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' 1 
 
ARCTIC 
 
 EXPLORATIONS AND DISCOVERIES 
 
 DURING THE NINETEENTH CENTURY. 
 
 BEINQ DETAILED ACCOUNTS OW 
 
 THE SEVERAL .EXPEDITIONS TO THE NORTH SEAS, 
 
 BOTn ENGLISH AND AMERIUAN, CONDUCTED BT 
 BOSS, PAERT, BACK, FRANKLIN, M'CLUEB AND OTHERS. 
 
 INCLUDING 
 
 THE FIRST GRINNELL EXPEDITION, ' 
 
 ITNDER LIEUTENANT DE HAVEN, AND Tm 
 
 FINAL EFFORT OF DR. E. K. KANE 
 
 .♦ • . IN 
 
 SEARCH OF SIR JOHN FRANKLIN. 
 
 EDITED AND COMPLETED 
 BT 
 
 SAMUEL M. SMUCKER, A. M., 
 
 ATTTHOB OF " OOTTBT AMD BEIGN OF OATHBRINB H.," " NICHOLAS L," " MEHOBABU 
 SOElfES IN CSXNCH HUTOBT," "HISTOBT OF THB ItOBlIONS," STC. 
 
 NEW YORK AND AUBURN : 
 MILLER, ORTON & 0., 
 
 New York : 25 Park Bow—Aabura : 107 GoBesee-st 
 1857. 
 
Entered according to Act of Congress, In tlio year one thonsand eight hundred 
 
 and flfty-seven, 
 
 BY MILLER, ORTON & CO., 
 In the Clerk's OfUce of the Dlatrict Court of the Northern District of New York. 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 The records of maritime adventure and discovery con- 
 stitute one of the most attractive pages in literature. 
 Nearly three thousand years before the birth of Christ, 
 the bold Tyrians and Phoenicians deserted the confines of 
 their native continent to explore new realms, and to ob- 
 tain from the then unknown land of Spain, the means of 
 augmented splendor, luxury, and wealth. From that re- 
 mote period, down through succeeding ages until the 
 present, the most enterprising and dauntless of human 
 spirits have found their congenial field of labor and ac- 
 tivity in adventuring into untrodden and unfamiliar re 
 gions in search of riches, celebrity, and conquest. 
 
 It was this spirit which has in the past given birth to 
 many great states and empires. It was this spirit which 
 planted Carthage on the northern shores of Africa, and 
 eventually rendered her the dangerous and not unworthy 
 rival of Rome. It wgis this spirit which built Marseilles, 
 Aries, Nismes, and many of the most important cities of 
 
IV 
 
 1' in: FACE. 
 
 France, "whidi rontnin to tliis day impressive monuments 
 of Roman origin and Hupromacy. It was this spirit wliich 
 made Eni^land pass successively under the resistless sway 
 of her Roman, Saxon, Danish, and Norman conquerors. 
 But more especially was it this restless and insatiable 
 genius of adventure which created the greatness of the 
 chief maritime cities of modern Italy, of Genoa and Ven- 
 ice, as well as that of the kingdom of Portugal and Spain. 
 To this same desire for discovery the world is indebted 
 for the glorious achievements of Columbus, Vespucius, 
 and De Soto ; and for the revelation of the magnificent 
 novelties and unparalleled beauties of these western con- 
 tinents, ladencd with the most valuable treasures and 
 products of the earth, which they threw open to the 
 knowledge and the possession of mankind. 
 
 After the discovery of the American continents, and af- 
 ter tlie thorough exploration of the Southern and Pacific 
 oceans, it was generally supposed that the materials for 
 further adventures of this description had all been ex- 
 hausted. The whole habitable globe seemed then to 
 have been made accessible and familiar to men, both as 
 apostles of science and as emissaries of commerce. It 
 was thought that the era of maritime discovery, the days 
 of Vasco de Gama, of Marco Polo, and of Sydney, had 
 ended forever. But this supposition was erroneous. One 
 additional field of this description yet remained. It was 
 indeed a gloomy and repulsive one. It was totally de- 
 void of the attractive and romantic splendors which in 
 other days had allured men to sail through tranquil 
 oceans to fragrant islands, which bloomed like gardens on 
 the bosom of summer seas ; or to continents which were 
 covered with the richness of tropical vegetation and luxu 
 
PKEFAOE. 
 
 rianco, and were storctl with spiccp, gold, and gems. But 
 it was a field which demanded greater heroism, greater 
 endurance, and was fraught with greater perils, than any 
 other department of discovery. This region lay far up 
 toward the Northern Pole. It was the vast frozen land 
 of everlasting snow-fields, of stupendous ice-bergs, of 
 hyperborean storms, of the long, cheerless nights of tiio 
 Arctic Zone. To navigate and ex[)loro these dismal 
 realms, men of extreme daring, of sublime fortitude, of 
 miconquerablo perseverance, were absolutely necessary. 
 And such men possessed one great element of diLjtinguish- 
 hig greatness, of which the explorers of more g(3nial and 
 inviting climes were destitute. Their investigations were 
 made entirely without the prospect of rich reward, and 
 chiefiy for the promotion of the magnificent ends of 
 science. The discovery of a north-western passage was 
 indeed not forgotten ; but it must be conceded that other 
 less mercenary and more philanthropic motives havo 
 given rise to the larger portion of the expeditions which, 
 during the progress of the nineteenth century, liave in- 
 vaded the cheerless solitudes of that dangerous and re- 
 pulsive portion of the globe. 
 
 The following pages contain a narrative of the chief 
 adventures and discoveries of Arctic explorers during 
 this century. No expedition of any importance has been 
 omitted ; and the work has been brought down in its de- 
 tails to the present time, so as to include a satisfactory 
 account of the labors, sufferings, and triumphs of that 
 prince of Arctic explorers and philanthropists, Dr. Kane ; 
 whose adventures, and whose able narrative of them, en- 
 title him to fadeless celebrity, both as a hero in the field, 
 and as a man of high genius and scholarship. 
 
I! 
 
 I ! 
 
 VI 
 
 PREFACE. 
 
 Every reader who carefully peruses the following pa-' 
 _ s must be convinced that the Arctic hemisphere has 
 now been thoroughly explored. Every accessible spot 
 has been visited and examined by some one or other 
 of the various expeditions which have been sent out ; and 
 that vast extent of countries and of seas which intervene 
 from Smith's Sound and Wolstenholme Sound in the ex- 
 treme east, being the remotest northern limits of Green- 
 land, to the westward as far as to Behring's Straits, which 
 divide America from Asia, has been examined. These 
 limits inclose an area of about four thousand miles, every 
 attainable portion of which has been subjected to the 
 scrutiny of recent Arctic explorers. It can scarcely be ex- 
 pected that any traces of the existence and fate of Sir John 
 Franklin still remain on the globe, which further perse- 
 verance and research could possibly reveal. Even if the 
 great chapter of Arctic discovery and adventure should 
 now be closed, it will constitute one of the most remark- 
 able and entertaining departments of human heroism, 
 enterprise, and endurance, which biography or history 
 presents. 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 Introductor7 Remarks, 25 
 
 Little known of tlie Arctic Regions — Notice of Capt. Phipps' Voyage — Parry's ana 
 Franklin's opinions (in a northwest passage — Abstract of Sir Jolin Barrow's works on 
 Arctic Discovery — England's neglect of her nautical heroes. 
 
 Captain Sir John Ross's Voyage in the Isabella and Alexander to 
 Hudson's Bay in 1818 37 
 
 Names of the officers and men— Ships visited by the natives of Greenland — Abun- 
 dance of birds on this coast — Gale of wind — Red snow — Lancaster Sound — The fabu- 
 lous Croker mountains — Agnes monument — Large bear shot — Return home. 
 
 Voyage of Biichan and Franklin in the Dorothea and Trent, to 
 Spitzbergen, <fec., 1818, 45 
 
 Names of officers and complement, &c. — Fanciful appearance of icebergs — Shipu 
 arrive at Spitzbergen — Anchor in Magdalen Bay — Hanging icebergs — Immense flocks 
 of birds — Dangerous ascent of Rotge Hill — Attack of walruses — Surprised by unlooked- 
 for visitors — Devout feeling of recluses — Expedition puts to sea again — Party lose 
 themselves on the ice — Ships damaged by the pressure of the floes — Dangerous position 
 of the ships — They take refuge in the main pack of icebergs — Vessels put into Fair 
 Haven to stop leaks and refit — Return home. 
 
 Fmnklin's First Land Expedition, 1819-21 61 
 
 Party leave England in the Prince of Wales — Reach Hudson's Bay factory by tho 
 end of August — Proceed by the rivers and lakes to Cumberland House — Arrive at Fori 
 Chipewyan after a winter journey of 857 miles — Engage voyageurs and guides — Make 
 the acquaintance of Akaitcho, the Indian chief— Push on fr Fort Enterprise, which 
 is made their winter residence after a voyage of 563 miles — Exploring excursions car- 
 ried on during the winter — " Green Stockings," the Indian beauty — Stores and Esqui- 
 maux interpreters arrive — Severity of the winter — Sufferings of the Indians — Party 
 set out for the Polar Sea — Examine the coast westward of Point Turnagain — Dreadftil 
 hardships and sufferings endured on their return Journey, from famine and fatigue- 
 Death of several of the party — Mr. Hood is murdered by Michel the Iroquois, who, 
 for their mutual safety, is killed by Dr. Ricluirdson — Hunger and famine endured by 
 the party — Their ultimate relief. 
 
 Farry's First Voyage in the Hecla and Griper, 1819-20, 85 
 
 Names of oflicers serving, &c. — Enter Lancaster Sound — The Croker mountains 
 prove to be fallacious — Parry discovers and enters Regent Inlet — Also discovers and 
 names various islands, capes, and channels — Reaches Meh-ille Island — Expedition cross 
 the meridian of 110" W., and become entitled to the Parliamentary reward of jC.5000 
 —Drop anchor for the first time — Land on the island — Abundance of animals found — 
 An exploring pr'ty lose themselves for three days, but are recovered and brought 
 back — Vessels get into wmter-quarters — A MS. newspaper published — amat«>ur plays 
 performed — Observatory destroyed by Are — Scurvy makes its appearance — Crews put 
 on short allowance — An excursion of a fortnight made to examine tbi island — Ships get 
 mle&T of the ice — But are unable to make further progress to the westward, and thoir 
 nturn to England is deter mlnod on. 
 
1 
 
 I 
 
 Vlll 
 
 C N T E NTS. 
 
 Parry's Second Voyage in the Fury and Ilecla, 1821-23 lUl 
 
 His opinion as to a northwest passage — Make Kcsolution island, at the entrance of 
 Hudson's Strait— Dangers o the iei' — Fall in >vith Hudson' sHay Company's sliipu, and 
 emigrant vessel, with Dutch colonists proceeding to Ked Kiver — Two innnense bears 
 killed — Descrii>tion of the Escjuiinaux — Surveys made of all the indentations and coasts 
 of this hjcality — Ships driven back by the current and dritl-ice — Take up their winter- 
 quarters — And resort to theatrical amusements again — Schools established — Great 
 severity of the winter — Surveying operations resumed — Intelligent Esquimaux female 
 afi'ords valuable hydrograi)hical inf<n'mation — Perilous position of the Hecia — Her 
 miraculous release — Ships pass their second winter at Igloolik — The Fury and HecIa 
 Strait examined— Ice breaks up — Ships driven about by the current for thirty-five 
 days — At last gain the Atlantic and make for England. . 
 
 Clavering's Voyage to Spitzbergen and Greenland in the Griper, 
 1823 126 
 
 Conveys out Capt. Sahine to make observations — Reach Spitsbergen — Proceed thenca 
 to Pendulum Islands — Northeastern coast of Greenland surveyed — Cai)tjiin Clavering 
 and a party of nineteen men carry on an exploring expedition for a fortnight — Meet 
 with a tribe of Es(iuiniaux — Ship puts to sea — Make for the coast of Norway — Anchor 
 in Drontheira Fiord — Observations being completed, ship retm'us to England. 
 
 Lyon's Voyage in the Griper, 128 
 
 Is sent to survey and examine the straits and shores of Antic America — Arrives in 
 the channel known as Roe's Welcome — Encoiuiters a territicr gale — Is hi imminent dan- 
 ger in the Bay of God's Mercy — SuH'ers from anotlier fearful storm — The s'aip being 
 quite crippled, and liaviiig lost all her anchors, &c., is obliged to return liome. 
 
 Parry -s Third Voyage in the Hecla and Fury, 1824-2.5 130 
 
 Names and number of the officers, iHco. — Tlecla laid on her broadside by tlie ice — 
 Ships reach Lancaster Sound — Enter l{egent Inlet, aiid winter at Port Bowen — Dreary 
 char I iter of the arctic winter — Former amusements worn threadbare — Polar Bal 
 Masqtj) pot up — Explorhig parties sent out inland and along the coast — Sliips are 
 releasee, but beset by the ice, and carried by the pack down tVie inlet — Fury driven ou 
 shore and abandoned — Return voyage necessarily determined on — Scarcity of animal 
 food in this locality — Hecla arrives at Peterhead — Parry's opinions of the northwest 
 passage. 
 
 Franklin's Second Land Expedition, 1825-26 137 
 
 Names of the officers accomjiany ing liim — A rrive in New York and proceed through 
 the Hudson's Bay Company's territories — Winter at Fort Franklin on Great Bear 
 Lake — A pioneer party proceeds to examine the state of the Polar Sea — Return and 
 pass the long winter — Descend the Mackenzie in the spring— Party divide ; Franklin 
 and Back proceeding to the westward, while Dr. Ricli.irdson and Mr. Kendal, &c., 
 follow the Coppermine River — Franklin encounters a fierce tribe of Esquimaux at the 
 sea — After a month's snrvej' to the eastward, Franklin and his party retrace their steps 
 — Find Richardson and Kendal had retiirnd before them, after reaching and explor- 
 ing Dolphin and Union Strait — Another winter spent at Fort Franklin — Intensity of 
 the cold— Large collection of objects of natural history made by Mr. Drumraond^ 
 Franklin's struggle between affection and duty — Party return to England. 
 
 Captain Beechey's Vovago to Behring's Strait in the Blossom, 
 1825-26 " 140 
 
 Anchors off Petropaulowski — Receives intelligence of Parry's safe return — Interview 
 wit.>> the natives — Correct hydrographical descriptions given by the Esquimaux- 
 Ship 8 boat pushes on to the eastward as far as Point Barrow, to communicate with 
 Franklin — Crew in danger from the natives — Obliged to return to their ships — Tlie 
 Blossom proceeds to the Pacific, to replenish her provisions — Returns to Kotzebue 
 Sound in the summer — Ship grounds on a sand-bank, but is got ofV^— Boat sent out to 
 learn tidings of Franklin, is wrecked— Crew come into collision with hostile natives, 
 and are wounded; picked up by the ship— Dispatches left for Franklin, and the ak ^ 
 returns to England. 
 
 
 # 1 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 IX 
 
 Parry's Fourth or Polar Voyage in the Hecla, 1827 144 
 
 Plaus and suggestions of Scoresby, Ueaufi)y and Franklin for travelinor in sledgei 
 over the ice — Names of tlie otUcers employed— Sliip embarks reindeer on tiio Norway 
 coast — Experiences a tremendous gale — Beset by ice fur a month — Anchors at Spitz- 
 bergen — Sledge-boats prepared for the ice journey — Description of tlieni — Night 
 turned into day — Slow progress — Occupations of tlie party — Lose ground by the 
 southward drift of the ice — Bear aliot — Notices of animals seen — Ueacli northernmost 
 known land — The islet named after Koss — Keturn to the ship— Parry's subsequent 
 suggestions on this mode of traveling — Sir John Barrow's connnents thereon — Opin- 
 ions of this perilous ice journey — lleview of Parry's arctic serrices. 
 
 Captain John Ross's Second Voyage in the Victory, 1829-33 155 
 
 Ross seeks official employment from the Admiralty on another arctic voyage — is re- 
 fused — Funds are furnished by Mr. Felix Booth — The Victory steamer purchased^ 
 En[jages his nephew, Commander James Ross, as his second in connnaud — List of 
 other otHcers — Ship encounters a gale, and is obUged to put into Ilolsteinberg to refit 
 —Proceed on their voyage — Enter Lancaster Sound and Regent Inlet — Reach Fury 
 Beach — Find abundance of stores there, and preserved meat in excellent condition — 
 Replenish their stock — Proceed down the Inlet — Perils of the ice — Vessel secured in 
 Felix Harbor for the winter — Esquimaux visit the ship — Furnish very correct sketches 
 of the coast — '^jramandor James Ross makes many excursions inland and along the 
 bays and inlets — Explores Ross's Strait, and pushes on to King William's Land — UilU- 
 culty of distiiiguisbixjg land from sea — Reaches Point Victory and turns back — Ship 
 gets dear of the ice, after eleven months' imprisonment, but in a week is again frozen 
 in, and the party are detained during another severe winter— Further discoveries made, 
 and Connn;inder Ross plants the British tlag on the north magnetic pole — In August, 
 IblJl, the ship is warped out, an*l makes sail, but after beating about for a month, is 
 again frozen in ; and rather than spend u fourth winter, there being no prospect of 
 releasuig the ship, she is abandoned, and the crew make for Fury Beach — Provisions 
 «nd boats taken on with great labor — Party erect a canvas but, which they name Som- 
 erset House — In a month, the boats being prepared for tlie voyage, the party embark, 
 and reach the moutli of the mlet — Barrow's Strait is found one compact mass of ice— 
 They are obliged to fall back on the stores at Fury Beach to spend their fourth winter- 
 Placed on short allowance — In the spring they agaui embark in their boats and succeed 
 in reaching Lancaster Sound — Fall in witli whalers — Are received on board the Isabella, 
 Captain Rosjj's old ship — Arrive home — Public rejoicmgs for their safety — Rewards 
 granted — Resume of Captain John Ross's services. 
 
 Captain Back's Land Journey in search of Ross, 1833-34 168 
 
 Attention called to the missing expedition by Dr. Richardson — Plana of relief sug- 
 gested — Public meeting held to consider the best measures — Ample funds raised — Capt 
 Back volnnteers— Leaves England with Dr. King — Voyageurs and guides, &c., engaged 
 in Canada— Party push through the northwest country — Dreadful sufferings from 
 Insect pests — Reach Fort Resolution, on Great Slave I<ake — Motley description of the 
 travelers and their encampment — Arrangements are completed, and the journey m 
 search of the Great Fish River commenced — Frightful nature of the precipices, rap- 
 »d3, falls, ravines, &c. — Meet with old acquaintances — Obliged to return to their wintef 
 quaiters — Dreadful sufferings of the Indians — Famine and intense cold — Noble conduct 
 of Akaitcho, the Indian chief— News received of Captain Ross's safe return to England 
 — Franklin's faithful Esquimaux interpretei", Augustus, endeavoring to join Back, in 
 frozen to death — A fresh journey toward the sea is resolved on — Provisions for three 
 months taken — Indian encampment — Green Stockings, the beauty— Interview with the 
 chief, Akaitcho — Arduous and perilous progress toward the sea — Pilfering propensi- 
 ties of the Indians — Meet with a large friendly tribe of Esquimaux — Reach tlie sea, 
 and proceed along the coast to the ea.stward, unable to arrive at the Point Turnagaia 
 jf Franklin — Privations of the party on their return journey — Difficulties encountered 
 in re-ascending the river — Reach Fort Reliance after four months' absenc»^ — Pass the 
 winter there — Cajitain 1' ck arrives in England in September, after an absence of 
 two years and a half^Dr. King foUows him in the Hudsons Bay spring ships. 
 
 Back's Voyage in the Terror up Hudson's Strait, 1 836 186 
 
 Ship arrives at Salisbury Island — Proceeds up Frozen Strait — Is blocked up by the 
 ice, and driven about powerless for more than six months— Cast on her beam enda 
 for three d;i\s— From the crippled .state of the -liip and the insurmountable difficultiefi 
 Tf th6 navi;>:ation, the return to England is determined on — Sumuiary of Captaia 
 Back's cjftic sernces. 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 Messrs. Dease and Simpson's Discoveries on the coast of Arctic 
 America, 1836-39 , 187 
 
 Descend the Mackenzie to the sea — Survey the western part of the shores of North 
 America from Return Reef to Cape Barrow— DiBooTer two new rivers, the Garry 
 •nd Colville — After reaching ELson Bay, return to winter at Fort Confidence, on Great 
 Bear Lake — Survey resumed in the ensuing spring — Dangerous rapids on the Copper- 
 mine river — Encamp at its mouth — Copper ore found here — Victoria Land discovered 
 and 140 miles of new coast traced — Re-ascent of the Coppermine commenced — Boatu 
 abandoned, and the Barren grounds traversed on foot — Spend another winter at Fort 
 Confidence — Tlie following season a third voyage commenced— RichardsQn's River 
 •.\amined — Coronation Gulf found clear of ice — Coast survey to the eastward prose- 
 cuted — ISimpson's Strait discovered— Back's Estuary reached — Deposit of provisioni 
 made by Back five years previous, found — Aberdeen Island, the extreme point reached 
 —Parts of coasts of Boothia and Victoria Land traced — One of the boats abandoned- 
 Descent of the Coppermine, and safe arrival at Fort Confidence. 
 
 Dr. John Rae's Land Expedition, 1846-47 199 
 
 Hudson's Bay Company dispatch Rae and a party of thirteen men to complete th» 
 ■urvey between Dease and Simjison's furthest, and the Fury and Hecla Strait — Expe- 
 dition leaves Fort Churchill — Reaches Wager River — Boats taken across Rae's Isthmus 
 — Winter residence constructed — Short commons — West shore of Melville Peninsula, 
 &c., examined — Party return to their encampment, and proceed to Fort Churchill- 
 Gratuity of X40U awarded to Dr. Rae. 
 
 Captain Sir John Franklin's Last Expedition in the Erebus and 
 Terror, 1845-51 196 
 
 Probability of the safety of the expedition — Montgomery's lines on ice-imprisoned 
 vessels — Lady Franklin's devotion and enthusiasm — Verses — Her appeal to the north-— 
 Sir E. Parry's opinion — Outfit and dispatch of Franklin's expedition — Names of the 
 officers employed — Outline of Franklin's services — Notices of the serWces of other of 
 the officers — Searching expeditions sent out in 1848 — Different volunteers offer — Ab- 
 sence of intelligence of Franklin — TTis latest dispatches and letters — Copper cylinders 
 — Franklin's views and intentions — i^etters of Capt^iin Fitzjanies — General opinions of 
 the most experienced arctic officers jis to Franklin's safety — Offer of services and sug- 
 gestions by Dr. King — Opinions of Captains Parry and James Ross thereon — Consulta- 
 tion of officers at tlie Admiralty — Report of the hydrographer — Advice tendered by 
 tliose consulted — Views of Mr. Bnow and Mr. McLean — Public and private rewards 
 offered for discovery and assistance to be rendered — Second report of Admiral Beaufort 
 to the Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty — Various private and official letters and 
 dispatches, pointing out, or commenting on plans and modes of relief— Abundance of 
 animal food found in the arctic regions — A ballad of Sir John Franklin. 
 
 The Government and private Searching Expeditions 281 
 
 List of the vessels and commanders, &c., now employed on the search in the arctio 
 regions — Notices of those returned home. 
 
 Voyage of the Enterprise and Investigator under Captains Sir J. 0. 
 Ross and E. J. Bird, 1848-49 281 
 
 Names of the officers employed in this expedition — Ships arrive at Uppernavick— 
 Proceed on their voyage — Force a passage through the ice — Enter Barrow's Strait- 
 After being driven about in the pack, take shelter for the winter in the liarbor of Port 
 I,eopo!d — Surveying trips carried on down the inlet, and round the northern and 
 wp<5(-Hrn shores of Root.hi* — Foxes trapped and liberated with copper collars on — Fury 
 open water— Beset by the loose pack, and the temperature falling, the whole body of 
 ice is formed into one solid mass, and the ships are drifted with the field into Baffin's 
 Bay — The return to England determined on — Outline of Sir James Ross's arduous 
 services in the polar regions. 
 
 Voyaare of the transport, North Star, 1849 f«}0 
 
 Names of the officers of the ship— Official dispatch from the Commander— Sfilp 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 Lrctic 
 187 
 
 es of North 
 I, the Garry 
 ;e, on Great 
 he Copper- 
 . discovered 
 iced — BoatH 
 ter at Fort 
 jqn'g River 
 I'ard prose- 
 provisiont 
 int reached 
 tiandoned — 
 
 .193 
 
 )mplete th» 
 •ait— Expe- 
 e's Isthmus 
 i Peninsula, 
 Churchill — 
 
 and 
 196 
 
 imprisoned 
 
 he north— 
 
 mes of the 
 
 •f other of 
 
 offer — A^- 
 
 t" cylinders 
 
 pinions of 
 
 and sug- 
 
 Consulta- 
 
 dered by 
 
 rewards 
 
 Beaufort 
 
 etters and 
 
 idance of 
 
 ...281 
 
 ;he arctio 
 
 .0. 
 ...281 
 
 navick— 
 Strait— 
 of Port 
 
 ern and 
 -Fury 
 
 bodv of 
 Baffin's 
 
 arduous 
 
 ...WO 
 
 -SfAlp 
 
 beset in an ice-ZUId in the northern part of BaflRn's Bay— Drifted with it for sixty-two 
 days — Wintei fc in M'olstenholme Sound — Deartli of animals tliero — Ship p;ct8 clear of 
 ice and makes for I^ancaster Sound — The Lady Franklin and Felix aie spoken with— 
 Being prevented by the ije from reaching Port Bowen or Port Neil, tlie provisions 
 taken out by the North Star are landed at Navy Board Inlet — Speaks tiie Prince Albert 
 .—Receives dispatches for England — Returns home — Commander Saunders appointed 
 to Malta Dock-yard. 
 
 Second voyage of the Entei-prisc and Investigator under Captain 
 CoUinson and Commander M'Clure, 1850 294 
 
 Names of officers attached to the ships — Esquimaux interpreter appointed to the 
 Enterprise — Vessels arrive at the Sandwich Islands — Exjiressed intentions of the com- 
 manders of the vessels — Ships reach Behrinp's Strait — Conmiiniicate witli the Herald 
 and Plover — Latest dispatches of Captain Collinson and Commander M'Clure — Position 
 of their Ships. 
 
 V"oyage of the Plover, and Boat Expeditions nnder Commander 
 Puilen, 1848-51 307 
 
 Purport of instructions issued from the Admiralty — Ship arrives in Behrir.g's Strait 
 -Disrovers new land and islands to the north of the Strnit — Winters in Kotzebuo 
 Sound — Lieutenant Puilen and party proceed in boats alonjr the coast to the Mackenzie 
 River — No tidings gleaned of Franklin's ships — Letter from Lieut. Hooper — Latest offi- 
 cial disp<>tch from Commander PuUen — His intentions — Sir John Ricliardson's advice. 
 
 Voyage of the Lady Franklin and Sophia, purchased govemment 
 ships, under the command of Mr. Ponny 312 
 
 Nature of the instructions given — Printing Press supplied — Ships sail and reach 
 Wolstenholme Sound — Prevented by the ice from examining Jones' Sound — Reach 
 Wellington Channel, and are left there by the Prince Albert. 
 
 Voyage of the Resolute and Assistance, under command of Captain 
 Austin, with their steam tenders, Pioneer and Intrepid, 1850-51 313 
 
 Ships purchased and are renamed by the government — Officers employed — instruc- 
 tions given to search Wellington Channel, and push on to Melville Inland — Official 
 dispatch from Captain Ommaney— MS. newspaper started on board the Assistance- 
 Extracts tlierefront. 
 
 Voyage of Captain Sir John Ross iu the Felix private schooner 
 1850-51 319 
 
 Is fitted out by the Hudson's Bay Company and private subscription — Arrives at 
 Whalefish Islands, and overtakes the Advance and Resolute — Proceeds in company^ 
 Esquimaux reports of the destruction of Franklin's ships, and murder of the cre>\»— 
 Proved by investigation to be devoid of ibundation — Letter of Sir John Ross to the 
 Secretary of the Admiralty. 
 
 American Govemment Searching Expedition in the United States 
 ships Advance and Rescue, under the command of Lieutenant De 
 Haven, 1850-51 325 
 
 Lady Franklin's appeal to the American nation — Mr. Clayton's reply— Second letter 
 of Lady Franklin to the President — Suggestions of Lieutenant S. Osliorn, R. N. — De- 
 bate in Congress — Resolutions agreed to — Munificence of Mr. H. Grinnell— Ships fitted 
 out and dispatched- Names of officers employed — Dispatches from the commander. 
 
 Remarkable Voyage of the private ship Prince Albert, under the 
 command of Captain Forsyth, R. N., to Regent Inlet and back, 
 1850 348 
 
 Fitted out by Lady Franklin and by private subscription — Reasons for the expedition 
 —Officers and crew — Discover traces of Franklin — Fall in with otlier ships — Visit! 
 Begent Inlet — Is forced to return home— Remarks on this voyage 
 
Jill 
 
 CONTENTS 
 
 nil 
 
 ¥\ 
 
 |! ! 
 
 \ 
 
 fi ; 
 
 I ! 
 
 The American Grinnell Ex])eflition in search of Sir John Frank- 
 lin, in the Advance and Jlescue, under the command of Lieu- 
 tenant E. De Haven, in the years 1850-51 361 
 
 Officers of tlio Expedition— Prosrross of tlie voyaice— First encounter with an Ice- 
 berjf— Acres of tirolien ic«— Landintr at Wlialo Islnnd— I'rocnro winter clotliing and 
 Biipplies at a Daiiisli settlement— Perilous position of tlie liesciio — Polar bears — 
 0|)»!ii sea— Joined bv llio I'rince Albert, Uoyal navy— Crimson ClilTs— Tremendous 
 gale-Articles belongins,' to Franklin's 8lii|)S— 'lliriio t;raves of Franklin's men — 
 Other traces of the inissiny navim'ator- Approucli of the Arctic winter- Battling 
 witli ice — Extreme perils — Five months in tlje ice— Arctic amusements and em- 
 ployments—Arctic nifiht — Ke-api)earanco of tlio sun — Liberation of the ice-bound 
 vessels— Farther Exi)lorations— Declile to return— Arrival at the Navy yard— Effects 
 of tlie Expedition— WlNTLlt IN THE AKCTIG OCEAN by Lieutenant Do Haven. 
 
 A Summer Search for Sir John Franklin, with a Peep into the 
 Polar Basin, by Commander E. A. Ingleiield, ia the Scrow- 
 steamer Isabel, in 1852 411 
 
 First glimpse of Greenland— Singular accident— Examination of shores of Wol- 
 Btenholme Sound— Nortlmmberland Island — Point Frederick VII. — Ai)pearance of 
 the ice — Visits tlie graves of Franklin's men at Beecliey Island — IJilliculties of ad- 
 vancing — Loss of spars — The return of the Isabel. 
 
 Eighteen Months in the Polar Regions in search of Sir John 
 Franklin's Expedition, in the years 1850-51, by Lieutenant 
 Sherard Osborii, Avith tlie Steam-vessels Pioneer and Intrepid 421 
 
 Dangers of anchoring to an ice-berg — Entangled in the pack — Enters Baffin's Bay — 
 Lancaster Sound — Philosophy of ice-bergs — Uegent's Inlet — Visit to Beecliey Island 
 — Thorough search of that island — Visits Barlow's Inlet — Passing the winter in the 
 ships — Occui)ations—Exiieditions organized in the spring — Visit to Jones' Sound — 
 Description of the Esquimaux races— Beturn homo. 
 
 Arctic Searching Expedition ; a Journal of a Boat voyage 
 through Rupert's Land and the Arctic Sea, in search of Sir 
 John Franklin, by Sir John Ricliardson, in 1851 438 
 
 Start from Montreal — Designated route — Intercourse with the Esquimaux — Sketch 
 of the Esquimaux — Kussell Inlet— Ilarrowbv Bay— Oapo Bathurst — Cape Kendall 
 — Coppermine River — Kendall liiver — The Esquimaux of this region — Their religion 
 — Their different races and tribes — The Kutchins — Fort Coufldence — Basil Hall Bay 
 — Bear Lake — Keturn. 
 
 The Second Voyage of the Prince Albert in search of Sir John 
 Franklin, under the command of William Kennedy, in 1853 461 
 
 Origin of this expedition — Tlio outfit and instructions — Melville Bay — Prince Re- 
 gent's Inlet — Port Leopold — Winter quarters at Wlialer's Point — Fury Beach — Inci- 
 de: is during the winter — Cape Garry — Batty Bay — lieturn to England. 
 
 Arctic Explorations ; the Secoiul Grinnell Expedition in search 
 of Sir John Franklin, in 1853, '51, 55, by Dr. E. K. Kane, in 
 the brig Advance 473 
 
 Outfit and purpose of the expedition— Visit to Danish settlements of Greenland- 
 Pass Crimson Cliffs— Smitli's Sound— Discovery of the Great Humboldt Glacier — 
 Butter Island — Establishment of provision depots — Life on board the brig — Incidents 
 of the first winter in the ice — Perilous expedition — Further examination of Hum- 
 boldt Glacier— West Land— Robert Morris Bay— Bear-Hglit— Peep into the Polar 
 Basin— View of nature five hundred miles from the North Pole— Littleton Island — 
 Second winter in tlio ice— Ojierations in tiie spring — Exploration of Kennedy Chan- 
 nel — Third view of Humboldt Glacier — Bear hunts — Preparations for return — De- 
 parture from Che brig— Conveyance of the sick— Anoatok— Sledge Party— Perilous 
 adventure— Death of Christian Ohlsun— North Baffin's Bay— The embarkation— Dif- 
 
CONTENTS 
 
 xni 
 
 flciilt navlcrixtlon— Mnrcli!"«on Cliannol— Nnrrow c?fnpp — NVoary Mftii'? Fwost— 3f(»r- 
 dedtnce-l'niw York — NVniit of pnivi.xioii^ — ^I'liI liiint— C'ci-t of (irocnlniKl— 'I'lio 
 llaviik— l)iso()iira!.rin<i news— Arrival nt I'lxTiiavlck — Captain llartstcne's I'xnoill- 
 tioh in the Arctic and tin- HcU-asi'— Advi'Mtiiri'sot'lliut expodltion— licturn to Upor- 
 navick and discovery of IJr. Kaue's party— lieturn to New York. 
 
 08 of Wol- 
 loarance of 
 Hies of ad- 
 
 inter iu tlie 
 
I 
 
THE PROGRESS 
 
 OF 
 
 AECTIC DISCOVERY 
 
 IN THE 
 
 NINETEENTH CENTURY. 
 
 If we examine a map of Northern, or Arctic, Amer- 
 ica, showing what was known of the countries around 
 the North Pole in the commencement of the present 
 century, we shall find that all within the Arctic circle 
 was a complete blank. Mr. Hearne had, indeed, seen 
 the Arctic Sea in the year 1771 ; and Mr. Mackenzie had 
 traced the river which now bears his name to its junc- 
 tion with the sea ; but not a single line of the coast 
 from Icy Cape to Baffin's Bay was known. The east- 
 ern and western shores of Greenland, to about 75° lat- 
 itude, were tolerably well defined, ftom. the visits of 
 whaling vessels ; Hudson's Bay and Strait were par- 
 tially known; but Baffin's Bay, according to the state- 
 ment of Mr. Baffin, in 1616, was bounded by land on 
 the west, running parallel with the 90th meridian of 
 longitude, or across what is now known to us as Bar- 
 row's Strait, and probably this relation led to the sub- 
 sequently formed hasty opinion of Captain Sir John 
 Ross, as to his visionary Croker Mountains, of which 
 I shall have occasion to speak hereafter. 
 
 As early as the year 1527, the idea of a passage to 
 tlie East Indies by the North Pole was suggested by a 
 
26 
 
 ri{0GRES3 OF AllCTIC DISCUVKIiY'. 
 
 Bristol merchant to ircnry YIII., but no voyac^c Rcoma 
 to liave been undertaken tor the purpose ofnavifjjating 
 the Polar seas, till the conimencenient of the fullovving 
 century, when an expedition was fitted out at the ex- 
 pense of certain mercnants of London. To this attein])t 
 several others succeeded at different periods, and all 
 of them were projected and carried into execution by 
 l)rivate individuals. The adventurers did not indeed 
 accomplish the object tliey exclusively sought, that of 
 reaching India by a nearer route than doubling the 
 Cape of Good Hope, but though they failed in tliat 
 respect, the fortitude, perseverance, and skill which 
 they manifested, exhibited the most irrefragable proofs 
 of the early existence of that superiority in naval af- 
 fairs, which has elevated this country to her present 
 eminence among the nations of Europe. 
 
 At length, after the lapse of above a century and a 
 half, this interesting question became an object of 
 lioyal patronage, and the expedition which was com- 
 manded by Captain Phipps (afterward Lord Mulgrave,) 
 in 1773, was fitted out at the charge of Government. 
 The first proposer of this voyage was the Hon. Daines 
 Barrington, F. R. S., who, with indefatigable assiduity, 
 began to collect every fact tending to establish the 
 practicability of circumnavigating the Pole, and as he 
 accumulated his materials, he read them to the Poyal 
 Society, who, in consequence of these representations, 
 made that application to Loi*d Sandwich, then First 
 Lord of the Admiralty, which led to the appointment 
 of this first official voyage. Captain Phipps, however, 
 found it imjoossible to penetrate the wall of ice which 
 extended for many degrees between the latitude of 80° 
 and 81°, to the north of Spitzbergen. His vessels were 
 the Racehorse and Carcass ; Captain Lutwidge being 
 his second in command, in the latter vessel, and hav- 
 ing with him, then a mere boy, Nelson, the future 
 hero of England. 
 
 From the year 1648, when the famous Russian navi- 
 gator, Senor Deshnew, penetrated from the river 
 Kolyma through the Polar into the Pacific Ocean, the 
 
INTRODUCriUN. 
 
 ST 
 
 ac^c pcoins 
 isiviguting 
 5 following 
 at the ex- 
 ii8atteiTi])t 
 3s, and all 
 joution by 
 lot indeed 
 it, that of 
 ibling the 
 }d in that 
 vill which 
 ble proofs 
 naval af- 
 er present 
 
 ury and a 
 
 object of 
 
 was com- 
 
 Inlgrave,) 
 
 ^ernment. 
 
 n. Dainea 
 
 assiduity, 
 
 blish the 
 
 ind as he 
 
 he Royal 
 
 ntations, 
 
 len First 
 
 ointment 
 
 lowever, 
 
 ;e which 
 
 le of 80° 
 
 jels were 
 
 je being 
 
 tnd hav- 
 
 future 
 
 m navi- 
 
 ie river 
 
 ;an, the 
 
 Iliissians have been as arduous in their attempts todib- 
 cover a northeast passage to the north of Capo Shcl- 
 atskoi, as the English have been to bail to the north- 
 west of the American continent, through Battin's Bay 
 and Lancaster Sound. On the side of the Pacitic, 
 many efforts, have, within the last century, been made 
 to further this object. In 1741, the celebrated Captain 
 Behring discovered the straits which bear his name, as 
 we are informed by Muller, the chronicler of Russian 
 discoveries, and several subsequent commanders of 
 that nation seconded his endeavors to penetrate from 
 the American continent to the northeast. From the 
 period when Deshnew sailed on his expedition, to the 
 year 1704:, when Admiral Tchitschagof, an indefatiga- 
 ble and active oflficer, endeavored to force a passage 
 round Spitzbergcn, (wliich, although he attempted with 
 a resolution and skill which would fall to the lot of 
 few, he was unable to effect,) and thence to the present 
 times, including the arduous etibrts of Captain Billings 
 and Vancouver, and the more recent one of M. Von 
 Wrangell, the Russians have been untiring in theii' at- 
 ternpts to discover a passage eastward, to the north 
 of Cfape Taimurand Cape Shelatskoi. And certainly, 
 if skill, perseverance, and courage, could have opened 
 this passage, it would have been accomplished. 
 
 Soon after the general peace of Euro4)e, wlien war's 
 alarms had given way to the high pursuits of science, 
 the government recommenced the long-suspended 
 work of prosecuting discoveries within the Arctic circle. 
 
 An expedition was dispatched under the command 
 of Sir John Ross, in order to explore the scene of the 
 former labors of Frobisher and Baffin. Still haunted 
 with the golden dreams of a northwest passage, which 
 Barrington and Beaufoy had in the last age so enthu- 
 siastically advocated, our nautical adventurers by no 
 means relinquished the long-cherished chimera. 
 
 It must be admitted, however, that the testimony of 
 Parry and Franklin pass for much on the other side 
 of the question. Both these officers, whose researches 
 in the cause of scientific discovery entitle then to very 
 
 
 m 
 
 i: ■! 
 
i I 
 
 \ I 
 
 1 I 
 
 28 
 
 PROORE88 OF AUCTIC DI8COVKRY. 
 
 liij^h respect, have declared it as their opinion that 
 encli a })aHHa<i;e does not exist to the nortii of the 75th 
 defijree of latitude. 
 
 Captain Parry, in the concludinjif remarks of his first 
 voyaj^e, (vol. ii. p. 241,) says — *' Of the existence of a 
 northwest passage to the Pacific, it is now scarcely 
 possible to doubt, and from the success which attended 
 our efforts in 1811), after ])aHsing through Sir James 
 Lancaster's Sound, we were not unreasonable in anti- 
 cipating its conndete accomplislniient," ttc. And 
 Franklin, in the eleventh chai)ter of his work, is of the 
 same opinion, as to the practicability of such a passage 
 
 Put in no subsequent attemj)t, either by themselves 
 or others, has this long sought desideratum been ac- 
 complished ; impediments and barriers seem as thickly 
 thrown in its way as ever.* 
 
 An expedition was at length undertaken for the sole 
 purpose of reaching the North Pole, with a view to 
 the ascertainment of ])hilosophical questions. It was 
 planned and placed under the command of Sir Edward 
 Parry, and here first the elucidation of phenomena 
 connected with this imaginary axis of onr planet 
 formed the primary object of investigation. 
 
 My space and ])nrpose in this work will not permit 
 me to go into detail by examining what Barrow justly 
 terms " those t)rilliant periods of early English enter- 
 prise, so conspicuously displayed in every quarter of 
 the globe, but in none, probably, to greater advantage 
 than in those bold and persevering efibrts to pierce 
 through frozen seas, in their little slender barks, of the 
 most miserable description, ill provided with the means 
 either of comfort or safety, without charts or instru- 
 ments, or any previous knowledge of the cold and in- 
 hospitable region tlirough which they had to force and 
 to feel their way ; their vessels oft beset amidst end- 
 less fields of ice, and threatened to be overwhelmed 
 with instant destruction from the rapid whirling and 
 bursting of those huge floating masses, known by the 
 
 * rVilonial Magasino, ^'ol ziii, p. 340 
 
in ion that 
 )t' tlio 75th 
 
 iof hirt fii'Ht 
 stence ot' a 
 w Bcurcely 
 h iitteiulcti 
 Sir Jaincfl 
 bio in tiuti- 
 tfcc. And 
 rk, is of tho 
 
 I a [)as8U<;o 
 themselves 
 ni been ac- 
 
 II as thickly 
 
 for the sole 
 li a view to 
 ns. It was 
 Sir Edward 
 )henoniena 
 
 our 
 
 planet 
 
 not permit 
 rrow justly 
 yish enter- 
 quarter of 
 advantage 
 Is to pierce 
 rks, of the 
 the means 
 or instru- 
 >ld and in- 
 force and 
 Imidst end- 
 rwhelmed 
 irling and 
 •wn by the 
 
 I 
 
 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 2» 
 
 name <>f iceborn^s. Yet so powerfully infused into the 
 miridt» of Hritons was the spirit of enterj)ri8e, that 
 some of tho ablest, tho most learned, and most respect- 
 able men of the times, iiot only lent their countenance 
 and support to expeditions titled out for the discovery 
 of new lands, but strove ea<;erly, in their own persons, 
 to share in the glory and the danger of every daring 
 adventure." 
 
 To the late Sir John Barrow, F. K. S., for so long a 
 period secretary of the Adiniralty, and who, in early 
 life, himself visited the S[)itzbergen seas, as high as 
 the 80th parallel, we are mainly indebted for the ad- 
 vocacy and promotion of the several expeditions, and 
 the investigations and Inquiries set on foot in the pres- 
 ent century, and to the voyages which have been nith- 
 erto so successfully carried out as regards the interests 
 of 8»Mence and our knowledge of the Polar regions. 
 
 Although it is absurd to impute tlie direct responsi- 
 bility for these expeditions to any other quarter than 
 the several administrations during which they were 
 undertaken, there can be no question but that these 
 enterprises originated in Sir John Barrow's able and 
 zealous exhibition, to our naval authorities, of the 
 several facts and arguments upon which they might 
 best be justified and prosecuted as national objects. 
 The general anxiety now prevailing respecting the fate 
 of Sir John Franklin and his gallant companions, 
 throws at this moment somewhat of a gloom on the 
 subject, but it ought to be remembered that, up to the 
 present period, our successive Polar voyages have, 
 without exception, given occupation to the energies 
 and gjillantry of British seamen, and have extended 
 the realms of magnetic and general science, at an ex- 
 pense of lives and money quite insignificant, compared 
 with the ordinary dangers and casualties of such expe- 
 ditions, and that it must be a very narrow spirit and 
 view of the subject which can raise the cry of ^*Cui 
 bono,^^ and counsel us to relinquish ,the honor and peril 
 of such enterprises to ^Russia aud tJie United States oi 
 America ! 
 
"'"wl 
 
 ' I 
 
 i li 
 
 30 
 
 PROOIIKSS OF ARCTIC DTSCOVEUY. 
 
 It can scarcely be deemed ont of place to give here 
 a sliort notice of the literary labors of this excellent 
 and talented man, as I am not aware that such an out- 
 line has appeared before. 
 
 Sir John Ban ow was one of the chief writers for the 
 Quarterly Review, and his articles in that journal 
 amount to nearly 200 in number, forming, v/hen bound 
 up, twelve separate volumes. All those relating to 
 the Arctic Exjieditions, &c., which created the great- 
 est interest at the period they were published, were 
 from his pen, and consist chiefly of the following pa- 
 pers, commencing from the 18th volume; — On Polar 
 Ice; On Behring's Straits and the Polar Basin ; On 
 Ross's Voyage to Ballin's Bay ; On Parry's First Voy- 
 age ; Kotzebue's Voyage ; Franklin's First Expedition ; 
 Parry's Second and Third Voyages, and Attempt to 
 Reach the Pole ; Franklin's Second Expedition ; Lyon's 
 Voyage to Repulse Bay ; Back's Arctic Laud Expe- 
 dition, and his Voyage of the Terror. Besides these 
 he published " A Chronological History of Voyages 
 to the Arctic Seas," and afterward a second volume, 
 "On the Voyages of Discovery and Research within 
 the Arctic Regions." 
 
 He also wrote lives of Lord Macartney, 2 vols. 4to; 
 of Lord Anson and Howe, each 1 vol. 8vo ; of Peter 
 the Great; and an Account of the Mutiny of the 
 Bounty, (in the "Family L ' rary ; ") "Travels in 
 Southern Africa," 2 vols, 4to; and "Travels in 
 China aud Cochin China," each 1 vol. 4to. 
 
 In the "Encyclopedia Britannica" are ten or 
 twelve of his articles, and he wrote one in the Edin- 
 burgh Review by special request. 
 
 In addition to these Sir John Barrow prepared for 
 the press innumerable MSS. of travelers in all parts 
 of the globe, the study of geography being his great 
 delight, as is evidenced by his having founded the 
 Royal Geographical Society of London, which now 
 holds so high and influential a position in the learned 
 and scientific world, and has advanced so materially 
 the progress of discovery and research in all parts of 
 
 >5 
 
INTRODUCTION. 
 
 tl 
 
 ■I 
 
 the j?1obe. Lastly, Sir Joliri Barrow, not Ions; before 
 his death, published his own autobiography, iu whicti 
 he records the labors, the toil, and adventure, of a lou^ 
 and honorable public life. 
 
 Sir John Barrow has described, with voluminous ca\« 
 and minute research, the arduous services of all the 
 chief Arctic voyagers by sea and land, and to his voi 
 ume I must refer those who wish to obtain more exten 
 sive details and particulars of the voyages of preceding* 
 centuries. lie has also graphically set forth, to use his 
 own words, " their several characters and conduct, so 
 uniformly displayed in their unflinching perseverance 
 in difficulties of no ordinary description, their patient 
 endurance of extreme suft'ering, borne without mur- 
 muring, and with an equanimity and fortitude of mind 
 under the most appalling distress, rarely, if ever, 
 equaled, and such as could only be supported by a 
 superio dejcree of moral courage and resignation to 
 the Divine will — displaying virtues like those of no 
 ordinary caste, and such as will not fail to excite the 
 sympathy, and challenge the admiration of every right- 
 feeling reader." 
 
 Hakluyt, in his " Chronicle of Voyages," justly ob- 
 serves, that we should use much care in preserving the 
 memories of the worthy acts of our nation. 
 
 The different sea voyages and land journeys of the 
 present century toward the North Pole have redounded 
 to the honor of our country, as well as reflected credit 
 on the cli M'acters and reputation of the officers engaged 
 in them ; and it is to these I confine my observations. 
 
 The progress of discovery in the Arctic regions has 
 been slow but progressive, and much still within the 
 limits of practical navigation remains yet unexplored. 
 As Englishmen, we must naturally wish that discov- 
 eries which were first attempted by the adventurous 
 spirit and maritime skill of our countrymen, should be 
 linallv fiehieved by the same means. 
 
 "Wil it not," says the worthy 'preacher,' Hakluyt, 
 " in all posteritie be as great a renown vnto our En- 
 glish natione, to have beene the first discouerers of a 
 
 I 
 
32 
 
 PROGRESS OF ARCTIC DISCOVERY. 
 
 \',\ 
 
 sea Ijeyond the North Cape, (nener certainely knowen 
 before,) and of a conuenient passage into the huge em- 
 pire of Russia by the Baie of St. Nicholas and of the 
 Riuer of Daina, as for the Portugales, to have found 
 a sea beyond the Cape of Buona Esperanza, and so 
 consequently a passage by sea into the East Indies ? " 
 
 I cordially agree with the Quarterly Review, that 
 " neither the country nor the naval service will ever 
 believe they have any cause to regret voyages which, 
 in the eyes of foreigners and posterity, must confer 
 lasting honor upon both." 
 
 The cost of these voyages has not been great, while 
 the consequences will be permanent ; for it has been 
 well remarked, by a late writer, that "the record of 
 enterprising hardihood, physical endurance, and steady 
 perseverance, displayed in overcoming elements the 
 most adverse, will long remain among the worthiest 
 memorials of human enterprise." 
 
 " How shall I admire," says Purchas, " your heroic 
 courage, ye marine worthies, beyond all names of 
 worthiness! that neyther dread so long eyther the 
 presence or absence of the sunne ; nor those foggy 
 mysts, tempestuous winds, cold blasts, snowe and 
 hayle in the ayre ; nor the unequall seas, which might 
 amaze the hearer, and amate the beholder, when the 
 Tritons and Neptune's selfe would quake with chilling 
 feare to behold such monstrous icie Hands, renting 
 themselves with terror of their own massines, and dis- 
 dayning otherwise both the sea's sovereigntie and the 
 sunne's hottest violence, mustering themselves in those 
 watery plaines where they hold a continual civill 
 warre, and rushing one upon another, make windes 
 and waves give backe ; seeming to rent the eares of 
 others, while they rent themselves with crashing and 
 B})litting their congealed armors." 
 
 So thickly are the Polar seas of the northern hemi- 
 sphere clustered with lands, that the long winter months 
 serve to accumulate filed ice to a ])rodigious extent, S(? 
 as to foi-m an almost impenetrable barrier of hypei 
 borean frost — 
 
INTRODUCTION. 
 
 83 
 
 lely knowen 
 be huge em- 
 5 and of the 
 have found 
 nza, and so 
 5t Indies?" 
 leview, that 
 36 will ever 
 ages which, 
 must confer 
 
 sjreat, wliile 
 it has been 
 3 record of 
 , and steady 
 ements the 
 le worthiest 
 
 your heroic 
 
 names of 
 
 eyther the 
 
 hose foggy 
 
 snowe and 
 
 hich might 
 
 L when the 
 
 lith chilling 
 
 Is, renting 
 
 5S, and dis- 
 
 :ie and the 
 
 '^es in those 
 
 lual civil] 
 
 Ite windes 
 
 le eares of 
 
 ishing and 
 
 lern hemi- 
 ter months 
 extent, so 
 I of hyper 
 
 ■1 
 3 
 
 " A crystal pavement by the breath of Heaven 
 Cenieulea linn." 
 
 Although there are now no new continents left to 
 discover, our intrepid British adventurers are but too 
 eager to achieve the bubble reputation, to hand down 
 their names to future ages for patient endurance, zeal, 
 and enterprise, by explorations of ihe hidden mys- 
 teries of — 
 
 " the frigid zone, 
 "Where, for relentless months, continual ni^ht 
 Holds o'er the glittering waste her starry light ; " 
 
 by undergoing perils, and enduring privations and 
 dangers which the mind, in its reflective moments, 
 shudders to contemplate. 
 
 It is fair to conjecture that, so intense is the cold, 
 aud so limited the summer, and consequently so short 
 the time allowed lor a transit within the Arctic circle, 
 from Baffin's Bay to Behring's Straits, that a passage, 
 even if discovered, will never be of any use as a chan- 
 nel. It is not likely that these expeditions would ever 
 have been persevered in with so much obstinacy, had 
 the prospects now opening on the world of more prac- 
 ticable connections with the East been known forty 
 years ago. Hereafter, when the sacred demands of 
 humanity have been answered^ very little more will 
 be heard about the northwest passage to Asia ; which, 
 if ever found, must be always hazardous and pro- 
 tracted, when a short and quick one can be accom- 
 plished by railroads through America, or canals across 
 the Isthmus. 
 
 A thorough knowledge of the relative boundaries of 
 land and ocean on this our globe has, in all ages and 
 by all countries, been considered one of the most im- 
 portant desiderata, and one of the chief features of 
 po])ular information. 
 
 But to no country is this knowledge of such prac- 
 tical utility and of such essential importance, as to a 
 maritime nation like Great Britain, whose mercantile 
 marine visits every port, whose insular position ren- 
 ders her completely dependent upon distant quarters 
 
 1] 
 
84 
 
 PR0GBES8 OF ARCTIC DISCOVERY. 
 
 for half the necessary supplies, wlietlier of food or lux- 
 ury, which her native population consume, or which 
 the arts and manufactures, of which she is the empo- 
 
 rium, require 
 
 With a vast and yearly increasing dominion, cover- 
 ing almost every region of the habitable globe, — the 
 chart of our colonies being a chart of the world in out- 
 line, for we sweep the globe and touch every shore, — 
 it becomes necessary tliat we should keep pace witli 
 the progress of cc onization, by enlarging, wherever 
 possible, our maritime discoveries, completing and veri- 
 fying our nautical surveys, improving our meteorologi- 
 cal researches, opening up new and speedier perodical 
 pathways over the oceans which were formerly trav- 
 ersed with so much danger, doubt, and difficulty, and 
 maintaining our superiority as the greatest of maritime 
 nations, by sustaining that high and distinguished rank 
 for naval eminence which has ever attached to the 
 British name. 
 
 The arduous achievements, however, of our nautical 
 discoverers have seldom been appreciated or rewarded 
 as they deserved. We load our naval and military 
 heroes — the men who guard our wooden walls and 
 successfully fight our battles — with titles and pen- 
 sions ; we heap upon these, and deservedly so, princely 
 remuneration and a.l manner of distinctions; but for 
 the heroes whose patient toil and protracted endurance 
 far surpass the turmoil of war, who peril their lives in 
 the cause of scie ice, many of whom fall victims to 
 pestilential climaoes, famine, and the host of dangers 
 which environ the voyager and traveler in unexplored 
 lands and unknown seas, we have only a place in the 
 niche of fame. 
 
 What honors did Ens^land, as a maritime nation, con- 
 fer on Cook, tJie foremost of her naval heroes, — a man 
 whose life was sacrificed for his country ? His widow 
 had an annuity of 200^., and his surviving children 
 25^. each per annum. And this is tlie reward paid to 
 the most eminent of our naval discoverers, before 
 whom Cabot, Drake, Frobisher, Magellan, Anson, and 
 
 I 
 
 \' 
 
INTRODUCTION. 
 
 35 
 
 food or Inx- 
 le, or which 
 s the empo- 
 
 nion, cover- 
 ^lobe, — the 
 i^orld in out- 
 irv shore, — 
 3 pace witli 
 2^, wherever 
 ing and veri- 
 neteorologi- 
 er perodical 
 •merly trav- 
 fficiiltj, and 
 of maritime 
 uished rank 
 ihed to the 
 
 )ur nautical 
 
 )r rewarded 
 
 d military 
 
 walls and 
 
 and pen- 
 
 0, princely 
 
 IS ; but for 
 
 endurance 
 
 sir lives in 
 
 Ivictims to 
 
 )f dangers 
 
 mexplored 
 
 |ace in the 
 
 ition, con- 
 
 — a man 
 
 "is widow 
 
 children 
 
 I'd paid to 
 
 5, before 
 
 ison» and 
 
 the arctic adventurers, Hudson and Baffin, — although 
 all eminent for their discoveries and the important 
 services they rendered to the cause of nautical sci- 
 Quce^ — sink into insignificance ! If we glance at the 
 results of Cook's voyages we find that to him we are 
 indebted for the innumerable discoveries of islands and 
 colonies planted in the Pacific ; that he determined 
 the conformation, and surveyed the numerous bays 
 and inlets, of New Holland ; established the geogra- 
 phical position of the northwestern shores of America ; 
 ascertained the trending of the ice and frozen shores to 
 the north of Behring's Straits; approached nearer the 
 South Pole, and made more discoveries in the Austra- 
 lian regions, than .ill the navigators who had preceded 
 him. On the very shores of their vast empire, at the 
 extremity of Kamtschatka, his active genius first 
 taught the Russians to examine the devious trendinga 
 of the lands which border the Frozen Ocean, in the 
 neighborhood of the Arctic circle. He explored both 
 the eastern and western coasts above Behring's Straits 
 to so high a latitude as to decide, beyond doubt, the 
 question as to the existence of a passage round the two 
 continents. He showed the Russians how to navigate 
 the dangerous seas between the old and the new 
 world; for, as Coxe has remarked, "before his time, 
 every thhig was uncertain and confused, and though 
 they had undoubtedly reached the continent of Amer- 
 ica, yet they had not ascertained the line of coast, nor 
 the separation or vicinity of the two continents of Asia 
 and America." Coxe, certainly, does no more than 
 justice to his illustrious countryman when he adds, 
 " the solution of this important problem was reserved 
 for our great navigator, and every Englishman must 
 exult that the discoveries of Cook were extended fur- 
 ther in a single expedition, and at the distance of half 
 the globe, than the Russians accomplished in a long 
 series of years, and in a region contiguous to their own 
 empire." 
 
 Look at Weddell, again, a private trader in seal- 
 ekius, who, in a frail bark of 160 tons, made important 
 B 
 
 4 
 
 Hi 
 
 I J 
 
 if] 
 1^ 
 
36 
 
 PROGRESS OF ARCTIC DISCOVERY. 
 
 I ■! 
 
 discoveries in the Antarctic circle, and a voyage of 
 greater length and peril, through a thousand miles of 
 ice, than had ])reviou.sly been performed by any navi- 
 gator, paving the way for the more expensively fitted 
 expedition under Sir James Hoss. Was Weddell re- 
 munerated on a scale commensurate with his important 
 services ? 
 
 Haifa century ago the celebrated Bruce of Kinnaird, 
 by a series oi' soundings and observations taken in the 
 Ked Sea, now the great highway of overland eastern 
 traffic, rendered its navigation more secure and punc- 
 tual. How was he rewarded by the then existing min- 
 istry ? 
 
 Take a more recent instance in the indefatigable 
 energy of Lieutenant Waghorn, R. IST., the enterprising 
 pioneer of the overland route to India. What does not 
 the commerce, the character, the reputation, of tiiis 
 country owe to his indefatigable exertions, in bringing 
 the metropolis into closer connection with our va^^t and 
 important Indian empire? And what was the reward 
 he received for the sacrifices he made of time, money, 
 health and life ? A paltry annuity to himself of 100^., 
 and a pension to his widow of 25^. per annum ! 
 
 Is it creditable to us, as the first naval power of the 
 world, that we should thus dole out miserable pittances, 
 or entirely overlook the successful patriotic exertions 
 and scientific enterprises and discoveries of private 
 adventurers, or public commanders ? 
 
 The attractions of a summer voyage along the bays 
 and seas where the sun shines for four montlis at a time, 
 exploring the bare rocks and everlasting ice, with no 
 companion but the white bear or the Arctic fox, may 
 im all very romantic at a distance ; but the mere thought 
 ol a winter residence there, frozen fast in some solid 
 ocean, with snow a dozen feet deep, the thermometer 
 ranging from 40° to 50° below zero, and not a glimpse 
 of the blessed sun from ISTovember to February, is 
 enough to give a chill to all adventurous notions. But 
 the ofiicers and men engaged in the searching expedi- 
 tions after Sir John Franklin have calmly weighed all 
 
FIRST VOYAGE OF CAPTAIN ROSS. 
 
 37 
 
 voyac^e of 
 id miles of 
 Y any iiavi- 
 ively litted 
 V"eddell re- 
 j important 
 
 f Kirmaird, 
 ike II in the 
 nd eastern 
 and pimc- 
 isting min- 
 
 iefatigable 
 titerprising 
 at does not 
 on, of til is 
 n bringing 
 ir vast and 
 lie reward 
 e, money, 
 If of 100^., 
 n ! 
 
 er of tlie 
 
 pittances, 
 
 exertions 
 
 f private 
 
 the bays 
 it a time, 
 L with no 
 jfox, may 
 thought 
 me solid 
 iioineter 
 glimpse 
 fuarv, is 
 IS, "But 
 expedi- 
 :hed all 
 
 these difficulties, and boldly gone forth to encounter 
 the perils and dangers of these icy seas for tlio sake of 
 their noble- fellow-sailor, whose fate has been so long a 
 painful mystery to the world. 
 
 It has been truly observed, that "this is a service 
 for which all officers, however brave and intelligent 
 they may be, are not equally qualilied ; it requires a 
 peculiar tact, an inquisitive and persevering pursuit 
 after details of fact, not always interesting, a contempt 
 of danger, and an enthusiasm not to be damped by 
 ordinary difficulties." 
 
 The records which I shall have to give in these pages 
 of vc'Vages and travels, unparalleled in their perils, 
 their duration, and the protracted suiFerings which 
 many of them entailed on the adventurers, will bring 
 out in bold relief the prominent characters who have 
 fio-ured in Arctic Discovery, and whose names will 
 descend to posterity, emblazoned on the scroll of fame, 
 for their bravery, their patient endurance, their skill, 
 and, above all, their linn trust and reliance on that 
 Almighty Being who, although He may have tried 
 them sorely, has never utterly forsaken them. 
 
 Capt. John Ross's Voyage, 1818. 
 
 In 1818, His Royal Highness the Prince Regent 
 having signified his pleasure that an attempt should 
 be made to find a passage by sea between the Atlantic 
 and Pacific Oceans, the Lords Commissioners of the 
 Admiralty were pleased to fit out four vessels to pro- 
 ceed toward the North Pole, under the command of 
 Captain John Ross. No former expedition had been 
 fitted oi7t on so extensive a scale, or so completely 
 equipped in every respect as this one. The circum- 
 stance which mainly led to the sending out of these 
 vessels, was the o])en character of the bays and seas 
 in those regions, it having been observed ifor the pre- 
 vious three years that very unusual quantities of the 
 polar ice had floated down into the Atlantic. In the 
 
 
 W 
 
 
 Id 
 
38 
 
 PR00RKS9 OP AKCrnO DISCOVERT. 
 
 ■i 
 
 )| (1 > 
 
 f 
 
 I I 
 
 year 1817, Sir Jolin Barrow relates that the eastern 
 coHBt of Greenland, which had been shut up with ice 
 for four centuries, was fuund to be accessible from the 
 70th to the 80th degree of latitude, and the interme- 
 diate sea between it and Spitzbertren was ro entirely 
 open in the latter parallel, that a Hamburgh ship had 
 actually sailed along this track. 
 
 On the 15th of January, 1818, the four ships were 
 put in commission — the Isabella, 385 tons, and the 
 Alexander, 252 tons — under Captain Ross, to proceed 
 up the middle of Davis' Strait, to a high northern lati- 
 tude, and then to stretch across to the westward, in 
 the hope of bt^ing able to pass the northern extremity 
 of America, and reach Behring's Strait by that route. 
 Those destined for the Polar sea were, the Dorothea, 
 382 tons, and the Trent, 249 tons, which were orderad 
 to proceed between Greenland and Spitzbergen, and 
 seek a passage through an open Polar sea, if such 
 should be found in that direction. 
 
 I shall take these voyages in the order of their pub- 
 lication, Ross having given to the world the account 
 of his voyage shortly after his return in 1819 : while 
 the narrative of the voyage of the Dorother*, and Trent 
 was only published in 1843, by Captain Beechey, who 
 served as Lieutenant of the Trent, during the voyage. 
 
 The followinsj w^ere the officers, &c., of the ships 
 under Captain Ross : — 
 
 Jsahella. 
 
 Captain — John Ross. 
 
 Lieutenant — W. Robertson. 
 
 Purser — W. Thom. 
 
 Surgeon — John Edwards. 
 
 Assistant Surgeon — C. J. Beverley. 
 
 Admiralty Midshipmen — A. M. Skene and James 
 
 Clark Ross. 
 Midshipman and Clerk — J. Bushnan. 
 Greenland Pilots — B. Lewis, master; T. "Wilcox, 
 
 mate. 
 Captain (now Colonel) Sabine, R. A. 
 
;ry. 
 
 fitjst voyaoi: of captain koss. 
 
 39 
 
 t tlie eastern 
 t up with ice 
 ible iVoiii the 
 the internie- 
 as :o entirely 
 irgh ship had 
 
 ir ships were 
 OI18, and tiie 
 58, to proceed 
 northern lati- 
 westward, in 
 irn extremity 
 )y that route, 
 le Dorothea, 
 ivere ordered 
 zbergen, and 
 sea, if such 
 
 of their pub- 
 the account 
 
 1819: while 
 fi. and Trent 
 
 eechey, who 
 the voyage. 
 
 of the ships 
 
 and James 
 
 T. Wilcox, 
 
 I 
 
 i 
 
 m 
 
 
 
 
 
 45 petty officers, seamen, and marines. 
 
 Whole complement, 67. 
 
 Alexander. 
 
 Lieutenant and Commander — "William Edward 
 
 Parry, (now Captain Sir Edward.) 
 Lieutenant — II. II. Iloopner, (a first rate artist.) 
 Purser — W. 11. Hooper. 
 Greenland Pilots — J . Allison, master ; J. Philips, 
 
 mate. 
 Admiralty Midshipmen — P. Bisson and J.^ius. 
 Assistant Surgeon — A. Fisher. 
 Clerk — J. Halse. 
 28 petty officers, seamen, &c. 
 
 Whole complement, 37. 
 
 On the 2d of May, the four vessels being reported 
 fit for sea, rendezvoused in Brassa Sound, Shetland, 
 and the two expeditions parted company on the follow- 
 ing day for their respective destinations. 
 
 On the 26th, the Isabella fell in with the first ice- 
 berg, which appeared to be about forty feet high and 
 a thousand feet long. It is hardly possible to imagine 
 any thing more exquisite than the variety of tints which 
 these icebergs display ; by night as well as by day they 
 glitter with a vividness of color beyond the power of 
 art to represent. While the white portions have the 
 brilliancy of silver, their colors are as various and 
 splendid as those of the rainbow ; their ever-changing 
 disposition producing effects as singular as they are 
 new and interesting to those who have not seen them 
 before. 
 
 On the 17th of June, they reached Waygatt Sound, 
 beyond Disco Island, where they found forty-five 
 whalers detained by the ice. Waygatt Island, from 
 observations taken on shore, was found to be 5° longi- 
 tude and 30 miles of latitude from the situation as laid 
 down in the Admiralty Charts. 
 
 They were not able to get away from here till the 
 20th, when the ice began to break. By cutting passages 
 
 iii^ 
 
 * 
 
 «'ij 
 
 
 PI 
 
 'ill 
 
 

 I '; 
 
 40 
 
 PROGRESS OF ARCTIC DISCOVERT. 
 
 through the ice, and by dint of towing and warping, 
 u slow ))rogres3 was made with the ships until the 
 17th of July, when two ice-floes closing in upon them, 
 threatened inevitable destruction, and it was only by 
 the greatest exertions that they hove through into open 
 water. The labors of warping, towing, and tracking 
 were subsequently very severe. Tliis tracking, al- 
 though hard work, atfurded great amusement to the 
 men, giving frequent occasion for the exercise of their 
 wit, when some of the men occasionally fell in through 
 holes covered with snow or weak parts of the ice. 
 
 Very high mountains of land and ice were seen to 
 the north side of the bay, which he named Melville's 
 Bay, forming an impassable barrier, the precipices 
 next the sea being from 1000 to 2000 feet high. 
 
 On the 29th of June, the Esquimaux, John Sacheuse, 
 who had accompanied the expedition from England as 
 interpreter, was sent on shore to communicate with 
 the natives. About a dozen came off to visit the ship, 
 and, after being treated with coffee and biscuit in the 
 cabin, and having their portraits taken, they set to 
 dancing Scotch reels on the deck of the Isabella with 
 the sailors. 
 
 Captain Ross gives a pleasant description of this 
 scene — " Sacheuse's mirth and joy exceeded all 
 bounds ; and with a good-humored officiousness, justi- 
 fied by the important distinction which his superior 
 knowledge now gave him, he performed the office of 
 master of the ceremonies. An Esquimaux M. C. to a 
 ball on the deck of one of H. M. ships in the icy seas 
 of Greenland, was an office somewhat new, but Nash 
 himself could not have performed his functions in a 
 manner more appropriate. It did not belong even to 
 Nash to combine in his own person, like Jack, the dis- 
 cordant qualifications of seaman, interpreter, draughts- 
 man, and master of ceremonies to a ball, with those 
 of an active fisher of seals and a hunter of white bears. 
 A daughter of the Danish resident (by in Esquimaux 
 woman,) about eighteen years of age, and by far the 
 best looking of the half-caste group, wa& the object of 
 
Y. 
 
 FIRST VOYAGE OF CAPTAIN ROSS. 
 
 41 
 
 ind warping, 
 ips until the 
 n upon them, 
 
 was only by 
 igh into open 
 and tracking 
 tracking, al- 
 iment to the 
 rcise of their 
 11 in through 
 * the ice. 
 were seen to 
 id Melville's 
 e precipices 
 
 high. 
 
 hn Sacheuse, 
 1 England as 
 unicate with 
 isit the ship, 
 )iscuit in the 
 [ they set to 
 sabella with 
 
 tion of this 
 receded all 
 sness, justi- 
 jiis superior 
 he office of 
 M. C. to a 
 he icy seas 
 , but Nash 
 ctions in a 
 ing even to 
 |ck, the dis- 
 , draughts- 
 Iwith those 
 Ihite bears, 
 squimaux 
 |by far the 
 object of 
 
 JacV^ particular attentions; which being observed by 
 one of our otHcers, he gave him a lady's hIhiwI, orna- 
 mented with spangles, as an ottering for her accL'ptanco. 
 lie presented it in a nu)st respectful, and not ungrace- 
 ful manner to the damsel, who bashfully took a pew- 
 ter ring from her linger and gave it to him in return, 
 rewarding him, at the same time, with an eloquent 
 smile, which could leave no doubt on our Esciuimaux's 
 mind that he had made an impression on her heart.''* 
 On the 5th of August the little auks (Mergulfus alle,) 
 were exceedingly abundant, and many were ehot for 
 food, as was also a large gull, two feet live inches in 
 length, which, when killed, disgorged one of these 
 little birds entire. 
 
 A fortnight later, on two boats being sent from the 
 Isabella to procure as many of these birdj as possible, 
 for the purpose of preserving them in ice, they re- 
 turned at midnight with a boat-load of about 1500, 
 havinur on an averasje, killed fifteen at each shot. The 
 boats of the Alexander were nearly as successful. 
 These birds were afterward served daily tg each man, 
 and, among other ways of dressing them, they were 
 found to make excellent soup— not inferior to hare 
 soup. Not less than two hundred auks were shot on 
 the 6th of August, and served out to the ships' compa- 
 nies, among whose victuals they proved an agreeable 
 variety, not having the fishy flavor that might be ex- 
 pected from their food, which consists of Crustacea, 
 small fishes, mollusca, or marine vegetables. 
 
 On the 7th of August the ships were placed in a 
 most critical situation by a gale of wind. The Isabella 
 was lifted by the pressure of ice floes on each side of 
 her, and it was doubted whether the vessel could long 
 withstand the grips and concussions she sustained ; 
 " every support threatened to give way, the beams in 
 the hold began to bend, and the iron water-tanks 
 settled together. The tv/o vessels v^^'® thrown with 
 violent concussion against each other, the ice-anchors 
 
 i 
 
 n 
 
 ■ 1 1 
 
 H* 
 
 • VoL I, p. 67. 6a 
 
pKOOEfiss OF a.j:ctic discovkkt. 
 
 I!' 
 
 and cftbloB broke one after the t)thor, a boat at the 
 Bterii wiis Rinaslied in the cullision, aiul tlie masts 
 wore hourly expected to ^o by the board; but at this 
 juncture, when certain derftruction was luomentarily 
 loolced tor, by the niercifid interposition of Providence 
 the iields of ice suddenly opened and foimed a clear 
 passage for the ships." 
 
 A singular physical feature was noticed on the part 
 of the coast near Cape Dudley Digges : — "We have 
 discovered, (says Ross,) that the snow on the face of 
 the cliffs presents an appearance both novel and inter- 
 esting, being apparently stained or covered by some 
 substance which gave it a deep crimson color. This 
 snow was penetrated in many places to a depth of ten 
 or twelve feet by the coloring matter." There is noth- 
 ing new, however, according to Barrow, in the discov- 
 ery of red snow. Pliny, and other writers of his time 
 mention it. Saussure found it in various parts of the 
 Alps ; Martin found it in Spitzbergen, and no doubt 
 it is to be met with in most alpine regions. 
 
 In the course of this tedious, and often laborious 
 progress thTough the ice, it became necessary to keep 
 the whole of the crew at the most fatiguing work, some- 
 times for several days and nights without intermission. 
 "When this was the case, an extra meal was served to 
 them at midnight, generally of preserved meat ; and 
 it was found that this nourishment, when the mind 
 and body were both occupied, and the sun continually 
 present, rendered them capable of remaining without 
 sleep, so that they often passed ui'ee days in this man- 
 ner without any visible inconvenience, returning after 
 a meal to their labor on the ice or in the boats quite 
 refreshed, and continuing at it without a murmur. 
 
 After making hasty and very cursory examinations 
 of Smith's and Jones' Sounds, Ross arrived, on the 
 30th of August, off the extensive inlet, named by Baf- 
 fin, Lancaster Sound. The entrance was perfectly 
 clear, and the 60i!ndings ranged from 650 to 1000 fath- 
 oms. I shall now quote Ross's own observations on 
 this subject, because from his unfortunate report of a 
 
 i 
 
 ■ awiMi i i t i^wiM i ifl r i; rrii?BB ggiM 
 
FIK8T V()YA(n: OK CAPTAIN liO^S. 
 
 43 
 
 >()at at the 
 tlie nmsts 
 but ut this 
 iMinentarily 
 Providence 
 led a clear 
 
 on the part 
 "We have 
 :he face of 
 1 and inter- 
 jd by some 
 lolor. Tiiia 
 epth of ten 
 ere is noth- 
 the discov- 
 of his time 
 oarts of the 
 d no doubt 
 
 laborious 
 ry to keep 
 ork, aoine- 
 Itermissiou. 
 Is served to 
 eat ; and 
 the mind 
 ;ontinually 
 ig without 
 this man- 
 l-ning after 
 )oats quite 
 irmur. 
 Iminations 
 jd, on the 
 jd by Baf- 
 perfectly 
 11 000 fath- 
 nations on 
 jport of a 
 
 range c:ill»'<l the Ciokei' nu>untai!\s, Ktivtching across 
 this Strait, lias resulted nmcli of tlio ridicule and dis- 
 credit whieh iuis attaelied to his accnunts, and clouded 
 his eai'ly reputation — "On the .".1st (he says) we dis- 
 covered, for till! iirst tiint», that the huul extended from 
 the south Ivvo-thirds across this aj)parent ^>trait ; hut 
 the i'o'^ which continually occu})ie(l that ([uarter, ob- 
 scured its real figure. During the day much interest 
 was excited on board by the a])j)earance of this Strait. 
 The general o])inion, however, was, that it was only an 
 inlet. The lantl was partially seen extending across ; 
 the yellow sky was ])erceptil)le. At a little before four 
 o'clock A. M., the land was seen at the bottom of the 
 iiiKt by the otKcers of the watch, but before I got on 
 deck a space of about seven degrees of the compass 
 was obscured by the fog. The land which I then saw 
 was a high ridge of juuuntains extending directly across 
 the bottom of tlic inlet. This chain a})peared extremely 
 high in the center. Although a passage in this direc- 
 tion ap])eare(l hopeless, I was determined to explore it 
 com}>letely. 1 therefore continued all sail. Mr. Bev- 
 erly, the sui'geon, who was the most sanguine, went up 
 to the crow's nest, and at twelve reported to me that 
 before it tjecame thick ho had seen the land across the 
 bay, except for a very short space. 
 
 "At thi'ee, I went on deck ; it completely cleared for 
 ten minutes, when I distinctly saw the land round the 
 bottom of the bay, forming a chain of mountains con- 
 nected with those which extended along the north and 
 south side. This land appeared to be at the distance 
 of eight leagues, and Mr. Lewis, the master, and James 
 llaig, leading man, being sent for, they took its bear- 
 ings, which were inserted in the log. At this moment 
 I also saw a continuity of ice at the distance of seven 
 miles, extending from one side of the bay to the other, 
 between the nearest cape to the north, which I named 
 after Sir George Warrender, and that to the south, 
 which was named after Yiscount Castlereagh. The 
 mountains, which occupied the center, in a north and 
 
 3 B^ 
 
 
44 
 
 rUOUUKSo OF AliCTIC 1 )!.-('< tVKJiV. 
 
 :i.;!i 
 
 liiii 
 
 south direction, were named Croker's ]\IountaiiiS, after 
 the Secretary to the Admiralty."* 
 
 They next proceeded to Possession Bay, at the en- 
 trance of the Strait, where a great many animals were 
 observed. Deer, fox, ermine, bears, and hares, were 
 cither seen, or proved to be in abundance by their 
 tracks, and the skeleton of a whale was found stranded 
 about 500 yards beyond high-water-mark. Finding, as 
 Eoss supposed, no outlet through Lancaster Strait, the 
 vessels continued their progress to the southward, ex- 
 ploring the western coast of Baffin's Bay to Pond's 
 Bay, and Booth's Inlet, discovering the trendino- of the 
 land, which he named North Galloway, and North 
 Ayr to Cape Adair, and Scott's Bay. 
 
 On September the 10th, the}^ landed on an island 
 near Cape Eglington, which was named Agnes' Monu- 
 ment. A flag-staff and a bottle, with an account of 
 their proceedings was set up. The renuiins of a tem- 
 porary habitation of some of the Esquimaux were here 
 observed, with a fire-place, part of a human skull, a 
 broken stone vessel, some bones of a seal, burnt wood, 
 part of a sledge, and tracks of dogs, &c. 
 
 "While the boat was absent, two large bears swam off 
 to the ships, which were at the distance of six miles 
 from the land. They reached the Alexander, and were 
 immediately attacked by the boats of that ship, and 
 killed. One, which was shot through the head, unfor- 
 tunately sank ; the other, on being wounded, attacked 
 the boats, and showed considerable play, but was at 
 length secured and towed to the Isabella by the boats 
 of both ships. The animal weighed 1131 i lbs., besides 
 the blood it had lost, which was estimated at 30 lbs 
 more. 
 
 On the following day, Lieut. Parry was sent on shore 
 to examine an iceberg, which was found to be 41(^9 
 yards lon^, 3869 yards broad, and 51 feet high, being 
 aground m 61 fathoms. When they had ascended to 
 the top, which was perfectly flat, they found a huge 
 
 • Vol. I, p. 241-46. 8vo. ed. ^ 
 
i:v. 
 
 VOYAGE OF liUCIlAN AND FKANKLIN. 
 
 45 
 
 imtaiiiS, after 
 
 ly, at the en- 
 animals were 
 [ hares, were 
 nee by their 
 unci stranded 
 Finding, as 
 ter Strait, the 
 outhward, ex- 
 ay to Pond's 
 ending of the 
 r, and North 
 
 on an island 
 A.giies' Monu- 
 m account of 
 lins of a tem- 
 lux were here 
 iiman skull, a 
 , burnt wood, 
 
 3ar8 swam off 
 1 of six miles 
 der, and were 
 lat ship, and 
 3 head, uu for- 
 ded, attacked 
 , but was at 
 by the boats 
 lbs., besides 
 d at 30 lbs 
 
 ?ent on shore 
 
 to be 4109 
 
 hiffh, beino 
 
 ascended to 
 
 mnd a huge 
 
 ■■■$ 
 
 white bear in quiet possession of the mass, who, much 
 to their mortification and astonishment, plunged with- 
 out hesitation into the sea from the edge of the preci 
 pice, which was fifty feet high. 
 
 From careful observation it was found that there was 
 no such land in the center of Davis' Strait as James' 
 Island, which was laid down in most of the charts. 
 Nothing deserving of notice occurred in the subsv quent 
 course of the vessels past Cape Walsingham to Cum- 
 berland Strait. 
 
 The 1st of October having arrived, the limit to M'hich 
 his instructions permitted him to remain out, Ross 
 shaped his course homeward, and after encountering a 
 severe gale olf Cape Farewell, arrived in Grimsby 
 Roads on the 14tli of November. As respects the pur- 
 pose of Arctic discovery, this voyage may be considered 
 almost a blank, none of the important inlets and sounds 
 of Eafiin's Bay having been explored, and all that was 
 done was to define more clearly the land-bounds of 
 Davis' Strait and Baftin's Bay, if we except the valu- 
 able magnetic and other observations made by Captain 
 Sabine. The commander of the expedition was pro- 
 moted to the rank of captain on paying off the ships in 
 December, 1818. 
 
 The account of his voyage, published by Capt. Ross, 
 is of the most meager and uninteresting des( ription, 
 and more than half filled w4th dry details of the outfit, 
 copies of his instructions, of his routine letters and 
 orders to his officers, &c. 
 
 BuCHAN AND FkANKT-IN. 
 
 Dorothea and Trent to Pole^ 1818. 
 
 In conjunction with the expedition of Captain John 
 Ross, was that sent out to the coast of Spitzbergen, and 
 of v/hich Captain Beechy has publisned a most inter- 
 esting account, embellished with some very elegant 
 illustrations from his pencil. The charge of it was 
 given to Captain D. Buchan, who had, a few years pre- 
 viously, conducted a very interesting expedition into 
 
 i 
 
 ^aa 
 
 m 
 
 m 
 
 w 
 
 I 
 
 a;'., II I 
 
 p. 
 
 I 
 
 
 m 
 
 i-;i 
 
:i Mi; 
 
 46 
 
 PROGKIiSS OF AKCTIC DISCOVKKY. 
 
 the interior of jSewtbuiKllaiicl. The first and most im- 
 portant object of this exjiedition was the discovery of 
 a passage over or as near tlie Pole, as miglit be possibk^, 
 and through Behring's Straits into the Pacific. But it 
 was also hoped that it might at the same time be the 
 means of improving the geography and hydrography 
 of the Arctic regions, of which so little was at that time 
 known, and contribute to the advancement of sciewce 
 and natural knowledge. The objects to which attention 
 was specially pointed in the Admiralty instructions, 
 were the variation and inclination of the magnetic nee- 
 dle, the intensity of the magnetic force, and how far it 
 is affected by atmospherical electricity ; the tempera- 
 ture of the air, the dip of the horizon, refraction, height 
 of the tides, set and velocity of the currents, depths 
 and soundings of the sea. Collections of specimens to 
 illustrate the animal, mineral and vegetable kingdoms, 
 were also directed to be made. 
 The officers and crew appointed to these vessels were : 
 
 Dorothea.^ 382 tons. 
 
 Captain — David Buchan. 
 
 Lieutenant — A. Morell. 
 
 Surgeon — John Duke. 
 
 Assistant Surgeon — W. G. Borland. 
 
 Purser — John Jermain. 
 
 Astronomer — George Fisher. 
 
 Admiralty Mates — C. Palmer and W. J. Dealy. 
 
 Greenland Pilots — P. Bruce, master; G. Crawfurd, 
 
 mate. 
 45 petty officers, seamen, &c. 
 
 Total complement, 55. 
 
 Trent, 249 tons. 
 
 Lieutenant and Commander — John Franklin. 
 
 Lieutenant — Fred. W. Beechy, (artist.) 
 
 Purser — W. Barrett. 
 
 Assistant Surgeon — K. Gilfillan. 
 
 Admiralty Mates — A. Reid and George Back. 
 
 Greenland Pilots — G. Fife, master ; G. Kirby, n* ^e. 
 
 30 petty othccrs and seamen. 
 
 Total complement, 38. 
 
VOYAGE OF BUOHAN AND FRANKLIN. 
 
 47 
 
 id most iin- 
 iscovery of 
 be possible, 
 llic. But it 
 time be the 
 ydrography 
 at that time 
 t of sciewce 
 ch attention 
 instructions, 
 agnetic nee- 
 \ how far it 
 he tempera- 
 ction, height 
 3nts, depths 
 ipecimens to 
 e kingdoms, 
 
 essels were : 
 
 r. Dealy. 
 \. Crawfurd, 
 
 iklin. 
 
 iBack. 
 jrby, n> ^e. 
 
 f 
 
 Having been properly fitted for the service, and ta- 
 ken (»n board two years' provisions, the ships sailed on 
 
 the 2r)th of April. The Trent had hardly got clear of 
 the river before she sprang a leak, and was detaint-d in 
 the poru of Lerwick nearly a fortnight undergoing 
 
 re[)aii'S. 
 
 •ed 
 
 On the ll'rli of May, the ships encountered a severe 
 gale, and under even storm stay -sails were buried gun- 
 wale deep in the waves. On the 24th they sighted 
 Cherie Island, situated in hit. 74^"' 33' N., and'long. IT'' 
 iO' E., formerly so noted for its fishery, being much 
 frequented by walrusses, and fur many years tiie Mus- 
 cov^y Company carried on a lucrative trade by sending 
 ships to the island for oil, as many as a thousand ani- 
 mals being often captured by the crew of a single shij) 
 in the course of six or seven hours. 
 
 The progress of the discovery ships through the small 
 floes and huge masses of ice which floated in succes- 
 sion past, was slow, and these, from their novelty, were 
 regarded with peculiar attention from the grotes(|ue 
 sha])es they assume. The progress of a vessel through 
 such a labyrinth of frozen masses is one of the most in- 
 teresting sights that offer in the Arctic seas, and kept 
 the oflicers and crew out of their beds till a late hour 
 watcliing the scene. Capt. Beechey, the graphic nar- 
 rator of the voyage, thus describes the general impres- 
 sion created : — " There was besides, on this occasion, 
 an additional motive for remaining up; very few of 
 us had ever seen the sun at midnight, and this night 
 ha])peniiig to be particularly clear, his broad red disc, 
 curiously distorted by refraction, and sweeping majes- 
 ticalh^ along the northern horizon, was an object of im- 
 posing grandeur, which riveted to the deck some of our 
 crew, who would perhaps have beheld with indifterenco 
 the less im]x>sing efl'ect of the ice1»ergs; or it might have 
 been a (combination of both the^^e ])henomena ; for it 
 cannot be denied that the novelty, occasioned by the 
 
 flonti 
 
 ng masses, was nni.tcriallv heiirhtened bv the sin- 
 
 gular efl'ect ])roduced i)y tlie very low altitude at wliich 
 the sun cast his fiery beams over the icv surface of the 
 
 ir 
 
 mi 
 
 111 
 
 m 
 
48 
 
 I'ROGKESS OF AllCTlCJ DISCOVERY. 
 
 i 
 
 
 [«"• 
 
 sea. The rays were too oLliqne to ilhiiniiiate Tiiore tliaii 
 the ine(jiiulitie8 of the tloes, and tViliiiig thun pari iuily 
 on the grotesque shapes, either really assuinei;! Ly tlie 
 ice or distorted by the unequal retraction of the atmos- 
 phere, so betrayed the imagination that it re(|uired ]io 
 groat exertion of fancy to trace in various directions ar- 
 chit-ectural edilices, grottos and caves here and there 
 
 flittering as if with precious metals. So generally, in- 
 eed, was the deception admitted, that, in dircctino- 
 the route of the vessel from aloft, we for awhile deviated 
 from our nautical phraseology, and shaped our course 
 for a church, a tower, a bridge, or some similar structure^ 
 instead of for lumps of ice, which were usually desig- 
 nated by less elegant appellations." 
 
 Tiie increasing difficulties of this ice navigation soon, 
 however, directed their attention from romance to the 
 reality of their position, the perils of which soon be- 
 came alarmingly apparent. 
 
 " The streams of ice, between which we at first pur- 
 sued our serpentine course wuth comparative ease, grad- 
 ually became more narrow, and at length so impeded 
 the navigation, that it became necessary to run the ships 
 against some of these imaginary edifices, in order to turn 
 them aside. Even this did not alwavs succeed, as some 
 were so substantial and immoveable, that the vessels 
 glanced off to the opposite bank of the channel, and 
 then became for a time embedded in the ice. Thus cir- 
 cumstanced, a vessel has no other resource thant^iat of 
 patiently awaiting the change of position in the ice, of 
 which she must take every advantage, or she wnll settle 
 bodily to leeward, and become completely entangled." 
 
 On the 26th the ships sighted the southern promon- 
 tory of Spitzbergen, and on the 28th, while plying to 
 windAvard on the western side, were overtaken by a 
 violent gale at southwest, in which they parted com- 
 pany. The weather was very severe. ''The snow fell 
 in heavy showers, and several tons weight of ice accu- 
 mulated about the sides of the brig, (the Trent,) and form 
 ed a complete casing to tne ])]anks, which received an 
 additional layer at each plunge of the vessel. So great 
 
 ■I 
 
 ■:&■ 
 
lY. 
 
 VOYAGE OF BUCIIAN AND FIl.XJS'KLIX. 
 
 49 
 
 te more tliau 
 
 lined Lv the 
 )t' the titiiiob- 
 
 rec^iiired no 
 lii'cctioiis ar- 
 :'e and tiiere 
 t>:eiiera]!v, in- 
 
 in direetino- 
 
 Idle deviated 
 id our course 
 lar structure^ 
 Lsualiy desig- 
 
 igation soon, 
 niance to the 
 icli soon be- 
 at first pur- 
 ,^e ease, grad- 
 I so impeded 
 run the ships 
 order to turn 
 ;eed, as somo 
 ; the vessels 
 bannel, and 
 ThMs cir- 
 than diat of 
 n the ice, of 
 le will settle 
 entangled." 
 rn promon- 
 le plying to 
 taken bv a 
 parted com- 
 -le snow fell 
 of ice accu- 
 t,) and form 
 received ar: 
 el. So great 
 
 e. 
 
 r 
 
 indeed, ^^•as the accumulation about the bows, that we 
 v/erc obliged to cut it away repeatedly with axes to re- 
 lieve tlie bow-sprit from the enormous weight that was 
 attached to it ; and the ropes were so thickly covered 
 with ice, that it v/as necessary to beat them with large 
 sticks to keep them in a state of readiness for any evo- 
 lution that might be rendered necessary, either^ by the 
 appearance of ice to leeward, or by a change of wind." 
 
 On the gale abating. Lieutenant Franklin found him- 
 self surrounded by the main body of ice in lat. 80° N., 
 and had much difliculty in extricating the vessel. — 
 Had this formidable body been encountered in thick 
 weather, while scudding before a gale of wind, there 
 would have been very little chance of saving either the 
 vessels or the crews. The Trent fortunately fell in with 
 her consort, the Dorothea, previous to entering the ap- 
 pointed rendezvous at Magdalena Bay, on the 3d of 
 June. This commodious inlet being the first port they 
 had anchored at in the polar regions, possessed many 
 objects to engage attention. What particularly struck 
 them was the brilliancy of the atmosphere, the peace- 
 ful novelty of the scene, and the grandeur of the vari- 
 ous objects with which nature has stored these unfre- 
 quented regions. The anchorage is formed by rugged 
 mountains, which rise precipitously to the height of 
 about 3000 feet. Deep valleys and glens occur between 
 the ranges, the greater part of which are either filled 
 with immense beds of snow, or with glaciers, sloping 
 from the summits of the mountainous margin to the 
 very edge of the sea. 
 
 The bay is rendered conspicuous by four huge gla- 
 ci(}rs, of which the most remarkable, though the small- 
 est in size, is situated 200 feet above the ^sea, on the 
 elope ci a mountain. From its peculiar appearance 
 this glacier has been tenned the Hanging Iceberg. 
 
 Its position is such that it seems as if a very small 
 matter would detach it from the mountain, and precip- 
 itate it into the sea. And, indeed, large portions of its 
 front do occasionally break aw^ay and fall with head- 
 long impetuosity upon the beach, to the great hazard 
 
 ii! 
 
 SI 
 
 il .'■« 
 
 4 
 
 'II 
 
 
i;i <! 
 
 MIL 
 
 fi{ 
 
 II! f 
 
 ii 
 
 60 
 
 rnooREss of arctic discovery. 
 
 of any boat that may chance to be near. The large-t 
 of tliese glaciers occupies the liead of the bay, and, 
 according to Captain Jieechey's account, extend^; from 
 two to three miles inland. ^Numerous large rents in its 
 upper surface have caused it to bear a resemblance to 
 the ruts left by a wagon ; hence it was named by tiio 
 voyagers the " AVagon Way." The frontage of tins gla- 
 cier presents a perpendicuhir surface of 300 feet in 
 height, by 7000 feet in length. Mountain masses — 
 
 " Wliose blocks of sappliire seem to mortal eye 
 Hewn from cerulean quarries in the sky, 
 With glacier battlements that crowd the spheres, 
 The slow creation of six thousauvJ years, 
 Amidst immensity the} tower sublime, 
 "Winter's eternal palace, built by Time." 
 
 At the head of the bay there is a high pyramidal 
 mountain of granite, termed Eotge Hill, from the myr- 
 iads of small birds of that name which frecjuent its 
 base, and appear to prefer its environs to every other 
 part of the harbor. " They are so numerous that we 
 nave frequently seen an uninterrupted line of them ex- 
 tending 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, on an aver- 
 age, might have been about six yards broad, and as 
 many deep ; so that, allowing sixteen birds to a cubic 
 yard, there must have been nearly four millions of birds 
 on the wing at one time. The number I have given cer- 
 tainly seems large ; yet when it is told that the littlo 
 rotges rise in such numbers as completely to darken 
 the air, and that their chorus is distinctly audible at a 
 distance of four miles, the estimate will not be thought 
 to bear any reduction." 
 
 One of their earliest excursions in this bay was an 
 attempt to ascend the peak of Kotge Hill, "upon which," 
 says Captain Beechey, " may now, perhaps, be seen at 
 the height of about 2000 feet, a staii that once carried 
 a red flag, which was planted there to mark the great- 
 est heiglit we were able to attain, partly in consequence 
 of the steepness of the asceiit, but mainly on account 
 of the detached masses of rock which a very slight 
 
 1 
 ■ ;f$. 
 M 
 
VOYAGE OF RUCTIAN AND FRANKLIN. 
 
 51 
 
 The largest 
 le Itay, and, 
 'xtcnd.-; ir(.)iu 
 V. rents in its 
 t'inbUukx' to 
 -med hy the 
 e of til is gla- 
 300 feet in 
 masses — 
 
 ares. 
 
 pj^ramidal 
 >m the myr- 
 frequeiit its 
 every otiier 
 'US that we 
 of them ex- 
 distance of 
 tliat tliirty 
 on an aver- 
 'ad, and as 
 
 to a cubic 
 •ns of birds 
 ) given cer- 
 t the little 
 
 to darken 
 tidible at a 
 
 3e thought 
 
 ay was an 
 )n which," 
 be seen at 
 ce carried 
 the great- 
 3 sequence 
 1 account 
 n-y slight 
 
 -■•.-3" 
 
 mutter would displace and hurl down the precipitous 
 declivity, to the utter destruction of him who depended 
 uj)on their sup])ort, or who might happen to be in 
 their path below. The latter part of our ascent was, 
 indeed, much against our inclination ; but we found it 
 impossible to descend by tlie way we had come up, and 
 were compelled to gain a ledge, wliich promised the 
 only secure resting-place we could lind at that height. 
 Dili's we were able to eiFect by sticking the tomahawks 
 with which we were provided, into crevices in the rock, 
 as a support for our feet ; and some of these instru- 
 ments we were obliged to leave where they were driven, 
 in consequence of the danger that attended their 
 recovery." During the vessel's detention in this har- 
 bor, the bay and anchorage were completely surveyed. 
 
 When tlie first party rowed into this bay, it was in 
 quiet possession of herds of walruses, who were so un- 
 accustomed to the siglit of a boat that they assembled 
 about her, apparently highly incensed at the intrusion, 
 and swam toward her as though they would have torn 
 the planks asunder with their tusks. Their hides were 
 so tough that nothing but a bayonet would pierce tliem. 
 Q^he wounds that were infiicted only served to increase 
 their rage, and it was witii much difficulty they were 
 kept off with fire-arms. Subsequently the boats went 
 l)etter prepared and more strongly supported, and 
 many of these monsters were killed ; some were four- 
 teen feet in length, and nine feet girth, and of such 
 pi'odigious weight, that the boat's crew could scarcely 
 turn them. 
 
 The ships had not been many days at their anchor- 
 age wlien they were truly astonished at the sight of a 
 strange boat pulling toward the ships, which was found 
 to ])el(mg to some Russian adventurers, who were en- 
 gaged in tlie collection of peltry and morse' teeth. This 
 is the hist remaining establishment at Spitzborgen still 
 upheld bv the merchants of Archano-el. 
 
 Altliougli equally sur]>rised at the sight of the ves- 
 sels, the boat's crew took courage, and ai>er a careful 
 scrutiny, went on board the Dorothea; Captain Buchan 
 
 ral 
 
 m 
 
 :i 
 
In 
 
 1 y 
 
 ^li 
 
 H: 
 
 m 
 
 m 
 
 52 
 
 PROGRK88 OF AliOTIO DISCOVP^RY. 
 
 giivo them a kind reception, and supplied tliem with 
 vviiut^vei' they wanted ; in return for which they sent 
 on board, the following day, a side of venison in excel- 
 lent condition. Wisiiing to gain some further informa- 
 tion of these f»eople, an officer accompanied them to 
 tlieir dwelling at the head of a small cove, about four 
 miles distant from the bay, where he found a comfort- 
 able wooden hut, well lined with moss, and stored with 
 venison, wild ducks, &c. 
 
 It is related by Captain Beechey that it was with ex- 
 treme pleasure they noticed in this retired spot, proba- 
 bly the most northern and most desolate habitation of 
 our globe, a spirit of gratitude and devotion to the Al- 
 mighty rarely exercised in civilized countries. " On 
 landing from the boat and approaching their residence, 
 these people knelt upon its threshold, and oifered up a 
 prayer with fervor and evident sincerity. The exact 
 nature of the prayer we did not learn, but it was no 
 doubt one of thanksgiving, and we concluded it was a 
 custom which these recluses w^ere in the habit of observ- 
 ing on their safe return to their habitation. It may, at 
 all events, be regarded as an instance of the beneficial 
 effects which seclusion from the busy world, and a con- 
 templation of the works of nature, almost invariably 
 produce upon the hearts of even the most uneducated 
 part of mankind.'" 
 
 On the 7th of June the expedition left the anchorage 
 to renew the examination of the ice, and after steering 
 a few leagues to the northward, found it precisely in 
 the same state as it had been left on the 2d. In spite 
 of all their endeavors, by towing and otherwise, the 
 vessels were driven in a calm by the heavy swell into 
 the packed ice, and the increasing peril of their situa- 
 tion may be imagined from the following graphic de- 
 pc'i'ir)tion : — 
 
 ••^ The pieces at the edge of the pack were at one time 
 wholly immersed in the sea, and at the next raised far 
 al)Ove their natural line of flotation, while those further 
 ,,-, h'Aug more extensive, -were alternately depressed or 
 
VUYAGE OF BL'CIIAN AUD FKANKI^IN. 
 
 53 
 
 1 tliem witli 
 cli thuy sent 
 son in excel- 
 her intbnna- 
 iod tliLMu to 
 3, about four 
 (I a conifort- 
 . stored with 
 
 was with ex- 
 spot, proba- 
 abitation of 
 •n to the Al- 
 tries. " On 
 ir residence, 
 offered up a 
 The exact 
 it it was no 
 led it was a 
 it of observ- 
 It may, at 
 e beneficial 
 and a con- 
 invariably 
 neducated 
 
 anchorage 
 [er steering 
 precisely in 
 In spite 
 jrwise, the 
 I swell into 
 [heir situa- 
 •aphic de- 
 one time 
 -aised far 
 fui-ther 
 k*essed or 
 
 
 elevated at either extremity as the advancing wiivo 
 forced its way along. 
 
 '•Tiie see-saw motion wliich was thus produced was 
 ahirmiii"", not merely in appearance, but in fact, ujid 
 niii.-t have proved fatal to any vessel that had encoun- 
 tered it ; as lloes of ice, several yards in thickness, were 
 continually crashing and breaking in pieces, and liie 
 sea for miles was covered with fragments ground so 
 small that they actually ft>rmed a thick, pasty sub- 
 stance — in nautical language termed, 'hris/i ice' — 
 which extended to the depth of five feet. Amidst this 
 giddy element, our whole attention was occupied in en- 
 deavoring to place the bow of the vessel, the strongest 
 part of her frame, in the direction of the most fonnida- 
 ble pieces of ice — a maneuver which, though likely to 
 be attended with the loss of the bowsprit, was yet jj refer- 
 able to encountering the still greater risk of having the 
 broadside of the vessel in contact with it ; for this would 
 have subjected her to the chance of dipping her gun- 
 wale under the floes as she rolled, an accident which, 
 had it occurred, would either have laid oj)en her side, 
 or have overset the vessel at once. In either case, the 
 event would probably have proved fatal to all on board, 
 as it would have been next to impossible to rescue any 
 person from the confused moving mass of brash ice 
 which covered the sea in every direction." 
 
 The attention of the seamen was in some degree di- 
 verted from the contemplation of this scene of diffi- 
 culty by the necessity of employing all hands at the 
 pump, the leak having gained upon them. But, for- 
 tunately, toward morning, they got quite clear of the 
 ice. 
 
 Steering to the westward to reconnoiter, they fell in, 
 m longitude 4° 30' E., with several whale ships, and 
 were informed by them that the ice was qnite compact 
 to the westward, and that fifteen vessels were beset in 
 it. Proceeding to the northward, the ships passed, on 
 the 11th of June, Cloven Cliff, a remarkable isolated 
 roc'k, wliich marks the northwestern boundary of Spitz- 
 bergen, and steered along an intricate channel between 
 
 4 
 
 i'ii' 
 
 i^ 
 
 i 
 
 
 m 
 
II 
 
 n!! 
 
 i h 
 
 6i 
 
 PROOKKbiS OF AilJCTIC I)I!<(.(>V1:UV. 
 
 tlie land uiul ice ; but, next moniinf^, their furtlier ad- 
 vanco was Ktoppcd, and the channel l)y which the ves- 
 sels liad entered became so completely closed up as to 
 preclude tlie possibility also of retreating. Lieutenant 
 l>eechey proceeds to state — 
 
 ''The ice soon began to press heavily upon us, and, 
 to add to our dilliculties, we found the water so shallow 
 that the rocks were plainly discovered under the bot- 
 toms of tlie ships. It was impossible, however, by any 
 exertion on our part, to improve the situations of the 
 vessels. They were as lirmly fixed in the ice as if they 
 had formed part of the pack, and we could oidy hope 
 that the current would not drift them into still shal](.)wef 
 water, and damage them against the ground." 
 
 The ships were here hemmed in in almost the same 
 position where Baflin, Hudson, Poole, Captain Phipps, 
 and all the early voyagers to this quarter had been 
 stopped. 
 
 As the tide turned, the pieces of ice immediately 
 around the ships began to separate, and some of them 
 to twist round with a loud grinding noise, urging the 
 vessels, which were less than a mile from the land, still 
 nearer and nearer to the beach. 
 
 By great exertions the ships were hauled into small 
 bays in the floe, and secured there by ropes fixed to the 
 ice by means of large iron hooks, called ice anchors. 
 Shifting the ships from one part of this floe to the other, 
 they remained attached to the ice thirteen days. As 
 this change of position could only be effected by main 
 force, the crew were so constantly engaged in this har- 
 assing duty, that their time was divided almost entirely 
 between the w^indlass and the pump, until the men at 
 length became so fatigued that the sick-list was seriou.sly 
 augmented. During this period, how^ever, the situation 
 of the leak was fortunately discovered, and the danuigo 
 repaired. 
 
 An ofticer and a party of men w'lio left the Dorothea 
 to pay a visit to tlie shore, al)out three or four miles 
 distant, lost themselves in the fog and snow, and wan- 
 dered about for sixteen hours, until, quite overcome 
 
 
 •3 
 
 
VOVAOE OF BUCHAN AND FK AN KLIN. 
 
 55 
 
 ir fnrtlier ad- 
 
 liic'li tlie voK- 
 
 >t5L'{l up as to 
 
 J^ieuteiiant 
 
 poll 118, and, 
 er so sliallow 
 ider tho bot- 
 eyer, hy any 
 Ltions of the 
 CO as if the y 
 d only hopo 
 ill shallower 
 id." 
 
 )st the same 
 tain Phipps, 
 r had been 
 
 mmediately 
 
 •me of them 
 
 ui'gino^ the 
 
 le land, still 
 
 into small 
 
 fixed to the 
 
 ce anchors. 
 
 o the other, 
 
 days. As 
 
 d by main 
 
 n this har- 
 
 ost entirely 
 
 he men at 
 
 IS seriously 
 
 e situation 
 
 e damage 
 
 n 
 
 Dorothea 
 bur miles 
 and wan- 
 overcome 
 
 m 
 
 V,V5, 
 
 
 with wet, cold and fati<j;ne, they sat down in a state of 
 dosjH>ndency, upon a piece of ice, determined to submit 
 tlicir fate to "^Providence. Their trou!)les are thus told : 
 
 ''To travel over raijj^ed pieces of ice, upon which 
 there were two feet of snow, and often more, sorinoinrr 
 from one slij)pery piece to the other, or, when tlie chiiii- 
 ncls between them were too wide for this purpose, fr- 
 rvin:^ themselves upon detached fragments, was a wovk 
 which it required no ordinary exertion to execute. 
 
 "Some fell into the water, and were with ditHculfy 
 preserved from drown in «5 by their companions ; while 
 others, afraid to make any hazardous attempt whatever, 
 wei-e left upon pieces of ice, and drifted about at the 
 mei'cy of tlie winds and tides. Foreseeing the proba- 
 bility of a separation, they took the lirst opportunity 
 of dividing, in equal shares, the small (piantity of pro- 
 vision which they had remaining, as also their stock of 
 ])!)wder and ammunition. They also took it in turns to 
 tire muskets, in the hope of being heard from the shi])s." 
 
 The re)X)rts of the fire-arms were heard by thcur ship- 
 mates, and Messrs. Fife and Kirby, the Greenland ice- 
 masters, ventured out with ])oles and lines to their 
 assistance, and liad the good fortune to fall in with the 
 ]):irty, and bring them safely on board, after eighteen 
 hours' absence. They determined in future to rest sat- 
 isfied with the view of the shore which was afforded 
 tliom from the ship, having not the slightest desire to 
 att(Mnpt to approach it again by means of the ice. 
 
 The pressure of the ice against the vessels now be- 
 came very great. 
 
 "At one time, when the Trent appeared to be so closely 
 wedged up that it did not seem possible for her to be 
 moved, she was suddenly lifted four feet by an enor- 
 mous mass of ice getting under her keel ; at another, 
 the fragments of the crumlring floe were piled up 
 under the bows, to the great danger of the bowsprit. 
 
 "The Dorothea was in no less imminent danger, es- 
 pecially from the point of a floe, which came in contact 
 with her side, where it remain^'d a short time, and then 
 glanced off, and became checked by the field to which 
 
 •H 
 
 m 
 
'i:i "i 
 
 50 
 
 PKOOKKSS OF AliCTIC DISCOVKIiT. 
 
 slic was mooivd. Tlie eiioi'inoiis prossuru to win tlio 
 hlii|» liad lioiMi Mil)jc't'UMl was now appari'iit l)y tl»e tield 
 l)i'ini;' /•////. aial its point hruUc-n into t"ra<i;inonts, whicli 
 wt'iv spi'odily lii'api'd nj) in a jAnnnid, tliirty-livc t'eut 
 in lKM;j!,lit, npon tlio vwy sninniit of wliicli tiiero ap- 
 j)C'aivd a Imui^ mass, boarin*;' tiie impression of tlio 
 ])lanks and holts of the vessePs ]>ottom." 
 
 AvaiUn^ thom.sulvus of a hivalv in tlie ice, the sliipa 
 were moved to an anchorai>e between tlie ishinds con- 
 tiivnons to the Cloven ('lili'; and on tlie 2Sth of Jnne, 
 anchored in fifteen fathoms water, near Yosjel San^. 
 On the islands they found plenty of game, and eidei*- 
 duclvs. 
 
 The island of Yoo-el Sang alone supplied the crew8 
 with forty reindeer, which were in sucli high condition 
 that the tat upon the loins of some measured from four 
 to six inches, and a carcass, ready for being dressed, 
 weighed 285 pounds. Later in the season, the deer 
 were, however, so lean that it was rare to meet with any 
 fat ui)on them at all. 
 
 On the r)th of July, iinding the ice had been driven 
 to the northward, the ships again put to sea, and Capt. 
 Buchan determined to prove, by a desperate effort, 
 what advance it was possible to make hy dragging the 
 vessels through the ice whenever the smallest opening 
 occurred. This laborious experiment was performea 
 by fixing large ropes to iron hooks driven into the ice, 
 and by heaving upon them with the windlass, a party 
 removing obstructions in the channel with saws. But 
 in spite of all their exertions, the most northerly posi- 
 tion attained was 80*^ 37' N. Although fastened to the 
 ice, the ships were now drifted bodily to the southward 
 by the prevailing current. They were also much in- 
 jured by the pressure of hummocks and fields of ice. 
 
 On the 10th of July, Captain Beechey tells us, the 
 Trent sustained a squeeze which made her rise four 
 feet, and heel over five streaks ; and on the 15th and 
 16th, both vessels suffered considerable damage. "On 
 that occasion," he says, "we observed a field fifteen 
 feet in thickness break up, and the pieces pile upoD 
 
 r 
 
 ■I 
 
VOYAGK OF millAN AM) FKANKJ.IN. 
 
 57 
 
 'o wlii tlio 
 1)V tlio tield 
 
 ft/ 
 
 K'llts, Wllifll 
 
 rtv-livo tout 
 'h tliero ap- 
 aioii of tlio 
 
 ;e, the ships 
 slaiuls cun- 
 ^th of June, 
 
 , and eitlei'- 
 
 (1 the crew8 
 ;1j condition 
 d from four 
 ng dressed, 
 n, the deer 
 )et with any 
 
 )een driven 
 
 , and Capt. 
 
 rate effort, 
 
 a^^ging the 
 
 St opening 
 
 performed 
 
 ito the ice, 
 
 ss, a party 
 
 aw8. But 
 
 lerly posi- 
 
 ned to the 
 
 southward 
 
 much in- 
 
 s of ice. 
 
 Is us, the 
 
 rise four 
 
 15th and 
 
 ■2:e. " On 
 
 Id fifteen 
 
 )ile upoD 
 
 each (»tliorN)a great height, until they upset, wIkmi they 
 rolled over with a tivnitMuhtus crash. The ice near the 
 pliil>.s was piled up ahuve their hulwarks. Kortuuatdv, 
 the vessels rose to the pressure, nr they must have had 
 their sides forced in. The Trent receive(l her greatest 
 damage ui>on tlu^ (puirters, and was ho twisted that the 
 doors"of all the cabins Hew open, and the panels ot 
 some started in the frames, while her false stern-post 
 was moved three inches, and her timbers cracked to a 
 most serious extent. The Dorothea suffered still more : 
 some <»f her l)eams were sprung, and two jdaidvs on the 
 lower deck were s))lit fore and aft, and doubled up, and 
 she otherwise sustained serious injury in her hull. It 
 was in vain that we attemptcul any relief; our ])uny 
 efforts were not even felt, though continued for ei«jcht 
 hours with unabated zeal; and it was not until the^tide 
 changed that the smallest effect was produced. AVhen, 
 however, that occurred, the vessels ri^^hted and 6ettU;d 
 in the water to their proper draught." 
 
 From the 12th to the 10th, they were closely beset 
 with ice. For nine successive days following this the 
 crews were occupied, .Ight and day, in endeavoi'ing to 
 extricate the ships, and regain the open sea. Thinking 
 he had given the ice a fair trial here, the connnander 
 determined upon examining its condition toward the 
 eastern coast of Greenland, and in the event of finding 
 it equally impenetrable there, to proceed round the 
 south cape of Spitzbergen, and make an attempt be- 
 tween that island and Nova Zembla. 
 
 On the 30th of July, a sudden gale came on, and 
 brought down the main body of the ice upon them, so 
 that the ships were in such imminent danger that their 
 only means of safety was to take refuge among it — a 
 practice which has been resorted to by whalers in ex- 
 treme cases — as their only chance of escaping destruc- 
 tion. 
 
 The following is a description of the preparation 
 made to withstand the terrible encounter, and the hair- 
 breadth escapee from tlie dangers : — 
 
 " In order to avert the ^ffaeta of this as much as pos- 
 3 
 
 'l!i''l 
 11 
 
 11 111 
 
 ff 
 
 n J 
 
 I 
 
 1 
 
^>^«* 
 
 
 
 luil 
 
 
 l" 
 
 
 li 
 
 
 1 
 
 
 
 1 
 
 '11 
 
 
 1 
 
 m 
 
 t 
 
 t 
 
 t 
 
 
 '\ 
 
 I 
 
 I ' 
 
 i!!: 
 
 58 
 
 PROGRESS OF ARCllC DISCOVERY. 
 
 sible, a cable was cut up into thirty-feet lengtlis, aiiO 
 these, with plates of iron four feet S(piare, wliich Jiad 
 been supplied to us as. fenders, together witli sonio 
 walras' Jiides, were hung round the vessels, especially 
 about the bows. The masts, at the same time, were se- 
 cured with additional ropes, and the hatches were bat- 
 tened and nailed down. By the time these precautions 
 had been taken, our approach to the breakei's only left 
 us the alternative of either permitting the ships to be 
 drifted broadside against the ice, and so to take their 
 chance, or of endeavoring to force faii!y into it by put- 
 ting before the wind. At length, the hopeless state of 
 a vessel placed broadside against so formidable a body 
 became apparent to all, and we resolved to attempt 
 the latter expedient." 
 
 Eagerly, but in vain, was the general line of the pack 
 scanned, to find one place more open than the other. 
 All parts appeared to be equally inij^enetrable, and to 
 present one unbroken line of furious breakers, in which 
 immense pieces of ice were heaving and subsiding with 
 the waves, and dashins; losrether with a violence which 
 nothing apparently but a solid body could withstand, 
 occasioning such a noise that it was with the greatest 
 difiiculty the officers could make their orders heard by 
 the crew. 
 
 The fearful aspv-^ct of this appalling scene is thue 
 sk'jtched by Captain Beech ey : — 
 
 " No language, I am convinced, can convey an ade- 
 quate idea of the terrific grandeur of the effect now pro- 
 duced by the collision of the ice and the tempestuous 
 ocean. The sea, violently agitated and rolling its ni(oin- 
 tainous waves against an opposing body, is at all times 
 a sublime and awful sight ; but when, in additiiai, It 
 encounters immense masses, which it has set in motion 
 with a violence equal to its own, its effect is prodigi- 
 ously incr(5ased. At one moment it bursts upon these 
 ic}^ fragments and buries them many feet beneath its 
 wave, and the next, as the buoyancy of the depressed 
 body struggles for reascendancy, the water rushes in 
 tbaming cataracts over its edges ; while every indi- 
 
 i 
 
VOYAGE OF BUCIIAN AND FKANIvLIN. 
 
 69 
 
 pngtlis, and 
 wiiicli Jiad 
 with soniQ 
 1, especially 
 lie, were se- 
 's were bat- 
 precautions 
 ;rs only left 
 ships to be 
 L) take their 
 it by put- 
 ess state of 
 ible a body 
 to attempt 
 
 of the pack 
 the other, 
 ble, and to 
 's, in which 
 siding with 
 ence which 
 withstand, 
 s greatest 
 heard by 
 
 ne is thug 
 
 ey an ade- 
 now pro- 
 nipestuous 
 its moun- 
 t all times 
 dditi(.>n, It 
 in motion 
 s prodigi- 
 pon these 
 neath its 
 depressed 
 rushes in 
 ^ery indi- 
 
 « 
 
 vidual mass, rocking and laboring in its bed, grinds 
 igaiust and eontencls with its opponent, until one is 
 e^.her split with the shock or upheavod upon the sur- 
 face of the other. Nor is this collision confined to any 
 particular spot ; it is going on as far as the sight can 
 reach ; and when from this convulsive scene below, the 
 eye is turned to the extraordinary appe.vi-ance of the 
 blink in the sky above, where the ur:iatural clear- 
 ness of a calm and silvery atmosphere presents itself, 
 bounded by a dark, hard line of stormy clouds, such as 
 at this moment lowered over our masts, as if to mark 
 the confines within which the efibrts of man would be 
 of no avail. The reader may imagine the sensation of 
 awe which must accompany that of grandeur in the 
 mind of the beholder." 
 
 "If ever," continues the narrator, "the fortitude of 
 seamen was tairly tried, it was assuredly not less so on 
 this occasion ; and I wdll not conceal the pride I felt in 
 witnessing the bold and decisive tone in which the 
 orders were issued by the commander (the present 
 Captain Sir John Franklin) of our little vessel, and the 
 promptitude and steadiness with which they were exe- 
 cuted by the crew." 
 
 As the laboring vessel flew before the gale, she soon 
 neared the scene of danger. 
 
 "Each person instinctively secured bis own hold, 
 and with his eyes fixed upon the masts, awaited in 
 breathless anxiety the moment of concussion. 
 
 " It soon arrived,-— the brig, (Trent) cutting her way 
 throuo;h the light ice, came in violent contact with the 
 main body. In an instant we all lost onr footing ; the 
 masts bent with the impetus, and the cracking timbers 
 from below bespoke a pressure which was calculated to 
 awaken our serious apprehensions. The vessel stag- 
 gered under the shock, and for a moment seemed to 
 recoil ; but the next wave, curling up under her coun- 
 ter, drove her about her own len^.;th within the margin 
 of the ice, where she gave one roll, and was immedi- 
 ately thrown broadside to the wind by the succeeding 
 wave, which beat furiously against her stiirn, and 
 4 C 
 
 ! 
 
 
 
 
 .lil 
 
 ■ 
 
 ^ I 
 
 i 
 
 li 
 
\l 
 
 I ; 
 
 
 
 60 
 
 PROGRESS OP ARCTIC DISCOVERY. 
 
 brought her iee-side in contact with the main body, 
 leaving her weather-side exposed at the same time to 
 a piece of ice about twice her own dimensions. This 
 unfortunate occurrence prevented the vessel jienetrat- 
 ing sutiiciently far into the ice to escape the effect of 
 the gale, and placed her in a situation where she was 
 assailed on all sides by battering-rams, if I may use 
 the expression, every one of which contested the small 
 space which she occupied, and dealt such unrelenting 
 blows, that there appeared to be scarcely any possibil- 
 ity of saving her from foundering. Literalb tossed 
 from piece to piece, we had nothing left but patiently 
 to abide the issue ; for we could scarcely keep our feet, 
 much less render any assistance to the vessel. The mo- 
 tion, indeed, was so great, that the ship's bell, which, in 
 the heaviest gale ot wind, had never struck of itself, 
 now tolled so continually, that it was ordered to be 
 muffled, for the purpose of escaping the unpleasant as 
 sociation it was calculated to j^roduce. 
 
 " In anticipation of the worst, we determined to at 
 tempt placing the launch upon the ice under the lee, 
 and hurried into her such provisions and stores as could 
 at the moment be got at. Serious doubts were reason- 
 ably entertained of the boat beii.g able to live among 
 the confused mass by which we ^\ ere encompassed; yet 
 as this appeared to be our only refuge, we clung to it 
 with all the eagerness of a last resource." 
 
 From the injury the vessel repeatedly received, it 
 became very evident that if subjected to this concus- 
 sion for any time, she could not hold together long ; the 
 only chance of escape, therefore, appeared to depend 
 upon getting before the wind, and penetrating further 
 into the ice. 
 
 To effect this with any probability of success, it be- 
 came necessary to set more head-sail, though at the 
 risk of the masts, already tottering with the pressure 
 of that which was spread. By the expertness of the 
 eeamen, more sail was spread, and under this additional 
 pressure of canvass^ the ship came into the desired 
 position, and with the aid of an enormous mass under 
 
 ! i 
 
main body, 
 same time to 
 Qsions. Tiiis 
 ;sel jDenetrat- 
 
 the effect of 
 here she was 
 i' I may use 
 ted the small 
 L unrelenting 
 any possibil- 
 eralb tossed 
 Dut patiently 
 Lcep our feet, 
 el. The mo- 
 )ell, which, in 
 uck of itself, 
 rdered to he 
 npleasant as 
 
 •mined to at 
 nder the lee, 
 ores as could 
 were reason- 
 live among 
 npassed; yet 
 1 clung to it 
 
 received, it 
 this concus- 
 ler long ; the 
 1 to depend 
 ting further 
 
 ccess, it be- 
 ough at the 
 ;he pressure 
 tness of the 
 is additional 
 the desired 
 mass under 
 
 VOYAOE OF nUOHAN AND FKAXKLIN". 
 
 61 
 
 the stern, she split a small field of ice, fourteen feet in 
 thickness, wiiich had hitlierto impeded her progress, 
 and effected a passage for herself between the pieces. 
 In this improved position, by carefully placing the 
 protecting fenders between the ice and the sliip's sides, 
 I the strokes were much diminished, and she managed 
 'to weather out the gale, but lost sight of her contort in 
 I the clouds of spray which were tossed about, and the 
 ?huire intervenin": masses of ice amont!: which thev were 
 embayed. On the gale moderating, the ships were for- 
 tunately got once more into an open sea, although both 
 ' disabled, and one at least, the Dorothea, which had 
 sustained the heavy shocks, in a foundering condition. 
 For the main object of the expedition they were now 
 useless, and, both being in a leaky state, they bore up 
 for Fair Haven, in Spitzbergen. In approaching the 
 anchorage in South Gat, the Trent bounded over a 
 sunken rock, and struck hard, but this, after their re- 
 cent danger, was thought com.paratively lif^ht of. 
 
 On examining the hulls of the vessels, it was found 
 they liad sustained frightful injuries. The intermediate 
 lining of felt between the timbers and planks seems to 
 have aided greatly in enabling the vessels to sustain 
 the rej^eated powerful shocks they had encountered. 
 Upon consulting with his officers, Captain Buchan came 
 to the opinion that the most prudent course, was to 
 I patch up the vessels for their return voyage. Lieuten- 
 I ant Franklin preferred an urgent request that he might 
 ; be allowed to proceed in his own vessel upon the inter- 
 esting service still unexecuted ; but this could not be 
 complied w^ith, in consequence of the hazard to the 
 crew of proceeding home singly in a vessel so shat- 
 jtered and unsafe as the Dorothea. After refitting, they 
 
 Eut to sea at the end of August, and reached England 
 y the middle of October. 
 
 Fkanklin's FmsT Land Expedition, 1819-21. 
 
 In 1819, on the recommendation of the Lords of ' % 
 Admiralty, (Japt. Franklin was a2)pointed to command 
 
 'if 
 
62 
 
 PROO^^ESS OF ARCl'lO DISCOVERY. 
 
 an overland expedition from Hudson's Bay to the north- 
 ern shores of America, for the purpose of determining 
 the latitudes and longitudes, and exploring the coast of 
 the continent eastward from the Coppermine liiver. Dr. 
 John Kichardson, E. N., and two Admiralty Midship- 
 men, Mr. George Back, (who had been out on the polar 
 expedition, in the previous year, in H. M. S. Trent,) and 
 Mr. Robert Hood, were placed under his orders. Pre- 
 vious to his departure from London, Capt. Franklin oh- 
 tained all the information and advice possible from Sir 
 Alex. Mackenzie, one of the only two persons wlio had 
 yet explored those shores. On the 23d of May, the party 
 embarked at Gravesend, in the Prince of Wales, belong- 
 ing to the Hudson's Bay Company, which immediately 
 got under weigh in company with her consorts, the Ed- 
 dystone and Wear. Mr. Back, who was left on shore by 
 accident in Yarmouth, succeeded in catching the ship at 
 Stromness. On the 4th of August, in lat. 59^ 58' N., 
 and long. 59° 53' W., they first fell in with large icebergs. 
 On the following day, the height of one was ascertained 
 to be 149 feet. After a stormy and perilous voyage they 
 reached the anchorage at York Flats on the 30th of 
 August. 
 
 On the 9th of September, Capt. Franklin and his party 
 left York Factory in a boat by the way of the rivers and 
 lakes for Cumberland House, another of the Company's 
 posts, which they reached on the 22d of October. 
 
 On the 19th of January, Franklin set out in company 
 with Mr. Back and a seaman named Hepburn, with pro- 
 visions for fifteen days, stowed in two sledges, on their 
 journey to Fort Chipewyan. Dr. Richardson, Mr. Hood 
 and Mr. ConoUy accompanied them a short distance. 
 After touching at different posts of the Company, they 
 reached their destination safely on the 26th of March, 
 after a winter's journey of 857 miles. The greatest diffi- 
 culty experienced by the travelers was the labor of walk- 
 ing in snow shoes, a weight of between two and three 
 pounds being constantly attached to galled feet and 
 swelled ankles. 
 
 On the 13th of July, they were joined by Dr. Richard- 
 
[ly to the north- 
 3t' determining 
 ng the coast oi' 
 ine lliver. Dr. 
 iralty Midship- 
 ut on the polar 
 ;. S. Trent,) and 
 3 orders. Pre- 
 )t. Franklin ob- 
 >ssible from Sir 
 arsons wlio hud 
 May, the party 
 Wales, belong- 
 ;h immediately 
 msorts, the Ed- 
 left on shore hy 
 ling the ship at 
 lat. 59° 58' N., 
 1 large icebergs, 
 vas ascertained 
 us voyage they 
 )n the 30th of 
 
 Q and his party 
 ' the rivers and 
 the Company's 
 October, 
 lit in company 
 )nrn, with pro- 
 idges, on their 
 son, Mr. Hood 
 hort distance. 
 )ompany, they 
 6th of March, 
 5 greatest diffi- 
 labor of walk- 
 two and three 
 lied feet and 
 
 Dr. Richard- 
 
 KKAA'KMM's first LA^D KXl'EDrriON. 
 
 aa 
 
 eon and Mr. Hood, who had made a very expeditious 
 journey from Cumberland House; they had only one 
 day's provisions left, the pemmican they had received at 
 the posts being so mouldy that they were obliged to leave 
 it behind. Arrangements were now made for their jour- 
 ney northward. Sixteen Canadian voyageurs were en- 
 ; gaged, and a Chipewyan woman and two interpreters 
 were to be taken on from Great Slave Lake. The whole 
 stock of provisions they could obtain before starting was 
 only sufficient for one day's supply, exclusive of two bar- 
 rels of flour, three cases of preserved meats, some choco- 
 late, arrow-root and portable soup, which had been 
 brought from England, and were kept as a reserve for the 
 journey to the coast in the following season; seventy 
 pounds of deer's flesh and a little barley were all that 
 the Company's ofticers could give them. The provisions 
 were di-^trih-uted among three canoes, and the party set 
 ofli' in r > >d sj)irits on the 18th of July. They had to 
 make an inroad very soon on their preserved meats, for 
 they were very unfortunate in their fishing. On the 
 24th of July, however, they were successfid in shooting 
 a buflalo in the Salt River, after giving him fourteen 
 balls. At Moose Deer Island they got supplies from 
 the Hudson's Bay and North West Companies' ofl^icers, 
 and on the 2Tth set out again on their journey, reaching 
 Fort Providence by the 29th. 
 
 Shortly after they had an interview with a celebrated 
 and influential Indian chief, named Akaitcho, who was 
 to furnish them with guides. Another Canadian voya- 
 geur was tliore enp^aged, and the party now consisted of 
 the officers already named, Mr. Fred. Wentzel, clerk of 
 the N. W. Fur Company, who joined them here, John 
 Hepburn, the English seaman, seventeen Canadian voy- 
 ageurs, (one of whom, named Michel, was an Iroquois,) 
 and three Indian interpreters, besides the wives of three 
 of the voyageurs who had been brought on for the pur- 
 pose of making clothes and shoes for the men fit the 
 winter establishment. 1 he whole number were twenty- 
 nine, exclusive of three children. I give the list of those 
 whose names occur most frequently in the narrative: 
 
 
 i 
 
 (ill 
 
 (1 
 
tl'lil 
 
 64 
 
 rK(.)GKi;bs or akctic discoveky. 
 
 J. B. Belanger, Peltier, Solomon Eelanger, Samandre, 
 Beiioit, Pentiiilt, Antonio Fontano, Beauparlant, Yail- 
 lant, Credit, Adam St. Germain, interpi-eter; Augustus 
 and Junius, Esquimaux interpreters. They had provis- 
 ions for ten days' cimsumption, besides a little chocolate 
 and tea, viz : two casks of flour, 200 dried reindeer 
 tongues, some dried moose meat, portable soup, and a 
 little arrow-root. A snudl extra canoe was provided for 
 the women, and the journey foJ* the Coppermine liiver 
 was commenced on the ^d of August. The party met 
 with many hardships — were placed on short diet — and 
 some of the Canadians broke out into open rebellion, 
 refusing to proceed farther. However, they were at last 
 calmed, and arrived on the 20th of August at Fort En- 
 terprise, on Winter Lake, which, by the advice of their 
 Indian guides, they determined on making their winter 
 quarters. The total length of the voyage from Chipe- 
 wyan was 552 miles; and after leaving Fort Providence, 
 they had 21 miles of portage to pass over. As the men 
 had to traverse each portage with a load of 180 lbs., 
 and return three times light, they walked, in the whole, 
 upward of 150 miles. 
 
 In consequence of the refusal of Akaitcho and his 
 party of Indians to guide and accompany them to the 
 sea, because, as they alledged, of the approach of wdn- 
 ter, and the imminent danger. Captain Franklin was 
 obliged to abandon proceeding that season down the 
 river, and contented himself with dispatching, on the 
 29th, Mr. Back and Mr. Hood, in a light canoe, with 
 St. Germain as interpreter, eight Canadians, and one 
 Indian, furnished wdth eight days' provisions — all that 
 could be spared. 
 
 ! They returned on the 10th of September, after hav- 
 ing reached and coasted Point Lake. In the mean time, 
 Franklin and fJichardson, accompanied by J. Hepburn 
 and two Indians, also made a pedestrian excursion tow- 
 ard the same quarter, leaving on the 9th of September, 
 and returning on the fourteenth. The whole party 
 spent a long winter of ten months at Fort Enterprise, 
 depending uprm the iish they could catch, and the sue 
 cess of their Indian hunters, for food. 
 
 3. 
 
 
 
 i 
 
 1 
 
 I 
 
 i 
 
 ::£■:■; m; 
 
'■»■_ 
 
 FKA^KIA.N S Fli;.-ir LA.M) EXPEDITION. 
 
 G5 
 
 , Samandre, 
 arlant, Yail- 
 r; Augustus 
 had provis- 
 lo cliocolate 
 ed reindeer 
 soup, and a 
 )rovided for 
 mine Kiver 
 3 party met 
 t diet— and 
 1 rebellion, 
 i^'ere at last 
 at Fort En- 
 ice of their 
 heir winter 
 •om Chipe- 
 'rovidence, 
 is the men 
 )f ISO lbs., 
 the whole, 
 
 o and his 
 em to the 
 ih of win- 
 iklin was 
 down the 
 g, on the 
 noe, with 
 and one 
 - all that 
 
 On the 6tli ot' October, the oflicer.^ (juitted tlu.-ir tents 
 for a food log house which hud been built. Tiie ehiy 
 witli which the walls and roof were plastered, had to 
 be tempered before the lire with water, and froze j^s it 
 was daubed on ; l)nt afterward cracked in such a man- 
 ner, as to admit the wind from every quarter. Still 
 the new abode, with a good fire of fagots in the capa- 
 cious clay-built chimney, was considered quite comfort- 
 able wdien compared w'ith the chilly tents. 
 
 The reindeer are found on the banks of the Copper- 
 mine Kiver early ii-. May, as they then go to the sea- 
 coast to bring fort'a their young. They usually retire 
 from the coast in July and August, rut in October, and 
 shelter themselves in the woods during winter. Before 
 the middle of October, the carcasses of one hundred 
 deer had been secured in their store-house, together with 
 one thousand pounds of suet, and some dried meat ; 
 and eighty deer were stowed aw^ay at various distances 
 from their house, e?i cache. This placing provisions 
 " en cache," is merely burying and protecting it from 
 wolves and other depredators, by heavy loads of wood 
 or stone. 
 
 On the 18th of October, Mr. Back and Mr. Wentzel, 
 accompanied by two Canadian voyageurs, two Indians 
 and their wives, set out for Fort Providence to make 
 the necessary arrangements for transporting the stores 
 they expected from Cumberland House, and to see if 
 some further supplies might not be obtained from the 
 establishments on Slave Lake. Dispatches for Eng- 
 land were also forwarded by them, detailing the pro- 
 gress of the expedition up to this date. By the end of 
 the month the men had also completed a house for 
 themselves, 34 feet by 18. On the 26th of October, 
 Akaitcho, and his Indian party of hunters, amounting 
 withw^omen and children to forty souls, camejn, owing 
 to the deer having migrated eouthw^ard. This addeu 
 to the daily number to be provided for, and by this time 
 their ammunition was nearly expended. 
 
 The fishing failed as the weatiier became more severe, 
 and was given up on the 5th of November. About 
 
 ■<!' 
 
 y u;? 
 
 mm 
 if m 
 
 Ml 
 
66 
 
 PKOOKICSS OK ARCTIC DISCO VKRY. 
 
 ;iin I 
 
 1200 white fish, of from two to three pounds, liad heon 
 procured duriun' tlie seiiKon. The iish froze as tliev 
 were taken from the nets, becoming in a short time a 
 (Solid mass of ice, so that a blow or two of the hatchet 
 would easily split them open, when tlie intestines miglit 
 be removed in one lump. If thawed before the hre, 
 even after being frozen for nearly two days, the fish 
 would recover their animation. 
 
 On the 23d of November, they were gratified by the 
 appearance of one of the Canadian voyageurs who had 
 set out with Mr. Back. His locks were matted with 
 enow, and he was so encrusted with ice from head to 
 foot, that they could scarcely recognize him. He re- 
 ported that they had had a tedious and fatiguing jour- 
 ney to Fort Providence, and for some days were desti- 
 tute of provisions. Letters were brought from England 
 to the preceding April, and quickly Avas the packet 
 thawed to get at the contents. The newspapers con- 
 veye(^. tha intelligence of the death of Geor^/elH. The 
 advices as to the expected stores were disheartening ; 
 of ten bales of ninety pounds v^ach, five had been lA'^, 
 by some mismanagement at the Qi'and Rapid on t]iK) 
 Sattkatchawan. On ihe 28tti of November, St. Ger- 
 main the interpreter, with eight Canadian voyageurs, 
 and four Indian hunters, were sent off to bring up the 
 stores from Fort Providence. 
 
 On the 10th of December, Franklin managed to get 
 rid of Akaitcho and his Indian party, by representing 
 to them the impossibility of naaintaining them. The 
 leadei', however, left them his mother and two female 
 attendants; and old Kaskarrah, the guide, with his wife 
 and daughter, remained behind. This daughter, who 
 was designated " Green Stockings," from her dress, was 
 considered a great beauty by her tribe, rnd although 
 but sixteen, had belonged successively to two husbands, 
 and would probably have bren the wife of many r.ore, 
 if her mother had not requi] xl her services as a nurse. 
 
 Mr. Hood took a good likeness of the young lady, 
 but her mother was somev;iiat averse to her sitting' for 
 it, fearing that " her daugl iter's likeness would induce 
 
*m. 
 
 <ls, lijifl hpoii 
 ■oze as tliev 
 ^bort time a 
 ' the Jiatchet 
 stinos might 
 ->re the tire, 
 lys, the iish 
 
 ;ified by the 
 irs wlio had 
 nattcd with 
 )m head to 
 m. He re- 
 guing jour- 
 were desti- 
 m England 
 the packet 
 >apers con- 
 bIII. The 
 eartening ; 
 f been l^i\ 
 h'd on th^ 
 St. Ger- 
 ^ojagenrs, 
 ng np the 
 
 Ced to get 
 
 FKANKLI.n's FlUHT LAND EXriCniTION. 
 
 07 
 
 the Great Chief who resided in England to send for the 
 
 Soriu'inall " . -, , . i 
 
 ' the diet of the party in their winter abode consisted 
 
 almost entirely of reindeer meat, varied twice a week 
 
 by iish, and occasionally by a little Hour, but they had 
 
 ' no vegetables of anv kind. On Sunday morning they 
 
 had a cup of chocolate ; but their greatest luxury was 
 
 tea, which they regularly had twice a day, although 
 
 without sugar. Candles were formed of reindeer fat 
 
 and strips of cotton sliirts; and Hepburn acquired con- 
 
 siderable skill in the manufacture of soap from the wood 
 
 ashes, fat and salt. The stores were anxiously looked 
 
 for, and it was hoped they would have arrived by New 
 
 Year's Day, (1821,) so as to have kept the festival. As 
 
 ■ it was, they could only receive a little flour and fat, both 
 
 of which were considered great luxuries. 
 
 On the 15th, seven of the men arrived with two kegs 
 of rum, one barrel of powder, sixty pounds of ball, two 
 rolls of tobacco, and some clothing. 
 
 " They had been twenty-one days on their march from 
 Slave Lake, and the labor they underwent was suffi- 
 ciently evinced by their sledge collars having worn oat 
 the shoulders of their coats. Their loads w^eighed from 
 sixty to ninety pounds each, exclusive of their bedding 
 and provisions, which at starting must have been at least 
 as nmch more. We were much rejoiced at their arrival, 
 and proceeded forthwith to pierce the spirit cask, and 
 issue to each of the household the portion of rum which 
 had been promised on the first day of the year. The 
 spirits, which were proof, were frozen; but after stand- 
 ing at the fire for some time they flowed out, of the 
 consistence of honey. The temperature of the liquid, 
 even in this state, was so low as instantly to convert 
 into ice the moisture which condensed on the surface of 
 the dram-glass. The fingers also adhered to the glass, 
 and would doubtless have been speedily frozen had they 
 been kept in contact with it ; yet each of the voyageurs 
 swallowed his dram without experiencing the slightest 
 inconvenience, or complaining of toothache." 
 It apiieared that the Canadians had tapped the rum- 
 
 C* 
 
 I 
 1 
 
 t.1 
 
 1 
 
 '■m 
 
 
 ti 
 
 i' 
 
 V 
 
 ■i i 
 
 I'I 
 
 I' if: 
 
08 
 
 I'KOGUKaa ()!•• aklik; discuvluv. 
 
 f,i 
 
 r 
 
 Hllil ll'i 
 
 m 
 
 cask on tlicir juuniey, and helped themselves rathor 
 freely. 
 
 On the 2Tth, Mr. Wentzel and St. Germain arrived, 
 witli two Esquimaux interpreters who had been engaged, 
 possessed of euphonious names, representing the belly 
 and the ear, but which had been Anglicised into Au- 
 gustus and Junius, being the months they had respec- 
 tively arrived at Fort Churchill. The former spt)ke 
 English. They brought four dogs with them, which 
 pj'oved of great use during the season in drawing in 
 wood for fuel. 
 
 Mr. Back, at this time, the 24th of December, had 
 gone on to Chipewyan to procure stores. On the 12th 
 of February, another party of six men was sent to Fort 
 Providence to bring up the remaining supplies, and 
 these returned on the 5th of March. Many of the caches 
 of meat which had been buried early in the winter were 
 found destroyed by the wolves ; and some of thtse ani- 
 mals prowled nightly about the dwellings, even vt:tur- 
 ing upon the roof of tlieir kitchen. The rations were 
 reduced from eight to the short allowance of five ounces 
 of animal food per day. 
 
 On the ITth of March, Mr. Back returned from Fort 
 Chipewyan, after an absence of nearly live months, 
 during which he had performed a journey on foot of 
 more than eleven hundred miles on snow shoes, with 
 only the slight shelter at night of a blanket and a deer 
 ekin, with the thermometer frequently at 40° and once 
 at 57°, and very often passing several days without 
 food. 
 
 Some very interesting traits of generosity on the part 
 of the Indians are recorded by Mi'. Back. Often they 
 gave up and would not taste of fish or birds which they 
 caught, with the touching remark, " We are accustomed 
 to starvation, and you are not." 
 
 Such passages as the following often occur in his 
 narrative : — " One of our men caught a fish, wdiich, with 
 Jhe assistance of some weed scraped from the rocks, 
 (tri^^e de roohe) which forms a glutinous substance, made 
 us a tolerable sup])er : it was not of the most choice kind, 
 
 'm 
 
 i 
 
 m 
 
fi;ankmn s Mi;sT i.\ni> Kxi'i:i>iTioN. 
 
 60 
 
 isclves ratlicr 
 
 main arrived, 
 been engaged, 
 ;ing the ))elly 
 ised into Au- 
 y had respce- 
 fonner spoke 
 them, which 
 in drawing in 
 
 ecember, had 
 
 On the 12th 
 
 assent to Fort 
 
 supplies, and 
 
 ' of the caches 
 
 e winter were 
 
 of thtse ani- 
 
 even vt:tiir- 
 
 rations were 
 
 f five ounces 
 
 ed from Fort 
 five months, 
 y on foot of 
 shoes, with 
 t and a deer 
 0° and once 
 ays witJiout 
 
 r on the part 
 Often they 
 5 which they 
 accustomed 
 
 cur in his 
 
 which, with 
 
 the rockfl, 
 
 ance, made 
 
 hoice kind. 
 
 AV'liiUi wo wore eat- 
 
 yet good enougli tur hungry men. 
 111. /it, I p.'rei'ived oni- of tiie women I)u>ily ein})l<>ye(l 
 Fcrapiriii; an old skin, the contents of wiiicii her husband 
 ]>rcsentr(l us with. They consisted of pounded meat, 
 fat, and a greater proportion of Indian's and deer's hair 
 than either ; and, though such a mixture may iu>t appear 
 verv allurintr to an English stomach, it was thought a 
 
 great luxury after three days' privation in these cheer- 
 less reirions of America." 
 
 " On 
 
 ■'s 
 
 To return to the proceedings of Fort Enterprise. Oi 
 the '2^(1 of March, the last of the winter's stock of deer' 
 meat was expended, and the party were compelled to 
 consume a little pounded meat, which had been saved 
 for nuiking pemmican. The nets scarcely produced any 
 fish, and tiieir meals, which had hitherto been scanty 
 enough, were now restricted to one in the day. 
 
 The poor Indian families about the house, consisting 
 principally of sick and infirm women and children, suf- 
 fered even more })rivation. They cleared away the 
 snow on the site of the Autumn encampment to look for 
 bones, deer's feet, bits of hide, and other oftal. J' When 
 (says Franklin) we beheld them gnawing the pieces of 
 lii(ie, and pounding the bones for the purpose of extract- 
 ing st)me nourishment from them by boiling, we regret- 
 ted our inability to relieve them, but little thought that 
 we should ourselves be afterward driven to the neces- 
 sity of eagerly collecting these same bones, a second 
 time from the dung-hill." 
 
 On the 4th of June, 1821, a first party set off from 
 the winter quarters for Point Lake, and the Coppermine 
 River, under the charge of Dr. Richardson, consisting, 
 in all, voyageurs and Indians, of twenty -three, exclusive 
 of children. Each of the men carried about 80 lbs., be- 
 sides his own personal baggage, weighing nearly as 
 much more. Some of the party dragged their loads on 
 sledges, others preferred carrying their burden on their 
 backs. On the 13th, Dr. Richardson sent back most of 
 the men ; and on the 14th Franklin dispatched Mr. 
 "Wentzel and a party with the canoes, which had been 
 repaired. Following the water-course as far as practi- 
 
 I 
 
 I ''I 
 
 '1 
 
 i 1! 
 
 \f 
 
70 
 
 VKOGREf^S OF AJiCTIC DISCiJVKUY. 
 
 llinr.'i 
 
 cable to Wintor Lake, Franklin tnllowed himself with 
 lli'phurn, thi'ee Canadians, two In«lian Imntei's, and 
 the two K8(|uiinaux, and joined Dr. liicliardson on tlie 
 2lid. On the 2.")th they all resuineil their Journey, and, 
 as they proceeded (h.>wn the river, were t'urtunute iii 
 killing, occasionally, neveral musk oxen. 
 
 On the 15th they got a distinct view of the sea from 
 the summit of a hill ; it appeared choked with ice and 
 full of islands. About this time they fell in with small 
 parties of Escinimanx. 
 
 On the 19th Mr. Wentzel de})arted on his return for 
 Slave I>iike, taking with him four Canadians, who had 
 been discharged for the purpose of reducing the ex})en- 
 diturc of provisions as much as pos8il>le, and dispatches 
 to be forwarded to England. He was also instructed 
 to cause the Indians to deposit a relay of provisions at 
 Foi-t Enterprise, ready for the party should they return 
 that way. The remainder of the party, including olH- 
 cers, amounted to twenty persons. The distance that 
 had been traversed from 1 ort Enterprise to the mouth 
 of the river was about 334 miles, and the canoes had to 
 be dragged 120 miles of this. 
 
 Two conspicuous capes were named by Franklin after 
 Heame and Mackenzie ; and a river which falls into the 
 5ea, to the westward of the Coppermine, he called after 
 his companion, Kichardson. 
 
 On the 21st of July, Franklin and his party embarked 
 in their two canoes to navigate the Polar Sea, to the 
 eastward, having with them provisions for fifteen days. 
 
 On the 25th they doubled a bluff cape, which was 
 named after Mr. Barrow, of the Admiralty. An open- 
 ing on its eastern side received the appellation of Inman 
 Harbor, and a group of islands were called after Pro- 
 fessor Jameson. Within the next fortnight, additions 
 were made to their stock of food by a few deer and one 
 or two bears, which were shot. iBeing less fortunate 
 afterward, and with no prospect of increasing their sup- 
 ply of provision, the daily allowance to eac*li man was 
 limited to a liandful of pemmican and a small portion 
 of portable soup. 
 
 ■ * I 
 
 I 
 
 i 
 I 
 
 I 
 
fkankI'In's fikst land expedition. 
 
 7i 
 
 liiMiself with 
 liuiitors, and 
 nlsoii (HI tlie 
 jouriu'v, and, 
 fortunute in 
 
 the sea fVum 
 with iee and 
 u with small 
 
 is return for 
 ns, who had 
 ^ the exjK'ii- 
 d dispatches 
 instructed 
 )rovi8ions at 
 they return 
 eluding otK- 
 istance that 
 p the mouth 
 noes had to 
 
 anklin after 
 iills into the 
 called after 
 
 7 embarked 
 Sea, to the 
 fteen days, 
 which was 
 An open- 
 of Inman 
 after Pro- 
 additions 
 er and one 
 fortunate 
 their sup- 
 man was 
 11 portion 
 
 f 
 
 v^ff 
 
 On the morninn; of the r>t}i of August they came to 
 the mouth of a river blocked ui) with shoals, which 
 Fninklin named after his friend and companion P>ack. 
 
 The time spent in exploring Arctic and Melville 
 Sounds and Bathurst Iidet, and the failure of meeting 
 with Escpiimaux from whom provisions coidd he ol>- 
 tained, precluded any possibility of reaching K^'pulse 
 liay, and therefore having but a day or two's provisions 
 left, Franklin considered it ])rudent to turn back atler 
 reaching Point Turnagain, havin«r sailed nearly GUO 
 geogra[)hical miles in tracing the cleeply indented coast 
 of ('orc»nation Gulf from the Coppermine River. On 
 tl»e 2lM August, the return voyage was commenced, 
 the boats making for Hood's Kiver by the way of the 
 Arctic Sound, and bein^^ taken as far up the stream as 
 possible. On the 31st it was found impossible to pro- 
 ceed with them farther, and smaller canoes were made, 
 suitable for crossing any of the rivers that might ob- 
 ptiMict their progress. The weight carried by each man 
 was about 90 lbs., and with this they progressed at the 
 rate of a mile an hour, including rests. 
 
 On the r»th of September, having nothing to eat, the 
 last piece of pennnican and a little arrow-root having 
 formed a scanty supper, and being without the means 
 of making a fire, they remained in bed all day. A se- 
 vere snow-storm lasted two days, and the snow even 
 drifted into their tents, covering their blankets several 
 inches. " Our suffering (says Iranklin) from cold, in a 
 comfortless canvass tent in such weather, with the tem- 
 oerature at 20°, and without fire, will easily be im- 
 agined ; it was, however, less than that which we felt 
 from hunger." 
 
 Weak from fasting, and their garments stiffened with 
 the frost, after packing their frozen tents and bedclothes 
 the poor travelers again set out on the 7th. 
 
 After feeding almost exclusively on several species 
 of Gyrophora, a Kjhen known as tr^pe de roche, which 
 scarcely allayed the pangs of hunger, on the lOtli " they 
 got a good meal by killing a musk ox. To skin and 
 cut up the animal was the work of a few minutes. Tlie 
 
 h 'fl 
 
72 
 
 PROGRESS OF AIVCTTIC DISCOVERY. 
 
 li, 
 
 I 
 
 ill ' 
 
 I 
 
 contents of its stomach were devoured upon the spot, 
 and the raw intestines, which were next attacked, wei'o 
 pronounced by the most delicate amongst us to be ex- 
 cellent." 
 
 AVearied and worn out with toil and sufiering, many 
 o't the party got careless and indifferent. One of the 
 canoes was broken and abandoned. With an improvi- 
 dence scarcely to be credited, three of the iishing-nets 
 were also thrown away, and tlie floats burnt. 
 
 On the 17th they managed to allay the pangs of hun- 
 ger by eating pieces of singed hide, and a little t/'ipe de 
 roche. This and some mosses, with an occasional sol- 
 itary partridge, formed their invariable food ; on very 
 many days even this scanty supply could not be obtained, 
 and their appetites became ravenous. 
 
 Occasionally they picked up pieces of skin, and a 
 few bonca of deer which had been devoured by the 
 wolve^' in the previous spring. The bones were ren- 
 dered fria])le by burning, aiid now and then their old 
 shoes "Vvere added to the. repast. 
 
 On the 26th they reached a bend of the Coppermine, 
 which terminated in Point Lake. The second canoe 
 had been demolished and abandoned by the b^^arers on 
 the 23d, and they were thus left without any means of 
 water transport across the lakes and river. 
 
 On this day th.e carcass of a deer was discovered in 
 the cleft of a rock, into which it had fallen in the spring. 
 It was putrid, but little less acceptal)le to the poor starv- 
 ing travelers on that account ; and a fire being kin- 
 dled a large portion was devoured on the spot, afford- 
 ing an unexpected breakfast. 
 
 On the first of October one of the party, who had 
 been out hunting, brought in the antlers and backbone 
 of another deer, which had been killed in the summer. 
 The wolves and birds of prey had picked them clean, 
 but there still remained a quantity of the spinal mar- 
 row, which they had not been able to extract. This, 
 although putrid, was ester med a valuable prize, and 
 the spine being divided into portions was distributed 
 equally. *' After eating the mai-roAv, (says Franklin,) 
 
 '■m 
 
 
 'Ili-!i 
 
:y. 
 
 [X)u the spot, 
 ttacked, wej-o 
 ; us to be ex- 
 
 Bering, many 
 One of the 
 lan improvi- 
 J iishing-nets 
 nt. 
 
 •angs of hun- 
 ittle tripe de 
 casional sol- 
 od ; on very 
 be obtained, 
 
 skin, and a 
 iired by the 
 23 were ren- 
 en their old 
 
 oppermine, 
 
 cond canoe 
 
 bearers on 
 
 y means of 
 
 ^covered in 
 the spring, 
 poor starv- 
 being kin- 
 pot, afford- 
 
 ', wlio had 
 backbone 
 e summer, 
 em clean, 
 )inal mar- 
 ict. This, 
 prize, and 
 istribr.ted 
 Franklin,) 
 
 franklin's first land EXr edition. 
 
 73 
 
 J 
 
 m 
 
 which was so acrid as to excoriate the lips, we ren- 
 dered the bones friable by buaiing, and ate thein also." 
 
 The strength of the whole party now began to fail, 
 from the privation and fatigue which they endured.— 
 Franklin was in a dreadfully debilitated state. Mr. 
 liood was also reduced to a perfect shadow, from the 
 severe ])Owel-complaiHts which the tripe de roche never 
 failed to give him. Back was so feeble as to require 
 the support of a stick in walking, and Dr. Kichardson 
 had lameness superadded to weakness. 
 
 A rude canoe was constructed of willows, covered 
 with canvass, in which the party, one by one, managed 
 to reach in safety the southern bank of the river on 
 the 4th of October, and went supperless to bed. On 
 the following morning, previous to setting out, the 
 whole party ate the remains of their old shoes, and 
 whatever scraps of leather they had, to strergthen their 
 stomachs for the fatigue of the day's journey. 
 
 jMr. Hood novr broke down, as did two or three more 
 of the party, and Dr. Eichardson kindly volunteered 
 to remain with them, while the rest pushed on to Fort 
 Enterprise for succor. Not being able to iind any tripe 
 de roche ^ they drank an infusion of the Labrador tea- 
 plant {Lcdrurn palustre^ var. decu?nhe7is,) and ate a 
 few morsels of burnt leather for supper. This contin- 
 ued to be a frequent occurrence. 
 
 Others of the party continued to drop down with fa- 
 tigue and weakness, until they were reduced to five 
 persons, besides Franklin. When they had no food or 
 nourishment of any kind, they crept under their blank- 
 ets, to drown, if possible, the gnawing pangs of hunger 
 and fatigue by sleep. At length they reached Fort En- 
 terpiise, and to their disappointment and grief found 
 it a perfectly desolate habitation. There was no de- 
 posit of provision, no trace of the Indians, no letter 
 from Mr. "VVentzel to point out where the Indians might 
 be found. "It would be impossible (says Franklin,) to 
 describe our sensations after entering this miserable 
 abode, nnd discovering how we had been neglected : 
 the whole party shed tears, not so much for our own 
 
 ill 
 
 !?( 
 
 I: 
 
 I- 1 . 
 
74 
 
 PKUWRESS OF ARCrnO DISCOVERY. 
 
 Hi!! 
 
 '! if 
 
 fate as for that of our friends in the rear, whose lives 
 depended entirely on our sending immediate relief 
 from this place." A note, however, was found here 
 from Mr. Back, stating that he had reached the house 
 by another route two days before, and was going in 
 search of the Indians. If he was unsuccessful in hnd- 
 ing them, he proposed walking to Fort Providence, 
 and sending succor from thence, but he doubted whether 
 he or his party could perform the journey to that place 
 in their present debilitated state. Franklin and his 
 small party now looked round for some means of pres- 
 ent subsistence, and fortunately discovered several deer 
 skins, which had been thrown away during their former 
 residence here. The bones were gathered from the 
 heap of ashes ; these, with the skins and the addition 
 of tvlpe dc Toche^ they considered would support life 
 tolerably well for a short time. The bones were quite 
 acrid, and the soup extracted from them, quite putrid, 
 excoriiited the mouth if taken alone;, but it was some- 
 what milder wiien boiled with the lichen, and the mix- 
 ture was even deemed palatable with a little salt, of 
 which a cask had been left here in the spring. They 
 procured fuel by pulling up the flooring of the rooms, 
 and water for cooking by melting the snow. 
 
 Augustus arrived safe after them, just as they were 
 sitting round the fire eating their supper of singed 
 skin. 
 
 Late on the 13th, Belanger also reached the house, 
 with a note from Mr. Back, stating that he had yet 
 found no trace of the Indians. The poor messenger 
 was almost speechless, being covered with ice and 
 nearly frozen to death, having fallen into a rapid, and 
 for the third time since the party left the coast, narrowly 
 escaped drowning. After being well rubbed, having 
 had his dress changed, and some warm soup given 
 him, he recovered suflicieutly to answer the t^ ^estions 
 put to him. 
 
 Under the impression that the Indians must be on 
 their way to Fort I'rovidence, and that it would he 
 possible to overtake them, as they usually traveled 
 
 n 
 
 ■Vi ih 
 
;v. 
 
 r, whose lives 
 lediate relief 
 18 found here 
 hed the house 
 was goin^ in 
 esst'iil in lind- 
 : Providence, 
 ibted whether 
 to that place 
 iklin and his 
 lears of pres- 
 l several deer 
 ^ their former 
 red from the 
 the addition 
 support life 
 BS were quite 
 quite putrid, 
 it was some- 
 and the niix- 
 iittle salt, of 
 )ring. Tliey 
 ►f the rooms, 
 
 V. 
 
 IS they were 
 er of singed 
 
 the house, 
 he had jet 
 
 messenger 
 th ice and 
 I rapid, and 
 st, narrowly 
 bed, having 
 soun given 
 e (^ .estions 
 
 must be on 
 would he 
 \y traveled 
 
 franklin's first land expedition. 
 
 75 
 
 k' 
 
 bIowIv with their families, and there being likewise a 
 prospect of killing deer about Keindeer J.tike, where 
 they had been usually found abundant, Franklin de- 
 termined to take the route for that post, and sent word 
 to Mr. Back by Belanger to that effect on the 18th. 
 
 On the 20th of October, Franklin set out in com- 
 pany with Benoit and Augustus to seek relief, having 
 patched three pairs of snow shoes, and taken some 
 singed skin for their support. Poltier and Samandre 
 had volunteered to remain at the house with Adam, 
 who was too ill to proceed. They were so feeble as 
 scarcely to be able to move. Augustus, the Esqui- 
 maux, tried for ilsh without success, so that their only 
 fare was skin and tea. At night, composing them- 
 selves to rest, they lay close to each other for warmth, 
 but found the night bitterly cold, and the wind pierced 
 through their famished frames. 
 
 On resuming the journey next morning, Franklin 
 had the misfortune to break his snow-shoes, by falling 
 between two rocks. This accident prevented him from 
 kef ping pace with the others, and in the attempt he 
 b icame quite exhausted ; unwilling to delay their pro- 
 (i^ress, as the cafety of all behind depended on their 
 obtaining early assistance and immediate supplies, 
 Franklin resolved to turn back, while the others 
 pushed on to meet Mr. Back, or, missing him, they 
 were directed to proceed to Fort Providence. Frank- 
 lin found the two Canadians he had lefu at the house 
 dreadfully weak and reduced, and so low spirited that 
 he had great difficulty in rallying them to any exer- 
 tion. As the insides of their mouths had become sore 
 from eating the bone-soup, they now relinquished the 
 use of it, and boiled the skin, which mode of dressing 
 was found more palatable than frying it. They had 
 pulled down nearly all their dwelling for fuel, to warm 
 themselves and cook their scanty meals. The tripe 
 de roche^ on which they had depended, now became 
 entirely frozen; and what was more tantalizing to 
 their perishing frames, was the sight of food within 
 their reach, which they could not procure. " We saw 
 
 5 
 
 ii I 
 
76 
 
 PKOGKESS OF AKCl'IC DISCOVERY. 
 
 : : \]' r 
 
 It 'il'^ 
 
 ill 'in 
 
 (says Franklin) a herd of reindeer sportlnj^ on tho 
 river, about half a mile from the house ; they re- 
 mained there a long time, but none of the party felt 
 themselves strong enough to go after them, nor was 
 there one of us who could have lired a gun without 
 resting it." 
 
 While they were seated round the fire this eveninir, 
 discoursing about the anticipated relief, tho sound of 
 voices was heard, which was thought with joy to be 
 that of the Indians, but, to their bitter disappoint- 
 ment, the debilitated frames and emaciated counte- 
 nances of Dr. liichardson and Hepburn presented 
 thenit^elves at the door. Tlicy were of course gladly 
 received, although each marked the ravages which fam- 
 ine, care and fatigue had made on the other. The 
 Doctor particularly remarked the sepulchral tone of 
 the voices of his friends, which he rec^uested them to 
 make more cheerful if possible, unconscious that his 
 own partook of the same key. 
 
 Hepburn having shot a ])artridge, which was brought 
 to the house. Dr. Richardson tore out the feathers, 
 and having held it to the lire a few minutes, divided 
 it into six portions. Franklin and his three compan- 
 ions ravenously devoured their shares, as it was the 
 first morsel of flesh any of them had tasted for thirty- 
 one days, unless, indeed, the small gristly particles 
 which they foucd adhering to the pounded bones may 
 be termed flesh. Their spirits were revived by this 
 small supply, and the Doctor endeavored to raise 
 them still higher by the prospect of Hepburn's beini,' 
 able to kill a deer next day, as they had seen, and 
 even fired at, several near the house. He endeavored, 
 too, to rouse them into some attention to the comfort 
 of their apartment. Having brought his Prayer-book 
 and Testament, some prayers, psalms, and portions 
 of scripture, appropriate to tlieir situation, were read 
 out by Dr. Hichardson, and they retired to their 
 blankets. 
 
 Early next morning, the Doctor and Hepburn went 
 out in search of game ; but though they saw several 
 
 
FRANKLIN 8 FIRST LAND EXPEDITION. 
 
 77 
 
 )rtiiii^ on tho 
 se ; thoy re- 
 the party felt 
 Jem, nor was 
 gun without 
 
 this evenins:^, 
 tlio sound of 
 ith joy to be 
 r disappoint- 
 iated counte- 
 irn presented 
 course gladly 
 es which fam- 
 
 other. Tlie 
 chral tone of 
 isted them to 
 sious that his 
 
 1 was brought 
 
 the feathei's, 
 
 utes, divided 
 
 iree compan- 
 
 s it was the 
 
 Bd for thirty- 
 
 tly particles 
 
 d bones may 
 
 ived by tliis 
 
 red to raise 
 
 turn's beini: 
 
 d seen, and 
 
 endeavored, 
 
 the comfort 
 
 rayer-book 
 
 nd i)ortioiis 
 
 were I'ead 
 
 )d to their 
 
 ]>burn went 
 saw sev(;nil 
 
 herds of deer, and fired some shots, they were not so 
 fortunate as to kill any, being too weak to hold their 
 guns steadily. The cold compelled the former to re- 
 § turn soon, but Hepburn perseveringly persisted until 
 late in the evening. 
 
 " My occupation, (continues Franklin) was to search 
 for skins under the snov/, it being now our object im- 
 I mediately to get all that we could ; but I had not 
 '§ strength to drag in more than two of those which were 
 ;^ within twenty yards of the house, until the Doctor 
 % came and assisted me. We made up our stock to 
 I twenty-six ; but several of them were putrid, and 
 ^ scarcely eatable, even by men suffering the extremity 
 I of famine. Peltier and Samandrc continued veiy 
 I weak and dispirited, and they were unable to out fire- 
 i wood. Hepburn had, in consequence, that laborious 
 ;| task to perlbrni after ho came back late fi'oni hunting." 
 ;^To tlie exertions, honesty, kindness, and consideration 
 f of this worthy man, the safety of most of the party is 
 ''-: to be attributed. And I may here mention that Sir 
 tTohn Franklin, when he became governor of Van 
 Diemen's Land, obtained for him a good civil appoint- 
 . ment. This deserving man, I an^ informed by Mr. 
 ^ Barrow, is now in England, having lost his office, 
 'which, I believe, has been abolished. It is to be 
 hoi)ed something will be done for him by the govern- 
 ment. 
 
 After their usual supper of singed skin and bone 
 soup, Dr. Kichardson acquainted Franklin with the 
 events that had transpired since their parting, particu- 
 larly with the afflicting circumstances attending tho 
 death of Mr. Hood, and Michel, the Iroquois ; the par- 
 ticulars of which I shall noiv proceed to condense from 
 his nairativo. 
 
 After Captain Franklin had bidden them farewell, 
 [having no tripe de roche they drank an infusion of the 
 ountry tea-plant, which was grateful from its warmth, 
 Ithough it afforded no sustenance. They tlu^n retired 
 o bed, and kept to their blankets all next day, as the 
 iu>w drift was so heavy as to prevent their lighting a 
 
 
 % 
 
 ■>x 
 
T8 
 
 PROGUKSS OF AUCTIC DISCOVERY. 
 
 !'i'»l' .1 
 
 il!i!| 
 
 lii 'i -J 
 
 [,■■ 
 
 fire with the green and frozen willows, which were 
 their onlv fuel. 
 
 Through the extreme kindness and forethought of 
 a lady, tiie party, previous to leaving Londcju, had 
 l)eeii furnished with a small collection of religious 
 books, of which, (says Richardson,) we still retained 
 two or three of the most portable, and they proved of 
 incalculable beneiit to us. 
 
 " We read portions of them to each other as we lay 
 in bed, in addition to the morning and evening service, 
 and found that they inspired us on each perusal with 
 80 strong a sense of the omnipresence of a beneficent 
 God, that our situation, even in these wilds, appeared 
 no longer destitute ; and we conversed not only with 
 calmness, but with cheerfulness, detailing with unre- 
 strained confidence the past events of our lives, and 
 dwelling with hope on our future prospects." How 
 beautiful a picture have we here represented, of true 
 piety and resignation to the divine will inducing pa- 
 tience and submission under an unexampled load of 
 misery and privation. 
 
 Michel, the Iroquois, joined them on the 9th of Oc- 
 tober, having, there is strong reason to believe, mur- 
 dered two of the Canadians who were with him, Jean 
 Ba})tiste Belanger and Perrault, as they were never 
 seen afterward, and he gave so many rambling and 
 contradictory statements of his proceedings, that no 
 credit could be attached to bis story. 
 
 The travelers proceeded on their tedious journey by 
 slow stages. Mr. Hood was much afi*ected with dim 
 ness of sight, giddiness, and other symptoms of ex 
 trenie debility, which caused them to move slowly and 
 to make frequent halts. Michel absented himself all 
 day of the 10th, and only arrived at their encampment 
 near the pines late on the 11th. 
 
 He reported that he had been in chase of some deer 
 whicli ])a8sed near his sleeping place in the morning, 
 and although he did not come up with them, yet he 
 tl'und a wolf which had been killed bv the stroke of 
 a (Iter's burn, and had brought a i)art of it. 
 
lY. 
 
 , which were 
 
 brethoiiglit of 
 LondtH], had 
 of religious 
 still retained 
 ley 2)rovod of 
 
 her as we lay 
 3niiig service, 
 perusal with 
 a beneficent 
 ds, appeared 
 lot only with 
 g with unre- 
 ur lives, and 
 ects." How 
 uted, of true 
 inducing pa- 
 ipled loud of 
 
 e 9th of Oc- 
 elieve, mur- 
 h hini, Jean 
 were never 
 mbling and 
 ngs, that no 
 
 journey hy 
 1 with dim 
 toms of ex 
 J slowly and 
 
 himself all 
 icampmenfc 
 
 some deer 
 e morning, 
 em, yet he 
 e stroke of 
 
 FKANKIJN 8 FIRST LAND EXl'KDITION. 
 
 79 
 
 :i'/> 
 
 Eichardson adds — "We im[)licitly believed this 
 \ litory then, but afterward became aware — from cir- 
 ■ cunistances, the details of which may be spared — that 
 it must have been a portion of the body of Bel anger, 
 or Perrault. A question of moment here presents it- 
 eel f — namely, whether he actually murdered these 
 men, or either of them, or whether he found the bodies 
 in the snow. Captai'.i Franklin, who is the best able to 
 judge of this matter, from knowing their situation when 
 no parted from them, suggested the former idea, and 
 that both these men had been sacrificed ; that Michel, 
 having already destroyed Belanger, completed his 
 crime by Perrault's death, in order to screen himself 
 from detection." 
 
 Although this opinion is founded only on eircum- 
 Btances, and is unsupported by direct evidence, it has 
 been judged proper to mention it, especially as the 
 subsequent conduct of the man showed that he was 
 capable of committing such a deed. It is not easy to 
 assign any other adequate motive for his concealing 
 from Richardson that Perrault had turned back; while 
 his request, over-night, that they would leave him the 
 hatchet, and his cumbering himself with it when he 
 went out in the morning, unlike a hunter, who makes 
 use only of his knife when he kills a deer, seem to 
 indicate that he took it for the purpose of cutting up 
 eomcthing that he knew to be frozen. 
 
 Michel left them early next day, refusing Dr. Eich- 
 ardson's offer to accompany him, and remained out all 
 day. He would not sleep in the tent with the other 
 two at night. On the 13th, there being a heavy gale, 
 they passed the day by their fire, without food. " Next 
 day, at noon, Miiliel set out, as he said, to hunt, but 
 returned unexpectedly in a short time. This conduct 
 surprised his companions, and his contradictory and 
 evasive answers to their questions excited their sus- 
 picions still further. He subsequently refused either 
 to hunt or cut wood, spoke in a very surly manner, 
 and threatened to leave them. When reasoned with 
 by Mr. Hood, his anger was excited, and he replied it 
 
i< ! 
 
 80 
 
 PKOOKKSS OK AKCTIO DIlSt'( VEKY. 
 
 • !' 
 
 WHS no use hnntinfr — there were no animals, and tlicy 
 had hotter kill and eat him. 
 
 *At this period," ohserves Dr. Kichardson, "we 
 avoided, as much as poasible, convcrsinf»; n[)on the 
 hopelesrness of our sitiu^tion, and generally endeav- 
 ored to lead the conversation toward our future ]u*()s- 
 p'icts in life. The fact is, that with the decay of our 
 strength, our minds decayed, and we were no longer 
 able to bear the contemplation of the horrors that Bur- 
 rounded us. Yet we were calm and resigned to our 
 late ; not a murmur escaped us, and we were ])unctual 
 and fervent in our addree^ses to the Su})reme iVing." 
 
 On th» moi-n'ng of the 20th, they aguin urged Michel 
 to go a-iiuatr-;;', tb it lie inight, if possible, leave them 
 soiiie pr.i-, i^i'^is, as he intended quitting them next 
 day, bu.. h, -•;b>vv>r' great unwillingness to go out, and 
 lingered aboui: thu n'e imder the pretense of cleaning 
 his gun. After the morning service had been read, 
 Dr. Kichardson went out to gather some tn2>e de roclie^ 
 leaving Mr. Hood sitting before the tent at the fire- 
 side, arguing with Michel ; Hepburn was employed 
 cutting tire-wood. While they were thus engaged, 
 the treacherous Iroquois took the opportunity to ]>lace 
 his gun close to Mr. Hood, and shoot him through the 
 head. He represented to his companions that the de- 
 ceased had killed himself On examination of the 
 body, it was found that the shot had entered the back 
 part of the head and passed out at the forehead, and 
 that the muzzle of the gun had been applied so close 
 as to set fire to the nightcap behind. Michel pi'o- 
 tested his irmocence of the crime, and Hepburn and 
 Dr. Hichardson dared not openly evince their suspi- 
 cion of his guilt. 
 
 Next day, Dr. Eichardson determined on goinji 
 straight to the Fort. They singed the hair otf a ])ar( 
 of the buffalo robe that belonged to their ill-fated coin 
 panion, and boiled and ate it. In the course of theii 
 march, Michel alarmed them much by his gesture( 
 cir.d conduct, was constantly muttering to hinii^olf, ex- 
 pressed an unwillingness to go to the Fort, and tried 
 
 I ' 
 
 ii 
 
HY. 
 
 mals, and thoy 
 
 liardsoTi, " we 
 i"^' ii[)on the 
 n-dUy eudeav- 
 Jr future jiros- 
 s decay of our 
 ere no ]on<^er 
 n-ors til at sur. 
 jsigned to our 
 vere pnnotual 
 sine iVj.rr," 
 
 iii'^ed Michel 
 e, leave them 
 ? them next 
 
 go out, and 
 3 of cleaning 
 i^ been read, 
 "ipe de roc he ^ 
 t at the fire- 
 is eni])loyed 
 ns engaged, 
 nity to place 
 
 through the 
 that tlie de- 
 ation of the 
 ed the back 
 rehead, and 
 lied Fo close 
 Michel pro- 
 epbnrn and 
 their snspi- 
 
 1 on goins 
 ■ off a jiari 
 -fated com 
 I'fic of theii 
 is gesture! 
 liniself, ex- 
 , and tried 
 
 % 
 
 FIJANKLIN's KIKSI- LANT) KX1M;I)1TU)N. 81 
 
 -'to ]K'r>u!ule tliem to go snuthward to the woods, wIkm-o 
 lie siiid iu' could niaintuin himself all the w'nter by 
 Ivilliug deer. '' In consecpicnce of this behavior, and 
 Itln,' expression of \\\i^ countenance, I recpiested him 
 (siivs lvich:u(lson) to leave ns, and to go to the south- 
 V iVd by hin.self This proposal increased his ill-na- 
 ture ; he hrew uiit sonio obscure hints of fi-eeing 
 liiniself froi 1 all restraint on the morrow ; and I over- 
 heard I.ini muttering thro as against ITepbnrn, whom 
 lie ')i>enlv accused of havimj told stories acjainst him. 
 • lie also, for the first time, assumed ench a tone of 
 , en; erioiit} in addressing me, as evinced that he c<m- 
 si(lere(l us to be completely in his ])ower ; and he gave 
 ,; vent to several ex])ressions of hatred toward the white 
 I i)LM)])1e, some of whom, ho said, had killed and eaten 
 .f| his uncle and two of his relations. In shoi't, taking 
 '% every circumstance of his conduct into consid u' ii., 
 4 I came to the conclusion that he would at^Mnp to 
 destroy us on the first opportunity that off^r« ^, and 
 that he had hitherto abstained from doing b., ."'Yhu his 
 iiinorance of his way to the Fort, but that he wuuld 
 never suffer us to go thither in company ?<'. him. 
 Hepburn and I were not in a condition to resist even 
 an open attack, nor could we by any device escape 
 fi'om him — our united strencjth was far inferior to his; 
 and, beside his gun, he was armed with two j^istols, 
 an Indian bayonet, and a knife. 
 
 "In the afternoon, coming to a rock on which there 
 was some trip(' dc rochc^ he halted, ,'ind said he would 
 gather it while we went on, and that he would soon 
 overtake us. 
 
 " Hepburn and I were now loft together for the first 
 time since Mr. Hood's death, and heac(juaii!ted me with 
 several material circumstance's, which he had observed 
 of IMicheFs bi-liavior, and wliic-h coniirmed me in the 
 o]>inion that there was no safety for us exce]^t in his 
 death, and he offered to be the iiistrument of it. I de- 
 termiiu^d, however, as I was th' roughly conviiu^ed of 
 the necessity of such a dreadful act, to' take the whole 
 rcs])onsibility upon myself; and immediately upon Mi- 
 
 f\ 
 
 n 
 
 ^■•A 
 
 
 ■i ' 
 If 
 
 ^'i m 
 
Sd 
 
 PROGRESS OF AliCTIU DISCOVERY. 
 
 f li':- ^ 1 
 
 cliel's coming up, I put an end to his life by sliooting 
 him through the Iieiul with ii piatoh Had my own lite 
 alo'io been tiu'oatened," observes Kichardson, in conehi- 
 Bion, " 1 woukl not liave jiurchased it by such a measure, 
 but 1 considered myself as intrusted also with tlie pro- 
 tection of Hepburn's, a man who, by his humane atten 
 tions and devotedness, had so endeared himself to nu;, 
 that 1 felt more anxiety for his safety than for my own. 
 
 " Michel had gathered no tripe dc rocJu^ and it was evi- 
 dent to us that he had halted for the purpose of puttint^' 
 his gun in order with the intention of attacking us — 
 perhaps while wo were in the act of encamping." 
 
 Persevering onward in tlicir journey as well as the 
 Bnow storms and their feeble lindw would permit, they 
 saw several herds of deer ; but lle])burn, who used to 
 be a good marksnum, was now unal)le to hold the gun 
 Btniiglit. Following the track of a wolverine which had 
 be*!n dragging something, he however found the spine 
 of a deer which it had dropped. It was clean picWl, 
 and at least one season old, but they extracted the spinal 
 nuirrow from it. 
 
 A species of cornicularia^ a kind of lichen, was also 
 met with, that was found good to eat when moistened 
 and toasted over the lire. They had still some pieces 
 of singed buffalo hide remaining, and Hepburn, on 
 one occasion, killed a partridge, after firing several 
 times at a flock. About dusk of the 29th they reached 
 the Fort. 
 
 " Upon entering the desolate dwelling, we had the 
 eatisfaction of embracinoj Ca])t. Franklin, but no words 
 can convey an idea of the filth and wretchedness that 
 met our eyc-3 on looking around. Our own misery had 
 stolen upon us by degrees, and we were accustomed to 
 the contemplation of each other's emaciated figures; 
 but the ghastly countenances, dilated eye-balls, and 
 sepulchral voices of Captain Franklin and those with 
 Lim were more than we could at first bear." 
 
 Thus ends the narrative of Richardson's journey. 
 
 To resume the detail of proceedings at the Fort. On 
 the 1st of November two of the (Canadians, Peltier and 
 Sanumdro, died from sheer exhaustion. 
 
 

 tCY. 
 
 fo by shooting 
 1(1 my own \\i\i 
 Iboii, in conclu- 
 iich II ineuHuiv, 
 ) with the pro- 
 liumane utten 
 iimself to me, 
 n for my own. 
 and it was evi- 
 L»KO of puttijic, 
 ttackiiig us -^ 
 mpiu^." 
 ta weJI as the 
 permit, they 
 I wJjo used to 
 hold the gun 
 lie which had 
 nd the spine 
 clean picked, 
 ted the spinal 
 
 ben, was also 
 n moistened 
 some pieces 
 [lepburn, on 
 ring several 
 they reached 
 
 we had the 
 >ut no words 
 ledness that 
 I misery had 
 customed to 
 ted figures; 
 fi-balls, and 
 those with 
 
 journey. 
 Fort. On 
 Peltier and 
 
 4 
 
 FKANKLIN's I'IKST land KXl'KDITION. 
 
 § On tlio 7th of November they were relieved from 
 itheir i)rivations and sutferings by the arrival of three 
 #Lidians, l)ringing a sunplv of dried meat, some fat, and 
 ?ia few tongues, which luul been sent off by Back with 
 fall haste fi'om Akaitcho's encampment on the oth. 
 These Indians nursed and attended them with the 
 greatest care, cleansed the house, collected 11 re- wood, 
 and studied every means for their general comfoi't. Tlieir 
 sulferings were now at an end. On the 2()th of Novem- 
 ber they arrived at the encampment of the Indian chief, 
 Akaitcno. On the 0th of December Belanger and an- 
 other Canadian arrived, bringing further supplies, and 
 letters from luigland, from Mr. liack, and their former 
 com])anion, Mr. NV^entzel. 
 
 Tlie dispatches from England announced the success- 
 ful termination of Captain Parry's voyage, and the pro- 
 motion of Captain Franklin, Mr. Back, and of poor Mr. 
 Hood. 
 
 Op the 18th they reached the Hudson's Bay Compa- 
 ny's establishment at Moose Deer Island, where they 
 joined their friend Mr. Back. They remained at Fort 
 Chipewyan until June of the following year. 
 
 It is now necessary to relate the story of Mr. Back's 
 journey, which, like the rest, is a sad tale of suffering 
 and privation. 
 
 Having been directed, on the 4:th of October, 1821, 
 to proceed with St. Germain, Belanger, and Beaupar- 
 lant to Fort Enterprise, in the hopes of obtaining relief 
 for the party, he set out. Up to the 7th they met with 
 a little tripe de roche^ but this failing them they were 
 compelled to satisfy, or rather allay, the cravings of 
 hunger, by eating a gun-cover and a pair of old shoes. 
 The grievous disappointment experienced on arriving 
 at the house, and finding it a deserted ruin, cannot bo 
 told. 
 
 "AVithout the assistance of the Indians, bereft of 
 every resource, we felt ourselves," says Mr. Back, " re- 
 duced to the most miserable state, which was rendered 
 still worse from the recollection that our friends in the 
 rear were as miserable as ourselves. For the moment, 
 
 D 
 
 I' 
 
 I 
 
 
 i 
 
 I'lr 
 
 * i; . 
 
 m 
 
84 
 
 ritOOKKSS OF AKC'IIC D18(X)VI':KY. 
 
 H I 
 
 :!'•: i. 
 
 liowcvcr, Imnpjcr prcvm'lcd, niul eaoli licit^n to p^rlJ\^v 
 tlic KcriipH of ])utri(l iiinl tVo/cii imsat tiiul suin tlmt wcrij 
 lyint!: ul)oiit, without wuitiii^^ to i)ivi)iiro theiii.'" A tiro 
 Was, iiowovi'i", at'tiTward made, and the neck and hc>iu'.s 
 of a deer found in the house were hoi led and devouivd. 
 
 After restin/j^ a day at the ht>use, Mr. l>ack ])ushed dn 
 with his companions in search of the Indians, leaviui,^ ;i 
 note for Ca])tain Fraid<lin, informinjj^ him if he failed in 
 meetiuf^ with the Indians, ho intended to push on tur 
 the Urst trading cstahlishment — distant about l;}(( 
 miles — and send us succor from thence. On the llth 
 he set out on the journey, a few old skina liaving been 
 first collected to serve as food. 
 
 On tlie 13th and 14th of October they liad nothiiit; 
 whatever to eat. Belanger was sent off with a note tu 
 Franklin. On the 15th they were fortunate enough to 
 fall in with a partridge, the bones of which were eaten, 
 and tlie renuiinder reserved for bait to fish with. 
 Enough tr/'pe do roche was, however, gathered to make 
 a meal, lleauparlant now lingered behind, worn out 
 by extreme weakness. On the ITtli a number of crows, 
 ]>erched on some high pines, led them to believe that 
 some carrion was near; and on searching, several heads 
 of deer, half burled in the snow and ice, without eyes 
 or tongues, were fouiul. An expression of " Oh, nu'rci- 
 ful God, we are saved," broke from them both and with 
 feelings more easily imagined than described, thej 
 shook hands, not knowing what to say for joy. 
 
 St. Germain was sent back, to lu'ing uj) I'eauparlant, 
 for whose safety Back became very anxious, but ho 
 found the poor fellow frozen to death. 
 
 The night of the 17th was r;old and clear, but they 
 could get no sleep. "From the j^ains of having eaten, 
 we suffered (observes Back) the most excruciating tor- 
 ments, though I in particular did not eat a ([uarter of 
 what would have satisfied me ; it might have been from 
 having eaten a quant itv of raw or fro;:en sinews of tiie 
 legs of deer, which neither of us could avoid doing, so 
 great was our hunger."" 
 
 On the fulloM'ing day Belanger returned famishing 
 
 
liY. 
 
 hvmn to ^nnw 
 1 Mvin that wcr,, 
 tliciu;' A i\n. 
 leck and bom.;. 
 and dovouri.f] 
 >ack j)ii8h('d (,ii 
 lianR, louviiiiTu 
 I it' ho failed' in 
 to publi on fur 
 iit a])ont l:\u 
 On tho mil 
 8 having been 
 
 Y had notliiiirr 
 with a note tu 
 late enough to 
 •h were eaten, 
 to fish witli. 
 lered +o muh 
 ind, worn out 
 liber of croM's, 
 
 believe tluit 
 several heads 
 without eves 
 
 " Oh, nierei- 
 )oth and with 
 scribed, thej 
 joy. 
 
 'k'auparlant, 
 ious, but ho 
 
 takuv'h must vovaok. 
 
 85 
 
 ar, but they 
 aving eateii, 
 leiating tor- 
 !• (piarter of 
 'e been from 
 news of the 
 id doing, so 
 
 i famishino: 
 
 trith linnirfr, and t<»ld of the i)itiable state of Franklin 
 nd hi> j'vduced [)artv. Jiack, both this day and the 
 ext, tried to ur^^e on l)is coinpanions toward the oltji'ct 
 f thiir jouvJiey, but he could not eoncjuer their stub- 
 urn (b'feruiiiuitions. They said they were unable to 
 tneeed fr.-ni weakness ; kiiew not the M'ay ; /hat J>aek 
 .Vanted to expose theui again to death, and in fact loi- 
 "(MhmI greedily about the remnants of the deer till tho 
 ml of the nionth. "It was not without the greatest 
 itlieulty that I could restrain the men from eating ev- 
 ery scrap they found ; though they were well aware of 
 the necessity there was of being economical in our pres- 
 ent situation, and to save whatever they could for our 
 journey, yet they could not resist the temptation ; and 
 whenever my back was turned they seldom failed to 
 enatch at the* nearest piece to them, whether cooked or 
 raw. Having collected with great care, and by self- 
 denial, two snudl packets of dried meat or sinews sufti- 
 *cient (for men who knew what it was to fast) to last for 
 eiglit days, at the rate of one indifferent meal per day, 
 they set out on the 30th. On the 3d of November they 
 came on the track of Indians, and soon reached the 
 tents of Akaitcho and his followers, when food was 
 obtained, and assistance sent off to Franklin. 
 
 In July they reached York Factory, from whence 
 fthev had started three years before, and thus terminated 
 la journey of 5550 miles, during which human courage 
 iand patience were exjx^sed to trials such as few can 
 ibear with fortitude, unless, a^ is seen in Franklin's in- 
 '^teresting narrative, arising out of reliance on the cver- 
 Bustaining care of an Almighty Providence. 
 
 Parry's First Voyage, 1819-1820. 
 
 The Admiraltv havinoj determined to continue tho 
 
 ?rogress of discovery in the Arctic seas, Lieut. AV. E. 
 'airy, who ad been second in command under Capt. 
 ^Koss, in the \'oyage of the previous year, was selected 
 i to take chaige of a new expedition, consisting of the 
 lllec^a p.nd Griper. The cliief object of this voyage w;ie 
 l>ursue the survey of Lancaster Sound, and declda 
 
 '.in 
 
 \}4 
 
 f 
 
 ! 
 i r. 
 
86 
 
 rROGRl«:68 OF AKCrnC DI8C0VKRY. 
 
 <ii ^1 
 
 on the ])robability of a northwest passage in that diroc. 
 tion ; failing in which, Smith's and Jones' Soiini 
 were to be explored, with the same purpose in V'cw, 
 The respective oflScers appointed to the bhibs, 
 were — 
 
 Hecla^ 375 tons : 
 
 Lieut, and Commander — "VV. E. Parry. 
 
 Lieutenant — Fred. W. Beechey. 
 
 Captain — E. Sabine, R. A., Astronomer. 
 
 Purser — AY. H. Hooper. 
 
 Surgeon — John Edwards. 
 
 Assistant Surgeon — Alexander Fisher. 
 
 Midshipmen — James Clarke Ross, J. Nias, "W. J 
 
 Dealy, Charles Palmer, John Bushnan. 
 Greenland Pilots — J. Allison, master; G. Craw 
 
 furd, mate. 
 44 Petty Officers, Seamen, ttc. 
 
 Total com[)lement, 58. 
 
 Grvpei\ 180 tons: 
 
 Lieutenant and Commander — Matthew Liddon. 
 Lieutenant — II. P. Hoppner. 
 Assistant Surgeon — C. J. Beverley. 
 Midshi])men — A. Reid, A. M. Skene, W. N 
 
 Griffiths. 
 Greenland Pilots — George Fyfe, master ; A. Eld 
 
 mate. 
 28 Petty Officers, Seamen, &c. 
 
 Total complement, 36. 
 
 The ships were raised upon, strengthened, and woll 
 found in stores and provisions for two yenrs. On the 
 11 til of May, 1819, they got away from the Tiiamcs, 
 and after a fair passage fell in with a ccmsiderabltMpiaii- 
 tity of ice in tlie middle of Davis' Straits about the 
 2()th of June ; it consisted chieily of fragments of ice- 
 bergs, on the outskirts of the ghiciers that form alon<,' 
 the shore. After a tcMJious jmssage through the tloes 
 of ice, eft'ected chieiiy by heaving and war])iiig, they 
 arrived ac Possession Bav on the m ,'.'ninnr of the iilst 
 
 M 
 
 l| 
 
 •J 
 
 * ij 
 
>VKiir. 
 
 ge in that diroc 
 Jones' Soiin, 
 
 irpose in V'ew 
 to the ^hii,", 
 
 )mer. 
 
 er 
 
 J.Nias, W.J 
 man. 
 
 er; G. Craw 
 
 Bw Liddon. 
 
 ene, W. K 
 er ; A. Eld 
 
 ed, and woll 
 ars. On the 
 the Thaiiios, 
 UTal)ltM|ujni- 
 ts about the 
 nonts of* Icc- 
 t t'onn aloiii^^ 
 }i;h tho tlocs 
 
 V])il]«>^, tlu^y 
 
 of the 3ik 
 
 PAKUYS FIKST VOYAGE. 
 
 87 
 
 July, being just a month earlier than they were 
 ^ero on the previous year. As many as Hfty whales 
 rere seen here in the course of a few hours. On land- 
 er, they were not a little astonished to find their ov/n 
 footprints of the previous year, still distinctly visible in 
 jhe snow. During an excursion of three or four miles 
 Into the interior, a fox, a raven, several ring-plovers 
 and snow-buntings, were seen, as also a bee, from which 
 it nuiy be inferred that honey can be procured even in 
 these wild regions. Vegetation flourishes remarkably 
 (Well here, considering the hi^h latitude, for wherever 
 ithore was moisture, tufts and various ground plants 
 Igrew in considerable abundance. 
 
 Proceeding on from hence into the Sound, they veri- 
 jfied the opinion which had previously been entertained 
 ^by many of the otiicers, that the Croker Mountains 
 {liad no existence, for on the 4th of August, the ships 
 IyWctc in long. 86° 56' "VV"., three degrees to the westward 
 |of where land had been laid down by JRoss in the pre- 
 ' vious vear. The strait was named after Sir John Bar- 
 row, and was found to be pretty clear ; but on reach- 
 ing Leopold Island, the ice extended in a compact body 
 to the north, through which it was impossible to pene- 
 trate. Kather than remain inactive^, waiting for the 
 .dis>;olutioii of the ice, Parry determined to try w^hat 
 I could be done by shaping his course to the southward, 
 ithrough the magnificent inlet now named Regent In- 
 |let. About the 6th of August, in consequence of the 
 |lo(tal attraction, the ordinary compasses became use- 
 lless from their great variation, and the binnacles were 
 '* removed from the deck to the carpenter's store-room as 
 .^P us* less lumber, the azimuth compasses alone remain- 
 ling ; and these became so sluggish in their motions, 
 Ithiit they required to be very nicely leveled, and fre- 
 Squi'iitly tapped before the card traversed. The local at- 
 ^. traction was very great, and a mass of iron-stone found 
 
 ton sliore attracted the mngnet powerfully. The ships 
 proceeded VIO mile- from the entrance. 
 I On the 8lh of August, in hit. 72° 13' K, and hmg. 
 J 90' 2i)' W., (his extreme point of view Parry named 
 
 I'll 
 
 f i' 
 
 f"; 
 
 
 ' .!i 
 
 !^^ 
 
 { 
 
 i f' 
 
 i 
 t 
 
 m 
 
88 
 
 PKOGRESS OF AKCl'IC DISCOVERY. 
 
 i! ■ 1 
 
 ill •■■ 
 
 gi a 
 
 'it 
 
 ■ i 
 
 Cape Kater,) the Ilecla came to a compact barrier of 
 ice extend in«^ across the inlet, wliicli rendered one of 
 two alternatives necessary, eitlier to remain here until 
 an opening took place, or to return again to the noith- 
 ward. The latter course was determined on. Making, 
 therefore, for the nortliern shore of Barrow's Strait, on 
 the 20th a narrow channel was discovered between the 
 ice and the land. On the 22d, proceeding due west, 
 after passing several bays and headlands, they noticed 
 two large openings or passages, the first of which, more 
 than eif^ht leagues in width, he named Wellington 
 Channel. To various capes, inlets, and groups of isl- 
 ands passed. Parry assigned the names of Jiotham, 
 Barlow, Cornwallis, Bowen, Byam Martin, Griflitli, 
 Lowther, Bathurst, &c. On the 28th a boat was sent 
 on shore at Byam Martin Island with Capt. Sabine, 
 Mr. J. C. Koss, and the surgeons, to make observations, 
 and collect specimens of natural history. The vegeta- 
 tion Avas ratlier luxuriant for these regions; moss in 
 particular grew in abundance in the moist valleys and 
 along the banks of the streams that flowed from tho 
 hills. The ruins of six Esquimaux huts were observed. 
 Tracks of reindeer, bears, and musk oxen were noticed, 
 and the skeletons, skiUls, and horns of some of these 
 animals were found. 
 
 On the 1st of September, they discovered the large 
 and line island, to which Parry has given the name of 
 Melville Island after the First l^ord of the Admiralty 
 of that day. On the following day, two boats with a 
 party of otncers were dispatched to examine its shores. 
 Some reindeer and musk oxen were seen on landinpf, 
 but being startled by the sight of a dog, it was found 
 impossible to get near them. There seemed here to bo 
 a great quantity of the animal tribe, for the tracks of 
 bears, oxen, and deer were numerous, and the horns, 
 skin, and skulls were also found. The burrows of foxea 
 and ticld-mice were observed; several ptarmigan were 
 shot, and flocks of snow-bunting, geese, and ducks, were 
 noticed, ])robably commencing their migration to a 
 mihler climate. Along the beach tliere was an iin- 
 
RY. 
 
 ►act barrier of 
 ndered ono of 
 tain here until 
 11 to the iioith- 
 on. Making^ 
 uw's Strait, on 
 d between the 
 inff due west, 
 1, they noticed 
 )f wliich, more 
 d "Wellington 
 groups of isl- 
 I of Jiotharn, 
 rtin, Griffith, 
 boat was sent 
 Capt. Sabine, 
 observations, 
 The vegeta- 
 ons; moss in 
 it valleys and 
 ycd from the 
 ere observed, 
 were noticed, 
 ^me of these 
 
 ed the large 
 the name of 
 e Admiralty 
 boats with a 
 le its shores, 
 on landing, 
 t was found 
 d here to be 
 le tracks of 
 the horns, 
 >W8 of foxes . 
 iiigan were 
 clucks, were 
 ration to a 
 vas an iin- 
 
 rARKY'S FIRST VOYAGE. 
 
 89 
 
 lense number of small shrimps, and vario .s kinds of 
 
 On the 4th of September, Parry had \hi satisttiction 
 f crossing the meridian of 110° W., in the latitude of 
 4° 44' 20", by which the expedition became entitled 
 «o the reward of £5000, granted by an order in Coun- 
 cil upon the Act 58 Geo. lU., cap. 20, entitled, "An 
 ^ct for more effectually discovering the longitude at 
 lea, and encouraging attempts to find a northern pas- 
 gage between the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, and to 
 Apjjroach the North Pole." This fact was not announced 
 the crews until the following day ; to celebrate the 
 vent they gave to a bold cape of the island then lying 
 i sight the name of Bounty Cape ; and so anxit)U8 
 ere they now to press forward, that they began to 
 .alculate the time when they should reacb the longi- 
 tude of 130° W., the second place specified by the order 
 in Council for reward. On the afternoon of the 5th, 
 the compactness of the ice stopped them, and therefore, 
 for the first time since leaving England, the anchor was 
 let go, and that in 110^ "W. longitude. 
 I A boat was sent on shore on the 6th to procure turf 
 or peat for fuel, iind, strangely en^/Ugh, some small 
 pieces of tolerably good coal were found in varit)us 
 places scattered over the surface. A party of officers 
 that went on shore on the 8th killed several grouse on 
 ..the island, and a white hare; a fox, some field-mice, 
 i^everal snow-bunting, a snowy owl, and four musk <»xen 
 •^'ere seen. Ducks, in small nocks, were seen along the 
 f shore, as well as several glaucous gulls and tern, and a 
 Bolitary seal was observed. 
 
 As the ships were coasting along on the 7th, two 
 
 erds of musk oxen were seen grazing, at the distance 
 
 of ;ii)out three-quarters of a mile from the beach : one 
 
 nenl consisted of nine, and the other of five of these 
 
 ■cattle. They had also a distant view of two reindeer. 
 
 Tlie average weight of the hares here is about eiglit 
 
 ^pounds. Mr. Fisher, the surgeon, from whose intercst- 
 
 Jing journal I quote, states that it is very evident that 
 
 this isla.nd must be frequented, if not constantly iidiab- 
 
90 
 
 PKUCJllKSS OF AUCTIC DISCOVKKY. 
 
 
 islWl 
 
 'I''' ■ m 
 
 lip. I;;i!il 
 
 it] 
 
 ited, by musk oxen in great numbers, for their bones and 
 horns are found scattered about in all directions, and 
 the greatest part of the carcass of one was discovered 
 on one occasion. The skulls of two carnivorous ani- 
 mals, a wolf and a lynx, were also picked up here. A 
 party sent to gather coals brought on board about halt 
 a Jbushel — all they could obtain. 
 
 On the morning of the 10th, Mr. George Fyfo, the 
 master pilot, with a party of six men belonging to tlie 
 (i riper, landed with a view of making an exploring trip 
 of some fifteen or twenty miles into the interior, riioj 
 only took provisions for a day with them. Grea^ na. 
 easiness was felt that they did not return ; and wlujii 
 two days elapsed, fears began to be entertained fur 
 their safety, and it was thought they must have lost 
 their way. 
 
 Messrs. Reid, (midshipman) Beverly, (assistant sur- 
 geon) and Wakeman (clerk) volunteered to go in seiiicli 
 of their missing messmates, but themselves lost their 
 way ; guided by the rockets, tires, and lights exhibited, 
 they returned by ten at night, almost exhausted with 
 cold and fatigue, but without intelligence of their friends. 
 Four relief parties were therefore organized, and sent 
 out on the morning of the 13th to prosecute the search, 
 and one of them fell in with and brought back four of 
 the wanderers, and another the remaining three before 
 nightfall. 
 
 The feet of most of them were much frost-bitten, and 
 they were all wearied and worn out with their wander- 
 ings. It appeal's they had all lost their way the eve- 
 ning of the day they went out. With regard to food, 
 tliey were by no means badly off, tor they managed (o 
 kill as many grouse as they could eat. 
 
 They found fertile valleys and level plains in tlie in- 
 terior, abounding with grass and moss ; also a hike of 
 fresh water, aV)out two miles long by one broad, in which 
 were several species of trout. They saw several herds 
 of reindeer on the plains, and two elk ; also nuiny 
 hares, but no musk oxen. Some of those, however, wlin 
 had b(M^n in search of the stray party, noticed herds of 
 these cattle. 
 
 M< 
 
iliY. 
 
 heir bones and 
 lirections, und 
 ^'as discovered 
 rnivuroiia aui. 
 J up Iiere. A 
 ird about halt 
 
 PAltRYS FIKST VOYAUE. 
 
 91 
 
 >rge Fyfo, the 
 longing to the 
 exploring trip 
 iterior. fliej' 
 n. Grea); un. 
 •n j and when 
 iitertained fur 
 :uet have lost 
 
 (assistant sur- 
 J go in search 
 ves lost their 
 hts exhibited, 
 diausted with 
 :' their friends, 
 zed, and sent 
 ite the search, 
 ba(;k four of 
 ; three before 
 
 st-bitten, and 
 ;heir waiidor- 
 way the eve- 
 jard to fodd, 
 managed to 
 
 ins in tlie in- 
 Iso a lake of 
 3ad,in which 
 everal herds 
 also many 
 owevur, who 
 ced herds of 
 
 »; Tlie ^vinter now began to set in, and the packed ice 
 tas 80 thick, that fears were entertained of being locked 
 «p ia an exposed position on the coast ; it was, there- 
 
 '%>re, thought most prudent to put back, and endeavor 
 ^ reach the harbor which had been passed some days 
 |»efore. The vessels now got seriously buffeted among 
 j^ie tloes and hummocks ot ice. The Griper was forc(;d 
 ftgrou ul on the beach, and for some time was in a \(}vy 
 critical position. Lieutenant Liddou having been coa- 
 ^ned to his cabin by a rheumatic complaiiit, was pressed 
 ft this juncture by Commander Parry to allow himself 
 |o be removed to the Ilecla, but he nobly refused, stating 
 j^at he should be the last to leave the ship, and contin- 
 ued giving orders. The beach being sand, the Griper 
 ^as got on without injury. 
 
 On the 23d of September they anchored off the 
 mouth of the harbor, and the thermometer now fell to 
 1°. The crew were set to work to cut a channel through 
 the ice to the shore, and in the course of three days, a 
 canal, two and a half miles in length, was completed, 
 through which the vessel was tracked. The ice was 
 eight or nine inches thick. An extra allowance of pre- 
 served meat was served out to the men, in considera- 
 tion of their hard labor. The vessels were unrigged, 
 and every thin^ made snug and secure for passing the 
 
 ^winter. Captam Parry gave the name of the North 
 Georgian Islands to this group, after his Majesty, King 
 beorge III., but this has since been changed to the 
 ^arry Islands. 
 
 Two reindeer were killed on the 1st of Octooor, and 
 leveral white bears were seen. On the 6th adc • was 
 ulk'd, which weighed 170 pounds. Seven we seen 
 m tlie 10th, one of which was killed, and ano er se- 
 rerely wounded. Following after this animul, night 
 )vertook several of the sportsmen, and the i: al sig- 
 lals of rockets, lights, &c. were exhibited, • guide 
 horn back. One, John Pearson, a marii: .jad his 
 lands so frost-bitten that he was obliged, on the 2d of 
 S"ovember, t - liavethe four fmgers of his left h;md am- 
 mtated. A wolf and four reindeer were seei on the 
 6 D* 
 
 
 » 
 
 
 I 
 
 k\ 
 
 
 } ,- 
 
92 
 
 PROGRESS OF ARCTIC DISCOVKKT. 
 
 % 
 
 hi'r. 
 
 li 
 
 liiii '. 
 
 r ' ,!i 
 
 14th. A herd of fifteen deer were seen on the 15th; 
 but those who saw them could not bring down any, as 
 their fowling-pieces missed fire, from the moisture 
 freezing on the locks. On the 17th and 18th herds of 
 eleven and twenty respectively, were seen, and a small 
 one w^s shot. A fox was caught on the 29th, which is 
 described as equally cunning with his brethren of the 
 temperate regions. 
 
 To make the long winter pass as cheerfully as possi- 
 ble, plays were acted, a school established, and a news- 
 paper set on foot, certainly the first periodical publica- 
 tion that had ever issued h'om the Arctic regions. The 
 title of this journal, the editorial duties of which were 
 undertaken by Captain Sabine, was "The Winter 
 Chronicle, or New Georgia Gazette." The first num- 
 ber appeared on the 1st of November. 
 
 On the evening of the 6th of November the farce of 
 " Miss in her Teens " was brought out, to the groat 
 amusement of the ships' companies, and, considering 
 the local difliculties ana disadvantages under which the 
 performers labored, their first essay, according to the 
 officers' report, did them infinite credit. Two hours 
 were spent very happily in their theater on the quarter- 
 deck, notwithstanding the thermometer outside tlie ship 
 stood at zero, and within as low as the freezing point, 
 except close to the stoves, where it was a little higher. 
 Another play was performed on the 24th, and so on 
 every fortnight. The men were employed during the 
 day in banking up the ships with snow. 
 
 On the 23d of December, the officers performed " The 
 Mayor of Garrett," which was followed by an after- 
 piece, written by Captain Parry, entitled the " North- 
 West Passage, or the Voyage Finished." The sun hav- 
 ing long since departed, the twilight at noon was eo 
 clear that books in the smallest print could be distinctly 
 read. 
 
 On the 6th of Januarv, the farce of " Bon Ton " was 
 performed, with the theiniometer at 27° below zero,— 
 The cold became n'ore and more intense. On the 12th 
 it was T)!' bfjow zero, in tlie open air ; brandy froze to 
 
r. 
 
 on the 15th; 
 down any, as 
 the moisture 
 1 8th herds of 
 1, and a small 
 29th, which is 
 •ethren of the 
 
 fully as possi- 
 1, and a news- 
 dical publica- 
 regions. The 
 *f which were 
 ■The Winter 
 he first num- 
 
 r the farce of 
 to the groat 
 I, considering 
 (ler which the 
 irding to the 
 
 Two hours 
 1 the quarter- 
 tside the ship 
 pezing point, 
 little higher. 
 I, and so on 
 
 during the 
 
 brmed"The 
 )y an after- 
 he "North- 
 riie sun hav- 
 noon was 80 
 je distinctly 
 
 n Ton " was 
 ?low zero.~ 
 On the 12th 
 ndy froze to 
 
 PARKY S FIRST VOYAGE. 
 
 93 
 
 ^he consistency of honey; when tasted iu this state it 
 4eft a smarting on the tongue. The greatest cold expe- 
 'riencod was ton the 14th of January, when the ther- 
 mometer fell to 52° below zero. On the 3d of Febru- 
 jary, tlie sun was first visible above the horizon, after 
 jEiglity-four days' absence. It was seen from tlie nuiin- 
 (top of the ships, a height of about fitty-one feet above 
 
 the sea. 
 
 K On the forenoon of the 24th a fire broke out at the 
 storehouse, which was used as an observatory. All 
 ^ands proceeded to the spot to endeavor to subdue the 
 •flames, but having only snow to throw on it, and the 
 (mats with which Uie interior was lined bein^very dry, 
 'it was found impossible to extinguish it. The snow, 
 Jiowever, covered the astronomical instruments and se- 
 cured them from the fire, and when the roof had been 
 pulled down the fire had burned itself out. Consider- 
 al)le as tlie fire was, its influence or heat extended but 
 a very short distance, for several of the officers and 
 men were frost-bitten, and confined from their efforts 
 for several weeks. John Smith, of the Artillery, who 
 was Captain Sabine's servant, and who, together with 
 Sergeant Martin, happened to he in the ' >use at the 
 time the fire broke out, suffered much i.h • severely. 
 In their anxiety to save the dipping needle, which was 
 standing close to the ptove, and of which they knew 
 the value, they immediatelv ran out with it; and Smith 
 not having time to put on his gloves, had his fingers in 
 half an hour so benumbed, and the animation so com- 
 pletely suspended, that on his being taken on board 
 by Mr. Edwards, and having his hands plunged into 
 a basin of cold water, the surface of the water was im- 
 mediately frozen by the intense cold thus suddenly 
 communicated to it; and notwithstanding the most hu- 
 mane and unremitting attention paid him by the med- 
 ical gentlemen, it was found necessary, some time after, 
 to rt'surt to the amputation of a part of four fingers 
 on one hand, and three on the other. 
 
 Parry adds, *» the appearance which our faces pre- 
 itrd at the fire was a curious one; almost every noae 
 
 '-'U 
 
 i 
 
 i 
 
 ■ i'i 
 
 ill 
 
94 
 
 PROOKESS OF AUCTIO DiecOVEliY. 
 
 wif 
 
 •'•I ', 
 
 and eheok hiiving become qnife whit^e with frost bites, 
 in live niinutts after being exposed to tiio weiitlier, so 
 that it was deemed necessary for the mi^lical gentle- 
 men, together with some others appointed to assist 
 them, to go constantly round while the men were work 
 ing at the iire, and to rub with snow the parts alleeted, 
 in order to restore animation." 
 
 The weather got considerably milder in March; on 
 the 0th the thermometer got up to zero for the fir^^t 
 time since the 17th of December. The observatory 
 house on shore was now rebuilt. 
 
 The vapor, which had been in a solid state on the 
 ship's sides, now thawed below, and the crew, scraping 
 off the coating of ice, removed on the 8th of March, 
 above a hundred l)ucketsfull each, containing from live 
 to six gallons, which had accumulated in less than a 
 month, occasioned principally from the men's breath, 
 and the steam of victuals at meals. 
 
 The scurvy now broke out among the crew, and 
 prompt measures were taken to remedy it. Captain 
 Pari'y took greiit pains to raise mustard and cress in 
 his cabin for the men's use. 
 
 On the 3(>th of April, the thermometer stood at the 
 freezing point, which it had not done since the 12th of 
 Septemi>er last. On tlu^ 1st of May, the sun was seen 
 at midnight for the first time that season. 
 
 A survey was now taken of the provisions, fuel, and 
 stores; much of the lemon juice was found destroyed 
 frou' rJie bursting in the bottles by the frost. Having 
 been only victialed for two years, and half that period 
 having expired, Captain Parry, as a matter of prudence 
 reduced all hands to two-tliirds allowance of all sorts of 
 provisions, except meat and sugar. 
 
 The crew were now set to work in cutting away the 
 ice round the ships : the average thickness was found 
 to be seven feet. Many of the men who had been out 
 on excursions began to suffer much from snow blind- 
 ness. Tlie sensation when first experienced, ic de- 
 scribed as like that felt when dust or sand gets into 
 the eyes. They were, however, cured in the course of 
 
 i» 
 
i'Akby's fikb'I' voyage. 
 
 95 
 
 h frost bites, 
 
 3 WCllthoi', 80 
 
 rtical goiitli^. 
 tl to assint 
 1 vvoro woi'k 
 irts ailbeti'd, 
 
 March; on 
 for tho fir.«,t 
 observatory 
 
 tato on tlio 
 3\v, scrap! ji a 
 1 of Marcl?, 
 i.i^ from live 
 less than a 
 en's breath, 
 
 crew, and 
 t. Captain 
 lud cress in 
 
 tood at the 
 the 12th of 
 n was seen 
 
 s, fuel, and 
 I destroyed 
 t. Ilavinof 
 that period 
 f prudence 
 nil sorts of 
 
 : away the 
 was found 
 i been out 
 low blind- 
 ed, ic de- 
 gets into 
 coui'se of 
 
 'm 
 
 two or three days by keeping the eyes covered, and 
 hatliinir them occas'onally witli sugar of lead, or some 
 otlier cooling lotion. 
 
 To j)revent the recurrence of the complaint, tho men 
 wor<' ordered to wear a piece of crape or some substi- 
 tute for it over the eyes. 
 
 Tile channel round the ships was completed by the 
 ITtli of May, and they rose nearly two feet, having 
 been ke})t <h>wn by the pressure of the ice round them, 
 altlidugh lightened during the winter by the consump- 
 tion of food and fuel. On the 24:th, they were aston- 
 ished by two sho\^•er8 of rain, a most extraordinary 
 plienomenon in these remons. Symptoms of scurvy 
 again aj>peared among tlie crew ; one of the seamen 
 wlio ha(l l)een recently cured, having inqjrudently- been 
 in the habit of eating the fat skimmings, or "slush," in 
 which s!.lt !:ieat had been boiled, and which was served 
 out for : loi]' lamps. As the hills in many places now be- 
 en me caoos^mI and vegetation commenced, two or three 
 ]>ieces ol ground were dug up and sown with seeds of 
 radishes, onions, and other vegetables. Captain Parry 
 determined before leaving to make an excursion across 
 the island for the ])urpose of examining its size, bound- 
 aries, ])roductions, Are. Accordingly on the Ist of Juno, 
 an expedition was organized, consisting of the com- 
 mandei'. Captain Sabine, Mr. Fisher, the assistant-sur- 
 geon, ^Fr. John Nias, midshipman of tho Ilecla, and 
 !N[r. Reid, midshipman of the Griper, with two ser 
 geants, and five seamen and marines. Three weeks 
 provisions were t:iken, which, together with two tents, 
 wood fur fuel, and other articles, weighing in all about 
 800 lbs., was drawn on a cart prepared for the purpose 
 by the men. 
 
 Each of the oiHcers carried a knapsack with his own 
 private baggage, weighing from 18 to 24- lbs., also hia 
 gun and ammunition. The partv started in high glee, 
 under three hearty cheers from tlieir comrades, sixteen 
 of whom accompanied them for five miles, carrying 
 tlieir knapsacks and drawing the cart for them. 
 
 They travtded by night, taking- le^t by day, as it WM 
 
 i' 
 
 .i 
 
 :■'' 
 
 i 
 
96 
 
 PK0(aiKS8 OF ARCriC DISCOVKKV. 
 
 * :; 
 
 'II' I ■ 
 
 found to he warmer for sleep, and they had only a cov 
 criiig of a single blanket each, beside the clothes tijoy 
 had on. 
 
 On the 2d, tliey came to a small lake, about half a 
 mile h)ng, and met with eider-ducks and ptarmigan ; 
 seven of the hitter were shot. From the top of a range 
 of hills at which they now arrived, they could see the 
 masts of the ships in AVinter Harbor with the naked 
 eye, at about ten or eleven miles distant. A vast plain 
 was also seen extending to the northward and west- 
 ward. 
 
 The party breakfasted on biscuit and a pint of gruel 
 each, made of sulep powder, which was found to be a 
 very palatable diet. Reindeer with their lawns were 
 met with. 
 
 They derived great assistance in drai?ging their cart 
 by rigging upon it one of the tent-bhmketa as a sail, a 
 truly nautical contrivance, and the wind favoring tliem, 
 they made great ])rogress in this way. Captain Sabine 
 being taken ill with a bowel complaint, had to be con- 
 veyed on this novel sail carriage. Tliey, however, had 
 some ugly ravines to pass, the crossings of which were 
 very tedious and troublesome. On trie 7th the party 
 came to a large bay, which was named after their ships, 
 Hecla and Griper 13ay. The blue ice was cut through 
 by hard work with boarding pikes, the only instruments 
 they had, and after digging fourteen and a half feet, 
 the water rushed up ; it was not very salt, but sutticiait 
 to satisfy them that it was the ocean. An island seen 
 in the distance was named after Captain Sabine ; some 
 of the various points and capes were also named after 
 others of the ;>art3\ Although this «hore was found 
 blocked up with sucli heavy ice, there appear to be times 
 when there is open water here, for a piece of iir wood 
 seven and a half feet long, and about the thickness of 
 a man's arm, was found about eighty yards inland from 
 the hummocks of the beach, and about thirty feet above 
 the level of the sea. Before leaving the sliore, a monu- 
 ment of stones, twelve feet high, was erected, in which 
 were deposited, in a tin cylinder, an account of their 
 
ily a cov 
 
 tlies tijoy 
 
 "t linlf a 
 iimigan ; 
 f a range 
 J see the 
 le naked 
 ast plain 
 ad west- 
 
 of gruel 
 i to be a 
 ns were 
 
 leir cart 
 a sail, a 
 g them, 
 Sabine 
 be con- 
 er, had 
 ;Ji were 
 i party 
 r ships, 
 hrorgh 
 iiments 
 If teet, 
 fficiont 
 d seen 
 ; some 
 i after 
 found 
 times 
 wood 
 ess of 
 ! from 
 above 
 iionu- 
 i\'hic'h 
 their 
 
 TAUUV S Kllihl VUVAUIj:. 
 
 07 
 
 ?' 
 
 \^ ceedinffs, a few coins, and several naval buttons. 
 
 he expedition now turned back, shaping its courHo ia 
 a more westerly direction, toward some high blue hills, 
 which had long been in eight. On many days several 
 ptarmigans were shot. The horns and tracks of deer 
 were very numerous. 
 
 On the 11th thev came in sight of a deep gulf, to 
 which Lieutenant hiddon's name was given ; tlie two 
 capes at its entrance being called after Bet^^hey and 
 Hoppner. In the center was an island about three-(piar- 
 ters of a mile in length, and rising abruptly to the 
 height of 700 feet. Tne shores of the gult were verv 
 rugged and precipitant, and in descending a steep hill, 
 the axhvtree of their cart broke, and they had to leave 
 it behind, taking the body with them, however, for fuel. 
 The wheels, which were letl on f ho spot, may astonish 
 some future ad venturer who discovers them. The stores, 
 &c., were divided among the officers and men. 
 
 Making their way on the ice in the gulf, the island in 
 the center was explored, and named after Mr. Hooper, 
 the purser of the Ilecla. It was found to be of sand- 
 stone, and very barren, rising perpendicularly from the 
 west side. Four fat geese were killed here, and a great 
 many animals were seen around the gulf ; some atten- 
 tion being paid to examining its shores, &('., a tine open 
 valley was discovered, and the tracks of oxen and 
 deer were very numerous ; the pasturage appeared to 
 be excellent. 
 
 On the 13th, a few ptarmigan and golden plover were 
 killed. No less than thirteen deer in one herd were 
 seen, and a musk ox for the first time in this season. 
 
 The remains of six Esquimaux huts wei*3 discovered 
 about 300 yards from the beach Vegetation now be- 
 gan to flourish, the sorrel was found far advanced, and 
 a species of saxifrage was met with in 1 ^ossom. They 
 reached the ships on the evening of the 15th, after a 
 journey of about 180 miles. 
 
 The ships' crews, dus-ing their absence, had been occu- 
 pied in getting ballast in and re-stowing the hold. 
 
 Shooting parties wore now sent out in various direc- 
 
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 tions to procure game. Dr. Fisher gives an interestint^ 
 account of his ten days' excursion with a couple of men. 
 The deer were not so lumerous as they expected to find 
 them. About thirty were seen, of which his party 
 killed but two, which were very lean, weighing only, 
 when skinned and cleaned, 50 to 60 lbs. A couple of 
 wolves were seen, and some foxes, with a great many 
 hares, four of which were killed, weighing trom 7 to 8 
 lbs. The aquatic birds seen were — brent geese, king 
 ducks, long-tailed ducks, and arctic and glaucous gulls. 
 The land birds were ptarmigans, plovers, sanderlinga 
 and snow buntings. The geese were pretty numerous 
 for the first few days, but got wild and wary on being 
 disturbed, keeping in the middle of lakes out of gun- 
 shot. About a dozen were, however, killed, and fifteen 
 ptarmigans. These birds are represented to be so stu- 
 pid, that all seen may be shot. Dr, Fisher was sur- 
 prised on his return on the 29th of June, after his ten 
 days' absence, to find how much vegetation had ad- 
 vanced ; the land being now completely clear of snow, 
 was covered with the purple-colored saxifrage in blos- 
 som, with mosses, and with sorrel, and the grass was 
 two to three inches long. The men were sent out twice 
 a week to collect the sorrel, and in a few minutes enough 
 could be procured to make a salad for dinner. After 
 being mixed with vinegar it was regularly served out 
 to the men. The English garden seeds that had been 
 sown got on but slowly, and did not yield any produce 
 in time to be used. 
 
 On the 30th of June "Wm. Scott, a boatswain's mate, 
 who had been afflicted with scurvy, diarrhoea, &c., 
 died, and was buried on the 2d of July — a slab ol 
 sandstone bearing an inscription carved by Dr. Fisher, 
 being erected over his grave. 
 
 From observations made on the tide during two 
 months, it appears that the greatest rise and fall here 
 is four feet four inclies. A large pile of stones was 
 erected on the 14th of July, upon the most conspicuous 
 hill, containing the usual notices, coins, &c., and on a 
 large stone an inscription was left, notifying the winter 
 iiigof the shi])s liere. 
 
pakuy's viust voyage. 
 
 99 
 
 On the 1st of August, tlie ships, which had been pre- 
 viously warped out, got clear of the harbor, and found 
 a channel, both eastward and westward, clear of ice, 
 about three or four miles in breadth alonff the land. 
 
 On the 6th they landed on the island, and in the 
 course of the night killed fourteen hares and a number 
 of glaucous gulls, which were found with their young 
 on the top of a precipitous, insulated rock. 
 
 On the 9th the voyagers had an opportunity of ob- 
 serving an instance of the violent pressure that takes 
 place occasionally by the collision of heavy ice. " Two 
 pieces," says Dr. Fisher, " that happened to come in 
 contact close to us, pressed so forcibly against one an- 
 other that one of them, although forty-two feet thick, 
 and at least three times that in length and breadth, was 
 forced up on its edge on the top of another piece of ice. 
 But even this is nothing when compared with the pres- 
 sure that must have existed to produce the eftects that 
 we see along the shore, for not only heaps of earth and 
 stones several tons weight are forced up, but hummocks 
 of ice, from fifty to sixty feet thick, are piled up on the 
 bench. It is unnecessary to remark that a ship, although 
 fortified as well as wood and iron could make her, would 
 have but little chance of withstanding such over- 
 w^helming force." 
 
 This day a musk-ox was shot, which weighed more 
 than 700 lbs.; the carcass, when skinned and cleaned, 
 yielding 421 lbs. of meat. The flesh did not taste so 
 very strong of musk as had been represented. 
 
 The ships made but slow progress, being still thickly 
 beset with floes of ice, 40 or 50 fe^t thick, and had to 
 make fast for security to hummocks of ice on the beach. 
 
 On the 15th and 16th they were ofi" the southwest 
 point of the island, but a survey of the locality from 
 the precipitous cliff of Cape Dundas, presented the 
 same interminable barrier of ice, as far as the eye could 
 reach. A bold high coast was sighted to the southwest, 
 to wliich the name of Bank's Land was given. 
 
 Captain Parry states that on the 23d the ships re- 
 ceived by far the lieaviest shocks they had experienced 
 
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 during the voyage, and performed six miles of the most 
 ditHcult navigation he had ever known among ice. 
 
 Two musk bulls were shot on the 24th by parties who 
 landed, out of a herd of seven which were seen. They 
 were lighter than the first one shot — weighing only 
 about 3()0 lbs. From the number of skulls and skele- 
 tons of these animals met with, and their capabiuties 
 of enduring the rigor of the climate, it seems probable 
 that they do not migrate southward, but winter on this 
 island. 
 
 Attempts were still made to work to the eastward, 
 but on the 25th, from want of wind, and the closeness 
 of the ice, the ships were obliged to make fast again, 
 W' ithout having gained above a mile after several hours' 
 labor. A fresh breeze springing up on the 26th opened 
 a passage along shore, and the ships made sail to the 
 eastward, and in the evening were off their old quarters 
 in Winter Harbor. On the following evening, after a 
 tine run, they were off tho east end of Melville IsKnd. 
 Lieut. Parry, this day, announced to the officers and 
 crew that after due consideration and consultation, it 
 had been found useless to prosecute their researches 
 farther westward, and therefore endeavors would be 
 made in a more southerly direction, failing in which, 
 the expedition would return to England. Kegent Inlet 
 and the southern shores generally, were found so blocked 
 up with ice, tliat the return to England was on the 30th 
 ot August publicly announced. This day. Navy Board 
 and Admiralty Inlets were passed, and on the 1st of 
 September the vessels got clear of Barrow's Strait, and 
 reached Baffin's Bay on the 5th. They fell in with a 
 whaler belonging to Hull, from whom they learned the 
 news of the death of George the Third and the Duke 
 of Kent, and that eleven vessels having been lost in the 
 ice last year, fears were entertained for their safety. 
 The Friendship, another Hull whaler, informed them 
 that in company with the Truelove, she had looked into 
 Smith's Sound that summer. The Alexander, of Aber- 
 deen, one of the ships employed on the former voyage 
 of discovery to these seas, had also entered Lancaster 
 
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 irties who 
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 Aber- 
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 TAKUV S SIX'OM) VOYAGE. 
 
 101 
 
 Sound. AfVor touching at Clyde's River, where they 
 iiu't u good-natured tribe of Esquiiiuiux, the ships luude 
 the best ot their way across the Atlantic, and after a 
 somewhat boisterous passage, Commodore Parry landed 
 at IVterhead on the 80tli of October, and, accompanied 
 by Capt. Sabine and Mr. Hooper, posted to London. 
 
 Parry's Second Yoyage, 1821—1823. 
 
 The experience which Capt. Parry had formed in his 
 previous voyage, led him to entertain the opinion that 
 a connnunication might be found between Regent Inlet 
 and Roe's Welcome, or through Repulse Bay, and thence 
 to tiie northwestern shores. Tlie following are his re- 
 nuu-ks : — " On an inspection of the charts I think it 
 will also appear probable that a communication will 
 one day be found to exist between this inlet (Prince 
 Regent's) and Hudson's Bay, either through the broad 
 and unexplored channel called Sir Thomas Roe's Wel- 
 come, or through Repulse Bay, which has not yet been 
 satisfactorily examined. It is also probable that a chan- 
 nel will be tbund to exist between the western land and 
 the northern coast of America." Again, in another 
 place, he says : — " Of the existence of a northwest 
 passage to the Pacific it is now scarcely possible to 
 doubt, and from the succesf which attended our efforts 
 in 1819, after passing tin ..ugh Sir James Lancaster's 
 Sound, we were not unreasonable in anticipating its 
 complete accomplishment. But the season in which it 
 is practicable to navigate the Polar Seas does not exceed 
 seven weeks. From all that we observed it seems desir- 
 able that ships endeavoring to reach the Pacific Ocean 
 by this route should keep if possible on the coast of 
 America, and the lower in latitude that coast may be 
 found, the more favorable will it prove for the purpose ; 
 hence Cumberland Strait, Sir Thomas Roe's Welcome, 
 and Repulse Bay appear to be the points most worthy 
 of attention. I cannot, therefore, but consider that any 
 expedition equipped by Great Britain with this view 
 
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 PROGRESS OF AKCTIC DI8C0VEKY. 
 
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 ought to employ its best energies in attempting to pene- 
 trate from the eastern coayt ot* America ak)ng its north- 
 ern shore. In consequence of the partial success which 
 has hitherto attended our attempts, the whalers have 
 already extended their views, and a new lield has been 
 opened lor one of the most lucrative branches of our 
 commerce, and what is scarcely of less importance, one 
 of the most valuable nurseries for seamen which Great 
 Britain possesses."* 
 
 Pleased with his former zeal and enterpnse, and in 
 order to give him an opportunity of testing the truth 
 of his observations, a few months after he returned home, 
 the Admiralty gave Parry the command of another ex- 
 pedition, with instructions to proceed to Iludson^s Strait, 
 and penetrate to the 'westward, until in Repulse Bay, 
 or on some other part of the shores of Hudson's Bay to 
 the north of Wager River, he should reach the westei'ii 
 coast of the continent. Failing in these quarters, he 
 was to keep along the coast, carefully examining every 
 bend or inlet, which should appear likely to afford a 
 practicable passage to the westward. 
 
 The vessels commissioned, with their officers and 
 crews, were the following. Several of the officers of the 
 former expedition were promoted, and those who had 
 been on the last voyage with Parry I have marked with 
 an asterisk : — 
 
 Fury. 
 
 Commander — *"W. E. Parry. 
 
 Chaplain and Astronomer — Rev. Geo. Fisher, (was 
 in the Dorothea, under Capt. Buchan, in 1818.) 
 
 Lieutenants — *J. Nias and *A. Reid. 
 
 Surgeon — *J. Edwards. 
 
 Purser — '^W. H. Hooper. 
 
 Assistant-Surgeon — J. Skeoch. 
 
 Midshipmen — * J. C. Ross, * J. Bushnan, J. Hender- 
 son, F. R. M. Crozier. 
 
 •Parry's First Voyage, vol. ii, p. 240. 
 
PARIJY S SECOND VOYAGE. 
 
 103 
 
 pene- 
 s iiortli- 
 s wfiich 
 rs have 
 as been 
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 ICO, Olio 
 
 h (ireut 
 
 and in 
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 i homo, 
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 Struit, 
 30 Bay, 
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 vorttei'n 
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 fford a 
 
 ', (was 
 
 ender- 
 
 Greenland Pilots — '^J. Allison, master ; G. Grawturd, 
 
 mate. 
 47 Petty Officers, Seamen, &c. 
 
 Total complement, GO. 
 
 Hecla, 
 
 Commander — G. F. Lyon. 
 
 Lieutenants — *IL P. Hoppner and *C. Palmer. 
 
 Surgeon — '^A. Fisher. 
 
 Purser — J. Germain. 
 
 Assistant-Surgeon — A. M'Laren. 
 
 Midshipmen — ^^W. N. Griffiths, J. Sherer, C. Kich- 
 
 ards, E. J. Bird. 
 Greenland Pilots — *G. Fife, master; *A. Elder, mate. 
 46 Petty Officers, seamen, &c. 
 
 Total complement, 58. 
 
 Lieutenant Lyon, the second in command, had ob 
 tained some reputation from his travels in Tripoli, 
 Mourzouk, and other parts of Northern Africa, and was 
 raised to tlie rank of Commander, on his appointment 
 to the Hecla, and received his promotion as Captain, 
 when the expedition returned. 
 
 The ships were accompanied as far as the ice by 
 the Nautilus transport, freighted with provisions and 
 stores, which were to be transhipped as soon as room 
 was found for them. 
 
 The vessels got away from the little Nore early on 
 the 8th of May, 1821, but meeting with strong gales 
 off the Greenland coast, and a boisterous passage, did 
 not fall in with the ice until the middle of June. 
 
 On the 17th of June, in a heavy gale from the south- 
 ward, the sea stove and carried away one of the quar- 
 ter boats of the Hecla. On the following day, in lat. 
 60° 53' ]Sr., long. 61° 39' W., they made the pack or 
 main body of ice, having many large bergs in and 
 near it. On the 19th, Eesolution Island, at the en- 
 trance of Hudson's Strait, was seen distant sixty-four 
 miles. Capt. Lyon states, that duung one of the 
 
 'I '. 
 
104 
 
 PliOGREfiS OF ARCTIC 1)I8C0\T':KY. 
 
 ¥r- 'I 
 
 I I" :" 
 
 watches, a large fragment was observed to fall frons 
 an iceberg near the Jlecla, which threw up the watei 
 to a great height, sending forth at the same time a 
 noise like the report of a great gun. From this pe- 
 riod to the 1st of July, the ships were occupied in 
 clearing the Nautilus of her stores, preparatory to 
 her return home, occasionally made fast to a berg, or 
 driven out to sea by gales. On the 2d, after running 
 through heavy ice, they again made Resolution Island, 
 and shaping their course for the Strait, were soon in- 
 troduced to the company of some unusually large ice- 
 bergs. The altitude of one was 258 feet above the 
 surface of the sea ; its total height, therefore, allowing 
 one-seventh only to be visible, must have been aboul 
 1806 feet! This however, is supposing the base un 
 der water not to spread beyond the mass above water 
 The vessels had scarcely drifted past this floating 
 mountain, when the eddy tide carried them with great 
 rapidity among a cluster of eleven bergs of Luge 
 size, and having a beautiful diversity of form. The 
 largest of these was 210 feet above the water. The 
 floe ice was running wildly at the rate of three miles 
 an hour, sweeping the vessels past the bergs, against 
 any one of which, they might have received incalcu- 
 lable injury. An endeavor was made to make the 
 ships fast to one of them, (for all of them were aground,) 
 in order to ride out the tide, but it proved unsuccess- 
 ful, and the Fury had much difficulty in sending a 
 boat for some men who were on a small berg, making 
 holes for her ice anchors. They were therefore swept 
 past and soon beset. Fifty-four icebergs were count^jd 
 from the mast-head. 
 
 On the 3d, they made some progress through very 
 heavy floes ; but on the tide turning, the loose ice flew 
 together with such rapidity and noise, that there was 
 barely time to secure the ships in a natural dock, be- 
 fore the two streams met, and even then they received 
 some heavy shocks. Water was procured for use 
 from the pools in the floe to which the ships were 
 made fast; and this being the first time of doing so, 
 
 at 
 
parry's second voyage. 
 
 105 
 
 afforded great amusement to the novices, who, even 
 when it was their period of rest, preferred i)elting 
 each other with snow-balls, to going to bed. Buffet 
 ino" with eddies, strong currents, and dangerous bergs, 
 they were kept in a state of anxiety and danger, for 
 a week or ten days. On one occasion, with the pros- 
 pect of being driven on shore, the pressure they ex- 
 perienced was so great, that five hawsers, six inches 
 thick, were carried away, and the best bower anchor 
 of the Hecla was wrenched from the bows, and broke 
 off at the head of the shank, with as much ease as if, 
 instead of weighing upward of a ton, it had been of 
 crockery ware. For a week they were embayed by 
 the ice, and during this period they saw three strange 
 ships, also beset, under Resolution Island, which they 
 contrived to join on the 16th of July, making fast to 
 a floe near them. They proved to be the Hudson's Bay 
 Company's traders, Prince of Wales, and Eddystone, 
 with the Lord Wellington, chartered to convey 160 
 natives of Holland, who were proceeding to settle on 
 Lord Selkirk's estate, at the Red River. " While 
 nearing these vessels, (says Lyon,) we observed the 
 settlers waltzing on deck, for above two hours, the 
 men in old-fashioned gray jackets, and the women 
 wearing long-eared mob caps, like those used by the 
 Swiss peasants. As we were surrounded by ice, and 
 the thermometer was at the freezing point, it may be 
 supposed that this ball, al vero fresco^ afforded us 
 much amusement." The Hudson's Bay ships had 
 left England twenty days after the expedition. 
 
 The emigrant ship had been hampered nineteen 
 days among the ice before she joined the others ; 
 and as this navigation was new to her captain and crew, 
 they almost despaired of ever getting to their jour- 
 ney's end, so varied and constant had been their im- 
 pediments. The Dutchmen had, however, behaved 
 very philosophically during this period, and seemed 
 determined on being merry, in spite of the weather 
 and the dangers. Several marriages had taken place, 
 the surgeon, who was accompanying them to the col- 
 
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 PKOGKKSS OF ARCTIO DISCOVKRY. 
 
 l!,W'' 
 
 ony, officiating as clergyman,) and many more were 
 in agitation ; eacli happy couple always deterring the 
 ceremony until a tihe day allowed of an evening ball, 
 which was only terminated by a fresh breeze, or a fall 
 of snow.* On the 17th, the ships were separated by 
 the ice, and they saw no more of their visitors. On 
 the 2l8t, they were only oft' the Lower Savage Islands. 
 In the evening they saw a very large bear lying on a 
 piece of ice, and two boats were instantly sent oft" in 
 chase. They approached very close before he took 
 to the water, when ho swam rapidly, and made long 
 springs, turning boldly to face his pursuers. It was 
 with difiiculty he was captured. As these animals, 
 although very fat and bulky, sink the instant they die, 
 he was lashed to a boat, and brought alongside the 
 ship. On hoisting him in, they were astonished to 
 find that his weight exceeded sixteen hundred pounds, 
 being one of the largest ever killed. Two instances, 
 only, of larger bears being shot are recorded, and 
 these were by Barentz's crew, in his third voyage, at 
 Cherie Island, to which they gave the name of Bear 
 Island. The two bears killed then, measured twelve 
 and thirteen feet, while this one only measured eight 
 feet eight inches, from the snout to the insertion of the 
 tail. The seamen ate the flesh without experiencing 
 any of those baneful effects which old navigators at- 
 tribute to it, and which are stated to have made three 
 of Barentz's people " so sick that we expected they 
 would have died, and their skins peeled off from 
 head to foot." Bruin was very fat, and having pro- 
 cured a tub of blubber from the carcass, it was thrown 
 over board, and the smell soon attracted a couple 
 of walruses, the first that had been yet seen. 
 
 They here fell in with a numerous body of the Es 
 quimaux, who visited them from the shore. In less 
 than an hour the ships were beset with thirty " ka- 
 yaks," or men's canoes, and five of the women's large 
 Doats, or " oomiaks." Some of the latter held up- 
 ward of twenty women. A most noisy but merry 
 barter instantly took place, the crew being as anxious 
 
 * Lyon's Private Journal, p. 11. 
 
parky's second voyage. 
 
 107 
 
 to pnrcliasG Esquimaux curiosities, as the natives were 
 to procure iron and European toys. 
 
 ^•It is quite out of my ].jwer, (observes Captain 
 Lyon,) to describe the shouts, yells, and laughter of 
 tlie savages, or the confusion which existed for two or 
 tliree hours. The females were at first very shy, and 
 unwilling to come on the ice, but bartered every thing 
 from their boats. This timidity, however, soon wore 
 off, and they, in the end, became as noisy and bois- 
 terous as the men." " It is scarcely possible, (he adds) 
 to conceive any thing more ugly or disgusting than 
 the countenances of the old women, who had intlamed 
 eyes, wrinkled skin, black teeth, and, in fact, such a 
 forbidding set of features as scarcely could be called 
 human ; to which might be added their dress, which 
 was such as gave them the appearance of aged ourang- 
 outangs. Frobisher's crew may be pardoned for hav- 
 ing, in such superstitious times as a. d. 1576, taken 
 one of these ladies for a witch, of whom it is said, 
 ' The old wretch whom our sailors supposed to be a 
 witch, had her buskins pulled oiF, to see if she was 
 cloven-footed ; and being very ugly and deformed, we 
 let her go.' " 
 
 In bartering they have a singular custom of ratify- 
 ing the bargain, by licking the article all over before 
 it is put away in security. Captain Lyon says be fre- 
 quently shuddered at seeing the children draw a razor 
 over their tongue, as unconcernedly as if it had been 
 an ivory paper-knife. I cannot forbear quoting here 
 some humorous passages from his journal, which stand 
 out in relief to the scientific and nautical parts of the 
 narrative. 
 
 " The strangers were so well pleased in our society, 
 that they showed no wish to leave us, and when the 
 market had quite ceased, they began dancing and 
 playing with our people, on the ice alongside. This 
 exercise set many of their noses bleeding, and discov- 
 ered to us a most nasty custom, which accounted for 
 their gory faces, and which was, that as fast as the 
 blood ran down, they scraped it with the fingers 
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 nioauESft OF Aiuriio disco vi:jiy. 
 
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 into their moutlis, appearing to considci* it as a re- 
 freshnient, or diiiiiLy, it* wo luigiit jiidgu by the /est 
 with whicli they sniacked their lips at eacii 8iipi)]y." 
 
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 "In order to amnso our new acquaintances as nnicli 
 a8 possible, the fiddler was sent on the ice, whero ho 
 instantly found a most delightful set of dancers, of 
 whom some of the women kept pretty good time. 
 Their only figure consisted in stamping and jiimj)ing 
 with all their might. Our musician, wlio was a lively 
 fellow, soon caught the infection, and began cutting 
 capers also. In a sliort time every one on the floe, 
 otHcers, men, and savages, wore dancing together, and 
 exhibited one of the most extraordinary sights I ever 
 witnessed. One of our seamen, of a fresh, ruddy 
 complexion, excited the admiration of all the young 
 females, who patted his face, and danced around him 
 wherever he went. 
 
 " The exertion of dancing so exhilarated the Esqui- 
 maux, that they had the appearance of being boister- 
 ously drunk, and played many extraordinary pranks. 
 Among others, it was a favorite joke to run slily be- 
 hind the seamen, and shouting loudly in one ear, to 
 give them at the same time a very smart slap on the 
 other. While looking on, I was sharply saluted in this 
 manner, and, of course, was quite startled, to the 
 great amusement of the bystanders : our cook, who 
 was a most active and unwearied jumper, became so 
 great a favorite, that every one boxed his ears so 
 soundly, as to oblige the poor man to retire from such 
 boisterous marks of ai3probation. Among other 
 sports, some of the Esquimaux rather roughly, but 
 with great good humor, challenged our people to 
 wrestle. One man, in particular, who had thrown sev- 
 eral of his countrymen, attacked an ofHcer of a very 
 strong make, but the poor savage was instantly thrown, 
 and with no very easy fall ; yet, although every one 
 was laughing at him, he bore it w^ith exemplary good 
 humor. The same officer afforded us much diversion 
 by teaching a large party of women to bow, courtesy, 
 
PAKIiY I* SKCONI) VOYAOK. 
 
 109 
 
 fihrtko liandfl, turn their toes out, and perform sun- 
 dry otlier polite accoiuplishnienU ; the whole party 
 master and pu[»ils, preservinfj^ tho wtrictest gravity. 
 
 "Toward midnight all our men, except the watch on 
 deck, turned in to tiieir bedn, and the latlguctl and 
 hun^-ry Es([uimaux returned to their boats to take ^hcir 
 BUppor, which conrtisted of lumps of raw llesh and blub- 
 ber of seals, birds, entrails, &c. ; licking their lingers 
 with great zest, and with knives or fingers scraping the 
 blood and grease which ran down their chins into their 
 mouths." 
 
 Many other parties of the natives were fallen in with 
 during the slow progress of the ships, between Salisbury 
 and ^ ottingham Islands, who were equally us eager to 
 beg, barter, or thieve ; and the mouth was the general 
 repository of most of the treasures they received ; nee- 
 dles, pins, nails, buttons, beads, and other sinall etcete- 
 ras, being indiscriminately stowed there, but detracting 
 in nowise from their volubility of speech. On the 18th 
 of August the w^eather being calm and fine, norwhals or 
 sea-unicorns, were very numerous about the ships, and 
 boats were sent, but without success, to strike one. 
 Tliero were sometimes as many as twenty of these 
 beautiful fish in a shoal, lifting at times their immense 
 horn above the water, and at others showing their 
 glossy backs, which were spotted in the manner of 
 coach dogs in England. The length of these fish is 
 about fifteen feet, exclusive of the horn, which averages 
 five or six more. 
 
 Captain Parry landed and slept on Southampton Isl- 
 and. His boat's crew caught in holes on the beach 
 sufficient sillocks, or young coal-fish, to serve for two 
 meals for the whole ship's company. During the night 
 white whales were seen lying in hundreds close to the 
 rocks, probably feeding on the sillocks. After carefully 
 examining Duke of York Bay, the ships got into the 
 Frozen Strait of Middleton on the morning of the 20th, 
 and an anxious day was closed by passing an oi^ening 
 to the southward, which was found to be Sir Thomas 
 Roe's Welcome, and heaving to for the night off a bay 
 
 IF 
 
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110 
 
 PEOGRESS OF ARCTIC DISCOVERY. 
 
 it 
 
 till;: 
 
 11' ^ii 
 
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 gim 
 
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 to the north w The ships got well in to Hepulse 
 Bay on the 22l^ nd a careful examination of its shores 
 was made by the boats. 
 
 Captains Parry and Lyon, with several officers from 
 each ship, landed and explored the northern shores, 
 while a boat examined the head of tire bay. The wa- 
 ters of a long cove are described by Captain Lyon as 
 being absolutely hidden by the quantities of young 
 eider-ducks, which, under the direction of their moth- 
 ers, were making their first essays in swimming. 
 
 Captain Lyon with a boat's crew made a trip of a 
 couple of days along some of the indents of the bay, 
 and discovered an inlet, which, however, on being en- 
 tered subsequently by the ships, proved only to be the 
 dividing channel between an island and the main-land, 
 about six miles in length by one in breadth. Proceed- 
 ing to the northward by Hurd's channel, they expe- 
 rienced a long rolling ground swell setting against them. 
 On the 28th, ascending a steep mountain. Captains 
 Lyon discovered a noble bay, subsequently named Gor » 
 Bay, in which lay a few islands, and toward this the" i 
 directed their course. 
 
 Captain Parry, who had been two days absent wit*i 
 boats exploring the channel and shores of the strait, rr~ 
 turned on the 29th, but set oft' again on the same day 
 with six boats to sound and examine more minutel;'. 
 When Parry returned at night, Mr. Griffiths, of tf e 
 Heel a, brought on board a large doe, which he h&d 
 killed while swimming (among large masses of ice) fro. a 
 isle to isle ; two others and a fawn were procured c n 
 shore by the Fury's people. The game laws, as thv y 
 were laid down on the former voyage while winteri\ 3 
 at Melville Island, were once more put in force. The ta 
 '^enacted that for the purpose of economizing the shi<\'s 
 provisions, all deer or musk-oxen killed should 6e 
 served out in lieu of the usual allowance of meat. 
 Hares, ducks, and other birds were not at this time to 
 be included. As an encouragement to sportsmen, the 
 head, legs, and oftal of the larger animals were to bo 
 the perquisites of those who procured the carcasses for 
 
PAPwRY 8 SECOND VOYAGE. 
 
 Ill 
 
 the general good." " In the animals of this day (ob- 
 serves Lyon) we were convinced that our sportsmen 
 had not forgotten the latitude to which their perquisites 
 might legally extend, for the necks were made so long 
 as to encroach considerably on the vertebrae of the 
 back ; a manner of amputating the heads which had 
 been learned during the former voyage, and, no doubt, 
 would be strictly acted up to in the present one." 
 
 While the ships on the 30th were proceeding through 
 this strait, having to contend with heavy wind and 
 wild ice, which with an impetuous tide ran against the 
 rocks with loud crashes, at the rate of five knots in the 
 center stream ; four boats towing astern were torn 
 away by the ice, and, with the men in them, were for 
 some time in great danger. The vessels anchored for 
 the night in a small nook, and weighing at daylight 
 on the 31st, they stood to the eastward, but Gore Bay 
 was found closely packed with ice, and most of the in- 
 lets they passed were also beset. 
 
 A prevalence of fog, northerly wind, and heavy ice 
 in floes of some miles in circumference, now carried 
 the ships, in spite of constant labor and exertions, in 
 three days, back to the very spot in Fox's Channel, 
 where a month ago they had commenced their opera- 
 tions. It was not till the 5th of September, that they 
 could again get forward, and then by one of the usual 
 changes in the navigation of these seas, the ships rar 
 well to the northeast unimpeded, at the rate of six 
 knots an hour, anchoring for the night at the mouth of 
 a large opening, which was named Lyon Inlet. The 
 next day they proceeded about twenty-five miles up 
 this inlet, which appeared to be about eight miles broad. 
 Captain Parry pushed on with two boats to examine 
 the head of the inlet, taking provisions for a week. 
 He returned on the 14th, having failed in finding any 
 outlet to the place he had been examining, which was 
 very extensive, full of fiords and rapid overfalls of the 
 tide. He had procured a sufiiciency of game to afford 
 his people a hot supper every evening, which, after the 
 constant labor of the day, was highly acceptable. He 
 
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 ii^'L 
 
 fU:} 
 
 ■i ' i i 
 
 ■■ 
 
112 
 
 PKOGKESS OF MiCTIC DISCOVEU'V. 
 
 Ms 
 
 II 
 
 fell in also with a small party of natives a^ Ivo displayed 
 the usual thieving propensities. 
 
 Animal food of all kinds was found to be very plen- 
 tiful in this locality. A fine salmon trout was brought 
 down by one of the officers from a lake in the moun- 
 tains. The crew of the Hecla killed in a fortnight four 
 deer, forty hares, eighty -two ptarmigan, fifty ducks, 
 three divers, three foxes, three ravens, four seals, er- 
 mines, marmottes, mice, &c. Two of the seals killed 
 were immense animals of the bearded species {Phoca 
 harhata^ very fat, weighing about eight or nine cwt.; 
 the others were the common species, {P. mtulina.) 
 
 Captain Parry again left in boats, on the 15th, to ex- 
 amine more carefully the land that had been passed so 
 rapidly on the 5th and 6th. Not finding him return 
 on the 24th, Captain Lyon ran down the coast to meet 
 him, and by burning blue lights, fell in with him at 
 ten that night. It appeared he had been frozen up 
 for two days on the second evening after leaving. 
 When he got clear he ran down to, and sailed round, 
 Gore Bay, at that time perfectly clear of ice, but by 
 the next morning it was quite filled with heavy pieces, 
 which much impeded his return. Once more he was 
 frozen up in a small bay, where he was detained three 
 days ; when, finding there was no chance of getting 
 out, in consequence of the rapid formation of young 
 ice, by ten hours' severe labor, the boats were carried 
 over a low point of land, a mile and a half wide, and 
 once more launched. 
 
 On the 6th of October, the impediments of ice con- 
 tinuing to increase, being met with in all its formations 
 of sludges or young ice, pancake ice and bay ice, a 
 small open bay within a cape of land, forming the 
 southeast extremity of an island off Lyon Inlet, was 
 sounded, and being found to be safe anchorage the ships 
 were brought in, and, from the indications which were 
 Betting in, it was finally determined to secure them there 
 for the winter ; by means of a canal half a mile long, 
 which was cut, they were taken further into the bay. 
 The island was named Winter Isle. 
 
 Preparations were now made for occupation and 
 
PARKY S SECOND VOYAGE. 
 
 113 
 
 amusement, so as to pass away pleasantly the period 
 of detention. A good stock of tlieatrical dresses and 
 properties having been laid in by the officers before 
 leaving England, arrangements were made for perform- 
 in"* plays fortnightly, as on their last winter residence, 
 asli means of amusing the seamen, and in some degree 
 to break the tedious monotony of their confinement. A s 
 there could be no desire or hope of excelling, every 
 officer's name was readily entered on the list of dra- 
 matis personoB^ Captain Lyon kindly undertaking the 
 difficult office of manager. Those ladies (says Lyon) 
 who had cherished the growth of their beards ana 
 whiskers, as a defense against the inclemency of the 
 climate, now generously agreed to do away with such 
 unfeminine ornaments, and every thing bade fair for a 
 most stylish theater. 
 
 As a curiosity, I may here put on record the play 
 bill for the evening. I have added the ship to which 
 each officer beloncjed. 
 
 THEATER ROYAL, 
 
 WINTER ISLE. 
 
 The Public are respectfully informed that this little, 
 yet elegant Theater, will open for the season on Fri- 
 day next, the 9th of November, 1821, when will be 
 performed Sheridan's celebrated Comedy of 
 
 THE RIVALS. 
 
 Sir Anthony Absolute Captain Parry, (Fury.) 
 Captain Absolute - - Captain Lyon, {Hecla.) 
 S^r Lucius 0^ Trigger, Mr. Crozier, {Fury) 
 ~ - - - Mr. J. Edwards, {Fury.) 
 
 Faulhland, 
 Acres, . - - 
 Fay,^ - . - . 
 David, - - - 
 Mrs. Malap7'op, 
 Jalia, - - - 
 Lydia Languish, 
 
 Mr. J. Henderson, {Fury.) 
 Lieut lloppner, (llecla^ 
 Lieut. Reid, {Fury.) 
 Mr. C. Richards, {Mecla) 
 Mr. W. H. Hooper, {Fury) 
 Mr. J. Sherer, {Hecla) 
 
 
 Lucy, M.v.'W.'M.ogg,{crkofirecla.) 
 
114: 
 
 PROGlilMB OF AllCTIU DISCO\"EIiY. 
 
 il-l 
 
 ii;i!' 
 
 ri 
 
 Songs by Messrs. C. Palmer, (Hecla,) and J. Hen- 
 derson, will be introduced in the course of the eve- 
 
 ning. 
 
 On the 17th of December, a shivering set of actors 
 performed to a great-coated, yet very cold audience, 
 the comedy of the " Poor Gentleman." A burst of 
 true English feeling was exhibited during the perform- 
 ance of this play. In the scene where Lieut. Wo7'th' 
 ington and Corporal Foss recount in so animated a 
 manner their former achievements, advancing at the 
 same time, and huzzaing for " Old England," the 
 whole audience, with one accord, rose and gave three 
 most hearty cheers. The}' then sat down, and the 
 play continued uninterrupted. 
 
 On Christmas Eve, in order to keep the people 
 quiet and sober, two farces were performed, and the 
 phantasmagoria, (which had been kindly presented 
 anonymously to the ships before leaving, by a lady,) 
 exhibited, so that the night passed merrily away. 
 
 The coldness of the weather proved no bar to the 
 performance of a play at the appointed time. If it 
 amused the seamen, the purpose was answered, but it 
 was a cruel task to performers. " In our green-room, 
 (says Lyon,) which was as much warmed as any other 
 part of the Theater, the thermometer stood at 16°, and 
 on a table which was placed over a stove, and about 
 six inches above it, the coffee froze in the cups. For 
 my sins, I was obliged to be dressed in the height of 
 the ftishion, as Dich Dowlas^ in the " Heir at Law," 
 and went through the last scene of the play with 
 two of my fingers frost-bitten ! Let those who have 
 witnessed and admired the performances of a Young, 
 answer if he could possibly ha»^e stood so cold a recep- 
 tion." 
 
 Captain Parry also states in his Journal, " Among 
 the recreations which afforded the highest gratifica- 
 tion to several among us, I may mention the musical 
 parties we were enabled to muster, and which assem- 
 bled on stated evenings throughout the winter, alter 
 
PAKRYS SECOND VOYAGE. 
 
 115 
 
 nately in Commander Lyon's cabin, and in my own. 
 More skillful amatem's in music might well have smiled 
 at these, our humble concerts, but it will not incline 
 them to think less of the science they admire, to be 
 assured that, in these remote and desolate regions of 
 the globe, it has often furnished us with the most 
 pleasurable sensations which our situation was capable 
 of aflbrding ; for, independently of the mere gratifica- 
 tion afforded to the ear by music, there is, perhaps, 
 scarcely a person in the world really fond of it, in 
 whose mind its sound is not more or less connected 
 with ' his far distant home.' There are always some 
 remembrances which render them inseparable, and 
 those associations are not to be despised, which, while 
 we are engaged in the performance of our duty, can 
 still occasionally transport us into the social circle of 
 our friends at home, in spite of the oceans that roll be- 
 tween us." But their attention was not confined to 
 mere amusements. Much to the credit of the seamen, 
 an application was made in each ship for permission 
 to open an evening school, which was willingly ac- 
 ceded to. Almost every man could read, and some 
 could write a little, but several found that, from long 
 disuse, it was requisite to begin again. 
 
 Mr. Halse volunteered to superintend the classes in 
 theFury; while Benjamin White,a seaman, who had been 
 educated at Christ's Hospital, officiated as schoolmaster 
 in the Hecla, and those best qualified to assist aided 
 in the instruction of their shipmates, who made rapid 
 progress under their tuition. On Christmas Day, Capt. 
 Lyon states that he received sixteen copies from men, 
 who, two months before, scarcely knew their letters. 
 These little specimens were all well written, and sent 
 with as much prido as if the writers had been goo4 
 little schoolboys, instead of stout and excellent seamen. 
 
 An observatory was erected on shore, for carrying 
 on magnetical, astronomical, and other scientific opera- 
 tions. Foxes were very plentiful about the ships ; fifteen 
 were caught in one trap in four hours on the night of 
 the 25th of October, and above one hundred were 
 
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 PROGRESS OF ARCTIC DISCOVERY. 
 
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 either trapped or killed in the course of three months, 
 and yet there seemed but little diminution in their 
 numbers. Captain Lyon says he found them not bad 
 eating, the flesn much resembling that of kid. A pack 
 of thirteen wolves came occasionally to have a look at 
 the ships, and on one occasion broke into a snow-house 
 alongside, and walked oif with a couple of Esquimaux 
 dogs confined there. Bears now and then also made 
 their appearance. 
 
 A very beautiful ermine walked on board the Hecla 
 one day, and was caught in a small trap placed on the 
 deck, certainly the first of these animals which was 
 ever taken alive on board a ship 400 yards from the 
 land. The ravenous propensities of even some of the 
 smallest members of the animal kingdom are exempli- 
 fied by the following extract : — 
 
 " We had for some time observed that in the fire- 
 hole, which was kept open in the ice alongside, a count- 
 less multitude of small shrimps were constantly rising 
 near the surface, and we soon found that in twenty-four 
 hours they would clean, in the most beautiful manner, 
 the skeletons." 
 
 After attending divine service on Christmas day, the 
 officers and crews sat down to the luxury of joints of 
 English roast beef, which had been kept untainted by 
 being frozen, and the outside rubbed with salt. Cran- 
 berry pies and puddings, of every shape and size, with 
 a full allowance of spirits, followed, and, probably the 
 natural attendance of headaches succeeded, for the 
 next morning it was deemed expedient to send all the 
 people for a run on the ice, in order to put them to 
 rights ; but thick weather coming on, it became neces- 
 sary to recall them, and, postponing the dinner hour, 
 they were all danced sober by one o'clock, the fiddler 
 being, fortunately, quite as he should be. During this 
 curious ball, a witty fellow attended as an old cake 
 woman, with lumps of frozen snow in a bucket ; and 
 such was the demand for his pies on this occasion, that 
 he was obliged to replenish pretty frequently. The 
 year had now drawn to a close, and all enjoyed excel- 
 
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 PARKY 8 SECOND VOYAGE. 
 
 117 
 
 lent health, and were blessed with good spirits, and zeal 
 fur the renewal of their arduous exertions in the sum- 
 
 mer. 
 
 No signs of scurvy, the usual plague of such voy- 
 ages, liad occurred, and by the plans of Captain Parry, 
 as carried out on the former voyage, a sufficiencv of 
 mustard and cress was raised between decks to anbrd 
 all hands a salad once, and sometimes twice a week. 
 The cold now became intense. Wine froze in the bot- 
 tles. Port was congealed into thin pink laminae, which 
 lay loosely, and occupied the whole length of the bot- 
 tle. White wine, on the contrary, froze into a solid 
 and perfectly transparent mass, resembling amber. 
 
 On the 1st of February the monotony of their life 
 was varied by the arrival of a large party of Esqui- 
 maux, and an interchange of visits thenceforward took 
 place with this tribe, w^ich, singularly enough, were 
 proverbial for their honesty. Ultimately, however, 
 they began to display some thievish propensities, for 
 on one evening in March a most shocking theft was 
 committed, which was no less than the last piece of 
 English corned beef from the midshipmen's mess. 
 Had it been an 181b. carronade, or even one of the an- 
 chors, the thieves would have been welcome to it ; but 
 to purloin English beef in such a country was unpar- 
 donable. 
 
 On the 15th of March Captain Lyon, Lieutenant 
 Palmer, and a party of men, left the ship, with pro- 
 visions, tents, ifec, in a large sledge, for an excursion 
 of three or four days, to examine the land in the neigh- 
 borliood of the ships. 
 
 The first night's encampment was anything but com- 
 fortable. Their tent they found so cold, that it was 
 determined to make a cavern in the snow to sleep in ; 
 and diggirg this aftbrded so good an opportunity of 
 warming themselves, that the only shovel was lent from 
 one to the other as a particular favor. After digging 
 it of sufficient size to contain them all in a sitting pos- 
 ture, by means of the smoke of a fire they managed to 
 raise the temperature to 20°, and, closiHg the entrance 
 
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118 
 
 PROGRESS OF ARCTIC DISCOVERY. 
 
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 with blocks of snow, crept into their blanket bags and 
 tried to sleep, with the pleasant reflection that their 
 root' might fall in and bury them all, and that their one 
 spade was the only means of liberation after a night's 
 drift of snow. 
 
 They woke next morning to encounter a heavy gale 
 and drift, and found their sledge so embedded in the 
 snow that they could not get at it, and in tlie attempt 
 their faces and extremities were most painfully frost- 
 bitten. The thermometer was at 32° below zero ; they 
 could not, moreover, see a yard of the road ; yet to re- 
 main appeared worse than to go forward — the last 
 plan was, therefore, decided on. The tent, sledge, and 
 luggage were left behind, and with only a few pounds 
 of bread, a little rum, and a spade, the party again set 
 out ; and in order to depict their suiierings, 1 must take 
 up the narrative as related by tlie commander himself : 
 
 "Not knowing wliere to go, we wandered among 
 the heavy hummocks of ice, and suffering from cold, 
 fatigue and anxiety, were soon completely bewildered. 
 Several of our party now began \ o exhibit symptoms 
 of that horrid kind of insensibility which is the pre- 
 lude to sleep. They all professed extreme willingness 
 to do wha^ they were told in order to keep in exercise, 
 but none obeyed ; on the contrary, they reeled about 
 like drunken men. The faces of several were severely 
 frost-bitten, and some had for a considerable time lost 
 sensation in their fingers and toes ; yet they made not 
 the slightest exertion to rub the parts affected, and even 
 discontinued their general custom of warming each 
 other on observing a discoloration of the skin. Mr. 
 Palmer employed the people in building a snow wall, 
 ostensibly as a shelter from the wind, but in fact to 
 give them exercise, when standing still must have 
 proved fatal to men in our circumstances. My atten- 
 tion was exclusively directed to Sergeant Speckman, 
 who, having been repeatedly warned that his nose was 
 frozen, had paid no attention to it, owing to the state 
 of stupefaction into which he had fallen. The frost- 
 bite had now extended over one sid<* of his face, which 
 
rAKKY S SECOND VOYAGE. 
 
 119 
 
 to 
 
 n. 
 
 ^«yas frozen as hard as a mask ; the eyelids were stiff, 
 and one corner of the upper lip so drawn up as to 
 expose the teeth and gums. My hands being still 
 wiirm, I had the happiness of restoring the circulation, 
 after which I used all my endeavors to keep the poor 
 follow in motion ; but he complained sadly of giddi- 
 ness and dimness of sight, and was so weak as to be 
 unable to walk without assistance. His case was so 
 alarming, that I expected every moment he would lie 
 down, never to rise again. 
 
 " Our prospect now became every moment more 
 gloomy, and it was but too probable that four of our 
 party w^ould be unable to survive another hour. Mr. 
 Palmer, however, endeavored, as well as myself, to 
 cheer the people up, but it was a faint attempt, as we 
 had not a single hope to give them. Every piece of 
 ice, or even of small rock or stone, was now supposed 
 to be the ships, and we had great difficulty in prevent- 
 ing the men from running to the different objects which 
 attracted them, and consequently losing themselves in 
 the drift. In this state, w^hile Mr. Palmer was running 
 round us to warm himself, he suddenly pitched on a 
 new beaten track, and as exercise was indispensable, 
 we determined on following it, wherever it might lead 
 us. Having taken the Sergeant under my coat, he re- 
 covered a little, and we moved onward, when to our 
 infinite joy we found that the path led to the ships." 
 
 As the result of this exposure, one man had two of 
 his fingers so badly frost-bitten as to lose a good deal 
 of the flesh of the upper ends, and for many days it 
 was feared that he would be obliged to have them am- 
 putated. Quarter-master Carr, one of those who had 
 been the most hardy while in the air, fainted twice on 
 getting below, and every one had severe frost-bites in 
 different parts of the body, which recovered after the 
 usual loss of skin in these cases. 
 
 One of the Esquimaux females, by name Igloolik, 
 who plays a conspicuous part in the narrative, was a 
 general favorite, being possessed of a large fund of 
 useful information, having a good voice and ear for 
 
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 PROGRESS OF ARCTIC DISCOVERY. 
 
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 music, being an excellent seamstress, and having snch 
 a good idea of the hydrography and bearings of the 
 neighhoring Koa-coasts, as to draw charts whicli guided 
 Parry mucli in his future operations, for he found her 
 sketches to be in the main correct. 8he connected the 
 jand from their winter quarters to the northwest sea, 
 rounding and terminating the northern extremity of 
 this part of America, by a large island, and a strait of 
 sufficient magnitude to afford a safe passage for the 
 ships. This little northwest passage, observes Lyon, 
 set us all castle-building, and we already fancied the 
 worst part of our voyage over ; or, at all events, that 
 before half the ensuing summer was past, we should 
 arrive at Akkoolee, the Esquimaux settlement on the 
 western shore. Half-way between that coast and Re 
 pulse Bay, Igloolik drew on her chart a lake of consid- 
 erable size, having small streams running from it to 
 the sea, on each siue ; and the correctness of this infor- 
 mation was fully proved by Rae in his recent expedi- 
 tion in 1846. 
 
 On the 13th of April their Esquimaux friends took 
 their departure for other quarters ; towards the end of 
 the month the crews completed the cutting of trenches 
 round the vessels, in order that they might rise to their 
 proper bearings previous to working in the holds, and 
 the ships floated like corks on their native element, 
 after their long imprisonment of 191 days. As the 
 season appeared to be improving, another land expedi- 
 tion was determined on, and Captain Lyon and Lieu- 
 tenant Palmer, attended by a party of eight men, set 
 off on the 8th of May, taking with them twenty days' 
 provisions. Each man drew on a sledge 126 lbs., and 
 the officers 95 lbs. a-piece. 
 
 " Loaded as we were," says the leader, " it was with 
 the greatest difficulty we made our way among and 
 over the hummocks, ourselves and sledges taking some 
 very unpleasant tumbles. It required two and a half 
 hours to cross the ice, although the distance was not 
 two miles, and we then landed on a small island, where 
 we passed the night." 
 
PAKUYS 8K<JU^^) VOYAGK. 
 
 121 
 
 Several islands and shoals in the strait were named 
 LinTs Isles. At noon on the ilth, they canip(Hl at tlie 
 head of a line bay, to which the name of Dhike was 
 £yiven. In spite of all the caro wliich had been taken 
 by usinnj crape shades, and other coverings for the eyes, 
 live of the party became severely atiiicted with snow 
 blindness. Before evening two of the sufferers were 
 quite blinded by the inilammation. Their faces, eyes, 
 and even heads, being much swollen, and very red. 
 Bathing woidd have alforded relief, but the sun did not 
 produce a drop of water, and their stock of fuel being 
 limited, they could only spare enough wood to thaw 
 Buow for their midday draught. 
 
 As the morning of the 12th brought no change in the 
 invalids, another day was lost. Toward evening, ])y 
 breaking pieces of ice, and placing them in the full 
 glare of the sun, sufficient water was obtained, both for 
 drinking and for the sick to bathe their faces, which 
 aiforded them amazing relief, and on the morrow they 
 were enabled to resume their journey. At noon the 
 sun was sufficiently powerful to afford the travelers a 
 draught of water, without having to thaw it, as had 
 hitherto been the case. 
 
 For nearly three days after this, they were imprisoned 
 in their low tent by a snow-storm, but on the morning 
 of the 18th, they were enabled to sally out to stretch 
 their legs, and catch a glimpse of the sun. After exam- 
 ining many bays and indentations of the coast, the party 
 returned to the ships on the evening of the 21st. A 
 canal was now cut through the ice, to get the ships to 
 the open water, in length 2400 feet, and varying in 
 breadth from 60 to 197 feet. The average thickness of 
 the ice was four feet, but in some places it was as much 
 as twelve feet. This truly arduous task had occupied tlie 
 crews for fifteen days, from six in the morning to eight 
 in the evening ; but they labored at it with the greatest 
 spirit and good humor, and it was concluded on the 18th 
 of June, when the officers and men began to take leave 
 of their several haunts and promenades, purticniarly 
 the " garden " of each ship, which had become +'ivorite 
 
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122 
 
 riiOOKESS OF AliCTlC DISCOVERY. 
 
 lounges during their nine months' detention. A few 
 ili-liited bunting came near enough to bo shot, and were 
 instantly roasted for a farewell supper, and bright vis- 
 ions of active exertions on the water on the morrow 
 were universally entertained. But the night dispeiK;(l 
 all these airy castles, for with the morning's dawn they 
 found that the whole body of ice astern of <"he ships 
 had broke adrift, lilled up the hard-wrought canal, and 
 imj)risoned them as firm as ever. 
 
 Death now for the first time visited the crews. James 
 Priiigle, a seaman of the llecla, fell from the mast-head 
 to the deck, and was killed on the 18th of May. Wm. 
 JSouter, quarter-master, and John Reid, Carpenter's 
 mate, l)elunging to the Fury, died on the 26th and 2Tth, 
 of natural causes. Toward the end of June, the sea 
 bt'gun to clear rapidly to the eastward, and the bay ice 
 soon gave way as far as where the ships were lying, and 
 on the 2d of July they put to sea with a fresh breeze, 
 after having been frozen in for 267 days. 
 
 In making their way to the northward, they were fre- 
 quently in much danger. On the 3d, the ice came 
 down on the liecla with such force as to carry her on 
 board the Fury, by which the Hecla broke her best bower 
 anchor, and cut her waist-boat in two. On the 4:th, the 
 pressure of the ice was so great as to break the Hecla 
 adrift from three hawsers. Four or five men were each 
 on separate pieces of ice, parted from the ships in the 
 endeavor to run out a hawser. A heavy pressure closing 
 tne loose ice unexpectedly gave them a road on board 
 again, or they must have been carried away by the 
 stream to certain destruction. On the 8th, the Hecla 
 had got her stream-cable out, in addition to the other 
 hawsers, and made fast to the land ice, when a very 
 heavy and extensive floe took the ship on her broad 
 ^iide, and being backed by another large body of ice, 
 gradually lifted her stem as if by the action ot a wedge. 
 
 " The weight every moment increasing, obliged us,"' 
 says Captain Lyon, " to veer on the hawsers, whose fric- 
 tion was so great as nearly to cut through the bitt-heads, 
 and ultimately to set them on fire, so that it became 
 
pauuy's second voyage. 
 
 123 
 
 :/ 
 
 reqiUBite for people to attend with buckets of water. 
 The prefitiiiro was at length too powerful for resistance, 
 and tlie streain-cablo, with two six and one tive-inch 
 hawsers, all gave way at the same moment, three others 
 soon following them. The sea was too full of ice to 
 allow the ship to drive, and the only way in wliicli she 
 could yield to the enormous weight which oppressed her, 
 v/as by leaning over on the land ice, while ner stem at 
 the same time was entirely lifted to above the height of 
 five feet out of the water. The lower deck beams now 
 complained very much, and the whole frame of the 
 ship imderwent a trial which would have proved fatal 
 to any less strengthened vessel. At the aame moment, 
 the rudder was unhung with a sudden jerk, which broke 
 up the rudder-case, and struck the driver-boom with 
 great force." 
 
 From this perilous position she was released almost 
 by a miracle, and the rudder re-hung. 
 
 The ships a. last reached the island which had been so 
 accurately described to them by the Esquimau!, lady — 
 Iglolik, where they came upon an encampment of 
 120 Esquimaux, in tents. Captains Parry and Lyon 
 and other officers made frequent exploring excursions 
 along the shores of the Fury and Ilecla strait, and in- 
 land. On the 26th of August the ships entered this 
 strait, which was found blocked up with flat ice. The 
 season had also now assumed so wintry an aspect that 
 there seemed but little probability of getting much far- 
 ther west : knowing of no harbor to protect the ships, 
 unless a favorable change took place, they had the 
 gloomy prospect before them of wintering in or near 
 this frozen strait. Boating and land parties were dis- 
 patched in several directions, to report upon the differ- 
 ent localities. 
 
 On the 4th of September, Captain Lyon landed on 
 an island of slate formation, about six miles to the west- 
 ward of the ships, which he named Amherst Island. The 
 result of these expeditions proved that it was impracti- 
 cable, either by boats or water conveyance, to examine 
 any part of the land southwest of Iglolik, in conse- 
 quence of the ice. 8 , 
 
 I 
 

 I 'I 'I 
 
 Ij!' 
 
 i 
 
 lllli 
 
 
 124 
 
 PEOOEE88 OF AKOTIO DI8COVEBY. 
 
 Mr. Reid and a boat-party traveled about sixty miles 
 to the westward of Amherst Island, and ascertained the 
 termination of the strait. On a consultation with the 
 officers, Captain Parry determined to seek a berth near 
 to Iglolik, m which to secure the ships for the winter. 
 They had now been sixty-five days struggling to set 
 forward, but had only in that time reached forty miles 
 to the westward of Iglolik. The vessels made the beet 
 of their way to the natural channel between this island 
 and the land, but were for some time drifted with the 
 ice, losing several anchors, and it was only bv hard 
 work in cutting channels that they were brought into 
 safer quarters, near the land. Some fine ^eams of dogs 
 were here purchased from the Esquimaux, which were 
 found very serviceable in making excursions on sledges. 
 
 Their second Christmas day in this region had now 
 arrived, and Lyon informs us — 
 
 " Captain Parry dined with me, and was treated with 
 a superb display of mustard and cress, with about fifty 
 onions, rivaling a fine needle in sizo, which I had reared 
 in boxes round my cabin stove. All our messes in 
 either ship were supplied with an extra pound of real 
 English fresh beef, which had been hanging at our 
 quarter for eighteen months. "We could not afford to 
 leave it for a farther trial of keeping, but I have no doubt 
 that double the period would not have quite spoika its 
 flavor." 
 
 This winter proved much more severe than the for 
 mer. Additional clothing was found necessary. The 
 stove funnels collected a quantity of ice within them, 
 notwithstanding fires were kept up night and day, so 
 that it was frequently requisite to take them down in 
 order to break and melt the ice out of them. 
 
 Nothing was seen of the sun for forty-two days. 
 
 On the 15th of April, Mr. A. Elder, Greenland mate 
 of the Hecla, died of dropsy: he had been leading man 
 with Parry on Ross's voyage, and for his good conduct 
 Vas made mate of the Griper, on the last expedition. 
 
 On the 6th of September, 1823, Mr. George Fife, the 
 pilot, also died of scurvy. 
 
PARRY'S SECOND VOYAGE. 
 
 125 
 
 After taking a review of their pro^dsions, and the 
 probability of having to pass a third winter here, Capt. 
 rarry determined to send the Hecla home, taking from 
 her all the provision that could be spared. Little or 
 no hopes covdd be entertained of any passage being 
 found to the westward, otherwise than oy the strait now 
 60 firmly closed with ice ; but Parry trusted that some 
 interesting additions might be made to the geography 
 of these dreary regions, by attempting a passage to tlio 
 northward or eastward, in hopes of finding an outlet to 
 Lancaster Sound, or Prince Kegent's Inlet. 
 
 On the 2l8t of April, 1823, they began transshipping 
 the provisions ; the teams of dogs being found most 
 useful for this purpose. Even two anchors of 22 cwt. 
 each, were drawn by these noble animals at a quick 
 trot. 
 
 Upon admitting daylight at the stern windows of the 
 Hecla, on thje 22d, the gloomy, sooty cabin showed to 
 no great advantage ; no less than ten buckets of ice were 
 taken from the sashes and out of the stern lockers, from 
 which latter some spare flannels and instruments were 
 only liberated by chopping. 
 
 On the 7th of June, Captain Lyon, with a party of 
 men, set off across the Melville Peninsula, to endeavor 
 to get a sight of the western sea, of which they had re- 
 ceived descriptive accounts from the natives, but ow- 
 ing to the difliculties of traveling, and the ranges of 
 mountains they met with, they returned unsuccessful, 
 after being out twenty days. Another inland trip of a 
 fortnight followed. 
 
 On the 1st of August, the Hecla was reported ready 
 for sea. Some symptoms of scurvy having again made 
 their appearance in the ships, and the surgeons report- 
 ing that it would not be prudent to continue longer, 
 Captain Parry reluctantly determined to proceed home 
 with both ships. After being 319 days in their winter 
 quarters, the ships got away on the 9th of August. 
 
 A conspicuous landmark, with dispatches, was set 
 up on the main-land, for the information of Franklin, 
 should he reach this cuiarter. 
 
 ■t iW- 
 
 C 
 
 '4-n 
 
 i ^li;;' 
 
 
 J ^ .!■ ' i ; 
 
 . i 
 
126 
 
 PROGRESS OF ARCTIC DISCOVERY. 
 
 Bi : 1' 
 
 On reaching "Winter Island^ and visiting their las 
 year's garden, radishes, mustard and cress, and onions 
 were brought off, which had survived the winter and 
 were still alive, seventeen months from the time they 
 were planted, a very remarkable proof of their having 
 been preserved by the warm covering of snow. 
 
 The ships, during the whole of this passage, were 
 driven by the current more than three degrees, entirely 
 at the mercy of the ice, being carried into every bight, 
 and swept over each point, without the power of help- 
 ing themselves. 
 
 On the 1st of September, they were driven up Lyon 
 Inlet, where they were confined high up till the 6th, 
 v/hen a breeze sprung up, which took them down to 
 within three miles of Winter Island ; still it was not 
 until the 12th, that they got thoroughly clear of the in- 
 draught. The danger and suspense 6t these twelve 
 days were horrible, and Lyon justly observes, that he 
 would prefer being frozen up during another eleven 
 months' winter, to again passing so anxious a period 
 of time. 
 
 " Ten of the twelve nights were passed on deck, in 
 expectation, each tide, of some decided change in our 
 affairs, either by being left on the rocks, or grounding 
 in such shoal water, that the whole body of the ice must 
 have slid over us. But, as that good old seaman Baffin 
 expresses himself, ' God, who is greater than either ice 
 or tide, always delivered us I ' " 
 
 For thirty-five days the ships had been beset, and in 
 that period had driven with the ice above 300 miles, 
 without any exertion on their part, and also without a 
 possibility of extricating themselves. On the 23d of 
 September, they once more got into the swell of the 
 Atlantic, and on the 10th of October, arrived at Ler- 
 wick, in Shetland. 
 
 Cl/lvering's Yotage to Spitzbergen and Green- 
 land, 1823. 
 
 In 1823, Capt. SalMne, R. A., who had been for some 
 Hmo fiicr.'ifr^nl in mufjnetic observations, and also in 
 
1 ! 
 
 OLAVERTNGS VOYAGE. 
 
 127 
 
 N- 
 
 experiments to determine the configuration of the earth, 
 by means of pendulum vibrations in difterent latitudes, 
 having perfected his observations at different points, 
 from me Equator to the Arctic Circle, suggested to the 
 Koyal Society, through Sir Humphry Davy, the impor- 
 tance of extending similar experiments into higher lat- 
 itudes toward the Pole. Accordingly, the government 
 placed at his disposal H. M. S. Griper, 120 tons, Com- 
 mander Clavering, which was to convey him to Spitz- 
 bergen, and thence to the east coast of Greenland. 
 
 The Griper sailed from the Nore, on the 11th of May, 
 and proceeded to Hammerfest, or Whale Island, near 
 the North Cape, in Norway, which she reached on the 
 4:th of June, and Capt. Sabine having finished his shore 
 observations by the 23d, the vessel set sail for Spitzber- 
 gen. She fell in with ice off Cherry Island, in lat. 76° 
 6', on the 27th, and on the 30th disembarked the tents 
 and ill -truinents on one of the small islands round 
 Hakluyt's Headland, near the eightieth parallel. Capt. 
 Clavering, mean Awhile, sailed in the Griper due north, 
 and reached the latitude of 80° 20', where being stop- 
 ped by close packed ice, he was obliged to return. 
 
 On the 24tn of July, they again put to sea, directing 
 their course for the highest known point of the eastern 
 coast of Greenland. They met with many fields of ice, 
 and made the land, which had a most miserable, deso- 
 late api)8arance, at a point which was named Cape Bor- 
 lase Warren. Two islands were discovered, and as 
 Capt. Salnne here landed and carried on his observa- 
 tions, they were called Pendulum Islands. From an 
 island situate in lat. 75° 12', to which he gave the name 
 of Shannon Island, Clavering saw high land, stretch- 
 ing due north as far as lat. 76°. 
 
 On the 16th of August, Clavering landed with a 
 party of three officers, and sixteen men on the main- 
 land, to examine the shores. The temperature did not 
 sink below 23°, and they slept for nearly a fortnight 
 they were on shore with only a boat-cloak and l)lanKet 
 for a covering, without feeling any inconvenience from 
 the cold. A tribe of twelve Esquimaux was met with 
 
 I ' r 
 
 
 Ml I 
 
 f: ' •> 
 
 I. 
 
11 
 
 iiiii':; 
 
 'Hi' 
 
 
 ( ■I 
 
 
 
 128 
 
 PROGRESS OF ARCTIC DISCOVERY. 
 
 here. They reached in their journey a magniiiceiil 
 inlet, about fifty miles in circumterence, which was sup- 
 posed to be the same which Gale Hamkes discovered 
 in 1654, and which bears his name. The mountains 
 round its sides were 4000 to 5000 feet high. On the 
 29th of August, they returned on board, and having 
 embarked the tents and instruments, the ship again set 
 sail on the 31st, keeping the coast in view to Cape 
 Parry, lat 72 i°. The cliiFs were obse ved to be sev- 
 eral thousand feet high. On the 13th of September, 
 as the ice in shore began to get very troublesome, the 
 ship stood out to sea, and after encountering a very 
 heavy gale, which drove them with great fury to the 
 southward, and it not being thought prudent to make 
 for Ireland, a station in about the same latitude on the 
 Norway coast was chosen instead by Capt. Sabine. 
 They made the land about the latitude of Christian- 
 sound. On the 1st of October, the Griper struck hard 
 on a sunken rock, but got off' undamaged. 
 
 On the 6th, they anchored in Drontheim Fiord, 
 where they were received with much kindness and hos- 
 pitality, and after the necessary observations had been 
 completed the ship proceeded homeward, and reached 
 Deptford on the 19th of December, 1823. 
 
 Lyon's Yoyage in the Griper. 
 
 In 1824, three expeditions were ordered out, to carry 
 on simultaneous operations in Arctic discovery. To 
 Capt. Lyon was committed the task of examining and 
 completing the survey of the Melville Peninsula, the 
 adjoining straits, and the shores of Arctic America, if 
 possible as far as Franklin's turning point. Capt. Lyon 
 was therefore gazetted to the Griper gun-brig, which 
 had taken out Capt. Sabine to Spitzbergen, in the pre- 
 vious year. The following oflScers and crew were also 
 appointed to her : — 
 
 Griper, 
 
 Captain — G. F. Lyon. 
 
 Lieutenants — P. Manico and F. Harding. 
 
lyon's voyage. 12^ 
 
 Aesistant-Surveyor — E. N. Kendal. 
 Purser — J. Evans. 
 Assistant-Surgeon — W. Leyson. 
 Midshipman — J. Tom. 
 34 Petty Officers, Seamen, &c. 
 Total complement, 41. 
 
 It was not till the 20th of June, that the Griper got 
 away from England, being a full month later than the 
 usual period of departure, and the vessel was at the 
 best but an old tub in her sailing propensities. A small 
 tender, called the Snap, was ordered to accompany her 
 with stores, as far as the ice, and having been relieved 
 of her supplies, she was sent home on reaching Hud- 
 son's Straits. 
 
 The Griper made but slow progress in her deeply la- 
 den state, her crowded decks being continually swept 
 by heavy seas, and it was not until the end of August, 
 that she rounded the soutbern head of Southampton 
 Island, and stood up toward Sir Thomas Roe's Wei 
 come. On reaching the entrance of this channel they 
 encountered a terrific gale, which for a long time 
 threatened the destruction of both ship and crew. 
 Drifting with this, they brought up the ship with four 
 anchors, in a bay with five fathoms and a half water, 
 in the momentary expectation that with the ebb tide 
 the ship would take the ground, as the sea broke fear- 
 fully on a low sandy beach just astern, and had the an- 
 choi*s parted, nothing could have saved the vessel. 
 Neither commander nor crew had been in bed for three 
 nights, and although little hope was entertained of sur- 
 viving the gale, and no boat could live in such a sea, 
 the officers and crew performed their several duties 
 with their accustomed coolness. Each man was or- 
 dered to put on his warmest clothing, and to take charge 
 of some useful instrument. The scene is best described 
 in tlie words of the gallant commander : — 
 
 "Each, therefore, brought his bag on deck, and 
 dressed himself; and in the fine athletic forms which 
 Btood exposed before me, I did not see one muscle qui- 
 
 u '■ 
 
 m 
 
 I, I 
 
 . i i , 
 
 hi 
 
130 
 
 PROGRESS OF ARCTIC DISCOVSaiY. 
 
 ill 
 
 ■!-;ll| 
 
 III 
 
 ver, nor the slightest sign of alarm. Prayers were read, 
 and they then all sat down in groups, sheltered from the 
 wash of the sea by whatever they could find, and some 
 endeavored to obtain a little sleep. Never, perhaps 
 was witnessed a finer scene than on the deck of m^ 
 little ship, when all hope of life had left us. Noble as 
 the character of the British sailor is always allowed to 
 be in cases of danger, yet I did not believe it to be pos- 
 sible that among forty-one persons not one repining 
 word should have been uttered. Each was at peace 
 with his neighbor and all the world ; and I am nrmly 
 persuaded that the resignation v/hich was then shown 
 to the will of the Almighty, was the means of obtain- 
 ing His mercy. God was merciful to us, and the tide, 
 almost miraculously, fell no lower." The appropriate 
 name of the Bay of God's Mercy has been given to 
 this spot on the charts by Captain Lyon. 
 
 Proceeding onward up the Welcome, they encoun- 
 tered, about a fortnight later, another fearful storm. 
 On the 12th of September, when off the entrance of 
 "Wager Inlet, it blew so hard for two days, that on the 
 13th the ship was driven from her anchors, and carried 
 away by the fury of the gale, with every prospect of 
 being momentarily dashed to pieces against any hid- 
 den rock ; but the same good Providence which had 
 so recently befriended them, again stood their protec- 
 tor. On consulting with his officers, it was unani- 
 mously resolved, that in the crippled state of the ship, 
 without any anchor, and with her compasses worse 
 than useless, it would be madness to continue the voy- 
 age, and the ship's course was therefore shaped for 
 England. 
 
 Imay observe, that the old Griper is now laid up as 
 a hulk in Chichester Harbor, furnishing a residence 
 and depot for the coast guard station. 
 
 Parry's Third Yoyage. 
 
 In the spring of 1824 the Admiralty determined to 
 give Capt. Parry another opportunity of carrying ovt 
 
 " i :; ! 
 
 l:| 
 
 i I!l 
 
parry's third voyage. 
 
 131 
 
 the great problem which had so long been sought af- 
 ter, of a northwest passage to the Paciiic, and so gen- 
 erally esteemed was this gallant commander that he 
 had but to hoist his pennant, when fearless of all dan- 
 ger, and in a noble spirit of emulation, his former as- 
 sociates rallied around him. 
 
 The same two ships were employed as before, bui 
 Parry now selected the Hecla for his pennant. The 
 staff of officers and men was as follows : — 
 
 Hecla, 
 
 Captain — W. E. Parry. 
 
 Lieutenants — J. L. Wynn, Joseph Sherer, and 
 
 Henry Foster. 
 Surgeon — Samuel Neill, M. D. 
 Purser — W. H. Hooper. 
 Assistant Surgeon — W. Rowland. 
 Midshipmen — J. Brunton, F. R. M. Crozier, C. 
 
 Richards, and H. N. Head. 
 Greenland Pilots — J. Allison, master; and G. 
 
 Champion, mate. 
 49 Petty Officers, Seamen, and Marines. 
 Total complement, 62. 
 
 Fury, 
 
 Commander — H. P. Hoppner. 
 
 Lieutenants — H. T. Austin and J. 0. Boss. 
 
 Surgeon — A. M'Laren. 
 
 Purser — J. Halse. 
 
 Assistant Surgeon — T. Bell. 
 
 Midshipmen — B. Westropp, C. C. Waller, and E. 
 Bird. 
 
 Clerk — "W. Mogg. 
 
 Greenland Pilots — G. Crawford, master; T. Don- 
 aldson, mate. 
 
 48 Petty Officers, Seamen, and Marines. 
 Total complement, 60. 
 
 The William Harris, transport, was commissioned 
 U) accompany the ships to the ice with provisions. 
 
 F 
 
 3*w 
 
 j i 
 
 ! W. 
 
 ' ; I 
 
 \ i 
 
 \\ 
 
 % 
 
 m 
 
 J-; fi 
 
I' 
 
 ■II 
 
 'I 
 
 ■ il: 
 
 ii' 
 
 i!|i!r' 
 
 i'l:; 
 
 
 I 
 
 132 
 
 PROGRESS OF AROTIO DISCOVERY. 
 
 Among the promotions made, it will be seen, were 
 Lieut. Hoppner to the rank of Commander, and second 
 in command of the expedition. Messrs. J. Sherer, 
 and J. C. Ross to be Lieutenants, and J. Halse to be 
 Purser. The attempt on this occasion was to be made 
 by Lancaster Sound through Barrow's Strait to Prince 
 Regent Inlet. The ships sailed on the 19th of May, 
 1824, and a month afterward fell in with the body of 
 the ice in lat. 601°. After transhipping the stores to 
 the two vessels, and sending home the transport, about 
 the middle of July they were close beset with the ice 
 in Baffin's Bay, and "from this time (says Parry) the 
 obstructions from the quantity, magnitude, and close- 
 ness of the ice, which were such as to keep our people 
 almost constantly employed in heaving, warping, or 
 sawing through it ; and yet with so little success that, 
 at the close of July, we had only penetrated seventy 
 miles to the westward." After encountering a severe 
 gale on the 1st of August, by which masses of overlay- 
 ing ice were driven one upon the other, the Hecla was 
 laid on her broadside by a strain, which Parry says 
 must inevitably have crushed a vessel of ordinary 
 strength ; they got clear of the chief obstructions by 
 the first week in September. During the whole of 
 August they had not one day sufficiently free from 
 rain, snow, or sleet, to be able to air the bedding of 
 the ship's company. 
 
 They entered Lancaster Sound on the 10th of Sep- 
 tember, and with the exception of a solitary berg or 
 two found it clear of ice. A few days after, however, 
 they fell in with the young ice, which increasing daily 
 in thickness, the ships became beset, and by the cur- 
 rent which set to the east at the rate of three miles an 
 hour, they were soon drifted back to the eastward of 
 Admiralty . Inlet, and on the 23d they found them- 
 selves again off Wollaston Island, at the entrance of 
 Navy Board Inlet. By perseverance, howe sr, and the 
 aid of a strong easterly breeze, they once more man- 
 aged to recover their lost ground, and on the 27tb 
 reached the entrance of Port Bowen on the eastern 
 
 IP 
 
PARKY 8 TlIIJiD STOYAOE. 
 
 133 
 
 shore of Prince Regent Inlet, and here Parry reBolved 
 upon wintering; this making the fourth winter this 
 enterprising commander had passed in these inhospi- 
 table seas. 
 
 The usual laborious process of cutting canals had to 
 be resorted to, in order to get the ships nea ■ to the 
 shore in secure and sheltered situations. Parry thus 
 describes the dreary monotonous character of an arctic 
 winter : — 
 
 "It is hard to conceive any one thing more like 
 another than two winters passed in the higher latitudes 
 of the polar regions, except when variety happens to 
 be afforded by intercourse with some other branch of 
 the whole family of man. "Winter after winter, nattire 
 here assumes an aspect so much alike, that cursory ob- 
 servation can scarcely detect a single feature of variety. 
 The winter of more temperate climates, and even in 
 some of no slight severity, is occasionally diversified 
 by a thaw, which at once gives variety and compara- 
 tive cheerfulness to the prospect. But here, when once 
 the earth is covered, all is dreary monotonous white- 
 ness, not merely for days or weeks, but for more than 
 half a year together. W hichever way the eye is turn- 
 ed, it meets a picture calculated to impress upon the 
 mind an idea of inanimate stillness, of that motionless 
 torpor with which our feelings have nothing congenial ; 
 of any thing, in short, but life. In the very silence 
 there is a deadness with which a human spectator ap- 
 pears out of keeping. The presence of man seems an 
 intrusion on the dreary solitude of this wintry desert, 
 which even its native animals have for awhile forsaken." 
 
 During this year Parry tells us the thermometer re- 
 mained below zero 131 days, and did not rise above 
 that point till the 11th of April. The sun, which had 
 been absent from their view 121 days, again blessed 
 the crews with his rays on the 22d of February. Du- 
 ring this long imprisonment, schools, scientific observa- 
 tions, walking parties, &c., were resorted to, but " our 
 former amusements," says Parry, " being almost worn 
 threadbare, it required some ingenuity to devise any 
 
 A 
 
 
 in ' 
 
 ■\i: '\- . 1 
 
 ■ 
 
 n 
 
 ■ 
 
 " t'f. 
 
 '■' ! ; 
 
 i V 
 
134 
 
 PKOORE88 OF ARCTIC DI8C0VKRY. 
 
 li 
 
 r I 
 
 ■::tli!ili 
 
 plan that should possess the charm of novelty to re- 
 commend it." A happy idea was, liowever, hit upon b^^ 
 Commander Hoppner, at whose 8ug<i^estion a monthly 
 bal masque was held, to the great diversion of both 
 officers and men, to the number of 12U. The populai 
 commander entered gayly. into their recreations, and 
 thus speaks of these polar masquerades : — 
 
 " It is impossible that any idea could have proved 
 more happy, or more exactly suited to our situation 
 Admirably dressed characters of various descriptions 
 readilv took their parts, and many of these were sup- 
 ported with a degree of spirit and genuine good humor 
 which would not have disgraced a more refined assem- 
 bly ; while the latter might not have been disgraced 
 by copying the good order, decorum, and inoftensive 
 cheerfulness which our humble masquerades presented. 
 It does especial credit to the dispositions and good 
 sense of our men, that though all the officers entered 
 fully into the spirit of these amusements, which took 
 place once a month alternately on board of each ship, 
 no instance occurred of any thing that could interfere 
 with the regular discipline, or at all weaken the respect 
 of the men toward their superiors. Ours were mas 
 querades without licentiousness — carnivals without 
 excess.'^ 
 
 Exploring parties '^ere sent out in several directions. 
 Commander Hoppner and his party went inland, and 
 after a fortnight's fatiguing journey over a mountain- 
 ous, barren, and desolate country, where precipitous ra- 
 vines 500 feet deep obstructed their passage, traveled 
 a degree and three-quarters — to the latitude of 73° 19', 
 but saw no appearance of sea from thence. 
 
 Lieutenant Sherer, with four men, proceeded to the 
 southward, and made a careful survey of the coast as 
 far as 72i^, but had not provisions sufficient to go 
 round Cape Kater, the southernmost point observed in 
 their former voyage. 
 
 Lieutenant J. C. Koss, with a similar party, traveled 
 to the northward, along the coast of the inlet, and from 
 the hills about Cape York, observed that the sea was 
 
PARRY 8 THIRD VOYAGE. 
 
 136 
 
 perfectly open and free from ice at the distance of 
 twenty-two miles from the ships. 
 
 After an imprisonment of about ten months, by great 
 exertions the ships were got clear from the ice, and on 
 the 20th of July, 1825, upon the separation of the floe 
 across the harbor, towed out to sea. Parry then made 
 for the western shore of the Inlet, being desirous of ex- 
 amining the coast of North Somerset for any channel 
 that might occur, a probability which later discoveries 
 in that quarter have proved to be without foundation. 
 On the 28th, when well in with the western shore, the 
 Hecla, in spite of every exertion, was beset by floating 
 ice, and alter breaking two large ice anchors in en- 
 deavoring to heave in snore, was obliged to give up the 
 efibrt and drift with the ice until the 30th. On the 
 following day, a heavy gale came on, in which the 
 Hecla carried away three hawsers, while the Fury was 
 driven on shore, but was hove off at high water. Both 
 ships were now drifted by the body of the ice down the 
 Inlet, and took the ground, the Fury being so nipped 
 and strained that she leaked a great deal, and four 
 pumps kept constantly at work did not keep her clear 
 of water. They were floated off at high water, but, 
 late on the 2nd of August, the huge masses of ice once 
 more forced the Fury on shore, and the Hecla narrowly 
 escaped. On examining her and getting her off, it 
 was found that she must be hove down and repaired ; 
 a basin was therefore formed for her reception and 
 completed by the 16th, a mile further to the southward, 
 within three icebergs grounded, where there were three 
 or four fathoms of water. Into this basin she w^as 
 taken on the 18th, and her stores and provisions being 
 removed, she was hove down, but a gale of wind com- 
 ing on and destroying the masses of ice which shel- 
 tered her, it oecame necessary to re-embark the stores, 
 &c., and once more put to sea ; but the unfortunate 
 vessel had hardly got out of her harbor before, on the 
 21st, she was again driven on shore. After a careful 
 survey and examination, it was found necessary to 
 abandon her : Parry's opinion being thus expressed — 
 
 5»' 
 
 — ! 
 V\ 
 
 C: 
 
 f," 
 
 \\\ 
 
 ii \> 
 
136 
 
 PROGRESS OF AROTIO DISCOVERY. 
 
 l!ill 
 
 iiiiiill 
 
 ^1 i I 
 
 11)11 
 
 "(ii 
 
 " Every endeavor of ours to get her off, or if got off, to 
 float her to any known place of safety, would be at 
 once utterly hopeless in itself, and productive of ex- 
 treme risk to our remaining ship." 
 
 The loss of this ship, and the crowded state of the 
 remaining vessel, made it •impossible to think of con- 
 tinuing the voyage for the purposes of discovery. 
 
 " The incessant labor, the constant state of anxiety, 
 and the frequent and imminent danger into which the 
 surviving fe4iip was thrown, in the attempts to save her 
 comrade, which were continued for twenty-five days, 
 destroyed every reasonable expectation hitherto cher- 
 ished of the ultimate accomplishment of this object." 
 
 Takinff advantage of a northerly wind, on the 27th 
 the Hecla stretched across the lilet for the eastern 
 coast, meeting with little obstruction from the ice, and 
 anchored in Weill's Harbor, a short distance to the 
 southward of their winter quarters. Port Bowen, where 
 the ship was got ready for crossing the Atlantic. 
 
 The Hecla put to sea on the Slst of August, and en- 
 tering Barrow's Strait on the 1st of September, found 
 it perfectly clear of ice. In Lancaster Sound, a very 
 large number of bergs were seen ; but they found an 
 open sea in Bafiin's Bay, till, on the 7th of September, 
 when in latitude 75° 30', they came to the margin of 
 ♦"he ice, and soon entered a clear channel on its eastern 
 side. From thirty to fortjr large icebergs, not less than 
 200 feet in height, were sighted. 
 
 On the 12th of October, Captain Parry landed at 
 Peterhead, and the Hecla arrived at Sheemess ok «ae 
 20th. But one man died during this voyage — John 
 Page, a seaman of the Fury — who died of scurvy, in 
 Weill's Harbor, on the 29th of August. 
 
 This voyage cannot but be considered the most unsuc- 
 cessful of the three made by Parry, whether as regards 
 the information gleaned on the subject of a northwest 
 passage, or the extension of our store of geographical 
 or scientific knowledge. The shores of this inlet were 
 more naked, barren, and desolate than even Melville 
 Island. With the exception of some hundreds of white 
 
FRANKLIN 8 BKCONU EXI'tDITION. 
 
 137 
 
 whales, seen sporting about the southernmost part of 
 the Inlet that was visited) few other species of animalB 
 were seen. 
 
 " We have scarceljr," says Parry, " ever visited a coast 
 on which so little ot animal life occurs. For days to- 
 'v-pether only one or two seals, a single sea-horRO, and 
 now and then a flock of ducks were seen." 
 
 He still clings to the accomplishment of the great 
 object of a nortnwest passage. At page 184 of his offi- 
 cial narrative, he says: — 
 
 " I feel confident that the undertaking, if it be deemed 
 advisable at any future time to pursue it, will one day 
 or other be accomplished ; for — setting aside the acci- 
 dents to which, from their very nature, such attempts 
 must be liable, as well as other unfavorable circum- 
 stances which human foresight can never guard against, 
 or human power control — I cannot but believe it to 
 be an enterprise well within the reasonable limits of 
 practicability. It may be tried often and fail, for seve- 
 ral favorable and fortunate circumstances must be com- 
 bined for its accomplishment ; but I believe, neverthe- 
 less, that it will ultimately be accomplished." 
 
 " I am much mistaken, indeed," he adds, " if the 
 northwest passage ever becomes the business of a single 
 summer ; nay, I believe that nothing but a concurrence 
 of very favorable circumstances is likely ever to make 
 a single winter in the ice sufficient for its accomplish- 
 ment. But there is no argument against the ;po88iDility 
 of final success ; for we know that a winter in the ice 
 may be passed not only in safety, but in health and 
 comfort." 
 
 Not one winter alone, but two and three have been 
 passed with health and safety in these seas, under a 
 wise and carefiil commander. 
 
 FaANKLm's Second Expedition, 1825-26. 
 
 Undaunted by the hardships and sufferings he had 
 encountered in his previous travels with a noble spirit 
 of ardor and enthusiasm, Captain Franklin determined 
 
 ri 
 
 if 
 
 in 
 
 t ? 
 
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 I'll; 
 
 
 
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 138 
 
 PROGRESS OF ARCTIC DISCOVERT. 
 
 to prosecute the chain of his former discoveries from 
 the Coppermine river to the most western point of the 
 Arctic regions. A sea expedition, under the conni^and 
 of Captain Beechey was at the same time sent round 
 Cape Horn to Behring's Straits, to co-operate with Parry 
 and Franklin, so as to furnish provisions to the former, 
 and a conveyance home to the latter. 
 
 Captain Iranklin's offer was therefore accepted by 
 the government, and leaving Liverpool in February, 
 1825, he arrived at New "i^rk about the middle of 
 March. The officers under his orders were his old and 
 tried companions and fellow sufferers in the former jour- 
 ney — Dr. Kichardson and Lieutennnt Back, with Mr. 
 E. N. Kendal, a mate in the navy, who had been out in 
 the Griper with Capt. Lyon, 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 Fort Chipewyan. 
 It is unnecessary to go over the ground and follow them 
 in their northern journey; suffice it to say, they reached 
 Great Bear Lake in safety, and erected a winter dwell- 
 ing on its western shore, to which the name of Fort 
 Franklin was given. To Back* and Mr. Dease, an offi- 
 cer in the Hudson's Bay Company's service, were in- 
 trusted the arrangements for their winter quarters. 
 
 From here a small party set out with Franklin down 
 the Mackenzie to examine the state of the Polar Sea. 
 On the 6th of September they got back to their com- 
 panions, and prepared to pass the long winter of seven 
 or eight months. 
 
 On the 28th of June, 1826, the season being suffi- 
 ciently advanced, and all their preparations completed, 
 the wholfc party got away in four boats to descend the 
 Mackenzie to the Polar Sea. Where the river branches 
 oft* into several channels, the party separated on the 3d 
 of July, »'Japtain Franklin and Lieutenant Back, with 
 two bonlis and fourteen men, having with them the 
 faithful Esquimaux interpreter, Augustus, who had 
 been with them on the former expedition, proceeded to 
 
feanklin's 8EC0ND expp:dition. 
 
 139 
 
 the westward, while Dr. Kichardson and Mr. Kendal 
 in the other two boats, having ten men under their 
 command, set out in an easterly direction, to search 
 the Coppermine River. 
 
 Franlvlin arrived at the mouth of the Mackenzie on 
 the 7th of July, where he encountered a large tribe of 
 tierce Esquimaux, who pillaged his boats, and it was 
 only by great caution, prudence and forbearance, that 
 the whole party were not massacred. After getting the 
 hoats afloat, and clear of these unpleasant visitors, 
 Franklin pursued his survey, a most tedious and difii- 
 cult one, for more than a month ; he was only able to 
 reach a point in latitude 70° 24' N., longitude 149° 37' 
 W., to which Back's name was given ; and here pru- 
 dence obliged him to return, although, strangely enough, 
 a boat from the Blossom was waiting not 160 miles west 
 of his position to meet with him. The extent of coast 
 surveyed was 374 miles. The return journey to Fort 
 Franklin was safely accomplished, and they arrived at 
 their house on the 31st of September, when they found 
 Eichardson and Kendal had returned on the first of 
 the month, having accomplished a voyage of about 500 
 miles, or 902 by the coast line, between the 4th of July 
 and the 8th of August. They had pushed forward be- 
 yond the strait named after their boats, the Dolphin and 
 tin ion. 
 
 In ascending the Coppermine, they had to abandon 
 tlieir Ijoais and carry their provisions and baggage. 
 
 Having passed another winter at Fort Franklin, as 
 soon ^s tne season broke up the Canadians were dis- 
 missed, and the party returned to England. 
 
 The cold experienced in the last winter was intense, 
 the thermometer standing at one time at 58° below zero, 
 but having now plenty of food, a weather-tight dwell- 
 ing, and good health, they passed it cheerfully, "f^r. 
 Richardson gave a course of lectures on practical geol- 
 ogy, and Mr. Drummond furnished information on natu- 
 ral history. During the winter, in a solitary hut on the 
 Rocky mountains, he managed to collect 200 specimens 
 Df birds, animals, &c., and more than 1500 of plants. 
 9 F* 
 
 c- 
 
 
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 I 
 
 ' ■':P' 
 
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 ill 111 
 
 140 
 
 PROGRESS OF ARCTIC DISOOVKRY. 
 
 "When Captain Franklin left England to proceed on 
 this expedition he had to nndergo a severe struggle 
 between his feelings of aiiection and a sense of duty. 
 His wife (he has been married twice) was then lying at 
 the point of death, and indeed died the day after he 
 left England. But with heroic fortitude she urged his 
 departure at the very day appointed, entreating him, 
 as he valued her i:)eace and his own glory, not to delay 
 a moment on her account. His feelings, therefore, may 
 be inferred, but not described, when he had to elevate 
 on Garry Island a silk flag, which she had made and 
 given him as a parting gift, with the instruction that 
 he was only to hoist it on reaching the Polar Sea. 
 
 iiiiii^! 
 
 illift! 
 
 Beechey's Yoyage. — 1826-28. 
 
 H. M. SLOOP Blossom, 26, Captain F. W. Beechey, 
 sailed from Spithead on the 19th of May, 1825, and 
 her instructions directed her, after surveying some of 
 the islands in the Pacific, to be in Behring's Straits by 
 the summer or autumn of 1826, and contingently in that 
 of 1827. 
 
 It is foreign to my purpose here to allude to those 
 parts of her voyage anterior to her arrival in the Straits. 
 
 On the 28th of June tlie Bk>ssom came to an anchor 
 off the town of Petropolowski, where she fell in with 
 the Russian ship of war Modeste, under the commano 
 of Baron AV^i-angel, so well known for his enterjDrise ir. 
 the hazardous expedition by sledges over the ice to thf 
 northward of Cape Shelatskoi, or Errinos. 
 
 Captain Beechey here found dispatches informing 
 him of the return of Parry's expedition. Being bese^ 
 by currents and other difliculties, it was not till the Sth 
 of July that the Blossom got clear of the harbor, and 
 made the best of her way to Kotzebue Sound, reaching 
 the a])pointed rendezvous at Chamiso Island on the 2oth. 
 After landing and burying a barrel of flour upon Puffin 
 Itock, the most unfrequented spot about tiie island, the 
 Blossom occupied the time in surveying and examining 
 
BEECIIEY 8 VOYAGE. 
 
 141 
 
 the neighboring coasts to the northeast. On the 30th 
 she took her departure from the island, erecting posts 
 or land-marks, and bm'ying dispatches at Cape Krusen- 
 stern, near a cape which he named after Franklin, near 
 Icy Cape. 
 
 The ship returned to the rendezvous on the evening 
 of the 28th of August. The barrel of flour had been 
 dug up and appropriated by the natives. 
 
 On the first visit of one of these parties, they con- 
 structed a chart of the coast upon the sand, of which, 
 however. Captain Beechey at first took very little notice. 
 " They, however, renewed their labor, and performed 
 their work upon the sandy beach in a very ingenious and 
 intelligible manner. The coast line was first marked 
 out with a stick, and the distances regulated by the 
 day's journey. The hills and ranges of mountains were 
 next shoM n by elevations of sand or stone, and the 
 islands represented by heaps of pebbles, their propor- 
 tions being duly attended to. As the work proceeded, 
 some of the bystanders occasionally suggested altera- 
 tions, and Captain Beechey moved one of the Diomede 
 Islands, which was misplaced. This was at first ob- 
 jected to by the hydrographer, but one of the party 
 recollecting that the islands were seen in one from Cape 
 Prince of Wales, confirmed its new position and made 
 the mistake quite evident to the others, who were much 
 surprised that Captain Beechey should have any knowl- 
 edge of the subject. When the mountains and islands 
 were erected, the villages and fishing-stations were 
 marked by a number of sticks placed upright, in imita- 
 tion of those which are put up on the coast wherever 
 these people fix their abode. In time, a complete hy- 
 drographical plan was drawn from Cape Derby to Cape 
 Krusen'tern. 
 
 This ingenuity and accuracy of description on the 
 part of the Esquimaux is worthy of particular remark, 
 and has been verified by almost all the Arctic explorers. 
 
 The barge which had been dispatched to the east- 
 ward, under charge of Mr. Elson, reached to latitude 
 71° 23' 31'' N., and longitude 156° 21' 31" W., where 
 
 in i.' 
 
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 i.l^i'N: 
 
 142 
 
 PROOBES8 OF ARCTIC DISCOVERY 
 
 fihe was stopped by the ice which was attached to the 
 shore. The farthest tongue of land they reached was 
 named Point Barrow, and is about 126 miles northeast 
 of Icy Cape, being only about 160 or 160 miles from 
 Franklin's discoveries west of the Mackenzie river. 
 
 The wind suddenly changing to southwest, the com- 
 pact body of ice began to drift with the current to the 
 northeast at the rate of three and a half miles an hour, 
 and Mr. Elson, finding it difficult to avoid large floating 
 masses of ice, was obliged to come to an anchor to pie- 
 vent being driven back. " It was not long before he was 
 so closely beset in the ice, that no clear water could 
 be seen in any direction from the hills, and the ice 
 continuing to press against the shore, his vessel was 
 driven upon the beach, and there left upon her broad- 
 side in a most help! ^ss condition ; and to add to his 
 cheerless prospect ^he disposition of the natives, whom 
 he found to increase in numbers as he advanced to the 
 northward, was of a very doubtful character. At Point 
 Barrow, where they were very numerous, their over- 
 bearing behavior, and the thefts they openly prac- 
 ticed, left no doubt of what would be the fate of his 
 little crew, in the event of their falling into their 
 power. They were in this dilemma several days, dur- 
 ing which every endeavor was made to extricate the 
 vessel but without effect, and Mr. Elson contemplated 
 sinking her secretly in a lake that was near, to prevent 
 her falling into the hands of the Esquimaux, and then 
 making his way along the coast in a baidar, which he 
 bad no doubt he should be able to purchase from the 
 natives. At length, however, a change of wind loos- 
 ened the ice, and after considerable labor and trial, in 
 which the personal strength of the officers was united 
 to that of the seamen, Mr. Elson, with his shipmates, 
 fortimately succeeded in efiecting their escape. 
 
 Captain Beechey was very anxious to remain in 
 Kotzebue Sound until the end of October, the period 
 named in his instructions, but the rapid approach of 
 winter, the danger of being locked up, havi..g only 
 five weeks' provisions left, and the nearest point at 
 
beechey's voyage. 
 
 143 
 
 which he could replenish being some 2000 miles dis- 
 tant, induced his officers to concur with him in the 
 necessity of leaving at once. A barrel of flour and 
 other articles were buried on the sandy point of Cha- 
 miso, for i ranklin, which it was hoped would escape 
 the prying eyes of the natives. 
 
 After a cruise to California, the Sandwich Islands, 
 Loochoo, the Bonin Islands, &c., the Blossom returned 
 to Chamiso Island on the 5th of July, 1827. They 
 found the flour and dispatches they had left the pre- 
 vious year unmolested. Lieut. Belcher was dispatched 
 in the barge to explore the coast to the northward, and 
 the ship followed her as soon as the wind permitted. 
 On the 0th of September, when standing in for the 
 northern shore of Kotzebue Sound, the ship drifting 
 with the current took the ground on a sand-bank near 
 Hotham Inlet, but the wind moderating, as the tide 
 rose she went off the shoal apparently without injury. 
 
 After this narrow escape from shipwreck they beat 
 up to Chamiso Island, which they reached on the 10th 
 of September. ITot finding the barge returned as ex- 
 pected, the coast was scanned, and a signal of distress 
 found flying on the southwest point of Choris Pen- 
 insula, and two men waving a white cloth to attract 
 notice. On landing, it was found that this party were 
 the crew of the barge, which had been wrecked in Kot- 
 zebue Sound, and three of the men were also lost. 
 
 On the 29th a collision took place with the natives, 
 which resulted in three of the seamen and four of the 
 marines being wounded by arrows, and one of the na- 
 tives killed by the return fire. 
 
 After leaving advices for Franklin, as before, the 
 Blossom finally left Chamiso on the 6th of October. 
 In a haze and strong vind she ran between the land 
 and a shoal, and a passage had to be forced through 
 breakers at the imminent danger of the ship's striking. 
 The Blossom then made the best of her way home, 
 reaching England in the first week of October, 1828. 
 
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 ii i- i: ' \ 
 
 'i'y' '..I 
 
 li'llli!: :: i 
 
 144 PB0GKE8S OF ARCJriO DISCOVERY. 
 
 Faeky's Fourth, or Polar Voyage, 1827. 
 
 In 1826, Capt. Parry, who had only returned from 
 his last voyage in the close of the preceding year, was 
 much struck by the suggestions of Mr. Scoresby, in a 
 paper read before the Wernerian Society, in which he 
 sketched out a plan for reaching the highest latitudes 
 of the Polar Sea, north of Spitzbergen, by means of 
 sledge boats drawn over the smooth fields of ice which 
 were known to prevail in those regions. Col. Beau- 
 foy, F. R. S., had also suggested this idea some years 
 previously. Comparing these with a similar plan orig- 
 inally proposed by Captain Franklin, and which was 
 placed in his hands by Mr. Barrow, the Secretary of 
 the Admiralty, Capt. Parry laid his modified views of 
 the feasibility of the project, and his willingness to un- 
 dertake it, before Lord Melville, the First Lord of the 
 Admiralty, who, after consulting with the President 
 and Council of the Koyal Society, was pleased to sanc- 
 tion the attempt ; accordingly, his old ship, the Hecla, 
 was fitted out for the voyage to Spitzbergen, the fol- 
 lowing officers, (all of whom had been with Parry be- 
 fore,) and crew being appointed to her : — 
 
 JSecla, 
 
 Captain — "W. E. Parry. 
 
 Lieutenants — J. C. Ross, Henry Foster, E. J. Bird, 
 
 F. R. M. Crozier. 
 Purser — James Halse. 
 Surgeon — C. J. Beverley. 
 
 On the 4th of April, 1827, the outfit and prepara- 
 tions being completed, the Hecla left the Nore for the 
 coast of l^orway, touching at Hammerfest, to embark 
 eight reindeer, and some moss {Oenomyce rangiferiha) 
 sufficient for their support, the consumption being 
 about 4 lbs. per day, but they can go without food for 
 several days. A tremendous gale of wind, experienced 
 off Hakhiyt's Headland, and the quantity of ice with 
 which the ship was in consequence beset, detained the 
 voyagers for nearly a month, but on the 18th of June, 
 
PAKRY 8 FOUKTII VOYAGE. 
 
 145 
 
 a southerly wind dispersing the ice, they dropped 
 anchor in n cove, on the northern coast of Spitzbergen, 
 which appeared to offer a secure haven, and to which 
 the name of the ship was given. On the 20th, the 
 boats, which had been especially prepared in England 
 for this kind of journey, were got out and made ready, 
 and they left the ship on the 22d of June. A descrip- 
 tion of these boats may not here be out of place. 
 
 They were twenty feet long and seven broad, flat 
 floored, like ferry boats, strengthened and made elas- 
 tic by sheets of felt between the planking, covered 
 with water-proof canvass. A runner attached to each 
 side of the keel, adapted them for easy draught on the 
 ice after the manner of a sledge. They were also fit- 
 ted with wheels, to be used if deemed expedient and 
 useful. Two officers and twelve men were attached 
 to each boat, and they were named the Enterprise and 
 Endeavor. The weight of each boat, including pro- 
 visions and every requisite, was about 3780 lbs. Lieuts, 
 Crozier and Foster were left on board, and Capt. Parry 
 took with him in his boat Mr. Beverley, Surgeon, while 
 Lieut, (now Capt. Sir James) Ross, and Lieut, (now 
 Commander) Bird, had charge of the other. 
 
 The reindeer and the wheels were given up as use- 
 less, owing to the rough nature of the ice. Provisions 
 for seventy-one days were taken — the daily allowance 
 per man on the journey being 10 ozs. biscuit, 9 ozs. 
 pemmican, 1 oz. sweetened cocoa powder (being 
 enough to make a pint,) and one gill of rum ; but 
 ecanty provision in such a climate, for men employed 
 on severe labor ; three ounces of tobacco were also 
 served out to each per week. 
 
 As fuel was too bulky to transport, spirits of wine 
 were consumed, which answered all the purposes re- 
 quired, a pint twice a day being found sufficient to 
 warm each vessel, when applied to an iron boiler by a 
 shallow lamp with seven wicks. After floating the 
 boats <br about eighty miles, they came to an unpleas- 
 ant mixed surface of ice and water, where their toilsome 
 journey commenced, the boats having to be laden and 
 
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146 
 
 rnOGRESS OF AEOTIO DISCOVERY. 
 
 'iiiii 
 
 iiiiii: 
 
 '■■ .1 ' i 
 
 unladen several times according as they came to floea 
 of ice or lanes of water, and they were drifted to the 
 southward by the ice at the rate of fom* or five miles a 
 day. Parry found it more advantageous to travel by 
 night, the snow being then harder, and the inconven- 
 ience of snow blindness being avoided, while the party 
 enjoyed greater warmth during the period of rest, and 
 had better opportunities of drying their clothes by the 
 sun. 
 
 I cannot do better than quote Parry's graphic de- 
 scription of this novel course of proceeding: "Travel- 
 ing by night, and sleeping by day, so completely in- 
 verted the natural order of things that it was difficult 
 to persuade ourselves of the reality. Even the officers 
 and myself, who were all furnished with pocket chro- 
 nometers, could not always bear in mind at what part 
 of the twenty-hours we had arrived ; and there were 
 several of the men who declared, and I believe truly, 
 that they never knew night from day during the whole 
 excursion. 
 
 " When we rose in the evening, we commenced our 
 day by prayers, after which we took off our fur sleep- 
 ing-dresses and put on clothes for traveling ; the former 
 being made of camlet lined with raccoon skin, and the 
 latter of strong blue cloth. "We made a point of al- 
 ways putting on the same stockings and boots for 
 traveling in, whether they had been dried during the 
 day or not, and I believe it was only in five or six in- 
 stances at the mosj: that they were not either still wet 
 or hard frozen. This indeed was of no consequence, 
 beyond the discomfort of first putting them on in this 
 state, as they were sure to be thoroughly wet in a 
 quarter of an hour after commencing our journey; 
 while, on the other hand, it was of vital importance 
 to keep dry things for sleeping in. Being 'rigged' 
 for traveling, we breakfasted upon warm cocoa and 
 biscuit, and after stowing the things in the boats, and 
 on the sledges, so as to secure them as much as pos- 
 sible from wet, we set off on our day's journey, and 
 usually traveled four, five, or even six hours, accord- 
 iuir to circumstances." 
 
 an( 
 no( 
 of 
 
 Lit 
 del 
 
ce 
 
 ? 
 
 PARTIY'8 FOURTH VOYAGE. 
 
 147 
 
 In five days, notwithstanding their perseverance 
 and continued journeys, they found, by observation at 
 noon, on tlie 30th, that they had only made eight miles 
 of direct northing. 
 
 At Walden Island, one of the Seven Islands, and 
 Little Table Island, reserve supplies of provisions were 
 deposited to fall back upon in case of necessity. 
 
 In halting early in the morning for the purposes of 
 rest, the boats were hauled up on the largest piece of 
 ice that offered the least chance of breaking through, 
 or of coming in contact with other masses, the snow or 
 wet was cleaned out and the sails rigged as awnings. 
 " Every man then immediately put on dry stockings 
 and fur boots, after which we set about the necessary 
 repairs of boats, sledges, or clothes, and after serving 
 the provisions for the succeeding day, we went to sup- 
 per. Most of the officers and men then smoked their 
 pipes, which served to dry the boats and awnings very 
 much, and usually raised the temperature of our lodg- 
 ings 10° or 15°. This part of the twenty-four houra 
 was often a time, and the only one, of real enjoyment 
 to us ; the men told their stories, and fought all their 
 battles o'er again, and the labors of the day, unsuccess- 
 ful as they too often were, were forgotten. A regular 
 watch was set during our resting time, to look out for 
 bears, or for the ice creaking up round us, as well as 
 to attend to the drying of the clothes, each man alter- 
 nately taking this duty for one hour. "We then con- 
 cluded our day with prayers, and having put on our 
 fur dresses, lay down to sleep with a degree of comfort 
 which perhaps few persons would imagine possible un- 
 der such circumstances, our chief inconvenience being, 
 that we were somewhat pinched for room, and there- 
 fore obliged to stow rather closer than was quite agree- 
 able." 
 
 This close stowage may be imagined when it is re- 
 membered that thirteen persons had to sleep in a boat 
 seven feet broad. After sleeping about seven hours, 
 they were roused from their slumbers by the sound of 
 a bugle from the cook and watchman, which announced 
 
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 A i^: 
 
148 
 
 PKOOKEBS OF AltCTIC DISCOVKUY. 
 
 I!! 
 
 that their cocoa was smoking hot, and invited them to 
 breakfast. 
 
 Their progress was of the most tedious and toilsome 
 character, heavy showers of rain rendering the ice on 
 many occasions a mass of " slush ;" on others there was 
 from six to eighteen inches of snow lying on the sur- 
 face. Frequently the crew had to proceed on their 
 hands and knees to secure a footing, and on one occa- 
 sion they made such a snail-like progress that in two 
 hours they only accomplished 150 yards. On the 12th 
 of Jul^, they had reached the latitude of 82° 14' 28". 
 After live hours' unceasing labor on the 14th, the pro- 
 gress was but a mile and a half due north, though 
 from three to four miles had been traversed, and ten at 
 least walked, having made three journeys a great part 
 of the way ; launched and hauled up the boats four 
 times, and dragged them over twenty-five separate 
 pieces of ice. On the 18th, after eleven hours of ac- 
 tual labor, requiring for the most part the exertion of 
 the whole strength of the party, they had traveled over 
 1 space not exceeding four miles, of which only two 
 were made good. 
 
 But on halting on the morning of the 20th, having 
 by his reckoning accomplished six and a half miles in 
 a N. N. W. direction, the distance traversed being ten 
 miles and a half. Parry found to his mortification from 
 observation at noon, that they were not Jive miles to 
 the northward of their place at noon on the 17th, 
 although they had certainly traveled twelve miles in 
 that direction since then. 
 
 On the 21st, a floe of ice on which they had lodged 
 the boats and sledges, broke with their weight, and all 
 went through with several of the crew, who, with the 
 sledges were providentially saved. 
 
 On the 23d, the farthest northerly point was reached, 
 which was about 82° 45'. 
 
 At noon on the 26th, the weather being clear, the 
 meridian altitude of the sun was obtained, " by which," 
 eays Parry, " we found ourselves in latitude 82° 40' 23", 
 60 that since our last observation (at midnight on tho 
 
 22( 
 
 hal 
 
 sot 
 
 tra 
 
 iiit( 
 
 of 
 
PARRY 8 FOURTH VOIAOE. 
 
 149 
 
 22d,) we had lost by drift no less than thirteen and a 
 halt' miles, for we wero now more than three miles to the 
 Bonthward of that observation, though we had certainly 
 traveled between ten and eleven, due north in this 
 interval I Again, we were but one mile to the riorth 
 of our place at noon on the 2l8t, though we had esti- 
 mated our distance made good at twenty-three miles." 
 After encountering every species of fatigue and dis- 
 heartening obstacles, in peril of their lives almost every 
 hour, Parry now became convinced that it was hope- 
 less to pursue the journey any further, and he could 
 not even reach the eighty-third parallel ; for after thir- 
 ty-five days of continuous and most fatiguing drudg- 
 ery, with half their resources expended, and the mid- 
 dle of the season arrived, he found that the distance 
 gained in their laborious traveling was lost by the 
 drift and sea of the ice with the southerly current dur- 
 ing the period of rest. After planting their ensigns 
 and pennants on the 26th, and making it a day of rest 
 on the 27th, the return to the southward was com- 
 menced. Nothing particular occurred. Lieutenant 
 Koss managed to bring down with his gun a fat she 
 bear, which came to have a look at the boats, and af- 
 ter gormandizing on its tlesh, an excess which may 
 be excused considering it was the first fresh meat they 
 had tasted for many a day, some symptoms of indi- 
 gestion manifested themselves among the party. 
 
 On the outward journey very little of animal life 
 was seen. A passing gull, a solitary rotge, two seals, 
 and a couple of tiies, were all that their eager eyes 
 could detect. But on their return, these became more 
 numerous. On the 8th of August, seven or eight nar- 
 whals were seen, and not less than 200 rotges, a fiock 
 of these little birds occuring in every hole of water. 
 On the 11th, in latitude 81"^ 30', the sea war, found 
 crowded with shrimps and other sea insects, on which 
 numerous birds were feeding. On this day they took 
 their last meal on the ice, being fifty miles distant from 
 Table island, having accomplished in fiteen days what 
 had taken them thirty-three to etiect on their outward 
 
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 ■!li 
 
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It' 
 
 1 1' 
 
 ino 
 
 IMtOOKESM OF ARCTIC DISCOVKRY. 
 
 journev. On tho 12tli, they firrived at tluR iHlatul. Tho 
 l)t'jirrt htid wulkoil oft' with tho reluv of hreml uliic'i 
 had been depoaited there. To an inlet lyinfj; oft' 'JuhK- 
 Island, and the most northern known land upon the 
 globe, Parry gave the name of lloss, for " no mdivid- 
 ual," he observes, " could have exerted himself more 
 strenuously to rob it of this distinction." 
 
 Putting to sea again, a storm obliged the boats to 
 bear up for Walden Island. " Every thing belofigiiig to 
 UB (says Captain Parry) was now comj^letely drenched 
 by the spray and snow ; we had been fifty-six hours 
 without rest, and forty-eight at work in the bouts, ro 
 that by the time they were unloaded we had baruly 
 strength left to haul them up on the rocks. However, 
 by dint of great exertion, we managed to get the bouts 
 above the surf ; after which a hot supper, a blazing 
 fire of drift wood, and a few hours quiet rest, restored 
 
 us." 
 
 They finally reached the ship on the 2l8t of August, 
 after sixty-one days' absence. 
 
 " The distance traversed during this excursion was 
 6GD geographical miles ; but allowing for the times we 
 had to return for our baggage, during the greater part 
 of the journey over the ice, we estimated our actual 
 traveling at 978 geographical, or 1127 statute miles. 
 Considering our constant exposure to wet, cold, and 
 fatigue, our stockings having generally been drenched 
 in snow-water for twelve hours out of every twenty- 
 four, I had great reason to be thankful for the excellent 
 health in which, upon the whole, we reached the ship. 
 There is little doubt that we had all become in a certain 
 degree gradually weaker for some time past ; but only 
 three men of our party now required medical care — 
 two of them with badly swelled legs and general de 
 Ivlity, and the other from a bruise, but even these three 
 returned to their duty in a short time." 
 
 In a letter from Sir W. E. Parry to Sir John Barrow, 
 dated November 25, 1845, he thus suggests some im- 
 provements on his old plan of proceedings : — 
 
 " It is evident (he says) that the causes of failure in 
 
 
 
 two I 
 stutj 
 tho 
 diroi 
 
 mere 
 possi 
 io rJ 
 svhicl 
 
 way, 
 light ; 
 
pakuy's fourth voyage. 
 
 151 
 
 foriiier utfonipt, in the year 1827, were prlncipiiUy 
 two : lii'Ht, and chieHy, the broken, rugjijeil, and Hotl 
 Btute of tlic ice over which we traveled ; and secondlv, 
 the drifting of the whole body of ice in a Boutherly 
 direction. 
 
 " My amended plan is, to f^o out with a single ship 
 to Spitzbergen, just as we did in the Ilecla, but not so 
 early in the season ; the object for that year being 
 merely to find secure winter quarters as far north as 
 possible. For this purpose it would only be necessary 
 \o reach Hakluvt's Iicadland by the end of June, 
 which would arford ample leisure for examining the 
 more northern lands, especially about tlie Seven Islands, 
 where, in all probability, a secure nook might be found 
 tor the ship, and a starting point for the proposed ex- 
 pedition, some forty or lifty miles in advance of the 
 point where the Ilecla was before laid up. The winter 
 might be usefully employed in various preparations for 
 the journey, as well as in magnetic, astronomical, and 
 meteorological observations, of high interest in that 
 latitude. I propose that the expeditioTi should leave 
 the ship in the course of the month of April, when the 
 ice would present one hard and unbroken surface, over 
 which, as I confidently believe, it would not be difficult 
 to make good thirty miles per day, without any expo- 
 sure to wet, and probably without snow blindness. At 
 this season, too, the ice would probably be stationary, 
 and thus the two great difficulties which we formerly 
 had to encounter would be entirely obviated. It might 
 form a part of the plan to push otit supplies previously, 
 to the distance of 100 miles, to be taken up on the 
 way, so as to commence the journey comparatively 
 light ; and as the intention would be to complete the 
 enterprise in the course of the month of May, before 
 any disruption of the ice, or any material softening of 
 the surface had taken place, similar supplies might be 
 sent out to the same distance, to meet the party on 
 their return." 
 
 The late Sir John Barrow, in his last work, com- 
 menting on this, says, " With all deference to so dia- 
 
 
 ^n-i 
 
 
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 H 
 
 •II 
 

 m.' ':i'- 
 
 I lilt' 
 
 152 
 
 PROGRESS OF ARCTIC DISCOVERY. 
 
 tingnished a sea officer, in posRession of so much expe- 
 rience as Sir Edward Parry, there are others who 
 express dislike of such a plan ; and it is not improba- 
 ble that many will be disposed to come to the conclu- 
 sion, that so long as the Greenland Seas are hampered 
 with ice, so long as floes, and hummocks, and heavy 
 masses, continue to be formed, so long as a determined 
 southerly current prevails, so long will any attempt to 
 carry out the plan in question, in like manner fail. No 
 laborious drudgery will ever be able to conquer the 
 opposing progress of the current and the ice. besides, 
 it can hardly be doubted, this gallant officer will admit, 
 on further consideration, that this unusual kind of dis- 
 gusting and unseamanlike labor, is not precisely such 
 as would be relished by the men ; and, it may be said, 
 is not exactly fitted for a British man-of-war's-man ; 
 moreover, that it required his own all-powerful example 
 to make it even tolerable." Sir John therefore sug- 
 gested a somewhat diiferent plan. He recommended 
 that two small ships should be sent in the early spring 
 along the western coast of Spitzbergen, where usually 
 no impediment exists, as far up as 80°. They should 
 take every opportunity of proceeding directly to the 
 north, where, in about 82°, Parry has told us the large 
 floes had disappeared, and the sea was found to be 
 loaded only with looR.a, disconnected, small rj.asses of 
 ice, through which ships would find no difficulty in 
 sailing, though totally unfit for boats dragging ; and as 
 this loose ice was drifting to the southward, he further 
 says, that before the middle of August a ship might 
 have sailed up to the latitude of 82°, almost withoni 
 touching a piece of ice. It is not then unreasonable to 
 expect that beyond that parallel, even as far as the 
 pole itself, the sea would be free of ice, during the six 
 summer months of perpetual sun, through each of the 
 twenty-four hours ; which, with the aid of the current, 
 would, in all probability, destroy and dissipate the 
 polar ice. 
 
 The distance from Hakluyt's Headland to the pole 
 is GOO geographical miles. Granting the ships to make 
 
 h.ad 
 
parry's fourth voyage. 
 
 153 
 
 liglit 
 
 only twenty miles in twenty-four hours, (on the suppo- 
 sition of much sailing ice to go through,) even in tliat 
 case it would rer[uire but a month to enable the e ':- 
 plorer to put his foot on the pivot or point of the axis 
 on which the globe of the earth turns, remain there a 
 month, if necessary, to obtain the sought-for informa- 
 tion, and then, with a southerly current, a fortnight, 
 probably less, would bring him back to Spitzbergen. * 
 
 In a notice in the Quarterly Review of this, one of 
 the most singular and perilous journeys of its kind 
 ever undertaken, except perhaps that of Baron AVran- 
 gell upon a blmilar enterprise to the northward of Behr- 
 ing's Straits, it is observed, — "Let any one conceive 
 for a moment the situation of two open boats, laden 
 with seventy days' provisions and clothing for twenty- 
 eight men, in the midst of a sea covered nearly with 
 detached masses and floes of ice, over whicli these 
 boats were to be dragged, sometimes up one side of a 
 rugged mass, and down the other, sometimes across the 
 lanes of water that separate them, frequently over a 
 surface covered with deej) snow, or through pools of 
 water. Let him bear in mind, that the men liad little 
 or no chance of any other supply of provisions than 
 that which they carried with them, calculated as just 
 sufficient to P".stain life, and consider what their si^-ua- 
 tion would have been in the event, by no means an 
 improbable one, of losing any part of their scanty 
 stock. Let any one try to imagine to himself a situa- 
 tion of this kind, and he will still have but a faint idea 
 of the exertions which the men under Captain Parry 
 liad to make, and the sufferings and privations they 
 had to undergo." 
 
 Captain Parry having thus completed his fifth voy- 
 age into the arctic regions, in four of which be com- 
 manded, and was second in the other, it may here be 
 desirable ^o give a recapitulation of his services. 
 
 In 1818 he was appointed Lieutenant, commaiiding 
 the Alexander, hired ship, as second ofiicer with his 
 uncle, Commander John Koss. In 1819, still as Lieu- 
 * Barrow's Voyages of Discoveiy, p. 316. 
 
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 154 
 
 PEOGRESS OF ARCTIC DISCOVERY. 
 
 tenant, he was appointed to command the Hecla, and 
 to take charge of the second arctic expedition, on which 
 service he was employed two years. On the 14th of 
 November, 1820, ne was promoted to the rank of 
 Commander. 
 
 On the 19th of December, 1820, the Bedfordean 
 Gold Medal of the Bath and West of England Society 
 for the Encom*agement of Arts, Manutactures, and 
 Commerce, was unanimously voted to him. On the 
 30th of December of that year, he was appointed to 
 the Fury, with orders to take command of the expedi- 
 tion to the Arctic Sea. With the sum of 600 guineas, 
 subscribed for the purpose, " the Explorer of the Polar 
 Sea " was afterward presented with a silver vase, 
 highly embellished with devices emblematic of the 
 arctic voyages. And on the 24th of March, 1821, the 
 city of Bath presen^'^d its freedom to Captain Parry, in 
 a box of oak, higL j and appropriately ornamented. 
 On the 8th of November, 1821, he obtained his post' 
 captain's rank. On the 22d of November, 1823, he 
 was presented with the freedom of the city of Win- 
 chester ; and, on the 1st of December, was appointed 
 acting hydrographer to the Admiralty in the place of 
 Captain Hina, deceased. In 1824 he was appointed to 
 the Hecla, to proceed on another exploring voyage. 
 
 On the 22d of November, 1825, Captain Parry was 
 formally appointed hydrographer to the Admiralty, 
 which office he continued to hold until the 10th of 
 November, 1826. 
 
 In December, 1825, he was voted the freedom of the 
 borough of Lynn, in testimony of the high sense enter- 
 tained by the corpoi ation of nis meritorious and enter 
 prising conduct. 
 
 In April, 1827, he once more took the command of 
 his old ship, the Hecla, for another voyage of discovery 
 toward the North Pole. On his return in the close of 
 the year, having paid off the Hecla at Deptford, h^ 
 resumed, on the 2d of November, his duties as hydro- 
 grapher to the Admiralty, which office he held until 
 ♦he 13th of May, 1829. Having received the lv«ior of 
 
 SM^- 
 
of 
 to 
 
 of 
 
 the 
 ter- 
 ter 
 
 CAITAIN BOBS 8 SECOND VOYAGE. 
 
 156 
 
 knighthood, he then resigned in favor of the present 
 Admiral Beaufort, and, obtaining permission from the 
 Admiralty, proceeded to IS^ew South Wales as resident 
 Commissioner to the Australian Agricultural Com 
 pan}^, taking charge of their recently acquired large 
 territory in the neighborhood of Port Stephen, lie 
 returned from Australia in 1834. From the 7th of 
 March, 1835, to the 3d of February, 1836, he acted as 
 Poor Law Commissioner in Norfolk. Early in 1837, 
 he was appointed to organize the Mail Packet Service, 
 fhen transferred to the Admiralty, and afterward, in 
 April, was appointed Controller of steam machinery to 
 the Navy, which office he continued to hold up to De- 
 cember, 1846. From that period to the present time 
 he has filled the post of Captain Superintendent of the 
 Royal Navy Hospital at Haslar. 
 
 Captain John Ross's Second Yotage, 1829-33. 
 
 In the year 1829, Capt. Ross, the pioneer of arctic 
 exploration in the 19th century, being anxious once 
 more to display his zeal and enterprise as well as to 
 retrieve his nautical reputation from those unfortunate 
 blunders and mistakes which had attached to his first 
 voyage, and thus remove the cloud which had for 
 nearly ten years hung over his professional character, 
 endeavored without effect to induce the government 
 to send him out to the Polar Seas in charge of another 
 expedition. The Board of Admiralty of that day, in 
 the spirit of retrenchment which pervaded their coun- 
 cils, were, however, not disposed to recommend any 
 further grant for research, even the Board of Longi- 
 tude was abolished, and the boon of 20,000^. ottered 
 by act of parliament for the promotion of arctic dis- 
 covery, also withdrawn by a repeal of the act. 
 
 Caiitain Ross, however, undaunted by the chilling 
 indifference thus manifested toward his proposals by 
 the Admiralty, still persevered, having devoted 3000//. 
 out of his own funds toward the prosecution of the ob- 
 ject he had in view. He was fortunate enough to 
 10 Q 
 
 
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 Pi fcl 
 
 
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 156 
 
 PROGRESS OF AKOTIO DISCOVFRT. 
 
 meet with a public-spirited and affluent coadjutoi And 
 supporter in the late Sir Felix Booth, the eminen dis- 
 tiller, and that gentleman nobly contributed 17^^)00^. 
 toward the expenses. Captain Ross thereupon set to 
 work, and purchased a small Liverpool steamer named 
 the Victory, whose tonnage he increased to 150 tons. 
 She was provisioned for three years. Captain Ross 
 chose for his second in command his nephew, Com- 
 mander James Ross, who had been with him on his 
 first arctic expedition, and had subsequently accompa- 
 nied Parry in all his voyages. The other officers of the 
 vessel were — Mr. William Thom, purser ; Mr. George 
 M'Diarmid, surgeon ; Thomas Blanky,Thos. Abernethy, 
 and George Taylor, as 1st, 2d, and 3d, mates ; Alex- 
 ander Brunton and Allen Macinnes as 1st and 2d engi- 
 neers ; and nineteen petty officers and seamen ; making 
 a complement in all of 28 men. 
 
 The Admiralty furnished toward the purposes of the 
 expedition a decked boat of sixteen tons, called the 
 Krusenstern, and two boats which had been used by 
 Franklin, with a stock of books and instruments. 
 
 The vessel being reported ready for sea was visited 
 and examined by the late King of the French, the 
 Lords of the Admiralty, and other parties taking an 
 interest in the expedition, and set sail from Woolwich 
 on the 23d of May, 1829. For all practical purposes 
 the steam machinery, on which the commander had 
 greatly relied, was found on trial utterly useless. 
 
 Having received much damage to her spars, in a 
 severe gale, the ship put in to the Danish settlement of 
 Holsteinbers:, on the Greenland coast, to refit, and 
 
 to' 
 
 ssUed again to the northward on the 26th of June. 
 They found a clear sea, and even in the middle of Lan- 
 caster Sound and Barrow's Strait perceived no traces 
 of ice or snow, except what appeared on the lofty sum- 
 mits of some of the mountains. The thermometer stood 
 at 40°, and the weather was so mild that the officers 
 dined in the cabin without a fire, with the skylight 
 partially open. On the 10th of August they passed 
 Ca])e York, and thence crossed over into Rc?gent InU * 
 
 11 1 " ' I 
 

 OAPTAIN BOSS 8 SECOND VOYAGE. 
 
 167 
 
 making the western coast between Sepping's and Elwin 
 Bay on the 16th. 
 
 They here fell in with those formidable streams, 
 packs, and floating bergs of ice which had offered such 
 obstructions to Parry's ships. From their proximity to 
 the magnetic pole, their compasses became useless as 
 they proceeded southward. On the 13th they reached 
 the spot where the Fury was abandoned, but no rem- 
 nants of the vessel were to be seen. AH her sails, 
 stores, and provisions, on land, were, however, found ; 
 the hermetically-sealed tin canisters having kept the 
 provisions from the attacks of bears ; and the flour, 
 bread, wine, spirits, sugar, &c., proved as jgood, after 
 being here four years, as on the first day they were 
 packed. This store formed a very seasonable addition, 
 which was freely made available, and after increasing 
 their stock to two years and ten months' supply, they 
 still left a large quantity for the wants of any future 
 explorers. On the 15th, crossing Cresswell Bay, they 
 reached Cape Garry, the farthest point which had been 
 seen by Parry. They were here much inconvenienced 
 and delayed by fogs and floating ice. While moun- 
 tains of ice were tossing around them on every side, 
 they were often forced to seek safety by mooring them- 
 selves to these formidable masses, and drifting with 
 them, sometimes forward, sometimes backward. In this 
 manner on one occasion no less than nineteen miles 
 were lost in a few hours ; at other times they under- 
 went frequent and severe shocks, yet escaped any seri- 
 ous damage. 
 
 Captain Ross draws a lively picture of what a ves- 
 sel endures in sailing among these moving hills. He 
 reminds the reader that ice is stone, as solid as if it 
 were granite ; and he bids him " imagine these moun- 
 tains hurled through a narrow strait by a rapid tide, 
 meeting with the noise of thunder, breaking from each 
 other's precipices huge fragments, or rending each 
 other asunder, till, losing their former equilibrium, 
 they fell over headlong, lifting the sea around in break- 
 ers and whirling it in eddies There is not a moment 
 
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 Mil ; . 
 
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158 
 
 PE0GRES8 OF ARCTIC DISCOVERY. 
 
 In which it can be conjectured what will happen in the 
 next ; there is not one which may nf^t be the last. The 
 attention is troubled to fix on any thin/? amid such con 
 fusion ; still must it be alive, that it may seize i.»n the 
 single moment of help or escape which may occur 
 Yet with all this, and it is the hardest task of all, there 
 is nothing to be acted, — no effort to be made, — he 
 must be patient, as if he were unconcerned or careless, 
 waiting, as he best can, for the fate, be it what it may, 
 which he cannot influence or avoid." 
 
 Proceeding southward, Ross found Brentford Bay, 
 about thirty miles beyond Cape Garry, to be of consid- 
 erable extent, with some fine harbors. Landing here, 
 the British 'colors were unfurled, and the coast, named 
 after the promoter of the expedition, was taken posses- 
 sion of in the name of the King. Extensive and com- 
 modious harbors, named Ports Logan, Elizabeth, and 
 Eclipse, were discovered, and a large bay, which was 
 called Mary Jones Bay. By the end of September 
 the ship had examined 300 miles of undiscovered coast 
 The winter now set in with severity, huge masses of 
 ice began to close around them, the thermometer sanl} 
 many degrees below freezing point, and snow fell very 
 thick. J3y sawing through the ice, the vessel was got 
 into a secure position to pass the winter, in a station 
 which is now named on the maps Felix Harbor. Tho 
 nmchinery of the steam engine was done away with, 
 the vessel housed, and every measure that could add to 
 the comfort of the crew adopted. They had abundance 
 of fuel, and provisions that might easily be extended 
 to three years. 
 
 On the 9th of January, 1831, they were visited by a 
 large tribe of Esquimaux, who were better dressed and 
 cleaner than those more to the northward. They dis- 
 played an intimate acquaintance with the situation and 
 Gearings of the country over which they had traveled, 
 and two of them drew a very fair sketch of the neigh- 
 boring coasts, with which they were familiar ; this 
 was revised and corrected by a learned lady named 
 Teriksin, — the females seeming, from this and former 
 
 lill'Vll 
 
Vff' 
 
 OAFfAIN ROSS S SECOND VOYAGE. 
 
 159 
 
 instances, to have a clear knowledge of the hydrography 
 and geography of the continent, bays, straits, and riv- 
 ers which they had once traversed. 
 
 On the 6th of April, Commander Ross, with Mr. 
 Blanky, the chief mate, and two Esquimaux guides, set 
 out to explore a strait which was reported as lying to 
 the westward, and which it was hoped might lead to 
 the western sea. After a tedious and arduous journey, 
 they arrived, on the third day, at a bay facing to the 
 westward and discovered, further inland, an extensive 
 lake, called by the natives Nie-tyle--.e, whence a broad 
 river flowed into the bay. Their gu'.des informed them, 
 however, there was no prospect of a water comunica- 
 tion south of their present position. Capt: Ross then 
 traced the coast fifty or sixty miles further south. 
 
 Several journeys were also made by Commander 
 Ross, both inland and along the bays and inlets. On 
 the 1st < 'f May, from the top of a high hill, he observed 
 a large inlet, which seemed to lead to the western sea. 
 In order to satisfy himself on this point, he set out 
 again on the 17th of May, with provisions for three 
 weeks, eight dogs, and three companions. Having 
 crossed the great middle lake of the isthmus, he reached 
 his former station, and thence traced an inlet which 
 was found to be the mouth of a river named by them 
 Garry. From the high hill, they observed a chain of 
 lakes lending almost to Thom's Bay, the Victory's sta- 
 tion in Felix Harbor. Proceeding northwest along the 
 coast, thov crossed the frozen surface of the strait which 
 has since been nnmed after Sir James Ross, and came 
 to a large island which was called Matty ; keeping 
 along its northern shore, and passing over a narrow 
 strait, which they named after Wellington, they found 
 themselves on what was considered to be the main- 
 land, but which the more recent discoveries of Simpson 
 have shown to be an island, and which now bears the 
 name of King William's Land. Still journeying on- 
 ward, with difiiculties continually increasing, from 
 heavy toil and severe privation, the dogs became ax- 
 hausted with fatigue, and a burden rather than an aid 
 to the travelers. 
 
 {A ■ 
 
 
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 r:M 
 
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 p-»v 
 
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 iiiil 
 
 160 
 
 PFiOGKKaS OB' ARCTIC DISCOVERY. 
 
 One of their greatest embarrassments was, how to 
 distinguish between land and sea. " When all is ice, 
 and all one dazzling mass of white — when the surface 
 of the sea itself is tossed up and fixed into rocks, while 
 the land is, on the contrary, very often flat, it is not 
 always so easy a problem as it might seem on a super- 
 ficial view, to determine a face which appears in words 
 to be extremely simple." Although their provisions 
 began to fall short, and the party were nearly worn 
 out, Commander Ross was most desirous of making as 
 much western discovery as possible ; therefore, depos- 
 iting every thing that could be dispensed with, he 
 pushed on, on the 28th, with only four days' provisions, 
 and reached Cape Felix, the most northern point of 
 thib Island, on the following day. The con.s'c here cook 
 tt southwest direction, and there was an unbounded ex- 
 panse of ocean in view TLc next morning, after hav- 
 ing traveled twenty miles farther, they reached a point, 
 v'hich Koss railed Point Victory, situated in lat. 64* 
 46' 19'', long. 98° 32' 49", whiletothemof-t distant one 
 in view, estimated to be in long. 99° 17' £8", he gave 
 the name of Cape Franklin. However loath to turn 
 back, yet prudence compelled them to do so, for as 
 they had only ten days' short allowance of food, and 
 more than 200 miles to traverse, there could not be a 
 moment's h( itatior in adopting this step. A high 
 cairn of stones was erected before leaving, in which 
 wap deposited a narrative of their proceedings. 
 
 The party endured much fatigue and suffering on 
 their return journey ; of the eight dogs only two sur- 
 vived, and the travelers in a most exhausted state ar- 
 rived in the neighborhood of the large lakes on the 8th 
 of June, where they fortunately fell in with a tribe of 
 natives, who received them hospitably, and supplied 
 theui plentifully with fish, so that after a day's rest 
 they resumed their journey, and reached the ship on 
 the 13th. Captain Ross in the meanwhile had made a 
 partial survey of the Isthmus, and discovered another 
 large lake, which he named after Lady Melville 
 
 After eleven months' imprisonment their little ship 
 
 . '^ ^ 
 
up 
 
 CAPTAIN KVKBS »JKC()NI) VOYAOK. 
 
 161 
 
 once more floated bMoyant on the waves, having been 
 released from iier ifv barrier on the ITth of September, 
 but for the oext few days made but little progress, 
 being beaten about among the icebergs, and driven 
 hither and tl»7.ther by the currents. 
 
 A change?! in the weather, however, took place, and 
 on the 23d they were once more frozen in, the sea in a 
 week after exhibiting one clear and unbroken surface. 
 All October was passed in cutting through the ice into 
 a more secure locality, and another dreary winter hav- 
 ing set in, it became necessary to reduce the allowance 
 of provisions. This winter was one of unparalleled 
 severity, tl e thermometer falling 92° below freezing 
 point. During the ensuing spring a variety of explo- 
 ratory journeys were carried on, and in one of these 
 Commander feoss succeeded in planting the British 
 flag on the North Magnetic Pole. The position which 
 had been usually assigned to this interesting spot by 
 the learned of Europe, was lat. 70° N., and long. 98° 
 30' "W". ; but Ross, by careful observations, determined 
 it to lie in lat. 70° 5' 17" N., and long. 96° 46' 45" W., 
 to the southward of Cape Nikolai, on the western shore 
 of Boothia. But it has since been found that the cen- 
 ter of magnetic intensity is a movable point revolving 
 within the frigid zone. 
 
 " The place of the observatory," Ross remarks, " was 
 as near to the magnetic pole as the limited means which 
 I possessed enabled me to determine. The amount of 
 the dip, as indicated by my dipping-needle, was 89° 
 69', being thus within one minute of the vertical ; 
 while the proximity at least of this pole, if not its ac- 
 tual existence where we stood, was further confirmed 
 by the action, or rather by the total inaction, of the 
 several horizontal needles then in my possession." 
 
 Parry's observations placed it eleven minutes distant 
 only irom the site determined by Ross. 
 
 "As soon," continues Ross, "as I had satisfied my 
 ovvU mind on the subject, I made known to the party 
 this gratifying result of all our joint labors ; and it was 
 then that, amidst mutual congratulations, we fixed the 
 
 '■^ 
 
 II 
 
 11' 
 
 »■; 
 
 i 
 
 \'m 
 
 
 
 
 If '4 
 
 ?ti 
 
 '^ :• 
 
162 
 
 PROGRESS OF ARCTIC DISCOVERT. 
 
 British flag on the spot, and took possepsion of the 
 North Magnetic Pole and its adjoining territory in the 
 name of Great Britain and King William IV. AVe 
 had abundance of materials for uiiilding in the frag- 
 ments of limestone that covered the beach, and we 
 therefore erected a cairn of some magnitude, iiiuU'r 
 which we buried a canister containing u record of the 
 interesting fact, only regretting that we had not the 
 means of constructing a pyramid of more importance, 
 and of strength sufficient to withstand the assaults of 
 time and of the Esquimaux. Had it been a pyramid 
 as large as that of Cheops, I am not quite sure that it 
 would have done more than satisfy our ambition under 
 the feelings of that exciting day." 
 
 On the 28th of August, 1831, they contrived to warp 
 the Victory out into the open sea, and made sail oa 
 the following morning, but were soon beset with ice, 
 as on the former occasion, being once more completely 
 frozen in by the 27th of September. 
 
 On the previous occasion their navigation had been 
 three miles ; this year it extended to four. This pro- 
 tracted detention in the ice made their present posi- 
 tion one of great danger and peril. As there seemed 
 no prospect of extracting their vessel, the resolution 
 was come to of abandoning her, and making the best 
 of their way up the inlet to Fury Beach, there to avail 
 themselves of the boats, provisions, and stores, which 
 would assist them in reaching Davis' Straits, where 
 they might expect to fall in with one of the whale 
 ships. 
 
 On the 23d of April, 1832, having collected all that 
 was useful and necessary, the expedition set out, drag- 
 ging their provisions and boats over a vast expanse of 
 rugged ice. "The loads being too heavy to be car- 
 ried at once, made it necessary to go backward and 
 forward twice, and even oftener, the same day. They 
 had to encounter dreadful tempests of snow and drift, 
 and to make several circuits in order to avoid impas- 
 sable barriers. The general result was, that by the 
 12th of May they had traveled 329 miles to gain thirty 
 
 i 
 
,1'- 
 
 s- 
 
 OAPJAIN ROSa 8 6KCOMD VOYAGE. 
 
 163 
 
 in a direct line, having in this labor expended a 
 month." After this preliminary movement, thev hade 
 a farewell to their little vessel, nailing her colorH to 
 the mast. Capt. Ross describes himself as deeply af- 
 fected ; this being the first vessel he had been (tbliged 
 to abandon of thirty-six in which he had served dur- 
 ing the course of forty-two years. On the 9th of June, 
 Commander Ross and two others, with a fortnight's 
 provisions, left the main body, who were more heav- 
 ily loaded, to ascertain the state of the boats and sup- 
 plies at Fury Beach. Returning they met their com- 
 rades on the 25th of June, 'reporting that they had 
 found three of the boats washed away, but enough still 
 left for their purpose, and all the provisions were in 
 good condition. The remainder of the journey was 
 accomplished by the whole party in a week, and on 
 tb? Ist of July they reared a canvas mansion, to 
 whuh they gave the name of Somerset House, and 
 enjoyed a hearty meal. 
 
 By the 1st of August the boats were rendered ser- 
 viceable, and a considerable extent of open sea being 
 visible, they set out, and after much buneting among 
 the ice in their frail shallops, reached the mouth of 
 the inlet by the end of August. After several fruit- 
 less attempts to run along Barrow's Strait, the obstruc- 
 tions of the ice obliged them to haul the boats on shore, 
 and pitch their tents. Barrow's Strait was found, from 
 repeated surveys, to be one impenetrable mass of ice. 
 After lingering here till the third week in September, 
 it was unanimously agreed that their only resource 
 was to fall back on the stores at Fury Beach, and there 
 ppend their fourth winter. Thev weie onlv able to ijet 
 half the distance in the boats, which were hauled on 
 shore in Batty Bay on the 24th of September, and 
 the rest of their journey continued on foot, tlie pro- 
 visions being dragged on sledges. On the 7th of Oc- 
 tober they once more reached their home at the scene 
 of the wreck. They now managed to shelter their 
 canvas tent by a wall of snow, and setting up an ex- 
 tra stove, made themselves tolerablv comfortable until 
 
 G* 
 
 V i 
 
 .1:; 
 
 is; 
 
 '-•< 
 
 1 . 1 
 
104 
 
 PB00RI<»8 OF ARCTIC DI8C0VKEY. 
 
 the increasinf^ severity of the winter, and rigor of 
 the cold, lidded to the tempestuous weather, made 
 them perfect prisoners, and sorely tried their patience. 
 Scurvy now bet^an to attack several of the party, and 
 on the IGth of February, 1833, Thomas, the carpenter, 
 fell a victim to it, and two others died. "Their situ- 
 ation was becoming truly awful, since, if they were 
 not liberated in the ensuing summer, little prospect 
 appeared of their surviving another year. It waa 
 necessary to make a reduction in the allowance of 
 preserved meats; bread was somewhat deficient, and 
 the stock of wine and ^irits was entirely exhausted. 
 However, as they caught a few foxes, which were con- 
 sidered a delicacy, and there was plenty of flour, 
 sugar, soups, and vegetables, a diet could be easily 
 arranged sufficient to support the party." 
 
 While the ice remained lirm, advantage was taken 
 of the spring to carry forward a stock of provisions to 
 Batty Bay, and this, though only thirty -two miles, oc- 
 cupied them a whole month, owing to their reduced 
 numbers from sickness and heavy loads, with the jour- 
 neyings to and fro, having to go over the ground eight 
 times. 
 
 On the 8th of July they finally abandoned this de- 
 
 Sot, and encamped on the 12th at their boat station in 
 latty Bay, where the aspect of the sea was watched 
 with intense anxiety for more than a month. On the 
 15th of August, taking advantage of a lane of water 
 which led to the northward, the party embarked, and 
 on the following morning had got as far as the turn- 
 ing point of their last year's expedition. Making their 
 way slowly among the masses of ice with which the 
 inlet was encumbered, on the 17th they found the wide 
 expanse of Barrow's Strait open before them, and nav- 
 iijable, and reached to within twelve miles of Cape 
 York. Pushing on with renewed spirits, alternately 
 rowing and sailing, on the night of the 25th they 
 rested in a good harbor on the eastern shore of Navy 
 Board Inlet. At four on the following morning they 
 were roused from their slumbers by the joyful intelli- 
 
CAITAIN UUbHb BIlCOMD VOYAGE. 
 
 105 
 
 ^oncc of ft fillip hvlntr in sight, and never did men 
 more liurricdly and energetically set out; but the ele- 
 ments conspiring against tlieni, after being battled by 
 calms and currents, they had the misery to see the 
 ship leave them with a fair breeze, and found it im- 
 possible to overtake her, or make themselves seen. A 
 few hours later, however, their despair was lelieved by 
 the sight of another vessel which was lying to in a calm. 
 By dint of hard rowing they were this time more for 
 tunate, and soon came up with her ; she proved to be 
 the Isabella, of Hull, the very ship in which lioss had 
 made his first voyage to these seas. Capt. Koss was 
 told circumstantially of his own death, &c., two years 
 previously, and he had some difficulty in convincing 
 them that it was really he and his party who now stood 
 before them. So great was the joy with which they 
 were received, that the Isabella manned her yards, 
 and her former commander and his gallant band of 
 adventurers were saluted with three hearty cheers. 
 The scene on board can scarcely be described ; each 
 of the crew vied with the other in assisting and com- 
 forting the party, and it cannot better be told than in 
 Ross's own words : — 
 
 " The ludicrous soon took place of all other feelings ; 
 in such a crowd, and such confusion, all serious thought 
 was impossible, while the new buoyancy of our spirits 
 made us abundantly willing to be amused by the scene 
 which now opened. Every man was hungry, and was 
 to be fed ; all were ragged, and were to be clothed ; 
 there was not one to whom washing was not indispen- 
 sable, nor one whom his beard did not deprive of all 
 human semblance. All, every thing too, was to be done 
 at once : it was washing, shaving, dressing, eating, all 
 intermingled ; it was all the materials of each jumbled 
 together, while in the midst of all there were intermina- 
 ble questions to be asked and answered on both sides ; 
 the adventures of the Victory, o^r own escapes, the 
 politics of England, and the news which was now four 
 years old. 
 
 " But all subsided into peace at last. The sick weie 
 
 a?" 
 
 *m.. 
 
 til 
 
 ^ 
 
 i 
 
 I M 
 
 'i ' 
 
 m 
 
166 
 
 PROORESS OF ARCTTIC DISCOVERT. 
 
 accommodated, the seamen disposed of, and all waa 
 done for us which care and kindness could perform. 
 
 " Night at lengih brought qviiet and serious thoughts, 
 and 1 trust there was not a man among us who did not 
 then express, where it was due, his gratitude for that 
 interposition wliich had raised us aU from a despair 
 which none could now forget, and had brought us fruiii 
 the very borders of a most distant grave, to life and 
 friends and civilization. Long accustomed, however, 
 to a cold bed on the hard snow or the bare rock, few 
 could sleep amid the comfort of our new accommoda- 
 tions. I was myself compelled to leave the bed wdiich 
 had been kindly assigned me, and take my abode in a 
 chair for the night, nor did it fare much better with the 
 rest. It was for time to reconcile us to this sudden and 
 violent change, to break through wdiat had become 
 habit, and inure us once more to the usages of our 
 former days." 
 
 The Ist\bella remained some time longer to prosecute 
 the fishery, and lett Davis' Strait on her homeward 
 passage on the 30th September. On the 12th of Oc- 
 tober they made the Orkney Islands, and arrived at 
 Hull on the 18th. The bold explorers, who had long 
 been given up as lost, were looked upon as men risen 
 from the grave, and met and escorted by crowds of 
 sympathizers. A public entertainment was given to 
 tiiem by the townspeople, at which the freedom of the 
 town was presented to Captain Koss., and next day he 
 left for London, to report to the Admiralty, and was 
 honored by a presentation to the king at Windsor. 
 
 The Admiralty liberally rewarded all the parties, 
 except indeed Captain Ross. Commander J. C. Ross 
 was appointed to the guardship at Portsmouth to com- 
 plete his period of service, and then received his post 
 rank. Mr. Thorn^ the purser, Mr. M'Diarmid, the sur- 
 geon, and the petty officers, were appointed to good 
 situations in the navy. The seamen received the usual 
 double pay r^iven to arciio explorers, up to the time 
 of leaving their ship, and full pay from that date until 
 their arrival in England. 
 
 iiii: 
 
CAPTAIN K088 8 8EC0ND VOYAGE. 
 
 167 
 
 t 
 
 Lies, 
 loss 
 !Oin- 
 
 pOflt 
 
 siir- 
 :ood 
 iiial 
 imc 
 iitil 
 
 A committee of the House of Commons took up the 
 case of Captain Ross early in the session of 1834, and 
 ou their recommendation 5,000/. was granted him as a 
 remuneration for his pecuniary outlay and privations. 
 
 A baronetcy, on the recommendation of tlie suine 
 committee, was also conferred by his Majesty William 
 IV. on Mr. Felix Booth. 
 
 In looking back on the results of this voyage, no im- 
 partial inquirer can deny to Captain Ross the merit of 
 having eftected much good by tracing and surveying 
 the wliole of the long western coast of Regent Inlet, 
 proving Boothia to be a peninsula, and setting at rest 
 the probability of an}*^ navigable outlet being discovered 
 from this inlet to the Polar Sea. The lakes, rivers and 
 islands which were examined, proved with suthcient 
 accuracy the correctness of the information furnished to 
 Parry by tne Esquimaux. 
 
 To Commander James Ross is due the credit of 
 resolving many important scientific questions, such as 
 the comoination of light with magnetism, fixing the 
 exact position of the magnetic pole. He v/as also the 
 only person in the expedition competent to make obser- 
 vations in geology, natural history and botany. Out 
 of about 700 miles of new land explored. Commander 
 Ross, in the expeditions which he planned and con- 
 ducted, discovered nearly 500. He had, up to this 
 time, passed fourteen summers and eight winters in 
 these seas. 
 
 The late Sir John Barrow, in his " Narrative of Yoy- 
 ftges of Discovery and Research,^' p. 518, in opposition 
 to Ross's opinion, asserted that Boothia was not joined 
 to the continent, but that they were "completely divi- 
 ded by a navigable strait, ten miles wide and upward, 
 leading past Back's Estuary, and into the Gulf (of 
 Boothia,) of which the proper name is Akkolee, not 
 Boothia ; and moreover, tnat the two seas flow as freely 
 into each other as Lancaster Sound does into the Polar 
 8ea." This assumption has since been shown to be 
 incorrect. Capt. Ross asserts there is a difierence in 
 the level of these two seas. 
 
 •—■I 
 
 
 # 
 
 111! 
 
 !'i- 
 
 
 ! 
 
 '^^^f 
 
 y i^' 
 
168 
 
 PROGRESS OF ARCTIC DISCOTERT. 
 
 I! Il 
 
 iiH:, 
 
 I may here fitly take a review of Captain R«,48'8 ser- 
 vicer. He entered the navy in 1790, served fifteen years 
 as a midshipman, seven as a lieutenant, and seven as a 
 commander, and was posted on the 7th of December, 
 1818, and appointed to the command of the first arctic 
 expedition of this century. On his return he received 
 many marks of favor from continental sovereigns, was 
 knighted and made a Companion of the Bath on tlio 
 24th of December, 1834 ; made a Commander of the 
 Sword of Sweden, a Knight of the Second Class of St 
 Anne of Prussia (in diamonds,) Second Cla«;s of the 
 Legion of Honor, and of the Red Eagle of Prussia, and 
 of Leopold of Belgium. Received the royal premiuii 
 from tho Geographical Society of London, in 1833, fo 
 his discoveries in the arctic regions; also gold medal* 
 from the Geographical Society of Paris, and the Royjvi 
 Societies of Sweden, Austria, and Denmark. The fre^ 
 dom of the cities of London, Liverpool, and Bristo) *, 
 six gold snuff-boxes from Russia, Holland, Denmark 
 Austria, London and Baden ; a sword valued at lOO 
 guineas from the Patriotic Fund, for his sufferings, hav 
 mg been wounded thirteen times in three different 
 actions during the war ; and one of the value of 200/. 
 from the King of Sweden, for service in the Baltic and 
 the White Sea. On the 8th of March, 1839, he was 
 appointed to the lucrative post of British consul at 
 Stockholm, which he held for six years. 
 
 Captain Back's Land Journi:y, 1833-35. 
 
 Four years having elapsed without any tidings being 
 received of Capt. Ross and his crew, it began to bo 
 generally feared in England that they had been added 
 to the number of former sufferers, in the prosecution of 
 their arduous undertaking. 
 
 Dr. Richardson, who nad himself undergone such 
 frightful perils in the arctic regions with Franklin, was 
 the first to call public attention to the subject, in a letter 
 to the Geographical Society, in which he suggested a 
 project for relieving them, if still alive and to be found ; 
 
CAPTAIN BACK S LAND JOURNEY. 
 
 169 
 
 at 
 
 and Ht the bame time volunteered his services to the 
 Colonial Secretary of the day, to conduct an exploring 
 
 ""Si: 
 
 Although the expedition of Capt. Ross was Tiot under- 
 taken under the auspices of government, it became a 
 national concern to ascertain the ultimate fate of it, and 
 to make some eftbrt for the relief of the party, whose 
 h'jme at that time might be the boisterous sea, or whose 
 shelter the snow hut or the floating iceberg. Dr. Rich- 
 irdson proposed to proceed from Hudson's Bay, in a 
 northwest direction to Coronation Gulf, where he was 
 to commence his search in an easterly direction. Pass- 
 ing to the north, along the eastern side of this gulf, he 
 would arrive at Point Turnagain, the eastern point of 
 his own former discovery. Having accomplished this, 
 he would continue his search toward the eastward until 
 he reached Melville Island, thus perfecting geographical 
 discovery in that quarter, and a continued coast line 
 might be laid down from the Fury and Hecla Strait to 
 Beechey Point, leaving only the small space between 
 Franklin's discovery and that of the Blossom unexplored. 
 The proposal was favorably received ; but owing to the 
 political state of the country at the time, the oner was 
 not accepted. 
 
 A meeting was held in Kovember, 1832, at the rooms 
 of the Horticultural Society, in Regent street, to obtain 
 funds, and arrange for fitting out a private relief expe- 
 dition, as the Admiralty and Government were unablo 
 to do this ofiicially, in consequence of Captain Ross's 
 expedition not being a public one. Sir George Cock- 
 hurn took the chair, and justly observed that those offi- 
 cers who devoted their time to the service of science, 
 and braved in its pursuit the dangers of unknown and 
 imgenial climates, demanded the sympathy and assist- 
 » ,ce of all. Great Britain had taken the lead in geo- 
 graphical discovery, and there was not one in this coun- 
 try who did not feel pride and honor in the fame she 
 had attained by the expeditions of Parry and Franklin ; 
 hut if we wished to create future Parrvs and Franklins, 
 if we wished to encourage British enterprise and com 
 
 «^,./ 
 
 ' I i 
 
iro 
 
 PBOOBESS OF ARCTIC DISCOVERY. 
 
 
 age, we must prove that the officer who is out of eight 
 of his countryuien is not forgotten ; that there is con- 
 6 deration for his sufferings, and appreciation of his 
 spirit. This reflection will cheer him in the hour of 
 trial, and will permit him, when surrounded by dangers 
 and privations, to indulge in hope, the greatest blessing 
 of man. Captain George Back, R. rT., who was in 
 Italy when the subject was first mooted, hastened to 
 England, and offered to lead the party, and his services 
 were accepted. A subscription was entered into, to 
 defray the necessary expenses, and upward of 6000/. 
 was raised ; of this sum, at the recommendation of Lord 
 Goderich, the then Secretary of State, the Treasury con- 
 tributed 20001. 
 
 After an interview with the king at Brighton, to which 
 he was specially summoned, Captai" Back made prepa- 
 rations for his journey, and laid down his plan of opera- 
 tions. In order to facilitate his views, and give hiin 
 greater authority over his men, special instructions and 
 authority were issued by the Colonial Ofhce, and the 
 Hudson's Bay Company granted him a commission in 
 their service, and placed every assistance at his disposal 
 throughout their territory in iN'orth America. 
 
 Every thing being definitely arranged, Capt. Back, 
 accompanied oy Dr. Kichard King as surgeon and natu- 
 ralist, with three men who had been on the expedition 
 with Franklin, left Liverpool on the 17th of February. 
 1833, in one of the New York packet ships, and arrived 
 in America after a stormy passage of thirty-five days. 
 He proceeded on to Montreal, where he had great diffi- 
 culty in preventing two of the men from leaving him, 
 as their hearts began to fail them at the prospect of 
 the severe journey with its attendant difficulties, which 
 they had to encounter. 
 
 Four volunteers from the Royal Artillery corps here 
 joined him, and some voyageurs having been engaged, 
 the party left, in two canoes, on the 25th of April. Two 
 of his party deserted from him in the Ottawa river. 
 
 On the 28th of June, having obtained his comple- 
 ment of men, he may be said to have commenced his 
 
 u 
 
CAPTAIN back's LAND JOURXEY. 
 
 171 
 
 journey. They siiiFered dreadfully from myriads of 
 6:;nd-tlies and musquitoes, being so disfigured by their 
 attacks that their features could scarcely be recognized. 
 Horse-flies, appro2:)riately styled " bull-dogs," were an- 
 other dreadful pest, which pertinaciously gorged them- 
 selves, like the leech, until they seemed ready to burst. 
 
 " It is in vain to attempt" to defend yourself against 
 these puny bloodsuckers ; though you crush thousands 
 of them, tens of thousands arise to avenge the death of 
 their companions, and you very soon discover that the 
 conflict which you are waging is one in which you are 
 sure to be defeated. So great at last are the pains and 
 fatigue in buffeting away this attacking force, that in 
 despair you throw yourself, half sufltbcated, in a blanket, 
 with your face upon the ground, and snatch a few min- 
 utes of sleepless rest." Oapt. Back adds that the vig- 
 orous and unintermitting assaults of these tormenting 
 pests conveyed the moral lesson of man's helplessness, 
 since, with all our boasted strength, we are unable to 
 repel these feeble atoms of creation. " How," he says, 
 " can I possibly give an idea of the torment we endured 
 from the sand-flies? As we divided into the confined 
 and suftbcating chasms, or waded through the close 
 swamps, they rose in clouds, actually darkening the air ; 
 to see or to s])eak was equally difficult, for they rushed 
 at every undefended part, and fixed their poisonous 
 fangs in an instant. Our faces streamed with blood, as 
 if leeches had been applied, and there was a burning 
 and irritating pain, followed by immediate inflamma- 
 tion, and producing giddiness, which almost drove us 
 mad, and caused us to moan with pain and agony. 
 
 At the Pine portage. Captain Back engaged the 
 Services of A. R. McLeod, in the employ of tne Hud- 
 son's Bay Company, and who had been fixed upon by 
 Governor Simpson, to aid the expedition. He was 
 accompanied by his wife, three children, and a ser- 
 vant; and had just returned from the Mackenzie River, 
 with a large cargo of furs. The whole family were at- 
 tached to the party, and after some detentions of a 
 general and unimportant character they arrived at 
 11 
 
 •-•< 
 
 • ii 
 
 • f I 
 
 1 
 
172 
 
 PROOBE8S OF A^IiCTilO DISCOVERY. 
 
 im 
 
 ■* 
 
 l! 
 
 if 
 
 Si 
 I 
 I 
 
 Fort Chipewyan on the 20th of July. Fort Resoui 
 tion, on Great Slave Lake, was reached on the 8tli of 
 August. 
 
 The odd assemblage of goods and voyageurs in their 
 encampment are thus graphically described by the 
 traveler, as he glanced around him. 
 
 " At my feet was a rolled bundle in oil-cloth, con- 
 taining some three blankets, called a bed ; near it a 
 piece of dried buffalo, fancifully ornamented with long 
 blfick hairs, v^hich no art, alaa, can prevent from insin- 
 uating themselves between the teeth, as you laboriously 
 masticate thei tough, hard flesh; then a tolerably clean 
 napkin, spread by way of table-cloth, on a red piece of 
 canvas, and iBupporting a tea-pot, some biscuits, and a 
 salt-cellar ; near this a tin plate, close by a square kind 
 of box or safe of the same material, rich with a pale, 
 greasy hair, the produce of the colony at Red Kiver ; 
 and the last, the far-renowned ^cm?nica/i, unquestion- 
 ably the best food of the country for expeditions such 
 as ours. Behind me were two boxes containing astro- 
 nomical instruments, and a sextant lying on the ground, 
 while the diflferent corners of the tent were occupied 
 by a washing apparatus, a gun, an Indian shot-ponch, 
 bags, basins, and an unhappy-looking japanned pot, 
 whose melancholy bumps and hollows seemed to re- 
 proach me for many a bruise endured upon the rocks 
 and portages between Montreal and Lake Winnipeck. 
 Nor were my crew less motley than the furniture of 
 the tent. It consisted of an Englishman, a man from 
 Stornaway, two Canadians, two Metifs or half-breeds, 
 and three Iroquois Indians. Babel could not have pro- 
 duced a worse confusion of unharmonious sounds than 
 was the conversation they kept up." 
 
 Having obtained at Fort Resolution all possible in- 
 formation, from the Indians and others, relative to the 
 course of the northern rivers of which he was in search, 
 he divided his crew into two parties, five of whom were 
 left IS an escort for M**. McLeod, and four were to ac- 
 company himself in search of the Great Fish River, 
 since approprfately named after Back himself. 
 
"^r 
 
 CAl'TAIN IJACaC S LAND JOURNET. 
 
 173 
 
 On the 19th of August they began the ascent of the 
 Hoar Frost River, whose course was a series of the 
 most fearful cascades and rapids. The woods hero 
 were so thick as to render them almost impervious 
 consisting chiefly of stunted firs, which occasioned in 
 finite trouble to the party to force their way through 
 added to which, they had to clamber over fallen trees 
 through rivulets, and over bogs and swamps, until tho 
 difficulties appeared so appalling, 9'\ almost to dis- 
 hearten the party from prosecuting their journey. Tho 
 heart of Captain Back was, however, of too stern a cast 
 to be dispirited by difficulties, at which less persever 
 '.ng explorers would have turned away discomfited, 
 and cheering on his men, like a bold and gallant leader, 
 the first in the advance of danger, they arrived at length 
 in an open space, where they rested for awhile to recruit 
 their exhausted strength. The place was, indeed, one 
 of barrenness and desolation ; crag was piled upon crag 
 to the height of 2000 feet from tlie base, aid tho course 
 of the river here, in a state of contraction, was marked 
 by an uninterrupted line of foam. 
 
 However great tho beauty of the scenery may be, 
 and however resolute may be the will, severe toil will 
 at length relax the spirits, and bring a kind of despon- 
 dency upon a heart naturally bold and undaunted. This 
 was found particularly the case now with the intei'pre- 
 ter, who became a dead weight upon the party. Rapid 
 now succeeded rapid ; scarcely had they surmounted 
 one fall than another presented itself, rising like an am- 
 phitlieater 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 strikingly grand, and after pass 
 ing 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 nanied Aylmer Lake, after 
 the Governor-General of Canada at that time. The 
 boat was sent out with three men to search for the lake, 
 or outlet of the river, which they discovered on the eec- 
 
 
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 KZ 
 
 t:: 
 
 .\ < 
 
ir4 
 
 PROORF-SS OF ARCTIC DISCOS' Ell Y. 
 
 !i 
 
 ox\(\ day, and Captain Back himself, during tlieir ah- 
 senco, also accidentally discovered its source in the 
 Sand Hill Lake, not far from his encampment. Not 
 prouder was Bruce when he stood on the green sod 
 which covers the source of the Nile, than was Captain 
 Back when he found that he was standing at the source 
 of a river, the existence of which was known, but the 
 course of which was a problem, no traveler had yet ven- 
 tured to solve. Yielcling to that pleasurable emotion 
 which discoverers, in the first bound of their transport, 
 may be pardoned for indulging. Back tells us he threw 
 himself down on the bank and drank a hearty draught 
 of the limv'd water. 
 
 "For this occasion," ho addfc). "I hpd reserved a lit- 
 tle grog, and need hardly s:.j v it :* \ j;at cheerfulness 
 it w%T,s sliared among the crew, wiiose v ^ ^ome tidings 
 had verified the notion of Dr. Richardson and myself, 
 and thus placed beyond doubt the existence of the 
 Thlew-ee-choh, or Great Fish River. 
 
 On the 30th of August, they began to move toward 
 the 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 Colden Lake, some Indians visited them 
 from the Chief Akaitcho, who, it will be remembered, 
 was the guide of Sir John Franklin. Two of these In- 
 dians remembered Captain Back, one having accom- 
 panied 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 ra- 
 vines, heaped with masses of granite, and along narrow 
 ledges, where a false step womd have been fatal. 
 
 At Fort Reliance, the party found Mr. McLeod had, 
 di^ring their absence, erected the frame-work of a com- 
 fortable residence for them, and all hands set to work 
 to complete it. After many obstacles and difficulties, 
 it was tinished. 
 
CAll'AIN BACK'S LAND JOURNEY. 
 
 17i 
 
 Dr. Kinff joined them on the IGth of September, with 
 fwo lacU'H Diiteaux. 
 
 On tlie 5th of Novemher, they exchanged tlieir cold 
 tents for the nev7 house, whicli was fifty feet long hy 
 thirty broad, and contained four rooms, besides a spa- 
 cious hall ill the center, for tho reception and accom- 
 modation Ot ae Indians, to which a sort of rude kitchen 
 was attachti . 
 
 As the '^ nter advanced, bands of starving Indians 
 continued t- arri\ e, in the hope of obtaining some re- 
 lift! as Htthj or nothing wa" to be procured by hunting. 
 They would stand around while the men were taking 
 their meals, watching every mouthful with the most 
 longing, imploring look, but yet never uttered a com- 
 plaint. 
 
 At other times they would, seated round the fire, oc- 
 cupy themselves in roasting and devouring small bits 
 of their reindeer garments, which, even when entire, 
 afforded them a very insutiicient protection against a 
 temperature of 102° below freezing point. 
 
 The sufferings of the poor Indians at this period are 
 described .s 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 
 small portions of the mouldy pemmican intended for 
 the dogs, unpalatable as it was, was 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 is 
 insensible to the cry of a child for food." 
 
 At this critical juncture, Akaitcho made his appear- 
 ance with an opportune supply of a little meat, which 
 in some measure enabled Captain Back to relieve the 
 sufferers around him, many of whom, to his gieat de- 
 light, went away with Akaitcho. The stock of meat 
 was soon exhausted, and thoy hud to open their pern- 
 
 hi 
 
 
 I ',;• 
 
 I 
 
 I 
 
176 
 
 PROOHESS OF AROnO DISCOVERT. 
 
 m ['■ 
 
 mican. The officers contented themselves with the 
 ebort supply of half a pound a day, but the laboring 
 men could not do with less than a pound and three- 
 quarters. The cold now set in with an inteuKity which 
 Ca])tain Back had never before experienced, — the ther- 
 mometer, on tlie 17th of Januarv, being 70° below zero. 
 " Such indeed, (he says,) was the abstraction of heat, 
 tluit with eight large logs of dry wood on the iire, I 
 could not get the thermometer higher than 12° below 
 zero. Ink and paint froze. The sextant cases and 
 boxes of seasoned wood, principally fir, all split. The 
 skin of the hands became dry, cracked and opened 
 into unsightly and smarting gashes, which we were 
 obliged to anoint with grease. On one occasion, atler 
 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 
 ^he 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 trom 
 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 -r-" 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." 
 
 On the 14th of February, Mr. McLeod and his family 
 removed to a place half way between the fort and the 
 Indians, in order to facilitate their own support, and 
 assist in procuring food by hunting. His situation, 
 however, became soon one of the greatest embarrass- 
 ment, he and his family being surrounded by difficul- 
 ties, privations, and deaths. Six of the natives near 
 him sank under the horrors of starvation, and Akaitchc 
 and his hunters were twelve days' march distant. 
 
 vi 
 
I 
 
 CAITAIN BACK'S LAND JOURNEY. 
 
 177 
 
 Toward the end of April, Capt. Back began to make 
 arrangements for constructing boats for prosecuting tho 
 expedition once more, and while so employed, on the 
 25th a messenger arrived with the gratityin|j intelli- 
 irence, that Capt. Ross had arrived safely m England, 
 fonfirmation of which, was afforded in extracts frum 
 the Times and Herald^ and letters from the long lost 
 adventurers themselves. Their feelings at tliese glad 
 tidings are thus described : — " In the fullness of our 
 hearts we assembled together, and humbly offered up 
 our thanks to that merciful Providence, who in tho 
 beautiful language of scripture hath said, ' Mine own 
 will I bring a^^am, as I did sometime from the deeps 
 of the sea.' Trie thought of so wonderful a preserva- 
 tion overpowered for a time the common occurrences 
 of life. We had just sat down to breakfast ; but our 
 appetite was gone, and the day was passed in a fever- 
 ish state of excitement. Seldom, indeed, did my friend 
 Mr. King or I indulge in a libation, but on this joyful 
 occasion economy was forgotten ; a treat was given to 
 the men, and for ourselves the social sympathies were 
 quickened by a generous bowl of punch." Capt. Back's 
 former interpreter, Augustus, hearing that he was in 
 the country, set out on foot from Hudson's Bay to join 
 him, but getting separated from his two companions, 
 the gallant little fellow was either exhausted by suffer- 
 ing and privations, or, caught in the midst of an open 
 traverse, in one of those terrible snow storms which 
 may be f aid to blow almost through the frame, he had 
 Bunk to lise no more, his bleached remains being dis- 
 covered not far from the Riviere a Jean. " Such," 
 says Capt. Back, " was the miserable end of poor Au- 
 gustus, a faithful, disinterested, kind-hearted creature, 
 who had won the regard, not of myself only, but I 
 may add, of Sir J. Franklin and Dr. Richardson also, 
 by qualities which, wherever found, in the lowest as iu 
 the highest forms of social life, are the ornament and 
 charm of humanity." 
 
 On the 7th of June, all the preparations being com- 
 l^eted, McLeod having been previously sent on to hunt, 
 
 % ■■ - 
 
 » 
 
 m 
 
 
 ...;ii! 
 
 1 , 
 1 1' 
 
 I 
 
 \. H 
 
 I 
 
 f 
 
 
178 
 
 PROOUK38 OF AKCriO DISCOVERr. 
 
 and deposit csisks of meat nt various stagca, Back set 
 out with Mr. King, accompanied by four voyagers and 
 an Indian guide. The stores not required were buried, 
 and the doons and windows of the liouso blockcMl up. 
 
 At Artillery Lake, Back picked up the renuiinder 
 of his i)arty, with the carpenters who had been em 
 l)lt)yed preparing boats. The liglitest and best was 
 chosen and jilaced on ruiniers phited with iron, and in 
 this manner she was drawn over the ice by two men and 
 six fine dogs. The eastern siiore of the hike was fol- 
 lowed, as it was found less rocky and precipitous than 
 tlie oj)posito one. The march was prosecuted by night, 
 the air being more fresh and pleasant, and the i)arty 
 took rest in the day. The glare of the ice, the ditii- 
 culty encountered in getting the boat along, the ice be- 
 ing so bad that the spikes of the runners cut through 
 instead of sliding over it, and the thick snow which 
 fell in June, greatly increased the labor of getting along. 
 The cold, raw wind pierced through them in spite of 
 cloaks and blankets. After being caulked, the boat 
 was launched on the 14th of June, the lake being suf- 
 ficiently unobstructed to admit of her being towed 
 along shore. The weather now became exceedingly 
 unpleasant — hail, snow, and rain, pelted them one after 
 the other for some time without respite, and then only 
 yielded to squalls that overturned the boat. With 
 alternate spells and baitings to rest, they however, 
 gradually advanced on the traverse, and were really 
 making considerable progress when pelting showers of 
 sleet and drift so dimmed and confused the sight, dark- 
 ening the atmosphere, and limiting their view to only 
 a few paces before them, as to render it an extrc:aely 
 perplexing task to keep their course. 
 
 On the 23d of June, they fortunately fell in with a 
 cache made for them by their avant-couriei\ Mr. Mc- 
 Leod, in which was a seasonable supply of deer and 
 musk-ox flesh, the latter, however, so impregnjited with 
 tlse odor from which it takes its name, that the men de- 
 clared tliey would rather starve three days than swal 
 low a mouthful of it. To remove this unfavorable inl- 
 
 and 
 
CAFFAIN UAC;iv8 LAM) JOUUNET. 
 
 170 
 
 )0 
 
 prcBsion, Capt. J>ack ordered tlic daily rations !o Ik 
 Berved tVoni it tor liis own mess as well as theirs, tak 
 ini]f occasion at the fcanie time, to imnress on their minds 
 tlie injnrioUH consecjnences of voluntary ahstineuee, 
 and the necessity of accommodating tiieir tastes to 
 Biicli food as the conntry mif^ht supply. Soon after an- 
 other cacJii' was met with, thus njaking eleven animaU 
 in all, that had hi'cn thus obtained and secured for 
 them by the kind care of Mr. McLeod. 
 
 On the 27th, they reached Sandy Hill Bay, where 
 tliey found Mr. McLeod encamped. On the 2Sth, the 
 boat being too frail to be dragged over the portage, 
 about a quarter of a mih^ in length, was carried bodily 
 by the crew, and launched safely in the Thlew-ee-choli 
 or Fish River. After crossing the portage beyond 
 Mnsk-ox Rapid, about four miles in length, and having 
 all his ]iarty together. Captain liack took a survey of 
 his provisions for the three months of operations, m nich 
 he tound to consist of two boxes of maccaroni, a case 
 of cocoa, twenty-seven bags of ]iemmican of about SO 
 l])s. each, and a keg w'ith two gallons of rum. This ho 
 considered an adequate supjily if all turned out sound 
 and good. The ditKculty, however, of transj)orting a 
 weiglit of 5000 lbs, over ice and rocks, by a circuitous 
 route of full 200 miles, may be easily conceived, not to 
 mention the pain endured in walking on st)me parts 
 where the ice formed innumerable spikes that pierced 
 like needles, and in other places where it was so black 
 and decayed, that it threatened at every step to engulf 
 the adventurous traveler. These and similar difficul 
 ties could only be overcome by the most steady perse 
 verance, and the most determined resolution. 
 
 Among the group of dark figures huddled together 
 in the Indian encampinent around them, Capt. Back 
 found his old acquaintance, the Indian beauty of whom 
 mention is made in Sir John Franklin's narrative un- 
 der the name of Green ^♦■ockings. Although sur- 
 rounded with a family, with one urchin in l»er cloak 
 clinging to her back, and several other maternal ac- 
 iompanimcnts, Capt. Back immediately recognized 
 
 
 
 I . 
 
 •:;Ji- 
 
 • ^' 
 
 ti ^ 
 
 
 ;'Mt 
 
 
18C 
 
 PROGRESS OF AKClIU DISCOVERY, 
 
 (I: 
 
 her, and called her by he/ name, at which she laughed, 
 aiul said she was an old woman -'.ow, and bfggect that 
 she might be relieved by the " medicine man " for she 
 was very much out of health. However, notwithstand- 
 ing all this, she was still the beauty of her tribe, and 
 with that consciousness which belongs to all belles, sav- 
 age or polite, she seemed by no means displeased wh^jii 
 Back sketijhed her portrait. 
 
 Mr. McLeod was now sent back, taking with him ton 
 persons and fourteen dogs. His instructions were to 
 proceed to Fort Resolution for the stores expected to he 
 sent there by the Hudson's Bay Company, to build a 
 house in some good locality, for a permanent Ushin^^ 
 station, and to be again on tne banks of the Fish liivor 
 by the middle of September, to afford Back and his 
 party any assistance or relief they might require. 
 
 Tlie old Indian chief Akaitcho, hearing from the in- 
 terprv'ti'r that Capt. Back was in his immediate neigli- 
 borliood, said, "I have known the chief a long time, 
 and I am afraid I shall never see him again ; I will go 
 to him." On his arrival he cautioned Back against the 
 dangers of a river which he distinctly told him the 
 present race of Indians knew nothing of. He also 
 warned him against the treachery of tlie Esquimaux, 
 which he said was always masked under the guise of 
 friendship, observing they would attack him when he 
 least expected it. " I am afraid," continued the good 
 old chief, " that I shall never see you again ; but should 
 you escape from tlie great water, take care you are not 
 caught by the v/inter, and thrown into a situation like 
 that in which you were on your return from the Cop 
 ])ennine, for you are alone, and the Indians cannot 
 assist you." 
 
 The carpenters, with an Iroquois, not being further 
 required, were dismissed to join Mr. McLeod, and on 
 the 8th of July they proceeded down the river. The 
 boat was now launched and laden with her cargo, which, 
 together with ten persons, she stowed well enough for 
 a smooth river, but not for a lake or sea wav. The 
 wt'iirht was calculated at 8nno Ihs., exclusive of thii 
 awniiit):, polos, sails, &c.. and the crew. 
 
CAPTAIN back's LAND JOURNEY. 
 
 181 
 
 Their progress to the sea was now one continued suc- 
 tfussion of (lant^erous and formidable falls, rapids, and 
 cataracts, whiclifi'equently made Back hold his breath, 
 ex])ecting to see the boat clashed to shivers agi-inst some 
 protruding rocks amidst the foam and fury at tlic foot 
 of a rapid. The only wonder is how in their frail leaky 
 boat they ever shot one of the rapids. Rapid alter 
 raj^id, and fall after fall, were passed, each accompa- 
 nied with more or less danger ; and in one instance the 
 built was only saved by all Lands jumping into the 
 breakers, and keeping her stern up the stream, until 
 she was cleared from a rock that had brought her up. 
 
 They had hardly time to get into their places again, 
 wlien they were carried with considerable velocity 
 past a river which joined from the westward. After 
 passing no less than five rapids within the distance of 
 three miles, they came to one long and appalling one, 
 full of rocks and large boulders ; the sides hemmed in 
 by a wall of ice, and the current flying with the veluo 
 ity and force of a torrent. The boat was lightened of 
 her cargo, and Capt. Back placed himself on a high 
 rock, with an anxious desire to see her run the rapid, 
 lie had every hope which confidence in the judgment 
 and dexterity of his principal men could inspire, but it 
 was impossible not to feel that one crash would be fatal 
 to the expedition. Away they went with the speed of 
 an arrow, and in a moment the foam and rocks hid 
 them from view. Back at last heard what sounded in 
 his ear like a wild shriek, and he saw Dr. King, who 
 was a hundred yards before him, make a sign with his 
 gun, and then run forward. Back followed with an 
 agitation which may be easily conceived, when to his 
 inexpressible joy he found that the shriek was tlie tri 
 umphant whoop of the crew, who had landed sMfely in 
 a small bay beiow. For nearly one hundred miles of 
 the distance they were impeded by these frightful whirl 
 pools, and strong and heavy rapids. 
 
 On opening one of their bags ot pemmican, tlie in 
 ojenuity of the Indians at pilfering was discovered, sue 
 eessivc layers of mixed sand, stones, and green mea 
 
 
 f '•' 2 
 
 ! • ' 
 
 i» 
 
 •P 'i 
 
 ii 
 
 \ ■ 
 
182 
 
 PKOGBESS OF ARCTIC DISCOVERY. 
 
 having been artfully and cleverly substituted for the 
 dry meat. Fearful that they might be carrying heaps 
 of stone instead of provision, Back had to examiim 
 carefully the remainder, which were all found sountl 
 and well-tasted. lie began to fear, from the inclination 
 of the river at one time toward the south, that it would 
 bo found to discharge itself in Chesterfield Inlet, in 
 Hudson's Bay, but subsequently, to his great joy, it 
 took a direct course toward the north, and liis hopes of 
 reaching the Polar Sea were revived. The river now 
 led into several large lakes, some studded with islands, 
 which were named successively after Sir H. Pelly, and 
 Mr. Garry, of the Hudson's Bay Company ; two others 
 were named Lake Macdougall and Lake Franklin. 
 
 On the 28th of July, thev fell in with a tribe of about 
 thirty-five very friendly Esquimaux, who aided them 
 in transporting their boat over the last long and steep 
 
 Sortage, to which his men were utterly unequal, and 
 lack justly remarks, to their kind assistance he is 
 mainly indebted fur getting to the sea at all. 
 
 It was late when they got awav, and while threading 
 their course between some sand-banks with a stroujj; 
 current, they first caught siglit of a majestic headland 
 in the extreme distance to the north, which had n 
 coast-like appearance. This important promontory, 
 Back subsequently named after our gracious Queeu, 
 then Princess Victoria. 
 
 " This, then," observes Back, " may be considered as 
 the mouth of the Thlew-ee-choh, which after a violent 
 and tortuous course of 530 geographical miles, runnino; 
 through an iron-ribbed country, without a single troo 
 on the whole line of its banks, expanding into tivo 
 large lakes, with clear horizon, most embarrassing to 
 tlie navigator, and broken into falls, cascades, and raj)- 
 ids, to the number of eighty-three in the whole, ])our8 
 its water into the Polar Sea, in bit. fJT" 11' N., and lon<^'. 
 94° 30' AV., that is to say, about thirty-seven niiU's 
 more south than the Cop])ennino IMver, and nineteen 
 miles more south than tlnit of Back's River, (of Frank 
 lin,) at the lower extrem'ty of BathnrsiV Inlet." 
 
 h i 
 
CAPTAIN BACK 8 LAND JOURNEY. 
 
 183 
 
 For several days Back was able to make but slow 
 progress along the eastern shore, in consequence of the 
 Bolia body of drift-ice. A barren, rocky elevation of 
 800 feet high, was named Cape Beaufort, after the 
 present hydrographer to the Admiralty. A bluff point 
 on the eastern sicie of the estuary, which he considered 
 to be the northern extreme, he named Cape Hay. 
 Dean and Simpson, however, in 1839, traced the shore 
 much beyond this. The difficulties met with here, be- 
 gan to dispirit the men. For a woek or ten days they 
 hud a continuation of wet, chiliy, foggy weather, and 
 Ihe only vegetation, fern and moss, was so wet that it 
 would not burn ; being thus without fuel, during this 
 time they had but one hot meal. Almost without 
 water, without anv means of warmth, or any kind of 
 warm or comfortmg food, sinking knee-deep, as tliey 
 ])roceeded on land, in tlie soft slush and snow, no won- 
 der that some of the best men, benumbed in their limbs 
 and dispirited by the dreary and unpromising prospect 
 before them, broke out for a moment, in low murmur- 
 iiigs, that theirs was a hard and jiainful duty. 
 
 Captain Back found it utterly impossible to proceed, 
 as ho had intended, to tlic Point Turnagain of Franklin, 
 and after vainly essaying a land expedition by three of 
 the best walkers, and these having returned, after mak- 
 ing ])ut fifteen miles' way, in consequence of the heavy 
 rains and the swamj^y nature oi the ground, he came 
 to the resolution of returning. Reflecting, he says, on 
 the long and dangerous stream thev had to ascend 
 combining all the bad features of the worst rivers in 
 the country, the hazard of the falls and the rapids, and 
 the slender hope which remained of their attaining 
 even a single mile further, he felt he had no choice. 
 Assembling, therefore, the men around him, and un- 
 furling the Jlritish flag, which was saluted with three 
 cheers, he announced to them this determination. The 
 latitude of this place was 08" 13' 57" N., and longitude 
 94-° 58' 1" W. The extreme point seen to tlie north- 
 ward on the western side of the estiiary, in latitude 08° 
 40' N., longitude 00° 20' W., Back named Cape Rich- 
 
 .•- flu. 
 
 1:3 :> 
 
 •i .4 
 
 ♦t; } 
 
 3 
 
184 
 
 PROGRESS OF ARCTIC DISCOVERY. 
 
 ardson. The spirits of many of the men, whose health 
 had suffered greatly for want of warm and nourishinfy 
 food, now brightened, and they set to work with alac- 
 rity to prepare for their return journey. The boat be- 
 ing dragged across, was brought to the place of their 
 foi-mer station, atler which the crew went back four 
 miles for their baggage. The whole was safely con- 
 veyed over before the evening, when the water-casks 
 were broken up to make a fire to warm a kettle of 
 cocoa, the second hot meal they had had for nine days. 
 
 On the 15th of August, they managed to make their 
 way about twenty nnles, on their return to the south- 
 ward, through a breach in the ice, till they came to 
 open water. The dilHculties of the river wore doubled 
 in the ascent, from having to proceed against the stream. 
 All the obstacles of rocks, nipids, sand-banks, and long 
 portages had to be faced. In some days as many as 
 sixteen or twenty rapids were ascended. They found, 
 as they proceeded, tliat many of the deposits of pro- 
 visions, on which they relied, had been discovered and 
 destroyed by wolves. On the IGth of Septembei*, tliey 
 met Mr. McLeod and his party, who had been several 
 days at Sand Hill l>i'y, waiting for them. On the 24tli, 
 they reached the Ah-hel-dessy, where they met with 
 some Indians. They were ultimately stopped by one 
 most formidable perpendicular fall, and as it was found 
 im})ossible to convey the boat further over so rugged 
 and mountainous a country, most of the declivities of 
 which were coated with thin ice, and the whole hidden 
 by snow, it was here abandoned, and the party pro- 
 ceeded tiie rest of the journey on foot, each laden with 
 a pack of about 75 lbs. weight. 
 
 Late on the 27th of September, they arrived at their 
 old liabitation. Fort Reliance, after being absent nearly 
 four months, w^earied i^^xleed, but " truly grateful for 
 the mnnifold mercies they had experienced in the 
 cournc of their long and perilous journey." Arrange- 
 ments wen^ now made to pass the winter as comforta- 
 l)ly as their neans would ])ermit, and as there was no 
 |)r(>bability liuit Li:ej 3 would Le sufiieient food in the 
 
 J. 
 
 i«*i.. 
 
Hi 
 • f 
 I'll 
 
 |)ro- 
 
 OAFfAIN BACKS LAND JOUKNEY. 
 
 185 
 
 house for the consumption of the whole party, all ex- 
 cept six were sent with Mr. McLeod to the fisheries. 
 The Indians brought them provisions from time tu time, 
 and their friend Akaitcho, with his foll||^r8, though 
 not very successful in hunting, was ndHR'anting in 
 his contributions. This old diieftain \np, however, 
 no longer the same active and important personage he 
 had been in the daye when he renderea such good 
 service to Sir John Franklin. Old age and infirmities 
 were creeping on him and rendering him peevish and 
 tickle. 
 
 On the 2l8t of March following, having left direc- 
 tions with Dr. King to proceed, at the ]>r()per soMson, 
 to the Company's factory at Hudson's Bay, to embark 
 for England in their spring ships, Captain Back set 
 out on his return through Canada, calling at the Fishe- 
 ries to bid farewell to his esteemed frienci, Mr. McLeod, 
 and arriving at the Norway House on the 24th, where 
 he settled and arranged the accounts due for stores, 
 (fee, to the Hudson's Bay Company. He proceeded 
 thence to New York, embarked for England, and ar- 
 rived at Liverpool on the 8th of September, after an 
 abserce of two years and a half. Back was honored 
 with an audience of his Majesty, who expressed his ajv 
 probation of his efforts — first in tlie cause of human- 
 ity, and next in that of geographical and scientific re- 
 search. He has since been knighted ; and in 1835, the 
 Koyal Geographical Society awarded him their gold 
 medal, (the Boyal premium,) for his discovery of the 
 Great Fish River, and navigating it to the sea on the 
 arctic coast. 
 
 Dr. King, with the remainder of the party, (eight 
 men,") reached England, in the Hudson's Bay Com- 
 pany's ship, in the following month, October. 
 
 Of Captain Back's travels it has been justly observed 
 tliat it is impossible to rise from the perusal of them 
 witliout being struck with astonishment at the extent of 
 pufibringp which the liumun frame can endure, siiid ;it tlie 
 Piinie time the wondrous displry of fortitude which was 
 exhil)ited under circumstances of so appalling a nature, 
 
 [1 
 
 
 • N 
 
 i : 
 
 t > ^ 
 
 «■■«! J 
 
 » ^^1 
 
186 
 
 PROGRESS OF ARCTIC PISCO VEST. 
 
 ;J 
 
 as to invest the narrative with the character of a roman- 
 tic fiction, rather than an unexaggerated tale of actual 
 reality, lie, however, snftercd not despair nor dospuii- 
 dency to overcome him, but gallantly and undauntedly 
 pursued his course, until ho returned to his native laiul 
 to add to the number of those noble spirits whoso names 
 will be carried to posterity as the brightest ornaments 
 to the country which gave them birth. 
 
 Captain Back's Voyage of the Terror. 
 
 In the year 1836, Captain Back, who had only re- 
 tunK3d the previous autumn, at the recommendation of 
 the Geographical Society, undertook a voyage in the 
 Terror up Hudson's Strait. 
 
 He was to reach Wager River, or Repulse Bay, and 
 to make an overland journey, to examine the bottom 
 of Prince Regent's Inlet, sending other parties to the 
 north and west to examine the Strait of the Fury and 
 llecla, and to reach, if possible, Franklin's Point Turn- 
 again. 
 
 Leaving England on the 14th of June, he arrived on 
 the 14th of August at Salisbury Island, and proceeded 
 up the Frozen Strait ; off Cape Comfort the ship got 
 frozen in, and on tlie breaking u]3 of the ice by one of 
 tliose frequent convulsions, the vessel was drifted right 
 up tlie Frozen Channel, grinding large heaps that op- 
 posed lier progress to powder. 
 
 From December to March she was driven about by 
 the furv of the storms and ice, all attempts to release 
 lier being utterly powerless. She thus floated till tlie 
 loth of July, and for three days was on lier beam-ends ; 
 but on the 14tli she suddenly righted. Tlie crazy vessel 
 with her gaping wounds was scarcely able to transport 
 the crew across the stormy waters of the Atlantic, but 
 the return voyage which was rendered absolutely neccs- 
 saiT, was fortunately accomplished safely. 
 
 I shall now give a concise summary of Captain Sir 
 George Back's arctic services, so as to present it more 
 rcadilv to the reader: 
 
 were sei 
 
DBASE AND SIMPSON S DISCOVERIES. 
 
 187 
 
 In 1818 he was Admiralty Mate on board the Trent. 
 ,inder Franklin. In 1819 he again accorr.]..anied him 
 on his first overland jonrney, and was with him in all 
 those perilons sufterings whicli are elsewhere narrated. 
 He was also as a Lieutenant with Franklin on liis sec- 
 ond journey in 1825. Having been in the interval ]n'o- 
 iiioted to the rank of Commander, he proceeded, in 18o3, 
 accompanied hy Dr. King and a party, througli Nortii- 
 ern America to the Polar Sea, in search of Captain 
 John lloss. He was posted on the 30th of September, 
 1835, and appointed in the following year to the com- 
 mand of the Terror, for a voyage of discovery in Hud- 
 son's Bay. 
 
 Messrs. Dease and Simpson's Discoveries. 
 
 In 1836 the Hudson's Bay Company resolved upon 
 undertaking the completion of the survey of the north 
 ern coast of their territories, forming the shores of 
 Arctic America, and small portions of which were left 
 undetermined between the discoveries of Captains Back 
 and Franklin. 
 
 They commissioned to this task two of their officei*s, 
 Mr. Thomas Simpson and Mr. Peter Warren Dease, who 
 were sent out witii a party of twelve men from the com 
 pany's chief fort, with proper aid and nppliunecs. De- 
 scendinj; the Mackenzie to the sea, thev reached and 
 surveyed in July, 18G7, the remainder of the western 
 ])nrt of the coast left unexamir.ed by Fiuvnklin in 1.S25, 
 tVuni his Retm-n Reef to Cape Barrow, where the Bios 
 sum's boats turned l^ack. 
 
 Proceeding on from Return Reef two new rivers 
 were discovered, — tlie Garry and the Culville; the 
 hitter more than a thousand miles in length. Although 
 it was the height of summer, the ground was found 
 frozen several inclies below the surface, the spray froze 
 un tlie oars and rigging of their boat<, and the ice lay 
 smooth and solid in the bays, as in the depth of winter. 
 
 On the 4th of Auirust. having left the boats and ])ro 
 needed on by bind, Mr. Simpson arriv(»d at Elson Bay 
 12 H* 
 
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 PROORKflfl OF AROTIO DISCOVERY. 
 
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 wliich point Licutoiiaut Elson had retirhod in tlio IMos- 
 BOin's \n\r<ro in 182(5. 
 
 The j>!irt y >u)\v retunicd to winter lit Fort (confidence, 
 on (treat Boar Lake, whence they were instructed to 
 prosecute their search to the eastward next season, and 
 to coninuuiicato if possiblo with Sir George Back's 
 expedition. 
 
 Tliey left their winter quarters on the Oth of Jinie, 
 1838, and descended Dease'H River. They found tiie 
 Coppermine Kiver much swollen l>y floods, and encuni- 
 btred with masses of floatini^ ice. Tlie rapids they iiad 
 to pass were very ])erilou8, as nniy bo inferred from the 
 following graphic description: — 
 
 "Wo had to pull for our lives to keep out of the suc- 
 tion of the precipices, along whoso base the bieakcrs 
 raged and foamed with overwhelming fury. SluMtiy 
 betore noon, we came in sight of Escape Rapid of 
 Franklin ; and a glance at the overhanging clilf told us 
 that there was no alternative but to run down with a 
 full cargo. In an instant," continues Mr. Simpson, " we 
 were in the vortex ; and before we were aware, iny l)oat 
 v/ns Vorne toward an isolated rock, which the boilino 
 surge almost concealed. To clear it on the outside wa^ 
 no longer p.;ssible ; our only chance of safety was to 
 run between it and the lofty eastern cliiT. The word 
 was passed, and every breath was hushed. A stream 
 which dashed down u])on us over the brow of the ])reci 
 pice more than a hund ed feet in height, mingled with 
 the spray that whirled upward from the rapid, forminj^ 
 a terrific shower-bath. The pass was al)out eight feet 
 wide, and the error of a single foot on either side wouhl 
 hove been instant destruction. As, guided by Sinclair's 
 consummate skill, the boat shot safely through those 
 jaws of death, an involuntary clieer arose. (3ur next 
 impulse was to turn round to view the fate of our coni- 
 raaea behind. They had profited by the peril we in- 
 curred, and kept without the treacherous rock in time." 
 
 On the Ist of July they readied the sea, and en- 
 camped at tlie mouth of the river, where tliey waited 
 for tlie opening of the ice till the 17th. They doubled 
 

 (! "' ** -■ , 
 
 DKAfiE AND SIMPnON 8 DIB. OVRUIEH. 
 
 189 
 
 ('ape Burrow, one of the iiortlicrn points oi' 15utliur8t'8 
 InU't, on the 2l)tli, l)ut wiTCf priivcintu^l crosKJng tlu; inlet 
 hy the continuity of the ice, and ol)li;^c(l to niukc a 
 ciVcnit of nearly 150 niili'H hy Arctic Sound. 
 
 Some very pure spcciinenH of copper ore were found 
 on one of tlic Hurry IsIuikIh. A'ttM* doulilin<^ (.'ape 
 Flinders on the Dth of August, thi; bouts \v(M'e urre8te(| 
 by the ice in u little Imy to which the name of Jioat 
 lluven was given, .sitiuite about thret? miles from Frank- 
 lin's farthest. Here the boats lingered for the bcit 
 part of a month, in utter hopelessness. Mr. Simj)son 
 pushed on therefore on the 2<)tli, with an ex])loring party 
 i»r* seven men, provitsionod for ten days. On the tirst 
 (hiy they i)a88ed l\)int Turnuguin, the limit of Frank- 
 lin's survey in 1821. On the ii;kl th(\v had reached an 
 elevatiMl cape, with lund apparently closing all round 
 to the northward, so that it was feared they had only 
 been traversing the coast of a huge l)ay. ]3ut the 
 ])erseveranco of the adventurous explorer was fully re- 
 warded. 
 
 "With bitter diFappointinent," writes Mr. Simpson, 
 '^ I ascended the height, fron^. whence a vast and splen- 
 did prospect burst sudch^nly upon me. The sea, as if 
 transformed by enchantment, rolled its fierce waves at 
 mv feet, and beyond the reach of vision to the eastward, 
 Islands of various shape and size overspread its surface ; 
 and the northern land teiminated to the eye in a bold 
 and lofly cape, bearing c^ast northeast, thirty or forty- 
 miles distant, "while the continental coast trended away 
 southeast. I stood, in fact, on a remurkuble headland, 
 at the eastern outhitof an ice-obstructed strait. On the 
 extensive land to the northward I l)estowed the name 
 of our most gracious sovereign Queen Victoria. Its 
 eastern visible extremity 1 calhnl Cape Pelly, in com- 
 pliment to the governor of Hudson's liay Company." 
 
 Having readied the limits which prudence, dictated 
 in the face of the long journey back to the boats, many 
 of his men too being lame, Mr. Simpson retraced his 
 Bteps, and the party reached Bout-haven on the 20th of 
 August, having traced nearly 14'> miles of new coast. 
 
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 PROGRESS OF AUCTIO DISCOVERY. 
 
 
 
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 TIio boats wore cut out of tJieir icy prifion, and com 
 menoctl their rt'-ascfiit ot'tlie Co])i)enuiiio on the JJtl oi 
 Bei)t«inher. At its juuctioii with the Kendal liiver tlie^? 
 left tiieir boats, and shouldering their i)ack8, tra\'crse(l 
 the barren grounds, and arrived at their residence ou 
 the Mm by the 14th of September. 
 
 The following season these persevering explorers com- 
 menced their third voyage. Thcv reached the Llooily 
 Fall on the 22d ofJune, 1839, and occupied themselves 
 for a week in carefully examining Kichardson's Iliver, 
 which was discovered in the previous year, and dis- 
 charges itself in the head of Hack's Inlet. On the ;{d 
 of July tliey reached Capo Barrow, and from its rocky 
 lieights were surprised to observe Coronation (iulf 
 almost clear of ice, while on their former visit it could 
 have been crossed on foot. 
 
 They were at Ca])o Franklin a month earlier than 
 Ml S'uij-son readied it on foot the previous year, and 
 doubled Cape Alexander, the northernmost capo in this 
 quarter, on the 28th of July, after encountering a vio- 
 lent gale. They coasted the huge bay extending for 
 about nine degrees eastward from this jxiint, being fa- 
 vored with clear weather, and protected by the various 
 islands they met from the crushing state of the ice 
 drifted from seaward. 
 
 On the 10th of August they opened a strait about 
 ten miles wide at each extremity, but narrowing to four 
 or live miles in the center. This strait, which divides 
 the nniin-land from Boothia, has been called Simpson'n 
 Strait. 
 
 On the IStliof Augmt tl.eyhad passed Kichardson's 
 Point and doubled roint Ogle, the furthest point of 
 Back's journey in 1834. 
 
 By the 16th they had reached Montreal Island in 
 Back's Estuary, where they found a deposit <»f pro- 
 visions which Captain Back had left there that day five 
 years. The pemmican was unfit for use, but out of 
 several pounds of chocolate half decayed the men con- 
 trived to pick Bufhcient to nuike a kettleful acceptable 
 drink in honor of tho occasion. Tiicro were also a tin 
 
DEASB AND SIMl'SON B DmCOVKltlhlS. 
 
 191 
 
 cape find a few fis]i-lionl<<5, of M-liich, ohscrvos Mr. 
 SiiMi)S(m, " i\ri'. rX'iiso 1111(1 I took posscssitm, as iirmmo- 
 rials of our luivinnj l)ivakfasti'(l on tlio \'ery spot wIuto 
 the tent of our ixallant, tlionirli less siicccv-isful precursor 
 stood tliat vi'rv (lav fivo voars before. 
 
 J>y the 'Jotli of Aui^Uht they had reached ua far as 
 Aberdeen Island to the eastward, from wliich they liad 
 a view of an apparently largo gulf, corresponding with 
 that which had been so correctly described to Parry by 
 the intelligent Esquimaux female as Akkolee. 
 
 From a mountainous ridge about three miles inland 
 a view of In. id in the northeast was obtained supj^osed 
 to be one of the southern ])romontories of IJoothia. 
 High and distant islands stretching irom K. to E. N. K. 
 (probably some in Committee l^ay) were seen, and two 
 considerable ones were noted far out in tht; otHng. 
 Kemcni'it'riiig the length and ditlicultv of their return 
 route, tl. • explorers now retraced their steps. On their 
 return Vv)yage they traced sixty miles of tiie south coast 
 oflioothiu, where at one time they were not more than 
 ninety miles from the site of the magnetic pole, as de- 
 termined by Cai)tain Sir James C. Koss. On the '2.5th 
 of August they erected a high cairn at their faithest 
 point, near Cape Ilerschel. 
 
 About 150 miles of the high, bold shores of Victoria 
 Land, as far as Capo Parry, w^re alpo examined ; 
 Welling: on, Cambridge, and Byron Bays being sur- 
 veyed and accurately laid down. Tliey tlien stretched 
 ncro83 C ironation Oulf, and re-entered the Coj)per- 
 inine Kiver on the ICth of Sei^tember. 
 
 Abandoning hero one of their boats, with the re- 
 iiiiiins of their useless stores and other arti-les not 
 iHupiired, they ascended the river and reacht 1 Fort 
 (yontidence on the 24th of September, after one of the 
 longest and most successful boat voyages ever per- 
 formed on the Polar Sea, having traversed more than 
 1600 miles of sea. 
 
 In 183'3, before the intelligenco of this last trip 
 had been received, Mr. Simpson was presented by 
 the Koyal Geographical Society of London with the 
 
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 PKOGlil^SS OF ARCTIC DISCOVERY. 
 
 ^liii I 
 
 Founder's Gold Medal, for discovering and tracing in 
 1837 and 1838 about 300 miles of the arctic shores ; 
 but the voyage which I have just recorded has added 
 greatly to the laurels which he and his bold compan- 
 ions have achieved. 
 
 Dk. John Kae's Land Expedition, 1846-47. 
 
 Although a little out of its chronological order, I 
 give Dr. Rae's exploring trip before I proceed to no- 
 tice Franklin's last voyage, and the different relief 
 expeditions that have been sent out during the past 
 two years. 
 
 In 1846 the Hudson's Company dispatched an ex- 
 pedition of thirteen persons, under the command of 
 Dr. John Rae, for the purpose of surveying the unex- 
 plored portion of the arctic coast at the northeastej'n 
 angle of the American continent between Dease and 
 Simpson's farthest, and the Strait of the Fury and 
 Hecla. 
 
 The expedition left Fort Churchill, in Hudson's 
 Bay, on the 5th of July, 1846, and returned in safety 
 to York Factory on the 6tli September in the follow- 
 ing year, after having, by traveling over ice and snow 
 in the spring, traced the coast all the way from the 
 Lord Mayor's Bay of Sir John Ross to within eiojlit 
 or ten miles of the Fury and Hecla Strait, thus prov- 
 ing that eminent navigator to have been correct in 
 stating Boothia to be a peninsula. 
 
 On the 15th of July the boats first fell in with the 
 ice, about ten miles north of Cape Fullerton, and it 
 was so heavy and closely packed that they were 
 obliged to take shelter in a deep and narrow inlet 
 that opportunely presented itself, where they w^ere 
 closed up two days. 
 
 On the 22d the party reached the most southerly 
 opening of Wager River or Bay, but were detained 
 the w^hole day by the immense quantities of heavy ice 
 driving in and out with the flood and ebb of the tide, 
 which ran at the rate of eight miles an hour, forcing up 
 
 ii, 
 11' 
 
 1 
 
PR. JOHN liAES LAUD EXPEDITION. 
 
 193 
 
 the ice and grinding it agfiinst the rocks witli a noise 
 like thunder. On the night of the 24th the boats 
 ancht)red at tlie he-id ot'tlie Repulse Bay. Tlie follow- 
 ing day they anchored in Gibson's Cove, on the banks 
 of which they met with a small party of Esqnimanx ; 
 several of the women wore beads round their wrists, 
 which t!iey had obtained from Ca[)tain Pari-y's ship 
 when at Igloolik and Winter Island. But they had 
 neither heaid nor seen anything of Sir John Franklin. 
 
 Learniu": from a chait drawn bv one of the natives, 
 that the isthmus of Alolville peninsula was only about 
 forty miles across, and i-hat of this, owing to a number 
 of large lakes, but five miles of land would have to be 
 passed over, Dr. Rae determined to make his way 
 over this neck in preference to proceedii^g by Fox's 
 Channel through the Fujy and Hecla Strait. 
 
 One boat was therefore laid up with her cargo in 
 security, and with the other the party set out, assisted 
 by three Esquimaux. After traversing several large 
 lakes, and crossing over six " portages," on the 2d of 
 August they got into the salt water, in Committee 
 Bay, but being able to make but little progress to the 
 northwest, in consequence of heavy gales and closely 
 packed ice, he returned to his starting point, and made 
 preparations for wintering, it being found impossible 
 to proceed with the survey at that time. The other 
 boat was brought across the isthmus, and all hands 
 were set to work in making preparations for a long 
 and cold y inter. 
 
 As no wood was to be had, stones were collected to 
 build a house, which was finished by the 2d of Sep- 
 tember. Its dimensions were twenty feet by fourteen, 
 and about eight feet high. The roof was formed of 
 oil-cloths and morse-skin coverings, the masts and 
 oars of the boats serving as rafters, while the door 
 was made of parchment skins stretched over a wooden 
 frame. 
 
 The deer had already commenced mijrrating south- 
 ward, but whenever he hvx] leisure. Dr. Rae shoul- 
 dered his rifle, and had frequently good success, ehoot- 
 
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194 
 
 PKOORE88 OF ARCTIC DI800VKRT. 
 
 ing on OTie day seven deer within two miles of then 
 encMinpineiit. 
 
 On tlie 16th of October, the thennometer fell to 
 zero, and the greater part of the reindeer had j)assed ; 
 but the party liad by this time shot 130, and (lining 
 the remainder of October, and in Nox-ember, thirty- 
 two more were killed, &o that with 200 partridges and 
 a few salmon, their snow-built larder was pretty well 
 stocked. 
 
 Sufficient fuel liad been collected to last, with econ- 
 omy, for cooking, until the spring; and a couple of 
 seals which had been shot ])i'oduced oil enough fur 
 their lamps. By nets set in the lakes under the ice, a 
 few salmon were also caught. 
 
 After passing a very stormy winter, with the tem- 
 perature occasionally 47° below freezing point, and 
 often an allowance of but one meal a day, toward the 
 end of February preparatic ^s for resuming their sur- 
 veys in the spring were made. Sleds, similar to those 
 used by the natives, were constructed. In the begin- 
 ning of March the reindeer began to migrate north- 
 ward, but were very shy. One was shot on the 11th. 
 Dr. Rae set out on the 5th of April, in company 
 with three men and two Esquimaux as interpreters, 
 their provisions and bedding being drawn on sleds by 
 four dogs. Nothing worthy of notice occurs in this 
 exploratory trip, till on the 18th Rae came in sight of 
 Lord Mayor's Bay, and the group of islands with which 
 it is studded. The isthmus which connects the hind 
 to the northward with Boothia, he found to be only about 
 a mile broad. On their return tlie party fortunately fell 
 in with four Esquimaux, from wliom they obtained n 
 quantity of seal's blubber for fuel and dog's food, and 
 some of the flesh and blood for their own use, enougli 
 to maintain them for six davs on half allowance. 
 
 All the party were more or less affected with snow 
 blindness, but arrived at their winter quarters in Ke- 
 pulse Bay on the 5th of May, all safe and well, but as 
 black as negroes, from the combined effects of frost- 
 bites and oil smoke. 
 
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 DB. JOHN KAE's LAI«) EXPEDITION. 
 
 195 
 
 On the evening of tlie IStli May, Dr. Tlae again 
 started with a clio>en party of foiii* men, to trace the 
 west shore of Melville peninsula. Each of the men 
 carried about TO lbs. weight. 
 
 Being unable to obtiiin a drop of water of nature's 
 thawing, and fuel being ratlier a scarce article, tliey 
 wei'e obliged to take small kettles of snow under the 
 blankets with them, to thaw by the heat of the body. 
 
 Having reached to about 69° 42' N. lat., and 85° 8' 
 long., and their provisions being nearly exhausted, 
 they were obliged, much to their disappointment, to 
 turn back, when only within a few miles of the Ilecla 
 and Fury Strait. Early on the morning of the 30th 
 of May, the party arrived at their snow hut on Cape 
 Thomas Simpson. The men they had left there were 
 well, but verv thin, as thev had neither caug-ht nor 
 shot any thing eatable, except two marmots, and they 
 were preparing to cook a j)iece of parchment skin for 
 their supper. 
 
 " Our journey," says Dr. Kae, " hitherto had been 
 the most fatiguing I had ever experienced ; the severe 
 exercise, with a limited allowance of food, had reduced 
 the whole party very much. However, we marched 
 merrily on, tightening our belts — mine came in six 
 inches — the men vowing that when they got on full 
 allowance, they would make U]) for lost time." 
 
 On the morning of the 9th of June, they arrived at 
 their encampment in Kepulse Bay, after being absent 
 twenty-seven days. The w^hole party then set actively 
 to work procuring food, collecting fuel, and preparing 
 the boats for sea; and the ice in the bay having broken 
 up on the 11th of August, on the 12th they left their 
 winter quarters, and after encountering head winds 
 and stormy weather, reached Churchill Biver on the 
 31st of August. 
 
 A gratuity of 400Z. was awarded o Mr. Bae, by the 
 Hudson's Bay Company, for the * 'iportant services he 
 had thus rendered to the cause i' science. 
 
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196 
 
 PROGRESS OF ARUTIC DISCOVERY. 
 
 Captain Sir John Franklin's Last Expedition* 
 
 1845-51. 
 
 That Sir John Franklin, now nearly six years ab- 
 sent, is alive, we dare not affirm ; but that his ships 
 should be so utterly annihilated that no trace of them 
 can be discovered, or if they have been so entirely 
 lost, that not a single life should have been saved to 
 relate the disaster, and that no traces of the crew or 
 vessels should have been met with by the Esquimaux, 
 or the exploring parties who have visited and investi- 
 gated those coasts, and bays, and inlets to so consid- 
 erable an extent, is a most extraordinary circumstance. 
 It is the general belief of those officers who have 
 served in the former arctic expeditions, that whatever 
 accident may have befallen the Erebus and Terror, 
 they cannot wholly have disappeared from those seas, 
 and that some traces of their fate, if not some living 
 remnant of their crews, must eventually reward the 
 search of the diligent investigator. It is possible that 
 tliey may be found in quarters the least expected. 
 There is still reason, then, for hojpe^ and for the great 
 and honorable exertions which that divine spark in 
 the soul has prompted and still keeps alive. 
 
 "There is something," says the Athenaeum, "in- 
 tensely interesting in the picture of those dreary seas 
 amid whose strange and unspeakable solitudes our lost 
 countrymen are, or have been, somewhere imprisoned 
 for so many years, swarming with the human life that 
 is risked to set them free. JSTo haunt was ever so ex- 
 citing — so full of a wild grandeur and a profound 
 patlios — as that w^hich had just aroused the arctic 
 echoes ; that wherein their brothers and companions 
 have been beating for the track by which they may 
 rescue tlie lost mariners from the icy grasp of the Ge- 
 ;.ius of the North. Fancy these men in their adaman 
 tine prison, wherever it may bo, — chained up by the 
 polar spirit whom they had dared, — lingering through 
 years of cold and darkness on the stinted ration that 
 scarcely feeds the blood, and the feeble hope that 
 
FJjAMa,UN s LAar expedition. 
 
 197 
 
 scarcely sustains the heart, — and then imagine the rusli 
 of emotions to greet the first cry tV'^u mat wild hunting 
 ground which should reach th>;.i ears! Through many 
 summers has that cry '.jeen listened for, no doubt. 
 Sometliing like an expectation of the rescue which it 
 sliould announce has revived with each returning sea- 
 son of comparative light, to die of its own baffled in- 
 tensity as the long dark months once more settled down 
 upon their dreary prison-house. — There is scarcely a 
 doubt that the track being now struck, these long- 
 pining hearts may be traced to their lair. But what to 
 f)ie anxious questioning which has year by year gone 
 forth in search of their fate, will be the answer now 
 revealed ? The trail is found, — but what of the weary 
 feet that made it? We are not willing needlessly to 
 alarm the public sympathies, which have been so gene- 
 rously stirred on behalf of the missing men, — but we 
 are bound to warn our readers against too sanguine an 
 entertainment of the hope which the first tidings of the 
 recent discovery is calculated to suggest. It is scarcely 
 possible that the provisions which are sufficient for three 
 years, and adaptable for four, can by any economy 
 which implies less than starvation have been spread 
 over five, — and scarcely probable that they can have 
 been made to do so by the help of any accidents which 
 the place of confinement supplied. We cannot hear of 
 this sudden discovery of traces of the vanished crews as 
 living men, without a wish v/hich comes 'ike a pan^ 
 that it had been two years ago — or even ast year. It 
 makes the heart sore to think how close re ^ef may have 
 been to their hiding-place in former yef.rs — when it 
 turned away. There is scarcely reason to doubt that 
 had the present circumstances of the search occurred 
 two years ago — last year perhaps — the wanderers 
 would have been restored. Another year makes a 
 tVio-htful diiference in the odds : — and we do not think 
 the public will ever feel satisfied with what has been 
 (lone in this matter if the oracle so long questioned, and 
 silent so long, shall speak at last — and the answer shall 
 be, ' It is too late.' " 
 
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 198 
 
 PROGRESS OF AKOl'IO DISCOVERY. 
 
 In tlie prosecution of the noble enterprise on which 
 all eyes are now turned, it is not merely scientific ro- 
 eearcli and geographical discovery that are at jjresent 
 occupying the attention of the commanders of vessels 
 sent out ; the li' of human beini]js are at stake, and 
 above all, the lives of men who liave nobly periled 
 every thing in the cause of national — nay, of universal 
 l^rogress and knowledge ; — of men who have evinced 
 on this and other expeditions the most dauntless bra- 
 very that any men can evince. Who can think of the 
 probable fate of these gallant adventurers without a 
 shudder? 
 
 Alas ! how truthfully has Montgomery depicted the 
 fatal imprisonment of vessels in these regions : — 
 
 There lies a vessel in that realm of frost, 
 Not wrecked, not stranded, yet forever lost ; 
 Its keel embedded in the solid mass ; 
 Its glistening sails appear e:;panded glass ; 
 The tiansverse ropes with -^earls enormous sti'ung^ 
 The yards with icicles grotesquely hung. 
 Wrapt i 11 the topmast shrouds there rests a boy, 
 His old sea-faring father's only joy ; 
 Sprung from a race of rovers, ocean bom, 
 Nursed at the helm, he trod dry land with scorn , 
 Through fourscore years from poit to port he veer'd ; 
 Quicksand, nor rock, nor foe, nor tempest feai''d; 
 Now cast ashore, though like a hulk he lie, 
 His son at sea is ever in his eye. 
 He ne'er shall know in his Northumbrian cot, 
 How brief that son's career, how strange his lot ; 
 Writhed round the mast, aud sepulchred in air. 
 Him shall no worm devour, no vulture tear ; 
 Congeal'd to adamant his frame shall last. 
 Though empires change, till tide and time be past 
 Morn shall return, and noon, and eve, and night 
 Meet here with interchanging shade and light ; 
 But from tliat barque no timber shall decay. 
 Of these cold forms no feature pass away ; 
 Perennial ice around th' encrusted bow, 
 The peopled-deck, and full-rigg'd mast shall grow 
 Till fiom the sun iiimself the whole be hid. 
 Or spied beneath a crystal pyramid : 
 As in pure amber with divergent lines, 
 A rugged shell embossed with sea-weed, shines, 
 From age to age increased with annual snow. 
 This now Mont Blanc among the clouds may glow. 
 Whose conic peak that earliest greets the dawn. 
 And latest from the sun's shut eye withdrawn, 
 
 m-i' 
 
FRANKLIN'S LAST EXPEDITION. 
 
 199 
 
 Shall fiom the Zenith, through incumbent gloom, 
 Burn like n lump uj)on this ntival tomb. 
 But when th' archangel's triimpet sounds on high, 
 The pile shall burnt to atoms through the sky, 
 And leave its dead, upstarting at the call, 
 Naked and pale, before the Judge of all. 
 
 All who read these pages will, I am sure, feel the 
 deepest sympatJiy and admiration of the zeal, persever- 
 ance, and conjugal affection displayed in the noble and 
 untiring efforts of Lady Franklin to relieve or to dis- 
 cover the fate of her distinguished husband and the gal- 
 lant party under his command, despite the difficulties, 
 disappointments, and heart-sickening "hope deferred" 
 with which these efforts have been attended. All men 
 must feel a lively interest in the fate cf these bold men, 
 and be most desirous to contribute toward their resto- 
 ration to their country and their homes. The name of 
 the present Lady Franklin is as "familiar as a house- 
 hold word " in every bosom in England ; she is alike 
 the object of our admiration, our sympathy, our hopes, 
 and our prayers. Nay, her name and that of her hus- 
 band is breathed in prayer in many lands — and, oh! 
 how earnest, how zealous, how courageous, have been 
 her efforts to find and relieve her husband, for, like 
 Desdemona, 
 
 "She loved him for the dangers he had passed, 
 And he loved her that she did pity them." 
 
 How has she traversed from ]3ort to port, bidding "God 
 ppeed their mission " to each public and private ship 
 going forth on the noble errand of mercy — how freely 
 and promptly lias she contributed to their comforts. 
 How has she watched each arrival from the north, 
 scanned each stray paragraph of news, hurried to tlie 
 Admiralty on each rumor, and kept up witli unremit- 
 ting labor a voluminous correspondence with all tlie 
 quarters of the globe, fondly wishing that she had the 
 \vino;s of the dove, that she miirht flee awav, and be 
 with him from whom Heaven has seen fit to separate 
 her so long. 
 
 An American poet well depicts her sentiments in the 
 following lines : — 
 
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 LADY FRANKLIN'S APPEAL TO THE NORTH. 
 
 Oh, where, my long lost-one I ait thou, 
 
 'Mid Arctic seas uiid wintry skies? 
 Deep, Polar nif^Iit is on me now, 
 
 And Hope, long wrecked, but mocks my cno8 
 I am like thee ! from frozen plains 
 
 In the drear zone and sunless air, 
 My dying, lonely heart complains, 
 
 Aud chills in sorrow and despair. 
 
 Tell me, ye Northern winds ! that sweep 
 
 Down from the rayless, dusky day — 
 "Where ye have borne, and where ye keep, 
 
 My well-beloved within your sway; 
 Tell me, when next ye wildly bear 
 
 The icy message in your breath, 
 Of my beloved I Oh tell me where 
 
 Ye keep hira on the shores of death. 
 
 Tell me, ye Polar seas ! that roll 
 
 From ice-bound shore to sunny isle— ■ 
 Tell me, when next ye leave the Pole, 
 
 Where ye have chained my lord the while! 
 On the bleak Northern clifF I wait 
 
 With tear-pained eyes to see ye come I 
 Will ye not tell me, ere too late ? 
 
 Or will ye mock while I am dumb ? 
 
 Tell me, oh tell me, mountiiin waves I 
 
 Whence have ye leaped and sprung to-day t 
 Have ye passed o'er their sleeping graves 
 
 That ye rush wildly on your way ? 
 Will ye sweep on ana bear me too 
 
 Down to the caves within the deep ? 
 Oh, bring some token to my view 
 
 That ye my loved one safe will keep I 
 
 Canst thou not tell me, Polar Star I 
 
 Where in the frozen waste he kneels T 
 And on the icy plains afar 
 
 His love to God and me reveals ? 
 Wilt thou not send one brighter ray 
 
 To my lone heart and aching eye? 
 Wilt tliou not turn my night to cfay. 
 
 And wake my spirit ere I die ? 
 
 Tell rae, oh dreary North I for now 
 
 My soul is like thine Arctic zone; 
 Beneath the darkened skies I bow. 
 
 Or ride the stormy sea alone 1 
 Tell me of my beloved ! for I 
 
 Know not a ray my lord without I 
 Oh, tell me, that I may not die 
 
 A sorrower on tlu^ soa of doubt I 
 
 IIP 1 
 
FKANKLIN 8 LAST EXrEDITION. 
 
 201 
 
 In the early part of 1849, Sir E. Parry stated, thai 
 in offering his opinions, he did so under a deep sense 
 of the anxious and even painful responsibility, both as 
 regarded the risk of life, as well as the inferior consid- 
 eration of expense involv^ed in further attempts to res 
 cue our gallant countrymen, or at least the surviving 
 portion of them, from their perilous position. 
 
 But it was his deliberate conviction, that the time 
 liad not yet arrived when the attempt ought to be given 
 up as hopeless : the further efforts nuiking might also 
 be tlie means of determining their fate, and whether it 
 pleased God to give success to those efforts or not, the 
 Lords of the Admiralty, and the country at large, would 
 hereafter be better satisfied to have followed up the 
 noble attempts already made, so long as the most dis- 
 tant hope remains of ultimate success. 
 
 In the absence of authentic information of the fate 
 of the gallant band of adventurers, it has been well 
 observed, the terra incognita of the northern coast of 
 Arctic America, will not only be traced, but minutely 
 surveyed, and the solution of the problem of centuries 
 will engage the marked attention of the House of Com- 
 mons, and the legislative assemblies of other parts of 
 the world. The problem is very safe in their hands, so 
 safe indeed that two years will not elapse before it is 
 solved. 
 
 The intense anxiety and apprehension now so gener- 
 ally entertained for the safety of Sir John Franklin, 
 and the crews of the Erebus and Terror, under bis com- 
 mand, who, if still in existence, are now passing through 
 the severe ordeal of a fifth winter, in those inclement 
 regions, imperatively call for every available effort to 
 be made for their rescue from a position so perilous ; 
 and as long as one possible avenue to that position re- 
 mains unsearched, the country will not feel satisfied 
 that every thing has been done, which perseverance 
 and experience can accomplish, to dispel the mystery 
 which at present surrounds their fate. 
 
 Capt. Sir James Ross having returned successful from 
 iiifi antarctic expedition in tlie close of the preceding 
 
 
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 PROGRESS OK -A TTIO I)ISC<:)VERY. 
 
 year, in the Piiriri^ of 1845, the Lords (yomnusflioncrs 
 of tlie Admiralty, upon tlie reconiniendation of Sir 
 John Barrow, determined on sending out another ex- 
 pedition to tlie North Pole. 
 
 Accord in fijly the command was civen to Sir John 
 Tr'iuklin, who re-coinmissioned the Erebus and Terror, 
 the two vessels which liad just returned from the Soutli 
 Polar Seas. The expedition sailed from Sheerness on 
 the 20th of May, 1845. The following are the officers 
 belonging to these vessels, and for whose safety so deep 
 an interest is now felt : — 
 
 Erehus. 
 
 Captain — Sir John Franklin, K. C. H. 
 Commander — James Fitzjames, (Capt.) 
 Lieutenants — Graham Gore, (Commander,) Henry 
 
 T. D. Le Vesconte, James William Fairnolme. 
 Mates — Chas. F. des Vaux, (Lieut.,) liobert O'Sar- 
 
 gent, (Lieut.) 
 Second Master — Henry F. Collins. 
 Surgeon — Stephen S. Stanley. 
 Assistant-Surgeon — Harry D. S. Goodsir, (acting.) 
 Paymaster and Purser — Chas. H. Osmer. 
 Ice-master — James Keid, acting. 
 58 Petty Officers, Seamen, &c. 
 
 Full Complement, 70. 
 
 Terror, 
 
 Captain — Frap ""l. M. Crozier. 
 
 Lieutenants — Edward Little, (Commander,) Geo. H. 
 
 Hodgson, John Irving. 
 Mates — Frederick J. Hornby, (Lieutenant,) Robert 
 
 Thomas, (Lieut.) 
 Ice-master — T. Blanky, (acting.) 
 Second Master — G. A. Maclean. 
 Surgeon — John S. Peddie. 
 Assistant-Surgeon — Alexander McDonald. 
 Clerk in Charge — Edwin J. H. Helpman. 
 57 Petty Officers, Seamen, &c. 
 
 Full Complement, 68. 
 
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FRANKLIN 8 IJiST EXPEDITION. 
 
 203 
 
 Those ofiieors wlioso rank is wi'tliiii parentliosis have 
 bet'ii proinutod durin;^ tlicir absciico. 
 
 The following is an uiitlino of Cant. Franklin's ser- 
 vices as re{M)i'<U'(l in OMJyrnt'^s Naval l^iography : — 
 
 Sir John Franklin, Kt., K. K. (I., K. C. II., I). C. L., 
 F. li. S., was born in 1780, at kSi)ilsby, in J.inculnshire, 
 and is brother of the late Sir W. Franklin, Kt., C'hief 
 Justice of Madras. Ho entered the navy in October, 
 1800, as a boy on board the I*oly[)hcinus, 04, Captain 
 John Lawford, under whom lie served as midshipman 
 ill the action ofl' Copenhagen, 2d of A])ril, 1801. llo 
 then sailed with Captain Flinders, in H. M. sloop In- 
 vestigator, on a voya<^e of discovery to New IJolland, 
 joining there the armed store-ship Porpoise ; he was 
 wrecked on a coral reef near Cato Bank on the 17th of 
 August, 1803. I shall not follow him through all his 
 subsequent period of active naval service, in which he 
 displayed conspicuous zeal and activity. But we find 
 hiin taking part at the battle of Trafalgar, on the 21st 
 of October, 1805, on board the Bcllerophon, where he 
 was signal midshipman. He was coniirmed as Lieu- 
 tenant, on board the Bedford, 74, 11th of February, 
 1808, and he then escorted the loyal family of Portugal, 
 from Lisbon to South America. He was engaged in 
 very arduous services during the expedition against 
 New Orleans, in the close of 1814, and was slfghtly 
 wounded in boat service, and for his brilliant services on 
 this occasion, was warmly and officially recommended 
 for promotion. On the 14th of January, 1818, he as- 
 eumed command of the hired brig Trent, in which he 
 accompanied Captain D. Buchan, of the Dorothea, on 
 the perilous voyage of discovery to the neighborhood 
 of Spitzbergen, which I have fully recorded elsewhere. 
 In April, 1819, having paid off the Trent in the pre- 
 ceding November, he was invested with the conduct 
 of an expedition destined to proceed overland from the 
 shores of Hudson's Bay, for the purpose more particu- 
 larly of ascertaining the actual position of the mouth 
 of the Coppermine Kiver, and the exact trending of the 
 shores of the Polar Sea, to the eastward of that river. 
 
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204 
 
 PKOGKEaS OF AltCTIC DISCOVERY. 
 
 
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 The details this fearful undertaking, which en- 
 dured until tht. oammer of 1822, and in the course of 
 which, he readied as far as Point Turnagain, in latitude 
 68° 19' K, and longitude 109° 25' W., and effected a 
 journey altogether of 5550 miles, Captain Franklin 
 has ably set forth in his " ^Narrative of a Journey to 
 the Shores of the Polar Sea, in the year 1819-22," and 
 which I have abridged in preceding pages. He was 
 promoted to the rank of Commander, on the 1st of 
 January, 1821, and reached his post rank on the 20th 
 of November, 1822. On the 16th of February, 1825, 
 this energetic officer again left England on another ex- 
 l)edition to the Frozen Regions, having for its object a 
 co-operation with Captains F. W. Beechey, and W. E. 
 Parry, ^'n ascertaining from opposite quarters the ex- 
 istence of a northwest passage. The results of this 
 mission will be found in detail in Captain Franklin's 
 "Narrative of a Second Expedition to the Shores of the 
 Polar Sea, in 1825-7." 
 
 On his return to England, where he arrived on the 
 26th of Sept., 1827, Franklin was presented by the 
 Geographical Society of Paris, with a gold medal val- 
 ued at 1200 francs, for having made the most important 
 acquisitions to geographical Knowledge during the pre- 
 ceding year, and on the 29th of April, 1829, he received 
 the honor of knighthood, besides being awarded in July 
 following the Oxford degree of a D. C. L. 
 
 From 1830 to 1834, he was in active service in com- 
 mand of II. M. S. Rainbow, on the Mediterranean sta- 
 tion, ; nd for his exertions during that period as con- 
 nected with the troubles in Greece, was presented with 
 the order of the Redeemer of Greece. Sir John was 
 created a K. C. H. on the 25th of January, 1836, and 
 was for some time Governor of Yan Diemen's Land. 
 He married, on the 16th of Augusl;, 1823, Eleanor 
 Anne, youngest daughter of W. Porden, Esq., architect, 
 of Berners Street, London, and secondly, on the 5th of 
 November, 1828, Jane, second daugnter of John Grif- 
 fin, Esq., of Bedford Place. 
 
 Captain Crozier was in all Parry's expeditions, hav- 
 
"rr- 
 
 FRANKLLNS LAST EXPEDITION. 
 
 206 
 
 ing been midshipman in the Fury in 1821, in the 
 Hecla in 1824, went out as Lieutenant in the Hecla, 
 with Parry, on his boat expedition to the Pole in 1827, 
 volunteered in 183G to^o out in search of the missing 
 whalers and their crews to Davis' Straits, was made a 
 Captain in 1841, and was second in command of the 
 antarctic expedition under Sir James Ross, and on his 
 return, appointed to the Terror, as second in command 
 under Franklin. 
 
 Lieutenant Gore served as a mate in the last fearful 
 voyage of the Terror, under Back, and was also with 
 Eoss in the antarctic expedition. He has attained his 
 commander's rank during his absence. 
 
 Lieutenant Fairholme was in the Niger exj)edition. 
 
 Lieutenant Little has also been promoted during his 
 absence, and so have all the mates. 
 
 Commander Fitzjames is a brave and gallant officer, 
 who has seen much service in the East, and has attained 
 to his post rank since his departure. 
 
 The Terror, it may be remembered, is the vessel in 
 which Captain Sir G. Back made hi& perilous attempt 
 to reach Repulse Bay, in 1836. 
 
 The Erebus and Terror were not expected home un- 
 less success had early rewarded their efforts, or some 
 casualty hastened their return, before the close of 1847, 
 nor were any tidings anticipated from them in the in- 
 terval ; but when trie autumn of 1847 arrived, without 
 any intelligence of the sliips, the attention of H. M. 
 Government was directed to the necessity of searching 
 for, and conveying relief to them, in case of their being 
 imprisoned in the ice, or wrecked, and in want of pro- 
 visions and means of transport. 
 
 For this purpose a searching expedition in three 
 divisions was fitted out by the government, in the early 
 part of 1848. The investigation was directed to three 
 different quarters simultaneously, viz : 1st, to that by 
 which, in case of success, the ships would come out of 
 the Polar Sea, to the westward, or Behring's Straits. 
 This consisted of a single ship, the Plover, commanded 
 by Captain Moore, which left England in the latter end 
 
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206 
 
 rROOKESS OF ARCTIC DISCOVERT. 
 
 "I 
 
 of January, for the purpose of entering Behring's Strait. 
 It was intended that she should arrive there in the 
 month of July, and having looked out for a winter har- 
 bor, she might send out her boats northward and east- 
 ward, in which directions the discovery ships, if suc- 
 cessful, would be met with. The Plover, however, in 
 her first season, never even approached the place of her 
 destination, owing to her setting oiF too late, and to her 
 bad sailing properties. 
 
 ller subsequent proceedings, and those of her boats 
 along the coast, will be found narrated in after pages. 
 
 The second division of the expedition was one of 
 boats, to explore the coast of the Arctic Sea between 
 the Mackenzie and Coppermine Rivers, or from the 
 135th to the 115th degree of W. longitude, together 
 with the south coast of AVollaston Land, it being sup- 
 posed, that if Sir John Franklin's party had been com- 
 pelled to leave the ships and take to the boats, they 
 would make for this coast, whence they could reach the 
 Hudson's Bay Company's posts. This party was placed 
 under the command of the faithful friend of Franklin, 
 and the companion of his former travels. Dr. Sir John 
 Richardson, who landed at New York in April, 1848, 
 and hastened to join his men and boats, which were 
 already in advance toward the arctic shore. He was, 
 however, unsuccessful in his search. 
 
 The remaining and most important portion of this 
 searching expedition consisted of two ships under the 
 command of Sir James Ross, which sailed in May, 1848, 
 for the locality in which Franklin's ships entered on 
 this course of discovery, viz., the eastern side of Davis' 
 Straits. These did not, however, succeed, owing to the 
 state of the ice in getting into Lancaster Sound until 
 the season for operations had nearly closed. These ships 
 wintered in the neighborhood of Leopold Island, Regent 
 Inlet, and missing the store-ship sent out with pro- 
 visions and fuel, to enable them to stop out another 
 year, were driven out through the Strait by the pack 
 of ice, and returned home unsuccessful. The subse- 
 quent expeditions consequent upon the failure of the 
 
 
FliANKLIN 8 LAST EXPKDITION. 
 
 207 
 
 foregoing will be found fully detailed and narrated in 
 their proper order. 
 
 Among the number of volunteers for the service of 
 exploration, in the difterent searching expeditions, were 
 the following: — Mr. Chas. Eeid, lately commanding 
 the whaling ship Pacilic, and brother to the ice-master 
 on board the Erebus, a man of great experience and 
 resi 
 
 The Kev. Joseph Wolff, who went to Bokhara in 
 search of Capt. Conolly and Col. Stoddart. 
 
 Mr. John McLean, who had passed twenty-five years 
 as an officer and partner of the Hudson's Bay Company, 
 and who has recently published an interesting narra- 
 tive of his experience in the northwest regions. 
 
 Dr. Richard King, who accompanied Capt. Back in 
 his land journey to the mouth of the Great Fish River. 
 
 Lieut. Sherard Osborn, R. N., who had recently gone 
 out in the Pioneer, tender to the Resolute. 
 
 Commander Forsyth, R. N., who volunteered for all 
 the expeditions, and was at last sent out by Lady Frank- 
 lin in the Prince Albert. 
 
 Dr. McCormick, R. N., who served under Captain Sir 
 E. Parry, in the attempt to reach the North Pole, in 1827, 
 who twice previously volunteered his services in 1847. 
 
 Capt. Sir John Ross, who has gone out in the Felix, 
 fitted out by the Hudson's Bay Company, and by pri- 
 vate subscriptions ; and many others. 
 
 Up to the present time no intelligence of any kind 
 lias been received respecting the expedition, and its 
 fate is now exciting the most intense anxiety, not only 
 on the part of the British government and public, but 
 of the whole civilized world. The maratime powers of 
 Europe and the United States are vying with each other 
 IS to who shall be the first to discov^'r some trace of the 
 nissing navigators, and if they be still alive, to render 
 .liem assistance. The Hudson's Bay Company have, 
 with a noble liberality, placed all their available re- 
 sources of men, provisions, and the services of their 
 chief and most experienced traders, at the disposal of 
 government. The Russian authorities have also given 
 
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208 
 
 PROGRESS OF ARCTIC DISCOVERY. 
 
 ? -? 
 
 
 every facility for diffusing information and affording 
 lussifetance in their territories. 
 
 In ii letter from Sir John Franklin to Colonel Sabine, 
 dated from the Whale Fish Islands, 9th of July, 1845, 
 after notieing that, including what they had received 
 from the transport which had accompanied them so far, 
 the Erebus and Terror had on board provisions, fuel, 
 clothing and stores for three years complete from that 
 date, i. e. to July, 1848, he continues as follows: — '•] 
 liope my dear wife and daughter will not be over-anxious 
 if we should not return by the time they have fixed upon; 
 and I must beg'of you to give them tiie benefit of your 
 advice and experience when that arrives, for you know 
 well, that even after the second winter, without success 
 in our object, we should wish to try some other channel, 
 if the state of om* provisions, and the health of the 
 crews justify it. 
 
 Capt. Dannett, of the whaler, Prince of "Wales, while 
 in Melville Bay, last saw the vessel - of the expedition, 
 moored to an iceberg, on the 26th of July, in lat. T4° 
 48' N., long. ^^'^ 13' W., waiting for a favorable open- 
 ing through the middle ice from J3aflin's Bay to Lancas- 
 ter Sound. Capt. Dannett states that during three weeks 
 after parting company with the ships, he exj^erienced 
 very fine w^eather, and thinks they would have made 
 good progress. 
 
 Lieut. Griffith, in command of the transport which 
 accompanied them out with provisions to Baffin's Bay, 
 reports that he left all hands well and in high spirits. 
 They were then furnished, he adds, with every species 
 of provisions for three entire years, independently of 
 five bullocks, and stores of every description for the 
 same period, with abundance of fuel. 
 
 The following is Sir John Franklin's official letter 
 sent home by the transport : — 
 
 " Her Majesty'' s Ship ' Erebus^ 
 " Whale-Fish Islands^ 12th of July ^ 1845. 
 
 " I have the honor to acquaint you, for the informa- 
 tion of the Lords Commissioners of the Admiraltv, that 
 
FKANKLIn's last EXrEDITION. 
 
 209 
 
 her Majesty's ships Erebus and Terror, with the trans- 
 port, arrived at this anchorage on the 4th instant, hav- 
 ing had a passage of one month from Stromness : the 
 transport was immediately taken alongside this ship, 
 tliat she might be tlie more readily cleared ; and we 
 have been constantly emploj^ed at that operation till 
 last evening, the delay having been caused not so 
 much in getting the stores transferred to either of the 
 ships, as in maldng the best stowage of them below, 
 as well as on the upper deck ; the ships are now com- 
 plete with supplies of every kind for three years ; they 
 are therefore very deep; but, happily, we have no 
 reason to expect much sea as we proceed farther. 
 
 "The magnetic instruments were landed the same 
 morning ; so also were the other instruments requisite 
 for ascertaining the position of the observatory ; and 
 it is satisfactory to iind that the result of the observa- 
 tions for latitude and longitude accord very nearly 
 with those assigned to the same place by Sir Edward 
 Parry; those for the dip and variation are equally sat- 
 isfactory, which were made by Captain Crozier with 
 the instruments belonging to tlie Terror, and by Com- 
 mander Fitzjames with those of the Erebus. 
 
 "The ships are now being swung, for the purpose 
 of ascertaining the dip and deviation of the needle on 
 board, as was done at Greenhithe, which, I trust, will 
 be completed this afternoon, and I hope to be able to 
 sail in the night. 
 
 "The governor and principal persons are at this 
 time absent from Disco, so that I have not been able 
 to receive any communication from head quarters as 
 to the state of the ice to the north ; I have, however, 
 iearnt from a Danish carpenter in charge of the Es- 
 quimaux at these islands, that though the winter was 
 severe, the spring was not later than usual, nor was 
 the ice later in breaking away hereabout ; he supposes 
 also that it is now loose as far as 74° latitude, and that 
 our prospect is favorable of getting across the barrier, 
 and as far as Lancaster Sound, without much obstruc- 
 tion. 
 
 
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210 
 
 prwOGliESS OF AliCTIC DISCOVERY. 
 
 V t. 
 
 "The transport will sail for England this day. 1 
 shall instruct the agent, Lieutenant Griffiths, to pro- 
 ceed to Deptford, and report his arrival to the Secre- 
 tary of the Admiralty. I have much satisfaction iu 
 bearing my testimony to the careful and zealous man- 
 ner in which Lieut. Griffiths has performed the service 
 intrusted to him, and would beg to recommend him, 
 as an officer who appears to have seen much service, 
 to the favorable consideration of their lordships. 
 
 " It is unnecessary for me to assure their lordships 
 
 of the energy and zeal of Captain Crozier, Commander 
 
 Fitzjames, and of the officers and men with whom I 
 
 have the happiness of being employed on this service. 
 
 "I have, &c., 
 
 (Signed) John Franklin, Captain. 
 
 "The Eiglit Hon. H. L. Corry, M. P." 
 
 It has often been a matter of surprise that but one 
 of the copper cylinders which Sir John Franklin was 
 instructed to throw overboard at stated intervals, to 
 record his progress, has ever come to hand, but a re- 
 cent sight of the solitary one which has been received 
 proves to me that they are utterly useless for the 
 purpose. A small tube, about the size of an ordi- 
 nary rocket-case, is hardly ever likely to be observed 
 among huge masses of ice, and the waves of the At- 
 lantic and JPacific, unless drifted by accident on shore, 
 or near some boat. The Admiralty have wisely or- 
 dered them to b J rendered more conspicuous by being 
 headed up in some cask or barrel, instructions being 
 issued to Captain Collinson, and other officers of the 
 different expeditions to that effect. 
 
 According to Sir John Richardson, who was on inti- 
 mate terms with Sir John Franklin, his plans were to 
 shape his course in the first instance for the neighbor- 
 hood of Cape AValker, and to push to the westward in 
 that parallel, or, if that could not be accomplished, to 
 make his way southward, to the channel discovered on 
 the north coast of the continent, and so on to Behring's 
 Straits ; failing success in that quarter, he meant to re- 
 trace his course to Wellington Sound, and attempt a 
 
 :!:l';:''|.:. 
 
 um 
 
 iii;f. 
 
FliAKKLI^''8 LA<r EXPEDITION. 
 
 211 
 
 passage northward of Parry's Islands, and if foiled there 
 also, to descend Regent Inlet, and seek the passage 
 along the coast discovered by Messrs. Dease and !Sini2> 
 6on. 
 
 Captain Fitziames, the second in command under 
 Sir John Franklin, was much inclined to try the pas- 
 sage 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 of Captain Fitzjames to Sir John 
 Barrow, dated January, 1845, he writes as follows : — 
 
 " It does not appear clear to me w^hat led Parry down 
 Prince Regent Inlet, after having got as far as Melville 
 Island before. The northwest passage is certainly to 
 be gone through by Barrow's Strait, but whether south 
 or north of Parry'n Group, remains to be proved. I am 
 for going north, edging northwest till in longitude 140°, 
 if possible." 
 
 I shall now pro<*-eed to trace, in chronological order 
 and succession, the opinions and proceedings of the 
 chief arctic explorers and public authorities, with the 
 private suggestions offered and notice in detail the re- 
 lief expeditions resulting therefrom. 
 
 In February, 1847, the Lords of the Admiralty state, 
 that having unlimited confidence in the skill and re- 
 sources of Sir John Franklin, they " have as yet felt no 
 apprehensions about his safety ; but on the other hand, 
 it is obvious, that if no accounts of him should arrive 
 by the end of this year, or, as Sir John Ross expects, at 
 an earlier period, active steps must then be taken." 
 
 Captain Sir Edward Parry fully concurred in these 
 views, observing, " Former experience has clearly shown 
 that with the resources taken from this country, two 
 winters may be passed in the polar regions, not only in 
 safety, but wilh comfort ; and if any inference can be 
 drawn from the absence of all intelligence of the expe- 
 dition up to this time, I am disposed to consider it ra- 
 tlier in favor than otherwise of the success which has 
 attended their efforts." 
 
 Captain Sir G. Back, in a letter to the Secretary of 
 
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 Ir 
 
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212 
 
 I'KOGKKSS OF AKCMIO DISCOVEKV. 
 
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 l!li 
 
 tho Admiralty, -under date 27th of January, 1848, pays, 
 *' I cannot brinjij myself to entertain more than ordi- 
 nary anxiety for the safety and return of Sir Julm 
 Franklin and his gallant companions." 
 
 Captain Sir John Koss records, in Februarj^ 1S47, 
 Ids opinion that the expedition was frozen up bevond 
 Melville Island, from the known intentions of Sir jdlm 
 Franklin to put his ships into the drift ice at the west- 
 ern end of Melville Island, a risk which was deonied 
 in the highest degree imprudent by Lieutenant Paiiv 
 and the otKcers of the expedition of 18J.9-20, with 
 ships of a less draught of water, and in every respect 
 better calculated to sustain the pressure of the ice, and 
 other dangers to which they must be exposed ; and as 
 it is now well known that the expedition has not suc- 
 ceeded in passing Behring's Strait, and if not totally 
 lost, must have been carried by the ice that is known 
 to drift to the southward on land seen at a great dis- 
 tance in that direction, and from which the accumu- 
 lation of ice behind them will, f\s in Ross's own ea-e, 
 forever prevent the return of th j ships ; consequently 
 thev must be abandoned. AVhen we remember with 
 what ey^'reme difficulty Eoss's party traveled 300 niilea 
 over much smoother ice after they abandoned their 
 vessel, it appears very doubtful whether Franklin and 
 his men, 138 in number, could possibly travel 60Q 
 miles. 
 
 In the contingency of the ships having penetrated 
 some considerable distance to the southwest of Capo 
 "Walker, and having been hampered and crushed in the 
 narrow channels of the Archipelago, which there are 
 reasons for believing occupies the space between Vic- 
 toria, Wollaston, and Banks' Lands, it is well re- 
 marked 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 returc 
 to Lancaster Strait, or make for the continent, accord 
 jng to their nearness. 
 
 Colonel Sabine remarks, in a letter dated WoolvicJ*, 
 
fkanki.in's last expedition. 
 
 213 
 
 5th of Mav, 1847,—" It was Sir John Franklin's inten- 
 tion, if foiled at one point, to try in succession all the 
 jirohable openings into a more navigable ])art of the 
 Polur Sea: the range of coast is considerable in which 
 memorials of the ships' progress would liave to be 
 sought for, extending from Melville Island, in the west, 
 to the great Sound at the head of Baffin's Bay, in the 
 east." 
 
 Sir John Richardson, when appealed to by the Admi- 
 ralty in the spring of 1847, as regarded the very strong 
 apprehensions expressed at that time for the safety of 
 the expedition, considered they were premature, as the 
 ships were specially equipped to pass tvo winters in 
 the Arctic Sea, and until the close of that year, he saw 
 no well-grounded cause for more anxiety than was nat- 
 urally felt when the expedition sailed from this country 
 on an enterprise of peril, though not greater than that 
 which had repeatedly been encountered by others, and 
 on one occasion by Sir John Ross for two winters also, 
 but who returned in safety. 
 
 Captain Sir James C. Ross, in March, 1847, writes* 
 "I do not think there is the smallest reason for appre- 
 hension or anxiety lor the safety and success of the 
 expedition ; no one acquainted with the nature of the 
 navigation of the Polar Sea would have expected they 
 would have been able to get through to Behring's Strait 
 without spending at least two winters in those regions, 
 except under unusually favorable circumstances, M^hich 
 all tne accounts from the whalers concur in proving 
 they have not experienced, and I am quite sure neither 
 Sir John Franklin nor Captain Crozier expected to do so. 
 
 "Their last letters to me from Whale Fish Islands, 
 the day previous to their departure from them inform 
 me that they had taken on board provisions for three 
 years on full allowance, which they could extend to four 
 years without any serious inconvenience ; so that we 
 may feel assured they cannot want from that cause until 
 after the middle of July. 1849 ; it therefore does not 
 appear to me at all desirable to send after them until the 
 spring of the next year." (1848.) 
 
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 PROGRESS OF ARCTIC DISUOVKRY. 
 
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 if'-' 
 
 
 In the plan submitted by Captain F. W. Beechcy, 
 R. N., in April, 1847, after premising "that there does 
 not at present appear to be any reasonable apprelicii- 
 sion for the safety of the expedition," he suggested tluit 
 it would perhaps be prudent that a reliet expedition 
 should be sent out that season to Cape Walker, where 
 information of an important nature would most likelv 
 be found. From this vicinity one vessel could proceed 
 to examine the various points and headlands in llegeiit 
 Inlet, and also those to the northward, while the other 
 watclied the passage, so that Franklin and his party 
 might not pass unseen, should he be on his return. At 
 the end of the season the ships could winteil* at Port 
 Bowen, or any other port in the vicinity of Leopold 
 Island. 
 
 " In the spring of 1848," he adds, "a party should be 
 directed to explore the coast, down to llecla and Fury 
 Strait, and to endeavor to communicate with the party 
 dispatched by the Hudson's Bay Company in that direc- 
 tion ; and in connection with this part of the arrano^e- 
 ment, it would render the plan complete if a boat could 
 be sent down Back's River to range the coast to the 
 eastward of its mouth, to meet the above mentioned 
 party ; and thus, while it would complete the geography 
 of that part of the American coast, it would at the same 
 time complete the line of information as to the extensive 
 measures of relief which their lordships have set on 
 foot, and the precise spot where assistance and depots 
 of provisions are to be found. This part of the plan 
 has suggested itself to me from a conversation I had 
 with Sir John Franklin as to his first effort beine: made 
 to the westward and southwestward of Cape "VValker. 
 It is possible that, after passing the Cape, he may have 
 oeen successful in getting down upon Victoria Land, 
 and have passed his first winter (1845) thereabout, and 
 diat he may have spent his second winter at a still more 
 advanced station, and even endured a third, without 
 either a prospect of success, or of an extrication of his 
 vessels within a given pei'iod of time. 
 
 "If, in this condition, which I trust may not be the 
 
OPINIONS AND BUOOE8TION8. 
 
 216 
 
 case, Sir John Franklin should resolve upon taking to 
 his boats, he would prefer attempting a boat navigation 
 through Sir James lioss's Strait, and up Regent Inlet, 
 io a long land journey across the continent, to the IJud- 
 Bon's Bay Settlements, to which the greater part of his 
 crew would be wholly unequal/' 
 
 Sir John Richardson remarks upon the above sugges- 
 tions, on the 5th of May, 1847, — " With respect to a 
 party to be sent down Back's River to the bottom of 
 Kegent Inlet, its size and outfit would require to be 
 equal with that of the one now preparing to descend 
 the Mackenzie River, and it could scarcely with the 
 utmost exertions be or^^anized so as to start this sum- 
 mer. The present scarcity of provisions in the Hudson's 
 Bay country precludes the hope of assistance from the 
 Company's southern posts, and it is now too late to 
 provide the means of transport through the interior of 
 Bupplies from this country, which require to be embarked 
 on board the Hudson's Bay ships by the 2d of June at 
 the latest. 
 
 " Moreover there is no Company's post on the line ol 
 Back's River nearer than the junction of Slave River 
 with Great Slave Lake, and I do not think that under 
 any circumstances Sir John Franklin would attempt 
 that route. 
 
 " In the summer of 1849, if the resources of the party 
 I am to conduct remain unimpaired, as I have every 
 reason to believe they will, much of what Capt. Beechey 
 suggests in regard to exploring Victoria Land may be 
 done by it, and indeed forms part of the original scheme. 
 The extent of the examination of any part of the coast 
 in 1848 depends, as I foraierly stated, very much on 
 the seasons of this autumn and next spring, which influ- 
 ence the advance of the boats through a long course of 
 river navigation. As Governor Simpson will most 
 likely succeed in procuring an Esquimaux to accom- 
 pany my party, I hope by his means to obtain such 
 information from parties of that nation as may greatly 
 facilitate our finding the ships, should they be detained 
 in that quarter. 
 
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210 
 
 PKOOKKSS OF AUCTIC l)I90OVEUY. 
 
 '' Were Sir Jolin Fninldin thrown upon tho north 
 coast of the continent with liis hoiitM, and nil his cruw 
 1 <lo not tiiiiik lie would iittenii)t tho ttscont of any river, 
 excoi)t tho ^liickonzie. It is navigal)lo for boats of lur^^e 
 draught, witliout a porta<j;o, for 1300 miles from the 
 sea, or within forty miles of Fort Chipowyan, one nf 
 tho Company's ju'incipal depots, and the"e are livii 
 other posts in that distance. Thoufjfh these posts could 
 not furnish provisions to such a party, they could, hy 
 providing them with nets, and distributing the men to 
 various fishing stations, do much toward procuring food 
 for them. 
 
 "1 concur generally in what Captain Beechey has 
 said with regard to J3ohring's Straits, a locality witli 
 which he is so intimately ac(iuainted, but beg leave to 
 add one remark, viz : that in high northern latitudes 
 tho ordinary allowance of animal food is insufficient in 
 the winter season to maintain a la])oring man in health ; 
 and as Sir John Franklin would deem it prudent when 
 detained a second winter to shorten the allowance, 
 symj)toms of scurvy may show themselves among tho 
 men, as was the case when Sir Edward Parry wintered 
 two years in Fox's Channel. 
 
 " A vessel, therefore, meeting the Erebus and Terror 
 this season in Behring's Straits, might render great 
 service." * 
 
 The late Sir John Barrow, Bart., in a memorandum 
 dated July, 1847, says : — 
 
 " The anxiety that prevails regarding Sir John Frank- 
 lin, and the brave fellows who compose the crews of 
 the two ships, is very natural, but somewhat premature ; 
 it arises chiefly from nothing having been received from 
 them since fixed in the ice of Baffin's Bay, where the 
 last whaling ship of the season of 1845 left them, oppo* 
 site to the opening into Lancaster Sound. Hitherto no 
 ditliculty has been found to the entrance into that 
 Sound. If disappointed, rather than return to the south- 
 ward, with the view of wintering at or about Disco, I 
 
 •Pari. Paper, No. 264, Seiwion 18tS. 
 
OPINIONS AND SUGOKSTIONS. 
 
 217 
 
 ehould bo inclinod to think that thoy would ondonvor to 
 eiiUT Sinitirri Sound, so lii.i,ddy snokcn of by l>:illin, and 
 which just now that «^idhint and adventurous liussiati, 
 Admiral Count Wrau'^el, has jutintod out in a paper 
 addressed to the Geo<^rai)liical Society as the Htarhn<' 
 phico for an attempt to reach the North l*oUi; it wouhl 
 appear to be an inlet that runs up hio-h to the northward, 
 uri an otKcer in one of I'arry's snips states that ho flaw 
 in tho line of direction along that inlet, the sun at mid- 
 nif^ht skimming the horizon. 
 
 ''From Lancaster Sound Franklin's instructions di- 
 rected him to proceed through Barrow's Strait, as far a3 
 the islands on its southern side extended, w'dch is short 
 of Melville Island, which was to bo avoided, not only 
 on account of its dangerous coast, but also as being out 
 of tho direction of the course to tho intended olitject. 
 Having, therefore, reached the last known land on the 
 southern side of Barrow's Strait, they were to shape 
 a direct course to Behr'ng's Strait, without any devia- 
 tion, except what obstruction might be met with from 
 ice, or from islands, in the midst of tho Polar Sea, of 
 which no knowledge had at that time been procured ; 
 but if any such existed, it would of course be left to 
 their judgment, on the spot, how to get rid of such ob- 
 structions, by taking a northerly or a southerly course. 
 
 " The only chance of bringing them upon this (the 
 American) coast is tho possibility of some obstruction 
 having tempted them to explore an immense inlet on 
 the northern shore of Barrow's Strait, (short of Mil 
 ville Island,) called Wellington Channel, which Parry 
 felt an inclination to explore, and more than one of 
 the present party betrayed to me a similar inclination, 
 which I discouraged, no one venturing to conjecture 
 even to what extent it might go, or into what difliculties 
 it might lead. 
 
 " TJnder all these circumstances, it would be an act 
 of folly to pironounce any opinion of the state, condi- 
 tion, or position of those two ships ; they are wel] suited 
 
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218 
 
 PROGRESS OF ARCTIC DISCOVERT. 
 
 ■i 1 
 
 for their purpose, and the only doubt I have is that of 
 their being hampered by the screws among the ice." 
 
 Sir James C. boss, in his outline of a plan for afford- 
 ing relief, submitted to the Admiralty in December, 
 1847, sugcjested that two ships should be sent out to 
 examine Wellington Channel, alluded to in the forego- 
 ing memorandum of Sir John Barrow, and the coast 
 between Capes Clarence and Walker. A convenient 
 winter harbor might be found for one of the ships near 
 Garnier Bay or Cape Rennell. From this position the 
 coast line could be explored as far as it extended to the 
 westward, by detached parties, early in the spring, as 
 well as the western coast of Boothia, a considerable 
 distance to the southward ; and at a more advanced 
 period of the season the whole distance to Cape Kicolai 
 might be completed. 
 
 The other ship should then proceed alone to the 
 westward, endeavoring to reacn Winter Harbor, in 
 Melville Island, or some convenient port in Banks' 
 Land, in which to pass the winter. 
 
 From these points parties might be sent out early in 
 the spring. 
 
 The first party should be directed to trace the west- 
 ern coast of Banks' Land, and proceed direct to Cape 
 Bathurst or Cape Parry, on each of which Sir John 
 Richardson proposes to leave depots of provis'ons for 
 its use, and then to reach the Hudson's Bay Company's 
 settlement at Fort Good Hope, on the Mackenzie, 
 whence they might travel by the usual route of the 
 traders to the principal settlement, and thence to Eng- 
 land. 
 
 The second party should explore the eastern shore of 
 Banks' Land, and make for Cape Krusenstern, where, 
 or at Cape Hearne, they will find a cache of provision 
 left by Sir John Richardson, with whom this party 
 may communicate, and whom it may assist in comple- 
 ting the examination of Wollaston and Victoria Lands, 
 or return to England by the route he shall deem most 
 advisable. 
 
 Sir James Ross was intrusted with the carrying out 
 
OPINIONS AND SUGGESTIONS. 
 
 219 
 
 of this search, in the Enterprise and Investigator, and 
 . an account of the voyage and proceedings of these ves- 
 sels will be found recorded in its chronological order. 
 
 The following letter from Dr. Richard King to the 
 Lords of the Admiralty contains some useful sugges- 
 tions, although it is mixed up with a good deal of ego- 
 tistical remark; — 
 
 "17, Saville Row^ February^ 1848. 
 
 "*The old route of Parry, through Lancaster Sound 
 and Barrow's Strait, as far as to the last land on its 
 southern shore, and thence in a direct line to Behring's 
 Straits, is the route ordered to be pursued by Frank- 
 lin.' * 
 
 "The gallant oflBcer has thus been dispatched to push 
 his adventurous way between Melville Island and 
 Banks' Land, which Sir E. Parry attempted for two 
 years unsuccessfully. After much toil and hardship, 
 and the best consideration that great man could give 
 to the subject, he recorded, at the moment of retreat, 
 in indelible characters, these impressive thoughts : 
 'We have been lying near our present station, with 
 an easterly wind blowing fresh, for thirty-six hours 
 together, and although this was considerably off the 
 land, the ice had not during the whole of that time 
 moved a single yard from the shore, affording a proof 
 that there was no space in which the ice was at liberty 
 to move to the westward. The navigation of this part 
 of the Polar Sea is only to be performed by watching 
 the occasional opening between the ice and the shore, 
 md therefore, a continuity of land is essential for this 
 purpose ; such a continuity of land, which was here 
 about to fail, as must necessarily be furnished by the 
 northern coast of America, in whatsoever latitude it 
 may be found.' Assuming, therefore. Sir John Frank- 
 lin has been arrested between Melville Island and 
 Banks' Land, where Sir E. Parry was arrested by dif- 
 ficulties which he considered insurmountable, and hr 
 has followed the advice of that gallant officer, and 
 
 14 
 
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220 
 
 PROGRESS OF ARCTIC DISCOVERY. 
 
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 made for the continuity of America, he will have 
 turned the prows of his vessel south and west, accord- 
 ing as BauKs' Land tends for Victoria or Wollaston 
 Lands. It is here, therefore, that we may expect to 
 find the expedition wrecked, whence they will make 
 in their boats for the western land of North Somerset, 
 if that land should not be too far distant. 
 
 "In order to save the party from the ordeal of a 
 fourth winter, when starvation must be their lot, I 
 propose to undertake the boldest journey that has ever 
 been attempted in the northern regions of America, 
 one which was justifiable only from the circumstances. 
 I propose to attempt to reach the western land of North 
 Somerset or the eastern portion of Victoria Land, as 
 may be deemed advisable, by the close of the ap- 
 proaching summer ; to accomplish, in fact, in one sum- 
 mer that which has not been done under two. 
 
 " I rest my hope of success in the performance of 
 this Herculean task upon the fact, that I possess an in- 
 timate knowledge of the country and the people throuih 
 which I shall have to pass, the health to stand the 
 rigor of the climate, and the strength to undergo the 
 fatigue of mind and body to which 1 must be subjected. 
 A glance at the map of North America, directed to 
 Behring's Strait in the Pacific, Barrow's Strait in the 
 Atlantic, and the land of North Somerset between 
 them, will make it apparent that, to render assistance 
 to a party situated on that coast, there are two ways l)y 
 sea and one by land. Of the two sea-ways, the route 
 by the Pacific is altogether out of the question ; it is an 
 idea of by-gone days ; while that by the Atlantic is so 
 doubtful of success, that it is merely necessary, to put 
 this assistance aside as far from certain, to mention tliat 
 Sir John Ross found Barrow's Strait closed in the suni- 
 raer of 1832. To a land journey, then, alone we can 
 look for success ; for the failure of a land jonrncy 
 would be the exception to the rule, while the sea expe- 
 dition would be the rule itself. To the western land of 
 North Somerset, where Sir John Franklin is likely to 
 be found, the Great Fish Kiver is the direct and only 
 
OPINIONS AND SUGGESTIONS. 
 
 221 
 
 route ; and although the approach to it is through a 
 country too poor and too difficult of access to admit of 
 the transport of provisions, it may be made the medi- 
 um of communication between the lost expedition and 
 the civilized world, and guides be thus placed at their 
 disposal to convey them to the hunting grounds of the 
 Indians. Without such guides it is impossible that 
 they can reach these hunting grounds. It was by the 
 Great Fish River that I reached the Polar Sea while 
 acting as second officer, in search of Sir John Ross. 
 I feel it my duty, therefore, as one of two officers so 
 peculiarly circumstanced, at the present moment to 
 place my views on record, as an earnest of my sincer- 
 ity. Even if it should be determined to try and force 
 provision vessels through Barrow's Strait, and scour 
 the vicinity in boats for the lost expedition, and should 
 it succeed, it will be satisfactory to know that such a 
 mission as I have proposed should be adopted ; while, 
 Jf these attempts should fail, and the service under con 
 ('deration be put aside, it will be a source of regret 
 that not only the nation at large will feel, but the whole 
 civilized world. When this regret is felt, and every 
 soul has perished, such a mission as I have proposed 
 will be urged again and again for adoption ; for it is 
 impossible that the country will rest satisfied until a 
 search be made for the remains of the lost expedition. 
 " The fact that all lands which have a western aspect 
 nre generally ice-free, which I dwelt largely upon when 
 Sir John Franklin sailed, must have had weight with 
 the gallant officer ; he will therefore, on finding him- 
 self in a serious difficulty, while pushing along the east- 
 ern side of Victoria Land, at once fall upon the western 
 land of !N"orth Somerset, as a refuge ground, if he have 
 the opportunity. The effort by Behring's Strait and 
 Banks' Land is praiseworthy in attempt, but forlorn in 
 hope. In the former effort, it is assumed that Sir John 
 Franklin has made the passage, and that liis arrest is 
 between the Mackenzie River and Icy Cape ; in the 
 latter, that Sir James Ross will reach Banks' Land, and 
 trace its continuity to Victoria and Wollaston Land, 
 
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222 
 
 PROGRESS OF ARCTIC DISCOVERT. 
 
 and thus make the ' passage.' First, "We have no rea- 
 son to believe that Sir John Franklin and Sir James 
 Koss will be more fortunate than their predecessors, 
 and we cannot trust to their success. Secondly, We 
 are unable to assume that Sir James lioss will reach 
 Bank's Land ; Sir E. Parry was unable to reach it, and 
 only viewed it from a distance ; much less are we able 
 to assume that the gallant officer will find a high road 
 to Victoria Land, wnich is altogether u terra incognita. 
 
 " Mr. T. Simpson, who surveyed the arctic coast 
 comprised between the Coppermine and Castor and 
 Pollux Rivers, has set that question at rest, and is the 
 only authority upon the subject. ' A further explora- 
 tion,' remarks Mr. Simpson, from the most eastern limit 
 of his journey, ' would necessarily demand the whole 
 time and energies of another expedition, having some 
 point of retreat much nearer to tlie scene of operations 
 than Great Bear Lake, and Great Bear Lake is to be 
 the retreat of Sir John Richardson.' 
 
 " What retreat could Mr. Simpson have meant but 
 Great Slave Lake, the retreat of the land party in search 
 of Sir John Ross ? and what other road to the unex- 
 plored ground, the western land of North Somerset, 
 could that traveler have meant than Great Fish River, 
 that stream which I have pointed out as the ice free 
 and high road to the land where the lost expedition is 
 likely to be found, — to be the boundary of that pass- 
 age which for three and a half centuries we have been 
 in vain endeavoring to reach in ships ? " 
 
 Captain Sir W. E. Parry, to whom Dr. King's pro- 
 posal was submitted by the Admiralty, thus comments 
 on it : — 
 
 " My former opinion, quoted by Dr. King, as to the 
 difficulty of ships penetrating to the westward beyond 
 Cape Dundas, (the southwestern extremity of Melville 
 Island,) remains unaltered ; and I should expect that 
 Sir John Franklin, being aware of this difficulty, would 
 use his utmost efforts to get to the southward and west- 
 ward before he approached that point, that is, between 
 the 100th and 110th degree of longitude. The more I 
 
OPINIONS AND SUGGESTIONS 
 
 223 
 
 have considered this subject, (which has naturally occu- 
 pied much of my attention lately,) the more difficult I 
 find it to conjecture where the expedition may have 
 stopped, either with or without any serious accident to 
 the ships ; but as no information has reached us up to 
 this time, I conceive that there is some considerable 
 probability of their being situated somewhere between 
 the longitude I have just named ; how far they may 
 have penetrated to the southward, between those meri- 
 dians, must be a matter of speculation, depending on 
 the state of the ice, and the existence of land in a space 
 hitherto blank on our maps. 
 
 " Be this as it may, I consider it not improbable, as 
 suggested by Dr. King, that an attempt will be made 
 by them to fall back on the western coast of North 
 Somerset, wherever that may be found, as being the 
 nearest ]ioint affording a hope of communication, either 
 with ^\ iiulers or with ships sent expressly in search of 
 the expedition. 
 
 "Agreeing thus far with Dr. King, I am compelled 
 to difer with him entirely as to the readiest mode of 
 reaching that coast, because I feel satisfied that, with 
 the resources of the expedition now equipping under 
 Sir James Ross, the energy, skill, and intelligence of 
 that officer will render it li matter of no very difficult 
 enterprise to examine the coast in question, either with 
 his shipo, boats, or traveling parties ; whereas an at- 
 tempt to reach that coast by an expedition from the 
 continent of America must, as it appears to me, be ex- 
 tremely hazardous and uncertain. And as I under- 
 stand it to be their lordships' intention to direct Sir 
 James Ross to station one of his ships somewhere about 
 Cape Walker, while the other proceeds on the search, 
 and likewise to equip his boats specially for the pur- 
 pose of examining the various coasts and inlets, I am 
 decidedly of opinion, that, as regards the western coast 
 of North Somerset, this plan will be much more likely 
 to answer the proposed object, than any overland 
 expedition. This object will, of course, be the more 
 easily accomplished in case of Sir James Ross finding 
 
 Mi;;.^ji 
 
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 v::; 
 
 
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224: 
 
 PROGRESS OF ARCTIC DISCOVERY. 
 
 m- 
 
 the western coast of North Somerset navigable for hia 
 ships. 
 
 *' In regard to Dr. King's suggestion respecting Y[q 
 toria Land and Wolhiston Land, 8iii)posing Sir John 
 Franklin's ships to have been arrested between tlie 
 meridians to which I have already alluded, it does 
 seem, by an inspection of the map, not improbable that 
 parties may attempt to penetrate to the continent in 
 that direction ; but not being well acquainted with the 
 facilities for reaching the coast of America opposite 
 those lands in the manner proposed by Dr. King, I am 
 not competent to judge of its practicability." 
 
 Nearly the whole of the west coast of North Somer- 
 set and Boothia was, (it will be found hereafter,) ex- 
 plored by parties in boats detached from Sir James 
 feoss's ships in 1849. 
 
 I append, also, the most important portions of Sir 
 James Koss's remarks on Dr. King's plan. 
 
 " Dr. King begins by assuming that Sir John Frank- 
 lin has attempted to push the shij)S through to the west- 
 ward, between Melville Island and Banks' Land, (al- 
 though directly contrary to his instructions;) that hav- 
 ing been arrested by insurmountable difficulties, he 
 would liave ' turned the prows of his vessels to the 
 south and west, according as Banks' Land tends for 
 Victoria or Wollaston Land ;' and having been wrecked, 
 or from any other cause obliged to abandon their ships, 
 their crews would take to the boats, and make for the 
 west coast of North Somerset. 
 
 " If the expedition had failed to penetrate to the 
 westward between Banks' Land and Melville Island, it 
 is very probable it would have next attempted to gain 
 the continent by a more southerly course ; and suppos- 
 ing that, after making only small progress, (say 100 
 miles,) to the southwest, it should have been then finally 
 stopped or wrecked, the calamity will have occurred 
 in about latitude 72 i° N., and longitude 115° W. This 
 point is only 280 miles from the Coppermine River 
 and 420 miles from the Mackenzie, either of wliicl 
 would, therefore, be easily attainable, and at each of 
 
OPINIONS AND SL'GOKSTIONS. 
 
 225 
 
 Avliicli, abundance of provision might be procured by 
 tlieni, and tlicir return to England a measure of no 
 great difficulty. 
 
 " At the point above mentioned, the distance from 
 the west coast of North Somerset is probably about 360 
 miles, and the moutli of the Great 1 ish River full 500 ; 
 at neither of these places could they hope to obtain a 
 single day's provisions for so large a party ; and Sir 
 John Franklin's intimate knowledge of the imj^ossibil- 
 ity of ascending that river, or obtaining any food for 
 liis party in passing through the Barren grounds, would 
 concur in deterring him from attempting to gain either 
 of these points. 
 
 " I think it most probable that, from the situation 
 pointed out, he would, when compelled to abandon his 
 ships, endeavor in the boats to retrace his steps, and 
 passing through the channel by which he had advanced, 
 luid which we have always found of easy navigation, 
 seek the whale ships which annually visit the west coast 
 of Baffin's Bay. 
 
 " It is far more probable, however, that Sir John 
 Franklin, in obedience to his instructions, would en 
 deavor to push the ships to the south and west as soon 
 as they passed Cape Walker, and the consequence of 
 such a measure, owing to the known prevalence of 
 westerly wind, and the drift of the main body of the 
 ice, would be (in my opinion) their inevitable embarrass- 
 ment, and if he persevered in that direction which he 
 probably would do, I have no hesitation in stating my 
 conviction ho would never be able to extricate his 
 ships, and would ultimately be obliged to abandon them. 
 It is therefore in latitude 73° N. and longitude 105° W. 
 that we may expect to find them involved in the ice, 
 or shut up in some harbor. This is almost the only 
 point in which it is likely they would be detained, or 
 from which it would not he possible to convey informa- 
 tion of their situation to the Hudson's Bay Settlements. 
 
 " If, then, we suppose the crews of the ships should 
 be compelled, either this autumn or next spring, to 
 abandon their vessels at or near this point, they woul«J 
 
 
 
 mZmtt 
 
 •if.* >. 
 
 1 
 
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 III :••* 
 
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 ir? 
 
 W: 
 
 <-L 
 
226 
 
 niOGltlSttd OF ARCTIC DISCOVERY. 
 
 
 most assuredly endeavor, in their boats, to reach Lan- 
 caster Sound ; but I cannot conceive any position iu 
 which they could be placed from which they would 
 make for the Great Fish River, or at which any party 
 descending that river would be likely to overtake tneni ; 
 and even if it did, of what advantage could it be to 
 them ? 
 
 " If Dr. King and his party, in their single canoe, 
 did fall in with Sir John Franklin and his party on the 
 west coast of I^orth Somerset, how does he propose tA 
 assist them ? he would barely have sufficient provision 
 for his own party, and would more probably be in a 
 condition to require rather than aiford relief. He could 
 only tell them what Sir John Franklin already knows, 
 from former experience, far better than Dr. King, that it 
 would be impossible for so large a party, or indeed any 
 party not previously provided, to travel across the bar- 
 ren grounds to any of the Hudson's Bay Settlements." 
 
 " All that has been done by the way of search since 
 February, 1848, tends," persists Dr. King, " to draw 
 attention closer and closer to the western land of North 
 Somerset, as the position of Sir John Franklin, and to 
 the Great Fish (or Back) River, as the high road to 
 reach it." 
 
 Dr. King has twice proposed to the Admiralty to 
 proceed on the search by this route. " It would," he 
 states, " be the happiest moment of my life (and my 
 delight at being selected from a long list of volunteers, 
 tor the relief of Sir John Ross, was very great) if their 
 lordships would allow me to go by my old route, the 
 Great Fish River, to attempt to save human life a sec- 
 ond time on the shores of the Polar Sea. What I did 
 in search of Sir John Ross is the best earnest of what 
 I could do in search of Sir John Franklin." 
 
 A meeting of those officers and gentlemen most con- 
 versant with arctic voyages was conv^med by the 
 Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty cn the 17th of 
 January, 1849, at which the following were present : — 
 Rear- Admiral Sir Francis Beaufort, K. C. B., Captain 
 Sir W. E. Parry, R. N., Captain Sir George Back, R. 
 
OPINIONS AND 8L00EBTI0NS, 
 
 227 
 
 N"., Captain Sir E. Belcher, H. N., Colonel Sabine, R. 
 A., and the Rev. Dr. Scoresby. 
 
 A very pretty painting, containing portraits of all the 
 principal arctic voyagers in consultation on these mo- 
 mentous matters, has been made by Mr. Pearse, artist, 
 of 53, Berners Street, Oxford Street, which is well 
 worthy of a visit. The beautiful Arctic Panorama of 
 Mr. Burford, in Leicester Square, will also give a 
 graphic idea of the scenery and appearance of the icy 
 regions ; the whole being designed from authentic 
 sketches by Lieut. Browne, now of the Resolute, and 
 who was out in the Enterprise in her trip in 1848, and 
 also with Sir James Ross in his antarctic voyage. 
 
 The expedition under Sir James Ross having re- 
 turned unsuccessful, other measures of relief were now 
 determined on, and the opinions of the leading officers 
 again taken. 
 
 Admiral Sir Francis Beaufort, in his report to the 
 Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty, on November 
 24th, 1849, observes : — 
 
 " 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 cnished be- 
 tween two fields of ice. Both vessels would scarcely 
 have taken fire together ; if one of them had struck on a 
 rock the other would have avoided the danger. Storms 
 in those narrow seas, encumbered with ice, raise no 
 swell, and could produce no such disaster ; and there- 
 fore, 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 the ice (as happens 
 every year to the whalers ;) they would have saved 
 their loose boats, and reached some part of the American 
 shores. As no traces of any such event have been found 
 on any part of those shores, it may therefore be safely 
 afiirmed that one ship at least, and both the crews, 
 are still in existence ; and therefore the point where 
 they now are is the great matter for consideration. 
 
 "Their orders would have carried them toward Mel- 
 ville Island, and then out to the westward, where it is 
 J 
 
 
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 228 
 
 PROGRESS OF ARCTIC DISCOVERT 
 
 therefore probable that they are entangled among 
 islands and ice. For should they have been arrested 
 at some intermediate place, for instance, Cape Walker, 
 or at one of the northern chain of islands, tliey would, 
 undoubtedly, in the course of the three following years, 
 have contrived some method of sending notices of tlicii 
 position to the shores of North Somerset or to Barrow's 
 Strait. 
 
 "If they had reached much to the southward of 
 Bank'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 tlie intention of penetrating through Wellington 
 Channel, they would have detached parties on the ico 
 toward 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. Now, it is well known that tlie 
 state of the weather alternates between the opposite 
 sides of Northern America, being mild on the one when 
 rigorous on the other ; and accordingly, during the two 
 last years, which have been unusually severe in Baffin's 
 Bay, the United States whalers were successfullv trav- 
 ersing the Polar Sea to the northward of Bohring's 
 Straits. The same severe weather may possibly prevail 
 on the eastern side during the summer of 1850, and if 
 so, it is obvious that an attempt should be now made 
 by the western opening, and not merely to receive the 
 two ships, if they should be met coming out (as for- 
 merly,) but to advance in the direction of Melville 
 Island, resolutely entering the ice, and employing every 
 possible expedient by sledging parties, by reconnoitering 
 balloons, and by blasting the ice, to communicate wutE 
 them. 
 
 "These vessels should be intrepidly commanded, 
 effectively manned, and supplied with the best means 
 for traveling across the ice to the English or to the 
 Russian settlements, as it will be of the greatest impor- 
 tance to be informed of what progr-^ss the expedition 
 
OPINIONS AND 8UOOESTION8. 
 
 229 
 
 liiis made ; and for tliis purpose likewise the Plover 
 will be of material service, lying at some advanced 
 point near Icy Cape, and ready to receive intelligence, 
 and to convey it to Petropaulski or to Panama. 
 
 "These vessels should enter Behring's Straits before 
 the first of August, and therefore every eftbrt should 
 be now made to dispatch them from Lndand before 
 Cliristmas. They might water at the Falkland Islands, 
 and again at the Sandwich Islands, where they would 
 be ready to receive additional instructions via Panama, 
 by one of the Pacific steamers, and by which vessel 
 they might be pushed on some little distance to the 
 northward. 
 
 " It seems to me likely that the ships have been push- 
 ing on, summer after summer, in the direction of Behr- 
 ing's Straits, and are detained somewliere in the space 
 southwestward of Banks' Land. On the other hand, 
 sliould they, after the first or second summer, have been 
 unsuccessful in that direction, they may have attempted 
 to proceed to the northward, either through Wellington 
 Channel, or through some other of the openings among 
 the same group ol islands. I do not myself attach any 
 superior importance to Wellington Channel as regards 
 the northwest passage, but I understand that Sir John 
 Franklin did, and tnat he strongly expressed to Lord 
 Haddington his intention of attempting that route, if 
 he should fail in effecting the more direct passage to 
 the westward. 
 
 "The ships having been fully victualed for three 
 years, the resources may, by due precautions, have 
 been extended to four years for the whole crews ; but 
 it has occurred to me, since I had the honor of confer- 
 ring with their lordships, that, if their numbers have 
 been gradually diminished to any considerable extent 
 by death, (a coi.'tingency which is but too probable, con- 
 sidering their unparalleled detention in the ice,) the 
 resources would be proportionably extended for the 
 survivors, whom it might, therefore, be found expedient 
 to transfer to one pf the ships, with all the remaining 
 stores, and with that one ship to continue the endeavor 
 
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230 
 
 PROGRESS OP ABCTIO DISCO VKKY. 
 
 i I 
 
 to pufili westwarfl, or to return to the eastward, as cir- 
 cuniHtanceH might render expedient ; in tliat cane, the 
 neceHsity for quitting hotli tlie slilps in the past Hiim. 
 mer mi«'ht not iniprol)ably have been obviated. 
 
 " Under these circumstances, whicli, it must be admit 
 ted, amount to no more than mere conjecture, it set'niH 
 to me expedient still to prosecute the search in botli 
 directions, namely, by way of Behring's Strait (to whicJi 
 I look with the strongest hope,) and also by that of 
 Barrow's Strait. In the latter direction, it ouglit, I 
 til ink, to be borne in mind, that the more than usual 
 difficulties with which Sir James Ross had to contend, 
 have, in reality, letl us with very little more infunim- 
 tion than before he left England, and I cannot contoin- 
 plate without serious apprehension, leaving that opLMiiiiir 
 without still further search in the ensuing spring, in 
 case the missing crews have fallen back to the eastiiii 
 coast of North Somerset, where they would natunilly 
 look for supplies to be deposited for them, in addition 
 to the chance of finding some of those left by the Fury. 
 For the purpose of further pursuing the search by way 
 of Barrow's Strait, perhaps two small vessels of 150 or 
 200 tons might suffice, but they must be square rigo;ed 
 for the navigation among the ice. Of course the object 
 of such vessels would be nearly that which Sir James 
 Ross's endeavors have failed to accomplish ; and the 
 provisions, &c., left by that officer at Whaler Point, 
 as well as any which may be deposited in that neigh- 
 borhood by the North Star, would greatly add to the re- 
 sources, facilitate the operations, and lessen the risk of 
 any attempt made in tnat direction. 
 
 " If, however, there be time to get ships to Behring's 
 Straits by the first week in August, 1850, which would 
 perhaps require the aid of steam vessels to accomplish 
 with any degree of certainty, I recommend that the 
 Enterprise and Investigator be forthwith equipped and 
 dispatched there, with instructions to push through the 
 ice to the E. N. E. as far as possible in the ensuing sea- 
 son, with the hope of meeting with at least one of tlie 
 ships, or any of the parties which may have been 
 

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 3re- 
 
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 mid 
 
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 OPINIONS AND BUOOE8TION8. 
 
 231 
 
 detached from them. ThiB attempt has never yet been 
 miulo by any ships, and I cling very fitrongly to the 
 belief tluit such an effort might bo attended with suc- 
 cess in rescuing at least a portion of our people. 
 
 "My reaHon for urging tnia upon their Lordships is, 
 that the admirable instructions under which the Plover, 
 assisted by the Uerald, is acting, embraces only the 
 search of the coast line eastward from Icy Cape ; since 
 the boats and baidars cannot effect any thing except by 
 creeping along as o])portunities offer, between the ice 
 and the land, so tlfat this plan of operations meets only 
 the contingency of parties reaching, or nearly reaching, 
 the land ; whereas the chance ol rescue would, as it 
 appears to me, be immensely increased by ships push- 
 ing on, clear of the coast, toward Banks' Land and 
 Melville Island, as far at least as might bo practicable 
 in the best five or six weeks of the season ot 1850." 
 
 Captain Parry says — "Although this is the first at- 
 tempt ever made to enter the ice in this direction, with 
 ships properly equipped for the purpose, there is no 
 reason to anticipate any greater difficulties in this navi- 
 gation than those encountered in other parts of the 
 Sorth Polar Sea ; and, even in the event of not suc- 
 ceeding in reaching Banks' Land in the summer of the 
 present year, it may be possible to make such progress 
 as to afford a reasonable hope of effecting that object 
 in the following season (1851.) Indeed it is possible 
 that, from the well known fact of the climate being 
 more temperate in a given parallel of latitude, in going 
 westward from the Mackenzie River, some comparative 
 advantage may be derived in the navigation of this 
 part of the Polar Sea. 
 
 "It is of importance to the security of the B}ii|)s and 
 of their crews that they should winter in some harlior 
 or bay not at a distance fi'om land, where the ice might 
 be in motion during the winter ; and it will be desira- 
 ble, should no land be discovered fit for this purpopc, 
 in the space at present unexplored between Point Bar- 
 row and Banks' Land, that endeavors should be made to 
 reach the continent about the mouth of the Mackenzie 
 
 
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 Up' 
 
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 1 
 
 II 
 
 :;:. 
 
 i I. 
 
 ! .¥ 
 
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 232 
 
 PROGRESS OF ARCTIC DISCOVERT. 
 
 River, or further eastward, toward Liverpool Bay, 
 where there is reason to suppose that sufficient slielter 
 may be found, and in which neighborhood, it appears, 
 there is generally no ice to be seen from the shore for 
 about six weeks in tlie months of August and Septem- 
 ber. Sir John Franklin's narrative of his second jour 
 ney, that of Messrs. Dease and Simpson, and the 
 Admiralty Charts, will furnish the requisite hydro 
 graphical information relative to this line of coast, sp 
 tar as it has been attained. 
 
 " The utmost economy should be exercised in the use 
 of provisions and fuel during the time the ships are in 
 winter quarters ; and if they should winter on or near 
 the continent, there would probably be an opportunity 
 of increasing their stock of provisions by means of 
 game or fish, and likewise of fuel, by drift or other 
 wood, to some considerable amount. 
 
 '' If the progress of the ships in 1850 has been con- 
 siderable — for instance, as far as the meridian of 120° 
 W. — the probability is, that the most practicable way 
 of returning to England will be, still to push on in the 
 same direction during the whole season of 1851, with 
 a view to reach Barrow's Strait, and take advantage, 
 if necessary, of the resources left by Captain Sir James 
 Ross at Whaler Point, near Leopold Harbor ; if not the 
 same season, at least after a second winter. If, on the 
 other hand, small progress should have been made to 
 the eastward at the close of the present summer, it 
 might be prudent that when half tlie navigable season 
 of 1851 shall have expired, no further attem])ts should 
 be made in proceeding to the eastward, and that tlie 
 remaining half of that season should be occupied in 
 returning to the westward, with a view to escape fiom 
 the ice by way of Behring's Straits after the winter of 
 1851-52, so as not to incur the risk of passing a third 
 wintei' in the ice. 
 
 " ruring the summer season, the most vigilant look- 
 out ijhould be kept from the mast-heads of both ships 
 night and day, not only for the missing ships, but for 
 iny detached parties belonging to them ; and during 
 
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 ot the 
 
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 J 
 
 OPINIONS AND SUGGESTIONS. 
 
 233 
 
 the few hours of darkness which prevail toward the close 
 of each season^s navigation, and also when in winter 
 quarters, signals, by fires, blue lights, rockets or guns, 
 siiould be nuide as the means of pointing out the posi- 
 tion of the ships to any detached parties belonging to 
 the missini>' expedition. And in the spring before tlie 
 ships can oe released from the ice, searching parties 
 might be sent out in various directions, either in boats 
 or by land, to examine the neighboring coasts and inlets 
 for any trace of the missing crews." 
 
 Captain Sir George Back also comments (1st of De- 
 cember, 1849,) on these intentions, in a letter to the Sec- 
 retary of the Admiralty : — 
 
 " You will be pleased. Sir, to impress upon my Lords 
 Commissioners, 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 part of 
 the main-land eastward of the Mackenzie River, because 
 I can say from experience, that no toil-worn and ex- 
 hausted party could have the least chance of existence 
 by going there. 
 
 " On the other hand, from my knowledge of Sir Jolm 
 Franklin, (having been three times on discovery to- 
 gether,) 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 sur- 
 face as those regions generally present. Tliat great 
 mortality must have occurred, and that one ship, as Sir 
 E. Beaufort hints at, may be lost, are greatly to be feared ; 
 and, as on all former expeditions, if the survivors are 
 paralyzed by the depressing attacks of scurvy, it would 
 tlien be impossible for them, however desirous they 
 niiglit be, to leave the ship, which must thus become 
 their last most anxious abode. 
 
 "If, however, open w^ater should have allowed Sir 
 John Franklin to have resorted to his boats, then I am 
 persuaded he would make for eitlier tlie Mackenzie 
 Kiver, or, which is far more likely, from tlie almost 
 certaint}^ he must have felt of finding provision, Capo 
 Clarence and Fury Point. 
 
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 234 
 
 PROGRESS OF ARCTIC DISCOVERY. 
 
 "I am aware tliat the wliole cnanccs of lite in tliis 
 ])aiiitul case depend on food ; but when 1 reflect on 
 Sir John Franklin's former extraordinary preservation 
 nnder miseries and trials of the most severe description, 
 living often on scraps of old leather and other refnse, 1 
 cannot despair of his finding the mear.s to prolong exist- 
 ence till aid he happily sent liim." 
 
 Dr. Sir John Richardson on the same day also sends 
 in his opinion, as requested, on the proposed dispatcii 
 of the Enterprise and Investigator to Benring's Strait : 
 
 " It seems to mo to be very desirable that the western 
 shores of the Archipelago of Parry's Islands should bo 
 searched in a high latitude in the manner proposed by 
 the hydrographer. 
 
 " If the proposed expedition succeeds in establishing 
 its winter quarters among thcRj islands, parties de- 
 tached over the ice may tra\'el to the eastward and 
 southeastward, so as to cross the lino of search which it 
 is hoped Mr. Rae has been able to pursue in the prcsent 
 summer, and thus to determine whether any traces of 
 the missing ships exist in localities the most remote 
 from Behring's Strait and Lancaster Sound, and from 
 whence shipwrecked crews would find the greatest ditH- 
 culty in traveling to any place wliere they could hope 
 to find relief. 
 
 " The climate of Arctic America improves in a sensi- 
 ble manner with an increase of western longitude. On 
 the Mackenzie, on the 135tli meridian, t)ie summer is 
 warmer tlian in any district of the continent in the same 
 
 f)arallel, and it is still finer, and the vegetation more 
 uxuriant on the banks of the Yucon, on the 150th me- 
 ridian. This superiority of climate leads me to infer, 
 tliat ships well fortified asjainst 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 expe- 
 rience, 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, from that circumstance, 
 to sn])])ose coincided with the western limits of Parry's 
 Ai'chi])('la.t>'o. 
 
OPINIONS AND SUGGESTIONS. 
 
 235 
 
 'The grcfiter facility of navigating from tliowost lias 
 Itjon i)owerfully advocated by others on former occa- 
 sions ; and the chief, perhaps the only reason why the 
 attempt to penetrate the Polar Sea from that quarter 
 has not been resumed since the time of Cook is, that 
 the length of the previous voyage to Behring's Strait 
 would considerably diminish the store of provisions ; 
 but t!ie facilities of obtaining supplies in the Pacific are 
 now so augmonted, that this objection has no longer tho 
 same force." 
 
 Captain F. W. Becchey, writing fi'om Cheltenham, 
 on the 1st of December, 1849, says : — 
 
 " I quite agree w^ith Sir Francis Beaufort in what he 
 has stated with regard to any casualties which Sir J. 
 Franklin's ships may have sustained, and entirely agree 
 with him and Sir Edward Parry, that the expedition is 
 probably hampered among the ice somewhere to the 
 southwestward of Melville Island ; but there is yet a 
 possibility which does not ai)pear to have been contem- 
 ])lated, which is, that of the scurvy having spread among 
 the crew, and incapacitated a large proportion of them 
 from making any exertion toward their release, or that 
 the whole, in a debilitated state, may yet be clinging 
 by their vessels, existing s]3aringly upon the provision 
 which a large mortality may have spun out, in the hope 
 of relief. 
 
 " In the first case, that of the ships being hampered 
 and the crews in good health, I think it certain that, a? 
 the resources of the ships would be exi^ended in May 
 last. Sir John Franklin and his crew have abandoned 
 the ships, and pushed forward for the nearest point 
 where they might reasonably expect assistance, and 
 which they could reasonably reach. 
 
 "There are consequently three points to which it 
 would be proper to direct attention, and as the case is 
 urgent, every possible method of relief should be ener- 
 getically pushed forward at as early a period as possi- 
 l)le, and directed to those points, v/hich, I need scarcely 
 say, are Barrow's Strait, Behring's Strait, and the 
 northern coast of America. 
 
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 236 
 
 PROGRESS OF ARCTIC DISCOVERY. 
 
 " Of the measures which can be resorted to on thi 
 northern coast of America, the officers who have had 
 experience. there, and the Hudson's Bay Company, will 
 be able to judge ; but I am of opinion that nothing 
 should be neglected in that quarter ; for it seems to 
 me almost certain that Sir John Franklin and his crew, 
 if able to travel, have abandoned their ships and made 
 for the continent ; and if they have not succeeded in 
 gaining the Hudson's Bay outposts, they have been 
 overtaken by winter before they could accomplish their 
 purpose. 
 
 "Lastly as to the opinion which naturally forces itself 
 upon us, as to the utility of the sending relief to per- 
 sons whose means of subsistence will have failed them 
 more than a year by the time the relief could reach 
 them, I would observe, that a prudent reduction of the 
 allowance may have been timely made to meet an 
 emergency, or great mortality may have enabled the 
 survivors to subsist up to the time required, or it may 
 be that the crews have just missed reaching the points 
 visited by our parties last year before they quitted them, 
 and in the one case may now be subsisting on the sup- 
 plies at Leopold Island, or be housed in eastward of Point 
 Barrow, sustained by depots which have been fallen in 
 with, or by the native supplies ; so that under all the 
 circumstances, I do not consider their condition so 
 utterly hopeless that we should give up the expectation 
 of yet being able to render them a timely assistance. 
 
 " The endeavors to push forward might be continued 
 until tlie 30th of August, at latest, at which time, if tht 
 ships be not near some land where they can conven 
 iently pass a winter, they must direct their course for 
 the main-land, and seek a secure harbor in which they 
 could remain. And on no account should they risk a 
 winter in the pack, in consequence of the tides and 
 shallow water lying off the coast. 
 
 " Should the expedition reach Herschel Island, or 
 any other place of refuge on the coast near the mouth 
 of the Mackenzie or Colville Rivers, endeavors should 
 be made to communicate information of the ships' posi- 
 
OPINIONS AND BUQGESTI0N8. 
 
 23T 
 
 tion and summer's proceedings through the Hudson's 
 Bay Company or Russian settlements, and by means 
 of interpreters ; and no opportunity should be omitted 
 of gaining from the natives information of the missing 
 f essels, as well as of any boat expeditions that may hav^e 
 ^one forward, as well as of the party under Dr. Rae. 
 
 " If nothing should be heard of Sir John Franklin in 
 1850, parties of observation should be sent forward in 
 the spring to intercept the route the ship would have 
 pursued, and in other useful directions between winter 
 quarters and Melville Island ; taking especial care that 
 they return to the ship before the time of liberation 
 of the ships arrives, which greatly depends upon their 
 locality. 
 
 " Then, on the breaking up of the ice, should any 
 favorable appearance of the ice present itself, the expe- 
 dition might be left free to take advantage of such a 
 prospect, or to return round Point Barrow ; making it 
 imperative, however, either to insure their return, so 
 far as human foresight may be exercised, or the cer- 
 tainty of their reaching Melville Island at the close of 
 that season, and so securing their return to England 
 in 1852. 
 
 " If, after all, any unforeseen event should detain the 
 ships beyond the period contemplated above, every 
 exertion shonJd be used, by means of boats and in- 
 terpreters, to communicate with the Mackenzie ; and 
 should any casualty render it necessary to abandon the 
 vessels, it should be borne in mind that the reserve-ship 
 will remain at her quarters until the autumn of 1853, 
 unless she hears of the safety of the ships and boats 
 in other directions ; while in the other quarter. Fort 
 Macpherson, at the entrance of the Mackenzie, may be 
 relied upon as an asylum. 
 
 "The Plover, or resorve-ship, should be provided 
 with three years' provisions for her own crew, and for 
 contingencies besides. She should be placed as near 
 as possible to Point Barrow, and provided with inter- 
 preterp, and the means of offering rewards for infor- 
 mation ; and she should remain at her quarters so long 
 
 ! 'A 
 
 i« 
 
 ■ 
 
 
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 i 
 
 M 
 
238 
 
 PROGRESS OF ARCTIC DISCOVERY. 
 
 m 
 
 it- 
 
 as there can be any occasion for her presence in tlie 
 Arctic Seas ; or, if she does not hear any thing of tlie 
 expedition under Captain Collinson, as long as her 
 provisions will last." 
 
 Sir John Kichardsou offers the following advice for 
 this expedition : — " If," he says, " it should winter 
 near the mouth of the Yucan or Colville, that river 
 may be ascended in a boat in the month of June, be- 
 fore the sea ice begins to give way. The river varies 
 in width from a mile ana a half to two miles, aud 
 flows through a rich, well-wooded valley, abounding in 
 moose deer, and having a comparatively mild climate. 
 A Russian trading post has been built on it, at th? dis 
 tance of three or four days' voyage from the sea, with 
 the current ; but as the current is strong, from nine to 
 twelve days must be allowed for its ascent, with the 
 tracking line. It would be unsafe to rely upon receiv- 
 ing a supply of provisions at the Russian post, as it is 
 not likely that any stock beyond what is necessary for 
 their own use is laid up by the traders ; and the moose 
 deer being a very shy animal, is not easily shot by an 
 unpracticed hunter ; but the reindeer abound on the 
 neighboring hills, and are much more approachable. 
 The white-fronted goose also breeds in vast flocks in 
 that district of the country, and may be killed in num- 
 bers, without difficulty, in the month of June. 
 
 " If the expedition should winter within a reason- 
 able distance of the Mackenzie, Captain Collinson 
 may have it in his power to send dispatches to England 
 by that route. 
 
 "The river opens in June, and as soon as the ice 
 ceases to drive, may be ascended in a boat, with a fair 
 wind, under sail, or with a tracking line. 
 
 " The lowest post at present occupied by the Hud- 
 son's Bay Company on this river is Fort Good Hope. 
 The site of this post has been changed several times, 
 but it is at this time on the right bank of the river, in 
 latitude 66° 16' N"., and is ten or eleven days' voyage 
 from tlie sea. At Point Separation, opposite to the 
 middle channel of the delta of the river, and on the 
 
OPINIONS yiND SUGGESTIONS. 
 
 239 
 
 promontory which separates the Peel and the Mac- 
 kenzie, there is a case of pemraican (80 lbs.) buried, ten 
 feet distant from a tree, which has its middle branches 
 lopped off, and is marked on the trunk with a broad 
 arrow in black paint. A fire was made over the pit 
 in which the case is concealed, and the remains of tne 
 charcoal will point out the exact spot. This hoard 
 was visited last year by a party from Fort Macpher- 
 eon. Peel's River, when all was safe. 
 
 " Eight bags of pemmican, weighing 90 lbs. each, 
 were deposited at Fort Good Hope in 1848, and would 
 remain there last summer for the use of any boat 
 parties that might ascend the river in 1849 ; but it is 
 probable that part, or the whole, may have been used 
 by the Company by next year. 
 
 "A boat party should be furnished with a small 
 seine and a short herring net, by the use of which a 
 good supply of fish may often be procured in the 
 eddies or sandy bays of the Mackenzie. They should 
 also be provided with a good supply of buck-shot, swan- 
 shot, duck-shot, and gunpowder. The Loucheux and 
 Hare Indians will readily give such provisions as they 
 may happen to have, in exchange for ammunition. 
 They will expect to receive tobacco gratuitously, as 
 they are accustomed to do from the traders. 
 
 "The Mackenzie is the only water-way by which 
 any of the Hudson's Bay Company's posts can be 
 reached from the Arctic Sea. There is a post on the 
 Peel River which enters the delta of the Mackenzie, 
 but no supplies can be procured there. To the east- 
 ward of the Mackenzie no ship-party would have a 
 chance of reaching a trading post, the nearest to the 
 sea being Fort Resolution, on Great Slave Lake, situ- 
 ated on the 61st parallel of latitude, and the interven- 
 ing hilly country, intersected by numerous lakes and 
 rapid rivers, could not be crossed by such a party ii 
 less than an entire summer, even could they depenu 
 on their guns for a supply of food. Neither would 
 be advisable for a party from the ships to attempt to 
 reach the posts on the Mackenzie by way of the Cop- 
 
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 240 
 
 PEOGRESS OF AKOTIO DISCOVERY. 
 
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 pcrmine Kiver and Fort Confidence; as, in the ab- 
 sence of means of transport across Great Bear Lake, 
 the journey round that irregular sheet of water, would 
 be long and hazardous. Bear Lake Kiver is more 
 than fifty miles long, and Fort Norman, tlie nearest 
 post on the Mackenzie, is thirty miles above its mouth. 
 Mr. Rae was instructed to engage an Indian family or 
 two to hunt on the tract of country between the Cop- 
 
 E ermine and Great Bear Lake in the summer of 185(1; 
 ut no great reliance can be placed on these Indians 
 remaining long there, as they desert their hunting 
 quarters on very slight alarms, being in continual 
 dread of enemies, real or imaginary. 
 
 " A case of pemmican was buried on the summit ot 
 the bank, about four or five miles from the summit of 
 Cape Bathurst, the spot being marked by a pole planted 
 in the earth, and the exact locality of the deposit by a fire 
 of drift-wood, much of which would remain unconsumed. 
 " Another case was deposited in the cleft of a rock, 
 on a small battlemented cliff, which forms the extreme 
 part of Cape Parry. The case was covered with loose 
 stones ; and a pile of stones painted red and white, 
 was erected immediately in fi'ont of it. This cliff" re- 
 sembles a cocked-hat in some points of view, and pro- 
 jects like a tongue from the base of a rounded hill, 
 which is 600 or 600 feet high. 
 
 " Several cases of pemmican were left exposed on a 
 ledge of rocks in latitude 68° 35' N., opposite Lambert 
 Island, in Dolphin and Union Strait, and in a bay to 
 the westward of Cape Krusenstern, a small boat and 
 ten pieces of pemmican were deposited imder a high 
 cliff, above high water mark, without concealment. 
 The Esquimaux on this part of the coast are not nu- 
 merous, and from the position of this hoard, it may 
 escape discovery by them ; but I have every reason to 
 believe that the locality has been visited by Mr. Rae in 
 the past summer. A deposit of larger size, near Cape 
 Kendall, has been more certainly visited by Mr. Rae." 
 Captain Sir J. C. Ross writes from Haslar, 11th of 
 February, 1850. 
 
OPINIONS AND SUGGESTIONS. 
 
 2il 
 
 " With respect to the probable position of tLe Erebus 
 and Terror, 1 consider that it is hardly possible they 
 can be anywhere to the eastward of Melville Island, 
 or within 300 miles of Leopold Island, for if that were 
 the case, they would assuredly, during the last spring, 
 have made their way to that point, with the hope of 
 receiving assistance from the whale-ships which, foi 
 several years previous to the departure of that expedi- 
 tion from England, had been in the habit of visiting 
 Prince Regent Inlet in pursuit of whales ; and in that 
 case they must have been met with, or marks of their 
 encampments have been found by some of the numer- 
 ous parties detached from the Enterprise and Investi- 
 gator along the shores of that vicinity during the only 
 period of the season in which traveling is practicable 
 in those regions. 
 
 "It is probable, therefore, that during their first 
 Slimmer, which was remarkably favorable for the navi- 
 gation of those seas, they have been enabled (in obedi- 
 ence to their orders) to push the ships to the westward 
 of Banks' land, and have there become involved in the 
 heavy pack of ice which was observed from Melville 
 Island always to be setting past its westernmost point 
 in a southeast direction, and from which pack they may 
 not have been able to extricate their ships. 
 
 " From such a position, retreat to the eastward would 
 be next to impossible, while the journey to the Mac- 
 kenzie River, of comparatively easy accomplishment, 
 together with Sir John Franklin's knowledge of the 
 resources in the way and of its practicability, would 
 strengthen the belief that this measure will have been 
 adopted by them. during the last spring. 
 
 "If this be assumed as the present position of the 
 Erebus and Terror, it would manifestly be far more 
 easy and safe to afford them relief by means of an ex- 
 pedition entering Behring's Straits, than from any other 
 direction, as it would not be necessary for the ships to 
 depart so far from the coast of North America as to 
 preclude their keeping up a regular communication 
 with the Russian settlements on the River Colville, or 
 
 16 
 
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242 
 
 rROOKESS OF ARCTIC DISCOVERY. 
 
 those of the Hudson's Bay Company near the mouth 
 of the Mackenzie, while the whole space between any 
 position in which the ships might winter, and EankB' 
 Land could be thoroughly examined by traveling i)ar- 
 ties early in the spring, or by boats or steam launches 
 at a more advanced period of the following season." 
 
 Mr. W. Snow, in a letter from New York, dated 7th 
 of January, 1850, suggests a plan for a well organized 
 expedition of as many men as could be fitted out from 
 private funds. " For instance, let a party of 100 picked 
 men, well disciplined and officered, as on board a ship, 
 and accompanied with all the necessary food, scientitic 
 instruments, and every thing useful on such expeditions, 
 proceed immediately, by the shortest and most avail- 
 able routes, to the lands in the neighborhood of the un- 
 explored regions. If possible, I would suggest that 
 they should proceed first to Moose Fort, on the south 
 ern part of Hudson's Bay, and thence by small craft 
 to Chesterfield Inlet, or otherwise by land reach that 
 quarter, so as to arrive there at the opening of summer. 
 From this neighborhood let the party, minus ten men, 
 be divided into three separate detachments, each with 
 specific instructions to extend their researches in a 
 northerly and northwesterly direction. The wbfitern- 
 most party to proceed as near as possible in a direct 
 course to the easternmost limits of discovery yet made 
 from Behring's Straits, and on no account to deviate 
 from that course on the western side of it, but., if ne- 
 cessary, to the eastward. Let the central party shape a 
 course as near as possible to the position of the Mag- 
 netic Pole ; and the easternmost division direct tc 
 Prince Regent Inlet, or the westernmost point of dis- 
 covery from the east, and not to deviate from that course 
 easterly. Let each of these detachments be formed 
 again into three divisions, each division thus consisting 
 of ten men. Let the first division of each detachment 
 pioneer the way, followed on the same track by tht 
 second and the third, at stated intervals of time. On 
 the route, let the pioneers, at every spot necessary, leave* 
 distinguishing marks to denote the way, and also to 
 
T1 
 
 OPINIONS AND SUOCilSTIONS. 
 
 243 
 
 give information to either of the other two principal 
 detachments as may by chance fall into their track 
 To second the efibrts of the three detachments, let con 
 stant succors and other assistance bo forwarded hy 
 way of Moose Fort, and through the ten men left at 
 Cliesterfield Inlet ; and should the object for which 
 such an expedition was framed be happily accom- 
 plished by the return of the lost voyagers, let messen- 
 gers be torwarded with the news, as was done with 
 Captain Back, in the case of Captain Ross. Let each 
 of the extreme detachments, upon arriving at their re- 
 spective destinations, and upon being joined by the 
 whole of their body, proceed to form plans for uniting 
 with the central party, and ascertaining the results 
 already obtained by each by sending parties in that 
 direction. Also, let a chosen number oe sent out from 
 each detachment as exploring parties, wherever deemed 
 requisite ; and let no effort be wanted to make a search 
 in every direction where there is a possibility of its 
 proving successful. 
 
 " If a public and more extensive expedition be set on 
 foot, I would most respectfully draw attention to the 
 following suggestions: — Let a land expedition be formed 
 upon a similar plan, and vdth the same number of men, 
 say 300 or more, as those fitted out for sea. Let this 
 expedition be formed into three great divisions ; the one 
 proceeding by the Athabasca to the Great Slave Lake> 
 and following out Captain Back's discoveries ; the 
 second, through the Churchill district ; or, with the 
 third, according to the plan laid out for a private expe- 
 dition alone ; only keeping the whole of their forces as 
 much as possible bearing upon the points where success 
 may be most likely attainable. 
 
 " Each of these three great divisions to be subdivided 
 and arranged also as in the former case. The expense 
 of an expedition of this kind, with all the necessary 
 outlay for provisions, &c., I do not think would be more 
 than half what the same would cost if sent by sea ; but 
 of this I am not a competent judge, having no definite 
 means to make a comparison. But there is yet another, 
 
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244 
 
 IMtOOKKSS OF AKOTIO Dl^COVKUY. 
 
 and, I cannot help conceiving, a more easy way of o|>. 
 visiting all (litliciilty on this point, and of reducing the 
 experiHo conHidorahly. 
 
 "It must bo evident that the present position of the 
 arctic voyagers is not very accessible, either by land 
 or sea, else the distinguished loader at the head of tlui 
 expedition would long ere this have tracked a nmUi 
 whereby the whole party, or at least some of tliciu 
 could return. 
 
 "In such a case, therefore, the only way to roa(!h 
 them is by, if I may use the expression,, /(^/'cmy an ex- 
 pedition on toward them ; I mean, by keeping it con- 
 stantly upheld and pushing onward. There may be, 
 and indeed there are, very great ditHculties, and ditH- 
 culties of such a nature that, I believe, they would 
 themselves cause another great difficulty in the procur- 
 ing of men. But, if I might make another bold sug- 
 gestion, I would respectfully ask our government at 
 home, why not employ picked men from convictcMl 
 criminals, as is done in exploring expeditions in Aus- 
 tralia ? Inducements might be held out to them ; and 
 by proper care they would be made most serviceable 
 auxiliaries. Generally speaking, men convicted of 
 offenses are men possessed of almost inexhaustible 
 mental resources ; and such men are the men who, 
 w^th physical powers of endurance, are precisely those 
 required. But this I speak of, merely, if sufficient free 
 men could not be found, and if economy is studied." 
 
 Mr. John McLean, who has been twenty-five years a 
 partner and officer of the Hudson's Bay Company, and 
 has published an interesting narrative of his adven- 
 tures and experience, writing to Lady Franklin from 
 Canada "West, in January, 1850, suggests the following 
 very excellent plan as likely to produce sorhe intelli- 
 gence, if not to lead to a discovery of the party. 
 
 " Let a small schooner of some thirty or forty tons 
 burden, built with a view to draw as little water as 
 possible, and as strong as wood and iron could make 
 her, be dispatched from England in company with the 
 Hudson's Bay ships. This vessel would, immediately 
 
OriNloNS AND BtrOOEfiTIONa. 
 
 245 
 
 -1 arr.ving at York Factory, proceed to the Strait 
 ...med Sir Thomas Ko»3'h Welcome, which divides 
 Southampton iHland from the main-land ; then dirc(!fc 
 her course to Wager River, and proceed onward until 
 interrupted by insurmountable oDstacles. The party 
 being safely landed, I would recommend their remain- 
 ing stationary until winter traveling became practicable, 
 when they should sot out for the shores of the Arctic 
 Sea, which, by a reference to Arrowsmith's map, ap- 
 pears to be only some sixty or seventy miles distant ; 
 then dividing in two parties or divisions, the one would 
 proceed east, the other west ; and I think means could 
 be devised of exploring 250 or 300 miles in either 
 direction ; and here a very important question pre- 
 sents itself, — how and by what means is this enterprise 
 to be accomplished ? 
 
 " In the first place, the services of Esquimaux would 
 be indispensable, for the twofold reason, that no reliable 
 information can be obtained from the natives without 
 their aid, and that they alone properly understand the 
 art of preparing snow-houses, or ' igloes,' for winter en- 
 campment, the only lodging which tho desolate wastes 
 of the arctic regions aiford. Esquimaux understanding 
 the English language sufficiently well to answer our 
 purpose, frequent the Hudson's Bay Company's post 
 m Labrador, some of whom might be induced, (I should 
 fain hope,) to engage for the expedition , or probably 
 the ' half-breed ' natives might do so more readily than 
 the aborigines. They should, if possible, be strong, 
 active men, and good marksmen, and not less than four 
 in number. Failing in the attempt to procure the na- 
 tives of Labrador, then I should think Esquimaux 
 might be obtained at Churchill, in Hudson's Bay ; the 
 two who accompanied Sir John in his first land expedi- 
 tion were from this quarter." 
 
 An expedition of this kind is to be sent out by Lady 
 Franklin this spring under the charge of Mr. Kennedy. 
 There are various ways of accomplishing this object, 
 the choice of which must mainly depend on the views 
 and wishes of the officer who may undertake the com 
 
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246 
 
 PROGRESS OF AROTIO DISCOVERY. 
 
 ^■' '■', 
 
 mand. Besides the northern route, or that by Regent 
 Inlet, it is possible to reach Sir James Ross and Simp- 
 son's Straits from the south, entering Hudson's Bay, 
 and passing up the Welcome to Rae Isthmus, or again 
 by entering Chesterfield or "Wager Inlet, and gainiiig 
 the coast by Back's or the Great Fish River. 
 
 By either of these routes a great part of the explora- 
 tion must be made in boats or on foot. In every case 
 the main points to be searched are James Ross's Strait 
 and Simpson's Strait, if indeed there be a passage in 
 that direction, as laid down in Sir John Franklin's charts, 
 though contradicted by Mr. Rae, and considered still 
 doubtful by some arctic navigators. 
 
 The following extract from the Geographical Jour- 
 nal shows the opinion of Franklin upon the search of 
 this quarter. Dr. Richardson says,*-- -" No better plan 
 can be proposed than the one suggested by Sir John 
 Franklin, of sending a vessel to Wa^er River, and car- 
 rying on the sur\rey from thence in boats." 
 
 Sir John Franklin observes,! — '' The Doctor alludes 
 in his letter to some propositions which he knew I had 
 made in the year 1828, at the command of his present 
 Majesty,, ^William IV.,) on the same subject, and partic- 
 ularly to th<5 suggestion as to proceeding from Repulse 
 or Wager Bay. * * * A recent careful reading of all 
 the narratives connected with the surveys of the Wager 
 and Repulse Bays. r.nd of Sir Edward Carry's Voyage, 
 together with the information obtained from the Esqui- 
 maux by Sir Edward Parry, Sir John lioss, and Cap- 
 tain Back, confirm me in opinion that a successful de- 
 lineation of the coast east of Point Turnagain to the 
 Strait of the Fury and Hecla, would be oest attained 
 by an expedition proceeding from Wager Bay, the 
 northern parts of which cannot, I think, be farther dis- 
 tant than forty miles from the sea, if the information 
 received by the above-mentioned officers can be de- 
 pended on." 
 
 Dr. McCormick particularly draws attention to Jones* 
 and Smith's Sounds, recommending a careful examin 
 
 * Journal of Geographical Society, vol. vi. p. 40. t Ibid. p. 43. 
 
 t- 
 
OPimONS AND SUGGESTIONS. 
 
 247 
 
 ation of these to their probable termination in the 
 Polar Sea : — 
 
 " Jones' Sound, with the Wellington Channel on the 
 west, may be found to form an island of the land called 
 ' North Devon.' / 11 prominent positions on both sides 
 of these Sounds should be searched for flag staves and 
 piles of stones, under whcih copper cylinders or bot- 
 tles may have been deposited, containing accounts of 
 the proceedings of the missing expedition ; and if suc- 
 oesstul in getting upon its track, a clue would be ob- 
 tained to the fate of our gallant countrymen." 
 
 The Wellington Channel he considers affords one of 
 the best chances of crossing the track of the missing 
 expedition. 
 
 To carry out this plan efficiently, he recommended 
 that a boat should be dropped, by the ship conveying 
 the searching party out; at the entrance to the Welling- 
 ton Channel in Barrow's Strait ; from this point one or 
 both sides of that channel and the northern shores of 
 the Parry Islands might be explored as far west as the 
 season would permit of. But should the ship be en- 
 abled to look into Jones' Sound, on her way to Lancas- 
 ter Sound, and find that opening free from ice, an 
 attempt might be made by the Boat Expedition to push 
 through it inf-* the Wellington Channel. In the event, 
 however, of its proving to be merely an inlet, which a 
 short delay v: juld be sufficient to decide, the ship might 
 perhaps be in readiness to pick up the boat on ite re- / 
 turn, for conveyance to its ultimate destination through ' 
 Lancaster Sound ; or as a precaution against any un- 
 foreseen separation from the ship, a depot of provisions 
 should be left at the entrance to Jones' Sound for the 
 boat to complete its supplies from, after accomplishing 
 the exploration of this inlet, and to afford the means,! 
 if compelled from an advanced period of the season 
 or other adverse circumstances, of reaching some place>5^ 
 of refuge, either on board a whaler or some one of the' 
 depots oi provisions on the southern shores of Barrow's" 
 Strait. 
 
 In- 
 
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 ,11 
 
 "•". 
 
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 24S 
 
 PROGRESS OP ARCTIC DISCOVERT. 
 
 Mr. Perny, in charge of the Lady Franklin, before 
 'ailinp^, observed : — 
 
 " If an early passage be obtained, I would examine 
 rones' Sound, as I have generally found in all my early 
 voyages clear water at the mouth of that sound, and 
 *^here is a probability that an earlier passage by this 
 route might be found into Wellington Strait, which out- 
 let ought by all means to be thoroughly examined at 
 the earliest opportunity, since, if Sir J. Franklin had 
 taken that route, with the hope of finding a passage 
 westward, to the north of the Parry and Melville 
 Islands, he may be beyond the power of helping him- 
 self. No trace of the expedition, or practical commu- 
 nication with Wellington Strait, being obtained in this 
 quarter, I would proceed in time to take advantage of 
 the first opening of the ice in Lancaster Sound, with 
 the view of proceeding to the west and entering "Wel- 
 lington Strait, or if this should not be practicable, of 
 proceeding farth<, ^vestward to Cape "Walker, and be- 
 yond, on one or other of which places Sir John Frank- 
 lin will probably have left some notices of his course." 
 
 The government has seen the urgent necessity of 
 causing the Wellington Channel to be carefully exam- 
 ined ; imperative orders were sent to Sir James Ross 
 to search it, but he was drifted out of Barrow's Strait 
 against his will, before he received those orders by the 
 North Star. 
 
 I have already stated that Sir John Franklin's in- 
 structions directed him to try the first favorable open- 
 ing to the southwest after passing Cape Walker ; and 
 failing in that, to try the Wellington Channel. Every 
 ofiicer in the British Service, as a matter of course, 
 follows his instrii'Aitions, as far as they are compatible 
 with the exigencies of the case, be it what it may, nor 
 ever deviates from them without good and justifiable 
 cause. If, then, Sir John Franklin failed in finding an 
 opening to the southwest of Cape Walker it is reason- 
 able to suppose ho obeyed his instructions, and tried 
 tlie Wellington Channel. The second probability in 
 favor of this locality is, that Sir John Franklin ex- 
 
OPINIONS AND SUGGESTIONS. 
 
 249 
 
 pressed o many of his friends a favorable opinion of 
 the Wellington Channel, and, which is of far more 
 consequence, intimated his opinion officially, and be- 
 fore the expedition was determined upon, that this 
 strait se&med to offer the best chance of success. 
 
 Moreover, Capt. Fitzjames, his immediate second in 
 command in the Erebus, was strongly in favor of the 
 Wellington Channel, and always so expressed himself. 
 See his letter, before quoted, to Sir John Barrow, p. 203. 
 
 Who can doubt that the opinion of Capt. Fitzjames, 
 a man of superior mind, beloved by all who know him, 
 f*nd in the service "• the observed of all observers," would 
 have great weight with Sir John Franklin, even if Sir 
 John had not been liimseif predisposed to listen to him. 
 What adds confirmation to these views is, that in 1840, 
 a few years prior to the starting of the expedition, Col. 
 Sabine published the deeply interesting "i^arrative of 
 Baron Wrangcl's Expedition to the PoUr Sea, under- 
 taken between the years 1820 and 1823," and in his pre- 
 face the translator points to the Wellington Channel as 
 the most likely course for the successful accomplishment 
 of the northwest passage. "Setting aside" he says, 
 "the possibility ot the existence of unknown land, the 
 probability of an open sea existing to the north of the 
 rarry islands, and communicating with Behring Strait, 
 appears to rest on strict analogical reasoning." And 
 again he adds, " all the attempts to eftect the northwest 
 passage, since Barrow's Strait was first passed in 1819, 
 have consisted in an endeavor to force a vessel by one 
 route or another through this land-locked and ice-encum- 
 bered portion of the f olar Ocean." 
 
 No examination has made known what may be the 
 state of the sea to the north of the Parry islands ; 
 whether Pimilar impediments may there present them- 
 selves to navigation, or whether a sea may not there 
 exist offering no difficulties whatever of the kind, as M. 
 Von Wrangel has shown to be the case to the north of 
 the Siberian Islands, and as by strict analogy we should 
 be justified in expecting. 
 Colonel Sabine is an officer of great scientific expe- 
 
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 250 
 
 PROGRBSB OF AKCTIO DI800VEKY. 
 
 rience, and from his having made several polar voyages, 
 he has devoted great attention to all that relates to tliat 
 quarter. He was in constant communication with Sir 
 John Franklin when the expedition was fitting out, and 
 it is but reasonable to suppose that he would be some- 
 what guided by his opinion. 
 
 We have, then, the opinions of Franklin himself. 
 Colonel Sabine, and Captain Fitzjames, all bearing on 
 this point, and we must remember that Parry, who dis- 
 covered and named this channel, saw nothing when 
 passing and re-passing it, but a clear open sea to the 
 northward. 
 
 Lieut. S. Osborn, in a paper dated the 4:th of January, 
 1850, makes the following suggestions : — 
 
 "General opinion places the lost expedition to the 
 west of Cape W alker, and south of the latitude of Mel- 
 ville Island. The distance from Cape Bathurst to Banks' 
 Land is only 301 miles, and on reference to a chart it 
 will be seen that nowhere else does the American conti- 
 nent approach so near to the supposed position of Frank- 
 lin's expedition. 
 
 " Banks' Land bears from Cape Bathurst N. 41° 49', 
 E. 302 miles, and there is reason to believe that in the 
 summer season a portion of this distance may be trav- 
 ersed in boats. 
 
 " Dr. Richardson confirms previous reports of the ice 
 being light on the coast east of the Mackenzie Biver lo 
 Cape Bathurst, and informs us that the Esquimaux had 
 seen ' no ice to seaward for two moons.' 
 
 '' Every mile traversed northward by a party from 
 Cape Bathurst would be over that unknown space in 
 which traces of Franklin may be expected. It is advis- 
 able that such a second party be dispatched from Cape 
 Bathurst, in order that the prosecution of Dr. Rae's 
 examination of the supposed channel between AYoUas- 
 ton and Victoria Lands may in no way be interfered 
 with, by his attention being called to the westward." 
 
 In March, 1848, the Admiralty announced their inten- 
 tion of rewarding the crews of any whaling ships that 
 brought accurate information of the missing expedition, 
 
OPINIONS AND SUGGESTIONS. 
 
 251 
 
 wirh the sum of 100 guineas or more, according to cir- 
 cumstances. Lady Franklin also about the same time 
 offered rewards of 2000^. and 3000^., to be distributed 
 amonff the owner, officers, and crew discovering and 
 affording relief to her husband, or making extraordi- 
 nary exertions for the above object, and, if required, 
 bringing Sir John Franklin and his party to England. 
 
 In March, 1850, the following further rewards were 
 offered by the British government to persons of any 
 country : — 
 
 1st. To any party or person who in the judgment of 
 the Board of Admiralty, shall discover and effectually 
 relieve the crows of H. M. ships Erebus and Terror, the 
 sum of 20,000Z., or, 
 
 2d. To any party or parties, &c., who shall discover 
 and effectually relieve any portion of the crews, or shall 
 convey such intelligence as shall lead to the relief of 
 any of the crew, the sum of 10,000Z. 
 
 3d. To any party or parties who shall by virtue of 
 his or their efforts, first succeed in ascertaining their 
 fate, 10,000Z. 
 
 In a dispatch from Sir George Simpson to Mr. Rae, 
 dated Lachine, the 21st of January, 1850, he says : — 
 
 "If they be still alive, I feel satisfied that every effort 
 it may be in the power of man to make to succor them 
 will be exerted by yourself and the Company's officers 
 In Mackenzie River ; but should your late search have 
 unfortunately ended in disappointment, it is the desire 
 of the Company that you renew your explorations next 
 summer, if possible. 
 
 " By the annexed correspondence you will observe that 
 the opinion in England appears to be that our explora- 
 tions ought to be more particularly directed to that por- 
 tion of the Korthern Sea lying between Cape Walker 
 on the east, Melville Island and Banks' Land to the 
 north, and the continental shore or the Victoria Islands 
 to the south. 
 
 " As these limits are believed to embrace the course 
 that would have been pursued by Sir John Franklin, 
 Cape Walker being one of the points he was particu- 
 16 K 
 
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 ', mm 
 
 }!i . 
 
 V::) 
 
 
252 
 
 PROGRESS OF ARCTIC DISCOVERY. 
 
 larly instructed to make for, you will therefore be 
 pleased, immediately on the receipt of this letter, to lit 
 out another exploring party, to proceed in the direction 
 above indicated, but varying the route that may liave 
 been followed last summer, which party, besides their 
 own examination of the coast and islands, should be 
 instructed to ofter liberal rewards to the Esquimaux to 
 search for some vestiges of the missing expedition, and 
 similar rewards should be offered to tne Indians inhab 
 iting near the coast and Peel's River, and the half bred 
 hunters of Mackenzie River, the latter being, perhaps, 
 more energetic than the former; assuring them that 
 whoever may procure authentic intelligence will be 
 largely rewarded. 
 
 " Simultaneously with the expedition to proceed to- 
 ward Cape "Walker, one or two small parties should be 
 dispatched to the westward of the Mackenzie, in the 
 direction of Point Barrow, one of which might pass over 
 to the Youcon River, and descending that stream to the 
 sea, carry on their explorations in that quarter, while 
 the other, going down the Mackenzie, might trace the 
 coast thence toward the Youcon. And these parties 
 must also be instructed to offer rewards to the natives 
 to prosecute the search in all directions. 
 
 " By these means there is reason to believe that in 
 the course of one year so minute a search may be made 
 of the coast and the islands, that in the event of the 
 expedition having passed in that direction, some trace 
 of their progress would certainly be discovered. 
 
 " From your experience in arctic discovery, and pe- 
 culiar qualifications for such an undertaking, I am in 
 hopes you may be enabled yourself to assume the 
 command of the party to proceed to the northward ; 
 and, as leaders of the two parties to explore the coast 
 to the westward of the Mackenzie, you will have to 
 select such officers of the Company's service within 
 the district as may appear best qualified for the duty: 
 Mr. Murray, I think, would be a very fit man for one 
 of the leaders, and if one party be sent by way of the 
 Y(nicon, he might take charge of it. In the event of 
 
OPINIONS AND SUGGESTIONS. 
 
 253 
 
 your going on this expedition, you will be pleased to 
 make over the charge of the district to Chief Trader 
 Bell during your absence. 
 
 "In case you may be short-handed, I have by this 
 conveyance instructed Chief Factor Ballenden to en- 
 gage in Red River ten choice men, accustomed to boat- 
 ing, and well fitted for such a duty as will be required 
 of them; and if there be a chance of their reaching 
 Mackenzie River, or even Athabasca, before the break- 
 ing up of the ice, to forward them immediately. 
 
 " Should the season, however, be too far advanced 
 to enable them to accomplish the journey by winter 
 traveling, Mr. Ballenden is directed to increase the 
 party to fourteen men, with a guide to be dispatched 
 from Red River immediately after the opening of the 
 navigation, in two beats, laden with provisions and 
 flour, and a few bales of clothing, in order to meet, in 
 fioine degree, the heavy drain that will be occasioned 
 on our resources in provisions and necessary supplies 
 m Mackenzie River. The leader of this party from 
 Red River may, perhaps, be qualified to act as the 
 conductor of one of the parties to examine the coast 
 to the westward." 
 
 On the 5th of February, 1850, another consultation 
 took place at the Admiralty among those officers most 
 experienced in these matters, and their opinions in 
 writing were solicited. It is important, therefore, to 
 submit these as fully as possible to the consideration 
 of the reader. 
 
 The first is the report of the hydrographer of the 
 Admiralty, dated the 29th of January, 1850: — 
 
 ^''Memorandum hy Rear- Admiral Sir Fi^ancis Beau 
 
 fort, K. C. B. 
 
 "The Behring's Strait expedition being at length 
 lairly off', it appears to me to be a duty to subm.it to 
 their Lordships that no time should now be lost in 
 equipping another set of vessels to renew the search 
 on the opposite side, through Baffin's Bay; and this 
 being the fifth year that the Erebus and Terror hiive 
 
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 IB' 
 
 • n » . 
 ';)•■, 
 
 ' '\> 
 
 •■f 
 
 lliil 
 
 I"' !l 
 
 I ; 
 
 :'i,|i i 
 
I 
 
 254 
 
 PROGRESS OF AROTIO DISCOVERY. 
 
 been absent, nnd probably reduced to only casual sup- 
 plies of food and fuel, it may be assumed that this 
 search should be so complete and eftectual as to leave 
 unexamined no place in which, by any of the supposi- 
 tions that have been put forward, it is at all likely they 
 may be found. 
 
 " Sir John Franklin is not a man to treat his orders 
 with levity, and therofore his first attempt was un- 
 doubtedly made in the direction of Melville Island, and 
 not to the westward. If foiled in that attempt, he 
 naturally hauled to the southward, and using Banks' 
 Land as a barrier against the northern ice, he would 
 try to make westing under its lee. Thirdly, if both of 
 these ruads were found closed against his advance, he 
 perhaps availed himself of one of the four passages 
 between the Parry Islands, including the "VYeilington 
 Channel. Or, lastly, he may have returned to Baffin's 
 Buy and taken the inviting opening of Jones' Sound. 
 
 "i/Jl those fonr tracks must therefore be diligently 
 examiiied before the search can be called complete, 
 and the only method of rendering that examination 
 prompt and efficient will be through the medium of 
 steam ; while only useless expense and reiterated dis- 
 appointment will attend the best efforts of sailing ves- 
 sels, leaving the lingeringr survivors of the lost ships,, 
 as well as their relatives in England, in equal despair. 
 Had Sir James Ross been in a steam vessel, he would 
 not have been surrounded with ice and swept out of 
 the Strait, but by shooting under the protection of Leo- 
 pold Island, he would have waited there till that fatal 
 field had passed to the eastward, and he then would 
 have found a perfectly open sea up to Melville Island. 
 
 "The best application of steam to ice-going vessek 
 would be Ericson's screw ; but the screw or paddles of 
 any of our moderate-sized vessels might be made t( 
 elevate .vith facility. Vessels so fit.:ed would ■ ot re- 
 quire to be fortified in an extraordinary degree, not 
 more than common whalers. From the log-like quies- 
 cence with which a sailing vessel must await the crush 
 of two approaching floes, they must be as strong aa 
 
Ill iiiiwiii -■-"^ 
 
 "''^■*>l( 
 
 OPINIONS AND 8UOOESTION8. 
 
 255 
 
 wood and iron can make them ; but the steamer slips 
 out of the reach of the collision, waits till the shock is 
 past, and then profiting by their mutual recoil, darts 
 at once through the transient opening. 
 
 "Two such vessels, and each of them attended by 
 two tenders laden with coals and provisions, would be 
 sufficient for the main lines of search. Every promi- 
 nent point of land where notices might have been left, 
 woulu be visited, details of their own proceedings would 
 be deposited, and each of the tenders would bo left in 
 proper positions, as points of rendezvous on which to 
 fall back. 
 
 "Besides these two branches of the expedition, it 
 would be well to allow the whaling captain (Penny,) to 
 carry out his proposed undertaking. His local knowl- 
 edge, his thoroug-n acquaintance with all the mysteries 
 of the ice navigation, and his well known skill and 
 resourc s, soem to* point him out as a most valuable 
 auxiliary. 
 
 " But whatever vessels may be chosen for this service, 
 I would beseech their lordships to expedite them ; all 
 our attempts have been deferred too long ; and there is 
 now reason to believe that very early in the season, in 
 May or even in April, Baffin's Bay may be crossed be- 
 fore the accumulated ice of winter spreads over its 
 surface. If they arrive rather too soon, they may very 
 advanta/jjeously await the proper moment in some of 
 the Greenland harbors, preparing themselves for the 
 coming cfTbrts and struggles, and procuring Esquimaux 
 interpreters. 
 
 " In order to press every resource into the service of 
 this noble enterprise, the vessels should be extensively 
 furnished with means for blasting and splitting the ice, 
 perhaps circular saws might be adapted to the steamers, 
 a launch to each party, with a small rotary engine, 
 sledr^es for the shore, and light boats with sledge bear- 
 ings ibr broken ice-fields, balloons for the distribution 
 of advertisements, and kites for the explosion of lofly 
 fire-balls. And, lastly, they should have vigorous and 
 numerous crews, so that when detachments are away, 
 
 IK 
 
 r 
 
 II ! 
 
 i 1-ti] 
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 ! I li 
 
 r 
 
 mi 
 
■(;' 
 
 256 
 
 PliOOKESS OF ARCTIC DISCOVERY. 
 
 other operations should not be intermitted for want of 
 physical strength. 
 
 " As the council of the Eoj^al Society, some time ago, 
 thought proper to remind their lordships of the propriety 
 of instituting this search, it would be fair now to calh/u 
 that learned body for all the advice and suggestioiiM, 
 that science and philosophy can contribute toward tiie 
 accomplishment of the great object on which the eyes 
 of all England and indeed of all the world, are now 
 entirely iixed." 
 
 Captain Beechey, writing to the Secretary of the Ad- 
 miralty, 7th of February, 1850, says : — 
 
 " The urgent nature of the case alone can justify tho 
 use of ordinary steamers in an icy sea, and great pru- 
 dence and judgment will be required on the part of 
 their commanders, to avoid being disabled by collision 
 and pressure. • 
 
 " 1 would also add, as an exception, that I think Leo- 
 pold Island and Cape Walker, if possible, should both 
 be examined, prior to any attempt being made to pene- 
 trate in other directions from Barrow's Strait, and that 
 the bottom of Regent Inlet, about the Pelly Islands, 
 should not be left unexamined. In the memorandum 
 submitted to their lordships on the 17th of January, 
 1849, this quarter was considered of importance ; and 
 I am still ot opinion, that, had Sir John Franklin aban- 
 doned his vessels near the coast of America, and much 
 short of the Mackenzie River, he would have preferred 
 the probability of retaining the use of his boats until 
 he found relief in Barrow's Strait, to risking an over- 
 land journey via the before-mentioned river ; it must 
 be remembered, that at the time he sailed, Sir George 
 Back's discovery had rendered it very probable that 
 Boothia was an island. 
 
 " An objection to the necessity of this search seems 
 to be, that had Sir John Franklin taken that route, he 
 would have reached Fury Beach already. However, I 
 cannot but think there will yet be found some good 
 grounds for the Esquimaux sketch, and that their mean- 
 ing has been misunderstood ; and as Mr. M'Cormick is 
 
■ '•**»ir 
 
 OriNIONS OF ARCTIC *0 VARIOUS. 
 
 257 
 
 betbr 
 
 ijtorprising perfion, wlioso name has already been 
 •e their lorclships, I would siibinit, whether a boat 
 expedition from Leopold Depot, under his direction, 
 would not satistUctorily set at rest all inquiry upon this, 
 now the onl^^ quarter unpi'ovided for." 
 
 Captain Sir VV". E. Parry states : — 
 
 "1 am decidedly of opinion that the main search 
 should be renewed in the direction of Melville Island 
 and Banks' Land, including as a part of the plan the 
 thorough examination of w ellington Strait and of the 
 other similar openings between the islands of the group 
 bearing my name. 1 entertain a growing conviction of 
 the probability of the missing ships, or at least a con- 
 siderable portion of the crews, being shut up at Mel 
 ville Island, Banks' Land, or in that neighborhood, 
 agreeing as I do with Rear Admiral Sir Francis Beau- 
 fort, in his report read yesterday to the Board that ' Sir 
 John Franklin is not a man to treat his orders with 
 I 'Hty,' which he would be justly chargeable with doing 
 if he attached greater weight to any notions he might 
 personally entertain than to the Admiralty instructions, 
 which he well knew to be founded on the experience of 
 former attempts, and on the best information which 
 could then be obtained on the subject. For these rea- 
 sons I can scarcely doubt that he would employ at least 
 two seasons, those of 1845 and 1846, in an unremitting 
 attempt to penetrate directly westward or southwestward 
 to Behring^s Strait. 
 
 " Supposing this conjecture to be correct, nothing can 
 be more likely than that Sir John Franklin's ships, hav- 
 ing penetrated in seasons of ordinary temperature a 
 considerable distance in that direction, nave been locked 
 up by successive seasons of extraordinary rigor, thus 
 baffling the efforts of their weakened crews to escape 
 from the ice in either of the two directions by Behring's 
 or Barrow's Straits. 
 
 "And here I cannot but add, that my own conviction 
 of this probability — for it is only with probabilities 
 that we have to deal — has been greatly strengthened 
 by a letter I have lately received from Col. Sabine, of 
 
 17 
 
 1 
 
 \ 
 
 I*" 
 
 I* 
 
 ;>■ 
 
 II 
 
 l^( 
 
 i: 
 
 I '! 
 
 Mil 
 
 
 
258 
 
 PROGRESS OF ARCmc DISCOVERY. 
 
 I 
 
 the Royal Artillery, of which I had tlie honor to Riib- 
 mit a coj^y to Sir Francis Baring. Colonel Sabine 
 having accompanied two successive expeditions to Baf- 
 fin's Bay, including that under mv command which 
 reached Melville Island, I consider his views to be woll 
 worthy of their lordships' attention on this part of the 
 subject. 
 
 "It must be admitted, however, that considerable 
 weight is due to the conjecture which has been oflercd 
 by persons capable of fonning a sound judgment, that 
 havmg failed, as I did, in the attempt to penetrate west- 
 ward, Sir John Franklin might deem it prudent to re- 
 trace his steps, and was enabled to do so, in order to try 
 a more northern route, either through Wellington Strait 
 or some other of those openings between the Parry 
 Islands to which I have already referred. And this idea 
 receives no small importance from the fact, (said to be 
 beyond a doubt,) of Sir John Franklin having, before 
 his departure, expressed such an intention in case of 
 failing to the westward. 
 
 " I cannot, therefore, consider the intended search to 
 be complete without making the examination of "Wel- 
 lington Strait and its adjacent openings a distinct part 
 of the plan, to be performed by one portion of the 
 vessels which I shall presently propose for the main 
 expedition. 
 
 " Much stress has likewise been laid, and I think not 
 altogether without reason, on the propriety of search- 
 ing Jones' and Smith's Sounds in the northwest parts of 
 Baffin's Bay. Considerable interest has lately been at- 
 tached to Jt)nes' Sound, from the fact of its having been 
 recently navigated by at least one enterprising whaler, 
 and found to be of great width, free from ice, with a 
 swell from the westward, and having no land visible from 
 the mast-head in that direction. It seems more than 
 probable, therefore, that it may be found to communi- 
 cate with Wellington Strait ; so that if Sir John Frank- 
 lin's ships have been detained anywhere to the north- 
 ward of the Parry Islands, it would be by Jones' Sound 
 that he would probably endeavor to eftect his escape, 
 
-Vj* 
 
 OPINIONS AND SL'OGi:ftTlONl». 
 
 259 
 
 rnther than by the lesa direct route of Barrow's Strait. 
 1 do not mvself attucli niucli importance to the idea of 
 Sir John Iranklin having ho far retraced his steps as 
 to come back through Lancaster Sound, and recom- 
 mence liis enterprise by entering Jones' Sound ; but 
 the possibility of liis attempting his escape through 
 this fine opening, and the report, (though somewhat 
 vague,) of a cairn of stones seen by one of the whalers 
 on a headland within it, seems to me to render it highly 
 expedient to set this question at rest by a search in 
 this direction, including the examination of Smith's 
 Sound also." 
 
 I beg to cite next an extract from the letter of Dr. Sir 
 John llichardson to the Secretary of the Admiralty : — 
 
 ^'•Haslar Hospital^ Gosport^ 7th of February ^ 1850. 
 
 " With respect to the direction in which a successful 
 search may oe predicated with the most confidence, 
 very various opinions have been put forth ; some have 
 supposed either that the ships were lost before reaching 
 Lancaster Sound, or that Sir John Franklin, finding an 
 impassable barrier of ice in the entrance of Lancaster 
 Sound, may have sought for a passage through Jones' 
 Sound. I do not feel inclined to give much weight to 
 either conjecture. "When we consider the strength of 
 the Erobus and Terror, calculated to resist the strongest 
 pressuie to which ships navigating Baflin'a Bav have 
 been known to be subject, in conjunction with the fact 
 that, of the many whalers which have been crushed or 
 abandoned since the commencement of the fishery, the 
 crews, or at least the greater part of them, have, in 
 almost every »^ase, succeeded in reaching other ships, or 
 the Danish settlements, we cannot believe that the two 
 discovery ships, which were seen on the edge of the 
 middle ice so early as the 26th of July, can have been 
 so suddenly and totally overwhelmed as to preclude 
 some one of the intelligent ofiicers, whose minds were 
 prepared for every emergenc}^ with their select crews 
 of men, experienced in the ice, from placing a boat on 
 the ice or water, and thus carrying intelligence of the 
 
 ••< 
 
 
 ^■^;; ^ 
 
: 
 
 ; 
 
 Ri J 
 
 260 
 
 PEOGBE38 OP AEOTIC DISCOVERY. 
 
 disaster to one of the many whalers which remained for 
 two months after that date in those seas, and this in the 
 absence of p^y unusual catastrophe among the fishing 
 vessels that season. 
 
 " With respefjt to Jones' Sound, it is admitted by all 
 who are intimatelj' acquainted with Sir John Franklin, 
 that his first endeavor would be to act up to the letter 
 of his instructions, and that therefore he would not 
 lightly abandon the attempt to pass Lancaster Sound. 
 From the logs of the whalers year after year, we learn 
 that when once they have succeeded in rounding the 
 middle ice, they enter Lancaster Sound with facility : 
 had Sir John Franklin, then, gained that Sound, and 
 from the premises we appear to be fully justified in 
 concluding that he did so, and had he afterward en- 
 countered a compact field of ice, barring Barrow's 
 Strait and Wellington Sound, he would then, after be- 
 ing convinced that he v/ould lose the season in attempt 
 ing to bore through it, have borne up for Jones' Sound, 
 but not until he had erected a conspicuous landmark, 
 and lodged a memorandum of his reason for deviating 
 from his instructions. 
 
 ''The absence of such a signal-post in Lancaster 
 Sound is an argument against the expedition having 
 turned back from thence, and is, on the other hand, a 
 strong support to the suspicion that Barrow's Strait was 
 as open in 1845 as when Sir W. E. Parry first passed 
 it in 1819 ; that, such being the case. Sir John Frank- 
 lin, without delay and witliout landing, pushed on to 
 Cape Walker, and that, subsequently, in endeavoring 
 to penetrate to the southwest, he became involved in 
 the drift ice, which, there is reason to believe, urged 
 by the prevailing winds and tho set of the flood tides, 
 is carried toward Coronation Gulf, through channels 
 more or less intricate. Should he have found no open- 
 ing at Cape Walker, he would, of course, have sou^lit 
 one fui-ther to the west ; or, finding the southerly and 
 westerly opening blocked by ice, he might ^.ave tried a 
 northern passage. 
 
 *' In either case, the plan of search propounded by 
 
■^^jj^ 
 
 OPINIONS AND 6UGGESTION8. 
 
 261 
 
 Sir Francis Beaiifoi't seems to provide against every 
 contingency, especially when taken in conjunction with 
 Captain Collinson's expedition, via Behring's Strai-'", 
 and the boat parties from the Mackenzie. 
 
 " 1 do not venture to offer an opinion on the strength 
 or equipment of the vessels to be employed, or other 
 merely nautical questions, further than by remarking, 
 that the use of the small vessels, which forms part of 
 Sir Francis Beaufort's scheme, is supported by the suc- 
 cess of the early navigators with their very small craft, 
 and the late gallant exploit of Mr. Shedden, in round- 
 ing Icy Cape and Point Barrow, in the Nancy Dawson 
 yacht. 
 
 "And further, with respect to the comparative merits 
 of the paddles and screw in the arctic seas, I beg leave 
 merely to observe, that as long as the screw is immersed 
 in water it will continue to act, irrespective of the tem 
 perature of the air ; but when, as occurs late in the 
 autumn, the atmosphere is suddenly cooled below the 
 freezing point of sea water, by a northerly gale, while 
 tlie sea itself remains warmer, the paddles will be 
 speedily clogged by ice accumulating on the floats as 
 they rise through the air in every revolution. An in- 
 cident recorded by Sir James C. Ross, furnishes a strik- 
 ing illustration of the powerful action of a cold wind ; 
 I allude to a fish having been thrown up by the spray 
 .against the bows of the Terror, and firmly frozen there, 
 during a gale in a high southerly latitude. Moreover, 
 even with the aid of a ready contrivance for topping 
 the paddles, the flatness or hollowness of the sides of a 
 paddle steamer renders her less fit for sustaining pres- 
 sure ; the machinery is more in the way of oblique 
 beams for strengthening, and she is less efiicient as a 
 sailino: vessel when the steam is let off." 
 
 Memorandum inclosed in Dr. WCormicJc's Letter 
 of the 1st of January^ 1850. 
 
 " In the month of April last, I laid before my Lords 
 Commissioners of the Admiralty a plan of search for 
 the missing expedition under the command of Captain 
 
 (•:i» 
 
f 
 
 Hi 
 
 1: 
 If 
 
 ll 
 
 
 262. 
 
 PROGRESS OF ARCTIC DISCOVERY. 
 
 Sir John Franklin, by means of a boat expedition up 
 Jones' and Smith's Sounds, volunteering myself to 
 conduct it. 
 
 " In that plan I stated the reasons which had induced 
 me to direct my attention more especially to the open- 
 ings at the head of Baffin's Bay, which, at the time, 
 were not included within the general scheme of search. 
 
 "Wellington Channel, however, of all the probable 
 openings into the Polar Sea, possesses the highest de- 
 gree of interest, and the exploration of it is of sucli 
 paramount importance, that I should most unquestion- 
 ably have comprised it within my plan of search, had 
 not Her Majesty's ships Enterprise and Investigator 
 been employed at the time in Barrow's Strait for tlio 
 express purpose of examining this inlet and Ca})o 
 Walker, two of the most essential points of search in 
 the whole track of the Erebus and Terror to tlie west- 
 ward ; being those points at the very threshold of liis 
 enterprise, from which Sir John Franklin would take 
 his departure from the known to the unknown, whether 
 he shaped a southwesterly course from the latter, or 
 attempted the passasje in a higher latitude from the 
 former point. 
 
 " The return of the sea expedition from Port Leo- 
 pold, and the overland one from the Mackenzie River, 
 both alike imsuocessful in their search, leaves the ftite 
 of the gallant Franklin and his companions as proble- 
 matical as ever ; in fact, the case stands precisely as it 
 did two years ago ; the work is yet to be begun ; every 
 thing remains to be accomplished. 
 
 " In renewal of the search in the ensuing spring, 
 more would be accomplished in boats than in any otlier 
 way, not only by Beh ring's Strait, but from the east- 
 ward. For the difficulties attendant on icy navigation 
 which form so insuperable a barrier to the progress of 
 ships, would be readily surmounted by boats ; by meane 
 of which the coast line may be closely examined for 
 cairns of stones, under which Sir John Franklin would 
 most indubitably deposit memorials of his progress 
 ^n all prominent positions, as opportunities might offer. 
 
 *ii 
 
i-'h-r 
 
 OPINIOXB AND SUGGESTIONS. 
 
 263 
 
 " The discovery of one of these mementos would, in 
 ft. A prob:»biiity, anord a clue that might lead to the res- 
 cue of our enterprising countrymen, ere another and 
 sixth winter close in upon them, should they be still 
 in existence ; and the time has not yet arrived for aban- 
 doning hope. 
 
 "In renewing once more the offer of my services, 
 which I do most cheerfully, I see no reason for chan«^- 
 ing the opinions I entertained last spring ; subsequent 
 events have only tended to confirm them. I then be- 
 lieved, and I do so still, after a long and mature con- 
 sideration of the subject, that Sir John Franklin's ships 
 have been arrested in a high latitude, and beset in the 
 heavy polar ice northward of the Parry Islands, and 
 that their probable course thither has been through the 
 Wellington Channel, or one of the sounds at the north- 
 ern extremity of Baffin's Bay. 
 
 " This appears to me to be the only view of the case 
 that can in any way account for the entire absence of 
 all tidings of them throughout so protracted a period 
 of time (unless all have perished by some sudden and 
 overwhelming catastrophe.) 
 
 "Isolated as their position would be under such cir- 
 cumstances, any attempt to reach the continent of 
 America at such a distance would be hopeless in the 
 extreme: and the mere chance of any party from the 
 ships reaching the top of Baffin's Bay at tlie very mo- 
 ment of a whaler's brief and uncertain visit would be 
 attended with by far too great a risk to justify the at- 
 tempt, for failure would insure inevitable destruction 
 to the whole party ; therefore their only alternative 
 would be to keep together in their ships, should no dis- 
 aster have happened to them, and by husbanding their 
 remaining resources, eke them out with whatever wild 
 animals may come within their reach. 
 
 " Had Sir John Franklin been able to shape a south- 
 westerly course from Cape Walker, as directed by his 
 instructions, the probability is, some intelligence of 
 him would have reached this country ere this, (nearly 
 five years having already elapsed since his departure 
 
 12 
 
 (I'm 
 t '. 
 
 V: I 
 
 u 
 
 •t; 
 
264 
 
 PROGRESS OF ARCTIC DISCOVERY. 
 
 from it.) Parties would have been sent out from his 
 ships, either in the direction of the coast of America 
 or Barrow's Strait, whichever happeued to be the most 
 accessible. Esquimaux would nave been fallen in 
 with, and tidings of the long-absent expedition have 
 been obtained. 
 
 " Failing in penetrating beyond Cape Walker, Sir 
 John Franklin would have left some notice of his fu- 
 ture intentions on that spot, or the nearest accessible 
 one to it ; and should he then retrace his course for tlie 
 Wellington Channel, the most probable conjecture, he 
 would not pass up that inlet without depositing a fur- 
 ther account of his proceedings, either on the western 
 or eastern point of the entrance to it. 
 
 "Therefore, should my proposal meet with their 
 Lordships' approbation, I would most respectfully sub- 
 mit, that the party I have volunteered to conduct 
 should be landed at the entrance to the Wellington 
 Channel, or the nearest point attainable by any ship 
 that their Lordships may deem fit to employ in a fu- 
 ture search, consistently with any other services that 
 ship may have to perform ; and should a landing be 
 effected on the eastern side, I would propose commenc- 
 ing the search from Cape Riley or Beech ey Island in 
 a northerly direction, carefully examining every re- 
 markable headland and indentation of the western 
 coast of TS^orth Devon for memorials of the missing ex- 
 pedition ; I would then cross over the Wellington 
 Channel and continue the search along the northern 
 shore of Cornwallis Island, extending the exploration 
 to the westward as far as the remaining portion of the 
 season would permit, so as to secure the retreat of the 
 party before the winter set in, returning either by the 
 eastern or western side of Cornwallis Island, as cir- 
 cumstances might indicate to be the most desirable at 
 the time, after ascertaining the general extent and 
 trending of the shores of that island. 
 
 "As, however, it would be highly desirable that 
 Jones' Sound should not be omitted in the search, more 
 esj^ecially as a whaler, last season, reached its entrance 
 
OPINIONS AJJD SUGGESTIOKB. 
 
 265 
 
 and reported it open, I would furlner fffopose, that the 
 ship conveying the exploring party out should look into 
 this opening on her way to Lancaster Sound, if circum- 
 stances permitted of her doing so early in the season ; 
 and, if tound to be free from ice, the attempt might be 
 made by the boat expedition to push through it to the 
 westward in this latitude ; and should it prove to be 
 an opening into the Polai Sea, of which I think there 
 can be little doubt, a great saving of time and distance 
 would be accomplishecl. Failing m this, the ship should 
 be secured in some central position in the vicmity of 
 the Wellington Channel, as ^ point d^appui to fall back 
 upon in the search from that quarter. 
 
 (Signed,) R. M'Cokmick, R. N. 
 
 " Twickenham^ lat of January^ 1850." 
 
 Outline of a Plan of an Overland Journey to the 
 Polar Sea, hy the Way of the Coppermine liiver, 
 in Search of Sir John I^ankUn*8 jExpedition, sug- 
 gested in 1847. 
 
 " If Sir JohTj Franklin, guided by his instructions, 
 has passed through Barrow's Strait, and shaped a south- 
 westerly course, from the meridian of Cape "^^dker, 
 with the intention of gaining the northern coast of the 
 continent of America, and so passing through the Dol- 
 phin and Union Strait, along the shore of that conti- 
 nent, to Behring's Strait; 
 
 " His greatest risk of detention by the ice through- 
 out this course would be found between the parallels of 
 74° and 69° north latitude, and the meridians of 100° 
 and 110° west longitude, or, in other words, that por- 
 tion of the northwest passage which yet remains unex- 
 plored, occupying the space between the western coast 
 of Boothia or. the one side, and the island or islands 
 forming Banks' and Victoria Lands on the other. 
 
 " Should the Erebus and Terror have been beset in 
 the heavy dritVice, or wrecked among it and the bro- 
 ken land, which in all probability exists there while 
 contending with the prevalent westerly winds in this 
 quarter ; 
 
 ( \ 
 
 ir 
 
 N t' 
 
 ii 
 
266 
 
 PEOGRESS OF ARCTIO DISCOVERT. 
 
 " The Coppermine River would decidedly oifer the 
 most direct route and nearest approach to that portion 
 of the Polar Sea, and, after crossing Coronation Gulf, 
 the average breadth of the Strait betv;een the Conti 
 nent and Victoria Land is only about twenty-two miles. 
 
 *' From this point a careful search should be com- 
 menced :in the airection of Banks' Land ; the interven- 
 ing space between it and Victoria Land, occupying 
 about five degrees, or little more than 300 miles, could, 
 I think, be accomplished in one season, and a retreat to 
 winter c^uarters effected before the winter set in. As 
 the ice m the Coppermine River breaks up in June, 
 the searching party ought to reach the sea by the be- 
 ginning of August, which would leave two of the best 
 months of the year for exploring the Polar Sea, viz . 
 August and September. 
 
 " As it would be highly desirable that every available 
 day, to the latest period of the season, should be de- 
 voted to the search, I should propose wintering on the 
 coast in the vicinity of the mouth of the Coppermine 
 River, which would also afford a favorable position 
 from which to recommence the search in the following 
 spring, should the first season prove unsuccessful. 
 
 " Of course the object of such an expedition as I have 
 proposed is not with the view of taking supplies to such 
 a numerous party as Sir John Franklin has under his 
 command ; but to find out his position, and acquaint 
 him where a depot of provisions would be stored up 
 for himself and crews at my proposed winter quarters, 
 where a party should be ieft to build a house, establish 
 a fishery, and hunt for game, during the absence of the 
 searching party. 
 
 " To carrv out this plan efficiently, the Hudson's Bay 
 Company should be requested to lend their powerful 
 cooperation in furnishin^^ guides, supplies of pemmican, 
 &c., for the party on their route and at winter quarters. 
 Without entering into details here, I may observe, that 
 I should consider one boat, combining the necessary 
 requisites in her construction to fit her for either the 
 river navigation, or that of the shores of the Polar Sea, 
 
'^'(Tri 
 
 the 
 
 tion 
 
 iult; 
 
 onti 
 
 liles. 
 
 cum- 
 
 fveu- 
 
 ould, 
 eat to 
 As 
 June, 
 le be- 
 e best 
 , viz ; 
 
 lilable 
 be de- 
 on the 
 
 irmhio 
 
 psition 
 
 owin^ 
 
 I have 
 ,0 such 
 ler his 
 quaint 
 •ed up 
 arters, 
 ablish 
 of the 
 
 I's Bay 
 Iwerful 
 
 lican, 
 [arters. 
 e, that 
 lessary 
 ler the 
 
 ir Sea, 
 
 OPINIONS AND SUGGESTIONS. 
 
 267 
 
 would be quite sufficient, with a crew one half sailors, 
 and the other half Canadian boatmen ; the latter to be 
 engaged at Montreal, for which place 1 would propose 
 leaving England in the month of February. 
 
 " Should such an expedition even fail in its main ob- 
 ject — tlie discovery of the position of the missing ships 
 a?d their crews, the long-sought-for polar passage may 
 be accomplished. 
 
 (Signed,) R. J^'Cormick, E. N. 
 
 « Woolwich, 1847." 
 
 Coj>i/ of a Letter from Lieutenant Sherard shorn to 
 the Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty. 
 
 " Ealing, Middlesex, 4:th January, 1850. 
 
 " My Lokds, — A second attempt to reach Sir John 
 Franklin's expedition being about to be tried during 
 the present year, I take the liberty of calling your at- 
 tention to the inclosed proposition for an overland party 
 to be dispatched to the shores of the Polar Sea, with a 
 view to their traversing the short distance between Cape 
 Bathurst and Banks' Land. My reasons for thus tres- 
 passing on your attention are as follows ; 
 
 " 1st. General opinion places the lost expedition to 
 the west of Cape Walker, and south of the latitude of 
 Melville Island. 
 
 " The distance from Cape Bathurst to Banks' Land 
 is only 301 miles, and on reference to a chart it will be 
 seen that nowhere else does the American continent 
 approach so near to the supposed position of Franklin's 
 expedition. 
 
 " 2d. As a starting point, Cape Bathnrst offers great 
 advantages ; the arrival of a party sent there from 
 England may be calculated upon to a day ; whereas 
 the arrival of Captain Collinson in the longitude of 
 Cape Barrow, or tnat of an eastern expedition in Lan- 
 caster Sound, will depend upon many uncontrollable 
 contingencies. Ihe distance to be performed is com- 
 paratively little, and the certainty of being able to fall 
 back upon supplies offers great advantages. Captain' 
 
 17 
 
 It'" 
 
 ; !»;1 
 
 m 
 
 .rt(l 
 
 4 
 
268 
 
 FBOaSEBS OF ABOTIO DISOOYEBT. 
 
 4 
 
 I 
 
 CoUinson will have 680 miles of longitude to traverMi 
 between Cape Barrow and Banks' Land. An Eastern 
 Expedition, if opposed by the ice, (as Sir James Ross 
 has been,) and unable to proceed in their vessels farther 
 than Leopold Harbor, will have to journey on foot 330 
 miles to reach the longitude of Banks' Land, and if 
 any accident occur to tLeir vessels, they will be in as 
 critical a position as those they go to seek. 
 
 " 3d. Banks' Land bears from Cape Bathurst N. 4P 
 49' E. 302 miles, and there is reason to believe that in 
 the summer season a portion of this distance may be 
 traversed in boats. 
 
 " 4th and 5th. Dr. Richardson confirms previous re- 
 ports of the ice being "ight ♦ a he coast east of llu: 
 Mackefizie Riv.r to C;.u« iJatl urst, &iid iuiorms us 
 that the Esquimaux had scea no ice to seaward for two 
 moons. 
 
 " 6th. Every mile traversed northward by a party 
 fi'om Cape Bathurst would be over that unknown space 
 in which traces of Franklin may be expected. 
 
 " 7th. It is advisable that such a second party be 
 dispatched from Cape Bathurst, in order that the pros- 
 ecution of Dr. Rae's examination of the supposed chan- 
 nel between Wollaston and Victoria Lands may in no 
 way be interfered with by his attention being called to 
 the westward. 
 
 "8th. The caches of provisions m^de at different 
 points of the Mackenzie and at Cape Bathurst, would 
 enable a party to push down to their starting point with 
 great celerity directly the River Mackenzie opens, 
 which may be as early as May. 
 
 " I would also remind your Lordships that the pro- 
 posed expedition would carry into execution a very im- 
 Sortant clause in the instructions given to Sir James 
 ^oss ; viz : that of sending exploring parties from 
 Banks' Land in a southwesterly direction toward Cape 
 Bathurst or Cape Parry. 
 
 " In conclusion, I beg to offer my willing services to- 
 TTCvd the execution of the proposed plan ; and seeking 
 it from no t>vl5«h motives, but thoroughly impressed 
 
OPINIONS AND aUOGESTIONS. 
 
 ^69 
 
 with its feasibility, yon may rest assured, my lords, 
 should I have the honor of being sent upon this service, 
 that I shall not disappoint your expectations. 
 "I have, &c., 
 (Signed,) " Sherard Osborn, Lieut., R. N." 
 
 Cojpy of (/ Letter from Colonel Sabine^ R. J.., to Cap- 
 tain Sir W. Edward Parry. 
 
 " Castle-down Terrace^ Hastings^ 
 " Ibth of Janua/ry^ 1850. 
 
 "Then oan be little doubt, I imagine, in the miud of 
 ay one who has re..d attentively Franklin's instruc- 
 tions, and, (in reference to them,) your description of 
 the state of the ice and of the navigable water in 1819 
 and 1820, in the route which he was ordered to pursue; 
 still less, I think, can there be a doubt in the mind of 
 any one who had the advantage of being with you in 
 those years, that Franklin, (always supposing no pre- 
 vious disaster,) must have made his way to the south- 
 west part of Melville Island either in 1845 or 1846. It 
 has been said that 1845 was an unfavorable season, and 
 as the navigation of Davis' Strait and Baffin's Bay was 
 new to Franklin, we may regard it as more probable 
 that it may have taken him two seasons to accomplish . 
 what we accomplished in one. So far, I think, guidod 
 by his instructions and by the experience gained in 
 1819 and 1820, we may reckon pretty confidently on 
 the first stage of his proceedings, and doubtless, in his 
 progress he would have left memorials in the uncial 
 manner at places where he may have landed, some of 
 which would be likely to fall in the way of a vessel fol- 
 lowing in his track. From the west end of Melville 
 Islana our inferences as to his further proceedings must 
 become more conjectural, being contingent on tm state 
 of the ice and the existence of navigable water in the 
 particular season. If he found the ocean, as we did, 
 covered to the west and south, as far as the eye could 
 reach from the summit of the highest hills, with ice of 
 a thickness unparalleled in any other part of the Polai 
 
 
 ! '«■ 
 
 , '-'^ I 
 
270 
 
 FR00RE8S OF ABOTIO DlSCOViCJiT. 
 
 Sea, he would, after probably waiting through one whole 
 season in tlie hope of some favorable change, have re- 
 traced his Hteps, in obedience to the second part of his 
 instructions, in order to seek an opening to tlie north 
 which might conduct to a more open sea. In tiiis case 
 some memorial of the season passed by him at tlie 
 southwest end of Melville Island, and also of his pur- 
 pose of retracing his steps, would doubtless have been 
 left by him ; and should he subsequently have found 
 an opening to the north, presenting a favorable appear- 
 ance, there also, should circumstances have permitted, 
 would a memorial have been left. 
 
 " lie may, however, have found a more favorable 
 Btate of things at the southwest end of Melville Island 
 than we did, and may have been led thereby to at- 
 tempt to force a passage for his ships in the direct line 
 of Behring's Strait, or perhaps, in tne first instance, to 
 the south of that direction, namely, to Banks' Land 
 In such case two contingencies present themselves* 
 first, that in the season of navigation of 1847 he may 
 have made so much progress, that in 1848 he may have 
 preferred the endeavor to push through to Behring's 
 Strait, or to some western part of the continent, to uii 
 attempt to return by the way of Barrow's Strait ; the 
 mission of the Plover, the ifnterprise, and the Inves- 
 tigator together with Dr. Kae's expedition, supply, 1 
 presume, (for I am but partially acquainted with their 
 instructions,) the most iudicious means of affording re- 
 lief in this direction. There is, however, a second con- 
 tingency ; and it is the one which the impression left 
 on my mind by the nature and general aspect of the 
 ice in the twelve months which we ourselves passed at 
 the southwest end of Melville Island, compels me, in 
 spite of my wishes, to regard as the more probable, 
 viz., that his advance from Melville Island in the sea- 
 son of 1847 may have been limited to a distance of 
 fifty, or perhaps one hundred miles at farthest, and 
 that in 1848 he may have endeavored to retrace his 
 steps, but only with partial success. It is, I apprehend, 
 quite a conceivable case, that under these circumstances, 
 
iMK^ -' \ >. 
 
 OPINIONS AND SUOOESTIONS. 
 
 271 
 
 incapable of extricating the ships from the ice, the 
 crewd may have been, at length, obliged to (juit tliem, 
 and attempt a retreat, not toward the continent, because 
 too distant, but to Melville Island, where certainly 
 food, and probably fuel (seals,) might be obtained, and 
 where they would naturally suppose that vessels dis- 
 patched from England for their relief would, in the 
 lirst instance, seek them. It is quite conceivable also, 
 I apprehend, that the circumstances might be such 
 that their retreat may have been made without their 
 boats, and probably in the April or May of 1849. 
 
 "AVhere the Esquimaux have lived, there Englishmen 
 may live, and no valid argument against the attempt 
 to relieve can, I think, be founded on the improbability 
 of finding Englishmen alive in 1850, who may have 
 made a retreat to Melville Island in the spring of 1849 ; 
 nor would the view of the case be altered in any ma- 
 terial (1 'j;rco, if we suppose their retreat to have been 
 made in 1848 or 1849 to Banks' Land, which may 
 afford facilities of food and fuel equal or superior to 
 Melville Island, and a further retreat in the lollowing 
 year to the latter island as the point at which they 
 would more probably look out for succor. 
 
 " Without disparagement, therefore, to the attempts 
 made in other directions, I retain my original opinion, 
 which seems also to have been the opinion of the 
 Board of Admiralty, by which Ross's instructions were 
 drawn up, that the most promising direction for re- 
 search would be taken by a vessel which should follow 
 them to the southwest point of Melville Island, be pre- 
 pared to winter there, and, if necessary, to send a 
 party across the ice in April or May to examine Banks' 
 Land, a distance (there and back) less than recently 
 accomplished by Ross in his land journey. 
 
 "I learn from Ross's dispatches, that almost imme- 
 diately after he got out of Port Leopold (1849,) he was 
 entangled in apparently interminable fields and floes 
 of ice, with which, in the course of the summer, he 
 was drifted down through Barrow's Strait and BaflSn's 
 Bay nearly to Davis' Strait. It is reasonable to pre- 
 
 If 
 
 \ \ 
 
 ii \' 
 
272 
 
 PBOORK80 OP AROTIO DISCOVERY. 
 
 I 
 
 y 
 
 sumo, therefore, that the localities from whence this 
 ice drifted are likely to he less encumbered than usual 
 by accumulated ice in 1850. It is, of course, of the 
 highest importance to reach Barrow's Strait at the ear- 
 liest possible period of the season ; and, connected with 
 this point I learn from Captain Bird, whom I had the 
 pleasure of seeing here a lew days ago, a very remark- 
 able fact, that the ice which prevented their crossing 
 Batlin's Bay in 72° or 73° of latitude (as we did in 
 1819, arriving in Barrow's Strait a month earlier tluin 
 we had done the preceding year, when we went round 
 by Melville Bay, and nearly a month earlier than Rosa 
 did last year) was young ice, which had formed in the 
 remarkably calm summer of last year, and which the 
 absence of wind prevented their forcing a passage 
 through, on the one hand, while on the other, the ice 
 was not heavy enough for ice anchors. It was, he said, 
 not more than two or two and a half feet thick, and ob- 
 viously of very recent formation. There must, there- 
 fore, have been an earlier period of the season when 
 this part of the sea must have been free from ice ; and 
 this comes in confirmation of a circumstance of which 
 I was informed by Mr. Petersen (a Danish gentleman 
 Bent to England some months ago by the Northern So- 
 ciety of Antiquaries of Copenhagen, to make extracts 
 from books and manuscripts in the British Museum,) 
 that the Northmen, who had settlements some centu- 
 ries ago on the west coast of Greenland, were in the 
 habit of crossing Baffin's Bay in the latitude of Uper- 
 navic in the spnng of the year, for the purpose of fish- 
 ing in Barrow's Strait, from whence they returned in 
 August ; and that in the early months they generally 
 found the passage across free from ice. 
 
 " In the preceding remarks, I have left one contin- 
 gency unconsidered ; it is that which would have fol- 
 lowed in pursuance of his instructions, if Franklin should 
 have found the aspect of the ice too unfavorable to the 
 west and south of Melville Island to attempt to force a 
 passage through it, and should have retraced his steps 
 m hopes of finding a more open sea to the northward, 
 
OPINION'S AND 8DOOE8TION8. 
 
 278 
 
 ./ithcr in "Wollinprton Strait or elsewhere. It Is quite 
 ('unct'ivHl)le that here also tlie expedition may have en- 
 eoiintered, at no very great distance, in8Ui)erttblo ditti- 
 culties to tlieir advance, and may have tailed in accom- 
 plishing a return with their ships. In this case, the 
 retreat of the crews, supposing it to liave been made 
 across land or ice, would most probably be directed to 
 some part of the coast on the route to Melville Island, 
 on which route they would, without doubt, expect that 
 succor would be attempted." 
 
 Mr. Robert A. Goodsir, a brother of Mr. H. D. Good- 
 sir, the assistant-surgeon of Sir John Franklin's ship, 
 the Erebus, left Stromness, as surgeon of the Advice, 
 whaler, Capt. Penny, on the 17th of March, 1849, in 
 the hopes of gaining some tidings of his brother ; but 
 returned unsuccessful atler an eight months' voyage. 
 He has, however, j3ublished a very interesting little 
 narrative of the icy regions and of his arctic voyage. 
 
 In a letter to Lady Franklin, dated Edinburgh, 18th 
 of January, 1850, he says : — " I trust you are not allow- 
 ing yourself to become over-anxious. I know that, 
 although there is much cause to be so, there is still not 
 the slightest reason that wo should despair. It may be 
 presumptuous in me to say so, but I have never tor a 
 moment doubted as to their ultimate safe return, having 
 always had a sort of presentiment that I would meet my 
 brother and his companions somewhere in the regions 
 in which their adventures are taking place. This nope 
 I have not yet given up, and I trust that by next sum- 
 mer it may be fulfilled, when an end will be put to the 
 suspense which has lasted so long, and which must have 
 tried you so much." 
 
 The arctic regions, far from being so destitute of ani- 
 mal life as might be supposed from the bleak and inhos- 
 pitable character of the climate, are proverbial for the 
 boundless profusion of various species of the animal 
 kingdom, which are to b met with in difierent locali- 
 ties during a great part ot the year. 
 
 The air is often darkened by innumerable flocks of 
 arctic and blue gulls, {Lestris Parasiticus^ and Larua 
 
 ; 
 
 'i. il 
 
 ^Jl 
 
4 
 
 p 
 
 
 u:j 
 
 274 
 
 PROGRESS OJi' ARCTIC OISCOYEKY. 
 
 glaitms^ the ivory gull or Rtiow-bird, {Lavus ehxirupvx ) 
 the k.:ti\vake, the fulmar or i^etrel, snow ^eese, torus, 
 cooiis, dovekies, &c. Trie cetticeoiis animals comprise 
 the great Greenland whale, {J^aloena Tnysticetus,) the 
 sea unicora or narwhal, {Monodon monoceros^) the 
 white whale or beluga, {Del/phinua leucos,) the morse 
 or walrus, {Trichecua rosmarus^ and the seal. There 
 are also plenty of porpoises occasionally to be met witii, 
 and although these animals may not be the best of food, 
 yet thciy can be eaten. Of .he land animals I may in- 
 stance the polar bear, the musk-ox, the reindeer, the 
 arctic fox and wolves. 
 
 Parry obtained nearlv 40001b8. weight of animal food 
 during his winter residence at Melville Island ; Ross 
 nearly the same quantity from birds alone when winter- 
 ing at Port Leopold. 
 
 In 1719, the crews of two Hudson's Bay vessels, the 
 Albany and Discovery, a ship and sloop, under the 
 command of Mr. Barlow and Mr. Knight, were cast on 
 shore on Marble Island, and it was subseq^uently ascer- 
 tained that some of the party supported life for nearly 
 three years. Mr. Hearne learned the particulars from 
 some of the Esquimaux in 1729. The ship it appeared 
 went on shore in the fall of 1719 ; the party being then 
 in number about fifty, began to build their house for 
 the winter. As soon as the ice permitted in the follow- 
 ing summer the Esquimaux paid them another visit, and 
 found the number of sailors much reduced, and very 
 unhealthy. 
 
 Sickness and famine occasioned such havoc among 
 them that by the setting in of the second winter, their 
 number was reduced to twentv. Some of the Esqui- 
 maux took up their abode at this period on the opposite 
 side of the harbor, and supplied them with what provis- 
 ions they could spare in the shape of blubber, seal's 
 flesh, and train oil. 
 
 Tlie Esquimaux left for their wanderings in the 
 spring, ana on revisiting the island in the summer of 
 1721, only five of the crews were found alive, and these 
 were so ravenous for food, that they devoured the blub- 
 
 "ThJ 
 •'went 
 looked 
 vessels 
 a cons] 
 they sa 
 length 
 so far ( 
 attempt 
 and oth 
 above g 
 Sir J( 
 to be oh 
 over the 
 toria an 
 the autu 
 of vast 
 skill in 
 cured on 
 August, 
 are easif 
 prey to f 
 the stock 
 and we 
 passed a 
 Repulse 
 of n hort 
 ous ])iirtj 
 year. Si 
 Sir John 
 qnato to j 
 would re 
 one body 
 boats cut 
 
ABUNDANCE OF ANIMAL FOOD MET WITH. 
 
 275 
 
 ber and seal's flesh raw, as they purchased it of the 
 native.-, which proved so injurious in their weak state, 
 that tliree of them died fn a few days. The two sur- 
 vivors, though very weak, managed to bury their com- 
 rades, and protracted their existence fo^- some days 
 
 longer. 
 
 "They frequently," in the' words of the narrative, 
 •'went to th(i top of an adjacent rock, and earnestly 
 looked to the south and east, as if in expectation of some 
 vessels coming to their relief. After continuing there 
 a considerable time, and nothing appearing in sight, 
 they sat down close together, and wept bitterly. At 
 length one of the two died, and the other's strength was 
 so far exhausted, that he fell down and died also in 
 attempting to dig a grave for his companion. The skulls 
 and other large oones of these two men are now lying 
 above ground close to the house." 
 
 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 Vic- 
 toria and Wollaston Lands in large herds, and return in 
 the autumn. These lands are also the breeding places 
 of vast flocks of snow geese ; so that with ordinary 
 skill in hunting, a large supply of food might be pro- 
 cured 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 augmented — 
 and we have the recent example of Mr. Rae, who 
 passed a severe winter on the very barren shores of 
 Kepulse Bay, with no other fuel than the withered tufts 
 of a herbaceous andromada, and maintained a numer- 
 ous ]>iirty on the B]x>ils of tlie chase alone for a whole 
 yojir. Sucli instances, forbid us to lose hope. Should 
 Sir John Franklin's provisions become so fjir inade- 
 quate to a winter's consumption, it is not like y tliat he 
 would remain longer by his ships, but rather that in 
 one body, or in several, the office rs and crews, with 
 boats cut down so as to be light enough to drag over 
 
 Tir 
 
 h 
 
 Mi 
 
 i|t 
 
 
 ! I 
 
 "L! in 
 
 
 ^l\ 
 
 I 
 
 ill ?ii 
 
 ii'l 
 
276 
 
 PROORESS OP ARCTIO DISCOVERY. 
 
 the ice, or bnilt expressly for that pnrpose, would en- 
 deavor to make their way eastward to Lancaster Sound 
 or southward to the main-land, according to the lonai- 
 tude in which the ships were arrested. 
 
 We ought not to judge of the supplies of food that 
 can be procured in the arctic regions by diligent hunt- 
 ing, from the quantities that have been actually ob- 
 tained on the several expeditions that Ijave returnevi, 
 and consequently of the means of preserving life tliere. 
 When there was abundance in the ships, tlie address 
 and energy of the hunting parties was not likely to be 
 called fortli, as they would inevitably be when the exis- 
 tence of the crews depended solely on their personal 
 efforts, and formed their chief or only object in their 
 march toward quarters where relief might bo looked 
 for. This remark has reference to the supposition that 
 on the tailure of the stock of j^rovisions in the ships, 
 the crews would, in separate parties under their officers, 
 seek for succor in several directions. 
 
 With an empty stomach, the power of resisting exter- 
 nal cold is greatly impaired ; but when the process of 
 digesting 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. 
 
 Mr. Gilpin, in his narrative in the Nautical Maga- 
 zine for March, 1850, writes thus : — 
 
 "About the 20th of June a small water bird, culled 
 the doveky, had become so numerous, and so many 
 were daily shot by those who troubled themselves to go 
 after them, that shooting parties from each shin, con- 
 sisting of an officer and marine, wore establiHiied at 
 Whaler Point, whore tliey roinained the whole week, 
 returning on board on Saturday night. In a week or 
 
»i&%Mu(ib:&<f»--v^'*.* 
 
 ABUNDANCE OP ANIMAL FOOD MET WITH. 
 
 277 
 
 60 after this tlic coon, a much heavier bird, became 
 more plentiful than the little doveky, and from thii^ 
 time to the middle of August, so successful and untir- 
 ing were our sportsmen, that the crew received each a 
 bird per man a day. 
 
 " The account kept on board the Investigator showed 
 the number of birds killed to have amounted to about 
 4000, and yielding near 25001b8. of meat. But more 
 than this was obtained, as many were shot by individ- 
 uals for amusement, and not always noted." 
 
 Mr. Goodsir, surgeon, when in the Advice whaler, on 
 her voyage up Lancaster Sound, in the summer of 1849, 
 sneaking of landing on one of the Wollaston Islands, on 
 tfie west side of Navy Board Inlet, says ho disturbed 
 about half a dozen pairs of the eider-duck {Somate7'ia 
 mollissima.) Their eggs he found to be within a few 
 hours of maturity. There were, besides, numerous nests, 
 the occupants of which had probably winged their way 
 Bouthward. Two brent geese, {Anse7' hernida,) and a 
 single pair of arctic terns, {Sterna arctica^ were most 
 vociferous and courageous in defense of their downy 
 offspring wherever he approached. These were the 
 only birds he saw, with tne exception of a solitary ra- 
 ven, {Corvus corax,) not very high overhead, whoso 
 sharp and yet musically bell-like croak came startling 
 upon the ear. 
 
 Mr. Snow, in his account of the voyage of the Prince 
 Albert, p. 162, says, (speaking of Melville Bay, at the 
 northern head of Baffin's Bay,) " Innumerable quanti 
 ties of birds, espociallj the little auk, {Alca alle) and 
 the doveky, {Colyrabus grylle^ were now seen, (Au- 
 gust 6th,) in every direction. Xh«y weni to be ob- 
 served in thousands, on vhe wing and in the water, 
 and often on pieces of ice, where they wore clustered 
 together so ♦vhick that scores might have Ij^en shot at a 
 time by two or three fowling pieces." 
 
 In passing up Lancaster Sound a fortnight later sev- 
 eral slioal of eider-ducks and large quantities of otb«r 
 birds were also seen. 
 
 I ; 
 i i 
 
 i It 
 
 
 1 
 
 it;: 
 
 \\\\ 
 
 
 1 i 
 
978 
 
 PBOOREPS OF ARCTIC DIBCOVKRY. 
 
 A BALLAD OF SIR JOHN FRANKLI^ 
 
 " The ice was liere, tlie ice wan there, 
 The ice was all urouiuL" — Oolkhioor. 
 
 "Whitf/er sail you, Sir John Franklin ? 
 
 Cried a wlmler in Baffin's Buy ; 
 To know if between the land and the Polo, 
 
 I may find a broad sea-way. 
 
 I charge you back, Sir John Franklin, 
 
 As yoir would live and thrive, 
 For between the land and the frozen Fold 
 
 Ko man may sail aliva 
 
 But lightly laughed the stout Sir Jolm, 
 
 And spoke unto his men : — 
 Half England is wrong, if he is right ; 
 
 Bear off to westward then. 
 
 0, whither sail vou, brave Englishman 7 
 
 Cried the little Esquimaux. 
 Between your land and the polar star 
 
 My goodly vessels go. 
 
 Come down, if you would journey there. 
 
 The little Inaian said ; 
 And change your cloth for fur clothing, 
 
 Your vessel for a sled. 
 
 But lightly laughed the stout Sir John, 
 And the crew Liughed with him too ; 
 
 A sailor to change from ship to sled, 
 I ween, wore something new I 
 
 All through the long, long polar day, 
 
 The vessels westward sped ; 
 And wherever the sail of Sir John was blown, 
 
 The ico gbve way and fled. 
 
 Gave way with many a hollow groan, 
 
 And with many a surly roar ; 
 But it murmured and threatened on every sida^ 
 
 And closed where he sailed before. 
 
 Ho I see ye not my merry man, 
 
 The broad and open sea f 
 Bethink ye what the vhiiler said, 
 Bethink ye of ihi* little Imlian's sled I 
 The crew liuiu:lied out in glee. 
 
 8i» John, Sir John, 't is bitter cold, 
 
 The 8cu»i drives on the breeze, 
 ,The ice conies looming from the norths 
 
 The very sunbeams ficeze. 
 
 Bright summer goes, dark winter cumes— 
 
 We cannot rule the year; 
 But long ere summer's sun goes down, 
 
 1 yorAw set we'll steer. 
 
A BALLA.D OF SIB JOHN fBANKLIN. 
 
 279 
 
 The dripping ico^Kirgg dipped and rose. 
 
 And floundered down the gale ; 
 The ship were staid, the yaras were manned. 
 
 And lurled the useless sail. 
 
 The summer *« gone, the winter 's come, 
 
 We sail not on yonder sea ; 
 Why caii we not, Sir John Franklin t 
 
 — A silent man was he. 
 
 The winter goes, the summer comes, 
 
 We cannot rde the year ; 
 I ween, we cannot rule the ways, 
 
 Sir John, wherein we 'd steer. 
 
 The cruel ice came floating on. 
 
 And closnd heneath the lea. 
 Till the tliickuning waters dashed no mora^ 
 'T was ice around, behind, before — 
 
 My God I there id no sea I 
 
 Wliat think vou of the whaler now ! 
 
 What of the Esquimaux ? 
 A sled were better than a ship. 
 
 To cruise through ice and snow. 
 
 Down sank the baleful crimson sun ; 
 
 The northern-light came out, 
 And glared upon the ice-bound ships, 
 
 And shook its spears about 
 
 The snow came down, storm breeding ttorn^ 
 
 And on the decks was laid ; 
 Till the weary nailor, sick at heart. 
 
 Sank down beside his spade. 
 
 Sir John, the night is black and long. 
 
 The hissing wind is bleak ; 
 The hard, gieen ice is strong as death :— • 
 
 I prithee, captain, speak. 
 
 The night is neither bright nor short; 
 
 The singing breeze is cold. 
 The ice is not so strong ns hope, 
 
 The heart of man is bold I 
 
 What hope can scale this icy wall, 
 
 High o'er the main flag-staff? 
 Above the ridges the wolf and bear 
 Look down with a patient, settled stare-* 
 
 Look down m us and laugh. 
 
 The summer went, the winter came— 
 
 We could not rule the year ; 
 But summer will melt the ice again, 
 And open a path to the ^unny main. 
 
 Whereon our ships shall steer. 
 
 h 
 
 : ii 
 
S80 
 
 ll 
 
 ''I 
 
 PR00RES8 OF AROllO DI800VKEY. 
 
 The winter went, the aummer went, 
 
 The winter came around ; 
 But the hard, green ice was stronff as death. 
 And the voice of hope sank to a breath, 
 
 Yet caught at every sound. 
 
 Hark I heard jou not the sound of guns f 
 
 And there, i.nd there again ? 
 'T is some uneasy iceberg's roar. 
 
 As he turns in the frozen main. 
 
 Hurra I hurra ! the Esquimaux 
 
 Across the ice^fiolds steal : 
 Ood give them grace for their charity I 
 
 Ye pray for the silly seal 
 
 Sir John, where are the English field% 
 
 And where the English trees, 
 And where are the little English flowers, 
 
 That open in the breeze ? 
 
 Be still, be still, my brave sailon t 
 
 You shall see the fields again. 
 And smell the scent of the opening flowei% 
 
 The grass, and the waving grain. 
 
 Oh I when shall I see my orphan child T 
 
 My Mary waits for mo ; 
 Oh I when shall I see my old mother. 
 
 And pray at her trembling knee ? 
 
 Be still, be still, my brave sailors t 
 Think not such thoughts again I 
 
 But a tear froze slowly on his cheek — 
 He thought of Lady Jane. 
 
 Ah I bitter, bitter grows the cold. 
 The ice grows more and more ; 
 
 More settled stare the wolf and bear. 
 More patient than before. 
 
 Oh 1 think you, good Sir John Franklin, 
 
 We Ml ever see the land ? 
 'T was cruel to send us here to starve. 
 
 Without a helping hand. 
 
 'T was cruel, Sir John, to send us here, 
 
 So far from help or home ; 
 To starve and freeze on this lonely sea ; 
 I ween, the Lords of the Admiralty 
 
 Had rather send than come. 
 
 Oh ! whether we starve to death alone, 
 
 Or sail to our own country. 
 We have done what man has nover done — 
 The open ocean danced in the sun — 
 
 We passed the Northern S^ I 
 
#|if^ 
 
 the searching expeditions. 281 
 
 The Government and Private Searching Expeditions 
 AFTER Sir John Franklin. 
 
 The following is a complete list of the several relief 
 and exploring vessels which have been sent out during 
 the last two years by the British government, by private 
 individuals, and by the American nation : — 
 
 Ships. Men, Comrnanders. 
 
 1. H. M. S. Enterprise - - 68 Capt. Collinsou. 
 
 2. H. M. S. Investigator - - 65 Com. M'Clure. 
 
 3. H. M. S. Plover - - - 52 Com. Moore. 
 
 4. H. M. S. Resolute - - - 68 Capt. H. Austin. 
 
 5. IT. M. S. Assistance - - 60 Capt. E. Ommaney. 
 
 6. H. M. S. Intrepid, (screw 
 
 steamer,) 30 Lieut. S. Osbom. 
 
 7. II. M. S. Intrepid, (screw 
 
 steamer,) 38 Lieut. Cator. 
 
 8. The Lady Franklin - - 26 Mr. Penny. 
 0. The Sophia, (a tender to 
 
 the above,) 22 Mr. Stewart. 
 
 10. United States brig Ad- 
 
 vance 20 Lieut. De Haven. 
 
 11. United States vessel Res- 
 
 cue 18 Mr. S. P. Griffin. 
 
 12. Felix yacht Capt. Sir John Ross. 
 
 13. Mary, (tender to the Felix.) 
 
 14. The North Star, Master and Commander Saunders. 
 
 15. The Prince Albert - - 18 Com. Forsyth. 
 
 Of these vessels the /ilnterprise. Investigator, and 
 Plover, are at present engagecf on the western branch 
 (»f Fearch through Beh ring's Straits. The rest have all 
 jMoceeded through Baihn'tJ Bay to Lancaster Sound, and 
 flic cliannels branching out from thence, except the iant 
 two, which have returned homo. 
 
 V^oyage of the "Enterprise" and " Intestioator'' 
 under Captain Sir Jakes C. Ross, 1848-49. 
 
 In the spring of J 848, Captain Sir James C. Rosa 
 was placed in command of a well found and ficted ex- 
 pedition, with means and advantages of unusual extent, 
 
 
 i 
 
282 
 
 PKOORK88 OF AJiUllO DIHOOVKKY. 
 
 nnrl witli nn object that, could not fiiil to fitimnlatc in 
 till" hi<>:l»est (Icgruo the energies and perrieverance of all 
 cniljsii ked in it. With the over present feelinp^, too, that 
 tlie lives of their countrymen and brother aailors de- 
 peuded, (under God's good providence,) upon tiieir 
 unliinching exertions, Captain Ross and his followers 
 Went forth in the confident hope that their efforts might 
 be crowned with success. 
 
 The season was considerably advanced before tie 
 whole of the arrangements were completed, for it was 
 not until the 12th of June, 1848, that Cai^tain Ross letl 
 England, having under his charge the Enterprise and 
 Investigator, with the following officers and crews :— 
 
 Enterprise^ 640 tons. 
 
 Captain — Sir James C. Ross. 
 
 Lieutenants — R. J. L. M'Clure, F. L. McCUntock, 
 
 and W. PL J. Browne. 
 Master — W. S, Couldery, (acting^ 
 Surgeon — AV. Robertson, ijj) M. D. 
 Assistant Surgeon — IL Matthias. 
 Clerk — Edward Whitehead. 
 
 Total complement, 68. 
 
 Investigator^ 480 tons, 
 Captain — E. XBird. 
 Lieutenants — M. G. IL W. Ross, Frederick Robinson 
 
 and J. J. Barnard. 
 Master — W. T*>tham. 
 Surgeon — Rob rt Anderson. 
 Mates — L. J. Moore and S. G. Cresswell. 
 Second Master — John H. AUard. 
 Assistant-Surgeon — E. Adams. 
 Clerk in Charge — James D. Gilpin. 
 Total complement, 67. 
 
 The ships reached the Danish settlement of Upper- 
 navick, situated on one of the group of Woman's Islands 
 on the western shore of Baffin's Bay, on the 6th of 
 July. Running through this intricate archipelago, they 
 
VOTAQE OF ENTERPRISE ANT) INVKfiTIOATOR 
 
 283 
 
 were made fust, on the 20tli, to an iceberg aground off 
 Cape Shackleton. The ships were towed, during thu 
 next few days, through hjose streams of ice, anfl on tlio 
 morning of the 2t)th were oft* the three ishmds of J^atlin 
 ill latitude 74^ N. Calms and light winds so greatly 
 impeded any movement in the ])ack, that day aftei 
 (lay passed away until the season had so far advanced 
 as to preclude every hope of accomplishing much, if 
 any thing, before the setting in of winter. 
 
 No exertions, however, were spared to take advantage 
 of every opportunity of pushing forward, until, on tho 
 20th of August, during a heavy breeze from the north- 
 east, the ships under all sail bored tlirough a ])ack of ice 
 of but moderate thickness, but having among il heavy 
 masses, through which it was necessary to drive them at 
 all hazards. The shocks the ships sustained during thia 
 severe trial were great, but fortunately without serious 
 damage to them. Getting into clear water in hit. 75 h N., 
 and long. CS*^ W., on the 23d tho ships stood in to 
 Pond's Bay, but no traces of Esquimaux or other human 
 beings were discovered, although signals were made and 
 guns fired at repeated intervals. The ships were kept 
 close to the land, and a ligid examination made of tho 
 coast to the northward, so that neither peoj^le nor boats 
 could have passed without being seen. On the 2()th 
 tlie ships arrived oft* Possession Bay, and a party was 
 sent on shore to search for any traces of the expedition 
 having touched at this general point of rendezvous. 
 Xothing was found but tlie i)aper left there recording 
 the visit of Sir Edward Parry, on the very day (August 
 30th) in 181f). From this point the examination of the 
 coast was continued with equal care. On the 1st of 
 September they arrived oft" Cape York, and a boat's 
 crew was sent on shore, to fix a conspicuous mark, and 
 leave information for the guidance of any future party 
 that might touch here. 
 
 I shall now take up the narrative in Sir James Ross's 
 
 own words — " We stood over toward northeast cape 
 
 until we came in with the edge of a pack, too dense wr 
 
 us to penetrate, lying between us and T.eopold Island, 
 
 i8 L^^ 
 
 , , ) 
 
 h\l 
 
 r. 
 
 
 i' I 
 
 I"; 
 
 ; '•' i' 
 
^84 
 
 PKOOUEBS OF ARCTIO DI80OVEUV. 
 
 9^, 
 
 filf 
 
 r,: 
 
 about fourteen miles broad ; we tbereforo coasted the 
 north sliore of Barrow's Strait, to fieuk a harbor t'lirther 
 to thewentward, and tooxaniine tlie ninnerous inlets of 
 that sliore. Maxwell Bay, and several smaller indenta- 
 tions, were thoroughly explored, and, although we ^^jt 
 near the entrance of VVelhngton Channel, the linn har- 
 rier of ice which stretched across it, and which had not 
 broken a'A'ay this season, convinced us all was iniprac- 
 tical)le in that direction. Wo now stood to the south- 
 west to seek for a harbor near Cape Rennell, but found 
 a heavy body of ice extending from the west of Corn- 
 wallis Island in a compact mass to Leopold iHhuid. 
 Coasting along the pack during stormy and togj,'y 
 weather, wo had difhculty in keeping the ships tree 
 during the nights, for 1 believe so great a quantity of ico 
 was never before seen in Barrow's Strait at this period 
 of the season." 
 
 Fortunately, after some days of anxious and arduous 
 work, the ships were got through the pack, and secured 
 in the harbor of Port Leopold on tho 11th nf Septeml^er. 
 No situation could be better adapted for tho purpose 
 than this locality ; being at the junction of tlie four 
 great channels of Barrow's Strait, Lancaster Sound, 
 rrince Kcgcnt Inlet, ai'd "Wellington Channel, it was 
 hardly possible for any party, after abandoning their 
 ships, to pass along the shores of any of those inlets, 
 witliout tinding indications of tho proximity of these 
 ships. 
 
 The night following the very day of the ships' gettin<» 
 in, tho main pack closed with tho land, and completely 
 sealed tho mouth of tho harbor. Tho long winter was 
 passed in exploring and surveying journeys along tho 
 coasts in all directions. During tho winter as nuiny us 
 fitly white foxes were taken alive, in trai>s made of 
 empty casks set for the purpose. As it was well known 
 how large a tract of country these animals traverse in 
 search of food, copper collars, (ujmn which a notice of 
 the position of the ships and depots of provisions was 
 engraved,) were clinched round their necks, and they 
 were then set free, in the hope that some of these four- 
 
 A! 
 
VOYAOK OF ENTI-niPniSE AND INVESTIGATOR. 
 
 285 
 
 footed messengers might be the moans of conveying the 
 intelligenco to the Erebus and Terror, as tlie erewH of 
 those vesisels wouhl naturally be eager for their cajiture. 
 Tlie months of April and May were occupied by Oupt. 
 Koris, Lieut. McClintock, and a party of twelve men, in 
 examining and thoroughly exj)loring all the inlets and 
 Binaller indentations of the northern an<l western coasts 
 of Boothia peninsula, in which any ships might have 
 found shelter. 
 
 From the liigli land in the neighborliood of Capo 
 Bunny, Capt. Koss obtained a very extensive view, and 
 observed that the whole space between it and (..'ape 
 Walker to the west, and Wellington Strait to the north, 
 was occupied by very heavy hummocky ice. 
 
 " The examination of the coast,'' Sir James Koss tells 
 us, "was pursued until the 5th of June, when, having 
 consumed more than half our provisions, and tlu Btrength 
 of the party being much reduced, I was rehu tantly 
 compelled to abandon further operations, as it was, 
 moreover, necessary to give the men a diiy of rest. 
 But that the time might not wholly be lost, 1 proceed ed 
 with two hands to the extreme south point in sight from 
 oir encam])ment, distant about eight or nine mih»s." 
 
 This extreme point is situate in hit. 72'^ 38' ^., and 
 lung. 95° 40' W., and is the west face of a small high 
 peninsula. The state of the atmosphere being at the 
 time peculiarly favorable for distinctness of vision, land 
 of any great elevation might have been seen at the dis- 
 tance of 100 miles. The nighest capo of the coast was 
 not more than fifty miles distant, l)earing nearly duo 
 south. A very narrow isthmus was found to separate 
 Prince Regent Inlet from th* western sea at (/resswell 
 jind Brentford Bays. The ice in this quarter Droved to 
 be eight feet thick. A largii cairn of stones wa- erected, 
 iind on the Cth of June, the return journey was com- 
 menced. After encountering a variety of ditHeultie 
 tliey reaehed the ships on the ii3d, so completely worn 
 out by fatigue, that every man was, from some cause or 
 otlier, in the doctor's hands for two or three weeks. 
 During their absence, Mr. Matthias, the assistant-surgeon 
 
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 WEBSTER, N.Y. 14580 
 
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 286 
 
 PROGRESS OF ARCTIC DISCOVERT. 
 
 of the Enterprise, had died of consumption. Several of 
 the crews of both ships were in a declining state, and 
 the general re]3ort of health w.as by no means cheeriuf/. 
 
 "VVliile Captuin Ross was away, Commander Bird 
 had dispatched other surveying parties in different di- 
 rections. One, under the command of Lieutenant Bar- 
 nard, to the northern shore of Barrow's Strait, crossing 
 tiie ice to Cape Hind ; a second, commanded by Lieu- 
 tenant Browne, to the eastern shore of Regent Inlet- 
 and a third party of six men, conducted by Lieutenant 
 Robinson, along the western shore of the Inlet. Tiie 
 latter officer extended his examination of the coast as 
 far as Cresswell Bay, several miles to the southward 
 of Fury Beach. He found the house still standing in 
 which Sir John Ross passed the winters of 1832-33, 
 together witli a quantity of the stores and provisions 
 of tlie Fury, lost there in 1827. On opening some of 
 the packages containing flour, sugar and peas, they 
 were all found to be in excellent preservation, and the 
 pi-eserved soup as good as when manufactured. The 
 labors of these searching parties were, however, of 
 comparatively short duration, as they all suffered from 
 snow-blindness, sprained ankles, and debility. 
 
 As it was now but too evident, from no traces of the 
 absent expedition having been met with by any of 
 these parties, that the ships could not have been de- 
 tained anywhere in this part of the arctic regions, 
 Captain Ross considered it most desirable to push for- 
 M\ird to the westward as soon as his ships should be lib- 
 erated. His chief hopes now centered in the efforts of 
 Sir John Richardson's party; but he felt persuaded 
 that S:," John Franklin's ships must have penetrated 
 so far beyond Melville Island as to induce him to prefer 
 making for the continent of America rather than seek- 
 ing assistance from the whale ships in Baffin's Bay. 
 The crews, weakened by incessant exertion, were now 
 in a very unfit state to undertake the heavy labor 
 which they had yet to accomplish, but all hands that 
 were able were set to work with saws to cut a channel 
 toward the point of the harbor, a distance of iather 
 
VOYAGE OF ENTERPltISP: AND INVESTIGATOR. 287 
 
 )een de- 
 regions, 
 usli for- 
 i be lib- 
 fforts of 
 rsuaded 
 etrated 
 ;o prefer 
 Ian seek- 
 Bav. 
 lere now 
 y labor 
 ds that 
 cbannel 
 If \atber 
 
 more than two miles, and on the 28th of August tlio 
 ships got clear. Before quitting the port, a house was 
 built of the spare spars of both ships, and covered with 
 such of the housing cloths as could be dispensed with. 
 Twelve months' provisions, fuel, and other necessaries 
 were also left behind, together with the steam launch 
 belonging to the Investigator, which, having been pur- 
 posely lengthened seven feet, now formed a fine vessel, 
 capable of conveying the whole of Sir John Franklin's 
 party to the whale ships, if necessary. 
 
 The Investigator and Enterprise now proceeded 
 toward the northern shore of Barrow's Strait, for the 
 purpose of examining Wellington Channel, and, if pos- 
 sible, penetrating as far as Melville Island, but when 
 about twelve miles from the shore, the ships came to 
 the fixed land-ice, and found it impossible to proceed. 
 
 On the 1st of September a strong wind suddenly 
 arising, brought the loose pack, through which they 
 had been struggling, down upon the ships, which were 
 closely beset. At times, during two or three days, 
 they sustained severe pressure, and ridges of hum- 
 mocks were thrown up all around ; but after that time 
 the temperature falling to near zero, it formed the 
 whole body of ice into one solid mass. 
 
 The remainder of the narrative, as related by the 
 Commander of the expedition in his official dispatch, 
 will not bear abridgment. 
 
 " We were so circumstanced that for some days we 
 could not unship the rudder, and when, by the labori- 
 ous operation of sawing and removing the hummocks 
 from under the stern, we were able to do so, we found 
 it twisted and damaged ; and the ship was so much 
 strained, as to increase the leakage from three inches 
 in a fortnight to fourteen inches daily. The ice was 
 stationary for a few days ; the pressure had so folded 
 the lighter pieces over each other and they were so 
 interlaced, as to form one entire sheet, extending from 
 shore to shore of Barrow's Strait, and as far to the east 
 and west as the eye could discern from the mast-head, 
 while the extreme severity of the temperature had 
 
 'ii 
 
 li 
 
 Tit 
 
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 ! li ' 1 
 
 Mi 
 
 'V ■ i 
 
 Ilk;- 
 
tut 
 
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 h 
 
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 288 
 
 PKOQKESS OF ARCTIO DISCO VEKY. 
 
 cemented the whole so firmly together that it apr)eared 
 hii^lily improbable that it could break up again this 
 season. In the space which had been cleared away 
 for unshipping the rudder, the newly-formed ice was 
 fifteen inches thick, and in some places along the ship's 
 side the thirteen-feet screws were too short to work. 
 We had now fully made up our minds that the sliips 
 were fixed for the winter, and dismal as the prospect 
 appeared, it was far preferable to being carried aloncr 
 the west coast of BaflSn's Bay, where the grounded 
 bergs are in such numbers upon the shallow banks off 
 tliat shore, as to render it next to impossible for ships 
 involved in a pack to escape destruction. It was, 
 therefore, with a mixture of hope and anxiety that, on 
 the wind shifting to the westward, we perceived the 
 whole body of ice begin to drive to the eastward, at the 
 rate of eight to ten miles daily. Every effort on our 
 part was totally unavailing, for no human power could 
 have moved either o'^^he ships a single inch ; they were 
 thus completely taken out of our own hands, and in the 
 center of a field of ice more than fifty miles in circum- 
 ference, were carried along the southern shore of 
 Lancaster Sound. 
 
 " After passing its entrance, the ice drifted in a more 
 southerly direction , along the western shore of Bafiin's 
 Bay, until we were abreast of Pond's Bay, to the south- 
 ward of which we observed a great number of icebergs 
 stretching across our path, and presenting the fearful 
 prospect of our worst anticipations. But when least 
 expected by us, our release was almost miraculously 
 brought about. The great field of ice was rent into 
 innumerable fragments, as if by some unseen power." 
 
 By energetic exertion, warping, and sailing, the ships 
 got clear of the pack, and reached an open space of 
 water on the 25th of September. 
 
 " It is impossible," says Captain Ross, in his con 
 eluding observations, "to convey any idea of the sen 
 sation we experienced when we found ourselves once 
 more at liberty, while many a grateful heart poured 
 forth its praises and thanksgivings to A.lmlghty God 
 for this unlooked for deliverance." 
 
 tjator 
 " Af 
 
 it is 
 
 ^^m 
 
3 ship's 
 ) work, 
 e ships 
 I'ospect 
 i along 
 funded 
 nks off 
 •r ships 
 It was, 
 hat, on 
 ^ed the 
 , at the 
 on our 
 r could 
 iy were 
 i in the 
 sircum- 
 lore of 
 
 a more 
 Baffin's 
 south- 
 ebergs 
 fearful 
 n least 
 ilously 
 nt into 
 ower." 
 e shipa 
 >ace of 
 
 is con 
 le sen 
 once 
 3onred 
 yGod 
 
 VOYAGE OF ENTERPRISE AND INVESTIGATOR. 
 
 289 
 
 *'The ad stance of winter had now closed all the har- 
 bors against ns ; and as it was impossible to ])enetrate 
 to the westward through the pack from which we had 
 just been liberated, I made the signal to the Investi- 
 irator of mv intention to return to Enirland." 
 
 After a favorable passage, the ships arrived home 
 early in IS^ovember, Captain Sir J. C. Ross rei)orting 
 himself at the Admiralty on the r)th of November. 
 
 As this is the last arctic voyage of Sir James C. Ross, 
 it is a fitting place for some record of his arduous 
 services. 
 
 Captain Sir James Clarke Ross entered the navy in 
 1812, and served as volunteer of the first class, mid- 
 shipman and mate until 1817, with his uncle Com- 
 mander Ross. In 1818 he was aj^pointed Admiralty 
 midshipman in the Isabella, on Commander Ross's first 
 voyage of discovery to the arctic seas. He was then 
 midshipman in the two following years with Captain 
 Parry, in the Ilecla ; followed him again in the Fury 
 in his second voyage, and was promoted on the 26th 
 of December, 1822. In 1824 and 1825, he was lieu- 
 tenant in the Fury, under Captain Iloppner, on Parry's 
 third voyage. In 1827, he was appointed first lieuten- 
 ant of the tlecla, under Parry, and accompanied him 
 in command of the second boat in his attempt to reach 
 the North Pole. On his return he received his promo- 
 tion to the rank of commander, the 8th of November, 
 1827. From 1829 to 1833, he was employed with his 
 uncle as second in command in the Victory on the pri- 
 vate expedition sent out by Mr. Felix Booth. During 
 this period he planted, on the 1st of June, 1831, the 
 British flag on the North Magnetic Pole. For this, on 
 his return, he was jDresented by the Herald's College 
 with an addition to his family arms of an especial crest, 
 representing a flag-stafl[' erect on a rock, with tlie union 
 jack hoisted thereon, inscribed with the date, " 1 June, 
 1831." On the 23d of October, 1834, he was promoted 
 to the rank of Captain, and in the following year em- 
 ployed in making magnetic observations, preparatory 
 to the general magnetic survey of England. In the 
 
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290 
 
 PKOGRESS OF ARCTIC DISCOVJiKY. 
 
 If' 
 
 close of 183C, it having been represented to the Ad 
 niirtilty, from Hull, that eleven whale ships, having oa 
 board 000 men, were left in tlie ice in i)avis' Strait, 
 and in imminent danger of perishing, unless relief weru 
 forwarded to them, the Lords Connoissioners resolved 
 upon sending out a ship to search for them. Captain 
 Koss, with that promptitude and humanity which has 
 always characterized him, volrnteered to go out in the 
 depth of winter, and the Lieutenants, F. 11. M. Crozier, 
 Inman, and Ommaney, with the three mates, Jesse, 
 Buchan, and John Smith, and Mr. Ilallett, clerk in 
 cliarge, joined him. Tliey sailed from England on the 
 21st of December, and on arriving in Davis' Strait, after 
 a stormy passage, found that nine of the missing ships 
 were by that time in England, that the tentli was re- 
 leased on her passage, and that the other was in all 
 probability lost, as some of her water-casks had been 
 picked up at sea. From 1837 to 1838, Captain Eoss 
 was employed in determining the variation of the com- 
 pass on all parts of the coast of Great Britain ; and 
 from 1839 to 1843, as Captain of the Erel3us, in com- 
 mand of the antarctic expedition. In 1841, he was 
 presented with the founder's medal of the Royal Geo- 
 graphical Society of London, for his discoveries toward 
 the South Pole ; and he has also received the gold 
 medal of the Geographical Society of Paris. On the 
 13th of March, 1844, he received the honor of knight- 
 hood from the Queen, and in June of the same year 
 the University of Oxford bestowed on him their honor- 
 ary degree of D. 0. L. In 1848, he went out, as we 
 have just seen, in the Enterprise, in Command of one 
 of the searching expeditions sent to seek for Franklin. 
 
 S 
 
 
 Ih 
 
 YOYAGE OF II. M. S. " IS'ORTH StAR." 
 
 The ISTorth Star, of 500 tons, was fitted out in the 
 spring of 1849, under the command of Mr. J. Saunders, 
 who had been acting master with Captain Back, in the 
 Terror, in her perilous voyage to the Frozen Strait, in 
 1836. 
 
VOYAGE OF THE NORTH STAK. 
 
 291 
 
 
 1 1 
 
 in all 
 been 
 Eoss 
 i com- 
 ; and 
 1 com- 
 e was 
 Geo- 
 pward 
 gold 
 n the 
 iio;lit- 
 year 
 lonor- 
 .s we 
 one 
 ddin. 
 
 the 
 |ders, 
 
 the 
 it, m 
 
 The following are the officers of the ships : — 
 
 Master Commanding — J. Sannders. 
 
 Second Masters — John Way, M. !N^orman, H. B. 
 
 Gawler. 
 Acting Ice-masters — J. Leach, and G. Sabestor. 
 Assistant Surgeon — James Eae, M. D. 
 Clerk in Charge — Jasper Rutter. 
 
 The North Star sailed from the river Thames, on tlio 
 26th of May, 1849, freighted with provisions for the 
 missing expedition, and with orders and supplies for 
 the Enterprise and Investigator. 
 
 The following is one of the early dispatches from the 
 commander : — • 
 
 " To the Secretary of the Admiralty. 
 
 " //. if. S. North Star, July 19, 1849, 
 lat. 74° 3' iT., long. 59° 40' W. 
 
 "Sir, — I addressed a letter to their Lordships on the 
 18th lilt., when in lat. 73° 30' N., and long. 56° 53' W., 
 detailing the particulars of my proceedings up to that 
 date, "svhich letter was sent by a boat from the Lady 
 Jane, whaler, which vessel was wrecked, and those boats 
 were proceeding to the Danish settlements. Since then, 
 t regret to state, our progress has been almost entirely 
 stopped, owing to the ice being so placed across Mel- 
 ville Bay as to render it perfectly impassable. 
 
 " On the 6th inst., finding it impossible to make any 
 progress, I deemed it advisable to run as far S. as 72°, 
 examining the pack as we went along. At 72° 22' the 
 pack appeared slacker, and we entered it, and, after 
 proceeding about tw^elve miles, found ourselves com- 
 pletely stopped by large floes of ice. We accordingly 
 put back, and stecied again for the northward. 
 
 " Having this day reached tlie latitude of 74° 3' N., 
 and long. 59° 40' W., the ice appeared more open, and 
 ^ve stood in toward the land, when we observed two 
 boats approaching, and which afterward, on coming 
 alongside, were found to belong to the Prince of Wales, 
 rvlialer, which vessel was nipped by the ice on the 12th 
 net., in Melville Bay. 
 
 \ ■ 
 
 I 
 
 i: 
 
 I 
 
 
202 
 
 rrtOORKSS UK AKCIICJ DISCOVEKY. 
 
 " By the captain of the Prince of Wales I forward 
 this letter to their Lonl8hii)s, lie intending to proceed 
 in his boats to tlie Danish settlements. 
 " 1 have the honor to l)e, etc. 
 
 "J. Saundeks, Master and Commander. 
 " P. S.- ^rew all well on board." 
 
 On tlic 20th of July, liaving reached the vicinity of 
 the Devil's Thumb and Melville Bay, in the northerly 
 part of Baffin's Bay, she was beset in an ice-iield, with 
 wdiich she drifted helplessly about as the tide or wind 
 impelled her, until the 16th of August, when, a slight 
 opening in tlie ice appearing, an effort was made to 
 heave through into clear water. Tliis proved labor in 
 vain, and no further move was made until the 21st of 
 September, except as she drifted in the ice floe in wliicli 
 she was fixed. On the day last named she was driving 
 before a hard gale from the S. S. W., directly down upon 
 an enormous iceberg in Melville Sound, upon which if 
 she had sti'uck in the then prevailing weather, her total 
 destruction would have been inevitable. Providen- 
 tially a corner of the ice-field in which she was beino; 
 carried furiously along came into violent co-llision with 
 the berg, a large section was carried away, and sho 
 escaped. On the 20th of September, 1840, having been 
 sixty-two days in the ice, she took up her winter quar- 
 ters in North Star Bay, so called after herself, a small 
 bay in Wolstenholme Sound, lying in 76° 33' north lat- 
 itude, and 68° 56' west longitude ; the farthest point to 
 the north at which a British ship ever wintered. T'lo 
 ship was fixed about half a mile from the shore, and 
 made snug for the winter, sails were unbent, the masts 
 struck, and the ship housed over and made as warm 
 and comfortable as circumstances would permit. The 
 ice soon after took across the Sound, so that the crew 
 could have walked on shore. The cold was intense ; 
 but two or three stoves warmed the ship, and the crews 
 were cheered up and encouraged with all sorts of games 
 and amusements, occasionally visiting the shore for the 
 purpose of skylarking. There w\as, unfortunately, but 
 little game to shoot. Former accounts gave this pb ^», 
 
 ■; ■ 
 
 was 
 
»^' 
 
 warm 
 The 
 3 crew 
 ense ; 
 crews 
 yames 
 or the 
 7, but 
 pi? ^», 
 
 1 
 
 VOYAGE OF 'IWE NORTH STAR. 
 
 293 
 
 a high character for deer and other animals ; bnt the 
 crew of the North Star never saw a sin<]::le head of deer, 
 and other animals were scarce ; about fifty liares wero 
 killed. Foxes were numerous, and a number shot, but 
 none taken alive. A few Esquimaux families occasion- 
 nlly visited tlie ship, and one poor man was l)roiight on 
 board witli his feet so frozen that they dropp.ed. ilo 
 was placed under the care of the assistant-siu'geon. Dr. 
 Rae, who paid him much attention, and his legs were 
 nearly cured ; but ho died from ?. pulmonary disorder 
 after having been on board some six weeks. The North 
 Star was not able to lep.ve this retreat until the 1st of 
 August, 1850, and got into clear water on the third of 
 that month. On the 21st of August, she spoke the 
 Lady Franklin, Captain Penny, and her consort the 
 Sophia, and the following day the Felix, Sir Jolin lloss, 
 in Lancaster Sound. Captain Penny reported tliat he 
 had left Captain Austin all well on the 17th of August. 
 On the 23d of August, the North Star began landing 
 the provisions she had carried out in Navy Board In- 
 let ; 73° W N. latitude, 80° 56' W. longitude. Slie 
 remained five days there, and was occupied four and a 
 half in landing the stores, which were deposited in a 
 ravine a short distance from the beach of Supply Bay, 
 the bight in Nayy Board Inlet, which the commander 
 of the North Star so named. The position of the stores 
 was indicated by a flag-staif, with a black ball, and a 
 letter placed beneath a cairn of stones. They had pre- 
 viously tried to deposit the stores at Port Bowen, and 
 Port Neale, but were prevented approaching them by 
 the ice. On the 30th of August, the North Star saw 
 and spoke the schooner Prince Albert, Commander 
 Forsyth, in Possession Bay. On the 31st, a boat was 
 sent to the Prince Albert, when Commander Forsyth 
 came on board and reported that he had also been to 
 Port Neale, but had not been able to enter for the ice, 
 and had found one of the American ships sent out to 
 search for Sir John Franklin ashore in Barrow's Strait, 
 that he had tendered assistance, which had been de- 
 clined by the American commander, as, his ship being 
 
 1 
 
 t! I 
 
 
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 t ! 
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 l< 
 
 'ill 
 
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294 
 
 PROGItKSS OF AUCrriC I^ISCOV'KIiY. 
 
 uninjured, lie believed liis own crew comi^ctcnt to jrct 
 her ofi'. Coinmunder Forsyth reported that (Captain 
 Austin had proceeded to Pond's Bay in the Intrepid, 
 tender to the Assistance, to hind letters. Tlie North 
 Star went on to Pond's Bay, but could not find any in- 
 dication of Caj^taiu Austin's having been there. It is 
 conjectured that ho had passed the appointed spot in a 
 fog. The North Star's people suffered much from the 
 intense cold, but only lost five hands during her peril- 
 ous trip and arctic winter quarters. She left there on 
 September 9th, and reached Si^ithead on the 28tli of 
 September, 1850. Since his return Mr. Saunders has 
 been appointed Master Attendant of the Dock-yard at 
 Malta. The Admiralty have received dispatclies from 
 Captain Sir J. lloss. Captain Penny, and Captain Oni- 
 maney. Cai)tain Ommaney, in the Assistance, dating 
 from off Lancaster Sound, latitude 75° 40' N., loni^'i- 
 tude 75° 49' W., states that some Esquimaux had de- 
 scribed to him a ship being hauled in during the last 
 winter, and, on going to the spot, he found, from some 
 papers left, that it was the North Star. Ho was pro- 
 ceeding to search in Lancaster Sound. CajDtain Pennj^, 
 of tlie Lady Franklin, writing from Lancaster Sound, 
 August 21, states, that having heard on the 18th from 
 Captain Austin of a report from the Esquimaux, that 
 Sir John Franklin's ships had been lost forty miles 
 north, and the crews murdered, he went with an inter- 
 preter, but could find no evidence for the rumor, and 
 came to the conclusion that the whole story had been 
 founded on the North Star's wintering there. He con« 
 eidered that his interpreter, M. Petersen, had done much 
 good by exposing ihe fallacy of the story of Sir J 
 Koss's Esquimaux. 
 
 
 m 
 
 CU 
 
 
 Her Majesty's Smps "Enterprise" and "Investiga 
 tor" under Captain Collinson. 
 
 The Enterprise and Investigator were fitted out agair 
 immediately on their return liome, and placed undei 
 the charge of Captain B. Collinson, C. B., with the fol 
 
 i 
 
dating 
 
 luni^i- 
 
 iid do- 
 
 1 much 
 ;ir J 
 
 3TIGA 
 
 lagair 
 II) del 
 lefol 
 
 SECOND TRIP OF ENTERPRISE AND INVESTIGATOR. 295 
 
 lowing officers attaclied, to proceed to Beliriiig's Strait, 
 to resumo the search in that direction : — 
 
 Enterprise^ 340 tons. 
 Captain — K. Collinson. 
 Lieutenants — G. A. Phayre,* J. J. Barnard,* and 
 
 C. T. Jago. 
 Master — R. T. G. Legg. 
 Second Master — Francis Skead. 
 Mate — M. T. Parks. 
 Surgeon — Robert Anderson.* 
 Assistant-Surgeon — Edward Adams.* 
 Clark in Charge — Edwa^'d Wliitehead.* 
 Total complement, QQ, 
 
 Investigator, 
 
 Commander — R. J. M'Clure.* 
 Lieutenants — W. II. Haswell and S. G. Cresswell.* 
 Mates — H. H. Saintsbury and R. J. Wyniatt. 
 Second Master — Stephen Court.* 
 Surgeon — Alexander Armstrong, M. D. 
 Assistant-Surgeon — Hy. Piers. 
 CJ^rk in Charge — Joseph C. Paine. 
 Total complement, QQ. 
 
 Those officers marked with a star had been with the 
 ehipr, in their last voyage. 
 
 Tliese vessels sailed from Plymouth on the 20th of 
 January, 1850. A Mr. Micrtsching, a Moravian mis- 
 sionary, was appointed to the Enterprise, as interpreter. 
 This gentleman is in the prime of life, of robust health, 
 inured, by a service of hve years in Labrador, to the 
 hardships and privations of the arctic regions, and suffi- 
 ciently acquainted with the language and manners of 
 the Esquimaux to be able to hold friendly and unre- 
 served intercourse with them. > 
 
 The Investigator and the Enterprise were at tlio 
 Sandwich Islands on June 29th. Captain Collinson 
 purposed sailing in a few days, and expected to reach 
 the ice about the 8th of July. Prior to his arrival, 
 
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 m\i 
 
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 296 
 
 PROOKK88 OF AUCl'IC DISCoVKRY. 
 
 niiincronfl wlmlors had stiirttMl tor tho Strait, one in par 
 ticuhir, iiiidor the cumnuind of a Captain Koyw, with 
 tlio o.\|)i't'ss('(l intcntiun of ondcuvonng to earn tlio 
 Franlvlin reward. 
 
 These vessels arc intended to penetrate, if possible, to 
 tlio western extremity of Melville Island, tliere to winter, 
 and make fnrtlier seareli, in the spring of 1851, for tliy 
 crews of the lost ships. 
 
 In a letter from Captain Collinson to Commander Mc 
 Clure, dated Oahu, Jnne 29th, 1850, with a sight of 
 which I have been favored at the Admiralty, he thus 
 describes his intentions — " 1 intend making the ])ucl\ 
 close to the American shore, and availing njyself of tho 
 first favorable opening west of the coast stream ; pressing 
 forward toward Melville Island. In the event of meet- 
 ing land, it is most probable that I wonld pursue tho 
 southern shore." 
 
 The latest letter received from Commander McClure 
 18 dated Kotzebuo Sound, July 27th, 1850, and the 
 following is an extract ; — 
 
 " You will be glad to learn that to this we have been 
 highly favored, carrying a fair wind from Whoa, which 
 place we left on the 4th. We passed the Aleutian 
 Islands on the 20th, in 172° 30' W., and got fairly 
 through tlie Straits to-day, and we consider we are upon 
 our ground ; the only detriment has been very dense 
 fogs, which have rendered the navigation of the islands 
 exceedingly nervous work ; but as the object to be 
 achieved is of so important a nature, all hazards must 
 be run to carry out the intentions of those at home, 
 which have very fortunately terminated without acci- 
 dent. We are now making the most of our wind, and 
 we hope to meet an American whaler, of which I be- 
 lieve there are a great number fishing this season, and 
 to whom we must intrust our last disj^atches. Sincerely 
 do I trust that, ere we return, some tidings of poor Sir 
 John and his noble companions may reward our search ; 
 which will render the long-sought for passage, should 
 it l)e our fortune to make it, one of the most memorable 
 in the annals of our times, and relieve many an anxious 
 breast " 
 
 
 
 
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 retur 
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 xious 
 
 SECOND TKIP OF ENTKKIMtlSK AND INVK8TIUAHJK. 207 
 
 Oispatchcs luivo lu'on roci-ivod ut tlio Adnilndtv from 
 
 ii) lli-ndd^ 
 dated at sea, tlio 14th of October, 1850, on hirt return 
 
 Captain Kellet, C. !>., of lier Majesty's bhij) llendd. 
 
 from Belirin<('s Strait. The ilerahl had coniinunieated 
 with her ^[ajosty'ti sldp rit)ver, on the lOth of .July, at 
 Chaniisso Island, where the Plover had i)assed the pre- 
 cc(lin«]^ winter. The two ships proeeeded to tlie north- 
 ward until they sighted the pack-ice, when the Herald 
 returned to Capo Lisburne, in quest of Captain CoUin- 
 Bon's expedition, and on the Slst fell in with lier ^[aj- 
 esty's ship Investigator, which had made a surprisingly 
 short pa8sa<:;o of twenty-six days from the Sandwich 
 Islands. Tlie Herald renuiined cruising oif Cai)e Lis- 
 Ijurne, and again fell in with the Plover on the loth of 
 A^ugust, on her return from Point Barrow, Commander 
 Moore having coasted in his boats, and minutely exam- 
 ined the several inlets as far as that point from icy Capo 
 without gaining any intelligence of the missing expedi- 
 tion. Commander Moore and his boat's crew had suf- 
 fered severely from exposure to cold. Captain Kellet, 
 having fully victualed the Plover, ordered her to winter 
 in Grantley Harbor (her former anchorage at Chamisso 
 Island not being considered safe,) and tl eii returned to 
 the southward on his way to Englanc' 
 
 Dispatches have also been received from Captain Col- 
 linson, C. B., of her Majesty's ship Enterprise, and 
 Commander M'Clure, of her Majesty's ship Investigator 
 of whicli the following are copies : — 
 
 " ITer Majesty^ s Ship ^Enterpriser 
 ''Fort Clarence, Sept. 13, 1850. 
 
 "Sir, — I have the honor to transmit an account of 
 the proceedings of her Majesty's ship under my com 
 rnand since leaving Oahu on the 30th of June. 
 
 "Being delayed by light winds, we only reached tho 
 western end of the Aleutian Chain by the 29th of July, 
 and made the Island of St. Lawrence on the 11th of 
 August, from whence I shaped a course for Cape Lis- 
 burne, in anticipation of falling in with the Herald or 
 
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298 
 
 PROGRESS OF ARCTIC DISCOVERT. 
 
 HI 
 
 
 the Plo'"<^r. Not, however, seeing either of these vea* 
 eele, a. ,.nding nothing deposited on shore, I went on 
 to Wainwright Inlet, the last rendezvous appointed. 
 Here we communicated on the 15th, and being alike 
 unsuccessful in obtaining any information, I stood to 
 the north, made the ice following morning, and readied 
 the latitude 72° 40' N. in the meridian of 159° 30' W., 
 without serious obstruction. Here, however, the pack 
 became so close that it was impossible to make way in 
 any direction except to the southward. Having extri- 
 cated ourselves by noon on the 19th, we continued to 
 coast along the edge of the main body, which took a 
 southeasterly trend, running through the loose streams, 
 so as not to lose sight of tight pack. At 4 a. m. on the 
 20th we were in the meridian of Point Barrow, and 
 ■"wenty-eight miles to the north of it, when we found 
 open water to the N. E., in which we sailed, without 
 losing sight of the ice to the north until the morning 
 of the 21st, when we were obstructed by a heavy bar- 
 rier trending to the southwest. A thick fog coming on, 
 we made a board to the north, in order to feel the pack 
 edge in the upper part of the bight, and not to leav^ 
 any part unexj ^ored. Having satisfied myself that no 
 opening existed .a this dir'^-ction, we bore away to tlie 
 south, running through heavy floes closely packed, and 
 pushing to the eastward when an opportunity ofiered. 
 In this, however, we were unsuccessful, being com- 
 pelled to pursue a westerly course, the floes being very 
 heavy and hummocky. By 8 p. m. we were within 
 thirty miles of the land, and having clear weather, 
 could see the ice closely packed to the south that lefc 
 no doubt in ray mind that a stop was put to our pro- 
 ceeding in this direction, by the ice butting so close on 
 tlie shoal coast as to leave no chance that our progress 
 along it would justify the attempt to reach Cape Bath- 
 urst, a distance of 570 miles, during the remaining 
 portion of this season; and finding this opinion was 
 coincided in by those officers on board qualified to 
 form an opinion on the subject, I determined to lose 
 no time in communicating with Point Barrow, but to 
 
 attei 
 lane 
 woul 
 fore 
 ing t 
 than 
 we to 
 up, u 
 sudd 
 lowed 
 in lat 
 trend 
 endea 
 dition 
 warpe 
 direct] 
 say, w 
 we enl 
 thick \ 
 lane. 
 28°, an 
 accom] 
 Lordsh 
 Point ] 
 bottle ( 
 that it 
 Harbor 
 with th 
 enablin 
 pany b' 
 found h 
 having < 
 take th: 
 to the c] 
 duced tl 
 the ship 
 opportui 
 leased fj 
 irregulai 
 the wind 
 
e vea* 
 
 enton 
 
 tinted. 
 
 alike 
 
 )0d tf! 
 
 sached 
 0' W., 
 3 pack 
 way in 
 J extri- 
 ued to 
 took a 
 reams, 
 on the 
 iw, and 
 3 found 
 »vitliout 
 lorning 
 vy bar- 
 ling on, 
 le pack 
 ,0 leaY3 
 hat no 
 to the 
 d, and 
 jflfiered. 
 com- 
 ig very 
 within 
 eather, 
 lat left 
 ur pro- 
 lose on 
 ogress 
 Bath- 
 aining 
 n was 
 ed to 
 Ito lose 
 Ibut to 
 
 i 
 
 SECOND TRIP OF ENTERPRISE AND INVESTIGATOR. 299 
 
 attempt the passage further north, in hopes that the 
 lane of water seen last year by the Herald and Plover 
 would afford me an opening to the eastward. I there- 
 fore reluctantly proceeded again to the west, and turn- 
 ing the pack edge fifteen miles further to the SDuth 
 than it was on the day after we left Wainwright Inlet, 
 we followed the edge of a loose pack greatly broken 
 up, until we reached 163° W. long., when It took a 
 sudden turn to the north, in which direction we fol- 
 lowed it until the morning of the 27th, when we were 
 in latitude 73° 20', and found the pack to the westward 
 trending southerly. I therefore plied to the eastward, 
 endeavoring to make way, but such was its close con- 
 dition that we could not work, although we might have 
 warped through, had the condition of the ice in that 
 direction afforded us any hope ; but this, I am sorry to 
 say, was not the case, and, on the contrary, the further 
 we entered, the larger the floes became, leaving us, in 
 thick weather, often in great difficulty where to find a 
 lane. On the 29th the thermometer having fallen to 
 28°, and there being no prospect of our being able to 
 accomplish any thing toward the fulfillment of their 
 Lordships' instructions this season, I bore away for 
 Point Hope, where I arrived on the 31st, and found a 
 bottle deposited by the Herald, which informed me 
 that it was intended to place the Plover in Grantley 
 Harbor this season. I accordingly proceeded thither, 
 with the view of taking her place for the winter, and 
 enabling Commander Moore to recruit his ship's com- 
 pany by going to the southward. On my ariival I 
 found her inside, preparing her winter quarters, and 
 having examined and buoyed the bar, I attempted to 
 take this vessel inside, but failed in doing so, owing 
 to the change of wind from south to north having re- 
 duced the depth of water four feet, and had to relieve 
 the ship of 100 tons, which was quickly done by the 
 opportune arrival of the Herald, before she was re- 
 leased from a very critical position. The tides being 
 irregular, the rise and fall depending principally on 
 the wind, and that wind which occasions the highest 
 
 19 M 
 
 ■ji I 
 
 
 >»n» 
 
 in 
 
 ?!' 
 
 I II 
 
 I ! 
 
 .1 k 
 
 :•;' 
 
 i.. !}•' 
 
 1 
 
 
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 m 
 
 
 
 .1^! \. 
 
 j, Ki 
 
300 
 
 PROGRESS OF ARCTIC DISCOVERT. 
 
 water producing a swell on the bar, it became a ques- 
 tion whether a considerable portion of the ensuing 
 season might not be lost in getting the ship out of 
 Grantley Harbor ; and on consulting Captains Kellet 
 and Moore, finding it to be their opinion, founded on 
 the experience of two years, that the whalers coiniiK^ 
 from the south pass through the Strait early in June 
 whereas the harbors are blocked until the middle of 
 July, I have come to the conclusion that I shall better 
 perform the important duty confided in me by return- 
 ing to the south, and replenishing my provisions, in- 
 stead of wintering on the Asiatic Shore, where there 
 is not a prospect of our being of the slightest use to 
 the missing expedition. It is therefore my intention 
 to proceed to Hong Kong, it being nearer than Valpa- 
 raiso, and the cold season having set in, my stores and 
 provisions will not be exposed to the heat of a double 
 passage through the tropics ; and as I shall not leave 
 until the Ist of April, 1 may receive any further in- 
 structions their Lordships may please to communicate. 
 
 "The Plover has been stored and provisioned, and 
 such of her crew as are not in a fit state to contend 
 with the rigor of a further stay in these latitudes have 
 bee\. removed, and replaced by Captain Kellet, and the 
 ])aragraph8 referring to her in my instructions fulfilled 
 
 "I have directed Commander Moore to communi- 
 cate annually with an Island in St. Lawrence Bay, in 
 latitude 65° 38' N., and longitude 170'' 43' W., which 
 is much resorted to by the whalers, and where any 
 communication their Lordships may be pleased to send 
 may be deposited by them, as they are not in the 
 habit of cruising on this side of the Strait; and I have 
 requested Captain Kellet to forward to the Admiralty 
 all the information on this head he may obtain at the 
 Sandwich Islands. 
 
 " It is my intention to proceed again to the north, 
 and remain in the most eligible position for afibrding 
 assistance to the Investigator, which vessel, having 
 been favored with a surprising passage from the Sand- 
 wich Islands, was fallen in with by the Herald on the 
 
 '^Eer Ma 
 
 latitud 
 
 Sir, — 2 
 
 Collinson, 
 
 yfhiah I i 
 
 tope of m 
 
 being deta 
 
 Sound, it i, 
 
 be made tc 
 
 ture to ho 
 
dl8t of Jli]y^ fyff p . TT 
 
 V"" °° "o Wii be exposed tn til- . "-'"Pe ^atbnrst 
 forced on a shoal BZTeVnd\V'^'"J'^''tkkofS 
 boa^s I shall not fo,;4:"t"S ^'.^ '^"^^ '° '^^^ 
 ot roint Hope until the seMon^ ^ *^ northward 
 to.ne„re their having taCunfi.'- *^': ^''^«°eed ^ 
 for th,g gg^g^^ b aKen np their winter quarters 
 
 J- nave received fm m 
 
 pany that assistance a^? a^erifvT .t""^ ^''■P'« <«>«- 
 of their duty, which tI.o^ uP •'^"^ ^^^ Performanf.« 
 engaged mni Se and tt'^ "''T '" ^iieh we are 
 port that (under the' blessinr^f^r* «?''-sfaction to r^ 
 means the rlord<ilimo i ^ ^' ®od) owin</ to thL 
 
 and provisions? t'rrpSlt-r 
 
 tie sick list notwithstandinrf? ? ^'thont a man oi 
 
 our voyage. ""^^'anding the lengthened period of 
 
 "Ihave, &c., 
 "The Secretary of tfcZirahyT°"' ^''P'»»- 
 
 1-:'^ 
 
 :-if 
 
 u 
 
 I i 
 
 i 
 
 I 
 
 j i 
 I 
 
 i 
 
 
 \,:h 
 
 j^hich I incloseot ;r"eed"';r^""'\H"g. fa Z'S^ 
 hope of meeting him in S '? •^'P'' -Lisburne in the 
 being detained t day ortwo bvZ'^,"' ^'. «"««» 
 
 '- - hope that even-fc-Zt-^Kcd 
 
 
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 !i 
 
 'J 
 
302 
 
 PROGRESS OF AKCTIO DISCOVERY. 
 
 ■i ,' 1 
 
 ,ji:*< 
 
 % 
 
 k 
 w 
 
 Mi 
 
 
 •hI. 
 
 stances I shall be so fortunate as to accomplish it ere 
 the Enterprise will have rounded that cape, from hor 
 superior sailing, she hitherto having beaten us by eight 
 days to Cape virgins, and from Magellan Strait to Oahu 
 six. It is, therefore, under the probable case that tliis 
 vessel may form a detached part of the expedition that 
 I feel it my duty to state, for the information of the 
 Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty, the course 
 which, under such a contingency, I shall endeavor to 
 pursue, and have to request that you will lay the same 
 oefore their Lordships. 
 
 " 1. After passing Cape Lisburne, it is my intention 
 to keep in the open water, which, from the different 
 reports that I have read, appears about this season of 
 the year to make between the American coast and the 
 main pack as far to the northward as the 130th meridian, 
 unless a favorable opening should earlier appear in the 
 ice, which would lead me to infer that I might push 
 more directly for Banks' Land, which I think is of the 
 utmost importance to thoroughly examine. In the event 
 of thus far succeeding, and tiie season continuing favor- 
 able for further operations, it would bo my anxious 
 desire to get to the northward of Melville Island, and 
 resume our search along its shores and the islands adja- 
 cent as long as the navigation can be carried on, and 
 then secure for the winter in the most eligible position 
 which oiFers. 
 
 " 2. In the ensuing spring, as soon as it is practicable 
 for traveling parties to start, I should dispatch as many 
 as the state of the crew will admit of in different direc- 
 tions, each being provided with forty days' provisions, 
 with directions to examine minutely all bays, inlet:3 and 
 islands toward the northeast, ascending occasionally 
 some of the highest points of land, so as to be enabled 
 to obtain extended views, being particularly cautious in 
 their advance to observe any indication of a break up in 
 the ice, so that their return to the ship may be effected 
 without hazard, even before the expenditure of theii 
 provisions would otherwise render it necessary.- 
 
 " 3. Supposing the parties to have returned? without 
 
 obta 
 
 Hl)ei 
 
 be t( 
 
 that 
 
 scare 
 
 shou 
 
 Capt 
 
 I sho 
 
 tion 
 
 that 
 
 point 
 
 cerni 
 
 then 
 
 painfi 
 
 all hu 
 
 theref 
 
 duty, 
 
 endea 
 
 ject nj 
 
 tion, I 
 
 no app 
 
 safety 
 
 three j 
 
 from tl 
 
 much c 
 
 of four 
 
 ing par 
 
 which -1 
 
 " It ^ 
 
 oflbcts ( 
 
 which \ 
 
 in the i] 
 
 are in a 
 
 and evi 
 
 disposit 
 
 "5. S 
 
 com pas? 
 
 doubt w 
 
 deem it 
 
it ere 
 tn her 
 
 ' eight 
 • Oahu 
 at this 
 )n that 
 of the 
 course 
 Ivor to 
 e same 
 
 tention 
 ifterent 
 ison of 
 Liid the 
 pridian, 
 r in the 
 it push 
 3 of the 
 le event 
 g favor- 
 anxious 
 nd, and 
 adja- 
 on, and 
 position 
 
 ticable 
 8 many 
 t direc- 
 visions, 
 ets and 
 ionally 
 inabled 
 ious in 
 k up in 
 ifected 
 f tlieii 
 
 dthout 
 
 I 
 
 SECOND TRIP OF ENTEKPlilSE AND INVESTIGATOR. 303 
 
 obtaining any clue of the al)8ent ships, and the vessel 
 liberated about the 1st of Auo-ust, my object wouhl then 
 be to piisli on toward AVeliin<>tuii Inlet, assuming that 
 that channel communicates witli tlie Pohir Sea, and 
 search both its shores, unless in doing so some indication 
 should be met with to show that parties from any of 
 Captain Austin's vessels had previously done so, when 
 1 should return, and endeavor to penetrate in the direc- 
 tion of Jones' Sound, carefully examining every place 
 that was practicable. Should our efforts to reach this 
 point be successful, and in the route no traces are dis- 
 cernible of the long missing expedition, I should not 
 then be enabled longer to divest myself of the feelings, 
 painful as it must be to arrive at such a conclusion, that 
 all human aid would then be perfectly unavailing ; and 
 therefore, under such a conviction, 1 would think it my 
 duty, if possible, to return to England, or at all events 
 endeav(ii' to reach some port that would insure that ob- 
 ject upon the following year. 
 
 " 4. In the event of this being our last communica- 
 tion, I would request you to assure their lordships that 
 no apprehensions whatever need be entertained of our 
 safety until the autumn of 1854, as w^o have on board 
 three years of all species of provisions, commencing 
 from the 1st of 8e])tember proximo, which, without 
 much d(>privation, may be made to extend over a period 
 of four years ; moreover, whatever is killed by the hunt- 
 ing parties, I intend to issue in lieu of the usual rations, 
 which will still further protract our resources. 
 
 " It gives mo p-i-eat pleasure to say that the good 
 effects of the fruit and vegetables, (a large quantity of 
 wiiich w^e took on board at Oahu,) are very perceptible 
 in the increased vigor of the men, who at this moment 
 are in as excellent condition as it is possible to desire, 
 and evince a spirit of confidence and a clieerfulness of 
 disposition which are beyond all appreciation. 
 
 " 5. Should difficulties apparently insurmountable en- 
 compass our pi'ogress, so as to render it a matter of 
 doubt whether the vessel could be extricated, I should 
 deem it expedient in that case not to hazard the lives 
 
 •^ 
 
 1^ : 
 ' 1 1 
 
 1/1 
 
 
 , II 
 
 I 1 : 
 
 
 I 
 
 !i 
 
 I 
 
 !Hi 
 
 it 
 
 •f-'\U 
 
 \ . 
 
 ' : I' 
 
 1 . 
 
 
 mj 
 
 \i > 
 
 I: ■ 
 
 I- 
 
 ib; , i 
 
 
 i ■ 
 
 m 
 
804 
 
 prookp:s8 op arctic discovery. 
 
 in 
 
 I'll 
 
 m 
 
 •.»5 
 
 'r 
 % 
 
 .1 
 
 
 of those intrusted to my charge after the winter of 1852, 
 but in the ensuing spring quit the vessel with sledges 
 and bouts, and make the best of our way either' to 
 Pond's Bay, Leopold Harbor, the Mackenzie, or for 
 whalers, according to circumstances. 
 
 "Finally. In this letter I have endeavored to give an 
 outline of what I wish to accomplish, (and what, under 
 moderately favorable seasons, appears to me attainable,) 
 the carrying out of which, however, not resting upon 
 human exertions, it is impossible even to surmise if any, 
 or what, portion may be successful. But my object in 
 addressing you is to place their Lordships in possession 
 of my intentions up to the latest period, so far as possi- 
 ble, to relieve their minds from any unnecessary anxiety 
 as to our fate ; and having done this, a duty which is 
 incumbent from tlie deej) sympathy expressed by their 
 Lordships, and participated in by all classes of our 
 countrymen, in the interesting object of this expedition, 
 I have only to add, that with the ample resources which 
 a beneficent government and a generous country have 
 placed at our disposal, (not any thing that can add to 
 our comfort being wanting,) we enter upon this distin- 
 guished service with a firm determination to carry out, 
 as far as in our feeble strength we are permitted, their 
 benevolent intentions. 
 
 " I have, &c., 
 "EoBEKT M'Clure, Commander." 
 
 "jETe/* Majesty's ship *• Enterprise^ 
 ''Oahu^June 29,1850. 
 
 " Memorandum. — As soon as Her Majesty's ship under 
 your command is fully complete with provisions, fuel, 
 and water, you will make the best of your way to Cape 
 Lisburne, keeping a good look-out for the Herald, or 
 casks, and firing guns in foggy weather, after passing 
 Lawrence Bay. The whalers also may afford you infor- 
 mation of our progress. 
 
 " Should you obtain no intelligence, you will under- 
 gtand that I intend to make the pack close to the Ameri- 
 
 s4 
 
er. 
 
 » 
 
 [under 
 ,, fuel, 
 
 Cape 
 lid, or 
 
 issing 
 I infor- 
 
 mder- 
 Lineri- 
 
 DI«1'ATCUKS Fitl>M E^TEKhlilSE AND LX V K«i liGA'i'OB. 305 
 
 can shore, and pursue tbc first favoial>le opening west 
 <)'' the Coast stream, pressing- forward toward MclvilJ"! 
 Mand. In the event of meeting land, it is most probr 
 ble that I would pursue the southern shore, but conspit 
 uous marks will be erected, if practicable, and inform* 
 tion buried at a ten-foot radius. 
 
 " As it is necessary to be prepared for the contin 
 gency of your not being able to follow by the ice clos 
 ing m, or the severity of the weather, you will in that 
 case keep the Investi^^ator as close to the edge of the 
 pack as is consistent with her safety, and remain there 
 until the season compels you to depart, when you will 
 look into Kotzebue Sound for the Plover, or informa- 
 tion regarding her position ; and having dejDosited un- 
 der her charge a twelve month's provisions, you will 
 jH'oceed to Valparaiso, replenish, and return to the 
 Strait, bearing in mind that the months of June and 
 July are the most favorable. 
 
 " A letter from the hydrographer relative to the vari- 
 ation of the compass is annexed ; and you will bear in 
 mind that the value of these observations will he greatly 
 enhanced by obtaining the variation with the ship's 
 head at every second or fourth point round the com- 
 pass occasionally, and she should be swung for devia- 
 tion in harbor as often as opportunity may offer. 
 
 " Should you not find the rlover, or that any casualty 
 has happened to render her inefficient as a defot, you 
 will take her place ; and if, (as Captain Kellett sup- 
 poses,) Kotzebue Sound has proved too exposed for a 
 winter harbor, you will proceed to Grantley Harbor, 
 leaving a notice to that effect on Chamisso Island. 
 The attention of your officers is to be called, and you 
 will read to your ship's company, the remarks of Sir 
 J. Richardson concerning the communication with the 
 Esquimaux, contained in the arctic report received at 
 Plymouth. 
 
 " Your operations in the season 1851, cannot be 
 guided by me, nor is there any occasion to urge you to 
 proceed to the northeast ; yet it will be highly desir- 
 able, previous to entering the pack, that you completed 
 
 •"m 
 
 lii 
 
 iii 
 
 ! I 
 
 I I 
 
 ' I' 
 
 !,ir 
 
 
 'i«jj 
 
 1 
 
 i" 
 
 r't 
 
 . 
 
 Hi 
 
 lit 
 I 
 
 ll'^: 
 
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 ■|ii 
 
 k , 
 
 
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 !lt 
 
 ^ 
 
 I 
 
 Ktti , 
 I !• 
 
 m'\ 
 
306 
 
 PU0GKKS8 OF ARCTIC DISCOVICIJY. 
 
 Mi 
 
 'jt: 
 
 provisions from whalers, find obtained as miioh roindocr 
 meat as possible. Captain Kellett's narrative will point 
 out where the latter is to be had in most abuii<hiiice, 
 and where coal can be picked up on the hcAwh ; hut 
 husband the latter article during tlio winter, by u.siu..' 
 all the drift-wood in your power. 
 
 " In the event of leaving the Strait this season, you 
 will take any weak or sickly men out of the Pluvor, 
 and replace them from your crewn, affording Com- 
 mander Moore all the assistance in your power, und 
 leaving with him Mr. Miertsching, the interpreter ; in- 
 structions with regard to whose accommodations you 
 have received, and will convey to the captain of the 
 Plover. "Richard Collinson. 
 
 " To Commander JiPGlure^ of her 
 Majesty's ship * Investigator.'' 
 
 " Should it be the opinion of Commander Moore that 
 the services of the Investigator's ship's company in ex- 
 ploring parties during the spring would be attended 
 with material benefit to the object of the expedition, 
 he will, notwithstanding these orders, detain you for 
 that purpose ; but care must be taken that your effi- 
 ciency as a sailing vessel is not crippled by the parties 
 no* returning in time for the opening of the sea. 
 
 " R. C." 
 
 " Her Majesti/s discovery ship ' Investigator^^ July 
 28, 1850. Kotzebue Sound, latitude m^" 54' iV'., 
 longit^- deles'" W. 
 
 " Sir, — I have the honor to acquaint you, for the in- 
 formation of the Lords Commissioners of the Admi- 
 ralty, that to this date we have had a most excellont 
 run. Upon getting clear of Oahu, on the morning of 
 the 5th, we sliaped a course direct for the Aleutian 
 group, passing them in 172° 40' W., upon the evenino^ 
 of the 20th ; continued our course with a fine south- 
 easterly breeze, but extremely thick and foggy weather, 
 (which retarded the best of our way being made.) Got 
 fairly out of Behring's Strait upon the evening of the 
 
 
1 floor 
 
 [xtiiit, 
 
 ; l)iit 
 ii.siii 
 
 n 
 
 I, yon 
 lovor, 
 C(»m- 
 r, und 
 r ; in- 
 s you 
 of the 
 
 SON. 
 
 re that 
 in ex- 
 tended 
 dition, 
 ou tor 
 ur effi- 
 arties 
 
 C." 
 
 July 
 
 cbe in- 
 .duii- 
 »ellent 
 |ng of 
 iutian 
 [■enincj 
 jonth- 
 [ather, 
 Got 
 )f the 
 
 VOYAGK OF THE I'LOVKH, KTO. 
 
 307 
 
 27th. and are now in a fair wav of realizinij tlieir Lord- 
 sliipK' expectations of reacliinji; the ice by tlie l)e<::in- 
 mufj; of Angnst, our prt)t;'i'('>s hciiii^ advanced hy tlio 
 favorable circnnistances i.>f a line southerly wind and 
 tolerably clear weather. Tiie latter we luive known 
 nothing of since the IDth, which, 1 can assure yon, ren- 
 dered the navigation amonn^ the islands a subject of 
 much and deep anxiety, seldom having a horizon above 
 480 yards, that jnst enabled the dark outline of the land 
 to be observed and avoided. 
 
 " It is with much satisfaction that I report the good 
 qualities of this vessel, having well tried her in the 
 heavy gales experienced during five weeks oflt* ("ape 
 Horn, and in moderate weather nong the intricate 
 navigation of these islands, where so much depended 
 upon her quick obedience to the helm, although laden 
 with every species of stores and provisions for upward 
 of three years. From these circumstances I am, there- 
 fore, fully satisfied she is as thoroughly adapted for this 
 service as could be reasonably wished. 
 
 " I have not seen any thing of the Enterprise, nor is 
 it my intention to lose a moment by waiting off Cape 
 Lisburne, but. shall use my best endeavors to carry out 
 the intentions contained in my letter of the 20th, of 
 which I earnestly trust their Lordships will approve. 
 
 " I am happy to be able to state that the whole crew 
 are in excellent health and spirits, and every thing as 
 satisfactory as it is possible to desire. 
 
 " I have, &c., 
 " Robert M'Cluee, Commander. 
 
 " The Secretary of the Admiralty.''^ 
 
 YoYAGE of H. M. S. " Plover," and Boat Expeditions 
 UNDER Commander Pullen, 1848-51. 
 
 In the copy of the instructions issued f'-om the Ad- 
 miralty to Lieutenant, (now Commander,) Moore, of 
 the Plover, dated 3d of January, 1848, he was directed 
 to make the best of his way to Petropaulowski, touch- 
 ing at Panama, where she was to be joi-ned by II. M. 
 
 I lit 
 
 I I 
 
 ' I, ll 
 
 !:; 
 
 1 1 
 
 . 1 , J, 
 
 u 
 
 iii, 
 
 V 
 
 m 
 
 I'll 
 
 I ' 1 
 
808 
 
 PBOGUE88 OF AliCrno DI800VEKY. 
 
 ■ ".,(■1 
 
 l| 
 
 
 S. lloriild, and afterward both vessels were to proceed 
 to Belii'iiig's Strait, whore tiiey were expected to arrive 
 ahout tiie leit of July, and then push along the Ameri- 
 can coast, as far as possible, consistent with the cer- 
 tainty of preventing the ships being beset by the ice. 
 The tlover was tlien to be secured for the winter in 
 some safe and convenient port from whence boat par- 
 ties might be dispatched, and tlio Herald was to return 
 and transmit, via Panama, any intelligence necessary? 
 to England. Great caution was ordered to bo observed 
 in communicating with the natives in the neighborhood 
 of Kotzebue Sound, should that quarter be visited, aa 
 the people in that part of the country differ in charac- 
 ter from the ordinary Esquimaux, in being compara- 
 tively a fierce, agile, and suspicious race, well armed 
 with knives, tfec, for offense, and prone to attack. 
 They were also ordered to take interpreters or guides 
 from a small factory of the Russian-American Company 
 in Norton Sound. 
 
 The Plover was safely ensconced for the winter of 
 1849-50 in Kotzebue Sound, after the termination of a 
 hard season's work. She had, conjointly with the Her- 
 ald, discovered to the north of fiehring's Strait, two 
 islands, and several apparently disconnected patches 
 of very elevated ground. Lieut. Pullen had previously 
 quitted her off Wainwr'ight Inlet, with four boats, for 
 tne purpose of prosecuting his adventurous voyage 
 along the coast to the moutli of the Mackenzie River, 
 where he arrived safely on the 26th of August, after a 
 perilous navigation of thirty-two days, but had obtained 
 no clue or intelligence regarding the prime object of his 
 expedition. At a later date he encountered at Fort 
 Simpson, higher up the river, Dr. Rae, and gathered 
 from tha*". gentleman that the party led by him down 
 the Coppermine, with the view of crossing over to Yic 
 toria or "VVoUaston Land, had, owing to the unusual 
 difficulties created by the more than customary rigor of 
 the season, met with entire failure ; the farthest point 
 attained being Cape Krusenstern. 
 
 Lieut. Pullen is occupied during the present year in 
 
 a 
 
 al.l 
 
 bel 
 
 iuj 
 
 is 
 
 11 
 lettl 
 J^al 
 tai]J 
 troii 
 quiij 
 wat( 
 Mac 
 IJud 
 
VOYAGK OP THE TLOVER, ETC. 
 
 309 
 
 If^,, '\ 
 
 two 
 itches 
 jioasly 
 ts, for 
 )yage 
 liver, 
 Ifter a 
 lained 
 )f his 
 Fort 
 bered 
 flown 
 Yic 
 isual 
 lor of 
 )oini 
 
 lar in 
 
 ? ■ 
 
 *4 
 
 a journ^'y frointlie mouth of the Mackenzie eastward, 
 uh)n*j: the arctic coast, as far an Ca|)e IJatliurst, and tliis 
 being successfully accouiplisiied, he Durnuses atteniut- 
 in<^ to cross the intervening space to lianks' Land, lie 
 is furnished with two boats, botii open. 
 
 Lieut. AV. IL Hooper, one of the party, in a recent 
 letter to his father in London, writing from Great Slave 
 Lake, nnder date June 27, 1850, gives some further de- 
 tails of their proceedings. Having had considerable 
 trouble and a slight skirmish with some parties of Es- 
 quimaux, thev were oblio^ed to be continually on the 
 watch. At tlie end of August, the party entered the 
 Mackenzie liiver, and in a few days reached one of the 
 Hudson's Bay Comj)any'8 posts on the Peel lliver, a 
 branch of the Mackenzie, where Commander Pullen 
 left Lieut. Hooper and half the party to winter, while 
 he proceeded farther up the river to a more important 
 post at Fort Simpson. After renuiining at Peel's River 
 station about a fortnight, Mr. Hooper found that his 
 party could not be maintained throughout the winter 
 there, and in consequence determined on following 
 Capt. Pullen, but was only able to reach Fort Norman, 
 one of his party being frost-bitten on the journey. 
 They thence made their way across to Great Bear Lake, 
 where they passed the winter, subsisting on lish and 
 water. Dr. Kae arrived there as soon as the ice broke 
 up, and the party proceeded with him to Fort Simpson. 
 
 On the 20th of June, Commander Pullen and all his 
 party left with the company's servants, and the stock of 
 furs, on their way to the sea, to embark for England, 
 when they were met, on the 25th, by a canoe with Ad- 
 miralty dispatches, which caused them to retrace their 
 steps ; and they are now on their route by the Great 
 Slave Lake to Fort Simpson, and down the Mackenzie 
 once more, to the Polar Sea, in search of Sir John 
 Franklin. 
 
 " However grieving," Lieut. Hooper adds, " it is to 
 be disappointed of returning home, yet I am neverthe- 
 less delighted to go again, and think that we do not 
 hopelessly undertake another search, since our intended 
 
 I ) 
 
 ill 
 
 I 
 
 I 
 
 1 1] 
 
 
 • i 
 
 
 i 
 
 ( 
 
 ■ i-'l- 
 
 
 1 i- 
 
 r ' 
 
 tl 
 
 1. 
 
 
r 
 
 810 
 
 I'HOORKSS OF AUCTIO DISCOVKUY. 
 
 
 
 
 (lircotion is coTisidcnMl tlio most ])rol>al>l(» cliannol fox 
 iiiidinjjj tho missini^ sliips or crcwM. Wi' «jjo down tho 
 ^hicla'iizic, Jiloiii^ th« cojist t'jistwanl t<> IN.iut Uatliuist, 
 unci tlu'iHu; f^triki^ across to Wolhihtoii nr l^anlvs' Land. 
 TIk^ H('aso?j will, of C'Diir.-o, nuudi influfnct'oiir j)nK'('('d. 
 \n<fH ; hilt wo hIiuII lu'obaldy ivtiirn up tlic liitlicrto 
 luu'Xplort'd river wliudi runs into tlio Arctic ()ci>aii 
 from Jiivcrpool Bay, between tho Coi)permine and 
 Mjickcnzio." 
 
 The lutcHt official dispatch from Commander Pullon 
 ifl dated (treat Slave Lake, June 28tli. He liad hecii 
 8to)>ped by the ice, and intended returniii".; to Fort 
 Simpson on the 21)th. One of his l)outs was ho hattei-iMl 
 about as to ])e ])erfcctly useless ; he intended ))at('liiii'.^' 
 np the other, and was also to receive a new hoiit Ix-- 
 Ion<2jin«jj to the Hudson's .l>ay Coini)any, from Fort 
 Simpson. He had dismissed two of his ])arty, as tluy 
 were both suftering from bad health, but proposed cn- 
 gaginc^, at Fort Good Hope, two Hare Indians as hunt- 
 ers and guides, one of whom had accompanied I^Fessrs. 
 Dease and Simpson on their trips of discovery in 1S38 
 and 1839. This would augment the party to seventeen 
 persons in all. 
 
 " M}'' present intentions," he says, " are to proceed 
 down the Mackenzie, along the coast, to Caj^e Bathurst, 
 and then strike across for Banks' Land ; my operations 
 must then, of course be guided by circumstances, but I 
 shall strenuously endeavor to search along all coasts in 
 that direction as far and as late as I can with safety 
 venture ; returning, if possible, by the Mackenzie, or 
 by the Beghoola, which the Indians speak of as beina: 
 navigable, as its head waters are, (according to S r John 
 Richardson,) only a nine-days' passage froai Fort Good 
 Hope ; to meet which, or a si?nilar contingency, I take 
 snow shoes and sledges, c^c. 
 
 " In conclusion, I beg to assni'e th'Mr Lordships of 
 my earnest determination to carry out their views to 
 the utmost of my ability, being confident, fi'om the 
 eagerness of the party, that no pains will be spared, no 
 necessary labor avoided, and, by God's blessing, we 
 
 ; 
 
 t' 
 
 hoi 
 
 ga 
 
 na 
 
 nial 
 
 m 
 
 
•ocecd 
 
 :hurst, 
 
 iations 
 
 but I 
 
 Lsts in 
 safety 
 ;ie, or 
 [Leing 
 Jolin 
 
 take 
 
 , of 
 
 i 
 
 VOYAGE OF THE PLOVER, ETC. 
 
 3H 
 
 hope to be fluccoHHtul in(liHCov(u*iii<ij floinotidinnjfl of our 
 galliitit cuJintryineii, or evon in restoring tlieiu to their 
 iiativo bind and anxious relatives." 
 
 Mr. Cliief Factor Rao was al)Out to follow Com- 
 mander I'ullon and hin party from Porta^^e La Ii(»('lie. 
 
 Dr. liichardson observes that "Commander I'lillcn 
 will require to be fully victualed for at least 120 days 
 from the 20th of July, when he may be expect e<l to 
 commence his sea voyage ; whicli, for sixteen men, will 
 re(iuiro forty-rive bags of pemraic^an of J)() lbs. each. 
 This is exclusive of a further supply which he ought to 
 take for the relief of any of Franklin's people he may 
 have the good fortune to find. i\fter he leaves the 
 main-land at Capo Bathurst, he would have no chance 
 of killing deer till he makes Banks' Land, or some in- 
 tervening island ; and he must provide for the chaiK^e 
 of being caught on the floe ice, and having to make his 
 way across by the very tedious portage«, as fully de- 
 scribed by Sir W. E. Parry in the narative of his most 
 adventurous boat voyage north of Spitzbe.gen. 
 
 " Mr. Rae can give Commander Pullen the fullest 
 information respecting the depots of pemmican made 
 on the coast. 
 
 " With respect to Commander Pullcn's return from 
 sea, his safest plan will be to make for the Mackenzie ; 
 but should circumstances place that out of his power, 
 the only other course that seems to me to be practicable 
 is for him to ascend a large river which falls into the 
 bottom of Liverpool Bay, to the westward of Cape Ba- 
 thurst. This river, which is named the Begloola Dessy 
 by the Indians, runs parallel to the Mackenzie, and in 
 the latitude of Fort Good Hope, {66° 30' N.,) is not 
 above five or six days' journey from that post. Hare 
 Indians, belonging to Fort Good Hope, might be en 
 gaged to hunt on the banks of the river till the arrival 
 of the party. The navigation of the river is unknown ; 
 but even should Commander Pullen be compelled to 
 quit his boats, his Indian hunters, (of which he should 
 at least engage two for his sea voyage,) will support 
 and guide his party. Wood and animals are most cer- 
 tainly found on the banks of river^ 
 
 n 
 
 I 
 
 
 i 1 
 
 '!i!|.- i 
 
 
 V t 
 
 \\ 
 
 ,:\ I r 
 
 t i 
 
 tl 
 
812 
 
 PROGRESS OF ARCTIC DISCOVERY. 
 
 "It is not likely that under any circumstances Com- 
 mander Fallen should desire to reach the Mackenzie 
 by way of the Coppermine River, and this conld be 
 effected only by a boat being placed at Dease River, 
 for the transport of the party over Great Bear Lake. 
 This would require to be arranged previously with 
 Mr. Rae ; and Commander PuUen should not be 
 later in arriving at Fort Confidence than the end of 
 September." 
 
 Voyage of the "Lady Franklin" and "SopmA," 
 Government Vessels, under the command of Mr. 
 Penny, 1850-61. 
 
 A vessel of 230 tons, named the Lady Franklin, fit- 
 ted out at Aberdeen, with a new brig as a tender, built 
 at Dundee, and named the Sophia, in honor of Miss 
 S. Cracroft, the beloved and attached niece of Lady 
 Franklin, and one of the most anxious watchers for 
 tidings of the long missing adventurers, were purchased 
 by the government last year. 
 
 The diarge of this expedition was intrusted to Cap- 
 tain Penny, formerly commanding the Advice whaler, 
 and who has had much experience in the icy seas, hav- 
 ing been engaged twenty-eight years, since the age of 
 twelve, in the whaling trade, and in command of ves- 
 sels for fourteen years ; Mr. Stewart w^';^ placed in 
 charge of the Sophia. 
 
 The crew of the Lady Franklin number twenty-five, 
 and that of the Sophia, twenty, all picked men. 
 
 These ships sailed on the 12th of April, 1850, pro- 
 visioned and stored for three jeara. They were pro- 
 vided with a printing press, and every appliance to 
 relieve the tedium of a long sojourn in the icy regions. 
 
 In the instructions issued by the Admiralty, it is 
 stated that in accepting Captain Parry's offer of service, 
 regard has been had to his long experience in arctic 
 navigation, and to the great attention he has paid to 
 the subject of the missing ships. 
 
 He was left in a great measure to the exercise of his 
 
 6 
 
""Tpr 
 
 Jom- 
 enzie 
 (I be 
 liver, 
 Lake, 
 with 
 3t be 
 id of 
 
 PHTA, 
 
 F Mr. 
 
 in, fit- 
 r, built 
 f Miss 
 ■ Lady 
 ers for 
 chased 
 
 ) Cap- 
 whaler, 
 ?, hav- 
 lage of 
 )f ves- 
 jed in 
 
 ^y-five, 
 
 ,, pro- 
 pro- 
 ice to 
 [gions. 
 it is 
 hrvice, 
 [arctic 
 lid to 
 
 )f his 
 
 VOYAGE OF THE RESOLUTE AND ASSISTANCE, ETC. 313 
 
 own judgment and "discretion, in combining the most 
 active and energetic search after the Erebus and Terror, 
 with a strict and careful regard to the safety of the 
 ships and their crews under his charge. He was di- 
 rected to examine Jones' Sound at the head of Baffin's 
 Bay, and if possible, penetrate through to the Parry 
 Islands ; failing in this, he was to try Wellington Strait, 
 and endeavor to reach Melville Island. He was to use 
 his utmost endeavors, (consistent with the safety of the 
 lives of those intrusted to his command,) to succor, in 
 the summer of 1850, the party under Sir John Frank- 
 lin, taking care to secure his winter-quarters in good 
 time ; and 2dly, the same active measures were to be 
 used in the summer of 1851, to secure the return -of the 
 ships under his charge to this country. 
 
 The Lady Franklin was off Cape York, in Baffin's 
 Bay, on the 13th of August. From thence she pro- 
 ceeded, in company with H. M. S. Assistance, to Wol- 
 stenholme Sound. She aftei*ward, in accordance with 
 her instructions, crossed over to the west with the in- 
 tention of examining Jones' Sound, but owing to the 
 accumulation of ice, was unable to approach it within 
 twenty-five miles. This was at midnight on the 18th. 
 She, therefore, continued her voyage to Lancaster 
 Sound, and onward to Wellington Channel, where she 
 was seen by Commander Forsyth, of the Prince Albert, 
 )n the 25th of August, with her tender, and H. M. S. 
 Assistance in company, standing toward Cape Hotham. 
 
 Voyage of H. M. Ships " Resolui'e " and " Assistance," 
 WITH the Steamers "Pioneer" and "Intrepid" 
 as Tenders, under command of Captain Austin, 
 1850-51. 
 
 Two fine teak-built ships of about 500 tons each, the 
 Baboo and Ptarmigan, whose names were altered to 
 the Assistance and Resolute, were purchased by the 
 government in 1850, and sent to the naval yards to be 
 oroperly fitted for the voyage to the polar regions. 
 
 Two screw-propeller steamers, intended to accompany 
 
 ft!'" 
 
 i^ 
 
 ,r HI 
 
 ,11 in 
 
 ; I 
 
 ' ' !l' 
 
 f 
 
 h 
 
 m 
 
 
814 
 
 PROGRESS OF ARCTIC DISCOVERY. 
 
 tliese vessels as steam tenders, were also purchased and 
 similarly fitted ; their names were changed from the 
 Eider and Free Trade to the Pioneer and Intrepid. 
 
 The command of this expedition was intrusted to 
 Captain Horatio T. Austin, C. B., who was first Lieu- 
 tenant of the Fury, under Commander Iloppner, in 
 Captain Sir E. Parry's third voyage, in 1824-25. The 
 vessels were provisioned for three years, and their at- 
 tention was also directed to the depots of stores lodged 
 by Sir James Boss at Leopold Island, and at J!^avy 
 Board Inlet by the North Star. The ships sailed in 
 May, 1850. The officers employed in them were as 
 follows : — 
 
 Resolute. 
 
 Captain — Horatio T. Austin, C. B. 
 
 Lieutenants — R. D. Aid rich, and "W". H. J. Browne. 
 
 Mates — E. B. Pearse, and W. M. May. 
 
 Purser — J. E. Brooman. 
 
 Surgeon — A. R. Bradford. 
 
 Assistant, ditto — Bichard King. 
 
 Midshipmen — C. Bullock, J. P. Cheyne. 
 
 Second Master — G. F. M'Dougall. 
 
 Total complement, 60 men. 
 
 Pionee'^^ screw steamer. 
 
 Lieut.-Commanding — Sherard Osbom. 
 Second Master — J. H. AUard. 
 Assistant-Surgeon — F. R. Picthom. 
 
 Assistance. 
 Captain — E. Ommaney. 
 Lieutenants — J. E. Elliot, F. L. M'Clintock, and 
 
 G. F. Mecham. 
 Surgeon — J. J. L. Donnett. 
 Assistant, ditto — J. Ward, {a^ 
 Mates — R. Y. Hamilton, and J. R. Keane. 
 Clerk in Charge — E. ^N". Harrison. 
 Second Master — "W. B. Shellabear. 
 Midshipman — C. R. Markham. 
 
 Total complement, 60 men. 
 
 I' 
 
^iii^^ 
 
 -.^.-r-^.Hl^.:..^ ■..-,^.- ,^-^|.^. ^^.-.. -—■ Tl- "111 ■ 
 
 VOYAGE OF THE RESOLUTE AND ASSISTANCE, ETC. 315 
 
 Intrejpid^ screw steamer. 
 Lieut.-Commander — B. Cater. 
 Each of the tenders had a crew of 30 men. 
 
 Two ol the officers appointed to this expedition, Lieu- 
 tenants Browne and M'Clintock, were in the Enterprise 
 under Captain Sir James C. Ross in 1848. 
 
 The Emma Eugenia transport was dispatched in ad- 
 vance with provisions to the Whale-Fish Islands, to await 
 the arrival of the expedition. 
 
 It having been suggested by some parties that Sir 
 John Franklin might have effected his passage to Mel- 
 ville Island, and been detained there with liis ships, 
 or that the ships might have been damaged by the ice 
 in the neighboring sea, and that with his crews he had 
 abandoned them and made his escape to that island. 
 Captain Austin was specially instructed to use every 
 exertion to reach this island, detaching a portion of his 
 ships to search the shores of Wellington Channel and 
 the coast about Cape Walker, to which point Sir John 
 Franklin was ordered to proceed. 
 
 Advices were first received from the Assistance, after 
 her departure, dated 5th of July ; she was then making 
 her way to the northward. The season was less favor- 
 able for exploring operations than on many previous 
 years. But little ice had been met With in Davis' 
 Strait, where it is generally found in large quantities, 
 60 that obstacles of a serious nature may be expected 
 to the northward. Penny's ships had been in company 
 with them. 
 
 Ice is an insurmountable barrier to rapid progress ; 
 fortifications may be breached, but huge masses of ice, 
 200 to 600 feet high, are not to be overcome. 
 
 On the 2d of July the Assistance was towed beneath 
 a perpendicular cliff* to the northward of Cape Shackle- 
 ton, rising to the height of 1500 feet, which was ob- 
 served to be crowded with the fooliph guillemot?, ( TJria 
 t/roile.) When the ship hooked on to an iceberg for the 
 night, a party sent on shore for the purpose brought off 
 260 birds and about twenty dozen of their eggs. These 
 birds only lay one Qgg each. 
 
 iP 
 
 If 
 
 I ! 
 
 i 
 
 \ 
 
 il 
 
 t 'i li; 
 
 1: 
 
 ,; ;' 
 
 V 
 
 
 I 
 
 (i 
 
 -kK 
 
 li 1 \i\ 
 
 \ ) 
 
 !'■. 
 i:;; 
 
 :;V' 
 

 316 
 
 PROGRESS OF AKCTIO DISCOVERY. 
 
 . " Si ■■ 
 
 The following official dispatch has been since received 
 from Captain Oramaney : — 
 
 ^^ Her Majesty^ s ship ^ Assistances^ off Lancaster Sound, 
 latitude 75° 46' i\^., longitude 75° 49' TF., Augmt 
 17, 1850. 
 
 " Sir, — I have the honor to acquaint you, for the in- 
 formation of the Lords Commissioners of the Admi- 
 ralty, that her Majesty's ship Assistance, and her tender, 
 her Majesty's steam-vessel Intrepid, have this day suc- 
 ceeded in effecting a passage .cross to the west water, 
 and are now proceeding to Lancaster Sound. Officers 
 and crews all well, with fine clear weather, and open 
 water as far as can be seen. 
 
 " Agreeably with instructions received from Captain 
 II. Austin, we parted company on the 15th instant, at 
 one A. M., off Cape Dudley Diggs, as the ice was then 
 sufficiently open to anticipate no farther obstruction in 
 effecting the north passage. He was anxious to proceed 
 to Pond's Bay, and thence take up the examination along 
 the south shores of Lancaster Sound, leaving me to 
 ascertain the truth of a report obtained from the Esqui- 
 maux at Cape York respecting some ship or ships hav- 
 ing been seen near Wolstenholme Island, after which to 
 proceed to the north shores of Lancaster Sound and 
 Wellington Channel. 
 
 " On passing Cape York, (the 14th inst.,) natives were 
 seen. ]By the directions of Captain Austin I landed, 
 and communicated with them, when we were informed 
 that they had seen a ship in that neighborhood in the 
 spring, and that she was housed in. Upon this intelli- 
 gence I shipped one of the natives, who volunteered to 
 join us as interpreter and guide. 
 
 " On parting with Captain Austin we proceeded 
 toward Wolstenholme Island, where I left the ship and 
 proceeded in her Majesty's steam- vessel Intrepid into 
 Wolstenholme Sound, and by the guidance of the Esqui- 
 maux, succeeded in finding a bay about thirteen miles 
 further in, and sheltered by a prominent headland. In 
 the cairns erected here we found a document stating 
 
reived 
 
 lu(/ud 
 
 the in- 
 Admi- 
 tender, 
 ay siic- 
 I water, 
 Dfficers 
 d open 
 
 IJaptam 
 
 itaut, at 
 
 'as then 
 
 ction in 
 
 proceed 
 
 )n along 
 
 r me to 
 Esqui- 
 ps hav- 
 ^hich to 
 
 ind and 
 
 res were 
 (landed, 
 iformed 
 in the 
 intelli- 
 tered to 
 
 kceeded 
 
 jiip and 
 
 lid into 
 
 Esqui- 
 
 miles 
 
 id. In 
 
 stating 
 
 VOYAGE OF THE RESOLUTE AJS'D ASSISTANCE, ETC. 317 
 
 that the !N"orth Star had wintered in the bay, a copy 
 of which I have the honor to transmit to their Lord- 
 ships. 
 
 " Previous to searching the spot where the North Star 
 wintered, I examined the deserted Esquimaux >':'>- 
 ment. At this spot we found evident traces of . .iiio 
 ship having been in the neighborhood, from empty ])ro- 
 served meat canisters and some clothes left near a i)ool 
 of water, marked with the name of a corporal belonging 
 to the North Star. 
 
 " Having ascertained this satisfactory information, I 
 returned to Wolstenholme Island, where a document was 
 deposited recording our proceedings. At a. m., of the 
 16th inst., I rejoined the ship, and proceeded at two to 
 the westward, and am happy to inform you that the 
 passage across has been made without obstrnction, tow- 
 ing through loose and straggling ice. 
 
 " The expedition was beset in Melville Bay, sur- 
 rounded by heavy and extensive floes of ice, from the 
 11th of July to the 9th of August, 1850, when, after 
 great exertion, a release was efiected, and we succeeded 
 in reaching Cape York by continuing along the edge of 
 the land-ice, after which we have been favored with 
 plenty of water. 
 
 " Captain Penny's expedition was in company during 
 the most part of the time while in Melville Bay, and up 
 to the 14th inst., when we left him oif Cape Dudley 
 Diggs — all well. 
 
 " In crossing Melville Bay we fell in with Sir John 
 Ross and Captain Forsyth's expeditions. These Capt. 
 Austin has assisted by towing them toward their desti- 
 nations. The latter proceeded with him, and the former 
 has remained with us. 
 
 " Having placed Sir John Ross in a fair way of 
 reaching Lancaster Sound, with a fair wind and open 
 water, his vessel has been cast off in this position. I 
 shall, therefore, proceed with all dispatch to the exami- 
 nation of the north shores of Lancaster Sound and 
 Wellington Channel, according to Captain Austin's 
 directions. 
 
 "h 
 
 
 '>-' 
 
 ', 
 
 I ; * 
 
 li 
 l.i. 
 
 (! 
 
 n 
 
 . I 
 
 
 
 i\ 
 
 i I 
 
 
 • .(11 » 
 
 ii 
 
 
 
318 
 
 PROGRESS OF ARCrnC DISCOVERT. 
 
 Mi 
 
 "I have the honor to be, Sir, your most obedient 
 humble servant. 
 
 " Erasmus Ommaney, Captain." 
 
 The Kesolutfcgot clear of the Orkneys on tlie 15tli of 
 May, and arrived with her consort and the two tenders 
 at the Whale-Fish Islands on the 14th of June. 
 
 The Resolute was in Possession Bay on the 17th of 
 Au|);u8t. From thence her proposed course was alonrr 
 tlic coast, northward and westward, to Whaler Point, 
 situated at the southern extremity of Port Leopold, and 
 afterward to Melville Island. 
 
 In order to amuse themselves and their comrades, the 
 officers of the Assistance had started a MS. newspaper, 
 under the name of the " Aurora Borealis." Many of 
 my readers will have heard of the " Cockpit Herald," 
 and such other productions of former days, in his Majes- 
 ty's fleet. Parry, too, liad his journal«to beguile tlie 
 long hours of the tedious arctic winter. 
 
 I have seen copies of this novel specimen of the 
 'fourth estate," dated Baffin's Bay, June, 1850, in which 
 there is a happy mixture of grave and gay, prose and 
 verse ; numerous very fair acrostics are published. I 
 append, by way of curiosity, a couple of extracts : — 
 
 " AVhat insect that Noah had with him, were these 
 regions named after ? — The arc-tic." 
 
 " To the editor of the Aurora borealis. 
 
 " Sir, — Having heard from an arctic voyager that he 
 has seen ' crows'-nests' in those icy regions, I beg to 
 inquire through your columns, if they are built by tlie 
 crows, {Corvus tintinnahulus^ which Goodsir states to 
 utter a metallic bell-like croak? My fast friend begs 
 me to inquire when rook shooting commences in thotie 
 diggings ? 
 
 " A Naturaijst. 
 
 [" We would recommend to * A Naturalist ' a visit to 
 these ' crows'-nests,' which do exist in the arctic regions. 
 We would also advise his fast friend to investigate 
 
 
 
 I 
 
 unte 
 able 
 who 
 : Engl 
 pickt 
 vans 
 own 3 
 proce 
 in his 
 was 11 
 land 
 June, 
 DanisI 
 Jangua 
 Fish Ii 
 gatt Si 
 ships I 
 Intrepi 
 Austin. 
 On t 
 Assista 
 so mewl 
 qnimau 
 it was 
 inglj, L 
 to the 1 
 whale-b( 
 Intrepid 
 any mea 
 
obedient 
 
 ^taiu." 
 
 '■ 15tli of 
 ) tenders 
 
 irth of 
 
 18 aloilfr 
 
 I' Point, 
 •old, and 
 
 ides, the 
 Pspapei', 
 lany of 
 lerald," 
 8 Majes- 
 uile the 
 
 of the 
 n which 
 3se and 
 hed. I 
 
 ts : — 
 
 'e these 
 
 JJST. 
 
 visit to 
 3^ion8, 
 stigato 
 
 VOVAOE nv art. 
 
 tenaMted"'b"':[,;"'°1 f'-"'r^''^y> ^e would find th. 
 «-ould not only (JoLl'^' ('^^^ <i"'"-te.-.n asters wl.'" 
 and the spoi-t,W 1 ™ '"? ■»« '<> tbo apecitTZ-'' '"* 
 
 -hmtOB."] ^ ""^ " P'g«on may be plucked!: 
 
 England in the pT' ""1 P"'''''<= ^ubsc.iptfon T '""^'' 
 
 I vansPh1lrK'K^^;^^''r1bVcon'"JX'.CG.'' 
 ^ own jacht of twelv; ^n '*''" '"''' "'« Mary S , Tnl '" 
 I proceeded as ill! /""'' "' * tender. Mr A I " 
 
 i" his form:Vvtr:t'p"^'T»'«'='^'^'"P-'ied s!:'7' ■'' 
 
 sMos i?'*'/^^'''""'^. on%he loT 'f'T"«'' "'« ^^"r- 
 °" I ps Assistance nnrl -p i ■^^'^" <>i August TT lir 
 
 qmmaux on the ice closeh.^T'"^ ^^'^^ wale £«! 
 
 was prudently --esolved ^conlr''-'' *««« P-P'e 
 
 ti I ^f ".'«"«"' Cator in the d •"."'°^*«- ^""wd- 
 
 ?>attTTfXVe]^ °— ^^^^^^ 
 -trepid's peopK -d tltt T *'^ -'-- Tl a 
 
 i' I . 
 
 ■-H 
 
 iil;i.; 
 
 :• i 
 
 '.'. I 
 
 K', 
 
320 
 
 PROQIIESS Ob' AliCTIO DISCOVERY. 
 
 
 1 
 
 f 
 
 Hi ^ 
 
 
 1 
 
 
 'i 
 
 wB^/K^^m 
 
 1 
 
 
 
 in 
 
 
 
 i: 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 boat of the Felix, containing an Esquimaux interpreter 
 joined the piu'ty, the natives immediately gave sigjis 
 of reoognition and satisfaction, came into the bout with- 
 out the least hesitation, and engaged themselves pro- 
 sently in a long and animated conversation with tlu-ii 
 (iMiiiiti"} man the interpreter. Half an hour was de- 
 voted to this interchange of intelligence, but with uu 
 immediate result, for the interpreter could only trans- 
 late his native language into Danish, and as no pers(ju 
 in the boat understood Danish, the informatiun re- 
 mained as inaccessible as before. In this predicament 
 the boats returned with the intention of confronting the 
 interpreter — whose christianized name is Adam Beek 
 — with Sir John Ross himself. As Sir John, however, 
 was pushing ahead in the Felix toward Cape Dudley 
 Diggs, and as Adam appeared anxious to disburden 
 himself of his newly acquired information, the bouts 
 dropped on board the I rince Albert, another of the 
 exploring vessels in the neighborhood, and there put 
 Adam in communication with the captain's steward, 
 John Smith, who "understood a little of the language," 
 as Sir John Ross says, or "a good deal," as Com- 
 mander Phillips says, and who presently gave such au 
 account of the intelligence as startled every body ud 
 board. Its purport was as follows; — ^That in the win- 
 ter of 1846, when the snow was falling, two ships were 
 crushed by the ice a good way off in the direction of 
 Cape Dudley Diggs, and afterward burned by a fierce 
 and numerous tribe of natives ; that the ships in ques- 
 tion were not whalers, and that epaulettes were worn 
 by some of the white men ; that a part of the crews 
 were drowned, that the remainder were some time in 
 huts or tents apart from the natives, that they had guns, 
 but no balls, and that being in a weak and exhausted 
 condition, they were subsequently killed by the natives 
 w^th darts or arrows. This was the form given to the 
 Esquimaux story by John Smith, captain's steward of 
 the Prince Albert. Impressed with, che importance of 
 these tidings. Captain Ommaney and Commander 
 Phillips immediately made their report to Captain 
 
 A 111 
 witi 
 
 tin 
 
 to fl 
 
preter, 
 
 e signs 
 Lt wi til- 
 es pre- 
 h tliL'ii 
 
 '118 (Ic- 
 
 /ith iKt 
 f trail s- 
 porsoii 
 ;iuii ro- 
 cameut 
 ;in^ the 
 n Beek 
 jwever, 
 Dudley 
 iburdeii 
 e boats 
 ' of the 
 ere put 
 teward, 
 ^uage," 
 s Com- 
 5uch au 
 )od}' ou 
 be win- 
 )s were 
 tion of 
 I fierce 
 ques- 
 |e worn 
 crews 
 liuie in 
 guns, 
 lausted 
 latives 
 to the 
 ird of 
 nee of 
 ander 
 liptain 
 
 
 r. 
 
 VOYAOK OF SIR JOHN K()S9 IN THE TELIX, ETC. 321 
 
 Austin in tlie Repolnto, w^hich was then in company 
 with the Felix near Ca])o Dudloy Dii]:":^. Captain Aus- 
 tin at once decided noon iiivesti«,^at'ini^ tlie credibility 
 of the story, and with this view dispatched a niessaixo 
 to the Lady Franklin, anotlier of the (^xph^rini; ships, 
 which lay a few miles off, and which had tn board a 
 regular Danish interpreter. This interpreter duly ar- 
 rived, but proceeded forthwith to translate the story by 
 a statement " totally at variance " with the interpreta- 
 tion of " the other," whom, as we are told, he called a 
 liar and intimidated into silence ; though no sooner wra 
 the latter left to himself than he again repeated his 
 version of the tale, and stoutly maintained its accuracy. 
 Meantime an additional piece of information becan'ie 
 known, namely, that a certain ship had passed the win- 
 ter safely housed in Wolstenholme Sound — a state- 
 ment soon ascertained by actual investigation to be 
 perfectly true. The following is an extract of a letter 
 from — 
 
 Captain Sir John Boss^ R. iV., to Captain W. A. B. 
 Hamilton^ R. iV., Secretary of the Admiralty. 
 
 ^'''' Felix'* discovery yacht ^ off Admiralty Inlet .^ 
 *' Lancaster Sounds August 22. 
 
 "Sir, — I have to acquaint you, for the information 
 of the Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty, that the 
 Felix discovery yacht, with her tender, the Mary, after 
 obtaining an Esquimaux interpreter at Holsteinborg, 
 and calling at Whale-Fish Islands, proceeded north way 
 through the Waygatt Straits, and overtook her Ma- 
 jesty's discovery ships, under the command of Captain 
 Austin on the 11th of August; and on the 12th the 
 senior officer and the second in command having cor- 
 dially communicated with me on the best mode of 
 performing the service on which we are mutually em- 
 barked, arrangements were made and concluded for a 
 simultaneous examination of every part of the eastern 
 side of a northwest passage in which it was probable 
 that the missing ships could be bound : documents t*) 
 
 
 11 jm\ 
 
 
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322 
 
 PUOUKElrfS OF AltCriCJ DISCOVERY. 
 
 that effect were exchanged, and subsequently assented 
 to by Captains Forsyth and Penny. 
 
 '' On the 13th of August natives were discovered on 
 the ice near to Cape York, with whom it was deunied 
 advisable to communicate. On this service, Lieutenant 
 Cator, in the Intrepid, was detached on the ])art ot* 
 Captain Austin, and on my part Connnander IMnlllps^ 
 with our Esquimaux interpreter, in the whale-boat of 
 the Felix, it was found by Lieutenant Cator that Cap- 
 tain Penny had left with the natives a note for Captain 
 Austin, but only relative to the state of the navigation' 
 however, when Commander Phillips arrived, the Ksqui- 
 maux, seeing one ajjparently of their own nation in tlie 
 whale-boat, came immediately to him, wlien a loni; 
 conversation took place, the purport of which could 
 not be made known, as the interpreter could not ex- 
 plain himself to any one, either in tlie Intrepid or tlie 
 whale-boat, (as he understands only the Dardsh besides 
 his own language,) until he was brought on board tiie 
 Prince Albert, where John Smith, the captain's stew- 
 ard of that vessel, who had been some years at tlie 
 Hudson's Pay settlement of Churchill, and understands 
 a little of the language, was able to give some expla- 
 nation of Adam Peek's information, which was deemed 
 of such importance that Captains Ommaney, Phillips, 
 and Forsyth, proceeded in the Intrepid to the Kesolutc, 
 when it was ^^ecided by Captain Austin to send for the 
 Danish Interpreter of the Lady Franklin, which, hav- 
 ing been unsuccessful in an attempt at getting through 
 the ice to the westward, was only a few miles distant. 
 In the mean time it was known tliat, in addition to the 
 first information, a ship, which could only be the Noitli 
 Star, had wintered in Wolstenholme Sound, called by 
 the natives Ourinak, and had only left it a month ago. 
 This proved to be true, but the interpretation of the 
 Dane was totally at variance with the information givon 
 by the other, who, although for obvious reasons he did 
 not dare to contradict the Dane, subsequently main- 
 tained tho truth of his statement, which induced Cap- 
 tain Austin to dispatch the Intrepid with Captains 
 
:1> 10^0. 
 lof the 
 
 j>;ivi'n 
 llie (lid 
 
 niaiii- 
 Cap- 
 [ptains 
 
 VOYAGK OF SIR JOIIN R(HSS IN THK FKI.IX, KTC. 323 
 
 On\miiiiey and Phillip>J, taking with them both our in- 
 torprutors, Aihiiii Beek and u young native who had 
 been persuaded to eonie as one of the crew of tlie As- 
 sistance, to examine Wolsteniiolme Sound. In tlic 
 mean time it had been unanimously decided that no 
 alteration should be made in our previous arrangement, 
 it being obvious that while there remained a chance of 
 saving the lives of those of the missing ships who may 
 be yet alive, a further search for those wlio had ])er- 
 ished should be postponed, and accordingly the Reso- 
 lute, Pioneer, and Prince Albert ])arted company on 
 the 15th. It is hero unnecessary to give the official re- 
 ports made to me by Commander Phillips, wliich are 
 of course transmitted by me to the Secretary of the 
 Hudson's Bay Company, which, with the information 
 written in the Esquimaux language by Adam Beek, 
 will no doubt be sent to you for their Lordships' infor- 
 mation ; and it will be manifest by these reports that 
 Commander Phillips has performed his duty with sa- 
 gacity, circumspection, and address, which do him in- 
 finite credit, although it is only such as I must have 
 expected from so intelligent an officer; and I have 
 much satisfaction in adding that it has been mainly 
 owing to his zeal and activity that I was able, under 
 disadvantaL't" lis circumstances, to overtake her Majes- 
 ty's ships, vsailc by his scientific acquirements and ac- 
 curacy in surveying, he has been able to make many 
 important corrections and valuable additions to the 
 charts of the much-frequented eastern side of Baffin's 
 Bay, which has been more closely observed and navi- 
 gated by us than by any former expedition, and, much 
 to my satisfaction, confirming the latitude and longi- 
 tude of every headland I had an opportunity of laying 
 down in the year 1818. 
 
 "'I have only to add that I have much satisfaction 
 in co-operating with her Majesty's expedition. With 
 such support and with such vessels so particularly 
 adapted for the service, no exertion shall be wanting 
 on my part. But I cannot conclude this letter without 
 acknowledging my obligations to Commodore Austin 
 
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 I'ROOKKSS OK AK< TIC PISCOVKUY. 
 
 fiii<l r;ij)t.'iin Oiniiianoy for tlic assistfiiico tlioy hnvo nf- 
 
 iordcd mo, mul lor tUo cordiulity and (Mtiirti'sy with 
 
 wliic'li r lijivo h(>(!n ttvatcMl l»y tlicsc^ (listini^niislu'd dfli. 
 
 ccrs and otlicrs of tlio ships under IhiMr ohUts. Ani- 
 
 matod as ww avo, witli an ardent and siiuMM't? (h'sii(! lo 
 
 reweiio our iiuj)eriled couuti'yuion, I coutideutly trust 
 
 .hat our unitecl exertions nnd humble cndeuvorH uuiy, 
 
 mder a merciful Providence, be conii>letely succcRsfill. 
 
 *'I um, with truth and regard, Sir, your faitliful and 
 
 v^bedient servant, 
 
 "John Eoss, Captain, R. N." 
 
 By the Hccounts broucjlit home by Commander For- 
 Bytli from Lancaster Sound, to the 25th of Auijust, it 
 is stated that Sir Jolui lloss, in the Felix, intended to 
 return to England. 
 
 The ice was at that period very heavy, extending all 
 around from Leopold Island, at the entrance of Regent 
 Inlet, to Cape Farewell, to the westward, so as to pre- 
 vent the ])o6sibility of any of the vessels pushing on to 
 Cape Walker. AVhen the Prince Albert was between 
 Cai)e Spencer and Cape Innes, in Wellington Channel, 
 ISlv. Snow went at noon to the mast-head, and saw II. 
 IVr. Ship Assistance as near as possible within ('ape 
 Ilotham, under a press of sail. Iler tender, the In- 
 tre})id, was not seen, but was believed to be with her. 
 Captain Penny, with his two ships, the Lady Franklin 
 and Sophia, was endeavoring to make his way up the 
 same Channel, but it was feared the ice would ulti- 
 mately be too strong for him, and that he would have 
 to return home, leaving Captain Austin's 8<:;][uadron only 
 to winter in the ice. 
 
 The American man-of-war brig Rescue was close bo 
 set with the ice near Cape Bowen. 
 
 The Pioneer was with the Resolute on the 17th 
 August. 
 
 K-: 
 
 
LADY FHANKMn's AIM'KAL TO AMKRTrAN NATION. 326 
 
 AMKinoAx SKAit( iiiN(j KxiMiDiTrox. — Unitki) Stvith' 
 8iiirs, " Advanck" and '' Ukscuio," rNDKii tmk Com- 
 mand OK LlKUTKNANT I)k IIaVKN, 1^^.50- f)!. 
 
 In the Hj)rin^ of 1S41), Lady I-'raiiklin iiiado a ioucli- 
 ing and j)atlii)tic appejil to tlm tt)clin«j;s (»!' tliu AnHM'ii';iii 
 nation, in tlio following letter to the i*re8ident of the 
 Kopublic: — 
 
 The Lady of Sir John Franklin to the President. 
 
 ^''Bedford-2)lanc^ London.^ Wi April, 1840. 
 
 "Sir, — I address myself to you as the head of a 
 great nation, whose ])ower to help me I cannot douht, 
 and in whose disposition to do so 1 have a confidence 
 which I trust you will not deem presumptuous. 
 
 "The name of my husband, Sir J(din Fraidvlin, is 
 probably not unknown to you. It is intimately con- 
 nected with the northern ])ai't of that continent of 
 which the American re})nl)lic forms so vast and con- 
 spicuous a portion. "Wiien I visited tlie UnitiMl States 
 three years ago, among the many proofs I received of 
 respect and courtesy, there was none which touched 
 and even surprised me more than the ap])reciation 
 everywhere expressed to me of his former services in 
 geographical discovery, and the interest felt in the en- 
 terprise in which he was then known to be engaged." 
 « # # ^ # 
 
 [Her ladyship here gives the details of the departure 
 of the expedition, and the measures already taken for 
 its relief.] 
 
 « # « -Jf 4f 
 
 "I have entered into these details with the view of 
 proving that, though the British government has not 
 forgotten the duty it owes to the brave men whom it 
 has sent on a perilous service, and has spent a very 
 large sum in providing the means for their rescue, yet 
 that, owing to various causes, the means r.,ctually in 
 operation for this purpose are quite inadequate to meet 
 the extreme exigence of the case; for, it must be 
 
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326 
 
 PROGRESS OF ARCTIC DISCOVERY. 
 
 if:: 
 
 I 
 
 remembered, that the missing ships were victualed for 
 three years only, and that nearly four years have now 
 elapsed, so that the survivors of so many winters in the 
 ice must be at the last extremity. And also, it must 
 be borne in mind, that the channels by which the ships 
 may have attempted to force a passage to the westward, 
 or which they may have been compelled, by adverse 
 circumstances, to take, are very numerous and compli- 
 cated, and that one or two ships cannot possibly, in the 
 course of the next short summer, explore them all. 
 
 " The Board of Admiralty, under a conviction of this 
 fact, has been induced to offer a reward of 20,000^. 
 sterling to any ship or ships, of any country, or to any 
 exploring party whatever, which shall render eflicient 
 assistance to the missing ships, or their crews, or to any 
 portion of them. This announcement, which, even if 
 the sum had been doubled or trebled, would have met 
 with public approbation, comes, however, too late for 
 our whalers, which had unfortunately sailed before it 
 was issued, and which, even if the news should over- 
 take them at their fishing-grounds, are totally unfitted 
 for any prolonged adventure, having only a few months' 
 provision on board, and no additional clothing. To the 
 American whalers, both in the Atlantic and Pacific, I 
 look with more hope, as competitors for the prize, be- 
 ing well aware of their numbers and strength, their 
 thorough equipment, and the bold spirit of enterprise 
 which animates their crews. But I venture to look 
 even beyond these. I am not without hope that you 
 will deem it not unworthy of a great and kindred na- 
 tion to take up the cause of humanity which I plead, in 
 a national spirit, and thus generously make it your own. 
 
 " I must here, in gratitude, adduce the example of 
 the imperial llussian government, which, as I im led 
 10 hope by his Excellency, the Russian embassador in 
 London, who forwarded a memorial on the subject, will 
 send out exploring parties this summer, from the Asiatic 
 eicio of Behring's Strait, northward, in search of the 
 lost vessels. It would be a noble spectacle to the 
 world, if three great nations, possessed of the widest 
 
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you 
 na- 
 Ld, in 
 I own. 
 lie of 
 led 
 )r in 
 will 
 liatic 
 the 
 the 
 idest 
 
 LADY FEANKLLN's APPEAL TO AMERICAN NATION. 327 
 
 empires on the face of the globe, were thus to unite 
 their efforts in the truly christian work of saving their 
 perishing fellow-men from destruction. 
 
 "It is not for me to suggest the mode in which such 
 benevolent efforts might best be made. 1 will only say, 
 however, that if the conceptions of my own mind, to 
 which I do not venture to give utterance, werfi realized, 
 and that in the noble competition which followed, Amer- 
 ican seamen had the good fortune to wrest from us the 
 glory, as might be the case, of solving the problem of 
 the unfound passage, or the still greater glory of savins 
 our adventurous navigators from a lingering fate which 
 the mind sickens to dwell on, though 1 should in either 
 case regret that it was not my own brave countrymen 
 ir those seas whose devotion was thus rewarded, yet 
 should I rejoice that it was to America we owed our 
 restored happiness, and should be forever bound to her 
 by ties of aftectionate gratitude. 
 
 " I am not without some misgivings while I thus ad- 
 dress you. The intense anxieties of a wife and of a 
 daughter may have led me to press too earnestly on 
 your notice the trials under which we pre suffering, 
 (yet not we only, but hundreds of others,) and to pre- 
 sume too much on the sympathy which we are assured 
 is felt beyond the limits of our own land. Yet, if 
 you deem this to be the case, you will still find, 1 am 
 sure, even in that personal intensity of feeling, an 
 excuse for the fearlessness with which I have throwit 
 myself on your generosity, and will pardon the hom 
 age I thus pay to your own high character, and to thr 
 of the people over whom you have the distinction t^ 
 preside. " I have, &c., 
 
 (Signed) "Jane Fkanklin." 
 
 To which the following reply was received : — 
 
 Mr. Clayton to Lady Jane Franklin. 
 
 ''''Department of State, Washington^ 
 " ^hth April, 1849. 
 
 "Madam, — Your letter to the President of the United 
 States, dated Ai)ril 4th, 1840, has been received by 
 
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328 
 
 PROGRESS OF ARCTIC DISCOVERT. 
 
 i 
 
 
 liim, and lie has instructed me to make to you the fol- 
 lowinjT^ reply : — 
 
 '^ Tlio appeal made in the letter with which you have 
 honored hi in, is such as would strongly enlist the sym 
 pathy of tiie rulers and the people of any portion of 
 the civilized world. 
 
 " To the citizens of the United States, who share s- 
 largely in the emotions which agitate the public min<l 
 in your own country, the name of Sir John Franklin 
 has been endeared by his heroic virtues, and the suffer- 
 ings and sacrifices which he has encountered for the 
 benefit of mankind. The appeal of his wife and daugh- 
 ter, in their distress, has been borne across the waters, 
 asking the assistance of a kindred people to save the 
 brave men who embarked in this unfortunate expedi- 
 tion ; and the people of the United States, who have 
 watched with the deepest interest that hazardous enter- 
 prise, will now respond to that appeal, by the expression 
 of their united wishes that every proper effort may be 
 made by this government for the rescue of your hus- 
 band and his companions. 
 
 " To accomplish the objects you have in view, the 
 attention of American navigators, and especially of 
 our whalers, will be immediately invoked. All the in- 
 formation in the possession of this government, to 
 enabk them to aid in discovering the missing sliips, 
 relieving their crews and restoring them to their fami- 
 lies, shall be spread far and wide among our people; 
 and all tliat the executive government of the United 
 States, in the exercise of its constitutional powers, can 
 effect, to meet this requisition on American enterprise, 
 skill and bravery, will be promptly undertaken. 
 
 " The hearts of the American people will be deeply 
 touched by your eloquent address to their Chief Magis- 
 trate, and they will join with you in an earnest prayer 
 to Him whose spirit is on the waters, that your husband 
 and his companions may yet be restored to their coun- 
 try and their friends. 
 
 " I have, &c., 
 (Signed) " John M. Clayton." 
 
"> 
 
 can 
 
 '-t".;n of Captain's -t,:* ^' ^*;?'^ "tte/tJiJ fo S 
 editions so „,uol. LaU &4S-" ^^'"^'^ "'''"'« 
 
 Qin the „:'«!":, ~,of address^ „„,„, ,„ 
 h.»nd, Sir John IVaiikli, I ;r 2- ''"'"''t of ,ny i,„s. 
 
 whero more so rmf »,. " V,'" «iviJized world Im 
 
 United Staterot !C:::;:;" f"Sland itselUhi',,' ';: 
 
 miction of this feet, and with .''\" "",'^'^'- " deep c - 
 
 appeal to those ^nerallJ. '*'''"'""<' hope tfiat n 
 
 made altogether fn "1 •„' thTt T""'' ^o^W never i" 
 
 responded to thitippeaT'' ''hnlv''/'"«"«an people 
 t^t response was co.'^veyeTttmi''"'^^""'^ courtUX' 
 our common kn^nao-e i! '^.r'""''^"'*"'" whenever 
 tliongh difficulties, ^liehTr!" ^■■. """erstood ; a,M 
 advanced state of the seas n^ '""'"'-^ "^"'ff to t e 
 yourofflcialanno„nc?men?ffi;"'''^J '!'«™«el7e l/t'.r 
 government, and prevented tl 1 •'" '".^de known toon • 
 your mtentions, yet the g^ero'/J^f "''^ execution "• 
 was not altogether witlufrTwn ^ f'^" y°" ''ad eiven 
 me that,sl;onId trenece'sitV'fn'' ^'"P'''"^ >•""" "ed 
 contuue to exist. I mi"ht7oo/. •'"'"''^'"^ measures 
 foi- the needed succor.^ °°'' "S^"'" ««'-0'*s the wateS 
 
 Hopes 'srtheTare'tutVrr.^: -f- our dearest 
 
 -mna.,nall,eS%t:SttS 
 
 
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330 
 
 PROGRESS OF ARCTIC DISCOVERT. 
 
 1^ 
 
 forced return of Sir James Ross, without any tidings of 
 tbem, and also by the close of the arctic season. And 
 not only have no tidings been brought of their safety or 
 of their fate, but even the very traces of their course 
 have yet to be discovered ; for such was the concur- 
 rence of unfortunate and unusual circumstances attend- 
 ing the efforts of the brav^e and able officer alluded to, 
 that he was not able to reach those points where indi- 
 cations of the course of discovery ships would most 
 probably be found. And thus, at the close of a second 
 cseason since the departure of the recent expedition of 
 search, we remain in nearly the same state of ignorance 
 respecting the missing expedition as at the moment of 
 its starting from our shores. And in the mean time our 
 brave countrymen, whether clinging still to their shi])s, 
 or dispersed in various directions, have entered upon a 
 lifth winter in those dark and dreary solitudes, with 
 exhausted means of sustenance, while yet their expected 
 succor comes not ! 
 
 " It is in the time, then, of their greatest peril, in the 
 day of their extremest need, that I venture, encouraged 
 by your former kindness, to look to you again for some 
 active efforts which may come in aid of those of my 
 own country, and add to the means of search. Her 
 Majesty's Ministers have already resolved on sending 
 an expedition to Behring's Strait, and doubtless have 
 other necessary measures in contemplation, supported 
 as they are, in every means that can be devised for this 
 humane purpose, by the sympathies of the nation, and 
 by the generous solicitude which our Queen is known 
 to feel in the fate of her brave people imperiled in their 
 countrv's service. But, whatever be the measures con- 
 templated by the Admiralty, they cannot be such as 
 will leave no room or necessity for more, since it is 
 only by the multiplication of means, and those vigorous 
 and instant ones, that we can hope, at this last stage, 
 and in this last hour, perhaps, of the lost navigators' 
 existence, to snatch them from a dreary grave. And 
 surely, till the shores and seas of those frozen regions 
 have been swept in all directions, or until some memo- 
 
 s'^ 
 
LIEUTENANT OSBOEN's SUGGESTIONS. 
 
 331 
 
 rial be found to attest tlieir fate, neither England, who 
 sent them out, nor even America, on whose shores tliey 
 have been launched in a cause which has interested the 
 world for centuries, will deem the question at rest. 
 
 " May it please God so to move the hearts and wills 
 of a great and kindred people, and of their chosen 
 Chief Magistrate, that they may join heart and hand 
 in the generous enterprise I The respect and admiration 
 of the world, which watches with growing interest every 
 movement of your great republic, will follow the chiv- 
 alric and humane endeavor, and the blessing of them 
 who were ready to perish shall come to you ! 
 
 " I have, &c., 
 (Signed) Jane Franklin. 
 
 ''^His Excellency the President of the United States.''^ 
 
 In a very admirable letter addressed to Lady Frank- 
 lin in February, 1850, by Lieut. Sherard Osborn, R. N., 
 occur the following remarks and suggestions, which 
 appear to me so explicit and valuable that I publish 
 them entire : — 
 
 1 
 
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 I ;■ 
 
 i 
 
 ,i. 
 
 
 t 
 
 .[V 
 
 In 
 
 I 
 
 
 is. 
 
 ^^ Great Ealing, Middlesex, 6th Fehruary, 1850. 
 
 " My Dear Lady Franklin. — It is of course of vital 
 importance that the generous co-operation of the Ameri- 
 cans in the rescue of Sir John Franklin and his crews 
 be directed to points which call for search, and at the 
 same time give them a clear field for the exercise of 
 their energy and emulation. It would be a pity, for 
 instance, if they should be merely working on the same 
 ground with ourselves, while extensive portions of the 
 xirctic Sea, in which it is equally probable the lost ex- 
 pedition may be found, should be left unexamined ; and 
 none, in my opinion, offers a better prospect of success- 
 ful search than the coasts of Repulse Bay, Ilecla and 
 Fury Strait, Committee Bay, Felix Harbor, the estuary 
 of the Great Fish River, and Simpson's Strait, with the 
 sea to the northwest of it. My reasons for saying so 
 are as follows ; — 
 
 21 N* 
 
 
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332 
 
 niOORESS OF AKtrric discoveuy. 
 
 " Suppose Sir John Franklin to have so far carried 
 out the tenor of his orders as to have penetrated south- 
 west from Cape Walker, and to have been either ^ ctist 
 away,' or hopelessly impeded by ice, and that either in 
 the past or present year he found it necessary to quit 
 his ships, they being anywhere between 100° and 108^ 
 west longitude, and 70° and 73° north latitude. Kow, 
 to retrace his steps to Cape Walker, and thence to Ko- 
 gent Inlet, would be no doubt the first suggestion that 
 would arise. Yet there are objections to it : firstly, ho 
 would have to contend against the prevailing set of tho 
 ice, and currents, and northerly wind ; secondly, if no 
 whalers were found in Lancaster Sound, how was lie 
 to support his large party in regions where the musk 
 ox or reindeer is never seen ? thirdly, leaving his 
 ships in the summer, he knew he could only reach thu 
 whaling ground in the fall of the year ; and, in such 
 case, would it not be advisable to make rather fur 
 the southern than the northern limit of the seas vis- 
 ited by the whalers ? fourthly, by edging to the south 
 rather than the north. Sir John Franklin would bo 
 falling back to, rather than going from, relief, and in- 
 crease the probabilities of providing food for his largo 
 party. 
 
 "I do not believe he would have decided on going 
 due south, because the lofty land of Victoria Island 
 was in his road, and when he did reach the American 
 shore, he would only attain a desert, of whose horrors 
 he no doubt retained a vivid recollection ; and a 
 lengthy land journey of more than 1000 miles to the 
 Hudson's Bay settlements was more than his men were 
 capable of 
 
 " There remains, therefore, but one route for Sir Jolm 
 nnder such circumstances to follow ; and it decided]}- 
 has the following merits, that of being in a direct line 
 for the southern limit of the whale fishery ; that of 
 leading through a series of narrow seas adapted for tho 
 navigation of small open boats ; that of being the most 
 expeditious route by which to reach Fort Churchill, in 
 Hudson's Bay ; that of leading through a region visited 
 
LIEUTENAMT OBliORM S SUGGESTIONS. 
 
 333 
 
 by Esquimaux and migratory animals ; and this route 
 is through the ' Strait of Sir James lioss,' across the 
 narrow isthmus of Boothia Felix, (which, as you re- 
 minded me to-day, was not supposed to exist when Sir 
 John Franklin left England, and has been since discov- 
 ered,) into the Gulf of Boothia, where he could either 
 pass by Hecla and Fury Strait into the fishing-ground 
 of Hudson's Strait, or else go southward down Commit- 
 tee Bay, across the Rae Isthmus into Repulse Bay, and 
 endeavor from there to reach some vessels in Hudson's 
 Bay, or otherwise Fort Churchill. 
 
 " It is not unlikely either, that when Franklin had 
 got to the eastern extremity of James Ross's Strait, 
 and found the land to be across his path where he had 
 expected to find a strait, that his party might have di- 
 vided, and the more active portion of them attempted 
 to ascend the Great Fish River, where we have Sir 
 George Back's authority for supposing they would find, 
 close to the arctic shores, abundance of food in fish, 
 and herds of reindeer, &c., while the others traveled 
 on the road I have already mentioned. 
 
 " To search for them, therefore, on this line of retreat, 
 I should think highly essential, and if neglected this 
 year, it must be done next ; and if not done by the 
 Americans, it ought to be done by us. 
 
 " I therefore suggest the following plan : — Suppose 
 a well-equipped expedition to leave America in May, 
 and to enter Hudson's Strait, and then divide into two 
 divisions. The first division might go northward, 
 through Fox's Channel to Hecla ana Fury Strait, exam 
 ine the shores of the latter carefidly, deposit provisions 
 at the western extreme, erect conspicuous beacons, and 
 proceed to Melville or Felix Harbor, in Boothia, secure 
 their vessel or vessels, and dispatch, as soon as circum- 
 stances would allow, boat parties across the neck of 
 the isthmus into the western waters. Here let them 
 divide, and one party proceed through James Ross's 
 Strait, carefully examining the coast, and push over sea, 
 ice, or land, to the northwest as far as possible. The 
 other boat party to examine the estuarj^ oi* the Great 
 
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834 
 
 PROGRESS OF ARCTIC DISCOVERY. 
 
 ^^I^K: 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 ''sWiSlilmiT 
 
 
 
 
 
 fll 
 
 Fish Kiver, and thence proceed westward along the 
 coast of Simpson's Strait, and, if possible, examine the 
 broad bay formed between it and Dease's Strait. 
 
 "The second division, on parting company, might 
 pass south of Southampton Island, and coast along from 
 Chesterfield Inlet northward to Repulse Bay, a boat 
 party with two boats ni^ht cross Rae Isthmus into the 
 bottom of Committee Bay, with instructions to visit 
 both shores of the said bay, and to rendezvous at the 
 western entrance of Hecla and Fury Strait. The sec- 
 ond division (be it one or more vessels) should then 
 pass into Fox's Channel, and turning through Hecla 
 and Fury Strait, pick up the boats at the rendezvous ; 
 and thence, if the first division have passed on all right, 
 and do not require reinforcement, the second division 
 should steer northward along the unknown coast, ex- 
 tending as far as Cape Kater ; from Cape Kater pro- 
 ceed to Leopold Island, and having secured their ships 
 there, dispatch boat or traveling parties in a direction 
 southwest from Cape Ttennell, in North Somerset, be- 
 ing in a parallel line to the line of search we shall 
 adopt from Cape Walker, and at the same time it will 
 traverse the unknown sea beyond the Islands lately 
 observed by Captain Sir James Ross. 
 
 "Some such plan as this would, I think, insuie yom 
 gallant husband being met or assisted, should he be to 
 the south or the west of Cape "Walker, and attempt to 
 return by a southeast course, a direction which, I think, 
 others as well as myself would agree in thinking a very 
 rational and probable one. 
 
 " I will next speak of an argument which has been 
 brought forward in consequence of no traces of the 
 missing expedition having been discovered in Lancas- 
 ter Sound ; that it is quite possible, if Franklin failed 
 in getting through the middle ice from Melville Bay to 
 Lancaster Sound, that, sooner than disappoint public 
 anxiety and expectation of a profitable result arising 
 from his expedition, he may have turned northward, 
 and gone up Smith's Sound ; every mile beyond its en- 
 triince was new ground, and therefore a reward to the 
 
ti;^ 
 
 yom 
 be to 
 ipt to 
 |think, 
 
 very 
 
 t 
 
 DEBATE IN CONGRESS. 
 
 335 
 
 discoverer. It likewise brought them nearer the pole, 
 and may be they found that open sea of which Baron 
 Wrangel speaks so constantly in his journeys over the 
 ice northward fro.n Siberia. 
 
 "It is therefore desirable that some vessels should 
 carefully examine the entrance of this sound, and visit 
 all the conspicuous headlands for some considerable 
 distance within it ; for it ought to be borne in mind, 
 that localities perfectly accessible for the purpose of 
 erecting beacons, &c., one season, may be quite im- 
 practicable the next, and Franklin, late in the season 
 and pressed for time, would not have wasted time, scal- 
 ing bergs to reach the shore and pile up cairns, of 
 which, in all the sanguine hope of success, he could not 
 have foreseen the necessity. 
 
 " Should any clue be found to the lost expedition in 
 this direction, to follow it up would, of course, be the 
 duty of the relieving party, and every thing would de- 
 pend necessarily upon the judgment of the commanders. 
 
 "In connection with this line of search, I think a, 
 small division of vessels, starting from Spitzbergen, and 
 pushing from it in a northwest direction, might be of 
 great service ; for on reference to the chart, it will be 
 seen that Spitzbergen is as near the probable position 
 of Franklin (if he went north about,) on the east, as 
 Behring's Strait is upon the west ; and the probability 
 of reaching the meridian of 80° west from Spitzbergen 
 is equally as good as, if not better than, Behring's Strait, 
 and, moreover, a country capable of supporting life 
 always in the rear to fall back upon. 
 
 " Sherard Osrorn, 
 "Lieutenant Eoyal Navy. 
 
 "To Lady Franklin." 
 
 Debate m the American Congress. 
 
 The following remarks of honorable members and 
 senators, in defense of the bill for carrying out Mr. 
 Grinnell's expedition, will explain the grounds on which 
 the government countenance was invoked for the noble 
 ixndertaking : — 
 
 V ! 
 
 I ; i 
 
 A 
 
 :!•;,» ! 
 
 Mi 
 
 ; I 
 
 
 'I'i 
 
 4h' 
 
83C 
 
 PROGRESS OF ARCTTIO DISCOVERY. 
 
 "Mr. Miller : I prefer that the government shnnld 
 have the entire control of this enterprise ; but, 8ii-, 1 
 do not think that can be accomplished ; at all events, it 
 cannot within tiio time re(piired to produce the good 
 results which are to be hoped from this exj)editiun. It 
 is well known to all that the uncertain fate of Sir Jolm 
 Franklin and his companions has attracted the attention 
 and called forth the sympathies of the civilized world. 
 This government, Sir, has been indifferent to the call. 
 An application, an appeal was made to this government 
 of no ordinary character ; one which was cheerfully 
 entertained by the President, and which he was anxioui 
 should be complied with. But it is known to the conn 
 try and to the Senate that, although the President had 
 every disposition to send out an expedition in search 
 of Sir John Franklin, it was found npon inquiry that 
 we had no ships fitted for the occasion, and that the 
 Executive had no authority to procure them for an ex- 
 pedition of this kind, and suitable for this sort of navi- 
 gation. The Executive was therefore obliged, for want 
 of authority to build the ships, to forego further action 
 on this noble enterprise, until Congress should meet, 
 and authorize the expedition. 
 
 "In the mean time, Mr. Grinnell, one of the most 
 respectable and worthy merchants of the city of New 
 York, understanding the difficulty that the government 
 had in fitting out the expedition, has gone to work, and 
 with his own means has built t\^'o small vessels espe- 
 cially prepared for the expedition ; and he now most 
 generously tenders them to the government, not to be 
 under his own control, but the control of the govern- 
 ment, and to be made part of the navy of the United 
 States. The honorable senator from Alabama (Mr. 
 King) is mistaken with regard to the terms and effect 
 of this resolution. This resolution places these two 
 ships under the control of the government, as much 
 so as if they were built expressly for the navy of the 
 United States. Their direction, their fitting out, their 
 officers and mon, are all to be under the control of 
 the Executive. Their officers are to be offict/rs of our 
 
I 
 
 DEBATE 'N CONG K ESS. 
 
 53T 
 
 navv — their seamen tlie seamen of onrnavy — so tliat 
 the expedition will bo as thtn'oughly under the control (.»!' 
 this pjovernincnt as it' the sliips belon<jjed to us. N«>vv, 
 Sir, I should have no objections myself to anjend this 
 resolution so as to authorize the ]iurchase of these two 
 suKill vessels at once, and make them a part of our na- 
 val establishment; but, when I recollect the majunaui- 
 mous feeling which urged this noble-hearted merchant 
 to prepare tliese Bhii)s, I know that that same feeling 
 would forbid him to make merchandise of that which 
 he lias devoted to humanity. He ofters them for this 
 great cause ; they are his property, prepared for this 
 enterprise, and he ofters them to us to be used by the 
 government in this great undertaking. We must either 
 accept them for the purpose to which he has dedicated 
 them, or reject them altogether. If we refuse these 
 ships, we will defeat the whole enterprise, and lose all 
 opportunity of participation in a work of humanity 
 which now commands the attention of the world. 
 
 "If we refer this resolution back to the committee, 
 and they report a bill authorizing government to build 
 ships to carry on the expedition on its own account, it 
 would be attended with very great delay, and, in my 
 opinion defeat the object we have in view. In a case 
 of this kind time is every thing. It must be done speed- 
 ily, if done at all. Every hour's delay may be worth 
 the life of a man. Sir John Franklin and his compan- 
 ions may ere this have perished, but our hope is that 
 they are still living in some narrow sea, imprisoned by 
 walls of ice, where our succor may yet reach them. 
 But, Sir, whether our hopes are fallacious or not, the 
 public feeling — the feeling of humanity — is, that the 
 fate of Sir John Franklin should, if possible, be ascer- 
 tained, and as soon as possible. The public mind will 
 never be satisfied till an expedition from this country, 
 01' from some other country, shall have ascertained their 
 fate. I therefore trust that this resolution, as it is, will 
 be acted upon at once, and that it will receive the 
 unanimous vote of the Senate. * * * -^ 
 
 ''I am so impressed Mr. President, with the impor- 
 
 I 
 
 .■! 
 
 t 
 
 I • I ' ' 
 
 
 l-,\ 
 
 
 
338 
 
 PK0OUES8 OF AUCTIC DISCOVERY. 
 
 m 
 ii 
 
 tance of time as regards the disposal of this question, 
 that 1 hesitate even to occupy the attention of tho 
 Senate for a few moments ; and I only do so for the 
 purpose of correcting some views wliich have hcen ex- 
 pressed by tlie senator from Mississippi. * ^^ * Tliu 
 question is, whether we siiall udoj)t tiiis resolution, and 
 immediately send forth this expedition for the purjxiso 
 of accomplishing this great object, or whether we slmll 
 throw back this resohition to drag its slow course 
 through Congress, in the form of another bill, to nuike 
 an appropriation for the purpose of building vessels. 
 For wnat object? To secure, as the senator says, to the 
 United States, the sole honor and glory of this ex])LMli- 
 tion. Sir, if this expedition is got up merely for lionor 
 and glory either to the United States or to an individual, 
 I will have nothing whatever to do with it. Sir, there 
 is a deeper and a higher sentiment that has induced the 
 action of Congress on this subject. It is to engage in 
 a great work of humanity, to do that which is not only 
 being done by the government of England, but by pri- 
 vate individuals, who are fitting out expeditions at their 
 own expense, and sending them to the northern seas, 
 for the purpose of discovering the fate of this great 
 man, who had periled his life in the cause of science 
 and of commerce. 
 
 " Mr President, I have been informed that a private 
 expedition is now being fitted out in England under the 
 direction of that great commander, or I may call him 
 the king of the Polar Seas, Sir John Ross, who is going 
 again to devote himself and his life to this perilous ex- 
 pedition. Sir, altogether I have not had heretofore 
 much confidence in the success of this expedition, yet 
 when I consider the reputation of Sir John Ross, and 
 the fact that he is better acquainted with those seas 
 than any other man living, and understanding that he 
 entertains the belief that Sir John Franklin and his 
 companions are yet alive, and may be rescued, — I sa/, 
 finding such a man as Sir John Ross engaged in an ex- 
 pedition of this kind, I am not without hope that our 
 efforts may, under Providence, be crowned with success. 
 
DKIIATE IN CONORESb. 33^ 
 
 and that that ,8 to bo divkl. i . "^ ''"""'' «'"' «lo.'v- 
 
 tliero nothing to he dei-iv..,! { !, "'f''vidual. Sir fu 
 act of ),un.a1;itv I^, I "o i" i"'" P^'-'^n'mn,.,,, f, 
 tljat in this instance both the ::/''"''^ * «''''. 't i« «.M 
 Vidua! alhided to are w If^'if 1" """'^•"t «nd tho in.li- 
 Sir, what objection can fT,! i '" ""'"c '»"0''1<- AVcil 
 Poes the honorable sZtotV ^\^i'- "'"' '^"""ec o ? 
 individual his share .IfT \ "'" ^'ssissippi envv Vl , 
 desire to inonopot: if Ji^t ';;;■- «'.f «'o.-}? Xil" 
 
 of an expre;8lo,*h i'^, '.'7^'^''' ««"'"«'• made n,o 
 inthnate^, if I undSoV ,' thi " "'""'-- "je 
 «^t this was a matter of speZat'ift r^^^ 
 
 from Mississippi knew Te <.' , ^^'' *'"" ^^ "'e senator 
 this fentlemai: hfCu d no ?^^ ^"^ ""'' ''"^ '"'"to"]^ of 
 l;ear3 such an ins"nna?ion %"" '{i?""' """ hei^ 
 i'b««l donation from aSvid,^,*r"8'' '^is is a 
 alarm gentlemen about aC'l."' ^''l ""^ "««d not 
 but small ships ; and it ;, ^1 '"™'-, ^hese ships are 
 small in orde?that they may bfl^ ^* *«^ «''«"" bo 
 IS, I understand, 160 to^is and thf "f.^^ ^''^ ^f them 
 iave cost, I l.eHevo 30 oon i i? °"'*'" ^^ tons. Thev 
 find this merchant deS V "'"■'• ^°^. ^^en we 
 Purpose of building slZto^eo't ^'■°^'''^' '"'' ^'^ t^'^ 
 markets of the worid when wpT^.'-™''''"''"^ to the 
 the ordinary course jZ we find him retirini/ fmn. 
 the world i^ ~ d and^d^w-P""-^"'* » ^ aH 
 fortune to the buildi-n. ofitT"^ " P^'^^on of hk 
 other purpose but in t&s yoXe^f.''^" ''« "«ed for no 
 imagined that any thou^K^'l V?**"''^' '^«" "'t he 
 co«ld have influeifced hfs condS^tr^NoX" 'oaC 
 
 '•T 
 
 II 
 
 
 iiii 
 
 I 
 
 I ir« s; B 
 
 ! 1 
 
 J, , 
 
 ! < 
 
 i i. J 
 
 
 
S40 
 
 PROGRESS OF ARCTIC DISCOVERY. 
 
 contrary, it is a high and worthy motive ; and I think 
 it ought to re^'eive the approbation of this and all other 
 intelligent Christian nations, to see a niercliant, who, 
 wliile the commercial world are encompassing the 
 globe by sea and land in quest of profit and of gold, is 
 dedicating himself to his great object, and devoting a 
 part of his fortune to the cause of humanity, and olibr- 
 ing to government, not as a bounty, but because tlie 
 government, with all its means, has not the power and 
 the time to prepare vessels to do this work. That, !Sir, 
 is the object. 
 
 " Now, if we do not accept these ships, there will be 
 an end of this expedition. Sir, shall it be said, that 
 this government has lost such an opportunity as this of 
 exhibiting the deep interest w^hich our people feel both 
 in the cause of science and humanity, and that, too, at 
 the very time when we are entering into treaties and com- 
 pacts with all the commercial nations of the world, for 
 the purpose of extending commerce and civilization , 
 and opening communications of trade from sea to sea^ 
 When the government is not only doing all by its own 
 power, but also acting in concert with our private citi- 
 zens in constructing rail-roads and canals, and by vari- 
 ous other modes extending commercial civilization 
 throughout the world, shall it be said that we, at this 
 moment, refused, through the fear of losing a little 
 honor and glory and nationtrl dignity, to accept two 
 ships — the only two ships in Americi that can do the 
 work — in the accomplishment of thic* great enterprise? 
 I hope not. Let us not, then, cavil and waste time 
 about these little matters. If the work is to be done 
 at all it must be done now, and done, as I conceiv^e, by 
 the adoption of this resolution. 
 
 Governor Seward spoke as follows in the Senate 
 on the same subject : — "I am happy to perceive, Mr. 
 President, indications all around the chamber that there 
 is no disagreement in regard to the importance, or in 
 relation to the propriety, of a search on the part of this 
 nation, by the government itself, or by individual citi- 
 zens, for the lost and heroic navigator. Since so much 
 
• - 341 
 
 tWs7,"y,iJi:°t,^«'=« I co^o from the State w).enoe 
 few words, the obSn,' . ■"'Y'' *° no«<=e, an a ver^ 
 
 tl'e case I think when S T f "''• ^' ^^ "'wavg 
 pnses which are foasiWe^.f ,;? f "". ■'""' ?■•<'«' en 1^- 
 tJiey are hindered or defeaterff' '*''' °'" '^'^'^ated, t h^ t 
 agreement conceminrf f ' "°' «° wnch bv w nf nf 
 diversify of opinion ci'e^rS*;^^^ ^emselTe ;"« s'bj 
 them mto execntion S°7, •*'' • '"'"^« "*■ «« Winff 
 case the rule which I always Idn f «'\6«''««ll/thf 
 
 wa^ of obtaining a sreat ™,jfi- u""" ^'*^e my own 
 the best other way whfrh l^'" ?''•'«'"' I «'ill acceT,t 
 cordially agree wi^hfi? ''f' ^'efore me S^t 
 would h^avl'^r'ea tt a^"''™'"^ Se^ato^^Tio^ 
 and m some proper and ,Lk- '".'?*' appiopiiate time 
 government sfoufd haye moWlTt"'.?'"'' ™»"»er Z' 
 this object, as a governmenrnn ^T "'® attainment of 
 
 f r^i^' th? "•=' °^ '^« S ' And I w ""f."^ '' «^<=J«- 
 leired this, not so inuoli nn n "^ ^^^"^^^ ^lave iirp. 
 
 jssupposed wouldT/a^t fol,r:ru1t «'"-^^'^^ 
 SBrif f"*'^ «f the ente S hTf "''''i"'^« °f the 
 spims; from a desire of ^}n?,r ^'n'ei'Pnses which 
 
 disappointment. Tnej};2 f 1 ''^'^ «P' to end in 
 attained by prosecu n. Tn "fi' ^'fj '^ «'ways safe y 
 may be their succe; ° I "f^o*;"' designs 4atev^ 
 haye preferred the altP-ntr ■^' ""' "'^D' that I wonid 
 '\ without stopping to no ,'r' '"f^^''^^ ' b"t 'hrfect 
 whether therefe flu t at ^ Ih";^"'" *^" '■^»" ''eB or 
 moved, and ^e reason which hLT""""^^"' ^"^ "ot 
 W r.0 doubt, the true one V .^^" ^'^'8"«d is, I 
 nas ever been contradinf^/i ,, "°t know that if 
 
 reason is, that theNtlS?^ "rl^^^ '" q-e^tion tLt 
 no vessels adapted to VA^' ^"""^ States conta^s 
 Bh"ps constructed and fitted i''^'"'^^"' ''onsistsof 
 ?n'J po.-poses than an exn^.- ''^'"-^ '^''ff^'-ent objects 
 lee-bonnd seas of the a.lv °^ expedition amid the 
 consists of vessel adapted ?o?h'- '^"'' "^^a' mar no 
 -"tary armament, A': :^;SZlf^^Z:i^ 
 
 H 
 
342 
 
 PROGRESS OP ARCTIC DISCOVERY. 
 
 trade on the coast of Africa. The executive portions 
 of the government failed for want of vessels suitable 
 to be employed in this particular service. It therefore 
 devolved upon the Legislature of the United States. 
 But, although we have been here now nearly five 
 months, no Committee of either House, no member of 
 either House of Congress has proposed to equip a na- 
 tional fleet for this purpose. While this fact exists on 
 one side, it is to be remarked on the other, that the 
 time has arrived in which the movement must be made 
 if it is to be made at all, and also that a careful inves- 
 tigation, made by scientific and practical men, had re- 
 vived the hope in Europe and America that the humane 
 object can be attained. There can, then, be no delay 
 allowed for considering whether the manner for carry- 
 ing the design into effect could not be changed. Let 
 U9, then, practically survey the case as it comes before 
 us. The gr ernment of the United States has really 
 no vessels aunpted to tiie purpose. To say nothing of 
 the expense, the government has not time to provide, 
 prepare, or equip vessels for the expedition. Under 
 such circumstances, a citizen of the United States 
 tenders to the government vessels of his own, precisely 
 adequate in number, and exactly fitted in construction 
 and equipment, for the performance of the duty to be 
 assumed. Since he ofiers them to the government, 
 what reason can we assign for refusing them? No 
 reason can be assigned, except that he is too generous, 
 and ofiPers to give us the use of the vessels instead of 
 demanding compensation for it. "Well, Sir, if we do 
 accept them it can be immediately carried into execu- 
 tion, with a cheering prospect of attaining the great 
 object which the United States and the civilized world 
 have such deep interest in securing. Then the ques- 
 tion resolves itself into this — the question raised by 
 the honorable Senator from Alabama (Mr. King) — 
 whether, in seeking so beneficent an object, it is con- 
 sistent with ti\e dignity of the nation to combine indi- 
 vidual action with a national enterprise. I do not 
 think, Mr. President, that that honorable Senator will 
 
r 
 
 of i 
 
 do 
 
 5U- 
 
 iat 
 
 •Id 
 
 3S- 
 
 >y 
 
 n- 
 
 i- 
 ot 
 
 1^ 
 
 
 DEBATE IN CONGRESS. 
 
 343 
 
 find himself obliged to insist upon this objection after 
 lie shall have carefully examined the bill before us. 
 He will find that it converts the undertaking into a 
 national enterprise. The vessels are to be accepted 
 not as individual property, but as national vessels. 
 They will absolutely cease to be under the direction, 
 management, or control of the owners, and will become 
 at once national ships, and for the time, at least, and 
 ■for all the purposes of the expedition, a part of the 
 national marine. 
 
 "Now, Sir, have we not postal arrangements with 
 various foreign countries carried into effect in the same 
 way, and is the dignity of the nation compromised by 
 them ? During the war with Mexico, the government 
 continually hired ships and steamboats from citizens foi 
 militaiy operations. Is the glory of that war tarnished 
 oy tbe use of those means ? The government in this 
 case, as in those cases, is in no sense a partner. It 
 assumes the whole control of the vessels, and the enter- 
 prise becomes a national one. The only circumstance 
 remaining to be considered is, whether th<^ government 
 can accept the loan of the service of the vessels without 
 making compensation. Now, Sir, I should not have had 
 the least objection, and, indeed, it would have been 
 more agreeable to me if the government could have 
 made an arrangement to have paid a compensation. 
 But I hold it to be quite unnecessary in the present 
 case because the character of the person who tenders 
 these vessels, and the circumstances and manner of the 
 whole transaction, show tliat it is not a speculation. 
 No compensation is wanted. It would only be a cere- 
 mony on the part of the government to offer it, and a 
 ceremony on the part of the merchant to decline it. I 
 am, therefore, willing to march directly to the object, 
 and to assume that these ceremonies have been duly 
 performed, that the government has offered to pay, and 
 the noble-spirited merchant declined to receive. 
 
 " Now, then, is there any thing derogatory from the 
 dignity and independence of this nation in emj>loying 
 the vessels? Certainly not, since that employment is 
 
 'I 
 
 \ 'II 
 
 1 
 
 '■ V t it 
 
 V 
 
 ' ■ . r li 
 
844 
 
 PROGRESS OF ARCTIC DISCOVKJtV. 
 
 indispensable. If it were not indispensable 1 do not 
 think that the dignity of the Republic would be ini- 
 
 E aired ; I think, on the contrary, that it would be en- 
 anced and elevated. It w a transaction wortliy of the 
 nation, a spectacle deserving the contemplation and 
 respect of mankind, to see that not only does the nation 
 prosecute, but that it has citizens able and willing to 
 contribute, voluntarily and without compulsion, to an 
 enterprise so interesting to the cause of science and of 
 humanity. It is indeed a new and distinct cause for 
 national pride, that an individual citizen, not a merchant 
 prince, as he would be called in some other countries, 
 tiut a republican merchant, comes forward in this way 
 and moves the government and co-operates with it. It 
 illustrates the magnanimity of the natibn and of the 
 citizen. Sir, there is nothing objectionable in this fea- 
 ture of the transaction. It results from the character 
 of the government, which is essentially popular, that 
 ^here are perpetual debates on the question how far 
 measures and enterprises, for the purposes of humanity 
 and science, are consistent with the constitutional or- 
 ganization of the government, although they are ad- 
 mitted to be eminently compatible with the dignity, 
 character, and intelligence of the nation. All our en- 
 terprises, more or less, are carried into execution, if 
 they are carried into execution at all, not by the direct 
 action of the government, but by the teding of its 
 favor, countenance, and aid to individuals, to corpora- 
 tions, and to States. Thus it is that we construct rail- 
 roads and canals, and found colleges and imiversities. 
 " Nor is this mode of prosecuting enterprises of great 
 pitli and moment peculiar to this government. Tlierc 
 was a navigator who went forth from a port in Spain, 
 some three or four hundred years ago, on an enter23rise 
 quite as doubtful and quite as perilous as this. After 
 IrjHng unsuccessfully several States, he was forced to be 
 content with the sanction, and little more than the sanc- 
 tion and patronage of the Court of Madrid. The scanty 
 treasures devoted to that undertaking were the private 
 contributions of a Queen and her subjects, and the ves- 
 
ki'^^om of Castile 'and t'of'*' a ..ew world to tho 
 
 "rt"...o.. " recommittal inri ,\ ... °''*"'^es, i s la i vof^* 
 
 enrest way of proventiL" « JctilT' "f ^''-^ ^'^^ To 
 
 8i.bln„e and beneficont'o Lt Ivh-' ?°^ «♦ """''nJiiff tl,o 
 
 The committoe of both K^^'f p'' contomplaW" 
 
 Ml. Gnnnoll's petition for mnf , *'"-«''ess, to whom 
 
 Tl^ f n °" ""^"' dHrins antCno, '■°'' '' ™d the 
 ilio tollowine am f l,„ f • i gonoroiis errand 
 
 both Honses ot^Cot .l^an. '•«^°'"«o''« vlfi" passed 
 cm Taylor, autho S in! th" pT''", ''P^'-^^'^' b/oon 
 
 Beasinsearch:t'^|;,iS3;!r,'^r 
 
 Kesolved by the Spn,fV.'l"'""s companions- 
 
 at>ves of the Pn ed CI ''".'^ /'^'^e of W,*Z^^^^^^ 
 assembled, That lo S dLt'l'^'"''"''''' « cVn^rc's 
 
 «»thon.ocl and directed, to S.o'f. '1'"' '« ''«"«''>■ 
 pt the city of New VorV n . °*'°'"HcnryGrinnpll 
 
 h.mfora^exped]Ut',i;:Ts" 
 
 ana his companions nnri *^7^^\ot Sir Johji Fr««].i,<, 
 
 comnussioneS ZX^^ll om"" *'-°'" "'° Navy "sn ' 
 men as may be necessary for 5 f'' ""'^ ^« many ^Ja 
 may be willing to eS f. *^- «^PCf'>'«on, and wlu. 
 and men shall So fnSd l^T": ^''^ ^a-d offi co » 
 discretion of the PresWen? I '""'''''<' ■•»''ons, at f I o 
 «'rco yoa,^, and shXyl't ^ J"'"?^ "ot exceed- <' 
 wstroments as are now on t wJ i "* '""'' "ccessary 
 the Navy, to be acconnted f" """^ <="" ''o spared from 
 "" A*S" r '?- -me"- '•^""-'' ''^ t"c offl.' 
 offlcers,-and 4'"rha '&':,f ' That the said vessel, 
 and regulations of thoNavv of ri«f?""dcr the la'rs' 
 "leir rotm-n, when the sn^-7 " "l" ^"'f"' States until 
 to the said Henry (iZX. p'''^' ^>" be delivered 
 States Shan not i liable ^ a^ da ^^o^''"'" ^^'"^-' 
 
 ^"7 cjaim for compensation 
 
 :l 
 
 
 i ! 
 
 m 
 
 . 
 
 I'i 
 
 
 1 
 
 ' r i 
 
 J ;i 11 
 
 ih; 
 
 ;,i 
 
 1 ii 
 
 . ( 
 
346 
 
 PROGKESS OF ARCTIC DI8C0VEKY. 
 
 in case of the loss, damage or deterioration of the said 
 vessels, or either of them, from any cause or in any 
 manner whatever, nor be liable to any demand for the 
 use or risk of the said vessels or either of them." 
 
 Directly the fact became known that the American 
 government had nobly come forward to aid in the searcli 
 which was being so strenuouslv made, the different 
 learned societies of the metropolis vied with each other 
 in testifying the estimation in which this noble conduct 
 was held. 
 
 At the annual meeting of the Koyal Society, on the 
 7th of June, upon the motion of Sir Charles Lennox, 
 seconded by the late Marquis of Northampton, a vote 
 of thanks was carried with the utmost enthusiasm, ex- 
 pressive of the gratitude of the Society to the American 
 government, and of tlieir deep sense of the kind and 
 brotherly feeling which had prompted so liberal an act 
 of humanity. A similar vote was carried, on the 11th 
 of June, at a general meeting of the Royal Geograph- 
 ical Society, (of which Sir John Franklin was long one 
 of the vice-presidents.) 
 
 The American expedition consists of two brigantines 
 — now enrolled in the United States Navy — the Ad- 
 vance, of 144 tons, and the Rescue, 91 tons. These 
 vessels have been provided and fitted out by the gener- 
 ous munificence of Mr. Henry Grinnell, a merchant of 
 New York, at an expense to him of between 50001. and 
 GOOOl. The American government also did much to- 
 tvard fitting and equipping them. The Advance was 
 two years old, and the Rescue quite new. Both vessels 
 were strengthened in every part, and put in the most 
 complete order for the service in which they were to be 
 engaged. They are under the command of Lieutenant 
 Edward S. De Haven, who was employed in Com- 
 ijiander Wilkes' expedition in 1843 ; Mr. S. P. Griffin, 
 acting master, has charge of the Rescue. The other 
 officers of the expedition are Messrs. "W. H. Murdaugh, 
 acting-master ; T. "W. Broadhead, and R. R. Carter, 
 passed midshipmen ; Dr. E. K. Kane, j>assed assistant- 
 surgeon ; Mr. Benjamin Finland, assistant-surgeon ; W 
 
THE AMERICAN EXPEDITION. 
 
 847 
 
 a 
 
 S. Lovell, midsliipman ; II. Brooks, boatswain ; and 
 complement of thirty-six seamen in the two vessels — 
 the crew of the Advance consisting of fifteen men, and 
 the Rescue thirteen men. The vessels left New York 
 on the 25th of May, 1850. Their proposed destination 
 is through Barrow's Strait, westward to Cape Walker, 
 and round Melville Island. They were provisioned for 
 three years. 
 
 Whatever may be the result of this expedition, as 
 connected with the fate of the gallant Sir John Frank- 
 lin, it is one which reflects the highest honor upon the 
 philanthropic individual who projected it, and upon the 
 oflicers and men engaged therein. 
 
 A dispatch has been i?ceived from Lieutenant De 
 Haven, dated off Leopold Island, August 22d, which 
 reports the progress of the expedition thus far. The 
 Advance, in company with her consort, the Rescue, 
 sailed from the Whale Fish Islands on the 29th of June; 
 after many delays and obstructions from calms, stream 
 ice, and the main pack, they forced a passage through 
 it for a considerable distance, but at last got wedged up 
 in the pack immovably until the 29th of July, when 
 by a sudden movement of the floes, an opening pre- 
 sented itself, and under a press of sail the vessels forced 
 their way into clear water. They encountered a heavy 
 gale, which, with a thick fog, made their situation very 
 dangerous, the huge masses of ice being driven along 
 by me strength of the wind and current with great 
 fury. By the aid of warping in calm weather, they 
 reached Cape Yorke on the 15th of August, and a little 
 to the eastward met with two Esquimaux, but could not 
 understand much from them. Between Cape Yorke 
 and Cape Dudley Diggs, while delayed by calms, being 
 in open water, they hauled the ships into the shore at 
 the Crimson Cliff's of Beverlev, (so named from the red 
 snow on them,) and filled their water casks from a 
 mountain stream. 
 
 On the 18th, with a fair wind, they shaped their course 
 for the western side of Baffin's Bay, and met the pack in 
 streams and very loose, which they cleared entirely by 
 22 O 
 
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848 
 
 PROGRESS OF ARCTIC DISCOVERY. 
 
 the following day — getting into the north waters, whore 
 they fell in with Captain Penny's two vesjels, which 
 having been unsuccessful in their efforts to enter Jones' 
 Souno, were now taking the same course up Lancaster 
 Sound. On the 19th, in a violent gale, the Advance 
 parted company with the Eescue. On the morning of 
 the 21st of August, the fog cleared, and Lieutenant De 
 Haven found he was off Cape Crawford, on the south 
 ern shore of the Sound. Here he fell in with the Felix 
 schooner, under Captain Sir John Ross, from whom he 
 learned that Commodore Austin was at Pond's Bay with 
 two of his vessels, seeking for information, while the 
 other two had been dispatched to examine the north 
 shore of the Sound. Lieutenant De Haven proposed 
 proceeding on from Port Leopold to Wellington Chan- 
 nel, the appointed place of rende/v^ous with his consort. 
 
 Captain I'orsith's Remarkable Yoyage in thk 
 "Prince Ajjjert." 
 
 In April, 1850, a branch expedition to aid those ves- 
 sels sent out by the government Tvas determined on by 
 Lady Franklin, who contributed largely toward its out- 
 fit ; a considerable sum being also raised by public 
 fiubscription. The expenses of this expedition were 
 nearly 4000^., of which 2500^. were contributed by Lady 
 Frar ilin herself. The object of this expedition was 
 the providing for the search of a portion of the Arctic 
 Sea, which it was distinctly understood could not be 
 executed by the vessels under Captain Austin ; but the 
 importance of which had been set forth, by arctic and 
 other -a athorities, in documents printed in the Parlia- 
 mentary Papers. 
 
 The unprovided portion alluded to, includes Regent 
 Inlet, and the passages connecting it with the western 
 sea, James Ross's Strait, and other localities, S W. of 
 Cape Walker, to which quarter Sir tlohn Franklin was 
 required by his instructions to proceed in the first in- 
 stance. This search is assumed to be neoessaiy on the 
 following grounds : ■ — 
 
VOYAGE OF THE TJilNCE ALBERT. 
 
 849 
 
 1. The probability of Sir John Franklin having 
 Abandoned his vessels to the S. W. of Cape Walker. 
 
 2. The fact that, in his charts, an open passage is 
 laid down from the west into the south part of Regent 
 Inlet. 
 
 3. Sir John Franklin would be more likely to take 
 this course through a country known to possess the re- 
 sources of animal life, with the wreck of the Victorv 
 in Felix Harbor for fuel, and the stores of Fury Beach 
 farther north in view, than to full upon an utterly barren 
 region of the north coast of America. 
 
 4. He would be more likely to expect succor to be 
 sent to him by way of Lancaster Sound and Barrow's 
 Strait, into which Regent Inlet opens, than in any 
 other direction. 
 
 In corroboration of the necessity of this part of tho 
 search, I would refer generally to the Parliamentary 
 papers of 1848-9 and 50. As an individual opinion,! 
 may quote the words of Captain Eeechey, p. 31 of the 
 first series. " If, in this condition," (that of being 
 hopelessly blocked up to the S. "VV. of Cape Walker,) 
 " which I trust may not be the case. Sir John Franklin 
 should resolve upon taking to his boats, he would prefer 
 attempting a boat navigation through Sir James Ross's 
 Strait, and up Regent Inlet, to a long land journey 
 across the continent to the Hudson Bay Settlements, 
 to wliich the greater part of his crew would be wholly 
 unequal." And again, in his letter to the Secretary 
 of the Admiralty, Tth of February, 1850, Captain 
 Beechey writes, " * * ^ * the bottom of Regent Inlet, 
 about the Pelly Islands, should not be left unexamined, 
 [n the memorandum submitted to their Lordships, 17th 
 of January, 1849, this quarter was considered of im- 
 portance, and I am still of opinion that had Sir John 
 Franklin abandoned his vessels near the coast of 
 America, and much short of the Mackenzie River, he 
 would have preferred the probability of retaining the 
 use of his boats until he found relief in Barrow's Strait, 
 to risking an overland journey via the before-men- 
 tioned river ; and it must be remembered that at the 
 
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350 
 
 PROGRESS OP ARCTIC DISCOVERT. 
 
 time he sailed, Sir George Back's discovery had ren- 
 dered it very probable that Boothia was an island. 
 
 The memorandum alluded to by Captain Boechey 
 as having been submitted to the Lords of the Ad mi- 
 ralty on the 17th of January, 1849, was, the expression 
 of the unanimous opinion of the arctic officers assem- 
 bled by command of the Admiralty to deliberate upon 
 the best means to be taken for the relief of the missing 
 expedition ; and in this report, clause 14 is expressly 
 devoted to the recommendation of the search of liegent 
 Inlet. 
 
 The necessity for the proposed search may be tlius 
 further developed. Sir ef ohn Franklin may have aban- 
 doned his ships, when liis provisions were nearly ex- 
 hausted somewhere about the latitude of 73° N., long. 
 105° W. ; in short, at any point S. W. of Ca])e Walker, 
 not further W. than long. 110°. And in such case, 
 rather than return north, (which might be indeed im- 
 practicable) or moving south upon the American Con- 
 tinent, of which (upon the coast,) the utter barrenness 
 was already well known to him, he mip-ht prefer a 
 southeastern course, with a view of passing in his boats, 
 either through James Ross's, or through Simpson's 
 Straits, into the Gulf of Boothia, and so up into Regent 
 Inlet to the house and stores left at Fury Beach, the 
 only depot of provisions known to him. The advantages 
 of such a course might appear to him very great. 
 
 1. Two open passages being laid down in his charts 
 into Regent Inlet, by James Ross's Strait, and by Simp- 
 son's Strait, a means of boat transport for his party 
 would be aftbrded, of which alone perhaps their ex- 
 hausted strength and resources might admit; such a 
 course would obviously recommend itself to a com- 
 mander who had experienced the frightful difficulties 
 of a land journey in tliose regions. 
 
 2. The proposed course would lead through a part, 
 the Isthmus of Boothia, in which animal life is known 
 at some seasons to abound. 
 
 3. The Esquimaux who have been found on the 
 Isthmus of Boothia are extremely well disposed and 
 friendly. 
 
nif 
 
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 VOYAOIi: OF THE I'lilNCE ALDKIIT. 
 
 85] 
 
 4. It is the direct route toward the habitual yearly 
 resort of the whalers ou the west coast of BalHn's Jiiiy 
 and Davis* Strait ; indeed those ships occasionally de- 
 scend Regent Inlet to a considerable distance south. 
 
 5. There are two persons attached to the expedition 
 who are well acnuainted with this region and its re- 
 sources — viz., Mr. Blanky, ice master, and Mr. Mac- 
 Donald, assistant surgeon, of the Terror. The former 
 was with Sir John Koss in the Victory. The latter 
 has made several voyages in whaling vessels and is 
 acquainted with the parts lying between Regent Inlet 
 and Davis' Strait. Where so few among the crews of 
 the missing ships have had any local experience, the 
 concurrent knowledge of two persons would have 
 considerable weight. 
 
 6. Opinions are very greatly divided as to the part 
 in wliicli Sir John Franldin's party may have been ar- 
 rested, and as to the course tliey may have taken in 
 consequence. It would be therefore manifestly unfair, 
 and most dangerous, to reason out and magnify any one 
 hypothesis at the expense of the others. The plan liere 
 alluded to sought to provide for the probability of the 
 Expedition having been stopped shortly after passing to 
 the southwest of Cape Walker. The very open season 
 of 1845 was followed by years of unusual severity until 
 1849. It is therefore very possible tliat retreat as well 
 as onward progress has been impossible — tliat safety 
 alone has become their last object. The hope of rescu- 
 ing them in tlieir last extremity depends, then, (as far 
 as human means can insure it,) on tlie multiplying of 
 simultaneous efforts in every direction. Captain Aus- 
 tin's vessels will, if moving in pairs, take two most im- 
 portant sections only, of tlie general search, and will 
 fend tliey have enough to do to reach their several points 
 of operation this season. 
 
 The necessity for this search was greatly enhanced 
 oy the intelligence received about this time in England 
 of tlie arrival of Mr. Rae and Commander PuUen at 
 the Mackenzie River, thus establishing the fact, that 
 Sir John Franklin's party had not reached any part of 
 
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S52 
 
 rR()Gui:sa of Aucric discovery. 
 
 the coast between Beliring's Strait and tlio Coppermine 
 River, while tiio ciieck which Mr. Kue received in 
 bis course to the north of the Coppermine, tended to 
 give increased importance to the (juarter eastward of 
 tJiat position. 
 
 Commander Charles Codrincton Foi*aytb, 11. N., an 
 cntei'prising young utlicer, who had not long previously 
 been promoted in consequence of his arduous services 
 in surveying on the Australian, African, and American 
 shores, and who had rendered good service to the gov- 
 ernment by landing supplies on the east coast of Africa, 
 under circumstances of great difficulty during the Kafir 
 war, had volunteered unsuccessfully for all the govern- 
 ment expeditions, but was permitted by the Admiralty 
 to command this private branch expedition, in which 
 he embarked without fee or reward — on the noble and 
 honorable mission of endeavoring to relieve his long- 
 imprisoned brother officers. 
 
 The Prince Albert, a small clipper vessel of about 
 ninety tons, originally built by Messrs. White, of Cowes, 
 in October, 1848, for the fruit trade, was accordingly 
 hastily fitted out and dispatched from Aberdeen, and 
 Captain Forsyth was instructed to winter, if possible, 
 in JBrentford Bay, in Regent Inlet, and tlience send 
 parties to explore the o])po8ite side of the isthmus and 
 the various shores and bays of the Inlet She had a 
 crew of twenty, W. Kay and "W. Wilson acting as first 
 and second mates, and Mr. W. P. Snow as clerk. She 
 Bailed on the 5tli of June, and was consequently the 
 last vessel that left, and yet is the first that has reached 
 liome, having also brought some account of the track 
 of Franklin's expedition. 
 
 The Prince Albert arrived off Care Farewell, Jidy 
 2d, entered the ice on the 19th, and on the 21st, came 
 up with Sir John Ross in a labyrinth of ice. She pro- 
 ceeded up Lancaster Sound and Barrow's Strait, fell in 
 with most of the English ships in those seas, and also 
 with the American brig Advance, sailing some time in 
 conq^any, and attempted to enter Regent Inlet and Wel- 
 lington Channel. She left the Advance aground near 
 
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VOYAGE OF THE PEINCE ALBERT. 
 
 353 
 
 Cape Riley, at the entrance of Wellinffton Channel, 
 though not in a situation supposed to oe dangerous. 
 Commander Forsyth, in his otiicial letter to the Lords 
 of the Admiralty, says that " traces of tht missing ex- 
 pedition under Sir John Franklin had been found at 
 Cape Riley and Beechey Island, at the entrance to the 
 Wellington Channel. We observed five places where 
 tents had been pitched, or stones placed as if they had 
 been used for keeping the lower part of the tents down, 
 also great quantities of beef, pork, and birds' bones, a 
 piece of rope, with the Woolwich naval marlc on it, 
 (^yellow,) part of which I have inclosed." Having en- 
 tered Wellington Channel, and examined the coast as 
 far as Point Innis, and finding no further traces of tlio 
 missing vessels, and it being impracticable to penetrate 
 further to the west. Commander Forsyth returned to Ro 
 gent Inlet, but meeting no opening there, the season 
 oeing near at hand when the ice begins to form, and 
 his vessel not of a strength which would enable it to 
 resist a heavy pressure of ice, he determined on return- 
 ing without further delay to England, after examining 
 a number of points along the coast. 
 
 On the 25th of August, a signal staff being observed 
 on shore at Cape Riley, Mr. Snow was sent by Captain 
 Forsyth to examine it. He found that the Assistance, 
 Captain Ommaney, had been there two days before, and . 
 bad left the following notice : — 
 
 " This is to certify that Captain Ommaney, with the 
 officers of her Majesty's ships Assistance and Intrepid, 
 landed upon Cape Riley on the 23d August, 1850, where 
 he found traces of encampments, and collected tlie re- 
 mains of materials, which evidently proved that so^ne 
 party belonging to her Majesty's ships had been de- 
 tained on that spot. Beechey Island was vAzo examined, 
 where traces were found of the same party. This is 
 also to give notice that a supply of provisions and fuel 
 * at Cape Riley. Since 15th August, thev have ex- 
 amined the north shore of Lancaster Sound and Bar- 
 row's Strait, witliout meeting with any other traces. 
 Captain Ommaney proceeds to Cape Ilotham and Ca})0 
 
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354 
 
 PROGRESS OF ARCTIC DISCOVERT. 
 
 Walker in search of further traces of Sir John Frank- 
 lin's expedition. Dated on board her Majesty's ship 
 Assistance, ofl* Cape Riley, the 23d August, 1850." 
 
 The seamen who were dispatched from the Assistance 
 to examine these remains, i'ound a rope with the naval 
 mark, evidently belonging to a vessel which had been 
 fitted out at Woolwich, and which, in all probability, 
 was either the Erebus or the Terror. Other indications 
 were also noticed, which showed that some vessel liad 
 visited the place besides the Assistance. Captain For- 
 syth left a notice that the Prince Albert had called off 
 Cajie Kiley on the 25th of August, and then bore up 
 to the eastward. Captain Forsyth landed at Posses- 
 sion Bay on the 29th August, but nothing was found 
 there to repay the search instituted. 
 
 The Prince Albert arrived at Aberdeen, on the 22d 
 of October, after a quick passage, having been absent 
 something less than four months. 
 
 Captain Forsyth proceeded to Londoii by the mail 
 train, taking with him, for the information of the Ad- 
 miralty, the several bones, (beef, pork, &c.,) which were 
 found on Cape Riley, together with a piece of rope of 
 about a foot and a half in length, and a small piece of 
 canvas with the Queen's mark upon it, both in an ex- 
 cellent state of preservation ; placing it almost beyond 
 a doubt that they were left on that spot by the expedi- 
 tion under Sir John Franklin. 
 
 o'aptain Forsyth, during his short trip, explored re- 
 gions wliicli Sir James Ross was unable to reach tlio 
 previous vear. He was at Wellington Channel, and 
 penetrated to Fury Beach, where Sir E. Parry abun- 
 dcuKMl his vessel, (the Fury,) in 1825, after she had 
 takoM the ground. It is situated in about 72° 40' N. 
 latitude, and 91° 50' W. longitude. This is a point 
 vliich has not been '-oached by any vessel for twenty 
 years past. It was found, however, utterly impossible 
 to land there on account of the packed ice. The whole 
 of the coasts of Baffin's Bay have also now been visited 
 witliout result. 
 
 The intelligence which Capt. Forsyth brought home 
 
VOYAGE OF THE PRINCE ALBERT. 
 
 355 
 
 has, a8 a matter of course, excited the most mtense in- 
 terest in naval circles, and among the friend i5 and rela- 
 tives of the parties absent in the Erebus and Terror, 
 the more so inasmuch as it has been ascertained at 
 Chatliam Dockyard that the lope which Captain For- 
 8}'th found on the spot when he visited it, and copied 
 Capt. Ommaney's notice, is proved by its yellow mark 
 to have been manufactured there, and certainly since 
 1824r ; and moreover, from inquiries instituted, very 
 Btrong evidence has been elicited in favor of the belief 
 that the rope was made between the years 1841 and 
 18-49. That the trail of the Franklin expedition, or 
 Bome detachment of it, has been struck, there cannot 
 be the slightest doubt in the mind of any one who has 
 read the dispatches and reports. That Captain Om- 
 maney felt satisfied on this score is evident from the 
 terms of the paper he left behind him. The squadron, 
 it appears, were in full cry upon the scent on the 2.5th 
 of August, and we must wait patiently, but anxiously, 
 for the next accounts of the results of their indefatiga- 
 ble researches, which can hardly reach us from Bar- 
 row's Strait before the autumn of 1851. 
 
 There can be no doubt now in the mind of any one, 
 that the Arctic Searching Expeditions have at length 
 come upon traces^ if not the track of Sir John Frank- 
 lin. The accounts brought by Captain Forsyth must 
 have at least satisfied the most desponding that there 
 is still hope left — that the ships have not foundered in 
 Baffin's Bay, at the outset of the voyage, nor been 
 crushed in the ice, and burned by a savage tribe of 
 Esquimaux, who had murdered the crew. That the 
 former mhjht have happened, all must admit ; but to 
 the latter, few, we imagine, will give their assent, not- 
 withstanding the numerous cruel rumors promulgntod 
 from time to time. It would be idle to dwell upon so 
 impossible an event. Where could this savage tril)o 
 spring from ? Mr. Saunders describes the natives of 
 "Wolstenholme Sound as the most miserable and help- 
 less of mortals. They had no articles ()])t[iined from 
 Europeans ; and he was of opinion that thei. were no 
 
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356 
 
 PROGRESS OF ARCTIC DISCOVERY. 
 
 settlements further north ; and if there were, doubtless 
 they would be even more impotent than these wretched 
 beinffs. That the ship miffht hav^ foundered all must 
 admit. The President did so with many a gallant soul 
 on board. The Avenger ran on the Sorelli, and 300 
 brave fellows, in an instant, met with a watery grave ; 
 and till the sea shall give up her dead, who can count 
 tlie tliousands that lie beneath the billows of tiie miglity 
 ocean ? "We liave now certain evidence that Franklin's 
 ships did not founder — not, at least, in R'iiiin's Bay ; 
 and our own belief, (says a well-informed and compe- 
 tent writer in the Morning Herald,) is that the pennant 
 still floats in the northern breeze, amid eternal regions 
 of snow and ice. 
 
 The voyage performed by the Prince Albert has thus 
 been the means of keeping alive our hopes, and of in- 
 forming us, up to a certain point, of the progress of 
 the expeditions, and the situation of the diflereut ships, 
 of which we might have been left in a state of utter 
 ignorance till the close of this year. Every thing con- 
 nected with the navigation of the arctic seas is a 
 chance, coupled, of course, with skill ; and in looking 
 at this voyage performed by Lady Franklin's little 
 vessel, it must be obvious to every one that Captain 
 Forsyth has had the chance of an open season, and the 
 skill to make use of it. 
 
 " Live a thousand years," and we may never see such 
 another voyage performed. "We have only to look at 
 all that hav^e preceded. Parry, it is true, in one year 
 ran to Melville Island, and passing a winter, got back 
 to England the following season — and this is at present 
 the ne plus ultra of arctic navigation. Sir John Koss, 
 we know, went out in the Victory to Regent Lilet, and 
 was frozen in for four years, and all the world gave 
 liiin up for lost — but "there's life in the old dog yet," 
 as the song has it. 
 
 Sir James Ross was frozen in at Leopold Harbor, 
 and only got out, at^O" r»assing a winter, to be carried 
 away in a floe of ice into Baffin's Bay, which no human 
 skill could prevent. 
 
VOYAGE OF THE PRINCE ALBERT. 
 
 357 
 
 Sir George Back was to make a summer's cruise to 
 Wager Inlet, and return to England. The result every 
 one knows or may make themselves acquainted with, 
 by reading the fearful voyage of the 1 error, an ab- 
 stract of which I have already given. It would be 
 Buj^erfluous to enumerate many other of our series of 
 polar voyages, but it is pretty evident that Captain 
 Forsyth's voyage, performed in the summer months 
 of 1850, will bo nanded down to posterity as one of the 
 most remarkable, if not the most remarkable, that has 
 ever been accomplished in the arctic seas — the expe- 
 dition consisting of one solitary small vessel. 
 
 The main object of the voyage, it is true, has not 
 been accomplished, but as all the harbors in Hcgent 
 Inlet were frozen up, and it was utterly inipossible to 
 cut through a vast tract of ice, extending for perhaps 
 four or five miles, to get the ship to a secure anchor- 
 age, under these circumstances, CJaptain Forsyth had 
 no alternative but to return, and in doing so, he hjis, 
 in the opinion of all the best-informed officers, dis- 
 played great good sense and judgment rather than re- 
 n.ain frozen in at the "Wellington Channel, where he 
 only went to reconnoiter, and where he had no business 
 whatever, Us instructions being confined to Regent 
 Inlet. 
 
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:f 
 
 THE AMERICAN ARCTIC EXPEDITION. 
 
 The First Grinnell Expedition in the Advance and 
 Rescue, sent out by Henry Grinnell, Esq., under 
 
 COMMAND OF LlEUTENANT De HaVEN, IN THE YEAK8 
 
 1850 and 1851. 
 
 The safe return ox the expedition sent out by Mr 
 Ilonry Grinnell, an opulent merchant of New York city 
 in search of Sir John Franklin and his companions, is 
 an event of much interest ; and the voyage, though not 
 resulting in the discovery of the long-absent mariners, 
 presents many considerations satisfactory to the parties 
 iniTnediately concerned, and the American public in 
 general. 
 
 Mr. Grinnell's expedition consisted of only two small 
 brigs, the Advance of 140 tons ; the Rescue of only 90 
 tons. The former had been engaged in the Havana 
 trade ; the latter was a new vessel built for the mer- 
 cliATit service. Both were strengthened for the arctic 
 voyage at a heavy cost. They were then placed under 
 the directions of our Navy Board, and subject to naval 
 regulations, as if in permanent service. The command 
 was given to Lieut. E. De Haven, a young naval ofiicer 
 who accompanied the United States exploring expedi- 
 tion. The result has proved that a better choice could 
 not have been made. His officers consisted of Mr. 
 Murdoch, sailing-master ; Dr. E. K. Kane, surgeon and 
 naturalist ; and Mr. Lovell, midshipman. The Advance 
 had a crew of twelve men when she sailed ; two of them 
 complaining of sickness, and expressing a desire to 
 return home, were left at the Danish settlement at Dicco 
 Island, on the coast of Greenland. 
 
 The Expedition left New York on the 23d of May, 
 1850, and was absent a little more than sixteen months. 
 They passed the eastern extremity of Newfoundland 
 
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362 
 
 riiOGItESS OF AECTIC DI8COVE14Y. 
 
 ten days nfter leavinpj Sandy Hook, and tlicn sailed 
 east-northeast, directly for Cape Comfort, on the coast 
 of Greenland. The weather was generally line, and 
 only a single accident occurred on the v oyaf'e to that 
 country of fro^t and snow. Off* the coast of Labradui 
 they met an iceberg making its way toward the tropics. 
 The night was very dark, and as the huge voyager had 
 no " light out," the Advance could not be censured fur 
 running foul. She was punished, however, by the loss 
 of her jib-boom, as she ran against the iceberg at the 
 rate of seven or eight knots an hour. 
 
 The voyagers did not land at Cape Comfort, but 
 turning northward, sailed along the southwest coast of 
 Greenland, sometimes in the midst of broad acres of 
 bi-oken ice, (particularly *n Davis' Straits,) a? fur as 
 Whale Island O th •- vo^' the 'mniveisary of our 
 national indcpendeiiro oe -irred ; it was observed by 
 the seamen by' jpli^^r^; t*^o main-brace" — in other 
 words, they were allowed an c? ...'a glass of grog on that 
 dav. 
 
 From Whale Island, a boat, with two officers and 
 four seamen, was sent to Disco Island, a distance of 
 about 26 miles, to a Danish settlement there, to procure 
 skin clothing and other articles necessary for nse during 
 the rigors of a polar winter. The officers were enter- 
 tained at the government house ; 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 Upernavick, they 
 were boarded by natives for the ffrst time. 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. 
 
 AVhen the expedition reached Melville Bay, which, 
 on account of its fearful character, is also called the 
 DtviVs JVJp^ the voyagers began to witness more of 
 the grandeur and perils of arctic scenes. Icebergs of 
 
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TlIK .VMKKICAN AUCTIC EXI'EDITIuN. 
 
 365 
 
 all dimensions came bearing down from the Polar seas, 
 like vast Sipuidrons, and the roar of their rending came 
 over the waters like the booming of heavy broadsides 
 of contending' navies. Tliey also encountered immense 
 floes, with only narrow channels between, and at times 
 their situation was excee<lingly jx'rilous. On one occa- 
 sion, after heaving through iields of ice for live consecu- 
 tive weeks, two immense floes, between whicli tliev 
 were making their way, gradually ap})roached 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 calf 
 of ice, six or eight feet thick, slid under the Rescue, 
 lifting her almost "high and dry," and careening her 
 partially upon her beam ends. By means of ice-an- 
 chors, (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« 
 flned, polar bears came around them in abundance, 
 greedy fur prey, and the seamen indulged a little in the 
 perilous sports of the chase. 
 
 The open sea continued but a short time, when they 
 again became entangled among bergs, floes, and hum- 
 mocks, and encountered the most fearful perils. Some- 
 times they anchored their vessels to icebergs, and some- 
 times to noes or 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 s])lit 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 Tth to tlio 23d of July. During that 
 time they were joined by tlie yacht Prince Albert, com- 
 manded by Cui)tuin Forsytli, of tiie Royal Navy, and 
 
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 TKOORlv'S OF AKirriC DIrtC'UVKUY. 
 
 together the three vessels were anchored, for a while, 
 to an immense field of ice, in si^j^ht of the Devil's 
 Thumb. That high, rocky peak, Kituated in latitude 
 7'P 22', was about thirty miles distant, and with the 
 dark hills adjacent, presented a strange a8})ect whore 
 all was white and glittering. The pack and the hills 
 are masses of rock, with occasionally a lichen or a moss 
 growing upon their otherwise naked surfaces. In the 
 midst of the vast ice-field loomed up many lofty bergs, 
 all of them in motion — slow and majestic motion. 
 
 From the Devil's Thumb the American vessels passed 
 onward through the pack toward Sabino's Islands, while 
 the Prince Albert essayed to make a more westerly 
 course. They reached Cape York at the beginning of 
 August. Far across the ice, landward, they discovered, 
 through their glasses, several men, apparently making 
 signals ; and for a while they rejoiced m the belief that 
 they saw a portion of Sir John Franklin's companions. 
 Four men, (among whom was our sailor-artist,) were 
 dispatched with a whale-boat to reconnoiter. They soon 
 discovered the men to be Esquimaux, who, by signs, 
 professed great friendship, 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 vessel, the expedition again pushed forward, and 
 made its way to Cape Dudley Digges, which they 
 reached on the 7th of August. 
 
 At Cape Dudley Digo^es they were charmed by the 
 sight of the Crimson Cliffs, spoken of by Captain Farry 
 and other arctic navigators. These are lofty cliffs of 
 dark brown stone, covered with snow of a rich crimson 
 color. It was a magnificent sight in that cold region, 
 to see such an apparently warm object standing out in 
 bold relief against the dark blue back-gionnd of a polar 
 sky. This was the most northern point to which the 
 expedition penetrated. The whole coast which they 
 had passed from Disco to this cape is high, rugged, and 
 ban-en, only some of the low points, stretching into the 
 sea, bearing a species of dwarf fir. Northeast from 
 the cape rise the Arctic Highlands, to an unknown alti- 
 
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 Rmi 
 

TUK AMF,RICAN ARCTIC EXPEDITION. 
 
 371 
 
 tude ; and stretchine; away northward is the unexplored 
 Smith's Sound, filled with impenetrable ice. 
 
 From Cape Dudley Digges, the Advance and Res- 
 cue, beating against wind and tide in the midst of the 
 ice-fields, made Wolstenholme Sound, and then chang- 
 ing their course to the southwest, emerged from tlie 
 fidds into the open waterb uf Lancaster Sound. Here, 
 on the 18th of August, they encountered a tremendous 
 gale, which lasted about twenty-four hours. The two 
 vessels parted company during the storm, and remained 
 separate several clays. Across Lancaster Sound, the 
 Advance made her way to Barrow's Straits, and on the 
 22d discovered the Prince Albert on the southern shore 
 of the straits, near Leopold Island, a mass of lofty, 
 
 Srecipitous rocks, dark and barren, and hooded and 
 raped with snow. The weather was fine, and soon 
 the ofiicers and crews of the two vessels met in friendly 
 greeting. Those of the Prince Albert were much as- 
 tonished, for they (being towed by a steamer,) left the 
 Americans in Melville Bay on the 6th, pressing north- 
 ward through tlie pack, and could not conceive how 
 they so soon and safely penetrated it. Captain For- 
 syth had attempted to reacli a particular point, wliero 
 he intended to remain througli the winter, but finding 
 the passage thereto completely blocked up with ice, ho 
 had resolved, on the very day when the Americans ap- 
 peared, to " 'bout ship," and return home. This fact, 
 and the disappointment felt by Mr. Snow, are mentioned 
 in our fonner article. 
 
 The two vessels remained together a day or two, 
 wrhen they parted company, the Prince Albert to re- 
 iurn home, and the Advance to make further explora- 
 tions. It was oft* Leopold Island, on the 22d of Au- 
 gust, that the " mad Yankee " took the lead through the 
 vast masses of floating ice, so vividlv described by Mr. 
 Snow, and so graphically portrayed by the sailor-artist. 
 " The way was before thom," says Mr. Snow, who stood 
 npon the deck of the Advance ; " the stream of ice had 
 to be eitlier gone tlirongh boldly, or a long detour made; 
 and, despite the heaviness of the stream, they pushed 
 
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872 
 
 PROGRESS OF ARCTIC DISCOVERT. 
 
 the vessel through in her proper course. Two or three 
 shocks, as she came in contact with some lai-ge pieces, 
 were unheeded ; and the moment the last block was 
 past the bow, the officer sung out, * So : steady as she 
 goes on her course ;' and came aft as if nothing more 
 than ordinary sailing had been going on. I observed 
 our own little bark nobly following in the American's 
 wake ; and as I afterward learned, she got through it 
 pretty well, though not without much doubt of the pro- 
 priety of keeping on in such procedure after the ' mad 
 Yankee,' as he was called by our mate." 
 
 From Leopold Island the Advance proceeded to the 
 northwest, and on the 25th reached Cape Riley, an 
 other amorphous mass, not so regular and precipitate 
 as Leopold iBland, but more lofty. Here a strong tide, 
 setting in to the shore, drifted the Advance toward the 
 beach, whore she stranded. Around her were small 
 bergs and largo masses of floating ice, all under the 
 influence of tlie strong current. It was about two 
 o'clock in the afternoon when she struck. By diligent 
 labor in removing every thing from her deck to a small 
 floe, she was so lightened, that at four o'clock the next 
 morning she floated, and soon every thing was properly 
 replaced. 
 
 Near Cape Kiley the Americans fell in with a por- 
 tion 01 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 and Lady Franklin; the veteran Sir 
 John Ross, with the Felix, and Commodore Austin, 
 with the Resolute steamer. Together the navigators 
 of both nations explored the coast at and near Cape 
 Riley, and on the 27th they saw in a cove on the shore 
 of Beechey Island, or Beechey Cape, on the east side f»f 
 the entrance to Wellington Channel, unmistakable evi 
 dence that Sir John Franklin and his companions were 
 there in April, 1846. There they found many articles 
 known to belong to the British Navy, and some that 
 were the pro])erty of the Erobus and Terror, the ships 
 under the command of Sir John. There lay, bleacUad 
 
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 THE A^natlCAN AKCilC KXI'MDI'l ION. 
 
 375 
 
 to the whiteness of the surrounding snow, a ])icce of 
 canvas, with the name of the Terror, marked upon it 
 with indestrnctible charcoal. It was very faint, yet 
 perfectly legible. Near it was a 
 guide board, lying flat upon its 
 face, having been prostrated by 
 the wind. It had evidently been 
 used to direct exploring parties to 
 the vessels, or rather, to the en- 
 camp ;nent on shore. The board 
 was pine, thirteen inches in length 
 and six and a half in breadth, and 
 nailed to a boarding pike eight 
 feet in length. It is supposed 
 that the sudden opening of the 
 ice, caused Sir John to depart 
 hastily, and in so doing, this pike 
 and its board were left behind. 
 They also found a large number 
 of tin canisters, 
 such as are used 
 for packing meats 
 for a sea voyage; an 
 anvil block : rem- 
 nants of clothing, 
 which evinced, by 
 immerous patches 
 and their thread- 
 bare character,that 
 they had been worn 
 as long rs the own- 
 ers could keep them ANVIL BLOCK. GUIDE » it >ARD. 
 on ; the remains of an India Rubber glove, lin I i;ith 
 wool ; some old sacks ; a cask, or tub, partly fil I with 
 charcoal, and an unfinished rope-mat, which, 1 j other 
 fibrous fabrics, was bleached white. 
 
 Brt the most interesting, and at the same ' 
 melancholy traces of the navigators, were thr^ 
 in a little sheltered cove, each with a board ^ lie head, 
 bearing the name of the sleeper below. Thc^o iusurip- 
 
 iie most 
 graves, 
 
 M 
 
 
 1 
 
376 
 
 PllOUliESB OF AliUTlU JJlriCUX KKV. 
 
 tions testify positively when Sir John and his comj^an 
 ions were there. The board at the head of the grave 
 on the left has the following inscription : 
 
 " Sacred to the niemory of Joun Tqrbtnoton, who 
 departed this life, January Ist, a d., 1S46, on board 
 her Majesty's ship Terror, aged 20 years." 
 
 On the center one — "Sacred to the memory of 
 John IIabtnell, A. B., of her Majesty's ship Erebus ; 
 died, January 4th, 1846, aged 25 years. ' Thus saith 
 the Lord of Jlosts, Consider your ways ;' Ilaggai, chap, 
 i. 6, 7." 
 
 On the right — "Sacred to the memory of W. Braine, 
 R. M., of her Majesty's ship Erebus, who died April 3d, 
 1846, aged 32 years. ' Choose you this day whom you 
 will serve :' Joshua, chap, xxiv., part of the 15th verse." 
 
 THREE GRAVES AT BEECHEY. 
 
 How much later than April 3d (the date upon the 
 last-named head-board,) Sir .Tohn remained at Beechey, 
 can not be determined. They saw evidences of his 
 having gone northward, for sledge tracks in that di- 
 rection were visible. It is tlie opinion of Dr. Kjuio 
 that, on the breaking up of the ice, in the spring, Sir 
 John passed northward with his ships through Welling- 
 ton channel, into the great Polar basin, and that he 
 did not return. This, too, is the opinion of Captain 
 Penny, and he zealously urges the British government 
 to send a powerful screw steamer to pass through tha^ 
 
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THE AMKlilCAN AliCTIC EXl'KDITION. 
 
 379 
 
 cliannel, and explore the tlieoretically more li08pital)le 
 coustB beyond. Tliis will doubtless ])e undertaken 
 another season, it being the opinions of Captains Parry, 
 lieeehey, Sir John Kass, and others, expressed at a eon- 
 feronce with the board of Admiralty, in Sej)teml)er, that 
 the season was too far advanced to attempt it the i)re3- 
 ent year. Dr. Kane, in a letter to J\Ir. Grinneil, since 
 the return of the expedition, thus expresses his opin- 
 ion concerning the safety of Sir Jolm and his com- 
 panions. After saying, "1 should think that he is 
 now to be sought for north and west of Cornwallia 
 Island," he adds, *' as to the chance of the destruction 
 of hia party by the casualties of ice, the return of our 
 own party after something more than the usual share 
 of them, is the only fact that I can add to what wo 
 knew when we set out. The hazards from cold and 
 privation of food may be almost looked upon as sub- 
 ordinate. The snow-hut, the fire and light from the 
 moss-lamp fed with blubber, the seal, th( narwhal, the 
 white whale, and occasionally abundant stores of mi- 
 gratory birds, would sustain vigorous life. The scurvy, 
 the worst visitation of explorers deprived of perma- 
 nent quarters, is more rare in the depths of a jmlar 
 winter, than In the milder weather of the moist sum 
 mer ; and our two little vessels encountered both 
 seasons without losing a man." 
 
 Leaving Beechey Cape, our expedition forced its way 
 through the ice to Barrow's Inlet, where they narrowly 
 escaped being frozen in for the winter. They endeav- 
 ored to enter the Inlet, for the purpose of making it 
 their winter quarters, but were jjrevented by the mass 
 of pack-ice at its entrance. It was on the 4th of Sej)- 
 tember, 1850, when they arrived there, aiiH after re- 
 maining seven or eight days, they abanchdied the 
 attempt to enter. On the right and left of the above 
 picture, are seen the dark rocks at the entrance of the 
 inlet, and in the center of the frozen waters and the 
 range of hills beyond. Tliere was much smooth ice 
 witliln the Inlet, and while the vessels lav ancliored 
 to tlie " iield," otlicLMS and crew exercised and amused 
 
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880 
 
 PKOGRKSS OF AKCIU? DISCOVEliY. 
 
 thomsclves hy skiitinj*. On tlie left of the Inlet, (in 
 (licjitcd by tho dark conical object,) they discovered a 
 Cairn, (a lioap of stones with a cavity,) eight or ten 
 feet in height, which was erected by Captain Omraaney 
 of the English Expedition then in the polar waters. 
 Within it he had placed two letters, for *' Whom it 
 might concern." Commander De Haven also depos- 
 ited a letter there. It is believed to be the only post- 
 office in the world, free for tho use of all nations. The 
 rocks, here, presented vast lissures made by the frost ; 
 and at the foot of the cliff on the right that powerful 
 agent had cast down vast heaps of debris. 
 
 From Barlow's Inlet, our expedition moved slowly 
 westward, battling with tho ice every rood of the way, 
 until they reached Griffin's Island, at about 06° west 
 longitude from Greenwich. This was attained on tlie 
 lltli, and was the extreme westing made by tho expe- 
 dition. All beyond seemed impenetrable ice ; and, 
 despairing of making any further discoveries before the 
 winter should set in, they resolved to return home. 
 Turning eastward, they hoped to reach Davis' Strait 
 by the southern route, before the cold and darkness 
 came on ; but they were doomed to disappointment. 
 Near the entrance to Wellington Channel tliey became 
 completely locked in by hummock-ice, and soon 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, 
 and soon the long polar night, with all its darkness and 
 horrors, would fall upon them. Slowly they drifted in 
 those vast Holds of ice, whither, or to what result, they 
 knew not. Locked in the moving yet compact mass ; 
 liable at every moment to be crushed ; far away from 
 land ; the mercury sinking daily lower and lower from 
 tho zero figure, toward the point where that metal 
 freezes, they felt small hope of ever reaching home again. 
 Yet they j^repared for winter comforts and winter sports, 
 as cheerfully us if lying safe in Barlow's Inlet. As the 
 
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TUB AMERICAN AECTIO EXPEDITION. 
 
 385 
 
 <vinter advanced, the crews of both the vessels went on 
 Doard 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 
 necessary for the preservation of health, they daily ex- 
 ercised in the open air for several hours. They built 
 ice huts, hunted the huge white bears and the little polar 
 foxes, and when the darkness of the winter night had 
 spread over them 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 night 
 closed in. Early in November they wholly abandoned 
 the Kescue, and both crews made the Advance their 
 permanent winter home. The cold soon became in- 
 tense ; the mercury congealed, and the spirit thermome- 
 ter indicated 46° below zero ! Its average range was 
 30° to 35°. They had drifted helplessly up Wellington 
 Cluxnnel, almost to the latitude from whence Captain 
 Penny saw an open sea, and which all believe to bo 
 the great polar basin, where there is a more genial 
 clime than that which intervenes between the Arctic 
 Circle and the 75th degree. Here, when almost in 
 sight of the open ocean, that mighty polar tide, with 
 its vast masses of ice, suddenly ebbed, and our little 
 vessels were carried back as resistlessly as before, 
 through Barrow's Straits into Lancaster Sound! All 
 this while the immense fields of hummock-ice were 
 moving, and the vessels were in hourlv danger of being 
 crushed and destroyed. At lengtn, while drifting 
 through Barrow's Straits, the congealed mass, as it 
 crushed together by the opposite shores, became more 
 compact, and the Advance was elevated almost seven 
 feet by the stern, and keeled two feet eight inches, star- 
 board. In this position she remained, with very little 
 alteration for five consecutive months ; for, soon after 
 entering Baffin's Bay in the midst of the winter, the 
 ice became frozen in one immense tract, covering mil- 
 
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380 
 
 PROGRESS OF ARCTIO DISCOVERY. 
 
 lions of acres. Thus frozen in, sometimes more than a 
 hundred miles from land, they drifted slowly along the 
 southwest coast of Baftin's Bay, a distance of more than 
 a thousand miles from Wellington Chaimel. For eleven 
 weeks that dreary night contiimed, and during tliut 
 time the disc of the sun was never seen above the hori- 
 zon. Yet nature was not wholly forbidding in aspect. 
 Sometimes the Aurora Borealis would flash up still 
 further northward ; and sometimes Aurora Parhelia — 
 mock suns and mock moons — would appear in varied 
 beauty in the starry sky. Brilliant, too, were the north- 
 ern constellations ; and when the real moon was at its 
 full, it made its stately circuit in the heavens, without 
 descending below the horizon, and lighted up the vast 
 piles of ice with a pale luster, almost as great as the 
 morning twilights of more genial skies. 
 
 Around the vessels the crews built a wall of ice ; and 
 in ice huts they sto>,ed away their cordage and stores 
 to make room for exercise on the decks. They organ- 
 ized a theatrical company, and amused themselves and 
 the officers with comedy w^ell performed. Behind the 
 pieces of hummock each actor learned his part, and 
 by means of calico they transformed themselves into 
 female characters, as occasion required. These dramas 
 were acted on the deck of the Advance, sometimes 
 while the thermometer indicated 30° below zero, and 
 actors and audiences highly enjoyed the fun. They 
 also went in parties during that long night, fully armed, 
 to hunt the polar bear, the grim monarch of the frozen 
 Korth, on which occasions they often encountered peril- 
 ous adventures. They played at foot-ball, and exercised 
 themselves in drawing sledges, heavily laden with pro- 
 visions. Five hours of each twenty-four, they thus exer- 
 cised in the open air, and once a week each man washed 
 his whole body in cold snow water. Serioub sickness 
 was consequently avoided, and the scurvy which at- 
 tacked them soon yielded to remedies. 
 
 Often during that fearful night, they expected the 
 disaster of having their vessels crushed. All through 
 November and December, before the ice became fast 
 
IHi: AMKIilOAN ARCTIC KXrKDITION. 
 
 387 
 
 tlioy slept ill tlicir clothes, with knapsacks on tlicir 
 backs, and sledges upon the ice, laden with stores, not 
 knowing at what moment the vessels might be demol- 
 ished, and themselves forced to leave them, and make 
 their way toward land. On the 8th of December, and 
 the 23d of January, they actually lowered their boats 
 and stood upon the ice, for the crushing masses wero 
 making the timbers of the gallant vessel creak and its 
 decks to rise in the center. They were then ninety 
 miles from land, and hope hardly whispered an encour- 
 aging idea of life being sustained. On the latter occa- 
 sion, when officers and crew stood upon the ice, with 
 the ropes of their provision sledges in their hands, a 
 terrible snow-drift came from the northeast, and intense 
 darkness shrouded them. Had the vessel then been 
 crushed, all must have perished. But God, who ruled 
 the storm, also put forth His protecting arm and saved 
 them. 
 
 Early in February the northern horizon began to be 
 streaked with gorgeous twilight, the herald ot the ap- 
 proaching king of day ; and on the 18th the disc of 
 the sun first appeared above the horizon. As its golden 
 rim rose above the glittering snow-drifts and piles of 
 ice, three hearty cheers went up from those hardy mar 
 iners, and they welcomed their deliverer from the 
 chains of frost as cordially as those of old who chanted, 
 
 " See ! the conquering hero comes, 
 Sound the trumpet, beat the drums." 
 
 Day after day it rose higher and higher, and while the 
 pallid faces of the voyagers, bleached during that long 
 night, darkened by its beams, the vast masses of ice 
 began to yield to its fervid influences. The scurvy dis- 
 appeared, and from that time, until their arrival home, 
 not a man suffered from sickness. As they slowly 
 drifted through Davis' Straits, and the ice gave indica- 
 tions of breaking up, the voyagers made preparations 
 for sailing. The Rescue was re-occupied, (May 13th, 
 1851,) and her stone-post, which had been broken by 
 the ice in Barrow^s Straits, was repaired. To accom- 
 plish this, they were obliged to dig away the ice whicb 
 
 
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388 
 
 rEOGRESS OF ARCrfIC DISCOVERY. 
 
 was from 12 to 14 feet thick around her, as represented 
 in the engraving. They reshipped their rudders ; re- 
 moved tlie felt covering ; phaced their stores on deck, 
 and then patiently awaited the disruption of the ice 
 This event was very sudden and appalling. It began 
 to give way on the 5th of June, and in the space of 
 twenty minutes the whole mass, as far as the eye could 
 reach, became one vast field of moving floes. On the 
 10th of June, they emerged into open water, a little 
 south of the Arctic Circle, in latitude 65° 30'. They 
 immediately repaired to Godhaven, on the coast of 
 Greenland, where they refitted, and, unappalled by the 
 perils through which they had ji.st passed, they once 
 more turned their prows northward to encounter anew 
 the ice squadrons of Baffin's Bay. Again they trav- 
 ersed the coast of Greenland to about the 73d de- 
 gree, when they bore to the westward, and on the 7tb 
 and 8th of July, passed the English whaling fleet near 
 the Dutch Islands. Onward they pressed through 
 the accumulating ice to Baffin's Island, where, on 
 the 11th, they were joined by the Prince Albert, then 
 out upon another cruise. They continued in com- 
 pany until the 3d of August, when the Albert departed 
 for the westward, determined to try the more south' 
 ern passage. Here again our expedition encountered 
 vast fields of hummock-ice, and were subjected to the 
 most imminent perils. The floating ice, as if moved by 
 adverse currents, tumbled in huge masses, and reared 
 upon the sides of the sturdy little vessels like monsters 
 of the deep intent upon destruction. These masses 
 broke in the bulwarks, and sometimes fell over upon 
 the decks with terrible force, like rocks rolled over a 
 plain by mountain torrents. The noise was fearful ; so 
 deafening that the marinei'S could scarcely hear each 
 other's voices. The sounds of these rolling masses, to- 
 gether with the rending of the icebergs floating near, 
 and the vast floes, produced a din like the discharge of 
 a thousand pieces of ordnance upon a field of battle. 
 Finding the north and west closed a^i^ainst further 
 progress, by impenetrable ice, the brave De Haven was 
 
I 
 
 esented 
 31*8 ; re- 
 )n deck, 
 the ice 
 b began 
 pace of 
 ^e could 
 On the 
 a little 
 ■ They 
 oast of 
 1 by the 
 By once 
 Ejr anew 
 iy trav- 
 73d de- 
 the 7tb 
 3et near 
 through 
 ere, on 
 I't, then 
 n com- 
 eparted 
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 uutered 
 i to the 
 )ved by 
 
 reared 
 lonsters 
 
 masses 
 i^r upon 
 
 over a 
 I'ful ; BO 
 ir each 
 5ses, to- 
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TilK AMKUIOAN ARCTIC EXPEDITION. 
 
 393 
 
 balked, and turning bis vessels homeward, they came 
 ont into an open sea, somewhat crippled, but not a 
 plank seriously started. During a storm off the banks 
 of Newfoundland, a thousand miles from New York, 
 the vessels parted company. The Advance arrived 
 safely at the Navy Yard at Brooklyn on the 30th of 
 September, and the Rescue joined her there a few days 
 afterward. Toward the close of October, the govern- 
 ment resigned the vessels into the hands of Mr. Grin- 
 nell, to be used in other service, but with the stipulation 
 that they are to be subject to the order of the Secretary 
 of the Navy in the spring, if required for another 
 ex])edition in search of Sir John Franklin. 
 
 We have thus given a very brief account of the prin- 
 cipal events of interest connected with the American 
 Arctic Expedition ; afuU report of which, and detailed 
 narratives have been published. Aside from the suc- 
 cess which attended our little vessels in encountering the 
 perils of the polar seas, there are associations which must 
 forever hallow the eftbrt as one of the noblest exhibitions 
 of the true glory of nations. The navies of America and 
 England have before met upon the ocean, but they met 
 for deadly strife. Now, too, they met for strife, equally 
 determined, but not with each other. They met in the 
 holy cause of benevolence and human sympathy, to 
 battle with the elements beneath the Arctic Circle ; and 
 the chivalric heroism which the few stout hearts of the 
 two nations displayed in that terrible conflict, redounds 
 a thousand-fold more to the glory of the actors, their 
 governments, and the race, than if four-score ships, 
 with ten thousand armed men had fought for the mas- 
 tery of each other upon the broad ocean, and battered 
 hulks and marred corpses had gone down to the coral 
 caves of the sea, a dreadful offering to the demon of 
 Discord. In the latter event, troops of widows and or- 
 phan children would have sent up a cry of wail ; now, 
 the heroes advanced manfully to rescue husbands and 
 fathers to restore them to their wives and children. 
 How glorious the thought ! and how suggestive of the 
 beauty of that fast approaching day, when the uAtvvv^ 
 
 t 
 
 ' i 
 
394 
 
 PHOGUESS OF AKCriC DISCOVERY. 
 
 Bhall sit down in peace as united children of ono 
 household. 
 
 Winter in the Arctic Ocean. 
 
 The following narrative, showing the way tlie wintei 
 of 1851-52 was passed by tliose engaged in the recent 
 arctic expedition, is from the official report made by 
 Lieut. De Haven, the Commander of the expedition : 
 
 " On the morning of the 13th Sept., 1850, the wind 
 having moderated sufficiently, we got under way, and 
 working our way through some streams of ice, arrived 
 in a few hours at ' Grilhth's ' Island, under the lee of 
 which we found our consort made fast to the shore, 
 where she had taken shelter in the gale, her crew^ hav- 
 ing suffered a good deal from the inclemency of the 
 weather. In bringing to under the lee of the island, 
 she had the misfortune to spring her rudder, so that on 
 joining us, it w^as with nnich difficulty she could steer. 
 To insure her safety and more rapid progress, she was 
 taken in tow by the Advance, when she bore u]) with 
 a fine breeze from the westwai'd. Oii' Cape Martyr, 
 we left the English squadron under Capt. Austin. 
 About ten miles further to the east, the two vessels un- 
 der Capt. Penny, and that under Sir John Koss, w^ere 
 seen secured near the land. At 8 p. m.. we had ad- 
 vanced as far as Cape Ilotham. Thence as far as the 
 increasing darkness of the night enabled us to see, there 
 was nothing to obstruct our progress, except the bay 
 ice. This, with a good breeze, would not have im- 
 peded us much ; butunfortunately the wind, when it \vas 
 most required, failed us. The snow, with which the 
 surface of the water was covered, rapidly cemented, 
 and formed a tenacious coat, through which it was im- 
 possible with all our appliances to force the vessels. At 
 8 p. M., they came to a dead stand, some ten miles to 
 the east of Barlow's Inlet. 
 
 "The following day the wind hauled to the southward, 
 from which quarter it lasted till the 19th. During this 
 period the young ice was broken, its edges squeezed ui> 
 
1 of ono 
 
 lie wintei 
 
 the recent 
 
 made by 
 
 :peclitiun : 
 
 the wiiu.l 
 way, and 
 :e, arrived 
 the lee of 
 the shore, 
 crew hav- 
 icy of the 
 he isUmd, 
 so til at on 
 )uld steer. 
 s, she was 
 3 11]) with 
 e Martyr, 
 t. Austin, 
 'essels iin- 
 ^oss, were 
 e had ad- 
 far as the 
 ► see, there 
 t the bay 
 
 have im- 
 hen it was 
 which the 
 cemented, 
 it was im- 
 essels. At 
 n miles to 
 
 00 
 
 * i 
 
 onthward, 
 Kiring this 
 ueezed \\\> 
 
WINTKU IN TIIK AUCilC OCKAN. 
 
 895 
 
 like liJiniinocks, niul one floo overrun by niiotlior until 
 it nil nssunied tlio aj)i)Ojir;incc <»f liL'iivy ice. The voy- 
 Bcls received some lieuvy nij»8 tVoni it, I)ut tlicy witli- 
 Btood tlieni without injury. Whenever ii |mm»I of water 
 nuide its appeariinec, every ett'nrt was made to reach it, 
 in hoi)C8 that it would lead us into l>eeehey Jshuid, or 
 Bomo other place where the vessel nn«:jht bo ]>hice(l in 
 Becurity ; for the winter set in unusually early, and tho 
 Bcvcrity with which it commenced, forbade all hopes 
 of our being able to return this season. I now became 
 anxious to attain a point in the neighborhood, fnuu 
 whence by means of land parties, in the spring, a goodly 
 extent of Wellington Channel might be examined. 
 
 *' In the mean time, imdcr the influence of the south 
 wind, wo were being set up tho channel. On the IStli 
 we were above Capo Bowuen, tho most northern point 
 Boon on tliis shore oy Parry. Tho land on both snores 
 was seen much further, and trended considerably to tho 
 west of north. To account for this drift, the fixed ico 
 of Wellington Channel, which we had observed in })ass- 
 ing to the westward, must have been broken u]) and 
 driven to tho southward by the heavy gale of tho 12th. 
 On the 19th the wind veered to the north, which gave 
 us a southerly set, forcing us at the same tinie with tho 
 western shore. This did not last long ; for the next day 
 the wind liaulod again to the south, and blew fresh, 
 bringing the ico in upon us with much ])ressurc. At 
 midnight it broke up all around us, so that we had work 
 to maintain tho Advance in a safe ])osition, and keep 
 her from being separated from her consort, which was 
 immovably flxed in the center of a large floe. 
 
 " Wo continued to drift slowly to the N. N. W., until 
 the 22d, when our progress appeared to be arrested by 
 a small low island, which w^as discovered in that direc- 
 tion, about seven miles distant. A channel of three or 
 four miles in width separated it from Cornwallis Island. 
 This latter island, trending N. W. from our position, 
 terminated abruptly in an elevated cai)o, to M'hich 1 
 have given the name of Manning, after a warm ]>er- 
 sonal friend and ardent 6uj>porter of the expedition. 
 
 Ii 
 
 i 
 
 r' 
 
 Ki 
 
 
 ' 1 
 
 1 
 
 1 ^ 
 
 t ■ • 
 
 ■ 
 
 fM 
 
 
 
 \ 
 
 
896 
 
 P110GRES8 OF ARCTIC DISCOVERY. 
 
 
 I' 
 I 
 
 Between Cornwallis Island and some distant high land 
 visible the north, appeared a wide channel leading 
 to the westward. A dark, misty-looking cloud which 
 hung over it, (technically termed frost-smoke,) was in- 
 dicative of much open water in that direction. This 
 was the direction in which my instructions, referring to 
 the investigations of the National Observatory, concern- 
 ing the winds and currents of tlie ocean, directed me to 
 look for open water. Nor was the open water the only 
 indication that presented itself in confirmation of this 
 theoretical conjecture as to a milder climate in that 
 direction. As we entered Wellington Channel, the 
 signs of animal life became more abundant, and Cap- 
 tain Penny, commander of one of the English expe- 
 ditions, who afterward penetrated on sledges much 
 toward the region of the ' frost-smoke,' much further 
 than it was possible for us to do in our vessels reported 
 that he actually arrived on the borders of this open sea. 
 "Thus, these admirably drawn instructions, deriving 
 arguments from the enlarged and comprehensive sys- 
 tem of physical research, not only pointed with em- 
 phasis to an unknown sea into which Franklin had 
 probably found his way, but directed me to search for 
 traces of his expedition iv the very channel at the 
 entrance of which it is now ascertained he had passed 
 his first winter. The direction in which search with 
 most chances of success is now to be made for the 
 missing expedition, or for traces of it, is no doubt in 
 the direction which is so clearly pointed out in my in- 
 Btructions. To the channel which appeared to lead 
 into the open sea over which the cloud of ' frost-smoke' 
 hung as a sign, I have given the name of Maury, after 
 the distinguished gentleman at the head of our National 
 Observatory, whose theory with regard to an open sea 
 to the north is likely to be realized through this chan- 
 nel. To the large mass of land visible between N. W. 
 to N. N. E., I gave the name of Grinnell, in honor of 
 the head and heart of the man in whose philanthropic 
 mind originated the idea of this expedition, and t9 
 whose munificence it owes its existence. 
 
AVliNTER IN THE AECriC OCEAN. 
 
 397 
 
 " To a remarkable peak hearing N. N. E. from us, 
 distant about forty miles, was given the name of 
 Mount Franklin. An inlet or harbor immediately to 
 the north of Cape Bowden was discovered by Mr. 
 Griffin in his land excursion from Point Innes, on the 
 27th of August, and has received the name of Griffin 
 Inlet. The small island mentioned before was called 
 Murdaugli's Island, after the acting master of the Ad- 
 vance. The eastern shore of Wellington Channel ai> 
 peared to run parallel with the western, but it became 
 quite low, and being covered with snow, could not bo 
 distinguished with certainty, so that its continuity with 
 the high land to the north was not ascertained. Some 
 small pools of open water appearing near us, an attempt 
 was made about fifty yards, but all our combined 
 efforts were of no avail in extricating the Rescue from 
 her icy cradle. A change of wind not only closed the 
 ice up again, but threatened to give a severe nij). "We 
 unshipped her rudder and placed it out of harm's way. 
 
 " September 22d, was an uncomfortable day. The 
 wind was from N. E. with snow. From an early hour 
 in the morning, the floes began to be pressed together 
 with so much force that their edge was thrown up in 
 immense ridges of rugged hummocks. The Advance 
 was heavily nipped between two floes, and the ice was 
 piled up so high above the rail on the starboard side 
 as to threaten to come on board and sink us with its 
 weight. All hands were occupied in keeping it out. 
 The pressure and commotion did not cease till near 
 midnight, when we were very glad to have h respite 
 from our labors and fears. The next day we were 
 threatened with a similar scene, but it fortunately 
 ceased in a short time. For the remainder of Septem- 
 ber, and until the 4th of October, the vessels drifted 
 but little. The winds were A'ery light, the thermometer 
 fell to minus 12, and ice formed over the pools in siglit, 
 sufficiently strong to travel upon. "Vve were now 
 strongly impressed with the belief that the ice had be- 
 come" fixed for the winter, and that we should be able 
 to send out traveling parties from the advanced position 
 
 ii 
 
 I 
 
 1 
 
 M ' : 
 
 I 
 
 i \ '■ 
 
 
 ! * <l 
 
 4 
 
i|! f 
 
 398 
 
 PROGRESS OF ARCTTO DISCOVERY. 
 
 for the examination of the lands to the northward 
 Stimulated by this fair prospect, another attempt wan 
 made to reach the shore in order to establish a depo^ 
 of provisions at or near Cape Manning, which would 
 materially facilitate the progress of our parties in th^ 
 spring ; but the ice was still found to be detached froip 
 the shore, and a narrow lane of water cut us from it. 
 
 " During the interval of comparative quiet, prelimi- 
 nary measures were taken for heating the Advance 
 and increasing her quarters, so as to accomodate the 
 officers and crew of both vessels. No stoves had a» 
 yet been used in either vessel ; indeed they could not 
 well be put up without placing a large quantity of stores 
 and fuel upon the ice. The attempt was made to do 
 this, but a sudden crack in the floe where it appeared 
 strongest, causing the loss of several tons of coal, con- 
 vinced us that it was not yet safe to do so. It was not 
 until the 20th of October, we got fires below. Ten 
 days later the housing cloth was put over, and the offi- 
 cers and crew of the Bescue ordered on board the Ad- 
 vance for the winter. Eoom was found on the deck of 
 the Rescue for many of the provisions removed from 
 the hold of this vessel. Still a large quantity had to 
 bo placed on the ice. The absence of fire below had 
 caused much discomfort to all hands ever since the be- 
 ginning of September, not so much from the low tem- 
 perature, as from the accumulation of moisture by 
 condensation, which congealed as the temperature de- 
 creased, and covered the wood work of our apartments 
 with ice. This state of things soon began to work its 
 effect upon the health of the crews. Several cases of 
 scurvy appeared among them, and notwithstanding the 
 indefatigable attention and active treatment resorted to 
 by the medical officers, it could not be eradicated — its 
 progress, however, was checked. 
 
 "All through October and November, we were drifted 
 to and fro by the changing wind, but never passing out 
 of Wellington Channel. On the 1st of November, the 
 new ice had attained the thickness of 37 inches. Still, 
 frequent breaks would occur in it, often in fearful prox- 
 
WINTER IN THK AliCTIC OCEAN. 
 
 399 
 
 n'thward 
 mpt wafl 
 a depo> 
 zh would 
 es in the 
 :hed frorp 
 Tom it. 
 , prelimi- 
 Advance 
 odate the 
 38 had as 
 could not 
 y of stores 
 ide to do 
 appeared 
 coal, con- 
 It was not 
 ow. Ten 
 id the offi- 
 'd the Ad- 
 le deck of 
 >ved from 
 ity had to 
 )elow had 
 ce the be- 
 low tem- 
 >isture by 
 rature de- 
 partments 
 ) work its 
 cases of 
 Inding the 
 [esorted to 
 ited — its 
 
 Ire drifted 
 issing out 
 Iraber, the 
 les. Still, 
 Irful prox- 
 
 imity to the vessels. ITnmmocks consisting of massive 
 granite-like blocks, would be thrown up to the lieight 
 of twenty, and even thirty feet. This action in the ice 
 was accompanied with a variety of sounds impossible 
 to be described, but when heard never failed to carry a 
 feeling of awe into the stoutest hearts. In the stillness 
 of an arctic night, they couhl be heard several miles, 
 and often was the rest of all hands disturbed by them. 
 To guard against the worst that could happen to us — 
 the destruction of the vessels — the boats were prepared 
 and sledges built. Thirty days' provisions were placed 
 in for all hands, together with tents and blanket bags 
 for sleeping in. Besides this, each man and officer had 
 his knapsack containing an extra suit of clothes. Tliese 
 were all kept in readiness for use at a moment's notice. 
 " For the sake of wholesome exercise, as well as to in- 
 ure the people to ice traveling, frequent excursions were 
 made with our laden sledges. The officers usually took 
 the lead at the drag ropes, and they, as well as the men 
 underwent the labor of surmounting the rugged hum- 
 mocks, with great cheerfulness and zeal. Notwith- 
 standing the low temperature, all hands usually returned 
 in a profuse perspiration. We had also other sources 
 of exercise and amusements, such as foot-ball, skating, 
 sliding, racing, with theatrical representations on holi- 
 days and national anniversaries. These amusements 
 were continued throughout the winter, and contributed 
 very materially to the cheerfulness and general good 
 'lealth of all hands. The drift had set us gradually to 
 the S. E., until we were about five miles to the S. W, 
 Df Beechey Island. In this position we remained com- 
 paratively stationary about a week. We once more 
 began to entertain a hope that we had become fixed for 
 the winter, but it proved a vain one, for on the last day 
 of November a strong wind from the westward set in, 
 with thick snowy weather. The wind created an im- 
 mediate movement in the ice. Several fractures took 
 place near us, and many heavy hummocks were thrown 
 up. The floe in which our vessels were imbedded, was 
 being rapidly encroached upon, so that we were in mo- 
 
 '^.^ 
 
 y 
 

 ! HI 
 
 J I 
 
 400 
 
 PKOGRESS OF ARCTIC DISCOVEKY. 
 
 mentary fear of tbe ice breaking from around them, 
 and that tlicy would be once more broken out and left 
 to the tender mercies of the crashing floes. 
 
 " On the following day (the 1st of December) tlie 
 weather cleared off, and the few hours of twilight 
 which «ve had about noon, enabled us to get a glim})se 
 of the land. As well as we could make it out, we ap- 
 peared to be off Gascoigne Inlet. "VVe were now clear 
 of Wellington Channel, and in the fair way of Lan- 
 caster Sound, to be set either up or down, at the mercy 
 of the prevailing winds and currents. "We were not 
 long left in doubt as to the direction we had to pursue. 
 The winds prevailed from the westward, and our drift 
 was steady and rapid toward the mouth of the Sound. 
 The prospect before us was now any thing but cheering. 
 "We were deprived of our last fond hope, tiiat of be- 
 coming fixed in some position whence operations could 
 be carried on by means of traveling parties in the 
 spring. The vessels were fast being set out of the 
 region of search. Nor was this our only source of un- 
 easiness. The line of our drift was from two to five 
 miles from the north shore, and whenever the moving 
 ice met with any of the capes or projecting points of 
 land, the obstruction would cause fractures in it, ex- 
 tending oif to and far beyond us. Cape Hurd was the 
 first and most prominent point — we were but two 
 miles from it on the 3d of December. Nearly all day 
 the ice was both seen and heard to be in constant mo- 
 tion at no great distance from us. In the evening a 
 crack on our floe took place not more than twenty -five 
 yards ahead of the Advance. It opened in the course 
 of tiic evening to the width of 190 yards. 
 
 " No further disturbance took place until noon of the 
 5th, when we were somewhat startled by the familiar 
 and unmistakable sound of the ice grinding against 
 the side of the ship. Going on deck, I perceived that 
 another crack had taken place, passing along the length 
 of the vessel. It did not open more than a foot ; tliis, 
 Iiowever, was sufficient to liberate the vessel, and sho 
 rose several inches bodily, having become more buoy- 
 
 m\> 
 
them, 
 d left 
 
 i) the 
 ilight 
 impse 
 VQ ap- 
 clear 
 : Laii- 
 mercy 
 re not 
 lursne. 
 T drift 
 Sound. 
 3ering. 
 of be- 
 5 could 
 in the 
 of the 
 I of un- 
 to five 
 noving 
 ints of 
 it, ex- 
 as the 
 :t two 
 11 day 
 ^nt mo- 
 tning a 
 ity-tive 
 course 
 
 of the 
 
 imiliar 
 
 igainst 
 
 id that 
 
 [length 
 
 ; this, 
 
 id she 
 
 buoy- 
 
 WINTER IN TIIK ARCTIC OCKAN. 
 
 401 
 
 ant since she froze in. Tlio following day, in the 
 evening the crack opened several yards, leaving the 
 sides 01 the Ad^ancc entirely free, and slie was once 
 more supported by and rode in her own element. "We 
 were not, though, by any means, in a pleasant situation. 
 The floes were considerably broken in all directions 
 around us, and one crack had taken place between the 
 two vessels. The Rescue was not disturbed in her bed 
 of ice* 
 
 " December 7th, at 8 A. M., the crack in which we 
 were, had opened and formed a lane of water fifty-six 
 feet wide, communicating ahead at the distance of sixty 
 feet with ice of about one foot in thickness, which had 
 formed since the 3d. The vessel was secured to the 
 largest floe near us (that on which our spare stores were 
 deposiited.) At noon, the ice was again in motion, 
 and began to close, affording us the pleasant prospect 
 of an inevitable nip between two floes of the heaviest 
 kind. In a short time the prominent points took our 
 side, on the starboard, just about the main-rigging, and 
 on tiie port under the counter, and at the fore-rigging ; 
 thus bringing three points of pressure in such a position 
 that it muiit^have proved fatal to a larger or less 
 strengthened vessel. The Advance, however, stood it 
 bravely. After trembling and groaning in every joint, 
 the ice passed under and raised her about two and 
 a half feet. She was let down again for a moment, 
 and then her stern was raised about five feet. Her 
 bows being unsupported, were depressed almost as 
 much. In this uncomfortable position we remained. 
 The wind blew a gale from the eastward, and the ice 
 all around was in dreadful commotion, excej^ting, for- 
 tunately, that in immediate contact with us. Tlie com- 
 motion in the ice continued all through the night; and 
 we were in momentary expectation of the destruction 
 of both vessels. Tiie easterly gale had set us some 
 two or three miles to the west. As soon as it was light 
 enough to see on the 9th, it was discovered that the 
 heavy ice on which the Eescue had been imbedded 
 for so long a time, was entirely broken up, and piled 
 
 . t .' 
 
 ti 
 
 I '.I 
 
 • (1 ;.( 
 
'■^.Ui.-M,>-*ilUU^ 
 
 403 
 
 PROGRESS OF ARCTIC DISCOVERY. 
 
 up around her in massive hummocks. On her pumps 
 behig sounded, I was gratified to learn that she remained 
 tight, notwithstanding the immense straining and 
 pressure she must have endured. 
 
 " During this period of trial, as well as in all former 
 and subsequent ones, I could not avoid being struck 
 with the calmness and decision of the officers, as well 
 as the subordination and good conduct of the men, 
 without an exception. Each one knew the imminence 
 of the peril that surrounded us, and was prepared to 
 abide it with a stout heart. There was no noise, no 
 confusion. I did not detect, even in the moment when 
 the destruction of the vessel seemed inevitable, a sin- 
 gle desponding look among the whole crew ; on the 
 contrary, each one seemed resolved to do his whole 
 duty, and every thing went on cheerily and bravely. 
 For my own part, I had become quite an invalid, so 
 much so as to prevent my taking an active part in the 
 duties of the vessel as I had always done, or even from 
 incurring the exposure necessary to proper exercise. 
 However, I felt no apprehensions that the vessel would 
 not be properly taken care of, for I had perfect confi- 
 dence in one and all by whom I was surrounded. I 
 knew them to be equal to any emergency, but I felt 
 under special obligations to the gallant commander 
 of the Rescue, for the efficient aid he rendered me. 
 With the kindest consideration, and the most cheerful 
 alacrity , he volunteered to perform the executive duties 
 during the winter, and relieve me from every thing 
 that might tend in the least to retard my recovery. 
 
 " During the remainder of December, the ice re- 
 mained quiet immediately around us, and breaks were 
 all strongly cemented by new ice. In our neighbor- 
 hood, however, cracks were daily visible. Our drift 
 to the eastward averaged nearly six miles per day ; so 
 that on the last of the month we were at the entrance 
 of the Sound, Cape Osborn bearing north from us. 
 
 "January, 1851. — On passing out of the Sound, and 
 opening Baffin's Bay, to the north was seen a dark hori- 
 zon, indicating much open water in that direction. On 
 
limps 
 
 ained 
 
 and 
 
 ormer 
 
 struck 
 
 ,8 well 
 
 I men, 
 
 inenoe 
 
 ired to 
 
 lise, no 
 
 twhen 
 
 , a sin- 
 on tVie 
 
 \ whole 
 
 )ravely. 
 
 alid, 80 
 
 "t in the 
 
 en from 
 
 ixercise. 
 
 si would 
 
 >t confi- 
 
 ided. I 
 
 . 1 1 felt 
 mander 
 
 Ired me. 
 
 Icheerful 
 e duties 
 
 |ry thing 
 
 jvery. 
 
 ice re- 
 
 lIvS were 
 
 eiglihor- 
 
 ur drift 
 
 day ; so 
 
 intrance 
 
 us. 
 Iund,and 
 lark hori- 
 lon. On 
 
 WINTER IN THE ARCTIC OCEAN. 
 
 403 
 
 the 11th, a crack took place between us and the Hescue, 
 passing close under our stern, and forming a lane of 
 water eighty feet wide. In the afternoon the floes be- 
 ^an to move, the lane was closed up, and the edges of 
 the ice coming in contact with so much pressure, threat- 
 ened the demolition of the narrow space which sepa- 
 rated us from the line of fracture. Fortunately, the 
 floes again separated, and assumed a motion by which 
 the Rescue passed from our stern to the port bow, and 
 increased her distance from us 709 yards, where she 
 came to a stand. Our stores that were on the ice were 
 on the same side of the cracks as the Rescue, and of 
 course were carried with her. The following day the 
 ice remained quiet, but soon after midnight, on the 
 13th, a gale having sprung up from the westward, it 
 once more got into violent motion. The young ice in 
 the crack near our stern was soon broken up, the edges 
 of the thick ice came in contact, and fearful pressures 
 took place, forcing up a line of hummocks which ap- 
 proached within ten feet of our stern. The vessel 
 trembled and complained a great deal. 
 
 " At last the floe broke up around us into many 
 pieces, and became detached from the sides of the 
 vessel. The scene of frightful commotion lasted until 
 4 A. M. Every moment I expected the vessel would 
 be crushed or overwhelmed by the massive ice forced 
 up far above our bulwarks. The Rescue being further 
 removed on the other side of the crack from the line 
 of crushing, and being firmly imbedded in heavy ice, 
 I was in hopes would remain undisturbed. This was 
 not the case ; for, on sending to her as soon as it was 
 light enough to see, the floe was found to be broken 
 away entirely up to her bows, and there formed into 
 such high hummocks that her bowsprit was broken ofl', 
 together with her head, and all the light wood work 
 about it. Had the action of the ice continued much 
 longer, she must have been destroyed. We had the 
 misfortune to find sad havoc had been made among 
 the stores and provisions left on the ice ; and few bar- 
 rels were recovered ; but a large portion were crushed 
 and liad dit«aj>poared. 
 
 . i 
 
 

 
 W 
 
 404 
 
 riiOOiiESS OV AUCTIO DISCOVEliY. 
 
 " On the morning of the 14th there was again some 
 motion in tlie floes. That on the port side moved oif 
 from the vessel two or three feet and there became 
 stationary. This left the vessel entirely detached 
 from the ice round the water line, and it was expected 
 she would once more resume Jin upright position. In 
 this, however, we were disa})p()inted, for she remained 
 with her stern elevated, and a C(msiderable lift to star- 
 board, being hold in this uncomfortable position by the 
 heavy masses which had been forced uncfer h'er bottom 
 She retained this position until she finally broke out 
 in the spring. We were now fully launched into Baf- 
 fin's Bay, and our line of drift began to be more south- 
 erly, assuming a direction nearly parallel with the 
 western shore of the Bay at a distance of from 40 to 
 70 miles from it. 
 
 " After an absence of 87 days, the sun, on the 29th 
 of January, rose his whole diameter above the south- 
 ern horizon, and remained visible more than an hour. 
 All hands gave vent to delight on seeing an old friend 
 again, in three hearty che irs. The length of the days 
 now w^ent on increasing rapidly, but no warmth was 
 yet experienced from the sun's rays ; on the contrary 
 tl.e cold became more intense. Mercury became con- 
 gealed in February, also in March, which did not occur 
 at any other period during the winter. A very low 
 temperature was invariably accompanied with clear 
 and calm weather, so that our coldest days w^ere per- 
 haps the most pleasant. In the absence of wind, we 
 could take exercise in the open air without any incon- 
 venience from the cold. But with a strong wind blow 
 ing, it was dangerous to be exposed to its chilling blasts 
 for any length of time, even when the thermometer 
 indicated a comparatively moderate degree of tem- 
 perature. 
 
 " The ice around the vessels soon became cemented 
 again and fixed, and no other rupture was experienced 
 until it finally broke up in the spring, and allowed us 
 to escape. Still we kept driving to the southward 
 along with the " hole mass. Open lanes of water were 
 
n some 
 ved oif 
 became 
 itiiched 
 cpected 
 on. In 
 mained 
 to star- 
 i by the 
 bottom 
 oke out 
 ito Baf- 
 3 soiith- 
 ith the 
 m40 to 
 
 he 29th 
 e south- 
 in hour, 
 i friend 
 he days 
 ith Avas 
 ontrary 
 lie con- 
 jt occur 
 sry low 
 h clear 
 are per- 
 ind, we 
 r incon- 
 d blow 
 12; blasts 
 ometer 
 )f tem- 
 
 mented 
 rienced 
 wed us 
 thward 
 3r were 
 
 'i 
 
 t 
 
 .' > 
 
ill 
 
 I 
 
WINTER IN THE AKOTIC OCKAN. 
 
 405 
 
 visible at all times from aloft ; sometimes tliey would 
 be formed within a mile or two of us. Narwlials, 
 seals, and dovekys were seen in them. Our sports- 
 men were not expert enough to procure any, except a 
 few of the latter ; although they were indefatigable in 
 their exertions to do so. Bears would frequently be 
 seen prowling about; only two were killed during the 
 winter ; others were wounded, but made their escape. 
 A few of us thought their flesh very palatable and 
 wholesome ; but the majority utterly rejected it. The 
 flesh of the seal, when it could be obtained^ was re- 
 ceived with more favor. 
 
 " As the season advanced, the cases of scurvy became 
 more numerous, yet they were all kept under control 
 by the unwearied attention and skillful treatment of 
 tlie medical officers. My thanks are due to them, es- 
 pecially to Passed Assistant Surgeon Kane, the senior 
 medical officer of the expedition. I often had occa- 
 sion to consult him concerning the hygiene of the 
 crew, and it is in a great measure owing to the advice 
 which he gave and the expedients which he recom- 
 mended, that the expedition was enabled to return 
 without the loss of one man. By the latter end of 
 February the ice had become sufficiently thick to en- 
 able us to build a trench around the stern of the Res- 
 cue, sufficiently deep to ascertain the extent of the 
 injury she had received in the gale at Griffith's Isl- 
 and. It was not found to be material ; the upper gud- 
 geon alone had been wrenched from the stern post. It 
 was adjusted, and the rudder repaired in readiness for 
 shipping, when it should be required. A new bow- 
 sprit was also made for her out of the few spare spars 
 we had left, and every thing made seaworthy in both 
 vessels before the breaking up of the ice. 
 
 '•In May, the noon-day began to take effect upon the 
 snow which covered the ice ; the surface of the floes 
 became w^atiery, and difficult to walk over. Still the 
 dissolution was so slow in comparison with the mass 
 to be dissolved, that it must have taken it a long pe- 
 riod to become liberated from this cause alone. Moro 
 
 n- 
 
 • I 
 
 U 
 
 , p^; 
 
 ■'1 
 
 ^ 1 
 
 tj 
 
400 
 
 rROOUKSS OP ARCTIC DISCOVERY. 
 
 wa8 expected from our Bouthcrly drift, wliich still (^on- 
 tinned, and must soon carry us into a milder cliinato 
 and o])on sea. On the 19th of May, the land about 
 Capo Searle was made out, the first that wo had rc(mi 
 since passing Cape Walter Bathurst, about the 20th of 
 January. A few days later we were oil' Cape AValsiuir. 
 ham, and on the 27th, passed out of the Arctic Zoim. 
 
 " On the 1st of April, a hole was cut in some ice iluit 
 had been forming since our first bcsetment in Septem- 
 ber; it was found to have attained the thickness of 7 
 feet 2 inches. In this month, (April,) the amelioration 
 of the temperature became quite sensible. All hands 
 were kept at work, cutting and sawing the ice around 
 tho vessels, in order to allow them to float once more. 
 With the Kescue, they succeeded, after much labor, in 
 attaining this object ; but around the stern of the Ad- 
 vance, the ice was so thick that our 13 feet saw was too 
 short to pass through it ; her bows and sides, as far aft 
 as the gangway, were liberated. After making some 
 alteration in the Rescue for the better accommodation 
 of lier crew, and fires being lighted on board of her 
 several days previous, to remove the ice and dampness, 
 which had accumulated during the winter, both ofHcers 
 and crew were transferred to lier on the 24th of April 
 The stores of this vessel, which had been taken oat, 
 were restored, the housing cloth taken off, and the ves- 
 sel made in every respect ready for sea. There M^as 
 little prospect, however, of our being able to reach the 
 desired element very soon. Tho nearest water was a 
 narrow lane more than two miles distant. To cut 
 through the ice which intervened, would have been next 
 to impossible. Beyond this lane, from tho mast-head, 
 nothing but intermediate floes could bo seen. It was 
 thought best to wait with patience, and allow nature to 
 work for us. 
 
 " June 6th, a moderate breeze f.om S. E. with pleasant 
 weather — thermometer up to 40 at noon, and altogether 
 quite warm and melting day. During the morning a 
 pecvdiar cracking sound was heard on the floe. I was 
 inclined to impute it to tho settling of the snow drifts as 
 
^VINTEU IN TllK ARCTIO OCKAN. 
 
 407 
 
 thoy wore actoil upon by the sun, but in tlio afternoon, 
 about 5 o'clock, the i)Uzzlo was 8i>l\'ed very lucidly, aiui 
 to the exceed inn; satistaction of all hands. A crack in 
 the iloo took i)lace between us and the Kcscue, and in 
 a few minutes thereafter, the whole immense field in 
 which we had been ind)ed(led for so many months, 
 was rent in all directions, leavin^^ not a piece of 100 
 yards in diameter. The rupture M'as not accompanied 
 with any noise. The Itcscuc was entirely liberated, 
 the Advance only ])artially. The ice in which her after 
 part was ind)ed(led, still adhered to her from the main 
 chains aft, keeping lier stern elevated in its unsightly 
 position. The pack, (as it may now be called,) became 
 (pnto loose, ana but for our ])e;tinacious friend acting 
 as an immense drag upon us, we might have made 
 some headway in any desired direction. All oiu' eftbrts 
 were now turned to getting rid of it. "With saws, axes, 
 and crowbars, the people went to work with a right 
 good will, and after hard labor for 48 hours succeeded. 
 The vessel was again afloat, and she righted. The joy 
 of all hands vented itself spontaneously in three hearty 
 cheers. The after part of the false keel was gone, be- 
 ing carried away by the ice. The loss of it, liowever, 
 I was glad to perceive, did not materially aft'ect the 
 sailing or workmg qualities of the vessel. The rudders 
 were shipped, and we were once more ready to move, 
 as efficient as on the day we left New York. 
 
 "Steering to the S. E. and working slowly through the 
 loose but heavy pack, on the 9th we parted from the 
 Kescue in a dense fog, she taking a dinerent lead from 
 the one the Advance was pui-suing." 
 
 H 
 
 it 
 
 i^i 
 
 '}•■ 
 
 • 'I 
 
 I 
 
 if 
 
 •pr 
 

 408 
 
 PROGRESS OF ARCTIC DISCOVERT. 
 
 Ground for Hope. 
 
 Mr. "Wm. Penny, of Aberdeen, states in a letter to 
 the Times, that Capt. Martin, who, when commanding 
 the whaler Enterprise, in 1845, was the last person to 
 communicate with Sir. J. Franklin, has just informed 
 him that the Enterprise was alongside the Erebus, in 
 Melville Bay, and Sir John Franklin invited him, 
 (Capt. Martin,) to dine with him, which the latter de 
 clined doing, as the wind was fair to go south. Sir 
 John, while conversing with Capt. Martin, told him 
 that he had five years' provisions, which he could 
 make last seven, and his people were busily engaged 
 in salting down birds, of which they had several casks 
 full already, and twelve men were out shooting more. 
 "To see such determination and foresight," observes 
 Mr. Penny, " at that early period, is really wonderful, 
 and must give us the greatest hopes." Mr. Penny 
 says that Capt. Martin is a man of fortune, and of the 
 strictest integrity. 
 
 The following is the deposition of Capt. Martin, just 
 received in the London Times, of Jan. 1, 1852, con- 
 taining the facts above alluded to : 
 
 Robert Martin, now master and commander of the 
 whaleship Intrepid, of Peterhead, solemnly and sin- 
 cerely declares that on the 22d day of July, 1845, when 
 in command of the whale ship Entei prise, of Peter- 
 head, in lat. YS** 10', long. 66^ W., calm weather, and 
 towing, the Erebub and Terror were in company. These 
 ships were alongside the Enterprise for about fifteen 
 minutes. The declarant conversed with Sir John 
 Franklin, and Mr. Reid, his ice-master. The conver- 
 sation lasted all the time the ships were closf . That 
 Sir John, in answer to a question by the declarant if 
 he had a good supply of provisions, and how long he 
 expected them to last, stated tliat he had provisions 
 for five years, and if it were necessary he could "make 
 them spin out seven years ;" and he said further, that 
 he would lose no opportunity of killing birds, and 
 whatever else was useful that came in the way, to keep 
 
GfiOUND FOR HOPE. 
 
 409 
 
 up their stock, and that he had plenty of powder and 
 shot for the purpose. That Sir John also stated that 
 he had already several casks of birds salted, and had 
 then two shooting parties out — one from each ship. 
 The birds were very numerous ; many would fall at a 
 single shot, and the declarant has himself killed forty 
 at a shot with white pease. That the birds are very 
 agreeable food, are in taste and size somewhat like 
 young pigeons, and are called b}^ the sailors " rotges." 
 
 That on the 26th or 28th of said month of July, two 
 parties of Sir John's officers, who had been out shoot- 
 ing, dined with the declarant on board the Enterprise. 
 There was a boat with six from each ship. Their con- 
 versation was to the same effect as Sir John's. They 
 spoke of expecting to be absent four or five, or per- 
 haps six years. These officers also said that the ships 
 would winter where they could find a convenient place, 
 and in spring push on as far as possible, and so on 
 year after year, as the determination was to push on 
 as far as practicable. 
 
 That on the following day, an invitation was brought 
 to the declarant, verbally, to dine with Sir John, but 
 the wind shifted, and the Enterprise having cut through 
 the ice about a mile and a half, the declarant was 
 obliged to decline the invitation. That he saw the 
 Erebus and Terror for two days longer; they were 
 still lying at an iceberg, and the Enterprise was mov- 
 ing slowly down the country. That so numerous were 
 the birds mentioned, and so favorable was the weather 
 for shooting them, that a very large number must have 
 been secured during the time the declarant was in 
 eight of the two ships. The Prince of "Wales whaler 
 w^s also within sight during the most of the time. 
 That from the state of the wind and weather for a pe- 
 riod of 10 days, during part of which the declarant 
 'Vas not in sight of the two ships, the best opportunity 
 was afforded for securing the birds. That the birds 
 described are not to be found at all places on the fish- 
 ing ground during the whaling season, but are met 
 with in vast numbers every season on certain feeding 
 
 
 I ' 
 
 i 
 
 
 V. 
 
 V 
 
 > ;l 
 
 5r (I 
 
 
 .!'!■■ 
 
410 
 
 PROGEESa OF ARCTIC DISCOVERY. 
 
 li 
 
 banks ana places for brooding, and it appeared at the 
 time by the declarant to be a most fortunate circum- 
 stance that the Erebus and Terror had fallen in with 
 80 many birds, and that the state of the weather was 
 80 favorable for securing large numbers of them. The 
 declarant has himself had a supply of the same de- 
 scription of birds, which kept fresh and good during 
 three months, at Davis' Strait, and the last were as 
 good as the first of them. 
 
 Which declaration, above written, is now made 
 conscientiously, believing the same to be true. 
 
 Robert Martin. 
 
 Declared, December, 29th, 1851, before 
 
 R. Grath, Provost of Peterhead. 
 
VOYAGE OF Till-: STKAMER ISABEL. 
 
 411 
 
 A Suntmer's SEARcn for Sir John Franklin, with a 
 Pass into the Polar Basin, by Commander E. A. 
 Inolefield, in tue Screw Steamer Isabel, in 1852. 
 
 The profound interest wbich the heroism and mys- 
 terious fate of Sir John Franklin, have excited in the 
 public mind, occasioned other expeditions to start in 
 pursuit of him, both from England and the United 
 States, the details of whose adventures are in tlie 
 highest degree entertaining. On the 12th of July, 
 1852, Commander Inglefield took his departure in 
 the English steamer Isabel, from Fair Island; and 
 sailed forth toward the frozen realms of the north, to 
 which so many other bold adventurers had already 
 been attracted. His crew consisted of seventeen per- 
 sons, including two ice-masters, a mate, surgeon, en- 
 gineer, stoker, two carpenters, cook, and eight able 
 seamen, who had been whalers. The two ice-masters, 
 Messrs. Abernethy and Manson, were already well 
 known in "Arctic Cirles," as having been connected 
 with former expeditions, and as having great experi- 
 ence in the perils incident to adventurous travel in 
 that perilous zone. The vessel was provided with 
 fuel and provisions for several years. 
 
 On the 30th of July the expedition gained their 
 first distant glimpse of the snowy mountains of Green- 
 land. On the same day the first icebergs sailed ma- 
 jestically past them. Ere midnight the Isabel was 
 completely surrounded by those massive monuments 
 of the northern seas. Already the utmost caution 
 was necessary to prevent a fatal collision between 
 tliem and the little steamer which slowly and adroitly 
 elbowed her way through their rolling masses. In 
 spite of the utmost prudence, the Isabel occasionally 
 struck ; instantly she trembled from stem to stern, 
 recoiled for a moment, but then again recovered and 
 advanced upon her way. T'le advantages of a screw- 
 steamer for the purposes of navigating polar seas 
 filled with fioating ice, were already apparent at this 
 
 I .: 
 
 W 
 
 ^¥ 
 
 1 
 
 
 I»r, i: 
 
 h, 
 8' 
 
 If", ^« 
 
 
 i ;| 
 
'1 *:l! 
 
 412 
 
 PROGRESS OF ARCTIC DISCOVERY. 
 
 early stage of the expedition. Tlie propelling power 
 being placed at the stern of the vessel, and not at 
 the sides, enabled her to worm her way nnresisted 
 through very many narrow defiles, which a steam- 
 ship of ordinary structure, or even a sailing vessel 
 could not have done. 
 
 On the 7th of August the expedition reached the 
 neighborhood of Fiskernoes, a Danish settlement; 
 and they were there visited by some Esquimaux in 
 their canoes. Guided b^ these pilots they entered 
 the harbor on which their village is built. They vis- 
 ited the Danish governor, M. Lazzen, and were kindly 
 entertained by him. A few goats supplied his family 
 with milk, and a very small garden protected from 
 the storms of that climate by artificicial means, af- 
 forded them a few vegetables during the summer 
 months. M. Lazzen furnished the vessel with some 
 salmon, codfish, and milk. The residence of the gov- 
 ernor in this inhospitable region, consisted of a small 
 house two stories high, built in an antique but sub- 
 stantial manner. A Danish clergyman visits this ob- 
 scure and remote spot once every two weeks, and 
 preaches to the governor and to the colony of rude 
 Esquimaux over whom he rules. 
 
 On the 10th of August the Isabel resumed her 
 journey. She then sailed for the harbor of Lievely, 
 in which the expedition obtained a few supplies of 
 sugar, soap, and plank, which they needed ; but they 
 tailed to obtain here either dogs or interpreters. On 
 the 15th, they found themselves o ff Upernavick, a 
 settlement in which they obtained these necessaries. 
 This Greenland village consists of two or three 
 w^ooden houses for the Danish settlers, and a few mud 
 huts for the Esquimaux. In sailing out from this 
 harbor the steam-engine suddenly stopped, and nei- 
 ther the commander nor the engineer was able to 
 discover the difficulty. They were completely puz- 
 zled, until at length it was ascertained that the screw 
 at the stern had caught in a loose cable which floated 
 
TOYAOE OF THE STEAMER ISABEL. 
 
 413 
 
 in the water, which had become wound around the 
 screw so tightly and in such a manner, as to eventu- 
 ally impede its revolutions and stop the engine. 
 
 After the adjustment of this singular and unusual 
 difficulty, the vessel continued her voyage. On the 
 17th of August she reached Biichan Islands, passing 
 in her way innumerable icebergs of gigantic size, 
 which reeled and tumbled in the deep, and occasion- 
 ally split up into many fragments, with a roar more 
 grand and deafening than that of thunder. On this 
 day the vessel lost her main-boom ; which in falling on 
 the deck, struck the standard compass and damaged 
 it. In a short time the injuries to both were re- 
 paired, and the Isabel held on her hyperborean way. 
 
 Having arrived at Wolstenholmo Sound, the navi- 
 gators examined the site of the former winter quar- 
 ters of the "North Star," and had the melancnoly 
 pleasure of inspecting the lonely graves where the 
 remains of sevend of her crew were laid to repose. 
 Captain Ingletield and his officers and men went on 
 shore with pickaxes and shovels. The place is called 
 North Ornenak ; and one Adam Beek, a seamen in 
 one of the former Arctic expeditions, had asserted 
 that here Sir John Franklin had been assailed by the 
 savage and starving natives ; that here he and his 
 crew had beea massacred ; and that here in large 
 cairns they had been buried. The story was an im- 
 probable one ; but Captain Inglelield determined to 
 examine the spot thoroughly, and test the truth of 
 the report. Several large cairns were indeed here 
 found, composed of heavy rough stones. They were 
 immediately pulled down and their interiors inspected. 
 But nothing was discovered save a large quantity of 
 lish bones and the bones of other animals, which 
 seem to have been deposited there for some future 
 use. In the village itself, composed of a few un- 
 derground hovels, occupied by half starved Esqui- 
 maux, were found a quantity of seal and walrus iiesh, 
 intended to supply the wants of nature during the 
 
 26 
 
 ; . 
 
 H ! ' 'i 
 
 \y^\ 
 
 >,.t 
 
414 
 
 PROORESfl OF AitCnO DISCOVERT. 
 
 nine long months of winter, which these wretched 
 beings are compelled each year to endure. 
 
 Captain Inglefield determined to continue the 
 thorough examination of the shores of Wolstenholme 
 Sound. He did so, and discovered several islands 
 which were not to be found on any chart. These 
 islands he respectively termed the Three Sister Bees, 
 Manson Isle, and Abernethy Isle. During this por- 
 tion of the cruise, the voyageurs had not encoun- 
 tered as yet much of the severe extremes of northern 
 cold. It w^as still mid-summer, and the trim steamer 
 was able in the absence of compact ice, to sail rap- 
 idly through known and unknown seas, in opposition 
 both to tide and wind. Ou the 25th, the Isabel 
 reached the Gary Islands ; and from this point began 
 the voyage of Captain Ingleiield into untraveled 
 waters, and into regions which had not been explored, 
 at least in a northward direction, by any of his pre- 
 decessors. At this point, in the summer months, a 
 few wretched Esquimaux manage to support exist- 
 ence ; and Captain Ingleiield carefully examined 
 their huts to ascertain whether any memento of the 
 expedition of Sir John Franklin might exist among 
 them. No article of European manufacture was 
 found, except a knife-blade stamped B. Wilson, set in 
 an ivory handle, a broken tin canister, and several 
 small pieces of steel, curiously fixed in a piece of bone. 
 A piece of rope was also obtained, having an eye in 
 it ; but this was supposed to have drifted ashore from 
 some whaling vessel. No trace of the lost naviga- 
 tors had as yet been seen since the commencement 
 of this expedition. 
 
 Captain Inglefield resumed his voyage, and as he 
 rapidly invaded those new seas, through the tireless 
 power of steam, he discovered many new islands, at 
 that period of the year free from their monstrous bur- 
 dens of ice, to which he gave appropriate names. 
 One he called Northumberland Island, another Her- 
 bert Island) and a third, Milne Island. At this point 
 
VOYAOE OF THE STEAMER ISABEL. 
 
 416 
 
 itched 
 
 e the 
 holme 
 slands 
 These 
 • Bees, 
 is por- 
 ncoun- 
 >rthern 
 teamer 
 ,il rap- 
 osition 
 Isabel 
 t began 
 raveled 
 :plored, 
 his pre- 
 jnths, a 
 
 exist- 
 amined 
 
 of the 
 
 among 
 
 re was 
 
 set in 
 I several 
 )f bone. 
 
 eye in 
 Ire from 
 Inaviga- 
 Icement 
 
 as he 
 Itireless 
 Lnds, at 
 lus bur- 
 I names, 
 jr Her- 
 tg point 
 
 a strait, to which he applied the name of Mnrchison, 
 opened out in an eastern direction, and invited them 
 to enter on its exploration, witli tempting prospects 
 of discovery. But as Sir John Franklin's instructions 
 had been to travel northward and westward from this 
 point, if he ever reached it, it was evidently necessa- 
 ry to follow that designated route, if the intention to 
 seek him was still retained. Accordingly Captain In- 
 glefield was compelled to relinquish the exploration 
 of this summer sea. On the 26th of August the Is- 
 abel reached Cape Alexander, and still boldly steer- 
 ing northward, the gallant craft passed the confines 
 of the Polar Sea, and was about to make her adven- 
 turous dip into the Polar Basin. The soundings at 
 this point were 145 fathoms. It was at this time the 
 hope of Captain I. that from this point he might find 
 his way to Behring's Strait, and might discover the 
 missing navigator somewhere upon this remote line 
 of travel. 
 
 Even in this distant northern latitude, the weather 
 still remained fair and temperate. The splendors of 
 that clime in mid-summer, transcend the power of 
 language to depict. The sun, shooting his unob- 
 structed rays far into the northern hemisphere, tinges 
 the boundless fields of half melted snow with crimson 
 hues ; and a brightness and brilliancy fill the heav- 
 ens, which almost remind the observer of the boasted 
 beauties and charms of an Italian sky. Those Polar 
 solitudes now resounded with the unaccustomed ech- 
 oes of the steamship, which glided rapidly over half 
 frozen wastes, which sailing vessels could only have 
 traversed at a very slow and tedious rate. 
 
 Captain Ingletield was now exploring what is 
 known as Smitli's Sound, the upper or northern con- 
 tinuation of Baffin's Bay. The western shore of this 
 body of water, which forms a part of the Polar Ocean, 
 was composed of a high range of frozen mountains. 
 These were called after the Prince of Wales. The 
 extreme northern point of these mountains received 
 
 i.:^ i 
 
 If ?i 
 
416 
 
 PROGRESS OF ARCTIC DISCOVERT. 
 
 the name of Victoria Head, in honor of the British 
 queen. Thus also on the eastern shore of this sea, the 
 most northern point discovered by Captain I. he named 
 after the Danish monarch, Frederick YII. After 
 steaming several days longer in a north-western di- 
 rection, an observation was made of the position of 
 the vessel, when it was found that she had reached 
 78^ 28' 21" north latitude. From this it appears that 
 Captain Inglefield has the credit, according to his own 
 computation, of reaching the distance of 140 miles 
 further north than had been attained by any previ- 
 ous navigator. The vessel was now surrounded by 
 immense floating icebergs. The frozen shores of the 
 ocean receded far away to the east and to the west. A 
 furious storm of wind and hail drove directly in the 
 face of the bold navigators, as they continued their 
 course toward the pole. !N"o traces of Sir John Frank- 
 lin had yet been discovered. To further persist in 
 the course in which they were then sailing, was only 
 calculated to hem them in with the oceans of ice 
 which the rapidly approaching winter would congeal 
 around them ; and the moment had arrived, in the 
 progress of the expedition, when it became necessary 
 to determine what final course should be pursuet^. 
 While the commander and his ofiicers were deliber- 
 ating on the most suitable decision to be selected, 
 the vessel was suddenly surrounded with perils such 
 as she had not encountered since the commencement 
 of the voyage. A vast land-pack of ice had floated 
 from the west, unperceived through the heavy fog ; 
 and immediately the Isabel became involved in its 
 angry, turbulent, and dangerous embrace. The swell 
 lifted the ship far into the pack ; and the violence 
 and fury of the troubled masses were indicated by 
 the loud roar of the waters surging on the vast floe- 
 pieces by which the vessel was surrounded. The 
 frightful chaos of rolling masse tossing the vessel to 
 and fro like a feather in their midst, seemec* to render 
 escape from the impending peril of being either 
 
VOYAGE OP THE STEAMER ISABEL. 
 
 417 
 
 crushed or subniergjcd, almost impossible. Tlie only 
 possibillity of rescue consisted in threading their way 
 amid the rolling and tossing fragments, by the aid of 
 the steam engine, after first getting the head of the 
 vessel free from its contact with the ice. As the ves- 
 sel carefully and slowly went forward amid the float- 
 ing ice, immense masses dropped astern one after an- 
 other into her wake. She escaped at length through 
 every danger ; though the edges of the fan of the 
 screw were brightened from frequent abrasion against 
 the ice. 
 
 Captain Inglefield now continued to sail eastward. 
 He passed by and observed new islands which were 
 then unknown and nameless, to which he applied ap- 
 propriate epithets. On the 1st of September the sea 
 had become so completely encumbered with the float- 
 ing ice as to make the further progress of the vessel 
 bothdiiUcult and dangerous, Captain Inglefiald then 
 determined to steer for the purpose of meeting the 
 squadron of Sir Edward Belcher, which had also been 
 sent out for the purpose of searching those seas for 
 Sir John Franklin by the British government ; and 
 which would winter there in accordance with their 
 instructions. Captain Inglefield was induced to pur- 
 sue this course in order that he might carry his sur- 
 plus provisions, stores, and coals to that squadron ; 
 and that he might convey to them the latest news and 
 information from Eiigland. It was his intention then, 
 unless some special service required his exertions, to 
 return to England with intelligence from the squad- 
 ron of Sir L. Belcher, and the prospects of success 
 which still attended their labors of discovery. That 
 squadron Captain Inglefield knew was then stationed 
 at Beechey Island, and thither he immediately steered. 
 So severe had the weather already become, that the 
 heavy seas which broke over the Isabel continually 
 froze, and her bows became one mass of ice, binding 
 the anchor fast to her side. After several days ot 
 rapid sailing, Beechey Island was reached ; but the 
 
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 If 
 
 : 
 
 t 
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 ; 
 
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 i 
 
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418 
 
 PROORK88 OP ARCTIO DISCOVERT. 
 
 North Star alone was found there. The rest of Sir 
 E. Belcher's squadron had sailed, ahout three weeks 
 l>eforo, up Wellint^ton channel, and it was supposed 
 that he had steered thenco tlirough the open waters 
 beyond Parry Strait. 
 
 It was on tliis Island that Captain Inlegfield was 
 shown tlio tliree graves of some of Sir John Franklin's 
 crew, to which reference has already been made on 
 page 376 of this volume. Plunging through the 
 snow which was knee-deep, he readied, under the 
 guidance of one of the officers of the North Star, those 
 sad and lonely resting places of mortality. He found 
 them unchanged from what they hacl been when 
 visited by Lieutenant Do Haven ; and he was in- 
 formed by his guide that a polar bear of monstrous 
 size was irequently seen keeping his grim and cheer- 
 less vigils over tlie dead, and sitting on the graves. 
 Captain Inglefield picked up some of tlie meat canis- 
 ters which lay scattered on the island, and some relics 
 of canvas and wood which were supposed to have be- 
 longed to the missing ships. He obtained from the 
 commander of the North Star all the information ne- 
 cessary in reference to the condition and prospects of 
 Sir John Belcher and Captain Kellett, both of whom 
 held commands in that squadron. They had as yet 
 discovered no trace of Sir John Franklin ; but it was 
 their purpose to pass the winter in the Polar Seas, for 
 the purpose of renewing their researches in the en- 
 suing spring. 
 
 As this voyage of the Isabel was only a summer 
 cruise, and as the vessel was neither adapted nor in- 
 tended to confront the overwhelming rigors of the 
 winter season in the Arctic regions, it was but proper 
 that, as the season was now rapidly advancing, Cap- 
 tain Inglelield should resume his voyage homeward, 
 to escape the greater perils which delay would entail. 
 Accordingly, on the 10th of September the Isabel com- 
 raencou to sail in a southern direction. On the 12th 
 she reached Mount Possession. On the 14th she was 
 
YOTAOE OF THE BTBAMER ISABEL, 
 
 419 
 
 opposite Capo Bowen. Captain Inglefiolcl landed 
 hero to oxamiiio tlio traces ot a cairn, which was said 
 to exist. Hut ho saw nothing save the large and deep 
 footprints of a great Polar bear, and those of the small 
 Arctic fox. 
 
 Here the further progress of tlie Isabel along the 
 coast was stopped by the presence of vast fields of ice. 
 It became necessary to press along the edge of the 
 pack, and seek for an opening to permit Tier to ad- 
 vance. This pack seemed to have been collected 
 here by the immense icel^ergs which had run aground 
 on the Ilecla and Griper banks, and thence drifted 
 south by the continual current which existed on those 
 western shores. The pack stretched away, as far as 
 the eye could reach, both southward and northward. 
 A storm of snow came on, such as one sees only in 
 Arctic latitudes. Tiie sea also became exceedingly 
 rough and boisterous; and wave after wave broke 
 over the whole length of the vessel. Each plunge 
 filled the rigging and hung the spars with monstrous 
 icicles ; and the waves froze as they flooded the deck, 
 the ropes, and the sails ; so that the hands of the sail- 
 ors were frozen fast the instant they touched either 
 of them. 
 
 On the 21st of September the weather moderated, 
 and the Isabel boldly dashed through the crevices 
 and channels of the pack. Pancake ice was rapidly 
 forming around them, giving the mariners warning 
 that they must soon vacate that locality, or else be 
 frozen in, beyond the power of deliverance, for the 
 winter. Kapidly the Isabel dashed forward, impelled 
 by the unwearied power of her engine. By noon on 
 the 23d, she had cleared the pack, had traveled a hun- 
 dred and seventeen miles in twenty-four hours, and 
 found herself in 69° north latitude. Here Captain 
 Ingletield encountered a gale of the utmost fury, 
 which continued during live days incessantly. The 
 ocean waves now attained tiie size of mountams, and 
 exceeded in violence and fury even those which lash 
 
 : I 
 
 1' 
 
 'if 
 
 \ • 
 
 < !l 
 
 
I 
 
 420 
 
 PB00RB8S OF AUCTIO DISCOVERT. 
 
 the bold promontory of Capo TTorn, wlicre tlio waters 
 of two jjjreiit oceans roll together in hoHtile rivalry. 
 Vast waves continually flooded the decks fore and 
 aft. Torrents of water drenched almost every portion 
 of the vessel, carrying the seamen with it into the lee 
 scuppers. The drifting sleet and snow drove so fierce- 
 ly into the eyes of the sailors, that it was almost im- 
 possible for them to see, or to execute orders. Nev- 
 ertheless, the gallant ship sailed manfully through it 
 all, and safely outrode the gale, though with the loss 
 of her spare spars, and the total ribboning of her 
 sails. 
 
 In order to repair this damage Captain Inglefield 
 was compelled, after the storm lulled, to steer for the 
 nearest port of llolsteinburg, in order to make repairs. 
 This port he reached on the 2d of October. During 
 the week which the captain spent here, the anniver- 
 sary of the birth-day of the king of Denmark occurred ; 
 which gave an occasion for the observation of the 
 peculiarities of the Esquimaux tribes, who here live 
 as the remotest subjects of that monarch, under the 
 superintendence of a governor sent from Copenhagen. 
 An entertainment was given at the house of the gov- 
 ernor. Esquimaux of both sexes attended, danced 
 their native dances, drank their brandy-punch fur- 
 nished both by the governor and by Captain Ingle- 
 Held, and became elated and uproarious in the ex- 
 treme. The governor's wife was an Esquimaux wo- 
 man ; and Captain Inglefield had the honor of exe- 
 cuting with her the intricate mazes oi an Esquimaux 
 quadrille, to the monotonous scraping of a crippled 
 fiddle, bound around and held together with divers 
 strings and splinters. 
 
 On the 7tli of October the Isabel again put to sea, 
 and again she encountered a storm of unusual vio* 
 lence. The helmsman was very nearly washed over- 
 board. On the loth the gale moderated, and the 
 
VOYAGE OF THE 8TKAMEK ISABEL. 
 
 421 
 
 vessel then continued her way across tlic Atlantic. 
 No incident wortliy ot'spocial notice occurriMl durinnj 
 the rest of the lioniewurd voyaujo. On the -Ith of No- 
 vember theilsahel anchored at Stroniness, liaviiiij^ heon 
 absent precisely four nioiiths from tlie day of startiui^. 
 And although this expedition, taking place as it did 
 in tlio summer months, was devoid of the usual ex- 
 treme horrors and vicissitudes whicli attend Arctic 
 researches, it accomplished results which wore by no 
 means of secondary importance. Captain Ingletield 
 carefully examined the unknown eastern shore of the 
 Polar liasin, as far north as 78° 35', throwing con- 
 siderable light upon the disputed question, wliether 
 Baffin's Bay opens into the Polar Basin. Ho also 
 explored the waters of the shores of Smith Sound, in 
 search of Sir John Franklin, but in vain. Jones 
 Sound was then examined, with the same result, and 
 he ascertained the probable fact that this sound is a 
 gulf having no outlet, except perhaps by some small 
 frozen strait into the Polar Sea. Lancaster Sound 
 was also visited, and the western coast of Baffin's Bay 
 as far south as the river Clyde. Throughout a coast 
 of six hundred continuous miles, many alterations and 
 additions were made in the geography of those coun- 
 tries. And altogether, for a private expedition of 
 no very great expense, executed in a small vessel, 
 though amply provisioned and stored, the results at- 
 tained were as important as could reasonably have 
 been expected. 
 
 Eighteen months in the Polar Regions in search of 
 Sir John Franklin's Expedition, in the years 
 1850 — 51, BY Lieutenant Sherard Osborn, with 
 the Steam Vessels !lf ioneer and Intrepid. 
 
 In May, 1850, this expedition was fitted out at 
 Woolwich, for the purpose of continuing the search 
 after the missing mariners. The instructions of the 
 British Admirality to the commander were, that he 
 
 t 
 
 
 
 1 
 
 I ' 
 
 i 1 
 
 
 ^ 
 
 k 
 
 > • 
 
422 
 
 PROGRESS OP ARCnO DISCOVERY. 
 
 should examine Barrow's Straits south-westerly to 
 Cape Walker, westerly toward Melville Island, and 
 north-westerly up Wellington Channel. 
 
 On the 26th of May the expedition approached the 
 shores of Greenland, and came within view of Cape 
 Farewell. They proceeded rapidly on until they 
 reached their first place of stoppage, the Whale Fish 
 Isles. A day was spent here in taking in provisions 
 and fowls. From this point the view of the shores 
 of Greenland at a distance was picturesque in the 
 extreme. Its glaciers, its lofty peaks, and its frozen 
 headlands presented every variety of shape ; while 
 between them and the vessels, the sea was covered 
 with an infinite variety of tossing icebergs of every 
 possible size and proportion, exhibiting the richest 
 emerald hues, and glowing with the deepest azure 
 tints. The awful silence of the scene was impressive 
 in the highest degree, a silence which would often be 
 suddenly broken by a distant roar reverberating 
 along the surface of the deep, and among the frozen 
 masses. It was the breaking up of some vast ice- 
 bergs, whose fragments would roll over into the sea, 
 plunge beneath its surface, and cover the spot of its 
 descent with foam and spray. This process was re- 
 peated at short intervals, in every direction of the 
 compass around them, and as far as their eyes could 
 reach. 
 
 The 29th of June still found Captain Osborn cruising 
 opposite the northern extremity of Greenland. He 
 here began to experience the dangers that accom- 
 panied the necessity which he sometimes felt of an- 
 choring to icebergs. This operation is frequently in- 
 dispensable in Arctic regions, when progress in the 
 required direction is for a time iTnpossible. The ice- 
 bergs in consequence of their immense size are often 
 aground, and thus seamen may anchor fast to them 
 in two hundred fathoms of water, without any more 
 trouble than digging a hole in the iceberg, and in- 
 serting a hook into it, called an ice-anchor. This is 
 
LIEUTENANT OSBOEN's EXPEDITION. 
 
 423 
 
 attached to a whale line, which enables the ship to 
 ride out under the lee of this natural breakwater, and 
 often thus to escape both the violence of the winds, 
 and the rude shocks of a lee pack. 
 
 But the dangers which sometimes accompany this 
 process are considerable. Sometimes the very first 
 stroke of the man setting the ice-anchor, causes a por- 
 tion of the iceberg to break off, and the persons <in\' 
 ployed in the work run great risk of being crushed b) 
 the falling masses. Sometimes pieces of ice become 
 detached from the upper portions of the berg, and 
 falling on the ships below, have injured spars, and 
 crushed sailors to death. Occasionally these masses 
 have been so immense as even to sink the vessel. 
 
 On the 6th of July Captain Osborn had his first 
 experience of the real perils of the Arctic world. All 
 hands were at dinner when the news suddenly came 
 down from the deck, that a vast body of ice was ap- 
 proaching under the pressure of a strong southerly 
 gale. A heavy brown vapor preceded it, under 
 which the ice gleamed fiercely, and the fioes were rap- 
 idly pressing together. The best security against 
 danger in cases of this kind, is the preparation of 
 docks in the body of the ice, which are cut in the 
 portion which is firm and solid. Into these the ships 
 are then inserted, and they are thus protected from 
 the collisions of the loose fragments. In this cuse 
 one hundred persons were instantly on the solid ice, 
 their triangles were rigged, and their long ice-saws 
 were at work. A hundred manly voices accompanied 
 tlieir labor with the jolly sailor songs of merry old 
 England. The ice was about three feet in thicJinesb, 
 and the saws employed were ten feet in length. Very 
 soon the vast cavity intended torec&ive the ships began 
 to take form and shape, and they then were removed 
 into them. The relief was ntuch need'^d; for the 
 pressure of the pack extended itself some ten miles 
 to the north of the position of the vessels ; the col- 
 lisions between the floes and the iceberg became pro- 
 
 II 
 
 •- , 
 
 I I' 
 
 1 
 
 .1 ji 
 
 , -1 II 
 
424 
 
 PE0GKE8S OF ARCTIC DISCOVERY. 
 
 Jl! 
 
 
 digious ; and had the snips been between them, they 
 would inevitably have suffered severely. But safely 
 ensconced in their docks, the expert seamen could 
 gaze with pleasure at the sublime spectacle presented 
 lor many miles on either side of them. 
 
 In spite of the vigilance of Capt Osborn, his ships 
 became entangled on the 20th of July, in the midst 
 of a heavy pack, six feet in thickness. So great was 
 the pressure that every plank and timber was crack- 
 ing and groaning. The vessels were thrown over on 
 their sides, and lifted up bodily, the bulkheads crack- 
 ing, the decks arching from the strain, and even the 
 scupper-pieces turning out from their mortices. The 
 ice was rapidly piling up as high as the bulwarks, 
 around the vessels. There seemed to be no possible 
 remedy against the destruction of the ships. The 
 sailors quickly brought their bundles of clothes ou 
 deck, for the purpose of taking refuge on the ice. 
 At this moment a deep dent in the side of the Pion- 
 eer, and the breaking of twenty-one of her timbers, 
 indicated her great danger. But fortunately, at the 
 very moment when it was thought that she must be 
 crushed to pieces, the strain of the floe-edge suddenly 
 eased, and the ship was saved from destruction. 
 
 From the 20th to the 31st of July the squadron con- 
 tinued to pursue their route ; yet so impenetrable was 
 the ice, tnat but seven miles was made during the 
 whole of that interval, in the right direction I By 
 the 13th of August the squadron nad passed through 
 Mellville Bay, and had reached Cape York. They 
 were still a considerable distance from the chief point 
 of research. Yet here they were detained for two 
 days in chasing up the groundless fabrication of Ad- 
 am Beek, alluded to in the previous article, in refer- 
 ence to the destruction of Sir John Franklin and his 
 crews at this point, by the native Esquimaux. 
 
 On the 15tli of August Captain Osborn struck west- 
 ward, and entered a wide sea of water which seemed 
 unobstructed by the ice. The shores of this portion 
 
LIEUTENANT 08B0RN 8 EXPEDITION. 
 
 425 
 
 of Baffin's Bay, which is termed the West Land, ap- 
 peared to be free from snow, and to be even compar- 
 atively verdant and. genial. At Button's Point the 
 commander landed, and was able, at this season of 
 the summer, to kill both deer and salmon. The na- 
 tives of this region had here erected numerous un- 
 roofed winter houses, of the rudest structure ; and 
 the navigators di ;covered many cairns, standing gen- 
 erally in pairs. These were instantly pulled down, 
 for the purpose of discovering their hidden contents. 
 Nothing however was found of a suspicious or sug- 
 gestive nature. These cairns seemed to be nothing 
 but marks erected by the Esquimaux, to enable them 
 to discover, on the return of winter, the places where 
 they had stored their sea-blubber cacM. A ring of 
 stones several feet high were all the indications of 
 these Esquimaux Imts which appeared above the sur- 
 face of the ground. 
 
 It was on the 22d of August that this expedition 
 entered Lancaster Sound. This is the great gate-way 
 to those Arctic waters, around which so many thrill- 
 ing associations cluster of maritime adventure, sufter- 
 ing, and discovery. It was lirst explored by the bold 
 Baffin, two hundred years ago, and was named by 
 him after the duke of Lancaster. Baffin termed it a 
 sound. Sir John Koss, forty years since, discovered 
 that it was a bay ; and Parry, who has not unlitly 
 been termed the prince of Arctic navigators, until 
 the vastly superior abilities and services of the im- 
 mortal Kane justly deprived him of that honorable 
 eminence, explored this bay throughout the extent of 
 600 miles toward Behring^fci Straits. 
 
 It was to complete the exploration of the remain- 
 ing 600 miles of this unknown region, that the expe- 
 dition of Sir John Franklin and his 140 gallant asso- 
 ciates had been devoted. Hence in pursuing this 
 line of travel and adventure. Lieutenant Osborn 
 justly supposed that he was following the most prob- 
 able and most certain course to ascertain the fate of 
 
 It 
 
 ■I 
 
 \ 
 
 i 
 
 i'i 
 
 .;i i 
 
 I ' 
 
 ■V 
 
 I! i 
 
426 
 
 PROGRESS OF ARCTIC DISCOVERY. 
 
 that lost and unfortunate expedition. He had al- 
 ready dificovered one important fact in reference to 
 the phenomena of the Arctic regions ; or if he had 
 not absolutely discovered it, he ascertained its cer- 
 tainty. This was that the iceberg, the most wonder- 
 ful peculiarity of those climes, is the creation of the 
 glacier. It had formally been supposed, even by the 
 most learned, that the iceberg was the accumulation 
 of the ice and snow which the lapse of ages had pro- 
 duced ; that a vast circle of ice many miles in height 
 and depth, surrounded the pole like an eternal belt ; 
 that these huffe cupolas of ice towered far up into 
 the cheerless lieavens of the north ; transcending in 
 size and altitude the utmost creations of human arch- 
 itecture ; and that these stupendous icebergs were 
 merely fragments which had become detached, prob- 
 ably by their own weight, from the parent mass, and 
 had then floated away into more southern seas. This 
 fanciful conception has now been exploded ; and it 
 ic proved that the iceberg is only known to exist 
 where there is land of a nature adapted to form the 
 glacier. Accordingly, Captain Osborn reasoned that 
 where icebergs burdened the ocean, glacier lands 
 could not be far distant ; and he directed the move- 
 ments of his exploring squadron accordingly. It was 
 by following this principle that Sir James Ross dis- 
 covered the circumpolar continent of Queen Victo- 
 ria's Land, in the Southern or Antarctic hemisphere. 
 On the 26th of August the ships entered Regent's 
 Inlet. The nights were only two hours in duration. 
 Next day a pack of ice was discovered some 10 miles 
 to the eastward. They instantly sailed westward, 
 giving the intruders very wide sea-room. They soon 
 reached Beechey's Island, on which the three graves 
 of Sir John Franklin's seamen were to be found, and 
 other evidences which showed that he had sojourned 
 there during 1845-46, the first winter of their ab- 
 sence. This circumstance confuted the opinions of 
 those who held that Sir John jj'ranklin had perished 
 
LIEUTENANT OSBORn'S EXPEDITIOW. 
 
 427 
 
 in the depths of Baffin's Bay on his ontward voyage ; 
 and proved that lie had advanced safely to a very re- 
 mote point in Arctic travel and discovery. On 
 Beechey's Island Captain Osborn saw another mourn- 
 .^ul trace of Sir John Franklin. It was the remnant 
 of a garden, witli a neatly shaped oval outline, the 
 borders carefully covered with moss, lichen, and an- 
 emones, which he had transplanted from a more ge- 
 nial clime ; and these even yet continued to show 
 some traces of vitality. At some distance from this 
 garden the foundations of a store-house were discov* 
 ered. These consisted of an interior and exterior 
 embankment, into which oak and elm scantling had 
 been stuck, as supports to the rooting. Within the 
 enclosure some empty coal-sacks were found, and 
 some wood shavings. It is probable that this store- 
 house had been constructed by Sir John Franklin to 
 preserve a portion of the abundant provisions with 
 which his decks had been encumbered when he left 
 Whale Fish Islands. Captain Osborn also discovered 
 a pair of Cashmere gloves which had been laid out 
 to dry by one of the lost crews ; on each of which a 
 small stone had been placed to prevent them from 
 being swept away by the wind. They had rested 
 there, having been probably forgotten by their owner, 
 ever since 1846 1 
 
 Again on this occasion were the three lonely graves 
 of Sir John Franklin's seamen scanned by a sailor's 
 eye, and wept over by those gallant adventurers. 
 These graves are simple and neat in their appearance, 
 such as British sailors erect over the bodies of their 
 departed messmates, in every quarter of the globe, 
 whether in the frozen zones of t!ie north, the coral- 
 girded isle? of the south, the verdant and spicy vales 
 of the east, or the gold-gifted climes of the west. 
 They are graves whicli remind the observer of some 
 quiet church-yard in England or in our own land, 
 where the departed sleep beneath the very eaves of 
 the humble sanctuary, surrounded by the green turf, 
 
 .J I 
 
 I 
 
 ■ : ' i 1 
 
 I 
 
 % 
 
428 
 
 PK0GRES8 OF ARCTIC DI8C0VEKY. 
 
 the waving grass, and the blooming rose, with wh'ch 
 the hand of affection, or the undisturbed frnitfulness 
 of nature ha8 surrounded them. One grave of the 
 three is especially suggestive of mournful thoughts. 
 It is that ol " J. Iiartnell, B. A., of the ship Erebus ; 
 died January 4th, 1846. Aged 25 years." Here 
 was a youth who had been reared amid the classic 
 shades and the ennobling associations of one of En- 
 gland's great universities — either a Cantab or an Ox- 
 onian — and strange to say, he was destined to lay his 
 form to take its long last sleep in the lonely and cheer- 
 less solitude of that frozen zone ; and that, too, in the 
 prime of his years, and far distant from all that was 
 connected with the brilliant hopes of his youthful 
 days I 
 
 W hen about to leave Beechey Island, Captain Os- 
 born found it difficult to determine what course 
 should be taken. It was evident that Sir John Frank- 
 lin had selected one of three routes, in 1846. The 
 first was south-west by Cape Walker; the second, 
 north-west by "Wellington Channel ; the third, west 
 by Melville Island. Yague reports were current 
 among the crews, that some of Captain Penny's peo- 
 ple had seen sledge-marks on the eastern snores of 
 Erebus and Terror Bay. Captain Osborn determined 
 in person, first to explore Beechey Island, in that di- 
 rection. He landed on the north shore of Union 
 Bay, at the base of the clifis of Cape Spencer, and 
 soon discovered a deep sledge-mark which had been 
 cut through the edge of cue of the ancient natural 
 terraces on the beach. It was in a line between the 
 cairn of meat cans which Franklin had erected on 
 the northern spur of Beechey Island, to a valley be- 
 tween the Capes Ennes and Bowden. From its ap- 
 pearance, it had been evidently an outward-bound 
 sledge^ and its depth denoted that it was heavily la- 
 den. It was an additional evidence of the former 
 presence of Franklin on that island. Upon further 
 examination, various other sledge-marks were dis- 
 
LIEUTENANT 08B0RN S EXPEDITION. 
 
 429 
 
 covered on the island. At one spot they were very 
 numerous, and proved that there a rendezvous had been 
 appointed for the purpose of landing some of the 
 contents of the ships. From this point some of the 
 sledge marks ran northward into a gorge through the 
 hills ; others were directed toward Caswell's Tower, a 
 singular mass of limestone rock, on the shore of Rad- 
 stock Bay, which served as a useful landmark to all 
 vessels approaching either from the east or the west. 
 
 Captain Osborn here divided his party, and each 
 followed the sledge-marks in an opposite direction, 
 lie discovered the site of a circular tent, which had 
 evidently been constructed and used by a shooting 
 party from the Erebus or Terror. The stones which 
 had been used to confine the canvas to its place, lay 
 around. Several large stones well blackened with 
 smoke, indicated where the fire-place had been ; and 
 porter-bottles, meat-cans, pieces of paper, and feath- 
 ers, were strewed about. Yet no written line or 
 mark was detected, to throw any light on the great 
 mystery which occupied their minds. After seven 
 hours of hard walking. Captain Osborn and his men 
 returned to the ships. Such were all the traces 
 which the utmost industry and scrutiny could dis- 
 cover of Sir John Franklin, in this last known spot 
 of his habitation. From the 1st to the 4th of Sep- 
 tember the ships lay waiting for an opening in the 
 fixed ice, to enable them to resume their voyage. At 
 length on the 5th, the appearance of the ice and the 
 direction of the wind being favorable, Captain Os- 
 born immediately gave orders to proceed across Wel- 
 lington Channel toward Barlow Inlet. 
 
 Before this course had been pursued for any dis- 
 tance, the channel became blocked up with a vast 
 field of floating ice. A northerly gale began to blow 
 furiously over its surface ; and the ships of the squad- 
 ron were swept along with the ice, in whose embrace 
 they were, out of the channel toward Leopold Island. 
 The squadron drifted at the rate of a mile per hour, 
 
 27 
 
 I 
 
 I 
 
 ! 
 
 
 . '! 
 
 f^ J 
 
430 
 
 PROGRESS OF ARCTIC DISCOVERT. 
 
 toward the south-east. Suddenly an opening in the 
 pack occurred, and the steam-engine was instantly 
 brought into requisition, to enable the seamen to ex- 
 tricate themselves. Soon they reached again the 
 open water ; and found themselves near the squadron 
 of Captain Penny, and the American vessels, com- 
 manded by De Haven. These were then making 
 sail under a full press of canvas for Cape Hotham. 
 
 When in this position on the 11th of September, 
 1850, the Arctic winter descended on the adventur- 
 ers. The heavens became overclouded with black- 
 ness, and the atmosphere filled with hail, snow, and 
 sleet. A heavy sea began to roll, and the loose frag- 
 ments of the rapidly congealing ice again to close 
 around them. A snug harbor was happily discov- 
 ered for the winter, between Capes Hotham and Mar- 
 tvr, on the south side of Cornwallis Island. Here 
 the Pioneer and Intrepid were taken and secured. 
 Several parties were sent out to carry provisions and 
 establish depots on the intended routes of the differ- 
 ent expeditions which would explore this region in 
 the spring of 1851. Lieutenant McClintock carried 
 out a depot toward Melville Island, and Lieutenant 
 Aldrich, taking another toward Lowther Island. 
 Lieutenant Mecham was also sent to examine Corn- 
 wallis Island, between Assistance Harbor and Cape 
 Martyr, for traces of the progress of Sir John 
 Franklin. 
 
 Captain Osborn determined to embrace this op- 
 portunity to connect the search from the spot where 
 Lieutenant Mecham left the coast, to the point at 
 which Lieutenant McClintock again took it up, thus 
 completing the survey of this whole region, through 
 which it was very naturally inferred that Sir John 
 Franklin had passed. He started on the 10th of Oc- 
 tober, provided with five day's provisions. The party 
 consisted of six persons. The thermometer was six 
 degrees above zero, and accordingly they did not 
 Butfer from the severity of the weather. After a 
 
LIEUTENANT 08B0RN 8 EXPEDITION. 
 
 431 
 
 march of three hours they came to Cape Martyr. 
 Striking inward on Cornwallis Island, Captain Os- 
 born came suddenly in view of a structure which at 
 once excited the utmost interest, with the hope that 
 it might be some unknown monument of the lost 
 navigators. It was a round, conical-shaped building, 
 twenty feet in circumference at the base. The apex 
 had fallen in, but the height of what remained was 
 five feet six inches. It was well built, and those who 
 had reared it seemed to have well understood the 
 strength of the arched roof, to resist the weight of the 
 immense amount of snow which falls in those regions. 
 Much skill was exhibited in the arrangement of the 
 slates of limestone with which the building was con- 
 structed. The stones of the apex which had fallen 
 within the walls were quickly removed, but they dis- 
 covered nothing which could enlighten them as to 
 the origin of the structure. Yet it was evident from 
 the thick moss which adhered to the walls, that it 
 was not of recent origin, and that in fact it must 
 have been built many years before the date of Sir 
 John Franklin's voyage. The position of this mys- 
 terious monument was lonely in the extreme. It 
 seemed to be a solitary landmark in that polar world, 
 of the former and transient abode of some unknown 
 visitant ; and it bore clear evidence that it was not 
 the product of the labor of the rude Esquimaux, who 
 sometimes in their summer wanderings reached even 
 these remote latitudes. Nothing more of interest 
 was discovered on Cornwallis Island ; and Captain 
 Osborn returned to his ships. 
 
 On the ITth of October the commander of the 
 ships which composed this squadron, determined that 
 as soon as they could commence operations in the en- 
 suing spring. Captain Penny was to continue the ex- 
 ploration of Wellington Channel, while Captain Os- 
 born was to continue his researches toward Melville 
 Island, and from Cape Walker toward the south-west. 
 With the settlement of this arrangement, all the la- 
 
 I It ^ 
 
 >. i^ 
 
 M~ 
 
 
432 
 
 PIIOORB88 OP AROnO DISCOVERT. 
 
 bors of the squadron for the year 1850 closed, as the 
 utmost rigors of a polar winter were now upon them. 
 The upper decks were then covered in. The stoves 
 and warming apparatus were set to work. The boats 
 were secured on the ice. All the lumber was re- 
 moved from the upper decks. Tlio masts and yards 
 were made as snug as possible ; and rows of posts 
 were placed between the ships, to designate the way 
 amid the darkness and storms of winter. Holes were 
 cut through the ice in order to obtain a ready supply 
 of water in case of fire ; and arrangements were made 
 to ensure the cleanliness of the sbips aud the crews. 
 On the 8th of November several omcers ascended the 
 heights of Griffith's Island, and at noon caught the 
 last glimpse of the sun, which they were destined 
 to see, for some months ; though it was then 17 miles 
 below the horizon, and the rays which they beheld 
 were those only of refraction. The precise position of 
 the vessels was 74J° of north latitude. 
 
 Though the sun had ceased to visit those Arctic 
 heavens, it must not be supposed that the bold naviga- 
 tors were in darkness. The southern horizon was il- 
 lumed each day during several hours at noon, by a 
 deep and rosy red light, mixed with pink and blue. 
 Toward the north the prevalent appearance of the 
 heavens was a cold, bluish-black. During the rest of 
 the twenty-four hours, a gray twilight prevailed around 
 them, except when the moon was full. At that pe- 
 riod a subdued splendor was cast over the frozen face 
 of nature, which finds no parallel in the natural phe- 
 nomena of other and more favored climes. The love- 
 liness of an Arctic moonlight none can know, save 
 those who themselves have seen it. 
 
 Thus shut out from all the world, the adventurers 
 endeavored to wear away the monotonous months oi 
 winter. The festivals of Christmas and New Yeai 
 were observed with unusual glee and festivity, with 
 such means as were within their reach. Sometimes 
 the weather was too severe to permit any communi- 
 
was re- 
 
 low, save 
 
 LIEUTENANT OSBORN 8 EXPEDITION. 
 
 433 
 
 cation between the vessels. During a portion of the 
 time, the snow was drifted to such immense Iieiglits 
 arouad the ships, that it exchided all view of the sur- 
 rounding wastes. The vessels only three hundred 
 yards distant from each other, were often invisible. 
 Frequently as the furious storms of the north swept 
 over the surrounding ice for many miles, the floor vi- 
 brated and tremblea with the violence of the shock, 
 and communicated this singular motion to the vessels. 
 The aurora borealis alone disappointed those who 
 were connected with this expedition. It was deficient 
 in brilliancy of color. It was also inferior in extent 
 to what they anticipated. The series of concentric 
 semi-circles of light were subdued by dark spaces 
 between them, wnich diminished its luster ancl gen- 
 eral splendor. The snow fell almost incessantly. 
 When heavy gales blew the vessels were nearly 
 smothered ; and vast drifts 15 feet thick above the 
 decks, had to be removed by the continual labors of 
 the seamen. 
 
 Amid such scenes as these, the long winter slowly 
 passed away. Early in March the crews began to 
 stir. On the 11th of that month the thermometer 
 was 41° below zero; and yet this temperature was 
 not considered as too severe for active operations. 
 On the 4th of April, 1851, preparations were made 
 to travel on sledges, for the purpose of pursuing the 
 inland searches. Captain Ommaney was directed to 
 cross Barrow's Strait and Cape Walker. Lieutenant 
 Aldrich was sent with two sledges and 14 men toward 
 the unknown channel of Byam-Martin Island. Lieu- 
 tenant McCormick was dispatched to Melville Island, 
 to prosecute his researches as far as Winter Harbor, 
 with two sledges and 13 men. Other officers were 
 sent in other directions ; making iii all fifteen sledges, 
 manned by 105 men, who were thus distributed in 
 various directions, in order to obtain information and 
 indications of the career and fate of the squadron of 
 Sir John Franklin. 
 
 ! < 
 
 1 
 
 , !^ 
 
 I! 
 
 
 \h- 
 
 4 
 
484 
 
 PROGRESS OF ARCTIC DISCOVERT. 
 
 It waa tlio 12th of April when these expeditions 
 Btiirtcd forth from tlie Hhips. Our space forhids im 
 to follow all tlieir adventures, which wore exciting and 
 perilous in the extreme, over vast tracts of snow and 
 ice, of the most monstrous and irregular 8liai)e8. 
 The whole coast of Capo Walker's Land was sur- 
 veyed. Many of the seamen became snow-blind, and 
 many had frozen feet. They beheld vast tracts of 
 snow-covered land hugged by the icy seas, over which 
 a silence and solitude sullenly brooded, not unlike 
 that of a primitive chaos. Most of the sledge parties 
 accomplisned journeys of 500 miles, in various direc- 
 tions, during the fifty days the expedition lasted. Af- 
 ter the lapse of this period, or nearly so, all the par- 
 ties returned to the ships. Some had searched the 
 whole western coast of Bathurst Island. Some had 
 been to Winter Harbor, Bushman Cove, and Capo 
 Dundas. Others had explored the whole eastern 
 coast of Mellville Island. In eighty days the compa- 
 ny under Lieutenant McClintock had traveled 800 
 miles, dragging their sledges containing tlieir provis- 
 ions after them. He and liis men had pertbrmed the 
 greatest labor of any of their associates. Yet no- 
 where, amid all these various researches, in every 
 possible and available direction, had the least trace 
 been detected of Sir John Franklin, no tradition of 
 his presence, no monument or evidence of his fate ! 
 
 On the 14th of August, 1851, the vessels steered 
 for Jones' Sound, which they entered on the evening 
 of the 15th. This sound was discovered to be the 
 narrowest about the entrance. The scenery of the 
 sliores is magnificent. Ten miles inland a huge 
 dome of pure white snow ascended to the height of 
 4,000 feet, presenting one of the most singular spec- 
 tacles which could well be imagined. Keacning 
 Cape Hardwicke, which was discovered to be in fact 
 a group of islands, they struck eastward toward Cape 
 Clarence, which seemed to be the utmost limit of the 
 land in that direction. Proceedina: onward in their 
 
LIEUTENANT OSBOHN 8 EXI'EDrnON. 
 
 435 
 
 southern route, the squadron soon came in sight of 
 Cury Islen, and then of the tlat-toppcd re^^ion between 
 Cai)0 York and Dudley Di^ejes. The steamers then 
 rapidly advanced on tlieir homeward way. On the 
 2Sth of August tliey reached Wolstenholme Island. 
 Hero thev were stopped by the floating ice; and an- 
 choring last to an iceberg, they awaited the tirst open- 
 ing which might occur. Here began traces again of 
 the nomade Esquimaux ; and thus they seemed to 
 have returned to communion with the rest of man- 
 kind. By the 1st of September the vessels still re- 
 mained closely packed in the ice ; and nothing ap- 
 peared to the view from tlie mast-head, except the 
 boundless horizon of the frozen ocean. It was nev- 
 ertheless necessary for Captain Osborn to make a 
 bold push of some description, to be released from his 
 continement, for starvation itself might soon surprise 
 liis associates in their imprisonment. In a day or 
 two a fortunate slackening of the ice encouraged 
 them to attempt on entering. So difficult and slow 
 was their progress, that they did not advance more 
 than the snip's length luring the period, and after 
 the labors, of an hour. Hy dint of constant screwing 
 and heaving, however, some advance was made. 
 Gradually the sea became more open ; and then the 
 powers of the steam-engine were brought into play. 
 A moment's further delay might have secured their 
 detention for the whole winter, in those inhospitable 
 and frozen climes. After a day of excessive exer- 
 tions, the ships had wormed their way through the 
 floating ice to the open sea which lay to the south of 
 it, and thus again were free. 
 
 On the 5th of September the squadron commenced 
 its unobstructed voyage of return to England. In 
 eight days they reached the latitude of Cape Farewell, 
 and at length safely anchored at Grimby, in the 
 River Ilumber, precisely three weeks after the com- 
 mencement of their homeward-bound voyage. The 
 expedition had indeed failed either to rescue Sir John 
 
 I li 
 
 \ ■ 
 

 I 
 
 I 
 
 I 
 
 436 
 
 PROGRESS OF ARCTIC DISCOVERT. 
 
 FranHin, or even to solve the great mystery of his 
 fate ; nevertheless it had made " assurance doubly 
 sure" that he had not been lost in the regions which 
 they had visited, but that he must have proceeded 
 on his adventurous way to a very remote and une- 
 qualed extreme of northern latitude. It ascertained 
 ttiat, if he had perished at all, he had perished in the 
 execution of one of the boldest and most desperate 
 resolutions ever entertained by man, to explore if 
 possible, the utmost limits of the accessible earth ; 
 and to arrive as near to the North Pole as it was pos- 
 sible for human heroism, endurance, and determina- 
 tion to approach. 
 
 But other interesting and valuable researches were 
 made by this expedition, which deserve notice. 
 These established the fact that the Esquimaux tribes 
 which now inhabit portions of the Arctic Zone, were 
 once very numerous along the whole northern shore 
 of Barrow's Straits and Lancaster Sound, and that for- 
 merly the Esquimaux were among the most widely 
 diffused races on the eart^, so iar as superficial ex- 
 tent is concerned. From Melville Island on the west, 
 to the isolated inhabitants of Northern (xreenland, 
 called Arctic Highlands, many strange and ancient 
 remains were discovered in various sheltered nooks 
 and corners on the shore, such as rude houses, caches^ 
 hiii5ting posts, and graves, which clearly proved that 
 inhabitants once dwelt in ihis sad and solitary clime, 
 who have now either become exterminated, or have 
 emigrated to some more genial region. 
 
 The origin of this people eoems to have been in the 
 north-eastern extremity of Asia ; for on the banks of 
 the Lena and the Indigirka, and along the whole extent 
 of the frozen Tundra^ which faces the Polar Seas, as 
 well as in New Siberia, the same species of circular 
 stone huts, the same whalebone rafters, the same rude 
 axes made of stones, and the same primitive imple- 
 ments of the chase, are still found to exist, and are 
 used alike by the Esquimaux of Hudson Straits and 
 
LIEUTENANT OSBORN'S EXPEDITION. 
 
 437 
 
 Greenland, the Innuit of North America, and the 
 Tchuktches of Behrinff's Straits. It is probable, there- 
 fore, that these people first reached the American 
 c mtinent from the east of Asia. Tht> Tchuktches are 
 the only tribe of Siberia who have maintained their 
 independence; and have defied, assisted by the hor- 
 rid riffors of nature, the overwhelming power of Kus- 
 sia. The other tribes of Siberia narrate how one of 
 the races called by them the Omoki, whose homes 
 were as numerous on the banks of the Lena as 
 the stars of an Arctic night, did formally remove 
 to unknown regions; supposed by them to be in 
 a north-eastern direction. They also tell of an- 
 other tribe, termed the Onkillon, who, having been 
 attacked by the Tchuktches, took shelter in a dis- 
 tant land to the northward from Cape Jakan. This 
 land has now been found actually to exist in that 
 direction. 
 
 These people eventually reached the shores of Da- 
 vis' Straits and the Atlantic Ocean ; and some of 
 them even advanced as far as Lancaster Sound, along 
 the Parry Group. Compelled by the necebsities of 
 food, and attracted by the products of fishing and 
 hunting, they eventually reached Behring's Straits ; 
 and thus this unfortunate race extended over a vast 
 proportion of those inhospitable but habitable realms 
 which lie nearest to the Pole. Among the proofs of 
 this fact furnished by the researches of Captain Os- 
 born's expedition, may be mentioned tlie following : 
 Ruins of the description already mentioned, were 
 found between Bathurst and Cornwallis Land, on the 
 whole southern shore of Cornwallis Isknd, on Capes 
 Spencer and Riley, on Radstock Bay, Ommaney 
 liarbor. Cape Warrender, and on the shores of Jones' 
 Sound. Formerly, also, many Esquimaux lived even 
 at the head of Baffin's Bay. On the coast northward 
 of Cape York, many deserted villages and . dead 
 bodies have been found ; clearly indicating the ex- 
 istence of a people who have now either become ex* 
 
 !l^i 
 
 .,.|k; ' 
 
 /i 
 
 
 
438 
 
 PROGRESS OF ASCTIO DISCOVERY. 
 
 
 ■I R! 
 
 
 1 i; 
 
 tinct, or have congregated in a less rigorous locality. 
 All these tribes and races, whatever they may have 
 been, undoubtedly belonged to the general Esquimaux 
 family, who first originated in the north-eastern ex- 
 tremity of Asia. 
 
 * 
 
 Arctic Searching Expedition ; a JI ournal of a Boat- 
 voyage THROUGH KuPERt's LaND AND THE ArCTIO 
 
 Sea, in Search of Sir John Franklin, by Sir John 
 Richardson, in 1851. 
 
 The commander of this expedition was directed by 
 the British admiralty to leave England in a mail- 
 steamer for Halifax and New York ; and from the 
 latter place to proceed to Montreal, in order to confer 
 with Sir George Simpson, governor of the Hudson 
 Bay ''^pany's settlements. He was ordered thence 
 to travel by Lake Huron to Saut Ste. Marie and Lake 
 Superior, and there embark with a small crew, and 
 sail along the chain of lakes until he overtook Mr. 
 Bell, whom it was supposed he would find at Isle a 
 la Crosse. 
 
 With four boats well adapted to this service. Sir 
 John Richardson was ordered to proceed and exam- 
 ine the extensive North American coast between the 
 Mackenzie and Coppermine Rivers. Passing the 
 winter at Fort Good Hope, or Confidence, near Great 
 Bear Lake, he was directed in the following spring to 
 resume his journey, and explore the passages between 
 "Wollaston, Banks , and Victoria Lands, so as to cross 
 the routes of Sir J. C. Ross' detached parties ; and 
 thence to return again to Great Bear Lake. It was 
 hoped that this comparatively novel and untried di- 
 rection of search, might probably reveal some satis- 
 factory indications or memorials of the fate and situ- 
 ation of Sir John Franklin. 
 
 rii 
 
 Die length of this interior navigation to the Arctic 
 Sea from Montreal, is about 4,400 miles. Sixteen 
 hundred of these are performed on the Mackenzie 
 
V i 
 
 ," i| 
 
 I 
 
 ! ] 
 
 SIB JOHN RIOHAEDSOn's EXPEDITION. 
 
 439 
 
 River and its tributaries. The uoats employed in tliis 
 expedition measured 30 feet in length, six in breadth, 
 three in depth ; and were providea with masts, sails, 
 oars, anchors, and tools; and each weighed half a ton. 
 A crew of five men was deemed sufficient for each. 
 Among the seamen selected to man the boats, were 
 sappers, miners, carpenters, blacksmiths, armorers, and 
 engineers. These four boats properly provisioned, were 
 embarked, together with the men of the expedition, 
 on board the " Prince of Wales " and " W estmin- 
 ster," bound to York Factory, one of the posts of the 
 Hudson Bay company ; and there both ships eventu- 
 ally arrived, after a stormy passage, with the boats 
 and their respective crews. In May, 1851, Sir John 
 Hichardson and his chief associate, Mr. Rae, left the 
 house of Mr. Ballenden, at Saut Ste. Marie, near 
 Lake Superior, and entered on the active duties of 
 their expedition. 
 
 We will omit some details of their travels, as long 
 as these continue throagh those intermediate regions 
 which are not directly connected with the Arctic 
 Zone ; and which throw but little light upon the pe- 
 culiarities of that remote portion of the earth. The 
 expedition pursued its designated route, until at 
 length they entered the estuary of the Mackenzie 
 River. At four o'clock in the morning they embarked, 
 and crossing a shallow bar at the end of a sand-bank, 
 they steered between Richards' Island and the main 
 land. They soon perceived about 200 Esquimaux 
 coming toward them in their canoes, and three umiaks 
 filled with women and children. It was necessary 
 to beat oft* these intruders, who by hanging on to the 
 sides of the boats impeded their progress ; nor were 
 the voyagers certain that no hostile attack was in- 
 tended by these half-starved and importunate semi- 
 savages. 
 
 As soon as these two parties in the several boats 
 came in contact_, a buisy scene of barter began to be 
 enacted. The Esquimaux liad arrows, bows, kniv '^ 
 
 ■ I 
 
 i .! 
 
 f 
 
 mi 
 
 1m 
 
 4i 
 
 :f 
 
 ^i'M 
 
440 
 
 PieOGBESS OF AEOTIO DISCOVERT. 
 
 of copper, or of bone, and articles of that description 
 to sell ; and for these they received in return knives, 
 files, hatchets, awls, and needles. The articles ob- 
 tained by the explorers were indeed of little service 
 to them ; but they wished to conciliate the Esqui- 
 maux ; and inasmuch as the latter considered a gift 
 without an equivalent accepted in return as an insult, 
 it was necessary to barter with them in order to fur- 
 nish them the articles which they desired. The En- 
 glish boats were much incommoded by the crowds of 
 Esquimaux who were disposed to hold on to their 
 sides, and it became necessarv to use violence some- 
 times to compel them to release their grasp. At 
 length the boat commanded by Lieutenant Clark was 
 attacked by the Esquimaux around it. An attempt 
 was made to plunder it. A struggle ensued between 
 the crew of six men and the assailants, and a musket 
 was fired by Lieutenant Clark, as a signal to his as- 
 sociates for assistance. The other boats then imme- 
 diately wore around, and came to the protection of 
 the assailed. Muskets were presented, and an attack 
 threatened by the English sailors ; the effect of which 
 demonstration was, to induce the Esquimaux at once 
 to desist from all further aggressive operations, and 
 resume friendly relations. 
 
 Thus, as the boats pursued their way, they were ac- 
 companied by the Esquimaux canoes. At length as 
 they began to lose sight of the land entirely, the Es- 
 quimaux gradually fell behind them, and returned to 
 their encampment on the shore of the estuary. Dur- 
 ing this intercourse between the voyagers and the na- 
 tives, the inquiries of the former were directed to ob- 
 taining information in reference to the discovery 
 ships. But the natives uniformly persisted in de- 
 claring, that they knew nothing about any white peo- 
 ple, or any ships on their coast. They all denied hav- 
 ing been present in any interviews which took place 
 between their countrymen and the navigators of those 
 seas in previous years. One person alone, in answer 
 
SIR JOHN RICHARDSON B EXPEDITION. 
 
 441 
 
 to the inquiries of Captain Richardson, declared that 
 a party of white men were living on a neighboring 
 island, called Richards' Island. Bat as the expedi- 
 tion had visited and examined that locality but a day 
 two previously, his assertion was known to be false. 
 Captain Richardson requested his interpreter to in- 
 form the Esquimaux that he had recently been there, 
 and knew that he was lying ; which declaration only 
 called forth a hearty laugh from the Esquimaux, 
 whose only desire was, by a fabricated story, to in- 
 duce the expedition to sojourn longer in the neigh- 
 borhood, and waste its time in fruitless researches. 
 
 These Esquimaux are a singular race, and one of 
 their distinctive peculiarities is, that they are strictly 
 a littoral people. They live only on the shore, and 
 they inhabit an area of nearly 6,000 miles of sea- 
 board. Their habitations extend from the Straits of 
 Belle-isle to the Peninsula of Alaska. Tnroughout this 
 vast extent of region there is no material variation in 
 their dialect, except what may be justly termed pro- 
 vincialisms. An interpreter born on the east main or 
 western shore of James' Bay, experienced no diffi- 
 culty in understanding the language of the Esqui- 
 maux of the estuary of the Mackenzie ; although the 
 distance between the two localities was at least 2,500 
 miles. Traces of the encampments of this same race 
 have been discovered as far north on the American 
 continent as the foot of the boldest adventurer has 
 trodden. Their capacity to endure the privations of 
 these frozen and rugged regions, results evidently 
 from their disposition to subsist on blubber, and their 
 long practiced ability to inhabit houses and huts con- 
 structed of ice and snow. They employ drift-timber 
 whenever it is accessible ; but they can do without it, 
 and can find a good substitute in the fabrication of 
 their weapons, sledges, and boat-frames, in the teeth 
 and bones of whales, morses, and other sea-monsters. 
 They associate together in large numbers, to engage 
 in the pursuit of the whale ; and this fact indicates 
 
 > 
 
 ■' 
 
 
 1 
 
 ; 
 
 i ■ 
 
 
 -f . 
 
 i* 
 
 I' 
 
 •J't I 
 
442 
 
 PROGRESS OF ARCTIC DISCOTERT. 
 
 the possession of no small degree of natural hardi- 
 hood and intelligence. Those of the Esquimaux who 
 have been received into the service of the Hudson 
 Bay company, at the distant fur-posts, have very soon 
 acquired the habits of their white associates, and 
 proved eventually to be more industrious, intelligent, 
 and trustworthy than domesticated Indians. Among 
 themselves a great deal of honesty prevails ; and the 
 private hunting-grounds of the different families are 
 secure from all depredations from other members of 
 tlie nation. But their dexterity and pertinacity in 
 thieving the property of strangers are very remarka- 
 ble. They are brave in their conflicts, and are devoid 
 of the pusillanimity of the Indians of the southern 
 zones. All their peculiarities, both personal and na- 
 tional, serve to establish the position advanced in the 
 preceding article of this work, that the various Es- 
 quimaux tribes possess one and the same origin, and 
 that they emanated originally from the north-eastern 
 extremity of the continent of Asia. 
 
 As soon as the EsiJ^uimaux canoes had disappeared 
 from view, the boats were steered toward the opposite 
 shore, at a spot where there were several winter hab- 
 itations of the natives. This place is situated about 
 eight miles to the eastward of Point Warren. The 
 buildings are placed on a spot where the water is 
 suliiciently deep for a boat to come close to the beach ; 
 so that the natives may be able to tow a whale or 
 seal to the place where they intend to cut it up. The 
 houses themselves were constructed of drift-timber, 
 strongly built together, and covered with a layer of 
 earth from one to two feet in thickness. Light and 
 air are admitted through a small low door at one ex- 
 tremity ; and even this aperture in winter is closed 
 by a slab of ice. In that case their greasy lamps sup- 
 ply them to some extent with heat, as well as with 
 light. These huts are large enough to permit ten or 
 twelve people to seat themselves around the lire, 
 built in the center on the ground. In winter the im- 
 
SIR JOHN RICHARD80N B EXPEDITION. 
 
 443 
 
 perfect admission of fresh air, and the effluvia ari- 
 sing from their greasy and filthy bodies, render their 
 abodes not only disagreeable in the extreme, but also 
 exceedingly unwholesome. Yet these peculiarities 
 characterize the whole Esquimaux tribes throughout 
 the whole extent and variety of their difiusion. 
 
 Having resumed their route on the 4th of August, 
 Captain Richardson pulled for three hours across 
 Copland Hutchinson Inlet, and landed at length on its 
 eastern shore. This inlet is about 10 miles in width, 
 and its mouth is obstrncted by sand banks. Having 
 computed their positron, they found it to be 69° 44' 
 north latitude ; and ohe variation of the needle was 
 68° east. This whole coast is low, though in the in- 
 land, some sandy clifls were discovered. The soil 
 was soft, boggy, and treacherous, and the whole 
 country was covered over with ponds and small lakes. 
 On the 8th of August the expedition reached 
 Cape Brown. Here they came in contact again with 
 the Esquimaux. After the usual exchange of articles 
 had been completed, inquiries were made in refer- 
 ence to the missing ships. The Esquimaux declared 
 that no large ships had ever visited that coast ; and 
 that these were the only white men whom they had 
 ever seen. It seems that Captain Richardson had 
 visited this coast twenty- three years before on a com- 
 mercial expedition ; and had then met some of these 
 same people. But they denied having the least 
 knowledge or recollection of him or of his associates. 
 Captain Richardson crossed Russel Inlet, and 
 passed Cape Brown. They then reached Cape Dal- 
 housie and pitched their tent upon the beach. This 
 island and the cape are flat ; but toward the sea there 
 are steep clitis 40 and 50 feet in height. There are also 
 deep ravines in the interior, produced by the melting 
 of the snows in the beginning of summer. From 
 this point the boats steered across Liverpool Bay, 
 and approached ^' icholson Island. They then landed 
 and encamped otf Cape Maitland. The surface of 
 
 ! 
 
 \ 
 
 i 
 
 < 
 
 
444 
 
 PROQEE88 OF AKCTIO DISCOVERY. 
 
 thiB cape is level, but its shores are girt with rugged 
 cliffs 80 feet in height. A frozen surface is con- 
 stantly exposed to view, and permanent ground-ice is 
 everywhere to be found, twenty inches beneath the 
 surface of the soil. Vegetation is very meager and 
 scanty. 
 
 From this point the expedition proceeded to Har- 
 rowby Bay, and Baillie's Islands. They landed at 
 the latter place at evening, and pitched their tent to 
 pass the night in repose. They soon discovered a 
 large fleet of Esquimaux canoes approaching in the 
 form of a crescent, in the dim twilight. The object 
 of the natives was to trade ; but as Captain Richard- 
 son wished his men to have an opportunity to repose 
 during the night, he ordered a ball to be tired across 
 the path of the cai.oes. This immediately stopped 
 their further progress ; and an interpreter then in- 
 formed the Esquimaux that there would be no barter- 
 ing that night, but that if they would return in the 
 morning their wishes should be gratified. After a 
 short consultation the Esquimaux seemed to be satis- 
 tied with this arrangement and retired. At two 
 o'clock the next morning the expedition resumed 
 their journey, and soon met the approaching Esqui- 
 maux. From thom they ascertained that their sum- 
 mer season here continues only during two months, 
 of which this (August) was one ; that during this pe- 
 riod they have no ice whatever ; and that they car- 
 ried on their black-whale tishing. The extent of their 
 operations usually consists in the capture of two 
 whales during the whole summer — sometimes, though 
 rarely, they obtain three. Sometimes they are alto- 
 gether unsuccessful and secure none. In that case the 
 succeeding winter generally provc'* to be one of great 
 want and hardship. Their i o'norance of the rest of th '^ 
 world may be inferred fro:n the following incidjut : 
 One of them asserted to Captain Richardson that 
 Cape Bathurst was an island. When the latter denied 
 this assertion, the Esquimaux responded with gveat 
 
BIB JOHN RICHARDSON 8 EXPEDITION. 
 
 445 
 
 sincerity, "Are not all lands islands?" At this 
 point Captain Kicliardson buried some pemmican 
 and erected a sipial-post. A hole was dug on 
 the top of the cliff, in which a case of pemmican 
 was deposited, with a memorandum explaining the 
 purposes of the expedition. The utmost care was 
 used in replacing the turf so as to avoid detection ; 
 some drift timber was then placed on the spot and 
 burned ; and a pole painted red and white was planted 
 at a distance of 10 feet. To induce the Esquimaux 
 not to disturb the post, some articles of value were 
 suspended upon it. Soon several Esquimaux were 
 seen running toward the pole ; they quickly stripped 
 it of its hangings; but did not disturb the signal 
 itself. f. 
 
 From this point the expedition proceeded to the 
 south-east of Cape Bathurst, along the shore, which 
 sometimes rose to the height of 250 feet. At Point 
 Trail, in north latitude 70° 19', the bituminous shale 
 had been ignited and burned ; and the bank had 
 crumbled down from the destruction of the beds, pre- 
 senting a most singular appearance. 
 
 August the 11 Ui the expedition continued their 
 route along the coast, and at length reached Point 
 Stivens, and on the 13th landed on the shores of Sell- 
 wood Bay. Their next sojourn was on one of the 
 western points which terminate Cape Parry. This 
 portion of the cape presents a singular aspect when 
 approaching it from the sea. It is an eminence 500 
 feet in height, which far surmounts all the surround- 
 ing region. In the neighborhood of this spot, at 
 Cocked-Hat Point, a letter was deposited with a case 
 of pemmican ; over which were placed fragments of 
 limestones, covered with red paint. It was here that 
 the members of this expedition lirst saw the drift- 
 ice. They sailed on past Clapperton Island, Point 
 Pearce, and Point Keats. The tirst indications of the 
 approach of winter now began to force themselves 
 upon their notice ; for the sea became covered with 
 *^ S 28 
 
 
 
 i 1 
 
 ,(►- 
 
 1 ■ f 
 
 i 
 
 
440 
 
 PROOKESS OF ARCTIC DISCOVERT. 
 
 thin ice, which sometimes very essentially impeded 
 their progress. At Cape Parry they still saw traces 
 of the Esquimaux ; tliey had the ifirst severe frost 
 during the night; and the ice already exceeded an 
 inch in thickness. 
 
 On the 12th of September the expedition nearly 
 reached Cape Kendall. It had pro«;ressed thus far 
 along the north-western coast of the North American 
 contment, without meeting any traces of Sir John 
 Franklin. At this point the sea became so obstructed 
 with ice that it was impossible to pursue the jour- 
 ney along the sea-shore, although they were still at 
 some considerable distance from the Coppermine 
 River, the appointed boundary of their travels. Cap- 
 tain Richardson, determined to continue the journey 
 by land. The company provided themselves with 
 thirteen day's provisions of pemmican, with cookii.^: 
 utensils, bedding, snow-shoes, astronomical instru- 
 ments, fowling-pieces, ammunition, and portable boat, 
 nets, and lines. Each man was compelled to carry a 
 load of sixty-five pounds. The boats of the expedi- 
 tion were left behind on the shore, and the tent with 
 a few cooking articles and hatchets, were abandoned 
 to the Esquimaux. 
 
 On the 3d of September at six o'clock in the morn- 
 ing, the journey commenced. They pursued a direct 
 course toward the bottom of Back's inlet. The snow 
 was deep, and advance was laborious and difficult. 
 So heavy was the way that most of the men were will- 
 ing to leave behind them their carbines. At night 
 they halted under a basalt cliff 200 feet in height. 
 The sea was here full of ice. They still occasionally 
 met Esquimaux, whose services they employed in fer- 
 rying them over the numerous inlets which interrupt- 
 ed their way along the coast. Among the Esquimaux 
 whom Captain Richardson met, were two who are 
 mentioned by Mr. Simpson. One of these was rec- 
 ognized by a large wen which marked his forehead ; 
 and the ottker by his being crippled, and using crutches. 
 
'' j 
 
 1 early 
 VIA far 
 crican 
 ' John 
 Tucted 
 6 jour- 
 Btill at 
 ermine 
 . Cap- 
 ourney 
 3S with 
 cookiug: 
 instni- 
 ^le boat, 
 carry a 
 cxpedi- 
 11 1 with 
 iudoned 
 
 Sm JOHN BIOHARDSON 8 EXPEDmOIT. 
 
 44 r 
 
 They had been very kindly treated by Messrs. Dease 
 and Simpson ; and they were therefore disposed to 
 be friendly, together with their whole tribe, toward 
 the white people. The travelers bought skin-boots 
 from them, which proved of very great service. 
 Captain Richardson permitted none of his men to 
 enter their huts, or to offer any indignity to these 
 harmless and forlorn beings. He himself visited one 
 of their cabins, both for the purpose of obtaining a 
 glimpse of their household appearance, and to pre- 
 sent some needles and other articles to their women. 
 He found in one hut six or seven females sewing, 
 seated in a circle. They were nearly naked, and very 
 dirty. On his entrance they seemed both ashamed 
 and afraid. Captain Richardson shrewdly conjec- 
 tured that, as these people had heard of the approach 
 of the strangers, they had purposely rendered them- 
 selves as repulsive as possible, by rubbing mud and 
 ashes on their faces and persons. They received hia 
 presents in a friendly manner ; but seemed quite re- 
 lieved when the hardy old mariner took his leave. 
 This is a singular circumstance, as illustrating how, in 
 every clime and country under heaven, men's pas- 
 sions, their fears, and their artilices are uniformly 
 and invariably the same I 
 
 At length the travelers arrived on the shores of 
 Richardson's River. This river was discovered in 
 1822, by some hunters of Sir John Franklin's party, 
 and its outlet w^as then erroneously supposed to be 
 only live miles west of the Coppermine. In 1839 
 Mr. Simpson explored this river, and ascertained that 
 it falls into Back's Inlet in north latitude 67° 53' 57". 
 Having crossed this river in a small boat of Lieuten- 
 ant Halkett, which could carry but two persons at 
 once, they resumed their march. In a short time 
 they gained the summit of the ridge which divided 
 the valley of the Richardson from that of the Copper- 
 mine River. This ridge was now covered with snow. 
 From its summit they saw in the distance the Cop- 
 
 . rA 
 
448 
 
 PROGRESS OF AROTIO DISCOVERT. 
 
 pcrmine ; and at threo o'clock in the afternoon tliey 
 reached its bankfi, several miles above Jiloody Fall. 
 
 On the 10th of September the company struck the 
 Kendal lliver, at some distaiice from its junction 
 witli the Coppermine. They walked nearly three 
 miles along its banks, seeking for a crossing place. 
 No such spot being found, tliey were compelled to 
 construct a raft, and thus transport themselves over. 
 This raft could bear but three persons at a time ; nev- 
 ertheless all of them passed over in safety. From 
 this point they traveled directly across the country to- 
 ward Dease Kivor. Some snow tell both during the day, 
 and also during the succeeding night. On the 12th 
 they reached a tributary stream of the Kendal River, 
 and forded it ; the ice-cold water rising up to their 
 waists. On the 14th the march took a south-western 
 direction. They found the soil cracked, hummocky, 
 and swampv ; and it became exceedingly wearisome 
 and difficult for pedestrians. On the 15th they 
 crossed a branch of the lliver Dease by fording it ; 
 and Jit four o'clock in the afternoon the whole party 
 reached Fort Coniidence, the present appointed ter- 
 mination of their journey, and their quarters for the 
 ensuing winter. 
 
 It is proper that we should here interrupt the nar- 
 rative of Captain Richardson's expedition in search 
 of Sir John Franklin, by detailing some of the infor- 
 mation which he obtained in reference to the Esqui- 
 maux race — one of the most interesting and impor- 
 tant items of Arctic observation and scrutiny. We 
 have already given a few details on this subject on a 
 previous page ; and the additional light thrown upon 
 it by the researches of Captain Richardson, are both 
 valuable and entertaining. The views presented by 
 Captain R. of this widely diffused people, are, as will 
 be seen, those which describe them as they exist on 
 the northern coast of the American continent — being 
 quite a different locality from that depicted by Cap- 
 tain Osborn. 
 
SIR JOHN BI0HARD8OM 8 EXPEDITION. 
 
 449 
 
 Tlio term Esquimaux is probably derived from the 
 words, Ceux qui Diiaux ; or it may have orii^inatcd 
 from the shouts of Teynio which the natives uttered, 
 when they surrounded the first exploring ships in their 
 canoes. The sailors of the Hudson Bay comj)any's 
 vessels still call them Seymds. The word Esquimaux 
 does not belong to the languago of the nation. These 
 invariably call themselves Inu-it^ the peoj)le^ from 
 I-nuky a man. 
 
 One peculiaritv of this race is that they alone, of 
 all the aboriginal races, are known to inhabit portions 
 of both the old and the new continents. Their lan- 
 guage and their customs, in consequence of the pe- 
 culiarity of their position, have also remained strange- 
 ly unaltered by any contact or collision with the rest 
 of the world. They contine themselves to the shores ; 
 and neither wander inland, nor cross extensive seas. 
 They t .aciid along the whole northern boundary of 
 America, from Behring's Straits to the Straits of Bell- 
 isle, and along both shores of Greenland and Lab- 
 rador. Their appearance is singular. Their faces 
 are egg-shaped, v/ith considerable prominence in the 
 cheek boues. Their foreheads are narrow and taper 
 upwards. Their chins are conical but not acute. 
 Generally their noses are broad and depressed. Their 
 profiles, in consequence of the receding both of the 
 forehead and the chin, present a more curved outline 
 than is found in any other variety of the Caucasian 
 race. Their complexions are not red, but of an inter- 
 iLcdiate uue between red and white. They have lit- 
 th) or no beards ; but the hair of the head is long, 
 straight, thick, and coarse. The men are of medium 
 size, broad-shouldered, and muscular. In both sexes 
 tlie hands and feet are small and well formed. The 
 teeth, especially of the young girls, are generally of 
 superior regularity and beauty. 
 
 The chiel subsistence of this extensive race depends 
 upon hunting and hshing. In the spring the opening 
 rivers give them the opportunity to spear and capture 
 
 : 
 
 |t 
 
 '^ 
 
 
 \ 1 
 
 C^Ml 
 
450 
 
 PROGRESS OF ARCTIC DISCOVERT. 
 
 I 
 
 the fish which at that period ascend the streams to 
 r'jawn. Then also they hunt the reindeer, which 
 bring loi th their young on the coasts and islands he- 
 fore the snow is entirely melt(jd on the ground. 
 They ii''so take a large quantity of swans, geese, and 
 ducks. The montlis of July and August are em- 
 ployed in the capture of whales ; and when they are 
 S'2cce3sful in this, their own sustenance for the ensu- 
 ing year is secured. During the two summer months 
 they live in tents made of skins, and then they provide 
 their stores of food for winter use. At mid-winter they 
 are usually in total darkness. At that period they 
 live in houses framed of drift timber, which are 
 thickly covered with earth. They have no windows 
 in their dwellings, and they enter by a low trap door 
 inserted either on the side, or in the roofs. The floor 
 is covered »vith rude timber, and they have no fire- 
 place. A large fiat stone is placed in the center which 
 Bupportb a lamp, Dv the flame of which they often cook. 
 The Esquimaux hunter can trap the seal, notwith- 
 standing the great acuteness and vigilance of that an- 
 imal ; and his plunder also serves to assist in suptain- 
 ing Esquimaux life in the spring months. 
 
 The summer architecture of this race is peculiar. 
 By that period of tlie year, the snow has acquired a 
 sufficient degree of coherence to form a light build- 
 ing material ; and of this material the Esquimaux 
 erect comfortable huts which are dome-shaped, and 
 are often used in preference to their tents. They first 
 trace a circle on the smooth surface of the snow. 
 The sides are built of slabs of ice instead of brick or 
 granite. The summit is composed of similar slabs ; 
 and the floor is laid with the same material. Each 
 slab in the building is carefully fitted to its place, 
 where it becomes congealed and frozen into the solid 
 mass. AH the crevices are plugged up, and the 
 seama carefully closed, by throwing loose snow over 
 the fabric. The walls are only three or four inches 
 in thickness, and therefore nearly translucent ; so 
 
over 
 inches 
 It; 60 
 
 BIB JOHN BICHABDSON's KXPEDITION. 
 
 45 
 
 X. 
 
 that they admit an agreeable light to the interior 
 from without. All the I'nrrutiire, consisting of seats, 
 tables, and sleeping places, are formed of snow, and 
 are covered with rein-deer or seal skins, which ren- 
 der them quite comfortable. Often these houses 
 are built contiguous to each other, with low galleries 
 running between them. These houses are durable, 
 and the sun rarely acquires sufficient strength in that 
 clime either to thaw or to destroy them. 
 
 The Esquimaux who live on the estuary of the 
 Mackenzie river, carry on a traffic with tho western 
 Esquimaux from the region of Point Bprrow and 
 Behring's Straits, whom they meet half-way between 
 their respective homes on the coast. The central 
 Esquimaux have but little traffic with the Europeans, 
 and articles of Russian manufacture ai3 never or 
 rarely seen further east than Point Atkinson. Those 
 who live between Behring's Straits rnd the Mac- 
 kenzie pierce the lower lip near the angle of the 
 mouth, and till the aperture with labrets resembling 
 buttons, sometimes made of blue quartz, and some- 
 times of ivory. Many of them transfix the septum 
 of the nose with an ivory needle. The women are 
 generally tattooed on the chin ; and turn up and plait 
 their hair carefully, and are not devoid of pride in 
 theij' personal appearance. From this circumstance 
 northern navigators justly infer that more deference 
 is paid to them by the men, than usually prevails 
 among semi-barbarous tribes. It is said by Captain 
 Richardson, that the unmarried women among the 
 Esquimaux are modest and decorous in their deport- 
 ment; but that the married ones allow themselves 
 very considerable liberties, and that, too, svith the con- 
 nivance of their husbands. Yet this reserve, even 
 among the unmarried Esquimaux women, does not 
 exist among the tribes located on the northern coast 
 of Greenland. There both young and old indicated 
 their vicious laxity to the navigators by signs and 
 gestui'es of the most indelicate and unequivocal uar 
 
 \ 
 
 > .! 
 
 I ! 
 
 1 
 
452 
 
 PKOGRE8S OF AROTIC DISCOVERT. 
 
 tnre, and more than once, wives have been knoTvn to 
 be oftered to the strangers by their husbands them- 
 selves, plainly and without disguise, while the wo- 
 man herself stood by, and freely acquiesced in her 
 proposed prostitution. 
 
 The Esquimaux like most barbarians are excellent 
 mimics. They possess the power of imitating the 
 gestures and voices of others with great ability 
 Ihey also display extraordinary powers of grimace 
 and contortion, and could exhibit themselves in the 
 most singular positions and attitudes. The dress of 
 both sexes is very nearly alike, and consists of a coat 
 with a pointed skirt both before and behind ; pantaloons 
 or leggings which extend to the waist ; and long 
 boots made of seal skin, and water tight, resembling 
 moccasins. They have acquired considerable skill 
 in the preparation of whale, seal, and deer skins. 
 These they use for various purposes, some as thongs 
 and lines in the capture of sea-beasts, some as har- 
 ness for their dog-sledges, and some as soles for their 
 moccasins, which are thus rendered water-proof. 
 They have also invented a light water-proof outer 
 dress, formed from the intestines of the whale, which 
 they secure around the top of their small canoes, 
 and which protects them from the waves of the sea. 
 They acquire extraordinary skill in the management 
 of tlieir canoes or kaiyaks, and possess the hardihood 
 of fearless seamen. Their dogs and reindeer consti- 
 tute their chief wealth, and are in fact quite iudispen- 
 sable to their existence and comfort. 
 
 The religion of the great Esquimaux race is a sin- 
 gular subject of inquiry, and yet one which furnishes 
 only the most unsatisfactory results. Their religious 
 conceptions are simple and crude in the extreme. 
 There is but little to know of them on this point ; a^ 1 
 that little is not to their credit. The most prominent 
 idea in their religion is the belief in witchcraft, and 
 in the agency of evil spi. ts. They worship demons 
 much more devoutly than they worship God. Oer 
 
BIB JOHN BIOHABDSON 8 EXPEDITION. 
 
 453 
 
 tain individuals among them profess to possess a 
 great influence over evil spirits. They believe that 
 persons are killed by sorcery ; that they are and may 
 become the messengers and servants of the devil ; 
 that sorcerers niay change the appearance of indi- 
 viduals who are under their spell ; and accordingly, 
 sorcerers are themselves a powerful class among 
 them. 
 
 Yet the Esquimaux have often become willing and 
 docile converts to the christian faith, as taught them 
 by the Moravian missionaries in Labrador and Green- 
 land. They have readily acquired the art of reading 
 and writing, and displayed no inconsiderable apti- 
 tude for the acquisition of knowledge. The language 
 of the Esquimaux is admitted by the most learned 
 philologists to be similar in its structure to the rest 
 of the J>forth American tongues. There seems to be 
 a singular inconsistency between the comprehensive- 
 ness and artificial structure of the language, and its 
 resemblance to that of neighboring Indian tribes, and 
 the isolation of the people themselves. Their lan- 
 guage does not materially vary along the whole im- 
 mense extent of country over which their race is 
 diffused ; thus furnishing another evidence of the 
 identity and unity of this primitive and singular 
 people. 
 
 X et the Esquimaux are divided into eaveral tribes 
 according to their different locations. Tiiose on the 
 southern portion of King William's Sound, are called 
 the TohugaUchih 'y and they are located between 
 Behring's Straits and Bristol Bay. Further to the 
 north the Kuskatchewak reside between the island 
 !Nuniwak and Cape ^Newenham. These are neitiier 
 nomadic nor given to the chase; but dwell in per- 
 manent villages, and have a strong attachment to 
 their ancestral homes. In each of these villages there 
 is a public building termed the Kashiin, where coun- 
 cils and festivals are held. It has raised platforms 
 around the walls, with a place in the center for the 
 
 ; 
 
 i 
 
 \ 
 
 » i » ■ 
 
 I 
 
 I ! 
 
 I 1 
 
 ;rii 
 
 :.1«J: 
 
 f"'' 
 
454 
 
 PROQEK88 OP ARCTIC DISCOVERY. 
 
 fire, and an aperture in the roof for the escape of the 
 Binoke and the admissioi of light. 
 
 The Tchukche tribe who inhabit the shores of the 
 Gulf of Anadyn, seem once to have had possession of 
 the coast of Asia, as far westward as tJie one hundred 
 and sixtieth parallel. They are divided in the Sed- 
 entary, and the Reindeer Tchukche. These are both 
 strong and powerful races, and very much resemble 
 in their appearance the North American Indians. 
 The encroachments of the Russians and Cossacks 
 have driven them back beyond the Kolyma, into the 
 north-eastern corner of Asia ; but there they have re- 
 mained free and unsubdued by their more powerful 
 assailants. This tribe has domesticated both the dog 
 and the reindeer, of which they possess numerous 
 herds. They are skillful traders in furs and walrus' 
 teeth, which they exchange for tobacco, articles of 
 iron, hardware, and trinkets. They frequently travel 
 on their sledges drawn by reindeer, accompanied by 
 their women and children, their arms, tents, and 
 household goods. Their yearly journeys continue for 
 six months, for they make circuitous routes in pursuit 
 of pasture and trade. Previous to the establishment 
 of the Russian Fur company, these people yearly 
 traveled for these purposes over an extent of seven- 
 teen hundred miles of North American coast. 
 
 Another tribe of the Esquimaux are called the 
 Kutchins, v^-Jio live westward between the Macken- 
 zie and Bohring's Sea. The males possess the aver- 
 age height of Europeans, are well formed, with reg- 
 ular features, high foreheads, and light complexions. 
 The women resemble the men ; and Captain Richard- 
 son speaks of the wife of one of the chiefs as being 
 so handsome, that in any country she would be con- 
 sidered a line looking woman. The women have 
 their chins tattooed, and the men paint their faces 
 both red and black. Their arms consist of a bow and 
 arrow, a dagger, knife, and spear. Eire-arms have 
 lately been introduced among them, and are very 
 
SIR JOHN RICHARDSON'S EXPEDITTON. 
 
 455 
 
 much prized. Where a man has not been able to ob- 
 tain a gun, he always cari-ies witli liim a supply of 
 powder and shot, and for these ho obtains a share of 
 the game killed b}'^ the possessors of a gun or rifle. 
 This singular expedient exists very extensively among 
 the Esquimaux tribes. 
 
 The chipf men among the Kutchins practice polyg- 
 amy, and have two or three wives, and some even 
 five. Very poor men who cannot support a wife re- 
 main single. But it is said that a good wrestler, 
 whether poor or rich, can always obtain a wife. In 
 winter the women perform all the drudgery about 
 the house. They collect the firewood, assist the dogs 
 in hauling the sledges, and bring snow to melt for 
 water. They do everything, in fact, except cooking, 
 and that is attended to by the inen alone. The wo- 
 men carry their infants, like the rest of the Esqui- 
 maux, on their backs in seats made from birch bark, 
 with the sides and back resembling those of an arm- 
 chair. They even bandage the feet of their children 
 to prevent them from growing, inasmuch as small 
 feet are considered handsome. This custom resem- 
 bles that of the Chinese, except that it is not confined 
 to the females. The Kutchins are a lively and cheer- 
 ful people. Dancing and singing are their chief 
 amusements ; wrestling and all kinds of athletic di- 
 versions are in fashion among them. Their religion 
 also consists chietiy in the belief in sorcery and evil 
 spirits, whom they endeavor to propitiate through 
 their shamans, who profess to be able to communicate 
 with the unseen world, and to possess the power of 
 prophesying future events. When any one of their 
 tribe dies suddenly, or unexpectedly, the event is al- 
 ways attributed to sorcery ; and some evil spell is 
 charged against either a member of their own tribe or 
 of some neigboring one. Then blood money is imme- 
 diately demanded, and if it be refused, they do not 
 rest until an opportunity is found to avenge the sup- 
 posed murder by some retributive deed of violence 
 
 I*. 
 
 i' 
 
456 
 
 PROOBE88 OP ARCTIC DWCOVERTT. 
 
 and death. An instance is narrated in which blood 
 money was demanded and received for several years, 
 for the supposed death of a relative who was after- 
 ward discovered to be still alive. When demand was 
 again made the ensuing year for the usual payment, 
 three of tlie party making it were slain in expiation 
 of their falsehood and extortion. 
 
 These Kutchins are treaclierous and warlike ; and 
 generally engaged in hostilities with the surrounding 
 tribes. One half of the population of the Yukon 
 has thus been destroyed during the last twenty-live 
 years. They pass the summer months chiefly in dry- 
 ing the white-lish for winter use. Their wealth con- 
 sists partly in beads ; and to become a chief among 
 the Kutchins, a man must have beads equal in value 
 to the amount of two hundred beavers. In summer 
 when they are traveling they rarely erect their tents. 
 In winter their encampments are usually placed in 
 groves of fir trees, where they either live in huts or 
 m their winter tents constructed of skins with the hair 
 unremoved. 
 
 The process of courtship among these people is 
 very simple indeed. The lover goes early in the 
 morning to the abode of the object of his passion, 
 and without saying anything, begins to bring in wa- 
 ter ; to heat the stones which are used to create steam 
 for their bath; and to prepare food. The inmates 
 then ask him who he is, and why iie does this. He 
 states that he wishes to obtain the daughter of the 
 man who dwells there as his wife. If he is not re- 
 fused, he remains as a servant in the family for a 
 year, and at the termination of that probationary pe- 
 riod he receives both a reward for his services and his 
 bride into the bargain. No ceremony of marriage 
 takes place between them. When a man dies, he is 
 mourned by his whole clan. Slavery exists among 
 them to some extent ; and those who are in bondage, 
 are prisoners taken captive in war, who are often sold 
 and re-sold by different owners, unless they are re- 
 
era JOHN RICHARDSON 8 EXPEDITION. 
 
 457 
 
 deemed by their own relatives. Tliese slaves liavo 
 been known to be sometimes sacriticed as victims to 
 the shades of their departed warriors and heroes. 
 They also possess the art of manufacturini]^ varior.s 
 articles of iron ware ; an accomplishment which they 
 probably derived at an early period, from their inter- 
 coTU'se with Russian traders. 
 
 The winter havinj; at length passed away, the trav- 
 elers who composed Sir John Kichardson's company 
 at Fort Confidence, prepared in the ensuing spring to 
 resume their operations. It yet remained their duty to 
 reach Wollaston and Victoria Lands, and thus to com- 
 plete the search in that direction. In consequence of 
 the forced desertion and loss of the boats of the expe- 
 dition as previously narrated, it would have beem im- 
 practicable for the whole party to accompany those 
 who performed this journey ; nor was this in fact 
 necessary ; and Mr. Rae, the younger and more ro- 
 bust associate of Captain Richardson, was selected to 
 perform the service which yet remained. The ability 
 and zeal of this gentleman well fitted him for the 
 task. He had already explored the country between 
 Fort Confidence and the Coppermine River during 
 the winter months, for the purpose of ascertaining 
 the best route to be followed in the spring. 
 
 Accordingly, in April Mr. Rae, taking charge of 
 the only boat which the expedition still possessed, 
 conveyed provisions, boat-stores, and various other 
 necessaries on dog-sledges, across toward the Kendall 
 River, and posted two men at Flett's Station, together 
 with two Indians, to protect them. Six men composed 
 the crew of the boat under the command of Mr. Rae. 
 Two men were lei' in charge of Fort Confidence. 
 
 Mr. Rae having waited lor the breaking up of the 
 ice on the Dease River, hauled his boat thither, on 
 ■"vhich he embarked on the 8 th of June. His ascent 
 of the stream was slow, in consequence of the large 
 
 masses of ice, some of them miles in 
 
 length, 
 
 which 
 
 % 
 
 '1 
 
 ( = 
 
 impeded his progress. They ascended the south-east- 
 
458 
 
 PROGRESS OF ARCTIC DISCOVERT. 
 
 ern branch of that stream. On the 17th they passed 
 over the lake from which the river flows, on the ice. 
 It contains some ishmds and is four miles in width. 
 From this lake they traveled overland for six miles 
 nearly due east, and on the 21st they reached the Ken- 
 dall River, to which the provisions had been previ- 
 ously conveyed in April. They then descended the 
 Kendall to the Coppermine River. 
 
 At this place they were detained by the ice, which 
 was still unbroken, during five days. They then sailed 
 down the Coppermine to the sea ; and found a nar- 
 row channel along the shore of Richardson Bay, 
 where the ice '^^till b? t gainst the rocks. They pro- 
 ceeded on and roiS' icu l^ointltfackenzie, and entered 
 Back's inlet, vuicii v'as then but partially opened. 
 They soon rtJXili' \ liie l^ead of the inlet, and at once 
 sailed up Rae River, wLich Captain Richardson had 
 discovered the preceding autunm. 
 
 For the purpose of examining the country, Mr. Rae 
 followed the river for twenty geographical miles in- 
 land. It is very straight in its direction, and flows 
 over a bed of limestone. Its banks are extremely 
 rugged, and sometimes presented precipices 200 feet 
 in lieight. The party then returned to the mouth of 
 the river. Their position now was 67° 55' 20" north 
 latitude. They reached Cape Kendall, where they 
 experienced a heavy thunder-storm, which compelled 
 them to land. On the 27th they continued their 
 course to Cape Hearne. Basil Hall Bay they found 
 filled with unbroken ice from one side to the other. 
 The next day a crack occurred in the ice large enough 
 to permit the boat to reach an island in the middle 
 of the bay. On the north side of this island they 
 found some open water which enabled them to ad- 
 vance two miles further. On the 30th they reached 
 Cape Krusenstern. 
 
 This was the most suitable spot from which to de- 
 sert the shore, and commence the traverse or direct 
 route ^-o Wollaston Land, passing near to Douglass 
 
BIB JOHN RICHARDSON S EXPEDITION. 
 
 459 
 
 Island. This circumstance was more fortunate, as 
 tlie condition of the ice along the shore rendered 
 tlieir further advance in that direction impossible. 
 The party disembarked here and pitched tlieir tents 
 on 4he top of tlie cliffs, and waited for a more favor- 
 able state of the ^*ce ; which liad already commenced 
 to break up. IlfciC they were visited by some Esqui- 
 maux, who ''nformed them that they had seen several 
 natives of Wollaston Land during the preceding win- 
 ter and had been informed by them that no European 
 ships, boats, or seamen had ever visited their coun- 
 try. Tho, chaation of the party here was ascertained 
 to be 68° 24' 35" north latitude. 
 
 The ice in the bay was not sufficiently cleared to 
 permit Mr. Rae to proceed until the 19th of August. 
 Until this period there had been a closely pr ked 
 stream of ice stretching along the entire shor»x ar i 
 grinding against the rocks as it was drive? up : 
 them by the wind. Having pulled seven m>' s i''*om 
 land and being yet three miles distant from J>»o. .lass 
 Island, they were met by a stream of ice s: closely 
 packed and so rough, that it was impossil Either 
 to pass over it or through it. This compelled the 
 company to return to their former position on the 
 shore. During several succeeding days they poled 
 their way along the beach, and thus advanced a few 
 miles to the southward. On the evening of the 22d 
 Mr. Rae ascended a hill near the shorj, and there be- 
 held with a spy-glass nothing in the direction of Wol- 
 laston Land but the white ice forced upward by the 
 wind into irregular heaps; while to the east and 
 south-east there was a large space of open water, be- 
 tween which and the ice-bound shore, a vast stream 
 of ice some miles in length was driving ra^^idly toward 
 Cape liearne. 
 
 There was now no prospect that the sea would open 
 BO as to permit the frail craft in which Mr. Rae and 
 his men were embarked to ventr ^e across the main 
 to Wollaston Land. Winter was then very near ; 
 
 'I 
 
460 
 
 PBOOBE88 OF ABOTIC DI8CX)VERT. 
 
 and Mr. Kae wns reluctantly compellcrl to pjive the 
 onler to return to the Conpennino Kiver. In usccnd- 
 mff this river to the Jiloocly Fall, the company met the 
 misfortune of losinpj Albert, their Escjuimaux inter- 
 preter, and one of the most useful members of tlie 
 expedition. He was drowned in attempting to extri- 
 cate the boat from a dangerous eddy into which it 
 had been drawn. The boat was lost with him. They 
 then commenced their journey on foot across the land 
 toward Great Bear Lake, each man carrying a weight 
 of about eighty pounds. After seven days' march 
 from the Bloody Fall the party reached Fort Conii- 
 dence, whence the expedition had started. They had 
 failed to discover any traces of Sir John Franklin, 
 and had not even reached WoUaston Land, the pro- 
 posed terminus of their Journey, in consequence of 
 the strait being filled with impassable ice. 
 
 Meanwhile Captain llichardson and the rest of the 
 men belonging to the expedition, explored Bear Lake 
 and Cape McDonald. They then reached Fort Frank- 
 lin. Tiie only vestige of the latter which remained, 
 was the foundation of the chimney-stack. Theuce 
 they proceeded to Fort Nurman. They then em- 
 barked on Bear Lake River and descended with the 
 current to its mouth. Retracing the route which 
 they had pursued in their outward journey during 
 the preceding year, the company eventually reached 
 Metiiy Lake; where Captain Richardson received 
 his lirbt letters from England, which had been brought 
 up from Canada by the governor's canoe, which annu- 
 ally leaves La Chine in May. He arrived at Norway 
 House on the 13th of August, and there the men 
 composing the expedition were discharged. The Eu- 
 ropeans among them were sent down to York factory 
 to sail to England in one of the ships of the Hudson 
 Bay company. 
 
 Captain Richardson himself returned by way of 
 Boston to Liverpool ; and thus ended this additional 
 attempt to discover ISir John Franklin's late, without 
 
CAPTAIN KKNNEI Y » VOYAGE. 
 
 461 
 
 liavinp^ ohtrtinofl tlio slii^lifcst cliio of thorn ; altlionnrh 
 tho plan of 8L'ari;li piirsin.'il possessed some novel and 
 very et)iisi(leral)le advantages in its favor. 
 
 Tiiic Skcond Yoyaok of tiik Pkin'ck Albert in Skarch 
 OF Sir John Franklin, undkb the command of Wil- 
 liam Kennedy, in 185i3. 
 
 This expedition was fitted out for the second time 
 by the liberality of Lady Franklin. The vessel was 
 bniall, but had proved herself, on a former voyage 
 to the Polar seas, well adapted to the service.* That 
 voyage resulted in discovering traces of the the miss- 
 ing ships at the entnmce ot Wellington Channel ; 
 and on its return Lady Franklin instantly resolved to 
 equip the present undertaking, with hopes of more 
 complete success ; and Captain Kennedy was invited 
 by her to take the command. 
 
 In May, 1851, the Prince Albert lay in the harbor 
 of Aberdeen ready for sea. Along the sides from 
 the keel to about two feet above the water-line, there 
 had been placed a doubling of planking two and a 
 half inches thick. The bows and stern-posts were 
 sheathed in wrought iron, a quarter of an inch in 
 thickness. Her hold had been strengthened with a 
 perfect labyrinth of cross-beams, for the purpose of 
 better enabling her to endure the immense pressure 
 of the ice. Tiie object of this second expedition of 
 the Prince Albert, was to continue the search by way 
 of Prince UegenCa Inlet^ an important portion of the 
 Polar region, which neither Captain Penny nor Cap- 
 tain Austin had explored, nor any other Arctic voy- 
 ager previous to that period. 
 
 The crew of the Prince Albert consisted of the 
 commanding olKcer and seventeen men. She was 
 furnislied with two large and valuable boats, one of 
 guttapercha, and the otlier of mahogany ; together 
 
 * See page 848 of this volume for the details of tbia Toyagtti 
 
 29 
 
 il 
 
 J I 
 
 I ' 
 
 8 
 
462 
 
 PROGRESS or ARCTIC DISCOVERT. 
 
 With several Bmallcr ones. Tlio vessel was provi- 
 eioned for two years. On tlio 22(1 nf May slio left 
 Aberdeen IFarhor. Lady Franklin was theti on hoard, 
 and M8 she left the ship after oxi>re8sin::all her wishes 
 and hopes for the Buccess of the gallant erew, was 
 loudly and enthusiastically cheered, as she deserved 
 to he, as she descended the vessel's side to return to 
 the shore. On the 23d of June they made Hoy 
 Sound, and soon reached Cape Farewell. Captain 
 Kennedy had been Mistructed to examine Prince Ile- 
 irent's Inlet, and the ])as8a<]ces connecting it with the 
 Western Sea, south-west of Capo Walker. To the 
 latter point, strong probabilities in favor of finding 
 traces of Sir John iM-anklin concentrated ; inasmuch 
 as it was supposed to bo likely that he abandoned his 
 vessels to the south-west of Cane Walker ; from the 
 fact that ho himself entertainea the opinion that an 
 open passage was to be found from the westward into 
 the south part of Regent's Inlet ; and because this re- 
 gion of country was known to possess considerable 
 animal life, and he would liave the stores placed at 
 Fury Beach soon within his reach. It was also 
 thoujght that he would have pursued this route, inas- 
 much as he more probably expected assistance to be 
 Bent him by way of Lancaster Sound and Barrow 
 Straits, into which Regent's Inlet opened, than by any 
 other direction. 
 
 By the Ist of July Captain Kennedy was in full 
 view of the shores of Greenland. They then pre- 
 sented a spectacle of more than ordinary interest and 
 sublimity. As far as the eye could reach, they seemed 
 a sterile and iron-bound coast, diversified here and 
 there with huge clitfs of rock and ice, ascending 
 sternly into the wintry heavens a thousand feet in 
 height. Often gloomy caverns were seen in the ice 
 which were portals lor the discharge of some half- 
 frozen stream into the ocean, filled with small ice- 
 bergs wliich were but rolling and tossing in the fiood. 
 The vessel soou passed Capes Desolation and Com- 
 
11^ i 
 
 CAPTAIN KENNEDY 8 VOYAQK. 
 
 463 
 
 fort; nnd by the 8tli of July they were tlirco-fonrtha 
 of their wivy up Biitlin'rt Bay, and nearly oj)|K)sito to 
 the Danish village of Upornavick. At this village 
 they to(>k on board six powerful Kscpiiiniiux dogs, and 
 seaUkin hoata adapted to the Aretic r(.'gi()ns. 
 
 On the l.'>th, the Prince Albert fell in with the 
 American squadron which had just escaped from tlieir 
 extraordinary drift of eight months in the heart of 
 the pack, through Lancaster Sound and Baffin's Bay. 
 Finding ^relvillo Bay completely closed by the ice, 
 Captain Kennedy determined to attempt a passage 
 further south. After four days of dilKcult and peril- 
 ous navigation, they succeeded in effecting an advance 
 of 120 miles through the packed ice, and reached 
 "West Water on the 21st of August. This was a very 
 perilous exploit, and is one which has proved the de- 
 struction of many a bold adventurer in those seas. 
 The s:-:ill dimensions of the Prince Albert seem to 
 have given her great advantages over her more bulky 
 associates. On the 26th of Au<^u8t they were on* 
 Pond's Bay, and were here for the last time visited 
 by a small company of Esquimaux. The extreme 
 rarity of the atmosphere in these northern climes, 
 was proved by the fact, that the voices of the Esqui- 
 maux could be clearly heard as they approached the 
 vessel, !it the distance of eight miles. 
 
 From Pond's Bay Captain Kennedy steered through 
 Lancaster Sound. On the 3d of September he 
 reached Barrow Straits. At this point he attempted 
 to reach Cape HI ley, in hope of there finding traces 
 of Sir John Franklin ; but after bearing up repeated- 
 ly for the North Land through heavy fogs, snow, and 
 gales, was compelled to abandon the purpose. On 
 tiie 4th of September Captain Kennedy arrived at the 
 mouth of Pn'nce liegent's Inlet, one of the special 
 objects of hib search, lie there found an unbroken 
 barrier of ice extending as far down the west side of 
 Prince liegent's Inlet as the eye could see, piled up 
 in dense masses on the shore. The eastern side ana 
 
 i 
 
 V ( 
 
 I 
 
 • I 
 
 I 
 
 
464 
 
 PROGRESS OF ARCTIC DISCOVERY. 
 
 middle of the inlet were comparatively open. Tliis 
 state of tile ice forbade further progress in the in- 
 tended direction. They attempted to run into Leo- 
 pold Harbor, but found that also impossible. Thence 
 they ran down to Elwin Bay to Batty Bay, and to 
 Fury Beach, finding them all closed. They were 
 very nearly involved in the position which had proved 
 the destruction o*' the Fury — in a narrow lane be- 
 tween the shore and an extensive field of moving ice. 
 Being thus excluded entirely from the western shore 
 of the inlet, they were compelled to sail to the oppo- 
 site. After making a circuit of some forty hours 
 along a high and dead wall of ice, they reached Port 
 Bowen on the 5th. Landing^here, Captain Kennedy 
 found a few traces of Sir E. Parry's party. These 
 were several cairjis, a fire-place of stones, pieces of 
 canvas, nails, and broken pipes. There was here, 
 also, a single grave, the lonely resting-place of one 
 John Cottrell, a seaman of the Fury, who was buried 
 in July, 1825, aged thirty-nine. 
 
 It was still regarded as of the utmost importance to 
 reach Port Leopold, and there etiect a landing. On 
 th(} 0th having crossed the inlet, and brought tlie ship 
 to within several miles of Cape Seppings, the southern 
 point of Port Leopold, Captain Ivennedy determined 
 to land with the gutta-percha boat, and four seamen, 
 for the purpose of making explorations. He found a 
 narrow lane of water which brought them quickly to 
 the shore. On ascending the clitts on Cape Seppings, 
 the appearance of the ice was such as to induce Cap- 
 tain Kennedy to conclude that very soon the Regent's 
 Inlet would become clear and navigable. After an 
 hour spent on shore, he prepared to return to the 
 ship, but found his progress entirely cut otf by the 
 ice, which, during his delay, had entirely changed 
 its position. Night soon came on. The ocean was 
 covered with huge masses of ice ; grinding, tossing 
 and rearing furiously on every side. To attempt to 
 reach the ship then, was directly to court destruction. 
 
CAPTAIN KENNEDY S VOYAGE. 
 
 465 
 
 They were compelled to draw up their boat on the 
 beach, and turning her over, to prepare to pass the 
 niglit under her. So intense was the cold tliat Cap- 
 tain Kennedy was compelled to prevent the men 
 from sleeping during the whole night, knowing that 
 that alone would prevent them from freezing to death. 
 "When the next morning dawned, and they looked out 
 on the troubled sea, they found that every vestige of 
 the Prince Albert liad vanished. 
 
 This position of the captain and his men, was both 
 unpleasant and dangerous. He determined lirst to 
 fall back to Whaler roint, where Sir James Ross had 
 deposited a store of provisions. They found the 
 house erected by Sir James, still standing, and the 
 provisions in good order, consisting of pemmican, 
 chocolate and biscuit. 
 
 It was now the 10th of September and winter was 
 upon them. The only remedy for the lonely exiles, 
 was to make the best preparations possible to pass the 
 winter at Whaler Point, hoping in the ensuing spring 
 to obtain a rescue. It was a sad and sudden termi- 
 nation to the voyage, and they submitted to it most 
 reluctantly. They went to work and transformed 
 the launch left there by Sir James Ross into a shelter, 
 by laying her main-mast on supports at the bow and 
 stern, and spreading over them two sails. This pro- 
 cured them a shelter. A stove was set up in the 
 center of the boat with the pipe running through the 
 roof. This warmed them. Ihey obtained blankets 
 and clothes from the depot left by Sir James ; and 
 this rendered their condition more tolerable. Thus 
 their dreary residence in those Polar regions began, 
 with the prospect of a long and increasingly rigorous 
 winter before them. What the linal issue might be, 
 they could not predict. Time alone could solve that 
 mystery. The only signs of life which appeared 
 around them, were a few Polar bears and foxes. 
 
 Happily an unexpected termination was put to 
 their danger and suspense on the 17th of September, 
 
 II 
 
 'V' 
 
 
 I 
 
 i^ ' 
 
466 
 
 PROGRESS OF ARCTIC DISCOVERT. 
 
 by the sudden appearance of a party of seven men 
 under Mr. Bellot, who had left the Prince Albert in 
 search of the absentees, and had dragged the jolly- 
 boat all the way from Batty Bay. It was tlie third 
 attempt which had been made to discover and rescue 
 them, by the crew on board the ship. The joy of 
 Captain Kennedy and his men at this sudden deliv- 
 erance may readily be imagined. They were thus 
 snatched most probably from the jaws of a frozen and 
 mysterious grave which would soon have closed over 
 them. 
 
 Five weeks had elapsed during their involuntary 
 absence from the ship, and they seemed to possess 
 the magnitude of years to the despairing wanderers. 
 So far distant were they from the vessel, that it re- 
 quired a journey of several days to conduct them 
 thither. The company then prei)ared to pass the win- 
 ter in their present situation. The deck was cleared 
 of lumber and covered with a housing. They then 
 built out-houses of snow for various purposes, for 
 wash houses, for a carpenter shop, and for forges. 
 All the powder on board was taken on shore and 
 buried in the snow. The winter was to be passed in 
 making extensive land journevs in all directions, in 
 search of Sir John Franklin. They prepared a quan- 
 tity of snow-shoes and winter clothing. As soon as 
 the ice in Prince Regent's Inlet permitted them to 
 travel from the ships with safety, they commenced 
 their explorations. 
 
 The first object of inquiry was to ascertain whether 
 Fury Beach had been a point of refuge to any of Sir 
 John Franklin's company, since it was visited by 
 Lieutenant Hobinson in 1849. It was also desirable 
 to form a depot of provisions there, to aid in future 
 researches which might be made in the same direc- 
 tion. They followed the base of the lofty cliffs which 
 extend in an almost continuous line from Batty Bay 
 to Fury Beach. The company consisted of five per- 
 Bons including Captain Kennedy. They dragged a 
 
f i'- 
 
 !» 
 
 CAPTAIN KENNEDY 8 VOYAGE. 
 
 467 
 
 sleigh with them, which was no easy task, as the 
 ground was covered the entire way with boulders 
 and large fragments of ice, which had been stranded 
 on the beach by many successive tempests. Tliere 
 were also immense eloping embankments of drifted 
 snow, which lay high up against the face of theclitfs. 
 Their entire journey was performed by moonlight, 
 the sun having entirely bidden them farewell before 
 their departure from the ship. 
 
 Sir John Ross had erected in 1832 at Fury Beach, 
 a building which he had named Somerset House. 
 Many hopes centered around this spot, because it was 
 reasonably supposed that if any of Franklin's party 
 had been imprisoned in the Arctic seas, and had ever 
 come near to Fury Beach, they would have repaired 
 to this well known spot, both for shelter and provis- 
 ions. As soon as Captam Kennedy reached this 
 house on January 8th, he discovered that all his hopes 
 had been illusions. A death-like solitude pervaded 
 the moon-lit and frozen gloom around them. The 
 eye rested on a surrounding waste, relieved by no 
 sign of recent life, cheered by no evidence of the for- 
 mer presence of those whom they sought. The stores 
 which had there been placed were fjidi in perfect 
 preservation. The house itself had I)ecoine much di- 
 lapidated by the severity of the climate, aud by tlio 
 rude salutes of those Arctic storms. The roof was 
 much broken. The inder-statf had been thrown 
 down by tiie winds, and had been gnawed by the 
 famished foxes. One end of the building wus tilled 
 with snow. They lighted a lire in the stove which 
 Sir John Koss had once used, and prepared tlieir sup- 
 per. After spending a few hours in the careful ex- 
 amination of that dreary spot, rendered still more mel- 
 ancholy by the lunar gloom and the disappointment 
 of all their hopes. Captain Kennedy and his men 
 returned after a journey of several days to the ship. 
 No traces of the lost navigators had been seen during 
 thia visit to Furv Beach. The state of the weaiUor 
 
 I I 
 
46S 
 
 PROGRESS OF ARCTIC DISCOVERT. 
 
 
 dnrinor tho ensuing month, connpelle'l Captain Ken- 
 nedy to remain in liis vessel. There ihov were nearly 
 overwliehiied hy avahmches of snow. There seemed 
 to ho hilt one gale during the winter around tiio sliip ; 
 hut that jTiile hlew when she came, and continued till 
 she departed. It was dangerous to venture ioitli even 
 lor a sliort distance; inasmuch as the snowdrifts and 
 the darkness combined, soon involved the traveler in 
 a whirling deluge which rendered it impossible to see 
 six paces off. 
 
 A small party were actually lost for a short time, 
 when endeavoring to convey some provisiouo a short 
 distance from the ship to form a depot. After pro- 
 ceeding a few hours, a furious hurricane arose, which 
 drifted the snow in fearful masses around them. In 
 attemptins^ to cross a bay on their return, they lost 
 sight of the land by which their course was to he 
 guided. Neidier sun, moon, or stars illumined the 
 heavens. They knew not which way to turn. They 
 tried the expedient of setting the dogs loose wliieh 
 drew the sledge. They all started off at a rapid pace, 
 and afterward reached the ship; but their gait was 
 too 2'apid for the men, whom tliey soon left behind to 
 their fate. They still went on Ivnvever, sometimes 
 walking, sometimes crawling, sometimes climbing 
 over the immense blocks and masses of ice and snow 
 drifts. At length they reached tiie powder magazine, 
 and after some further ditiieulty, they found the ship. 
 Their escape was accidental ; for the men had be- 
 come so benumbed with cold, as to be able no longer 
 to clear their eyelids of tlie accumulation of snow 
 which had rested ou them, and were thus nearly blind. 
 
 Thus February wore away, and Ca[)tain Kennedy 
 began to prepare for the execution of the chief land 
 journey whicti had been contemplated by the expe- 
 dition. The end of this journey was Cape Walker; 
 for it was supposed that if ISir John i'rankliu had 
 taken his departure for the unknown regions to the 
 
SHOW 
 
 liind. 
 luedy 
 
 huid 
 lixpe- 
 Iker ; 
 
 had 
 the 
 
 OAPTAm KENNEDY'S VOTAOE. 
 
 469 
 
 west and eonth-west, he would have started from this 
 point, and not from Wellington ChanneL 
 
 Five men accompanied Captain Kennedy on this 
 excursion. As far as Fury Beach they were accom- 
 panied hy seven persons as a fatigue party. Their 
 Provisions, clothing, and bedding were drawn on two 
 ndian sleighs by iivc dogs. They started on the 25th 
 of February, and were accompanied by the whole 
 crew as far as Batty Bay. On the 5th of March 
 Captain Kennedy reached Fury Beach. Here they 
 remained several days, and found the old stores de- 
 posited here by Sir John Ross, not only in a state of 
 good prodervation, but also much superior in quality 
 to those which they brought with them. These pro- 
 visions consisted ot preserved meats, vegetables, and 
 soups, and after thirty years' exposure to the intense 
 climate of the Arctic zone, they wore found to be still 
 
 fierfecti The flour had all become caked in solid 
 unips, and had to be reground and passed through u 
 seivo before it could be used; but then it furnished 
 most excellent biscuit. 
 
 On tiie 2Uth of March Captain Kennedy resumed 
 his march from Fury Beach. Ho had four flat-bot- 
 tomed Indian sleiglis, drawn by the dogs an'^ men. 
 They proceeded toward Cape Garry over a long route 
 of flues and low-lying points. They uniformly com- 
 menced their journey immediately after breakfast, 
 and continued till evening, when a snow hut was 
 greeted, and preparations made to pass the nii^ht in 
 it. Tneir labors were rarely over aud repose 3grn, 
 before ten o'clock at night. 
 
 On the 1st of April they reached Creswf 
 and in the evening camo to Capo Garry 
 thence proceeded onward to Brentford Bd 
 they "ound a dozen Esquimaux huts, deserted y their 
 inhabitants. Here the party divided fur tl • i>urpose 
 of exploring several channels of open waer which 
 extended toward the interior. Captain Kennedy 
 traveled twenty miles along one of these ci aunela. 
 
 T 
 
 Bay, 
 
 They 
 
 where 
 
 III 
 
 1' i 
 
 f. 
 
 ii:^ 
 
 ! n 
 
470 
 
 PROGRESS or ARCTIC DISCOVERT. 
 
 From a hill on which he here encamped he saw a 
 broad channel running north-east, which he at first 
 supposed to be a continuation of Brentford Bay. Its 
 great extent however, convinced him that it was a 
 western se", and that the narrow passage through 
 whicii he had just traveled was a strait leading out 
 of Prince Regent's Inlet. This being apparently a 
 new discovery, Captain Kennedy called it Beilot 
 Strait, after the second officer of the expedition. This 
 water was afterward discovered to be the northern 
 extremity of Victoria Strait, which Dr. Rae had ex- 
 plored from another direction. 
 
 At this point Captain Kennedy determined to pro- 
 ceed in a westward direction, in order to ascertain 
 whether any channel existed there through which 
 Sir John Franklin might have penetrated from Cape 
 Walker. 
 
 On the 8th of April he started in pursuance of 
 this purpose. Their progress was slow in consequence 
 of the roughness of the ice. The men became much 
 afflicted with snow-blindness, and wore much dis- 
 tressed by the sharp particles of snow drift whicli 
 were dashed by the furious wind into their eyes. The 
 wide region around them was perfectly level, and 
 Captain Kennedy named it Arrow Smith's Plains. 
 Sometimes the severity of the weather compelled 
 them to remain for several days in their snuw-iiut. 
 They traveled on for thirteen days without meeting 
 any indications of tlie approaching sea. This con- 
 vinced Captain Kennedy that there was no passage 
 by water to the south-west of Cape Walker; and that 
 due north was now the most desirable course to be 
 pursued. 
 
 Following this purpose he traveled in that direc- 
 tion for twenty miles over a level plain. On the 24th 
 of April they arrived at the bottom of a deep inlet, 
 whicli has since been ascertained to be the Oir»:na- 
 ney Bay of Captain Austin's expedition. From this 
 point they steered eastward, iu order to strike the 
 
CAPTAIN KENNKDY 8 VOYAGE. 
 
 471 
 
 jsage 
 that 
 
 pu be 
 
 irec- 
 24th 
 
 Inlet, 
 1' ina.- 
 
 tiiia 
 the 
 
 channel snppoHcd to bo to the eastward of Cape 
 Bunny, and by t\)llowin<jj it to reach Cape Walker. 
 
 After three days they came to Browne's Hay. At 
 length on the 4th of May, they ap])roached the bold 
 headland of Cape Walker, for the attainment of which 
 they had endured so much. Here they confidently 
 hoped to find some traces of Sir John Franklin, had 
 he followed the sug^ijestions contained in his original 
 instructions. Captain Kennedy accordingly searched 
 every spot within three miles on both sides of the 
 cape, riiey followed the windings of the rough ice 
 outside the beach. They examined the base of the 
 lofty Cliffs which stretch away northward from the 
 cape. Not a single vestige of the lost navigator could 
 anywhere be discovered. 
 
 Captain Kennedy now determined immediately to 
 return to the ship. He pushed directly across North 
 Somerset toward Batty Bay, intending to follow the 
 coast to Whaler Point. This route was double the 
 distance of the one already followed ; but it was 
 hoped that perhaps it might lead to some desiraldo 
 results. On the first day they encampe-l :;bout mid- 
 way between Cape Walker and Liines>i( ," Island. 
 They passed by Cunningham Inlet, Cape Gilford, and 
 Cape Kennel. At Cape McClintock they found the 
 small store of provisiuiis which Sir John Ross had 
 left theiG in isij. On the 15th of May they reached 
 Whaler Point. On the 27th, they left Whaler Point, 
 to return directly to the Prince Albert, and on the 
 3Uth their laud journey ended by their safe arrival at 
 the vessel. 
 
 Various preparations for their departure now occu- 
 pied the attention of the seamen. On the 2l8t of July, 
 liiese were completed ; but they found it impossible 
 to move the snip. The ice had congealed tinnly 
 around her. Tlie only possibility of releasing lier 
 was by sawing a canal tiirough the ice which still ob- 
 structed the bay. After the hard labor of a week, a 
 canal half a miie in leugtli, and sutUcieuily wide to 
 
 I' 
 
 If WlW' 
 

 472 
 
 PUOOUJSS op- ARCTIC DISroVKIIY. 
 
 permit tho vessol to pass was cut; thron^li. Tin's chan- 
 nel was then cleared of tlie ice by the use of Cope- 
 land's blasting cylinders. 
 
 On the Oth of August Captain Kennedy and his 
 crew joyfully bade farewell to Batty Bay, where tho 
 Prince Albert had remained three hundred and 
 thirty days. In Elwin Bay they were detained a 
 whole week by the compact masses of ice which still 
 obstructed the sea. On the 17th, tho ice suddenly 
 cleared away, and they then steered for Bcechey Island. 
 At this point they met the " North Star," from Eng- 
 land, commanded by Captain Pullen, which had been 
 despatched by the British Admiralty, to pursue the 
 search after Sir John Franklin. 
 
 Having completed the object of tho expedition, as 
 far as had been in his power, though without any 
 very satisfactory results. Captain Kennedy on the 
 24th of August bore away for England, leaving the 
 North Star preparing to winter at Beechey Island, and 
 carrying with him the latest dispatches for the Ad- 
 miralty from Commander Pullen. He wished to 
 touch on his voyage at Navy Board Inlet, hopin^j to 
 bo able to ascertain the state of the stores which had 
 been placed tliere. Two unsuccessful attempts to ac- 
 complish this purpose wt^ro defeated, and Captain 
 Kennedy was then compelled by stress of weather, to 
 relinquish that design. On the 21st of September 
 the Prince Albert reached Cape Farewell ; and on 
 the 7th of October, sho anchored in Aberdeen Har- 
 bor. Six weeks had elapsed since tho commence- 
 ment of her homeward-bound vovago. The entire 
 expedition had occupied the period altogether of fif- 
 teen months. During their winter stay at Whaler 
 Point, many of the men had traveled two thousand 
 miles in excursions in various directions. Tho expe- 
 dition settled the point, that Sir John Franklin could 
 not have advanced by Cape Walker, but had taken tho 
 portheru route through Queen Channel and Penny 
 Strait ; and that traces of his fate could alone be 
 
i Wl 
 
 as 
 
 lence- 
 
 mtire 
 
 )f lif. 
 
 [lialer 
 
 isand 
 
 lexpe- 
 
 Icould 
 
 511 the 
 
 jenny 
 
 ^6 be 
 
 )t 
 
 m 
 
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 j :r 
 
 
DR. rank's KXPF-DITIOIC. 
 
 473 
 
 found from the wcstwnrrl or "Rolinnaf's Straif;^. Tot 
 there too, otlicr re8earc]»c*>«, 0(|nnlly Hnijacions, jxtsc- 
 verino^ aiul tlioron<;h, liavo all unt'urtiiiuitcly proved 
 equally iinsucceiisnil ! 
 
 Akctic Expr.oRATToNfl; TiiK aiTOND Okinnkm. Exim;- 
 
 DITION IN SKAKCH OK SiK JolIN FuANKLIN IN IH.'i.'J, '.Vf, 
 *55, BY Dk. E. K. KaNK, in Tllli JiUIG '' AnVANCK." 
 
 In December, 1852, Dr. Kane received his orders 
 from the Navv Dej/artment at AVashin<;;ton, to con- 
 duct an expedition into the Arctic re;^ions in search 
 of thejijreatKn^lisli navigator. Thealiip " Advance," 
 in which ho had formerly Railed, was placed under 
 Ids command. ITo immediat' ly proceeded to select 
 his crew, to ecpiip the vessel, and to make the otlnjr 
 preparations which were necessary. His ])ar! y num- 
 nered seventeen picked men, all of whom had volun- 
 teered to try with him the perilous vicissitudes of 
 his darinf^ venture. The brig sailed i'vom the port 
 of Now I'ork, on tho 30th of May, 1853; and in 
 eighteen days arrived at St. Joh s, New Foundlaiid. 
 After providing themselves at this place with au ad- 
 ditional stock of fresh meat, and a valuable team of 
 Newfoundland dogs, thoy steered for tlio coast of 
 Greenland. 
 
 The avowed purpose of this second Arctic journey 
 of Dr. Kane was, to explore what ho believed to be 
 the probable extension of the northern promontory of 
 the poninsul; of Greenland, lie also thought that 
 the extreme northern headland of this fvozen region 
 undoubtedly contained and vs >uld exhibit traces of 
 the lost navigators. 11^ supposed that the chain of 
 the great land-masses of Greenland miglt extend very 
 far toward the North Pole; that Sir .John Franklin 
 might also have been attriuted by this theory, and 
 might have pursued this route; and that by u 
 thorough search in tli.it direction, tiie utmost limits 
 of which had not yet been invaded or explored by liia 
 
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 Hiotographic 
 
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 23 WEST MAIN STREET 
 
 WEBSTER, N.Y. 14580 
 
 (716) «72-4503 
 
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474 
 
 PROGRESS OF ARCTIC DISCOVERY. 
 
 bold and adventurous predecessors, some light miwht 
 not only be obtained to solve the great enigma which 
 still engrossed the wonder of men, but also new and 
 independent discoveries might be made in that un- 
 known region. 
 
 On the 1st of July Dr. Kane entered the harbor 
 of Fiskernoes, oneof the Danish settlements of Green- 
 land. This obscure and lonely community is sup- 
 ported by their trade in codtish. The strangers were 
 received with simple hospitality by Mr. Lazzen, the 
 superintendent of tile colony. Some fresh provisions 
 were here also obtained, and an Esquimaux hunter of 
 superior skill was enlisted in the service of the party. 
 Proceeding on from this point, the other Danish 
 settlements of Greenland were successively visited — 
 Lichtenfels, Sukkertoppen, Proven, U"pernavick,at the 
 last of which places the iirst Grinnell expedition of 
 1851 had rested after its winter drift. At length they 
 reached Yotlik, the most northern point in Greenland 
 inhabited by human beings. Beyond this the coast 
 may be regarded as having been until that period, 
 unexplored. From Yotlik, Dr. Kane steered north- 
 ward toward Bafiia's Islands, which he found then 
 clear of ice ; and passing by Duck Island, bore away 
 for Wilcox Point. As he approached Melville Bay 
 he was enveloped in a thick i'og, during the preva- 
 lence of which he drifted among the icebergs. Af- 
 ter a hard day's work with the boats, they towed the 
 brig away from these unpleasant and dangerous 
 neighbors. He then determined to stand westward, 
 and double Melville Bay by an outside passage, un- 
 less prevented and intercepted by the pack. In exe- 
 cuting this purpose he concluded, in order to avoid 
 the drifting Hoes, to anchor to an ice-berg. Eigiit 
 hours were spent in the severe labor of wai pi ng, heav- 
 ing, and planting the anchors. But scarcely iiad this 
 tasK been linishcd, when tiie attention of the crew v;as 
 attracted by aloud crackling sound aloft. ISmall frag- 
 ments of ice began to descend. The ship became in 
 
harbor 
 Green- 
 is 3up- 
 !rs were 
 sen, the 
 ovisions 
 inter of 
 e party. 
 Danish 
 risited — 
 ;k,atthe 
 iition of 
 gth they 
 reenland 
 the coast 
 ,t period, 
 id north- 
 uid then 
 )re away 
 ille Bay 
 e preva- 
 gs. Af- 
 3 wed the 
 aiigcrous 
 
 DR. KANe's expedition. 
 
 475 
 
 imminent peril from the falling fragments of tlie dis- 
 solving mountain. Scarcely had she cast off from 
 the ice-berg, when the face of it descended in ruins 
 upon the sea, crashing and roaring with a thunder 
 not unlike that of artillery. 
 
 On the 5 th of August they passed the "Crimson 
 Cliifa," so called, from tlie appearance usually pre- 
 sented by their snow-clad summits. Next day they 
 reached Hakluyt Island ; which is surmounted by a 
 tall spire springing six hundred feet into the heavens 
 above the level of the water. They soon passed Capes 
 Alexander and Isabella, and thus entered Smith's 
 Sound. Uaving reached Littleton Island, Dr. Kane 
 determined to deposit here a supply of provisions, 
 and some permanent traces of his route, to be used 
 in case it should be necessary afterward to send an 
 exploring party to discover the fate of his own. The 
 life-boat was accordingly buried here, containing a 
 supply of pemmican, blankets, and India rubber cloth. 
 They endeavored to fortify the precious deposit from 
 the claws of the Polar bear. And here on this lone- 
 ly spot, the party were surprised to find the traces of 
 Esquimaux life. The ruins of stone huts, and even 
 the frozen corpses of the dead were discovered ; and 
 so singular had been the action of the intense cold 
 upon the dead bodies, that though they had probably 
 occupied their cheerless homes for a century, they 
 were still not decomposed. 
 
 The 20th of 
 gallant crew 
 
 dened waters of Smith's Sound. At this date they en- 
 countered a storm of extraordinary fury ; and made 
 one of those narrow escapes from destruction, which 
 sometimes give an air more of romance than of reali- 
 ty to the adventures of Arctic explorers. In a terrific 
 gale their three hawsers were broken, and the brig 
 drifted with fearful rapidity under the furious press- 
 ure of the storm. Only by the utmost heroism and 
 skill was the Advance kept from being dashed to 
 30 T* 
 
 August still found the brig and her 
 navigating the dangerous and ice-la- 
 
 4- 
 
 !;i 
 
 !M 
 
 I 
 
 
476 
 
 PROGRESS OP ARCTIC DISCOVERY. 
 
 pieces against the mountains of ice which tossed, 
 rolled, and surged around her in the deep. Tlie 
 greatest danger of all was after the storm had partly 
 lulled, when the bergs continued to thump against 
 the floe-ice ; and the certainty of being crushed be- 
 tween the two, stared the voyagers in the face. A 
 sudden means of escape presented itself, and with ad- 
 mirable dexterity and promptitude the crew availed 
 themselves of it. A low, water- washed berg at that 
 moment came driving along past the Advance. An 
 anchor was instantly planted in its side and held fast 
 by a whale line. Carried along with fearful rapidi- 
 ty by this gigantic tow-horse, the little brig was 
 drifted out of danger, and once more escaped the im- 
 pending ruin. She had a close shave of it neverthe- 
 less, and would have lost her port quarter-boat had 
 it not been taken in from the davits. 
 
 The navigators con^'nued their northern route by 
 tracking along the ice-belt which hugs the frozen 
 shore. On the 23d of August they had reached 78° 
 41' north latitude. This placed them further north 
 than any of their predecessors had been, except Cap- 
 tain Parry. During the progress of the journey, the 
 whole coast had been inspected carefully ; yet no 
 traces of Sir John Franklin had been discovered. On 
 the 28th of August Dr. Kane determined to send out 
 an expedition from the vessel to make further search, 
 as the condition of the ice prevented the Advance 
 from being brought near to the shore. The whale- 
 boat was chosen lor this adventure. They took with 
 them a sledge and a supply of pemmican. The par- 
 ty consisted of seven persons selected from the crew. 
 The vessel was placed under the temporary control 
 of Mr. Ohlsen. The adventurers were provided with 
 butialo robes, and other necessary means of protec- 
 tion against the extreme cold. Their progress how- 
 ever was slow, not making more than seven miles per 
 day, in consequence of the obstructions of the ice 
 along the shore. Very soon they were compelled to 
 
^tejoj 
 
 DR. KANE's expedition. 
 
 477 
 
 abandon the boat, and employ their sledge. The ab- 
 rupt nature of the ground over which they traveled 
 may be inferred from the fact, that frequently they 
 were constrained to carry the sledge on their shoul- 
 ders over precipices and gorges in the ice, and over 
 high and perpendicular knolls of snow. 
 
 In this trip the travelers found many skeletons of 
 the reindeer. Dr. Kane ascertained by scientific ob- 
 servation, that the mean elevation of this part of the 
 coast of Greenland was thirteen hundred feet. After 
 five days' laborious travel, he was but forty miles dis- 
 tant from the brig. Here he determined to leave the 
 sledge behind and proceed on foot. On the 5th of 
 September they discovered a bay much larger than 
 any other previously known to extend from Smith's 
 Straits. It was fed by a large river whicli poured a 
 flood of tumultuous waters into it from the interior 
 of North Greenland. It was fully three quarters of 
 a mile wide at its mouth. The gallant navigators 
 gave it the name of Mary Minturn Kiver, after the 
 sister of Mrs. II. Grinnell. This river was traced for 
 forty miles toward its mouth ; and its origin was found 
 to be derived from the melting snows of the interior 
 glaciers. 
 
 From his researches in this region. Dr. Kane came 
 to the conclusion that this coast of Greenland faced 
 to the north. His longitude here was 78° 41' west. 
 After sixteen miles of foot journey the company 
 reached a great headland to which they gave the 
 name of Thackeray. Eight miles further on, a 
 similar eminence attracted their attention ; to which 
 they applied the epithet of Hawkes. The table-lands 
 here were twelve hundred feet high. The party con- 
 tinued their difficult and dangerous journey until they 
 reached some lofty headlands, where they determined 
 to terminate their excursion. These reached an alti- 
 tude of eleven hundred feet, and overlooked an ex- 
 panse extending beyond the eighteenth parallel of 
 latitude. The view from this elevation was maiked 
 
 s • 
 
 I * 
 
 |:i: 
 
 ^ii'if 
 
 1 
 
 1 ■ 
 
 ,1 •' 
 l' i 
 
478 
 
 PROGRESS OF ARCTIC DISCOVERY. 
 
 by every element of gloomy and cheerless magnifi- 
 cence. On the left, the western shore of the sound 
 stretched away toward the northern pole. To the 
 right a rugged and rolling country appeared, which 
 ended in the Great Plumboldt Glacier. Toward the 
 north-east the projecting headland called Cape An- 
 drew Jackson, appeared; and the vast area between 
 was a sea of solid ice. Farther still, a stream of ice- 
 bergs presented their rugged and unseemly bulks to 
 the eye of the observer. 
 
 Having carefully examined the whole country as 
 far as his glasses would reach. Dr. Kane determined 
 to return to the Advance. Winter was now rapidly 
 approaching, and it was necessary to select Some ap- 
 propriate spot in which the crew and the vessel might 
 pass its long, gloomy, and dangerous interval. For 
 various reasons which need not here be detailed, Dr. 
 Kane resolved to remain where he then was. He 
 had arrived at the conclusion that Rensselaer Harbor 
 would be the most desirable winter quarters ; and on 
 the 10th of September they commenced the labors 
 necessary to render their position tenable and safe. 
 They removed the contents of the hold of the vessel 
 to a store-house which they prepared on Butter Island. 
 A deck-house was built on the vessel, in which the 
 different qualities of ventilation, warmth, dryness, 
 room, and comfort, were sought to the utmost possi- 
 ble extent. A site for the observatory was selected. 
 Stones were haufed over the ice on sledges for its erec- 
 tion. Its location was on a rocky inlet about a hun- 
 dred yards from the vessel, which they named Fern 
 Kock. Preparations were also made, preparatory to 
 the work of establishing provision depots on the coast 
 of Greenland. The advantage of these provision de- 
 pots will appear from the fact that by their assistance, 
 expeditions of search could afterward be conducted 
 with the use of sledges and dogs. The provisions for 
 the latter, if taken on the journeys themselves, form 
 60 heavy a load as seriously to embarrass the move- 
 
y 
 
 t H 
 
 DR. KANE S EXPEDITION. 
 
 479 
 
 ments of the travelers. But when they were released 
 from this labor, these dogs conveyed the sledges and 
 their occupants on long journeys successfully, and 
 with great rapidity on their tours of examination. 
 
 On the 20th of September the first party organized 
 to establish provision depots was sent out. It consist- 
 ed of seven men. A sledge thirteen feet in length, 
 called the '* Faith," was filled with pemmican, and 
 was drawn by those attached to it, by means of track- 
 ropes termed rue-raddies, which were passed around 
 the shoulder and under the arms. The intended lo- 
 cation of this depot was sixty miles from the brig, on 
 the Greenland coast. As the bold and hardy adven- 
 turers started forth, they were saluted with three 
 liearty cheers by their comrades who remained with 
 the vessel. 
 
 The life of the party which remained in the vessel 
 was not devoid of incident and interest. They made 
 a desperate attempt to smoke out the rats with which 
 they were infested. To accomplish this purpose, a 
 quantity of charcoal was burnt, after the hatches had 
 been shut down, and every visible crevice had been 
 stopped. A large quantity of carbonic acid gas was 
 then generated, and the crew spen^: one night on deck 
 in order to give the rats fair play. One or two of the 
 seamen made a narrow escape from suflbcation, by 
 venturing during the night into the fumigated por- 
 tion of the ship. They were also assailed by another 
 peril. A barrel of charcoal by some means became 
 ignited, which had been left in the carpenter's room 
 at some distance from the stove. After some labor 
 and more anxiety, the fire was suppressed before any 
 very serious damage had been done to the vessel. The 
 corpses of twenty-eight defunct rats, of all sizes, ages, 
 and sexes, became the next day the trophies of the 
 successful attack of the crew upon their foes. 
 
 By the 10th of October the party which had been 
 sent to establish the first depot of provisions, had 
 been absent twenty days; and thei' return was anx- 
 
 ' J\ 
 
 . iiii 
 
 I' 
 
 i:\. . <,' 
 
480 
 
 PROORE OF ARCViO DISCOVERT. 
 
 iously expected. Dr. Kane at length determined to 
 start out in search of them. He traveled with one 
 companion on a sledge drawn by four Newfoundland 
 dogs. He averaged twenty miles per day with this 
 singular team. On the 15th, several hours before sun- 
 rise, he perceived on the distant and snowy waste, a 
 dark object which seemed to move. It proved to be 
 the returning depot-party. They had traveled at the 
 rate of eighteen miles per day, and had been twenty- 
 eight days engaged in their laborious expedition. 
 Some of their limbs had been frozen, and they had met 
 with other mishaps, though none were of a very seri- 
 ous nature, and they had accomplished the purpose 
 fur which they had been sent out. The greeting 
 which ensued on their return to the ship, was hearty 
 on both sides. They had made the iirst deposit of 
 provision at Cape Russell. Thirty miles further on, 
 they left about a hundred and ten pounds of pemmi- 
 can and beef, about thirty pounds of a mixture of 
 pemmican and meal, and a bag of bread. On the 
 10th of October they made their third and last de- 
 posit on an island called James McGary, after the 
 second officer of the expedition. Here they erected 
 a cairn, and buried six hundred and seventy pounds 
 of pemmican, and forty of meat, biscuit, with other 
 items, making in all eight iiundred pounds. One in- 
 cident which occurred during their journey, illustrates 
 very clearly some of the perils which attend Arctic 
 travel. The company had pitched their tent for the 
 night and had retired to rest. It was about mid- 
 night. They had been lulled to slumber by the grand 
 monotonous thundering of the neighboring glaciers. 
 Suddenly the floe on which the tent was placed, 
 cracked with a stupendous report directly beneath 
 them. The sleeping party needed no further prompt- 
 ings to bestir themselves. Repeated reports around 
 them gave evidence that the ice was breaking up. 
 The sledge was immediately placed upon a detached 
 piece of ice, and rowed and paddled to one of the 
 
mmf 
 
 •irilHlAda 
 
 ■HiMWia 
 
 DR. KANE 8 EXPEDITION. 
 
 481 
 
 In rnicr fields M-liich remained attaohed to tlic borcrfl. 
 IUm'c they ol)tained Raf'ety until the niorniiiij:, wlien 
 they quickly removed from their daiiiiierous jjosition. 
 Tliey eventually returned in safety tu tlie brig. 
 
 By the 7th of November, 1853, the darkness of an 
 Arctic winter began to settle down upon them. It 
 was necessary to keep the lamps lit constantly. They 
 had the comfortable prospect of ninety days of dark- 
 ness yet to come. It was natural that the Umely ad- 
 venturers should begin to devise some means of 
 amusement, by which they might beguile tiie cheer- 
 less monotony of tlieir existence. A fancy ball was 
 projected, and an Arctic journal bearing the appro- 
 priate title of "The Ice Blink," was commenced. 
 Thus the slow and tedious days and nights of their 
 winter sojourn wore on. In spite of the intense cold, 
 Dr. Kane continued to make his magnetic observa- 
 tions in the observatory. AVlien the thermometer 
 stood at forty-nine degrees below zero, and even at 
 sixty-four degrees below zero, he still elfected his as- 
 tronomical investigations and calculations. 
 
 On the 21st of January the Urst traces of the re- 
 turning light became visible. Its approach was in- 
 dicated by a beauteous orange tint, which flushed the 
 distant southern horizon. But still, the darkness 
 seemed to be eternal and unvarying. The continued 
 absence of light appeared to affect the health of the 
 party, as much as the excessive rigor of the cold. 
 By the 21st of February the sun's rays became clearly 
 visible, and when March arrived, it brought with it 
 the almost perpetual day which alternately takes the 
 place in the Arctic realms of almost perpetual night. 
 During the winter, nine noble Newfoundland, and 
 thirty-tive Esquimaux dogs, which were of the ut- 
 most value, had perished. Six only remained out 
 ot the whole number which had been taken at the 
 commencement of the expedition ; and these were 
 now their only reliance in their future operations. 
 
 By the 18th of March the spring tides began to 
 
 R 
 
 I ( 
 
 I I 
 
 
 '1. I 
 
 fl 
 
482 
 
 PROGRESS OF ARCTIC DISCOVERT. 
 
 break and move the massive ice which still hound the 
 Arctic Sea. The ice commenced to ^rind and crush • 
 the water to dash to and fro ; and the vessel to rise 
 and descend in a range of seventeen feet per day. 
 On the 20th a depot-party was sent ont, preparatoiy 
 to the commencement of the operations of tlie sum- 
 mer. Those who remained in the ship commenced 
 to clean it, to take down the forward bulwarks and to 
 clear the decks. The necessary preparations for in- 
 land trips and researches were made ; sledges and 
 accoutrements were contrived, and moccasins were 
 fabricated. While these labors occupied their atten- 
 tion, a portion of the depot party suddenly reap- 
 peared at the vessel. They brought back a terrible 
 report. They had left four of their number lying on 
 the ice frozen and disabled, and they had returned a 
 great distance to obtain instant relief. 
 
 Not a moment was to be lost. Ohlsen, the only 
 one of the returned party who seemed able to give 
 any information, was wrapped up in buffalo robes and 
 placed upon a sledge. !Nine men started out to the 
 rescue. The cold was intense, ranging seventy-eight 
 degrees below the freezing point. The instant the 
 party ceased to move they would have been frozen to 
 death. Violent exercise alone kept them alive. 
 When they ventured to apply snow to their lips to 
 slake their thirst, it burnt like caustic, and blood im- 
 mediately followed. Some of the men were seized 
 with trembling fits, and some with attacks of short 
 breath. Dr. Xane himself, fainted twice upon the 
 snow under the intense cold. 
 
 After a laborious and dangerous journey of twenty- 
 one hours, the lost party were discovered. They were 
 nearly forty miles distant from the brig. Their con- 
 dition was perilous in the extreme ; and the succor 
 did not come a moment too soon. But the rescuers 
 were scarcely better off than the rescued. They were 
 compelled to drag a load of nine hundred pounds 
 upon the sledge ; and during their return trip the 
 
DR. RANK 8 EXPEDITION. 
 
 483 
 
 whole party were in imniinont dano^or of boinfj frozen 
 to (loatli. Tlioy could with tlio utmost difHculty resist 
 the disposition to sleej), wnich wouhl have ininiediute- 
 ly sealed their fate. After a fearful journey of sev- 
 eral days the party repjained the hri<ij; hut the suffer- 
 ings of that terrible occasion were almost beyond the 
 power of imagination. They had traveled about 
 ninety miles ; and most of the men had become tem- 
 porarily delirious ; nearly all were frozen in some 
 portions of their bodies ; and two of them ultimately 
 died in consequence of their exposure. 
 
 On the 2Tth of April, the time having arrived to con- 
 tinue his researches both after Sir John Franklin and 
 in Arctic discovery, Dr. Kane determined to resume 
 his expeditions. He resolved now to follow the ice- 
 belt to the Great Glacier of Humboldt, and thence to 
 stretch along the face of the glacier, toward the west 
 of north, and make an attempt to cross the ice to the 
 American side of the channel. The object of this 
 bold venture was to attain the utmost limit of the 
 shore of Greenland ; to measure the waste which ex- 
 tended between it and the unknown west ; and thua 
 to reveal, if possible, some of the mysteries which 
 surrounded the North Pole. The journey was imme- 
 diately commenced. After many adventures and 
 suflerings which we will not describe, the Great Gla- 
 cier of Humboldt was reached. A more magnificent 
 object than this does not exist on the globe. It pre- 
 sents a shining wall of ice 300 feet in height, frown- 
 ing over the frozen sea below, and extends unbroken 
 for sixty miles. It is the great crystal bridge which 
 has for ages connected together the two continents of 
 America and Greenland, and it extends from the sea 
 toward the interior, through vast and unknown 
 
 regions. 
 
 Dr. Kane now determined to organize a double 
 party, in order to ascertain whether a channel or any 
 form of outlet existed to the northern extremity of 
 the coast of Greenland. He was convinced of the 
 
 
 i 
 
484 
 
 PROORK88 0^ ARCTIC DISCOVERY. 
 
 im 
 
 exiatonco of fluch a channel from the movcmentfl of 
 the ico ber^fl ; from the ])hysical cluiracter of the 
 tides ; as well as from certain and uniform analogies 
 of physical p;eo^raphy. 
 
 On the 3d of Juno one of the parties of explora- 
 tion set out from the hrig. They liad a large sledge 
 thirteen feet long. They aimed directly for the gla- 
 cier-barrier on the Greenland side. Their orders were 
 to attempt to scale the ice and examine the interior 
 of the great mer-de-glace. 
 
 On the 27th of June one of the parties, directed by 
 McGarry and Bonsall, returned to the brig. Several 
 of them had become nearly blind. After twelve 
 days' travel they had reached the Great Glacier. 
 They found the depot of provisions, which had been 
 deposited the previous season, destroyed by the 
 bears. These brutes had broken open the tin cases 
 in which the pemmican had been deposited. An al- 
 coliol cask strongly bound in iron was dashed into 
 fragments ; and a tin liquor can was mashed and 
 twisted into a ball. This party of explorers had 
 found it impossible to scale the Great Glacier, and 
 returned to the brig without having effected any re- 
 sults of importance. 
 
 The other party, which had been placed under the 
 guidance of Mr. Morton, left the vessel on the 4th of 
 June. On the 15th they reached the foot of the 
 Great Glacier. They steered northward, keeping 
 parallel with the glacier, and from five to seven miles 
 distant from it. The thickness of the ice over which 
 they journeyed was found to be seven feet five 
 inches. They traveled frequently with the snow up 
 to their knees. When they had reached Peabody 
 Bay they encountered the bergs, whose surface was 
 fresh and glassy. Some of these were rectangular 
 in shape and some were square ; and their length va- 
 ried from a quarter of a mile to a mile. The task of 
 traveling over these bergs was full of difficulty and 
 
I 
 
 DR. KANe's expedition. 
 
 485 
 
 danger. At len<]jtli they made tlioir way through 
 them to tho smoother ice wliieli hiy hcyond. 
 
 On the 10th of June, luivin^ encain|)CMl, Morton afl- 
 cended a high berg, in order to examine their future 
 route and survey the surrounding dcsohition. From 
 this point he beheld an extensive plain which stretched 
 away toward the north, which proved to bo tlie Great 
 Glacier of Humboldt, as it appeared toward the in- 
 terior, which also fronted on the bay. From tliis 
 point the advance of the party was ])f3rilou8. They 
 were freqjuently arrested by wide and deep fissures in 
 the ice. This difficulty compelled tliem to turn to- 
 ward the west. Some of these chasms were four feet 
 wide, and contained water at tlie bottom. From this 
 point they beheld the distant northern shore, termed 
 the " "West Land." Its appearance was mountainous 
 and rolling. Its distance from them seemed to be 
 about sixty miles. 
 
 At length, by the 21st of June, the party reached 
 a point opposite the termination of the Great Glacier. 
 It appeared to be mixed with earth and rocks. Trav- 
 eling on, they reached at length the head of Kennedy 
 channel, and saw beyond that the open water. Passing 
 in their route a cape, they called it Cape Andrew Jack- 
 son. Here they found good smooth ice ; for during 
 the last few days they had passed over rotten ice, 
 which not unfrequently threatened to break beneath 
 them. Having entered the curve of a bay, they 
 named it after Robert Morris, the great financier of 
 the revolution. On the smooth ice in this vicinity the 
 party advanced at the rate of six miles per hour. 
 
 Kennedy Channel here grew narrower, l)ut after- 
 ward it widened again. Broken ice in large masses 
 was floating in it ; but there were passages lifteen 
 miles in width, which remained perfectly clear. Six 
 miles inward from the channel, mountains rose to the 
 view. On the 22d of June they encamped, after hav- 
 ing traveled forty-eight miles in a direct line. They 
 were still upon the shores of the channel. They could 
 
 ii 
 
4:86 
 
 PROGRESS OF ARCTIC DISCOVERY. 
 
 \m 
 
 plainly s^ *^he opposite shore, which appeared pre- 
 cipitous, d surmounted with sugar-loaf shaped 
 mountains. At this part of their journey they en- 
 countered a Polar bear, with her cub. A desperate 
 fight ensued, in which the singular instincts of nature 
 were strikingly illustrated, by the desperate eflbrts 
 made by the poor brute to protect her helpless oft- 
 Bpring. Both were slain, A shallow bay covered 
 with ICO was then crossed. They passed several isl- 
 ands which lay in the channel, which they named 
 after Sir John Franklin and Captain Crozier. The 
 clilis which here constituted the shore of the chan- 
 nel were very high, towering at least two thou- 
 sand feet above its surface. The party attempted to 
 ascend these cliffs ; but found it impossible to mount 
 more than a few hundred feet. On the highest point 
 which they attained, a walking pole was fastened, 
 with the Grinnell flag of the Antartic attached to it ; 
 and thus for an hour and a half this standard was per- 
 mitted to wave over the highest northern region of 
 the earth ever attained by the foot of man. 
 
 They here encountered a cape, and the party de- 
 sired to pass around it, in order to ascertain whether 
 there lay any unknown land beyond it. But they 
 found it impossible to advance. This then was the 
 utmost limit and termination of their journey toward 
 the pole. Mr. Morton ascended an eminence here, 
 and carefully scrutinized the aspects of nature all 
 around him. Six degrees toward the west of north, 
 he observed a lofty peak, truncated in its form, and 
 about three thousand feet in height. This elevation 
 is named Mount Edward Parry, after the great pio- 
 neer of Arctic adventure ; and is the most extreme 
 northern point of land known to exist upon the globe. 
 From the position which Mr. Morton had attained, 
 he beheld toward the north, from an elevation of four 
 hundred feet, a boundless waste of waters stretching 
 away toward the pole. Not a particle of ice encum- 
 bered its surface. He heard the dashina: of unfrozen 
 
DR. KANE 8 EXPEDITION. 
 
 487 
 
 waves, and beheld a rolling surf like that of more 
 genial climes, rushing and dashing against the rocks 
 upon the shore. This was certainly a mysterious 
 phenomenon. Here was a fluid sea, in the midst of 
 whole continents of ice, and that sea seemed to wash 
 the Pole itself. The eye of the explorer surveyed at 
 least forty miles of uninterrupted water in a northern 
 direction. The point thus reached in this exploring 
 expedition, was about five hundred miles distant from 
 the Pole. Had the party been able to convey thither 
 a boat, they might have embarked upon the bright 
 and placid waters of that lonely ocean. But having 
 been able to make this journey only with the sledge, 
 further explorations were of course impossible. The 
 most remarkable development connected with these 
 discoveries was, that the temperature was here found 
 to be much more moderate than it was further south. 
 Marine birds sailed through the heavens. Rippling 
 waves followed each other on the surface of the deep. 
 A few stunted flowers grew over the barren and 
 rocky shore. The inference which may be drawn 
 from these and other facts is, that this open sea, 
 termed the Polar Basin, stretches to the Pole itself, 
 or at least continues a great distance until its course 
 is interrupted by oAer projections of the terra firma. 
 These are mysterious inquiries, still the great desid- 
 erata of Arctic travel ; which will remain unanswered, 
 until some more successful explorer, gifted with 
 greater physical endurance, if any such can be, and 
 furnished with ampler and more abundant facilities 
 than any of his predecessors, shall persist in defiance 
 of every impediment in advancing, until he boldly 
 plants his foot upon the very spot now termed the 
 North Pole. 
 
 The several parties which had been sent forth by 
 Dr. Kane, to explore the regions just described, hav- 
 ing returned, the seaeon of Arctic travel had nearly 
 terminated, and the members of the expedition were 
 about to relapse into winter quarters, with their usual 
 
 7 
 
 ;i I 
 
 i I 
 
 <l 
 
 11 
 
 \h 
 
 ■ 
 
 i ^: 
 
 wm 
 
488 
 
 PROGRESS OF ARCTIC DISCOVERT. 
 
 darkness, monotony, and gloom. But before resign- 
 ing themselves entirely to this unwelcome seclusion. 
 Dr. Kane resolved to make an effort to reach Beechey 
 Island. At this point, already so frequently referred 
 to in the preceding pages, Sir Edward Belcher's 
 squadron was then supposed to be stationed; and 
 from them the American explorers might obtain 
 both provisions and information. Accordingly, Dr. 
 Kane manned his boat, called the "Forlorn Hope," 
 which was twenty-three feet long, and six feet and a 
 half beam. The necessary amount of provisions were 
 placed on board, and the bold venture was undertaken. 
 Sometimes the boat was navigated through the un- 
 frozen channels of water, which intervened between 
 the floes of ice ; at others she was placed on a large 
 sledge called the " Faith," and thus transported over 
 the frozen wastes. 
 
 This party approached Littleton Island, which had 
 been visited by Captain Ingletield. They here ob- 
 tained a vast quantity of eider ducks. They then 
 passed Flagstaff Point and Combermere Cape. Then 
 came Cape Isabella and Cape Frederick VII. On 
 the 23d of July they reached Ilakluyt Island; and 
 thence they steered for Cary Islands. But on the 
 Sist of July, when they had reaiehed a point but ten 
 miles distant from Cape Parry, their further progress 
 was absolutely stopped. A solid mass of ice lay be- 
 fore them on the sea, extending as far as the eye 
 could reach. This barrier was composed of the vast 
 seas of ice which had drifted through Jones' Sound on 
 the west, and those of Murchison's on the east. The 
 adventurers were now compelled to retrace their 
 way. About the 1st of August they regained the 
 brig, without having met with any accident, but also 
 without having succeeded in attaining the object of 
 their excursion. They found the "Advance" just as 
 tightly wedged into the ice as it had been during the 
 preceding eleven mouths, with no hope of getting 
 ner released. Two important questions now demand- 
 
tUtgUm-trntmimiB 
 
 
 ^i 
 
 the 
 
 also 
 
 let of 
 
 list as 
 
 the 
 
 land- 
 
 
DB. KANE 8 EXPEDITION. 
 
 489 
 
 ed their attention. The first was, how they were to 
 pass this, their second winter in the Arctic regions ; 
 and how they were to make their escape in the ensu- 
 ing spring. 
 
 Whatever might be the issue of the future, Dr. Kane 
 determined to leave a memorial at the spot which 
 he then occupied, to prove to his successors the fact 
 that he and his expedition had been there. He paint- 
 ed the words " Advance, A. D. 1853-5V' upon the 
 broad face of a rock, which rested on a high cliff look- 
 ing out upon the frozen waste. Near this spot a hole 
 was drilled into the rock, and a paper containing a 
 history of the expedition and its present condition, 
 was placed in glass, and sealed into the cavity with 
 melted lead. Close at hand were buried the corpses 
 of the two members of the expedition who had al- 
 ready ended their toils and sufferings. 
 
 Tiie prospect of a second winter amid the eternal 
 snows and ice of the Polar Circle, was not inviting to 
 the adventurers. A portion of them felt convinced 
 of the practicability of an immediate escape to the 
 south. On the 24:th of August Dr. Kane summoned 
 all hands together, and clearly stated to them the as- 
 pects of the case. He advised that all should remain 
 by the brig till the next spring ; although he declared 
 that those who wished to return could make the at- 
 tempt. Eight men concluded to remain ; and nine 
 of them resolved that, rather than endure the miseries 
 of a second winter near the Pole, they would run the 
 risks of an instant attempt to escape. This resolution 
 they made immediate preparations to execute. A 
 full share of the remaining provisions was measured 
 out to them. They were assured of a welcome re- 
 ception if they chose to return; and they started 
 forth on August 28th from the brig. One of this 
 party returned to the vessel in a few days ; the rest 
 wandered for many months, and endured much misery 
 and exposure, before they rejoined their wiser com- 
 rades in the brig. XJ 31 
 
 iJ I 
 
 i t 
 
 
490 
 
 PROGRESS OF ARCTIO DISCOVERY. 
 
 Dr. Kane and the eight men who remained with 
 him, immediately began to prepare for tho horrors of 
 the ensning winter. They gathered a hirge amount 
 of moss with which they lined and padded the quar- 
 ter-deck. This expedient rendered their cabin imper- 
 ious to the changes and the extreme severity of the 
 atmosphere. They stripped off the outer-deck plank- 
 ing of the brig, for the purpose of fire-wood. The 
 chief necessity of the explorers was fresh meat, to 
 guard them against the scurvy. To obtain this food, 
 frequent excursions were made for the purpose of cap- 
 turing seals. On one of these occasions Dr. Kane 
 narrowly escaped a watery grave. lie was at twelve 
 miles' distance from the brig, with a single attendant. 
 The ice broke beneath their sledge, and they were 
 precipitated into the water. After great exertions 
 and amid extreme danger, they succeeded in regain- 
 ing ice sufficiently strong to bear their weight. They 
 lost their sledge, tent, kayack, guns, and snow-shoes. 
 
 At length, by the 21st of October, the rays of the 
 sun had ceased to reach them; and darkness — the 
 cold and cheerless darkness of an Arctic night settled 
 down upon them. They were compelled to confine 
 themselves to the precincts of their gloomy cabin, 
 and waste away as best they could, the slow hours 
 of their long winter. Their only light was an occa- 
 sional aurora, whose pale, bright arch of brilliant hues 
 seemed to be resting on the distant Pole. The ther- 
 mometer aow ranged 34° below zero. Thus, in this 
 strange monotony of routine and incident, November 
 and December wore away ; except that during the 
 latter month, a portion of the party who had deserted 
 the bri^ on the 28th of August previous, returned to 
 their old quarters. They had suffered much; and 
 had left the remainder of their party two hundred 
 miles distant in the midst of great destitution. The 
 thermometer was then fifty degrees below zero. When 
 Oiiristmas came it was celebrated for the second time 
 by this gallant crew oi' heroes, amid the Arctic soli- 
 
-^ 
 
 DR. KANE 8 EXPEDITION. 
 
 491 
 
 tndes, with snch means as tlicy conld command — 
 which indeed were few j and thus ended with them 
 the year 1854. 
 
 The three most dangerous and dreary months of 
 the year — January, February, and March — were now 
 before them. During these months it was exceeding 
 ly difficult for the adventurers to procure fresh meat, 
 wliich was their only preventive and cure of scurvy. 
 With this disease every member of the party became 
 at last infected ; some so seriously that their lives 
 were in danger. Thus the dreary drama of their Arc- 
 tic exile dragged on. They waited patiently for the 
 time to arrive when they could commence the neces- 
 sary preparations for the journey of thirteen hundred 
 miles which they would undertake in the spring. 
 The vessel would evidently remain so firmly fixed in 
 an ocean of ice, that its removal would be utterly im- 
 possible. Their return must be effected with the com- 
 bined use of sledges and boats. Yet before commenc- 
 ing a final retreat. Dr. Kane resolved to attempt once 
 more a northern excursion, hoping that it might re- 
 sult in some useful discovery connected with the ob- 
 ject of the expedition. 
 
 The region which was yet to be explored was the 
 farther shores beyond Kennedy Channel. The aid of 
 the dogs was indispensable to the accomplishment 
 of this task ; and there were but four left out of the 
 sixty- two, which composed their stock when they left 
 Newfoundland. An arrangement was however made 
 with Kalutunah, one of the wandering Esquimaux 
 whom they knew, for the use of his dogs and three 
 sledges. Thus reenforced, Dr. Kane, accompanied by 
 several experienced Esquimaux travelers, commenced 
 his journey. In two hours they reached a lofty berg 
 fifteen miles north of the brig. The view of the chan- 
 nel presented from the summit of this berg was not 
 very favorable. The outside channel seemed filled 
 with squeezed ice ; and on the frozen plain beyond, 
 the bergs appeared tcv be much distorted. 
 
 jll' 
 
492 
 
 PROGRESS OF ARCTIC DISCOVERT. 
 
 ^ 
 
 Nevertheless, Dr. Kane resolved to make the ven- 
 ture. They quickly passed fifteen miles further; 
 when the party halted to feed and rest. The journey 
 was then resumed. But unfortunately the traces of 
 a Polar bear soon attracted the attention of the Esqui- 
 maux, and the temptation was too strong for famished 
 men to resist. A chase ensued. The animal was 
 quickly brought to bay, attacked, and dispatched. 
 Then ensued another gorge, and after the gorge there 
 necessarily came an interval of repose and sleep. 
 
 A sleep of four hours' duration ensued upon the 
 open snow ; after which the party arose and resumed 
 their journey. Dr. Kane desired to steer directly to 
 the northward ; but his associates declared that to 
 cross 80 high up as they then were, was impossible. 
 The fate of Baker and Schubert in the preceding year, 
 who attempted this feat, recurred to their recollec- 
 tion, and convinced them that the attempt would be 
 then extremely hazardous. Again was the leader of 
 the expedition fated to experience a disappointment, 
 and to return to the brig witl out having accomplished 
 the purpose for which he set forth. But before he 
 did so, he embraced the opportunity which was with- 
 in h'l reach, once more to examine the Great Hum- 
 boldt Glacier, one of the most remarkable monuments 
 in nature. The whole horizon before him was bound- 
 ed by long lines of ice-bergs. They undulated about 
 the horizon, but as they descended to the sea, they 
 resembled an uneven plain with an inclination of 
 about nine degrees, still diminishing as they ap- 
 proached the foreground. Vast crevasses appeared in 
 the distance like mere wrinkles. These grew larger 
 as they approached the sea, where they expanded in- 
 to gigantic stairways. 
 
 The appearance of this Great Humboldt Glacier 
 resembles in some respects the frozen masses of the 
 Alps ; and reminded the bold adventurer of many 
 scenes which he had witnessed in the mountains of 
 K or way and Switzerland. The average height of 
 
DR. RANK 8 EXPEDITION. 
 
 493 
 
 this great glacier along the water's edge was about 
 three hnnured feet ; and this height was presented 
 by an uniform perspective of sixty miles in length ; 
 thus exliibiting one of the most sublime and imposing 
 spectacles which the mind can conceive. The config- 
 urations of its surface and form clearly indicate that 
 its inequalities follow those of the rocky soil on which 
 it rests. Having made various observations upon the 
 phenomena connected with this glacier, Dr. Kane re- 
 sumed his return toward the brig. The company 
 traveled over the frozen surface of tlie ice to the south 
 of Peabody Bay. The first spot at which they landed 
 was called Cape James Kent. It was a rugged and 
 lofty headland ; and it presenvd in the distance a 
 strange spectacle of a rude surface, covered with mil- 
 lions of tons of rubbish, rocks of every imaginable 
 shape, and slates of immense size and of infinite va- 
 riety of forms. On the south-eastern corner of Mar- 
 shall Bay the party found a group of Esquimaux re- 
 mains, consisting of a few deserted huts and graves. 
 They were the rude and melancholy relics of a race 
 of lonely wanderers who had passed away. These 
 remains w^re surrounded by the bones of the seal and 
 the walrus, and the dissevered vertebrae of a whale. 
 There were indications that the spot had long been 
 deserted ; and yet no changes had been eft'ected by 
 the silent lapse of time in those frozen and primeval 
 solitudes, in the appearance and position of these 
 simple monuments. 
 
 This journey was enlivened by several interesting 
 bear hunts ; and a few details respecting this Arctic 
 entertainment may here not be inappropriate. 
 
 The dogs with which these hunts are carried on, 
 are very carefully trained to play their part. This 
 part is not to attack the bear, but to hinder and im- 
 pede his flight. While one of these dogs occupies 
 Lis attention in front, another salutes his hind legs 
 with vigorous bites. This keeps the animal oscilla- 
 ting between several distinct parties of foes ; and while 
 
 : t f ^, 
 
 i n 
 
49-i 
 
 PROOKE88 OF ARCTIC DISCOVERY. 
 
 he is battling with one and the other, the hunters 
 come up. In the first instance, as soon as the bear 
 sees the approach of the dogs and men, he rises on 
 Ills haunches, carefully inspects his foes for a mo- 
 ment, and tlien takes to his heels. As the hunter ap- 
 proaches him, if he is riding on his sledge he loosens 
 the traces of his two foremost dogs, which releases 
 them from their burden, and enables them to attack 
 the bear. Soon after, the rest of the dogs are libera- 
 ted in the same way. When there are two hunters, 
 bruin is soon and easily dispatched. They surround 
 him, and while one of them pretends to stab him with 
 a spear on the right side, and thus engages the bear 
 in his defense in that direction, the death wound is 
 inflicted on the left by the same weapon. If there 
 be but one hunter, the task is neither so easy nor so 
 safe. The hunter grasps his lance firmly in his hands, 
 and provokes the bear to pursue him by running 
 across his path, and then pretending to flee. When 
 the bear has begun the chase, the hunter suddenly 
 doubles on his track by a dexterous leap ; and while 
 the bear is in the act of turning around, he is stabbed 
 with the spear in his left side below the shoulder. 
 If this stab be skillfully executed, the bear is at once 
 disabled and soon expires. K it is not, the hunter 
 has then to run for his life, after leaving his spear 
 sticking in the side of his victim. If the bear gets 
 the hunter in his grasp, he salutes him with divers 
 hugs and squeezes, which are much more vigorous 
 and affectionate than agreeable. He sometimes also 
 uses his teeth. Dr. Kane saw some Esquimaux hun- 
 ters who had been bitten behind in the calves of the 
 legs ; and another who had received a similar salute 
 somewhat higher up. 
 
 Having returned to the brig. Dr. Kane resumed 
 his preparations for final departure. Frozen fast as 
 she was in the ice, there was no possibility of remov- 
 ing her. The only possible means of escape was by 
 the combined use of boats and sledges. The party 
 
T 
 
 DR. KANK 8 EXPEDITION. 
 
 495 
 
 went to work industriously in tho maniifactiiro of 
 clothing siiitablo to tho journey, (^anvas moccasins 
 were made for eacli of tlie j)arty, and a surnhis sup- 
 ply of three dozen was added to tho stocK. Tiieir 
 boots were made of carpeting, witli soles of walrus or 
 seal hide, and some liad been fabricated from tho 
 chating gear of tho brig. Other portions of their 
 clothing were made out of blankets. Every one act- 
 ed as his own tailor. Their bedding was made out 
 of the woolen curtains with which their berths in tho 
 brig had been adorned. These were quilted with 
 eider down, and bulfalo robes were added to increase 
 their warmth. 
 
 Their provision bags consisted of sail-cloth, made 
 water-tiglit by the application of tar and pitch. They 
 were of various sizes, so as to be more conveniently 
 stowed away in the boats. The ship-bread was pow- 
 dered by being beaten with a capstan-bar, and then 
 pressed down into tlie bags. Pork-fat and tallow 
 being melted down, were poured into other bags as 
 into moulds, and thus left to freeze. Concentrated 
 beau-soup was cooked up and prepared in the same 
 way. The flour and meat-biscuit were protected 
 from moisture in double bags. Dr. Kane's plan was 
 to subsist his party for some time after they left the 
 brig, by new supplies of provisions which he could 
 bring from the vessel by trips with hia dog-team. 
 
 The means of conveyance which were to carry the 
 company on this long and weary journey, and which 
 were to be carried by them in a great measure, con- 
 sisted of three boats. These had all suffered very 
 materially from exposure to the ice and the Arctic 
 storms ; and were scarcely sea-worthy. They were 
 strengthened and tinkered in every possible way by 
 oak bottom-pieces, and by wash-boards which protect- 
 ed the gunwales and gave them greater depth. A 
 housing of canvas was stretched upon a ridge line, 
 which was suspended by stanchions, and which were 
 fastened over the sides of the boats to jack-stays. 
 
 !|; 
 
 » 
 
496 
 
 PROGRESS OF ARCTIC DISCOVERY. 
 
 Each boat had a sinfi^lo mnRt, and it was so arranpred 
 that it could bo easily un8hi})pod, and carried along- 
 side the boat. The boats were mounted on sledi^cs. 
 The provisions were stored carefully under the thwarts. 
 The boats were to bo drawn by the men with ruo-rad- 
 dies, or straps, which passed over the shoulder and 
 were attached by a long trace to the pledge. Tire 
 philosophical instruments were carefully boxed and 
 padded, and placed in the stern-sheets of one of the 
 boats. Spy-glasses and small instruments the trav- 
 elers earned on their persons. The powder and shot, 
 which now became of infinite value to them, wore dis- 
 tributed in bags and tin canisters. The percussion 
 caps, the most valuable of all. Dr. Kane himself took 
 charge of and reserved. 
 
 Having made all the preparations which were pos- 
 sible under the circumstances of the case. Dr. Kane 
 announced to his crew that he appointed the 17th of 
 May as the day of their linal departure from the brig. 
 Each man was allowed to select and retain eight 
 pounds of personal effects. The announcement of 
 their final departure toward the south was not received 
 by the members of the expedition with the enthusiasm 
 which Dr. Kane had expected. Some doubted the 
 reality of the journey home ; and suspected that it 
 was merely a maneuver to remove the sick to the 
 hunting grounds. Others thought that the real pur- 
 pose was only to journey further south, whilst the 
 brig was retained as a refuge for them to retreat to ; 
 while others suspected that their leader merely 
 wished to reach some point on the coast where he 
 could obtain a rescue from passing whalers, or from 
 some of the English Arctic expeditions which were 
 still supposed to be lingering in those remote regions. 
 
 The sick among the crew, 
 
 who had long been accus- 
 
 tomed to inaction and indulgence, declared themselves 
 unfit to be removed, and unable to travel a mile. 
 
 But in spite of all these obstacles, the resolution of 
 the commander of the expedition was unalterable. 
 
TIF -I 
 
 I I 
 
 DR. Kane's expedition. 
 
 497 
 
 IIo was determined to cornmenco this incrnornblo 
 journey on the day appointed, nt all hazards. At 
 len<]jth the day preeedini^ that of departure arrived. 
 The boats were reuiovod from the bri;^ and placed 
 upon the ico. Thisproeeas seemed to revive to somo 
 decree the (lea])ondin«^ spirits of the men. The pro- 
 visions were then conveyed into them ; and other 
 necessary transfers were made. After some hours of 
 active oi)erations, the whole of tlieir task was com- 
 pleted ; and the men returned on board the bri<^, in 
 order to spend their last night in that familiar 
 shelter. After supper they retired to rest, in or<ler to 
 recruit their energies for the toils which were to com- 
 mence on the ensuing day, ui)oii the iinal success of 
 which their future existence depended. 
 
 At length the wished-for moment arrived when the 
 weary adventurers were to take their last farewell of 
 the vessel which had been associated with them in 
 so many vicissitudes and dangers. All hands were 
 assembled together in silence in the w'liter chamber. 
 The day was Sunday, and the exercises began by the 
 reading of a chapter of the scriptures. Dr. iuino 
 then took Sir John Franklin's portrait from its frame, 
 and enclosed it in an ludia-rubber scroll. The sev- 
 eral reports of inspection and survey were then read, 
 which set forth what results had already been attained, 
 and contained the reasons which induced the com- 
 mander of the expedition to take the steps which 
 were to ensue. He then addressed his men in refer- 
 ence to the journey on which they were about to en- 
 ter, explaining its necessity, the method according to 
 which it was to be conducted, and the certainty of 
 final relief and escape which it would bring them, if 
 they resolutely persisted in carrying it out. Thirteen 
 hundred miles of ice and water lay between their 
 present position and the shores of Korth Greenland. 
 He closed by directing their hopes of safety, not un- 
 fitly, to that great Unseen Power who had already 
 rescued them from a thousand deaths, and who would 
 
 % 
 
498 
 
 PROGRESS OF ARCTIC DISCOVERT. 
 
 
 continue to be their very present help in every time 
 of need. 
 
 The men responded to the sentiments and purposes 
 expressed by Dr. Kane with more enthusiasm than 
 he seems to have anticipated. They drew up a state- 
 ment in which they expressed their conviction of the 
 necessity which existed of abandoning the brig; the 
 impossibility of remaining a third winter in the ice ; 
 the obligation which rested on them to convey the 
 sick carefully along with them ; and their determina- 
 tion to cooperate with their leader in his proposed 
 measures of escape. This statement was handed to 
 Dr. Kane. He also had prepared a narrative of the 
 considerations which induced him to abandon the ves- 
 sel. This he posted to a stanchion near the gangway, 
 so that ii might attract the attention of any one who 
 approached the vessel. The party then went on deck ; 
 the flags were hoisted to the mast-head, and lowered 
 again ; the men paraded twice around the brig, care- 
 fully scrutinizing her timbers, associated in their 
 minds with so uiany pleasing and painful recollec- 
 tions ; and having thus saluted the vessel for the last 
 time, they rushed away over the ice toward the boats, 
 which had already been removed, lilled with their 
 cargo, and made ready to commence their homeward 
 journey. 
 
 The whole return party consisted of seventeen per- 
 sons, including Dr. Kane. Four of these were sick, 
 and unable to move. The rest were divided into two 
 companies, and appropriated to the several boats. 
 Dr. Kane took charge of the dog-team, which was to 
 be used for tiie purpose of conveying provisions from 
 the vessel to the crew, during the Srst few days of 
 their journey. To the boat called "Faith," McGary, 
 Ohlseu, Bonsall, Petersen, and Hickey were assigned. 
 To the *' Hope," Morton, ISontag, Kiley, Blake, and 
 Godfrey were detailed. 
 
 The lii'st stage of the journey was to a spot called 
 Auoatok, which had been a halting place in their win- 
 
DB. KANE'S EXPEDITION. 
 
 499 
 
 ter journeys. It was a single hnt, composed of rude 
 and heavy stones, and resembled a cave more than 
 it did a house. Strange to say, this bleak and for- 
 lorn corner of that frozen hemisphere, the gloomiest 
 and most detestable on the whole face of the globe, 
 bore a name which was imposed by the least poeti- 
 cal of human beings, the Esquimaux^ which was not 
 devoid of beauty ; for Anoatok in the jargon of the 
 shivering natives means " the wind-loved spot." It 
 was perched on the extreme point ot a rocky promon- 
 tory, and commanded a wide view of the icy straits, 
 both toward the north and south. 
 
 Dr. Kane had exerted himself to repair the hut, and 
 make it fit to shelter the sick. He had added a door 
 to its broken outlet, and had introduced a stove and 
 stove-pipe. Other improvements had been made. 
 A solitary pane of glass, which once had faced a 
 daguerreotype, was inserted in the door, to give a 
 scanty light. The provisions which had been re- 
 moved to this place were eight hundred pounds in 
 weight. Seven hundred pounds still remained in the 
 brig, to be removed by successive journeys of the 
 dog-team. The services of these six dogs were in- 
 deed invaluable. In addition to all their previous 
 journeys, they carried Dr. Kane to and fro, with a 
 well-burdened sledge, nearly eight hundred miles du- 
 ring the first two weeks after they left the brig, be- 
 ing an average of fifty-seven miles per day. 
 
 So feeble and reduced were the parties who drag- 
 ged the two boats, that they advanced but a mile a 
 day, and on the 24:th had only made seven miles. 
 The halts were regulated entirely by the condition 
 of the men who required longer rest at some periods 
 than at others. The thermometer ranged below zero, 
 and the men slept at night in the boats, protected by 
 their canvas coverings. Had it not been for the 
 shelter which the hut at Anoatok ati:'orded, the four 
 sick men — Groodfeiiow, Wilson, Whipple, and Ste- 
 phenson — they must have perished. At the tnne of 
 
500 
 
 PROGRESS OF ARCTIC DISCOVERY. 
 
 their removal into it, they were so drawn up with the 
 scurvy that they were wholly unable to move. Yet 
 their delay in this hut was extremely gloomy ; lor 
 it lasted from the time that they were removed from 
 the brig, until they were carried forward by the 
 sledge to the boats which had been dragged by their 
 respec^^ive crews in advance of them. During this 
 interval they were carefully fed and attended by Dr. 
 Kane. 
 
 Dr. Kane's visits to the brig from time to time, in 
 order to obtain supplies of provisions, were full of in- 
 terest to him. On the first of these he found the ves- 
 sel already inhabited by an old raven, which had often 
 been seen hovering around, and whom they had called 
 Magog. The fire was lighted in the galley, the pork 
 was melted, large batches of bread were baked, dried 
 apples were stewed, and then the sledge was made 
 ready to return with the load. iSuch was usually the 
 routine of Dr. Kane's lonely visits to the brig. Af- 
 ter the first of these visits, when he returned to the 
 ** wind-loved spot," Anoatok, with his sledge, he found 
 that the sick who still remained there had exhausted 
 their provisions ; that their single lamp had gone out; 
 that the snow drifts had forced thuir way in at the 
 door, so that it could not be shut ; that the wind was 
 blowing furiously through the open tenement ; and 
 that the thermometer ranged only thirteen degrees 
 above zero. The invalids were disheartened and hun- 
 gry. A fire was built with tarred rope ; a porridge 
 was prepared for them out of meat biscuit and pea 
 soup ; the door was fastened up ; a dripping slab of 
 fat pork was suspended over their lamp wick ; and 
 then all turned into their sleeping bags, after a hearty 
 though not \ery savory meal. So overcome were 
 they all with exposure and weakness, that they slept 
 until after all their watches had run down. 
 
 Dr. Kane then hurried forward to the sledge party, 
 who had by that time reached Ten Mile liavine. 
 They were struggling with the deep snows, v/ere over- 
 
DR. KANE's expedition. 
 
 601 
 
 the 
 
 rty 
 ere 
 ept 
 
 whelmed with fatigue, and were somewhat disheart- 
 ened. Although their feet were much swollen, they 
 had toiled that day for fourteen hours. Some were 
 suffering from snow-blindness, and were scarcely 
 able to work at the drag-ropes. In spite of all their 
 toils and sufferings, morning and evening prayers 
 were constantly read by the adventurers. Meanwhile 
 the sledge party advanced slowly toward the south. 
 On the 28th Dr. Kane paid his last visit to the brig. 
 He was compelled to leave behind his collections in 
 Natural History, his library, and some of his instru- 
 ments, such as his theodolite and chart-box, the 
 useless daguerrotypes, and other companions and 
 mementoes of Arctic toil and suffering. Then he 
 mounted his sledge ; gave a last look at the blackened 
 hull and spars of the Advance ; fiercely whipped up 
 his dogs in a paroxysm of mournful gloom ; and 
 sped away for the last time, over the snowy waste 
 which had been associated with so many recollec- 
 tions. Thus was left behind at last in its frozen bed, 
 the vessel which had been connected with two Arctic 
 expeditions, one of which is the most remarkable on 
 record ; and there doubtless she remains, an unseen 
 monument of human enterprise, benevolence, and 
 endurance. 
 
 From Anoatok Dr. Kane's next labor was to re- 
 move the provisions and men further on in their route. 
 A friendly Esquimaux, named Metek, was sent for- 
 ward to the next station, with two bags of bread-dust, 
 each weighing ninety pounds. The next station was 
 Etah Bay. About midnight Dr. Kane approached 
 that vicinity. The sun was low in the heavens, and 
 the air around was marked by that peculiar stillness 
 which accompanies the great solitudes of nature. 
 "While feeling the oppressive weight of that silence, 
 his ears were suddenly greeted by unexpected sounds 
 of mirth and laughter. He nad approached an en- 
 campment of the wandering Esquimaux, consisting 
 of about thirty men, women, and children. The cause 
 
 
 i I 
 
602 
 
 PROGRESS OF ARCTIC DISCOVEltT. 
 
 of their joy was the capture of innumerable birds, 
 called Auks, which tliey were engaged in catching 
 with nets. These birds, though the thermometer was 
 five degrees below zero, were flying about in the great- 
 est abundance ; and the hungry Esquimaux were 
 eating them raw, as soon as taken. He saw two chil- 
 dren fighting for an owl, which as soon as captured 
 was torn limb from limb, and its warm flesh eaten, 
 and its blood drunken, almost be "ore life was extinct. 
 This was the spot which these birds mysteriously 
 chose for the purpose of breeding, from year to year ; 
 and the Esquimaux as regularly found their way 
 thither in pursuit of them. 
 
 The travelers continued their weary march through 
 the snow, dragging their boats after them. Some- 
 times, when the weather moderated — for it was sum- 
 mer — the sledges broke through. Six men on one 
 occasion were thrown into the water ; and the " Hope " 
 was very nearly lost. Help came to them from the 
 Esquimaux at Etah, who sent them the loan of their 
 dogs, together with an additional supply of fresh pro- 
 visions. The dogs were of infinite service in drawing 
 one of the sledges, upon which the sick men were con- 
 veyed. At this period an accident deprived the ex- 
 pedition by death of one of its most useful members, 
 while crossing a tide-hole, one of the runners of the 
 " Hope " sledge broke through the ice. The energy 
 and presence of mind of Christian Ohlsen alone saved 
 her from being lost. By a prodigious effort he passed 
 a capstan-bar under the sledge, and thus sustained its 
 weight until it was dragged forward to firm ice. In 
 doing this his footing gave way beneath him ; and he 
 thus was compelled to strain himself. The effort 
 ruined him. Some internal injury had been inflicted 
 by the effort ; and he died three days afterward. His 
 body was sewed up in his own blankets, and carried 
 in procession to the head of a little gorge to the east 
 of Pekiutlik, where a grave was excavated in the 
 frozen earth. There his body was deposited with a 
 
DR. KANE 8 EXPEDITION. 
 
 603 
 
 few simple and appropriate ceremonies. His name 
 and age were inscribed by the commander on a atrip 
 of sheet lead ; and ere his grave was tilled by his 
 comrades, the brief and touching memorial was laid 
 upon his manly breast. A small mound was then 
 erected with rocks and stones over his lonely resting- 
 place ; and there now sleep, in that cheerless and win- 
 try tomb, the remains of Christian Ohlsen. 
 
 By the 6th of June the party reached Littleton 
 Island. From a lofty height here of some eight hun- 
 dred feet. Dr. Kane obtained his first view of the 
 open water. His position at that time was 78° 22' 1" 
 latitude, and 74° 10' longitude. So weary were the men 
 of dragging the sledges over the snow and ice, that 
 they wished to take the direct route to the water, 
 upon which they were eager to embark with tlio 
 boats. But the dangers of the plan proposed over- 
 ruled their wishes, and the inland route, though longer, 
 was selected. The wished-for water which greeted 
 the eyes of the wearj travelers, was Hartstein Bay ; 
 and they welcomed it with emotions of rapture re- 
 sembling those which, as Xenophon records, tilled the 
 minds and excited the enthusiasm of the ten thousand 
 Greeks when, after their long and perilous march 
 through Asia Minor, and their escape from the myr- 
 iads of Artaxerxes, they tirst beheld the distant 
 waves of the sea whose billows laved the shores of 
 their beloved Greece. 
 
 On the 16th of June the party reached the water. 
 It was at the northern curve of the North BatHn Bay. 
 The surf roared sublimely in their ears, and sounded 
 like sweet music after their long and cheerless absence 
 from its bosom. The next thing to be done was to 
 prepare the boats for the difficult navigation which 
 was to ensue. They were not sea-worthy. They had 
 been split with frost, warped by the sunshine, and 
 were open at the seams. They were to be calked, 
 swelled, launched, and stowed. ,0n the 18th the 
 travelers were surrounded by all the Esquimaux who 
 
604 
 
 PBOGRESS OF ARCTIC DISCOVERT. 
 
 had been assembled at Etah. They had come to bid 
 the strangers farewell, whom they had served to the 
 best of their ability at an earlier stage of their jour- 
 ney. They were indeed a miserable and forlorn race, 
 though kindly and confiding in their dispositions. 
 Tliey receivea various presents and keepsalces from 
 the travelers — such as knives, files, saws, and lumps 
 of soap. They had been of great service in lending 
 hand-sledges and dogs ; in helping to carry baggage 
 and the sick from one station to another, along their 
 weary route ; and they parted from the strangers — 
 probably the last they were destined ever to behold 
 in that repulsive clime — with feelings of regret 
 which they did not conceal. Dr. Kane urged tliem 
 to emigrate further south ; for there they could ob- 
 tain more abundant food, and escape the perils of 
 starvation which constantly surrounded them. 
 
 On the evening of Sunday, June 17th, the party 
 hauled their boats through the hummocks, reached 
 the open sea, and launched their frail craft upon its 
 waters. But Eolus seemed determined not to per- 
 mit them yet to embark ; for he let loose his fiercest 
 winds, which began to dash a heavy vjind-lijpper 
 against the ice-floe, and obliged the party to re- 
 move their boats back with each new breakage of the 
 ice. The goods which had been stacked upon the ice 
 were conveyed further inward to the distance of sev- 
 eral hundred yards. The storm continued to rage, 
 and to forbid them to venture on the treacherous ele- 
 ment. At last Dr. Kane saw the necessity of per- 
 mitting the worn-out men to repose, and in order to 
 do so securely, the boats were removed a mile from 
 the water's edge. The sea tore up the ice to the very 
 base of the berg to which they had fled for refuge, 
 and the angry deep seemed like a vast cauldron, boil- 
 ing with intense fury, while the immense fragments 
 of ice crashed and rolled together with a sound re- 
 sembling thunder. 
 
 At length the fitorm subsided, and the troubled sea 
 
DR. KANE 8 EXrEDITION. 
 
 505 
 
 became tranquil. The boats were again prepared for 
 embarkation. On Tuesday, the 19tn, Dr. Kane suc- 
 ceeded in getting the Faith afloat, and he was soon 
 foUowed by the two other boats. Soon the wind 
 freshened, and the mariners began their welcome 
 progress homeward; but they had a long and perilous 
 voyage before them of many hundred miles. At 
 length they doubled Cape Alexander. They desired 
 first to halt at Sutherland Island ; but the ice-belt 
 which hugged its shores was too steep to permit them 
 to land. They then steered for Ilakluyt Island, but 
 had not proceeded far before the red boat swamped. 
 The crew were compelled to swim to the other boats ; 
 and the former was with difficulty kept afloat, and 
 dragged in tow by her comrades. Dr. Kane then 
 fastened his boats to an old floe ; and thus sheltered, 
 the men obtained their second halt and rest. When 
 they had become somewhat refreshej:!, they rowed for 
 Hakluyt Island, at a point less repulsive and imprac- 
 ticable than the one attempted the day before. A 
 spit to the southward gave them an opportunity to 
 haul up the boats on the land-ice, as the tide rose. 
 From this the men dragged the boats to the rocks 
 above and inland ; and w'ere thus secure. It snowed 
 heavily during the ensuing night. A tent was pre- 
 pared for the sick ; and a few birds were luckily ob- 
 tained to vary their stale diet of bread-dust and tallow. 
 
 On the next morning, the 22d, the snow storm 
 still continued to pelt them; but they pressed on- 
 ward toward Northumberland Island, and reached 
 it. They rowed their boats into a small inlet of open 
 water, which conducted them to the beach directly 
 beneath a hanging glacier which towered sublimely 
 into the heavens to the immense height of eleven 
 hundred feet. 
 
 The next day they crossed Murchison Channel, and 
 at night encamped at the base of Cape Parry. The 
 day had been laboriously spent in tracking over the 
 ice, and in sailing through tortuous leads. The day 
 
 32 
 
 1 '3 
 
 I 
 
608 
 
 PROGRESS OF ARCTIC DISCOVERY. 
 
 following they reach ed Fitz Clarence Rock ; one of 
 the most singular forms to be seen in that strange 
 clime. It rises to an immense height from a vast 
 field of ice, having the shape of an Egyptian pyra- 
 mid surmounted by an obelisk. In more frequented 
 waters it would be a valued landmark to the 
 navigator. 
 
 Still they continued to toil onward from day to day. 
 Their progress was satisfactory, though their labor 
 was exhausting. Dr. Kane sometimfes continued six- 
 teen hours in succession at the helm. But now their 
 allowance of food began to grow scanty. It was 
 reduced to six ounces of bread-dust per day, and a 
 lump of tallow about the size of a walnut. An occa- 
 sional cup of tea was their only consolation. From 
 this stage in their journey Dairy mple Rock became 
 perceptible in the distance. But the physical strength 
 of the men began to give way beneath their labors 
 and their insufficient diet. At tliis crisis a gale struck 
 them from the north-west, and a lloe, one end of 
 which having grounded on a tongue of ice about a 
 mile to the northward of them, began to swing round to- 
 ward the boats, and threaten to enclose and crush them. 
 Soon the destruction of the surrounding ice threatened 
 their own. For hundreds of yards on every side around 
 them the ice was crumbled, crushed, and piled in irreg- 
 ular and fragmentary masses. The thunder of the con- 
 fused ocean of frozen wrecks was overpowering. Sud- 
 denly the ice seemed to separate and form a channel; 
 and in that channel, so unexpectedly opened before 
 them, the men rowed the boats with the aid of their 
 boat hooks, and escaped a danger which a moment 
 before seemed inevitable and ruinous. Soon they 
 found themselves in a lead of land-water, wide enougii 
 to give them rowing room, and they hastened on to 
 the land, which loomed ahead. Reaching it, they 
 eagerly sought a shelter. The Hope here stove her 
 bottom, and lost part of her weather-boarding. The 
 Wfttev broke over them, for the storm still continued. 
 
DB. XANE's expedition. 
 
 607 
 
 11 to 
 
 hey 
 llier 
 
 Ihe 
 led. 
 
 At length the tide ro8e high enough at tlirec o'clock 
 to enable them to scale the ice-cliff. They succeeded 
 in pulling the boats into a deep and narrow gorge, 
 which opened between the towering cliffs. Tlie rocks 
 seemed almost to close above their heads. An ab- 
 rupt curve in the windings of this gorge placed a pro- 
 tecting rock behind them, which shielded them from 
 the violence of the winds and waves. They had reached 
 a haven of refuge which was almost a cave ; where they 
 found a flock ot eider ducks on which they feasted ; and 
 where for three days they reposed from the danf^ers 
 and labors of their voyage. This retreat they fitly 
 called Weary Man's Rest. 
 
 The fourth day of July having arrived, it was com- 
 memorated by the adventurers by a few diluted and 
 moderate potations, such as their nearly exhausted 
 whisky flask permitted ; and they then embarked 
 and rowed industriously toward Wolstenholmo Island. 
 During some succeeding days, they continued slowly 
 to progress toward the south, through the various lanes 
 of water which opened between the belt-ice and the 
 floe. By this time, the constant collisions between 
 the boats and the floating ice had rendered them quite 
 unseaworthy. The ice had strained their bottom tim- 
 bers, and constant baling was necessary. Their fresh 
 meat had all been consumed, and the men were now 
 reduced again to short rations of bread-dust. 
 
 On the 11th of July they approached Cape Dudley 
 Digges ; but their progress was suddenly stopped by 
 an immense tongue of floe which extended out to sea 
 for a prodigious distance. They forced their way 
 into a lead of sludge, and attempted thus to advance. 
 They found this to be impossible ; and were glad to 
 make their escape from it. Dr. Kane was at a loss 
 how to proceed. He mounted an ice-berg to recon- 
 noiter the surrounding prospect. It was gloomy and 
 repulsive in the extreme. They were in advance of 
 the season ; and he discovered that in those waters 
 towai'd Cape York, the floes had not yet broken up. 
 
 ''I I 
 
608 
 
 PROGRESS OF ARCTIC DISCOVKRY. 
 
 They seemed to be surrounded in a cul-de-sae^ with 
 exhausted strength and food, and no possibility of es- 
 caping until the summer had broken open for them a 
 pathway of escape tli rough the water. 
 
 Dr. Kane resolved to steer for the rocky shore. 
 Above a narrow ledge of lofty cliffs mounted one 
 over the other to the prodigious height of eleven hun- 
 dred feet. Tlio waves dashed violently against that 
 ledge ; but still it afforded a shelter to the boats. 
 Here they were for the present again deposited ; and 
 fortunately a quantity of gulls were found in the crevi- 
 ces of the rocks, which afforded the famished wander- 
 ers nutricious food. The glacier which stretched 
 away in front of them was about seven miles across. 
 On ascending the heights above him, Dr. Kane en- 
 joyed a magnificent prospect of the frozen ocean, the 
 ineV'de-glace^ whose glittering surface spread out be- 
 fore and around him. A vast undulating plain of 
 purple-colored ice appeared, extending to the limits 
 of the horizon, resplendent with the varied hues of 
 sun tipped crystal. This spot, where the wanderers 
 enjoyed so welcome a repose, such nutricious food, 
 and such sublime perspective, they named Providence 
 Halt. Here they remained till the 18th of July. 
 
 In resuming their voyage from this point, they en- 
 countered an accident which might have proved very 
 serious. When they launched the Hope, she was pre- 
 cipitated into the sludge in such a manner as to carry 
 away her rail and bulwark. They lost overboard their 
 best shot-gun, and an equally indispensable utensil, 
 their kettle which had served them m every possible 
 capacity of kettle — such as soup-kettle, paste-kettle, 
 tea-kettle, and water-kettle. Sailing along they passed 
 the Crimson Cliffs, so named by Sir John Koss. They 
 continued thence to hug the shore. The weather 
 now moderated; and their voyage assumed more 
 agreeable and genial features. The men frequently 
 lauded, climbed up the steep cliffs and obtained 
 abundant quantities of auks. Fires were kindled 
 
DR. KANE 8 EXl'KmTrON. 
 
 609 
 
 with the turf, and tlio feasts wliich ensued were rcl« 
 ished with more than an ordinary appetite ; nnd that 
 also the more truly, because the travelers well knew 
 that their good fortune, and tlieir propitious seas and 
 weather, would not long continue. They were now 
 in 78° 20' north latitude. 
 
 On the 21st of June they reached Capo York. 
 Their provisions had now diminished to six hundred 
 and forty pounds, or about thirty-six pounds to each 
 man. I'he question to be determined was, whether 
 they should delay where they then were for some 
 days until the sliore-ice opened ; or whether they 
 should desert the co.ast and venture boldly upon the 
 open water to the west. Dr. Kano ascended tlie 
 rocks upon the shore, and by the aid of his glass care- 
 fully scrutinized the ice. The latter could be seen 
 immoveably lixed to the shore in nearly an unbroken 
 sweep far beyond Bushnell Island. The outside floes 
 were large ; and one large lead appeared to the view 
 which seemed to follow the main lioe until it was lost 
 to seaward. 
 
 Dr. Kano explained to his men the motives which 
 induced him to adopt the course upon which he had 
 determined. The boats were then hauled on shore, 
 examined, and repaired. One of these, the Red Erie, 
 was stripped of her cargo and prepared to be broken 
 up as soon as occasion should require. A beacon was 
 also erected on an eminence, which could be dis- 
 cerned both from the south and the west, surmounted 
 by a red flannel shirt. Under the cairn was deposit- 
 ed a short narrative of the condition and purposes of 
 the party. They then resumed their voyage steering 
 south l)y west through the ice-fields. For a while 
 they progressed safely enough. But soon the irregu- 
 liarities of the surface, loaded as it was by hummocks 
 and even larger masses, made it ditticult to discern 
 the state of the ice in the distance. At length they 
 lost their way ; the ofiicer at the helm of the leading 
 boat deceived by the irregular shape of a large ice- 
 
 iul 
 
510 
 
 PROGRESS OF ARCTIC DISCOVERT. 
 
 borg, had deserted the proper lead, and hud steered 
 far out of the true course. 
 
 Dr. Kane at once ordered a halt, and ascending an 
 ico-berg some three hundred feet in height, he sur- 
 veyed the prospect. It was by no means encoura- 
 ging. They had advanced into the recesses of the 
 bay, and were surrounded on all sides by immense 
 ice-bergs and floating ice. So dismal appeared their 
 situation that one of the sturdiest members of the ex- 
 pedition, who accompanied the commander in his sur- 
 vey, burst into tears at the sadness of their situation. 
 
 There was but one means of deliverance, and that 
 it behooved them to adopt instantly. They must re- 
 sume their sledges and retrace their way to the west- 
 ward. One sledge had already been cut up for fire- 
 wood. The boat Ked Erie now shared the same fate ; 
 and was laid upon the floor of the other boats. Three 
 days of hard dragging over the ice ensued ; at the 
 cud of which time they regained the ice-berg which 
 had misled them in the first instance, and had induced 
 them to take a course which had nearly ended in their 
 ruin. From this point made easier by experience, 
 they steered in the right direction into a free lead, 
 and were wafted onward by a friendly breeze from 
 the north. 
 
 Another trouble now assailed the travelers, not less 
 important than the one they had just escaped. Their 
 provisions had fearfully diminished, and yet they were 
 hundreds of miles distant from the nearest Danish 
 settlement of Greenland. Their strength dimiL.,.lied 
 in proportion with their food. The latter had become 
 60 much lessened, that five ounces of bread-dust, four 
 ounces of tallow, and three of bird's meat, were all 
 that could be thenceforward allowed each man per 
 day. The commander now determined to try the 
 more open sea, as their progress along the coast had 
 been retarded by its sinuosities. During two days 
 heavy fogs impeded their rapid advance. A south- 
 westerly wind brought the outside pack upon them, 
 
•11 
 
 DR. KANK a KXPEDITION. 
 
 511 
 
 and compelled them to haul up on the driftin*^ ico. 
 By this \neans tliey were driftoil with it twenty miles 
 away from their ])roper course. Tlu; hihors and toils 
 of the party were extreme and rxhau8tin<^ ; and yet 
 they manfully kept up their Bpirit^. 
 
 A 8tran<]:o j)henomenon now showed itself amonn' 
 them; and one too of ominous imj»ort. Thou<i;h 
 worked excessively they yet felt no liun<rer. They 
 also seemed to lose their physical 6tren<j^th. The 
 *' Faith" also very nearly escaped destruction, hy be- 
 in£^ left behind for a short time. The outside pressure 
 had broken the iloe asunder, and the Faith began to 
 float away from them. Her loss would have entailed 
 that of a large portion of the scanty provisions wliich 
 thev still possessed ; and would have inevitably 
 sealed their ruin. By the utmost exertions of the 
 men, some of whom seemed nearly thrown into hys- 
 terics by her threatened loss, she was again secured. 
 
 The situation of the voyagers continued to become 
 more critical. They experienced a difficulty in breath- 
 ing, and an inability to sleep. Their line of travel 
 lay through the open bay, in the midst of the great 
 ice-drift which hurried from the Arctic climes into 
 the Atlantic ocean. Their boats were frail and shat- 
 tered, and constantly made enough water to require 
 their utmost exertions in bailing, in order to keep 
 them afloat. Their fresh food had been exhausted 
 for some days ; and they sufl'ered from a low fever 
 which prostrated them to the utmost. 
 
 At this point of their progress they happily killed 
 a seal which they discovered ou a small patch of ice. 
 The flrst sight of it created the utmost enthusiasm 
 among the men. As the boats silently approached 
 him and before they were within rifle shot, the seal 
 raised his head, surveyed the strangers, and was pre- 
 paring to dive into the water. The best marksman 
 of the company with their best rifle, had just drawn 
 Bight upon the seal ; and the lives of the whole party 
 may be said to have depended on the success of tho 
 
 I 
 
612 
 
 PROGRESS OF ARCTIC tlSCOVERY. 
 
 shot. A moment of breathless anxiety ensued ; but 
 the skill of Petersen prevailed. At the instant the 
 crack of the rifle was heard the seal relaxed his long 
 body, and his head fell flat on the ice upon its utmost 
 verge. With a loud yell the famished men urged 
 forward the boat with their utmost strength. When 
 they reached the ice they rushed over it, laughing, 
 crying, and brandishing their knives. The unhappy 
 seal was cut into strips before he had fairly time to 
 expire ; and was gorging the men with his raw re- 
 mains. Not a single ounce was lost ; the intestines 
 even, were boiled in the soup-kettle ; and the carti- 
 laginous flippers were distributed and chewed to 
 pieces with the utmost relish. 
 
 This opportune supply of fresh food saved the lives 
 of the party. Their mental and physical health was 
 restored. Several days afterward they killed another 
 seal, and thus each one retained a mens 6ana in sano 
 corpore. On the 1st of August they came within sight 
 of the Devil's Thumb, and were no longer wanderers 
 in unknown regions ; but were within the limits of 
 the district frequented by the whalers. Soon they 
 reached the Duck Islands. At length they passed 
 Cape Shackletuu, and then steered lor the shore of 
 Gi-eenland. 
 
 Their long voyage with its infinite anxieties and 
 toils — their perilous adventures amid cheerless conti- 
 nents of ice — their narrow escapes from the moun- 
 tainous ice-bergs — their suflTerings from cold, hunger, 
 and disease — their apprciiensions of an unknown 
 grave in the solitudes of the Arctic realms — their 
 doubts of a final happy escape from the innumerable 
 perils, and of their welcome vision of their native land 
 and the firesides of their former years — all these now 
 termiuated in eventuiil triumph and escape. They 
 now gluiped the course directly toward the shores of 
 Greenli.nd, which clearly loomed up in their distant 
 horizon. JN^ext day they met the first inhabitant of 
 that vorld from which they had been so long shut 
 
DR. KANE S EXPEDITION. 
 
 613 
 
 out. It was a Greenlander who, in his small canoe 
 or kayak, was seeking eider down among the islands 
 which stud the coast. They hailed him. One of the 
 men, Petersen, knew him. It was Paul Trocharias. 
 " Don't you know me ? " enquired Petersen, as the 
 boats approached. "I'm Carl Petersen." "No,'' 
 answered the Greenlander, "his wife says he is 
 dead ; " and with this response he rowed away from 
 them. 
 
 During two days longer they continued to follow 
 the coast, sailing southward. At the end of this time 
 they discerned the single mast of a small shallop, and 
 heard words of minfrled Enojlish and Danish from the 
 sailors on board of her. They soon discerned that 
 it was the Upernavick oil-boat on its way to Kingatok 
 to obtain blubber. The annual ship had arrived from 
 Copenhagen at Proven ; and this was one of the boats 
 which supplied her with a cargo of oil. From the 
 sailors on board the shallop, Dr. Kane first received 
 information of the great events which, during his ab- 
 scence had agitated the world to which he had been 
 so long a stranger ; how England and France had com- 
 bined with the Turk to humble the haughty pride of 
 the imperial Romanoff; and how vast armies were 
 then engaged in mortal strife on the once quiet and 
 fertile phiins of the Crimea. For the first time he 
 learned the importance which Sebastopol had ac- 
 quired in the history and fate of the world, sur- 
 rounded as it then was with a battling host of a hun- 
 dred thousand men. 
 
 They rowed on. Soon Kasarsoak, the snow-capped 
 summit of Sanderson's Hope appeard to them, tower- 
 ing above the mists ; and as they approached the 
 welome harbor of Upernavick, from which they had 
 issued several years before in the gallant vessel they 
 had now left behind them, they felt as o».ly such men 
 under such circumstances could feel. During eighty- 
 four days they had lived in the open air, tossing in 
 frail boats on the bosom of the angry, half-frozen 
 
 V 
 
514 
 
 PROGRESS OF ARCTIC DISCOVERY. 
 
 deep. They were delivered from a thousand deaths, 
 and arrived at last safely at Upernavick, where they 
 were received with hospitality by the charitable 
 Danes, who inhabit that lonely and cheerless outport 
 of the civilized world. 
 
 Dr. Kane resolved to embark his party in the Dan- 
 ish vessel the Mariane, which sailed on the 6th of 
 September for the Shetland Islands. They took with 
 them their little boat the Faith, which had accom- 
 panied them through so many adventures. Tlieyonly 
 retained their clothes and documents, of all they had 
 once possessed on board the Advance. On the 11th 
 they arrived at Godhaven, where theyfonnd their for- 
 mer friend Mr. Olrik, the Danish Inspector of North 
 Greenland. Here Dr. Kane first heard of the squad- 
 ron under Captain Hartstene, which had been sent 
 out from the United States in pursuit of him, and 
 learned that it had touched at that spot. 
 
 This squadron consisted of two vessels, the United 
 States barque "Release," and the United States steam- 
 brig "Arctic." They had sailed from New York in 
 June 1855, and on the 9th of July they were at 
 Lievely on the coast of Greenland. On that day they 
 resumed their search after the party of Dr. Kane, and 
 sailed for Waigat Strait, intending to touch at Uper- 
 navick for information. From Upernavick both vessels 
 stood northward. They soon met the floating ice 
 drifting down; but they persisted in advancing, and 
 thus worked along for forty miles to Wedge Island. 
 Here they were compelled to moor themselves to the 
 bergs, and await the opening of the ice, which liad be- 
 come so compact as to render their immedia^te ad- 
 vance impossible. Afterseveral days the ice opened, 
 and enabled them to proceed. They then steamed to 
 Sugar Loaf Island, and entered the closely packed 
 floe of Melville Bay. By the 13th of August they 
 had forced a passage into the North "Water, after 
 twenty-eight days of laborious sailing. They then 
 passed Cape York and Wolstenholme Island. Here 
 
DR. KANE 8 EXPEDITION. 
 
 515 
 
 in 
 
 at 
 
 5d 
 
 hastening on in the steamer, Captain Hartstene visited 
 Cape Alexander and Soutlierland Island. These 
 points were beyond the reach of the Esquimaux, and 
 might probably contain traces of Dr. Kane's party. 
 They were thoroughly searched ; but no evidence ap- 
 peared that any human foot had ever invaded those 
 frozen solitudes. Tlience they advanced to Pelham 
 Point, where they ( observed a few stones piled together. 
 A party landed here, and beneath this rude monument 
 they discovered a small vial with the letter K. cut in 
 the cork. The vial contained a large musquito, and 
 a small piece of cartridge paper, on which was written 
 " Dt. Kane, 1853." 
 
 This discovery induced Captain Hartstene to push 
 further north. The ice however soon stopped his 
 progress ; and drifting southward with the current, 
 he examined Cape Hotturton and Littleton Island. 
 But no trace of Dr. Kane was found, though in a for- 
 mer letter to his brother, he had expressed his inten- 
 tion to erect a cairn on one of these localities. Fif- 
 teen miles north-west of Cape Alexander they discov- 
 ered a party of Esquimaux, who, three miles distant 
 on the Greenland shore, had a temporary settlement 
 of seven tents, inhabited by thirty persons. Here 
 Captain Hartstene found many articles which had be- 
 longed to Dr. Kane's party, and which had been left 
 behind ; such as tin pans and pots, canvas and iron 
 spikes, as well as the tube of a telescope which was 
 recognized as having belonged to Dr. Kane. 
 
 Captain Hartstene closely interrogated the Es^^ui- 
 maux as to their knowledge of the missing company. 
 From them he learned that Dr. Kane, having lost his 
 vessel somewhere in the ice to the northward, had 
 been at that point with two boats and a sled, and af- 
 ter remaining there ten days had proceeded south- 
 ward toward IJpernavick. With such conclusive ^A- 
 dence before him Captain Harts':ene also determined 
 to return southward. He touched at Cape Alexander, 
 Sutherland Islands, and Hakluyt Island. Thence ho 
 
616 
 
 PKOGRESS OF ARCTIC DISCOVERY. 
 
 steered for tlie entrance of Lancaster Sound, and ex- 
 amined the coast between Cape Horsburg and Cape 
 AVarrander. After passing Cape Bullin he found the 
 ice firmly packed, and the vessels seemed frozen into 
 their winter quarters. But after twenty-four hours 
 spent in a laborious attempt to batter their way 
 through the ice they succeeded ; and after thus ma- 
 king tlie circuit of nearly the whole northern part of 
 Batiin's Bay, they returned toward Possession and 
 Pound's Bay. Along this whole voyage they con- 
 stantly fired guns, burned blue-lights and threw up 
 rockets, with the hoj^e of attracting the attention of 
 the wanderers. They were disappointed however, 
 and seeing no traces of Dr. Kane's party whatever. 
 Captain Hartstene concluded that they had passed 
 through Melville Bay to Upernavick ; and he resolved 
 at once to follow them thitiier. 
 
 His conjecture was right. On the 11th of Septem- 
 ber, as the Greenland vessel Mariane was about set- 
 ting out from the port of Godhaven, having Dr. 
 Kane's party on board, the look-out man at the hill- 
 top announced the approach of a distant steamer. 
 Soon she came nearer, having a barque in tow ; and 
 the immortal stars and stripes floating majestically 
 at her mast-head. Instantly the Faith was lowered 
 from the side of the Mariane, and the party in her 
 pulled lustily for the approaching vessel. All the 
 boats of the settlement hurried after her wake. Pre- 
 sently the Faith was alongside the Arctic ; and Cap- 
 tain Hartstene eagerly hailed a little man in a ragged 
 flannel shirt; ^^ Is that Dr. Kane V^ An affirmative 
 answer was instantly returned by the Doctor him- 
 self; and in a few moments the distinguished naviga- 
 tor bounded on the deck of his country's ship ; was 
 received with loud plaudits of welcome by her com- 
 mander and crew ; and thus he and his party returned 
 again, as those alive from the dead, to an unfrozen 
 world of civilization, comfort, and security. Dr. 
 Kane's labors had not resulted in the d" :covery of 
 
DR. KANE 8 EXPEDITION. 
 
 617 
 
 any traces or remains of Sir John Franklin's party ; 
 but it was the means of securing important additions 
 to geographical knowledge, and valuable acquisitions 
 in botany, meteorology, geology, and other depart- 
 ments of science. Ills researches have left but little 
 to be obtained by any successor in Arctic explora- 
 tions, however resolute, vigorous, and accomplished 
 he may be. Dr. Kane and his associates returned 
 to New York in the squadron of Captain Ilartstene, 
 on the 11th of October, 1855. 
 
 Id 
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 Before we were aware, we had read the first two chapters. We read on — and on — and 
 It wjis long after midnight when we finished the volume. We could not leave it. We 
 know of no work with which we could compare "'Lena Rivers" — so as to form a just 
 estimation of its merits. — MerrichviUe Chronicle. 
 
 It is not the first of ti>e author's works, but it is the best — State Register. 
 
 To the sex we commend it, on the assurance of its merit, volunteered to us by ladies 
 in whose critical acumen we have the fullest confidence.— ^w/o/o Express. 
 
 The story opens in New England, and Is continued in Kentucky, with very lively and 
 characteristic sketches of scenerv and character in botli States, it is both qood and ui- 
 ISTHESTING. — New York Daily Times. 
 
 The moral of the plot is excellent Cowardly virtue, as exhibited by 'Lena's father, 
 may here le.arn a Itsson without sufl'ering his bitter experience; while the rashness of 
 youth may be warned against desperate acts, before a perfect uaderstondiug is had. — Jiew 
 Bedford Express. 
 
 ^« ♦ »»■ 
 
 Jutt Publithedf uniform with the abovej a JWtr JEditton of 
 
 BY MARY J. HOLMES. 
 In One Volumef 380 pp. 12nio. Price t|l 00. 
 
 This earlier work of Mrs. Holmes received the highest praise of Re- 
 viewers, and has proved a great favorite with all classes of intelligent 
 readers. 
 
 MILLER, OETON & CO., PuWishers, 
 
 25 Park Eow, New York, and 107 Genesee-st, Auburn. 
 
Ho ! for the Great West ! 
 
 THE STATES AND TERRITORIES 
 
 OK 
 
 THE aHE^T ^\^EST: 
 
 INCLUDING 
 
 Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, Wisconsin, Iowa, Minnesota. 
 Kansas, and Nebraska — their Geography, History, Advantages, Re- 
 sources, and Prospects; comprising their Local llistor}', Institutions, 
 and Laws ; and giving a Table of Distances, and the most direct 
 Routes and Modes of Conveyance, <fec. «fec. 
 
 BY JACOB P^KRRIS. 
 
 Map and Numerous Illustrations, 356 pp. 12mo. Price $1 26. 
 
 WHAT WILL BE FOUND IN WHO WILL WANT 
 
 THE QREAT WEST, 
 
 Where the Climate is the Healthiest, 
 Where the Water is tlie Turest, 
 Wht-re the Timber is the Finest, 
 Where the Soil is most I'roductive, 
 Where are lounil tiie Choicest Coal-fields, 
 Where the Iron Mines are liichcet, 
 Wliere the Co[)per's uiost Abundant, 
 How to Travel in the Far West, 
 Where the Emigrant should Settle. 
 What already has been done there, 
 What is going on at present, 
 And in future what may yet be. 
 
 THE QREAT WEST, 
 
 The General Reader will want it I 
 
 The Pleasure Traveler! 
 
 Holders of Western Stocks I 
 
 Owners of Western Lands I 
 
 Those who are seeking their Fortunes I 
 
 Enterprising Young Men I 
 
 Ladies watching for the Main Chance 1 
 
 Capitalists with Surplus Funds 1 
 
 Tliose wlio love to go ahead ! 
 
 Men with rising Families 
 
 Those who have Children out there! 
 
 EvKBYBODY that iikes a Useful Book, 
 
 OPINIONS OF THE PRESS. 
 
 This book is a rich repository of facta, and appears at a time when the public de- 
 mand for such knowledge must secure for it a wide circulation. It is timely, and meets 
 a i)ositive want. It takes a broad view of the entire west, this side of the Kocky Moun- 
 tains. Starting with the earliest history uf that almost fabled land, the reader is kept 
 aloni; the track of territorial and State development, constantly charmed, excited, 
 astonished at what his oyes behold, until, as by magic, there arise before him powerful 
 States, with their government, arts, commerce, agriculture, and all the emblems of 
 greatness and prosperity, where but just before, the rude forest and the wild savage 
 alone held sway. — Northern GlirUtian Advocate. 
 
 In the chapter on Kansas, the author presents a succinct view of the antecedents of 
 the present controversy in regard to the occupation of its soil, with a lucid sketch of 
 the events that have recently made it an object of such universal interest. We com- 
 mend his statements to all who wish to possess a brief record of the conflict between 
 Freedom and Slavery, wliich is now raging in that quarter. — New York I'ribuiie, 
 
 Mr. Ferris's work supplies a deficiency in literature, inasmuch as it is a comprehen- 
 Bivo view of the entire West, and not of a single portion thereof. The book is practi- 
 cally complete. It touches every phase of life, and takes up every important historical 
 and biographical fact, pertaining to the western country. In style it is simple, })leasing 
 and unatfected. We judge it to be a valuable book of reference, as well as an entertain- 
 ing narrative. — FhU. Siit. Eve. Post. 
 
 Afler a careful examination of its contents, we liave no hesitation in pronouncing it one 
 of the very best books lately published. In no other quarter have we seen so full and com* 
 prebensive a view of the West, — Genius of Liberty. 
 
 MILLER, ORTON & CO., Publishers, 
 
 26 Park Row, New York, and 107 Genesee-st., Auburn. 
 
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