was well known for enterprise and energy, and had Aade strenuous efforts, in 1834, to assist Sir John Rust 300 COLLINSON AND MCLURE. and his party, and now felt fen'id and generous znaX to be iisolul in the affair of Sir John Franklin. They pro- i-eeded in the ordinary manner of a whaling cruise, yet penetrated into Lancaster Sound, and proposed to go as fir as Prince Regent's Inlet; but >^ere stopped, on the 4th of August, by a firm, compact barrier, extending (juite across, in croscontic outline, from Cape York, on the south, to the vicinity of Burnet's Inlet, on the north. x hey were only seven days within sight of the shores of li'incaster Sound, and saw few other parts of them than such as had been closely scrutinized by the Enterprise and the Investigator ; yet they searched them with akeeji eye, and deposited on them several conspicuous notices. The demand for new researches now became pressing. Three great divisions of search were adopted. These (•orresponded, in general sphere and character, to the three primary searching expeditions of 1848. One was marine, by way of Behring's Strait ; another was over- land, to the central northern coasts ; and the third was marine, by way of BaflSn's Bay. The ships Enterprise and Investigator were refitted with all possible speed, to go round South America, and up to Behring's Strait. Captain Richard Collinson was put in command of the Enterprise, and Commander M'Clure, who had served as first lieutenant of the Enter- prise in the recent expedition under Sir James C. Ross, was put in command of the Investigator. The ships were provisioned for three years, and supplied with bal- loons, blasting appliances, ice-saws, and many other contrivances for aiding their movements and reseaich. Each, also, was provided with a pointed piece of mech- anism, about fourteen pounds in weight, attached by a tackle to the end of the bowsprit, suited to be worked from the deck, and capable, by means of a series of sud- den falls, to break ice of any ordinary thickness, and COLLINSON AND M'CLUUt:. ail open a passage through a floe or light pack. The ^>]!i] p, though dull sailers, were the only ones fit ihv the ser- vice which could be got promptly ready ; and, in ordei to expedite their progress, steamCrs were put in requisi- tion to tow them in more than one part of their vi»y;ij}^e, and particularly through the Magellan Strait, the NVel- linp^ton Channel, and on to Valparaiso. They sailed from Plymouth Sound on the 20th of Jan- uary, 1850. The captains had minnte orders for there guidance on the way to Behring's Strait, and with ref- erence to the previous expeditions of the Herald and the Plover ; and were also furnished with memoranda, sug- gestions, and conditional instructions, for their aid in the polar seas ; but, with the exception of two or three general, commands, bearing comprehensively on the grand object of their mission, they were left almost entirely to their own discretion, after they should enter the ice. They were told to reap all the advantage they could from the experience of the Herald and the Plover ; to form a depot, or point of succor, for any party to fall back upon ; to retain the Plover, and get her replen- ished from the Herald, and send her a wintering and cruising on nearly her former ground till the autumn of 1853 ; to keep the Enterprise and the Investigator steadily in each other's company, and onward as far as safety would permit to the east ; to cultivate the friend- ship of the Esquimaux, and induce them to carry mes- sages to the Hudson's Bay Company's settlements ; to rhrow occasionally overboard tin cylinders containing information, and to use every precaution against getting into any position'which might possibly hold them fast till their provisions should become exhausted. Both ships made a conrparatively speedy passage to Behring's Strait. On the 29th of July the Enter^irise reached the western end of the Aleutian Chain ; on the 302 EA£*S INSTRUCTIONS. llth of Aagust she reached the inland of St. Lawrence ; and on the 16th of August fell in with the ice. But the weather was then so unfavorable, and the ice so thick, that Captain Gollinson' abandoned a purpose which he had formed to attempt to penetrate that season to Capo fiathurst. After several encounters with the ice, he reached Grantley Harbor, and there found the Plover preparing for winter quarters, and was next day joined by the Herald. On consulting with Captains Kellett and Moore, he determined, instead of wintering in the north, to proceed to Hong Kong, theix) to replenish his provisions, and not to set out again for the north till at least the first of April, 1861. The Investigator was later in getting through the Pacific than the Enterprise ; and Commander Moore, of the Plover, writing at sea, in latitude 61» 26' north, and longitude 172" 35' west, on the 20th of July, gave a sketch of liis intended opcrar tions, and said that no apprehension need be enter- tained about his safety till the autumn of 1854, as he had on board full provisions of every kind for three years after the first of September, and intended to issue, in lieu of the usual rations, whatever food could be obtained by hunting parties from the ship. Dr. Rae, it will be remembered, was left by Sir John Richardson to attempt to overtake, in the summer of 1849, an unaccomplished part of the objects of the over- land expedition of -1848. This had special reference to the examination of the coasts of Victoria Land and Wol* laston Land ; and now that Sir John Franklin's ships were believed to have certainly gone beyond Cape Walker, and to have probably bored their way south- westward to some position between that place and the mainland, this was deemed to be much more important than l)efore. Early in 1850 instructions were despatched in Dr. Rae, by Governor Sir George Simpson, of thp AUSTIN'S EXPEDITION. 803 Eludson's Bay Corrpany, requiring him, in tlie event of his oxpluratiuns uf 1849 having been uitsuccesBful, to organize another expedition for the summer of 1850* This was to penetrate further, to range more widely, and to examine the coasts of Banks's Island, the coasts around Cape Walker, and tlie north coast of Victoria liand. Two small parties, at the same time, were to proceed westward on the mainland in the direction of Point Barrow ; and one of these was to descend the Mackenzie; and explore the coast to the west of it, while the other was to pass on to the Golville River, and to descend that stream to the sea ; and both were to induce the natives, by rewards and otherwise, to prosecute the search, and spread intelligence in all direc- tions. Dr. Rae was particularly instructed to keep an ample supply of provisions, clothing, ammunition, fish- ing-tackle, and other necessaries, at Fort Good Hope, as that seemed an eminently probable retreat to which parties of the missing adventurers might try to force, their way. But in most other matters, and especially in al.l the details of the expedition, he was left solely to his own discretion. The expedition equipped by the * British government for renewed search by way of Baffin's Bay and Lancas- ter Sound comprised two strong teak-built ships, — the Resolute and the Assistance, — and two powerful screw- propelled steam-vessels — the Pioneer and the Intrepid. These ships had a tonnaj^e, the former of five hundred, and the 'atter of four hundred and thirty tons, and were alike strong, commodious, elegant, and admirably ap- purtenanced. The steam-vessels had strength and adaptation not only for towing the ships in open chan- • 304 ROSS.- PENNY. iiiand cf the Resolute, Captain E. Ommaiicy of the AKsistance, and Lieut. Sherard OBborne of the Pioneer. Multitudes of officers nobly vied as volunteers to obtain the subordinate appointments ; and some of the most experienced whale-fishers were obtained for the fore* castle. The instructions given were similar in scope and spirit to those of the Behriiig's Strait expedition, and differed chiefly in adaptation to the difierent route. The expedition sailed in the spring of 1850. An expedition under the command of the veteran Sir John Ross was equipped by a public subscription, toward which the Hudson's Bay Company contributed five hundred pounds. This consisted of a schooner- rigged vessel of one hundred and twenty tons (which Sir John called the Felix, in honor of his late patriotic friend, Sir Felix Booth), and of a small tender, of twelve tons, called the Mary. They were provisioned for eighteen months, and they set sail in the latter part of April. Sir John was in excellent spirits, as full of fire and daring as in his younger years ; and he enlisted in his service an old expert Esquimaux interpreter. Hie plan was to proceed as quickly as he could to Barrow's Strait to commence operations at Cape Hotham, on the west side of the entrance of Wellington Channel ; to examine all the headlands thence to Banks's Land, and then, if still unsuccessful, to leave the Mary there aw a %'e8sel of retreat, and to push the search in the Felix alone during another year. An expedition also was equipped at the instance of the devoted Lady Franklin, wholly by her own zeal, and mainly at her own expense. This was put under the command of Mr. Penny, formerly master of the Advice whale-ship, and consisted of a fine ship of two hundred and twenty-five tons, called The Lady Franklin, and a new ulipper-brig of one hundred and twenty tons, namcn] tiM FORSYTH'S EXPEDrriON 3G6 Sophia The larger veHRel waH fitted up at Aberdeen, and the smaller one ac Dundee — both with great celer- ity, and in a style of the best possible adaptation to an Arctic voyage ; and they also sailed in the spring of 1850. Their proposed plan of procedure was somewhat coincident with that of the government expedition ; yet entirely independent, except in the way of cooperatioD or mutual aid, and liable to be much controlled or mod- ified by circumstances. Another expedition, supplementary to the preceding^ was equipped at the instance of Lady Franklin. She herself defrayed about two thirds of the cost of it, by means of selling out of the funds all the money which she could legally touch ; and her friends defrayed the rest. The only vessel was the Prince Albert, a schooner-rigged craft of ninety . ms, but as fine a little structure as ever " walked the waters," and strength- ened and fitted in the most artistic way for buffeting the perils of the Arctic seas. She was commanded by Commander Charles C. Forsyth, of the Royal Navy; and was served in a variety of capacities, most laboriously and dexterously, by Mr. W. P. Snow, — both volunteers, who wished no compensation but the honor of the en- terprise. The object was to examine the shores of Prince Regent's Inlet and the Gulf of Boothia, and io send out travelling parties to explore the West side of the land of Boothia down to Dease and Simpson's Strait. At the time when Sir John Franklin sailed, a belief was general that Boothia w^as an island, and that Prince Regent's Inlet communicated with the Polar Sea through Dease and Simpson's Strait ; so that, in the event of his being bafiSed in finding a north-west pas- sage by way of Cape Walker, or up Wellington Chan- nel, he would very probably enter Prince Regent's Inlet, with the view of passing round the south of Boothia 20 I 306 DE HA V£N.-. NORTH STAR. ficnce tho present expedition. The Prince Albert sailed Irom Aberdeen on the 6th of June. An expedition also was equipped in America. This was got up mainly by the exertions and at the cost of Henry Grinnell, Esq., a merchiiiit jf New York, but was put in order and sent forth by the United States Navy department. It consisted of two vessels, the Advance and the Rescue, of respectively one hundred and twenty-five and ninety-five tons ; and was put under the command of Lieut. De Haven, who had served in the United States Exploring Expedition, under Commo dorc Wilkes, in the Antarctic seas. It sailed from New York on the 24th of May, and was accompanied for two days in his yacht by Mr. Grinnell. Its object was to push promptly forward, in any way it could, in the di- rection of Melville Island and Banks's Land ; to winter wherever it might happen to stick fast, in the pack, or out of the pack ; and to move on and make search as long as it might be able, in any direction which should i)ffer most promise of success. The North Star transport, which left England in 1849 to convey stores to the expedition under Sir James C. Ross, may in some sense be regarded likewise as one of the exploring ships of 1850. She became beset in Mel- ville Bay on the 29th of July, 1849, and gradually drifted till the 26th of September ; and being then abreast of Wolstenholme Sound, and able to bore a way through tho loosened ice, she pressed up to the head of that sound, and there wintered in hit. 76" 33' N., being the most north- erly position in which any vessel, except Dr. Kane's, has ' been known to be laid up. She lost four of her crew during the dismal seclusion of the Arctic nightj but not from causes attributable to the climate ; and she fbilnd a large proportion of the preserved meats she had brought from England to be of bad quality, and was obliged to PROGRESS OF THE EXPEDITION 309 put the surviving crew upon two-thirds alluwunce. She got out of VVolHteiiholme Sound on the Ist of August, 1850, passed through " the middle ice " in the centre of Ross's Bay, reached Possession Bay on the evening of the 8th, left despatches there, and arrived at Leopold on the 13th. She found that harbor full of ice, and was not able to land stores at it, and with great difficulty communicated with the shore by boat, to leave a notice of her visit. She next went toward Port Bowen, but found that place entirely blocked with ice ; and then stretched across out of the inlet, and spoke first the Lady Franklin, and afterwards the Felix, and got Intel* ligence from them of the great searching operations 6f that season. She next proceeded to Navy Board Inlet, and there, on the mainland, behind Wollaston Island, she put ashore her surplus stores of fuel and provisions. She had suddenly to scud away before a gale ; and, run* ning out of the mid-channel of Lancaster Sound, on thQ 28th of September she arrived in Scotland: The several expeditions of 1850 up Baffin's Bay en* countered enormous difficulties from " the middle ice " and the Melville Bay barrier. Though the ships sailed from widely different points at widely different periods, they nearly all got into view of one anotherj and most were for some time closely in company. All were at several times arrested or beset ; and the best and largest spent five weeks in effecting a northward distance of thirty miles. The perils which they braved were only a degree or two less terrible.than those of the Terror in Hudson's Bay in 1836. The crews of the smaller ves- sels were repeatedly all prepared, with their bundles and loose stores, to leap on the ice from expected ship- wreck, and to betake themselves to sledging or foot- travelling for escape to the land. The environment, by massive towering icebergs, was somc^times so complete 310 THE PRINCE ALBERT. M to exclude every perceptible outlet, sometimes eo close as almost to rub the ships, and sometimes so un* steady or whirling as to threaten overwhelming somer- sets. Some whaling-ships which got early to the north, though commanded by the most experienced masters, and manned by the most select crews, turned about and sailed back to the south, fully believing the penetration of Melville Bay that season to be either an impossibility or practicable only at fearful hazards. The expedition ships, however, were little, if at all, daunted, conscious of possessing higher powers, and resolutely determined to get on. The means which ttiey used for forcing their way comprised all the known methods of boring, tracking, and cutting, and were sometimes effected with prodigious labor and indomita- ble perseverance ; and they comprised also, in the case of the British government, expedition, the smashing of all thin floes, and sometimes the perilous assault of thick ones, -by the impetus of the steamers. The smaller vessels of the private expeditions might have seemed incompetent for such rough work ; but, though ill able to attack, they were well able to run and manoeu- vre ; and, on the. average of the voyage through the ice, they were found to be fully as safe, and more than fully as manageable, as the large ships. The little Prince Albert, in particular, did wonders , and on one occasion, disdaining to lie ice-fast, she made a daring attack upon a neck of ice which lay between her and an open piece of water. With a tremendous blow, that for the moment made her rebound and trem- ble, she struck the ice in the exact point, and rent it into fragments. The steamers, for a long way, accelerated the prog- ress not only of the government ships, but also of the Felix and the Prinoe Albert, by towing them through MOVEMENTS OF THE SHIPS. 311 pcrvioiiH masses of loose ice, and by forcing a passage through impediiiicnts. One of the scenes, described by Snow, in this part of the voyage illustrates its arduous- ness and novelty : " We came to a heavy nip, and all the vessels had to be made fast to a floe until a pas- sage could be cleared. The Pioneer, immediately on casting off the Resolute's tow-rope, was directed to dash at the impediment, under full power. This she did boldly and fearlessly, rushing stem on, and fairly dig- ging her bows into it in a most remarkable manner. Backing instantly astern, and then again going ahead, she performed the same manoeuvre, fairly lifting herself up on end, like a prancing war-horse. By this time the nip was too heavy to be so broken, tL;>agh both the steamers had previously cleared many simila^ impedi- ments in that manner. It was now, however, necessary to resort to other means ; and, accordingly, parties froo) evei'y ship were sent on the ice to assist in blowing i1 up, and removing the fragments as they got loosened. The same plan as that, I believe, adopted in blasting rocks, was here pursued. Powder was sunk to a certain depth, a slow match applied, and at a g^ven signal ignited. Due time was allowed, and then the enormous masses would be seen in convulsive movement, as though shaken by a volcanic eruption, until piece upon piece was sent in the air, and the larger bodies were completely rent into innumerable fragments. The steamers then darted forward, and with warps dragged out the immense blocks that had been thus dissevered Several efforts had tc be made by blasting and forcing the ice before a passage could be cleared." On the 14th of August the Lady Franklin and the Sophia were for a little while in company with the othei ships, and then^ amidst deafening cheers, stood away, under all eail, to the west. On the following night, .112 MOVEMENra OF TU£ SHIPS. \\v. when the little fleet wore off Capo Dudley Digget, thn Intrepid, the AsBiBtunce, and the Felix, parted cunipany to make a search in Wulstcnholme Sound. On the 15th the Pioneer, the Resolute, and the Prince Albert, were quite into the " North Water," away from the ice ; and on the 1 6th Captain Austin announced his intention to call at Pond's Bay and Possession Bay. He expressed a wish that the Prince Albert would examine the south shore of Lancaster Sound from Cape Hay onward ; and stated that the Intrepid and the Assistance would ex* amine the north shore, and come to a rendezvous with the Resolute somewhere about tl^e mouth of Wellington Channel. Early on the 21st of August the Prince Albert arrived off Port Leopold. A landing was effected with great difficulty in a gutta-percha boat, and could not have been effected at all in any ordinary boat. The house constructed by Sir James 0. Ross was found much rent in several places on the top and at the sides, but other- wise in excellent order, and quite fit to be a temporary retreat to any forlorn or cast-away Arctic adventurers. The stores were abundant and in prime condition. The steam launch seemed a noble little vessel, in which a brave-hearted party might venture anywhere, and was so placed that she could very easily be run into the sea. But not a truce was found of the visit of any wanderer from the Erebus and the Terror. The Prince Albert now stood away down Prince Re- gent's Inlet ; and towards evening, when she was glid- ing past the ice of Batty Bay, her crew were startled for a moment into a thril' of hope. The men on deck thought they heard a gun fired on shore ; the officers ran to scrutinize the land through their glasses aloft ; the vessel was steered closer to the bay ; the howitzer WAS cleared away, and fired ; but not the slightest sign MOVEM£MTS OF TU£ 8IIU>& 313 of life could be seen ; not the faintest answering sound WM heard. The supposed shut had been merely the falling i){ a piece of rock, or the colliHion of some heavy niuMMeti of ice. Next morning tho vessel was off Fury Beach, and in a thick fug ; and when the fog cleared away, she proved to be iu a bight of the ice, within u few yards of a con- tinuous, heavy, hummocky expanse, which contained not, as far as it could be seen from the crow's nest, one pool or crack, or the slightest promise of an opening. The officers examined this long and anxiously, and were forced to conclude that any attempt to penetrate it that season would be impracticable. They gloomily but irresistibly felt the specific object of their voyage, tho examination of the shores of Boothia, to be defeated ; and saw at once that they must turn about and luso little time in returning to Britain. But they resolved first to look at some of the most accessible shores and headlands about the throat of Barrow's Strait, and a brief way up Wellington Channel. During twenty-four hours, Mr. Snow, with a small boat party, made a romantic land search of the coast around Batty Bay, and on to Port Leopold ; and he found the latter place far more blocked up than on the 21st, and did not get away from it without enormous labor and difficulty. When he again reached his vessel they had to stand well away to avoid collision with a heavy stream of ice which filled a large portion of the adjacent sounds. When they got a little way into Barrow's Strait, they saw coming right towards them a schooner, which they first supposed to be the Felix, but afterwards found to be the American brig Advance. On the morning of the 24th, they were standing across to Gape Burd, under a clear sky and with a moderate breeze, irhile a heavy pack was visible from the crow's obst, i' i III iyi!;| m Ami m 314 ME£TIMG IN THE 4RCTIC SEAS. extending all along the coast of North Somerset, from outside of Leopold Island on the east, to the vicinity of Cape Kennell, where it appeared to enlarge, and began to take a curved direction toward Cape Ilothani. ^he Advance was still behind them ; the Lady Franklin and the Sophia were to windward, struggling along shore in the vicinity of Radstock Buy ; and, as the day wore on, three more ships were obbcrved at the mouth of Wellington Channel. An hour before noon of the 26th, when the Prince Albert was off Cape Spencer, her officers saw that she must stop.' An extensive pack was then a short dis- tance ahead, broken only by a few lanes of water, through which the ships in advance had evidently passed ; and the wind was blowing in a direction, happil3 , quite favorable for carrying these ships rapidly on to the regions of most desirable search, but fitted also to make a prompt closure of the pack against any return that season to the east. If the Prince Albert should now go forward more than a mile or two, she might be suddenly caught by the ice, and helplessly and uselessly shut up for the winter. At noon, therefore, she bore up when about midway between Cape Spencer and Point Innes ; and then Mr. Snow went to the mast- head to take a last view of the position and seeming prospects of the several exploring vessels. Cape Hotham was seen to the west enveloped in a thick haze. The Assistance appeared some distance t i the north-east of it, endeavoring to get to it, seeminglj* either in a hole of water or along a lane. The Lady Franklin was not far f-om the Assistance, but, proba- bly, about mid-channel, either working toward Cap« llotham, or trying to get right away to the west. The Sophia, also under all sail, was some distance astero of the Ltidy Franklin, and raore to the east, '^e Re» TRACES OF FRANKLIN. 315 from ty cf tegati ;ham. ,nklin along e day nth of Prince it she •t dis- water, dently Bction, •apidly ; fitted st any Albert o, she ly and refore, pencer mast- eming id in a iQce ti Imingly Lady probar Cap« . The aetern le Ito» cne was still further to the east, con8iderably*iii-8hore, and apparently beset. All these voksoIs were among heavy ice. The Advance cuuld not be seen, but was supposed to be behind one of the points of land ; and she was afterwards spoken in the vicinity of Cape Riley, close in-shore, fast to an iceberg. The Intrepid, too, was not then visible, but had been seen in the morning. All Wellington Channel, as far as the eye could reach, was filled with one solid pack, broken only here and there by a small lane. Some high land, appearing dim and filmy from haze and distance, was seen toward Cape Bowden, trending apparently to the north-west. One heavy pack extended athwart all the south-west, and seemed to be impenetrable. The only clear water visible lay immediately around the Prince Albert, and backward along the way by which she had come. On the same day, soon after the Prince Albert had turned her bow homeward, a flag-staif, like a signal- post, was observed on Cape Riley. The oflScers, sup- posing this to have been set up by a party from some one of the exploration ships, sent a boat ashore to ascertain what it meant. A cylinder was found at the flifg-stafif, containing a notice that the officers of the Assistance and the Intrepid had landed on Cape Riley on the 23d ; that they had collected there distinct traces of an encampment by some party belonging to the royal navy of Britain ; that they had found traces of the same party on Beechey Island, and that they purposed to proceed thence to Gape Hotham and Cape Walker, in search of further traces. The little boat-party from the Prince Albert were too zealous to be satisfied ^ith this mere notice. They looked eagerly around, and soon observed five spots on which tents seemed to have been fixed, and also abtaioed a piece of navy rcpe, a piece of canvas, a chip I 316 TRACES Of* FRANKLIN. ill! ill of timber, and a number of meat-bones. These, al! poor and pitiful though they might seem of themselves, seemed to throw so perceptible a light on at least the commencement of the mystery of the Franklin expcdi* tion, that they were esteemed a precious prize. The Prince Albert arrived at Aberdeen on the let of October ; and the relics from Cape Riley were speedily sent to the Admiralty, and subjected there to a rigorous scrutiny. The piece of rope was found to be of navy-yard manufacture, not later than 1841 ; th6 piece of canvas to have a corresponding character ; the chip of timber to have a recent cut, with seemingly an European axe ; the meat-bones to bear exactly the marks of a ship's provisions used about five years back ; the reported tent-marks to be nearly such as might be expected from a party making a long stay for the purpose of scientific observation ; and the entire circumstances of the traces on Gape Riley unaccount- able by any known or supposable event, except a pro- longed visit, in 1845 or 1846, by a party from the Erebus and the Terror. The first traces o^the missing ships were discovered by Captain Ommaney, in the Assistance, at Cape Riley, on the 23d August, 1850. The cape is a point at the eastern entrance of Wellington Channel ; about three miles west of it rises the bold abrupt coast of Beechey Island ; and between the shores- of this isle and the mainland lies a bay to which extraordinary interest is now attached. On its coast were observed numerous sledge-tracks ; and at Cape Spencer, about ten miles from Cape Riley, up Wellington Channel, the party discovered the ground-place of a tent, the floor neatly paved with small smooth stones. Around the tent a number of birds' bones, as well as remnants of mtot-Cani^ters, seemed tb indicate that it TRxVCES OF FRANKLIN 317 had been inhabited fur 86me time as a shouting station and a look-out place, fur which latter purpuse it was admirably chosen, commanding a good view of Barrow's Strait and Wellington Channel. Some sledge-tracks led northward for about twenty miles, but the trail ceased south of Cape Bowden, and an empty bottle and a piece of newspaper were the last things found. The results of examining Beechey Island must be given in more detail. Lieut. Osborne says : " A long point of land slopes gradually from the south* ern bluff's of this now deeply interesting island, until it almost connects itself with the land of North Devon, forming on either side of it two good and commodious bays. On this slope a multitude of preserved-nieat-tins were strewed about ; and near them, and on the ridge of the slope, a carefully-constructed cairn was dis* covered ; it consisted of layers of fitted tins, filled with gravel, and placed to form a firm and solid foundation. Beyond this, and along the northern shore of Beechey Island, the following traces were then quickly dis- covered : the embankment of a house, with carpenters' and armorers' working-places, washing-tubs, coal-bags, pieces of old clothing, rope, — and, lastly, the graves of three of the crew of the Erebus and Terror, bearing date of the winter of 1846-6. We, therefore, now had ascertained the first vjinter quarters of Sir John Franklin, " On the eastern slope of the ridge of Beechey Island a remnant of a garden (for remnant it now only was, having been dug up in the search) told an interesting tale ; its neatly-shaped, oval outline — the border carefully formed of moss lichen, poppies, and anemones, transplanted from some more genial part pf this dreary region — cor.- trived still to show symptoms of vitality ; but the seeds which, doubtless, they had sowed in the gardttn, had decayed away. N^arer to the beach, a heap of cinderr 318 TRACES OF FRANKLIN m :itrlii*l and scraps of iron showed thearmorers' working^- place, and, along an old water-courHC, now chained np by frost, several tubs, constructed of the ends of salt-meat casks, left no doubt as to the washing-places of the men of Franklin's squadron. Happening to cn»HH a level piece of ground, which as yet no one had lighted sipon, 1 was pleased to see a pair of cashmere gloves laid out tc dry, with two small stones on the palms to prevent their blowing away ; they had been there since 1846. 1 took them up carefully, as melancholy mementoes of my missing friends. In another spot a flannel was discovered ; and this, together with some things lying about, would, in ray ignorance of wintering in the Arctic regions, have led me to suppose that there was. consid- erable haste displayed in the departure of the Erebus and Terror from this spot, had not Captain Austin assured me that there -was nothing to ground such a belief upon, and that, from experience, he could vouch for these being nothing more than the ordinary traces of a winter station ; and this opinion was fully borne out by those officers who had, in the previous year, wintered in Port Leopold, one of them asserting that people left winter quarters too well pleased to escape, to care much for a handful of shavings, an old coal-bag, or a washing-tub." The most interesting traces of winter residence were the graves of Franklin's three seamen. Each giavo was marked by an oaken head and foot board, and the inscriptions were as follow : " Sacred to the memory of J. Torrington, who de parted this life January 1st, 1846, on bc»ard of H. M. S. Terror, aged 20 years." " Sacr€»d to the memory of J. TIartnell, A.B., of H. M. S. Erebus^ died January 4th, 1846, aged 23 years III, ^ TRACES OF FRANKLIN. 319 Ifius sailh Ihe Lord of Hosts, Consider your ways.— Haggai 1 : 7." "Sacred to the memory of Wm. Braine, R.M., of n. M. S. Erebus, died April 3d, 1846, aged 32 years Choose ye this day vihom ye will serve. — Josh. 24 : 15." Lieut. Do Haven, of the Advance, landed on Cape Riley on the morning of the 25th August, where he examined the traces of Sir John Franklin, beiore de- scribed, and erected a second signal-post. On the same day the Prince Albert visited the place, and by her, as we have seen, the first intelligence of the discovery was carried to England. Afterwards Captain Penny and his officers examined Beechey Island and the whole neighborhood very carefully and minutely. But the thorough search made by all these parties failed to discover any memorandum or record to indicate Frank lin's past efibrts or future intentions. * All that could be learned from the traces discovere' ^ was, that Franklin's ships wintered, in 1845-6, on th< - south side of Beechey Island, and that three of his men died at that point. The mortality does not exceed that of previous expeditions ; and we may therefore conclude that the expedition wa3 in highly effective order when it left that anchorage, with only a moderate inroad into its stock of preserved meats, the seven hundred empty tins found on the island forming but a small proportion of the twenty-four thousand canisters with which the ships were supplied. How long Franklin's ships remained at Beechey Island, when and under what circumstances they left, and wh.it course they persued, were mere matters of conjecture, as to which various opinions have been formed. Some ex- perienced officers believed that the expedition did not leave its winter anchorage till the end of August or beginning of September, 1846. It was also inferred, from a20 SLEDOING PARTIES. some appearances, that it left suddenly ; that probably a great and unexpected diBruption of the ice had sum- moned the crews to resume progress in the ships : but this was contested by other officers of equal experience, who contended that there could have been no hurry in removing from Beechey Island, as everything bore the stamp of order and regularity, utterly forbidding the idea that Franklin had been forced away by the ice. On the 8th September, 1850, most of the searching vessels got once more free from the ice, and unfurled their sails in open water, along the south side of Com- wallis Island. They bore boldly away, in the hope of penetrating well to the west, but were soon arrested by a vast floe, which extended from the south-west end of Griffith Island, as far as the eye could reach. They kept close to this, and strove with it, from the 10th till the 13th, and then began again to get forward ; yet pro- ceeded only a short distance, amid great embarrassment and severe exertion, when they were compclled.to stick fast for the winter. The government ship's were locked up in the ice between Gomwallis Island and Griffith Island ; and all the others were sufficiently near to admit of easy communication among the whole squad- ron. Arrangements were early made for performing explor- atory journeys with sledges in spring. Captain Aus- tin superintended those for the lands and islands along what may be called Parry's Strait, — the band of sea westward from Barrow's Strait to Melville Island, and the north end of Banks's Land ; and Captain Penny un- dertook to conduct the search of Wellington Channel. Sledges were sent out, before the severest period of the \7inter, to place provisions in depot u.t the use of the explorers in spring ; and exercises of walking and sh'idge* f|raggihg were aifterwards, in all favorable weather, prao* 8LEUGING l»AimK». 321 Hsed near the sliips, to keep the men vigorous, and tc train them for their journeyings. . On the 12th of April the parties for the westward ex- ploration, amounting to one hundred and four men, with fourteen sledges, were all ready, and proceeded, under the command of Captain Ommaney, to an encampment at the north-west end of Griffith Island. There they underwent a close inspection by Captain Austin, and spent three days in repose, and in waiting for the abate- ment of a tempestuous wind. On the evening of the 15th they united in a special prayer to the Divine Be- ing for protection and guidance, and then, with enthu- siastic determination, started on their arduous enter- prise. Six of the parties were " extended '* ones, — to go to the utmost possible distance, — three along the south shore, and three along the north shore. The first sledge on the south shore, the Reliance, under Captain Omma- ney, travelled four hundred and eighty miles, discov- ered two hundred and five miles of previously un- known coast, and was absent sixty days. The second, the True Blue, under Lieut. Osborne, travelled five hundred and six miles, discovered seventy miles of coast, and was absent fifty-eight days. And the third, the Enterprise, under Lieut. Browne, travelled three hundred and seventy-five miles, discovered one hundred and fifty miles of coast, and was absent forty-four days. In this travelling sails were occasionally, hoisted on the sledges, and large kites were also attached. When the wind was high, these aids propelled the sledge very rapidly, and the whole of the party then rode ; but when the wind fell, the sledges, with their provisions and stores, had to be dragged by main force over the ice by the men harnessed to them. The most western point reached was the extreme one of the True Blue, and if 322 SLEDQINQ PARTIES situated in west longitude 103** 25', almost half way between Leopold Island and Point Turnaguin on the American continent. < The first sledge on the north shore, the Lady Frank- lin, under the command of Lieut Aldrich, travelled five hundred and fifty miles, dincovered seventy miles of coast, and was absent sixty-two days. The second, the Perseverance, under the command of Lieut. M'Clintock, travelled seven hundred and sixty miles, discovered forty miles of coast, and was absent eighty days. And the third, the Resolute, under the command of Surgeon Bradford, travelled six hundred and sixty-nine miles, discovered one hundred and thirty-five miles of coast, and was absent eighty days. Lieut. M'Glintock's party achieved the furthest westing of the three ; and the fur- thest, indeed, which has ever been attained in the polar seas, — a point in latitude 74° 38' and west longitude 114" 20'. He left the ships on the 15th of April, and, taking a course due west, reached Point GrifiSth, on the eastern shore of Melville Island, on the 11th of May. On the 21st he sighted Winter Harbor ; but, there being neither ships, tents, nor any sign of human habitation, to be seen, he deferred any close scrutiny of it until his return. By the 27th of May he had reached Cape Dundas, at the western extremity of Melville Island ; and on the follow- ing day, ascending a high cliff, made out the coast of Banks's Land. To the n( rth of Banks's Land, at a distance from it of about seventy miles, he discovered a range of land apparently running nearly due west. "This does not present steep cliffs, but a bold and deeply indented coast ; the land rising to the interior, -ind intersected by valleys rather than ravines.'' The sea he imagined to continue to tho westward. Following the coast of pp 5 [323] BLEIXIl a PiRTIH^ 32& Mclvillo Island to the north-cafli, )e enl ^d Lidii>% Oulf, and here saw /rugmoiits of coal of f i qin^l* r. Leaving the shore, he croHscd the gulf tog n Huslti un Gove, where Parry, in his jounioy across tbe iHlanJ, in 1820, had lofl the " strong but light cart,*' in which he had carried his tent and stores. On the* 1st of Juno M'Glintock reached the west point of the cove, and, lotoving two men to prepare supper, he commenced a search, with four others, for Parry's encampment of the llih of June, 1820: ••' On reaching the ravine leading into the cove," he says, " vve spread acntss, and walked up, and easily found the encampment, although the pole had fallen down. The very accurate report published of his jour- ney saved us much labor in finding the tin cylinder and ammunition. The crevices between the stones piled over them were filled with ice and snow ; the powder com- pletely destroyed, and cylinder eaten through with rust, and filled with ice. Prom the extreme difficulty of descending into such a ravine with any vehicle, I sup- posed that the most direct route, where all seemed equally bad, was selected ; therefore sent the men di- rectly* up the northern bank, in search of the wheels which were left where the cart broke down. They fortunately found them at once ; erected a cairn about the remains of the wall built to shelter the tent ; placed a record on it, in one tin case within another. We then collected a few relics of our predecessors, and returned with the remains of the cart to our encampment. An excellent fire had been made with willow stems ; and upon this a kettle, containing P.arry's cylinder, was placed. As soon as the ice was thawed out of it, the record it contained was carefully taken out. I could only just distinguish the date. Had it been in a better 320 SLEDGING PARTIES •tato of preservation, I would have restored it to itc lonely poHition." Ah the weather was misty, M'Clintock did not explore the head of the gulf, but struck directly across the land for Winter Harbor. It was evident that no ono had visited the place since Parry's departure, in 1820. On the shore, above Winter Harbor, is a large sand- stone bjowlder, near the site of Parry's observatory, on the flat face of which Mr. Fisher, his surgeon, had cut this inscription : His Britannio Majesty's Ships HECLA »nd GRIPER, Comnutnded by W. B. Pttrry and Mr. Liddon, Wintered in the adjacent Harbor 1819-20. A. FIthcr, Sculpt. This inscription, M'Clintock says, appeared quite fresh. A hare, discovered at the foot of this rock, WHS so tame that she entered the tent, and would almost allow the men to touch her. " I have never seen," be says, "any animal, in its natural state, so perfectly fearless of man ; and there cannot be a more convincing' proof tliat our missing countrymen have not been here. A ptarmigiin alighted on the rock, and was shot, without in the least disturbing puss as she sat beneath it." M'Clintock carved the figures 1851 on the rock, and left it and the hare. On the 6th June he left Winter Harbor, and reaclred the ships on the 4th of July. The latter part of his journey was fatiguing, from the extensive pools of water in the ice ; but all his men arrived in excellent health and spirits. lie was out eighty days, and had tiavelled seven hundred and seventy miles. Several reindeei, musk-oxen, and bears, were shot, besides Qumerous birds ; and the food thus obtained was of SLEDQlNQ PARTtES. 32? ftty matoHal importance to the people. Thc^y travelled when the cold was so intense that bottles of water, car- ried by the men in their breasts, froze after an hour or so ; salt pork broke like suet, and rum thickened. This journey made it (certain that Franklin had not passed west of the Parry Islands. The other two parties moved in higher latitudes, and were stopped a little west of Sabine Island, yet they traversed tracts and encountered incidents of high interest. The parties of less limited range than the " extended '' ones deposited provisions, set up marks, made obser* vations, ascertained positions, and eflfectcd minor ex* plorations ; and were absent during periods of from twelve to thirty-four days. They may seem to have had easier work than the others ; yet they suflercd more severely, for no fewer than twcnty«eiglit of their men were frost-bitten, and one died from exhaustion and cold. The extended parties got back in good health, and needed only a little rest and comfort to repair the effects of their privation and fatigue. But not one of all the parties, near or remote, obtained the slightest trace of the missing adventurers ; and Captain Austin, after receiving and considering Well the reports of all, " arrived at the conclusion that the expedition under Sir John Franklin did not prosecute the object of its mission to the southward and westward of Wellington Strait." The sledge-partier for the exploratton af Wellington Channel amounted to six, and comprised forty-one men, and were officered by Captain Stewart, Messrs. Marshall, Rr;id,- and J. Stuart, and Surgeons Sutherland and a jodsir. They started on the 17th of April, under the general superintendence of Captain Penny ; but they toon encounterad a^vore weather, and were buffeted 828 SLEDGING PARTIEfir m ixnd baflSed by it for a series of days, and compelled to return ; and on the 6th of May, after special prayer to Mod for support, they ag-ain started. Some coursed so ♦Ur and so curvingly as to make a near approach to the hrost northerly of Captain Austin's parties ; and all figured largely and respectably in the squadron's aggre- ji^ate of exploits. But their chi^'f feat — the feat, at least, of those on the channel and west of it — was a discovery which put a stop to their progress to\yard the north, and gave an entirely new complexion to the search in which they were engaged, — the discovery of a wide we»tward strait of open water, lying along the further Hfde of tho lands t^hich flank Barrow's Strait and Parry's" Strart. Captain Penny person afly shared in this discovery, and made great exertions to follow it up. The explor- f;rs, proceeding up Wellington Channel, arrived in latitude 75° 2*/ at Capo Duliorn, and thence ten miles fiorth-Westward to Point Decision. Penny, on the 15jth of May^ went from this point, over the ice, north-west by north, to an island which he called Bailie Hamib ton Island. The ice was in a very decayed state ; and on the nth, after travelling round the island, first in a north-easterly and next in a north-north-westerly direc- tion, he arrived at the open strait, saw in it twenty-five miled of clear water, and discovered a headland fifteen miles distant, west by worth, over-canopied by a dark sky, which indicated an expanse of open water on th6 further side. This point waft found to be in latitude 76° 2* and west longitude 95° 55^ j and the strait received thr name of- Victoria Channel. Penny hastened back to the ships for a boat, and used' every exertion to have one promptly mounted on sledges and sent forward ; but he did not get it up to the strait without vast effort, and some tantalizing delays Buf RETURN HOME. 329' lark tbr St length he launched it, loaded it, and pushed oif. Ue had proceed^^d only ten miles, when ho was obliged to seek reftige iii ^' bay from a westerly gale and a strong head erea ; attd he afterwards contended much and almost constantly with unfavorable winds and rapid tides ; yet he succeeded in examining three hundred and t6n miles of coast, and did not desist till his stock of pro'^isior^s began to fail. He put about on th6 20th of July, afid made his way to the ships amid constant rafn' ai'id tempest, insomuch that, in the route over the ite, h€ Add to ford rapid streams. T^titiy thus rankii high as a discov6re)^ ; but si& to the' immediate object of h^ adventures, he bad all his laboi^ foi* nothing. He found not a trace of the Erebus and the Terrot ; yet he confirmed his convictions that they had gone up Wellington Channel and along Victoriti' Channel. The American explorers were prevented irom taking any part in the searching operations of the spring, by their experiencing the same kind of involuntary ejection from Lancaster Sound which befell Sir James Ross's ex- pedition in the Enterprise and *the Investigator. Their vessels were froz6n in opposite Wellington Channel, and were carried thence to the east, slowly and rigidly, and ii) stern defiance of all possible resistance by man, to a point south of Cape Walsingham. They drifted a linear distance of «t least one thousand and fifty mileb, and sufiered much from the commotion of the ice, and were not set free till the 10th of June. Captain Austin seems to have concurred with Sir John Ross in the opinion that the £rebus and the Terror had gone back to BafiBu's Bay. After the failure of searches for further traces of them west and north of the mouth of Wellington Channel, Austin supposed that they probably tried to reach the Polar Sea through Jones'i 330 RETURN ROM£. Sound, which opens off the north side of the upper part of BaflSn's Bay. He accordingly went round to thai place with his two steamers, and explored it. He found it about sixty miles wide at the entrance, — a width which greatly exceeds that given it in the Admiralty charts ; (tnd he sailed about forty-fivo miles up its southern shore, and was there arrested by a fixed bar- rier of ice ; and he then sailed along the face of that barrier, twenty-five miles, to the northern shore, and traced that shore down to the entraiice. But he saw nothing to indicate that the Erebus and the Terror had been there ; and he judged, from well-defined appear^ auces to the west, that the sound is closed by land not very far above the point which he reached, and has no communication with the Polar Sea. He then thought all further attempts at exploration either useless or inconsistent with his instructions, and set sail for £ng land, where he arrived in the autumn of 1851. CHAPTER XIV robthbr pibticvlars of thb skarchiha expeditions. — sir johh bobs'l toyaob. — resdlts. — carrler-pigbohs. — penny's expedition. — dr. Sutherland's scientific observations. — glaciers and icebergs. — WINTER climate. — ANECDOTES. — ESQUIHAVX DOGS. — USB OF SNOW. — FIRST GRINNELL EXPEDITION.— ADVENTURES IN THE ICE. — WINTEB IN THE ARCTIC OCEAN. — DANGEROUS DRIFTING. — BREAKING UP OF THB ICB.— RETURN. Having sketched generally in the last chapter the prog- ress of the vessels which cooperated, in 1860, in pros- ecuting the search for Sir John Franklin from the direc- tion of Baffin's Bay, we shall now take up each expedi tion separately, and present such further details as may tend to add interest and completeness to our history of their proceedings. Of the four vessels comprising the squadron of Com-, modore Austin, and also of the Prince Albert, we have already related all that is important, concluding with their safe return to England. Sir John Ross, in the Felix discovery yacht, with hek tender, the Mary, after obtaining an Esquimaux inter- preter at Holsteinborg, and calling at Whale Fish Islands, proceeded northward through Waygat's Straits, and overtook Commodore Austin's squadron on the 11th of August, 1850. Arrangements were made with that officer for a combined examination of every part of the eastern side of a north-west passage, in which it was probable that the missing ships could be found. On the 332 SIR JOHN KOSS'S VOYAGE. 13th of August, in company with Lieut. Gator in the Intrepid, Ross held communication with a party of Ea- quimaux near Cape York, who told him a story, the purport of which, according to his interpreter, was that- in the winter of 1846 two ships were crushed in the ice in the direction of Cape Dudley Digges, aiid afterwards burned by a fierce tribe of natives ; and that their crews, some of whom were described as wearing epaulets, were subsequently killed by the natives. Although Mr. Petersen, the interpreter attached to the Lady Franklin, whjch lay a few miles off, wholly discredited this story, and gave a translation of the Esquimaux com- munication wholly at variance with the other, it was thought of sufficient consequence by Capt. Austin to merit an investigation. Meantime the further informa- tion was received that a ship had passed the last winter Siafely housed ip Wolstenholme Sound. A party, taking both interpreters, was accordingly sent to examine Wolstenholme Sound ; and by them it was ascertained t^at t^e ship which wintered there was no other than l^e Norih St^, and th^ ip all probftbility ;tl^at qiroum- stance was the whole foundation of the Esquimttu^ Q^tory, ^h^iteyer it might have been. Hevertheleas, Sir John JE^oss, who yras long ago noted for " jump.iog at conclusions," still seems to have had a lingering belief that in this wild tale he h^d learned the fate of the Erebus and Terror. It was perhaps this belief which le4 him soon after to announce his intention of return- ing to England ; and even after his arrival there he is said to have adhered to his theory that Franklin and his companions perished in Baffin's Bay. He pressed on to Gape Riley, however, before leaving the field of discov- ery, and bore his part in the search there made for j^accs of the missing navigators. J^l^fjre if littifi ai^re tp relftte ^gnqer^i^ l^s e?^# CARRIEIl^IGEONS. 333 tion. The only results of which we have any account are stated by himself to be that he was able to make ** many important corrections and valuable additions to the charts of the much-frequented eastern side of Baf- fin's Bay, which," he adds, "has been more closely ob- served and navigated by this than by any former expe- dition ; and, much to my satisfaction, confirming the latitude and longitude of every headland I had the opportunity of laying down in the year 1818." One interesting incident, however, is wortliy of men- tion before we take leave of Sir John Ross. When he left England on this expedition, he took with him four carrier-pigeons belonging to a lady in Ayrshire, intend- ing to liberate two / of them when the state of the ice rendered it necessary to lay his vessel up for the winter, and the other two when he discovered Sir John Frunk- [in. A pigeon made its appearance at the dove-cot in Ayrshire, on the 13th of October, which tiie lady recog- nized by marks and circumstances that left no doubt ou her mind of its being one of the younger pair presented by her to Sir John. It carried no billet, but there •^ere Indications, in the loss of feathers on the breast, of ojifi having been torn from under the wing. Though it w Jcuown that the speed of pigeons is equal to one hun- dred niiJes an hour, the distance from Melville Island tu Ayrshire, being, in a direct line, about twenty-lour hun- dred miles, is so great, that evidence of the bird having been sent off as early as the lOth of October was required before it could be believed that no mistake wp-s made in the idehtification of the individual that came to the dove- cot. It was afterwards ascertained that Sir John Ross despatched the youngest pair on the 6th or Tth of Octo- ber, 1850, in a basket suspended to a balloon, duiing a W. N. W. gale. By the contrivance of a slow-match, f\m birdp were to be liberated at the end of twenty-foiy f ] '■< •I 'll 334 SUTHERLAND'S SCIENTIFIC OBSERVATIONS. hours. The reader can form his own opinion as to the identity of the pigeon in question. We have already alluded to Captain Penny's expedi- tion, fitted out by Lady Franklin. His little vessels, the Lady Franklin and the Sophia, entered Davis's Strait on the 26th of .April, 1860 ; but they did not get into the open water at the head of Baffin's Bay until the 18th of August. Nearly four months they were squeezed about among the drifting ice in this tedious and terrible passage, sometimes closely wedged o^ the shore-ice, and sometimes tracking by manual labor through the breaking pack. Some facts of a scientific interest are mentioned by Dr. Sutherland, who accompanied Penny. The first great difficulty the Arctic voyager has to contend with is the capricious state of the navigation in the grand approach to the Polar Sea. The melting of the ice and snow in the north of Baffin's Bay pro- duces a continuous stream of water, which flows stead- ily to the south. As soon as this current leaves the projecting points at the head of the bay, a thin film of ice is formed on iv. This ice gets thicker and thicker as it moves southwards, by congealing new layers of sea-water on its under surface, and by storing up snow and sleet above, until it becomes what the whaler calls the middle-ice of the bay. In winter it extends from shore to shore ; but in summer it is separated from the Greenland coast by an open lane of water, in conse- quence of its connection with the fringe of land, ice be- ing dissolved where northerly winds prevail. An open space of water is .always left by this southward 'drift of the ice-pack at the northern extremity of Baffin's Bay; the extent of the space varies, however, with the season. In winter, it is diminished by the shooting out of the land-ice towards the drift, and the quickened form- ation of the y«ung ico ; in summer, it is increased by the GLAaERS AMD ICEBEROa 330 breaking up of the land-ice, and the arrest of the forma* tion of young ice. The great object of the mariner bound to Lancaster Sound is to push his way through the open lane of water along the Greenland coast, and to get round the northern extremity of the drift ice. But he finds this to be no easy task: every southerly gale crushes the ice in upon the shores of the bay, and squeezes any unfortunate vessel chancing to be placed therein before it, often wedging it up immov- ably, or even breaking it to pieces under the violence of the nip. The only resource of the captive voyager, under such circumstances, is to seek a refuge beneath the lee of some huge ice-mountain that has grounded a mile or two off the land, or to take timely warning, and cut docks in the solid land-floe, into which he may re- tire when the pressure comes. The driving iceberg, is, however, a fearful neighbor, if the water prove not shallow enough to arrest its movement ; for it will then sometimes plough its onwird way through miles and miles of field and pack ice, heaving up the frozen masses before its tremendous impulse, and sweeping every- thing away that opposes its course. According to Dr. Sutherland, there is more chance of an easy passage to the open water at the head of Baf- fin's Bay early in the season, before the shore-ice is much broken, and when the middle-ice moves away from it bodily, without any intervening detritus, than later in the season, when there is a greater quantity of loosened ice to be packed into the channel. The entire length of the Baffin's Bay coast of Green- land is indented with bays and fiords, towards which glar ciers descend from the higher interior land. At Gape Farewell the termination of the glacier-ice is still miles away from the sea ; between Cape Farewell and Cape York, the land, devoid of the incursions of glacier-ica, 336 GLav..^ AMD IC£^£HqiS. li :'ii gets narrower and narrower. North of Cape York the ice-stream projects into the sea itself, even beyond the line of prominent headlands. It is from this region that the vast icebergs, drifted out into the open Atlantic by the southward current, are derived ; for it is a singular fact that there i^ no glacier-ice along the shores we»tr ward of Lajicaster Sound. All the snow which thei;^ falls, even so far north as T?" latitude, escapes to the sea in streams of water, carrying with them vast quan- tities of naud a.nd shingle. The laud on both sides pf Bar* r6w's Strait is composed of limestone ; but Greej;4and^ and the coasts which fc^m Davis's Strait, Baffin's Bay, |tnd Lancaster Sound, where the faUen snow is retained for ages before it slips, as the solid gla^^ier, back to the ocean, are all ma^^ of hard crysitalline rock. Dr. Suth- erland thinks that this difference of mineral constitutioa may in some way affect the temperature, and go deter- mine the abundance of glaciers in the one position, and their absence in the other. We may here remai'k that the ice which obstructs the navigation of the Arctic seas is of two kinds : the one produced by the congelation of fresh, and tKe other by that of salt water. In those inhospitable tracts, the snow, which annually falls on the islands or continents, being again dissolved by the progress of the summer's heat, pours forth numerous rills and limpid streams^ which collect along the indented shores, and in the deep bays enclosed by precipitous rooks. There tliis clear and gelid water soon freezes, and every successive year supplies an additional investing crust, till, after the lapse, perhaps, of several centuries, the icy mass rises at last to the size and aspect of a mountain, commensurate with the elevation of the adjoining cliffs. The melting of the snow, which is afterwards deposited on such enormoufi blpcks, likewise contributes to their growth ; GLAa£BS AND IC£BERGS. 337 and, by filling up the accidental hulcs or crevices, it renderH the whole structure compact and uniform. Meanwhile the principle of destructi(jn has already be- gun its operations. The ceaseless agitation of the sea gradually wears and underoiines the base of the icy mountain, till at length, by the action of its own accu- mulated weight, when it has perhaps attained an alti- tude of a tliousand or even two thousand feet, it is torn from its frozen chains, and precipitated, with a tremen- dous plunge, into the abyss below. This mighty launch now floats like a lofty island on the ocean ; till, driven Bouthwards by winds and currents, it insensibly wastes and dissolves away in the wide Atlantic. Icebergs have been known to drill from Baffin's Bay to the Azores. Such is believed to be the real origin of the icy mountains or icebergs, entirely similar in their formation to the glaciers which occur on the flanks of the Alps and the Pyrenees. They consist of a clear, compact, and solid ice, having the fine green tint, verging to blue, which ice or water, when very pure and of a sufficient depth, generally assumes. From the cavities of these icebergs the crews of the northern whalers are accustomed,, by means of a hose or flexible tube of canvas, to fill the^r casks easily with the finest and softest water. The projecting tongues of the glaciers are not dip- solved where they extend into the sea, but broken off by a species of "flotation." Heavy spring-tides are driven into t^e head of the bay, and up the fiords, by strong southerly winds ; and the buoyant ice is heavqd up by the rising water, and broken ofi* from its parent stream. The floating power of large masses of ice must oe enormous. Dr. Sutherland observed ypon .a small island, at an elevation of forty feet, a block of granito that measured sixteen feet in length, and must have coj) tamed '\t least one hundred and eighty -^six tone p/ S2 I 338 GLACIERS AND ICEBERQ8. ■olid rock ! Ue culculated that a cube of ice, forty feet across the side, could easily have carried off this burden in water seven fathoms deep. Icebergs thus broken off from the parent glacier were often observed tumbling about in the sea. Some of these were four times bigger than St. Paul's Cathedral, and shrouded themselves in a veil of spray as they rolled over, emitting sounds that could only be compared to terrific thunder-peals, and turning up the blue mud from depths of two and three hundred fathoms. Oscillations in the sea were pro- duced by such disturbances, which, after travelling a dozen miles, pounded into fragments the ice-field on. which they ultimately fell. While icebergs are the slow growth of ages, the fields or shoals of saline ice are annually formed and destroyed. The ice generated from melted snow is hard, pellucid, and often swells to an enonnous height and dimensions. But the concretion of salt water wants solidity, clearness, and strength, and never attains to any very considerable thickness. It seldom floats dur- ing more than part of the year ; though, in some cold seasons, the scattered fragments may be surprised by the early frost, and preserved till the following summer. Captain Penny's expedition reached the entrance of Wellington Channel on the 25th of August. On the i4th of September young ice formed round the ships ; and they were compelled to take up their winter quar- ters in Assistance Bay, near the south-west point of Wellington Channel. Captain Austin's squadron, of four ships, was fixed on GrifiSth's Island, a few miles further west. November tth, the sun was beneath the liorizow at noon, the thermometer was seven degrees below zero, and the sea-ice three feet thick. January 13th, mercury froze for the first time. At the end of January the ice was five feet thick. > The sun rose WINTER CLIMATE. 341 above the southern horizon for an instant at nDon, Pel ruary Uh. February 24th was the coldest day, the thermometer sinking forty-five degrees below zero. April 3d, the ice was seven feet thick. In the beginning of May it attained its maximum thickness of seven feet nine inches. June 12th, the thermometer rose to 55*, the highest point of the season. Two days after, the first rain fell. At the end of June small streams of water began to flow from the land. At the end of July the sea-ice was diminished to a thickness of four feet by the melting of the upper surface. August 8th, the bay- ice broke up, and set the ships free, after eleven months' close detention. Four days afterwards, the young i3e began again to form on the sea at night. Throughout this winter of intense cold, the tempera- ture of the sea remained nearly uniform. It never sank so low as twenty-nine degrees. A hole was kept open through the ice, near the ships, for the purpose of observing the water, as well as for noticing the rise and fall of the tides. The ice invariably increased its thickness by additions to its lower surface. As the sea-water froze, a considerable portion of its salt was separated from it, and blown along the surface of the ice, mixing with the fresh-fallen snow as it went. On this account snow-wreaths could never be used foi melting into water ; the snow on the land often con tained traces of salt, miles away from the sea. The sea-ice hardly ever contained more than one quarter the quantity of salt found in an equal volume of sea-water. The interior of the ships was warmed to between ibrty and fifty degrees. This was found to be the highest limit of safety ; in it, the hoar-frost was never thawed in the beds ; the blankets and night-caps of the sleepers often adhered inconveniently to the ships' planks. With a higher temperature, the vapor of the m WINTER CLIMATK. interior of the shipR was deposited in the bodH a& inoiBt ure instead of ice, and then rheumatic attiicltK were troublesome among the crew. With thJH range, the diflerence of heat experienced on going into the open air often amounted to one hundred degrees. Much less food was consumed during the winter's rest than during i,he labors of summer. On this ac- count, the provisions were served out without weighing, ajid considerable weekly savings were effected. The men took instinctively just what nourishment tb*) waste of their bodies required. A vast abundance of the lower forms of life w(.8 fo.rnd everywhere iu the inclement region in which the ships sojourned. Small cavities, from two to six feet deep, studded the under surface of the sea-ice. A greenish, slimy substance, composed of animalcules and micro- scopic pjants, was found in these. The cavities, in fact, had been hollowed out by the higher temperature attendant upon the vital action going on in these minute creatures. The most intense cold seemed to h^ve the power oi' destroying some kinds of life-germs. Mity cheese, that had been exposed throughout the winter, never again manifested any return of crawHng propen- sity. The influence of solar light was exceedingly small duiing the depth of winter. A little trace of daylight was always perceptible at noon; but for seven days before and after the 22d of December, chloride of silver was not blackened by exposure to the south horizon. On the 1st of January it began to assume a slight leaden tinge. Mustard and cresses were reared with great care ; but the young plants were composed of ninety- four per cent, of water, and contained only half the quantity of nutritious and antiscorbutic matters that had been present in the seeds. ESQUIMAUX won. n4a The men wore kept mnusod duriiij^ the \vi?»tor by the- atrical repreBontatioDS, bullH, uiul iniis<|uc>i'uil('H, ut'tei Captain Parry's example ; but the hcIiooIh and liNrarieB were the most valuable auxiliucioH in proveiiting oniiui. Geographical studies were eHpecialiy popular. After the uightly lessons, it was often necessary to settle forecastle disputes as to the insular charauter of Cape Horn, the Roman Catholic faith of the Chinese, and the identity of the crocodiles of the Nile with the ;illigators of the Mississippi. Far from the least interesting members of thin Arctic community were a kennel of Esquimaux dogs, that hud been established in a snow-hut near the ships. The four oldest had accompanied Mr. Petersen, the Danish interpreter, from Greenland. But these had thriven and multiplied amid the congenial scenes of ice and snow, 80 that complete teams for two sledges could bo furnished out in spring. They were great favorites among the seamen, and flocked eagerly round the first person who emerged from the snow-covered ships jn the morning. They were, nevertheless, of highly jeal- ous temperament ; for, if one of them chanced to receive more notice than his companions, the lucky fellow was forthwith attacked by the rest of the pack. This so constantly occurred, that some of the cunning young dogs became afraid of the men's caresses, and ran away the moment any marked demonstrations of kindness were directed towards them. In many points^ amusing instances of the adaptation of canine instinct to the necessities of Arctic life were displayed. Tn fine, sunny weather, the dogs satisfied their thirst by lapping the su.face snow ; but in colder periods of the season they burrowed some inches dowi- lor their supply of frozen water. In extremely 8e\ero weather, they constantly coiled themselves closely ap, .144 ESQUIMAUX DOGS. and covered their noses with the shagp^y fur of theii tails. At these times, they never rose even to sfiake off the accumulating wreaths of falling snow ; if their masters called them, they answered by turning their eyes, but without removing their natural respirators from their nostrils, and no demonstration, short of a determined kick, could make them shift their quarters *, but, at other times, they lay stretched out at full length, and were on their legs in obedience to the first tone of a familiar voice. The young dogs had to learn some painful expe- riences. The first time they were taken to the open water, they mistook it for ice, coolly walked into it, and were nearly drowned. One poor fellow undertook to lick a tempting morsel of fat from an iron shovel, when, greatly to his surprise, the cold metal stuck fast to his tongue, and he dragged the shovel along for some distance, at last only extricating himself from it by a strong effort, and atthe expense of leaving some inches of mucous membrane behind him. When the dogs were employed in sledging-work, it was no uncommon thing for them to start off with their loads in full pur- suit of bears. In the spring, two carrier-pigeons were despatched in the car of a small balloon. The balloon fell upon the ice, while still in sight, and dragged along for some distance. An object that was so full of interest to their masters could not, by any means, be slighted by the dogs ; in a moment they were all off after it, the men following them pell-mell to save the pigeons. The four-footed animals had by far the best of the race ; but the balloon, fortunately for its freight, cleared the edge of the ice just as they came up with it. When the ice around the ships broke up, the dogs understood the indication, and galloped about in mad joy, leaping from piece to piece, and whining restlessly, or swimming USE OF SNOW. 345 round the ship until they were picked up and established upon the decks. The Esquimaux dog is described as resembling in form the shepherd's dog, rising to the height of the Newfoundland, but broad like the mastiflf ; having short pricked ears, a furry coat, and a bushy tail. In general they are observed to bear a strong resemblance to the wolf, and the opinion is even prevalent that the former exhibit only the latter in a tamed state ; but the avidity with which the wolf devours his supposed brethren does not seem quite consistent with so close an affinity. Frequent beatings are necessary to train these dogs for acting as a regular team. But their greatest sufferings respect the want of food. Captain Parry saw one which ate a large piece of canvas, a cotton handkerchief laid out to dry, and a piece of a linen shirt. When these animals are yoked in the sledge, a whip of twenty feet long enforces obedience ; while peculiar cries indicate the right or left, to turn, or to stop. A singular fact is related in Dr. Sutherland's journal in regard to the use of snow for allaying thirst : " The use of snow when persons are thirsty does not by any means allay the insatiable desire for water ; on the con< trary, it appears to be increased in proportion to the quantity used, and the frequency with which it is put into the mouth. For example : a person walking along feels intensely thirsty, and he looks to his feet with coveting eyes ; but his sense and firm resolutions are not to be overcome so easily, and he withdraws the open hand that was to grasp the delicious morsel and convey it into his parching mouth. He has several miles of a journey to accomplish, and his thirst is every moment increasing ; he is perspiring profusely, and feels quite hot and oppressed. At length his good res* olutions stagger, and he partakes of the smallest pu> 846 FIRST GRFNNELL EXPEDITION tide, which produces a most exhilarating effect ; ia loss than ten minutes he tastes again and again, always increasing the quantity ; and in half an hour he has a gum-stick of condensed snow, which he masticates with avidity, and replaces with assiduity the moment that it has melted away. But his thirst is not allayed in the slightest degree ; he is as hot as ever, and still per- spires ; his mouth is in flames, and he is driven to the necessity of quenching them with snow, which adds fuel to the fire. The melting snow ceases to please the palate, and it feels like red-hot coals, which, like a fire- eater, he shifts about with his tongue, and swallows without the addition of saliva. He is in despair ; but habit has taken the place of his reasoning faculties, and he moves on with languid steps, lamenting the severe fate whVh forces him to persist in a practice which in an unguiuded moment he allowed to begin. ... 1 believe tne true cause of such intense thirst is the ex- treme dryness of the air when the temperature is low." The result of Captain Penny's labors, so far as explor- ation i« concerned, is already known. Sledging parties went out in Uie spring. A large whaling-boat was dragged bodily up Wellington Channel, and launched in the clear water beyond the ice-barrier. Two thou- sand miles were travelled over, seven hundred and ten of which were in districts seen for the first time by human eyes. No further traces of the missing expedition were, however, found. The Lady Franklin and Sophia left Assistance Bay, homeward bound, on the 12tb of Au- gust ; five weeks afterwards, they were in the Thames. We have seen that Mr. GrinneM's expedition was undertaken with two email brigs — the Advance and the Rescue. The Advance was intended originally for car- rying heavy castings from an iron foundery. Both ves- sels were strengthened with great skill and at large i' nRST QRINNELL EXPEDITION. 347 expense for the Arctic service. The vessels weve placed under the command of Lieut. De Haven. IKw jflScers consisted of Mr. Murdoch, sailing-master ; Di E. K. Kane, surgeon and naturalist ; and Mr. Lovell, midshipman. The Advance had a crew of twelve men when'fehe sailed ; but two of them complaining of sick- ness, and expressing a desire to return home, were left 'at the Danish settlement at Disco Island, on the coast of Greenland. The expedition passed the eastern extremity of New- foundland, June 8d, 1850, ten days after leaving Sandy Hook, and then sailed east-nordi-east, directly for Gape Comfort, on the coast of Greenland. The weather was generally fine ; and only a single accident occurred on the voyage to that country of frost and snow. Off the coast of Labrador they met an iceberg making its way toward the tropics. The night was very dark ; and the Advance, going at the rate of seven or eight knots an hour, ran against the huge voyager, and lost her jib boom. The voyagers did not land at Cape Comfort, but, turning northward, sailed along the south-west coast of Greenland, sometimes in an open sea, and sometimes in the midst of broad acres of broken ice (particularly in Davis's Straits), as far as Whale Island. From this place a boat, with two oflScers and four seamen, was sent to Disco Island, a distance of about twenty-six miles, to a Danish settlement there, to procure skin clothing and other articles necessary for use during the rigors of a polar winter. The officers were entertained at the government house, while the seamen were com- fortably lodged with the Esquimaux, sleeping in fur bags at night. They returned to the ship the following day, and the expedition proceeded on its voyage. When passing the little Danish settlement of Uper> -.pi I f: 348 FIRST GRINNELL EXPEDITION. navik, they were boarded by natives for the first t'me. They were out in government whale-boats, hunting for ducks and seals. These hardy children of the Arctic Circle were not shy, for through the Danes, the English whalers, and government expeditions, they had become acquainted with men of other latitudes. When the expedition reached Melville Bay, which, on account of its fearful character, is also called the Devil's Nip, the voyagers began to witness more of the grandeur and perils of Arctic scenes. Icebergs of all dimensions came bearing down from the polar seas like vast squadrons, and the roar of their rending came over the waters like the booming of the heavy broad- sides of contending navies. They also encountered immense floes, with only narrow channels between ; and at times their situation was exceedingly perilous. On one occasion, after heaving through fields of ice for five consecutive weeks, two immense floes, between which they were making their way, gradually approached each other ; and for several hours they expected their tiny vessels — tiny when compared with the mighty objects around them — would be crushed. An immense co^ of ice, six or eight feet thick, slid under the Rescue, lifting her almost "high and dry," and careening her partially upo!\ her beam ends. By means of ice-anchors (large iron hooks) they kept her from capsizing. In this position they remained about sixty hours, when, with saws and axes, they succeeded in relieving her. The ice now opened a little, and they finally warped through into clear water. While they were thus con fined, polar bears came around them in abundance, greedy for prey, and the seamen indulged a little in the perilous sports of the chase. The open sea continued but a short time, when thejr again became entangled among bergs, floes, and hum FIRST aaiNNELL EXPEDITION. 349 mocks, and encountered the most fearful perils. Some* times they anchored their vessels to icebergs, and somo' times to floes aud to masses of hummock. On one of these occasions, while the cook, an active Frenchman, was upon a berg, making a place for an anchor, the mass of ice split beneath him, and he was dropped through the yawning fissure into the water, a distance of almost thirty feet. Fortunately, the masses, as is often the case, did not close up again, but floated apart, and the poor cook was hauled on board more dead than alive, from excessive fright. It was in this fearful region that they first encountered pack-ice, and there they were locked in from the 7 th to the 23d of July. While in this situation they were joined by the British yacht Prince Albert, under Captain Forsyth, and to* gether the three vessels were anchored, for a while, to an immense field of ice, in sight of the Devil's Thumb, a high, rocl'-y peak, situated in latitude 74® 22*. It was now about thirty miles distant, and, with the dark hills adjacent, presented a strange aspect where all was white and glittering. The peak and the hills are masses of rock, with occasionally a lichen or a mosa growing upon their otherwise naked surfaces. In the midst of the vast ice-field loomed up many lofty bergs, all of them in slow and msg'estic motion. From the Devil's Thumb the American vessels passed onward through the pack toward Sabine's Islands, while the Prince Albert essayed to make a more west* erly course. They reached Gape York at the beginning of August. Far across the ice, landward, they discov- ^red; through their glasses, several men, apparently making signals ; nd for a while they rejoiced in the belief that they saw a portion of Sir John Franklin's companions. Four men were despatched, with a whale- boat, to tcconnoitre. They soon discovered the men to m FIBST QRINNELL EXPEDITION. '. 'li & %i 'm ifi yi **!' ; \'\ be Esquimaux, who, by signs, professed gn^at friend- shfp, and endeavored to get the voyagers to accompany them to their homes beyond the hills. They declined ; and, as soon as they returned to the v6ssel, the ^xpfedi- tion again pushed forward, and made its way to Cape Dudley Digges, which they reached on the 7th of August. At Cape Dudley Digges they sighted the Crimson Cliffs, a name suggested by the patches of red snow, which in the distance impart a rose-hue color to the acclivities. These lofty cliffii are of dark brown stone. It w&s a magnificent sight, in that cold regioii, to see such an a^pparently \>^ani^ oltject (Standing out in Bold felref again St the cfaJil tUte black-^butid 6/ v polar 6ky. Thiff was the njodt fi6tt^ei'n point to Which thte expedii- tiori petietriited. The wliol^ coaist which they had passed from Disco to tMs cape i4 high, rugged, and barren, only some of the low points, stretching into the aiea, bearmg a speCieS of dwarf fir. North-east from the 6ap^ Hire th6 Arctic Highlands, to an unknown a^ittide ; ttnd, dtretchfng away northwird, wau th6 tl'itetf tmex- ploted Smith's SoWnd, ^Ilfed wfth impteti^trabte ic6. From Cape Dudley Dirges, the Advance and ilfeiSCne, beating aigaii^st wind and fide in tb6 middif of the ice- fields, made Wolstenholme Sound, and then, changing ihen* Gourse to th'fe etotith-weirt, emerged from the fields hito the open #ater* of Lancaster Sbtind. Sere, on thei 19i\i of Au^uert, 1^50, thtey eYicotni*tered a treiftendoui gafe, ^hfch lasltcdf about twerity-fbui' hours'. The t^o ves8ele( parted company dtfrin^ the stonh, and* remained tfe](>arat6 sfeveraf days. Acroi^B Lancaster Sound, the AdVancfe malde her way to Barrow's Straits, and on the i2d discovered the Prince Albert on the southern shore of the strait*, near Leopold Islan J, a mass of lofty, pre DjpitoyiB rocki^, dark and barren, and hooded aiid clrape<^ ilitST GKINNELL EXPEDITION 351 with snow. The weather wan fine, and soon the oflScera and crews of the two vessels met in friendly greeting. Those of the Prince Albert were much astonished at the encounter. They had left the Americans in Melville Bay on the 6th, pressing northward through the pack ; and could not conceive how they so soon and safely penetrated it, when the Prince, though towed by a steamer, had made such poor progress. Captain For- ay tb lad attempted to reach a particular point, where he intended to remain through the winter ; but, finding the passage thereto completely blocked up with ice, he had resolved, on the very day when the Americanirt ikpfpearbd, to rettirn home. The tw6 v<;s*els remaiined tdgeth^r a day or two, when they parttd company, the Prince Albert to return to England, and the Advance to make further explora- tions. Off Leopold Island, On the 23d of August, the Advance took the lead through the vast masses of float- ing ice. " The way was before them," says Mr. Snow, of the Prince Albert, who stood upon the deck of the Advance ; " the stream of ice had to be either gohd through boTdly, ot a long detour hiade ; and, despite the • heaviness of the stream, they pushed the vessel through in her proper course. Two or three shocks, as she came in contact with some large pieces. Were unheeded ; and the niomont the last block wa;s past the b6w, the officeif san^ out, ' So I steady as she goes on hei* course ; ' and came aft as if nothing more than ordinary sailing had been going oh. 1 observed our own little bark nobly 'Hr/ing in the American's wake ; and, as I afterward Jeeined, she got through it pretty well, though not with- out much doubt of the propriety of keeping on in such procedure .^fler the ' mad Yankee,' as he was called by oir mate,'* From l.t .;^c! J Island the Advance proceeded to tbe 362 FIRST 0R1NN£LL EXPEDITION. ,i'i E M north-west and on the 26th reached Cape Riley, anothei amorphou.«i mass, not ho regular and precipitate as Leopold Island, but more lofty. Here a strong tide, setting in to the shore, drifted the Advance toward the beach, where she stranded. Around her were small bergs and large masses of floating ice, all under the influence of the strong current. It was about two o'clock in the afternoon when she struck. By diligent labor in removing everything from her deck to a small floe, she was so lightened, that at four o'clock the next morning she floated, and soon everything was properly replaced. Near Cape Riley the Americans fell in with a portion of an English expedition ; and there also the Rescue, left behind in the gale in Lancaster Sound, overtook the Advance. There was Captain Penny, with the Sophia u!id Lady Franklin : the veteran Sir John Ross, with tlie Felix, and Commodore Austin, with his flag-ship tlio Resolute. Together the navigators of both nations explored the coast at and near Cape Riley, and on the 2Uh they saw in a cove on the shore of Beechey Island, or Beechey Cape, on the east side of the entrance to Wellington Channel, unmistakable evidence that Sir John Franklin and his companions were there in April, 1846. There they found the articles known to belong to Franklin's ships, as described in the preceding chap* ter. They also visited the graves, the inscriptions on which we have already given. How much later than April 3d (the date upon one of the head-boards) Franklin remained at Beechey, cannot be determined. There were evidences of his having gone northward, for sledge-tracks in that direction wcr': visible. It was the opinion of Dr. Kane that, on the breaking up of the ice in the spring. Sir John Franklin passed northward with his ships through WelVngton FIRST cniNNKLL EXPEDITION. r>6n Channel into the great polar basin, and tliat he did not return. This, too, was the opinion of Captain Penny, who zealously urged the British government to send & powerful screw steamer to pass through that channel and explore the coasts beyond. Leaving Beochoy Cape, the American expedition forced its way through the ice to Barlow's Inlot, where they narrowly escaped being frozen in for the winter. They endeavored to enter the inlet, for the purpose of ADVANCE AND RESCVB IN BARLrw's INLET. aiaking it their winter quarters, but were prevented by che mass of pack-ice at its entrance. It was on the 4th of Septe:nber, 1850, when tht Advance and lleacue arrived at Barlow's Inlet ; but, 88 354 FIRST ORINNELL EXPEDITION aftor remaining seven or eight days, tney abaudoned the attempt to enter. On the rigiit and left of the entrance were dark rockn, in the centre the frozen waters, and beyond, a range of hills. There was much smooth ice within tlic inlet, and, while the vessels lay anchored to the " field," officers and crew exercised and amused themH(.'lv<.'H by skating. On the left of the inlet they discovered a cuini (a heap of stones with a cavity), eight or ton feet in iieight, which was erected by Capt. Omnianey, of the English expedition then in the polar waters. Within it he hud placed two letters, for " whom it might concern." Commander De Haven also depos- ited a letter there. It is believed to be the only post- ofBce in the world free for the use of all nations. The rocks here presented vast fissures made by the frost ; and at the foot of the clifi' on the right that powerful agent had cast down vast heaps of di 6m. From Barlow's Inlet the American expedition moved slowly westward, battling with the ice every rood of the way, until they reached Griffin's Island, at about 96" west longitude from Greenwich. This was attained on the 11th of September, and was the extreme westing made by the expedition. All beyond seemed impene- trable ice ; and, despairing of making any further dis- coveries before the winter should set in, they resolved to return home. Turning eastward, they hoped to reach Davis's Straits by the southern route, before the cold and darkness came on ; but they were doomed to disap- pointment. Near the entrance to Wellington Channel thej became completely locked in by hummock ice, and BOOL found themselves drifting with an irresistible tide up that channel toward the pole. Now began the most perilous adventures of the navi- gators The summer day was drawing to a close ; the diurnal visits of the pale sun were rapidly shortening) ¥IBST QRIMNELL EXPEDITION. 355 and soon the.long polar night, with all its darknons und horrors, would fall upon them. Slowly they drifted iu those vast fields of ice, whither, or to what result, they knew not. Locked in the moving yet compact mass ; liable every moment .to bo crushed ; far away from land ; the mercury sinking daily lower and lower from the zero figure, toward the point where that metal freezes, they felt small hope of ever reaching home again. Yet they prepared for winter comforts and winter sports, as cheer- fully as if lying safe in Barlow's Inlet. As the winter advanced, the crews of both vessels went on board the larger one. They unshipped the rudders of each to prevent their being injured by the ice, covered the deck of the Advance with felt, prepared their stores, and made arrangements for enduring the long winter, now upon them. Physical and mental activity being neces- sary for the preservation of health, they daily exorcised in the open air for sevei**! hours. They built ice huts, hunted the huge white bears and the little polar foxes, and, during the darkness of the winter night, they arranged in-door amusements and employments. Before the end of October, the sun made its appear- ance for the last time, and the awful polar in'ght closed in. Early in November they wholly abandoned the Rescue, and both crews made the Advance their perma* nent winter home. The cold soon became intense ; the mercury congealed, and the spirit thennometer indi- cated 46° below zero. Its average range was 30* to 35*. They had drifted helplessly up Wellington Chan- nel almost to the latitude from whence Captain Penny saw an open sea, supposed to be the great polar basin, where there is a more genial clime than that which inter- venes between the Arctic Circle and the *75th degree. Here, when almost in sight of the open ocean, that mighty polar tido, with its vast masses of ice, suddenly 35b PTRST GRINNELL EXPEDITION. i J. -Ik j , 1 ebbed, and our little tgsscIs were carried buck, as rcBiatr lessly as before, through Barrow's Straits, into Lancaster Sound. All this while the immense fields of hummock- ice were moving, and the vessels wore in hourly danger of being crushed and destroyed. At length, while drift- ing through Barrow's Straits, the congculod mass, as if crushed together by the opposite shorcw, became more compact, and the Advance was elevated almost seven feet by the stern, and keeled two feet eight inches, sta^ board. In this position she remained, with very little alteration, for five consecutive months ; for, soon after entering Baffin's Bay in the midst of the winter, the ice became frozen in one immense tract, covering millions of acres. Thus frozen in, sometimes more than a hundred miles from land, they drifted slowly along the south-west coast of Baffin's Bay, a distance of more than a thousand miles from Wellington Channel. For eleven weeks that dreary night continued, and during that time the disc of the sun was never seen above the horizon. Yet nature was not wholly forbidding in aspect. Sometimes the aurora boreaUs would flash up still further northward ; and sometimes mock suns and mock moons would appear, in varied beauty, in the starry sky. Brilliant, too, were tlie northern constellations ; and when the real moon was at its full, it made its stately circuit in the heaver s without descending below the horizon, and lighte ' up the vast piles of ice with a pale lustre, almost as vivid as the morning twilights of more genial skies. Around the vessels the crews built a wall of ice ; and in ice huts they stowed away their cordage and stores, to make room for exercise on the decks. They organized a theatrical company, and amused themselves and the offi* cers with comedy well performed. Behind the pieces of Qummock each actor learned his part ; and by means of VIR8T QRINNELL EXPEDITION. 357 of calico tltey tranHfurmoil thcrntx.'lvos into feinule ch(inu> vCTH, us occaHioii roquirod. TIiuhc drainus were acted upon the deck uf tlu; Advance, sunietinies while the ther* monieter indicated !]()" behjw zero ; and u jIufh and audi- ence higiily enjoyed the fun. They also went out in par- ties during that long night, fully armed, to hunt the polar bear, the grim monarch of the frozen north, on which occasions they often encountered perilous adventures. They played at foot-bull, and exercised themselves iu drawing sledges heavily Uden with provisions. Five hours of each twonty-.'our tuey thus exercised in the open aii, and (*'jct j, vveck c.vch man washed his whole body in cold snow- vyacer, Scriou8 sickness was conse- quently avoidery rcadei of Arctic travel as the faithful attendant q} Sir John Franklin during his first adventurous, and in some respect^ tragic journey, through North America. Htp- burn's spirit was fired with an irresistible desire to a^^ 4 h: I m -i : -i 364 ^ UPERNAVIK. in scarcLiug fur the hero with whom, in his youth, he had shared the perils of the wilderness ; and now, in his old age, he was going to face a wilder form of perils ou the ice-laden waters of the Polar Sea. Another of the men had travelled with Dr. Rae, on his first expedition to Bepulso Bay ; and another had accompanied Sir John Richardson in his boat journey through the inte< rior of America. Lady Franklin herself was present to see the vessel ofif. She took an afifectionate leave of officers and crew ; and the Prince Albert bounded from the shore and stretched out into the wide Atlantic, the Union-Jack at her peak, and the French flag, in honor of Lieutenant Bellot, flying at the fore. On Sunday, the 24th of June, they descried the coast of Greenland on the distant horizon. In Baffin's Bay they were visited by the captains of two whaling-vessels, who created great excitement by telling them of the discovery of Franklin's winter quarters in 1845, with the details of which the reader is already acquainted. This information induced Kennedy to direct his course to Upornavilv, the Danish colony on the west coast of Greenland, partly for the purpose of taking in additional supplies for the use of the winter travelling parties, but chiefly with the hope of gaining further information of the recent discoveries, from the American searching vessels which had wintered in the pack. In this, how- ever, he was disappointed. Of Upernuvik, which he reached June lOth, 1851,. Kennedy says : " It is one of that interesting group of little colonies with which the enterprise of the Danes has dottetl the west coast of Greenland. Here, con- siderably within the Arctic Circle, we found a Christian community,- not only living, but, after a fashion, thriv- ing. We were informed by the governor that there were, even at this early period of the season, one thousand UPERNAVIK. 366 Danish tons of oil and blubber stored, from the produce Df the summer fishery. There was likewise visible evi- dence in every direction of an abundance of venison, water-fowl, and eggs, as well as seals. The houses were built of wood, very small, and had a singularly amphibious look about them, from being covered with tar from top to bottom, — appearing, for all the world, like so many upturned herring-boats, ready, on any emergency, to take to the water. " A party of the Esquimaux, attached to the settle- ment, had come in with the produce of some hunting excursion in which they had been engaged ; and I waa much struck with their intelligence, and their well-clad, comfortable, and healthy appearance. This, I learned, was in a great measure due to the benevolent interest, of the Danish government in their behalf. There is not a station, I was given to understand, along the whole coast of Greenland, which has not its missionary and its schoolmaster for the instruction of the natives ; and, iudging from what we saw and learned at Upernavik, the Danish exchequer is not without material and sub- stantial proofs of the gratitude of the poor ' InnuiU* Thus instructed, cared for, and their energies disciplined and directed, the Esquimaux of Greenland give employ- ment to six ships annually, in carrying the produce of their hunts and fisheries to Denmark.'' At this place six large Esquimaux dogs, for dragging sledges, Vere purchased. A few pairs of seal-skin boots, shoes, and trousers, d la Esquimaux^ -were also procured, and the Prince Albert proceeded on her voyage. The much-dreaded " middle ice " was reached soon after leaving, and four days were spent in passing through it to the western side of the bay, during which time the men were constantly employed in sailing,, boring, pushing, thumping, and warping — not onfre- 3U6 CARRIEIUPIGEONS. — ESQUIMAUX. \k p • quently exposed to the perilous nips, which are som» times productive of such dire consequences. At this point in the voyage it was deemed advisable to test the powers of some rarrier-pigeons with which they had been provided ; but the poor birds refused to take the long flight to England, and resolutely persisted in returning to the ship again, after a short survey of the icy region in which they were let loose. During the passage of the middle-ice, a large quantity of provisions had been got up on deck, to be ready in case an unfortunate crush should sink the vessel. This was now re-stowed in the hold, on getting into the comparatively clear western waters of BafiSn's Bay. One evening about this time, while they were sailing quietly among beautiful and fantastically formed frag- ments of ice, which obliged them frequently to deviate a little from their course, a shout was heard ringing through the calm, still atmosphere, and very soon four Esquimaux paddled out to them in their seal-skin kayaks. They speedily clambered on board, and one of the crew happening to have some slight knowledge of English, a vigorous flow of query and reply commenced, in the course of which much useful informal ion as to the nature of the coast and inlets was obtained. One, especially, proved to be an expert draftsman, and by means of a bit of chalk drew on the deck the outlines of various parts of the coast, which were of some service. The progress of the vessel was now much interrupted by ice and contrary gales. All attempts to reach Gape Riley, and, subsequently, to enter Leopold Harbor, were completely frustrated. Far as the eye could reach down the west side of Prince Regent's Inlet, — which Vas to be the scene of their searching operations, — huge barriers of ice met the view. The voyagerf p ished boldly in amongst it, however, ar.d succeeded D1SASTI10U8 8E1»AMTI()N 367 after a tortuous course, in rcacliiii}^ Elwin Bay, which they found quite closed up. Batty Bay and Fury Bea<^h were next visited, where they met with similar disap- pointment, and where they also perceived that the ice — between which and the shore they had been sailing — was setting down upon them ; so they were obliged to beat a hasty retreat, in order to escape being crushed to pieces. It was now obviously fruitless to attempt the western side of the inlet under present circum- stances ; so they put about and ran for Port Bowen, on the eastern shore, which was comparatively free from ice. Here they found traces of the party which wintered at this spot with Sir Edward Parry, in 1825. To winter here, while all their intended work lay on the other shore of the inlet, was quite out of th<' ques- tion ; so it was resolved at all hazards to attempt a landing gain. Accordingly, on the 9th of September, they" recrossed the strait, and succeeded in approaching close enough to the shore to render an attempt to land somewhat feasible. The gutta-percha boat was there- fore got out, and Kennedy, with four of his men, jumped into her and rowed for the beach. This they reached without diflBcuIty, by means of a narrow lane of open water which was opportunely discovered. On ascend- ing the cliffs of Gape Seppings, Kennedy found, to his joy, that the harbor of Port Leopold was quite free from ice, and, if the ship could maintain her position for a few hours longer, he had no doubt of being able to effect an entrance. On descending to the beach, however, he found, to his consternation, that the passage by which they had entered was blocked up. The boat had not been fastened to the beach, but to a large piece of ice. which; rrith the whole body of the pack, was drifting down the inlet, carrying boat, ship, and men, along with it. To make matters worse, night was coming on, 368 DISASTROUS SEPARATION aiid nothing could be seen or heard around but hug« maHSOB of ico grinding, tossing, and rearing furiously on every side. To return to the ^hip under these cir* cumstances was out of the question ; so they made for the bhore as fast as possible, dragging the boat along with them. On reaching it, they pulled the boat up and turned it over so as to form a kind of shelter from the night-air, and then prepared to pass the night under it, although little sleep' was anticipated ; for, besides the anxiety occasioned by their strange position, their clothes were almost covered with ice, and they had no blankets or coverings of any kind. From his former experience in Arctic scenes, Kennedy knew the danger of falling asleep under such circumstances ; and, notwith- standing the strong desire that he and his men felt to indulge in repose, he only allowed them to real for an hour at a time, obliging them during the remainder of the night to keep in active motion. With the dawn of the following morning the shivering party scrambled to the top of the highest cli£f of Cape Seppings, but not a vestige of the vessel was to be seen ! The consternation of the poor men, who were thus cast away on this bleak shore, may be imagined. Without provisions, scantily clad, no vessel, and an approaching hyperborean winter, their condition seemed forlorn indeed. One fortunate circumstance, however, cheered them not a little ; and this was the fact that, two years before. Sir James Ross had left a deposit of provisions at Whaler Point, on the other side of the harbor. Should this be found in good condition, there was every reason to hope that they might manage to pass the winter in at least some degree of comfort. Thither, therefore, Kennedy and his four men now directed their steps. A short walk brought them to the spot, where, to their great joy, they found the provisions just as they [8MJ 'I DISASTROUS SKPARAiroN. Vt bad boon left, and quite good, with the oxceptluri of a cohIc of tulluw, a CHHO of chuculute, and a barrel of Mm* ouit, vfhich had been doHtroyed, and their contents de- moliHhed, by the bears and foxes. A hotiHo erected by Sir James Uuss was also found in pretty ^ood cotiditioi , being only a little damaged in the roof. Near to thi.i there was a tiag-staff, to which a cylinder was uttaohocl, containing a notice of the deposit of provisions, and rt the future intentions of the party by whom they had borvi left. " It was now," says Kennedy, •* the 10th of Septern ber. Winter was evidently fast sotting in, and, from th.** distance the ship had been carried during that disas- trous night, — wheUier out to sea or down the inlet w« could not conjecture, — there was no hope of our being able to rejoin her, at least during the present season There remained, therefore, no alternative but to make up our minds to pass the winter, if necessary, where we were. The first object to be attended to was the erect- ing of some sort of shelter against the daily increasing inclemency of the weather ; and for this purpose the launch, left by Sir James Ross, was selected. Her maiu< mast was laid on supports at the bow and stern, about nine feet in height, and by spreading two of her sails )ver this a very tolerable roof was obtained. A stove vas set up in the body of the boat, with the pipes run- ning through the roof; and we were soon sitting by a omfortable fire, which, after our long exposure to the wet and cold, we stood very much in need of." Kennedy now arranged his plans for the future. To undertake a long winter journey over the country on foot had been his original intention ; but, under the present circumstances, this was impossible. He tbercc ^ore determined first to send out travelling parties, af suon as the state of the ice should permit, to institati 372 DISASTROUS SEPAIvaTION. ■i! ; : a strict search for the ship in every direction in which it was likely that she could have been carried ; and secondly, in the event of being unsuccessful in this, it was determined to make a journey early in spring to Cape Walker, to search in that direction for traces of Captain Franklin and his crcvs ; and so accomplish at least part of the object for which this expedition had been fitted out. There were difficulties in the way, however. Slioes were wanted. Without shoes nothing could be done at all ; so it behoved them to exert their ingenuity. There was nothing in the d4pdt of provisions that could be turned to this use ; but, fortunately, a good deal of • the canvas covering of the old house was left, and out of this several pairs of shoes were made. They answered pretty well, although, indeed, they lasted not much longer than a few days ; so two of the party were set to work to devote their whole time to the making of a supply uf canvas shoes, which should last them during the whole winter. » In contriving and constructing such clothing and implements as were absolutely necessary, and in pre- paring for their intended journeys, they now spent much of their time. The Sabbaths were always days of rest, and devoted to the worship of God, whose ten- der care had thus provided them with all the necessaries, and not a few of the comforts, of life. On the nth of October, while they were engaged in the usual routine of daily duty, a shot was heard to reverberate among the cliflFs of Cape Soppings. So unwonted a sound caused them to j-ush tumultuously IVom their occupations, when they found, with emotions of inexpressible thankfulness and joy, that it proceeded from a party of seven of the Prince Albert's men, headed by Bellot, who had dragged the jolly-boat all the waj RELIEF AND REUNION. 373 from Batty Bay, in the hope of finding and Buccoriug their long-lost comrades. " I cannot refrain," vrites Kennedy, " from record- ing here my warmest thanks to Mr. Bellot, not only for this, but two other attempts which he had made to communicate to us the intelligence of the Prince Albert's position, and to bring us a supply of clothing. He had set out with two men to come by land to Port Leopold, the third day after getting into Batty Bay ; but, after three days' march, over the wild and rugged hills, wading through deep snow, and walking against continual drift, they were obliged to return to the ship, after much suffering from cold and wet. He next made a gallant attempt along shore by means of dogs and sledges ; but, getting on weak ice, fell through, and had again to return, with the loss of the sledge and part of its contents. The third (the present) .ttempt was more successful. The little boat, as already stated, bad been dragged all the "xray, in case of any occasion arising for its use where the ice had nut formed. Thej' found the ice, however, formed all the way to this point, and in many places so rough that they had often to drag their boats over points of land.'' From those who had thus opportunely arrived to succor them they learned that the Prince Albert was securely moored in Batty Bay ; and, as there was noth- ing now to prevent their setting out to rejoin the vessel, preparations were commenced immediately. The activ- ity and reactionary flow of spirits among the men was v<.'ry high, at thus meeting with their long-lost com- rades. Five weeks had elapsed since their disastrous separation ; and that evening a truly joyous party assembled under the covering of the old launch, and caused her timbers to quake with the sound of rough old searsongs, and tough yams, while they quaffed brim* 374 RETURN TO THE SHIP. ming bowls of hot, strong chocolate to the success of their then erected, the sails set, and, the whole party jumping in, away they went over the bay before a spanking breeze, at a rate that was quite marvellous. But, just as they got about half-way across the bay, the sledge broke down, leaving them to repair damages for the remainder of the day. Night overtook them ere they could gain the land ; and, as it was not desirable to sleep on the frozen sea, they, were obliged to make their way on in the dark, which was rendered, if possible, still more palpable by a heavy fall of snow. After much stumbling into crevices and cracks, frequent wanderings about they knew not where, and occasional dashings of the ehir.s upon sharp pieces of projecting ice, a small bit of solid land was found in the shape of a flat lime- stone rork, surrounded by largo masses of stranded ice. Here rhey erected a tent, and with some coals which had been brought from Whaler Point boiled a large kettle of tea, and enjoyed themselves exceedingly after the fatiguing and protracted march of the day. But they experienced some embarrassment in dispos- ing themselves to rest. The tent was small, and the party numbered thirteen. Six sat down on one side, and six on the other, by which they managed to have »bout three feet of space for stretching their leg». SNOW HOUSES. 37.r Bellot — who8e good-humored aptitude to accommodate iiimself to all • varieties of circumstances was always conspicuous — undertook to squeeze in under the twelve pairs of legs, a small space at one end being left clear for his head. But the arrangement was not propitious to sleep ; and it was resolved to '• make a night of it." They had a candle, but no candlestick ; so each man held the candle for a quarter of an hour, and then passed it to his neighbor. Songs were sung, and there was some hilarious merriment. But the candle went out, and then there was a renewal of the abortive attempts to sleep. These were accompanied with nods, groans, and sighs, — especially from poor Bellot, on whom the weight of twenty-four heavy legs began to tell with the effect of a hydraulic press. At length the gray dawn warned them to rise and resume their journey. Their discomforts had been such that they determmed in future to adopt the Esquimaux plan of building a snow hut each night, in which to sleep. Kennedy's description of these primitive dwellings is interesting : "The process of constructing a snow-house goes on something in this way, varied, of course, by circum- stances of time, place, and materials. First, a number of square blocks are cut ont of any hard-drifted bank i">f snow you can meet with, adapted for the purpose *, which, when cut, have precisely the appearance of blocks of salt sold in the donkey-carts in the streets of , London. The dimensions we generally selected were two feet in length by fourteen inches in heigiit, and nine inches in breadth. A layer of these blocks is laid on ■the ground nearly in the form of a square ; and then another layer on this, cut so as to incline slightly inwards, and the corner blocks laid diagonally over those underneath, so as to cut off the angles. Otbei Ii ^J ' 376 PREPARATIONS FOR WINTERING. layers follow in the same way, until you have graduall} a dome-shaped structure rising before you, out of which you have only to cut a small hole fur a door, to find yourself within a very light, comfortable-looking bee- hive on a large scale, in which you can bid defiance to wind and weather. Any chinks between the blocks are filled up with loose snow with the hand from outside ; as these are best detected from within, a man is usually sent in to drive a thin rod through the spot where he discovers a chink, which is immediately plastered over by some one from without, till the whole house is as air-tight as an egg." In these snowy dwellings they afterwards passed many nights in considerable comfort, and on the pres- ent occasion certainly found them a great improvement on the small tent. In a few days they reached the ship, where a hearty welcome from their comrades greeted them. Preparations were now vigorously begun for passing the next eight months of the winter of 1851-2 in the ice, and for getting ready for the land journeys which it was intended to make during that season. Portions of the stores were removed from the vessel's hold to the shore, where snow-houses were built to receive them. A wash-house, a carpentc 's shop, a forge, and apowdijr- magazine, were also built of the same material. The decks of the Prince Albert were covered with a housing, and an embankment of snow as high as the gunwale built around her. In all the excursions of the adventurers, Bellot, the j^ourg Frenchman, seems to have been ever foremost, He iieaded travelling parties, so soon as the ice permitted,* to make deposits of provisions, etc., for the grand trav- elling expeditions in prospect ; and, besides lending rsry efficient assistance in all departments on board WINTER JOURNEYS 377 made daily pilgrimagcB to a hill in the neighborhood, where he occasionally succeeded in obtaining a meridian observation of the sun, and always succeeded in getting his fingers frozen in the operation. Kennedy, being almost the only man on board who had ever seen a snow-shoe or a dog-sledge before, was constantly engaged in constructing these indispensable implements for winter travelling, and in teaching his crew the use of them. Thus occupied, the time passed cheerfully by. Tiie nights were long and dark, and grew rapidly longer and darker. The cold winds howled over them from off' the chilly regions around the pole, bear- ing in their course blinding clouds of snow, circling and screaming madly round the solitary ship, and whistling among the riggiitg as if impatient for its destruction, and then roaring away over the frozen sea, to spend their fury at last on the black waves of Hudson's Bay Sometimes the sun shone brightly out in a clear, cloud- less sky, glittering on the icy particles which floated in the still, cold atmosphere., and blazing on the tops of the neighboring hills, whose white outlines were clearly and sharply defined against the blue heavens : and, as if Na- ture desired to make some compensation for the length- ened period of darkness to which she doomed the land, one, and sometimes two mock-suns, or, as the sailors sometimes call them, "sun-dogs," shone in the firma- ment, vieing in splendor with the glorious orb of day. himself. About the 5th of January, 1852, all was ready for the commencement of the long-talkcd-of winter journeys, and the mornitig of that day was ushered in with the clattering of snow-shoes and sledges, the cracking of whips, the shouts of men, and the howling and yelping of dogs. Although all the men of the Prince Albert were out upon the ice, only five of them were appointed 37^ WINTER JOURNEYS to undertake the first exploratory joumey. These were K 3nnedy, Bellot, and three of the hardiest among the crew. " The first olyect of the journey," says Kennedy, " was, of course, to ascertain whether Fury Beach had been a retreating point to any of Sir John Franklin's party since it was visited by Lieut. Robinson, of the En- terprise, in 1849. A secondary object, should our ex- pectations in this respect not be realized, was to form a first dep6t of provisions here, with the view of carrying out a more extended search as soon as circumstances would permit. It was desirable at the same time to ascertain the state of the roads, by which, of course, 1 mean the yet untrodden surface of the snow or ice, in the direction in which we meant to go, before com- mencing any transport, on a large scale, between the ship and Fury Beach ; and it was thought advisable, therefore, to go comparatively light. A small supply of pemmican was all we took with us In addition to our travelling requirements, consisting of a tent and poles, bl.inketing and provisions for a week, some guns and ammunition, fuel, and a cooking apparatus, in all weighing from two hundred to two hundred and fifty pounds." Troubles and difficulties, not, however, of a very sen ous kind, assailed them at the very commencement The " roads " were so bad as to be almost impassable owing to the ice being detached from the shore, and so leaving as their only pathway the beach at the base of stupendous cliffs. Huge fragments of ice and large bowlder, stones met them at every turn, often rendering It a work of extreme difficulty for the united eff*ort8 of dogs and men to drag the sledge along. Ocjasiona'.ly they met with what is termed a " pressure," or a set of ice upon the shore, which blocked up the path alto- gether, and compelled them to have recourse to axes B£LLOT. ;)79 to cut their way through ; and somMitncs they came to banks of hard'drifted snow sloping down the I'acc of the cliffH, and leaving Only an inclined plane to drag the fledge over. On one occasion Bellot was pitched head foremost into one of these huge snow-drifts, leaving only six inches of his protruding legs to tell of his whereabouts. The first night, not having time to erect a snow-hut, owing to the lateness of the hour, they slept in the tent, but found it very small and uncomfortable ; so that, oi; the following evening, they stopped for the night, after eight hours' walking, and built their snow-hut at the foot of a high precipice, with a perpendicular mass of stranded ice at the bottom, which served for a gable. The ice, which was undergoing a " pressure," groaned, ground, and crashed around them all night, and finally left them in the morning with a pile at least thirty feet high, within a few yards of the encampment. On the 8th, being within a short distance of Fury Beach, it was resolved to leave the sledge and two of the men, while Kennedy and Bellot, with one man, should proceed forward unencumbered. Aecf)rdingly they started, and got over the ground much more rap* idly than before. That night they reached Fury Beach, and sto«jd upon the spot around which, for several days past, their anxious hopes had been circling ; but all was still and desolate as the grave. " Every object dis tinguished by the moonlight in the distance," says Ken nedy, " became animated, to our imaginations, into the [(^rms of our long-absent countrymen ; for, had they been imprisoned anywhere in the Arctic seas, within a reasonable distance of Fury Beach* here, we felt as* sured, some of them, at least, would have been now. but, alas for these fond hopes ! " It was with sad feelings and slow Rteps that Ren* 380 WINTER 0CCUPATI0N8. iiedy and Hollot entered the ruined walls of " Sonfiersot T[ou8c/' and prepared to take a few iiours' repose. A fire WHH lighted in the stove, which hud heated the end of the huildinj^' oecupied by Sir J<»hn Ross's crt'W during the dreary winter of 1832-33. .Around this they sat and Buppotl : a»id, after reposing, set out, about eleven r. M., on their return to the encampment where the mledge hud been left. They reached it about two a. m. of the foUowing morning. From this point tiiey retraced their steps uguin to the ship, where they arrived on the 10th, at five o'clock in the afternoon, without having encountered anything worth recording. During the winter, travelling parties were occasion- ally sent out for the purpose of placing provisions en cache, for the benefit of those who should ai'terwards undertake a journey along shore to the southward, and across the country in various directions. These parties were often arrested by violetit gales and snow-storms, which seem to have prevailed very much during the whole winter ; so much so, indeed, that the veteran Hepburn observed, " that he had known but one gale since entering Batty Bay, and that was the gale which began when they came, and ended when they went away I " They had a good library on board, and spont much of their time in reading. The doctor liept school, and the crew would often sit in groups, listening to Ins dis- courses, or employed in making flannel socks, canvas jackets, and other useful articles. Spring now drew on apace. This was indice.ted bj the increasing power of the sun and length of the day though the country yetained its wintry aspect for month afterwards. About the middle of February, 1862, every thing being in a proper state of advancement for th '•<»mraencement of the " grand journey," preparations KENNEDY'S JOURNEY. 381 lor mi immeiliate start were made ; and, on the 25th uf that month, equipped with snow-shoes, sledges, and dogs, they left the vessel. The party which now set out were a detachment of five men, under the command of Kennedy. These were to be followed in a few days by another detachment, under Bellot, who was to be waited for at Fury Beach, whence the whole, amounting to fourteen men, were to start upon hitherto untrodden ground. They were es- corted as far as the south point of Batty Bay by part of the ship's company, who were to remain behind. At this point they separated with many kind farewells and three hearty cheers, after which they were soon lost to each other in the mist. Durijig the first part of the journey, the equinoctial gales blew with great violence. They were frequently detained for whole days at a time in their encampment by these fierce winds, from whose bitter fury they were, however, well protected by the snow-houses which they built. " The gale," says Kennedy, " of Saturday (28th February) continuing during three days, we were of necessity compelled to remain in 'camp. During a short interval, about the 2d of March, the weather appearing to get more moderate, we were enabled to return for what cargo had been left behind during our former trip. It was taken onward as far as we dared, and we returned to the camp against a wind so keen, that no fiice escaped • being frost-bitten — the strong wind, in this instance, beipg the cause rather than the degree of temperature, for this was comparatively moderate. On the morning of the 3d a lull of an hour or so enticed us to bundle up and lash our sleigh. No sooner had we done this, and proceeded a short dist?'.A,<^e, than the gale came on with redoubled fury, in consequence of which we had to hasten back to our snow retreat, and were glad ! 3S2 KENNEDl S JOURNET. enoupfh to have been still bo near a shelter when caught by it, as we had much difficulty in keeping on our feet, from the violence of the whirling eddies that came sweeping along an exposed headland near us. Such was the force of the wind, that column after column of whirling spray was raised by it out of a (*(>iitinuous lane of water, more than a mile broad, whit'h the present gale had opened out along the coast, at the distance of only a few yardH from our present encampment. As these successive columns weie lifted out of the water, they were boi ne onward with a speed scarcely less rapid than the ' wings of the wind ' itself. Whilst de- taiiK d here, we narrowly escaped being buried by an infant avalanche ; a hardened mass of snow of several tons' weight having been disengaged from the summit of the cliff ubove us." So severe did this part of the r<»ad prove, that the sledges, moccasins, and snow-shoes, were severely dam* aged. On the whole party being collected at Fury Beach, it was found necessary to send back to the ship for additional supplies. They were much indebted here to the old stores of the Pi'.iy, wMdi were found to be in excellent preservation, although they had lain for thirty years exposed to the weather on the shores of these icy seas. The journey on which they had now entered would occupy, it was supposed, about three months, during which time they hoped to survey upwards of a thousand miles. It was found, upon calculation, that six men could not carry a sufficient quantity of provisions to sustain them for so long a period ; do the plan was adopted of taking fourteen men as far as Brentford Bay, from which point eight of the travellers were to return to the ship, while the remaining six would pro KENNEDY'S JOURNRV 3H3 ercd oi)wnnlH with ur much us they could poHsibly drag or curry of the necoHHurieH of life. Ainon^ their provisions uiul equipments, procured from the old depowit ut Fury Beach, were seven hun- dred and fiOy pounds of pemmican, one small suck of flour, five pillons of spirits of wine, a hundred and twenty pounds of ooal, four baga of biscuits, and various knives, huwa, ustronomical instruments, &c. Of these old stores of the Fury, Kennedy says, he found the provisiotiH " iu>t only in the best pn^servation, but much superior in quality, after thirty years of exposure to the weather, to some of our own stores, and those supplied to the other Arctic expeditions. This high state of preservation I cannot help attributing in some measure to the strength and thickness of the tins, in which the preserved meats, vegetables, and soups, had been placed. The flour had all caked in solid lumps, which had to be reground and passed through a sieve before it was fit for the cook's hands. In other respects it was fresh and sweet as ever, and supplied us with a stock of excellent biscuit." These articles, with the tackling and sledges, made altogether a total dead weight of about two thousand pounds ; the whole being lashed down, to the smallest po§> sible compass, on four flat-bottomed Indian sledges, two of which were drawn by the five dogs, assisted by two of the men, the other two being dragged by the rest of the party. It was a fine, clear, mild day when they started, and they found the travelling very good at first, the beach being flat, and the ice sufficiently smooth to admit of proceeding with facility. Fortune, however, seldom favors Arctic travellers long. They soon found their bright sky overcast, and the mild breeze changed into % cold, bitter, frosty gale. Under these circumstancet I I IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) 10 I.I I^|2i8 12.5 no ^^" MM |Z2 ■ 4.0 Hi lit u Wlttu 1.25 ||||U III 1.6 < 6" ► Hiotographic Sdences Corporation \ ^ 23 WBT MAIN STRiiT WIBSTngitude without meeting with the wished-for o'^epu ; so it *wa8. resolved to turn their steps northward. " Being now satisfied," says Kennedy, " that Sir James Ross had, in his land journey along the western shore of North Somerset, in 1849, mistaken the very low and level land over which we had been travelling for a western sea, I felt no longer justified in continuing a western course. Whatever passage might exist to the south-west of Cape Walker, I felt assured must now be on our north. I determined, therefore, from this time forward, to direct our course northward, until we should- fall upon some channel which we knew must exist not far from us, in this direction, by which Franklin might have passed to the south-west." The weather still continued boisterous and change- able. The channel of which they were in -search was nowhere to be found. Scurvy, too, began to show itself among the men ; so it was resolved to turn eastward again, and proceed towards the channel laid down to the east of Cape Bunny, which they resolved to follow up to Cape Walker. During the march they met several herds of deer, and succeeded in shooting a few brace of ptarmigan. As they had no means of cooking them, however, they KENNEDY'S JOURNEY. 387 adopted the practice, common among Indians, oi freez- ing them, and, while in this state, eating them raw ; and we are assured that a* " frozen ptarmigan, after a hard day's march, is by no means an unwelcome addi* tion to an Arctic traveller's bill of fare 1 " At last they arrived at Gape Walker. Its bold and conspicuous headland first met their gaze on the 4th of May ; but here, as at Fury Beach, they were doomed to disappointment. Not a sign of Franklin's expedit in having visited the spot was to be met with. Bcilot carefully followed the windings of the rough ice outside the beach, in order to have a commanding view of the cliffs, while Kennedy searched along shore ; but all with- out success. Ignorant that he had been preceded by Captain Austin's parties, Kennedy mistook the large cairn they had erected for a pturt of the cliff, and actu- ally walked over a smaller one deeply covered with snow, without for a moment suspecting that the spot had been previously visited. If the laige cairns, formed by the parties of Ommaney and Osborne the previous spring, could thus be overlooked, might not signals erected by Franklin have been equally undistinguishable amid the deep snow which enveloped this bleak and rugged coast ? Their stock of provisions now getting very low, Ken- nedy's party were obliged to go on short allowance ; and, to make it last longer, they fed the dogs, from this time forward, on " old leather shoes, and fag-ends of buffalo robes" — on which, we are told, "they thrived wonderfully." It is added that one old snarling brute, who had received the name of Boatswain from the men on account ol his ill-nature, " never seemed thoroughly to enjoy his meals till put upon a course of old shoes." From this time the men grew worse and worse with •curvy ; but were much re\'iyed by lightiDg vpon « 388 KENNEDY'S JOURNEY. I email d^p6t of provisions, which had been left near Cape McGlintock by Sir James Ross, in 1849. This enabled them to start again with vigor for Whaler Point, which they reached on the 15th, and at which place they remained until the 27th, making free use of the lime-juice, cranbenies, etc., which were deposited there. After being suflSciently restored, they started on their return to the ship, which they finally reached on the 80th of May, having been absent ninety-seven days, during which time six men with five dogs had travelled about eleven hundred miles, dragging, for most of the way, two thousand pounds' weight, sleep- ing in snow-houses, encamping at times on frozen seas, and rarely having fire when they halted to recruit. . The travellers found that all had gone on well at Batty Bay, in their absence. Nothing now remained but to get the ship clear of ice and return home. But there was little as yet in the appearance of ice or land to indicate that June had returned, except the falling in of some of the snow-houses. Gradually, however, the tierce glare of the sun began to make itself felt ; and, on the 6th of August, after some sawing and blasting, the imprisoned vessel was liberated. On the 19th Ken- nedy reached Beechey Island, where he found the depdt- ship North Star, attached to Sir E. Belcher's expedition, engaged in sawing into winter quarters. On the Ith of October, 1853, the Prince Albert arrived in England. In concluding his narrative, Kennedy remarks of the young Frenchman who was associated with him, and whose subsequent fate, in connection with the history of Arctic discovery, is interesting : " To Mr. Bellot, my constant companion, not only do I owe the most valuable assistance from his scientific attainments, but his amiable qualities have cemented a deep personal regard, which can only end with my life." f^ BAE'S LAND JOURNEY. 389 MeHTiwliile researches from the North American coast were renewed by Mr. Rae. lie left Fort Confidence, on the Coppermine, April 25th, 1851, with four men and three sledges drawn by dogs. Reaching the coast May Ist, he found the ice favorable for travel. On the 6th he landed at Douglas Island, and on the Tth gained the opposite shore. Traversing it to the east, until he reached 110" W. longitude, where his survey met that of Dease and Simpson, he retraced his stops, and ad- vanced west until he turned Cape Baring, past latitude lO", and longitude 111** W. From some elevated ground in this neighborhood high land could be seen to the north, but none was visible to the west. He got back to his provision station on the Kendall River upon the 10th of June, having travelled eight hundred and twenty-four geographical, or nine Hundred and forty- two English miles, in forty days. In this lengthened journey his arrangements were much the same as during his survey of Committee Bay. He slept in snow houses, and, as he advanced, buried provisions to serve for his return. In the months of July and August he explored the coast of Victoria Land, east and north, in boats ; marking every indentation, from the 101st to the llTth degree of longitude — an achievement, under the circum- stances, of which any officer might be proud. On this newly-discovered coast he met many parties of Esqui- maux ; but his inquiries as to the grand subject were all fruitless. The American coast had now been dili- gently examined, from the entrance of Behring's Strait to the head of Hudson's Bay ; and the conclusion was, that Franklin never reached so low a latitude >«•■ -* CHAPTER XVI. ■A BDWABD BKIiOHIR'8 KXPEOITIOn. — ABBIVAL UT BAFrin'S BAT.— TBI AMERICAN WHALBB. — ABRITAIi AT BEBCHET ISLAND. — SBABCI OOHlfEIfOED. — IN0LEFIBLD*8 YOTAOB. — THREE MORB EXPEOITIONB. '^ IHGLBFIBLD'B HBTDRN. — NEWS FROM n'CLVRB. — PARRT AND FRANK* UN. — M'CLCRE'S BXPL0RATI0N8. — ADTENTUBEB WITH ESQOIHAirX. — PEBILODS NATIOATION. — DIBCOVBBr OF THB NORTH-WEST PASSAGE.— PERSONAL PERILS. — ABCNDANCB OF OAXE. — WIHTEB QVABTBBB. — BLEDGB-PARTIES. — STILL FROZEN UP. — PLAN OF ESCAPE. The unexpected and somewhat premature return of the squadrons under command of Captains Austin and Penny, in the autumn of 1851, increased the universal desire that the mysterious fate of Sir John Franklin^s expedition should be thoroughly investigated. The interesting details brought back of the discovery of Franklin's winter quarters on Beechey Island, in 1845- 46, revived the hopes that had begun to fade rapidly away. The opinion of those engaged in the sledging operations of 1851, that the missing ships had pro- ceeded up Wellington Channel, and entered the open sea discovered by Captain Penny, and believed by him to be the great polar basin, — ■ and the supposition that the lost ones might still be imprisoned, and alive, in itM gloomy solitude bf ice, — all tended to influence the public mind in favor of a continuance of the search. Accordingly, in the spring of 1852, another cxpedi- tinn — the most extensive that had yet sailed for the polar regions — was fitted out, and placed under the command of Sir Edward Belcher. This squadron con- sisted of five vessels — the Assistance, the ResolutOi SIR EDWARD BELCHER'S EXPEDITION. 391 the Noi-th Star, and two steamers, the Pioneer and Intrepid. These set sail in April for Baffin's Bay, pur- posing to make Beechcy Island their head-quarters, whence the various vessels were to set out, separately or together, as might be thought best, to search the neighboring coasts. The Assistance and Pioneer were directed to/sail up Wellington Channel, under the com* mand of Sir Edward Belcher. The other two were to proceed, under Captain Kellett, to Melville Island, there to deposit provisions for the use of Captain Collinson and Commander M'Clure, should these gentlemen be successful in making the passage from Behring's Strait, for which they had set sail, it will be remembered, in January, 1850. The Noi-th Star was to remain at Beechey Island, as a d^pdt store-ship. The squadron sailed from England on the 28th April, 1852. On the 6th of July it was making its way through the ice in Baffin's Bay, in company with a fleet of whalers, which were there beset. Caught at the head of a bight in the ice, with the Assistance and the Pio- neer, the Resolute was, for the emergency, docked there ; and, by the ice closing behind her, was for a while detained. Meanwhile the rest of the fleet, whalers and discovery ships, passed on by a little lane of water, the American whaler McLellan leading. The North Star, of the English squadron, followed the McLellan. A long train stretched out behind, — whalers and government ships, as they happened to fall into line, — a long three quarters of a mile. It was lovely weather, and, though the long lane closed up so that they could neither go back nor forward, nobody appie- hended injury, till it was announced, on the morning of the tth, that the McLellan was nipped in the ice, and her crew were deserting her. Sir Edward Belcher sent hii carpenters to examine her, put a few charges of :| 392 BIR EDWARD BELCUEU'S EXPEDHIUN. powder in the ice to relieve the pressure upon }ier, and by the end of the day it was agreed that her injurieR could be repaired, and her crew went on board again. But the next morning there was a fresh wind, the Mc- Lellan was caught again, and the water poured into her, a steady stream. She drifted about, unmanageable, now into one ship, now into another ; and the English whale- men began to pour on board, to help themselves to such plunder as they chose. At the captain's request. Sir Edward Belcher, to put an end to this, sent sentries on board ; and he also sent working parties, to clear her as far as might be, and keep account of her stores. In a day or two more she sank to the water's edge, and a charge or two of powder put her out of the way of harming the rest of the fleet. After such a week spent together, it will easily be understood that the New London whalemen did not feel strangers on board one of Sir Edward's vessels, when, as we shall see, they found her " ready for occupation," three years and more afterwards. On the 10th August the squadron reached its ap* pointed head-quarters at Beechey Island. The season was remarkably open ; Wellington Channel and Bar- row's Straits were equally clear of ice. On the 14th Sir E. Belcher, with the Assistance and Pioneer, stood up the channel ; and the following day Gapt. Kellett, with the Resolute and Intrepid, sailed in open water for Melville Island. In this position we leave the expedition for the present, and proceed to give an account of the next that entered the field. In consequence of the report, set afloat by Sir John Ross, on the authority of his Esquimaux interpreter, that Franklin and his crews had been murdered, by the natives, at Wolstenholme Sound, Lady Franklin refitted the Isabel screw-steamer, and sent her out, under Com- INGIiEFIELD'F EXPKUITION. 39 maiider Inglefield, to ascertain the truth of the story. Jngleficld sailed from England on the 6th July, 1852 coasted the northern shores of Baffin's Bay ; advanced much further up Whale Sound than any previous navi gator, — finding, as he proceeded, an immense expanse of open water ; and pushed through Smith's Sound as far as latitude 78° 28' 21" north, without discovering any opposing land. Instead of the narrow atrait which Smith's Sound has usually been thought, Captain Ingle* field found it about thirty-six miles across, expanding considerably as it extended northward. The sea was open — that is, free from islands, except one looming in the extreme distance, to which the discoverer gave the name of Louis Napoleon.''' From appearances, thf^ leader of the expedition inferred that he had reac hed a more genial climate than that of Baffin's Bay ; instead of the eternal snow which he'had left behind, the rocks appeared of their natural color. There was ice, indeed, and in pretty large quantities ; some of the mariners conceived they saw an ice-blink to the north ; but the captain thought he could steam through. A gale, how* ever, arose, which, increasing in violence, fairly blew them back — perhaps providentially, for they were not well fitted to winter in those high latitudes, with the probability of being held fast for an indefinite time. ** It was deemed, by every one on board, madness tc attempt a landing; and thus," says Inglefield, " I was forced to relinquish those desires ere we bore up, which, * '* An island, similar in position to that designated by Capt. Inglefield as Louis Napoleon does not exist. The land sighted in that direction may hare been the top of a high mountain on the north side of Franklic Pierce Bay, though this supposition requires us to assume an error in the bearing ; for, as given in the chart, no land could be within the rang* ' of sight. In deference to Capt. Inglefield, I hare continued for thir prom« sntory the name which he had impressed upon it as an island." — Kmrnik ffnnative of the Second Grinnell Expedition, vol. I., page 323 394 INQLEFIELD'S EXPEDITION. with the heavy gale that uow blew, was the roost pro dent step I could take. The rest of the 27th and the following day were spent in reaching, under snug sail, on either tack, whilst the pitiless northerly gale drovo the sleet and snow into our faces, and rendered it pain ftil work to watch for the icebergs, that we were contin- ually passing. On this account, I could not heave the ship to, as the di£Bculty of discerning objects rendered it imperative that she should be kept continually under full command of the helm. The temperature, 25^, and the continual freezing of the spray, as it broke over the vessel, combined with the slippery state of the decks from the sleet that fell and the ice which formed from the salt water, made all working of ropes and sails not only disagreeable, but almost impracticable ; so that I was not sorry when the wind moderated. " By four a. m., of the 29th, it fell almost to a calm ; but a heavy swell, the thick fog and mist remaining, precluded our seeing any distance before us ; and thus we imperceptibly drew too near the land-pack off the western shore, so that, a little after Mr. Abernethy had come on deck, in the morning watch, I was called up, as he said that the ship was drifting rapidly into the ice. Soon on deck, I found that there was no question on that score ; for even now the loose pieces were all round us, and the swell was rapidly lifting the ship fur- ther into the pack, whilst the roar of waters, surging on the vast floe-pieces, gave us no very pleasant idea of what would be our fate if we were fairly entrapped in this frightful chaos. The whale-boat was lowered, and a feeble effort made to get her head off shore ; but still in we went, plunging and surging amongst the crushing masses. " While I was anxiously watching the screw, upon which all our hopes were now centred, I ordered the INGUEFIKLD'S KXPKDITtON. 3J»5 boiler, which hud been under ropuir, and wuh partly diHConnected, to be rapidly secured, the iiren to be lighted, and tu got up the Htcam ; in the mean time the tackles were got up for hoisting out our long-boat, and every preparation was made. for the worst. Each man on board knew he was working for his life, and each toiled with his utmost might ; ice-anchors were laid out, and hawsers got upon either bow and quarter, to keep the ship from driving further in ; but two hours must alapso before we could expect the use of the engine. Eager were the inquiries when will the steam bo up ? and wood and blubber were heaped in the furnace to get up the greatest heat we could command. " At last the engineer reported all was ready ; and then, warping the ship's head round to seaward, we screwed ahead with great caution ; and at last found ourselves, through God's providence and mercy, relieved from our diflSculties. It was a time of the deepest sus- pense to me ; the lives of my men and the success of our expedition depended entirely on the safety of the screw ; and thus I watched, with intense anxiety, the pieces of ice, as we drifted slowly past them ; and, passing the word to the engineer, * Ease her,' * Stop her,' till the huge masses dropped into the wake, we succeeded, with much difficulty, in saving the screw from any seriouH damage, though the edges of the fan were burnished bright from abrasion against the ice.'' Besides penetrating one hundred and forty miles further than previous navigators, and finding an open sea stretching northwards, from Baffin's Bay, to at least the latitude of 80", Captain Inglefield discovered a strait, in about '7*7^*', which he named Murchison Strait, and which he supposed to form a northern bound %ry to Greenland. In addition to the shores of the polar basin, he more accurately suiveyed the eastero ii )96 THREE MURE EXPEDITIONS. iide of Baffin's Bay, from Carey's Islands to Cape Alc« ander, often remaining on deck the four-and-twenty hours round — for night there was none. Reentered Jones's Sound, but was stopped by the ice, and came to the conclusion that there is no available channel from the sound into the polar basin, though there is possibly some narrow frozen strait. Ingldfield then made for Beechey Island, where he arrived on the 7th September, and where he met the North Star, the depot ship of the Admiralty exoedition. Thence, after a short delay, he shaped his course homeward. In spite of the advancing season, he examined a considerable part of the western coast of Baffin's Bay ; and, though sorely beset on more than one occasion, managed to get through, and reached Stromness on the 4th of November — exactly four months from the date of his departure from Woolwich. It is hardly necessary to add that Inglefield's investi- gations established the utter falsity of the story told by Sir John Ross's interpreter. In the beginning of the year 1853 three expeditions were fitted out, partly to continue the search for Frank- lin, and partly to reinforce the vessels already in the field of action. The Rattlesnake, under Commander Trollope, and the Isabel screw-steamer — again refitted by Lady Franklin, and placed under the command of Mr. Kennedy — sailed for Behring's Strait, in order to carry supplies to Captains CoUinson and M'Clure. Mr. Rae was again despatched to the Isthmus of Boothia, to make a further examination of the coast in that quarter ; and Commander Inglefield was sent to Barrow's Straits, with the Phoenix and the Lady Franklin, to reinforce the squadron under Sir E. Belcher. Mr. Grinnell, of New York, aided by Mr. Peabody, of London, also fitted out an expedition, under the command of Dr. £. K. Rano, and F,ent it to explore the passages leading out TIDINGS OF M'CLURE. 397 uf Baffin's Ba} into the unknown ocean around the pole. In the autumn )f 1853 the deep interest of the Bntish nation was arouse i by the return of Captain Inglcfield, in the Phoenix, w'.th despatches conveying the intelli- gence that the north-west passage had at length been discovered by Captain M'Clure, of the Investigator, who had passed through Behring's Strait, and sailed to within a few miles of the most westerly discoveries made from the eastern side of America, at which point he had been frozen up for more than two years, and where his ship still lay, unable to advance or to retreat. No vessel had yet made the entire passage ; but, from the two e'itreme points of discovery, on either side, parties from the Investigator had walked over the frozen ocean ; and one gentleman — namely, Lieut. Cresswell, the bearer of despatches from Captain M'Clure — had sailed from England, entered Behring's Strait, and returned again to England by the Atlantic Ocean, hav- ing thus passed through the long-sought north-west passage. This interesting intelligence, coupled with the an- nouncement of M'Clure's safety, concerning which much anxiety had begun to be felt, was joyfully received ; and Lieut. Cresswell, the bearer of th^ good news, was treated with marked attention in England. At a public dinner, given him in his nativ^e town of Lynn, Sir Edward Parry, who was present, made some remarks on the probable fate of Sir John Franklin, which will be read with interest in this connection : " While we are rejoicing over the return of cur friend, and the probable return of his shipmates, we cannot but turn to that which is not a matter of rejoicing, but rather a matter of sorrow and regret — that there has not been ^ound a single token of our dear long^lost Franklin and m 'I ■ t- 398 SIR EDWARD PARRY'S OPINIONS. his companions. Not only lias that been the case in the expedition in which Lieut. Gurney Cresswell has been engaged, but I understand it to be the case with Sir Edward Belcher, who has gone up the Wellington Inlet, where I certainly thought traces must be found, because at Beechey Island we knew Franklin passed the first winter when he went out. There we found three graves of his men, — and that is, up to the present moment, the only token whatever we have received of him. I do consider it a most mysterious thing, and I have thought of it as much as anybody. I can form but a single idea of the probable fate of Franklin. I do not agree with our Mend Gurney Cresswell about the prob- ability of both ships having gone down, and nothing been seen of them, because, although it is true that nothing might have been seen of the ships themselves, I do not believe the crews would have all perished at one moment. I think there is that stuff and stamina in one hundred and thirty Englishmen, that, somehow or other, they would have maintained, them- selves as well as a parcel of Esquimaux would. They would have found the Esquimaux, and there would have been something like a trace of them, if they had been on earth. The only thing which I can suggest is this: Wellington Strait was discovered by myself, on the expedition I spoke of. It is a large opening from Lan caster Sound. "When I was going up westward from Melville Island, we saw Wellington Strait perfectly free from ice, and so I marked it on my chart. It was not my business to go north as long as I could get west, and, therefore, we ran past and did not examine it ; but it has always been a favorite idea of those who imagined that the north-west passage was to be easily made by going north. That, we know, wa« the fttverite idea of I a) 3 » L399] SIR EIjWARD nARRr'S OPINIONS 101 Franklin ; and we know he did intend, if b^ could nut get westward, to go up Wellington Channel. We have it from his own lips. My belief is still that, after the first winter, he did go up that channel ; and that, having steam power (which I had not in my time), it is possible he may have gone up in a favorable season ; for you cannot imagine anything more different than a favorable and an unfavorable season in those regions. You cau< not imagine the changes that take place in the ice there. I have been myself sometimes beset for two or three days together by the ice, in such a Way that from the mast-head I could not see Aufflcient water to float that bottle in ; and in twenty-four hours there was not a bit of ice to be seen — nobody could tell why — I cannot tell why ; and you might have sailed about as you may in your own river, as far as ice is concerned. " Therefore, in a favorable season he may have gone up that inlet, and may, by the power of steam and favorable circumstances, have got so far to the north- east that, in an ordinary season, he could not get back again. And those who knew Franklin know this — that he would push on, year after year, so long as his provisions lasted. Nothing could stop him. He was not the man to loOk back, if he believed the thing was still possible. He may have got beyond the reach of our searching parties ; for Sir £dward Belcher has not been able to get far up, and we have not been able to get the investigation completed. In speaking of Frank- lin, every one will feel sorrow for his probable fate. My dear friend Franklin was sixty years old when he left this country ; and I shall never forget the zeal, the almost youthful enthusiasm, with which that man entered upon that expedition. Lord Haddington, who was then first lord of the Admiralty, sent for me, and said, ' I Bee, by lo(»king at the tiavy-list, that Franklin is sixty S0 402 M'CLURE'S EXPLORATIONS. years old : do you think we ought to let him gu f i said, ' He is a fitter man to go than any I know ; and if you don't let him go, the man will die of disappoint- ment.' He did go, and has been gone eight years ; and, therefore, I leave to yourselves to consider what is the probability of the life of that excellent and valuable man. In the whole course of my experience I have nevei known a man like ^ranklin. I do not say it because he is dead — upon tkL principle de niorluis nil nisi bonum ; but I never knew a man in whom different qualities were so remarkably combined. In my dear friend Franklin, with all the tenderness of heart of a simple child, there was all the greatness and magnanimity of a hero." '^o this touching tribute, from the lips of a fellow- navigator, we append the following beautiful lines, quoted by a writer in one of the British quarterly le- views : « Where Ib he ? — where 7 Silenoe and darkneM dwell About him ; as a soul out off from men t Shall we behold him yet a citizen Of mortal life 7 Will he return to tell (Prisoner from Winter's very citadel Broken forth) what he before has told, again How to the hearts and hands of resolute men, God aiding, nothing is impossible 7 Alas ! the enclosure of the stony ware li strong, and dark the depths of polar night ; Yet One there is omnipotent to save, And this we know, if comfort still we crave. Into that dark he took with him a light— The lamp that can illuminate the grave." It will be remembered that Captains Gollinson and M'Clure sailed for Behring's Strait in 1860, through which, in connection with the Plover and Herald, thet endeavored to pass, but without success, except in th( Qaso of the Investigator (Captain M'Clure), which was M'CLURE'S EXPLORATIONS. 403 Been on the 4th August, 1850, bearing gallantly into the heart of the " polar pack.'' The Enterprise (Gap- tain GoUinson), finding it impossible to follow, sailed to Hong-Kong, and wintered there ; but in May, 1851, returned to Behring's Strait, and succeeded in enter- ing the ice. The Plover remained at Port Glarence, as a reserve for these two vessels to fall back upon, while the Herald returned to England. From that date nothing waR heard of these two vessels, until the arrival of the Phoenix, with the despatches of Gaptain M'Glure, bringing assurance of the safety of the Investigator. On parting company with the Herald in Behring's Strait, in July, 1850, Gaptain M'Glure stood to the noilh-north-west, with a fresh breeze, with the intention of making the ice, which was accomplished on the 2d of August. During several days the Investigator battled with the foe — now boring through densely-packed masses, and then winding among the lanes which opened here and there as the currents or winds acted upon the pack. Occasionally they struck with consid- erable violence, but succeeded, at length, in rounding Point Barrow, and discovered clear water on the after- noon of the 7th — so far ahead, however, that it could only be seen from the " crow's nest." Hundreds of walruses were seen huddled together on the ice, like sheep in a fold. M'Glure seems to have been rather favorably impressed in regard to these ani- mals, on account of the affection shown by the mothers for their young. He would not allow them to be shot. The most remarkable ftature of the walrus consists in two teeth, or tusks, which project in a curved line fiom the upper jaw, and are nearly two feet in length. Tney are of beautiful white bone, almost equal to ivory, »nd much used in the fabrication of artificial teeth. The front face, when seen at a little distance, bears a striking 104 lil*CLimE*8 EXPLORATIONS. i i resemblance: to the human ; and its appearance is 9U» pected to have sometimes given rise to the fanciful reports of mermaids in the northern seas. The walrus is monogamous, and the mother brings forth her young only one at a birth, either on the shore or on the ice. Like all the cetaceous tribes, to which the walrus is allied, he is disposed to be peaceful and harmless. Parry describes the supine security with which a num- ber of them lay on the ice, piled over each other, with- out discomposing themselves at the approach of a party armed for their destruction. In Spitsbergen, however, where they have been long the object of chase to the Russian hunters, they are reported to keep very strict watch ; it being said that one stands guard While the others sleep. Even when sensible of danger, they are not forward to face it, but rather shun the attack by rushing beneath the ice, while those behind, with their tusks, urge forward their companions. Yet, when they are compelled to combat, they give battle with the utmost coolness and courage ; they then stand firm by each other, rush in one united body against the boats (as in the attack on the Trent's boat, page 71), and, Strik* ing with their tusks, endeavor to overset them. When repulsed, too, they repeatedly rally, and in the end yield only to the fire-arms of Europeans, or to the strat* agems of the Esquimaux. Maternal tenderness, and the determination with which the female defends her young, are equally conspicuous in them as in the whale species. The walrus must live near open water. " The wind," writes McOIure, " almost immediately failing, the boats were all manned, and towing com- menced amid songs and cheers, which continued, with umtbated good-humor, for six hours. Being in perfectly clear water in Smith's Bay, a light air springing up, we worked to the eastward. At two a. m. of the 8tb, being M^CLURE'8 KXPLORATlONa 4 5 oflf Point Drew, I sent Mr. Court (second master) on shore to erect a cairn, and bury a notice of our having passea. Upon landing, we were met by three natives, who al first were very timid ; but, upon exchanging signs of friendship, which consisted of raising the arms throe times over the head, they approached the boat, and, after the pleasant salutation of rubbing noses, became very communicative ; when, by the assistance of oui valuable interpreter, Mr. Miertsching, we found the tribe consisted of ten tents (this being the only approach to their numbers he could obtain) ; that they had arrived only three days previously, and that they hold commu" nication with a party inland, who trade with the Russian Fur Company." They had observed us the evening before, and had thought our masts were trees in motion, and wondered at the sight. The natives seen here had spent their lives between the Coppermine River and Point Barrow ; and, from the circumstances of their not having met with any of Franklin's party, M'Clure concludes that the latter could not have been lost on these shores. " The coast," says ho, " is inhabited throughout, and the natives are, to all appearance, a kind and merry race ; and, when we gave them presents, through the medium of the interpreter, we told them that we were looking for our lost brothers, and if they saw any white men in distress they were to be very kind ; to which they assented by saying that they would, and would give them ' plenty of deer's flesh.' " So narrow was the passage of open water between the ice and the shore, along which the Investigator had to pass, that she had great difficulty sometimes in tack- ing, — requiring to do so, in some places, nearly every ten minutes ; and, on one occasion, they actually took the grouiid while " in stays." Fortunately the bottom 406 M'CLURE'S EXPLORiVTlONS. 2 was soft cliiy, and they hove off again immediately Gradually, however, the lane widened, the rcachca became longer and longer, and all apprehension of being forced on shore was soon over. On the 10th of August, 1 860, they passed the mouth of the Colvillo River, the influence of which stream was found to extend twelve or fourteen miles out to sea ; the surface; at that dis- tance from shore, being of a dirty mud-color, and scarcely salt. At this part of the coast they again fell in with natives, wIjo came oflf in two baidart, to the number of thirty. A very animated and curious scene ensued. A vigorous barter was immediately commenced, after the curiosity of the wondering Esquimaux with regard to the ship was satisfied. Their imitative propensity was rather oddly brought into play during the tra£Bc. See- ing the sailors cut the tobacco into pieces, to give in exchange for salmon-trout, they at oncn began to do the same with the fish ! but were soon checked in this, and were obliged to succumb to the white men. During the afternoon, while standing along a low flat island, a pair of seal-skin inexpressibles were observed fluttering from the top of a pole, held up by a number of natives, who took this method of intimating their desire to receive a visit. In obedience to the signal, the boats were lowered, and pulled in to the shore. The Esquimaux appeared to regret their temerity, how ever ; for, on the near approach of the sailors, the inex pressibles were dropped, and the whole tribe fled. Af usual, however, they regained courage on observing th< friendly gesticulations of the white men, and sooi; approached them, tossing up their arms, and makiug other signs of friendship; ending, at last, by rubbing noses with, and affectionately embracing, the gallant tars. mm M'CLURE'S EXPLORATIONS. 407 These poor people had never seen white men belorc ; fhey had no article of European manufacture about theii persons, and spent their lives in hunting walruses uud seals on these low islands during the summer monthtt, retiring to their warm residences on the mainland during winter. After holding some communication with them, through the medium of the interpreter, GuptaiB M'Clura left them, having first made them a few prcsenig and, among other things, a boat's ensign, in commemoration of the first man-of-war whose flag has floated over these sterile regions. The magnificence of this latter gift quite astounded them, and caused them to rush tumult* uously to their canoes to carry it ofi* to their women, who were encamped on another island close at hand. Some of these primitive people were apparently addicted to stealing. While M'Glure was placing some presents in the right hand of a chief, in token of good will, he felt the fellow's left hand in his pocket. The Esquimaux, however, laughed heartily when they were caught in their thefts ; and so the Englishmen thought best to do the same, and not allow peccadilloes to mar the harmony of their intercourse. Coasting along, as they found opportunity, the voy- agers advanced slowly — sometimes with much and some* times with little water — till the morning of the 13th when the ice closed round, and hemmed them in com- pletely. In this dilemma, the boats were sent to sound, and shortly retunied, reporting a practicable passage in three fathoms water. Unfortunately, they hit on a spot with only two and a half fathoms, and so were soon fast ag'ound. As it turned out, however, the bottom was sa*)dy, so that no damage was done to the ship ; but OPS of the whale-boats, which contained part of the cp.r^o taken out to lighten the vessel, upset, and eleven sasks of salt beef were lost. This wag a serious loss at 1* I 408 M'CLUBTB liXPIiOEATtUNB. inch M time. Aftor five hours' hard work, they got once more into deep water. In this way they continued to coast along the margin of the pack fur about four or five hundred miles, when it became somewhat mure open. It was now resolved to shape a course to the nurth-north went fur Bauks's Land. In doing this, however, they were frequently obliged to alter, and often to retrace tlieir course, owing to the deceptive nature of the lanes of wutcr, and the perplexing fogs that constantly prevailed, ubliging them to proceed chiefly by soundings. On the 21st of Augfust they passed the mouth of the Mackenzie River, and made the Felly Islands. Soon after, they reached WaiTen Point, where natives were seen on the shore ; and as M'Glure wished to forward despatches by them, if possible, to the Iludsoii's Bay Company's posts on the Mackenzie, the hoAs were ordered out. M'Glure believed the natives to ha«f been in connection with these posts, and expected a friendly reception from them. " Great, therefore," says he, " was my surprise, upon approaching the beach, to find, instead of being greeted by the usual friendly signs, that two savages, with gesticulations the most menacing, having bended bows, with arrows on their strings, and one with a large knife, which he brandished most isignifi* cantly, waved us ofi". Taking no heed of these hostile demonstrations, we pulled in ; they retreated, yelling furiously. Upon our reaching the beach, we made the same signs of fnendship which we had used with the Esquimaux further west, but without any efiect, until joined by the interpreter, who was in full native costume. This gave them confidence, and, upon his explaining our friendly intentions, they approached ; but when within about thiKy yards, remai King some muskets which the boat 8 crew had, their fury revived. To pacify them, MTLCRE 8 EXPLORATIONS 4vJ i'B llioy wcro laid upun t\w ground, where they became the object uf a cautiouH exuiiiinution. Still unsatiHfied, thc^ bockuited to take them to the bottt. Seeing that noth* irig Hhort of thiH would ulluw of any communication, 1 sent them away, when tlt« y uppruaihod, aud permitted ua to examine their hovfH and arrows." It WH8 found that these KHquimaux had no commtinico- tion with the Mackenzie, in consequence of their being at war with the neighboring tribes, and having had several Bkirmishes with the Indians of that quarter. This may in some measure account for their tierce dispositions, 80 very difierent from those previously met with. A Bat brass button was observed suspended from the ear of one of the chiefs of this tribe ; and, on being que** tioned as to where he g^t it, he replied that " it had been taken from a white man who had been killed by one of his tribe. The white man belonged to a party which had landed at Point Warren, and there built a house ; nobody knew how they came, as they had do boat; but they went inland. The man killed had strayed from the party, and he (the chief) and his aon had buried him upon a hill at a little distance.'' No satisfactory or intelligible reply could be got as to when this event occurred. M'Glnre remained at this place for a short time to investigate the matter, but only found two huts, which, from the rottenness of the wood of which they were built, appeared to be of a very old date indeed. The grave of the white man was not found. All along this coast they met with parties of natives, who almost invariably showed a hostile front an their first appearance, &nd as invariably became amicable after a little coquetting. In these interviews they had frequently curious scenes, especially in the distribution of presents to some natives near Gape Bathorst, who 410 M'CLURE'S EXPLORATIONS. could scarcely be restrained when the gaudy gifts %ere presented to their longing eyes. Mr. Miortsching, the interpreter, was always of the greatest use on these^ occasions, and won so much the esteem of one old chief, that, in the fulness of his heart, he prayed him to stay with the tribe fordver ; and, by way of inducement to do so, presented him with his daughter, a pretty girl of about fifteen, to be his wife, assuring him, at the same time, that a tent, and all the etceteras of an Esquimaux establishment, should be given to him along with her 1 They were frequently invited to partake of native hospitality in the shape of roasted whale and venison, besides salmon, blubber, and other Arctic delicacies. Great numbers of whales were seen about this time ; also a polar bear on a fragment of ice. On the 5th of September, the hopes of the navigators were suddenly raised, and as speedily cast down again. " The weather,'* says M'Glure, " which had been squally, accompanied by a thick fog during the early part of the day, cleared towards noon, when a large volume of smoke was observed about twelve miles south-west. ... As divers opinions were in circulation respecting its proba^ ble cause, and the ice-mate having positively repoi1;ed that from the crow's nest he could distinguish several persons moving about, dressed in white shirts, and observed some white tents in the hollow of the cliff, I certainly had every reason to imagine they were a party of Europeans in distress ; for I was convinced that no travellers would remain for so long a period as we had remarked the smoke, for their pleasure ; therefore, to satisfy myself, equally as others, I determined to send a boat on shore, as it was now calm. The first whale- boat, under Lieut. Gresswell, with Dr. Armstrong and Mr. Miertsching, was despatched to examine into the M'CLURE'S EXPLORATIONS. 411 cause, who, on their return, reported that the sinoke emanated from fifteen small mounds of volcanic appear ance, occupying a space of about fifty yards, the place strongly impregnated with sulphur, the lower mounds being about thirty feet above the sea-level, the high est about fifty feet. The land in its vicinity was blue clay, much intersected with ravines and deep water- courses, varying in elevation from three hundred to five hundred feet ; the mark of a reindeer was traced to a small pond of water immediately above the mounds. Notice of our having landed was left, which would not long remain, as the cliff is evidently rapidly crumbling away. Thus the mystery of the white shirts and tents was most satisfactorily explained." At four A. M. of the 6th they were ofi" the small islands, near Cape Parry, bearing north-east-by-north, with a fine westerly breeze. The same day, high lanti was observed on the port-bow, on the western shore of which the main body of the ice rested. This was the first sight obtained of terra incognita. Hitherto they had been sailing along a shore which had in former years been surveyed, on foot and in boats, by Franklin, Back, Dease, Simpson, and others ; although, indeed, theirs was the first skip that had sailed m these waters ; but the land which now appeared to them on tlie left bow was quite new. Accordingly, they hove to, an-1 landed and took possession in the name of her majesty, calling it " Baring's Island," in honor of the first lord of the Admiralty. The south cape of this land, a fine, bold headland, rising almost perpendicularly to the height of about a thousand feet, was named " Lord Nel- son's Head." The latitude was found to be tl" 6' north, longitude 123* 0' west. A note of their progress being deposited here, they returned to the ship and sailed along the eastern coast, as being freer from ice thalK 412 M*CLURE'S ElCPLORATIONa that ou the west. It was afterwards found that the land taken possession of, instead of being an island, wan the southernmost point of the shore which had been named " Banks's Land," by Parry, in 1820. The name Baring Island was accordingly changed to Baring Land. " We observed," writes M'Chire, " numerous traces of reindeer, hare, and wild-fowl.* Moss, and divers Hpecies of wild-flowers, were also found in great abun- dunco ; many specimens of them, equally as of other subjects of interest to the naturalist, were selected, with much care, by Dr. Armstrong. From an elevation obtained of aboiit five hundred feet, we had a fine view towards the interior, which was well clothed with mos3, giving a verdant appearance to the ranges of hills that rose gradually to between two thousand and three thousand feet, intersected with ravines, which must con- vey a copious supply of water to a lal'ge lake situated in the centre of a wide plain, about fifteen miles distant. The sight to seaward was favorable in the extreme ; open water, with a very small quantity of ice, for the distance of full forty miles toward the east, insured good progress in that direction." At noon, September 9th, 1850, observations placed the Investigator only sixty miles from Barrow's Strait. "I cannot," writes M'Clure, "describe my anxious feelings. Can it be possible that this water communi- cates with Barrow's Strait, and shall prove to be the long-«nught north-west passage ? Can it be that so humble a creature as I am will be permitted to perform what has baffled the talented and wise for hundreds of years ? But all praise be ascribed unto Him who hath conducted us so far in safety. His ways are not our ways : nor the means that He uses to accomplish hia ends within our comprehension. The wisdom of the world \f fitolishness wit!i Him." Land was observed to M*CLURE*S EXPI.OEATION& 413 the eastward, to which M'Glure gave the name of Prince Albert's Land. Several remarkable peaks ap- peared to be of volcanic origin. On the 16th the Investigator was making slow progress toward Barrow's Strait ; and on the Hth of September, 1860, they reached their most advancetl position, in latitude 73* KK north, and longitude 11 "i* 10' west, a^HMt thirty miles from the waters of that series of straits, which, under the names of Melville, Barrow, and Lancaster, communicate with Baffin's Bay. At this tantalizing distance the ship ceased to drift, and the ice appeared to have reached a point beyond which some unknown cause would not allow it to proceed. The heavy pack of Melville Strait, lying across the head of the channel, was supposed to be the reason of the ice of Prince of Wales Strait ceasing to move on to the north-east ; and the impassable nature of the pack in the same direction, in the following year, confirmed this hypothesis. On the 9th of September M'Glure tells us he had de- bated in his mind whether to abandon all hope of reach- ing Barrow's Strait that year, and retrace his course southward in search of a wintering place, or to hold on, no far as he might, and run the risk of wintering in the pack. ** I decided," he says, " on the latter of these two courses ; " and the consideration which influenced him in this difficult choice was, " that to relinquish the ground obtained through sc much labor and anxiety, for the remote chance of finding safe winter quarters, would be injudicious, thoroughly impressed as I was with the abst'lute importance of retaining every mile to 'insure any favorable results while navigating these seas." Besides this, it was desirable to hold as advanced a position as possible, in order that the spring sledge- 414 M'CLURE'S EXPLORATIONS parties in 1851 might be at once set to work tijton De% and unsearched coast-lines. The smallest pools of water now became rapidly cov- ered with ice ; the eider-duck, the hardiest of Arctic birds, was last seen on the 23d of September. On tho 2*7 th, the temperature being then at zero, preparations were begun for housing over the ship. These preparations were made under circumstances that might well shake the nerves of a strong man. As the ice surged, the ship was thrown violently from side to side, now lifted out of water, now plunged into a hole. ." The crushing, creaking, and straining," says Captain M'Clure, in his log, " is beyond description ; the officer of the watch, when speaking to me, is obliged to put his mouth close to my ear, on account of the deafening noise." The officers had just time to congratulate themselves upon the escape from past dangers, and to express gratitude at having lost only thirty miles of latitude by the drifting of the pack, when a change of wind set it all again in motion. The 28th was spent in breathless anxiety, as, helpless in their icy trammels, they swept northward again toward the cliffs of Princess Royal Island. These cliffs rose perpendicularly from the sea at the part against which the ship appeared to be setting, and, as the crew eyed them for a hope of safety, if the good craft should be crushed against their face, they could see no ledge upon which even a goat could have estab- lished a footing, and an elevation of four hundred feet precluded a chance of scaling them. To launch the boats over the moving pack was their sole chance, — and that a poor one, rolling and upheaving, as it was, under the influence of wind, tide, and pressure. " It looks a bad job, this time," inquiringly remarked one of the sailors, as he assisted another in coiling down DISCOVERY OF THE NORTH.WEST PASSAGE. 415 neatly a frozen hawser. " Yes I " was the rejoinder, as the other shaded his eyes from the driving snow, and cast a glance at the dark cliff looming through the Btorm, " the old craft will double up like an old basket when she gets alongside of them rocks I " The Investigator's hoilr was not yet come, however ; and, when within five hundred yards of the ^ocks, the ice coach-wheeled her along them, and finally swept her past the islands upon the eastern side. No water was in sight from the mast-head; yet onwards they drifted slowly, and on the 30th became again stationary, in latitude 12" 50' N., and. longitude 117® 66' W., very nearly as far north as they had sailed a fortnight before. *' On the 8th of October," says M'Clure, " our per- plexities terminated with a nip that lifted the vessel a ifoot, and heeled her four degrees to port, in conse- quence of a large tongue getting beneath her, in which position we quietly remained." Here the Investigator passed the winter of 1860-61. > . From the 10th to the 21st of October, preparations were made to despatch a sledge-party to the northward id reach Barrow's Strait, and get assurance of the fact of the discovery of a north-west passage. A remarka- ble rise of temperature to 24° plus of Fahrenheit, from 2® minus, with the wind blowing fresh from north-east. would seem to indicate that the winter of this region is modified by the warm air from the open water of Bar- row's Strait. This sudden change was far from pleas- ant to the crew ; and the old hands warned the novices ttgainst " being fools enough to pull their clothes off on account of such a bit of sunshine ; for, perhaps, in an hour's time Zero would be about again." On the 21st October, 1850, M'Clure started for Bar row's Strait, with a sledge manned with six men ; but ii I I 416 M'CLURE*S EXPLORATIONa broke down before they had proceeded far, and the/ Iiad to send to the ship for another. It did not reach them till the next day. After Bome difiSculty in crossing ridges of broken ice, they reached vast fields of smooth ice of the present season's formation ; and here a new obstacle awaited them. The autumnal snow had accu- mulated upon the surface of these young ice-fields, and, weighing them down, caused the sea-water to flow through sufficiently to render the under part of the snow almost as tenacious as clay. The fatigue of haul- ing two hundred pounds apiece over such a road was excessive. Unfortunately, no water could be had, and the crew suffered much from thirst ; for every handful of snow which they thrust into their parched mouths augmented rather than assuaged their sufferings, as it contained more or less of the salts of the sea-water. On the 24th a cape was seen at what appeared a dis- tance of twelve miles, and every man now dragged with a will, in the hope of reaching that night the end of his iourney ; but, after seven hours' labor, the cape still retained its original position, and they seemed not a mile nearer to it, M'Clure then saw that he had been much deceived in its apparent distance, owing to the clearness of the atmosphere, aut that thirty miles was a nearer estimate than twelve of the probable length of their march. After a night's rest, and another hard day's work, they were still two miles off the cape, when night closed in, obliging them to halt and encamp. Though disappointed in not sighting Barrow's Strait on the 25th, they were all much cheered by the multiply- ing proofs around them of its close proximity. Away to the north-east they already saw that wonderful oceanic ice described by Sir £dward Parry iu his voyage to Melville Island, in 1819. The latitude was now 73* 26' N. The morning of the 26th October, 1850, was fine and ./ DISCOVERT OF THE NORTH-WEST PASSAGE. 417 cloudless. It was with no ordinary feelings of joy and gratitude that M'Glure and his party started before sun rise to 'obtain from the adjacent hill a view of that sea which connected their discoveries with those of Sir Edward Parry. Ascending a hill six hundred feet above the sea-level, they patiently awaited the increase of light to reveal the long-sought-for north-west pciaaage from the Atlantic to the Pacific Ocean. As the sun rose, the panorama slowly unveiled itself. First the land called after Prince Albert showed out on an easterly bearing ; and, from a point since named after Sir Robert Peel, it evidently turned away to the east, and formed the northern entrance of the channel upon that side. The coast of Banks's Land terminated about twelve miles further on than where the party stood; and thence it turned away to the north-west, forming the northern coast of that land, the loom of which had been so cor- rectly reported by Parry more than thirty years before. Away to the north, and across the entrance of Prince of Wales Strait, lay the frozen waters of Barrow's, or, as it is now called, Melville Stiait ; and, raised as they were at an altitlidc of six hundred feet above its level, the eye-sight embraced a distance which precluded the possibility of any land lying in that direction between them an^ Melville Island. The north-west passage was discovered I All doubt as to the water communication between the two great oceans was removed ; and it now alone remained for M'Clure, his officers and men, to perfect the work by traversing the few thousand miles of known ground between them and their homes. The position of Mount Observation, from which the important discovery had been made, was aBcert4in0d to be in latitude TS" 30' 39" N., longitude. 1I4« »<*- W 97 I' 418 M^CLURE'S EXPLORATIONS. The travellers encamped that night on Gape Lord John Russell, and cheered lustily as they reached the shores of Barrow's Strait. A mimic bonfire, of a broken sledge and dwarf willow, was lighted by the seamen in celebration of the event. The question of a north-west passage was now placed beyond all doubt. From the point in Barrow's Strait upon which they were looking — a point opposite to Cape Hay, in Melville Island — Parry had sailed into Baffin's Bay and home. The existence, therefore, of a water communication round the north coast of America was finally demonstrated. They had not found any trace of Franklin ; but they had done the next best thing, and enough for M'Glure's fame. The rapid fall of temperature now warned M'Clure that he should return without delay to the ship. From Point Lord John Russell, the coast of Banks's Land was seen to trend away to the westward, and increase in boldness of outline and altitude. Much vegetation, for this latitude, was observed, and numerous traces of V animals, such as the deer, hare, and ptarmigan, as well as of the fox and wolf; but no animal was seen. A large caiiii was constructed, a due record of the visit of the party placed therein, and then, in the teeth of a south-east gale, they commenced their return to the Investigator. ~ M'Clure came near perishing in trying to get back On the 30th of October, at two p. m., having seen the Princess Royal Isles, and knowing the { t>sition of the ship from them, he left his sledge, with the intention of pushing for the ship, and having a warm meal ready for his men on their arrival. AVhen still six miles from the ship the night overtook him ; and with it came a dense mist, accompanied with snow-drift, whicK rolled down the strait, and obscured every object. Unuble to see i DISCOVERY OF THE NORTH-WEST PASSAGE. 419 hiB road, but endeavoring to proHcrve a course by the wind, M'Clure continued to hasten on, until repeated and heavy falls amongst the b.'oken ice warned him to desist, or incur the additional peril of broken limbs. ^ " I now," he says, " climbed on a mass of squeezed-up ice, in the hope of seeing my party, should they pass near, or of attracting the attention of some one on board the vessel by firing my fowling-piece. Unfoi tunately, I had no other ammunition than what it was loaded with ; for I had fancied, when I left the sledge, that the two charges in the gun would be all 1 should be likely to require. After waiting for an hour patiently, I was rejoiced to see through the mist the glare of a blue ' light, evidently burnt in the direction in which I had left the sledge. . I immediately fired to denote my position ; but my fire was unobserved, and, both barrels being dis- charged, I was unable to repeat the signal. My only hope now rested upon the ship's answering ; but noth- ing was to be seen ; and, although I once more saw, at a greater distance, the glare of another blue light from the sledge, there seemed no probability of my having any other shelter for the night than what the floe afforded. Two hours elapsed ; I endeavored to see the face of my pocket-compass by the light of a solitary lucifer match, which happened to be in my pocket ; but in this hope I was cruelly disappointed, for it fizzed and went out, leaving me in total darkness. " It was now half-past eight ; there were deven hours of night before me, a temperature 15° below zero, bears prowling about, and I with an unloaded gun in my hands. The sledge-party might, however, reach the ship, and, finding I had not arrived, search would be made, and help be sent ; so I walked to and fro upon my hummock until, I suppose, it must have been eleven o'olock, when that hope fled likewise. Descending I 420 M'CLURE'S . EXPLORATIONS. from the top of the slab of ice upon whicli I had clam- bered, I found under its lee a famous bod of soft, dry snow ; and, thoroughly tired out, I threw myself upon it mUTIirCI IN THK SNOW. ftnd slept for perhaps three hours, when, upon opening my eyes, I fancied I saw the flash of a rocket. Jump- ing upon my feet, I found that the mist had cleared off, and that the stars and aurora borcalis were shining in all the splendor of an Arctic night. Although unabl«> to see the islands or the ship, I wandered about the ice in different directions until daylight, when, to my great mortification, I found I had passed the ship fully the distance of four miles." Retracing his steps, M'Clure reached the Investigator on the 31 st October,- very tired, but otherwise none the worse for his rough and dangerous exposure to a win> ter's night in tS" north latitude. A few hours after- wards the sledge arrived, and great was the rejoicing •n board at the news confirming the discovery of a north-west passage. During the absence of the captain and his party, the officers of the Investigator had not been idle. Upon the adjacent shores of Prince of Wales Strait they DISCOVERT OF TMK N MVih-WI'ST l»AS».VUK I '] Niioct'cded in killing a fine herd of muHk-oxen, cunsistin^ of three bulls, a co^, and a calf, and yielding a supply of twelve hundred and ninety-six pounds of solid meat. During the first fortnight in Decembe.r the temper- ature of the external air ranged from 23* to 37" below zero, whilst between decks from -f40' to -f-oO* was tie average. From the 9th January, 1851, to the 16th, M'as the coldest period on board the Investigator ~ the thermometer showing 40* to 60° below zero. Early one dark and icy morning in January, a man named John Eames was walking out upon the floe, when he saw a small herd of reindeer trot by. " It is pretty evident," says M'Clure, " that, during the whole winter, animals may be found in these straits, gnd that the want of su£Bcient light alone prevents our larder being stored with fresh food." " Subsequent observa- tion," say6 Commander Osborne, " has completely over- thrown the idea that the reindeer, musk-ox, or othei animals inhabiting the archipelago of islands north of America, migrate southward to avoid an Arctic winter. Throughout Banks's Land, Melville Island, Bathursi, and Oomwallis Land, there have been found indubitable proofs of the reindeer, bear, musk-ox, marmot, wolf, hare, and ptarmigan, — in short, all the Fauna of these climes, — wintering in the latitudes in which they are found during the summer." A raven, which had haunted the ship during the period of cold and dark- ness, left it before the sun reappeared, and his departure was sensibly felt by every one on board. Early in March, 1851, a whale-boat was carried on sledges, with much labor, to the Princess Royal Island, and a d^pdt established of three months' victualling for the entire crew. In April three sledges were laden ivitk provisions for six weeks, and, with six men to each sledge, were sent on different courseB. One sledge. J 122 M'CLURK'8 EXPLORATIONS. commftndod by Lieut. Huswell, was directed to proi-.ooA to the south-east, ('.ilov/iiig the coj^Ht of Prince Albert's Land, toward the land Heen north of Dolphin and Union Strait, and named by its discoverer Wollaston Lund ; another sledgo, under Lieut. Cresswell, was to follow the coast of Banks's Land to the north-west ; whilst the remaining party, with Mr. Wynniatt, was charged with the duty of examining the coast of Albert Land to the north-east, toward Cape Walker. On the 18th April tho Bovcral parties, with their sledges, left the ship to search for traces of Sir John Franklin and his men. They returned, after intervals of from three to seven weeks, but without having found any traces of the miss- ing nav\gators, or gained any contributions of moment for geographical science. The most important incident seems to have been Lieut. Hasweirs encounter with some Esquimaux, who said they had never before cast eyes on a white man. Copper of the purest descrip- tion seemed to be plentiful with them, for all their im- plements were of that metal ; their arrows were tipped with it, and some of the sailors saw a quantity of it in a rough state in one of the tents. M'Clure afterwards had some friendly interviews with these people, in whose decaying prospects he became quite interested. As spring advanced, signs of a change began to mub tiply. Ffrst came a seal at the hole in the floe kept open near the ship in case of Are ; then a large polar bear ; and, lastly, hares and ptarmigan. Among the startling narratives of Arctic escapes, few exceed that of Whitfield, one of the hunters, who lost his way in a snow-drift, and was found within a yard of the tent, stiff and rigid as a corpse, his head thrown back, his eyes fixed, his mouth open and filled with snow, his gun slung over his shoulder, and his body being' fast buried in a snow-wreath. When happily brought to 1 1 1 DISaiVERY OF THE NORTH-WEST PASSAGE. 423 $ biniBclf, he related that whilst struggling with the snow* fitorin he felt a chili, and then a tit came on, during which he imagined people came close to him ; ho had partially recovered, and, discovering a track, had nearly reached the f^-nt-door. when he .was overtaken by another fit, and had sunk down, a yard from the tent- door, in the attitude of supplication in which he was found. Had not one of the hunters looked out of the door by chance, he must have been frozen to death iu that position, within a yard of a place of refuge 1 There was great joy on board the Investigator from the 10th to the 14th of July, 1851. The floe had com- menced breaking up, and on the 17th the good ship cast off, — only, however, to be caught in the pack-ice, and once more drifted with the crushing floes against the clifiis of Princess Royal Island. Finally she drifted to the tantalizing distance of twenty-flve miles from the waters of Barrow's Strait. Further than that, no effort could advance the ship ; the young ice at nights had already begun to form again, the sun once more set at night, the pack-ice closed up the exit, and M'Clure was obliged to give the passage up as a hopeless thing, and to retrace his steps, in order that, by going round by the south of Banks's Land, he might try and reach Melville Island from that direction. It was a truly grievous position to be placed in, to bo within some thirty miles of a clear sea, which, had they once been able to pass into, they could have reached England the same summer, — and to have to urn back with the prospect of another winter in the polar regions. But the ice was as inexorable as if the Isthmus of Pan- ama had stood between them and the Atlantic ; and there was no help for it. At first matters went on well, in their southerly progress ; not a particle of ice was met with. Floes, hummocks, and the huge piles of ice th^at fringed the coast, bad alike disappeared. 424 M'CLURE'S EXPLORATIONS. On th'e 24th of July they had nearly reached Point Ari.istrong, upon which the ice was resting. Here their course was checked. There was much drift-wood on the beach, of large dimensions, mostly American pine. The cutter was consequently despatched for a load, and some of the pieces appeared so fresh that the carpenter was of opinion that two years was the extreme of their quitting the forest. " The wind, veering to tiie west- ward during the night," says M'Clure, "set large bodies of ice into the water we occupied, which was rapidly filling. To prevent being forced on shore, we were obliged, at eight a. u. of the 25th, to run into the pack, where we drifted, according to the tide, about a mile and a half from the beach ; but,«during the twenty- four hours, made about two miles and a half to the ^north-east, from which, when taken with the quantity of drift-wood that is thickly strewed along the beach, 1 am of opinion that on this side of the strait there is a slight current to the north-east, while upon the opposite one it sets to the southward, upon which thcie is scarcely any wood, and our progress, while similarly situated, was in a southern direction. We continued drifting in the pack, without meeting any obstruction, until ten a. m. of the 1st of August, when a sudden and most unexpected motion of the ice swept us with much velocity to the north-east, toward a low point, oflf which were several shoals, having many heavy pieces of grounded ice upon them, toward which we were directly setting, decreasing the soundings from twenty-four to nine and a half fathoms. Destruction was apparently not far distant, when, most opportunely, the ice eased a little, and, a fresh wind coming from the land, sail was immediately made, which, assisted by warps, enabled the ship to be forced ahead about two hundred yards, which shot us clear of the ice and the point into sixteeo DISCOVERY OF THE NORTH-WEST PASSAGE. 42A Aiid a half fathoms, in which water we rounded the shoals ; the ice then again closed, and the ship becam« fixed until the 14th of August, when the fog, which since the previous day had been very dense, cleared, and disclosed open water about half a mile from the vessel, with the ice loose about her." Tho difficulty of clearing away large masses of ice was, to some extent, obviated by blasting. " Previously to quitting the floe," says M'Clure, " I was desirous uf trying what effect blasting would have upon such a mass. A jar containing thirty-six pounds of powder was let down twelve feet into the water near the cen- tre ; the average thickness was eleven feet, and its diameter four Jmndred yards. The result was most sat- isfactory, rending it in every direction, so that with ease we could effect a passage through any part of it." Cape Kellett was rounded with some little difficulty, the ship passing between the edge of grounded ice and the coast. The land was now so low that the hand lead-line became for a while their best guide ; the sound- ings happily were regular, and, aided by it and a fair wind, they advanced apace to tlie northward. Through- out th€ 19th of August, 1861, the ship sometimes ran as much as seven knots per hour, the width of the lane of water in which they were sailing varying from three to five miles. Noon that day found them in 73* 66' north latitude, and 123" 62^ 30'' west longitude ; and already did M'Clure count upon extending his voyage to the north of Melville Island, and then striking for some strait or sound leading into Baffin's Bay. That night, however, a sudden and remarkable change took place. They had just crossed Burnet Bay, within Norway and Robilliard Island, when the coast suddenly became as abrupt and precipitous as a wall ; the water i»»8 veiy deep, — sixty fathoms by the lead-line within 426 M'CLUIIE'S EXPLORATIONS. four hundred yards of the face of the cliffs, and fifteen fathoms water when actually touching them. The lane vof water had diminished to two hundred yards in width where broadest ; and even that space was much ham* pered by loose pieces of ice aground or adrift. In some places the channel was so narrow that the quarter-boats had to be topped up to prevent their touching the cliffs upon the one hand, or the lofty ice upon the other ; and BO perfectly were they running the gauntlet, that on many occasions the ship could not " round to," for want of space. Their position was full of peril ; yet they could but push on, for retreat was now as dangerous as progress. The pack was of the same fearful description as one they had fallen in with in the offing of the Mackenzie River, during the previous autumn ; it drew forty and fifty feet of water, and rose in rolling hills upon the surface, some of them a hundred feet from base to sum- mit. Any attempt to force the frail ship against such ice was of course mere folly ; all they could do was to watch for every opening, trust in the mercy of God, and push ahead in the execution of their duty. If the ice at such a time had set in with its vast force against the sheer cliff, nothing, they all felt, could have saved them. Enough has been said to give a correct idea of the peril incurred at this stage of the voyage, without en- tering into minute details of the hair-breadth escapes hourly taking place ; but one instance may be given as a sample of the rest. After the 20th of August ihe In- vestigator lay helplessly fixed off the north-west of Banks's Land ; the wind had pressed in the ice, and for a while all hopes of further progress were at an end. On the 29th of August, however, a sudden move took place, and a moving flue struck a huge mass to which DISCOVERY OF THE NORTH WEST PASSAGE. 427 the Bhip had been secured, and, to the horror of those 3n board, such was the enormous power exerted that the mass slowly reared itself on its edge close to the Hhip's bows, until the upper part was higher than the fore-yard ; and every moment appeared likely to be the Investigator's last, for the ice had but to topple over to sink her and her crew under its weight. At the criti' cal moment there was a shout of joy ; for the mass, after oscillating fearfully, broke up, rolled back in its original position, and they were saved. Hardly, however, was this danger past than a fresh one threatened ; for the berg to which the ship was se- cured was impelled forward by the whole weight of the driving pack toward a low point of land, on which with frightful pressure the great floes were breaking up, and piling themselves tier upon tier. The Investigator had no power of escape ; but every hawser was put in re- quisition, and hands stationed by them. An attempt to blow up a grounded berg, upon which the ship was driving, only partially succeeded ; the nip came on, the poor ship groaned, and every plank and timber quivered from stem to stern, ',n this trial of strength between her and the ice. '• Our fate seemed sealed," says M'Clure ; and he made up his mind to let go all hawsers. Tho order was given, and with it the wreck of the Invest! gator seemed cei-tain : all the leader hoped for was — to use his own words — "that we might have the ship thrown up sufficiently to serve as an asylum for tho winter." If she should sink between the two con- tending bergs, the destruction of every soul was inev- itable. But, at the very moment when the order to "let go all hawsers " was given, and even before it could be obeyed, a merciiul Providence caused the berg, which moBt threatened, to break up, and the Tnyestigator waf 428 MCLURE'S EXPLOR.VTIONS. onco more saved ; though still so tightly was she beset, that thert) was not room to drop a lead-line down round the vessel, and the copper upon her bottom was hang- ing in shreds, or rolled up like brown paper. By mid« night the ice was stationary, and everything quiet. They were now upon the north-west extreme of Banks's Land, and here officers and men rambled into the interior, which they did not find so sterile as the view from the sea had led them-to expect. Traces of musk-oxen and deer abounded, and both were seen ; but perhaps the most extraordinary discovery of all was a great accumulation of fossil trees, as well as irag ments not fossilized, lying over the whole extent of the land, from an elevation of three hundred feet above the sea to its immediate level. Writing on the 2tth of August, M'Clure says : " I walked to-day a short dis- tance into the interior ; the snow that had fallen last night lay unthawed upon the high grounds, rendering the prospect most cheerless. The hills are very remark able, many of them peaked, and standing isolated from each other by precipitous gorges. The summits of these bills are about three hundred feet high, and nothing can be more wildly picturesque than the gorges which lie between them. FrDiu the summit of these singularly* formed hills to their base, abundance of wood is to be found ; and in maiiy places layers of trees are visible, some protruding twelve or fourteen feet, and so firm that several people may jump on them without their breaking : the largest trunk yet found measured one foof seven inches in diameter." Again, on September 6th, some miles from the hills just alluded to, M'Clure says : " I entered a ravine somo miles inland, and found the north side of it, for a deptn of forty feet from the surface, composed of one masft of wood similar to what I had before seen*. The WHITER IN THE BAY OF MERCY 42J; frholc depth of the ravine was about two hundred feet. The ground around the wood or trees was formed of sarid and shingle ; some of the wood was petrified, the remainder very rotten, and worthless even for burning." At a subsequent period, Lieutenant Mecham met with a similar kind of fossil forest in Prince Patrick Island, nearly one hundred and twenty miles further north. This phenomenon gives rise to speculation as to some peiiod in the world's history when, the absence of ice and a milder climate allowed forest-trees to grow in u region where now the ground willow and dwarf birch have to struggle for existence. On the Ist of September, 1861, winter appeared to have overtaken the Investigator in her forlorn position ; but on the 18th the wind veered, and the ice went oflF from the coast, carrying the ship with it, drifting her to the northward. On the 19th, having got free of the ice which clung to her sides, the ship got into a lane of water stretching eastward ; and, on the 22d, rounding Cape Austin, fairly entered into Melville Strait At length, on the 24th., they found themselves in a large bay at the western extremity of Banks's Land, and, seeing that it was impossible to round its north-eastojii horn, M'Clure made up his mind to winter where he was ; and, in token of his gratitude foi his many provi- dential escapes, he appropriately called the place " The Bay of Mercy." That night they were firmly frozen in. It wa? now certain that they would have to spend another -winter in the ice. With slight exceptions, the arrangements made were much the same as those of the previous winter. The allowance of food was reduced, to meet the contingency of an escape from the ice not being effected the following year ; but this inconvenience was, to some extent, obviated by its being discovered h 430 M'CLURfi'S EXPLORATIONS. that tlie land teemed with deer and hares. " A.8 there appeared much game in the vicinity," writes Captain M'Clure, " and the weather continued raild, shooting parties were eHtablished in different directions between the 9th and 23(1 of October ; so that, with what was killed from the ship, our supply of fresh provisions at Ihe conimencem(»nt of the winter consisted of nine deer, fiCty-three hares, and forty-four ptarmigan, all in fine condition, the former having from two to three inches offai." The herds of deer and troops of hares that congregated on the broad plains of dwarf willow, reindeer-moss, and coarse grasses in the interior, are described as perfectly marvellous. Wolves and foxes also abf)unded, and, as cold and darkness increased, the former, pressed by hunger, used to haunt the ship to a disagreeable extent ; and the sad prolonged howl of these gaunt creatures in tl)0 long nights added, if possible, to the dismal char- acter of the scene. Two ravens also established them- selves as friends of the family in Mercy Bay, and used to trick the ship's dog out of his meals by enticing him away, flying a few yards at a time, he running at them till they had got him some distance away, when they would make a direct flight back, and have done good execution before the mortified dog detected the imposi- tion practised upon him, and rushed back again. " In consequence of our favored position," says M'Clure, " the crew were enabled to ramble over the hills almost daily in quest of game, and their exertions happily supplied a fresh meal of venison three times a fortnight, with the exception of about three weeks in January, when it was too dark for shooting. The small game, such as ptarmigan and hares, being scarce, were allowed to be retained by the sportsmen as private property. This healthy and exhilarating exercise kept HUNTING PARTUS. 431 us all well and in excellent spirits during another tedious winter, so that on the 1st of April wc had upwards of a thousand pounds of venison hanging at the yard-arms." Musk-oxen were very numerous. They were found to be very ferocious, and great danger sometimes attended the attacks. They were easily approached, but when wounded they ran headlong at their assailant. On one occasion, Sergeant Woon, of the marines, while in pursuit of a wounded deer, unexpectedly met a couple of musk-bulls, which he succeeded in wounding. Having expended his shot, as one of the wounded and infuriated monsters rushed towards him, he fired his " worm " when at a few yards, but without much etfect. The animal continued his advances, evidently, however, weak from loss of blood, till he had reached within six feet, when he put his head to the ground, as if for a final rush. As his last resource, the sergeant fired his iron ramrod, which, entering behind the. animal's left shoulder, passed through the heart and out at the right flank, dropping him lifeless. December found the crew of the Investigator passing their time cheerfully in their far-distant home in Mercy Bay. The month came in with a succession of those tremendous snow-storms, which are, perhaps, the most frightful visitations of the pelar regions. But, after the new year (1862) began, the weather was fine, with a keen and steady cold of from seventy to eighty degrees below the freezing-point of water — a temperature which severely tests the vital energies of man. Yet, what with cheerfulness, exercise, and regular habits, the crew were in good health. One of the hunting parties had well-nigh proved fatal CO a colored man serving on board the ship. He had « ounded a deer, and chased it till a fog came on, and 432 M'CLURES EXPLORATIONS. be lost his way. It was in Jai;nary, and the weathei was bitterly cold ; the poor fellow began to fancy him* self frozen to death, and lust his wits entirely. While in this state, Sergeant Woon met aim, and offered to lead him to the ship. The negro, beside himself with terror, could not be made to understand anything, and stood crying and shuddering till he fell down in a fit. The sergeant waited till< he was restored, and then either carried him on his back or rolled him. down hills and hummocks for ten long hours, till he got him within a mile of the ship. But the sergeant was by this time exhausted. He exerted all his powers of eloquence upon the negro to induce him to walk. The poor creat> ure only begged to be " let alone to die." Finding all his arguments unavailing, the sergeant laid him in a bed of deep snow, and, with all his remaining strength, ran alone to the ship. lie procured assistance directly, and, returning to the place where he had left the negro, found him with his arms stiff and raised above his head, his eyes open, and his mouth so firmly frozen that it required great force to open it to pour down restora- tives. He was alive, however, and eventually recov- ered, though his liands, feet, and face, were much frost- bitten. This case, and a similar one already related^ illustrate, in a striking manner, not only the effect of intense cold on the body and . mind, but also how much the safety of the former depends on the exercise of the latter. On the 6th of February the sun was seen above the horizon, and the sportsmen became more successful, scarcely a day passing without a deer or hare being shot ; and keen must have been the hunger of those sportsmen, for more than one of them, when, after a long and weary walk, he shot a deer or hare, refreshed himself with a draught of the animal's hot blood, or by , A THIRD WINTER APPROACHINQ. 433 eating a mouthful or two of the raw meat. The wolves had also become exceedingly bold, and tales are told of the sportsman pulling at one end of a slain deer, and the wolves at the other ! On the nth of April, 1852, a sledge excursion was made to Winter Harbor, Melville Island, — the old winter quarters of Sir Edward Parry, — and notice found of Lieutenant M'Clintock's having been there from the west, the previous summer. M'Clure here deposited a notice of his own visit, under the same cairn that had protected the notice left by his predecessor. It is remarkable that, shortly after M'Glure's visit to this spot, a sledge-party from the Enterprise, which had wintered at the south end of Prince of Wales Strait, after having been up to near its northern extremity, and having been foiled, like the Investigator, in getting into Melville Strait, actually visited the same spot, without either party knowing that the other was so close, so great is the difficulty of meeting one another in regions like those of the Arctic archipelago. Although the sportsmen continued to meet with great success, and at one period no less than twenty head of deer were hanging up round the ship, yielding a thou- sand pounds pf meat, scurvy began to show itself, and to make marked progress among the crew. On the 1st of July there were six men in their beds, and sixteen had evident symptoms of debility, with incipient scurvy. On the 16th open water was seen in the straits, but the ic*> in the. bay prevented their getting to it, and on the 24th the lead of water had dosed I It became too obvi- ous that the winter was again setting in. All hope of deliverance for another season was cut oflf 1 " On the 20th of August, 1852," says M'Clure, " the temperature fell to 21", when the entire bay was com- pletely frozen over ; and, on the 2'i th^ the temperature S8 J ^ ;..jtr sarg 434 M'CLURE'S EXFLORATlONa fell to 19", &o that the whole^ aspect was cheerless ir the e-itreme. The young ice was two and a half inrhea thick, so that the wliole bay might be safely perambu lated. Indeed, the summer was faiily ^one, for the uplands wore all snow-covered, tho wild-fowl all de- parted, and the flowers, which gave cheerful variety to this bleak land, were all withered. The very season might be considered as one long, sunless day, as since the latter part of May the great luminary had been scarcely visible, or his influence scarcely felt upon those icy masses which block Barrow's Strait entirely across ; nor do I imagine that the Polar Sea had broken up that season, as not a drop of water had been seen in that direction. ** During July, and the early part of August, the crew were daily employed gathering sorrel, of which there was a great quantity upon the hills in this vicinity. £aten as a salad, with vinegar, or boiled, when it resembled spinach, it was found a most admirable anti- scorbutic, and a great benefit to all, being exceed- ingly relished ; but this hardy and miserable herbage could not withstand the rigorous summer beyond the 15th of the month. " For several days the ice had been perfectly station- ary, and no water visible in any direction, that along the cliffs of Banks's Land being frozen ; so that I felt assured that the winter had fairly set in, and all hopes of any release this year were totally annihilated, the young ice being five inches thick. Having previously determined what course I should adopt under circum- stances thus unfavorable, upon the 8th of September I announced my intentions to the crew of sending half of them to England next April, with all the officers not in charge of stores, via Baffin's Bay (taking the boat from Gape Spencer) and the Mackenzie, detaining the re- GALLANT RESOLVE. 43d maindcr with the hope of extricating the vessel during the summer of 1853 ; or, failing that, to proceed with sledgCH in 1854 by Port Leopold, our provisions admit- ting of no other arrangement. " Although we had already been twelve months upoij two thirds allowance, it was necessary to make prepara- tions for meeting eighteen months more ; a very severe depiivation and constitutional test, but one which the ser\'ice we were employed upon called for, the vessel being as sound as the day she entered the ice ; it wouM therefore, be discreditable to desert her in 1853, whei a favorable season would run her through the strait , and admit of reaching England in safety, where the successful achievement of the long-sought-for and almost hopeless discovery of the north-west passage would bo received with a satisfaction that would amply com- pensate for the sacrifices made and hardships endured in its most trynig and tedious accompliKhntont. Thin statement was well received, and its execution will, I hope, be carried out without diflSculty." It is due to Captain M'Clure to reproduce one passage in the dispatch which ho had prepared to send hom« with the land parties he was about to forward in the spring of 1853. " Should any of her majesty's ships be sent for oui relief, and we have quitted Port Leopold, a notice, con- taining information of our route, will be left on the door of the house at Whalers' Point, or on sonie conspicuonn position. If,' however, no intimation should be found of our having been there, it may at once be surmised that some fa-tal catastrophe has happened, either from our being carried into the Polar Sea, or smashed in Bar- row's Strait, and no survivors left. If such be the case, — which, however, I will not anticipate. — it will then be quite unnecessary to penetrate further to the wesP 436 M'CLURE'S EXPLORATfONS. ward for our relief, as, by the period that any vosseJ could reach that port, we must, from want of provi- sions, all have peribhod. In such a case, I would Hubmit that the officers may be directed to n.'turn, and by no means incur the danger of losing other lives in quest of those who will then be no more." The ship was banked up with snow and housed over on the 18th of November, and every preparation made for spending a third winter in this region of icy desola- tion. The spirits of the crew, however, did not flag. Resort was again had to the hunting expeditions which had occupied and cheered them so much in previous years, and their larder was kept well stocked with pro- visions. The wolves so harassed the deer, that the latter poor creatures actually fled to the ship for pro- tection. " The hares and ptarmigan," writes M'Clure, " have descended from the high ground to the sea ridges, so that a supply of game has been kept up during the win- ter, which has enabled a fresh meal to be issued twice weekly, and the usual Christmas festivities to pass off with the greatest cheerfulness. As it was to be our last, the crew were determined to make it memorable, and their exertions were completely successful ; each mess was gayly illuminated and decorated with original paintifigs by our lower-deck artists, exhibiting the ship in her perilous positions during the transit of the Pdar Sea, and divers other subjects ; but the grand features of the day were the enormous plum-puddings (some weighing twenty-six pounds), haunches of venison, hares roasted, and soup made of the same, with ptar- migan and sea pies. Such dainties in such profusion I should imagine never before graced a ship's lower-deck ; any stranger, to have witnessed this scene, could but faintly imagine that he saw a crew which had passed PLAN OF E8CAPE. 437 upwards of two years in thcso dreary regions, and threo entirely upon their own reHources, enjoying such excellent health — so joyful, so happy : indeed, such a mirthful assemblage, under any circumstances, would be most gratifying to any officer ; but, in this lonely situation, I could not but feel deeply impressed, as I C3ntcmplated the gay and plenteous sight, with the many and great mercies which a kind and beneficent Providence had extended toward us, to whom alone is due the heartfelt praises and thanksgivings of all for the great blessings which we have hitherto experienced in positions the most desolate which can be con- ceived." So another winter passed. The spring again returned, and the season rapidly approached when the crew was to divide, and the travelling parties were to set out on their long and perilous journeys : the one to return home by the way of the Mackenzie River and Canada ; the other to proceed to Cape Spencer (where a boat and provisions had been deposited), and thence by Barrow's Strait to make their way to the nearest inhabited coast. That these journeys would prove long and dangerous in the extreme, could not be doubted ; for the return parties were composed of the most weakly hands, thirty of the healthiest men being retained to stand by the ship with the captain, and brave the rigors of another Arctic winter. But, while M'Clure and his gallant comrades were thus about to resort to their last desperate expedient for comnunicating with the civilized world, relief was at hand of which they had little expectation. Provi- dential circumstances interposed to do away with the necessity of committing their forlorn hopes to the snow and ice deserts of the polar regions. These extraor* dinary circumstances will be narrated in another chapter. I CHAPTER XVII. ▼OTAQB ur THE RB80LCTB AND INTREPID. — ABBIVAL AT OCALT ISLiAKIt. — BLEDGEoPARTIBS. — PARRV's SANDSTONE AGAIN. — NEWS FROM THI ZHYBSTIGATOR. -- PIH's JOCRNBT. — UEBTINO WITH If'CLURE. — RETirBN TO THE RESOLOTE. — MORE DEATHS REPORTED. — ABANDONMENT OF THB INTE8TI0AT0R. — A WEARY SUMMER. -^ CRESSWELL gBNT WITH DIS- PATCHES. —INCIDENTS IN THE VOYAGE OF THE PHCENIX. — LOSS OF THE BREbALBANB TRANSPORT. — DEATH OF BELLOT. — HM AMIABLE CHAR- ACTER. — THE PH1h '.o account of its decayed condition,* and ite liability to nq/urata from the shore and break up. Aocordirgly, Pu'.'iOii cau* tioned Bellot to keep as close to the eastern 'shore of Wellington Channel as possible, and provided the # arty with one of the light India-rubber boats, which cAtuUl be easily dragged on their sledge, and without wh oh, asi such a season, it would have been very ursi-afe to travel. That evening .they encamped about three niile^s from Cape Innes. Next day they inade considdrable progress, and when night approached made their bad upon the broken ice over which they had been plodding during the day. This was near Cape Bowden. On Ihe follow- ing day, which was Sunday, they papsed a crack about four feet wide, running across tbo channel. During all this time no doubts were entert/.ined as to the safe con- dition of the ice ; and Bo.llot, in his usual encouraging way, cheered or? the men, and put his shoulder to the tracking-lines, saying that he wished to get to a cape «rhich was seen a good way ahead, and which he called ! 452 D^TH OF B£LLOT. Cape Grinnell. Near this it was desirable to encamp in-shore, if possible. On arriving at the cape, it was found that there was a broAd'belt t, " .^ater between the ice and the shore. This would have been a matter of little mv>nient, had there been no wind, as they could have easily crossed it in the boat ; but there was unfortunately a strong breeze blowing from the south-east, which curled up the surface of the cold black waves in a very ominous way. There was no help, however ; so the boat was launched, and Bellot endeavored to reach the shore in it alone, intending to convey a line by which the remainder of the party and the provisions might be dragged over. In this attempt he failed, the violence of the gale being too much for him ; he therefore returned to the ice, ^nd ordered Harvey and Madden to get in and attempt the passage together. This they did, and were suc- cessful in landing ; after which they iJegan the opera- tion of passing and repassing the boat between the ice and the shore, by means of lines. In this way three loads were landed from the sledge, and the party on the ice were hauling the boat off for a fourth, when Mad« den, who had hold of the shore-line, and was up to his middle in the water, called out suddenly that the ice was on the move, and driving off shore. It was evi- dent that he could not hold the line longer without being dragged into deep water ; so Bellot called out to him to let go, which he did. Bellot and his two men then hauled the boat on to the sledge, and ran it up to the windward side of the ice, intending to launch it there and make for the shore. Ere this could be accomplished, however, the ice, whose motion was rapidly increasing, had drifted so far from the shore as to render all idea of reaching it hopeless It may be imagined with what feelings Madden and DEATH OF BELLOT. 45^ Elarvey now hastened to an eminence, and watched kheir comrades drifting out to sea on a floe of ice, with a bitter breeze urging them further and further from hope of escape, and deeper among the drifting ice. During two hours they sat thus watching them, until at last they were lost to view amid the driving snow. When last seen, the two men were standing by the sledge, and Bellot on the top of a hummock. Madden and Harvey now descended to the shore, and instantly began their return-journey to the ship. They walked round Griffin Bay, with very little provi- sions, and reached Cape Bowden, where they remained to take some rest. While there, two men were seen hastening toward them. To their great surprise and joy, these proved to be Johnson and Hook, who had almost miraculously escaped from their perilous position on the ice ; but their sad countenances too truly told that their companion, the brave young Frenchman, was gone. After getting a little refreshment, the whole party now returned to their ship, which they reached in safety, though not without much difficulty and severe privation. The melancholy fate of poor Bellot cannot be better told than by giving it in the words of Johnson, who was with him on the ice at the time of his death. " We got the provisions on shore," says he, " on Wednesday, the nth. After we had done that, there remained on the ice Hook, Lieut. Bellot, and myself, having with us ' the sledge. Mackintosh-awning, and little boat. Com- menced trying to draw the boat and sledge to the south- ward, but found the ice driving so fast that we left the sledge and took the boat only ; but the wind was so strong at the time that it blew the boat over and over. We then took the boat with us, under shelter of a piece ?f ice, and Mr. Bellot and ourselves commenced (tutting j i 454 DEATH OF BELLOT. II an ice-houBC with our knives for shelter. Mr. Bellot sat for half an hour in conversation with us, talking on the danger of our position. I told him I was not afraid, and that the American expedition was driven up and down this channel by the ice. He replied, ' 1 know they were ; and when the Lord protects us, not a hair of our heads shall be touched.' " I then asked Mr. Bellot what time it was. He said, ' About quarter past eight a. m.' (Thursday, the 18th), and then lashed up his books, and said he would go and see how the ice was driving. He had only been gone about four minutes, when I went round the same hum- mock under which we were sheltered to look for him, but could not see him ; and, on returning to our shelter, saw his stick on the opposite side of a crack, about Sve fathoms wide, and the ice all breaking up. I then called out * Mr. Bellot ! ' but no answer — (at this time blowing very heavy). After this, I again searched round, but could see nothing of him. " I believe that when he got from the shelter t\ie wind blew him into the crack, and, his south-wester being tied down, he could not rise. Finding there was no hope of again seeing Lieut. Bellot, I said to Hook, ' I 'm not afraid : 1 "know the Lord will always sustain us.' We commenced travelling, to try to get to Cape De Haven, or Port Phillips ; and, when we got within two miles of Cape De Haven, could not get on shore ; and returned for this side, endeavoring to get to the southward, as the ice was driving to the northward. We were that night and the following day in coming across, and came into the land on the eastern shore a long way to the northward of the place where we were driven off. We got into the land at what Lieut. Bellot told us was Point Hogarth. "In drifting up the straits towards the Polar Sea, we DEATH OF BELI,OT. 45-) / ■aw an iceberg lying close to the shore, and found it on the ground. We succeeded in gettinj^: on it, and remained for six hours. I said to David Hook, * Don'l be afraid ; we must make a boat of a piece of i<:e.' Accordingly, we got on to a piece ^lassing, and I had a paddle belonging to the India*ruLoer boat. By this piece of drift-ice we managed to reach the shore, and then proceeded to where the accident happened. Reached it on Friday. Could not find our shipmates, or any provisions. Went on for Cape Bowden, and reached it on Friday night." When the Esquimaux heard of Bellot's death, they shed tears, and cried "Poor Bellot! poor BellotI" Two years before, he had seen an Esquimaux dragging himself painfully over the ice, with a broken leg. To call the carpenter, give him directions to make a wooden log for the poor fellow, and to teach him to walk with it, wore matters of course for the generous young French- man : but they were unusual kindnesses for a white man to show to an Esquimaux, and the simple-hearted peo- ple remembered it when they cried " Poor Bellot ! '* Poor Bellot ! — his was a brave, a generous, and a kindly heart. His talents and energy were deeply appreciated by the nation to which he had volunteered his services ; and his affectionate, manly disposition had endeared him to the comrades with whom he had spent so many stormy days and nights in the regions of ice and snotv. The howling blast of the north, and the dark waters of the polar seas, are sweeping over his mortal frame ; but an imperishable wreath — a tribute of gratitude and affection, twined by the handt of France and England — shall rest upon his brow for- ever. Mr. Bellot is another added to the list of those brave, nnthusiastic spirits, that have been thus prematurely 456 * DEATH OF BELLOT. snatched away, and wrapt in the cold embrace of the Arctic ROUS. The English have expressed their sense of his services and his virtues by a subscription for hfa family, and for a monument to be erected to his memory in Greenwich nospital. Capt, Inglefield, in liis steamer the Phoenix, accom- panied by the sailing-vessel Talbot, was Sent to the Arctic legions again in 1854, with dispatches and sup- plies for Sir E. Belcher. There we shall hear of hira a^in in the course of our narrative. •li! i .1 ■\\\ W' iiiMii CHAPTER XVIII. m KMOLtrnt aud ihtrepid. — beskt aoaiit. — wiittib nr raa Pici ~BOTB VESSELS ABANDONED. —BELCHBR's EXPLORATIONS. — REMAIlIf or STRUCTURES. — ATTEMPT TO REACH BEECHET ISLAND.— ABANDON' MENT OP THE ASSISTANCE AND PIONEER. — ALL PARTIES ASSEMBLE AT BEBCBEY ISLAND. — ARRIVAL OP THE PUOCNIX AND TALBOT. — RETURN TO ENGLAND. — OUTWARD TOTAGE OF THE PHdNIZ. — COLLINSON'S TOfAOR. — RAB'B EXPEDITION. — RELICS OP FBAIIKUN. — AJIDBRBON'I JOURNEY. , Thb Resolute and Intrepid, with their inmates, includ ing the sixty men from the Investigator, remained ice- bound at Dealy Island during the best part of the summer of 1853. At last, on the 18th of August, a strong gale blowing off shore broke up the ice. The vessels at once got under way ; by night they were at sea, and the navigators congratulated themselves that they were now fairly making progress towards home. But within twenty-four hours they were brought up by the pack of Byam Martin Channel ; and there they lay watching for an opening to dash across to Bathurst Land, and run for BeecHey Island under its lee. Day after day passed. The drifting pack presented no available opening. Winter was fast advancing. The prospect of escape uefore another season began to look gloomy. Still, the navigators did not abandon the hope ; but they occupied themselves in securing game, as a provision against the coming winter. This they found in abundance, especially musk-oxen ; and «ome ten thousand pounds were obtained and frozen, in attempt was finally made to force through the pack : ■I 458 TU£ RESOLUTE AND INTREPID. but on tlie 9th of September the vessels became firmly imbedded in the newly-formed ice, and, a north-west gale forcing the pack upon them, they were fairly beset, and obliged to go whither it and Providence listed. Two months they were drifting helplessly, amidst great perils. Right pleased was Kellott to find that after the 12th of November the ships were at rest, having reached a point about due east of Winter Harbor, Melville Island, in longitude 101" west, — an admirable position for an early escape in the ensuing season. Here they passed the winter of 1863-4, — long months of darkness and weariness, but with no worse mishap than the loss of one oflicer, who died on the 14th of November. The log-book of that winter is a curious record ; the ingenuity of the officer in charge was well tasked to make one day differ from another. Each day has the first entry for " ship's position " thus : "In the floe ofi" Oapo Cockburn ; " and the blank for the second entry thus : " in the same position." Lectures, theatricals, schools, etc., whiled away the time. The spring of 1864 arrived. M'Clure and his crew started with sledges on the 14th of April for Beechey Island, to find a resting-place on board the North Star and at the d^pdt. Keilett made arrangements to con- tinue the search. While thus engaged, he received a letter from Sir Edward Belcher, suggesting that, rather than risk the detention of another season, he should abandon his ships and meet him (Belcher) at Beechey Island before the 26th of August. Keilett remon- strated, stating that the vessels were in a favorable position for escape ; that they had abundance of pro- visions, and that parties concerned in deserting ships under such circumstances "would deserve to have the lackets taken off their backs." Then came a positivt REMAINS (JF ESQUIMAUX HOUSES. 459 order from Belcher. Both vessels were to be abao* doned. Two distant travelling parties were already out on searching expeditions. Word was left at a proper point for their guidance. Then, having fitted the Intrepid's engines so that she could be got under steam in two hours, having stored both ships with provisions, and made them in every respect " ready for occupation," Kel- lett ordered the hatches to be calked down, all hands looked their last on the Resolute and Intrepid, and on the 16th of May, 1854, they started, with sledges, for Beechey Island-, where their unexpected arrival caused much surprise to the oflScers and crew of the Investi- gator, who had preceded them. All this time the other division of the squadron, consisting of the Assistance and Pioneer, under Sir Edward Belcher, which, as wo have seen, sailed north on the day before Kellett sailed west, namely, on the 14th of August, 1852, had been engaged in exploring Wellington Channel. Having reached latitude 76* 52*, and longitude 37* west, the Teasels came to anchor in a locality near Cape Beecher, which was chosen for their winter quarters. Boat and sledge explorations to the northward were commenced on the 23d of August. On the 25th, when rounding a point where the coast suddenly turns to the eastward, the remains of several well-built Esquimaux houses were discovered. " They were," says Belcher, " not simply circles of small stones, but two lines of well-laid wall in excavated ground, filled in between by about two feet of fine yravel, well paved, and, withal, presenting the appear- ance of great care — more, indeed, than I am willing to attribute to the rude inhabitants or migratory Esqui maux. Bones of deer, wolves, seals, etc., were nume^ ous, and coal was found." There is no mention of any 460 BELCHER'S EXPEDITION. search having been made for a record, though in all probability this was not neglected ; yet the absence of any cairn would seem to render it unlikely that such a document existed. The explorations led to the discovery of various lands, to the most extensive of which the name of North Corn* wall was given, and of several islands washed by a sea open to the north, which Belcher regarded as the polar basin. The name of Victoria Archipelago was given to A group of islands in ^S* 10' ; and the easternmost, form- ing the channel which communicates with the Polar Sea, Was named North Kent. On the 2d of May, 1853, the north-east division of the sledging-parties left the ship, and soon reached the limit of their discoveries of the previous year. During this journey Belcher pushed toward North Cornwall and Jones's Strait ; but was unexpectedly stopped beyond Gape Disraeli, about the end of the month on which he set out, by the early disruption of the ice. " The sight which I obtained from this cape/' says he, "elevated six hundred and eighty feet above. the sea, led me to hope for better success due east. On that course we proceeded three days on a smooth floe, making thirty-six miles, when we reached, on the 18th, the entrance of a splendid channel. Fog had for some time worried us with indistinct glimpses of the approaches ; but, as it now cleared off, and the sun enlivened the scene, we were regaled with such a mag- niflcent view of successive beetling headlands on either side of the channel, and extending for about twenty miles, that it really became a puzzling matter to find names for them. Of one thing I felt quite convinced — namely, that we were now really in Jones's Channel. The latitude, the direction, the limit iii longitude to BELCHER'S EXPEDITION. 461 which we could see, only required an cxtennion of sixty miles to lead to the cairn erected by Captain Austin's party. The roughness of the frozen pack now com- pelled us to take to the land, and we advanced easily • 6ve or six miles, when a further stop to our prog- ress was opposed in the shape of an abrupt glacier, and the mortifying discovery that its base was washed by the sea, while the off-lying pack was rotten and tumbling asunder. " Not easily daunted, it was determined to try an overland route, and avoid this unfortunate hole, as we then thought it. Provisions, etc., were strapped on, and we soon started to view what we had to contend with before deciding on our ultimate mode of action. The hills continued increasing in height as we advanced, until they reached fifteen hunHred feet. We then descended and took up another position at nearly the same height as the last bluff, when we encamped for the night. All our hopes were crushed I Between us and the distant bluff the open sea prevailed on the 20th of May ! The horizon was streaked with open ' sailing-ice,' and all communication cut off for sledges. The bluff, distant sixteen miles, was clearly the turn- ing-point into Jones's Channel ; no land was visible beyond it." More than once their hopes were raised, during the return-journey, by the discovery of the remains of structures that had evidently been made by humau hands, yet not, apparently, by those of Esquimaux. " Our progress was tantalizing, and attended with deep interest and excitement. In the first place, I discov ered, on the brow of a mountain about eight hundred feet above the sea, what appeared to be a recent and a very workmanlike structure. This was a dome, — oi rather a double cone, or ice>house, — built of very heavy I t if! i' I 162 BELCHER'S EXPEDITION and tabular slabs, which no single person could carry It consisted of about forty courses, eight feet in dian* eter, and eight feet in depth, when cleared, but only five in height from the base of the upper cone us we opened it ' " Most carefully was every stone removed, every atom of moss or earth scrutinized ; the stones at the bottom also taken up ; but without finding a trace of any record, or of the structure having been used by any human being. It was filled by drift snow, but did not in any respect bear the appearance of having been built more than a season. This was named ' Mount Discovery.' " A short time afterwards he writes : " Leaving our crew, pretty well fatigued, to pitch the tent and pro- pare the customary pemmican meal, I ascended the mountain above us, and discovered that we really were not far from our old position of last year, on Cape Rogarth, and had Gape Majendic and Hamilton Island to the west, about twenty miles. " My surprise, however, was checked suddenly by two structures rather in European form, and apparently graves ; each was similarly constructed, and, like the dome, of large selected slabs, having at each end three separate stones, laid as we should place head and foot stones. So thoroughly satisfied was I that there was no delusion, I desisted from disturbing a stone until it should be formally done by the party assembled. "The evening following — for where the sun is so oppressive to the eyes by day we travel by night — we ascended the hill, and removed the stones. Not a trace of human beings ! " Thus Belcher and his men travelled about during the whole season, exploring the coasts around Wellington Channel, now on foot, and then in boats, as circum- BELCHER'S EXPEDITION. 463 stances permitted, but without discovering any clue to the fute of Sir John Franklin. Belcher difl'ers from M'Clure and other explorers in regard to the abundance of animal life in Arctic climes. " By extraordinary good fortune," he says, " bears might fall in the way of the traveller ; but, having killed and eaten his proportion, I much doubt if his strength would enable him to drag the remains until another piece of similar good fortune befell him. The assertion, therefore, of any ' teeming or abundance of animal life ' in this north-eastern dis- trict, is utterly untenable." On his return from this journey, Belcher first learned of the safety of Captain M'Gluro and his crew in the Bay of Mercy. The ships were liberated from the ice on the 14th of July. Belcher did not persevere in his attempts to push further north, notwithstanding his belief in an open Polar Sea, but shaped his course for Beechey Island. Gape Majendie was reached at an early day. Some time was then spent in surveying the Bays of Baring- and Prince Edward, when the further advance of the ships was stopped by a solid floe of ice. After much warping and blasting tu no purpose, in which many serious risks were encountered, the vessels were beset for a second winter (1853-4) at the southern horn of Baring's Bay. When the spring came, Sii Edward's whole thoughts Bcem to have been turned towards getting himself and crews safe back to England. lie determined, at all events, that they should not remain another winter in the ice. With this view, he sent the order to Captain Kellett, which we have related, and proceeded to manage his own vessels in a similar spirit. On the 6th of August, 1854, the Assistance and Pioneer broke out of their winter quarters, and advanced I ' i'i 464 INOLEFIiSLD'S VOYAGE elowly down the channel. The ice in Buitow'b Strtit broke up at the sante time, and by the 22il the floe of Wellington Channel was open for fifteen miles north of the strait. A belt of ice, only twenty milcH in extent, and that much cracked, was all that remained botwcoo the ships and the waters communicating with 'he Atlantic ; yet it was determined to abandon the vessels, and, on the 26th of August, 1854, both the Assistance and Pioneer were deserted, and the crews made their way to Beechey Island. Kellett and M'Clure, with the men under their com- mand, were there awaiting them. The searching parties had come in during the summer, and, on the 12th of June, Lieutenant Mechum had brought from Princess Royal Island news of the Enterprise, the first that had been heard from her since 1851. He had found records left by Gollinson, as late as August, 1852, in which the latter announced his intention to follow the channel between WoUaston and Prince Albert's Land. Kellett was in favor of remaining and sending parties to his relief ; but Belcher was bent on going home. All the oflScers and men of the Assistance, Pioneer, Resolute, Intrepid, and Investigator, accordingly got on board the North Star, and had just made sail when the Phcenix and Talbot, under Inglefield, hove in sight, rounding Gape Riley.- A distribution of the crews was made among the three vessels. On the 6th of September they reached Disco, and on the 28th of September, 1854, were all safely landed in England. The outward voyage of Inglefield on this occasion seems to have had its full share of dangers. After safely crossing the Atlantic in his steamer, the Phoenix, accompanied by the sailing vessel Talbot, he proceeded up Baffin's Bay, speaking some whalers by the way, and touching at Lievely for coal, which is abundant in '\i' IMGLEFIELD'S VOTAQB 465 these regions. Ice soon began to retatJ tlioin, but they wore enabled to break through it much niorc eosilji than were the navigators of former years, in conse- quence of the power of steam, which has gr<»atly altered the m')de of progression even in the regions of the north, not only by enabling the vessels to wend their way among loose ice in calm weather, but by giving them the power of charging the opposing masses under full rteam, and so smashing a passage in places where, (orrocrly, the unwieldy sailing-ship would have been detained for weeks, and perhaps set fast for the winter. "For ten ^days," says Inglefield, "we pushed on through heavy ice, blasting, boring, charging the nips, and making but slow advance, the bay-ice, forming strong every night, much retarding our progress ; and, on the Hih of August, we were closely beset at the rdge of a large floe some milej in extent. Luckily, a strong gale from the westward broke up the edges of this floe, and, on the weather moderating, slacked the ice suflSciently to admit of our pushing through, and on the 19th we were fortunate enough to get into the we^t water." ^ After this he proceeded to Wollaston Island, where he found that a depOt of provisions had been discovered by the Esquimaux, and almost entirely broken up. " Deeming it beneficial for the service upon which I was employed, and acting under the discretionary orders with which their lordships have been pleased to supply me, I determined upon examining-the d^pot near Wollas- ton Island, deposited by the North Star, in 1850. Foi that purpose I made the south shore of Lancaster Sound, and, on the 21st, about 8.30 p. ii., we passed neai enough to Gape Ilay to observe the coals deposited there, in 1849, by Captain Parker, of the Truelove. Ob- serving that the staff and two casks contauiiDg lettori 466 INGLEF^ELD'S VOYAGE. and provisions were missing, I landed, and found that no trace remained of these but a portion of the head of one of them, and some broken preserved meat-tins. The coals, too, had been either carried away by the £squimaux or the ice, there being only twenty-one bags. A little after ten we rounded Gape Castlereagh, aiidi Boon found the remains of the North Star's depot. Anchoring in five fathoms, we lashed the Talbot along* side, and on landing I found that this spot had also been visited by the Esquimaux. They had not only plundered it of all that was useful to them, but haa showed a reckless wantonness in the destruction of every remaining article. " Of the six hundred and eight casks and cases that were landed by Mr. Saunders, only one hundred and fourteen remained ; and each had been stoVe for the examination of their contents, which consisted of flour, peas, Scotch barley, oat-meal, and tobacco. Finding the flour only partially destroyed in each cask, I deter- mined on embarking all that still remained ; and the whole was shipped off to the Phoenix, with ten tons of patent fuel, which latter I did not hesitate to embark, as Sir Eaward Belcher had sent a vessel two years before to exam* ;e this depdt, and directed her commander to take tho »vhole of the coal from the neighboring point." From this point, the Phcenix and Talbot sailed to Cape Warrender, at which place they were very nearly lost. Captain Inglefield went ashore to examine a cairn that he had erected there the previous year. Returning on board, he found a strong westerly breeze with ebb- ti('rf*, which prevented much headway being made ; so they returned to seek anchorage for the night in Dundas Harbor. " Unfortunately," says Inglefield, " when pick- ing up a berth, we struck soundings in fifteen fathoms, 4nd, immediately after three, both ships grounded on a CAPTAIN COLLINSON. 467 mud bank, and, the tide falling, every exertion t^ get the Phoenix afloat proved useless, though the Talbot leas warped ofl' into deep water, where, both ner bower anchors being let go, the chain of the small one was passed into the Phcenix's quarter hawse-hole, and a heavy strain brought upon it. At three the following morning the strong breeze broke the ice away from the head of the bay, and, driving out, took the Phoenix on her 8tarb(»ard broadside, and laid her over .on her beam ends, forcing her still further on shore, and tearing oflf the whole of the false keel. The Talbot, though pushed again on the bank, escaped any damage from the ice, being shelterrd by this vessel, which was to windward of her. The day flood proving only a half-tide, we remained immovably fixed until the evening, by which time all the boats of both vessels had been laden with heavy stores to lighten tfiis vessel ; and I am happy to say that, about 11 p. m., both ships floated off into deep water, with no other damage than I have stated." Having now disposed of all the searching expeditions on the BafSn's Bay side of the continent, excepting only that of Dr. Kane, to which we shall devote a separate chapter, it remains for us to complete the histoiy of the other expeditions that proceeded by way of Behring'e Strait. To connect the thread of our narrative, we must r' Tnind the reader that we left her majesty's ship Enter- prise, Captain Collinson, consort of the Investigator, in the Pacific Ocean. She reached the latitude of Icy Cape, September 22d, 1850 ; when, meeting the pack- ice, she went south for a warmer climate, so as to be ready to resume operations in the season of 1851. All that Collinson knew of the position of M'Clure was a report from the Plover that the Investigator had been seen, under a press of canvas, steering northward, off Wainwright Inlet. Unfortimately, one of the rumors 468 LIEUTENANT BARNARD'S MURDLR. connect 3d with this report induced ColUnson to allo^ an enterprising young officer, Lieutenant Barnard, tc be landed in the Russian north-west American settle- ments, m order to inquire into the truth. In carrying out this service, Barnard was brutally murdered, in February, 1851, by Indians, in a surprise of one of the Russian posts, called Darabin redoubt, not far from Norton Spund. The sad catastrophe is briefly told in the handwriting of poor Barnard, in the annexed not« to Dr. Adams : '< Deah Adams : I am dreadfully wounded in the abdomen ; my entrails are banging out. I do not suppose I shall live long enough to see you. Tiie Cu-u-obuo Indians made the attack while we were in out bods. Boskey is badly wounded, and Darabin is dead. , " I think my wound would have been trifling h&d I had medical advice. I am in great pain. Nearly all the natives of the village are murdered Bet out for this place in all haste. John Barnard." The hand-wriL''ng of this note betrayed the anguish which the gallant writer was sufiering, and parts of it were nearly illegible On the 29th of July, 1851, OoUinson, in the Enter- prise, rounded Point Barrow, steered up Prince of Wales Strait, and here, on Princess Royal Island, dis- covered the Investigator's depot, end a cairn containing information up to June 15th, 1851. Passing on, the Enterprise, on the 30th of Auguet, reached the north end of the strait, but only to be ioilod in any attempt to pass beyond it. Collinson now decided on taking a course exactly similar to that of his more fortunate pre- decebscr, M'Glure ; but, on the 3d of September, little thinking that the Investigator had preceded him in his intended course, he found, to his surprise, on Cape Kellett, a record placed there on August 18th. The ice was now too close for him to push on ; and, no harbor fit for winter quarters offering itself as high as latitude RETURN OF THE ENTERPRISE, 46U V2" 54' north, CoUinsoii bore up, and eventually vvintere»l his ship on the eastern side of the entrance of Prince of \Vales Strait. Thencer he pursued his explorations in Iho neighborhood of Banks^s Land, Albert Land, Wol- laston Land, and Victoria Land, concerning the geogra* phy of which ho obtained much valuable information At Cambridge Bay, in Wollaston Land, where the Enterprise passed the winter of 1852-3, he saw in the possession of the Esquimaux a piece of iron and frag* ment of a doorway, or hatch-frame, which it is thought must have belonged to the Erebus or Terror ; but this trace led to no further discoveries, nor was anything ascertained in regard to the late of Sir John Franklin. The Enterprise was absent longer than any of the other searching expeditions, and was equally distin- guished by the ability, heroism, and endurance, displayed by her officers and crew ; but, as their adventures are shnilar to those already related, we do not think it necessary to give them in more detail. Long after the people of England were assured of the safety of M'Clure, they continued to feel anxiety regarding the fate of Oollinson. But the latter had the good fortune to retrace his steps by the way he came, and brought his ship and crew safely back to England. In the mean time, the Plover, the other vessel of the Pacific squadron, had also reached home in safety. Mr. Kennedy, in the Isabel, who sailed in 1853 to carry assistance to CoUin- Bon, was shipwrecked on the coast of South America, where hin crew having mutinied and deserted, his voyage was abandoned. Shortly after the return of Belcher and M'Clure, with the crews of their deserted ships, another note of inform- ation was sounded from the Arctic regions, but its tone was very sad. The Montreal Herald of October 21st, 1854, published a letter from Dr. Rae to the gov- il I 470 DR. RAE'S DISCOVERY. eraor of the Hudson's Bay Company, giving an account of the exploration from which he had just returned From this letter, which was dated York Factory, 4th August, 1854, it appeared that Rae reached his old quarters, at Repulse Bay, on the 15th of August, ISf.S, and there passed the ensuing winter. On the 31 st of March, 1854, his spring journey commenced. On the ITth he reached Peliy Bay, where he met Esquimaux, from whom he obtained several articles which were identified as belonging to various members of Sir John Franklin's party. The possession of these articles by the Esquimaux was accounted for by a story which is related in the following extract from Dr. Rae's journal, published soon after his arrival in England : " On the morning of the 20th we were met by a very intelligen'. Esquimaux, driving a dog-sledge laden with musk-ox beef. This man at once consented to accompany us two days' journey, and in a few minutes had deposited his load on the snow, and was ready to join us. Having ex- j)lained to him my object, he said that the road by which he had come was the best for us ; and, having lightened the men's sledges, we travelled with more facility. We were now joined by another of the natives, who had been absent seal-hunting yesterday, but, being anxious to see us, had visited our snow-house early this morning, and then followed up our track. This man was very communicative, and, on putting to him the usual questions as to his having seen ' white man ' be- fore, or a'ly ships or boats, he replied in the negative ; but said that a party of ' Kabloomans ' had died of starvation a long distance to the west of where we then were, and beyond a large river. He stated that he did not know the exact place, that he never had been there, and that he could not accompany us so far. The sub- RAF/S 1)ISC.')VI-RV. 471 stance of the information then and subsequontly obtaiji'.'d from various sources was to the following elTcct : " In the spring, four winters past (1850), while some Esquimaux families were killing seals near the north shore of a large island, named in Arrowsmith's charts King William's Land, about forty white men were seen travelling in company southward over the ice, and drag- ging a boat and sledges with them. They were passing along the west shore of the above-named island. None of the party could speak the Esquimaux language so well as to be understood, but by signs the natives were led to believe that the ship or ships had been crushed by ice, and that they were now going to where they ex- pected to find deer to shoot. From the appearance of the men — all of whom, with the exception of an officer, were hauling on the drag-ropes of the sledge, and looked thin — they were then supposed to be getting short of provisions ; and they purchased a small seal, or piece of seal, from the natives. The officer was described as being a tall, stout, middle-aged man. When their day'9 journey terminated, they pitched tents to rest in. " At a later date the same season, but previous to the disruption of the ice, the corpses of some thirty persons and some graves were discovered on the continent, and five dead bodies on an island near it, about a long day's iourney to the north-west of the mouth of a large stream, which can be no other than Back's Great Fish River (named by the Esquimaux Oot-koo-hi-ca-lik), as its de- scription and that of the low shore in the neighborhood of Point Ogle aid Montreal Island agree exactly with that of Sir George Back. Some of the bodies were in a tent, or tents ; others were under the boat, which had been turned over to form a shelter ; and some lay scat- tered about in different directions. Of those seen on the island, it was supposed that one was that of an officer » . 472 RELICS OF FRANKLIN. (chief), as ho had a telescope strapped over nis shoul- ders, and a double-barrelled gun lay underneath him. "From the mutilated state of many of the bodies, and the contents of the kettles, it is evident that our wretched countrymen had been driven to the dreaO alternative of cannibalism as a means of sustaining life. A few of the unfortunate men must have survived until the arrival of the wild-fowl (say until the end of May), as shots were heard, and fresh bones and feathers of geese were noticed near the scene of the sad event. " There appoar*s to have been an abundant store of ammunition, as the gunpowder was emptied by the natives in a heap on the ground out of the kegs or cases containing it, and a quantity of shot and ball was found below high-water mark, having probably been left on the ice close to the beach before the spring commenced. There must have been a number of telescopes, guns (several of them double-barrelled), watches, compasses, &c., all of which seem to have been broken up, as I saw pieces of these dilTorent articles with the natives, and I purchased as many as possible, together with some silver spoons and forks, an Order of Merit in the form of a star, and a small silver plate engraved * Sir John Franklin, K.C.B.'" Dr. Rae concludes by expressing the opinion that no violence had been offered to the sufferers by the natives, but that they were starved to death. The following is a list of the articles obtained from the Esquimaux : One silver table-fork — crest, an animal's head with wings extended above ; three silver table-forks — crest, a bird with wings extended ; one silver table-spoon — crest, with initials " F. R. M. C." (Captain Crozier, Ter- ror) ; one silver table-spoon and one fork — crest, bird with laurel-branch in mouth, motto, " Spero meliora ;" oi»e silver table-spoon, one tea-spoon, and one dessert- RAE'S LETTER TO THE TIMES. 475 fork — crest, a fish's head looking upwards, with laurel* branches on each side ; one silver table-furk — initials, " J I. D. S. G." (Ilarry D. S. Goodsir, assistant-surgeon, Erebus); one silver table-fork — initials, "A. M'D." (Alexander M'Donald, assistant-surgeon, Terror) ; one silver table-fork — initials, " G. A. M." (Gillies A.Muc- bean, second master. Terror) ; one silver table-fork — initials, "J. T. ; " one silver dessert-spoon — initials, " J. S. P." (John S. Peddie, surgeon, Erebus) ; a round silver plate, engraved, " Sir John Franklin, K.C.B.;" a star or order, with motto, " Nee aspera lerrent, G. R. 111. MDCCCXV." On obtaining the above information. Dr. Rae instantly hastened to England, for the purpose of preventing any further exp(jditions being despatched in search of the lost navigators. His report, as might have been ex- pected, was subjected on all hands to criticism and com* ment. Many were of opinion that the information ob- tained did not warrant the conclusion that the whole party was lost. Some of the criticisms made on his report induced Dr. Rae to take up the pen in self-defence ; and in a letter which he addressed to the editor of the London Times we find the following remarks, which come with great weight from one who, of all others, is most competent to speak authoritatively. They were v:ritten in reply to an attack made upon him by a gen- llontan who had a relative with the lost expedition, and serve to show how difficult it is to form a correct judg- ment on subjects of which we have not had personal experience. " It is asked by your correspondent," says Dr. Rae, " ' where Esquimaux can live, where Dr. Rae's party could find abundant means, what should prevent Sii John Franklin and his party from subsisting too ? * No man but one perfectly unacquainted with the «< 474 RAE'S LETTER TO THE TIMES. subject could ask such a question. At the season when Sir John Franklin's party was seen travelling over the ice, the seal-holes are covered by snow, and can only bo discovered by the acute sense of smell of the native dogs ; and, after the seal-hole is discovered, much pa- tience, experience, and care, are requisite to kill the seal. As soon as the snow thaws (say in June) the seals show themselves on the ice ; but they are then so dif- ficult of approach that not one of my men (Onligbuck, the interpreter, excepted), although they often made the attempt, could approach near enough to shoot any of these animals. " I wintered at a part of the Arctic coast remarkable by its geographical formation for the abundance of deer during the autumn migrations, but only then ; and it was at that time that we laid up oui winter stock of food ; but it was hard work even for us (all practised sportsmen, picked men, and in full strength and train- ing) to collect a sufficiency. " That portion of country near to and on which a portion of Sir John Fraiiklin's party was seen is, in the spring, notoriously the most barren of animal life of any of the Arctic shores ; and the few deer that may be seen are generally very shy, from having been hunted during the winter by Indians, on the borders of the woodlands. To prove this scarcity of game, I may add, that during my spring journey of fifty-six days' duration, one deer only and a few partridges were shot by us. *' It is asked by your correspondent, * Why the un- fortunate men should have encumbered themselves with silver forks and spoons and silver plates ? ' &c. The total weight of the silver forks and spoons could not be more than four or five pounds at the utmost, and would not appear much when divided among forty persons ; »nd any officer who has ever had the misfortune to RAE'S LmiER ro THE TIMES. 476 abandon his ship or boat anywhere, but more particu* larly in the Arctic sea, knows how apt men are to en- cumber themseb'cs with articles far more useless and bulky than a few forks and spoons. I suppose, by ' siN ver plates,' your correspondent alludes to the silver plate with Sir John Franklin's name engraved thereon, and which may possibly weigh half an ounce, — no great addition to a man's load. " Again, your correspondent says, ' that the ships have been abandoned, and pillaged by the Esquimaux.' In this opinion I perfectly agree so far as regards the abandonment of the ships, but not that these ships were pillaged by the natives. Ha^ this been the case, wood would have been abundant among these poor people* It was not so, and they were reduced to the necessity of making their sledges of musk-ox skins folded up and frozen together, — an alternative to which the want of wood alone could have reduced them. Another proof that the natives had very little wood among them may be adduced. Before leaving Repulse Bay, I col- lected together t^ome of the most respectable of the old Esquimaux, and distributed among them all the wood we could spare, amounting to two or three oars and some broken poles. When these things were de- livered to them, 1 bale the Esquimaux interpreter, who ppeaks both his own and the English language fluently, JO ask whether they or their acquaintance^ near Pelly Bay had now most wood. They all immediately shouted Dut holding up their hands, that they themselves had most. I need scarcely add that, had the ships been found by the Esquimaux, a stock of wood sufficient for many years for all the natives within an extent of several hundred miles would have been obtained." From all this it will be seen that the evidence of Dr. Rac went to show that the fate of thirty-five men of tha 476 ANDERSON'S JOURNEY. - expedition had been but too surely ascertained ; but there were yet one hundred and throe to be accounted for. No one, familiar with the history of Arctic dis- covery, could entertain much hope of ever seeing tho gallant crews of the Erebus and Terror alive ; but there was every reason to believe tl;at the /rai7 had been at last struck, and that in a short time we should have the melancholy satisfaction of at least knowing how, when, and where, they perished. For the purpose of ascer- taining this, of obtaining the papers of the lost ships, and of burying the remains of their crews, if they should be found, the British government resolved to send out a land expedition to follow np the search of Dr. Rae. A party was accordingly organized in the summer of 1855, and placed under the command of Mr. James Anderson, chief factor of the Hudson's Bay Company ; Dr. Rae, to whom the command was first ofiered, hav- ing declined it, on account of ill-health. Anderson's expedition started from Fort Resolution on the 22d of Juno, 1855, and commenced the descent of the Great Fish River in three canoes. They were unaccompanied by any interpreter. On the 30th of July, at the rapids below Lake Franklin, three Esquimaux lodges were seen, and numerous articles, belonging to a boat-equi- page, were there found — such as tent-poles, paddles, copper and sheet-iron boilers, tin soup-tureens, chis- els, and tools of various kinds. The occupants of the lodges, all but one of whom were women, said (by words and signs) that these things were obtained from a boat, and that the white men belonging to it had died of starvation. Pushing on again, tho party reached Point Beaufort, and at last Montreal Island. There they found some chain-hooks, tools, rope, bunting, and a number of •ticks strung together on one cf which was cut tho A'' ANDERSON'S JOURNEY. 477 name of " Mr. Stanley " (surgeon of the Erebus) ; also chips, shavings, endH of plank, etc., apparently sawed by unskilful hands. On one the word "Terror" was carved. It was evident to Mr. Anderson that this was the spot where the boat was cut up by the Esquimaux ; but nut a vestige of human remaifis could be discov- ered, or a scrap of paper. Point Ogle was next exam* ined, and small articles of a HJmilar character were alHo found there ; but with no other result. On the 8th of August, 1865, the party began to re- trace their steps, having seer no Esquimaux, except the few at the rapids before mentioned, and having been unable to reach King William's Land. This information was received in England early in 1856, and was contirmatory of Kae's supposition that the Great Fish wuh the river on which the party he heard of had retreated : but, so fur as the particulars of their fate were concerned, it left the whole matter as much Involved in mystery as ever. ^, 1^^^_ IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) 1.0 1.1 b£|2£ 115 ■^ lii 122 !^ |£o 12.0 11-25 III 1.4 Fk)tographic Sciences Corporation ■^ 23 WIST MAIN STRUT WIBSTER.N.Y. MSSO (716)l7a-4S03 '^ o V CHAPTER XIX. MOOIIfi SMmiBLL EXPEOITIOir. — DR. KAITK's PLAN DBPARIVKB. — !> THB ICK. — SEARCH FOR A HARBOR. —iPROZEK IN. — TEMPERATIJBB. -• WCIOBirTS. — LOSS OP DOOS. — DISASTROUS SLEDGING-PARTT. — TBB BBSCVE. — MEBTIMO WITH ESQVIHAOX. — DISCOVERIES. — ATTEHPT TO REACH BBLCQBR's SQUADRON. — ANOTHBR WINTER. — PRIVATION AND ^BRIL. — ABANDONHKVT OF THE VESSEL. -^FAREWELL TO THE ESQCI> IIAVZ. — IN SAFETY. - REPORT TO NAVT DEPARTMENT. — THE OPEN POLAQ SEA. — CBARiOTRR OF OR. KANS'S ADVENTURES. — HIS PUBLISHED NARRATIVE. ^ The expedition under the command of Dr. Kane sailod from New York on the 30th of May, 1853. It consisted of eighteen chosen men, besides the com- mander, embarked in a small brig of one hundred and forty-/:ur tons burden, named the Advance, which was furnished by Mr. Grinnell, other expenses being con- tributt.d by Mr. Peabody and several generous indi- vidualb and societies. Dr. Kane's predeteiTnined course was to enter the strait discovered the previouss year by Captain Inglefield, at the top of BaflSn's Bay, and to push as far northward through it as practicable. He engaged the services of a native Esquimaux, of the name of Uans Christensen, at Fiskernaes, in Greenland, and then crossed Melville Bay in the wake of the vast icebergs with which the sea is there strewn. These huge frozen masses are often driven one way by a deep current, while the floes are drifted in another by winds and surface-streams, disruptions being thus necessarily caused iu the vast ice-fields. The doctor's tactics were DR. KANE'S EXPEWTION. 481 to dod^e about in the rear of these floating ice-nioun* tains, holding upon them whenever adverse winds wer« troublesome, and pressing forward whenever an oppor* tunity occurred. Dr. Kane's plan was based upon the probable exteu» Hion of thcu land-masses of Greenland to the far north — a fact at that time not verified by travel, but sustained by the analogies of physical geography. Greenland, though looked upon as a congeries of islands connected ny interior glaciers, was still regarded as a peninsula, whose formation recognized the same lawa us other peninsulas having a southern trend. Believing in the extension of this peninsula nearer to the pole than any other known land, and feeling that the search for Sir John Franklin would be best promoted by a course that might lead most directly to the sup- posed northerly open sea, Dr. Kane advanced, as in* ducements in favor of his scheme : Terra Firnja as the basis of his operations ; a due northern line which would lead soonest to the open sea ; the benefit of northern land to check the southern drift of ice ; the presumed existence of animal life ; and the cooperation of Esqui- maux, whose settlements were supposed to extend far up the coast. The good ship Advance entered the harbor of Fiskcr* naes, on the 1st of July, " amid the clamor of its entire population assembled on the rocks to greet us." On the t6th of July she passed the promontory of Swartehuk, or Blackhead ; and, on the 27th, Wilcox Point ; icebergs nhowing themselves on all sides, and rendeiing the nav- igation of Melville Bay full of danger. On the 2d oi August they were fairly in the ice, and beset by fogs. It was only at times that the floes opened suflSclently to allow the ship to make her way through them. At midnight of the 3d. however, they got clear of the bay 31 4$2 DR. KANE'S EXPEDITION. I ill and of its difficulties, Dr. Kane taking credit tc himsell for having effected this by an outside passag?. The North. Water, the highway to Smith's Sound, was now fairly before them. On the 5th they passed Sir John Ross's " Crimson Cliff's," and the patches of r(;d snow could be seen clearly at the distance of ten miles from the coast : and on the 1th they doubled Cape Alexander — the Arctic pillars of Hercules — and passed into Smith's Sound. Arriving at Littleton Island, they deposited there a boat with a supply of stores, but far from the vestiges of an old Esquimaux settlement. On the 8th they again closed with the ice, and were forced into a land-locked cove. The dogs, of which they had more than fifty on board, began to be veiy troublesome ; they^ would devour almost everything that cume in their way, from an Esquimaux cranium to a whole feather-bed ! The men tried to shoot some wal- ruses, but the rifle-balls rebounded from their hides like pebbles ; and it was only by accident that they found the carcass of a narwhal, with which to appease the poor dogs for a time. All attempts to work the vessel seaward through the floes proving unsuccessful, it was resolved to try for a fur- ther northing by following the coast-line. But, although even warping was had recourse to, this also was followed by but very trifling success. On midnight of the 14th they reached the lee side of a rocky island, which, from the shelter it affbrdcd, was designated " Godsend Ledge." It was, however, destined to be so but a short time. On the 20th it came on to blow a hurricane ; the haw- sers parted one after the other, and the ship was left at the mercy of the winds, waves, and ice, combined. It was a most trying time, and the party underwent many perils ere they found temporary shelter beyond a lofty DR. KANE'S EXPEDITION. 48a cape, and under an iceberg that anchored itsell between them and the gale. The point to which they were thus unceremoniously driven was ten miles nearer the pole than Godsend Ledge ; and on the 22d, the storm having abated, the men were harnessed to the tow-lines, and they began to tra^k along the ice-belt off the coast, warping also at TRACKIMG ALONG TH> ICE-BELT. times, but with so little effect that, on the 29th, Dr. Kan^ rushed on ahead with a small boating-party for a personal inspection of the coast. After twenty-four hours' toil, the boat had to be exchanged for a sledge, with which tliey also got on but. slowly, passing Glacier Bay, Mary Mintura River, — the largest known in 'North Greenland, being about three fourths of a mile wide at its mouth — Capeb Thackeray and Francis Qawkes, to Cape George Russell, from whence could be seen the great glacier of Humboldt, Cape Jackson on the one side, and Cape Barrow on the other, and be- tween them a solid sea of ice. The gallajt captain returned satisfied that he had seen no place combining so many of the requisites of a good winter harbor as the bay in which he had left the Advance. So he gave the orders to warp in between two islands. They found seven fathom soundings, and 484 DR. KANE'S EXPEDITION. ft perfect shelter from the outside ice ; and thus the litr tie. brig was laid up in Van Rensselaer Harbor, near a group of rocky islets, in the south*eastem curve of a bay, where she was frozen in on September 10th. An observatoiy was erected adjacent to the ship, and a thermal register was kept hourly. Tiie mean annual temperature at this spot appears to be two degrees lower than that of Melville Island, according to Parry. The lowest temperature was observed in February, when the mean of eight instruments gave seventy deg^es Fahrenheit. Chloroform .froze, essential oils became partly solid and liquid, and, on February 24th, chloric ether was congealed for the first time by natural tern* perature. For astronomical observations, a transit and theodolite were mounted on stone pedestals, cemented by ice. The longitude was based on moon culminations, corroborated by occultations of planets, and the solar eclipse of May, 1866. The position of the observatory was found to be in lat. 78* 87', and long. 70* 40' 6". Magnetic observations, both absolute and relative, were also kept up. An excursion was made ninety miles into the interior, when its further progress was arrested, by a glacier four hundred feet high, and extending north and west as far as the eye could reach. As to the sledging outfit, they' kept on reducing it, until at last they came to the Esqui* maux ultimatum df simplicity -*- raw meat and a fur bag. For the time being, a man thus becomes a mere animal, only with another animal's skin for a cover. Parties wore organized for establishing provision d^p6ts to facilitate researches in the spring, and more than eight hundred miles were traversed. The.Qreen* lapd coast was traced for one hundred and twenty-flve miles .to the north and east, and the largest of the three depdts along the coast wat formed on an island in lat DA. KANE'S EXPEDITION. 485 70" 12^ 6", and long. 65* 25'. Darkness ancsted tliese proceedings on November 20th, and the sun continued cne hundred and twenty days below the hoiizon. One of the first incidents that occurred was setting the ship on fire in an attempt to exterminate the rata with carbonic-acid gas. It ended in nearly asphyxiating the commander and two or throe others. The next inci* dent was one of the dogs going rabid — a phenomenon usually supposed to be associated with the heats of Hummer. Great inconvenience was experienced in the sledge-excursions, and in making " caches *' of provi- sions in this region, from the frequent ice-cracks, or cre^ vasses, as the Swiss would call them, and into which dogs, sledges, and travellers, were sometimes tumbled, at the imminent risk of being carried below the ice by the current — not to mention the danger to health of an iip- mersion with the thermometer many degrees below zero. The point at which the party were wintering, it ip to be observed, was in a higher latitude than the wintenn^- stations in the Arctic archipelago ; and, except on ^pitz- bergen, no Christians are known to have passed a win- ter so near to the pole. The darkness was so intense that it necessarily entailed inaction ; and it was in vain that they sought to create topics of thought, and, by a forced excitement, to ward off the encroachments of dis- ease. The thermometer fell to ninety-nine degrees below freezing point. Human beings could only breathe in such a temperature guardedly, and with compressed lips. The influence of such severe cold and long intense darkness was most depressing. Most of the dogs died of affections of the brain, which began, as in the in- Htanoe of some of the men of the Investigator, with fits, followed by lunacy, and sometimes by lock-jaw. Their disease, Dr. Kane remarks, was as clearly mental as in the case of any human being. Fifty-seven died with 486 DR. KANE'S EXPEDITION. these symptoms. The loss of his dogs seriously afiecteeard still adhering to it. *' We were able to melt water and get some soup cooked before the rest of our party arrived : it took them but five hours to walk the nine miles. They were doing well, and, considering the circumstances, in won- derful spirits. The day was most providentially wind- less, with a clear sun. All enjoyed the refreshment wo had got ready : the crippled were repacked in their robes ; and we sped briskly toward the hummook-ridgea which lay between us and the Pinnacly Berg. " The hummocks we had now to meet came properly under the designation of squeezed ice. A great chain o1 bergs stretching from north-west to south-east, mov* 492 DR. KANE'S EXPEDITION. >i / III I I ing with tho tides, had compressed the surface-floes ; and, rearing them up on their edges, produced an area more like the volcariic pedragal of the basin of Mexico than anything else I can compare it to^ " It required desperate efforts to work our way orer it : — literally desperate, for our strength failed us anew, and we began to lose our self-control. We could not abstain any longer from eating snow ; our mouths swelled, and some of us became speechless. Happily, thb day was warmed by a clear sunshine, and the ther- mometer rose to — i" in the shade ; otherwise we must have frozen. > *' Our halts multiplied, and we fell half-sleeping on the snow. I could not prevent it. Strange to say, it refreshed us. I ventured upon the experiment myself, making Riley wake me at the end of three minutes ; and I felt so much benefited by it that I timed the men in the same way. They sat on the runners of the sledge, fell asleep instantly, and were forced to wake- fulness when their three minutes were out. " By eight in the evening we emerged from the floes. The sight of the Pinnacly Berg revived us. Brandy, an invaluable resource in emergency, had already been served out in table-spoonful doses. We now took a longer rest, and a last but stouter dram, and reached the brig at one p. m., we believe, without a halt. "I say we believe; and here, perhaps, is the most decided proof of our sufferings ; we were quite delir- ious, and had ceased to entertain a sane apprehension of the circumstances about us. We moved on like men in a dream. Our foot-marks, seen afterward, showed that we had steered a bee-line for the brig. It must have been by a sort of instinct, for it left no impress on 'she memory. Bonsall was sent staggering ahead, and reiK^hed the brig, Ood knows how, for he had fallen DR. KANES EXPEDITION. 493 repeatedly at the track-lines ; but he delivered, with punctilious accuracy, the messages I had sent by him to Dr. Hayes I thought myself the soundest of all ; for I went through all the formula of sanity, and can recall the muttering delirium of my comrades when we got back into the cabin of our brig. Yet I have been told since of some speeches, and some orders, too, of mine, which I should have rumembered for their absurd- ity, if my mind had retained its balance. " Petersen and Whipple came out to meet us about two miles from the brig. They brought my dog-team, with the restoratives I had sent for by Bonsall. I do not remember their coming. Dr. Hayes entered with judicious energy upon the treatment our condition called for ; administering morphine freely, after the usual frictions. He reported none of our brain-symp- toms as serious, referring them properly to the class of those indications of exhausted power which yield to a generous diet and rest. Mr. Ohlsen suffered some time from strabismus and blin'dness ; two others underwent amputation of parts of the foot, without unpleasant consequiences ; and two died, in spite of all our efforts. This rescue-party had been out for seventy-two hours. We had halted in all eight hours, half of our number sleeping at a time. We travelled between eighty and ninety miles, most of the way dragging a heavy sledge. The mean temperature of the whole time, including the warmest hours of three days, was at minus 41*.2. We had no water except at our two halts, and were at no time able to intermit vigorous exercise without freezing. " April 4:, Tuesday. — Four days have passed, and I am again at my record of failures, sound, but aching ■till in every joint. The rescued men are not out of ^i 494 i)& KANE'S EXPEDinON. ii danger, but their gratitude is very touching. Pray God that they may live 1 " ' The first appearance of the Esquimaux is thusde* scribed : " We were watching, in the morning, at Baker's death-bed, when one of our deck-watch, who had been cutting ice for the melter, came hurrying down to the cabin with the report, ' People hollaing ashore 1 * I went up, followed by as many as could mount the gang- way ; and there they were, on all sides of our rocky harbor, dotting the snow-shores, and emerging from the blackness of the cliffs — wild and uncouth, but evi- dently human beings '* As we gathered on the deck, they rose upon the more elevated fragments of the land-ice, standing singly and conspicuously, like the figures in a tableau of the opera, and distributing themselves around almost in a half-circle. They were vociferating as if to attract our attention, or, perhaps, only to give vent to their sur- prise ; but I could make nothing out of their cries, except ' Hoah, ha, ha I ' and ' Ka, kaah I ka, kaah I ' repeated over and over again. " There was light enough for me to see that they brandished no weapons, and were only tossing their heads and arms about in violent gesticulations. A more unexcited inspection showed us, too, that their numbers were not as great, nor their size as Patagonian, as some of us had been disposed to fancy at first. In a word,! was satisfied that they were natives of the country ; and, calling Petersen from his bunk to be my interpreter, I proceeded, unarmed, and waving my open hands, toward a stout figure, who made himself conspicuous, and seemed to have a greater number near him than the rest. Ue evidently understood the movemert ; for DR. KANE'S EXPEDITION. 495 ho At once, like a brave fellow, leaped down upon the flo«5, and advanced to meet me fully half-way. " He was nearly a head taller than myself, extremely powerful and well-built, with swarthy complexion, and black eyes. His dress was a hooded capote or jumper, of mixed white and blue fox-pelts, arranged with some- thing of fancy ; and booted trousers of white bear-skin, which, at the end of the foot, were made to terminate with the claws of the animal. " I soon came to an understanding with this gallant diplomatist. Almost as soon as we commenced our parley, his companions, probably receiving signals from him, flocked in and surrounded us ; but we had no diffi- culty in making them know, positively, that they must remain where they were, while Metek went with jne on board the ship. This gave me the advantage of nego- tiating with an important hostage. " Although this was the first time he had ever seen a white man, he went with me fearlessly, his compan- ions staying behind on the ice. Hickey took them out what he esteemed our greatest delicacies — slices of good wheat bread, and corned pork, with exorbitant lumps of white sugar ; but they refused to touch them. They had evidently no apprehension of open violence from us. I found, afterward, that several among them were singly a match for the white bear and the walrus, and that they thought us a very pale-faced crew. "Being satisfied with my interview in the cabin, 1 sent out word that the rest might be admitted to the ship ; and, although they, of course, could not know how their chief had been dealt with, some nine or ten of them followed, witfi boisterous readiness, upon the bidding. Others, in the"* mean time, as if disposed to give us their company for the full time of a visit, brought up from behind tho land-ice as many as fifly-fldi «l! (I'll' H i! 496 DR. KANE'S KXPEDinON. One dogs, with their sledges, and secured them within two hundred feet of the brig, driving their lances into the ice, and picketing the dogs to them by the seal-skin traces. The animals understood the operation perfectly, and lay down as soon as it commenced. The sledges were made up of small fragments of porous bone, admira- bly knit together by thongs of hide ; the runners, which glistened like burnished steel, were of highly-polished ivory, obtained from the tusks of the walrus. " The only arms they carried were knives, concealed in their boots ; but their lances, which were lashed to the sledges, were quite a formidable weapon. The staff was of the horn of the narwhal, or else of the thigh-bones o{ the bear, two lashed togfother ; or sometimes the mirabilis of the walrus, three or four of them united. This last was a favorite material, also, for the cross-bars of their sledges. They had no wood. A sifigle rusty hoop from a current-drifted cask might have furnished all the knives of the party ; but the fleam-shaped tips 3f their lances were of unmistakable steel, and were riveted to the tapering, bony point, with no mean skill. I learned afterward that the metal was obtained in traffic from the more southern tribes. " They were clad much as I have described Mctek, in jumpers, boots, and white bear-skin breeches, with their feet decorated like his, en grife. A strip of knot- ted leather worn round the neck, very greasy and dirty- looking, which no one. could be persuaded to part with for an instant, was mistaken, at first, for an ornament by the crew ; it was not until mutual hardships had made us better acquainted that we learned its mys- terious uses. " When they were first allowed to come on board, they were very rude and difficult to manage. They ^ iipoke three or four at a time, to each othe^* and to ub N \ r o a [497] \ DR. KANE'S EXPEDITION. 499 laughing heartily at our ignorance in not understanding them, and then talking away, as before. They were in- cessantly in motion, — going everywhere, trying doors, and squeezing themselves through dark passages, round casks and boxes, and out into the light again, anxious to touch and handle everything they saw, and asking for or else endeavoring to steal, everything they touched. It was the more difficult to restrain them, as I did not wish them to suppose that we were at all intimidated. But there were some signs of our disabled condition, which it was important they should not see ; it was especially necessary to keep them out of the forecastle, where the dead body of poor Baker was lying ; and, as it was in vain to reason or persuade, we bad, at last, to employ the * gentle laying-on of hands,' which, I believe, the laws of all countries tolerate, to keep them in order. " Our whole force was mustered, and kept constantly on the alert ; but, though there may have been some- thing of discourtesy in the occasional shouMerings and bustlings that enforced the police of the ship, things went on good-humoredly. Our guests continued run- ning in and out and about the vessel, bringing in pro- visions, and carrying them out again to their dogs on the ice ; in fact, stealing all the time, until the after- noon, when, like tired children, they threw themselves down to sleep. I ordered them to be made comfortable in the hold ; and Morton spread a large buffalo-robe for them not far from a coal-fire in the galley-stove. " They were lost in barbarous amaze- at the new fuel, — too hard for blubber, too soft for fire-stone, — but they were content to believe it might cook as well as seal's fat. They borrowed from us an iron pot, and some melted water, and parboiled a couple of pieces of walrus-meat ; but, the real pih:e de riaistance, some five pounds of head, they preferred to eat raw. Tet there t I I I t i i: : 600 DR. KANE'S EXPEDITION. was something of the gour^met in theii mode of assort* ing their mouthftils of beef and blubber Slices of each, or rather strips, passed between the lips, either to* gether or in strict alternation, and with a regularity of sequence that kept the molars well to their work. " They did not eat all at once, but each man when and as often as the impulse prompted. Each slept after eating, his raw chunk lying beside him on the* buffalo- skin ; and, as he woke, the first act was to eat, and the next to sleep again. They did ndt lie down, but slum- bered away in a sitting posture, with the head declined upon the breast, some of them snoring famously. " In the morning they were anxious to go ; but I had given orders to detain them for a parting interview with myself. It resulted in a treaty, brief in its terms, that it might be certainly remembered ; and mutually bene- ficial, that it might possibly be kept. I tried to make them understand what a powerful Prospero they had had for a host, and how beneficent he would prove himself so long as they did his bidding. And, as an earnest of my favor, I bought all the walrus-meat they had to spare, and four of their dogs ; enriching them, in return, with needles and beads, and a treasure of old cask-staves. '^ The flesh of the seal is eaten universally by the Danes of Greenland, and is, at certain seasons, almost the staple diet of th& Esquimaux. Tliese animals are shot lying by their atluk or breathing-holes. Their eyes are so congested by the glare of the sun in midsummer as to render them more readily approachable. , "On one occasion," says Dr. Kane, " while working my way toward the Esquimaux huts, I saw a large Usuk basking asleep upon the ice. Taking off my shoes, I commenced a somewhat refrigerating process of stalk? ing, lying upon my belly, and crawling along, step bj ■tep, behind the little knobs of floe At last, when I DR. KANE'S EXPEDITION. oOl was within long rifle-shot, the animal gave a sluggish roll to one side, and suddenly lifted his head. The movement was evidently independent of me, for ho strained his neck in nearly the opposite direction. Then, for the first time, I found that I had a rival seal-hunter in a large l)ear, who was, on his bellj^ like myself, wait* ing with commendable patience and cold feet for a chance of nearer approach. " What should I do ? — the bear was doubtless worth more to me than the seal ; but the seal was now within shot, and the bear ' a bird in the bush.' Besides, my bullet once invested in the seal would leave me defence- less. I might be giving a dinner to a bear, and saving myself for his dessert. These meditations were soon brought to a close ; for a second movement of the seal so aroused my hunter's instincts that I pulled the trigger. My cap alone exploded. Instantly, with a floundering splash, the seal descended into the deep, and th^ bear, with three or four rapid leaps, stood disconsolately by the place of his descent. For a single moment we stared each other in the face, and then, with that dis- cretion which is the better part of valor, the bear ran off in one direction, and I followed his example in the other." The month of April was about to close, and the short season available for Arctic search was already advanced, when Dr. Kane started on his grand sledge expedition to the north. " It was,'^ says the enterprising com- mander, " to be the crowning expedition of the campaign to attain the ultima thule of the Greenland shore, meas- are the waste that lay between it and the unknown west, and seek round the furthest circle of the ice for an outlet to the mysterious channels beyond." The rigor of the climate, the difficulties of the country, the fiuluie of the caches which had been brohen into by the 502 Da KANE'S EXPEDITION. beain, the enfeebled state of the party, and the inad^* quacy of means and equipments, all, however, combinea to cause failure. By the 5th of May, Dr. Kane had become delirious, and fainted every time that he was taken from^he tent to the sledge ; so all idea of further progress had to be given up. lie was taken into the brig on the 14th, and lay fluctuating between life and death till the 20th. Some interesting discoveries were, however, made oi this unfortunate trip, more especially of two remarkable freaks of nature, one of which was called the " Three Brother Turrets," the other, " Tennyson's Monument." The latter was a solitary column, or " minaret tower " of greenstone, the length of whose shaft was four hun- dred and eighty feet, and it rose on a plinth, or pedestal . itself two hundred-and eighty feet high, as sharply fin- ished as if it had been cast for the Place Yenddme. But by far the most remarkable feature in the inland Green- land sea is the so-called " Great Glacier of Humboldt." " I will not attempt " (writes Dr. Kane, speaking of the impossibility of giving an idea of this great glaciei by sketches) " to do better by florid description. Men only rhapsodize about Niagara and the ocean. My notes speak simply of the ' long, ever-shining line of cliflf diminished to a well-pointed wedge in the perspec- tiye ; ' and again, of ' the face of glistening ice, sweep- >ing in a long curve from the low interior, the facets in front intensely illuminated by the sun.^ But this line of cliff rose in solid glassy wall three hundred feet above the water level, with an unknown, unfathomable depth below it ; and its curved face, sixty miles in length, from Cape Agassiz to Cape Forbes, vanished into unknown space at not more than a single day's railroad- travel from the pole. The interior with which it com- tnuniCated, and from which it issued, was an unsurveyed DR. KAMIS'S EXPEDmOM. 503 mer de glace, an ice-ocean, to the eye of boundless dimensions. " It was in full sight — the mighty crystal bridge which connects the two continents of America and Greenland. I say continents, for Greenland, however insulated it may ultimately prove to be, is in mass strictly conti- nental. Its least possible axis, measured from Gape Farewell to the line of this glacier, in the neighborhood of the eightieth parallel, gives a length of more than twelve hundred miles, — not materially less than that of Australia from its northern to its southern cape. " Imagine now the centre of such a continent, oc- cupied through nearly its whole extent by a deep un- broken sea of ice, that gathers perennial increase from the water-shed of vast snow-covered mountains, and all the precipitations of the atmosphere upon its own sur- face. Imagine this moving onward like a great glacial river, seeking outlets at every fiord and valley, rolling icy cataracts into the Atlantic and Greenland seas ; and, having at last reached the northern limit of the land that has b(}rne it up, pouring out a mighty frozen torrent into unknown Arctic space. " It is thus, and only thus, that we must form a just conception of a phenomenon like this Great Glacier. I had looked in my own. mind for such an appearance, should I ever be fortunate enough to reach the northern coast of Greenland, fiut, now that it was before me, I could hardly realize it. I had recognized, in my quiet library at home, the beautiful analogies which Forbes and Studer have developed between the glacier and the river. But I could not comprehend at first this com- plete substitution of ice for water. " It was slowly that the conviction dawned on me that I was looking upon the counterpart of the great river system of Arctic Asia and America. Yet hero 604 D& KANE'S EXPEDITION. were no water»feedcrB from the south. Every particle of moisture had its origin within the Polar Circle, and had been converted into ice. There were no vast allu- vions, no forest or animal traces borne down by liquid torrents. Here was a plastic, moving, semi*soIid mass, obliterating life, swallowing rocks and islands, and ploughing its way with irresistible march through the crust of an investing sea." " Uumboldt Glacier " and " Tennyson's Monument " will deservedly occupy a place in all future editions of those interesting little books called " Wonders of the World." As soon as Dr. Kane had recovered enough to become aware of his failure, he began to devise means for remedying it. Of the ship's company, the only one remaining, qualified to conduct a survey, was Dr. Hayes. He accordingly started with a dog-team, in company with William Godfrey, across Smith's Straits, on the 20th of May, and succeeded in reaching 79" 46' north latitude, in longitude 69" 12^. The coast was sfghted for thirty miles to the northward and eastward, and two large headlands, called Capes Joseph Leidy and John Frazer, were named upon it. The doctor returned to the brig, after a very arduous and fatiguing journey, on the Ist of June, worn out and snow-blind. In many places he could not have advanced but for the dogs. Deep cavities filled with snow intervened between lines of ice-barricades, making the travel slow and tedious. For some time he was not able, from snow-blindness, to use the sextant. The rude harness of the dogs would get tangled and cause delay. It was only after appro- priating an undue share of his seal-skin breeches that Dr. Hayes succeeded in patching up his mutilated dog- lines. His pemmican became so reduced that to return was a thing of necessity. The land-ice was travelled for a while at the rate of five or six miles an hour ; but DR. KANE'S EXPEDITION. 5o5 khut crossing Dobbin Bay, tho snows wuro an no^ expo(;ted impediment. NutwIthRtaudirig tho perils, privations, and suffer* ing'n, that It Ad attended ull the sIcdgC'partieR, Dr. Kane determined to organize another before tlic brief season for such had gone by. Thi§ last, under MeH8r8. M'Oary and Bonsall, left the brig on the 3d uf June, and reached Humboldt Glacier on the 15th. They wen,' provided with apparatus for climbing ice, but failed in all their efforts to scale this stupendous glacial mass. Tho bears wore so bold as actually to poke their heads in at tho tent*door, t<> the great inconvenience of the sleepers within. Four of the party returned to the brig on tho 27th, one of them entirely blind. Hans and Morton remained out, pushing northwards^ and keeping parallel to the glacier at a distance of from five to seven miles. They saw rectangular pieces of ice, apparently detached from the glacier, more than a milo long ! On the 2l8t of Juno they sighted open water. This was afterwards called Kennedy Channel. After turning Gape Andrew Jackson they made better way along the icc*foot ; and they pursued their course as far as Gape Gonstitution, on " Washington Land,'' in 82* 27'. The highest point on the opposite coast of " Grin» noil Land " was a lofty mountain, estimated to be in latitude 82*> 30', and longitude 66** west, which Dr. Kane called Mount Edward Parry ; who, he says, " as he has carried his name to the most northern latitude yet reached, should have in this, the highest known northern land, a recognition of his preeminent position among Arctic explorers.'* This open channel was found to aVound in seals ; bears were numerous — one with its cub they succeeded in killing; and birds, anung which were brent geese, eider-ducks, king-ducks, dovekies, gnlla, soarswallows, and Arctic petrels, werer in exceed* I! I ' M; i i li 1 I I iig 506 DR. KANE'S EXPEDITION. In^ plenty. This was the crowning excursiou of the expedition , and the rosults present rich matter for spec- ulation to those who believe in an open polar sea beyond the region of embayed and strangulated ice-floes. Instead of the Bay of Baffin forming a cul de aac, as the old tradition of the whalers conceived, it leads to a Btrait (Smith's Strait), which passes on into a channel (Kennedy Channel), that apparently expands into an open polar sea, abounding with life, some three hundred miles further to the north than the head of Baffin's Bay. The shores of this channel, terminating in the Gape Constitution of Mr. Morton, in latitude 81* 22*, on the eastern side, and in Sir Edward Parry's peak, about latitude 82® IT, cm the western side, had now been delineated and mapped through an extent of nine hun- dred and sixty miles, at a cost of two thousand miles of trivel on loot and in sledges. Mr. Morton commenced his return on the 25th of June, and reached the ship on the 10th of July, staggering by the side of the limping dogs, one of which was riding as a passenger upon the sledge. The summer of 1854 was now wearing on, and yet no prospects presented themselves of the ice breaking up, 80 as to liberate the brig. Under these circumstances, Dr. Kane determined upon making an attempt to com- municate witt Sir Edward Belcher's squadron at Beechey Island. For this purpose a boat was fitted out, called the Forlorn Hope, and was carried across the heavy ice-floe to be launched in open water. On their way to the southward they fell in with an island, upon which they killed a number of eider-ducks, and procured a large supply of eggs. On the 19th of July they made Cape Alexander, and were enabled to determine that the narrowest part of Smith's Strait is not, as has been considered, between Cape Isabella »nd Cape Alexander} DR. KANE'S EXPEDITION. 507 but upon the parallel of 78" 24', where Gape Isabella beara due weat of Littietoo Island, aiitd the diameter of ram forlobn hopb bqoippu). the channel is reduced to thirty-seven miles. Ilence, they passed from the straits into the open seaway. At this time a gale broke upon them from the north, and they were exposed to all its fury in the open whale-boat. They were glad to drive before the wind into the in-shorc floes. The pack, so much feared before, was now looked to as a refuge. Working their way through the broken pack, they reached Hakluyt Island on the 23d of July, where they rested a while and dried their buffalo-robes. The next morning they renewed their labors, but were arrested by the pack off Northumberland Island. For four days they made strenuous efforts to work through the half- open leads, but in vain ; they had reached the dividing pack of the two great open waters of Baffin's Bay, and which Dr. Kane considered to be made up of the ices which Jones's Sound on the west, and Murchison's on the east, had discharged and driven together. Under these circumstances, they were obliged to return to Northumberland Island, which they found to be one enormous homestead of auks, dovekies, and gulls, aDf* I 508 DR. KAN£*8 EXPEDITION. where they procured sorrel and cochlearia. Foxes were also very numerous. By the time they got back to the brig, the commander says he and his little party had got quite fat and strong upon the auks, eiders, and ■curvy-grass. On board of the Advance, however, which had now been imprisoned by closely-cementing ice for eleven months, as the season travelled on and the young ice grew thicker, faces began, also, to grow longer every day. It was the only face with which they could look upon another winter. ** It is horrible/' writes Dr. Kane, — ■ " yes, that is the word, — to look forward to another year of disease and darkness, to be met without fresh food and without fuel." Under these circumstances, Dr. Kane called the offi- cers and crew together, and left to every man his own choice to remain by the ship or to attempt an escape to the Danish settlements to the southward. Eight out of . the seventeen survivors resolved to stand by the brig and their commander. The remainder started off, on the 28th, " with the elastic step of men confident in their purpose ; " but one returned a few days afterwards, and all ultimately either found their way back, or were brought back by the humane Esquimaux, after hard trials, and almost unparalleled sufferings. Those that remained with the ship set to work at once gathering moss for eking out the winter fuel, and willow- stems and sorrel as antiscorbutics. The " mossing,^' although it had a pleasant sound, was in reality a fright fully wintry operation. The mixed turf, of willows, heaths, grasses, and moss, was frozen solid. It had to be quarried with crowbars, and carried to the ship like •o much stone. With this they banked up the ship's Bides, and below they enclosed a space some eighteen fiBet square, and packed it with the same material from DK KANE'S E2LPEDITI0N. 509 floor to ceiling. The entrance was also by a low, moss- lined tunnel, and in this apartment the men stowed away for the winter. The closer they lay, the warmer. Dr. Kane was once more nearly lost, however, before darkness came on. In an attempt to kill a seal he got upon thin ice,' and was, with dogs and sledge, thrown into open water. He owed his extrication, when nearly gone, to a newly-broken team-dog, who was still fast to the sledge, and drew it and the doctor up on to the floe. An occasional intercourse had always been kept up with the Esquimaux. We have seen that they came to pilfer, and Dr. Kane retorted by making some of them prisoners. A treaty of friendship was then made, and never broken by the natives. The nearest Esquimaux settlement was distant, by dog-journey, about seventy- five miles ; and with this rude but friendly people our adventurers established a communication, and procured from them supplies of bear-meat, seal, walrus, fox, and ptarmigan, which were eaten raw, — the custom in this region. But these supplies became scanty with the approach of the dark months. Attempts to reach the Esquimaux were rendered impracticable by the rugged- ness of the ice ; and this unfortunate people were them- selves reduced to the lowest stages of misery and emaciation by famine, attended with various fiightful forms of disease. On the 14th of January Dr. Kane congratulated him- self that in Jive more days the mid-day sun would be only " eight degrees below the horizon,** On the 9th of February he wrote in his journal : " It is enough to solemnize men of more joyous temperament than ours has been for some months. We are contending at odds with angry forces close around us, without one iigent or influence within eighteen hundred mile« whose 610 DR. RANE'b EXPEDITION. sympathy is on oui side." There were no star obscr vatioDS this winter; *he observatory had become the mausoleum of the i\ro of the party who had succumbed after the excursion in the snow-drift. In the beginning of March every man on board was tainted with scurvy ; and often not more than three were able to make exer- tion in behalf of the rest. On the 4th of the month the last remnant of fresh meat was doled out, and the invalids began to sink rapidly. Their lives were only saved by the success of a forlorn-hope excursion of Hanj to the remote Esquimaux hunting-station Etah, seventy-five miles away, whither he went in search of walrus. On one occasion the adventurers killed a bear that had come with its cub, pressed by extreme hunger, close to the brig. It is painful to read the details of the struggle, from the wonderful attachment shown by the mother to its cub, and by the latter to its parent, to whom it always clung, even in death. But the men's lives were Valuable ; and it was thought excusable to kiU two bears when the glaucous gulls were seen gob- bling up young eider-ducks in the face of their dis- tracted mothers by mouthfuls. Dr. Kane was the only person who would eat rats. He attributes his compara- tive immunity from scurvy to " rat^soup.*' Among the Arctic dainties which seem most to have excited his gastronomic enthusiasm was frozen walrus-liver, eaten raw. Having no fuel, they were now reduced to the Esqui maux system of relying on lamps for heat ; beds and bedding hence became black with soot, and their faces were begrimed with fatty carbon. The journal is now little more than a chronicle of privations and sufferings, interspersed with extraordiuarj' efforts to keep up com- uunicatioas ^th the Esquimaux. It is, without compM^ DR. KANE'S EXPEDITION 511 Json, the most painfully interesting record of experionce in wintering in the far north that has ever yet been published. In the midst of their troubles two of the men tried to desert, but only one — Godfrey — succeeded. He returned, strange to say, on the 2d of April, with food, in a sledge, but would not himself quit the Esqui- maux. Under a misapprehension that he had robbed Hans, one of the hunters, of his sledge and dogs, his life was near being sacrificed by the commander from whom he had deserted. ' The abandonment of the brig was now resolved on Before spring could be welcomed, preparationei had been going on for some time for a sledge and boat escape from their long imprisonment. The employment thus given to the men exerted a wholesome influence. on their moral tone, and assisted their convalescence. They had three boats, and they all required to be strengthened. There was clothing, bedding, and provision-bags, to make. The sledges had to be prepared. The 1 Tth of May was appointed for the start. The farewell to the ship was most impressive. Prayers were read, and then a chapter of the Bible. The flags w^^rc then hoisted and hauled. down again, and she was left alone in the ire. Godfrey had, by this time, it is to be observed, rejoined the ship ; so the party consisted altogether of seventeen, of whom four were unable to move. The collections of natural history the party were reluctantly compelled to leave behind, and part of the apparatus for observations, as well as the libruy of the commander, and the books furnished by the govern- ment and Mr. Grinnell for the use of the vessel. Nothing was retained but the documents of the expe- dition. . At Etah the Esquimaux settlement were found '' out on the bare rocks," enjoying the plenty which spring li'l hi 512 DR. KANE'S EXPEDITION had brought. " Rudest of gypsies, how they squalled and laughed, and snored, and rolled about ! Some were sucking bird-skins ; others were boiling incredible iium- bers of auks in huge soapstone pots ; and two young- sters, crying, at the top of their voices, Oopegsoak 1 oopegsoak ! ' were fighting for an owl. ESQBIN^"^ BOY CATCUING AUKS. " There was enough to niake them improvident The little auks were breeding in the low crmes of rubbish under the cliTs in such numbers that it cost ihoia no more to get food than it does a cook to gather veget» Wes. A boy, ordered to climb the rocks with one of =A^i-:i-rlh^ DR. KANE'S EXPEDITION 513 their pursc-ncts of seal-skin at the end of a narwhal's tusk, would return in a few minutes with as many as he could carry." Up to the 23d the progress of Dr. Kane's party was little more than a mile a day. The housed boats luck- ily afforded tolerably good sleeping-berths at night. On the 5th of June, Ohlsen injured himself so in an attempt to rescue a sledge from falling into a tide-hole, that he die became moij common. They spent a week to regain strength at sc productive a spot, which they designated as " Provi- dence Halt.'' At the Crimson Cliffs they again got a plentiful supply of birds. On the 21st of July they reached Cape York, and made immediate preparationr for crossing Melville Bay, which was accomplished with great labor and suffering. Once more they were nearly starving, when a great seal came providentially to their succor. Their feet were so swollen that they were obliged to cut open their canvas boots. The most unpleasant symptom was that they could not sleep. On the Ist of August they sighted the Devil's Thumb. Hence they fetched the Duck Islands, and, passing to the south of Cape Shackleton, landed on terra firma. Tviro or three days more, and they were under the shadow of Karkamoot. "Just then a familiar sound came to us over the wetter. We had often listened to the sci*eeching of the gulls, or the bark of the fox, and mistaken it for the ' Huk ' of the Esquimaux ; but this had about it an inflection not to be mistaken, for it died away in the familiar cadence of a ' halloo.' " * Listen, Petersen 1 Oars — men ? What is it ?.* and he listened quietly at first, and then, trembling, said; in a half-whisper, * Dannemarkers 1 ' " It was the Upernavik oil-boat, and the next day they were at Upernavik itself, after being eighty-four days in the open air. They co Id not remain within the four walls of a house without a distressing sense of suffo- cation. From Dr. Kane's report to the Navy Department we quote the summing up of the results of the expedition. They embrace : Dtt. KANE'S EXPEDITION. 615 " I . The survey and delineation of the north coast of QreeLland to its termination by a great glacier. " 2. The survey of this glacial mass, and its exten- sion northward into the new land named Washington. "3. The discovery of a large channel to the north- west, free from ice, and leading into an open and expanding area, equally free. The whole embraces an iceless area of four thousand two hundred miles. "4. The discovery and delineation of a large tract of land, formfng the extension northward of the American continent. " 5. The completed survey of the American coast to the south and west, as far as Cape Sabine ; thus con- necting our survey with the last determined position of Captain Inglefield, and completing the circuit of the straits and bay heretofore known at their southernmost opening as Smith's Sound." The view of the open sea referred to was obtained by William Morton, from a precipitous headland, — ^the furthest point attained by the party, in latitude 81* 22* N., and longitude 65* 35' W., at an altitude of five hundred feet above the sea. The reasons assigned by our author for regarding it an iceless open sea are the following : "1. It was approached by a channel entirely free from ice, having a length of fifty-two and a mean width of thirty-six geographical miles. " 2. The coast-ice along the water-line of this channel had been completely destroyed by thaw and water- acUon ; while an unbroken belt of solid ice, one hundred and twenty-five miles in diameter, extended to the south. ** 3. A gale from the north-east, of fifty-four hours' duration, brought a heavy sea froii that quarter, with* out disclosing any drift or other ice. 516 DR. KANE'S EXPEDITION. ** 4. Dark nimbu8 clouds and water-sky invested tha Lorth-eastem horizon. " 5. Crowds of migratory birds were observed throng^ Ing its waters." There is much in Dr. Kane's wonderful narrative to remind the reader of the story of old William Barentz, who, two hundred and fifty-nine years ago, wintered on the coast of Nova Zembla. His men, seventeen in number, broke down during the trials of winter, and three died, just as of the eighteen under Dr. Kane three had gone. Barentz abandoned his vessel, as the Ameri- cans abandoned theirs, took to his boats, and escaped along the Lapland coast to lauds of Norwegian civiliza- tion. The Americans embarked with sledges ^^nd boats to attempt the same thing. They had the longer jour- ney, and the more difficult one, before them. Barentz lost, as they did, a cherished comrade by the wayside. But one resemblance luckily does not exist: Barentz himself perished — Dr Kane lived to write an account of all that he suffered in a noble cause. No mere abstract of his narrative can give an idea o^ Its absorbing inter- est. His book is above all common praise, on account of the simple, manly, unaffected style in which the nar- rative of arduous enterprise and firm endurance is told. It is obviously a faithful record of occurrences, made by a man who was quite aware that what he had to tell needed no extraneous embellishment. Theie is, how- ever, 80 much of artistic order in the mind pf the nar- rator, that the unvarnished record has naturally shaped itself into a work of distinguished excellence upon literary grounds. The scenes which it describes are so vividly and vigorously brought before the reader, that there are few who sit down to the perusal of the tiarrative but will fancy, before they rise from the en Captain Geoboe ii. Tyson. [617] DR. KANE'S EXPEDITION. 619 gruBiing occupation, their own flesh paralyzed by the cold one hundred degrees greater than frost, and theil blood scurvy-filled by the four months' sunlessness It is only just also to remark, that there is unmistak- able evidence, in the pages of this interesting book, that the doctor was no less eminently gifted for the dutiea of his command than he has been happy in his relation of its history. Every step in his arduous path seems to have been taken only after the exercise of deliberately matured forethought. A few illustrations must be gleaned, from the many that are scattered through the pages of his journal, to direct attention to this honorable characteristic. When the doctor had formed his own resolution to remain by the brig through the second winter, he made the following entry, under the date of August 22 : "I shall call the oflBcers and crew together, and make known to them, very fully, how things look, and what hazards must attend such an effort as has been proposed among them. They shall have my views unequivocally expressed. I will then give them twenty- four hours to deliberate ; and, at the end of that time, all who determine to go shall say so in writing, with a full exposition of the circumstances of the case. They shall have the best outfit I can give, an abundant shaie of our remnant stores, and my good-by blessing.'' On the 6th of April the Esquimaux auxiliary, Hans, was gone to Etah, with a sledge, to seek a supply of walrus-meat, when, as we have already stated, William Godfrey deseited from the ship ; and, the commander suspected, with some sinister design upon Hans and the sledge. Dr. Kane then wrote : " Clearly, duty to this poor boy calls me to seek him ; and, clearly, duty to these dependent men calls me to stay. Long and uncomfortably have I pondered over these opposing calls, bnt at last have come to a determination. Hans I II I I 620 DR. KAN£'» £XP£DITION was faithful to me ; the danger to him iu hiiminent, the danger to those left behind only contingent upon my failure to return. With earnest trust in that same Supervising Agency which has so often before, in graver straits, interfered to protect and carry me through, I have resolved to go after Hans." The Esquimaux lad was proof both against the vio> lence and the seduction of the deserter. The com- mander found him invalided, but safe, at Etah. Hans, however, did not return to Fiskernaes with the expedi- tion. His fate, is involved in romance. Venus Victrix nas a representative even in frost-land. The reader must go to the pages of Dr. Kane to know what became of Hans. When the preparations for the final escape were under consideration, the following record was made in the doctor's journal : " Whatever of executive ability I have picked up during this brain-and-body-wearying cruise warns me against Immature preparation or vacil- lating purposes. I must have an exact discipline, a rigid routine, and a perfectly thought-out organization. For the past six weeks I have, in the intervals between my duties to the sick and the ship, arranged the sched- ule of our future course ; much of it is already under way. My journal shows what I have done, but what there is to do is appalling." Appalling as it was, the heroic man who had to look the necessity in the face was equal to the position. There can be no doubt that it was "the exact discipline, the rigid routine, and the perfectly thought^ut organization," which restored the sixteen survivors of the expedition to civilization and their homes. CHAPTER XX. AcrioH or oovanus. — rrlibp bxpboitioh im rkarch or dk. kams.— BART8TBIII TBI COMMANDER. — ICE BMCOONTERS. — BBARCHRS. — TBI LOST rODirO. — narrative BT JOHN K. KANE. — ICEBERGS. — BIRDS. — X8QDIMADX. — THE MEBTINQ. — THE RESOLUTE. — ITODNO BT AMXBKAB WBALERS. — INTERNATIONAL COOIITESIES. The apprehensions caused at home, bj the detention of Dr. Kane and his party, produced a resolution of Congress, approved February 3d, 1855, authorizing the Secretary of the Navy to despatch a suitable steamer and tender for the relief of the absent voyagers. The bark Release and the steamer Arctic were accordingly procured and equipped, Lieut. Ilartstcin having been appointed to the command. He was accompanied by a brother of Dr. Kane. They reached Lievely, Isle of Disco, Greenland, July 5th, 1855, having encountered the first iceberg in latitude 51° 30' north, longitude 51° 40' west. With seaman -like generosity, Ilartstcin, in his letter from tl^is place to the Secretary of the Navy, says : " To avoid further risk of human life, in a search so extremely hazardous, I would suggest the impropriety of making any efibrts to relieve us if we should not return ; feeling confident that we shall be able to accomplish all neces* sary for our own release, under the most extraordinary circumstances. '' Entering the closely-packed flop of Melville Baj, tbr 622 THE KANE RELIEF EXPEDITION. m I relief vessels forced a passage into the North Water on the morning of the 13th of August. Passing in good view of ihe coast from Cape York to Wolsten holme Island, Hartstein, in the steamer, examined Cape Alex- ander and Sutherland Island. Passing on to the most north-western point in sight (Point Pelham), he noticed a few stones heaped together, which, on examination, gave assurance of Kane's having been there ; but no clue was afforded. Pushing on to latitude 78° 32^ north, the steamer was opposed by a solid, hummocky field of very heavy ice, to which no limit was visible, inter- spersed as it was with bergs, all drifting to the south- ward. Taking now a retrograde course, they examined Cape Hatherton and Littleton Island, and finally took refuge under a projecting point, some fifteen miles north- west of Cape Alexander. Here they were startled by the hail of human voices. Going on shore, they found a party of Esquimaux, and among them various articles that must have belonged to Dr. Kane and his men. An examination of the most intelligent of the natives led to the understanding that Dr. Kane, having lost his vessel somewhere to the north, had been at that spot, with his interpreter (Carl Petersen), and seventeen others, in two boats and a sled, and, after remaining ten days, had gone south to Upernavik. After some more reconnoitring of the coast, Hartr stein, in the Arctic^ found himself firmly beset by the ice, and thought, for a time, he was in winter quarters ; but, after twenty-four hours' heavy battering, he got out. After having made nearly che whole circuit of ther northern part of Baffin's Bay, with the exception of a deep ice-locked indentation between Capes Cowbermere and Isabella, he returned, and, in company with the Release, examined Possession Bay and Pond's Bay, firing guns, burning blue-lights, and throwing up rocl^ < MR. J. K. KANK'8 NARRATIVE. 523 ets. llo now determined to proceed to Upernavik, and, if ho did not there find the missing party, to proceed north again, and winter in the ice. This was soon found to be unnecessary. At Lievely the missing party wero received with many welcomes on board the vessels sent for their relief. We will leave it to Mr. John K. Kane, the brother of the doctor, to narrate, in his animated account of the relief expedition, the manner and the inci- dents of the encounter. The article, portions of which we quote, was originally contributed to Putnam's May- azine; and conveys, in a novel and spirited style, much interesting description and information in regard to the latitudes visited. At Etah the relief expedition came in contact with the Esquimaux who had befriended Dr. Kane ; and Mr. J. K. Kane selected one of the most forward and intel- ligent of the natives, a boy named Mayouk, and endeav- ored by signs to get some information from him. We present the following in Mr. Kane's own words : " Mayouk was very quick in understanding us, and eq':ally ready in inventing modes of conveying intelli- gence. Lead-pencil and paper were called into requisi- tion. I took out my note-book, drew a rough sketch of a brig, and showed it to him. He, at once, said ' Dokto Kayen,* and pointed to the north. I then drew a reversed sketch, and pointed south. But Mayouk, shaking his head, began to sway his body backward and forward, to imitate rowing ; then said Dokto Kayen again, and pointed south. On this, I drew » whole fleet of boats, and invited him to point out Low many of these he referred to. He took the pencil from my hand, and altered the sterns of two into sharp- pointed ones, and then held up two fingers, to indicate that there were two of such. I now drew carefully two whale-boats ; he made signs of approval, as much as to 524 MR. J. K. KANE'S NARRATIVE. Bny that was the thing ; and, incontinently squatting down, imitated the voice and gestures of a dog-driver, cracking an imaginary wiiip, and crying hup-hup-hup, at the top of his voice. After which performance, he laughed immoderately, and, again po'nting south, said Dokto Kayen. " I was not certain as to his meaning ; but, on my drawing a picture of a dog-team, he went through the whole performance afresh, and showed the most extrav- agant signs of delight at being understood. We found out how many dog-sledges and how many men there were of the doctor's party, in the same manner. We examined several other natives separately, and they all told the same story ; nor could we confuse them as to the number of men and boats ; they were all clear on that head. Nineteen, they made it, neither more nor less. We tried our best to make them say that the boats had gone north, and the vessel south ; but with- out success. Mayouk, on one occasion, being hard pressed, stopped his ears, so as, at least, to secure him- self from being supposed to assent to what he had not learning or language enough to controvert. " At length, a bright thought struck him. He ran down to the beach, and got two white stones ; laid them on the ground, and, pointing to the floating masses of ice in the bay, signified to us that these rep- resented the ice. Next, he took a common clay pipe of Mr. Lovell's, and, pointing to the north, said, vomiak sooak, orbigship, 'vomiak sooak, Dokto Kayen.' He next pushed the pipe up between the pebbles, and then pressed them together till the pipe was crushed. Lastly, he pointed to the south, and began imitating the rowing of a boat, the cracking of whips, and the hup-hupping of a dog-driver, vociferating, at intervals, ' Dokto Kayen, W I he ! he t ' We tried our best to find out how loug MR. J. K. KANE'S NARRATTm 525 It had been since the Dokto Kayens had left them, for it was evident that this was their name for the whole party ; but we could not make them understand. They would only tell us that their guests had been with them for some time. This they did by pointing to the south, and then following the track of the sun till it reached the north ; then, after stretching themselves out on the ground, and closing their eyes, as if in sleep, would again point to the south, rise up, go down to the lake and pretend to wash their faces. The gesture lay in pretence only, however, for they seemed to regard the washing of the Dokto Kayens as a remarkable religious observance. It certainly was not one which had been practically ingrafted into their own formulary of good works. These unsophisticated children of the frost-land never wash oflf dirt, for the simple reason that of dirt, as such, they have no conception or idea. " Improvidence is another trait of these * fresh chil- dren of impulse.' We were at their village as late as the 19th of August. Yet, although the auks were flying round them in such quantities that one man could have been able to catch a thousand an hour, they had not enough prepared for winter to last two days. They were all disgustingly fat, and always eating, — perhaps an average ration of eighteen pounds per diem, — yet they had lost seven by starvation during the last winter, though relieved, as far as we could make it out, by the Dokto Kayens. " They suffer dreadfully from cold, too ; yet there is an abundance of excellent peat, which they might dig during the summer. They know its value as fuel, and are simply too lazy to stack it. The little auk, which forms their principal food, may be said also to be their only fuel. Indeed, it quite fills the place which the seal holds among the more southern Esquimaiuz. Their 626 MR. J. K. KANE'S NARRATIVE. clotheH are lined with its skins, they burn the fat, and^ setting aside the livers and hearts, to be dried, and con- sumed as bonbons during the winter, they eat the meat and intestines cooked rnd raw, both cold and at blood heat. ** They are very hospitable ; the minute we arrived, all hands began to catch birds and prepare them for us. Tearing oflf the skins with their teeth, they stripped the breasts to be cooked, and presented us with the juicy entrails and remaining portions to eat raw, and stay our appetites. The viands did not look inviting to us, who had witnessed their preparation ; but they appeared 80 hurt at our refusing to eat, that we had to explain that it was not cooked but raw birds we wanted. This was satisfactory. They set out at once to catch some for us ; and in a few moments three of them were on their way down to our boat loaded with birds. " Though all the natives had told us that Dr. Kane's party had gone southwards after leaving their settle- ment, still we were far frooi certain that they had con- tinued their progress in that direction, and Captain Hai*tstein was for some time in doubt as to the course which we ought to pursue ; whether we should return at once to Upernavik by our old track, or run across the bay and examine its western coast. He finally determined on the latter, believing that, if Dr. Kane and his party had gone down the eastern coast, they would by this time either have been lost in Melville Bay, or safely arrived at Upernavik ; while, on the contrary, if they had tried to reach the English fleet in Lancaster Sound, being ignorant of its desertion, they might be there now in a starving condition. " We reached Cape Alexander without any incident worthy of note, and, after searching its barren rocks to no purpose, built a cairn, and in it deposited the record MR. J. K. KANE'S NARRATIVK. 627 of our want of success. We next ran down to Sutliei* land Island; took up our now useless flag-staff, ind tore down the cairn we had placed there on our way up There was a poor little white fox watching us from the rocks above, while we were at work, evidently wonder- ing what it all meant. lie came so close that we could have knocked him down with a boat-hook, but we let him alone ; we were not short of provisions, and had no time to convert him into a specimen. " We pushed on through rain and fog to Hakluyt Island, where we found our comrades of the Release, and spent a few hurried hours in their company. " The red snow, that Dr. Kane has described in his narrative, was abundant here ; and wherever between the ledges of the rock there was a chance for soil, a tiny little horseradish sprang up ambitiously through the frost, with leaves no bigger than your thumb-nail. The miniature plant, flower, root, and all, might have filled a very moderate tea-cup. " It is hardly worth while to tell of our efforts to find Captain Inglefield's Esquimaux settlement in Whale Sound. It was the old 'story of fog and drizzle, ice and sleet. We gave it up, and, taking the Release in tow, bent our course for Lancaster Sound. " But the ice, the everlasting ice I We were more than two hundred miles off when it caught us. It was heavier than any we had seen even in Melville Bay. For some days it held us like files in amber, in spite of sails, with now and then a puff to fill them, and all the steam that Newell could raise in his boiler. It was, indeed, a mercy that a gale caught us at last, or we might have been there still. We drove before it, the ice kee})ing us company, as if loth to lose us, and, find- ing that we could not reach Gape Isabella, made a detour to Possession Bay. 628 MB. J. K. KANE'S NAURATIVE. " Pond's Bay, as it is called, seemed to all of us noth ing else but an extension of Admiralty Inlet. We kept &long its north coast for thirty-five miles, and could see, perhaps, forty miles further, but without finding its westernmost shore. A visit to an Esquimaux village, some twenty miles up the bay, was the only incident. The men, with a single exception, were out on their hunting-parties ; but the women were there, as commu- nicative in their unknown dialect as any we had met of the grosser sex. They were certainly no beauties, and their costume was a little extravagant even for the Esquimaux fashions, as we had seen them. They had their faces tattooed with lampblack, in a set of dotted lines, radiating from the comers of the mouth ; and their very long wide boots were hitched, awkwardly enough, by a loop to the waistband of their seal-skin trousers. "They appeared to be of a superior race to the Greenland natives. They were larger and stronger, their kayaks were better built, and they had much more roomy tents. " The whole of Pond's Bay showed one dreary, in- hospitable coast-line. We were all of us glad when our commander gave the order to make for the eastern coast of Baffin's Bay. *' We had an eight-knot breeze, and were not more than two hundred miles from Upernavik. There was every chance of the wind continuing, so that we confi- dently expected to reach that port in the course of the week. We thought we were to the southward of the pack ; and the heavy sea, which made us all sea-sick after our long exemption from rough water, strengthened this conviction. But we were mistaken. The very next day it was before us, an impenetrable barrier. There was no help for it ; we had to run further to the South — how much further it was hardly worth while to MR. J. K. KAN£'S NARRATIVE. 629 guess. It was do very difficult matter, you would think, to run alon^ the edge of the ice till we came to the end of it, and then run across. But this ice had all the irregularities of a coast : large inlets and bays run- ning into it, and capes projecting just where you do not expect to meet them ; and, over and over again, after running fur a whole day, just as we were sure we had reached its southern boundary, we would find ourselves in a cul-de-sac, with the ice on both sides of us. At last we came to a dead halt. We were fairly in th^ pack — it was before us, behind us, and on both sides of us. . " Day after day passed, and we found we were drift- ing to the south, fairly glued in. There are only two incidents that I speak of in or about this pleasant little travel. One was just as it began. It was a meeting with an ancient whaler, the Eclipse, of Peter^^ead, with a jolly old Captain Gray, who insisted on all hands making a trial of a regular Scotchman's hospitality, and tossed half a dozen hams after us into the boat, when we refused to take the half of his cabin stores. The other was the gale that ended it. It was less pleasant at the time ; but, like some other things that I have met with in this world, its eficcts were better than its promise. What a night .it was I The bark ran into an iceberg, and came very near being lost. She fired thirteen guns for assistance, but the crashing and grind- ing was so tremendous that, though we were not three quarters of a mile off, and the wind was blowing directly towards us, we did not hear one of them. I never shall forget the melancholy figure she presented on joining us next morning. We felt quite a glow of sympathy for the poor Release, till Captain Uartstein's hailing our steamer with the information that our cutwater looked M 530 MR. J. K. KAN£'S NARRATIVE. I like a prize-fighter's nose. We then remembered that we, too, had a night of it. " After this gale we had little or no more trouble with the ice ; one or two trifling detentions of a few days brought us to the open water. We had drifted so far to the south that Lievelj' was nearer than Upernavik, and Captain Ilartstcin determined to put in there. We had a heavy gale the night after we left the ice ; but so glad were we all to get clear of it, that I heard no com- ►plaints about rough weather. It cleared away bcauti< fully towards morning, and we were all on the deck, admiring the clear water, and the fantastic shapes of the water-washed icebergs. All hands were in high spirits ; the gale had blown in the right direction, and in a few hours we should be in Lievely. The rocks of its land-locked harbor were already in sight. We were discussing our news by anticipation, when the man in the crow's nest cried out, ' A brig in the harbor I ' and the next minute, before we had time to congratulate each other on the chance of sending letters home, that she had hoisted American colors — a delicate compli> ment, we thought, on the part of our friends, the Danes. " I believe our captain was about to return it, when, to our surprise, she hoisted another flag, the veritable one which had gone out with the Advance, bearing the name of Mr. Henry Grinnell. At the same moment, two boats were seen rounding the point, and pulling towards us. Did they contain our lost friends ? Yes ; the sailors had settled that. * Those are Yankees, sir ; no Danes ever feathered their oars that way,' said an old whaler to me. " For thosrt w^'o had friends among the missing party, the few minutes that followed were of bitter anxiety ; for the men in ihe boats were long-bearded and weather MR. J. R. KANE'S NARRATIVE 531 beaten ; they had strange, wild costumes ; there was no possibility of recognition. Dr. Kane, standing up* right in the stern of the first boat, with his spy-glass slung round his neck, was the firet identified ; then the big form of Mr. Brooks ; in another mument, all hands of them were on board of us. "It was curious to watch the effects of the excite- ment in different people, — the intense quietude of some, the boisterous delight of. others ; how one man would become intensely loquacious, another would do nothing but laugh, and a third would creep away to some out- of-the-way corner, as if he were afraid of showing how he felt. How hungry they all were for news, and how eagerly they tore open the home letters ; most of them, poor fellows, had pleasant tidings, and all were pre* pared to make the best of bad ones. We were in the harbor, with a fieet of kayaks dancing in welcome around and behind us, before the greetings were half ended, for they repeated themselves over and over again. " Our old friend, Mr. Olrik, was with the new comers, and as happy as the rest. His hospitality, when wo reached the shore, was absolutely boundless ; and his house and table were always at our service. Altogether, I never passed three more delightful days than those last days at Lievely. Balls every night ; feasts and junketings every day ; and, pleasantest of all, those dear home-like tea-tables, with shining tea-urn and clear, white sugar, round which we sat, waiting for the water to boil, and talking of Russia and the Czar, and the world outside the Circle ; while Mrs. Olrik would look up from her worsted-work, and the children pressed round me to see the horses and dogs I was drawing for • them. It was enough to make one forget his red fianuel shirt and rough Arctic rig ; Melville Bay and the pack ^32 ma J. K. KANE'S NARRATIVE. '■ ! r i i neemcd fables. The Danish doctor, too, arrived from Fiskcrnaos, a very intolligont gontlcman, and we talked away bravely to him in bad Latin. lie brought is % present of reindeer-ineut, — a new dish for some of us, tasting like a cross between Virginia mountain mutton and our Pennsylvania red deer. But our stay in Lievely ended. The propeller got up steam, and, taking our bark and the Danish brig Mariatmo in tow, steamed out of the harbor. All the inhabitants of the town were on the shore to see the last of us. Our visit had been as memorable an incident to them as to ourselves. Where ten dollars is a large marriage dower, Jack's liberality of expenditure seeped absolutely royal. There were moistened eyes among them, for they are essentially kind-hearted ; and even the roar of our cannon, in answer to the Danish salute, though it resounded splendidly among the hills, was scarcely heeded, as tiiey stood, with folded arms, watch- ing us disappear in the distance. We carried Mr. Olrik quite out to sea before we bade him good-by ; and it was not until the .^ext morning that the Marianne cast loose. " We reached home without any incident worthy of note, except that the Esquimaux dogs we had on board did nothing but howl during the whole voyage, — an amiable peculiarity, which still characterizes the single specimen of which I am at present the happy possessor. There he goes — I hear him now." The return of Hartstein with the survivors of Kane's expedition closed for a time the record of the search for Sir John Franklin. Never was there such a disastrous state oi things in the Arctic regions : six ships left in the ice I The Investigator at Mercy Bay, the Resolute and Intrepid PINDINQ OF THE RESOLUTE. 633 Mi Kelvillo IrIuikI, the AsmHtance and Pioneer iii Wei llKgton Channel, unci the Advance in Sniith'H Sound, to b» added to the ErebuH und Terror, which then* w;m re^on to believe hud been left yeurfi betbro somewhore in the 8truit of JaincH Rohh. The Arctic archipelago w«8 Htiidded with ubunduned Hhipu ! None could have imagined that any of these gallant 8>iip8 would ever carry 8uil again ; or that we might not truly say of each of them, in the words of Dr. Kane, •'The ice is round her still." But of one of these vessels there is a further story to tell ; and, as it recounts a kindly interchange of courte- sies between the two nations which vied with each other in heroic, though fruitless efforts, to rescue the missing navigators, it will form a pleasant interlude in our narra- tive. In the month of September, 1855, the whaler George Henry, Captain Buddington, of New London, Connecti- cut, was drifting along, beset by the ice, in Baffin's Bay, when one morning the captain, looking through his glass, saw a large ship some fifteen or twenty miles dis- tant, apparently working her way towards him. Day after day, while helplessly imprisoned in the pack, he watched her coming nearer and nearer. On the seventh day, the mate, Mr. Quail, and three men, were sent to find out what she was. After a hard day's journey over the ice, — jumping from piece to piece, and pushing themselves along 3n isolated cakes, - they were near enough to see that she was lying on her larboard side, firmly imbedded in the ico. They si^outed lustily, as soon as they got within hailing distance ; but there was no answer. Not a soul was to be seen. For one moment, as they came along- side, the men faltered, with a superstitious feeling, and hesitated to go on board. A moment after, they had El,'' ■' It li. 634 FINDING OF THE RESOLUTE. climbed over the broken ice, and stood on deck. Every thing was stowed away in order— spars hauled up and lashed to one side, boats piled together, hatches calked down. Over the helm, in letters of brass, was inscribed the motto " England expects every man to do his duty." But there was no man to heed the warning. The whalemen broke open the companion-way, and descended into the cabin. All was silence and darkness. Groping their way to the table, they found matches and candles, and struck a light. There were decanters and glasses on the table, chairs and lounges standing around, books scattered about — everything just as it had been last used. Looking curiously from one thing to another, wondering what this deserted ship might be, at last they came upon the log>book. It was endorsed, " Bark Res- olute, 1st September, 1853, to April, 1864.'* One entry was as follows : " H. M. S. Resolute, Hth January, 1864, nine a. m. — Mustered by divisions. People tak* ing exercise on deck. Five F. m. — Mercury frozen," This told the story. It was Captain Kellett's ship, the Resolute, which had broken away from her icy prison, and had thus fallen into the hands of our Yan- kee whalemen. While the men were making these discoveries, night came on, and a gale arose. So hard did it blow that they were compelled to remain on board, and for two days chese four were the whole crew of the Resolute. It was not till 19th September that they returned to their own ship, and made their report. All these ten days, since Captain Buddington had 6rst seen her, the vessels had been nearing each other. On the 19th he boarded her himself, and found that in her hold, on the larboard side, was a good deal of ice. Her tanks had burst, from the extreme cold ; and she WM full of water, nearly to her lower deck. Everything nNDING OF THE RESOLUTE 637 that.could move from its place had moved. Everything between decks was wet ; everything that would mould was mouldy. " A sort of perspiration" had settled on the beams and ceilings. The whalemen made a fire in Kellett's stove, and soon started a sort of shower from the vapor with which it filled the air. The Resolute had, however, four fine force-pumps. For three days the captain and six men worked fourteen hours a day on one of these, and had the pleasure of finding that they freed her of water, — that she was tight still.. They cut away upon the masses of ice ; and on the 23d of September, in the evening, she freed herself from her encumbrances, and took an even keel. This was ofiT the west shore of Baffin's Bay, in latitude 6*7®. On the short- est tack, she was twelve hundred miles from where Kel- lett left her. There was work enough still to be done. The rudder was to be shipped, the rigging to be made taut, sail to be set ; — and it proved, by the way, that the sail on the yards was much of it still serviceable, while a suit of new linen sails below were greatly injured by moisture. In a week more, she was ready to make sail. The pack of ice still drifked with both ships ; but, on the 2l8t Octo- ber, after a long north-west gale, the Resolute was fireo Capt. Buddington had resolved to bring her home. He had picked ten men from the George Henry, and with a rough tracing of the American coast, drawn on a sheet of foolscap, with his lever watch and a quadrant for his instruments, he squared off for New London. A rough, hard passage they had of it. The ship's bal- last w&s gone, by the bursting of the tanks ; she was top-heavy and undermanned. He spoke a British whal- ing-bark, and by her sent to Captain Kellett his epaulets, and to his own owners news that be was coming. They had heavy gales and head winds, and Iff I! ' 1 !i 538 RETURN OF THE RESOLUTE. were driven as far down as the Bermudas. The watei left in the ship's tanks was brackish, and it needed all the seasoning which the ship's chocolate would give to make it drinkable. "For sixty hours at a time," says the captain, " I frequently had no sleep ; " but his per- severance was crowned with success, at last, and, on the night of the 23d of December, he made the light oflf the harbor from which he sailed, and on Sunday morn- ing, the 24th, dropped anchor in the Thames, opposite New London, and ran up the British ensign on the shorn masts of the Resoh'.te. * Her subsequent history is fresh in the minds of our readers. The British government generously released all their claim in favor of the salvors. Thereupon, Con- gress resolved that the vessel should be purchased and restored as a present to her majesty from the American people. This design was fiilly earned out. The Reso- lute was taken to the dry-dock in Brooklyn, and there put in complete order. Everything on board — even the smallest article — was replaced as nearly as possible in its original position ; and, at length, having been manned and officered from the United States navy, and placed under the command of Captain Hartstein, the Resolute, stanch and sound again, from stem to stem, "with sails all set and streamers all afloat, '^ once more shaped her courbe lor Euglaii; i, where she arrived in December, 1856, and was presented to Queen Victoria with appro* priate ceremoniea. I ill CHAPTER XXI. LADT mAlTKLIIf NOT DISHBARTKXED. — VOTAGB OF THE FOX. — UOMM IiaUCB DISCOVERED. — A RECORD FOUND. — THE MYBTERr BOLTBD.-— TOTAOE OF FRANKLIN. — CONCLUSION. Notwithstanding the discouraging nature of the dis- coveries made by^Rae and Anderson, the opinion was entertained in England that some members of Franklin's party might still be living. The propriety of sending out further expeditions was discussed in the public jour- nals, and found many zealous advocates. A petition, headed by Lady Franklin, and signed by numerous influ- ential persons, including some distingnishc^d Arctic offi- cers, was presented to the British Admiralty, urging it to make one final and exhaustive search. But the response was unfavorable. The government had de- cided that the fate of FrHiiklin and his men was suffi- ciently ascertained, and that any attempt at furthvr discoveries would be a useless risk of life and money. Having appealed in vain to the government, the inde- fatigable Lady Franklin determined to prosecute the search with her own resourcec A small screw steamer, called the Fox, with three masts, schootier-rigged, was accordingly fitted out at her expiMise, manned by twenty- five men, and placed undor the command of Oapt. F. L. M'Clintock, an officer already distinguished in Arctic adventure. She sawed from Aberdeen, Scotland, early in July, 1857, and on the 25tb of the same month was off Baal's River, Greenland, from which place Capt. M'Glintock sent home his first despatches to Lady 540 LADY FRANKLIN'S EXPEpITION. Franklin. After touching at Lievely and Waig-at Strait, the Fox reached Upernavik on the 6th of August, and having obtained a supply of coal, thirty dogs, and an Esquimaux driver, proceeded on her voyage. But on the 18th of August her progress was stopped by the ice in Melville Bay, from which time up to the 25th of April, 1858, she remained drifting in the pack. While thus beset she drifted up within twenty-tour miles of Cape York, then far tc the westward, and thence southward from lat. 15i N. to 63i — in all 1194 geographical miles. On the 28th of April she reached llolsteinborg, where Capt. M'Clintock, not disheartened by the failure of the first year's cruise, immediately made preparations to renew the attempt. " On the 8th of May," says Capt. M'Clintock, in his o£Bcial report, " our voyage was recommenced. God- haven and Upernavik having been visited, Melville Bay was entered early in June, and we crossed to Cape York by the 26th. Here some natives were communi- cated with. They immediately recognized Mr. Peter- sen, our. interpreter, formerly known to them in the Grinnell expedition under Dr. Kane. In reply to our inquiries for the Esquimaux dog-driver H.ans, left behind from the Advance in 1855, they told us that he was residing at Whale Sound. Had he been there, I would most gladly have embarked him, as his longing to return to South Greenland continues unabated. "It was not until the 2Tth of July that we reached Pond's Inlet, owing to a most unusual prevalence of ice in the northern portion of Baffin's Bay. Without steam power we could have done nothing. Here only one old woman and a boy were found, but they served to pilot us up the inlet for twenty-five miles, when we arrived at their village. For about a week we we.e in constant eommuuication with these friendly people. They com- ARRIVAL AT BEECIIET ISLAND. 541 fflunicate overland every winter with the tribes at Igloa lik. They all knew of Parry's ships having wintered there in 1822-3, and had heard of late years of Dr. Rae's visit to Repulse Bay ; but nothing whatever respecting the Franklin expedition had come to their knowledge, nor had any wrecks reached their shores within the last thirty years. " Within Pond's Inlet the natives told us the ico decays very year, but, so long as any remains, whales abound. Several large whales were seen by us, and we found among the natives a considerable quantity of whalebone and many narwhal's horns, which they were anxious to barter for knives, files, saws, rifles, and wool. They drew us some rude charts of the inlet, showing that it expands into an extensive channel looking west* ward into Prince Regent's Inlet. "We reached Beechey Island on the 11th of Augu8t> and landed a handsome marble tablet, sent by Lady Franklin, bearing an appropriate inscription to the mem- ory of our lost countrymen in the Erebus and Terror. Having embarked some coals and stores, and touched at Cape Hotham, we sailed down Peel Strait for twenty- five miles on the Hth, but finding the remainder of this channel covered with unbroken ice, I determined to make for Bellot Strait. " On the 19th August we examined into the supplies remaining at Port Leopold, and left there a whaleboat brought from Gape Hotham, to aid us in our retreat, shcTild we be obliged eventually to abandon the Fox. Prince Regent's Inlet was unusually free from ice. Very Jittle was seen during our run down to Brentford Bay, which we reached on the 20th of August. " Bellot Strait, which communicates with the western sea, averages one mile in width, by seventeen or eigh- teen miles in length. At this time it was filled with 642 WIMTER QUABTEBS. i li I drift ice, but as the season advanced became perfectlj clear. Its shores are in many places faced with lofty granite cliffs, and some of the adjacent hills rise 1600 feet; the tides are very strong, running six or seven knots at the springs. On the 6th of September, we passed through Bellot Strait without obstructiop, and secured the ship to fixed ice across its western out- let. From here, until the 2*7 th, when I deemed it neces- sary to retreat into winter quarters, we constantly watched the movements of the ice in the western sea or channel. In mid-channel it was broken up and drifting about ; gradually the proportion of water increased, until at length the ice which intervened was reduced to three or four miles in width. But this was firmly held fast by numerous islets, and withstood the violence of the autumn gales. It was tantalizing beyond descrip- tion thus to watch from day to day the free water, which we could not reach, and which washed the rocky shore a few miles to the southward of us. "Our wintering position was at the east entrance of Bellot Strait, in a snug harbor, which I have named Port Kennedy, after my predecessor in these waters, the commander of one of Lady Franklin's former search- ing expeditions. Although vegetation was tolerably abundant, and our two Esquimaux hunters, Mr. Petei>- sen, and several sportsmen, were constantly on the alert, the resources of the country during eleven and a half months only yielded us eight reindeer, two bears, eighteen seal, and a few water-fowl and ptarmigan.'' During the winter, V^hich was unusually cold and stormy, the following arrangements were made for car- rying out the intended plan of search. To Lieut. Hob* son was allotted the search of the western shore of Boothia to the magnetic pole, and from Gateshe&d Isl« Mid westward to Wynniatt's furthest Gapt. Allen M SLEDGE JOURNETa 643 Young, sailing-master, was to trace the shore of Princ« of Wales' Land, from Lieut. Browne's furthest, and also to examine the coast from Bellot Strait northward to Sir James Ross's furthest; while Cupt. M'Clintock in person was to visit Marshal Island, and in so doing pur* posed to complete the circuit of King William's Island. Hardly bad the long darkness of the Arctic winter passed away, when, in spite of a fearful temperature of *ll degrees below freezing point. Captains Young and M'Clintock set out fiotn the ship on preliminary jour- neys, with the view of making depots of provisions pre- paratory to the search above marked out. Capt. Young carried his depot across to Prince of Wales' Land, while M'Clintock, accompanied by Mr. Petersen, the interpre- ter, with two sledges drawn by dogs, went southward toward the magnetic pole. On the 28th of February the latter party reached a spot named Cape Victoria, on the west side of Boothia Felix. Here they met some natives. The poor creatures were at first very much alarmed, but became reassured by the conciliatory manners of Mr. Petersen. The fact of their having plenty of wood for sledges in their possession, convinced the gallant cap- tain that they knew something of the ships he was in search of; and as soon as their confidence was gained, he obtained from them the information that many years previously a ship had been crushed by the ice o£f the northern point of a great island, which agreed with the position of Ring William's Island, but that all her peo- ple had landed in safety and gone away to the Great Fish River, and there died of starvation. The wood that had attracted M'Clintock's attention they had procured from a boat which the "starving white men" had left near the mouth of the Great River. Such was their tale. It explained in a measure how A party of Europeans had reached Montreal Island, at Hit m '4] i i li II 544 ESQUIMAUX REPORTS. the entrance of the Great Fish River, as reported by Mr. A.nder8on, after his journey down that stream in 1856: and it accounted, at any rate, for one of the two misHing ehips. We can, therefore, appreciate the anxiety with which the gallant leader of the little band on board the Fox, after remaining four days in communication with the Esquimaux, and procuring from them many relics, hastened back to his craft, and made ready to despatch the sledge parties on a search which subsequently proved so successful. "On the 2d of April, 1859," says Capt. M'Clintock, " our long-projected spring journeys were commenced. Lieut. Uobson accompanied me as far as Cape Victoria. Each of us had a sledge drawn by four men, and an aux- iliary sledge drawn by six dogs. This was all the force we could muster. " Before separating we saw two Esquimaux families, living out upon the ice in snow huts, from whom we learned that a second ship had been seen off King Wil- liam's Island, and that she drifted ashore in the fall of the same year. From this ship they had obtained a vast deal of wood and iron. I now gave Lieut. Hobson directions to search for the wreck, and to follow up any traces he might find upon King William's Island. "Accompanied by my own party and Mr. Petersen, I marched along the east shore of King William's Isl- and, occasionally passing deserted snow huts, but with- out meeting natives till the 8th of May, when, off Cape Norton, we arrived at a snow village containing about thirty inhabitants. They gathered about us without the slightest appearance of fear or shyness, although none had ever seen living white people before. They were most willing to communicate all their knowledge and barter all their goods, but would have stolen everything had they not Veen very closely watched. Many more A SKELETON FOUND. 64A relics of our countrymen were obtained from these peo- ple ; we could nut carry away all we might have pur* chased. They pointed to the inlet we had crossed the day before, and told us that one day's march up it, and thence four days overland, brought them to the wreck. None of them had been there since 1857-8, at which time they said but little remained, their country- men having carried away almost everything. "Most of our information was received from an intel- ligent old woman. She said it was in the fall of the year that t!ie ship was forced ashore ; many of the white men dropped by the way as they went towards the Great River ; but this was only known in the winter fol- lowing, when their bodies were discovered. " They all assured us that we would find natives upon the south shore, at the Great River, and some few at the wreck ; but unfortunately this was not the case. Only one family was met with off Point Booth, and none at Montreal Island, or any place subsequently visited. " Point Ogle, Montreal Island, and Barrow Island, were searched, without finding anything except a few scraps of copper and iron in an Esquimaux hiding-place. " Recrossing the strait to King William's Island, we continued the examination of its southern shore, with* out success, until the 24th of May, when, about ten miles eastward of Gape Ilerschell, a bleached skeleton was found, around which lay fragments of European clothing. Upon carefully removing the snow, a small pocket-book was found, containing a few letters. These, although much decayed, ^may yet be deciphered. Judgw ing from the remains of his dress, this unfortunate young man was a steward or ofiicer's servant, and his position exactly verified the Esquimaux 's assertion (hat they dropped as they walked along. *' On reaching Gape Herschell, next day, we exam* U 546 RECORD DISCOVERED bed SimpHon'fl Cairn, or rather what remains of it, which is only four feet high, the ceiitrnl stunee having been rcinuved, as if by men seeking nuuiething within it. My impression is, that records were deposited there bj the retreating crews, and removed by the natives." In the mean while still more important discoveries * bad been made by Lieut. Hobson. After parting from M'Clintock, oit the 28th of April, at Gape Victoria, he made for Cape Felix, the northernmost point of King William's Land. At a short distance westward of it he found a very large cairn, and close to it three small tents, with blankets, old clothes, and other relics of a shooting or a magnetic station ; but, although the cairu was dug under, and a trench dug all round it at a dis- tance of ten feet, no record was discovered. A piece of blank paper, folded up, was found in the cairn, and two broken bottles, which may, perhaps, have contained records, lay beside it, among some stones which had fallen from o£f the top. The most interesting of the articles discovered here, including a boat's ensign, were brought away. About two miles further to the south- west a small cairn was found, but neither records nor relics obtained. About three miles north of Point Vic- tory a second -small cairn was examined, but only a broken pickaxe and empty canister found. On the 6th of May Lieut. Hobson pitched his tent beside a large cairn upon Point Victory.* Lying among some loose stones which had fallen from the top of this cairn, was found a small tin case, containing a record, which gave the first authentic and definite information as to the fate of the Franklin expedition. This most interesting document is a sheet of paper furnished bj * So called by Sir James Ross, in 1830. It was the farthest poial fMohed on King William's Land bj that indefatigable Arotio travdlw. RECORD DI8C0VKRED. 647 the British Admiralty, on which In printed, in five difie^ ent langUttgoB, tho iuilowiiig- runniilu : " Whoever finds thia pa[>er is ru(|ueHtu8^ '23' W, ilaviit, uint ; nl in 1840-7 • at Ueeebey Island, in lat. 7v 43' 28" N., 1 n. »1 ;r<' U" W , after having ascended Wellington Chanudl to Ip.I. T, , «,:(d letMn^c'i oy the west side of Ooro- wallik Island. SIR JOHN FRANKLi'V, C<;iiinM;»ding the ^rp^iUtion. AM well. Party, consisting of 2 o.*i!too»- auu {S ijen, left iliu ^.Mp' 7U'i s'lu/s. under tha comuiand cf Capt. F. R. M. Crozier, lnnd(!(i here, \a lot. 61)' 33' 42", Ion. 98° 4' 1", and start on to-mon.jw. 2Cth, im Back'«! FJah Fiver " — "Thii paper was found by Lieut. Irving unJ' i the cairn supposed to have been built by Sir James Hobs in 1831, 4 cniiej to the nortu-west, where it had been deposited by the- luto Coin'mnder Goic in May (June), 1847. Sir James Ross's pillar has n«>t, however, Vnon found, and the paper has been transferred to thtt position, Trrhlch is tlAt in which Sir J Ross's pillar wai weeted. 8ii ioca Franklin died on the 11th June, 1847 ; and th«i total lou by deAvb».' iu the expedition has been, to this date, 9 officers and 1ft JAMBS FITZJAMES, Captain H. M. S. Erebus. F. R. M. CROZIER, Captain and Senior Officer." * Thii if » mistake. The ships wintered at Beecbey Island in 18«^ft-fk 548 MORE DISCOVERIES H ! A vast quantity of clothing and stores of all sorts laj strewed about, as if here every article was tnrown away which could possibly be dispensed with : pickaxes, snov- els, boots, cooking utensils, iron-work, rope, blocks, canvas, a dip circle, a sextant engraved " Frederic Hornby, R. N.," a sm,All medicine-chest, oars, &c. A few miles southward, across Back Bay, a second record was found, having been deposited by Lieut. Gore and M. Des Voeux, in May, 1847. It afforded no addi- tional information. Lieut. Hobson continued his journey southward along the western shore of King William's Land, but made no further discovery until he reached lat. 69° 9' N., and long. 99' 27' W., when he noticed what appeared to be two sticks peering above the frozen snow. Struck with their singularity in this barbarous region, he was led to examine them more closely, and was rewarded by find- ing that thes^ " sticks " were in fact the awning stanch- eons of a boat buried in the snow ; and on clearing around it, the ghastly spectacle of two human skeletons presented itself. One of these lay in the after part of the boat, under a pile of clothing ; the other, which was much more disturbed, probably by animals, was found in the bow. Five pocket watches, a quantity of silver spoons and forks, and a few religious books, were also found, but no journals, pocket-books, or even names upon any articles of clothing. Two double-barreled guns stood upright against the boat's side, precisely as they had been placed eleven years before. One bar rel in each was loaded and cocked. There was ammu nition in abundance, also thirty or forty pounds of choc* olate, and some tea and tobacco. Fuel was not want- ing ; a drift tree lay within a hundred yards of the boat. It appears that this boat had been intended for the Mcent of the Fish River, but was abandoned appareotly RETURN TO THE SHIP. 549 upon a return juurney to the sliipn, the sledge upon vf hich she was mounted being pointed in that direction. She measured twenty-eight feet in length by seven and a half feet wide, was most carefully fitted, and made as light as possible, but the sledge was of solid oak, and almost as heavy as the boat. Having prosecuted his search until within a few days' march of Cape Ilerschell, the southernmosi point of King William's Land, without finding any trace of the wrecked ships or of natives, Hobson set out on his return to the Fox, taking with him from the boat such relics as could conveniently be carried, and leaving there full informa* tion of his discoveries for the use of Gapt. M'Glintock, when he should arrive at that point. The latter oflScer, making the circuit of the island from the eastern side, proceeded northward from Oapa Herschell over the ground already searched by Lieut Hobson. " Soon after leaving Cape Herschell," he says, " the traces of natives became less numerous and less recent, and after rounding the west point of the island they ceased altogether. This shore is extremely low, and almost utterly destitute of vegetation. Numerous banks of shingle and low islets lie off it, and be3rDnd these Victoria Strait is covered with heavy and impenetrable packed ice." He came upon the boat above described, and there found the notice of Hobson's discoveries. On the 6th of June he reached Point Victory, without having found anythiig further. The clothing and other articles were again examined for documents, note-books, &c., without Buccers, a record placed in the cairn, and another buried ten feet due north of it. Gn the 19th of June he reached the ship, five days after the arrival of Lieut. Hobson. On the 28th of June }i I ^' i 650 LAST VOYAGE OF FRANKLtN. Capt Young and his party returned, having completed their portion of the search, by which the insularity of Prince of Wales' Land was determined, and the coast line intervening between the extreme points reached by Lieutenants Osborne and Browne, discovered ; also be- tween Bt'Uot Strait and Sir James Ross's furthest in 1849, at Four River Bay. Fearing Ihat his provisions might not last out the requisite period, Capt. Young sent back four of his men, and for forty days journeyed on through fogs and gales, with but one man and the dogs, building a snow hut each night. But few men could stand so long a con- tinuance of labor and privation, and its effect upon Capt. Young was painfully evident. All were now on board again. The summer proved a warm one ; and on the 9th of August they were able to start on their homeward voyage. By the aid of her steam power the ship was forced up to Fury Point. There for six days she lay, closely beset, when, a change of wind removing the ice, her voyage was continued, almost without further interruption, to Godhaven, in Disco, where she arrived on the 27th of August. On the 21st of September, 1859, the Fox arrived in Eng- land, — having accomplished fully the object of her voy- age, with the loss of only three men. Gathering up the fragments of information which have been obtained from tUue to time by the various searching expeditions, we are now enabled to present, in a connected form, all. that is known — and probably all that ever will be known — concerning the last voy- age of Sir John Franklin. It will be remembered that the Erebus and Teri'or, which left England in May, 1845, v/ere last seen on the 26th of July, moored to an iceberg, in Baffin's Bay, LAST VOYAGE OF FRANKLIN. 551 awaiting an opportunity to enter Lancaster Sound. They must have succeeded in this soon after; for they reached Beechey Island in time to explore Wellington Channel before {io\i\g into winter quarters. Franklin's instructions ficn. the Admiralty were to make to the south-west from Cape Walker. Probably the ice blocked his advance in that direction ; and so, Wellington Chan- nel being open, he determined to lose no time, but to attempt a northern passage around the Parry Islands. Pressing then to the northward, he ascended Welling* ton Channel an far as lat. 77° N. ; where, instead of reaching, as he hoped, an open sea, he found, doubt* less, like the expeditions which have since followed the same track, a wide expanse of water, perfectly choked up with ice, extending to the westward as far as the eye could reach. BafiQed thus, his only course was to return to the southward. In so doing he passed along the west side of Cornwallis Island, thus proving that a channel exists between Cornwallis and Bathurst Islands, and entered Barrow's Strait, at a point nearly due north of Gape Walker, in which direction alone he was now constrained to' seek a route whereby to reach the sea off the coast of North America. But by this time the autumn must have been well advanced. The nights were getting rapidly longer Further progress that season was impossible. The Ere- bus and Terror accordingly bore away for Beechey Isl- and, and there Sir John Franklin and his companions passed the winter of 1846-6. Three men died during their stay at this place. But this was no unusual degree of mortality, and there is no reason to suppose that the party had to endure more than the ordinary hardships of an Arctic winter. They were remarkably well provided and organized ; and it was undoubtedly with unabated ardor and in a high state of efficieiM^ , I,' it mm mmm 552 LAST VOYAGE OF FRANKLIIf. i that they broke out of their winter quarters, as soon •■ the seaHon would allow, and pursued their adventurous voyage, as we suppose, down Peel Sound. This must have been at some time between the 3d of April and let of September, 1846. Probably it was in July or August. It can hardly have been so late as September, for on the 12th of that month we find the Erebus and Terror beset far to the southward, in lat. 10" 8', Ion. 98° 23'. In that position, which is about twelve miles due north of Gape Felix, they passed t\\e winter of x846-7. One of those impenetrable ice-streams which flow down from the vast unknown sea, lying north and west of the Parry Islands, passes between Melville and Banks's Lands, and, impinging with fearful force upon the exposed western shores of Prince of Wales's Land and the islands across Barrow's Straits, is fairly blocked up in the narrows about King William's Land. Sir James Ross, standing on Cape Felix, in May, 1830, remarked with astonishment the fearful nature of this oceanic ice. He mentions that in some places the pres* sure had driven the floes inland half a mile beyond the highest tide mark I Such were the terrible winter quarters of those lone barks and their gallant crews ; and if tliat season of monotony was trying to them in Beechey Island, where they could in some measure change the scene by trav- elling in one direction or the other, how infinitely more so it must have been with nothing around them but ice- hummock and floe-piece, with the ships constantly sub- jected to pressure and ice-nip, and often in danger of being engulfed in some awful tempest, when the ice- fields would rear and crush one agai^**^ **»e other, under that tremendous pressure from the nortn-we^ Yet, in the midst of all these perils, by tue aia u« trery expedient of labor and amusement which Sir Johv LAST VOVAGK OF FRANKLIN. 555 Frauklin's great experience could suggest, the witole party were maintuiiied iu health and vigor while the ditrk winter months wore away. They were doubtieHS sustained and encouraged by the knowledge that they ' were now only ninety miles from Cape Herschell, and that a sledge party could reach it in the spring before the navigation would be open. Once there, and satis- fied that the expedition was really in the channel lead* ing to Dease and Simpson's Straits, and the north-west passage would be in fact discovered : for Franklin would then be on familiar ground, as he had explored nearly all the coast of North America westward from that point years before. It was probably with this object in view that Lieut. Graham Gore and Mr. F. Des Vceux, mate, accompanied by six men, started for the land on the 24th of May, 1847. Four days afterwards they stopped at a cairn built by Sir James Ross on King William's Land, and left a record there, which tells us that when they left the ships all on board were well. From its very brev- ity we may infer that they anticipated no disaster, and had not bated one jot of heart or hope. All were doubt- less looking forward to a continuation of their voyage as soon as the summer sun should bring its force to bear upon the ice. Lieut. Gore and his companions probably traversed the short distance to Gape Herschell in a week ; and we can fancy them casting one glance upon the long-sought shores of America, and hastening back to shait. their delight with those imprisoned in the ships. Alas I before their return sorrow had fallen heavily upon the hearts of those hardy explorers. Summer had come. The ice around the Erebus and Terror was still unbroken, but the strength of their veteran commander had melted away. Sir John Franklin, now more than •izty years old, the best years of whose life had be«o ^i 654 LAST VOTAQE OF FRANKLIN. ■pent in encountering Arctic penis, had yielded to them at last. He died on the Uth of June, 1847. Before the toilsome search, which his faithful wife urged on with such self-sacrificing devotion, had even commenced, he was at rest. " His last sea-fight was fought, His wreath of glory won." Before the dark shadow of coming disaster had set* tied upon his expedition ; while the great object of his life seemed almost accomplished ; surrounded by his comrades, with all the comforts the ships could afford, he died, and was released. " Not for him that hoar of terror, When, the long ioe«battle o'er, In the sunless day his comrades Deathward trod the Polar shore. Spared the ornel cold and famine. Spared the fainting heart's despair. What but that ouuld mercy grant him 7 What but that has been Act prayer ? " The death of their beloved leader must have made a mournful vacancy in the little band on board the Erebus and Terror. But they were not men to be disheartened. Oapt. Crozicr succeeded to the command, and the daily routine of duty went on steadily as before. So the sum- mer passed, and autumn came. The prospect before them began to look dismal indeed. Scurvy was already showing itself among the crews, their provisions would fail before anotiier year, winter was close at hand, and ■till they were drifting helplessly in the ice-pack. Slowly they drifted to the south. Ten miles, twenty miles, thirty miles were passed over ; only sixty miles of ice remained between them and the sea off the Amer^ ican coast ; one narrow lane of open water would have Mved them ; but not a foot of open water was in^ sight Caft. Charles Francis Hall and his Innuit Frienoi* [655] LAST VOYAGE OF FRANKLIN. 657 At last the ice-stroam ceased to drift. Fifteen miles N. N. W, of Point Victory, the dread winter of 1847-8, — with disease, and cold, and want, and darkness,— > closed around those forlorn and desperate men. An escape by land was now their only hope, and every eflbrt was made during the winter to get all things in readiness tu start at the earliest practicable moment. When that time arrived, eight officers erd twelve men, one after another, had shared the happy fate of Sir John Franklin. The survivors, one hundred and five in num- ber, a wan, half-starved, scurvy-stricken crew, piled up their sledges with all descriptions of gear, and on the 22d of April, 1848, under the lead of Captains Grozier and Fitzjames, took their way to King William's Land. They were three days traversing the intervening dis- tance of fifteen miles, and the sad conviction was already pressing upon them that they had overrated their phys- ical strength. A few miles north-west of Point Victory they found the record deposited by Lieut. Gore. The hand that wrote it was now cold in death. With a.hand almost as cold, Capt. Fitzjames proceeded to write round its margin those few but graphic words which tell all we know of this last sad page in their history. The record, thus completed, was placed in a cairn built on the assumed site of James Ross's pillar, at Point Vic- tory. There the party were to rest for the night ; and on the morrow, the 26th of April, 1848, — about the time that the first searching expedition was getting ready to sail from England, — they were to set out for the Great Fish River. Here all positive knowledge of their movements comes to an end. What afterward befell them can be stated only from conjecture, based upon the statements of the Esquimaux, and the various relicL that have been dis* covered. From the numerous articles found scattered Nil v568 LAST VOYAGE OP FRANKLIN. i r About near the cairn at Point Victory, we know that before starting th(3y threw away everything that could possibly bo spared, to lighten their burden. Forty days' provision is the utmost amount that they could have carried upon tiioir sledges, in addition to their other equipments. The country at that season afforded no game ; but, as the Great Fish River is known not to open before August, it is supposed that they hoped to find deer and salmon, when they reached the main land, with which to sustain themselves during the intervening time. It was probably the absolute necessity of pro- curing/res/t provisions — for salted meat is simply poi* 8on to men afflicted with scurvy — that induced them to abandon the ships at so early a period of the year. The boat found by Lieut. Ilobson, about sixty-five miles from the ships, with her bow turned northward, proves that some portion of the party attempted a return. Capt. M'Glintock thinks that they were return* ing for more provisions. Lieut. Sherrard Osborne gives a different explanation. lie thinks that, as the men toiled slowly along, growing weaker from day to day, under the fearful labor of dragging such ponderous sledges and boats, as well as their disabled comrades, through the deep snow and over rugged ice, it became apparent that, if any were to be saved, there must be a division of the party, and that the weak and disabled must stay behind. Those who were too weak to go on accordingly turned back with this boat. The skeletons found in her, and the bones said to have been found by wandering Esquimaux on board one of the ships, are^ upon this theory, the remnants of the sick and weak, who must have formed a large proportion of the original party that landed at Point Victory. Either of these explanations is probable enough ; but we only know, ifter all, that a poi-tion of the party turned back, for LAST VOYAGE OF FRANKLIN. r):>9 lome rcanon, toward tho shipe, and that two men, at least, found a grave in this boat. Tlio ehioud of snow which covered them for ten long years has been lifted, but a cnystery still enwraps them, which the fancy scoki in vain to penetrate. " Their iMt dark reoord none may learn t Wbuther, in feeblenou and pain, Heartsioli they watobed for the retnra Of those who never oame again { Or if, amid the Btillness drear, They feit the drowsy death*chill creep, Then stretohed thom on their snowy bier. And Bluml>ered to their last long sleepi" That a considerable number of the party continued pushing on southward, wo know from the tCHtimony of the Eriquimaux. Tho skeleton found eastward of Gape llcrschcll proves that they reached that point, and seems also to confirm tlie Esquimaux story that many of them dropped and died as they walked along ; for it lay ex- actly as the famished seaman had fallen, with his head toward the Great Fish River and his face to the ground. Wc know, also, upon Esquimaux authority, which there is no reason to doubt, that a remnant succeeded in reach* ing the mouth of the Great Pish River. " After the arrival of the wild f<»wl," says the Esquimaux report, " but before the ice broke up, the bodies of thirty per- sons and some graves were discovered on the continent, and five other corpses on an island. Some of the bodies were in a tent, others under the boat, which had been turned over to afford shelter.'* The native description of the locality where this sad scene occurred agreed exactly with Montreal Island and Point Ogle. The time of its occurrence is left somewhat indefinite by their statement ; but, knowing what we now do of the abandonment of the ships, and taking all circumstancM 660 TilK FRANKLIN KEL(C& !:|y I into oohBi.lerulion, there can he little doubt that it WM ill the HnrriTTitM- of 1848, ami that the feeble band which poriahod at tlie iiuMtth uf the Great FJHh River, while waitini; for tiio dJHniption of the ice, were the laHt sur- vivorH of the gulhint crews of the Erebim and Terror. With iTffiud to ihotihipH, the siibBtaiice of the infor- mation obtained rroin th« fiHquiriiuux is, that " Heveral years mro " one Hhip wa8 cruHhed by the ice off the north shore of King Wiliiiirn's Land : and that the other w»t4 diifted ashore in the fall of the same year. This dear ruction of i)iio ship and wreck of another occurred, so far as Capt. M'Clintock could ascertain, snbsequentli to their abandonment. Some of the na- tives, seen bv him, had visited the wreck as late as the winter of lb57-58. An intelligent old woman stated that on boaid the wrecked ship there was one dead white man, "a tall man with long teeth alid large bones." Th-'ro had been, "at one time, many books on board of her, as well us other things ; but all had been taken away or destroyed when she was last at the wreck." If the wreck still remains visible, she proba* bly lies upon some one of the off-lying islets to the southward between Capes Crozier and Ilcrschell ; as no signs of her could be discovered on the shore of King William's Land. The following description of the affecting jnemorials brought home by Capt. M'Clintock, as they appeared at the United Service Museum, where they were tempo- rarily deposited, is by a writer in the London Neivs: "In the first case is the 'ensign' of one of the ships, toduced almost to shreds, but still preserving its colors, and reminding the spectators of the many cheerless days upon which it must have fluttered sadly, but still proudly, from the mast of the ice-bound vessel. In a ecNrner of the same case is also a thin tin cylinder, stained THE FRANKLIN RELIC& 661 ind time*wom. The casual ftpoctator would hardlj notice it, but it standH iimt in itnpurtaiice uf all that hat been recovered, for it contains the record of the death of Sir John Franklin — that happy death which saved uur brave veteran all the subtiequent horrors of the jour* uey to the Fish River. Further on are the rude Hpoar> beads into which the EsquimVux had fashioned the iron they obtained from the wreck ; and a box-wood two- foot rule, whitened with exposure, but with tho figures on it all as bright as the first day. This was, of course, the property of the carpenter, who, it would appear, had, even when starting on his dread journey, not for* gotten the implement of his trade. In the same case is a relic which will arrest tho eye of many a passer-by. It is the remains of a silk neck-tie, including the bow, as carefully and elaborately tied as if the poor wearer had been making a wedding toilette. This, which was taken from the naked bones of a ghastly skeleton which was discovered some miles distant from the main track of the poor pilgrims, is supposed to have belonged to the ship's steward. There are also various articles of plate, the greater portion of which is marked with Sir John Franklin's device, and two pocket chronometers in excellent preservation. A small silver watch, mak< er's nslme * A. Myers, London,' probably belonged to some young mate or midshipman ; and a worm-eaten roll of paper, upon which the single word 'Majesty* re- mains, was possibly the much-prized warrant of some stout boatswain or quartermaster. There is a little ame- thyst seal, in perfect preservation, and goggles and inow-veils, to protect the eyes from the dazzling white- ness of the polar snow. Two double-barreled guns, covered with rust, are placed far in on the table. They ■till contain the charges which were placed in them by nands which have long since lost their cunuing. Th« 8« 662 THE FRANKLIN RELICS. books recovered are very few ; they would, of course, succumb early to the rigors of exposure, — but there is still well preserved a small edition of the 'Vicar of Wakefield,' some religious poetry, and a French Testa- ment, on the fly-leaf of which is written, in a delicate female hand, 'From your attached (the appellation is obliterated) S. M. P.' The open medicine-chest con- tains all its bottles and preparations very little injured, and a little cooking-machine has the fuel arranged, the sticks thrust through the bars ready for ignition, and lucifer matches at the side, as it might have been pre> pared over night for the morning cooking. It would be impossible to exaggerate the interest and importance of all these simple memorials ; they tell a tale that will find its way to every heart." The Franklin expedition, when it sailed from Engw land, numbered T>ne hundred and thirty-eight souls. The record found at Point Victory tells us that the total JOBS by deaths up to that time had been nine oflBcers tnd fifteen men, and that the party which landed there numbered one hundred and five souls. This leaves nine men unaccounted for. Is it an error in the figures, or were nine men left on board the ships ? Although the death of the whole party seems to be now rendered morally certain, we have no direct evidence of the death of more than half their num- ber. Until the fate of every man is ascertained, their relatives and friends will cling fondly to the hope that some may yet be living, and will urge the policy of ■ending new expeditions CHAPTER XXII. &■!■■ or Dr. E. K. Kanr. — Dr. Hayes' Expbdition.— Dbmtrbt w Lbctitkish on thb >Suimkct. — Drparturb op thb UifiTBO Statbb.— Amunq thb Icrbbhos. — A Sublime Sight and a Nakrow Ebcapb.— Winter at Port Foulkh. — Sleoob Traveling to Orinnell Lamo. — Keacbbs Moont Parrt and Capb Union. — Returns to Boston. I On the 16th of February, 1857, at Havana, died Elisha Kent Kane, M.D., aged only thirtynseven years. The hardships and vicissitudes of his Arctic experience, while they failed to affect his vigorous spirits or daunt his unfaltering courage, had completely p! mattered his phys- ical health, which had never been robust. Though he died young, he left a record his country will ever be proud of, having achieved a noble fame, not only as a great navigator and explorer, but as a true hero, a good man, faithful and straightforward in the discharge of every duty, and courteous and dignified in his intercourse with his peers and his subordinates. In the narrative of Dr. Kane's travels, given earlier in this volume, will be found the name of Dr. Hayes, the surgeon of his expedition, and one of his most mtrepid o.)mpanion8. Dr. Hayes had shared in all of Dr. Kane's adventures, had experienced all the trials and perils of navigation in the Arctic region; but the intense cold of the far North had not chilled his ardor, nor had the ice- fields and floes " nipped " his courage. We quote, by way of introducing a brief notice of Dr. Hayes' expedition, from the doctor's own interesting nar> rative : " The plan of the enterprise first suggested itself to me while acting as surgeon of the expedition oommandeti 6(IS 564 DR. HAYES KXfEDITION. by the late Dr. E. K. Kane, of the United States Navy Although its execution did not appear feasible at the pe< riod of my return from that voyage in October, 1855, yet I did not at any time abandon the design. My object was to complete the survey of the north coasts of Green- land and Grinnell Land, and to make such explorations as I might find practicable in the direction of the North Pole." On first laying his plans before the public, they were coldly received, in consequence chiefly of the growing feel- ing that the results proposed to be attained were scarcely worth the risks, while the many lives already lost in the cause were immeasurably beyond all the actual achieve- ments in value, and would be inadequately compensated for by entire success. So thoroughly in earnest was he, however, that he resorted to the delivery of lectures on the subject in different .parts of the country, and after a time succeeded in awakening an interest in his plans in some of the scientific associations, and eventually induced some er.pitalists and others to aid him. It was not, however, till June, 1860, that he was enabled to commence actual arrangements for his departure, Tht^e were rapidly made ; a schooner called the Spring Hill was purchased, its name changed to the United States, a ship's company secured, the vessel carefully and completely stocked with provisions, and &,i last, on July 7th, Dr. Hayes and his party left Boston, in good spirits and with elastic hopes, for the icy shores of Smith's Sound, which point the gallant doc- tor intended tc make the base of his explorations. Sailing directly for the outer capes of Newfoundland, the " United States " narrowly escaped shipwreck on Cape Race, on the 30f,h of July got within the Arctic Circle, and on August 2nd. reached the bold promontory of Svarte Huk. Here they were becalmed, but a view of the coast and of some fine icebergs seems to have allayed Hayes' vexation at the delay. Indeed, a note in his diary pre- AMONO THE ICEBERGS. 565 sents 80 graphic a picture, we feel justified in makiug room for a brief extract : "The air was warm, almost as a summer's night at home, and yet there were the icebergs and the bleak mountains, with which the fancy, in tliis land of green hills and waving forests, can associate nothing but cold repulsiveness. The sky was bright and soft, and strangely inspiring as the skies of Italy. The bergs had wholly lost their chilly aspect, and glittering in the blaze of the hn\- liant heavens, seemed in the distance like masses of bur- nished metal or solid flame. Nearer at hand, they were huge blocks of Parian marble, inlaid with mammoth gems of pearl and opal. One in particular exhibited the per- fection of the grand. Its form was not unlike that of the Colosseum, and it lay so far away that half its height was buried beneath the line of the bluod-red waters. The sun, slowly rolling along the horizon, passed behind it, and it seemed as if the old Roman ruin had suddenly taken fire and were in flames." While lost in contemplation of the sublime picture he 80 admirably transfers to his diary, Hayes was rudely re- called to the dangers of the place by a shout : " Ice close aboard, sir !" and found they were slowly drifting upon a berg; by means of a boat and a line they avoide