DISCOVERY OF THE FATE OF FRANKLIN
The Crimean War broke out in 1854, and public attention was absorbed
by it. On March 23rd of that year the names of Sir John Franklin and
his officers were removed from the Navy list, but not without a protest
from Lady Franklin. Suddenly, only four months later, some startling
news arrived. Dr Rae of the Hudson’s Bay Company reported on July 19th
that, during a journey to survey the west coast of Boothia, he met
some Eskimos in Pelly Bay who said that, some years before, they had
seen about thirty men dragging a boat southward over the ice, and that
later the bodies of several men were found on an island near the mouth
of a great river. They had several articles belonging to officers of
the Franklin Expedition, including nine pieces of plate and Sir John’s
Guelphic Order.
Public attention being occupied elsewhere, the Admiralty considered it
enough to ask the Hudson’s Bay Company to send someone down the Great
Fish River to Montreal Island, which lies at its mouth. Mr Anderson was
sent, without an Eskimo interpreter, reached Montreal Island, found
some fragments of a boat and various articles, and then returned. The
Admiralty thought that sufficient had been done.
Lady Franklin petitioned the Prime Minister, urging that 135 officers
and men of the British Navy had laid down their lives after sufferings
of unexampled severity in the service of their country, as truly as if
they had fallen in action. “Surely,” she added, “I may plead for such
men that the bones of the dead be sought for, that their records be
unearthed, that their last written words be saved from destruction. It
is a sacred mission, and this final search is all I ask.” The reply
was a cold refusal, and Lady Franklin realised that, if anything was
to be done, she must depend upon her own resources. She did not
hesitate, but at once came forward herself to fulfil the duty, and
M’Clintock entered upon the completion of his long and zealous efforts
by accepting the mission which was to crown his Arctic achievements.
Lady Franklin had unbounded confidence in Captain M’Clintock, and gave
him a perfectly free hand. She set aside £20,000 of her own fortune
for the voyage, and there were subscriptions to the amount of £3000,
with which she purchased the _Fox_, a steam yacht of 177 tons. The
expedition was fitted out at Aberdeen, and the public departments
were allowed to give some help. Lieut. W. R. Hobson, who had served
in the _Plover_, got leave to go as senior executive. Captain Allen
Young of the mercantile marine, young, active, energetic, and full of
zeal, entered as Master and contributed £500. Dr David Walker went as
surgeon, and a very great acquisition was Carl Petersen, the Dane who
was Penny’s dog-driver and who knew Greenland and its seas so well. The
whole number of souls on board the _Fox_ was twenty-four, and fifteen
had served in former search expeditions. William Harvey, the chief
petty officer, was Captain Austin’s boatswain’s mate in the _Resolute_,
and afterwards in the _North Star_, a thorough seaman and a first-rate
sledge traveller. One great advantage to M’Clintock was that Captain
Austin was at Deptford and could give him much assistance.
On July 1st, 1857, the _Fox_ was well on her way to Greenland. Ten dogs
were obtained at Lievely, and two young Eskimos were engaged as seal
hunters and dog-drivers. M’Clintock had already been through Melville
Bay three times, but 1857 was the worst ice year on record. Constant
south-east winds kept the ice closely packed.
The _Fox_ had made 110 out of the 170 miles required to cross the bay,
and there was hope if only a northerly wind would spring up. September
came, however, and M’Clintock soon realised that their fate was
inevitable--a winter in the drifting pack. It was a perilous position.
The vessel drifted southwards for 1194 geographical miles in 242 days,
and was liberated in April, 1858, under appalling circumstances. On the
24th the approach to the edge of the ice became evident from the swell.
The ice fragments dashed against each other and against the ship. Sail
was made and the _Fox_ slowly bored her way through. Next day the swell
had become a heavy sea, the waves thirteen feet high, dashing huge
fragments of ice against the ship. Pieces of iceberg 60 or 70 feet high
were dispersed through the pack, and one blow from any of them would
have been instant destruction. At length, towards night, the brave
little vessel ran through straggling pieces into an open sea.
After eight months of perilous drifting, finished off by two such
days and nights, most people would have sought rest in a port. No one
who knew M’Clintock would doubt what he would do. Without a moment’s
hesitation he turned the ship’s head northward again. The year 1858
was much more favourable, and by August 11th the _Fox_ was off Cape
Riley. M’Clintock ran down Peel Sound for 25 miles, when he was stopped
by unbroken ice extending from shore to shore. He therefore took the
alternative route by Prince Regent’s Inlet, and by the 21st the _Fox_
was half-way through Bellot Strait. A few miles of pack ice barred the
way, but early in September she passed right through the strait, but
again there was a barrier, and finally she was obliged to be placed in
winter quarters in a bay at the eastern entrance of the strait, which
was named Port Kennedy. However, she was well within reach of the
deeply interesting region to be examined.
It was arranged that in the spring there were to be three expeditions,
each with a four-man sledge with weights reduced to 200 lb. at
starting, and one dog sledge with driver and a team of seven, dragging
100 lb. per dog at starting. The small number of men made the dogs
necessary. Hobson was to examine the north coast of King William
Island, cross to Gateshead Island, and connect Collinson’s with
Wynniatt’s furthest, thus completing the outline of Victoria Island.
Allen Young was to discover the southern side of Prince of Wales
Island. M’Clintock himself with Petersen was to search the estuary of
Back’s Fish River and the whole coast of King William Island.
Depôts were laid out during the autumn, and by Allen Young in the depth
of winter. M’Clintock undertook a winter journey with temperature
-33° to -48° Fahr., intending to build snow huts instead of taking a
tent; but it took two hours to build them. His object was to fall in
with Eskimos and obtain information, which he did; nearly all having
some plunder from the _Erebus_ or _Terror_. One of them stated that a
ship had been crushed by the ice out at sea. The journey of 26 days in
the depth of winter embraced 360 miles and completed the discovery of
the coast line of North America. It also revealed the only north-west
passage for ships between Boothia and King William Island.
April 2nd was the appointed day for starting on the long journeys.
Petersen was to drive M’Clintock’s dog sledge. M’Clintock and Hobson
travelled together as far as Cape Victoria, when the latter crossed
to Cape Felix, M’Clintock pressing onwards to the Great Fish River.
On meeting his Eskimo friends again he was told--what was concealed
before---that a second ship had been driven on shore. Many more relics
were seen in their possession.
Hobson landed at Cape Felix on King William Island and found the
remains of an encampment which had been hastily abandoned, for tents
and clothes were left behind. Marching onwards he came to the large
cairn with a quantity of gear strewn round it, and a tin cylinder
containing the famous document written by Fitzjames, which announced
the fate of Franklin and the expedition. Hobson, stricken with scurvy,
felt unable to carry out the rest of his instructions, but two of his
men went on and discovered a large boat. The return journey was then
commenced and the _Fox_ was reached on June 14th after an absence of
74 days. Latterly Hobson had to be carried on the sledge. He left in a
cairn for M’Clintock a report and lists of all the articles seen.
M’Clintock continued his advance to the south, obtaining from the
natives several spoons and articles of plate belonging to officers,
and other relics. They said that many white men had dropped by the
way as they marched, and that some had been buried and others not. On
the 15th May M’Clintock reached Montreal Island. It was thoroughly
searched, but nothing of importance was found. On the 24th M’Clintock
again crossed the frozen sea to King William Island and followed the
shore along which the retreating crews must have marched. On the 25th
a human skeleton, with some fragments of clothing which were those
of an officer’s steward, was found on a gravel ridge. The pockets
had contained a brush, a comb, and a pocket-book. The shroud of snow
no doubt concealed many other skeletons. On reaching Cape Herschel
M’Clintock was full of hope that Simpson’s cairn might contain a
record, but there was nothing. On May 29th he reached the extreme
western point of King William Island (69° 8′ N. and 100° 8′ W.) which
he named Cape Crozier.
M’Clintock had now arrived on Hobson’s tracks. The coast was a series
of limestone ridges, and to seaward there was a rugged surface of
crushed-up pack. On the 30th May the camp was formed alongside the
boat found by Hobson about 50 miles from Point Victory. M’Clintock has
given a most interesting account of it and its contents. It contained
two skeletons and was full of relics of all kinds[133]. On June 2nd
M’Clintock reached the cairn at Point Victory, and realised the whole
sad story. “All the coast-line,” he wrote, “along which the retreating
crews performed their fearful march must be sacred to their names
alone.”
M’Clintock had completed his immortal work. For ten years he had
devoted all his energies and all the powers of his mind, first to the
rescue of the lost explorers, then to ascertain their fate. Success had
now crowned his efforts and the mystery of the sad fate of Franklin’s
expedition was at last made clear to the world. M’Clintock and his
party had marched round King William Island. They returned to the
ship on June 19th after an absence of 76 days, having travelled over
920 miles and discovered 800 miles of new coast line, and the only
navigable North West Passage.
Allen Young commenced his journey on April 7th, with old Harvey as
captain of his sledge, Hobday and Haselton seamen, and Florance, a
stoker, as crew. He also took a dog-sledge. Crossing the Franklin
Channel, so named by M’Clintock, he landed at Cape Eyre on Prince of
Wales Island and proceeded to explore the low and desolate southern
coast. Finding that he had not sufficient provisions to reach Osborn’s
furthest and so complete the exploration of the great island with all
his men, he sent back the rest with the sledge, in charge of Harvey,
to Cape Eyre. He and Hobday went on with the dog-sledge, and on May
7th reached the table-topped hills seen by Sherard Osborn in 1851,
and so completed the discovery. Young then made a gallant attempt to
cross the channel to Victoria Island, but this was impossible, it
being a mass of stupendous hummocks with deep fissures between them,
and a retreat was therefore made to the sledge at Cape Eyre. He then
completed the discovery of the eastern shore of Prince of Wales Island
as far as Browne’s furthest in 1851. Next he crossed the channel to
Ross’s furthest, and completed the discovery of the west side of North
Somerset thence to Bellot Strait, taking frequent observations for
latitude and longitude. He and his men were nearly worn out by the long
period of hardships when they were met by M’Clintock on June 27th. It
was a splendid journey, rich in geographical discovery.
The _Fox_ was now got ready to return. The engines had been taken to
pieces for the winter, the engineer had died, and the stokers knew
nothing about the machinery. So M’Clintock tucked up his sleeves, went
down into the engine room, and got the engines into working order with
his own hands. There was no one else on board who could have done
it. On August 10th, 1859, the _Fox_ was freed from winter quarters,
M’Clintock working the engines himself for several days, until the
vessel was got under sail. She arrived in the Thames and was taken into
the dock at Blackwall on September 23rd.
The whole nation was full of admiration at the way in which this great
and memorable success had been achieved. Lady Franklin was more than
satisfied at the result of the expedition, and felt unable to express
her admiration and gratitude for its Commander. His officers and
men were devoted to him, and presented him with a gold chronometer,
“reminding him of that perfect harmony, that mutual esteem and good
will, which made our ship’s company a happy little community, and
contributed materially to the success of the expedition.”
The Queen conferred upon M’Clintock the honour of knighthood, but
the great explorer could not even then be spared from Arctic work.
The Admiralty undertook to run a line of deep sea soundings from the
Faroes, by Iceland and Greenland, to Labrador. This important duty was
entrusted to Sir Leopold M’Clintock in command of the _Bulldog_, and
was thoroughly well done, during the severe Arctic summer of 1860.
At last Sir Leopold returned to the regular naval service, hoisting
his flag twice, and after his retirement became a very active Elder
Brother of the Trinity House. After serving his country for an unbroken
active period of seventy-seven years, he died in harness on November
17th, 1907, at the age of 89, one of the best and greatest of Arctic
explorers.